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'John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford' (
20 June 1389 –
14 September 1435), also known as 'John Plantagenet', was the third surviving son of
King Henry IV of
England by
Mary de Bohun, and acted as
Regent of
England for his nephew,
King Henry VI.
He was created
Earl of Kendal,
Earl of Richmond and
Duke of Bedford in
1414 by his brother,
King Henry V. On
14 June 1423, at
Troyes, he married
Anne, daughter of
John the Fearless. After Anne's death in childbirth in
1432, he married
Jacquetta of Luxembourg.
When Henry V died in
1422, Bedford vied with his younger brother,
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, for control of the Kingdom. Bedford was declared Regent of
France, his nephew technically being heir to the throne of that country as well as to
England. Bedford defeated the French several times, until the arrival of
Joan of Arc rallied the opposition. In
1431, Bedford had Joan tried and executed at
Rouen, then arranged a coronation for the young Henry VI at
Paris. While negotiating the
Treaty of Rouen, he died at his home and was buried at
Rouen Cathedral. Bedford had been Governor in
Normandy between 1422-1432.
[1][2]
He was an extremely important commissioner of
illuminated manuscripts, both from Paris (from the ''Bedford Master'' and his workshop) and England. The three most important surviving manuscripts of his are the ''Bedford
Hours'' (
British Library Ms Add 18850) and the ''Salisbury
Breviary'' (Paris BnF Ms Lat. 17294), which were both made in Paris, and the ''Bedford
Psalter and Hours'' of about 1420-23, which is English (BL Ms Add 42131). This last is signed in two places by
Herman Scheere. All are lavishly decorated and famous examples of the style of the period.
References
1. NORMANDY
2. John PLANTAGENET (1º D. Bedford)
Ancestors