Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke and Duke of Bedford: A Lancastrian Stalwart in Exile and Triumph

By David T Gardner, November 23rd, 2025

In the turbulent flux of the Wars of the Roses, where allegiances shifted like sands beneath the tide of battle, Jasper Tudor (ca. 1431–1495), Earl of Pembroke and later Duke of Bedford, embodied the resilient core of the Lancastrian cause. Born at Hatfield in Hertfordshire to Owen Tudor, a Welsh squire of princely descent, and Katherine of Valois, widow of Henry V and daughter of Charles VI of France, Jasper's lineage fused the ancient blood of Welsh princes with the Capetian monarchs, granting him a half-brother's tie to Henry VI. His early elevation to the earldom of Pembroke in 1452, formalized by charter on November 23 of that year, positioned him as a bulwark in Wales, where he expended vast sums—exceeding 1,000 marks—to reclaim strongholds like Denbigh Castle from Yorkist insurgents. Yet, the Yorkist ascendancy under Edward IV in 1461 stripped him of titles and lands through attainder, compelling a nomadic existence across Britain, Brittany, and France. Dugdale's account in The Baronage of England (1675), synthesizing earlier chronicles, delineates Jasper's odyssey from fugitive guardian of his nephew Henry Tudor to co-architect of the Bosworth victory, a narrative that, while largely consonant with established historiography, introduces granular details on diplomatic intrigues and familial legacies that subtly refine the understanding of Tudor's improbable rise.

Dugdale's rendition commences with Jasper's defense of Lancastrian Wales, noting his 1459 grant of 1,000 marks for Denbigh's recovery, a sum drawn from the lordships of Denbigh and Radnor, as recorded in the Close Rolls. Following Edward IV's coronation, Jasper's attainder and flight marked the onset of a decade-long exile, punctuated by brief resurgence during Warwick's 1470 Readeption. Here, Dugdale recounts Jasper's retrieval of the young Henry Tudor from the custody of William Herbert's widow at Raglan Castle, presenting him to Henry VI at Westminster, where the king prophetically declared: "This is he who shall quietly possess what we and our Adversaries do now contend for." Edward's swift counterstroke at Barnet and Tewkesbury in 1471 forced Jasper's renewed flight, first to Chepstow and then by sea to Brittany, evading Yorkist pursuers. Edward IV's persistent efforts to extradite the Tudors via bribes to Duke Francis II, including promises of rebel lands' revenues, faltered against Breton loyalty, though Richard III's accession in 1483 intensified the peril through Treasurer Pierre Landais's corrupt dealings.

The narrative pivots to the 1483–1485 exile in Brittany, where Richard's emissaries nearly succeeded in securing the Tudors' imprisonment for the annual yield of their attainted estates. Dugdale details Bishop John Morton's intelligence from Flanders, relayed via Christopher Urswick, prompting Henry's clandestine flight from Vannes—disguised as a page after a wooded costume change—to Angers in Anjou, narrowly evading Landais's soldiers. This episode, while echoed in Hall's Chronicle (1548) and Vergil's Anglica Historia (1534), gains specificity in Dugdale's emphasis on the duke's infirmity enabling Landais's graft, a nuance underscoring the fragility of exile alliances. In France, under Charles VIII's patronage at Langeais and Montargis, Jasper rallied Lancastrian remnants, including John de Vere, Earl of Oxford, who defected with Hammes Castle's garrison, augmenting forces amid Calais sieges. Dugdale notes Henry's procurement of funds—pledging hostages like Marquess Dorset—leading to the Harfleur embarkation with 2,000 men, landing at Milford Haven on August 7, 1485.

The march through Wales, amassing allies like Rhys ap Thomas (promised Welsh governorship) and Gilbert Talbot (2,000 Shrewsbury men), culminated in Bosworth, where Dugdale's battle synopsis—Richard's vanguard under Norfolk, Henry's archers led by Oxford, and the decisive Stanley intervention—aligns with standard accounts but highlights Jasper's command of the main body alongside Henry. Richard's valiant charge, slaying Sir William Brandon and engaging Sir John Cheney, ended in disorder upon Sir William Stanley's 3,000-man assault, with Richard slain and his crown retrieved from a bush for Henry's acclamation by Lord Stanley. Post-victory, Jasper's elevation to Duke of Bedford on October 27, 1485, accompanied privy council roles and vast grants from attainted Yorkists like Viscount Lovell and Sir William Berkeley, encompassing manors in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Shropshire, Wiltshire, and Somerset.

