John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke

For other people named John Hastings, see John Hastings (disambiguation).

Coat of arms of Sir John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, KG

John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, KG (1347 – 1375), was a fourteenth-century English nobleman and soldier. He also held the title Baron Abergavenny. He was born in Sutton Valence, the son of Laurence Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke, and Agnes Mortimer. His father died when John Hastings was only a year old, and he became a ward of King Edward III whilst remaining in his mother's care. The King arranged for John to marry Edward's daughter Margaret in 1359, which drew John into the royal family. However, Margaret died two years later. John Hastings inherited his father's earldom, subsidiary titles and estates in 1368. The same year he made a second marrige, to Anne, daughter of Walter, Lord Mauny. The following year Pembroke commenced the career in royal service that was to consume the rest of his life.The Hundred Years' War had recently reignited in France, and in 1369 Pembroke journeyed to Aquitaine.

There he took part in a sequnce of raids, sieges, and counter-measures against the French, with both notable successes and failures. The latter were compounded by his apparent inability to work alongside the famed soldier Sir John Chandos, who, although head of the King's forces there, was far below Pembroke in rank. He was, however, far above Pembroke in ability, and his subsequent death led to even more problems for Pembroke in France. A couple of years later, the earl was summoned to parliament and returned to England. There, perhaps exasperated by the political failures of the ing's ecclesiastical ministers, he was responsible for forcing them from power and being replaced by laymen. Pembroke was soon to return to France again, for what was to be the last time. In 1372 he set off with a small fleet, intending to raise a new army once in Acquitaine. However, his arrival had been anticipated by the Castilian navy (whose kingdom was then allied to France). Pemboke, outnumbered and outgunned, was forced to fight at the Battle of La Rochelle, where he went down to a crushing defeat. Captured and taken to Castile, he was imprisoned in harsh conditions. It took a firthher three years for a large ransom to be negotiated, but in 1375, he was finally released. Returning to England through rance, he was taken ill near Paris and died before reaching home. He was about 28 years old; his wife survived him, as did a son, bornin 1372, whom Pembroke had never seen. Also named John, he would eventually inherit the earldom. Pembroke was buried in Hereford in spring 1375.

Background and youth

Sutton Valence Castle

John Hastings was born on 29 August 1347 at Sutton Valence Castle, Kent and baptised that day in the local church, St Mary the Virgin. He was the only son and heir. of Laurence Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke by his wife Agnes, who was Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March's third daughter. Laurance Hastings died exactly a year after his sons' birth, and John remained in the care of his mother, whilst becoing a ward of the King. In December that year his mother was granted 100 marks a year for his maintenance and upkeep. His mother soon remarried, but her second husband (one John Haklyt) was himself dead by 1357. The wardship of Laurence's estates was divided between his wife Agnes, his mother (John's grandmother, Julian de Leybourne, who later married the Earl of Huntingdon), and Sir John Grey of Ruthin. John himself, in waht was to be a gradual process, began receiving grants of manors held by his father in 1362 and 1363. The following year, 1364, he received the wardship of all his father's lands in England and Wales, and was appointed keeper of all his grandmother's dower lands. Hastings proved his age on 12 September 1368, made his homage to the King and pledged his fealty, and in return he was granted seisin of all his English inheritance. The following month, he entered into those estates his father had held in Ireland and Wales. Like his father, as well as being Earl of Pembroke, he also styled himself Lord of Wexford and Abergavenny. He soon became a favourite of the King.

Marriages

Pembroke married twice. The first was arranged by King Edward III, and took place on 19 May 1359 in Reading to Margaret (1347 - 1361), the King's twelve-year-old fourth daughter. She died around 1 October 1361, probably of plague. and was buried in Abingdon Abbey. The marriage was never solemnized and they had no children. This was an important match for the King; the royal connection meant that, while his wife lived, Pembroke was referred to as the King's son in official records, as his marriage had brought him directly into the royal family.

