Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March

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Roger de Mortimer
4th Earl of March and 6th Earl of Ulster
Alianore Holland
Issue
Anne de Mortimer

Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March
Roger Mortimer (died young c. 1409)
Eleanor (d. 1418), married Edward de Courtenay, 11th Earl of Devon and had no children
Father Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March
Mother Philippa, Countess of March and Ulster
Born 11 April 1374(1374-04-11)[1]
Usk[1]
Baptised April 16, 1374[1]
see place of birth
Died 11 April 1374 (aged -25)
Battle of Kells
Burial Wigmore Abbey

Roger de Mortimer, 4th Earl of March and 6th Earl of Ulster (11 April 1374 – 20 July 1398)[2] was the heir presumptive to Richard II of England between 1385 and 1398.

Mortimer was son of the powerful Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March, and Philippa, Countess of March and Ulster.[1] His mother was the only issue of Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, the second surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault[3]. Thus, Mortimer was (after his father's death) Richard II's heir if succession is allowed through a female line.

Mortimer's mother died quite early and his father on December 27, 1381, so Mortimer succeeded to his title and estates when only seven years old.[1] His hereditary influence and position caused him to be appointed to the lord-lieutenancy of Ireland on January 24, 1382.[1] His uncle Sir Thomas Mortimer acted as his deputy.[1] This experiment did not work well and Mortimer was replaced by Philip de Courtenay the next year.[1]

Being a ward of the Crown, his guardian was Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent, half-brother to Richard II. The earl of Kent also purchased the rights to choose Mortimer's bride, and 1387 or early 1388 married him to his daughter Alianor (Eleanor).[4]

The importance which he owed to his hereditary influence and possessions, and especially to his descent from Edward III, was immensely increased when Richard II publicly acknowledged him as heir presumptive to the crown in 1385[5].

Contents

[edit] Conflict in Ireland

In 1394 he accompanied Richard II to Ireland, but notwithstanding a commission from the king as lieutenant of the districts over which he exercised nominal authority by hereditary right, he made little headway against the native Irish chieftains. Nevertheless the following year Mortimer was given broader authority as lieutenant of Ireland.

March enjoyed great popularity in England though he took no active part in opposing the despotic measures of the King.

On July 20, 1398 he was killed at the Battle of Kells in a fight with an Irish clan, and was buried in Wigmore Abbey.

His titles and the designation of heir presumptive passed to his young son, Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March.

[edit] Children

By his wife Alianore Holland he had four children[6]:

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Stephen and Lee, 1894, p.145.
  2. ^ Tout; some primary sources give the date of his death as 15 August
  3. ^ Tout
  4. ^ Tout
  5. ^ Tout
  6. ^ Tout p. 146

[edit] References


Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March
Born: 11 April 1374 Died: 20 July 1398
English royalty
Preceded by
Philippa Plantagenet, 5th Countess of Ulster		 Heir to the English Throne
as heir presumptive
5 January 1382 (acknowledged 1385) - 20 July 1398		 Succeeded by
Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by
Edmund Mortimer		 Earl of March
1381–1398		 Succeeded by
Edmund Mortimer
Preceded by
Philippa Plantagenet		 Earl of Ulster
1382–1398


[edit] External Link/Sources