Richard of Conisburgh

Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge, was one of the chief conspirators of the Southampton Plot to eliminate Henry V and replace him with Edmund Mortimer. He had an impressive lineage. His father was Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York (and son of King Edward III). His mother was Isabella of Castile, daughter of the sometime King of Castile called Pedro the Cruel.

Isabella had tried to ensure a good life for Richard, naming King Richard II as her heir and asking him to grant an annuity of 500 marks to her son. Richard II did this, but by the time her son came of age and might have been eligible to receive additional favors, Richard II was no longer king, having been deposed by Henry IV. Henry IV had no reason to grant anything to young Richard, although Richard WAS created Earl of Cambridge at the Parliament of 1414.

That title was not accompanied by any estate. No land meant no revenue flowing to the new earl. This may be part of why he conspired to assassinate Henry V in 1415. Richard was beheaded on 5 August 1415. He was only 30 years old.

He had heirs, however. Isabel of York was his eldest, betrothed at the age of three to the son of Sir Thomas Grey, another of the Southampton Plot conspirators.

Richard, the 3rd Duke of York (22 September 1411 – 30 December 1460), married Cecily Neville. They had several children:

Anne, Duchess of Exeter

Edward IV of England

Edmund, Earl of Rutland

Elizabeth, Duchess of Suffolk

Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy

George, Duke of Clarence

But it was their youngest who became King Richard III of England (see the stained glass window of Richard and Queen Anne). A grandson of Richard of Conisburgh finally made it to the throne. Now, it would seem natural to next talk about Richard III, but I am hesitant to get too far into the 15th century. Richard was born in 1452, and I think of 1453 as the "end" of the "Middle Ages" (see this post to understand my reasoning).

But I will use Richard II as a link to the next post. The one thing people know about Richard III is that he was a hunchback. So how about if we skew into some medical territory (it's been awhile) and talk about the attitude toward Hunchbacks in the Middle Ages? See you tomorrow.