Joan de Beauchamp, Baroness Bergavenny

Joan de Beauchamp
Joan de Beauchamp
Baroness Bergavenny
Born	1375; Arundel Castle,Sussex, England
Died	14 November 1435
Buried	Black Friars,Hereford,England
Noble family	Fitzalan
Spouse(s)	William de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Bergavenny; (m. 1392–1411; his death)
Issue	Richard de Beauchamp, 1st Earl of Worcester; Joan de Beauchamp, Countess of Ormond
Parents	William de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Bergavenny
Father	Richard Fitzalan, 11th Earl of Arundel
Mother	Elizabeth de Bohun

Joan de Beauchamp, Baroness Bergavenny(néeFitzAlan;1375 – 14 November 1435) was an English noblewoman, and the wife ofWilliam de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Bergavennyof theWelsh Marches.

Family and lineage[edit]

Lady Joan FitzAlan was born in 1375, atArundel Castle,Sussex, England, one of the seven children ofRichard Fitzalan, 11th Earl of Arundel,Earl of Surrey, and his first wifeElizabeth de Bohun.Her only surviving brother wasThomas Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel,of whom Joan was his co-heiress. She had an older sister LadyElizabeth FitzAlanwho married as her second husbandThomas Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk.Her paternal grandparents wereRichard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of ArundelandEleanor of Lancaster,and her maternal grandparents wereWilliam de Bohun, 1st Earl of NorthamptonandElizabeth de Badlesmere.

On 3 April 1385, her mother died. Joan was about ten years old. Her father married secondly, Philippa Mortimer on 15 August 1390, by whom he had a son, John Fitzalan, who was born in 1394.^[1]John died sometime after 1397.^{[citation needed]}

On 21 September 1397, Joan's father, the Earl of Arundel, who was also one of theLords Appellant,was beheaded onTower Hill,London, on charges of hightreasonagainst KingRichard II of England.The Earl had always enjoyed much popularity with the citizens of London. His titles and estates were forfeited to the Crown.^[2]

In October 1400, the new kingHenry IVwho had ascended the throne following Richard's deposition in 1399, restored the titles and estates to Thomas Fitzalan, Joan's brother. He became the 12th Earl of Arundel and Earl of Surrey. Although he married Beatrice, an illegitimate daughter of KingJohn I of Portugaland Inez Perez Esteves, he died childless on 13 October 1415. The Earldom and castle of Arundel passed to a cousinJohn Fitzalan, 13th Earl of Arundel,and the remainder of his inheritance was divided among Joan and her two surviving sisters, Elizabeth and Margaret.^[3]

Marriage and issue[edit]

On 23 July 1392, Joan was married toWilliam de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Bergavenny(c.1344 - 8 May 1411) the son ofThomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of WarwickandKatherine Mortimer.He was more than thirty years Joan's senior.^{[citation needed]}

The marriage produced a son and a daughter:

Richard de Beauchamp, 1st Earl of Worcester,2nd Baron Bergavenny (born before 1397 – died 1422), marriedIsabel le Despenser,daughter ofThomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of GloucesterandConstance of York,by whom he had one daughterElizabeth de Beauchamp, Lady of Abergavenny.
Joan de Beauchamp(1396 – 3 August 1430), married 28 August 1413James Butler,4thEarl of Ormond,son ofJames Butler,3rdEarl of OrmondandAnne Welles,by whom she had five children, includingThomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond.

Death[edit]

Joan, Baroness Bergavenny, died on 14 November 1435, at the age of 60. She was buried in Black Friars,Hereford.Before she died she paid for 10.000 masses to be celebrated in her name, to make her time in Purgatory shorter.^{[citation needed]}