John Montacute, 3rd Earl of Salisbury

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John Montacute, 3rd Earl of Salisbury (1350 – January 5, 1400) was an English nobleman, one of the few who remained loyal to Richard II to the very end.

He was the son of Sir John Montacute and Margaret de Monthermer. His father was the younger brother of William Montacute, 2nd Earl of Salisbury. His mother was the granddaughter and heiress of Ralph de Monthermer (Baron Monthermer). As a young man Montagu distinguished himself in the war with France, and then went to fight against the pagans in Prussia, probably on the expedition led by the Henry Bolingbroke (the future Henry IV of England).

He was summoned to parliament in 1391 as Baron Montagu. Montagu was a favorite of the king during the early years of the reign of Richard II. He accompanied the king during his expeditions to Ireland in 1394 and 1395, and as a privy councillor was one of the principal advocates of the king's marriage to Isabella of Valois. During the trips to France associated with the marriage, he met and encouraged Christine de Pisan, whose son was educated in the Montacute household. Montacute was a prominent Lollard, and was remonstrated by the king for this.

With the death of his mother around this time, John inherited the barony of Monthermer and its estates. In 1397, he became Earl of Salisbury on the death of his uncle and inherited Bisham Manor and other estates. He continued as one of the major aristocratic allies of the king, helping to secure the fall of the Duke of Gloucester and the Earl of Warwick. He persuaded the king to spare the life of Warwick. He received a portion of the forfeited Warwick estates, and in 1399 was made a Knight of the Garter.

Early in 1400, he went to on a successful mission to France to prevent the proposed marriage of Henry Bolingbroke and a daughter of the Duke of Berry. In May, he again accompanied Richard II on an expedition to Ireland. When news reached them of that Bolingbroke had returned to England, Montacute was sent to Wales to raise opposing forces. When these deserted, Montacute advised Richard to flee to Bordeaux. Instead Richard was imprisoned, Henry took the throne and, in the October, Montacute was arrested along with many of Richard's former councillors, and held in the Tower of London.

Montacute had to answer charges related to the arrest and subsequent death of the Duke of Gloucester in 1397. Eventually he was released, due to the intercession of King Henry's sister Elizabeth, Countess of Huntingdon. Not long after his release, Montacute joined with the Earl of Huntingdon and others in the Epiphany Rising, a plot to kill King Henry and restore Richard II. After the plot failed, he was caught at Cirencester and executed. His eldest son, Thomas – by Maud Francis daughter of London citizen, Adam Francis – eventually recovered the earldom, though the attainder against John Montacute was not reversed until the accession of Edward IV in 1461.