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Baron Henry Percy of Alnwick 3rd
(Cir 1321-1368)
Mary of Lancaster
(1320-1362)
Lord Ralph Neville of Raby II
(Cir 1291-1367)
Alice Audley
(1300-1358)
Earl Henry Percy of Northumberland
(1341-1408)
Margaret Neville
(1339-1372)

Sir Henry (Hotspur) Percy
(1364-1403)

 

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Spouses/Children:
1. Deceased

Sir Henry (Hotspur) Percy 1

  • Born: 20 May 1364
  • Died: 21 Jul 1403 aged 39
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bullet  General Notes:

Henry Percy, eldest son of the future Earl of Northumberland (also named Henry), was, in his day, looked at as the archetypal man of war. He was knighted by King Edward III (soon before the old king's death) in 1377 and began fighting in wars by the time he was fourteen. The Percy family had long been known as protectors against the Scots in the north of England and Henry made sure that reputation was continued. Throughout his youth Henry continued to gain a reputation as a brave warrior. He fought in many battles in Scotland, Ireland, France and even Asia. Furthermore, he was created a Knight of the Garter in 1388 and made warden of the marshes on several different occasions. The Scots, the people with which Percy fought with the most, gave Percy the nickname "Hotspur" due to the fact that he was always ready to do battle. Hotspur was briefly captured by the Scots in 1388 after the Battle of Otterburn (although the Scottish commander Douglas was killed) and ransomed for a large sum. Throughout the next ten years, Hotspur continued to loyally serve King Richard II and build up his status as a military commander, continuously fighting in battles whenever the opportunity arose. By 1399, however, the Percies, like many others, had become disillusioned with King Richard. The most likely reason for the Percy defection was their dislike of the king's handling of the border situation with Scotland and the fact that he was weakening their hold in England's north. Therefore, the Percies put their support behind Henry Bolingbroke, a cousin of the king's who had been unjustly exiled the previous year and had also been disinherited when the king seized the possessions of his recently deceased father John of Gaunt to fund his Irish expedition. It is not known whether the Percies believed that Bolingbroke was back in England merely to retrieve his inheritance (mainly the Duchy of Lancaster) but they most certainly knew that his seizing the crown was highly likely. When Richard returned from Ireland, Hotspur's father Northumberland, played in integral part in capturing the king and bringing before Bolingbroke, while Hotspur seems to have played a large part in procuring an army to support the soon to be king. After Richard was formally deposed (and soon after killed) the Percies were showered with immense amounts of rewards (mainly through lands and titles) by the newly crowned King Henry IV. As a result, the Percies continued to serve loyally to Henry and resumed their position as the protectors of northern England. Unfortunately, by 1403, the Percies would once again rebel against a king.
Sir Henry was slain at the Battle of Shrewsbury while commanding a rebel army that fought against the superior forces of King Henry IV . He was buried in Whitchurch, Shropshire , however when rumours circulated that he was still alive, 'Henry IV had the corpse exhumed and displayed it, propped upright between two millstones, in the market place at Shrewsbury'. This done, the king dispatched Percy's head to York , where it was impaled on one of the city's gates; his four-quarters were first sent to London, Newcastle upon Tyne, Bristol, and Chester before they were finally delivered to Elizabeth. She had him buried in York Minster in November of that year. In January 1404, Percy was posthumously declared a traitor and his lands were forfeited to the Crown


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Henry married Elizabeth Mortimer, daughter of Earl Edmund Mortimer III of March and Countess Philippa of Ulster. (Elizabeth Mortimer was born on 12 Feb 1371 in Usk, MON, Wales, UK and died on 20 Apr 1417.)


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Sources


1 Denis R. Reid, <i>Royals GEDCOM file 1992</i>, Surety: 3.


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