Blanche of Lancaster

Blanche of Lancaster (March 25, 1345 - September 12, 1369) was an English noblewoman, daughter of Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster by his wife Isabel de Beaumont. Both she and her older sister Maud, Countess of Leicester were born at Castle Bolingbrook.

Related Topics:
March 25 - 1345 - September 12 - 1369 - Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster - Isabel de Beaumont - Maud, Countess of Leicester

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On May 19, 1359, Blanche was married to John of Gaunt, a son of the reigning English king Edward III of England and his Queen consort Philippa of Hainault. Through this marriage John of Gaunt became Duke of Lancaster, Earl of Derby, Earl of Lincoln and Earl of Leicester. The influence associated with the titles would lead him to become Lord High Steward of England.

Related Topics:
May 19 - 1359 - John of Gaunt - Edward III of England - Queen consort - Philippa of Hainault - Duke of Lancaster - Earl of Derby - Earl of Lincoln - Earl of Leicester - Lord High Steward of England

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Bubonic plague struck the Kingdom of England for the third time in 1369, and among the toll was numbered Blanche Lancaster among the dead. Her husband was at sea at the time of her death. He held annual commemorations of her death for some years thereafter. For one of these, Geoffrey Chaucer, then a young squire and mostly unknown writer of court poetry, was comissioned to write what became The Book of the Duchess, in her honor. Though Chaucer?s intentions can never be divined 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 dead wife had become excessive and to prod him subtly to move on.

Related Topics:
Bubonic plague - Kingdom of England - 1369 - Geoffrey Chaucer - The Book of the Duchess

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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 buried in St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

Related Topics:
1374 - St. Paul's Cathedral - London

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Blanche?s Children with John of Gaunt:

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• Philippa of Lancaster (1360 - 1415). Queen consort of John I of Portugal.
• John Plantagenet (1362 - 1365). Died of natural causes.
• Elizabeth Plantagenet (1364 - 1425). Married first to John Hastings, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, secondly to John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter, thirdly to to John Cornwall, 1st Baron Fanhope.
• Edward Plantagenet (1365 - 1368.
• Henry IV of England (April 3, 1367 - March 20, 1413).
• Isabella Plantagenet: (1368). Died young.