He then married, in July 1368, Anne Mauny (24 July 1355 – 3 April 1384). She was the daughter of the then-famed soldier Walter, Lord Mauny and Margaret, daughter of Thomas, Earl of Norfolk, and later Duchess of Norfolk in her own right. Anne gave birth to a son by Hastings, who was known as John of Reading. Since his second wife was actually related to his first (they were cousins), a Papal dispensation was sought for this marriage, and received from the Archbishop of Canterbury on 1 July 1368. In return, the Pope requested that the earl donate 1,000 gold florins to the repair of Saint Paul's, Rome. When his father-in-law died, Pembroke sent two of his knights to take possession of all of Mauny's estates in Hainaut for himself. Pembroke was twenty-one at his second marriage, whilst his bride was only thirteen; Pembroke left her in England while he carved out a career for himself in France on royal service.

Military career

Much, if not most, of John Hastings' life was devoted to royal service, and this begun in October 1364 when he was in attendance on King Edward III at Dover. Five years later he entailed and enfeoffed a chunk of his earldom, with the reversion going to the King; these were granted to his feoffees who granted them back to him for five years. His first active service came in the same year, when he accompanied the King's son, the Earl of Cambridge to Aquitaine, with a force of 400 men-at-arms, to reinforce the Black Prince's campaign which had suffered severe setbacks following his intervention in the war of Castilian succession. They landed at St Malo - apparantly under the nose of a local French commander - and began the long march south, aiming to join with Prince Edward in Angoulême, whom they reached in late April 1369. They arrived at a period of military setbacks for the English, and Archambaud, Count of Périgord, was attempting to join forces with the Duke of Anjou; the earls of Pembroke and Cambridge were tasked immediately to destroy as much of Archambaud's lands as possible. This they excelled at, putting property to "fire and sword." After this chevauchée into Périgord, Pembroke's force successfully captured Bourdeilles castle after an eleven-week siege- mainly, in fact, due to the fact that the garrison made a mistimed sortie and allowed the English army entry. Knighted soon after by the Earl of Cambridge himself, he continued to campaign in both Anjou and Poitou, involving much raiding, some of it along side Edward, Prince of Wales. By June Pembroke was raising a large army to relieve pressure on the north march of Poitou; he and Cambridge were joined by Sir John Chandos around this time. They arrived in the Vendée at the end of June 1369, and captured Roche-sur-Yon as a result of the French captain betraying the town to the English. This was one of the "most significant enclaves" the French held inside English France, and it belonged to "no less a person" that the Duke of Anjou himself. Following the taking of Roche-sur-Yon Pembroke led a successful campaign into the Loire Valley. Although he failed on the first attemt to capture Saumur, he took and held both of the main bridges across the River Loire betwen Saumur and Nantes. Already greatly fortified, Pembroke strengthened and garrisoned them. This campaign greatly diminished the ability of the French to attack through the western march of Poitou.

Bourdeilles Castle; captured by Pembroke soon after his arrival in France..

At this time, there were also tensions among the English generals, particularly Pembroke and Chandos, based on the fact that the former "may have had the grander name but his inexperience showed." Although Chandos had by now been appointed Seneschal of Anjou, Pembroke- with what his biographer terms "aristocratic arrogance"- refused to serve under Chandos, who was, as Richard Barber reminds us, "a mere banneret." It is possible that Pembroke was acting under the advice of his council, but either way, their armies were kept separate from each other on account of this. As a result, that October (or, says Sumption, December) he invaded Anjou with just his own force of 300 lancers on a fire-raising raid to Puirenon. Pembroke spent long enough there to attract attention; he was ambushed by Louis de Sancerre or Jean de Bueil (both commanded the French forces to the east of the Loire) and about 600 men: "Pembroke's men were still struggling to to form lines accros the village street when the French horsemen charged into them." About 100 of Pembroke's me were killed or captured, and he left behind a quantity of supplies, horses and materiel. Not only was he unable to fight the attacking force off, but, having escaped to a house at the edge of the villiage, Pembroke was force to call upon Chandos for his assistance "In revenge," says Cokayne in his Complete Peerage, he attacked the town again, before being despatched to relieve Belleperche, in early 1370, where he raised the French siege. At the same, Pembroke's own agents had recruited 300 men in England to join his force, and they were soon due to to sail.

Pembroke's embarrassment, says historian R. I. Jack, "did nothing to abate the ill feeling between the two leaders" and "was a serious blow to Edward III's attempts to stabilize Aquitaine." Not only had the escapade damaged the English cause in Acquitane, but it led to Chandos' failure later in the year to recapture Abbey at Saint-Savin, Vienne. Chandos' failure there which led to Chandos' untimely death there at the age of 55. This was a major loss for the English, as neither of the remaining English captains in France, including Pembroke, had the personal skill or qualities that Chandos had had. The A contemporary chronicler, Thomas Walsingham, reported the French King, Charles V, when he heard of Chandos' death, said that no-one was now "left able to make peace between England and France."

