Left: Paternal arms of
Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy (1273–1314): Azure, five fusils in fess or,[1]("Percy ancient") which he abandoned in favour of right: Or, a lion rampant azure ("Percy modern"/
Brabant)[2] Both arms were
quartered by the Percy Earls of Northumberland and remain quartered by the present
Duke of Northumberland
In 1309,
Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy purchased
Alnwick Castle from
Antony Bek,
Bishop of Durham. The castle had been founded in the late 11th century by
Ivo de Vesci, a nobleman from
Vassy or
Vichy. A descendant of Ivo de Vesci,
John de Vesci, succeeded to his father's titles and estates upon his father's death in
Gascony in 1253. These included the barony of Alnwick and a large property in
Northumberland and considerable estates in Yorkshire, including
Malton. Due to being under age, King
Henry III of England conferred the wardship of John's estates to a foreign kinsman, which caused great offence to the de Vesci family. The family's property and estates had been put into the guardianship of Bek, who sold them to the Percys. From this time, the fortunes of the Percys, although they still held their Yorkshire lands and titles, were linked permanently with Alnwick and its castle.[citation needed]
In 1377, the next
Henry Percy was created Earl of Northumberland, a title given to him after the coronation of
Richard II. He supported the takeover by
Henry IV but subsequently rebelled against the new king, leading to his estates being forfeited under
attainder. In his rebellion he was aided by his son, the most famous Percy of all,
Henry "Hotspur", who was slain at
Shrewsbury in the lifetime of his father.[3] Both the 1st Earl of Northumberland as well as his son Hotspur play a chief role in
Shakespeare's Henry IV.
1416 creation
Henry V restored Hotspur's son, the second Earl, to his family honours, and the Percys were staunch Lancastrians during the
Wars of the Roses which followed, the
third Earl and three of his brothers losing their lives in the cause.[3]
The
fourth Earl was involved in the political manoeuvrings of the last
Yorkist kings
Edward IV and
Richard III. Through either indecision or treachery he did not respond in a timely manner at the
Battle of Bosworth Field, and thus helped cause his ally Richard III's defeat at the hands of Henry Tudor (who became
Henry VII). In 1489, he was pulled from his horse and murdered by some of his tenants.[citation needed]
The
fifth Earl displayed magnificence in his tastes, and being one of the richest magnates of his day, kept a very large household establishment.[citation needed]
Thereafter, a succession of plots and counterplots—the Rising of the North, the plots to liberate Mary Queen of Scots, and the Gunpowder Plot – each claimed a Percy among their adherents. On this account the
eighth and
ninth Earls spent many years in the
Tower, but the tenth Earl,
Algernon, fought against King Charles in the Civil War, the male line of the Percy-Louvain house ending with
Josceline, the eleventh Earl. The heiress to the vast Percy estates married the Duke of Somerset; and her granddaughter married a Yorkshire knight,
Sir Hugh Smithson, who in 1766 was created the first
Duke of Northumberland and Earl Percy, and it is their descendants who now represent the famous old house.[3]
Various references use at least three different sequences of numbers for the Earls; the ones shown here are those used in the individual articles on the 12 Earls. The major difference arises from the question of whether Henry (1394–1455) was 1st as a new creation or 2nd as a restoration of the rights of his grandfather, Henry (1341–1408). Additionally, there is some debate about whether the 7th Earl was restored to the previous creation or was given a new creation.
Alan Ian Percy 1880–1930 8th Duke of Northumberland, 9th Earl of Northumberland and Baron Warkworth, 5th Earl of Beverley, 6th Baron Lovaine
Henry George Alan Percy 1912–1940 9th Duke of Northumberland, 10th Earl of Northumberland and Baron Warkworth, 6th Earl of Beverley, 7th Baron Lovaine
Hugh Algernon Percy 1914–1988 10th Duke of Northumberland, 11th Earl of Northumberland and Baron Warkworth, 7th Earl of Beverley, 8th Baron Lovaine, 9th Baron Percy
Henry Alan Walter Richard Percy 1953–1995 11th Duke of Northumberland, 12th Earl of Northumberland and Baron Warkworth, 8th Earl of Beverley, 9th Baron Lovaine, 10th Baron Percy
Ralph George Algernon Percy
b. 1956 12th Duke of Northumberland, 13th Earl of Northumberland and Baron Warkworth, 9th Earl of Beverley, 10th Baron Lovaine, 11th Baron Percy
The Earls of Northumberland in Literature and Media
The 1st Earl of Norhumberland and his son, Henry "Hotspur", play large roles in Shakespeare's play, "Henry IV, Part 1).
A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury by Edith Pargeter (1st Earl of Northumberland and Henry "Hotspur" Percy)
Lion of Alnwick (Book 1 of The Percy Saga) by Carol Wensby-Scott (1st Earl of Northumberland and Henry "Hotspur" Percy)
Lion Dormant (Book 2 of The Percy Saga) by Carol Wensby-Scott (Hotspur's son the 2nd Earl of Northumberland and his son the 3rd Earl of Northumberland)
Lion Invincible (Book 3 of The Percy Saga) by Carol Wensby-Scott (The 4th Earl of Northumberland)
Alnwick Castle, the traditional home of the Earls of Northumberland, was used as the location of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies.
Notes
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain in the US: Northumberland Yesterday and To-day by Jean F. Terry, 1913