
Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, 7th Earl of Ulster (6 November 139118 January 1425), was an
English nobleman and a potential claimant to the
throne of England
The Throne of England is the throne of the Monarch of England. "Throne of England" also refers metonymically to the office of monarch, and monarchy itself.Gordon, Delahay. (1760) ''A General History of the Lives, Trials, and Executions of All t ...
. A great-great-grandson of King
Edward III of England
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...
, he was
heir presumptive
An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...
to King
Richard II of England
Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Jo ...
(both his paternal first cousin twice removed and maternal half grand-uncle) when the latter was deposed in favour of
Henry IV. Edmund Mortimer's claim to the throne was the basis of rebellions and plots against Henry IV and his son
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 (–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...
, and was later taken up by the
House of York
The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York ...
in the
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...
, though Mortimer himself was an important and loyal vassal of Henry V and Henry VI. Edmund was the last
Earl of March of the Mortimer family.
Early life
Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, was born at New Forest,
Westmeath
County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...
, one of his family's Irish estates, on 6 November 1391, the son of
Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March, and
Eleanor Holland. He had a younger brother, Roger (1393), and two sisters:
Anne
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), Annie a ...
, who married
Richard, Earl of Cambridge, younger son of the
Duke of York
Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...
(executed 1415), and Eleanor, who married
Sir Edward de Courtenay (d. 1418), and had no issue.
Edmund Mortimer's mother was the 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 ...
, and
Alice FitzAlan. Thomas Holland's mother,
Joan of Kent
Joan, Countess of Kent suo jure ( – August 1385),Barber, R. (2004, 23 September). Joan, suo jure countess of Kent, and princess of Wales and of Aquitaine alled the Fair Maid of Kent(c. 1328–1385). ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biog ...
, a granddaughter of Edward I, was the mother of Richard II by her second marriage; Alice Fitzalan was the daughter of
Richard FitzAlan, 3rd Earl of Arundel
Richard Fitzalan, 3rd Earl of Arundel, 8th Earl of Surrey ( 1313 – 24 January 1376) was an English nobleman and medieval military leader and distinguished admiral. Arundel was one of the wealthiest nobles, and most loyal noble retainer of the ...
, and his second wife,
Eleanor
Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It was the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages">Provençal dialect ...
, daughter of
Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster
Henry, 3rd Earl of Leicester and Lancaster ( – 22 September 1345) was a grandson of King Henry III of England (1216–1272) and was one of the principals behind the deposition of King Edward II (1307–1327), his first cousin.
Origins
He wa ...
, grandson of
King Henry III.
Edmund Mortimer was thus a descendant of Henry III and Edward I and a half-grandnephew of Richard II through his mother, and more importantly a descendant of
King Edward III
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...
through his paternal grandmother
Philippa of Clarence, only child of
King Edward III
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...
's second surviving son,
Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence. Because
King Richard II
Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...
had no issue, Edmund's father,
Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March, was heir presumptive during his lifetime, and at his death in Ireland on 20 July 1398 his place in the succession fell to his eldest son, Edmund. Thus in terms of male primogeniture Edmund was heir-presumptive to the throne over and above the house of Lancaster, the children of Edward III's third son
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 surviving) of King Edward III of England, and the father of King Henry IV. Because ...
, Duke of Lancaster.
However, on 30 September 1399, when Edmund Mortimer was not yet eight years of age, his fortunes changed entirely. Richard II was deposed by Henry Bolingbroke, the new Duke of Lancaster, who became King Henry IV and had his own son, the future
King Henry V, recognized as
heir apparent
An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...
at his first Parliament. The King put the young Edmund and his brother Roger in the custody of Sir
Hugh Waterton at
Windsor and
Berkhamsted
Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the River Bulbourne, Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which ...
castles, but they were treated honourably, and for part of the time brought up with the King's own children,
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
and
Philippa
Philippa is a feminine given name meaning "lover of horses" or "horses' friend", from the Greek Philippos, which is derived from ''philein'', meaning to love and ''hippos'', meaning ''horse''. The English masculine form is Philip, which was form ...
.
Rebellion against Henry IV
On 22 June 1402, Edmund's uncle,
Sir Edmund Mortimer, son of the 3rd Earl, was captured by the Welsh rebel leader,
Owain Glyndŵr
Owain ap Gruffydd (28 May 135420 September 1415), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr (Glyn Dŵr, , anglicised as Owen Glendower) was a Welsh people, Welsh leader, soldier and military commander in the Wales in the late Middle Ages, late Middle ...
, at the
Battle of Bryn Glas
The Battle of Bryn Glas (also known as the Battle of Pilleth) was a battle between the Welsh and English on 22 June 1402, near the towns of Knighton, Powys, Knighton and Presteigne in Powys, Wales. It was part of the Glyndŵr rebellion of 1400-1 ...
