JOHN OF GAUNT

JOHN OF GAUNT (1339-1399) was Duke of Lancaster, the third son of Edward III. He was an ambitious man who vainly seized the crown of Castile. He supported the Wycliffites against the clergy, married Blanche of Lancaster, and was made duke by Henry IV.

He was born at Ghent, who in 1362 succeeded to the estates of his father-in-law, the Duke of Lancaster. He, having married the daughter of the king of Castile as his second wife in 1372, he made an unsuccessful attempt to seize the Castilian throne. In the later years of Edward III.'s reign he took an active part in public affairs, and by his opposition to the national party and overbearing conduct towards the Commons made himself obnoxious to the people. He for a time supported Wycliffe for selfish motives, but in 1381 the Peasant Revolt drove him into Scotland. In 1386 he made another ineffectual attempt to gain the crown of Castile.

In his later years he was engaged in various embassies in France.