Edmund Beaufort (died 1471)

Edmund Beaufort (c. 1438 – 6 May 1471), styled 3rd Duke of Somerset,[1] was an English nobleman, and a military commander during the Wars of the Roses, in which he supported the Lancastrian king Henry VI.[lower-alpha 1]

Edmund Beaufort
Duke of Somerset
Execution of the Duke of Somerset at Tewkesbury in 1471
Born	c. 1438
Died	6 May 1471 (aged 32–33) Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England
Buried	Tewkesbury Abbey
Noble family	Beaufort
Father	Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset
Mother	Eleanor Beauchamp, Duchess of Somerset

Life

Coat of arms of Beaufort, earls and dukes of Somerset

Edmund Beaufort, born about 1438, was the second son of Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset by his wife Eleanor de Beauchamp, a daughter of Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick and widow of Thomas de Roos, 14th Baron Roos of Hamlake.[6] His elder brother was Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset (26 January 1436 – 15 May 1464).

After the defeat of the Lancastrians in 1461, Edmund was brought up in France with his younger brother John Beaufort, Marquess of Dorset, and on the execution of his elder brother Henry Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset after the Battle of Hexham in 1464, Edmund is said to have succeeded as 4th Duke of Somerset by Lancastrians in February 1471, though his brother's attainder was never reversed, and his titles remained forfeit. In a proclamation dated 27 April 1471 Edmund is spoken of as "Edmund Beaufort, calling himself duke of Somerset".[6]

In October 1470 Beaufort returned from France when King Edward IV was driven from the throne[6] after the Earl of Warwick's defection and alliance with Queen Margaret and the restoration of King Henry VI, who was the first monarch ousted by the family feud, and whom due to occasional insanity she assisted in his duties, Somerset was unenthusiastic over the reconciliation and made little effort to co-operate. In fact his failure to hold London against Edward IV was a decisive moment, leading to the Battle of Barnet (14 April 1471) and the death of Warwick. Some sources say he was present at Barnet, but this is an error.[7]

Fleeing west towards Wales to seek help from Jasper Tudor, but halted by the Yorkist army at the Battle of Tewkesbury (4 May 1471),[8] he commanded the van of the Lancastrian army at the battle. His position was almost unassailable,[9][10] but under the pressure of Edward's Flemish handgunners, once the battle began Beaufort moved down from the heights and attacked Edward IV's right flank. He was assailed by both the king and Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and was soon put to flight, his conduct having practically decided the battle in favour of the Yorkists.[11]

After the defeat, Somerset and other Lancastrian leaders took refuge in Tewkesbury Abbey, but they were forced from sanctuary two days later. They were tried and executed immediately, at the Cross in the centre of Tewkesbury,[12] on Monday 6 May 1471.[6] He was buried on the south side of Tewkesbury Abbey, under an arch.[13] His younger brother John had been killed during the battle, and as both died unmarried, "the house of Beaufort and all the honours to which they were entitled became extinct".[6]

The murder shortly thereafter of Henry VI left Edmund's 1st cousin, Margaret Beaufort, and her son, Henry Tudor, as the senior representatives of the House of Lancaster.[14]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Edmund Beaufort (died 1471)

16. Edward III of England 8. John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster 17. Philippa of Hainault 4. John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset 18. Sir Payne de Roet 9. Katherine Swynford 2. Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset 20. Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent 10. Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent 21. Joan, 4th Countess of Kent 5. Margaret Holland 22. Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel 11. Alice FitzAlan 23. Eleanor of Lancaster 1. Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset 24. Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick 12. Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick 25. Katherine Mortimer 6. Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick 26. William Ferrers, 3rd Baron Ferrers of Groby 13. Margaret Ferrers 27. Margaret de Ufford 3. Eleanor Beauchamp 28. Maurice de Berkeley, 4th Baron Berkeley 14. Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley 29. Elizabeth le Despenser 7. Elizabeth de Berkeley 30. Warine de Lisle, 2nd Baron Lisle 15. Margaret de Lisle, 3rd Baroness Lisle 31. Margaret Pipard

Notes

1. Henry Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, was attainted by Parliament on 4 November 1461, and most of his lands were granted to King Edward IV's brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and other Yorkists.[2] Henry Beaufort received a general pardon on 10 March 1463,[3] but after his execution Parliament annulled the act restoring him to his dignities, which again became forfeit and were not restored.[4] So although Edmund Beaufort was styled by supporters of the House of Lancaster as 3rd Duke of Somerset, by act of Parliament he had no legitimate right to use the title. In 1485, some twenty-one years after the execution of the 2nd Duke of Somerset, Edmund Beaufort, along with Jasper Tudor, had all acts of attainder against his father annulled in the first Parliament of Henry VII, "for their true and faithfull Allegeaunces and Services doune to the said blessed King Herrie [VI]."[5]

1. Jones, Michael K. (2004). "Beaufort, Edmund, styled third duke of Somerset (c. 1438–1471), magnate". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online) (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/1856. Archived from the original on 17 September 2019. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
2. Pollard 1901a, p. 157 cites Cal. Patent Rolls, 1461-5, pp. 29, 32; Stubbs, iii. 196.
3. Pollard 1901, p. 157 cites Cal. Patent Rolls. 1461-5, p. 261.
4. Pollard 1901, p. 157.
5. "Rotuli Parliamentorum A.D. 1485 1 Henry VII". Archived from the original on 2 September 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
6. Pollard 1901, p. 156.
7. Ross, Edward IV, p. 167 n. 2
8. Ross, C.D., Edward IV, Trowbridge 1975, p. 171
9. Pollard 1901, p. 156 see plan in Ramsay, ii. 379.
10. Scheduled Ancient Monument - Tewkesbury site of the battle Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1000039)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
11. Pollard 1901, p. 156 cites Arrivall of Edward IV, Camden Soc. pp. 29-30; Warkworth, p. 18; Hall, p. 300.
12. Ross, C.D., Edward IV, Trowbridge 1975, p. 172
13. Pollard 1901, p. 156 cites Dyde, Hist. and Antiq, of Tewkesbury, pp. 21-2.
14. Ross, C.D., Edward IV, Trowbridge 1975, pp. 172-3

References

• Pollard, Albert Frederick (1901a). "Beaufort, Henry (1436–1464)" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography (1st supplement). I. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 157–158.

Attribution

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Pollard, Albert Frederick (1901). "Beaufort, Edmund (1438?-1471)". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography (1st supplement). I. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 156. Endnotes:
  • Arrivall of Edward IV and Warkworth's Chron. (Camden Soc.)
  • Hall's Chronicle
  • Polydore Vergil
  • Cal. Patent Polls
  • Stubbs's Const. Hist. iii. 208, 210
  • Ramsay's Lancaster and York, ii. 380-2
  • Doyle's Official Baronage
  • G. E. Cokayne's Complete Peerage
  • Notes and Queries, 4th ser. xii. 29, 276.