Blanche of Lancaster

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Blanche of Lancaster
Duchess of Lancaster
Lady “White” in Geoffrey Chaucer's “Book of the Duchess”
Burial
St Paul's Cathedral, City of London
SpouseJohn of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
IssuePhilippa, Queen of Portugal
Elizabeth Plantagenet, Duchess of Exeter
Henry IV Bolingbroke, King of England
FatherHenry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster
MotherIsabel de Beaumont

Blanche of Lancaster (25 March 1345 – 12 September 1369) Countess of Derby was an English noblewoman and heiress. She was the first wife of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and the mother of King Henry IV of England.[1]

Lineage

She was the youngest daughter of Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster by his wife Isabel de Beaumont. Both she and her elder sister Maud, Countess of Leicester were born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lindsey. Her paternal grandparents were Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster and Maud de Chaworth. Her maternal grandparents were the 1st Earl of Buchan and Alice Comyn.[1] Her sister Maud married firstly, Ralph de Stafford and secondly William I, Duke of Bavaria.[1] However, Maud produced no surviving children from either marriage.

Marriage

On 19 May 1359, at Reading Abbey,Reading,Berkshire, Blanche was married to her third cousin John of Gaunt, the third son of the reigning English king Edward III of England and his Queen consort Philippa of Hainault. The title Duke of Lancaster became extinct upon her father's death without male heirs in 1361. However, through his marriage to Blanche, John of Gaunt became Earl of Lancaster, Earl of Derby, Earl of Lincoln and Earl of Leicester (although Gaunt would not receive all of these titles until the death without issue of Blanche's older sister, Maud, in 1362). The Duchy of Lancaster (second creation) would later be bestowed on Gaunt. The influence associated with the titles would lead him to become Lord High Steward of England. The marriage was said to have been happy. Blanche has been described as very beautiful with pale-blonde hair, blue eyes and a serene, calm demeanor. Blanche bore John six children, three of whom survived infancy.

Bubonic plague

In 1369, bubonic plague struck England for the third time, and among the dead was Blanche of Lancaster. She was living in Bolingbroke Castle, Lincolnshire at the time. Her husband was at sea at the time of her death. Her funeral at St. Paul's Cathedral in London was preceded with a magnificent cortege attended by most of the nobility and clergy. He held annual commemorations of her death for some years thereafter. For one of these commemorations, Geoffrey Chaucer, then a young squire and mostly unknown writer of court poetry, was commissioned to write what became The Book of the Duchess, in her honour. Though Chaucer’s intentions can never be defined with absolute certainty, many believe that at least one of the aims of The Book of the Duchess was an attempt to make John of Gaunt see that his grief for his late wife had become excessive and to subtly prod him to try and overcome his grief. He married his second wife, Infanta Constance of Castile in 1371. It was a political marriage that produced one daughter, Catherine of Lancaster.

In 1374, five years after her death, John of Gaunt ordered effigies made of himself and his wife. Twenty-five years later, Gaunt was laid to rest next to Blanche; the two are buried at an unknown location in St. Paul's Cathedral.

Family

Blanche’s Children with John of Gaunt:

Blanche's daughter Philippa married John of Portugal and made Blanche the ancestor of many kings of Portugal and this line leads to Isabella I of Castile, and through Isabella, Blanche is an ancestor of many monarchs in many different countries. Her son Henry became King of England after he overthrew his cousin Richard II of England (Eldest son of John's brother Edward the Black prince). Henry's reign marked the beginning of a cadet branch of the Plantaganet line, making Blanche's family the House of Lancaster the new ruling house in England.

Blanche's grandchildren by her daughter Philippa:

Blanche's grandchildren by her son Henry:

Blanche's youngest surviving daughter Elizabeth married twice and had children with both her husbands. Blanche's grandchildren by Elizabeth:

  • Richard Holland (c. 1389 - September 3, 1400)
  • Sir Edward Holland (1399 - 1413)

With John Cornwall she had two children:

  • John Cornwall (b&d. 1404)

The book of the Duchess

Geoffrey Chaucer was commissioned by John of Gaunt to write a poem after Blanche's death which was titled The Book of the Duchess. The poem tells the story of the poet’s dream. Wandering a wood, the poet discovers a knight clothed in black, and inquires of the knight’s sorrow. The knight, meant to represent John of Gaunt, is mourning a terrible tragedy, which mirrors Gaunt's own extended mourning for Blanche.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c The Complete Peerage

References

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