Edmund Mortimer, son of the 3rd Earl

Edmund Mortimer (9 November 1376 – 1409), was the second son of Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March by his wife Philippa Plantagenet, and is the best-known of the various Edmund Mortimers because of his role in the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr. A grandson of Lionel of Antwerp and thus descended from King Edward III of England, he was born at Ludlow Castle in Shropshire.^[1]

Claim to throne

Edmund was a supporter of his first cousin once removed, Henry Bolingbroke, despite having at least as good a claim to the throne of England. (Edmund's grandfather, Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence, was Edward III's third son, while Bolingbroke's father (John of Gaunt) was Edward's fourth son.)

Capture by Owain Glyndŵr

Edmund fought for Bolingbroke until captured by the Welsh rebel leader, Owain Glyndŵr in the Battle of Bryn Glas.

When Henry proved 'slow' to ransom Mortimer, Glyndŵr won Edmund Mortimer's allegiance. Mortimer married Glyndŵr's daughter Catrin in 1402, and they are believed to have had at least 3 children in their six years together. Some sources indicate that Catrin and "3 daughters" died during imprisonment in the Tower of London in 1413.

Tripartite Indenture

Glyndŵr and Mortimer plotted with Henry Percy, nicknamed Hotspur, to depose Henry IV and divide the kingdom of England and Wales in three.^[2] However, Mortimer died sometime during the eight month siege of Owain's stronghold of Harlech, in 1409, by Henry, Prince of Wales. Mortimer most likely died of plague or starvation.

Notes

References

• Haigh, Christopher, The Cambridge historical encyclopedia of Great Britain and Ireland, Cambridge University Press, 2000.
• Neillands, Robin, The Hundred Years War, Routledge:London, 2001.