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The Bohun swan, also known as the Bucks Swan, was a heraldic badge used originally in England by the mediaeval noble family of de Bohun, Earls of Hereford, and Earls of Essex.
The widespread use of the swan as a badge derives from the legend of the Swan Knight, today most familiar from Richard Wagner's opera Lohengrin . The Crusade cycle, a group of Old French chansons de geste , had associated the legend with the ancestors of Godfrey of Bouillon (d. 1100), King of Jerusalem and the hero of the First Crusade. Godfrey had no legitimate progeny, but his wider family had many descendants among the aristocracy of Europe, many of whom after his death made use of the swan as a heraldic emblem. In England such a family was that of de Bohun, Earls of Hereford and Earls of Essex.
Surviving examples of usage of the Bohun swan by the de Bohun family include:
Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford (1341–1373) died without male issue, leaving as his co-heiresses two daughters:
Following the extinction of the Senior male line of the de Bohun family the Bohun swan badge was used by descendants of the two heiresses: by the royal House of Lancaster descended from Mary de Bohun and by the Stafford family descended from Eleanor de Bohun and by the Junior Branch by a female Heiress in late 14th Century.
After the marriage in 1380 of Mary de Bohun (d. 1394) to the Lancastrian Henry Bolingbroke, the future King Henry IV (1399–1413), the swan was adopted by the royal House of Lancaster, which continued to use it for over a century. [3] The swan gorged and chained with a crown or is especially associated with Lancastrian use and echoes the white hart similarly gorged and chained used by King Richard II (1377–1399), [4] deposed by Henry Bolingbroke, which he began to use as a livery badge from 1390. Richard II's treasure roll of 1397 includes, together with several of his own white hart badges, a swan badge with a gold chain, perhaps presented by one of his Lancastrian enemies mentioned above: "Item, a gold swan enamelled white with a little gold chain hanging around the neck, weighing 2 oz., value, 46s. 8d". [5] He declared to Parliament that he had exchanged liveries with his uncles as a sign of amity at various moments of reconciliation.
After Henry Bolingbroke seized the throne in 1399, the use of the swan emblem was transferred to his son, the future King Henry V (1413–1422), who was made Prince of Wales at his father's coronation, and whose tomb in Westminster Abbey displays motifs of swans.
The Dunstable Swan Jewel made in about 1400 is presumed to have been intended as a livery badge possibly given to his supporters by the future Henry V of England, who was Prince of Wales from 1399. It is in the form of a white enamelled swan gorged with a gold collar in the form of a crown with six fleur-de-lys tines, held by a gold chain.
The Bohun swan was also used by Henry V's grandson Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, who died in the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471. In 1459 Edward's mother Margaret of Anjou insisted that he should give swan livery badges to "all the gentlemen of Cheshire"; the type and number are unknown. [6]
Eleanor de Bohun, Mary's sister, had in 1376 also married into the Plantagenet royal family, in the person of Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester (d. 1397), another prominent Lancastrian supporter, the youngest son of King Edward III, and the swan badge was used by his Stafford descendants, but as a secondary badge to their own Stafford knot. The de Bohun sisters Mary and Eleanor were co-heiresses to the huge Bohun estates, and disputes over the settlement of these continued until late into the next century, when most of their descendants had been killed in the Wars of the Roses, perhaps encouraging the continued assertion of Bohun ancestry. [5] Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, a descendant of the Beauchamps, of Eleanor de Bohun, of Thomas of Woodstock and of John of Gaunt, used the swan with crown and chain as his own badge. He was certainly active in trying to obtain possession of the Bohun lands, and appears also to have plotted to seize the throne, for which he was executed in 1483 by Richard III.
