Thomas FitzAlan KG (1381 - 1415)

Born 13 Oct 1381 in Arundel, West Sussex, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Beatriz (Avis) Holand — married 26 Nov 1405 in Lambeth, Surrey, England

Died 13 Oct 1415 at age 34 in Arundel, West Sussex, England

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Biography

Origins

Thomas FitzAlan, K.G., K.B., Earl of Arundel and Surrey, was born 13 October 1381, the only surviving son and heir of Richard de Arundel and Elizabeth de Bohun. ^{[1] [2] [3]} His father, the 11th Earl of Arundel, was one of the Lords Appellant who opposed the rule of his cousin King Richard II and in 1388 caused a number of the king's close advisors to be executed. By 1397, Richard had regained enough power to turn against his enemies, and Richard FitzAlan was executed and attainted for treason, his titles and estates forfeit, leaving his sixteen-year-old orphaned heir Thomas at the king's mercy. He was placed in the custody of the king's half-brother John Holand, Duke of Exeter, where he complained of his treatment.

Thomas was not, however, without allies. His uncle Thomas FitzAlan (Arundel), Archbishop of Canterbury, had been exiled to the continent for his support of the Lords Appellant, and his cousin Henry of Bolingbrook (Earl of Derby and Duke of Hereford), another of the Lords Appellant, was also in exile, having been disinherited by King Richard. Thomas fled to Utrecht, where he joined his uncle. By 28 June they were with Henry at his invasion of Richard II's kingdom while Richard was absent invading Ireland. ^[4] By the end of 1399, Henry was King Henry IV of England, while Thomas FitzAlan was restored to his father's titles of Earl of Arundel and Earl of Surrey, as well as his estates, largely in Sussex and in Shropshire, bordering Wales.

The coronation of Henry IV was held on 13 October, on the eve of which Thomas FitzAlan was made a Knight of the Bath, and in 1400 was nominated for the Order of the Garter, perhaps invested on 23 April 1415 (St George's Day) before embarkation for war in France. ^[5] At the coronation, he held the position of butler. ^[6] When he took his seat in Parliament as Earl of Arundel, he was still only eighteen years of age. ^[7]

Henry IV

Having seized power, Arundel was required to defend it. There were several fronts over the next decade: first, in January 1400, The Epiphany Rising, a plot by magnates who wished to overthrow the king they regarded as a usurper - notably the former Duke of Exeter John Holand, Arundel's old, hated guardian. Some accounts claim that, following Holand's hasty execution, Arundel paraded in London with his head on a pole. ^[7] Holand was actually taken by forces of Arunel's aunt Joan de Bohun Countess of Hereford and King Henry's maternal grandmother. ^[7]

Arundel's next campaign extended for several years, as Henry attempted to suppress the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr (Owen Glendower) in Wales, where the Arundel Earls had long held profitable demesnes near the Shropshire border at Oswestry and Clun. ^[8] He garrisoned Oswestry for several years with little success. ^{[7] [9]} A concurrent rising in the the north of England was led by the Percy family of Northumberland and Archbishop Richard Scrope of York. Arundel was head of a commission convened by the king that condemned Scrope to death for treason, contrary to the wish of his uncle Archbishop Thomas Arundel, who considered prelates as above execution. ^[10] This incident led to a rift between uncle and nephew, as well as between the archbishop and the king.^[7]

During these outbreaks, it Arundel became closely involved with Henry Prince of Wales (later King Henry V); both were becoming experienced soldiers, and their relationship was a loyal one, lasting until Arundel's death. As the old king became infirm, his heir began to develop his own policies, which centered around the renewal of the 100 Years War against France, where the Burgundian and Armagnac factions were then in conflict. In 1411, the prince dispatched Arundel with 1000 archers on a military expedition to the aid of the Burgundians under the cover of an embassy. "Arundel and his men served with distinction in the capture of St Cloud, which forced the Armagnacs to withdraw from Paris. After this success, the English mercenaries were treated with great honor by King Charles VI and French nobility. They were promptly paid, well-rewarded with booty and ransoms, and compensated, as custom required, for their losses in action." ^[11] Best of all, the expedition cost England nothing, as Burgundy paid for it all. However, King Henry increasingly favored an Armagnac alliance, and most of Arundel's force was withdrawn by the ed of the year; still, in January the Duke of Burgundy sent New Year's gifts to the earl, in case he might be considering further service. ^[12]

