I attended an interesting talk by medieval historian Professor Madeleine Gray about the tomb of Edmund Tudor, in
the cathedral at St David's, close to where I live in Pembrokeshire.
Professor Emerita Madeleine Gray
Edmund Tudor was the first son of Welsh servant Owen Tudor and the widow of
King Henry V, the dowager Queen Catherine of Valois. Thought to have been born in
1430 in the Bishop of London’s palace of Much Hadham in Hertfordshire, Jasper
Tudor, Earl of Pembroke, was his younger brother.
When his father Owen Tudor was arrested in 1436 Edmund’s mother
retired to Bermondsey Abbey, where she died. Edmund and his brother Jasper were taken into the care of Catherine
de la Pole, Abbess of Barking. They lived at the abbey for six years until their
father brought them to the court of their step brother, King Henry VI.
Edmund was knighted by King Henry on the 15
th of December,
1449, and created Earl of Richmond and premier earl on the 6
th of March
1452, being formally declared legitimate in the parliament of 1453. The king
granted him lands and a generous income, and in 1455 Edmund married his thirteen-year-old
ward, the wealthy heiress Lady Margaret Beaufort.
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| Arms of Sir Edmund Tudor |
Fighting for Lancaster in what have become known as the Wars
of the Roses, he was captured in August 1456 by the Yorkist William Herbert and
imprisoned in Carmarthen Castle. He was later released, but died in November of that year – possibly from the plague or an infection, possibly as a result of wounds.
There were rumours Edmund might have been poisoned
and a trial was held several months later with several people accused of his murder
but no one was found guilty. His death ended the threat of him becoming a 'rallying figure' for Lancastrians, so foul play cannot be ruled out.
Two months
later Margaret Beaufort gave birth in nearby Pembroke Castle to Edmund’s son, who would become King Henry
VII.
Edmund was buried at the Franciscan monastery of Grey Friars
in Carmarthen. On the 30th March 1538 the Carmarthen priory was surrendered to
the crown during the dissolution of the monasteries. In 1539, eighty-three
years after his death, Edmund's remains were moved to the choir of St Davids
Cathedral, Pembrokeshire.
I'd always thought this was on the orders of his grandson, King Henry VIII, but Professor Gray outlined how the church politics of the diocese of St David’s could have been an important factor. Bishop William Barlow wished to move the institution to Carmarthen, but his connection with the diocese had come through the patronage of Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell. After their downfall, moving Edmund Tudor's tomb helped protect the status of St David’s as a cathedral.
Edmund
Tudor's tomb of Purbeck marble was placed in the choir, in front of the high
altar. The inscription reads ‘Under this
marble stone here inclosed resteth the bones of that most noble lord Edmund
Earl of Richmond father and brother to kings, the which departed out of this
world in our lord God MCCCCLVI the third of the month of November: on whose
soul Almighty Jesu have mercy.’
Professor Gray drew attention to the absence of the usual call to pray for Edmund Tudor in the tomb inscriptions. This raises questions about the source of the wording, and perhaps the motivation of those undertaking the work.
Stripped of its finery by Oliver Cromwell's army in the
seventeenth century, the cathedral and Edmund’s tomb were restored by gothic
revival architect, Sir George Gilbert Scott between 1864 and 1876. The
restoration included an engraved brass representing Edmund Tudor by Thomas Waller
(1873) and a copy of the brass edge inscription.
Professor Gray noted that there is 'infill' around the edge of the current brass, suggesting the original could have been larger, possibly with more detailed engraving.
While many questions remain about Edmund Tudor's tombs, it it hoped that visitors to St Davids Cathedral will appreciate the significance of his tomb to Wales and the history of Britain.
Tony Riches
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