CARDINAL HENRY BEAUFORT was the natural son of John of Gaunt by Catherine Swynford.

In 1398 he was made Bishop of Lincoln, and in 1405 translated to Winchester. In 1403 he was appointed Chancellor, but resigned the Great Seal on his appointment to Winchester. During the latter part of Henry IV's reign, Beaufort sided with the Prince of Wales, and was accused, apparently not altogether without reason, of urning him to compel his father to abdicate in his favour.

On Henry V's accession he once more received the Great Seal, which he retained till 1417, when he proceeded to Constance to attend the Council which was endeavouring to heal the great schism in the Church. Beaufort exerted his influence to induce the Council to elect a Pope before proceeding with the reformation of the Church. In gratitude for his assistance, the new Pope, Martin V, offered him a cardinal's hat, which, however, the king refused to allow him to accept.

On the accession of Henry VI, Beaufort was appointed one of the members of the Council of Regency, and, in 1424, was for the third time invested with the office of Chancellor, which he held till 1426. Throughout the whole of Henry VI's minority, Beaufort's great aim was to counteract the dangerous influence of Gloucester, whose selfish schemes both at home and abroad threatened the greatest danger to the State. The first great quarrel between the rivals took place in 1425, when riots occurred in London, and things wore such a serious aspect that Bedford had to return from France and effect a reconciliation.

In 1426 Beaufort committed the great mistake of his life in accepting the cardinal's hat; it laid him open to suspicion, and caused him to be regarded with distrust by many who had previously sided with him. In 1427 he led a futile crusade against the Hussites in bohemia, and in 1429 he preached a crusade with the same object in England, got together troops, but took them to the assistance of the English in France instead of Bohemia. From 1430 to 1434 Beaufort was for the most part abroad, and the next six years of his life were chiefly occupied in labouring for peace with France, Gloucester being the leader of the war party.

One result of his efforts was the assembly of the Congress of Arras, which, however, failed to effect anything. In 1440 he attempted to accomplish the same object by the release of the Duke of Orleans, who had been held captive since the battle of Agincourt, in understanding that he would do his best to bring about a treaty. This was one of Beaufort's last public acts; he gradually retired from political life, and employed his last years in the affairs of his diocese. In 1444 he had the satisfaction of seeing a truce made between England and France, and thus his policy was at last successful.

He died peacefully very shortly after his great rival, Gloucester, and the legends which make him the murderer of the "Good Duke Humphrey," and paint the agonies of his death-bed, are unsubstantiated by the smallest particle of evidence. He had been for many years, certainly since the death of Bedford, the mainstay of the house of Lancaster. "It must be remembered in favour of Beaufort," says Dr. Stubbs, "that he guided the helm of State during a perion in which the English nation tried first the great experiment of self-government with any approach to success; that he was merciful in his political enmities, enlightened in his foreign policy; that he was devotedly faithful and ready to sacrifice his wealth and labour for the king; that from the moment of his death everything began to go wrong, till all was lost.

(F. S. Pulling)

The Dictionary of English History. Sidney J. Low and F. S. Pulling, eds.
London: Cassell and Company, Ltd., 1910. 158.

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Other Local Resources:

• The Beaufort Family
  
• House of Lancaster
  
• John of Gaunt
  
• John Beaufort
  
• Thomas Beaufort
  

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Books for further study: Harriss, G. L. Cardinal Beaufort: A Study of Lancastrian Ascendancy and Decline.
           Oxford University Press, 1989.

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Cardinal Beaufort on the Web:

• Cardinal Beaufort - Nash Ford Publishing
  
  

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