In early 1370 Pembroke was nominated for the Order of the Garter, and his Order Robes were ordered for him, according to government accounts, on 12 March. This timing allowed him to attend the order's annual feast in April. He took the stall of the deceased Thomas, Earl of Warwick. The same year he accompanied the Black Prince- who was by now suffering from the illness that was to kill him- in a major campaign against Limoges. Before commencing the attack, Pembroke accompanied the Prince- who was by now so ill he could nort stand, being conveyed on a litter - to Cognac, where the Prince's younger brother, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster was due to arrive in September 1370. Notably, one of Gaut's closests advisors was Walter, Baron Manny, Pembroke's father-in-law. Mauny had already been directing much of the English campaign from London, and was "no doubt frustrated to find himself dictaing strategy to Pembroke from Westminster;" and when Gaunt eventualy arrived, Pembroke's father-in-law arrived with him. Limoges was captured after a five day siege in which the English successfully mined the city's walls. Following its capture in October 1370, the town was sacked and many inhabitants were killed.; Pembroke appears to have taken full part in these events, dishing out "severe treatment" to the occupants. He may even have engaged the captains of the town's garrison in personal combat.

Following this, in 1371 the Prince returned to England, while Pembroke remained in France and continued to prosecute the war, now alongside Gaunt. Together they besieged Montpaon from January to February 1471, after which, Pembroke himself was recalled to London in order for him to attend the coming parliament to which he had been summoned on 8 January earlier that year. By this time, says Ormrod, Pembroke "dominated" the court; although he was unable to persuade the King to assist him in Pembroke's dispute with Lord Grey of Ruthyn.At this parliament, which sat from February to March 1371, Pembroke was appointed a trier of petitions. His business at this parliament was not purely administrative; Pembroke appears to have been the main leader of an anti-clerical parliamentary faction which politically attacked the king's clerical ministers- at least, so he was portrayed in some contemporaray chronicles. His actions have been described as radical. As a result of this assault, William of Wykeham and Thomas Brantingham (the Chancellor and Treasurer, respectively) were forced to resign, with their positions taken by laymen. Sumption suggests that the immediate cause for Pembroke's attack was his recent experiences at the front line, in "frustrating and underfunded campaigns" whilst, at home, as the writer of a contemporary French tract colourfully put it, "the clergy reposed preacefully beneath shady canopies elegantly scoffing fat delicacies"!

Return to France and defeat at La Rochelle

Pembroke was still in England in early 1372 ("when his wife, now aged sixteen, conceived a child"). Before he left- still, as far as he knew, childless, he arranged contingency plans in case he failed to return from campaign. His heir at this point was still Reynold Grey (with whom he was still in dispute), and to avoid Grey inheriting a penny in the event of Pembroke's death, the earl received the King's permission to make a further enfeoffment following the one in 1369. This specified that - after his debts had been paid - of much of his land in favour of a cousin, William Beauchamp. Bauchamp was not only his friend but a "worthy successor" to Pembroke's title, in the earl's eyes. Chris Given-Wilson has commented on this episode that "few men acted in such an extreme fashion ... simply out of personal dislike." However the situation never arose since he had a male heir born to him soon after.

The Battle of La Rochelle as depicted in a miniature some time after 1380; note the English ships are deliberately illustrated as being lower than the Castilian.

Pembroke soon returned to France and to the war. Indeed, it is possible that he was personally requested to lead the campaign, as being the nearest thing to a member of the royal family, as well as the fact that to the Gascons at least, his previous efforts there had been looked on favourably. By this time the government too viewed Pembroke as a "military prodigy in the style of the 1330s." On 5 March 1372 he indentured with the King to serve in Acquitaine, to which end he was appointed Lieutenant of Aquitaine. Mark Ormrod has decribed the campaign as a "minor" one.; he was accompanied only by his personal retinue of 160, in a fleet of "little more than a dozen small vessels protected by three larger ships with towers." His appointment was on 20 April, and he sailed to the Bay of Biscay in June with a fleet of reinforcements. Not only did he carry with him extra troops but also, intending to raise a larger force once in Acquitaine, he took £12,000 in silver coin to pay for it. Pembroke was instructed to recruit 500 knights, 1,500 esquires, and 1,000 archers. He was sailing, however, with an overly-small fleet (that was "gravely inadequate" commented James Sherborne) and which was, tactically, being despatched prematurely.