Henry V

There was not long to wait. King Henry IV died in March 1413, and Henry lost no time making changes. Archbishop Thomas was dismissed as Chancellor and Earl Thomas was named Treasurer of the Exchequer, Constable of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports. ^[13] As Warden, he was charged in 1415 with assembling a fleet to carry Henry's army across to France. ^[14] He also recruited a large number of archers for the campaign, as he had done for the 1411 expedition; as they were owed pay for their service, Arundel provided for this in his Will. ^[15]

On 9 August 1415, he surrendered the office of Treasurer as he was then "going in the king's company in his present voyage to foreign parts." ^[16] On 13 August, the expeditionary force landed near Harfleur, in Normandy and proceeded to besiege the garrison. Arundel, among many others in the army, contracted dysentery there, and and after the surrender of Harfleur (23 September) was invalided back to England, where he died between 12 and 14 October. ^[17] While he did not live to fight at the Battle of Agincourt, his surviving troops fought there under his banner. ^{[18] [19]}

Marriage

Since 1386, England had been allied to Portugal ^[20] through the marriage of Philippa, sister of Henry IV with King João I of Portugal, which treaty was confirmed by Henry in 1404. To strengthen this alliance, envoys (Arundel's retainer John Babelake) were sent in 1405 to negotiate the marriage of João's illegitimate daughter Beatriz (Beatrice) with Thomas, Earl of Arundel. The marriage was conducted by proxy in April 1405 and in October the bride left for England, where it was solemnized. ^[9] (Cawley claims that this marriage was conducted by proxy at Lambeth and not in person until April 1411. ^[21] However, he provides no source for this claim and Babelake's eyewitness testimony seems more reliable.) The marriage, whenever consummated, had no issue, nor did Beatrice's second union to John Holand, Earl of Huntington, later Duke of Exeter.

Inheritance

Arundel's Will was dated 10 October 1415. ^[15] In it, he detailed his wishes for his funeral and religious bequests, including: "My body to be buried in the Quire of the Collegiate Church of the Holy Trinity at Arundel, under a tomb there, to be new made for me" and "a fair monument be erected by my executors over the body of my father", then buried at the Austin Friars in London. Thomas's tomb, with the body of his wife Beatrice, can still be seen at the Arundel chapel (formerly College). ^{[22] [23]}

The Will did not specify a bequest to his widow Beatrice other than the dower named in her marriage settlement. He wished for " all those soldiers who were with me at Harfleur, in France, have all their arrears" which he had not been able to pay them. Following his death, the king ordered that goods of his be collected and sold for this purpose.^[24] However, Arundel's widowed countess sent numerous petitions complaining that her dower rights had been violated, and the goods were ordered to be returned. ^{[25] [26] [27]}

As Arundel was one of the largest landowners in the kingdom, the inquests into his estate were extensive. ^[17] Elizabeth duchess of Norfolk, wife of Gerard Ufflete, knight; Joan lady Abergavenny; and Margaret wife of Roland Lenthale, knight, were his sisters and heirs. (The Inquisition juries were unclear on their ages.)

Based on these Inquisitions, it was ordered: ^[28] since Thomas Earl of Arundel had died without heirs of his body, that his heirs to the properties derived from the Earldom of Surrey were his sisters as above. The Earldom of Surrey went into abeyance. The heir to the Earldom of Arundel was his next heir male, his cousin John Arundel, who became the 13th Earl of Arundel. All, "saving to Beatrice, late the wife of Thomas, her reasonable dower".

Richardson ^[2] names an illegitimate son John but provides no source to confirm this, and none has been discovered.

Research Notes:

Richardson ^[2] claims Thomas as the second-born son of Richard FitzAlan, but lists two older sons: Richard and William. This inconsistency suggests an oft-repeated error, which may stem from dependence on the 1392 Will of Richard FitzAlan, ^[29] which names two sons, Richard and Thomas. If there were a son William who predeceased his father before that date, he would not have been listed as a legatee.

