The Royal Line and the Noble Houses
The Real Game of Thrones
This webpage
explores the relationship between the Royal
Dynasties of England and the Noble Houses who directly influenced our
family history.
That the
Farndale family were active pawn pieces in the royal and noble chess game is
evident in their association with:
· Orm Gamalson, Tostig and their vantagepoint in
Anglo-Saxon-Scandinavian Northumbria, close to the Battle of Stamford
Bridge, all captured on their local sundial
· Norman overlordship by House Stuteville and House Mowbray and later influence by
House Brus
· Participation in the wars of Richard II and Henry V
· A front seat at Sheriff Hutton, the
lands of the Nevilles, during the Wars of the Roses
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The Royal House of Wessex |
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Edward the Confessor 1042
to 1066 Restored
the House of Wessex after reigns of Cnut and Hathacanute Married
Edith, daughter of Earl Godwine but had no children |
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The Norman House According
to William of Normandy, named as successor by Edward and that Harold swore to
his succession in 1064 |
Rivalry
between Godwines and Normans Locals at
Dover in violent struggle with Normans 1051 |
House Godwinson The
Godwine Family, vast landowners, proactively staked their royal claim,
married into the royal family |
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Norway Cnut’s
Heirs |
Tostig increased tax prompting Northumbrian revolt
in 1065 – Tostig outlawed and fled to flanders
where he gathered a fleet of 60 ships |
House of Northumbria Siward,
Earl of Northumbria, died in 1055, Edwin chose Tostig, son of Earl Godwin to
replace him |
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William of Normandy Distant
cousin to Edward the Confessor |
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Harold Godwinson Son
of Earl Godwine, brother of the Queen |
Tostig Godwineson Son
of Earl Godwine, brother of the Queen and Harold |
Harold Hardrada |
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Orm Gamalson Orm’s
son Gamal and Ulf, son of Dolfin killed in York in 1063 |
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Harold I 1066
to 1066 Elected
King by the Witan |
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Harold marched south after Stamford Bridge to meet William
of Normandy’s forces landed at Hastings, where Harold is defeated at the Battle
of Hastings on 14 October 1066 |
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Harold Hardrada landed on the Humber and took York
after Battle
of Fulford on 20 September 1066. But Harold marched north and defeated
him at the Battle
of Stamford Bridge on 25 September 1066 |
Harold
Hardrada Tostig Allies
in invasion of the north |
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The Royal House of Normandy (“The Normans”) 1066
to 1154 |
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William 1 The Conqueror 1066
to 1087 Domesday
Book – Regime Change |
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Other
Noble Houses |
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Robert
Curtose Normandy |
William II (William Rufus) 1087
to 1100 Killed
mysteriously in New Forest |
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Henry I 1100 to 1135 Ancient
line of Kings restored – adopted laws of Edward the Confessor and married
Matilda |
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Supported
Robert Curtose |
Robert Curtose Dispute
in Normandy Defeated
by Henry I at Battle of Tinchebrai |
Matilda Senior Henry
I’s wife Administered
the Kingdom with Roger Bishop of Salisbury |
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Supported
Henry I – his ‘new men’ |
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Stephen 1135
to 1154 Succession
crisis led to civil war, “The Anarchy” |
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Scotland Making
the most of the Anarchy Defeated
at the
Battle of the Standard 1138 |
A
friend David of Scotland, Robert I de Brus of Skelton and Annandale in
Scotland renounced his Scottish claims and supported Stephen, but his younger
son Adam (hoping to recover the Scottish lands) supported David |
Matilda Junior Henry
I’s Daughter Rival
claimant for her son |
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Stephen of Blois William
I’s Grandson |
Supported
Stephen Roger de Mowbray fought bravely at the Battle of the Standard Roger
de Mowbray was captured with the King at the Battle of Lincoln 1141 |
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The Royal House of Anjou (“The Plantagenets”) 1154
to 1399 |
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Henry II 1154
to 1189 Married
to Eleanor of Aquitaine Matilda
Junior’s son, was recognised as heir |
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Scotland Henry
the Young King allied with Scotland in 1172 |
Joined
the rebels and defeated by Royal forces around Northallerton |
The Young King Henry’s son Henry was involved in running the
Kingdom from 1170. Sporadic rebellion by Henry’s sons encouraged by
Eleanor Henry II forced to reassert the Crown’s authority |
The Murder of Thomas Becket in 1173 The Great Revolt, an uprising by Henry’s eldest sons and rebellious
barons, supported by France, Scotland and Flanders. |
Bernard
de Balliol and Robert de Stuteville captured the Scottish King at Alnwick Built
castles at Edinburgh and Scarborough for the King after peace was restored |
House Stuteville favoured over House Mowbray and
started to gain back their lands including Kirkbymoorside |
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Richard I The Lionheart 1189
to 1199 Went
Crusading |
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John 1199
to 1216 |
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Initially
recognised John but then joined the Northern Barons to restrain the monarchy |
