Richard FitzAlan, 8th Earl of Arundel

Richard FitzAlan, 8th Earl of Arundel
Edward Duncan · Public domain · source
Name	Richard FitzAlan, 8th Earl of Arundel
Title	Earl of Arundel
Noble family	FitzAlan
Father	Richard FitzAlan, 7th Earl of Arundel
Mother	Eleanor of Lancaster
Birth date	1346
Death date	21 September 1397
Death place	Arundel Castle?

Richard FitzAlan, 8th Earl of Arundel was an English nobleman, magnate, soldier, and opponent of royal favorites whose career spanned the later reign of Edward III and the turbulent rule of Richard II. A leading member of the Peerage of England, he served as a military commander in the Hundred Years' War, a royal admiral, and a central figure in the political conflicts that culminated in his arrest and execution during the Reign of Richard II.

Early life and family background

Born circa 1346, he was the eldest surviving son of Richard FitzAlan, 7th Earl of Arundel and Eleanor of Lancaster, linking him to the houses of FitzAlan family, Lancaster, and thence to descendants of Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. His upbringing occurred amidst the social aftermath of the Black Death and the fiscal pressures of Hundred Years' War campaigns under Edward III and administrators such as Edward, the Black Prince and Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster. The FitzAlan territorial base at Arundel Castle and possessions in Sussex and Surrey situated him within the regional networks of magnates including the Percy family, Beaufort family, and De Vere family. His family alliances connected him by blood or marriage to figures in the English peerage such as John of Gaunt, Thomas Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick, and William Montagu, 2nd Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Political and military career

He first emerged as a military leader during the later stages of Edward III's campaigns, participating in operations related to the Hundred Years' War and naval encounters with Castile and France. Elevated to prominence, he was appointed to commands involving the Admiralty of the English Channel and undertook expeditions that intersected with the activities of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and the naval initiatives of William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton. Domestically, he served in the House of Lords and acted as a regional magnate overseeing jurisdictions in Sussex, where he interacted with royal officials such as Robert de Vere, 9th Earl of Oxford and administrators like Michael de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk. His military reputation was enhanced by links to commanders including Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, and marshals of the realm such as John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford.

Role in the reigns of Edward III and Richard II

Under Edward III, he cultivated royal favor through campaigns tied to the household of Edward, the Black Prince and alliances with magnates at court, interacting with councillors like William Ufford, Earl of Suffolk and clerics such as William of Wykeham. With the accession of Richard II he became a leader of the aristocratic opposition to the king’s inner circle, confronting royal favourites including Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland and ministers like Michael de la Pole. He allied with prominent nobles at the Merciless Parliament and in the factional politics against figures such as Sir Simon Burley and members of the Crown Council, collaborating with peers like Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk and Henry Bolingbroke, later Henry IV. His interventions in parliaments and commissions placed him at odds with policies pursued by Richard II, while his connections extended to continental actors including Charles V of France and envoys associated with the Avignon Papacy.

Trial, execution, and attainder

The clash with Richard II culminated in 1397 when the king moved against leading opponents. Arrested and attainted alongside colleagues of the Lords Appellant faction, he faced proceedings orchestrated by royal commissioners and favourites such as Robert de Vere and legal instruments rooted in statutes debated in parliaments under Richard II. Tried in a political context alongside peers including Thomas, Earl of Arundel's contemporaries—notably Thomas Mowbray and others—he was condemned and executed on 21 September 1397. His titles and estates were forfeit by attainder under royal ordinance, a fate paralleling that of other magnates targeted in Richard’s purge, and his death intensified antagonism that contributed to the 1399 deposition of Richard II by Henry Bolingbroke.

Marriage, issue, and legacy

He married Elizabeth de Bohun, daughter of William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton and Elizabeth de Badlesmere, cementing ties to the Bohun family and to kinship networks that included the houses of Beaufort, Mortimer, and Plantagenet. Their children included heirs who later sought restoration of honors; the family’s fortunes were affected by the attainder but were partially revived under Henry IV and during the reign of Henry V, through legal reversals and restitutions by parliaments influenced by magnates such as John of Gaunt and Henry Percy. The FitzAlan lineage continued via descendants who held Arundel Castle and engaged in the politics of the Wars of the Roses, intersecting with houses including Talbot, Howard family, and Seymour family. His execution became emblematic of the late fourteenth-century tensions between royal prerogative and aristocratic privilege, referenced in chronicles by Thomas Walsingham, Froissart, and later historians of the Plantagenet period.

Category:14th-century English nobility Category:Earls of Arundel Category:People executed by the Kingdom of England