John of Gaunt

==Early life==
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[[File:Marriage of Blanche of Lancaster and John of Gaunt 1359.jpg|thumb|left|Marriage of John of Gaunt to [[Blanche of Lancaster]] at [[Reading Abbey]] in 1359: painting by Horace Wright (1914)]]
John was the third surviving son of King [[Edward III of England]]. When he became unpopular later in life, a scurrilous rumour circulated, along with [[Parody|lampoon]]s, claiming that he was actually the son of a Ghent [[butcher]]. This rumour, which infuriated him, may have been inspired by the fact that Edward III had not been present at his birth.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sumption |first=J. |url={{google books|dZqapBJ4dFEC|plainurl=yes}} |title=The Hundred Years War 3: Divided Houses |date=19 March 2009 |publisher=Faber & Faber |isbn=978-0-571-13897-5 |place=London |page=274 |author-link=Jonathan Sumption, Lord Sumption}}</ref>

John's first wife, [[Blanche of Lancaster]], was also his third cousin; both were great-great-grandchildren of King [[Henry III of England|Henry III]]. They married in 1359 at [[Reading Abbey]] as a part of the efforts of Edward III to arrange matches for his sons with wealthy heiresses. Upon the death of his father-in-law, the [[Henry of Grosmont, Duke of Lancaster|Duke of Lancaster]], in 1361, John received half his lands, the title "Earl of Lancaster", and distinction as the greatest landowner in [[Northern England]] as heir of the [[County palatine|Palatinate]] of Lancaster. He also became the 14th [[Halton (barony)|Baron of Halton]] and 11th [[Lordship of Bowland|Lord of Bowland]]. John inherited the rest of the Lancaster property when Blanche's sister [[Maud, Countess of Leicester]] (married to [[William I, Duke of Bavaria|William V, Count of Hainaut]]), died without issue on 10 April 1362.

[[File:Ruins of Kenilworth Castle - geograph.org.uk - 78245.jpg|thumb|right|[[Kenilworth Castle]], a massive fortress extensively modernised and given a new Great Hall by John of Gaunt after 1350]]
John received the title "Duke of Lancaster" from his father on 13 November 1362. By then well established, he owned at least thirty castles and estates across England and France and maintained a [[Royal court|household]] comparable in scale and organisation to that of a monarch. He owned land in almost every county in England, a patrimony that produced a net income of between £8,000 and £10,000 a year,{{sfn|Sumption|2009|p=3}} equivalent in 2023 to c.£170 – 213 million in income value, or £3.5 – 4.4 billion in relation to gdp.<ref>[https://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/ukcompare/ Five Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a UK Pound Amount, 1270 to Present, www.measuringworth.com]</ref>