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A depiction of the tombs of Katherine Swynford and her daughter, Joan Beaufort (before they were damaged). Source: available here.
Early Life and First Marriage
Katherine Swynford (born Katherine de Roet) started out in life rather unremarkably. She was neither of noble blood nor a struggling peasant. She was somewhere in between, a member of the gentry. As her father was a knight in the service of King Edward III and his queen Phillipa of Hainaut, Katherine spent the early years of her life at court under the care of the latter. The queen doted on her and her sister Phillipa, resulting in them receiving the same education as the noble and royal children at court. Katherine grew into an exceptionally beautiful, poised, demure and obedient woman whom many respected at court. This included the lords and ladies above her. Eventually, she entered into the service of Blanche of Lancaster, the first wife of John of Gaunt. John was the fourth son of Edward and Phillipa.
Due to her closeness to the royal family, they chose to arrange her marriage. They paired her off with Sir Hugh Swynford of Kettlethorpe, a knight of modest social standing. Though he owned lands and an estate, the mills and small buildings were neglected and the land was infertile. Therefore, the couple had to depend on Hugh’s salary as a knight. Historians determine they had at least four children. Sadly, misfortune struck the Swynfords when Hugh died in 1371 after participating in a military campaign, leaving Katherine a widow. For a poor widow, this was basically a death sentence.
An Affair with John of Gaunt
But Katherine’s good standing with the royal family saved her as John of Gaunt supported her financially and gave her a job in the household of his new wife, Constance of Castile, whom he married after the death of Blanche of Lancaster. Though Katherine’s situation improved substantially with John moving heaven and earth to ensure she received a decent inheritance, it also became way more complicated than she expected. She and the married John of Gaunt fell in love. Historians cannot conclude exactly when the affair began but vote in favor of it being during his marriage to Constance.
This was not a temporary fling of short-lived clandestine meetings at night. Rather, it was a long-term relationship where all the nobles knew of the infidelity, including Constance. Katherine gained unofficial status as John’s mistress and even became the governess of John’s daughters (with Blanche). Whether Constance cared or not is up for debate, as Constance had a better advantage keeping quiet, considering how her union with John would mean reclaiming the Castilian throne. But Katherine had four children with John, all of whom were cared for, educated and raised alongside royalty, despite their status as bastards. He gave them the surname Beaufort, a family who’d play a major role in the War of the Roses decades later. It was an odd state of affairs. Not only did the court not come to Constance’s defense but they seemed to approve of Katherine and John’s love. There was a strange acceptance of the blended families, both legitimate and illegitimate, and life was relatively harmonious among all parties involved. Despite Katherine remaining in good graces with the nobility, the public had a different opinion.
John of Gaunt was not afraid to parade the relationship in front of the masses. A famous incident recorded around 1378 by chronicler Thomas Walsingham described John and Katherine riding side by side while his wife Constance was riding behind them. This was a public display of their affair which elicited outrage and disgust from the common folk. They wanted justice and vengeance for Constance, declaring John’s behavior unholy and labeling Katherine a seductress and witch. The public pressure was too much to handle. Three years later was the Peasants’ Revolt, for which John blamed himself and his indiscretions. The peasants demanded his head for his treachery. So, in a heartbreaking decision driven by guilt, he formally broke from Katherine. He still supported her and their children financially and saw her from time to time. She left court to seek residence in Lincoln.
Despite the public renunciation of the relationship, Katherine and the royal family’s relationship remained solid. King Richard II, John of Gaunt’s nephew, bestowed upon her the Order of the Garter, chivalric award and title. Katherine led a quiet existence in the countryside, working in noble households and enjoying a comfortable lifestyle. It seemed as though this was to be the status quo until Constance died in 1394.
A line secured
Now that Constance was dead, John immediately sprang into action to legitimize his mistress and children. He appealed to the Pope for his approval, which he gave by manner of a Papal Bull. He then married Katherine at Lincoln Cathedral in 1396, thereby making her his third wife and the Duchess of Lancaster of England. Their children, the Beauforts, were now princes and princesses. The marriage was initially met with resistance but the nobles relented and accepted the reality.
John’s long anticipated marriage to Katherine did not last long. He died from a disease (possible STD). Upon his death, Katherine had all her assets temporarily seized but Richard II came to her aid. She stayed out of politics and chose to live her life out of the spotlight in Lincoln once again. When John’s first-born son with Blanche of Lancaster, Henry Bolingbroke usurped the throne from Richard, Katherine switched sides and supported him, probably in the hopes of not making an enemy of her stepson. This proved the best strategy as Henry continued the family tradition of showing her favor financially. Her children swore fealty to their new king which gave them immense leverage and helped them set up their descendants for success. John and Katherine’s eldest son John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset fathered Joan Beaufort, the wife of James I King of the Scots and John Beaufort, the father of Margaret Beaufort and grandfather of King Henry VII (Tudor). Also a descendent of Katherine and John was Cecily Neville, the mother of Edward IV, Richard III and George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence. This made the Beauforts connected to both the House of Lancaster and the House of York. By the time the War of the Roses peaked, the House of Beaufort aligned with Lancaster as pertaining to their lineage by John and Katherine. Henry Tudor defeated Richard III at Bosworth Fields and sealed their legacy through blood and iron at that fated battlefield.
So, the intense love affair between John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford resulted in the British monarchy’s security with the reigns of the Houses of York, Tudor, Stuart all the way to today’s House of Windsor. John and Katherine’s legacy even made it to the United States with presidents such as George Washington, John Quincy Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Franklin D Roosevelt and George W Bush being descendants.
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Works Cited
“Writing medieval women’s lives: the case of Katherine Swynford, Lady of Kettlethorpe (and Duchess of Lancaster).” renaissanceissues, 23 December 2016, https://renaissanceissues.wordpress.com/2016/12/23/writing-medieval-womens-lives-the-case-of-katherine-swynford-lady-of-kettlethorpe-and-duchess-of-lancaster/. Accessed 18 November 2024.
“Katherine Swynford: Life And Legacy Of The Scandalous Duchess.” HistoryExtra, 29 November 2021, https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/katherine-swynford-mistress-duchess-john-gaunt/. Accessed 18 November 2024.
“Katherine Swynford (c.1350-1403) – Women’s History Network.” Women’s History Network, 21 August 2011, https://womenshistorynetwork.org/katherine-swynford-c-1350-1403/. Accessed 18 November 2024.