Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester

“ Thomas earl of Lancaster, Leicester and Ferrers, 125, 126, 194 Thomas of Brotherton, 100 Thomas of Woodstock duke of Gloucester, 99, 155, 166, 167, 172, 182, 213, 323, 326, 327 Thomas, saint, of Canterbury, 335 Thruxton (Hants) , effigy at, 308 Tong (Salop) , 306 Toni, Robert de, 171 Torregiano, 266 Trau, the Soudan de la, 144 Tresham, Sir Thomas, 338 Tresham trefoils, 338 Tressure, the, 85 Trevor family arms, 351 Trinity, the Holy, 261, 306 Trinity House, London, arms, 349, 350 Trotton (Sussex) , 261, 263, 296 Trumpington family, 189 Tunstall, Cuthbert, bp. ”

“ GLOUCESTER’S ARMS, BADGES, AND SEALS I. ARMS
Like his brothers, the Duke of Gloucester adopted the arms of England and France quarterly, but whereas their arms were differentiated with various labels, his own were surmounted with a border argent (Garter Types, College of Arms) . At this period the arms of France, as borne by the English Kings, were changed from ‘azure semée of fleur de lys or’ to ‘azure three fleur de lys or,’ and this is the only difference which marks Humphrey’s arms from those of a predecessor in the Gloucester title, Thomas of Woodstock. ”

“ He took part in defending the English coasts against the attacks of the French and Castilians, after which he led an army through northern and central France, and besieged Nantes, which town, however, he failed to take. ”

“ But he had reckoned without one man's ambition and jealousy. His youngest uncle, Thomas, Duke of Gloucester, was an unscrupulous and domineering prince, who had hoped to succeed to John of Gaunt's position, and to have the chief part in ruling his nephew's realm. Richard knew him well, and had no intention of employing him. Seeing this, Duke Thomas began to gather a party among the greater nobles, persuading them that the king was putting the rule of England into the hands of mere upstarts and favourites, and that de la Pole and de Vere were no better than Gaveston Pg 208 or the Despensers. ”

“ Gloucester was a man of great and restless energy, hot-tempered and impulsive, of gracious and popular manners, eloquent, plausible, and affable. His title of the 'good duke' is due, not to his moral virtues, but to the applause of the men of letters whom he patronised and the popular notion that he was a patriot. ”

“ The tiresome and monotonous domestic history of England during the next twenty years consisted of little else than quarrels between Gloucester and the lords of the council, of whom the chief was the duke’s half-uncle Henry Beaufort, bishop of Winchester, the last to survive of all the sons of John of Gaunt. The duke and the bishop were both unscrupulous; but the churchman, with all his faults, was a patriotic statesman, while Gloucester cared far more for his own private ends than for the welfare of the realm. ”

“ Incensed at his freedom, instead of admiring the boldness of his spirit, the ungenerous Edward barbarously struck him on the face with his gauntlet; and the dukes of Clarence and Gloucester, Lord Hastings, and Sir Thomas Gray, taking this blow as a signal for farther violence, hurried him aside, and instantly dispatched him with their daggers. Margaret was thrown into the Tower, where her husband had just expired: whether by a natural or violent death is uncertain, though it is generally believed the duke of Gloucester killed him with his own hands. ”

“ When Gloucester, Arundel, and Warwick were arrested, Henry took a decided part against his old associates; but he avoided the violence of Nottingham, earl-marshal. He was not a party to the marshal's new appeal, and had no share in the getting rid of Gloucester. But he joined his father and the Duke of York after 28 Aug. in gathering troops to protect the king (Fœdera, viii. 14) . When the new parliament met on 17 Sept. ”

“ Every act of his ambition wore an air of patriotism. He had, in his character of guardian of the young king and of chancellor, opposed with all his energy the attempt of Gloucester on Hainault. When the duke persisted in proceeding on that expedition, he took advantage of his absence to garrison the Tower, and committed it to the keeping of Richard Woodville, with the significant injunction "to admit no one more powerful than himself." ”

