APPENDIX I:

Dramatis Personae1

Albret family

The Albret family, members of the Gascon aristocratic elite, were intimately involved with the Black Prince’s military and political career. For much of his life they acted as a bulwark against the Valois monarchy in the duchy of Gascony, but in 1368 a number of key figures changed their allegiance and Arnaud-Amanieu d’Albret formed, with Jean, count of Armagnac, the main opposition and rallying point for the rebellion against Edward as prince of Aquitaine.

Amanieu d’Albret, sire de Langoiran

A Gascon noble who fought with the prince at Poitiers and later at the siege of Limoges (1370), he married the daughter of the sire de Langoiran.

Arnaud-Amanieu d’Albret2

The nephew of Jean I d’Armagnac and brother-in-law of the captal de Buch, he succeeded to his inheritance in 1358. With his father, he fought for the English at Poitiers and was one of the first to pledge homage to the Black Prince when he took up the principality. He had a close, although changeable, relationship with Charles of Navarre. He sent troops against him at the battle of Cocherel (1364), but in February 1365 he became Charles’ lieutenant in France. Relations with the Black Prince worsened during the preparations for the Spanish campaign when the number of troops he had been contracted to bring was summarily reduced from 1,000 to 200. He led the final party over the Pyrenees and fought at Nájera in 1367. On the return from Spain he was not paid the £1,000 he had been granted after Poitiers by Edward III. The proposed fouage would further deplete his resources, which had been greatly damaged by the ravages of the Free Companies. In this financial context the overtures of Charles V were difficult to resist, particularly as they included the offer of an alliance with the royal family, through marriage to Marguerite de Bourbon. He was at the forefront of the revolt against the prince and, in 1372, was granted the lands of the sire de Poyanne who was captured at La Rochelle. In 1382 he became grand chamberlain of France. He died in 1401.

Bernard-Ezi d’Albret3

By 1355 he was a long-standing supporter of the English cause having given allegiance to Edward III in 1339 following his capture by the French and an offer of a pension from the king. He fought at Poitiers and married Marthe d’Armagnac by whom he had thirteen children. One of these, Arnaud d’Albret probably died at the siege of Romorantin in 1356.

Bertucat d’Albret

The illegitimate son of Bernard-Ezi, he led a band of routiers and fought at Cocherel (1364) and at Nájera (1367) with the Black Prince.4 He was recruited by Robert Knolles for further service with the prince in 1370 and later was with Knolles in London at the time of the Peasants’ Revolt.

Guichard d’Angle, earl of Huntingdon c.1323–c.805

As the lord of Pleumartin, Boisgarnault and Rochefort-sur-Charente, he served the French as captain of Niort (from c.1346), seneschal of Saintonge (from 1350), and fought very bravely against the Black Prince at Poitiers where he was captured. However, after Brétigny he gave allegiance to England and after a short break, was returned to his office in Saintonge and later became the prince’s marshal in Aquitaine (1363–71). He was joint-marshal of the army that marched into Spain in 1367, led the vanguard across the mountains, and fought at Nájera. He was involved in the defence against the French after the resumption of the war in 1369. He became a knight of the Garter in 1372 and was captured with Pembroke at La Rochelle but released in 1374. In 1376 he became governor of Richard, Prince of Wales and, in the following year was granted the title of earl of Huntingdon, which had been left vacant since William Clinton’s death in 1354.

Jean d’Armagnac, count of Fezensac and Rodez, 1311–736

He was lieutenant of the king of France in Languedoc from 1352-7 and thus was held partly responsible for the defeat at Poitiers. He had failed to attack the prince during the 1355 raid in which his estates had been the main focus of destruction. His ongoing feud with Gaston Fébus was instrumental in the continuing discord which undermined the prince’s rule in Aquitaine. Armagnac was defeated by the count of Foix at Launac in 1362 and forced to pay a very large ransom with which the prince assisted him. He gave homage to the prince after Brétigny and fought alongside him at Nájera. On returning however, and after having repaid the prince his ransom loan, he was instrumental in organising the appeal to Charles V, resulting from the imposition of the fouage, and the subsequent rebellion. He was appointed captain general of the Rouergue on 8 October 1369 by King Charles. He died in 1373 after war had again broken out between himself and the count of Foix. He married first Régine Gut, vicomtesse de Lomagne, and secondly Beatrix de Clermont.

Eustace d’Aubrechicourt7

Originating in Hainault, the son of Nicholas, he captained a Free Company, often in the service of England. He fought in the 1355–7 campaigns and was unfortunate enough to be captured at Poitiers, although he was held only briefly. He is said to have led an attack against a German knight called Louis de Recombes. Both were unhorsed but d’Aubrechicourt was overpowered by five German men-at-arms who tied him on a baggage-cart with their spare gear. He was later rescued and took advantage of the prisoners and plunder that were on offer. In the confusion following the battle Eustace established himself in Champagne and led raids to both sides of the Seine and the Marne. He joined the Reims campaign and raided around Autry and Manre in late December 1359. He observed the signing of the treaty at Calais in 1360 and married Isabelle of Juliers, Queen Philippa’s niece. He fought with Chandos at the battle of Auray and returned at the Black Prince’s summons after serving under du Guesclin in Spain and fought to restore Pedro at Nájera. He continued in English service after the resumption of the war, was at the siege of Limoges and died at Carentan in 1373.

Sir James Audley8

The eldest son of James Audley of Stratton-Audley, Oxford, and Eva, daughter of Sir John Clavering, he was a companion and brother-in-arms of John Chandos and one of the leading chivalric figures of his generation. In 1346, during the Crécy campaign he fought in the Black Prince’s retinue. His service there and at Calais may have ensured his membership in the Order of the Garter. In 1350 he may have fought at the naval battle of Les Espagnols-sur-Mer. In addition to military service Audley also sat on the prince’s council. By 1355, when he and his brother, Peter, accompanied the prince to Gascony, he was already receiving an annuity of £80. He played a major role in the ensuing campaign and in that of the following year. His valour at Poitiers and the wounds he received there were noted by Froissart and confirmed by the prince’s grant of £400 per year for life in December 1356. He was later granted 600 écus on the customs of Marmande. He may have fought at the siege of Rennes but was certainly involved in the Reims campaign leading a number of sorties with Chandos. He was present at Calais to witness the treaty of 1360. In 1363 he accompanied the prince to Gascony and in February 1364 was at Poitiers during an attempt to settle the question of the Breton succession. Audley did not participate in the Nájera campaign as he was appointed by the prince to remain as governor of Aquitaine. When the war resumed in 1369 Audley acted as the prince’s lieutenant in Poitou and the Limousin. With the earl of Cambridge he took la Roche-sur-Yon but after its capture he retired to Fontenay-le-Comte where he died.

Arnoul d’Audrehem, b.c.13009

His father was probably Beaudoin, lord of Audrehen/m, near Ardres and, somewhat unusually for a Frenchman, he first saw military service in Scotland in 1335 and again in support of David Bruce in 1340. In 1342 he was appointed captain of Brittany. He was part of the defence of Calais against the English siege and was captured when it fell in 1347. After his release he became captain in the Angoumois first for the king and then for Charles ‘d’Espagne’ from whom he received considerable patronage.

