The Reign of Henry VII

[Legitimation of the Beauforts by Richard II in 1397, "Rotuli Parliamentorum," iii. 343. This document is generally called an "Act of Parliament"; but it was not enrolled on the Statute Roll, and many things were done as late as Richard II's reign in Parliament that were not Acts of Parliament.]

[4th February 1397]. It is to be remembered that on Tuesday, the fifteenth day of Parliament, the Chancellor, by the command of the King, declared how our Holy Father the Pope, in reverence of the most excellent person of the King and his honorable uncle, the Duke of Guyenne and Lancaster, and of his bloodline, has legitimized and made lawful my Lord John of Beaufort, his brothers, and his sister. And for this reason, our Lord the King, as the full Emperor of his realm of England, for the honor of his blood, wills, and by his full royal power has legitimized and made legitimate, by his own authority, the said John, his said brothers, and sister. And he also pronounced and made public their legitimation, according to the form of the King's charter made for that purpose. The same charter was read in full Parliament, and given to the said Duke, father of the said John and his said brothers and sister, the tenor of which charter follows:

Richard, by the grace of God, King of England and France and Lord of Ireland, to our dearest cousins, the noble men John, knight, Henry, clerk, Thomas, esquire, and our beloved noble lady, Joan Beaufort, gentlewoman, children of our dearest uncle, the noble man John, Duke of Lancaster, our lieges, greeting and goodwill from our royal majesty. When we consider internally how continually and in what great honor we are graced on all sides by the parental and sincere love of our aforesaid uncle, and by his wise counsel, we deem it appropriate and fitting, in view of his merits and in consideration of your persons, who shine with great talent, honesty of life, and moral integrity, and are descended from the royal line and endowed with many virtues and divine gifts, that we should enrich you with the special prerogative of favour and grace.

Therefore, inclined by the prayers of our said uncle, your father, we, considering the fact that you are said to suffer from the defect of birth, so that this defect, and whatever qualities it may imply, which we deem sufficiently expressed here, notwithstanding any such defect, do not prevent you from being appointed, promoted, elected, assumed, and admitted to any honors, dignities, pre-eminences, ranks, statuses, and public or private offices, whether perpetual or temporary, and feudal or noble, by whatever names they may be called, even if they are duchies, principalities, counties, baronies, or other fiefs, even if they depend mediately or immediately upon us or are held of us. You may freely and lawfully receive, hold, exercise, and retain these as if you were born of legitimate wedlock, notwithstanding any statutes or customs of our realm of England to the contrary, which we here deem fully expressed and nullified. From the plenitude of our royal power and with the assent of our Parliament, we hereby dispense with them. And we restore and legitimize you and each of you to your birthrights.

Fait a remembrer, que le Maresdy, le quinzisme jour de Parlement, le Chaunceller, du coniandement de Roy, declara, coment nostre seint pere le Pape, al reverence de la tres excellent persone du Roy et de son honorable uncle le Due de Guyen & de Lancastre, & de son sank, ad habliez & legitimez Mon Seigneur Johan de Beaufort, ses freres et sa soer¹. Et pur ceo nostre Seigneur le Roy, come entier Emperour de son Roialme d'Engleterre, pur honour de son sank, voet, & ad de sa plenir Roial poiar habilie, & fait muliere, de sa propre auctorite, le dit Johan, ses ditz freres et soer. Et aussi pronuncia & puplist l'abilite & legitimation, solone la fourme de la chartre du Roy ent faite. Laquele chartre feust lue en pleine Parlement, & baillez a le dit due, pere a dit Johan, & ses ditz freres & soer, le tenour de quele chartre s'enfui:

Ricardus, Dei gratia, rex Angliae & Franciae & dominus Hiberniae, carissimis consanguineis nostris nobilibus viris Johanni, militi, Henrico, clerico, Thome, domicello, ac dilecte nobis nobili mulieri, Johanne Beauford, domicelle, germanis præcarissimi avunculi nostri nobilis viri Johannis Ducis Lancastriae natis, ligeis nostris, salutem & benevolentiam nostre Regie Magestatis. Dum interna consideracione pensamus, quot incessanter & quantis honoribus, parentili & sincera dileccione præfati avunculi nostri & sui maturitate consilii, undique decoramur, congruum arbitramur & dignum, ut meritorurn suorum intuitu, ac grac'² conteniplatione personarum, vos, qui magne probitatis ingenio, vite ac morum honestate fulgetis & ex regali estis prosapia propagati, pluribusque virtutibus munereque insigniti divino, specialis prerogative munimine favoris & gratie fecundemus³.

