4631. John de Washington
He married 26 Edward II. (1333), Alianora, daughter and heiress of John de Warton, of Warton, in Lonesdale, Co. Lancaster, and died before 10 Richard II. (1386) when his widow was living at Warton. She was executrix of the will of William de Lancaster.
[The Pedigree and History of the Washington Family, xiv]
4647. Sir John de Neville , KG, Lord of Middleham & Raby
Sir John Nevill, 3rd Baron Nevill of Raby, summoned to Parliament from 1368-1388. Knight of the Garter. This nobleman was carried by his father to witness the Battle of Durham, being then scarcely five years old. He received the honour of Knighthood when in arms before the barriers of Paris. In 44th of Edward III (1370) he was again in wars with France and then constituted Admiral of the King's Fleet from the mouth of the Thames northward. During the remainder of Edward III's reign he was constantly in active service either in Scotland or France. In 2nd of Richard II (1379) he was constituted Lieutenant of Aquitiane in France and Seneschal of Bordeaux. His lordship was a Knight of the Garter. He married Maud, daughter of Henry, Lord Percy. He married 2nd Elizabeth, daughter of William, Lord Latimer. He died at New Castle October 17, 1388, and was buried in the south side of the nave of Durham Cathedral. He was succeeded by his son.
[Kin of Mellcene Thurman Smith , 834]
4657. Sir Bartholomew de Burghersh , KG
Sir Bartholemew de Burghersh, one of founders of Order of the Garter, was aged 26 in 1355, having been with his father at the Battle of Crecy in 1346. He was nominated Knight of the Garter in 1348 and it is somewhat remarkable that he and not his father (then at the zenith of his military fame) should have been so honored. The designation of le Fitz and his possession of the stall long after his father's death makes the fact certain. He accompanied the Black Prince in nearly all his expeditions, fought at Poiters in 1356 and was one of the most distinguished warriors of his age. He also made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
4688. James I Stewart , King of Scotland
James I (1406-37)
After his capture, James I was held prisoner by Henry IV of England who, however, saw that he received an education appropriate to his royal birth. On the death of his father in 1406, he was the first of a series of Scottish kings who inherited the throne as minors, throughout the fifteenth century. The Scottish Parliament declared James to be king, and his uncle, Robert, Duke of Albany was appointed Governor, to rule on his behalf. Albany made no attempt to obtain James' release, and by the time he was 18, James was energetic, accomplished and impatient to return to his own country. One day in 1423, looking from his window, he saw a beautiful young woman strolling in the gardens beneath, and fell in love with her. She was Lady Joan Beaufort, a close relative of the English King, Henry VI, and it was probably through her influence that the Treaty of London was agreed in December 1423, releasing James for a ransom of £40,000. The couple were married the following February and travelled north, to be crowned at Scone.
A cultivated, intelligent monarch who wrote poetry (he wrote The King's Quair), loved music and was a fine athlete, James was also determined to restore law and order in his kingdom - he founded what was to become the Court of Session. In so doing, his energy and his ruthlessness antagonised many of his nobles who had taken advantage of his absence to build up their own power. The king was particularly determined to curb his rivals descended from Robert II; he arrested some and executed others (including the new Duke of Albany), and confiscated estates. The result was that on 20 February 1437, at about midnight, he was assassinated and his queen badly injured in the Dominican Friary in Perth by his own uncle, Walter, Earl of Atholl (a son of Robert II's second marriage) and a group of resentful fellow conspirators. James was buried nearby in the Carthusian monastery which he had founded.
[http://www.royal.gov.uk/history/scotland]
© 2001, Saul M. Montes-Bradley. All Rights Reserved