He fought at Taillebourg (1351) and then became marshal of Beaujeu. In January 1355 he rose to the offices of king’s lieutenant in Artois, Picardy and in the Boulonnais. He took violent reprisals against the people of Arras when they refused to pay the salt tax.

He was a marshal of the army that met with the Black Prince outside Poitiers in 1356 where he argued with Jean de Clermont over the best plan of attack. This provoked the disorganised first assault on the English position in which Audrehem was taken captive.

He was part of the diplomatic and negotiation process leading to the failed treaties of London and after Brétigny (1360) was delegated to raise money for the king’s ransom. Somewhat peculiarly, he was granted an annuity by the English king. It cannot be said whether he won the esteem of Edward III or whether he was merely trying to buy Audrehem’s support.

He became closely involved in Iberian affairs and supported Enrique of Trastamara in the deposition of his half-brother, Pedro the Cruel of Castile. In this he worked with du Guesclin and negotiated with the papacy for the campaign that masqueraded as a crusade and sought to remove the Free Companies from France where they were doing a great deal of destruction during the lull in hostilities between England and France.

He fought against the Black Prince at Nájera in 1367 and was again captured and brought before a court of chivalry since he had not yet paid all his ransom from Poitiers and had sworn never to take up arms against England. Audrehem escaped punishment pleading that he was fighting against Pedro not Edward. With du Guesclin he was freed in 1368.

Charles V did not employ Audrehem again in the office of marshal but appointed him keeper of the gates of Paris with a substantial pension although he continued to campaign with du Guesclin who was now constable of France.

He retired to Saumur and died soon after the beginning of 1371. He was buried in the church of the Celestines in Paris.

Ralph Lord Basset of Drayton10

He was born in 1334/5, the only son of Ralph Basset and Alice, daughter of Nicholas Lord Audley of Helegh. He fought at Crécy and Calais and in 1355 gave proof of his age and did homage for his estates. He also joined the prince’s army. His association with the prince during this period may have secured for him a matrimonial alliance with Joan of Brittany, the sister of the prince’s brother-in-law, Jean de Montfort. He was involved in the skirmish at Romorantin and fought at Poitiers. On 25 December 1357 he was summoned, for the first time, to parliament. He was involved in the Reims campaign and thereafter served in Normandy. In 1361 he was granted a licence to travel to the Holy Land. In 1365–6 he joined the prince’s retinue in Gascony, and perhaps was involved in the Spanish campaign. He returned to England in 1368 and was admitted to the Order of the Garter on the death of Lionel of Clarence. In 1369 he was again in France then in the service of the duke of Lancaster. He returned to England but was again fighting in France in 1372–3. Basset was again in arms in 1377–8. In December 1379 he sailed in the fleet under Sir John Arundel, which suffered greatly from the weather. In 1380 he was once more in service in France then under the command of Thomas of Woodstock with a personal retinue of 200 men-at-arms, 200 archers and eight other knights. In 1385 he served with Gaunt in his disastrous expedition to Spain. On 30 October 1386 he was a deponent at the Scrope-Grosvenor controversy. He died, leaving no children, on 10 May 1390.

Thomas Beauchamp, earl of Warwick d. 136911

He was born on 14 February 1313/14 and succeeded his father, Guy, as earl of Warwick in 1315. His first military experience was gained in the Scottish campaigns of the late 1330s. He participated in the Cambrésis campaign of 1339 and was at the failed siege of Tournai. In 1344 he was appointed marshal of England and it was as such that he fought in the 1346 campaign and was one of those who led the attack to cross the Somme. At Crécy he may have fought in the first division with the Black Prince. During the siege at Calais he rode and sacked Thérouanne (19 September 1346). He was among the founder knights of the Order of the Garter. In 1352 he became admiral of the Fleet in the south-west. He was constable of the prince’s army on the 1355-6 campaigns and at Poitiers he captured the archbishop of Sens for whom he received £8,000 ransom from Edward III. He married Katherine, daughter of Roger Mortimer, earl of March and their daughter, Philippa, married another of the Black Prince’s military associates, Hugh, earl of Stafford. He died of plague in Calais in 1369.

Sir Baldwin Bereford

Bereford was one of a small number of men retained by the prince for life. This grant was made on 1 October 1367, probably after Baldwin had returned with the prince from Spain. He had regularly served with the Black Prince, as part of the 1355–6 expedition and he also fought on the Reims campaign. He was among the prince’s household when he left to take up the principality of Aquitaine in 1363 and, in 1369, he was included on the Northampton muster role which noted that he would be accompanied by six men-at-arms and six archers. After the prince’s death, Bereford went on to serve Richard II. In his will, dated 4 December 1405, he requested to be buried in Chacumb priory and left bequests to a number of churches and religious institutions.

Sir Baldwin Botetourt

Botetourt was master of the prince’s great horses and he was stationed at Calais by 1351. He was one of the prince’s chief advisors and a member of his bodyguard at Poitiers. For his services he was rewarded with Newport manor, Essex at a rose rent as well as grants of £100 and £40 a year. In 1358 he was appointed to have the keeping of the park and warren of Buckden and Spaldwick, Hunts, and also the chase of Rising. His friendship with the prince is further marked by the gift of two pipes of wine on 1 June 1358. During the Reims campaign he attacked Cormicy with Burghersh.12

Gautier IV de Brienne13

His father had acquired the title of duke of Athens on the death of his cousin Guy de la Roche but this was lost on his death on 15 March 1311. Gautier was a refugee at the court of Naples from a very young age. He married the niece of King Robert, Marguerite d’Anjou-Tarente. He was involved in campaigns to try and regain his inheritance from 1331 but these were unsuccessful. By 1338 he had become lieutenant of King Philippe of France in Thiérache and was thus involved in the first major campaign of the Hundred Years War. He remained closely involved with Italian politics and in 1341 he was offered authority over Florence and Pisa as dictator although this did not last long and he retired to Boulogne. His second wife, Jeanne de Brienne d’Eu was descended from an eminent family including kings of Jerusalem and emperors of Constantinople among her predecessors. He again returned to try and establish his influence in Italy but was once more unsuccessful and by 1355 was again in France where Jean II was to appoint him constable of the army on 6 May 1356. This was the office he held at Poitiers, where he died.

Sir Bartholomew Burghersh, the younger14

He was born into a tradition of royal service in or around 1323, the second son and heir, after the death of his elder brother Henry, of Bartholomew Lord Burghersh and Elizabeth Verdon. His uncle Henry was bishop of Lincoln and chancellor of England. Of his early childhood little is recorded but, aged about 12, he married Cicely the daughter and heir of Richard Weyland on 10 May 1335. They were to have one daughter, Elizabeth, who married Edward Lord Despenser. His military career began four years later when Bartholomew accompanied his father to Flanders. He continued to serve under arms in the expedition to Brittany in 1342. In 1346 he shared in the victory at Crécy where he attended the young Prince of Wales and later saw action at the siege of Calais. By this time he had also received the rank of banneret.

