69 Facts About Katherine Swynford

Katherine Swynford soon became the mistress of John of Gaunt.

Katherine Swynford's father was Paon de Roet, a herald and, later, knight, who came to England in the entourage of Philippa of Hainaut, who married King Edward III.

The author of the article of Katherine Swynford in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography believes that she was born around 1350, with which Weir agrees.

Weir further clarifies that Katherine Swynford was most likely born in 1349.

Katherine Swynford was probably named after St Catherine of Alexandria whose cult at that time was gaining strength.

Katherine Swynford's birthplace is sometimes called Picardy, with which Alison Weir does not agree.

Katherine Swynford was probably born in the County of Hainaut, as indicated by the account of the chronicler Jean Froissart, who calls her a "resident" from there, and the chronicler Henry Knighton, who calls her "a certain foreigner".

Katherine Swynford herself was the mother of 12 children, the youngest of which, Thomas of Woodstock, was born in 1355.

Katherine Swynford's upbringing at the royal court is confirmed by Jean Froissart's report, which indicates that she was brought up at princely courts from her youth, as well as a reference in John of Gaunt's register to Katherine's nurse named Agnes Bonsergent, who was most likely appointed by the Queen to care for the young girl.

Apparently, Katherine Swynford learned English, since she was the mistress of the Kettlethorpe estate for a long time, and the husband of her sister Philippa was Geoffrey Chaucer, who wrote his works in English.

Froissart reports that Katherine Swynford from her youth "knew court etiquette perfectly", in addition, she was a fairly skilled rider, as evidenced by the fact that she kept a dozen of her horses in the stables of John of Gaunt, and once accompanied him during a horse ride on his estates.

Since her daughter, Joan Beaufort, and both daughters of Blanche of Lancaster, whom she raised, were literate, it seems that Katherine Swynford was literate and could read and possibly write.

Jean Froissart mentions that Katherine Swynford was in the service of Blanche's family in her youth, but does not mention how old she was then.

Katherine Swynford's duties would have been to help care for the newborn, possibly to rock the baby.

Katherine Swynford's first husband, Sir Hugh Swynford, descendant from an ancient English family, was a professional soldier and a tenant of the Duke of Lancaster.

Hugh Katherine Swynford was often absent, participating in various military campaigns.

When she married, Katherine Swynford became quite active in managing the estate of Kettlethorpe.

However, Weir believes that it is unlikely that Katherine Swynford enjoyed such privilege in 1365.

Katherine Swynford, who was expecting a child, remained to serve Duchess Blanche, who was pregnant.

Katherine Swynford was baptized at St Margaret's Church of Lincoln Cathedral and named after his paternal grandfather and one of his godparents, Canon Thomas Sutton.

Katherine Swynford, who seemed to be highly regarded in the Duke's household, got along well with the children.

Katherine Swynford was later assigned to the service of Gaunt's second wife.

Alison Weir suggests that Katherine Swynford, who had her own family, lived at that time in her estate of Kettlethorpe.

In 1370 Hugh Katherine Swynford again went on a military expedition with the Duke of Lancaster, this time to Aquitaine.

Also, some later studies indicate that the love affair between Katherine and John of Gaunt began during the life of her first husband, and her eldest son Thomas Swynford was "a child from two fathers", but this seems unlikely to modern researchers.

Between 1373 and 1381, Katherine Swynford bore at least four children to the Duke of Lancaster: three sons and a daughter.

Katherine Swynford received his name in honor of his father, and received the surname Beaufort.

Old studies claimed that all of Katherine Swynford's children were born in Beaufort Castle, but this information is false: John of Gaunt never visited it, and in 1369 he sold the domain.

Henry Knighton, writing his chronicle after 1378, indicates that Katherine Swynford served in the household of Duchess Constance, but none of the Duke's grants made to his mistress during this period state that they were given for service to his wife.

Katherine Swynford later arranged marriages for some of the ladies.

Katherine Swynford later moved to Tutbury Castle, where John's wife and four legitimate children were to live during his absence from England.

Katherine Swynford spent the summer of 1375 in Kenilworth and at that time, according to Alison Weir, she gave birth to her second son from John of Gaunt.

Anthony Goodman suggests that this news indicates that Katherine Swynford usurped the rightful place of the Duchess of Lancaster, but Alison Weir does not agree with this; according to her, Katherine Swynford avoided involvement in politics and tried to keep a low profile, since very few cases are known when she used her position.

Sydney Armitage-Smith, author of a study on John of Gaunt, suggested that Thomas Beaufort, the youngest of the sons of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford, was born in early 1377, but Alison Weir believes that, most likely, their only daughter Joan Beaufort was born then.

