Thomas Montagu, 4th Earl of Salisbury, KG (13 June 1388 – 3 November 1428) of Bisham in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, was an English nobleman and one of the most important English commanders during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

Origins

He was the eldest son of John Montagu, 3rd Earl of Salisbury (died 1400), who was killed while plotting against King Henry IV in 1400, and his lands forfeited. The lands were partly retrieved by Thomas in 1409, and fully in 1421. His mother was Maud Francis, widow of Sir Alan Buxhull KG, daughter of Sir Adam Francis (born 1334),

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...

Career

Thomas was summoned to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as Earl of Salisbury in 1409, although he was not formally invested as earl until 1421. In 1414, he was made a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

. In July 1415, he was one of the seven peers who tried Richard, Earl of Cambridge on charges of conspiring against King Henry V. Montagu then joined King Henry V in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where he fought at the siege of

Harfleur Harfleur () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region of northern France. It was the principal seaport in north-western Fr ...

and at the

Battle of Agincourt The Battle of Agincourt ( ; ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected victory of the vastly outnumbered English troops agains ...

. Montagu fought in various other campaigns in France in the following years. In 1419 he held an independent command, and was appointed lieutenant-general of

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

and created

Count of Perche The county of Perche was a medieval county lying between Normandy and Maine (province), Maine. It was held by a continuous line of counts until 1226. One of these, Geoffroy III, would have been a leader of the Fourth Crusade had he not died before ...

, as part of Henry V's policy of creating Norman titles for his followers. Although he was employed on some diplomatic missions, he took almost no part in politics and spent most of the rest of his life as a soldier in France, leading troops in the various skirmishes and sieges that were central to that part of the

. In 1423, he was appointed governor of Champagne, and in 1425, he captured the city of

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

. After a year in England, he returned to a position of command in 1428, and fought at the siege of Orléans, at which he lost his life on 3 November of that year.

Marriages and children

He married twice: * Firstly, to Eleanor Holland, a sister and eventual co-heiress of Edmund Holland, 4th Earl of Kent, and daughter of

Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent (135025 April 1397) was an English nobleman and a councillor of his half-brother, King Richard II of England. Family and early life Thomas Holland was born in Upholland, Lancashire, in 1350. He was the eldest ...

. By Eleanor he had a daughter, his only legitimate child: Alice Montagu, who married Richard Neville, who later succeeded his father-in-law ''

jure uxoris ''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title '' suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could beco ...

'' as Earl of Salisbury. * Secondly, to

Alice Chaucer Alice Chaucer, Duchess of Suffolk (–1475) was a granddaughter of the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer. Married three times, she eventually became a Lady of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, an honour granted rarely to women and marking the ...

, daughter of Thomas Chaucer and granddaughter of the poet

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

Siblings

Richard Montacute, Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury Lady Anne Montacute who married Sir Richard II Hankford as his second wife, then Sir Lewis Johan as his second wife and thirdly John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter as his third wife. Lady Anne was the mother of Anne Hankford by her first marriage. Lady Margaret Montacute Lady Elizabeth Montacute Sir Alan Buxhull II, Half Brother

Illegitimate son

He had an illegitimate son John (or James) Montagu/Montacute, to whom he bequeathed his manor of Luddesdown in Kent. It is suggested in Collins Peerage that he was the ancestor of the family of Montagu of Boughton House, Northamptonshire (which uses the coat of arms and quarterings of the Montagu Earls of Salisbury, but differenced by a ''bordure sable''), which includes Montagu, Duke of Montagu; Montagu, Earl of Manchester; Montagu, Earl of Sandwich, etc., whose earliest proven ancestor was Thomas Montagu (d. 1516) of Hemington, Northamptonshire, the grandfather of Sir Edward Montagu (1530–1602), Lord Chief Justice, who purchased Boughton.

Death

On 27 October 1428, he was wounded during the siege of Orléans, when the tower he was inside was hit by a cannonball. There are conflicting reports on the manner in which this wounded him; Enguerrand de Monstrelet states a piece of stone from the window 'carried away part of his face'. He died days later at

Meung-sur-Loire Meung-sur-Loire () is a commune in the Loiret department, north-central France. It was the site of the Battle of Meung-sur-Loire in 1429. Geography Meung-sur-Loire lies 15 km to the west of Orléans on the north bank of the river Loir ...

on 3 November 1428.

References

* * *

External links

''Hundred Years War: Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury (1388–1428)''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salisbury, Thomas Montagu, Earl of 1388 births 1428 deaths 14th-century English nobility 15th-century English nobility 4 Counts of Perche English generals People of the Hundred Years' War Knights of the Garter People from Bisham

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 A ...

Barons Monthermer English military personnel killed in action Barons Montagu