His service was recognised in 1348 when he was named among the founder members of the Order of the Garter. A return to military service was not long delayed and during 1349 he was involved in action in Gascony and in 1350 he fought at Winchelsea. His military links with the prince were followed by administrative appointments: in 1351 he became steward and constable of Wallingford and St Vallery and on 26 October 1353 he was appointed justice of Chester.

On 24 June 1354, Burghersh with his cousin, Sir Walter Paveley obtained letters of attorney after signalling their intention to go to the Holy Land although it is most unlikely that this undertaking was fulfilled. John Gildesburgh was his squire and it was through this association that John entered the Black Prince’s service.

Burghersh was a major figure in the 1355–6 campaigns during which he captured the count of Ventadour and sold him to the king for 10,000 marks. However, in the next major expedition of 1359–60, Bartholomew was among Edward III’s staff, and in the course of the expedition he captured Henry Vaulx. In December, during the siege, he was involved in raiding around Cormicy, east of Reims. After the failure of that siege and the subsequent one at Paris he was party to the compromise of the treaty of Brétigny to which, on 24 October 1360, he swore observance at Calais.

1 Tomb of the Black Prince, Canterbury cathedral.

3 Misericord – showing heraldic devices of the Black Prince and the duke of Brittany, King’s Lynn, Norfolk. The Hundred Years War brought many conflicts and struggles within its orbit, the contest for the duchy of Brittany being one of these. The Black Prince and several of his retinue including John Chandos were closely involved in support of Jean de Montfort against the Valois-sponsored candidate, Charles de Blois. The arms of the prince and Montfort are here seen together on a misericord in the church of St Margaret, King’s Lynn. After the prince’s death, Montfort was granted his property in Lynn and the nearby estate of Castle Rising.

2 Tomb of Sir William Kerdeston, Reepham, Norfolk. Kerdeston was one of the Black Prince’s Norfolk retainers. He fought as a banneret in the vanguard at Crécy and brought reinforcements to the siege of Calais in 1347. He was also MP for Norfolk between 1337 and 1344 and again in 1360. He died on 14 August 1361. His tomb shows the knight lying in a slightly contorted manner on rocks and boulders. This may reflect some changes in funerary monuments after the Black Death, revealing the painful nature of life, but it is possible that this is a more romantic image showing the chivalric adventurer lost in a mythical forest.

4 Sunday – Initial Dispositions.

5 The Attack of the Marshals.

6 The Dauphin’s Attack.

7 The Final Clash.

8 Tomb of Sir Hugh Calveley, Bunbury church, Cheshire. Calveley was one of a number of Cheshire routiers who found employment in the Hundred Years War. He fought at Poitiers with the Black Prince and later was closely involved in Iberian affairs. He played a leading role in both the deposition and subsequent reinstatement of Pedro the Cruel to the throne of Castile.

9 Henry of Grosmont, duke of Lancaster, KG, 1299–1361 (from the Hastings brass). One of the finest military commanders of the late middle ages, he led numerous campaigns in the war and was involved in vital diversionary expeditions in 1346 and 1356.

10 Mounted men-at-arms, showing a version of the barrel-style helm and visored and open bascinet. Copyright Kate Green.

11 Chevauchée. Copyright Kate Green.

12 Archers and infantry. Copyright Kate Green.

13 The Anglo-Welsh longbowmen. Copyright Kate Green.

14 The Black Prince kissing the standard of St George. Copyright Kate Green.

15 Cavalry. Copyright Kate Green.

16 Statue of Edward the Black Prince, Leeds City Square. The statue was commissioned in recognition of Leeds gaining city status at the turn of the twentieth century. The prince was seen, somewhat strangely, as a symbol of good government. The equestrian image is much more in keeping with the military reputation he gained at the battles of Crécy and Poitiers.

17 Arms of Edward III

18 Coin of the Black Prince.

19 Coin of the Black Prince.

20 Great Seal of Edward III.

21 Seal of Edward, prince of Aquitaine.

22 Stall plate of Sir John Chandos

23 Jupon with the arms of Edward the Black Prince. Part of his funeral ‘achievements’ above his tomb in Canterbury Cathedral.

24 Tomb of Sir Nicholas Dagworth (d. 1402), Blickling church, Norfolk. The son of Sir Thomas and heir to estates in East Anglia, he forged a military career through service with the Black Prince at Poitiers and later as captain of Flavigny in Burgundy. He fought in the Castilian campaign of 1367 and after the reopening of the Hundred Years War he became closely linked to the English royal household receiving an annuity of 100 marks and became a knight of Richard II’s chamber

25 Stall plate of Sir John de Grailly

26 Memorial brass of Sir Hugh Hastings, d. 1347, Elsing, Norfolk. One of the finest and most elaborate brasses in England and one of the last in an East Anglian tradition that was ended with the onset of the Black Death. Hastings was closely involved in the military operation of 1346, leading a diversionary raid from Flanders. His brass (this is a reconstruction) also bears the images of a number of his most illustrious comrades in arms.

27 The funeral achievements of the Black Prince, Canterbury cathedral.

28 Shield with royal arms from the prince’s tomb.

29 Coin of the Black Prince

30 Coin of the Black Prince

31 Warwick castle. Thomas Beauchamp was a close military associate of the Black Prince. He fought alongside him at Crécy and was constable of the army in 1355–56. He captured the archbishop of Sens at Poitiers. He died in 1369. A number of the prisoners from Poitiers were lodged in Warwick castle. The original motte and bailey fortification was begun by William the Conqueror in 1086. The lordship passed to the Beauchamp family in the thirteenth century. In the 1330s and ‘40s, Thomas, the 11th earl, made a number of domestic improvements. Later in the fourteenth century the east curtain wall was built, flanked by Caesar’s Tower to the south and Guy’s Tower (1392–93) to the north.

32 Jousting helm of Richard Pembridge

33 Tomb of Sir John Wingfield, Wingfield, Suffolk. Wingfield served the Black Prince (as did his first cousin, William). He was a key figure in the preparation for the 1355–56 expedition as governor of the prince’s business and examined closely the fiscal implications of the chevauchée on Valois finances. He died in 1360.

34 Tomb of Sir Michael and Lady de la Pole, Wingfield, Suffolk. Michael de la Pole, c.1330–89, fought with the Black Prince in the Reims campaign and during the rearguard action defending the principality of Aquitaine. He was present at the siege of Limoges in 1370. On 6 August 1385 he was created earl of Suffolk, a remarkable rise in fortune for the descendant of a wool merchant. However, as a favourite of Richard II he became a target for the Appellants in 1387 and fled to Paris. He was buried alongside his wife, Katherine, the daughter of John Wingfield, the Black Prince’s business manager.

35 Plantagenet/Valois Geneaology

36 The Grand Chevaucheé, 1355

37 The Black Prince's Military Campaigns

38 The raid of 1356

In 1364, on the return of King John to England, he was ordered with Sir Alan Buxhull and Sir Richard Pembridge to receive him at Dover and conduct him to Eltham and the Savoy palace. On 4 April 1369 Lord Burghersh made his will at Hendine and he died the next day. He was buried at Walsingham.

