The House of Beaufort: The Bastard Line that Captured the Crown

This fascinating new book from welsh born historian, Nathan Armin, discusses one of the most famous dynasties of the medieval and early modern period which is the House of Beaufort. Of course, its most famous member is Lady Margaret Beaufort who was the mother of Henry Richmond who of course went on to become King Henry VII and found the gloriously successful Tudor dynasty. This book is meticulously researched and in 25 chapters takes us chronologically from around 1340 to around 1471. The Beauforts are descended from The son of King Edward III, the legendary John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and his third wife Kathryn Swynford, who for many years before there eventual marriage was the Duke's mistress and long-time partner. Eventually the Beauforts were legitimised but they were always looked down upon and ignored by other leading families of the nobility. This family had some exceptional members Including successive Earls of Somerset and Henry Beaufort who became a Cardinal and a man of important political authority in his own right. His brother Thomas was created Duke of Exeter and their sister Joan married into the powerful Neville family becoming Countess of Westmoreland. Lady Margaret Beaufort was the daughter of John Beaufort 1st duke of Somerset and was the great-great grand-daughter of King Edward III. Her first marriage to Edmund Tudor resulted in the birth of Henry the future Henry VII. As you can see from the families royal beginnings this large and extended dynasty wielded political power and influence for over a century sometimes successfully other times ignominious failure but always important and with a genuine air of authority and grandeur which Nathan Armin fully explores in this compelling and captivating book. Eventually, this Dynasty would take the throne of England at the Battle of Bosworth Field defeating the Yorkist king Richard III in battle and founding a new Royal Dynasty. The events leading up to this cataclysmic event are exciting, dangerous, war filled and incredibly exciting! The characters of this remarkable dynasty are endlessly fascinating and incredibly resourceful! I found this book a joy to read and would fully recommend it to anyone both to the those already immersed in the period and to those readers discovering the period for the first time its a wonderful read about a truly remarkable family and Dynasty.

This book is full of detailed information about the Beaufort descendants of John of Gaunt, and is therefore a useful factual account for anyone interested in the important families of royal blood in the later Middle Ages. As a purely personal observation, I found the style of writing a bit too ponderous and literary, and therefore not so easily readable, at least at the beginning of the book. I also felt that the author tended to use overly strong terms for the context in a few places. On Joan Beaufort (chapter 10): "She may have relaxed among her ladies...The Solar Chamber offered an isolated but comfortable respite from the frenzied activity of castle life." Surely the point of being a very wealthy lady in the highest echelon of society is that you don't have to do much work at all, so unless her husband was away on business, I very much doubt that her life was "frenzied". Castles had a whole panoply of servants whose main purpose was to do those jobs, up to and including steward/castellan, so that the lady of the house didn't have to lift a finger! On the Siege of Meaux (chapter 12): "Much like Rouen, the town stubbornly resisted...and even managed to inflict their own atrocities on their attackers. The young John Cornwall...was brutally decapitated by a cannonball fired from the town walls..." At this early stage in the development of artillery, a good gunner would probably be able to aim his piece at a specific section of wall. But pinpoint the cannon with the intention of taking off a distant attacker's head? I think this would be pretty much impossible. In which case it's hard to argue that this was a deliberate "atrocity" on the part of the defenders, much more likely the unfortunate outcome of John Cornwall being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And apparently this was done "brutally" - compared to which type of non-brutal decapitation that was practised in this period? On the death of Henry V (chapter 12): "On 31 August 1422, the prodigious war general and revered victor of Agincourt succumbed to his cruel illness [dysentery], an ignominious end for a 36-year-old..." "Ignominious" compared to which other English king? His own father, who managed to grapple the English throne from the legitimate reigning monarch, dying of a disfiguring skin disease? The Black Prince also dying of dysentery, but while in his bed back home in England? Edward I also dying of dysentery, but at the start of his Scottish campaign? Richard II and Edward II being murdered by their gaolers? Henry I dying from eating too many lampreys? On the Neville family (chapter 21): "Salisbury, and perhaps more so his son Warwick, was ambitious beyond measure..." The Nevilles were certainly one of the most ambitious noble families in England, but "beyond measure" when compared to the Beauforts themselves? I would say "well within" the measure of Beaufort ambitions. According to chapter 7 "...the three Beaufort brothers hoped that 1410 was the year they would collectively govern the country..." And in chapter 12 Bishop Henry Beaufort apparently even considered himself a reasonable candidate for the papacy. In chapter 14 we learn that the Duke of Gloucester suspected the same Bishop Beaufort of "intending to seize the young king [Henry VI] from Eltham Palace and...usurp the boy's place on the throne". These and numerous other examples of unrestrained Beaufort greed throughout the book look much more like ambition "beyond measure" to me. On the first Battle of St Albans (chapter 21): "If York's intention had been to kill Somerset, as seems likely, then on that May morning in 1455 he accomplished his goal in the bloodiest of circumstances." It's difficult to see a less bloody circumstance whereby York could kill the man whom he considered largely responsible for losing the last remaining French territories held by the English crown. Execution was arguably bloodier than death in battle (where blunt crushing weapons were used extensively and internal injuries probably a significant cause of death) and poisoning possible, though there are few cases of proven deaths by poisoning in this period, and I doubt very much this was a viable option for York at this stage in his relationship with Somerset. So, in general, a book packed with informative details on multiple generations of Beaufort family lives, but not always described in accessible prose, at least from my point of view, and in several places prone to exaggerating the facts.

