Thomas Courtenay 5th/13th Earl of Devon d1458

Thomas Courtenay 5/13th Earl of Devon was born in Devon on 3 May 1414 and died at Abingdon Abbey on 3 February 1458. The Earl of Devon is best remembered for his part in the feud between the Courtenay and Bonville families. He also served, briefly, in Normandy, and was a participant in major political events such as the standoff at Dartford of 1452. He was allied to the Beauforts through marriage, to the Duke of York for a period, and to the Queen in his final years. 

Early Life

Thomas was the only son of Hugh Courtenay 4/12th Earl of Devon to survive into adulthood. Thomas’s mother was Anne Talbot, sister of John Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury. Thomas Courtenay was just eight years old when his father died in 1422. It is believed that Thomas was knighted in 1426, and said that he was one of the nobles who formed King Henry VI‘s entourage for the King’s 1431 Coronation in Paris.

Despite inheriting his fathers title aged just eight years old, Thomas Courtenay 5/13th Earl of Devon was not able to take inheritance of all of the lands, even when he reached his majority. Much of the most important family lands were tied to his mother’s Dower, and this meant that the Earl’s own lands were close to those of Sir William Bonville.

Marriage to Margaret Beaufort

Margaret [1409-1449] was the second daughter of John Beaufort 1st Earl of Somerset. She was an aunt of the more famous Margaret Beaufort [1443 – 1509], mother of Henry Tudor, who was a daughter of the Countess of Devon’s elder brother, John 1st Duke of Somerset. Margaret’s mother was Margaret Holland, daughter of Thomas Holland 2nd Earl of Kent, who was a half-brother to King Richard II with lineage from King Edward I down her paternal line.

Thomas’ marriage was therefore of great value. His wifes family connections were impeccable and placed the couple very firmly into the affinity of King Henry VI through the Beaufort Family relationship to the Lancastrian Crown. These ties saw Thomas receive patronage from the Crown and his own and his wives families reputations ensured that the Earl was appointed to important Commissions in the South West.

Courtenay – Bonville Dispute

This dispute will be covered elsewhere on the site in more detail. In brief, a bitter dispute broke out between Thomas Courtenay and his neighbour Sir William Bonville. Both were granted conflicting roles in the region and the altering local political scene led to tension between the men – who were related through marriage – turning violent. From 1439 onwards this dispute was violent. In the 1440’s the feud resulted in both men being given positions in the English held territories within France: Bonville in Gascony [1442-46], Courtenay in Normandy [1446]. The feud lingered though. It later led to sieges, noted below in the sources, and the intervention of the Duke of York as Protector.

Changing Affiliations?

The political ties of Thomas Courtenay and his wife Margaret were initially formed by family affinity. This placed them very much within the political grouping that was formed around the Beaufort family, particularly his wifes uncle, Cardinal Beaufort and his wife’s brother, John 1st Duke of Somerset. Both of these men died in the 1440’s, the 1st Duke of Somerset in 1444 and Cardinal Beaufort in 1447. These deaths changed the political dynamics of the Court and south west. At Court, the Duke of Suffolk rose in promince, filling the void left by the death of the Cardinal. This was perhaps of concern to the Earl of Devon as the Duke of Suffolk was tied to his regional foe, Sir William Bonnville. Bonville’s daughter married one of the Duke of Suffolk’s closest adherents, Sir William Tailboys, and Bonville himself was then elevated to the Peerage, possibly at the request of the Duke of Suffolk. With the lack of Beaufort power at the heart of government to counteract these changes, Thomas Courtenay opted to ally himself with Richard 3rd Duke of York.

1450: The Earl of Devon in a year of crisis

The bond with the Duke of York was a political means to an end. It secured the Earl powerful backing at Court from men such as the Duke of York and Duke of Norfolk. It also led to involvement in the political upheavals and challenges faced in 1450. Thomas Courtenay was a supporter of the York faction during the turmoil of the Cade Revolt and its aftermath. In November of 1450 his barge was used by the Duke of York whilst escaping from an angry mob.

