In
Lancaster, John O' Gaunt is regarded as a figure of legend.
His image has cropped up in many an unexpected place and has
been used to sell everything from beer to bus tickets. Quite
an achievement for a 14th century Duke who spent only nine
days in Lancaster in his entire life.
It would be wrong to assume that because of his title, John
O' Gaunt had any special affinity for the town, which would
, in the Middle Ages, have been a relatively small and poor
place. Rather it was Lancaster Castle which was stategically
important to him and this in fact became a royal possesion
in his son Henry's time.
John
O' Gaunt died in 1399 and was buried in Old St. Paul's Cathedral,
London next to his first wife Blanche, under a splendid monument
which was utterly destroyed after the Great Fire of 1666.
|
John
O' Gaunt
Duke of Lancaster
1340 - 1399 |
