Birth of Katherine, daughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster
Douglas Richardson
Contemporary Information pertaining to the births of the various
children of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (son of King Edward III)
is scarce indeed. In previous posts, I've presented evidence which
shows that Duke John had six legitimate children by his first wife,
Blanche of Lancaster, and one legitimate daughter, Katherine, by his
2nd wife, Isabel of Castile. The Duke likewise had four illegitimate
children by his mistress (afterwards wife), Katherine Swynford, which
children were later legitimated by Act of Parliament.
To date, I've only had an approximate date of birth (1372-3) for Duke
John's youngest legitimate daughter, Katherine, who afterwards was the
wife of Enrique II, King of Castile and León. However, Katherine's
birth date can be pinpointed with greater accuracy. In the book,
Issues of the Exchequer, by Frederick Devon, published in 1837, there
is a record on page 195 which shows that Katherine Swynford, Duke
John's final wife and then mistress, was awarded 20 marks on March
31st, 1373, by King Edward III for her having announced to him the
birth of "a daughter of the Queen of Spain, consort of John, King of
Castile and Leon, and Duke of Lancaster." The Queen of Spain was
Duke John's 2nd wife, Isabel of Castile. From this record, it
appears that Duke John's daughter, Katherine of Lancaster, was born
shortly before 31 March 1373. A similar payment noted in the same
book made to another individual for the announcment of the birth of
Duke John's son, Henry (afterwards King Henry IV) was made
approximately six weeks after Henry's birth in 1367.
The specific item in the book, Issues of the Exchequer, regarding the
payment to Katherine Swynford may be viewed at the following weblink:
Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah
Hans Lick
>
> Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah
Two minor corrections:
Katherine's mother was Constance of Castille. Her sister Isabel
married Edmund, Duke of York, and was the mother of his two sons,
Edward of Aumerle and Richard of Cambridge (and is thus the ancestress
of the Houses of York and Tudor).
Katherine's husband was Enrique III of Castille, not Enrique II (his
grandfather, the murderer of her grandfather, Pedro the Cruel).
Jean Coeur de Lapin
Douglas Richardson
Correct on both points. I copied out Enrique III's name from my
files, but deleted his nickname "el Doliente" for the post. It
appears I hit one two many delete keys and turned Enrique III into
Enrique II. Mea culpa.
And, yes, Katherine of Lancaster's mother was definitely named
Constance, not Isabel.
Douglas Richardson