Hinc est, quod dicti avunculi nostri, genitoris vestri, precibus inclinati, vobiscum qui, ut asseritur, defectum natalium patimini, ut hujusmodi defectu, quern ejusque qualitates quascumque presentibus⁴ volumus pro sufficienter expressis, non obstante, quod⁵ quecumque honores, dignitates, pre-eminentias, status, gradus, & officia publica & privata, tam perpetua quam temporal ia, atque feudalia & nobilia, quibuscumque nominibus nuncupentur, etiamsi ducatus, principatus, comitatus, baronie, vel alia feuda fuerint, etiamsi mediate vel immediate a nobis dependeant seu teneantur, prefici, promoveri, eligi, assumi, & admitti, illaque recipere, retinere, gerere, & excercere, provide⁶, libere & licite⁷, ac si de legitimo tboro nati existeretis, quibuscumque statutis seu consuetudinibus regni nostri Anglie in contrarium editis, seu observatis, que bic habemus pro totaliter expressis, nequaquam obstantibus, de plenitudine nostre regalis potestatis, & de assensu Parliamenti nostri, tenore presentium dispensamus. Vosque & vestrum quemlibet natalibus restituimus & legitimamus.

Note 1. The marriage of John of Gaunt and Catherine Swynford would in any case — according to Canon Law — have legitimated the children born before it.

Note 2. Vestrarum ac, as in No. 5.

Note 3.? secundemus.

Note 4. Supply haberi.

Note 5. ad.

Note 6. Perinde.

Note 7. Supply valeatis. This passage illustrates the corruption of the printed text of the "Rotuli Parliamentorum"; parentili on the first line should probably be perutili.

[10th February 1407]. Henry IV's confirmation of the legitimation of the Beauforts by letters patent, 8 Henry IV, pars. 1, membrane 14.

The famous limitation "excepta dignitate regali" was inserted by means of interlineation and in a later hand on the enrolment of Richard II's grant in the Patent Rolls, and was incorporated in the text of Henry IV s exemplification of the grant for the Earl of Somerset in 1407. But the record of Richard II's grant embodied in the Rolls of Parliament stood unaltered; and Henry IV's limitation was therefore of doubtful legality. Its motive is said (Bentley's "Excerpta Historica" p. 153) to have been to prevent Somerset from claiming the throne as the eldest son of John of Gaunt; but Henry IV was born in 1367 and Somerset not till about 1373. The exception, moreover, while not stated, is clearly implied in the language of Richard's grant.

The King to all to whom these presents shall come, greetings —

It is known to us through the inspection of the rolls of the Chancery of Lord Richard, lately King of England, the second after the Conquest, that the same former King caused his letters patent to be made in these words:

Richard, by the grace of God, King of England and France, and Lord of Ireland, to our dearest cousins, the noble men John, knight, Henry, clerk, Thomas, esquire, and to our beloved noble lady Joan Beaufort, gentlewoman, children of our dearest uncle, the noble man John, Duke of Lancaster, our lieges, greeting and goodwill from our royal majesty. When we consider internally how continually and in what great honor we are graced on all sides by the paternal and sincere love of our aforesaid uncle, and by his wise counsel, we deem it appropriate and fitting, in view of his merits and in consideration of your persons, who shine with great talent, honesty of life, and moral integrity, and are descended from the royal line and endowed with many virtues and divine gifts, that we should enrich you with the special prerogative of favour and grace.

