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John of Eltham
Earl of Cornwall
John on the family tree of English kings
Born	15 August 1316 Eltham Palace, Kent
Died	13 September 1336 (aged 20) Perth, Scotland
Burial	15 January 1337 Westminster Abbey, London
Father	Edward II of England
Mother	Isabella of France

John of Eltham, 1st Earl of Cornwall (15 August 1316 – 13 September 1336) was the second son of Edward II of England and Isabella of France. He was heir presumptive to the English throne until the birth of his nephew Edward, the Black Prince.

Life

John was born in 1316 at Eltham Palace, Kent, the second son of Edward II of England and Isabella of France. On 6 October 1328, at the age of twelve, he was created Earl of Cornwall. Caught in the throes of the war between his father, Edward II, and his mother, Isabella, his growing years were turbulent. He was passed between his parents and was even held in the Tower of London for a time before his brother, Edward III, led a coup against their mother and assumed his majority.

Information on John is scant, but by most historical accounts he was highly competent, and highly trusted by Edward. He was named "Guardian of the Realm" when Edward III was out of the country, was asked to open Parliament in Edward's absence, and was named Warden of the northern Marches, which gave him virtual autonomy in that portion of England.

As the younger brother of the English monarch, since early childhood marital negotiations were made for John: in March 1328 Edward III entered into negotiations for a marriage between his brother and María Díaz de Haro, heiress of the Lordship of Biscay. By contract signed on 28 September 1334, John was then betrothed with Maria de La Cerda, Lady of Lunel and daughter of Ferdinand de la Cerda (grandson of King Alfonso X of Castile) by his wife Juana Núñez de Lara, Lady of Lara. A dispensation was sought, but the contract was abandoned when relations between Edward III and King Philip VI of France worsened in late 1334. Marie married Charles d'Évreux at Poissy in April 1335. In December 1335 were made negotiations for a marriage with Joan, Countess of Penthièvre and heiress of the Duchy of Brittany; however, it does not seem that these arrangement resulted in an official betrothal.

At sixteen he was a key commander in the Battle of Halidon Hill (1333), a devastating defeat for the Scots. Later he commanded an army in the southwest of Scotland that put down resistance to Edward Balliol, whose claims to the Scottish throne were supported by England. According to Scottish accounts, who view John as a ruthless destroyer, he burned down Lesmahagow Abbey when it was filled with people who had sought sanctuary from the wrath of the English troops. As the Scottish chronicler John of Fordun tells it, this violation of the sacred laws of sanctuary so enraged King Edward III that he killed his own brother in fury. According to modern historian Tom Beaumont James, this tale "challenges the distinction between history and story."

John died at Perth, probably from a fever, shortly after turning 20. In January 1337, Edward buried his brother with all honours in a beautiful alabaster-carved tomb in Westminster Abbey, and had over 900 masses said for his soul.

Ancestry

Arms

As Earl of Cornwall, John had use of the coat of arms of the kingdom, differenced by a bordure France (i.e. azure semy of fleur-de-lys or).

Notes

1. King Edward III wrote to "Alfonso...Castellæ...regi" and to "Marie dame de Biscay" regarding the proposed marriage between "fratrem nostrum germanum Johannem de Eltham" and "filiam dompni Johannis quondam domini de Biskae" dated 28 March 1328.
2. Edward III appointed "Willielmi d´Aubeneye militis et Joannis Caupegorge" as proxies to negotiate the marriage between "Joannem comitem Cornubiæ fratrem nostrum" and "Johannam filiam Guidonis de Britannia neptem et hæredem " by charter dated 31 December 1335.

References

1. Dryburgh 2016, p. 24.
2. Baker 2012, p. 38.
3. Thomas Rymer: Foedera (1740), vol. II, Pars III, p. 9. ed. A. Clarke and F. Holbrooke, London 1816.
4. Thomas Rymer: Foedera (1740), vol. II, Pars III, p. 118. ed. A. Clarke and F. Holbrooke, London 1816.
5. López de Ayala, P. (1780) Crónicas de los Reyes de Castilla (Madrid), Tome II, Crónica del rey Enrique II, Año Octavo, Cap. X, p. 49.
6. Pierre-Hyacinthe Morice de Beaubois: Mémoires pour servir de preuves à l´histoire ecclesiastique et civile de Bretagne, Paris 1742, vol. I, col. 1375.
7. Ormrod, W. M. (1989). "The Personal Religion of Edward III". Speculum. 64 (4): 849–877. doi:10.2307/2852870. ISSN 0038-7134. JSTOR 2852870. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
8. Maclagan, Michael; Louda, Jiří (1999), Line of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe, London: Little, Brown & Co, p. 17, ISBN 1-85605-469-1
9. Weir, Alison (1995), Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy Revised edition, Random House, p. 92, ISBN 0-7126-7448-9
10. Marks of Cadency in the British Royal Family