Another heir of the de Bohuns was the Courtenay family, Earls of Devon, descended from Margaret de Bohun (1311–1391), daughter and heiress of Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford (1276–1322) and wife of Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon (1303–1377). [8] The Courtenays frequently used the Bohum swan as one of their supporters, with or in place of the usual Courtenay boar, on their heraldic achievements. Surviving examples are:
The Luttrell family, feudal barons of Dunster, of Dunster Castle in Somerset, also used the Bohun swan as supporters. This was due to their descent from the Courtenays. Sir Andrew Luttrell (d.1378/81) of Chilton, in the parish of Thorverton, Devon, married Elizabeth Courtenay (d.1395), widow of Sir John de Vere, son of the Earl of Oxford, and a daughter of Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon (1303–1377) by his wife Margaret de Bohun (d.1391), eldest surviving daughter of Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, by Elizabeth, daughter of King Edward I. In 1374 Elizabeth Luttrell purchased the reversion of Dunster Castle and manor, the manors of Minehead and Kilton, and the hundred of Carhampton from Lady Mohun, the wife of Sir John V de Mohun, 2nd Baron Mohun (c.1320–1375), feudal baron of Dunster. Dunster Castle continued to be held by her descendants until 1976. Bohun swan supporters survive on the Easter Sepulchre monument of Hugh Luttrell (died 1522) of Dunster, in St Mary's Church, East Quantoxhead, Somerset. A modern example is on the huge stone sculpted heraldic achievement of George Fownes Luttrell (1826–1910) above the new main entrance door to the castle, [9] built as part of his remodelling. The Bohun swan also features in the centre of the "Luttrell Table Carpet" (c.1520), now in the Burrell Collection in Glasgow. [10]
The Flag of Buckinghamshire uses the Bohun swan on its flag as it dates back to the Anglo-Saxon Times, when Buckinghamshire was known for breeding swans for the king.
James Tuchet, 5th Baron Audley, 2nd Baron Tuchet of Heleigh Castle was an English peer.
A heraldic badge, emblem, impresa, device, or personal device worn as a badge indicates allegiance to, or the property of, an individual, family or corporate body. Medieval forms are usually called a livery badge, and also a cognizance. They are para-heraldic, not necessarily using elements from the coat of arms of the person or family they represent, though many do, often taking the crest or supporters. Their use is more flexible than that of arms proper.
Boconnoc is a civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, approximately four miles (6 km) east of the town of Lostwithiel. According to the 2011 census the parish had a population of 96.
The Courtenay family of Tremere was a cadet line of the prominent Courtenay family seated at Powderham in Devon, itself a cadet line of the Courtenay Earls of Devon of Tiverton Castle, feudal barons of Plympton and feudal barons of Okehampton.
Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Devon was a great-granddaughter of King Edward III (1327–1377).
Sir Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd/10th Earl of Devon, 2nd Baron Courtenay, feudal baron of Okehampton and feudal baron of Plympton, played an important role in the Hundred Years War in the service of King Edward III. His chief seats were Tiverton Castle and Okehampton Castle in Devon. The ordinal number given to the early Courtenay Earls of Devon depends on whether the earldom is deemed a new creation by the letters patent granted 22 February 1334/5 or whether it is deemed a restitution of the old dignity of the de Redvers family. Authorities differ in their opinions, and thus alternative ordinal numbers exist, given here.
Richard de Vere, 11th Earl of OxfordKG was the son and heir of Aubrey de Vere, 10th Earl of Oxford. He took part in the trial of Richard, Earl of Cambridge, and Lord Scrope for their part in the Southampton Plot, and was one of the commanders at Agincourt in 1415.
Margaret de Bohun, Countess of Devon was the granddaughter of King Edward I and Eleanor of Castile, and the wife of Hugh Courtenay, 10th Earl of Devon (1303–1377). Her seventeen children included an Archbishop of Canterbury and six knights, of whom two were founder knights of the Order of the Garter. Unlike most women of her day, she received a classical education and was a lifelong scholar and collector of books.
The Dunstable Swan Jewel is a gold and enamel brooch in the form of a swan made in England or France in about 1400 and now in the British Museum, where it is on display in Room 40. The jewel was excavated in 1965 on the site of Dunstable Friary, and is presumed to have been intended as a livery badge given by an important figure to his supporters; the most likely candidate was probably the future Henry V of England, who was Prince of Wales from 1399.
Sir William Mohun of Hall in the parish of Lanteglos-by-Fowey and of Boconnoc, both in Cornwall, was a Member of Parliament.
Sir Philip Courtenay of Powderham, Devon, was the senior member of a junior branch of the powerful Courtenay family, Earls of Devon.