The plan appears to have been for Pembroke to land at La Rochelle, giving succour to Poitou and Saintonge, and then, having strengthened Acquitaine, to have marched northwards, cross the Loire, and join up with King, in simultaneous campaigns. Unknown to the English, however, Charles V's information from London was good enough that he knew of Pembroke' pending invasion of Acquitaine only a short time after Edward III's Great Council had decided upon it. Pembroke though, was much delayed; although he was in Plymouth by May, his feet could not be available until June, due to a pressing shortage of ships. Indeed, in light of the fact that the government was aware of the strength of the enemy's naval forces in the area Pembroke would be sailing to, says Sumption, the earl's own fleet was "extraordinarily vulnerable"; possibly he only expected to encounter pirates. BUt since it was known that both the French and Castilian fleets were at sea, this was still too small; some of them were hired, and some were individually so small that they could not be fortified. Pembroke's ships reached La Rochelle on the afternoon of 22 June. Attempting to enterthe harbour (the town was still held by the English), Pembroke encountered a much larger force of twelve large Castilian galleys, and eight carracks. They had been lying in wait for the English force ever since the latter's battle plans had become known weeks earlier, a French fleet under Owen of Wales was intended to join them, but arrived to late to take part. Battle was joined. Before hand, the earl knighted some of his own squires on his flagship. Pembroke was not averse to fighting; as a contemporary said, the earl and his army was "marvelously pleased... for they did not think much of the Spanish and thought to beat them easily."

Pembroke's smaller ships found themselves towered-over by the tall caracks, and Castilian archers rained arrows onto the decks of English ships, whilst well protected by their own wooden breastworks. Pembroke found his fleet caught between the enemy and the sandbanks (located off what later became La Pallice); further, the Castilian ships possessed arbalests, which caused great destruction to wooden decks. Pembroke was unable to replicate the victories of earlier years (for example, at Winchelsea and Nájera) due to his insufficiency of archers, which would otherwise allowed him to lay down a suppressing fire on the enemy crews. Likewise, Castilian command of the air meant that English soldiers were unable to board Castilain ships. The battle lasted two days. The fighting broke off as night fell on the 22nd; Pembroke had lost two ships, and was now surrounded by the Castilian fleet over night. Fighting recommenced the next morning. Pembroke found his flagship attacked by four of the enemy galleys, who used grappling hooks to attach themselves to the English ship, and later managed to douse the decks of some ships with oil which could then be ignited by fire arrows. Fire, said, Sherborne, played a "vital" role in the Castilian triumph. Around this point - with horses running wild and kicking holes in the hulls and his men throwing themselves overboard to avoid the flames - Pembroke surrendered, much of his fleet burned or captured. Many of his retinue were killed, and those that survived were also captured. This number included Pembroke himself, as well as the Earl of Huntingdon, and of course, the £12,000 in silver, which was discovered untouched. The Victorian antiquarian J. H. Ramsay described Pembroke's defeat as "the greatest ever sustained by the English navy," E. F. Jacob, as a "disastrous blow," and Anthony Steel said that it lost England control of the Channel for several years.

Capture, imprisonment and ransom

090920 1148 6243 SLL Curiel Castillo T91

Following his capture, Pembroke was taken to Castile, along with about 160 of his men, 70 of them knights ("with golden spurs") and was paraded through Burgos. There he was confined to prison, where he appears to have been "treated very harshly"; the Spanish, according to custom, transported prisoners "bound with chains or cords, like dogs in leash," or, as at Santander, in irons. Their treatment appalled even the Castilian's French allies: the French chronicler Jean Froissart wrote, of the Castilians, that "they know no finer courtesy, just like the Germans." A few months later, possibly after negotiation with the King of France, King Henry II of Castile agreed to sell his right to Pembroke's ransom to the Constable of France, Bertrand du Guesclin, for 120,000 francs. To do so, du Guesclin had to sell his Spanish lordship of Soria and Molina (which he had previously captured from Spain), back to the King. Pembroke's agreement with du Guesclin laid down that he would pay him 50,000 francs immediately, and the remainder within six weeks of Pembroke's arrival back in England. Pembroke's imprisonment was to continue for another three years, however, as—"despite Pembroke's royal connections"—there was to be "no movement" towards arranging for the ransom to be paid until early 1375. Meanwile, Pembroke's own circumstances were "particularly wretched;" he was lodged at Curiel Castle in conditions poor enough to break his health.

