Humphrey de Bohun ★

1340s–1350s

Born 25 March 1342, son of William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton, and Elizabeth de Badlesmere. Married Joan FitzAlan, daughter of the 10th Earl of Arundel, after 9 September 1359.

1360s–1370s

Inherited the earldom of Hereford from his childless uncle and held the earldoms of Hereford, Essex and Northampton; Lord High Constable from 1361 to 1372. Took part in the sack of Alexandria in 1365. Died on 16 January 1373 without a son; his daughters Eleanor and Mary married Thomas of Woodstock and the future Henry IV.

Family Background

Humphrey de Bohun was born March 25, 1342, son of William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton, and Elizabeth de Badlesmere; through his paternal grandfather he descended from Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, daughter of Edward I, tying the Bohuns into the royal family.

Inheritance of Three Earldoms

On the death of his childless uncle, also named Humphrey de Bohun, the younger Humphrey inherited the earldom of Hereford, and he held the earldoms of Hereford, Essex, and Northampton together until his own death in 1373.

Lord High Constable

Humphrey served as Lord High Constable of England from 1361 to 1372, one of the great offices of the medieval English state.

Military Service

Humphrey joined the 1365 sack of Alexandria, a crusading expedition that followed King Peter I of Cyprus's visit to England, one of the notable military ventures of his generation.

Marriage and Death

Humphrey married Joan FitzAlan, daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel, and Eleanor of Lancaster, sometime after September 9, 1359. He died January 16, 1373, without a male heir, so his titles fell into abeyance while his vast estates divided between his surviving daughters: Eleanor de Bohun, who married Thomas of Woodstock, youngest son of Edward III, and Mary de Bohun, who married Henry Bolingbroke, the future King Henry IV.