John of Gaunt

== Succession to the throne ==

After the death in 1376 of his older brother [[Edward the Black Prince|Edward of Woodstock]] (also known as the "Black Prince"), John of Gaunt contrived to protect the religious reformer [[John Wycliffe]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/blacksocial_01.shtml|title=British History in depth: Black Death: Political and Social Changes|date=17 February 2011|website=BBC|language=en-GB|access-date=28 April 2020|quote=However, John of Gaunt literally stood by him in court, causing the trial to break up in confusion.}}</ref> possibly to counteract the growing secular power of the church. However, John's ascendancy to political power coincided with widespread resentment of his influence. At a time when English forces encountered setbacks in the [[Hundred Years' War]] against France, and Edward III's rule was becoming unpopular owing to high taxation and his affair with [[Alice Perrers]], political opinion closely associated the Duke of Lancaster with the failing government of the 1370s. Furthermore, while King Edward and the Prince of Wales were popular heroes because of their successes on the battlefield, John of Gaunt had not won equivalent military renown that could have bolstered his reputation. Although he fought in the [[Battle of Nájera]] (1367), for example, his later military projects proved unsuccessful.

When Edward III died in 1377 and John's ten-year-old nephew succeeded as [[Richard II of England]], John's influence strengthened. However, mistrust remained, and some{{who|date=January 2021}} suspected him of wanting to seize the throne himself. John took pains to ensure that he never became associated with the opposition to Richard's kingship.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-III-king-of-England|title = Edward III &#124; king of England| date=29 February 2024 }}</ref> As ''de facto'' ruler during Richard's minority, he made unwise decisions on taxation that led to the [[Peasants' Revolt]] in 1381, when the rebels destroyed his home in London, the [[Savoy Palace]]. Unlike some of Richard's unpopular advisors, John was away from London at the time of the uprising and thus avoided the direct wrath of the rebels.

In 1386 John left England to seek [[Crown of Castile|the throne of Castile]], claimed in ''[[jure uxoris]]'' by right of his second wife, [[Constance of Castile, Duchess of Lancaster|Constance of Castile]], whom he had married in 1371. However, crisis ensued almost immediately in his absence, and in 1387 King Richard's misrule brought England to the brink of civil war. John had to [[Treaty of Bayonne (1388)|give up]] on his ambitions in Spain and hurry back to England in 1389. Only John's intervention in the political crisis succeeded in persuading the [[Lords Appellant]] and King Richard to compromise to usher in a period of relative stability. During the 1390s, John's reputation of devotion to the well-being of the kingdom was largely restored.