“ Gloucester’s attitude towards, 322. London, 95; welcomes Henry V. after Agincourt, 32; visit of Sigismund to, 36; reception of Queen Catherine, 89; citizens support Gloucester, 84, 116, 170, 186, 319; Beaufort attacks, 172; welcomes Bedford, 176; reception of Henry VI. on his return from France, 229; Duchess of Gloucester’s public penance through, 273; Queen Margaret arrives in, 285. —— Bridge, 171, 174, 18O, 223. —— Bishop of. See Kemp, John, and Kempe, Thomas. —— Mayor of, 112, 229; escorts Henry IV. to Westminster, 4; requested to support war with a gift of money, 14; receives Sigismund, 38 ”

“ Wheathampsted tells us that the Duke died intestate (Whethamstede, i. 74) , and on March 24, 1427, a commission was issued to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Say de Sele, Sir Thomas Stanley, John Somerset, and Richard Chester, empowering them to dispose of the goods and chattels of the late Duke of Gloucester, since he had died intestate (Rot. Pat., 25 Henry VI., Part ii. m. 35; Rymer, V. i. 171) . On the other hand, there is a strong presumption that a will did really exist, and that the Duke’s enemies suppressed it. ”

“ The poet is said to have had the unusual honour of being brother-in-law to a prince of the blood, by the marriage of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, with Catherine, widow of Sir Hugh Swinford, and sister to Chaucer’s wife. He is said to have lived at Woodstock at a late period of his life, and finally, to have retired to Donnington Castle on the Duke of Lancaster’s death. By his wife, Philippa, he had two sons, Thomas and Lewis. Thomas was Speaker of the House of Commons in the reign of Henry IV., ambassador to France and Burgundy, and discharged other public duties. ”

“ There the young king stayed for the night with his attendants, while Lord Rivers returned to Northampton to meet the late king's brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who was hurrying down from the Scotch marches—ostensibly to pay homage to his nephew.
A struggle had been long impending between two rival parties in the state. On one hand the Queen, with her relations, who had been raised to wealth and power by her marriage. On the other, Gloucester, with many of the old nobility, whose jealousy had been roused by the sudden advance of the Woodville family. ”

“ By his wife Maud, Gloucester had several children, of whom the most noteworthy were (1) his successor Gilbert (the 'Red') [q. v.] , (2) Thomas de Clare, the friend of Prince Edward (d. 1287) , (3) Boso or Bono the good, a canon of York. Of his daughters, Margaret married Edmund, a younger son of Richard, earl of Cornwall, and Roesia married Roger Mowbray in 1270 (Land of Morgan, pp. 141-2; Pat. Rolls, 31 a) .
Gloucester was the most powerful English noble of his time. ”

“ Decembrio, Pier Candido, 323, 372, 380, 387, 388, 409, 412, 421, 426, 430; translation of Greek classics, 353; introduction to Gloucester, 354-356; translation of Plato’s Republic, 354-357, 365; Gloucester’s chief literary agent in Italy, 358; correspondence with Gloucester, 358, 365, 367; buys books for Gloucester, 363, 364, 365. Deptford, 303, 304. Devizes, Castle of, 444. Devon, Thomas Courtenay, Earl of, 249, 314. Dieppe, capture of, 74. Disturbances, rising in Wales (1403) , 6; rising in Wales (1423) , 122; disturbances in London (1425) , 170; disturbances in Norfolk (1427) , 194 ”

“ Thus the rivalry of Beaufort and Gloucester was more personal than political, in no sense was it dynastic, and though it weakened the hold of the House of Lancaster on the country, yet in itself it did not threaten the throne of Henry VI. Still less was this the case when the Beaufort faction had won their final victory, and had definitely placed Gloucester in permanent opposition, where he acted as safety-valve to the reigning dynasty. ”

“ Henry was escorted by a great number of armed men on his journey through Royston, Cambridge, and Newmarket, to protect him from Duke Humphrey (Three Fifteenth-century Chronicles, p. 149) . He ordered his uncle's arrest as soon as the duke arrived on 18 Feb. On 28 Feb. Gloucester was dead, probably by a natural death, for Suffolk, though freely accused of the murder, was never formally charged with it, and Henry may be safely acquitted of complicity in such a deed. The parliament was dismissed without a grant being even asked for, and in March Henry left Bury for Canterbury. ”

“ We also find a letter addressed to Gloucester during the reign of Henry VI. from an English merchant at Amiens, asking for his protection in matters commercial. [1091] The Duke had realised the strength of that new power which was arising in England, the power of the middle classes, the traders, and herein he foreshadowed the subsequent commercial policy of the first Yorkist King.
Gloucester began life as a soldier, he ended it as a politician. In the first capacity he showed ability to adapt himself to the new methods of warfare. ”