Sir John Chandos d. 137015

He came from a Derbyshire family and was the son of Thomas Chandos, sheriff of Herefordshire and a descendant of Robert Chandos who came over with the Conqueror. He was closely associated with the Black Prince from an early age and became his most eminent companion in arms. His early military experiences were probably on the continent and he may have been at the siege of Cambrai in 1337. However, he returned to England and fought in the Scottish campaigns and was knighted by Edward III at Boroughmuir in 1339. He probably was in the service of the king around this time and he later served as the king’s chamberlain although he was a part of the prince’s entourage at times from 1337–9. In 1340 he fought at Sluys and was alongside the prince in the first division at Crécy as a consequence of which he was among the founder knights of the Order of the Garter.

He was a leading figure in the 1355 campaign. During the hiatus before the 1356 chevauchée, he was based at Brassac and involved in raiding the country around Agen. He was in command of the scouts in advance of the main army when it rode in 1356. He fought at Poitiers where he may have saved the Black Prince’s life. He was rewarded with a grant of 600 gold crowns, from the revenues of Marmande as well as an additional annuity of £40 per year.

During the Reims campaign, for which he returned to the service of Edward III and as such was described as a king’s knight in December 1359, he attacked Cernay-en-Domnois, Autry and Manre with Lancaster and Gaunt. He was a party to the negotiations at Longjumeau in April 1360, which led to the treaty of Brétigny. In this year also he was created a banneret, although he would not display his banner until 1367. He became warden of Barfleur on 22 August 1360 and the king’s lieutenant and captain-general in France for the transfer of lands after the treaty and later constable of Aquitaine. He became vicomte of Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte on 30 July 1361 and, perhaps as a result of his newly acquired interests in Normandy, on 29 October 1361, he was granted a pension by Charles of Navarre.

He also had other interests in accordance with his knightly status and had something of a reputation as a huntsman as no less an authority than Gaston Fébus requested to see his dogs while negotiating the status of his estates with the Black Prince. One or two of Sir John’s minstrels were hired by Louis d’Anjou after his death.

He became involved in the Brittany question in 1364 and on 24 February was with the prince at Poitiers seeking an agreement over the issue. He was later, possibly as a result of this, called to Brittany by Jean de Montfort. He was commander of the victorious forces at Auray in 1364 where he captured the vicomte de Fou and du Guesclin who was ransomed for 100,000 crowns. Du Guesclin remained his prisoner for some time at least until the late autumn of 1365.

He tried to prevent English involvement in du Guesclin’s army which deposed Pedro but probably also argued against the wisdom of the prince’s participation in Iberian affairs. In spite of his objections he led the first party over the Pyrenees. At Nájera, he and Gaunt commanded the vanguard and again he captured du Guesclin. Chandos argued that after Auray du Guesclin had sworn never to take up arms against the prince again. Bertrand argued that he fought against Pedro not Edward. The story is highly reminiscent of that concerning Audrehem and may be confused with it.16

He may have gone into retirement in Normandy after the return to Aquitaine or following a disagreement about the imposition of the fouage. However, he soon returned and was appointed captain of Montaubon and seneschal of Poitou (1369) to face the renewed French attacks. He was involved in a siege at Compeyne in June 1369 and fatally wounded in a skirmish at Lussac. He died at Chauvigny on 1 January 1370 and was buried at Mortemer. His estates fell to his sisters Elizabeth and Eleanor and his niece Isabella.

Geoffroi de Charny17

Charny was a younger son of Jean de Charny and Margueritte de Joinville, a daughter of the famous friend and chronicler of (St) Louis XI. He was probably born in the first decade of the fourteenth century and first came to prominence in 1337 in his first major campaign in south west France fighting under Raoul, count of Eu. With the opening of the Hundred Years War and Edward III’s campaigns in Flanders and the north Charny was sent to Tournai and in 1340 he was involved in the defence of the town. Later he fought in Brittany and at the battle of Morlaix where he was captured by Richard Talbot and then purchased by the earl of Northampton who soon ransomed him. He was knighted by 1343 and in 1345 joined the futile crusade of Humbert II, dauphin of Viennois to Smyrna in Anatolia. He returned in the following year but did not fight at Crécy since he was involved in the siege of Aiguillon under the command of the duke of Normandy, the future King Jean II.

Charny was closely involved in a scheme to recapture Calais by bribing the captain of the citadel, Aimery de Pavia. However, he informed Edward III and with the Black Prince and others, the town was reinforced and Charny’s plan failed and he was captured once more. He was clearly considered very valuable to the new king of France, Jean who contributed 12,000 écus towards his ransom. It was at this time that Jean began the formation of the Company of the Star of which Charny was a leading member and for which he was commissioned to write a series of chivalric works.

He became Captain General of the Wars of Picardy and the Frontiers of Normandy and had already been awarded the ultimate honour of bearing the Oriflamme in 1347 as he would again in 1355. It was accorded only to the ‘most worthy and most adept warrior’. He was occupied in numerous diplomatic missions before his last campaign. He died fighting to the last alongside his king at the battle of Poitiers. He was buried first at Poitiers and later reinterred in 1370 in the church of the Celestines in Paris where he was laid to rest with another bearer of the Oriflamme, Marshal Audrehem.

Sir Alan Cheyne18

Cheyne first came to attention on 6 October 1349 when he was granted the wardship and marriage of Elizabeth, the heiress of one Thomas Praers. His career was of a somewhat mixed character and involved charges of burglary on 25 October 1352 and also patronage from the Black Prince with whom he found service as a yeoman. He married Joan, the step-daughter of William Praers, presumably related to his ward. His military skill must have been considerable as he was one of the prince’s bodyguards at Poitiers and by this time he may have acquired greater status in the household with the title of knight bachelor. In recognition of his Gascon service he was granted a £40 life annuity in Easter 1357.

Following the Reims campaign his annuity was increased to 100 marks and the continuing favour of the prince is evident from gifts of items of game and his appointment as constable of Beeston castle on 24 April 1363. To this was added the office of constable of Rhuddlan on 13 December 1366 for which he was paid £40 a year. He still held the post in 1385 and Richard confirmed his father’s grants on 26 March 1377 and later once again as king. These may, at least initially, have been sinecure offices since he was probably a member of the prince’s household in Aquitaine. Whether he participated in the Spanish expedition is uncertain. He was certainly summoned to the muster at Northampton in 1369 with two esquires.

Jean de Clermont19

The son of Raoul, lord of Thorigny and Jeanne de Chambly he saw service under the count of Eu in Flanders and Hainault in 1340 and then with the duke of Normandy in Avignon and Languedoc. He was rewarded on 3 November 1346 with the lordships of Boomont and Chantilly. As marshal of France (appointed in November 1352), he was sent with the duke of Bourbon to negotiate with the English and was later appointed the king’s lieutenant in Poitou, Saintonge, the Angoumois and lands between the Loire and the Dordogne. At Poitiers, his argument with Audrehem led to the disruption of the opening cavalry charge and also to his death.

