MICHAEL DE LA POLE 1367-1415

[Ancestral Link: Marguerite Anderson (Miller), daughter of Hannah Anderson (Anderson), daughter of Mary Margaret Edmiston (Anderson), daughter of Martha Jane Snow (Edmiston), daughter of Gardner Snow, son of James Snow, son of Mary Trowbridge (Snow), daughter of James Trowbridge, son of Sarah Ward (Trowbridge), daughter of Mary Spring (Ward), daughter of Hannah Barsham (Spring), daughter of William Barsham, son of Ann Yelverton (Barsham), daughter of Bridget Drury (Yelverton), daughter of William Drury, son of Anne Calthorpe (Drury), daughter of Elizabeth Stapleton (Calthorpe), daughter of Catherine Pole (Stapleton), daughter of Thomas De La Pole, son of Michael De La Pole.]

[Ancestral Link: Harold William Miller, son of Edward Emerson Miller, son of Anna Hull (Miller), daughter of William Hull, son of Anna Hyde (Hull), daughter of Mehitable Marvin (Hyde), daughter of Benjamin Marvin, son of John Marvin, son of Sarah Clark (Marvin), daughter of George Clark, son of George Clark, son of Elizabeth Bristowe (Clark), daughter of Margaret Boteler (Bristowe), daughter of John Boteler, son of Elizabeth Drury (Boteler), daughter of Anne Calthrope (Drury), daughter of Elizabeth Stapleton (Calthrope) daughter of Catherine Pole (Stapleton, daughter of Thomas De La Pole, son of Michael De La Pole.]

[Ancestral Link: Harold William Miller, son of Edward Emerson Miller, son of Anna Hull (Miller), daughter of William Hull, son of Anna Hyde (Hull), daughter of William Hull, son of William E. Hull, son of Sarah Wilcox (Hull), daughter of Mary Pierson (Wilcox), daughter of Abraham Pierson, son of Abigail Clarke (Pierson), daughter of George Clark, son of George Clark, son of Elizabeth Bristowe (Clark), daughter of Margaret Boteler (Bristowe), daughter of John Boteler, son of Elizabeth Drury (Boteler), daughter of Anne Calthrope (Drury), daughter of Elizabeth Stapleton (Calthrope), daughter of Catherine Pole (Stapleton), daughter of Thomas De La Pole, son of Michael De La Pole.]

Wingfield Castle

1415 Part of 100 years war

Normandy, France 1415

Grave site of Michael and Katherine

The effigies are in wood. This is rare and no more wooden effigies were made after the 14th century. Round it are thirteen niches, eight on the south side, four at the west end and one on the north side, some of which formerly contained images of their children. At one time their names could be seen over some of the niches. AN, Johane, Alexander, Thomas, Philippus, but the only one now decipherable is Thoma. Round the monument are the wings of the de la Poles and the Stafford knots. The figures were originally coloured.

Michael De La Pole 2nd Earl of Suffolk
Birth 1367
Wingfield Castle, Suffolk, England,
Marriage to Katherine Countess of Suffolk de Stafford, 23 November 1391
Age: 24
Cotton, Suffolk, England,
Death 17 September 1415
Age: 48
Siege of Harfleur, Normandy, France,

from ancestry.com

Michael de la Pole was the son of Michael de la Pole, 1st Earl of Suffolk who had married Katherine de Wingfield, only daughter of Sir John de Wingfield.

The 2nd Earl married Katherine, daughter of Hugh, Earl of Stafford. He accompanied Henry V on his expedition to France but died of a fever at the Siege of Harfleur in 1415 just before the Battle of Agincourt where his eldest son, also Michael, was killed. William, his brother became the 1st Duke of Suffolk.

from ancestry.com

Michael de la Pole (c. 1330 – 1389) (Father of 2nd Earl of Suffolk) was an English financier, Lord Chancellor of England, and Earl of Suffolk.

He was the oldest son of William de la Pole (died 1366) and Catherine Norwich, daughter of Sir Walter Norwich.

His father was a wool merchant from Hull who became a key figure during the reign of Edward III: after the collapse of the Bardi and Peruzzi families, he emerged as Edward's chief financier. Michael enjoyed even greater popularity at court than his father, becoming one of the most trusted and intimate friends of Edward's successor, Richard II.

He was appointed Chancellor in 1383,[1] and created Earl of Suffolk in 1385, the first of his family to hold any such title. However, in the late 1380s his fortunes radically altered, in step with those of the king. During the Wonderful Parliament of 1386 he was impeached on charges of embezzlement and negligence, a victim of increasing tensions between Parliament and Richard.[2][1]

Even after this disgrace, he remained in royal favour, although soon fell foul of the Lords Appellant. He was one of a number of Richard's associates accused of treason by the Appellants in November 1387. After the Appellants' victory at Radcot Bridge (December 1387) and before the so-called Merciless Parliament met in February 1388, De La Pole shrewdly fled to Paris, thus escaping the fate of Sir Nicholas Brembre and Chief Justice Robert Trefilian. He remained in France for the remainder of his life. Sentenced in his absence, his title was stripped from him.