Katherine Swynford was probably named in honor of the Dowager Princess of Wales, Joan of Kent.

Anthony Goodman, who adhered to the traditional date of Joan's birth, believed that since John of Gaunt was hated in England, and anyone who was dear to him was at risk, Katherine Swynford was taken to Pleshey Castle, which at that time belonged to Joan Fitzalan, Dowager Countess of Hereford.

Katherine Swynford was a close relative of the Duke's first wife through her mother.

In later years, Katherine Swynford seems to have used some of her income to buy small plots of land in nearby villages, expanding her holdings in Kettlethorpe and Colby.

John of Gaunt's love affair with Katherine Swynford caused public condemnation.

Katherine Swynford settled in Lincoln, renting for 50 shillings per year a house in Minster Yard formerly occupied by the Chancellors of Lincoln Cathedral.

Katherine Swynford remained in this residence until at least 1393.

The Duke continued to provide for her and their children, and when John of Gaunt himself needed money, Katherine Swynford lent him money, for example in 1386, when she helped the Duke to finance his Castilian expedition.

On Christmas Day of 1387, Katherine Swynford agreed, along with her daughter Joan Beaufort, to become part of the household of Mary de Bohun.

However, during this period, Katherine Swynford did not live permanently with Gaunt, continuing at least until 1393 to rent a house in Lincoln.

Katherine Swynford retained control over them even after the death of her husband.

Not wanting to live on one of her estates, Katherine Swynford left for Lincoln.

Katherine Swynford passed custody of Kettlethorpe and Colby to her son, Thomas Swynford, and for housing she rented a house in Minster Yard, which she rented until her death.

Alison Weir believes that, perhaps, by investing money in such enterprises, Katherine tried to expand the Swynford inheritance.

Katherine Swynford was buried at Lincoln Cathedral in the choir of angels.

The tombstone was crowned with a brass canopy, on which Katherine Swynford herself was depicted in a widow's wimple, and above it rose a vaulted canopy with trefoil arches.

Katherine Swynford was allowed to use the advowson of Welton Church in Howdenshire, formerly owned by Durham Priory, but transferred to the Neville family in the 1380s.

The burials of Joan Beaufort and Katherine Swynford, standing side by side, were described at the beginning of the 16th century by the royal antiquarian John Leland.

Katherine Swynford's tomb has indentations showing where armorial shields were previously located.

Katherine Swynford's granddaughter, Cecily Neville, became the wife of Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York; from this marriage were born, among others, Kings Edward IV and Richard III.

Katherine Swynford justified his right to the throne precisely by his descent from the House of Beaufort.

In consequence, Katherine Swynford became in the direct ancestor of all subsequent Kings and Queens of England.

In 1468, he gave Kettlethorpe and Colby to his uncle William Katherine Swynford, who died no later than 1483, after which the estates returned to Thomas [IV].

Katherine Swynford died without heirs in 1498, and with him the male line of descendants of Hugh Swynford and Katherine died out.

Katherine Swynford has a round face with a high forehead and blond hair braided high above each temple, wrapped in a ribbon around the crown of her head.

Katherine Swynford had a long neck, a round face with a high forehead.

Katherine Swynford's hair is elegantly combed up and pinned up under a golden crown, hinting at her high position.

The monastic chroniclers, who were shocked by John of Gaunt's association with Katherine Swynford, mostly criticised her harshly.

However, according to Weir, most likely Katherine Swynford was not guided by selfish considerations: despite long separations, social ostracism and denigration by society, her love for the Duke has stood the test of time.

Katherine Swynford valued family ties and she was not indifferent to the opinions of others.

The respect that Katherine Swynford enjoyed in the royal family probably indicates that she was quite skilled in court duties, had exquisite taste, was sociable, polite, literate, intelligent and, most likely, was a good conversationalist.

The coat of arms of Katherine Swynford was three gold wheels on a red field judging by the heraldic emblems on the vestments given to her by Lincoln Cathedral, her coat of arms until 1396, when she married John of Gaunt, had three simple silver wheels; she probably inherited this coat of arms from her father.

Anil de Silva, author of a study on John of Gaunt, believes that Katherine Swynford could be the prototype for the beautiful Virginia, the heroine of "The Physician's Tale", which is part of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.

However, Katherine Swynford, who was the ancestor of some of them, was not mentioned.

For centuries, Katherine Swynford was treated with disdain, considered immoral, and seldom mentioned as the progenitor of the House of Tudor.