. Henry IV accused Sir Edmund of deserting to Glyndŵr, refused to ransom him, and confiscated his property. Sir Edmund then married Glyndŵr's daughter, and on 13 December 1402 proclaimed in writing that his nephew Edmund was the rightful heir to King Richard II.
Sir Edmund's sister, Edmund's aunt, was married to
Henry "Hotspur" Percy, son of
the Earl of Northumberland. In 1403, the Percys rose in rebellion in collusion with Glyndŵr and Sir Edmund.
Hotspur was defeated and slain at Shrewsbury.
The alliance of Glyndŵr, Sir Edmund, and the Percys survived this setback. In February 1405, they agreed to a three-way division of the kingdom. This agreement was apparently connected to a plot to free Edmund and his brother Roger from King Henry's custody and carry them into Wales. On 13 February 1405, the boys were abducted from
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...
, but they were quickly recaptured near
Cheltenham
Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...
.
Constance of York was held responsible and arrested. She implicated her brother,
the Duke of York, who was imprisoned at
Pevensey Castle for seventeen weeks. As a result of the failed abduction, on 1 February 1406, Edmund and Roger were put under stricter supervision at Pevensey Castle under Sir John Pelham (d.1429), where they remained until 1409. On 1 February 1409 Edmund and Roger were given in charge to the King's son, the Prince of Wales, who was only five years older than Edmund. They remained in custody for the remainder of Henry IV's reign.
Edmund Mortimer's sisters, Anne and Eleanor, who were in the care of their mother until her death in 1405, were not well treated by Henry IV, and were described as 'destitute' after her death.
Reign of Henry V
On his accession in 1413
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 (–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...
set Edmund Mortimer at liberty, and on 8 April 1413, the day before the new King's coronation, Edmund Mortimer and his brother Roger were made
Knights of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior military officers or senior civil servants, and the monarch awards it on the advice of His ...
.
On 9 June 1413, the King granted Edmund Mortimer livery of his estates. Henry IV's Queen,
Joan of Navarre, had been granted authority over Edmund's marriage on 24 February 1408, but she later ceded this to Henry while Prince of Wales. On 17 January 1415 Edmund obtained a
papal dispensation
In the jurisprudence of the canon law of the Catholic Church, a dispensation is the exemption from the immediate obligation of the law in certain cases.The Law of Christ Vol. I, pg. 284 Its object is to modify the hardship often caused by rigor ...
to marry 'a fit woman' related to him in the third degree of kindred or affinity. This allowed him to marry his second cousin once removed, Anne Stafford, the daughter of
Anne of Gloucester and
Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford. Like Mortimer, she was a descendant of Edward III. The King was displeased, and imposed an enormous fine of 10,000 marks.
Despite this momentary discord, Edmund Mortimer was entirely loyal to Henry V. He never made any claim to the throne, despite being senior in descent. He was one of Henry's most trusted counsellors.
On 16 April 1415 Mortimer was present at the council which determined on war with
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 ...
, and on 24 July 1415, he was a witness to the King's will.
While preparations for the invasion were underway, some discontented nobles launched the
Southampton Plot, to take Mortimer to Wales and proclaim him king. The chief plotter was his sister Anne's husband, the
Earl of Cambridge
The title of Earl of Cambridge was created several times in the Peerage of England, and since 1362 the title has been closely associated with the Royal family (see also Duke of Cambridge, Marquess of Cambridge).
The first Earl of the fourth cre ...
. When Mortimer was made privy to this plan, he revealed the conspiracy to the King at
Portchester
Portchester is a village in the borough of Fareham in Hampshire, England. It is northwest of Portsmouth and around 18 miles east of Southampton on the A27 road. Its population according to the 2011 United Kingdom census was 17,789.
Name
Portc ...
on 31 July. Afterwards, he sat on the commission which condemned Cambridge and the other conspirators to death; they were beheaded on 2 and 5 August. On 7 August, the King formally pardoned Mortimer for any nominal involvement in the plot.
Mortimer was deeply in debt when he accompanied Henry V's forces to France. He took part in several campaigns in
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 ...
, including the
Siege of Harfleur
The siege of Harfleur (18 August – 22 September 1415) was conducted by the English army of King Henry V in Normandy, France, during the Hundred Years' War. The defenders of Harfleur surrendered to the English on terms and were treated as pri ...
, where he contracted
dysentery
Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...
, and was forced to return to England. On 15 August 1416 he was appointed a captain of the expedition sent to relieve Harfleur under
John, Duke of Bedford
John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford (20 June 1389 – 14 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 ...
, and
Sir Walter Hungerford, and was with the army which conquered Normandy in 1417 and 1418. In July 1420 he was at the siege of
Melun
Melun () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region, north-central France. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of Paris, about from the centre of the capital. Melun is the prefecture of Seine-et-Marne, ...
.
