Michael de la Pole, 1st Earl of Suffolk, 1st Baron de la Pole, (c. 13305 September 1389) of Wingfield Castle in

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 ...

, was an English

financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of property. Types of in ...

and

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

of England. His contemporary

Froissart Jean Froissart ( Old and Middle French: ''Jehan''; sometimes known as John Froissart in English; – ) was a French-speaking medieval author and court historian from the Low Countries who wrote several works, including ''Chronicles'' and ''Meli ...

portrays de la Pole as a devious and ineffectual counsellor who dissuaded 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 ...

from pursuing a certain victory against French and Scottish forces in

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

and fomented undue suspicion of that king's uncle

John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster 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 ...

Origins

He was the eldest son of Sir William de la Pole (died 1366),

Chief Baron of the Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" (meaning judge) of the English Exchequer of Pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who pres ...

, a wool merchant from

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...

who after the collapse of the Florentine banker families of Bardi and

Peruzzi The Peruzzi family were bankers of Florence, among the leading families of the city in the 14th century, before the rise to prominence of the Medici. Their modest antecedents stretched back to the mid 11th century, according to the family's gen ...

emerged as the chief financier 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 ...

. His younger brother was Edmund de la Pole.

Career

Michael enjoyed even greater popularity at court than his father, becoming one of the most trusted and intimate friends of Edward's successor,

. He was appointed

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

in 1383, Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde ''Handbook of British Chronology'' 2nd ed. London: Royal Historical Society 1961, p. 85 and created

Earl of Suffolk Earl of Suffolk is a title which has been created four times in the Peerage of England. The first creation, in tandem with the creation of the title of Earl of Norfolk, came before 1069 in favour of Ralph the Staller; but the title was forfei ...

in 1385, the first of his family to hold any such title (the earldom had become extinct in 1382 on the death of William de Ufford). However, in the late 1380s his fortunes radically altered, in step with those of the king. During the Wonderful Parliament of 1386 he was impeached on charges of embezzlement and negligence, a victim of increasing tensions between Parliament and Richard. He was the first official in English history to be removed from office by the process of impeachment. Even after this disgrace, he remained in royal favour, although soon fell foul of the

Lords Appellant The Lords Appellant were a group of nobles in the reign of Richard II of England, King Richard II, who, in 1388, sought to impeach five of the King's favourites in order to restrain what was seen as tyrannical and capricious rule. The word ''appel ...

. He was one of a number of Richard's associates accused of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

by the Appellants in November 1387.

Exile and death

After the Appellants' victory at Radcot Bridge (December 1387) and before the Merciless Parliament met in February 1388, de la Pole shrewdly fled to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, thus escaping the fate of Sir Nicholas Brembre and Chief Justice Robert Tresilian. He remained 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 ...

for the remainder of his life. Sentenced in his absence, his title and estates were stripped from him.

Marriage and children

He married Katherine Wingfield (1340–1386) daughter and heiress of Sir

John de Wingfield {{no footnotes, date=August 2019 Sir John de Wingfield (died c. 1361) of Wingfield Castle in Suffolk was chief administrator to Edward the Black Prince (1330-1376). He and both his brothers fought at Crécy in 1346. He fought in the Normandy cam ...

(d. circa 1361) of Wingfield Castle in

, chief administrator to Edward the

Black Prince Edward of Woodstock (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), known as the Black Prince, was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Edward III of England. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, succeeded to the throne instead. Edward n ...

(father of King Richard II), by whom he had eight children: * Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk (1361–1415), a supporter of Henry IV and opponent of Richard. He regained his father's title on Henry's accession in 1399, and died at the Siege of Harfleur. *Thomas de la Pole (1363–1415), *William de la Pole (born 1365), *Richard de la Pole (c. 13671402). He died without issue. *John de la Pole (c. 13691415), *Anne de la Pole (born c. 1373), widow of Sir Gerard de Lisle. Anne married secondly Robert Thorley, Esq. and their daughter, Margaret Thorley, married Reginald West, 6th Baron De La Warr. Thus, De la Pole was ancestor to Richard West, 7th Baron De La Warr who fought on the Lancastrian side 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 ...

and his son Thomas West, 8th Baron De La Warr (c. 145711 October 1525), a courtier and military commander during the reigns of Henry VII and

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

. *Elizabeth de la Pole (born c. 1377) *Margaret de la Pole (born c. 1386)

Notes

External links

Fall of the de la Pole family
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Suffolk, Michael de la Pole, 1st Earl of 1330s births 1389 deaths 14th-century English Navy personnel Lord chancellors of England

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People from Mid Suffolk District