Source

1. ↑ Cokayne, GE. The Complete Peerage, Vol. 1, pp. 244-246. London : The St. Catherine Press, ltd., 1910. p. 244
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011), vol. II, page 190-195. Thomas Arundel
3. ↑ Baggs, A P, and H M Warne. "Arundel Rape." A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 5 Part 1, Arundel Rape: South-Western Part, Including Arundel. Ed. T P Hudson. London: Victoria County History, 1997. 1-6. British History Online. Web. 2 February 2024. Rape of Arundel
4. ↑ Usk, Adam of. Chronicle 1377-1421. p. 53. Clarendon Press: 1997. p. 53
5. ↑ Shaw, William A. The Knights of England, vol. 1, pp. 7 & 127. London: Sherratt and Hughes, 1906. p. 127 p. 7
6. ↑ Usk, pp. 71-73. p.71
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4} Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 19 Fitzalan, Thomas by Thomas Frederick Tout DNB
8. ↑ Calendar of Patent Rolls - 1 Henry V Part 1. p. 112, Membrane 41d, July 13. July 13 1413
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} History of Parliament Online: Babelake, alias Wyndsore, John HOP
10. ↑ "Henry IV: March 1406." Parliament Rolls of Medieval England. Eds. Chris Given-Wilson, Paul Brand, Seymour Phillips, Mark Ormrod, Geoffrey Martin, Anne Curry, and Rosemary Horrox. Woodbridge: Boydell, 2005. British History Online. Web. 1 February 2024. 1406
11. ↑ Biggs & Dodd, eds. The Reign of Henry IV p. 7. York Medieval Press, 2008. [1]
12. ↑ Biggs & Dodd. p. 235. Tusk, Anthony. "The Earl of Arundel's Expedition to France" [2]
13. ↑ Calendar of Patent Rolls - 1 Henry V - Part 1. Page 1, Membrane 37, 1413 March 21 & 22. Patents
14. ↑ "Close Rolls, Henry V: March 1415." Calendar of Close Rolls, Henry V: Volume 1, 1413-1419. Ed. A E Stamp. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1929. 162. British History Online. Web. 2 February 2024. 19 March
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} Nichols, Testamenta Vetusta, Vol 1, p. 186. London: Nichols & Son, 1826. p. 186
16. ↑ Calendar of Patent Rolls - 1 Henry V - Part 1. p. 352 p. 352
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1} Kirby, J. L. "Inquisitions Post Mortem, Henry V, Entries 654-699." Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem: Volume 20, Henry V. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1995. 207-219. British History Online. Web. 28 January 2024. #654: Thomas, Earl of Arundel
18. ↑ "The Glynde Place Archives" East Sussex and Brighton and Hove Record Office (ESBHRO) - John Wallys II (d. 1418) Wallys
19. ↑ Arundel
20. ↑ "Rymer's Foedera with Syllabus: January-June 1404." Rymer's Foedera Volume 8. Ed. Thomas Rymer. London: Apud Joannem Neulme, 1739-1745. 345-363. British History Online. Web. 2 February 2024. Feb. 16
21. ↑ Cawley, Charles. Medieval Lands Arundel
22. ↑ Baggs, A P, and H M Warne. "Arundel." A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 5 Part 1, Arundel Rape: South-Western Part, Including Arundel. Ed. T P Hudson. London: Victoria County History, 1997. 10-101. British History Online. Web. 3 February 2024. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/sussex/vol5/pt1/pp10-101 Monuments]
23. ↑ The London Dead Tomb
24. ↑ Calendar of Patent Rolls - 1 Henry V - Part 1. p. 344. p. 344
25. ↑ Calendar of the Patent Rolls - 1 Henry V - Part 1. p. 413 January 18 1416. January 18
26. ↑ "Close Rolls, Henry V: April 1416." Calendar of Close Rolls, Henry V: Volume 1, 1413-1419. Ed. A E Stamp. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1929. 300-305. British History Online. Web. 29 January 2024. April 10, Westminster
27. ↑ Calendar of Patent Rolls - 1 Henry V - Part 1. p. 400 p. 400
28. ↑ Calendar of the Fine Rolls - 4 Henry V, Membrane 19, pp. 162-7. July 25 1416. p. 162
29. ↑ Nicholas. Testamenta Vetusta Vol. 1, p. 129. London: Nichols & Son, 1826. p. 129

See Also:

• Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), volume II, page 613 FITZALAN 12