Sir Reginald Cobham20

He was the son of John Cobham and Joan Neville and may have accompanied the young Edward III to France when he did homage for Aquitaine. On 16 April 1337, with the bishop of Lincoln, earls of Salisbury and Huntingdon, William Trussel and Nicholas la Beche, he was named an ‘intimate secretary’ of the king and as such was to treat with officials in Bruges, Ypres, Ghent and Flanders. At some point before 28 October 1341 he travelled to the papal curia at Avignon. He was to return in 1344 to treat with Philip of France concerning the truce. He was also an ambassador to the French council from 18 March to 7 May 1349.

In addition to his administrative, diplomatic and political work he was an accomplished soldier. At some point before 8 August 1337 he was made a banneret and provision was made for him by the king to sustain himself in this rank. He was involved in the expedition of 1338 and in 1345 he was appointed admiral of the fleet from the Thames westwards, an office which was renewed in 1349. In c.1348 he was granted £500 a year by the king.

Cobham fought at Crécy, where he commanded the first division. He was also at Calais and Winchelsea. In 1352 he became a knight of the Garter and in the following year, captain of Calais. He was captain of the town from at least 1353. He fought alongside the prince in 1355–6 when he was marshal of the army and was closely involved with the capture of Castelsagrat. He fought in the main ‘battle’ and captured the count of Longueville (his ransom was worth 6,500 florins) at Poitiers and saved King Jean from his quarrelling captors. He signed the truce of Bordeaux. He participated in the Reims expedition and died, probably of pneumatic plague in October 1361 and was buried in Lingfield parish church. On his tomb were the arms of Cobham impaling Berkeley which commemorated his marriage to Joan Berkeley.

Sir Stephen Cosington21

His early military career was in the service of Henry of Lancaster whom he accompanied in his 1345 expedition. He may have returned to England prior to or during the earlier stages of the siege of Calais. He had certainly come to the prince’s attention by this time as in 1348 he gave him eight harnesses all decorated with the Cosington arms. He had a place on the prince’s council by June 1351 and he rode in the chevauchée of 1355 and fought at Poitiers where he was a member of Edward’s bodyguard. As a result of this he was granted £100 a year, or lands of the same value. However, he may have been in receipt of an annuity before this. He delivered the order to Lancaster to raise the siege of Rennes as a result of the truce of Bordeaux. Following this, he spent much of 1358–9 acting as an ambassador in Normandy and elsewhere in France. Such experience may have qualified him for the commission of overseeing the transfer of land after the treaty of Brétigny. He may have been able to combine this with the duty, given him on 13 July 1360, to conduct the constable of France and other captives back home across the Channel. In this year also he was granted the castle of Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte, although presumably this was only for a short period as it was granted to Chandos on 30 July. He was present at the ratification of the Anglo-Castilian treaty of 1363. He stayed with Edward as prince of Aquitaine, although in April and May 1364 he was acting as an ambassador in Flanders. In addition he had close relations with Charles of Navarre by whom he was retained.

He was marshal of the army (and of Aquitaine) for the Nájera campaign and crossed Ronsevalles in the vanguard. He remained in Gascony after the return of the prince to England serving under a number of commanders in the rearguard actions. He had returned to England by 1373 when he was appointed to commissions of oyer and terminer and of the peace in Cornwall. Over the next few years he was to be closely involved with affairs in the duchy.

Sir Roger Cotesford22

The lord of Bletchingdon and Tusmore, Oxfordshire, he served in Scotland and was a friend of the king. As the prince’s yeoman he was appointed constable of Llanbadarn castle on 23 October 1347 as a reward for his services at Crécy. As a bachelor in the prince’s household he was presumably often in residence and prior to the Gascon expedition he witnessed documents alongside Edmund Wauncy and Nigel Loryng, important household officials. His friendship with the king made him an ideal conduit for news and information when the Black Prince led his first expedition and he served as a messenger between Bordeaux and London at irregular intervals between 1355 and 1358. In this role he presumably acted as a link with the king for the discussions concerning the captivity of Jean and the treaty of Bordeaux.

In 1355 he was granted the manor of Watlington for life in return for his forthcoming services in Gascony.23 Following the victory at Poitiers, where he served in the prince’s bodyguard, he was granted 40 marks a year out of the profits of Wallingford manor.

He does not appear to have joined the prince in Aquitaine in the 1360s although relations remained friendly. He became very active in county society serving on many commissions and acting as the county’s MP in 1369 and 1371. He was also the keeper of Oxford castle in 1362–4, 1365 and 1368–9. He died before 20 November 1375.

Edward Lord Le Despenser24

He was born on 24 March 1336, the son and heir of Edward le Despenser, the second son of Hugh, earl of Gloucester and he fought in the prince’s Gascon expeditions of 1355–6. With his brother, Thomas, he was frequently mentioned as being among the prince’s immediate attendants in Bordeaux. He fought with Loryng and Burghersh in the skirmish at Romorantin and also at Poitiers. In 1357 he gave proof of his age, had livery of his uncle’s lands (Hugh, died 1349) and in the following December he was summoned to parliament as Baron Le Despenser. In 1359 he was one of Edward III’s staff for the expedition to France and was among those who swore to the observation of the treaty of Brétigny at Calais. In 1360/1 he joined the Order of the Garter on the death of Henry of Lancaster.

In 1363 he was among those appointed to receive the king of Cyprus on his landing at Dover and conducted him to London. In 1368 he served in the retinue of Lionel, duke of Clarence and was present at his death in Piedmont. He attended Edward III and the prince on the abortive voyage to France when they were forced to return by contrary winds. In 1373 he had command of the rear-guard of the army of Gaunt and the duke of Brittany in Picardy and Artois. He returned to England in 1374 after the truce.

He married Elizabeth, the daughter and heir of Bartholomew lord Burghersh. Their son, Thomas, would become earl of Gloucester and a knight of the Garter. He was also noted as a friend of Froissart. He held extensive estates throughout the country particularly in Wales and the Marches. He made his will on 6 November 1375 and died five days later at Cardiff castle and was buried, according to his wishes in Tewkesbury abbey, to which he bequeathed a chalice, given to him by the king of France.

Sir Thomas Felton d. 138225

He was the second son of Sir John Felton, lord of Litcham, Norfolk. He fought at Crécy and Calais and, as a result of his service at Poitiers, where he was part of the prince’s bodyguard, he was granted £40 a year for life. He was one of the commissioners who signed the treaty of Brétigny in 1360.

He was clearly a close and trusted colleague as he witnessed the prince’s marriage to Joan and such an association made him an ideal candidate for high office in the new principality. He acted as steward of the prince’s household for a time after his arrival in Aquitaine before his appointment as seneschal of the principality. As such he greeted Peter of Cyprus on his visit to the principality in 1364. During the prince’s Spanish campaign Felton was instrumental in gaining the support of Gaston Fébus and negotiating the treaty at Pamplona with Charles of Navarre although he did not favour involvement in Castile. After the crossing the Pyrenees he led the reconnaissance party and was captured by Audrehem at Ariñez and ransomed. The ransom may have taken the form of an exchange for Audrehem who was himself captured at Nájera.

