This Day in History: 1387-12-12

On 12th December 1387, John of Gaunt’s (lord of Pontefract) son, Henry, Earl of Derby (later Henry IV) along with Thomas Mowbray, Earl of Nottingham, joined the rebel Lords Appellant at Huntingdon to confront Robert de Vere’s royal army. De Vere had been instructed by Richard II to raise an army in the earldom/county of Cheshire to help defeat the rebel lords: Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester; Richard FitzAlan, Earl of Arundel and Surrey; Thomas de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. Derby was not only protecting his father’s interests as Richard had threatened to murder him but probably also feared Gloucester’s latent ambitions for the Crown. The ‘pro-Lancastrian’ Knighton Chronicle gave Derby a prominent role in the resulting campaign.