after the fact, but I have serious concerns about Anne de la Pole, the
alleged daughter of William, Duke of Suffolk and his wife Alice
Chaucer.
Douglas Richardson royalancestry@msn.com wrote:
On the other hand, John de la Pole's sister, Anne de la Pole, wife of
Gaillard du Fort IV, seigneur of Duras, does have traceable
descendants. You can find information on her family in the following
sources:
Anselme, Hist. de la Maison Royale de France 5 (1730): 734.
Here is what Anselme says of this marriage:
"Femme, Anne de Sufolc, fille du duc de Sufolc en Angleterre." He
provides no source for this.
Anselme has this to say about Gaillard IV: "Galhard de Durfort IV du
nom, seigneur de Duras, de Blanquefort & de Villandrau l'an 1426.
etoit encore mineur de 25 ans en 1444." I believe this means Gaillard
was about age 25 in 1444, so born about 1419, which makes sense as his
father died in 1425/6. Anselme further states "se retira en Angleterre
en 1453 ou le roi lui donna le gouvernement de Calais, & le fit
chevalier de son ordre de la Jarretiere." According to lists of Garter
Knights, Gaillard was made a KG about 1463, so in the reign of Edward
IV. Per Anselme, that king also gave Gaillard "la seigneurie de
l'Esparre en Guyenne" on 28 July 1473. By letters dated June 1476,
King Louis XI allowed Gaillard IV to return to France and he was
restored to the barony of Duras. Two sons, Jean and Georges, and a
daughter, Marguerite, were also mentioned in the 1476 letters, as well
as in the will of Gaillard IV dated at Duras 4 February 1480. He was
killed fighting for the French King in Burgundy in 1487.
In addition to the three children above, Anselme gives Gaillard IV and
his wife Anne an eldest child: "Aymery de Durfort, seigneur de Duras en
1453. Mourut sans posterite avant le retour de son pere en France."
Gaillard also had a bastard son: "Bertrand de Durfort, conseiller &
chambellan du roi, fils naturel de Galhard de Durfort, chevalier,
seigneur de Duras, obtint une abolition au mois d'aout 1476."
Beltz,
Memorials of the Most Noble Order of the Garter (1841): clxiii, clxv
(footnote 3).
I wonder if Beltz mentions Anne de la Pole in his notice of Gaillard IV
de Durfort.
Vallet de Viriville, Hist. de Charles VII 3 (1865): 229.
Durand, La Maison de Durfort à l'Époque Moderne (1975): 28-30.
Peña, Docs. sur la Maison de Durfort (XIe-XVe Siècle) (1977). TG 4
(1983): 131-136. Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln 10 (1986):
113 (sub Durfort). Archives Historiques de Département de la
Gironde
7 (1865): 444-446; 16 (1878): 258-259.
I have seen none of these other sources.
Several red flags go up with this.
1) Why are there no English records (Close Rolls, IPMs, Patent Rolls,
etc.) of Anne de la Pole, daughter of the duke of Suffolk? Have any
even been checked?
2) If she was a daughter of Duke William and Duchess Alice, the
earliest Anne could have been born is 1431/2. From her birth until the
birth of her brother John in 1442, Anne would have been the sole heir
to the vast estates of the de la Poles in East Anglia and elsewhere, as
well as to the Midlands estates of her mother Alice Chaucer, including
the chief seat of Ewelme in Oxfordshire. Even after the birth of her
brother, Anne would have been the next in line and a great potential
heiress. I cannot imagine a marriage to a minor French nobleman being
arranged to a girl who stood a good chance of inheriting such important
English estates.
3) For Gaillard IV and Anne to have had an eldest son Aymery de
Durfort, who was left behind yet in France when Gaillard came to
England in 1453, they would have had to have been married prior to
1450, and so before the political downfall and murder of Willliam, duke
of Suffolk. Even more reason to doubt such a marriage. In the 1440s,
the duke of Suffolk was the most influential (if not powerful) man in
Henry VI's court. That same decade he was arranging the marriage of
his son and heir to important heiresses (Anne Beauchamp of Warwick,
Margaret Beaufort of Somerset). For him to marry off his only daughter
to a minor French baron seems bizarre.
4) Even if Anselme was wrong about Amery de Durfort, and Gaillard IV
did not marry Anne until after he came to England in 1453 (three years
after Duke William's murder), the match still does not make sense.
Alice Chaucer, the widowed duchess of Suffolk, was one of the most
politically savvy and influential women of 15th century England. Close
friend and confidante of Margaret of Anjou, Duchess Alice still managed
to recognize the turning of the political tide, and in February 1458
arranged the marriage of her son and heir to a daughter of the duke of
York in order to safeguard the family interests. Why would she marry
off an only daughter and potential heiress to an exiled French knight
with no political clout?
5) The fact that Gaillard IV de Durfort came to England in 1453 and was
made a knight of the Garter ten years later, does suggest that he had
some connections. His career seems to parallel that of Jean de Foix,
Earl of Kendal, who married Margaret Kerdeston, a niece of William,
duke of Suffolk. But Margaret was not in line to inherit any de la
Pole or Chaucer lands. Could Anne de Durfort have been a niece, rather
than a daughter, of Duke William?
6) The marriage of Gaillard IV (a minor French baron) to Anne seems
more in line with the unions arranged at the time for the illegitimate
daughters of English dukes. Tacyn Beaufort, the bastard daughter of
the duke of Somerset (born during his captivity in France), was married
to Henry Grey, lord of Wilton, a lesser English baron whose chief seat
of Bletchley lay near Bletsoe, a residence of Tacyn's stepmother the
dowager duchess of Somerset. Duke William's own bastard daughter, Jane
de la Pole, was married to Thomas Stonor, a gentryman seated at Stonor
in Oxfordshire not far from Ewelme, the chief Midlands seat of the duke
and duchess of Suffolk. Could Anne de Durfort have been another
bastard, rather than legitimate, daughter of Duke William?
7) Anne and Gaillard IV named their children Amery, Jean, Georges and
Marguerite. No William, no Alice. Anselme says Marguerite was born in
England. There is no Marguerite in Gaillard IV's immediate ancestry.
It's possible she was named for Margaret of Anjou (if born before
Edward IV became king). It's interesting that two of Gaillard IV's
children bear the same first names as Jean de Foix and Margaret
(Kerdeston), earl and countess of Kendal.
At any rate, there is not enough evidence by a long shot to
definitively make Anne, wife of Gaillard IV de Durfort, a daughter of
William de la Pole, duke of Suffolk and his wife Alice Chaucer. Much
further research needs to be done, starting with examining the will of
Duke William, that of Duchess Alice (if one survives), as well as the
1480 will of Gaillard IV mentioned by Anselme (presuming it still
survives).
It's intriguing to think that Geoffrey Chaucer may have living
descendants, but this de la Pole/de Durfort link is very tenuous.
Cheers, ----Brad