After the resumption of the war with France he was involved in action at Monsac, Duravel and Domme. He then fought with Pembroke in Poitou. Felton was also granted the sinecure office of chamberlain of Chester by the Black Prince on 20 May 1370. In 1372 he served under the command of the duke of Lancaster. On 6 March 1373(-7), after the prince had returned Aquitaine to his father, Felton was again appointed seneschal. He was again captured in November 1377 and held for three years. His freedom may have been secured by the influence of Gaston Fébus and was assisted by a grant from Richard II. He was retained by the king who, in 1381, appointed him a knight of the Garter. He did not enjoy the favour for long as he died in the same year.

He married Joan, the daughter of Richard Walkefare for whom he managed to acquire the office of keeper of game at Castle Rising. His three daughters, Mary, Sybil and Eleanor married Sir John Curson, Sir Thomas Morley and Sir Thomas Ufford respectively.

Sir William Felton26

He was a kinsman, although not the brother of Thomas. His father was William Felton of Northumberland. He married Jeanne de Laval, a French heiress. He fought at Crécy and Poitiers and prior to the grant of the principality of Aquitaine to Edward of Woodstock, he was appointed seneschal of Poitou and the Limousin (23 September 1361), a post he retained until his death. As seneschal he was involved in securing various castles as surety for continuing royal ransom payments.

His military skill was well known. In 1359, a case under the law of arms concerning Mathew Gournay and others was brought before him as he was considered a neutral and experienced arbiter. He was also involved in Breton affairs serving there in 1360 and witnessing the duke giving homage in Paris in 1366. In 1364 he was involved in a dispute with Bertrand du Guesclin and brought a case before the parlement of Paris.

He rode with the Black Prince to Spain in 1367 and was a leading figure in the large reconnaissance force to spy out the enemy. He was described by Chandos Herald as lion-hearted and caring ‘not two cherries for death’. 27 By contrast Jean de Venette painted a somewhat different picture of the man, ‘a valiant and noble knight, of good counsel, prudent and devout’28 He founded a Carmelite house at Poitiers with Chandos. He was killed in a skirmish at Ariñez, before Nájera on 19 March 1367.

Sir Baldwin Freville29

There is a danger of conflating the careers of Baldwin II (15 August 1317–75) and III (1350/1–1387). Baldwin II first married Ida, the daughter of John 1st lord Clinton of Maxstoke and secondly Joan Dugdale. He served the Black Prince as seneschal of Saintonge. Baldwin III married first, Elizabeth, daughter of John Botetourt and secondly Joyce (her sister). He claimed the office of king’s champion at the coronation of Richard II but after a protracted dispute lost the title and office to John Dymoke who had taken up the Marmion claim through marriage.

Freville may have been abroad fighting in Brittany under the command of Walter Manny when his father died on 2 October 1343. Baldwin was at least twenty-six at the time. He inherited estates throughout the country. He fought at Crécy in the retinue of William Clinton, earl of Huntingdon and later served with Lancaster.

He fought at Poitiers and was subsequently retained for life by the prince at £40 year. In accordance with his indenture he fought for the prince in the Reims campaign. Under the prince’s regime in Aquitaine he served initially as seneschal of Saintonge and the Limousin. On the death of William Felton in 1367 he became seneschal of Poitou, and in 1369, seneschal of Saintonge. He was probably involved in the Spanish expedition himself and after the resumption of the war he fought under Knolles, Chandos and Pembroke and was at La Rochelle when it surrendered. He appears to have been captured after this as William Elmham offered to pay his ransom. He died on 6 January 1387.

Sir Mathew Gournay 1310–1406?30

Despite being the son of one of the murderers of the Black Prince’s grandfather, Gournay seems to have enjoyed a relatively close relationship with Edward. He served at Crécy and Poitiers before playing a leading role with the Free Companies for which he suffered imprisonment in the Tower. He witnessed the treaty of Brétigny and fought at Auray. In 1365 he accompanied du Guesclin to Spain to take the throne of Castile from Pedro. During this time he lent 11,000 florins to Enrique of Trastamara for campaign expenses in return for a promised annuity of 1,000 florins. He also befriended the king of Aragon who granted him 2,000 florins a year. His association with that country continued when in 1371 he purchased a castle there from Hugh Calveley while both were stationed in Bordeaux. He remained with the prince after the return from Nájera until 1370. In 1378 he was appointed commander of the garrison at Dax and in the following year seneschal of the Landes, an office he held until 1381 and was re-granted in 1405. In 1381 he played a major role in Cambridge’s expedition to Portugal.

Jean de Grailly, captal de Buch31

His family were the hereditary proprietors of a fort, 14 leagues from Bordeaux now called ‘La Tête de Buch’. The lands were in the Médoc, west of Bordeaux reaching to Castillon-sur-Dordogne. The captalate had many privileges in the parlement, city and suburbs of Bordeaux. Jean was the son of Jean and Blanch de Foix and also the cousin of Gaston Fébus. In 1343 he inherited the title. In 1348 he was named a founder knight of the order of Garter possibly as a result of the vital subsidiary action in which he was involved in Gascony during the Crécy campaign. In November 1350 he married Rose d’Albret, the legitimated daughter of Bertrand. He fought with the prince in the 1355–6 campaign during which he was present at the skirmish at Romorantin and before the battle of Poitiers he led the reconnoitring party. During the battle itself he captured Jacques de Bourbon, count de la Marche and Ponthieu. As a result of his service he was, in 1356, granted the town and castle of Cognac by the Black Prince. He returned with the prince to England. Then he travelled to Prussia with Gaston Fébus. On his return from crusade in May 1358, he and Gaston Fébus rescued the duchesses of Normandy and Orléans in Meaux during the Jacquerie. He was a long-term servant of Charles of Navarre and in November 1359 captured Clermont in Beavoisis.

After the siege of Reims lifted in early 1360, he joined the column led by the Black Prince. In March/April he went to Charles of Navarre to try and organise a concerted effort to attack Paris. In 1360 he swore to the peace at Brétigny.

He succeeded Philip of Navarre as lieutenant in Normandy for King Charles of Navarre after Philip’s death on 29 August 1363 and on 6 May 1364 he commanded the Navarrese forces at the battle of Cocherel in which he was defeated and captured by a Breton squire, Roland Bodin.32 He was handed over to Charles V and later released to try and organise a peace. Charles V sought to secure his loyalty with the grant of Nemours castle. This was renounced after he was reproached by the Black Prince with whom he again served in 1367. He campaigned in Spain initially in the company of James, king of Majorca and led the final group over the Pyrenees. On 3 April 1367 he fought at Nájera in the centre alongside the prince.

In 1370 he was granted the county of Bigorre in Aquitaine by Edward III and with Sir Thomas Felton, he prevented the capture of Linde. In 1371 he was appointed constable of Aquitaine, and in 1372, a governor of Gascony. In this year he was also captured near Soubise. Charles V refused to ransom him unless he swore never to bear arms against France. He declined to accept and died in prison in 1377.

John Kentwode33

He was one of the prince’s esquires in the 1350s and 1360s. As such he fought in the 1355–7 campaign and assisted Edmund Wauncy with the capture of Philippe, the king’s son, at Poitiers, for whom they were paid 4,000 marks. Continuing payments for Philippe were made partly dependent on John joining the prince in Aquitaine in September 1364, and in April 1365 his annuity was increased to 200 marks. He probably remained in Aquitaine and was perhaps at Nájera as he received letters of protection at the end of July 1366.