1451: Siege of Taunton Castle

The following year, forces of the Earl of Devon and Lord Cobham lay siege to William (now Lord) Bonville at his castle in Taunton. A baronial conflict of this nature could have severe implications for the nobles concerned. There is the obvious threat to their lives from any violent clash but also the potential for Royal intervention. Such Royal intervention could take many forms, from admonishment and bonds of recognisance through to more punitive measures should matters escalate. In September 1451 the matter was addressed by Richard 3rd Duke of York. He sent an army. It resulted in the Siege being lifted. It did not result in any peaceful resolution though.

1452: Thomas Courtenay Earl of Devon accused of Treason

In 1452 Thomas Courtenay and Baron Cobham supported the Duke of York in his failed attempt to wressle control of King Henry VI’s government. The Duke raised a force, including the Earl of Devon and his men, and used it to try and force political changes. The Crown acted as the situation worsened. Royal Commissions were given to the Duke of Buckingham and Lord Bonville on 14 February 1452 in relation to keeping the Yorkists in check. On 17 February a Royal Summons was proclaimed ordering the Earl of Devon and Lord Cobham to attend to the King at once. The legal mechanisms being used were ineffective, the force led by the Duke of York marched towards London, where at Dartford on 1 March 1452, it faced a Royal force including many of the most senior magnates of the land. The situation led to the Earl of Devon being imprisoned, with him then being charged with treason.

Reemergence as a National Figure

The incapacity of King Henry VI and role of Richard 3rd Duke of York as Protector enabled Thomas Courtenay to restore his position, to some extent. In 1454 he was reappointed to Commissions of the Peace in the south west, and was reinstated onto the Royal Council. He saw his bonds of recognisance also reinstated though, showing that even with the Duke of York holding temporary control, he was not fully reintegrated into Court.

Changing affinities of the Duke of York

The Earl of Devon’s bond with the Duke of York was weakened by factors beyond the Earl’s control. The Earls of Salisbury and Warwick drew closer to the House of York as a result of their disputes with the Duke of Somerset. This complicated matters as Katherine Neville, a daughter of the Earl of Salisbury, had married a grandson of Lord Bonville: so there was no longer any certainty of the factio supporting the Earl of Devon in the south west, despite the Earl also having clashes with the Duke of Somerset. It left Thomas Courtenay as a relatively unattached noble when the Wars of the Roses began in earnest at the First Battle of St. Albans: it was he who carried messages between the Duke of York and King Henry VI and his advisors.

Radford, Exeter, and Clyst Heath

The clashes between the Courtenay and Bonnville families did not end when violence on a national scale broke out. Instead, it presented an opportunity for action whilst Court and other nobles were occupied on national matters. Nicholas Radford, a lawyer working for Lord Bonville (and the City of Exeter) was murdered by Courtenay’s men in October 1455. On 3 November 1455 the Earl of Devon and his son led a force said to number 1000 into the City of Exeter and seized control. Exeter Castle at the time was nominally managed by Lord Bonville so it was a targetted occupation. On 15 November the Earl of Devon began a siege of Powderham Castle, held by one of his own relatives, who had allied himself to Lord Bonnville. On 15 December 1455, whilst still occupying Exeter, the Earl of Devon had a retinue intercept Lord Bonnville at Clyst Heath. This resulted in a small private ‘battle’ from which Lord Bonville was forced to flee. Bonnville’s lands at Shute were then ransacked on 17 December.

The Earl of Devon and his men eventually left Exeter on 21 December 1455 and the Earl submitted to the Duke of York shortly afterwards. Once again Thomas Courtenay Earl of Devon was held as a prisoner of the Crown. His release was secured when King Henry VI resumed personal control of Government and the Duke of York’s role as protector came to an end.

Thomas Courtenay 5/13th Earl of Devon’s final days

The events of late 1455 resulted in some of the Earl’s opponents losing positions in Exeter, though his principle rival, Lord Bonville, retained the position of Sheriff of Devon. Thomas was then appointed to a number of roles in 1457. When the plans for a Loveday Procession were drawn up, the Earl of Devon was summoned to attend. On his way to London for the meetings, agreements and public ceremony that became the Loveday, he stopped at Abingdon Abbey. Thomas Courtenay 5/13th Earl of Devon died at the Abbey on 3 February 1458.

