Henry Plantagenet, Earl Of Lancaster

  Notes and Events:

• Note. Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster of the 1267 creation (2nd son of Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster, 2nd son of Henry III). [Burke's Peerage]
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Henry Plantagenet, Earl of Lancaster, b. c 1281, d. 22 Sep 1345, son of Edmund Plantagenet and Blanche of Artois, and grandson of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. [Magna Charta Sureties]

• Note: Following is a brief summary of Henry's entry from the "Dictionary of National Biography" :. He served with EDWARD I in Flanders in 1297 and 1298. He fought in Scotland several times between 1298 and 1305. In 1315 he, in common with the other lords of the Welsh marches, joined the Earl of Hereford in putting down the rebellion of Llewelyn Bren, and in 1318 he was ordered to bring his Welsh retainers to Newcastle to serve against the Scots. He was opposed to the Despensers, for the greediness of the younger threatened the lords marchers generally; but he does not seem to have had any violent feelings against the king, and was not involved in his brother's [Thomas, Earl of Lancaster] treason. In 1324 he was created Earl of Lancaster, Earl of Leicester, and Steward of England, dignities which had been held by his brother. It is evident that he was indignant at his brother's fate, and was resolved to avenge it, and was not appeased by these honors. In 1324 the King unsuccessfully had him tried for treason. He was, at this time, regarded as the foremost man in the kingdom. Henry supported Queen Isabel upon her return to England and he was instrumental in the downfall of the Despensers and had custody of King Edward II for a time during his imprisonment. He is said to have treated the King very humanely. Henry was the guardian of King Edward III during his minority and was the chief member of the council of government. In 1326 he took the lead in opposition to the rule of Queen Isabel and her paramour, ROGER MORTIMER, EARL OF MARCH (RIN 684). Early in the year 1330, following a slow degeneration of his vision, Henry became totally blind. Still, he persuaded the king of the necessity of getting rid of MORTIMER and was the mastermind of the plot which led to MORTIMER'S capture, trial, and execution late in the year. The Earl's blindness, which he bore with patience, forced him to retire from active life; he gave himself wholly to devotion. He was courteous and kindhearted, of sound judgement, religious, and apparently of high.

• Source Note. Magna Charta Sureties 1215, Frederick Lewis Weis, additions by Walter Lee Sheppard Jr, 5th Edition, 1999, 4-6, 18-7, 44-6, 121-6, 134-7.

Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 106th Edition, Charles Mosley Editor-in-Chief, 1999, 2026, 2119.

Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom, by G. E Cokayne, Sutton Publishing Ltd, 2000, IV:147.

Henry married Maud De Chaworth, daughter of Lord Patrick De Chaworth, Of Kempsford and Isabel De Beauchamp. (Maud De Chaworth was born about 1282 in Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales, died in 1317-1322 and was buried before 3 Dec 1322 in Priory, Mottisfont, Hampshire, England.)