In February 1421 Mortimer accompanied the King back to
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
with his bride,
Catherine of Valois
Catherine of Valois or Catherine of France (27 October 1401 – 3 January 1437) was Queen of England from 1420 until 1422. A daughter of King Charles VI of France, she married King Henry V of England and was the mother of King Henry VI. Cath ...
, and bore the sceptre at Catherine's coronation on 21 February. He returned to France with Henry V in June 1421, and was at the
Siege of Meaux, where the King fell mortally ill, dying on 31 August 1422.
Final years

Henry V was succeeded by his nine-month-old son,
King Henry VI
Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne at the age of eight months, upon ...
, and on 9 December 1422 Mortimer was appointed to the Regency Council of the
regency government, 1422–1437
The regency government of the Kingdom of England of 1422 to 1437 ruled while Henry VI was a minor. Decisions were made in the king's name by the regency council, which was made up of the most important and influential people in the government ...
.
On 9 May 1423
[Griffiths dates the appointment to March 1423.] he was appointed
the King's lieutenant in Ireland for nine years, but at first exercised his authority through a deputy,
Edward Dantsey,
Bishop of Meath
The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric.
History
Until the ...
, and remained in England. However, after a violent quarrel with the King's uncle
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
Humphrey of Lancaster, Duke of Gloucester (3 October 1390 – 23 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 ...
, and the execution of his kinsman, Sir John Mortimer, Mortimer was "sent out of the way to Ireland". He arrived there in the autumn of 1424, and on 18 or 19 January 1425 died of
plague at
Trim Castle
Trim Castle () is a castle on the south bank of the River Boyne in Trim, County Meath, Ireland, with an area of 30,000 m2. Over a period of 30 years, it was built by Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath, Hugh de Lacy and his son Walter de Lacy, ...
. He was buried at
Stoke-by-Clare
Stoke-by-Clare is a small village and civil parish in Suffolk located in the valley of the River River Stour, Suffolk, Stour, about two miles west of Clare, Suffolk, Clare.
In 1124 Richard de Clare, 1st Earl of Hertford, moved the Benedictine ...
,
Suffolk
Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
, where he had founded a college of secular
canons in 1414.
Mortimer had no issue, and at his death the Mortimer line of the Earls of March became extinct. The heir to his estates and titles was the son of his sister Anne and the Earl of Cambridge,
Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York
Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York (21 September 1411 – 30 December 1460), also named Richard Plantagenet, was a leading English magnate and claimant to the throne during the Wars of the Roses. He was a member of the ruling House of Plantag ...
(1411–1460). Richard also inherited Mortimer's claim to the throne, which he eventually raised, causing the
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...
.
His widow, Anne, married, before 6 March 1427,
John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter. She died on 20 or 24 September 1432, and was buried in the church of
St Katharine's by the Tower.
The Wigmore chronicle describes Edmund Mortimer as "severe in his morals, composed in his acts, circumspect in his talk, and wise and cautious during the days of his adversity".
Shakespeare and the Mortimers
Events in the life of Sir Edmund Mortimer, uncle of Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, were dramatized by
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
in ''
Henry IV, Part 1
''Henry IV, Part 1'' (often written as ''1 Henry IV'') is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. The play dramatises part of the reign of King Henry IV of England, beginning with the Battle of H ...
''. In the play, Shakespeare accurately identifies the former as Hotspur's brother-in-law, but simultaneously conflates him with his nephew by referring to him as "Earl of March".
The Southampton Plot is dramatized in
Shakespeare's play
''Henry V''. However, its intent is misstated, and Mortimer's role in exposing it and condemning the plotters is completely omitted.
Edmund Mortimer also appears in ''
Henry VI, Part 1''. He is incorrectly depicted as an old man who has been imprisoned in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
since the rise of Henry IV. Furthermore, in an entirely fictional scene, Mortimer explains to his nephew Richard their family's claim to the throne, praises the efforts of Richard's father to make Mortimer king, and urges Richard to pursue his own claim to the throne. In reality, Richard was thirteen years old when his uncle died, and at the time was being raised in the north of England as a
ward of the crown by
Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland
Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland Earl Marshal (c. 136421 October 1425), was an English nobleman of the House of Neville.
Origins
Ralph Neville was born about 1364, the son of John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville by his wife Maud Percy ( ...
.
Ancestry
Notes
References
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*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Attribution:
* .
External links
*For Mortimer's foundation of a college at Stoke-by-Clare, and his burial there, se
British History Online, The College of Stoke by Clare
{{DEFAULTSORT:March 05, Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl Of
1391 births
1425 deaths
15th-century English nobility
15th-century deaths from plague (disease)
People from County Westmeath
Burials at Clare Priory
Mortimer
Mortimer
Heirs presumptive to the English throne
Infectious disease deaths in Ireland
Lords Lieutenant of Ireland
Edmund
Edmund is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector".
Persons named Edmund include:
People Kings and nobles
*Ed ...