Richard Beauchamp

A biography of one of the richest nobles of English history, Henry V's greatest friend and trusted ally, who presided over Rouen when Joan of Arc was tried and burnt for heresy. 'An avaricious knight errant with a taste for the spectacular' or 'one of the few upright and honest figures in these difficult years?' Contemporary views of the most colourful and powerful knight of medieval England varied wildly as they continue to do today. Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, was at the centre of power in the first half of the fifteenth century and, as Henry V's closest friend, accompanied the English warrior king to France to pursue the English claim to the French Crown in the Hundred Years War. Richard Beauchamp had an unrivalled reputation for his skills in the strategy of war and diplomacy and secured Normandy in 1420. He arranged Henry V's marriage and following the king's death was appointed Henry VI's tutor and guardian. In 1431 he encouraged the ecclesiastical court of the Inquisition to try to burn at the stake Joan of Arc. This book is the first modern life of this fascinating medieval chivalric hero. 19 colour, 30 b/w illustrations