“ His discarded Duchess may flit across the stage, for a brief moment he may revert to his early participation in the French war, but these are merely unimportant incidents in a busy political career. The rest of his life, too, is entirely moulded by the opposition he experiences. The spirit which had inspired the limitation of the Protector’s power was to meet him at every turn, and throughout the next twenty years all English history was to find its central theme in the great struggle between the Duke of Gloucester and the Beaufort faction. ”

“ So late as the year 1696 he had been heard to say, "If I had been a private gentleman, my Lord Marlborough and I must have measured swords." All these things were now, it seemed, forgotten. The Duke of Gloucester's household had just been arranged. As he was not yet nine years old, and the civil list was burdened with a heavy debt, fifteen thousand pounds was thought for the present a sufficient provision. The child's literary education was directed by Burnet, with the title of Preceptor. Marlborough was appointed Governor ”

“ HUMPHREY, Duke of Gloucester, called the Good Duke Humphrey (1391–1447) , youngest son of Henry, earl of Derby, afterwards Henry IV, by his first wife, Mary Bohun (d. 1394) , was born in 1391, probably in January or February, during his father's absence in Prussia. He remained in England with his brothers during his father's exile. He was made a knight on 11 Oct. ”

“ Though Gaveston was banished, Thomas and the other earls still continued distrustful of the king, and on 24 May 1309 the king had to authorise Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester, and others to assure the safety of Thomas when coming to him at Kennington (Rymer, ii. 75) . After Gaveston's return from banishment in the summer of 1309, he further offended Lancaster by causing one of his particular adherents to be turned out of his office in favour of one of his own creatures (Monk of Malmesbury, ii. 161–2) . Thomas and four other earls refused to attend a council summoned for 18 Oct. ”

“ Throughout the period of the King’s minority the struggle had been for the control of the Council of Regency, Gloucester asserting his privileges as Protector, Beaufort denying them and trying to secure further limitations of his power. So the struggle had worn on with varying success, till with Henry’s coronation in 1429 the Protectorate had come to an end. ”

“ Richard's brother William died from the effects of the draught, and the earl only escaped with the loss of his nails, teeth, and skin (Matt. Paris, pp. 704, 738; Stubbs, ii. 82; Burt. Ann. p. 460) . In January 1259 Gloucester swore the king of the Romans to observe the new constitution.
From this point Gloucester's career is full of contradictions. Now in attendance on the king, now at variance with De Montfort, and now with Prince Edward, it seems impossible to find any consistency in his conduct. He was present at the London parliament of 9 Feb. ”

“ Sir Thomas had been bred in German Courts, and was rather restored than naturalized to the genius of that country: he had German honour, loved German politics, and could explain himself as little as if he spoke only German. He might have remained in obscurity, if the Duke of Newcastle’s necessity of employing men of talents inferior even to his own, and his alacrity in discovering persons so qualified, had not dragged poor Sir Thomas into light and ridicule ”

“ Retiring, leaves their hopes involved in endless night.”
The Duke of Gloucester was the last Protestant heir to the Crown recognized in the Act of Settlement. His death therefore exposed the Royal succession to new perils, revived the hopes of the Jacobites, and created anxiety in the minds of William and his Ministers. ”

“ The wretched mother knows instinctively the fate in store for her offspring, and takes sanctuary at Westminster with her second son, the little Duke of York, a boy of eleven years of age. With fair and specious words a prince of the Church persuades the widow to surrender the lad, and forthwith he joins his brother in the Tower.
And now Gloucester ruthlessly hurries to the block those who by the ties of kindred and friendship are likely to befriend the boys, and ere long no man dares raise his voice against any of his bloodthirsty acts. He is a dictator—and dictators easily develop into kings. ”

“ I assented.
"Do then but cast thine eye over the congregation of eager applicants for this seat of power, and thou shalt behold one whose advantage over the others doth raise him to a vast height above their heads, and consequently his chances of success in this great competition are assured; that one can be no other than Richard, Duke of Gloucester."
"Ay, truly, there is no other with sufficient power to rule England, in case the King should die."
"Now if Gloucester doth come thus into power will he not desire to have his revenge upon those which have ever been his enemies?" ”