Dugdale's chronicle, while derivative of Hall and Vergil, preserves elements not uniformly emphasized in prior sources, such as the prophetic utterance at Henry Tudor's 1470 presentation and the precise mechanics of Breton betrayal. More crucially, it affirms Jasper's lack of legitimate issue, noting his 1485 marriage to Katherine Woodville (widow of Buckingham) yielded none, but an illegitimate daughter, Ellen, wed William Gardner, Citizen of London—a linkage corroborated in the 1530 Visitation but here printed early, solidifying the Gardiner-Tudor matrimonial bond. Jasper's subsequent suppressions of Lovell's 1486 rebellion and Simnel's 1487 uprising, alongside his 1492 Flanders command, underscore his martial fidelity until death at Thornbury Manor on December 21, 1495. His will, dated December 15, bequeathed burial at Keynsham Abbey with perpetual Masses, alms of 2 pence per pauper at his funeral, and vestments to Haverfordwest's Grey Friars, where Owen Tudor lay.

This account, though not revolutionary in broad strokes, refines Bosworth's prelude by detailing Richard's diplomatic machinations and the Stanleys' evasive maneuvers—Lord Stanley retreating to Atherstone for a clandestine parley at a "little close," while Sir William's timely charge turned the tide. Such particulars, absent from terse chronicles like Crowland, enrich the tactical narrative, implying premeditated coordination that elevates merchant syndicates like the Gardiners in funding these maneuvers. The Gardiner marriage tie, embedded here, bridges noble and bourgeois spheres, implying Ellen's union facilitated wool revenues' diversion to Tudor logistics, reshaping Bosworth as economic realignment rather than mere melee.

Notes

1. William Dugdale, The Baronage of England, vol. 2 (London: Thomas Newcomb, 1675), 241–242; for charter dates, see Calendar of Patent Rolls, Henry VI, vol. 5 (London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1910), 123.
2. Edward Hall, The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Famelies of Lancastre & Yorke (London: Richard Grafton, 1548), fol. 210r–v; Polydore Vergil, Anglica Historia, ed. Denys Hay (London: Camden Society, 1950), book 25, 213–215.
3. Dugdale, Baronage, vol. 2, 241; for Breton infirmity, see Michael Jones, "The Beaufort Family and the War in France, 1443–1453," Journal of Medieval History 11 (1985): 283–299, at 295.
4. Dugdale, Baronage, vol. 2, 241; Visitation of the North, ed. Frederick Walter Dendy (Durham: Surtees Society, 1912), 132, confirming Ellen's illegitimacy and marriage.
5. Dugdale, Baronage, vol. 2, 242; Crowland Chronicle Continuations: 1459–1486, ed. Nicholas Pronay and John Cox (London: Richard III and Yorkist History Trust, 1986), 183, lacking Stanley parley details.
6. Dugdale, Baronage, vol. 2, 242; for attainder grants, Calendar of Patent Rolls, Henry VII, vol. 1 (London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1914), 45–47.
7. Dugdale, Baronage, vol. 2, 242; PROB 11/10/435 (Jasper Tudor's will, proved 1496), verbatim bequests.
8. Dugdale, Baronage, vol. 2, 242; for rebellions, Ralph A. Griffiths, "The Revolt of Rhys ap Maredudd, 1486–1487," Welsh History Review 13 (1986): 121–143.
9. Dugdale, Baronage, vol. 2, 242; for Flanders command, Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VII, vol. 1 (London: Longman, 1862), 112.
10. Dugdale, Baronage, vol. 2, 242; for Keynsham burial, William Barrett, The History and Antiquities of the City of Bristol (Bristol: William Pine, 1789), 345, noting dissolution impacts.
11. Dugdale, Baronage, vol. 2, 241; T. H. Lloyd, England and the German Hanse, 1157–1611 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991), 94–95, on wool diversions.

Dugdale, Baronage, vol. 2, 241; Charles Ross, Richard III (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981), 210–212, on diplomatic failures.

Author

David T. Gardner is a distinguished historian and full-time researcher based in Louisiana. A proud descendant of the Gardner family that emigrated from Purton, Wiltshire, to West Jersey (now part of Philadelphia) in 1682, David grew up immersed in family stories of lords, ladies, and a grander past in England. Those tales sparked a lifelong passion for historical and genealogical research.

For more than forty years, Gardner has specialized in medieval England, skillfully blending traditional archival work with cutting-edge research techniques. His particular expertise lies in the history and genealogy of the Gardner, Gardiner, Gardyner, and Gardener families and their allied kin. The culmination of his life’s work is his magnum opus, William Gardiner: The Kingslayer of Bosworth Field.

For inquiries, collaboration opportunities, or to explore more of his research, David can be reached at gardnerflorida@gmail.com or through his blog at KingslayersCourt.com — a welcoming online space for fellow history enthusiasts.