John Fitzalan, 7th Earl of Arundel

John Fitzalan was born at Lytchett Matravers in Dorset on 14 February 1408. He was the son of John Fitzalan, 3rd Baron Maltravers (1385–1421) and Eleanor (d. 1455), daughter of Sir John Berkeley of Beverstone, Gloucestershire. John Fitzalan the elder, through his great-great-grandfather Richard FitzAlan, 4th Earl of Arundel, made a claim on the earldom of Arundel after the death of Thomas Fitzalan, 5th Earl of Arundel, in 1415. The claim was disputed, however, by Thomas's three sisters and their families, foremost among these Elizabeth FitzAlan, who had married Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk. When he died in 1421, the dispute continued under his son, and it was not until 1433 that the younger John FitzAlan finally had his title confirmed in parliament, despite the Mowbrays disputing his claim. Four years earlier, in July 1429, he had received his late father's estates and title. As a child, John Fitzalan was contracted to marry Constance, who was the daughter of John Cornwall, Baron Fanhope, and through her mother Elizabeth granddaughter of John of Gaunt. The two may or may not have married, but Constance was dead by 1429, when John married Maud, daughter of Robert Lovell. FitzAlan was knighted in 1426 along with the four-year-old King Henry VI, where he was referred to as "Dominus de Maultravers" ("Lord Maltravers"). In the summer of 1429, he was summoned to parliament, this time styled "Johanni Arundell' Chivaler", meaning he was now Lord Arundel. In 1430, however, in an indenture for service with the king in France, he was styled Earl of Arundel, a title he also used himself. When he was finally officially recognised in his title of Earl of Arundel in 1433, this was based on the recognition that the title went with the possession of Arundel Castle. In reality though, the grant was just as much a reward for the military services he had by that point rendered in France. ==Service in France==

was the main residence of the FitzAlan family, but John FitzAlan spent most of the years from 1430 until his death in France. John Fitzalan the father had been a prominent soldier in the Hundred Years' War under King Henry V, and the son followed in his father's footsteps. On 23 April 1430, the younger Fitzalan departed for France in the company of the Earl of Huntingdon. There he soon made a name for himself as a soldier, under the command of the king's uncle, John, Duke of Bedford. taking back Saint-Célerin, Sillé-le-Guillaume, where there was a short skirmish. The Armagnacs arrived, and demanded the return of the hostages in the castle; Arundel feigned to agree and departed. As soon as the Armagnacs rode off Arundel returned and took the castle by assault. and by 1434 Beaumont-le-Vicomte. In December 1433, Bedford again appointed him commander in Upper Normandy, as well as captain of Pont-de-l'Arche. That Spring he was joined in Paris by John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury with nearly 1000 reinforcements from England. Later in May he was replaced as lieutenant of Upper Normandy by Talbot, and instead received a command between the Seine and Loire rivers. This effectively meant that the two shared the command of Normandy, with Talbot east of the Seine and Arundel to the west. But they combined operations capturing Beaumont-sur-Oise, and then Creil, which was finally taken on 20 June 1434. In the summer Arundel captured the Mantes-Chartres regional fortresses; it appeared for a time at least the Armagnacs no longer posed a threat to Paris. On 8 September, Arundel was also made Duke of Touraine – an area held by the French. The grant was made as a reward for his good service, but also in the hope that he would campaign in the area. In October he was made captain of Saint-Lô, where he had to deal with a rebellion in the Bessin area. The Duke of Alençon was trying to exploit the revolt to take control of Avranches, but Arundel managed to prevent the French advance and ended the rebellion. With 800 men, Arundel was sent to recover Rue, where he learnt that La Hire was fortifying Gerberoy, only 37 miles east of Rouen. Talbot had previously cleared out the Picardy,, but when Arundel arrived he discovered to his surprise La Hire and Jean Poton de Xaintrailles had already occupied the fortress. He was forced to give battle or besiege. ==Death and aftermath==

was opened in 1857, to reveal a skeleton missing one leg. On the night of 31 May/1 June 1435, Arundel was at Mantes-la-Jolie in the Île-de-France, when he was ordered to relocate north to Gournay-sur-Epte (now Gournay-en-Bray). When he was informed that the French had taken over the nearby fortress at Gerberoy, he moved quickly to attack it. The English met with a large French force at Gerberoy. Many withdrew to Gournay in panic, but Arundel remained to fight. Heavily wounded, he was taken to Beauvais as a captive of the French. According to the French historian Thomas Basin, Arundel was humiliated by his defeat and refused to receive medical treatment for the damage to his foot. The leg was eventually amputated, but Arundel's life could not be saved; he died of his injuries on 12 June 1435, depriving the English of one of their youngest, most able and dedicated military leaders. Arundel was replaced in his command by Lord Scales. There was long uncertainty about what had happened to the earl's body. The French chronicler Jehan de Waurin claimed that Arundel had simply been buried in Beauvais. In the mid-nineteenth century, however, the chaplain of the Duke of Norfolk came upon the will of Arundel's squire, Fulk Eyton, when he died later in 1454. Eyton maintained therein that he had secured the earl's body and brought it back to England, for which he had been rewarded with a payment of 1400 Marks. The body was disinterred, brought back to England, and then entombed in the Fitzalan Chapel of Arundel Castle, as Arundel had expressly wished for in his own will. On 16 November 1857, the tomb in the Arundel chapel carrying the earl's effigy was opened. In it was found a skeleton measuring over six feet, with a missing leg. Arundel's military career coincided with a period of general decline for the English in France. He had been an unusually successful campaigner. His death was lamented in England and celebrated in France. He was referred to as the "English Achilles"; the historian Polydore Vergil called him "a man of singular valour, constancy, and gravity". With his wife, Maud, he had a son, Humphrey, who was born on 30 January 1429. Humphrey succeeded to his father's title, but died on 24 April 1438, while still a minor. John FitzAlan's younger brother, William, was next in line of succession. William was born in 1417 and was created Earl of Arundel in 1438 when he came of age. ==Fitzalan family tree==

The following simplified family tree shows the background for the dispute over the Arundel title and inheritance. Solid lines denote children and dashed lines marriages. ==References==