Magna Carta 1215 Imposed restraints on the monarchy William de Mowbray was on the Council of 25 barons |
John declared the Pope feudal overlord of England
in return for annulment of Magna Carta. The Mowbrays and northern Barons
excommunicated |
Now
a favoured house of the King |
King John stayed overnight at William de
Stuteville’s Cottingham Castle in 1201 and William de Stuteville bought the
office of sheriff of Yorkshire |
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Henry III 1216
to 1272 Reaffirmed
Magna Carta Increasingly
absolutist |
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House Montfort Simon
de Montfort rose as the uncrowned King of England |
The Second Baron’s War 1264
to 1267 In 1258, seven barons led by Simon de Montfort,
Earl of Leicester, took an oath to bring the king under control. Henry declared of Montfort: I fear thunder and
lightning, but by God’s head I fear you more … |
Henry’s son, Edward defeated the rebel army at the Battle
of Evesham on 4 August 1265. Simon de Montfort was killed. Although the rebellion was crushed, the barons wars of this period started to give more force to
ideas of a parlement. There was an early
hint of a commun de Engleterre,
and of the idea of a Commons. |
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Edward I 1272
to 1307 The
Scottish Wars of Independence |
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Scotland |
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Edward II 1307
to 1327 |
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Scotland |
Robert
de Brus crowned King of Scotland |
English army defeated at the Battle of Bannockburn
on 24 June 1314 |
The north of England was relatively defenceless and
faced raids from Scotland and destruction of crops and seizing of animals. Edward’s military failures against France and
Scotland marked his unhappy reign. |
There
was disquiet at Edward’s close relationship with Piers Gaveston, a Gascon
knight, who he made Earl of Cornwall |
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Edward III 1327
to 1377 To
solidify royal control Edward III relied on the feudal system and created
duchies for his sons, including the Duchies of York and Lancaster.
Administration was devolved and a new powerful class of rival nobility
emerged. The feudal bond was mutual, so the ordinary classes of folk demanded
protection in return. The duchies grew wealthy and grew in power to be able
to raise powerful armies to protect their interests. This was all fine during
the reign of Edward III, but the seeds of turmoil were sown for the following
decades |
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Scotland Long
war with the Scots Scots
defeated at Neville’s Cross |
France Edward
defeated the French at Crecy on 26 August 1346 The
Black Prince, husband of Joan of Stuteville descent, earned his spurs at
Crecy |
House Neville Ralph
Neville married Joan Beaufort, daughter of John of Gaunt |
House York Edmund,
1st Duke of York |
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House Lancaster John
of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, father of Henry Bolingbroke |
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The background to the Wars of the Roses is
explained in another genealogical
table |
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Richard II 1377
to 1399 Crowned
as a boy, he oversaw failures in France and the Peasants’ Revolt |
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Concerns about royal rule led to the Wonderful
Parliament in 1386 which remined the king, then 18, of his responsibilities |
Richard signed a peace treaty with France and
banned acts of restraint on royal authority |
House Lancaster Henry
Bolingbroke disputes with Thomas Mowbray over loyalty to the King. They were
both banished by the King in 1398 |
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How
long a time lies in one little word! Four lagging winters and four wanton
springs End in a word; such is the breath of kings. (Henry
Bolingbroke, the future Lancastrian Henry IV reacts to Richard II’s
banishment, Richard II, William Shakespeare, Act 1, Scene 3) |
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For
God’s sake, let us sit upon the ground And tell sad
stories of the death of kings - How some have been deposed, some slain in
war, Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed, Some poisoned by their
wives, some sleeping killed, , |
All
murdered. For within the hollow crown That rounds the mortal temples of a
king Keeps Death his court, and there the antic sits (The King mourns the loss of his
Crown, Richard II, William Shakespeare, Act 3, Scene 2) |
House Neville Supported
Henry Bolingbroke |
House Lancaster Henry Bolingbroke Landed
near the Humber and marched on Pickering Castle Royal
support collapsed and Richard surrendered |
This
royal throne of kings, this sceptered isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden,
demi-paradise, This fortress built by Nature for herself Against infection
and the hand of war, |
This
happy breed of men, this little world, This precious
stone set in the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall Or as a
moat defensive to a house, Against the envy of less happier lands, This blessèd plot, this earth, this realm, this England |
John of
Gaunt mourns the loss of the Kingdom’s better days (Richard II, William
Shakespeare, Act 2, Scene 1) |
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The Royal House of Lancaster 1399
to 1461 |
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Henry IV (Henry Bolingbroke) 1399
to 1413 Richard
II’s cousin, but his claim was dubious, justified by necessity and election |
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Civil War in France between Burgundians and
Armagnacs |
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Rebellions and competitive claims of various
interest dogged the first years of his reign |
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Those who had not supported Henry faced execution.
