John of Eltham 1st Earl Cornwall 1316-1336

On 15th August 1316 John of Eltham 1st Earl Cornwall was born to King Edward II of England [aged 32] and Isabella of France Queen Consort England [aged 21] at Eltham Palace, Kent [Map]. Coefficient of inbreeding 2.17%.

Letters. 10th October 1316. Letter XXIII. [his mother] Isabella of France Queen Consort England [aged 21] to her nephew John of Eltham 1st Earl Cornwall.

Most dear and beloved nephew,.

We have well understood what you have sent us word by your letters; and, as to our estate, we give you to know that we are even in great trouble of heart, but, considering the condition we are in, we were in good health of body at the setting forth of these letters, which our Lord ever grant to you. Dearest nephew, we pray you that you will leave off all excuses, and come to the king our son in the best manner you can, and as he commands you more fully by his letters. For you well know, dearest nephew, if you come not, considering the necessity that now exists, it will be greatly talked of, and will be a great dishonour to you. Wherefore make an effort to come at this time as hastily as you can, and you know well, dearest nephew, that we shall ever be ready to counsel you as well as we can in all things that shall be to your honour and profit. Most dear and beloved nephew, our Lord have you in his keeping. Given at Nottingham [Map], the 10th day of October.

On 19th April 1319 Thomas Beauchamp 11th Earl Warwick [aged 6] and Katherine Mortimer Countess Warwick [aged 5] were married. She by marriage Countess Warwick. An arranged marriage although not clear who arranged it or whose ward Thomas Beauchamp 11th Earl Warwick was (his father Guy Beauchamp 10th Earl Warwick had died four years before) - possibly by King Edward II of England [aged 34] as a means of securing the Welsh March. The Beauchamp family established, the Mortimer family aspirational. The marriage took place after Roger Mortimer 1st Earl March [aged 31] had returned from his tenure as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and before he rebelled against King Edward II of England in opposition to Hugh "Younger" Despencer 1st Baron Despencer [aged 33]. She the daughter of Roger Mortimer 1st Earl March and Joan Geneville Baroness Mortimer 2nd Baroness Geneville [aged 33]. He the son of Guy Beauchamp 10th Earl Warwick and Alice Tosny Countess Warwick [aged 34]. They were half second cousin once removed. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King John of England.

In 1330 John of Eltham 1st Earl Cornwall [aged 13] was created 1st Earl Cornwall.

In 1330 the marriage of [his sister] Eleanor of Woodstock Plantagenet [aged 11] and her brother John of Eltham 1st Earl Cornwall [aged 13] to marry a son and daughter of King Philip "Fortunate" VI of France [aged 36].

In May 1332 [his brother-in-law] Reginald "Black" I Duke Guelders [aged 37] and [his sister] Eleanor of Woodstock Plantagenet [aged 13] were married at Nijmegen [Map]. She by marriage Countess Guelders. His second marriage; he had four daughters from his first marriage. He subsequently sent her from court to Deventer Abbey [Map] in 1336 under the pretext that she had leprosy. He subsequently tried to annul the marriage but she contested the annulment by proving she wasn't a leper. The difference in their ages was 23 years. She the daughter of [his father] King Edward II of England and [his mother] Isabella of France Queen Consort England [aged 37]. He the son of Reginald I Count Guelders and Margaret Dampierre Countess Guelders. They were second cousin once removed. He a great x 4 grandson of King Stephen I England.

On 30th September 1336 John of Eltham 1st Earl Cornwall [aged 20] died at Perth [Map]. Earl Cornwall extinct. He was buried at the east side of the doorway to the Chapel of St Edmund, Westminster Abbey [Map]. His monument comprises a head of the statue encircled by a coronet of large and small leaves, remarkable for being the earliest specimen of the kind. The details of plate-armour, surcoat, gorget, coroneted helmet, with other accessories, give great antiquarian interest to this work. It was formerly surmounted by a canopy, of which, however, no traces are now visible.

Effigy of John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall. John of Eltham 1st Earl Cornwall

WAS the second son of [his father] Edward the Second by his [his mother] Queen Isabella [aged 42], and was horn at the Palace of the English Kings at Eltham in Kent [Map], on the Feast of the Blessed Virgin's Assumption 1316. In the second year of the reign of his elder brother, Edward III [aged 24] he was created Earl of Cornwall. In the following year, the King going to France to do homage for the Dukedom of Aquitaine, he was appointed his Lieutenant for the Kingdom, as he was also on the King's expedition into Scotland in 1330. In the course of the above periods he had grants of numerous Lordships from the Crown^a, the town of Lostwithiel (in the neighbourhood of Restormel Castle, the principal seat of the Earls of Cornwall in the County), all the wreck, port dues, issues, and profits of the district, the farm of the City of Exeter, the stannaries, and coinage or customs on stamping the tin in the County of Devon. In 1333 and 1334 he was with King Edward III in his expeditions into Scotland, and died at Berwick-upon-Tweed [Map] in October of the latter year. About the festival of Christmas, the King, with the Archbishop of Canterbury, returned out of Scotland to celebrate his obsequies in the Abbey Church of Westminster, where he was interred on the south side of the Choir. The Prior and Convent claimed £400 in lieu of his horse and armour, which, according to the custom, should have been presented as an offering at the altar of their Church. John of Eltham was but twenty-eight years of age at his death, and was never married. Various matches were proposed for him, as with Joan, the daughter of the Earl of Eu; Mary, the daughter of the Earl of Blois; Mary [aged 18], daughter of Ferdinand Lord Lara in Castile, which last proposal came to a formal contract, rendered abortive bv his demise.

Nothing can be finer in its way than the sculpture of this effigy. There is no departure from the very usual recumbent attitude, the hands raised in prayer and the legs crossed; but there is a most beautiful simplicity in the whole figure, while the details of the arms and drapery are marked with elegant precision.

Details. Plate I. Portion of the head, with the ducal crown and mantelet depending from the lace; ornaments on the sword belt, handle, and scabbard of the sword; scalloped border of an aqueton, or some defence under the surcoat. Plate II. Ornaments on the top of the hood, or basinet, whichever it may be; plating of the gauntlets, pryck spur and leathers, plates on the solerette, buckle of the spur, with tongue of the strap.

Note a. See Dugdaie's Baronage, vol. 1. p. 207.

Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke. In the year of our Lord 1337, around the time of the Epiphany [6th January 1337], the king and the archbishop returned from Scotland for the burial of Lord John of Eltham,¹ Earl of Cornwall and the king's brother, who had died of natural causes in the month of October at Berwick. They buried him at Westminster.

Anno Domini MCCCXXXVJ, circa Epiphaniam, rex et archiepiscopus de Scocia sunt reversi pro sepultura domini Ioannis Deltham comitis Cornubie, germani regis, qui in mense Octobris apud Berewyk morte communi obiit; et apud Westmonasterium ipsum sepelierunt.

Note 1. John of Eltham, Edward's younger brother, was born on the 15th August 1315; created earl of Cornwall, 1328; and died at Perth, October 1336.