The first instalment was eventually lodged in a short-term moneylending account for du Guesclin with a Fleming in Bruges, by which time Pembroke was ill. He was taken by du Guesclin to Paris—"in short stages as kindly and gently as could be"—but the earl's increasing illness forced du Guesclin to make for Calais with all speed, as he had promised to facilitate the earl's return to England by Easter.

Death and succession

Pembroke died in Picardy (at either Arras or Moreuil) on 16 April 1375, following his release from prison. Despite a contemporary rumour that he had been poisoned by the Castilians, more likely causes were the dire conditions of (at least the early years) his imprisonment and "illness and fatigue" brought on by his hard years of confinement. Cockayne notes that, because Pembroke died in France, and the balance of his ransom was to be paid to du Guesclin after the earl had returned to England, du Guesclin never received the balance of the ransom.

Pembroke was buried in the choir of the Friars Preachers, in Hereford, some time after 28 April 1375; the King sent offerings for the earl's funeral. Pembroke had written two wills, the first was on 5 May 1372, and was superseded by another on 26 March 1374. The first one declared that the earl wanted all his debts paid "by the hands of my executors and by the hands of the feoffees of my manors." The second will, proved in November 1376, made no mention of any feoffees, but did provide instructions for his funeral, particularly for his tomb. To this purpose he bequeathed £140, specifically requesting one "as magnificent" as that of Elizabeth de Burgh, Lady of Clare. but also for the reward of his servants, and especially those who were with him in Castile and France.

Pembroke was succeeded by his son, John, who had been born to Anne a few months after his capture and whom Pembroke was never to see. Pembroke's wife had inherited her father's barony on his death in 1371, and outlived her husband until 1384. She continued to style herself Countess of Pembroke, as well as Lady of Abergavenny and Mauny, and received her dower in November 1375.

Legacy

Contemporary rumour put his defeat at La Rochelle down to his being—as Cokayne put it—"a man of evil life, who had committed adultery, or to his having resolved to annul the liberties of the church." Another contemporary chronicler decribed him as a "homme de graunt renoune." Modern historiography has been rather more nuanced. Pembroke's recent biographer has noted a certain immaturity of character - particularly in his relationship with John Chandos- whilst also noting that the biggest defeat of his career does not necessarily indicate lack of leadership or judgemnet on his part. The truth, R. I. Jack says, is that "Pembroke was luckless and arrogant, but not necessarily incompetent." Jonathan Sumption is more forgiving in is judgement, and describes Pembroke as an able man- with, by the end of his life at least, "political stature" - and as."intelligent, self-confident and ambitious," if also "hot-headed." Michael Prestwich, meanwhile, has noted that Pembroke "lacked the outstanding ability" that Edward III's captains had possessed when the war began, and Mark Ormrod that he was "bellicose."

Ancestors

Family of John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke

16. Henry de Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings 8. John Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings 17. Joanna de Cantelou 4. John Hastings, 2nd Baron Hastings 18. William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke 9. Isabel de Valence 19. Joan de Munchensi 2. Laurence Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke 20. William de Leyburn, 1st Lord Leyburn 10. Sir Thomas de Leyburn 5. Juliana Leyburne 22. Ralph VII de Toeni 11. Alice de Toeni 23. Mary de Toeni 1. John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke 24. Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Mortimer 12. Edmund Mortimer, 2nd Baron Mortimer 25. Maud de Braose, Baroness Mortimer 6. Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March 26. William II de Fiennes, Baron Tingry 13. Margaret de Fiennes 27. Blanche de Brienne 3. Agnes Mortimer 28. Geoffrey de Geneville, 1st Baron Geneville 14. Piers de Geneville 29. Maud de Lacy 7. Joan de Geneville, 2nd Baroness Geneville 30. Hugh XII of Lusignan 15. Jeanne of Lusignan 31. Jeanne de Fougères

External sources

• The Chronicles of Froissart