This Week's Great Day Memorable Events in the history of the Empire.

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume XLV, Issue 3189, 31 January 1928, Page 3

This Week's Great Day Memorable Events in the history of the Empire.

By CHarles Conway

FEBRUARY 3.—DEATH OF JOHN OF GAUNT.

Five hundred and twenty-nine years ago, on the 3rd February, 1399, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, died at the age of 59.

He was the fourth son of King Edward 111. and Queen Philippa of R'aihault, and was born in the city of Ghent in the* month of March, 1340, during his father's expedition to Flanders. Ghent was then spelt Gaunt, a fact which was responsible for the Duke receiving the name by which he is commonly known. At the age of 19 he married his cousin Blanche, who was the heiress of Henry, Duke of Lancaster, and through whom John subsequently acquired the titles and estates of the rich and important Duchy of Lancaster, which made him the most powerful lord in the country, but for some years he refrained from taking any part in the affairs of the realm.

In 1366 he joined his celebrated eld er brother Edward, who is commonly known as.the Black Prince, in the war which was being waged on behalf of Pedro the Cruel, and in the following year he distinguished himself at the Battle of Najera, which resulted, in Pedro being placed on the throne of Castile. Three years later, when King Pedro had been assassinated, and the Black Prince had been compelled to return home on account of ill-health, John was placed in command of the English army fighting in France. He had then lost his first wife, and he married Pedro's daughter, in whose right he assumed the title of King of Castile

Soon afterwards he had to abandon his efforts to secure the Castilian throne, for he was recalled to England, which was in a state of chaos owing to the dotage of Edward 111. and the illhealth of the Black Prince, and he then became the virtual ruler of the country. He was all powerful, but extremely unpopular, and it was the hostility of the leaders of the Church which

caused him to become the protector of John Wycliffe, the reformer, in which role he undoubtedly rendered a great service to the Reformation in England at its inception.

When Richard 11., who was his nephew, and a son of the Black Prince, succeeded to the English throne on the death of Edward 111. the youthful king was loyally supported by the Duke, but his lack of success in conducting military campaigns in Scotland and in France added to his unpopularity and led to quarrels with the king, who, to get rid of him, supplied him with an army in 1386, and he then made a further attempt to secure the

Castilian throne. The campaign was a failure, and finally the Diike abandoned his claim and married one of his daughters to his successful rival, Henry, Prince of the Asturias.

On his return to England the Duke I again played an important part in , State affairs, and was mainly responsible for securing peace at home and effecting a truce .with France He was given the dukedom of Aquitaine, .which was one of England's possessions in France, and he spent a few years there, but his attempts at governing his principality ended in disaster, and when he returned to England in 1396 he retired into private life. It was then that he married his third wife, Catherine Swynford, who had been his mistress for.,many years, and whose sister was the wife of Geoffrey Chaucer. It was this close relationship which secured for the father of 'English poetry the friendship and powerful patronage of John of Gaunt, who was thus indirectly an important factor in the establishment of England's literature. j The Duke was buried in Old St. J Paul's Cathedral, where all traces of his tomb were destroyed in the Great ! Fire of 1666. I (Copyrighted).