Jean Froissart's references to de la Pole in the Chroniques (II.173) portray a devious and ineffectual counsellor, who dissuaded Richard from pursuing a certain victory against French and Scottish forces in Cumberland, and fomented undue suspicion of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster.[3]

De la Pole's descendants were key players in the political life of the next two centuries:

His son Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk was a supporter of Henry IV and opponent of Richard. He regained his father's title on Henry's accession in 1399, and died at the Siege of Harfleur. His eldest grandson Michael de la Pole, 3rd Earl of Suffolk died at the Battle of Agincourt. His younger grandson William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk was appointed Lord Chamberlain under Henry VI, before being murdered in exile. His great-great grandson was Edmund de la Pole, 3rd Duke of Suffolk, who led a botched rebellion against Henry VII in 1501.

Notes ^ a b Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde Handbook of British Chronology 2nd ed. London: Royal Historical Society 1961 p. 85 ^ J.S. Roskell, The Impeachment of Michael de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk in 1386 in the Context of the Reign of Richard II (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1984) ISBN 0-7190-0963-4 ^ Jean Froissart, Memoirs of the Life of Froissart: with an essay on his works ; and a criticism on his history, trans. by Thomas Johnes (London: Nichols and Son, 1801)
from ancestry.com


Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk (1367 – September 17, 1415) was an English nobleman who supported Henry IV against Richard II. He died during the Siege of Harfleur in 1415.

He was a son of Michael de la Pole, 1st Earl of Suffolk and Katherine Wingfield, daughter of Sir John Wingfield.

His father fled abroad before being appealed of treason during the Merciless Parliament in 1388, and forfeited the title of Earl of Suffolk and the family estates. Over the next decade, Michael made vigorous attempts to recover these lands, and obtained most of them piecemeal between 1389 and 1392, following his father's death. However, his close association with the Lords Appellant, particularly the Earl of Warwick and the Duke of Gloucester prejudiced Richard II against him. He finally obtained the restoration of the earldom in January 1398.

Michael married Katharine de Stafford, daughter of Hugh de Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford. They were parents to at least eight children:

Michael de la Pole, 3rd Earl of Suffolk (1394–1415)
William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk (1396–1450)
Alexander de la Pole (died 1429), killed at the Battle of Jargeau
Sir John de la Pole (died 1429), died a prisoner in France
Thomas de la Pole (died 1433), a clerk, died in France while a hostage for his brother William
Katherine de la Pole, abbess at Barking
Isabel de la Pole (died 1466), married Thomas Morley, 5th Lord Morley.
Elizabeth de la Pole, married first Edward Burnell, son of Hugh Burnell, 2nd Lord Burnell, second Sir Thomas Kerdeston

While he obeyed the summons of the Duke of York to defend the kingdom against Henry Bolingbroke in July 1399, he did not object to the disbandment of York's army and consented to the deposition of Richard II. While the first Parliament of Henry IV technically upheld the forfeitures of the Merciless Parliament, his estates and title were immediately restored by Henry IV for his support. However, he would spend the remainder of his life trying to obtain possession of the remaining estates which had not been restored.

He played a relatively small role in national politics, although he regularly attended Parliament. He took part in the campaign in Scotland in 1400, naval operations around 1405, and was the senior English diplomat at the Council of Pisa. Suffolk was also a lieutenant of the Duke of Clarence during his campaign of 1412–1413. However, most of his energies were spent on re-establishing de la Pole influence in East Anglia. He was a justice of the peace in Norfolk and Suffolk from 1399, and assembled a considerable following among the local gentry. He completed his father's building plans at Wingfield, Suffolk and enlarged the local church.

Suffolk brought 40 men-at-arms and 120 archers with him on the 1415 campaign of Henry V. He died of dysentery before Harfleur, and was succeeded by his eldest son Michael, who was also present there.

References Walker, Simon (2004). "Pole, Michael de la, second earl of Suffolk (1367/8–1415)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved on 2007-01-02.
See also source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_de_la_Pole%2C_2nd_Earl_of_Suffolk
from ancestry.com

from findagrave.com:
Birth: 1367
Death: September 17, 1415
English Nobility. 2nd Earl of Suffolk. His father was a former Lord Chancellor of England who died in exile in 1389 after being accused of treason, and was stripped of all his titles. The Earldom of Suffolk was restored to Michael in 1398 but he never succeeded in gaining back all the family estates. He regularly attended Parliament, though his political ambitions were largely confined to his native East Anglia. From 1399 he was a justice of the peace in Suffolk and Norfolk. In 1415, he and his eldest son Michael brought 40 men-at-arms and 120 archers with them on Henry V's French campaign. He died of dysentery during the Siege of Harfleur and the king immediately had his body shipped back to England for burial. His tomb at St. Andrew's in Wingfield features rare surviving examples of medieval funeral effigies carved in wood. (bio by: Robert Edwards)

