Joanna I, known historically as Joanna the Mad, was Queen of Castile from 1504 and Queen of Aragon from 1516 to 1555. Modern Spain evolved from the union of these two kingdoms. She was married by arrangement to Philip the Handsome, Archduke of Austria of the House of Habsburg, on 20 October 1496. Following the deaths of her brother, John, Prince of Asturias, in 1497, her elder sister Isabella in 1498, and her nephew Miguel in 1500, Joanna became the heir presumptive to the crowns of Castile and Aragon. When her mother, Queen Isabella I of Castile, died in 1504, Joanna became Queen of Castile. Her father, King Ferdinand II of Aragon, proclaimed himself Governor and Administrator of Castile. In 1506 Archduke Philip became King of Castile jure uxoris, initiating the rule of the Habsburgs in the Spanish kingdoms, and died that same year. Despite being the ruling Queen of Castile, Joanna had little effect on national policy during her reign as she was declared insane and imprisoned in the Royal Convent of Santa Clara in Tordesillas under the orders of her father, who ruled as regent until his death in 1516, when she inherited his kingdom as well. From 1516, when her son Charles I ruled as king, she was nominally co-monarch but remained imprisoned until her death. Joanna's death resulted in the union of Spain and Germany, as the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, became King of Castile and Aragon.
Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, was the third son, but the second son to survive infancy, of the English king Edward III and Philippa of Hainault. He was named after his birthplace, at Antwerp in the Duchy of Brabant. Lionel was a grandson of William I, Count of Hainaut. He grew to be nearly seven feet in height and had an athletic build.
Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster, of Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, was a member of the English royal family and a prominent English diplomat, politician, and soldier. He was the wealthiest and most powerful peer of the realm. The son and heir of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster, and Maud Chaworth, he became one of King Edward III's most trusted captains in the early phases of the Hundred Years' War and distinguished himself with victory in the Battle of Auberoche. He was a founding member and the second Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1348, and in 1351 was created Duke of Lancaster. An intelligent and reflective man, Grosmont taught himself to write and was the author of the book Livre de seyntz medicines, a highly personal devotional treatise. He is remembered as one of the founders and early patrons of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, which was established by two guilds of the town in 1352.
Sir John Maunsell, Provost of Beverley Minster, was a king's clerk and a judge. He served as chancellor to King Henry III and was England's first secretary of state.
Nicholas de Moels of North Cadbury in Somerset, was an Anglo‑Norman royal administrator and household knight of King Henry III. In this capacity he was assigned many and varied offices and duties, often of a temporary nature. He married a wealthy heiress which transformed him into a major landholder and feudal baron. In 1244 whilst serving as Seneschal of Gascony, he inflicted a defeat on the King of Navarre whom he took prisoner in the field.
The first phase of the Hundred Years' War between France and England lasted from 1337 to 1360. It is sometimes referred to as the Edwardian War because it was initiated by King Edward III of England, who claimed the French throne in defiance of King Philip VI of France. The dynastic conflict was caused by disputes over the French feudal sovereignty over Aquitaine and the English claims over the French royal title. The Kingdom of England and its allies dominated this phase of the war.
John, Prince of Asturias, was the only son of Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon.
The Battle of Auberoche was fought on 21 October 1345 during the Gascon campaign of 1345 between an Anglo-Gascon force of 1,200 men under Henry, Earl of Derby, and a French army of 7,000 commanded by Louis of Poitiers. It was fought at the village of Auberoche near Périgueux in northern Aquitaine. At the time, Gascony was a territory of the English Crown and the "English" army included a large proportion of native Gascons. The battle resulted in a heavy defeat for the French, who suffered very high casualties, with their leaders killed or captured.
Roger-Bernard III was the Count of Foix from 1265 to his death. He was the son of Roger IV of Foix and Brunissende of Cardona. He entered into conflicts with both Philip III of France and Peter III of Aragon, who held him in captivity for a time. He was nevertheless a distinguished poet and troubadour.
Jean I de Grailly was the seneschal of the Duchy of Gascony from 1266 to 1268, of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from about 1272 until about 1276, and of Gascony again from 1278 until 1286 or 1287.
Edmund de Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford (1272/3-1308), was the son of Nicholas de Stafford, who was summoned to parliament by writ on 6 February 1299 by King Edward I.
The Battle of Bergerac was fought between Anglo-Gascon and French forces at the town of Bergerac in Gascony, in August 1345 during the Hundred Years' War. In early 1345 Edward III of England decided to launch a major attack on the French from the north, while sending smaller forces to Brittany and Gascony, the latter being both economically important to the English war effort and the proximate cause of the war. The French focused on the threat to northern France, leaving comparatively small forces in the south west.
The Gascon campaign of 1345 was conducted by Henry, Earl of Derby, as part of the Hundred Years' War. The whirlwind campaign took place between August and November 1345 in Gascony, an English-controlled territory in south-west France. Derby, commanding an Anglo-Gascon force, oversaw the first successful English land campaign of the war. He twice defeated large French armies in battle, taking many noble and knightly prisoners. They were ransomed by their captors, greatly enriching Derby and his soldiers in the process. Following this campaign, morale and prestige swung England's way in the border region between English-occupied Gascony and French-ruled territory, providing an influx of taxes and recruits for the English armies. As a result, France's ability to raise tax money and troops from the region was much reduced.
Frank van Hallen K.G., Seneschal of Gascony, was a 14th-century Brabant soldier in the service of King Edward III of England. He was also known as Frank de la Halle or Frank de Hale.
The Seneschal of Gascony was an officer carrying out and managing the domestic affairs of the lord of the Duchy of Gascony. During the course of the twelfth century, the seneschalship, also became an office of military command. After 1360, the officer was the Seneschal of Aquitaine. There was an office above the seneschalcy, the Lieutenancy of the Duchy of Aquitaine, but it was filled only intermittently.
Geoffrey de Neville was an English nobleman who served as King's Chamberlain and Seneschal of Gascony and Périgord.
Hugh Hastings I was an English administrator and soldier. He fought for Edward III in the first phases of the Second War of Scottish Independence and the Hundred Years' War.
John de Havering was an English military and civil servant. He was considered one of the most experienced administrators of King Edward I, serving as Seneschal of Gascony and as Justiciar of North Wales.
Richard Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford of Clifton, Lord of Clifton, was an English soldier and diplomat during the Hundred Years' War. He was the second son of Edmund Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford and Margaret Basset, and the younger brother of Ralph Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford.
Sir Arnold Savage, Lord of Bobbing, was a 14th century English knight and administrator who was a commissioner of array in Kent (1346), lieutenant of the Seneschal of Gascony (1350), sat in the parliament of January 1352, Warden of the Coasts of Kent (1355), Mayor of Bordeaux (1359-63), and was employed in negotiations between England and Castile and France.