Sources

• Baker, Geoffrey (2012). Barber, Richard (ed.). The Chronicle of Geoffrey Le Baker of Swinbrook. Translated by Preest, David. The Boydell Press.
• Dryburgh, Paul (2016). "Living in the Shadows: John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwll (1316-36)". In Bothwell, James; Dodd, Gwilym (eds.). Fourteenth Century England. Vol. 14. The Boydell Press.24

External links

• Scott L. Waugh (2004). "John, earl of Cornwall (1316–1336)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/14842. Retrieved 1 February 2008. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Hutchinson, John (1892). "John of Eltham" . Men of Kent and Kentishmen (Subscription ed.). Canterbury: Cross & Jackman. p. 81.
• Kingsford, Charles Lethbridge (1892). "John of Eltham" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 29. p. 417.

v t e House of Plantagenet
Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou Wife: Empress Matilda Henry II of England Geoffrey, Count of Nantes William FitzEmpress Illegitimate: Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey Emma of Anjou Mary of Shaftesbury
Henry II of England Wife: Eleanor of Aquitaine William IX, Count of Poitiers Henry the Young King Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony Richard I of England Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile Joan of England, Queen of Sicily John, King of England Illegitimate: Geoffrey (archbishop of York) William de Longespée, Earl of Salisbury
Henry the Young King Wife: Margaret of France, Queen of England and Hungary William Plantagenet (died in infancy)
Richard I of England Wife: Berengaria of Navarre Illegitimate: Philip of Cognac
John, King of England Wife: Isabella of Angoulême Henry III of England Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall Joan of England, Queen of Scotland Isabella of England Eleanor of England, Countess of Leicester Illegitimate: Joan, Lady of Wales Richard FitzRoy Oliver FitzRoy Geoffrey FitzRoy John FitzRoy Henry FitzRoy Osbert Gifford Eudes FitzRoy Bartholomew FitzRoy Maud FitzRoy Isabel FitzRoy Philip FitzRoy William de Forz
Henry III of England Wife: Eleanor of Provence Edward I of England Margaret of England Beatrice of England Edmund Crouchback Katherine of England
Edward I of England Wives: Eleanor of Castile Margaret of France, Queen of England Henry Eleanor of England, Countess of Bar Joan, Countess of Hertford and Gloucester Alphonso, Earl of Chester Margaret of England, Duchess of Brabant Mary of Woodstock Elizabeth of Rhuddlan Edward II of England Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent
Edward II of England Wife: Isabella of France Edward III of England John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall Eleanor of Woodstock Joan of the Tower Illegitimate: Adam
Edward III of England Wife: Philippa of Hainault Edward the Black Prince Isabella de Coucy Joan of England Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York Mary of Waltham Margaret, Countess of Pembroke Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester Illegitimate: John de Southeray Jane Northland Joan Skerne
Richard II of England Wives: Anne of Bohemia Isabella of Valois
Henry IV of England Wives: Mary de Bohun Joan of Navarre, Queen of England Henry V of England Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester Blanche of England Philippa of England Illegitimate: Edmund Leboorde
Henry V of England Wife: Catherine of Valois Henry VI of England
Henry VI of England Wife: Margaret of Anjou Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales
Edward IV Wife: Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth of York Mary of York Cecily of York Edward V Margaret of York Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York Anne of York, Lady Howard George Plantagenet, Duke of Bedford Catherine of York Bridget of York Illegitimate: Elizabeth Plantagenet Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle Grace Plantagenet
Edward V no consort or issue
Richard III of England Wife: Anne Neville Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales Illegitimate: John of Gloucester Katherine, Countess of Pembroke Richard of Eastwell
Category

• 1316 births
• 1336 deaths
• House of Plantagenet
• Medieval Cornish people
• People from Eltham
• Earls of Cornwall
• Heirs presumptive to the English throne
• 14th-century English nobility
• Burials at Westminster Abbey
• People associated with Perth and Kinross
• Peers created by Edward III
• Sons of kings
• Children of Edward II of England