Mary de Bohun (c. 1369/70 – 4 June 1394) was the first wife of King

Henry IV of England Henry IV ( April 1367 – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. He asserted the claim of his grandfather King Edward III, a maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, to the Kingdom of F ...

and the mother of King

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...

. Mary was never queen, as she died before her husband came to the throne.

Early life

Mary was a daughter of

Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, 6th Earl of Essex, 2nd Earl of Northampton, KG (March 25, 1342–January 16, 1373) was the son of William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton, and Elizabeth de Badlesmere, and grandson of Humphrey de Bohun, ...

(1341–1373) by his wife

Joan Fitzalan Joan FitzAlan, Countess of Hereford, Countess of Essex and Countess of Northampton (1347 – 7 April 1419) was the wife of the 7th Earl of Hereford, 6th Earl of Essex and 2nd Earl of Northampton. She was the mother of Mary de Bohun, the first w ...

(1347/8–1419), a daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel, and

Eleanor of Lancaster Eleanor of Lancaster, Countess of Arundel (sometimes called Eleanor Plantagenet; 11 September 1318 – 11 January 1372) was the fifth daughter of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster and Maud Chaworth. First marriage and issue Eleanor married first on 6 ...

. Mary and her elder sister,

Eleanor de Bohun Eleanor de Bohun ( – 3 October 1399) was the elder daughter and co-heiress (with her sister, Mary de Bohun), of Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford (1341–1373) and Joan Fitzalan, a daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel a ...

, were the heiresses of their father's substantial possessions. Eleanor became the wife of

Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester (7 January 13558 or 9 September 1397) was the fifth surviving son and youngest child of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. Early life Thomas was born on 7 January 1355 at Woodstock ...

, the youngest child of

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

. In an effort to keep the inheritance for himself and his wife, Thomas of Woodstock pressured the child Mary into becoming a nun. In a plot with

John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...

, Mary's aunt took her from Thomas' castle at Pleshey back to Arundel whereupon she was married to Henry Bolingbroke, the future Henry IV.

Marriage and children

Mary married Henry—then known as Bolingbroke—on 27 July 1380, at

Arundel Castle Arundel Castle is a restored and remodelled medieval castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England. It was established during the reign of Edward the Confessor and completed by Roger de Montgomery. The castle was damaged in the English Civil War a ...

. It was at

Monmouth Castle Monmouth Castle ( cy, Castell Trefynwy) is a castle close to the centre of the town of Monmouth, the county town of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire, on a hill above the River Monnow in south east Wales. Once an important border castle, an ...

, one of her husband's possessions, that Mary gave birth to her first child, the future

, on 16 September 1386. Her second child,

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, was born probably at London shortly before 25 November 1387. Her children were: *

Henry V, King of England Henry V (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422), also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the ...

(1386–1422) *

Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence (autumn 1387 – 22 March 1421) was a medieval English prince and soldier, the second son of Henry IV of England, brother of Henry V, and heir to the throne in the event of his brother's death. He acted ...

(1387–1421) *

John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford KG (20 June 138914 September 1435) was a medieval English prince, general and statesman who commanded England's armies in France during a critical phase of the Hundred Years' War. Bedford was the third son of ...

(1389–1435) *

Humphrey of Lancaster, Duke of Gloucester Humphrey of Lancaster, Duke of Gloucester (3 October 139023 February 1447) was an English prince, soldier, and literary patron. He was (as he styled himself) "son, brother and uncle of kings", being the fourth and youngest son of Henry IV of E ...

(1390–1447) *

Blanche of England Blanche of England, LG (spring 1392 – 22 May 1409), also known as Blanche of Lancaster, was a member of the House of Lancaster, the daughter of King Henry IV of England by his first wife Mary de Bohun. Family Born at Peterborough Castle ...

(1392–1409) married in 1402

Louis III, Elector Palatine Louis III (german: Ludwig III. der Ältere or der Bärtige) (23 January 1378 – 30 December 1436), was an Elector Palatine of the Rhine from the house of Wittelsbach in 1410–1436. Biography Louis III was the third son of King Rupert of Ge ...

Philippa of England Philippa of England (mid-1394 – 5 January 1430), also known as Philippa of Lancaster, was Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden from 1406 to 1430 by marriage to King Eric of the Kalmar Union. She was the daughter of King Henry IV of England by ...

(1394–1430) married in 1406

Eric of Pomerania Eric of Pomerania (1381 or 1382 – 24 September 1459) was the ruler of the Kalmar Union from 1396 until 1439, succeeding his grandaunt, Queen Margaret I. He is known as Eric III as King of Norway (1389–1442), Eric VII as King of Denmark (1396 ...

, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Death

Mary de Bohun died at

Peterborough Castle Peterborough Castle, also known as Mount Thorold and Touthill, was a medieval motte and bailey castle in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. Details Peterborough Castle was built by Abbot Thorold of Peterborough, a Norman appointed to the ...

, giving birth to her last child, a daughter,

. She was buried in the collegiate

Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady of the Newarke The Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady of the Newarke in Leicester, was a collegiate church founded by Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster, in 1353. The name "Newarke" is a translation of the Latin "novum opus" i.e. "new work" and was use ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, on 6 July 1394.

Ancestry

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

Middleages.org article on Mary de BohunDocument on Women and Spirituality
from the University of the West of England – contains information on Mary de Bohun's spiritual life {{DEFAULTSORT:Bohun, Mary de 1360s births 1394 deaths 14th-century English people 14th-century English women

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

Date of birth unknown Daughters of British earls Deaths in childbirth Henry IV of England

Mary de Bohun Mary de Bohun (c. 1369/70 – 4 June 1394) was the first wife of King Henry IV of England and the mother of King Henry V. Mary was never queen, as she died before her husband came to the throne. Early life Mary was a daughter of Humphrey de Boh ...

Ladies of the Garter Wives of knights