Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence

Lionel of Antwerp
Duke of Clarence
One reputed version of Lionel's coat of arms
Earl of Ulster (jure uxoris)
Predecessor	William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl
Successor	Philippa of Clarence, 5th Countess with Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March
suo jure Countess	Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess
Spouse	Elizabeth de Burgh, Countess of Ulster m. 1352; dec. 1363 Violante Visconti m. 1368; wid. 1368
Issue
Philippa of Clarence, 5th Countess of Ulster
House	House of Plantagenet
Father	Edward III of Windsor
Mother	Philippa of Hainault
Born	29 November 1338(1338-11-29) Antwerp, Belgium
Died	7 October 1368(1368-10-07) (aged 29) Alba, Piedmont
Burial	Clare Priory, Suffolk

Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence, jure uxoris 4th Earl of Ulster and 5th Baron of Connaught, KG (29 November 1338 – 7 October 1368) was the third son, but the second son to survive infancy, of Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. He was so called because he was born at Antwerp.

Contents 1 First marriage 2 Ireland 3 Second marriage 4 Issue 5 Ancestry 6 Titles, styles, honours and arms 6.1 Arms 7 Notes 8 References

First marriage

Betrothed when a child to Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster (d. 1363), daughter and heiress of William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster (d. 1332), he was married to her in 1352, but before this date he had entered into possession of her great Irish inheritance. He was called Earl of Ulster from 1347.

Ireland

Having been named as his father's representative in England in 1345 and again in 1346, Lionel joined an expedition into France in 1355, but his chief energies were reserved for the affairs of Ireland.

Appointed governor of that country, he landed at Dublin in 1361, and in November of the following year was created Duke of Clarence, the second Dukedom created in England, while his father made an abortive attempt to secure for him the crown of Scotland. His efforts to secure an effective authority over his Irish lands were only moderately successful; and after holding a parliament at Kilkenny, which passed the celebrated Statute of Kilkenny in 1366, he dropped the task in disgust and returned to England.

The poet Geoffrey Chaucer was at one time a page in Lionel's household.

Second marriage

Lionel's wife died in Dublin in 1363, leaving behind a daughter, Philippa, whose descendants would one day claim the throne for the House of York. A second marriage was arranged for Lionel with Violante (c. 1353 - November 1386), daughter of Galeazzo Visconti, lord of Pavia (d. 1378); the enormous dowry which Galeazzo promised with his daughter being exaggerated by the rumour of the time. Journeying to fetch his bride, Lionel was received in great state both in France and Italy, and was married to Violante at Milan on 28 May 1368. Some months were then spent in festivities, during which Lionel was taken ill at Alba, where he died. There was strong speculation at the time that he had been poisoned by his father-in-law^[1] although this has never been proven.

Issue

His only child, Philippa, married in 1368 Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March (1351–1381). Their granddaughter and eventual heir, Anne Mortimer, married into the Yorkist branch of the English Royal family. The House of York based its claim to the throne on this line of descent.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence

16. Henry III of England               8. Edward I of England                       17. Eleanor of Provence               4. Edward II of England                             18. Ferdinand III of Castile               9. Eleanor of Castile                       19. Jeanne of Dammartin               2. Edward III of England                                   20. Philip III of France               10. Philip IV of France                       21. Isabella of Aragon               5. Isabella of France                             22. Henry I of Navarre               11. Joan I of Navarre                       23. Blanche of Artois               1. Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence                                         24. John I, Count of Hainaut and Lord of Avesnes               12. John II, Count of Holland                       25. Adelaide of Holland               6. William I, Count of Hainaut                             26. Henry V, Count of Luxembourg               13. Philippa of Luxembourg                       27. Margaret of Bar               3. Philippa of Hainault                                   28. Philip III of France               14. Charles of Valois                       29. Isabella of Aragon               7. Joan of Valois                             30. Charles II of Naples               15. Marguerite of Anjou and Maine                       31. Maria of Hungary

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Arms

Lionel's arms were at some point those of the kingdom, differenced by a label argent of five points, with each point bearing a cross gules.^[2] There are also suggestions, such as the above image, that at some point he bore a differentiating label argent of three points, each bearing a canton gules.

Notes

1. ^ Frances Stonor Saunders, Hawkwood: Diabolical Englishman (2004).
2. ^ Marks of Cadency in the British Royal Family

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

Lionel of Antwerp House of Plantagenet Born: 29 November 1338 Died: 7 October 1368
Peerage of England
New creation	Duke of Clarence 1362–1368	Extinct
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl	Earl of Ulster jure uxoris with Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess 1347–1368	Succeeded by Philippa Plantagenet, 5th Countess with Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March

Dukes of Clarence Lionel of Antwerp (1362–1368) · Thomas of Lancaster (1412–1421) · George Plantagenet (1461–1478) · William IV (1789–1830) · Prince Albert Victor (1890–1892)

Persondata
Name	Lionel Of Antwerp, 1st Duke Of Clarence
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	29 November 1338
Place of birth	Antwerp, Belgium
Date of death	7 October 1368
Place of death	Alba, Piedmont