The New Murrey and Blue blog

Another reason for the myth of Owain Tudor

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Catherine de Valois’ first husband was Henry V, who was clearly the grandson of John of Gaunt. Edmund Beaufort, later Duke of Somerset, is traditionally regarded as Gaunt’s grandson as well, although his father may have been a legitimate Swynford.

Quite apart from the 1420s legislation banning royal stepmothers such as Catherine from remarrying without her adult son’s consent – and we know that she died before he attained his majority – this created an additional barrier of affinity in that her late husband and new partner were apparently first cousins. Such a marriage, quite apart from being illegal in England, would have required a dispensation. No wonder it was more convenient to portray her servant Owain Tudor as the father of her children.

See here for a further complication.

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10 responses to “Another reason for the myth of Owain Tudor”

  1. Jasmine Avatar
    Jasmine

    This presupposes we accept the theory (and it is still only a theory) that Beaufort was the father of Catherine de Valois’s elder children.

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    1. super blue Avatar
      super blue

      Indeed but that case is now strengthened. How many children did she have? Different cyber-sources quote different numbers but we can only really rely on Henry VI, Edmund and Jasper “Tudor”.

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      1. Jasmine Avatar
        Jasmine

        I must have missed something, strengthened by what?

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      2. super blue Avatar
        super blue

        The necessity of hiding behind Owen Tudor because of the affinity between Catherine and Edmund. This is the principle that invalidated Henry VIII’s first two “marriages”. Canon law required a dispensation for one to marry a close relative of a previous partner (eg Arthur “Tudor” and Mary Boleyn).

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  2. Jasmine Avatar
    Jasmine

    Yes, but as I said originally, this is only valid if we accept the theory that Catherine and Beaufort were a couple. As yet, this theory has not been proved and thus must remain for the moment speculation.

    Even JAH has stopped using quotation marks round the word Tudor, so perhaps we could all follow suit?

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    1. super blue Avatar
      super blue

      Well, there is quite a bit of evidence for it and none against.

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  3. Careless talk really does cost lives | murreyandblue

    […] in 1461, at Hereford marketplace, Owain Tudor was executed and buried in the local Greyfriars. It appears that, although he had commanded […]

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  4. Michael Portillo’s Great Coastal Railway Journeys and Pembroke Castle – murreyandblue

    […] there is some evidence that Edmund Beaufort may have been the father of Edmund Tudor. This evidence is not conclusive but […]

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  5. The inexplicable certainty of anti-Ricardians – murreyandblue

    […] what had already been accepted. It is worth mentioning though that the only evidence we have that Owain Tudor and Katherine of Valois were married was a similar statement in Parliament. Curiously, no one seems […]

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  6. The de Courcy Matter Part I: According to English records…. – murreyandblue

    […] was to be widowed and then become the ancestress of the Tudors. I won’t say that she married Owen Tudor because it isn’t known if she did. No records exist. They lived together, certainly, and became […]

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