For Tudor lovers, there are a plethora of books available about the Wars of the Roses, the rise of the Tudor dynasty, and the reigns of King Henry VIII and his daughter Queen Elizabeth I. Less material exists on a few precursor subjects such as Henry VI, Henry VII and especially the Beauforts in which Henry Tudor’s claim to the throne was based. Without Beaufort blood running through his veins, Henry Tudor would have had absolutely no part in the line of succession and the Tudor dynasty never would have existed. I have read nearly 100 books on the Wars of the Roses and the reign of the Tudors and in all of these books, the Beauforts were interwoven among the stories of the kings, queens, dukes, and earls, but always treated as minor characters…until now. Nathan Amin’s fabulous book focuses specifically on the triumphs and failures of the Beaufort family through two centuries of loyal service to the kings of England and to the Lancastrian branch of the royal family. Nathan writes that he “hopes this book will finally bring the family out of the shadow of kings to stand alone as one of England’s mightiest dynasties” and without a doubt he has achieved his goal. The Beaufort family was born out of an adulterous relationship between John of Gaunt and his mistress Katherine Swynford. John of Gaunt was the third surviving son of King Edward III and as such received massive amounts of titles, land, and riches, including the duchy of Lancaster. He was the mightiest prince in the kingdom during his father’s reign as well as the successive reign of his nephew Richard II. Although he was espoused twice in politically advantageous marriages (to Blanche of Lancaster and Constance of Castile), it was his mistress Katherine Swynford that he truly loved. The two were together for more than 20 years and produced four children between 1372 and 1379: John, Henry, Thomas, and Joan. Due to the fact that the children were illegitimate, they could not take the name of either of their parents so instead Gaunt bestowed on them the name of one of his French land holdings, a chateau called Beaufort in the north-eastern region of France. When Gaunt’s second wife died, he made the bold and rather unpopular move of marrying his mistress Katherine and petitioned the Pope to legitimize their children which was completed in 1397. This paved the way for his children to be brought into the fold of the royal family which gave them nearly unlimited possibilities of career and marriage options. Gaunt’s children took full advantage of their new status and it was clear this ambitious family had big plans for themselves. Gaunt’s eldest Beaufort son, John, was created earl of Somerset and inducted into the Order of Garter. He was trusted upon by his half-brother, King Henry IV, to lead military campaigns in France during the Hundred Years War and was appointed to the King’s council. Second son Henry was given a religious education and held many ecclesiastical appointments throughout his lifetime including the bishopric of Lincoln but the pinnacle of his career was being named Lord Chancellor in 1403. He now had a heavy influence in government matters, both domestic and foreign, and was entrusted to see that the king’s business was done. As the throne changed hands from Henry IV to Henry V and again to Henry VI, the bishop often clashed with those relatives and noblemen who vied for the new kings’ attention and favour. Third son Thomas served as one of the king’s knights and made a lucrative marriage to Margaret Neville, the sole heiress to the Neville estates and lordship of Hornby. He became a revered military commander and had bestowed upon him by the king many titles including the Captain of Ludlow Castle, the Marshall of England, the earl of Dorset, the King’s Lieutenant, and the Admiral of England, Ireland, and Aquitaine. He was given the extensive authority by King Henry V to raise troops and levy taxes for his efforts in reclaiming England’s French territories. Fourth-born child Joan married Ralph Neville, earl of Westmorland, who owned lands in Middleham, Sheriff Hutton, Brancepeth, and the magnificent Raby Castle. Together they had an impressive 14 children including Cecily who married Richard, duke of York, and became mother to two kings: Edward IV and Richard III. Any hardcore Tudor fan will love this book and the depth of information it provides on the very important but often neglected Beauforts. I specifically love reading Tudor non-fiction and this is one of the most informative and most readable books I have ever encountered. Nathan’s writing style is very fluid and easy to comprehend. He doesn’t succumb to the trappings of a highly academic book which can be heavy and boring to trudge through. Yet his book is highly researched as you can tell by his extensive bibliography. I thought I knew nearly everything there was to know about this time period but there were several passages where Nathan brought about new evidence or new interpretations. I like how he contrasts different reports, chronicles, and writers to discern what was most likely to be the truth. He presents the facts and then draws the most logical conclusion in an unbiased manner. Nathan is a very talented writer and I cannot recommend this book enough to Tudor lovers. I look forward to reading Nathan’s future books. According to his website he is currently working on his fourth book entitled “Pretenders to the Tudor Crown” which is due to be released some time in 2019.

Arrivato con largo anticipo. Ottimo libro per chi vuole approfondire l'argomento Wars of the Roses.

Briljant book but terribly little font. Still worth reading,

Interesting topic and well written, a good read about one of the most interesting families in british history

I'm very distantly related to the Beauforts, so this history was very relavant to me.