He was knighted by 1369 and became knight of the shire of Berkshire and as such he was one of those said to have the prince’s support in the Good Parliament during which he was one of the accusers of Alice Perrers. He may also have captured the Dominican friar on whom Perrers was supposed to rely for her influence over the king. After being involved in various administrative capacities in Berkshire, he became steward of Cornwall on 26 August 1378. During Richard’s reign he served on a very great number of commissions in Berkshire, Devon and Cornwall and was elected MP of all those counties. He also acted as an ambassador to Brittany and to the West Country bishops, in addition to serving in a supervisory role on behalf of the king in matters regarding forces leaving for the Iberian Peninsula. He also oversaw the forces of the earl of Buckingham on the Brittany expedition of 1381. This military role was to be one he was often asked to play. In July 1383 he supervised the musters of the forces serving under William Scrope and in 1386 he was involved in a similar capacity for Gaunt’s expedition to Castile. After the Merciless Parliament, in May 1388, he was appointed steward of the estates of Robert Vere. Although his sympathies may well have lain with the Appellants, they replaced him with their own man, Philip Courtenay, in November 1388. However, duties were found for him elsewhere and on 25 May 1389, with others, he became a justiciar in south Wales, a post to which he was re-appointed on 17 October of the following year. He died c.1394, leaving a son, Reynold, who probably became the dean of St Paul’s, and a widow who survived until 1404.

Sir Nigel Loryng34

Nigel was the son and heir of Roger Loryng of Chalgrave, Bedfordshire and Cassandra, daughter of Reginald Perot. His career was perhaps first brought to modern attention by Arthur Conan-Doyle in his books, Sir Nigel and The White Company. The earliest historical record notes the grant of a life annuity of 100s. issued at Berwick on Tweed in 1335 presumably as a reward for service in the Scottish campaigns. By 1 January 1338 Nigel was registered as an esquire in the earl of Salisbury’s retinue but by the end of the year he was serving as a member of the king’s household in the Low Countries and was described as a ‘king’s yeoman’ and was receiving an annuity of 20 marks.

His role in the battle of Sluys on 24 June 1340, for which he was knighted, is attested by Froissart.35 In 1342 Nigel served under Sir Walter Mauny in Brittany and three years later Loryng was sent on his first diplomatic mission. With Michael Northburgh, the future bishop of London, he was sent to the secure a papal dispensation for the intended marriage of the Black Prince to Margaret of Brabant. In that year he also found service with the earl of Derby and the following year was with him in Gascony.36 While Grosmont had been the king’s lieutenant in Gascony he granted Loryng rights to the ‘pedage’ of St Macaire. He was retained for life by the prince in peace and war in 1349 and granted an annuity of £50. Prior to this he had been present at the siege of Calais with a small contingent of five men and it may have been there or through a recommendation from Grosmont that he entered the prince’s service.

In 1348 he was named as one of the Garter founders and sat in the 10th stall on the prince’s side.37 He was called on for further diplomatic duties in 1350 in Flanders. The delicate situation regarding the succession and the possible role of the country in the Hundred Years War, shows that Loryng had already become marked as a skilful diplomat. It may be that he spent much of the next few years in France and particularly Gascony although it was during this period that he became the prince’s chamberlain, an office he was to retain for many years.

He participated in the chevauchée preceding the battle of Poitiers being part of the raiding party at Romorantin and forming part of the prince’s bodyguard at the battle itself. The following years, before the Reims campaign may have been spent passing between Gascony and England on the prince’s business and he may have acted as a go-between for the prince and his father, a pattern which may have been established after Poitiers when he brought news of the victory to the king. On 20 July 1358 he was granted the office of surveyor of the forest and steward of the lordship of Macclesfield. During the 1359–60 campaign he served in the prince’s retinue and was involved in the negotiations preceding the treaty of Brétigny and appointed to oversee its implementation.38 He had a seat on the prince’s council in the principality. Froissart also asserts he was present at the court at the time of the visit of Peter of Cyprus.39

Loryng accompanied the prince on the Spanish campaign and fought at Nájera. Prior to departure he had been sent to England to discuss strategy with the king. 1369 marks his last year of known military service, first under Robert Knolles in a skirmish on the Gascon borders and later with Chandos and the earl of Pembroke. It seems likely that he returned with the prince to England in 1371 serving Edward until his death in 1376. After this he appears to have gone swiftly into near retirement.

He was the benefactor to the building of a cloister at the Black Prince’s favoured abbey of St Albans. He married Margaret, the daughter and heir of Ralph Beauple. They had two daughters, Izabel who first married William Coggan, and secondly, Robert Lord Haryngton, and Margaret who married Thomas Peyvre.

William Montague, 2nd earl of Salisbury 1328–139740

The earls of Salisbury played central roles in Edward III’s plans and aspirations for acquiring the French throne. Salisbury’s father was a main player in the Nottingham coup which placed Edward on the throne in more than name alone and which resulted in the execution of Roger Mortimer and the forcible retirement of Queen Isabella.

He succeeded his father, although still a minor, in 1344. Two years later, aged eighteen, he was knighted alongside the Black Prince on landing at La Hogues at the start of the campaign that led to the victory at Crécy and the capture of Calais. In 1348 he was one of the first to be named a knight of the Garter after the original founders and two years later fought at Les-Espagnols-sur-Mer.

Relations with the prince were changeable and were strained over the fate of the county of Denbigh: as a marcher lord, Montague came into contact with some of the more expansionist designs of the Black Prince and his council. In 1354 he was appointed constable of the king’s army in France and his military career continued in 1355 when he joined the Black Prince on campaign. At Poitiers he commanded the rearguard which routed the attack of Jean de Clermont, the constable of France. He remained abroad on service until 1360 and was one of those who negotiated the treaty of Brétigny. Following the death of Isabella, the queen mother, he inherited property and other rights. In 1363 he became hereditary steward of Chester.

After the reopening of the war he was involved in the abortive attempt to relieve Thouars in September 1372 and was then given command of an expedition to patrol the coast which resulted in the burning of seven Spanish ships at St Malo. At the relief of the siege of Brest, Montague’s challenge to du Guesclin was refused. He participated in the Bruges conference and was a commissioner to France. Montague’s naval experience was briefly called upon between July and November 1376 when he acted as admiral of the western fleet. He also participated in a number of Gaunt’s forays into France before receiving the captaincy of Calais in 1379. During the Peasants’ Revolt he counselled the young king and accompanied him to the Tower and Smithfield. As a reward for his diplomatic service in negotiations with the king of Scotland William received the Isle of Wight and Carisbrooke castle (1382). He also held the Isle of Man but sold it in 1393 since he had no heir, supposedly he had been killed by his father in a tournament. He married Elizabeth, the daughter and subsequently the co-heir of John Mohun. He was buried at Bisham.

Sir Richard Stafford41

He was the brother of Ralph, 1st earl of Stafford, and married Matilda, daughter and co-heiress of William Camvill, of Clifton, Staffs. He was the most consistent lay member of the prince’s council and served from at least 1343 in which year he was one of the commissioners assigned to take control of the principality of Wales and deliver it to the Black Prince.

