Blanche of Lancaster, Baroness Wake of Liddell

Blanche of Lancaster, Baroness Wake of Liddell (c. 1305-c. 1380) was an English noblewoman. She was the eldest daughter of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster and Maud Chaworth. Blanche was named after her grandmother, Blanche of Artois, who had ruled Navarre as regent.

Life

Sometime before 9 October 1316, she married Thomas Wake, 2nd Baron Wake of Liddell,^[1][2] who had been under guardianship of her father. The marriage remained childless.

The Bishop of Ely burned down some of her houses after her husband's death in 1349 and she took legal action against him. The bishop was rebuked by Edward III for this and was ordered to pay damages, but after that the bishop had her servant William Holm murdered. Edward then confiscated his possessions and made him ask for forgiveness.^[3]

After her brother Henry died, she was one of the executors of his will. In April 1372, custody of brothers John and Thomas was granted to her, as sister of their grandmother, Joan of Lancaster. She lived on to see the start of the reign of king Edward's grandson, Richard II.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Blanche of Lancaster, Baroness Wake of Liddell

16. John of England               8. Henry III of England                       17. Isabella of Angoulême               4. Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster[4]                             18. Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence               9. Eleanor of Provence                       19. Beatrice of Savoy               2. Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster[5]                                   20. Louis VIII of France               10. Robert I of Artois[6]                       21. Blanche of Castile               5. Blanche of Artois[4]                             22. Henry II, Duke of Brabant[6]               11. Matilda of Brabant[6]                       23. Marie of Hohenstaufen               1. Blanche of Lancaster                                         12. Patrick de Chaworth                       6. Sir Patrick de Chaworth of Kidwelly[7]                             13. Hawise de London                       3. Maud Chaworth[5]                                   28. William Beauchamp               14. William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick[7]                       29. Isabella Mauduit               7. Isabella de Beauchamp[7]                             30. John FitzGeoffrey               15. Maud FitzJohn                       31. Isabel Bigod

Notes

1. Ormrod 2004.
2. Weir 2008, p. 79.
3. Mortimer 2008, p. 318.
4. Weir 2008, pp. 75–79.
5. Weir 2008, p. 78.
6. Weir 2008, p. 76.
7. Weir 2008, p. 77.

Works cited

• Mortimer, Ian (2008). The Perfect King The Life of Edward III, Father of the English Nation. Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0099527091.
• Ormrod, W. M. (2004). "Wake, Thomas, second Lord Wake (1298–1349)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/28408. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Weir, Alison (2008). Britain's Royal Families, The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-09-953973-5.