Therefore, inclined by the prayers of our said uncle, your father, we, considering that you are said to suffer from the defect of birth, so that this defect and any qualities it may imply, which we deem sufficiently expressed here, notwithstanding any such defect, shall not prevent you from being appointed, promoted, elected, assumed, and admitted to any honors, dignities (except royal dignity), pre-eminences, ranks, statuses, and public or private offices, whether perpetual or temporary, and feudal or noble, by whatever names they may be called, even if they are duchies, principalities, counties, baronies, or other fiefs, even if they depend mediately or immediately upon us or are held of us. You may freely and lawfully receive, hold, exercise, and retain these as if you were born of legitimate wedlock, notwithstanding any statutes or customs of our realm of England to the contrary, which we here deem fully expressed and nullified. From the plenitude of our royal power and with the assent of our Parliament, we hereby dispense with them. And we restore and legitimize you and each of you to your birthrights.

In witness whereof, we have caused these our letters to be made patent. Witness myself at Westminster on the ninth day of February, in the twentieth year of our reign.'

We, therefore, at the request of our dearest brother John, Earl of Somerset, have deemed it proper to exemplify the tenor of the enrollment of the aforesaid letters by these presents.

In witness whereof, etc. Witness the King at Westminster on the 10th day of February.

Rex omnibus ad quos etc. salutem —

Constat nobis per inspectionem Kottulorum Cancellarum Domini Ricardi nuper regis Anglie secundi post Conquestum quod idem nuper rex literas suas patentes fieri fecit in hec verba:

Ricardus Dei gratia rex Anglie et Francie et dominus Hiberniæ carissimis consanguineis nostris, nobilibus viris Johanni militi, Henrico clerico Thome domicello, ac dilecte nobis nobili mulieri Johanne Beauford domicelle, germanis precarissimi avunculi nostri nobilis viri Johannis Ducis Lancastrian, natis ligeis nostris, salutem et benevolentiam nostre regie Majestatis. Dum interna consideratione pensamus quot incessanter et quantis hononbus, perutili¹ et sincera dilectione prsefati avunculi nostri et sui maturitate consilii, undique decoramur, congruum arbitramur et dignum ut meritorum suorum intuitu, vestrarum ac contemplatione personarum, vos qui magne probitatis ingenio, vite ac morum honestate fulgetis, et ex regali estis prosapia propagati, pluribusque virtutibus munire² insigniti divino, specialis prerogative munimine favoris et gracie fecundemus³;

hinc est quod dicti avunculi nostri, genitoris vestri, precibus inclinati, vobiscum, qui ut asseritur defectum natalium patrium⁴, ut hujus modi defectu, quern ejusque qualitates quascunque presentibus haberi volumus pro sumcienter expressis, non obstante, ad quecunque honores dignitates (excepta dignitate regali) preeminentias status gradus et officia publica et privata tarn perpetua quam temporalia atque feudalia et nobilia, quibuscunque nominibus nuncupentur, etiam si ducatus prineipatus comitatus baronie vel alia feuda fuerint, etiam si mediate vel immediate a nobis dependeant seu teneantur, prefici promoveri eligi assumi et admitti, illaque recipere retinere gerere et exercere perinde libere et licite valeatis ac si legitimo thoro nati existeretis, quibuscunque statutis consuetudinibus regni nostri Anglie in contrarium editis seu observatis, que hie habemus pro totaliter expressis, nequaquam obstantibus, de plenitudine nostre regalis potestatis et de assensu Parliamenti nostri tenore presentium dispensamus, vosque et vestrum quemlibet natalibus restituimus et legitimamus.

In cujus rei testimonium has literas nostras fieri fecimus patentes. Teste meipso apud Westmonasterium nono die Febr. anno regni nostro vicesimo.

Nos autem tenorem irrotulamenti literarum predictarum ad requisitionem carissimi fratis nostri Johannis comitis Somerset, duximus exemplificandum per presentes.

In cujus etc. Teste Kege apud Westmonasterium 10 die Febr.

Note 1. Parentili in No. 4.

Note 1.? virtutibus, munereque, as in No. 4.

Note 2.? Secundemus

Note 3.? Patimini, as on p. 7.