English Aristocrat. Born the son of Sir John de Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset and Lady Margaret de Holand, he was granted the title of Count of Mortain in April 1427. He married Lady Eleanor Beauchamp sometime between 1431 and 1435 in a unlicensed marriage, although he was pardoned in March 1438. The marriage produced ten children. He was invested as a Knight, Order of the Garter by May 1436. By 1440 he succeeded in recapturing Harfleur in Normandy. He was created 1st Earl of Dorset in August 1442; was created Marquess of Dorset in June 1443; and succeeded to the title of 4th Earl of Somerset in May 1444. That year, England settled a truce with France, ceding Anjou and Maine in an unpopular move. In a breach of the truce, Somerset surprised the town of Fougères, capturing it and refused to give it up or exchange it. He was created 1st Duke of Somerset in March 1448, and the following year was hard pressed by French partisans and gave up seven English strongholds in France and also paid a ransom in order to obtain safe passage for his wife, children, and goods. During the campaign of 1450, English troops were decimated at Formigny, and Somerset's garrison at Caen capitulated after a three weeks' siege. He then tried and failed to re-establish the English in Gascony. His king, Henry VI, suffered intermittent bouts of mental instability and during one such, the Duke of York took the role of protector and sent Somerset to the Tower. He was saved by the king's recovery and restored to power. He was made captain of Calais, but the dynastic feud that would grow into the Wars of the Roses had been ignited. In May 1455 at St. Albans, Hertfordshire, Somerset faced York and the Earl of Warwick with 2,000 troops against half again as many Yorkists. After several hours of negotiations, the two armies clashed. During a charge by Warwick, the Lancastrians were routed and Somerset killed.
English Aristocrat. Born the son of Sir John de Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset and Lady Margaret de Holand, he was granted the title of Count of Mortain in April 1427. He married Lady Eleanor Beauchamp sometime between 1431 and 1435 in a unlicensed marriage, although he was pardoned in March 1438. The marriage produced ten children. He was invested as a Knight, Order of the Garter by May 1436. By 1440 he succeeded in recapturing Harfleur in Normandy. He was created 1st Earl of Dorset in August 1442; was created Marquess of Dorset in June 1443; and succeeded to the title of 4th Earl of Somerset in May 1444. That year, England settled a truce with France, ceding Anjou and Maine in an unpopular move. In a breach of the truce, Somerset surprised the town of Fougères, capturing it and refused to give it up or exchange it. He was created 1st Duke of Somerset in March 1448, and the following year was hard pressed by French partisans and gave up seven English strongholds in France and also paid a ransom in order to obtain safe passage for his wife, children, and goods. During the campaign of 1450, English troops were decimated at Formigny, and Somerset's garrison at Caen capitulated after a three weeks' siege. He then tried and failed to re-establish the English in Gascony. His king, Henry VI, suffered intermittent bouts of mental instability and during one such, the Duke of York took the role of protector and sent Somerset to the Tower. He was saved by the king's recovery and restored to power. He was made captain of Calais, but the dynastic feud that would grow into the Wars of the Roses had been ignited. In May 1455 at St. Albans, Hertfordshire, Somerset faced York and the Earl of Warwick with 2,000 troops against half again as many Yorkists. After several hours of negotiations, the two armies clashed. During a charge by Warwick, the Lancastrians were routed and Somerset killed.
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