Archbishop Scrope and Thomas Mowbray were executed |
Out
of favour with the Lancastrians |
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Henry V 1413
to 1422 |
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The English defeated the French army at the Battle
of Agincourt on 25 October 1415. The French mounted knights were shot by
the English archers equipped with the six foot
longbow, and they panicked and fell in the mud. It was carnage for the French
knights and for the French aristocracy |
His military success against the common enemy was a
temporary unifier |
At the Treaty of Troyes, Henry agreed to marry
Catherine, daughter of Charles VI. Charles’ eldest son, the dauphin, was
disinherited for his part in the murder of the Duke of Burgundy in 1419 |
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Henry VI Reign 1 1422
to 1461 Married
to Margaret of Anjou (‘wore the trousers’) |
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The French were defeated at the Battle
of Verneuil in 1424. The English seemed close to complete victory in the
wars with France. |
After the Siege of Orléans in 1428, when Joan of
Arc came to the rescue of France and routed the English army, Henry abandoned
the English claim to the French crown |
Within the context of the perceived weakness of
Henry, conflict broke out between close relatives of the King, the dukes of
York and Somerset |
After further setbacks in France, and the recovery
by France of Gascony, Henry’s mental health declined by 1453. He was smitten
with a frenzy and his wit and reason withdrawn. Richard Duke of York took control of the situation
and established a regency. Queen Margaret of Anjou was furious |
House Neville Henry
made a surprise recovery from his illness. Richard of York’s council was dissolved and he was forced out of court. York therefore
started to recruit an army. His two principal allies were Richard Neville,
Earl of Salisbury and his son, Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick. The Earl
of Warwick was a political manoeuverist, a master
of political spin. |
House York On
22 May 1455 the Duke of York attacked the royal army at the First
Battle of St Albans, killed the Dukes of Somerset and Northumberland and
took the King. Having the King in their hands gave power to the Yorkist cause |
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Since
you are tongue-tied and so loath to speak, In dumb significants proclaim your thoughts |
Let him
that is a true-born gentleman And stands upon the
honour of his birth, If he suppose that I have pleaded truth, From off this
brier pluck a white rose with me. Richard,
Duke of Gloucester |
Let him
that is no coward nor no flatterer, But dare
maintain the party of the truth, Pluck a red rose from off this thorn with
me. Duke of
Somerset |
I love
no colours, and without all colour. Of base
insinuating flattery. I pluck this white rose with Plantagenet. Richard
Neville, Earl of Warwick |
I pluck
this red rose with young Somerset. And say withal I think he held the right. Earl of
Suffolk |
Stay,
lords and gentlemen, and pluck no more, Till you
conclude that he upon whose side The fewest roses are cropp'd
from the tree Shall yield the other in the right opinion. Vernon |
(Shakespeare,
Henry VI Part 1, Act II, Scene 4) |
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The Wars of the Roses |
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House Neville Richard
Neville, Earl of Warwick, the ‘Kingmaker’ |
House York Richard
of York Married
to Cecily Neville |
Edward, Duke of York, 18 years old, claimed the
throne and marched north. He was victorious at the Battle of Towton, near
York, on 29 March 1461. Many thousands died during the Battle
of Towton in Yorkshire. The Battle of Towton was possibly the largest and
bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil |
The Royal House of Lancaster |
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The Royal House of York 1461
to 1470 |
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Edward IV Reign 1 1461
to 1470 |
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The Royal House of Lancaster 1470
to 1471 |
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Henry VI Reign 2 1470
to 1471 |
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The Royal House of York 1471
to 1485 |
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Edward IV Reign 2 1471
to 1483 Married
to Elizabeth Woodville |
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House Neville |
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Edward V 9
April to 25 June 1483 Married
Anne Neville A
Prince in the Tower |
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House Neville |
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House Woodville The
Brother’s Parents in Law |
Richard, Duke of York A
Prince in the Tower |
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Richard III 1483
to 1485 Married
Anne Neville |
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House Tudor Henry
Tudor, Earl of Richmond, son of Lady Margaret Beaufort, a descendant of John
of Gaunt, marched to confront Richard III near Bosworth in Leicestershire |
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The Royal House of Tudor 1485
to 1603 |
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Henry VII 1485
to 1509 |
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… |
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Henry VIII 1509
to 1547 |
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The Papacy |
Cardinal Wolsey |
Thomas Cromwell |
Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury |
Henry More |
Sir Richard Rich |
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Lady Jane Grey 1553
(9 days) |
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Mary 1553
to 1558 Counter
Reformation |
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Catholics |
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Protestants |
House Boleyn Elizabeth |
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Elizabeth I 1558
to 1603 |
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Scotland |
House Stewart Mary
Queen of Scots |
Catholics |
William Cecil |
Protestants |
Ridolfi |
Poor Succession Planning |
Spain |
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The Royal House of Stuart 1603
to 1714 |
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James I 1603
to 1714 |
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Catholics |
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Charles I 1625
to 1649 |
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Catholics |
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Civil War 1642
to 1651 |
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Royalists |
Catholics |
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Protestants |
Parliamentarians |
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Commonwealth 1649
to 1653 |
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Protectorate 1653
to 1660 |
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Restoration |
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Charles II 1660
to 1685 |
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Tories |
Catholics |
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Presbyterians |
Whigs |
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James II 1685
to 1689 |
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Glorious Revolution 1688 |
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Interregnum 1688
to 1689 |
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House of Stuart |
House of Orange |
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William III and Mary 1689
to 1702 |
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