Sir Hugh I Courtenay, of Haccombe in Devon, was Sheriff of Devon for 1418/19 and was thrice elected knight of the shire for Devon in 1395, 1397 and 1421. He was a grandson of Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd/10th Earl of Devon (1303–1377), was the younger brother of Edward de Courtenay, 3rd/11th Earl of Devon (1357–1419), "The Blind Earl", and was the grandfather of Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon (d.1509), KG, created Earl of Devon in 1485 by King Henry VII. He was the link between the senior line of the Courtenay Earls of Devon made extinct following the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471 and the post-Wars of the Roses creation of a new Earldom for his grandson made in 1485 by King Henry VII.
Sir Hugh Luttrell, of Dunster Castle in Somerset, feudal baron of Dunster, was an English nobleman and politician, who was an important military officer during the Hundred Years' War. He was a close associate of his cousin, King Richard II of England, and was one of his most valuable advisors. He was also an esquire of John of Gaunt, and an extremely close friend to Queen Anne of Bohemia.
Sir Hugh Courtenay of Boconnoc in Cornwall, was twice a Member of Parliament for Cornwall in 1446–47 and 1449–50. He was beheaded after the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471, together with John Courtenay, 7th Earl of Devon, the grandson of his first cousin the 4th Earl, and last in the senior line, whose titles were forfeited. His son Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, was created Earl of Devon in 1485 by King Henry VII, following the Battle of Bosworth and the closure of the Wars of the Roses.
Sir Robert Cary of Cockington, Devon, was twelve times Member of Parliament for Devon, in 1407, 1410, 1411, May 1413, April 1414, Mar. 1416, 1417, 1419, May 1421, 1422, 1425 and 1426. Much of his later life was devoted to regaining the many estates and other landholdings forfeited to the crown following his father's attainder in 1388. He was an esquire in the households of King Richard II (1377–1399) and of the latter's half-brother John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter.
The de Bohun then Bohun family is an English noble family of Norman origin that played a prominent role in English political and military history during the Late Middle Ages. The swan used by the family and their descendants as a heraldic badge came to be called the Bohun swan.
The feudal barony of Dunster was an English feudal barony with its caput at Dunster Castle in Somerset. During the reign of King Henry I (1100–1135) the barony comprised forty knight's fees and was later enlarged. In about 1150 the manors retained in demesne were Dunster, Minehead, Cutcombe, Kilton and Carhampton in Somerset, and Ham in Dorset.
Hall in the parish of Lanteglos-by-Fowey in Cornwall, England, is an historic estate, most prominent as the seat of a branch of the Mohun family of Dunster Castle in Somerset. The family of Mohun of Hall was also seated at Bodinnick also in the parish of Lanteglos-by-Fowey and later at Boconnoc, both in Cornwall, and was one of the four co-heirs of Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon (1527–1556), feudal baron of Okehampton, etc., of Tiverton Castle, Okehampton Castle, etc., the last of the mediaeval Courtenay Earls of Devon. In recognition of this in 1628 the senior representative of the Mohun family of Hall was created Baron Mohun of Okehampton, namely John Mohun, 1st Baron Mohun of Okehampton (1595-1641) eldest son and heir of Sir Reginald Mohun, 1st Baronet (1564–1639) of Boconnoc. The family of Mohun of Hall died out in the male line in 1712, following the death in a celebrated duel of Charles Mohun, 4th Baron Mohun of Okehampton (1677-1712), who died without progeny. However, the family had long out-lived the senior Dunster line which died out in the male line in 1375, following the death of John de Mohun, 2nd Baron Mohun, KG, (c.1320-1375). Two monumental brasses survive in Lanteglos church to members of the Mohun family of Hall, namely Thomas Mohun and John Mohun (d.1508).
Sir Thomas Brooke (c.1355-1418) of Holditch in the parish of Thorncombe in Devon and of la Brooke in the parish of Ilchester in Somerset, was "by far the largest landowner in Somerset" and served 13 times as a Member of Parliament for Somerset. He was the first prominent member of his family, largely due to the great wealth he acquired from his marriage to a wealthy widow. The monumental brass of Sir Thomas Brooke and his wife survives in Thorncombe Church.