The Earl was succeeded by his son Thomas Courtenay who became 6/14th Earl of Devon.

Source Material and Commentary on Thomas Courtenay 5/13th Earl of Devon

The Murder of William de la Pole duke of Suffolk

“The arrival of the Earls of Devonshire and Warwick, at this critical time at Leicester, with such large retinues of Men ‘well byseen,’ furnishes very sufficient reasons for thinking, that the murder of the Duke of Suffolk was a premeditated scheme; and that these noblemen came, thus attended, to prevent any proceedings which might have been adopted by the Queen and her Party, on their knowledge of this event being accomplished; for these two noblemen could not arrive at Leicester in consequence of the murder, as it was impossible for them to know of it, to get their men together, and to enter Leicester, the one on the 4th, the other on the 5th of May, the account of it not arriving in London till the 4th; they therefore most probably came in consequence of their previous knowledge of the plan that was laid, to wait the event of it, and to act as circumstances might require.”

The murder “The sentence of banishment 12 seems to have been who causes almost instantaneous, this method therefore of taking him of Suffolk. off, must have been as instantaneously resolved upon, by those of the Party then near the Court; for though the People in general and the Commons hated the Duke, it no where appears, that he was thus taken off by any generally concerted plan for that purpose, but by a party; and as these two noblemen, both at that time professed Friends to the Duke of York, arrived thus critically with such numerous attendants so well arrayed and ac- coutred, it gives the greatest reason to suspect that it was by their Party.”

Chronicles of the White Rose of York, pages xxiv – xxv

That Thomas Courtenay earl of Devon was in attendance at Parliament with a large retinue is corroborated by the Paston Letters, though there is no suggestion within the letter that the earl, or the earl of Warwick, were implicated in the murder of the Duke of Suffolk.

Furthermore upon the 4th day of this month, the Earl of Devonshire came hither with 300 men well beseen &c. and upon the morrow after my Lord of Warwick with 400 and more, &c.

John Crane to John Paston. Cited in the Chronicles of the White Rose of York.

… There be great and grievous riots done in the West Country at the city of Exeter by the earl of Devonshire, accompanied with many riotous persons, as it is said, with eight hundred horsemen and four thousand footmen, and there have robbed the church (cathedral) of Exeter, and taken the canons of the same church and put them to ransom, and also have taken the gentlemen in that country, and done and committed many other great and heinous inconveniences; that in abridging of such riots … a Protector and Defensor must be had … and that he, in abridging of such riots and offences, should ride and labour into that country, for but if the said riots and inconveniences were resisted, it should be the cause of the loss of that land, and if that land were lost, it might be the cause of the subversion of all this land. [Citing —Rotuli Parliamentorum, vol. v., p. 285.]

York and Lancaster 1399 – 1485. Bells English History Sourcebooks. Edited by W. Garmon Jones, M.A.

Earl of Devon besieging Lord Bonville’s Castle of Taunton

Even during the sitting of parliament, a short time after the member for Bristol had proposed to settle the succession on the Duke of York, the Earl of Devon besieged the Lord Bonville in the Castle of Taunton, which caused a great commotion in the West of England. The Duke of York, the Lord de Molins, William Lord Herbert, and others joined the Earl, upon which Lord Bonville surrendered. This Lord Bonville was a staunch loyalist, and had been raised to the peerage by Henry the Sixth.

Chronicles of the White Rose of York, page xxxvii

Featured Image

Colecombe Castle, seat of Thomas Courtenay Earl of Devon. “Colecombe Castle”, watercolour by Rev. John Swete dated 27 January 1795. Swete wrote: “Standing by the door of (the farmhouse) I took the…sketch which will give some notion of the front and which seems to have been the principal one with an aspect to the west…(with) Colyton to the left”. Devon Record Office 564M/F7/77. Via Wikimedia.