His service was not purely administrative, he was a bachelor in the prince’s household and he probably fought in the first division at Crécy (although he may have earlier been with the earl of Derby, he certainly fought with Grosmont at some stage) and on 26 February of the following year he was appointed steward of the prince’s lands. He was also involved in the Calais siege.

He fought in the Poitiers campaign where his previous Gascon experience in the service of the earl of Derby stood him in good stead as did his administrative abilities. Whilst on campaign he authorised the issue of the prince’s letters. At the beginning of thechevauchée he was made a banneret at Bassoues on 19 October 1355. He was made responsible for the reinforcing and re-supplying of the prince’s forces prior to the 1356 raid.

With Miles Stapleton and Nigel Loryng he was commissioned to investigate truce violations in France in 1360–1. From July to November 1361 in the course of the transfer of lands after Brétigny he was seneschal of Gascony and may thereafter have stayed with the prince in Aquitaine although he also undertook diplomatic duties for Edward III. However, when the prince returned from Gascony in 1371 and instigated two very major commissions of oyer and terminer in Cornwall, it was Richard Stafford who was chosen to head the investigations.

His military reputation must also have been high by this time as he, with Guy Bryan, were appointed to fulfil the duties of constable of England to hear the case of Edmund Mortimer who claimed a prisoner was being unjustly held from him by Ralph Basset. Following the prince’s death he became a councillor of Richard II. He died c.1380.

Sir John Sully42

John Sully was descended from a younger branch of the Sully family of Devon. His military experience was very extensive although perhaps not quite as vast as he claimed as a deponent at the Scrope-Grosvenor enquiry. The greatest doubt lies in his participation in the early Scottish campaigns. In 1333 he may have fought at Halidon Hill and was at the capture of Berwick. On 12 July 1338 he was in France, and like a number of the prince’s future retinue, serving in the company of the earl of Salisbury. His military career continued and in August 1346 he fought at Crécy where he may have come to the attention of the Black Prince. In 1350 he was involved in the battle of Les Espagnols-sur-Mer and he was retained for life in 1353 to be one of the prince’s ‘especial retinue’.43 Soon after, he was appointed surveyor of game in Cornwall. He replaced John Dabernon as sheriff of Devon and Cornwall but was unable to take up his office. In 1355 he accompanied the prince to Gascony and in the following year he fought at Poitiers. He was again involved in active service in 1359 when he had letters of protection. It may have been as a consequence of this service that in 1361 he was granted by Edward III that once each year he could hunt in the royal forests with his dog, ‘Bercelette’.

His military success was noted at the highest levels and on the feast of St George in 1362 he was made a knight of the Garter, taking the ninth stall on the prince’s side, in place of Reginald Cobham. In 1363 he accompanied the prince to Aquitaine and in 1367 fought at Nájera. He remained in service in France and in 1370 had further letters of protection, as he was about to serve in Aquitaine. He died c.1388.

Sir William Trussel

The Trussel family had served in the administration of Cheshire since the early years of the fourteenth century. William’s military service with the prince commenced when he rode in the grande chevauchée. He received letters of protection on 9 November 1355 and continued to serve throughout the winter lull and at Poitiers where, as a bachelor of the prince’s household, he was one of Edward’s bodyguards. He was rewarded with an annuity of £40 from the Chester exchequer on 16 November 1363, although it would be surprising if this was the first such grant he received from the Black Prince.

He accompanied the prince to Aquitaine in 1363 but it not certain if he was involved in the Spanish campaign. He was certainly summoned to the 1369 muster at Northampton and therefore fought in France in the defence of the principality. He died on 12 February 1380.

Robert Ufford, earl of Suffolk44

He was born on 9 August 1298 and was granted seisin of his father’s lands on 19 May 1318 and those of his mother (Cecily, daughter and co-heir of Robert Valoinges) on 16 August 1325. He had been the second son but his brother died, allowing Robert to inherit. In March 1324 he was abroad in the service of Edmund, earl of Kent. He was created earl of Suffolk on 16 March 1337. He fought in the first division at Crécy and at the siege of Calais. He became a knight of the garter in c.1349 and was the titular head of the prince’s council in c.1355 although he had been associated with it since 1337. He accompanied the prince on the 1355 expedition and fought in the Reims campaign. He died on 4 November 1369.

John Vere, 7th earl of Oxford, 1312–6045

He had livery of his lands in 1331 and in the following year set out on a pilgrimage to Compostella. Matters closer to home were at the forefront in 1333 when he was a witness to Edward III’s treaty at Berwick. He was again in service in Scotland in 1335. The opening of the Hundred Years War saw him fighting abroad. In 1340 he was in Flanders and in 1342, in Brittany. The latter year also saw his participation in the Dunstable tournament. John returned to Brittany in 1345 with the earl of Northampton and they secured a victory over the forces of Charles de Blois. He sailed again in 1346 to take part in the Normandy campaign, and at Crécy he fought in the first division. He was again in arms with the Black Prince in 1355–6. He was one of Edward’s chief advisors at Poitiers and he remained in Bordeaux while negotiations began for the ransom of the king of France. Vere died at the siege of Reims in 1360 and was buried at Colne priory.

Roger de la Warre

The son of John and Margaret (Holand), he was born on 30 November 1326. He first saw military service in 1346 when he was knighted with the prince at La Hogues and fought in his division at Crécy. He was also involved in the Calais siege and received his inheritance in 1349. He was again in military service in 1355 and in the raid of the following year he was involved in the skirmish at Romorantin and later fought at Poitiers where he claimed to capture Jean.46

Along with a number of the prince’s close military associates, his involvement in the Reims campaign was in the king’s division. During this he was captured in 1360 but soon ransomed. He was first summoned to parliament in 1362 but spent much of the following years in Aquitaine. He was first mentioned on the list of those noted as part of the prince’s household on travelling to Bordeaux in 1363. He may not have remained in the principality continually but certainly spent much of the time of the principality with Edward in France. He was a knight of the prince’s household and a councillor in Aquitaine.

According to Chandos Herald, he fought in the Spanish campaign in 1367. After the resumption of the war he fought under Gaunt’s command in Picardy and Caux from July to November 1369. He died in Gascony on 27 August 1370.

Sir John Wingfield

He first came to prominence in the service of the earl of Surrey and then William Montague, earl of Salisbury with whom he served at Crécy and Calais. By 1351 he transferred to the employ of the prince of Wales and became a bachelor of his household, steward of his lands, chief councillor and ‘governor of the prince’s business’.47 As such he was responsible for the routine central administration of the prince’s estates and with other councillors was the decider of policy and controlled the activities of the privy seal. He held these offices until his death in 1361.

During the 1355–6 campaigns he was responsible for administration. During the preparation for the Reims campaign he was a central figure in acquiring revenue for the operation. He borrowed 20,000 marks on behalf of the prince. Despite this administrative role he appears to have fought in all of the prince’s campaigns in the 1350s. He was sent to consult with the king over the implementation of the treaty of Brétigny. His daughter and heir, Katherine, married Michael la Pole, the future earl of Suffolk.

If you find an error or have any questions, please email us at admin@erenow.org. Thank you!