Family links: Spouse: Catherine De Stafford De La Pole (1376 - 1419)*
from ancestry.com

A Bit of History from "The Washing Post - Special Reports"...
At the time of the Constitutional Convention the phrase "high Crimes and Misdemeanors" had been in use for over 400 years in impeachment proceedings in Parliament. It first appears in 1386 in the impeachment of the King's Chancellor. Michael de le Pole, Earl of Suffolk. Some of the charges may have involved common law offenses. Others plainly did not: de la Pole was charged with breaking a promise he made to the full Parliament to execute in connection with a parliamentary ordinance the advice of a committee of nine lords regarding the improvement of the estate of the King and the realm: "this was not done, and it was the fault of himself as he was then chief officer." He was also charged with failing to expend a sum that Parliament had directed be used to ransom the town of Ghent, because of which "the said town was lost."

The phrase does not reappear in impeachment proceedings until 1450. In that year articles of impeachment against William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk (a descendant of Michael), charged him with several acts of high treason, but also with "high Crimes and Misdemeanors," including such various offenses as "advising the King to grant liberties and privileges to certain persons to the hindrance of the due execution of the laws," "procuring offices for person who were unfit, and unworthy of them" and "squandering away the public treasure."
from ancestry.com

Some notes on the 100 years war, the Seige of Harfleur, the battle of Agincourt Seige of Harfleur
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The siege of Harfleur, Normandy, France began 18 August 1415 and ended on 22 September when Harfleur surrendered to the English.[show]
Hundred Years' War
Edwardian – Breton Succession – Castilian – Two Peters – Caroline – Lancastrian -Burgundian[ show]
Hundred Years' War (1415–1453)
Harfleur – Agincourt – Rouen – 2nd La Rochelle – Baugé – Meaux – Cravant – La Brossinière – Verneuil – Orléans – Herrings –Loire – Jargeau – Meung-sur-Loire – Beaugency – Patay – Compiègne –La Charite– Gerbevoy – Formigny – Castillon

Main article: Hundred Years War
Henry V invaded France following the failure of negotiations with the French. He claimed the title of King of France through his great-grandfather Edward III, although in practice the English kings were generally prepared to renounce this claim if the French would acknowledge the English claim on Aquitaine and other French lands (the terms of the Treaty of Bretigny).[1] He initially called a great council in the spring of 1414 to discuss going to war with France, but the lords insisted that he should negotiate further and moderate his claims. In the following negotiations Henry said that he would give up his claim to the French throne if the French would pay the 1.6 million crowns outstanding from the ransom of John II (who had been captured at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356), and concede English ownership of the lands of Normandy, Touraine, Anjou, Brittany and Flanders, as well as Aquitaine. Henry would marry Princess Catherine, the young daughter of Charles VI, and receive a dowry of 2 million crowns. The French responded with what they considered the generous terms of marriage with Princess Catherine, a dowry of 600,000 crowns, and an enlarged Aquitaine. By 1415 negotiations had ground to a halt, with the English claiming that the French had mocked their claims and ridiculed Henry himself.[2] In December 1414, the English parliament was persuaded to grant Henry a "double subsidy", a tax at twice the traditional rate, to recover his inheritance from the French. On 19 April 1415, Henry again asked the great council to sanction war with France, and this time they agreed.[3][ edit] Invasion and preparations

On Tuesday 13 August 1415 Henry V of England landed at Chef-en-Caux in the Seine estuary. Then he attacked Harfleur with 2000 men of arms and 6000 bowmen. The French garrison of 100 men was reinforced by two experienced knights, the Sieur d'Estouteville and the Sieur de Gaucourt, who arrived with a further 300 men-at-arms and took command.[citation needed][edit] Investment and siege

On the 18 August, Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence led part of the army to set up camp on the far, east side of the town. This meant that the town was invested and a French relief convoy, bearing supplies of guns, powder, arrows and crossbows was captured.[citation needed]

Details of the siege are not well known but seem to have followed the standard pattern of siege warfare in the Late Middle Ages. After the walls had been seriously damaged by the twelve great guns and other traditional artillery of the English siege train, Henry planned a general assault one month to the day that the town had been enveloped. But the town's commanders asked for a parley and terms were agreed that if the French army did not arrive before the 23rd then the town would surrender to the English.[citation needed]

Harfleur yielded to the invaders on 22 September. The knights were released on parole to gather ransom, and the town's people who were prepared to swear allegiance to Henry were allowed to remain, while the rest were ordered to depart.[citation needed][edit] Aftermath

During the siege the English army had been hard hit by dysentery (then known as the "bloody flux") which continued to affect them after the siege ended. Henry left a small garrison in the town and on Monday 8 October set out with the rest of his army to go to Calais. He searched for an undefended or weakly defended bridge or ford on the Somme river hoping to slip past the French army but although he crossed the Somme he failed to evade the French army and was forced to fight the Battle of Agincourt.[citation needed]
from ancestry.com