Whose son's death brought titles to Edward III's most trusted captain?
House of Lancaster The House of Lancaster was the name of two cadet branches of the royal House of Plantagenet. The first house was created when Henry III of England created the Earldom of Lancasterfrom which the house was namedfor his second son Edmund Crouchback in 1267. Edmund had already been created Earl of Leicester in 1265 and was granted the lands and privileges of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, after de Montfort's death and attainder at the end of the Second Barons' War. When Edmund's son Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, inherited his father-in-law's estates and title of Earl of Lincoln he became at a stroke the most powerful nobleman in England, with lands throughout the kingdom and the ability to raise vast private armies to wield power at national and local levels. This brought himand Henry, his younger brotherinto conflict with their cousin Edward II of England, leading to Thomas's execution. Henry inherited Thomas's titles and he and his son, who was also called Henry, gave loyal service to Edward's sonEdward III of England.
Thomas West, 2nd Baron West Thomas West, 2nd Baron West (1391 or 1392 – c. 30 September 1416) succeeded as Baron West at the age of 14. In less than a year, he married Ida de Saint Amand, younger daughter and coheiress of Amaury de Saint Amand, 3rd Baron Saint Amand (1341–1402). He was knighted on the eve of Henry V's coronation. He fought at the Battle of Agincourt, and is listed on a pipe-roll with a retinue of 14 lancers and 40 archers. Afterwards, he was assigned to the garrison of Calais. Next year, the Earl of Warwick, who was Captain of Calais, sent out an expedition on 24 September 1416 to capture a Genoese carrack, since the Genoese were allies of France. Thomas West was mortally wounded putting on his armor before the battle; he was arming himself at the foot of the mast when one of the stones being hauled up to the catapults on the masthead slipped; but he survived long enough to die in England. (His wife died that same fall; either a little before him, or on 15 December.) The "Gesta Henrici Quinti" puns in describing the manner of his death, suggesting that he received the chief of all evils ("verticem mali") while pursuing the root of all evil ("radicem mali").