Whose son's death brought titles to Edward III's most trusted captain?
Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster, 4th Earl of Leicester and Lancaster, KG (c. 1310 – 23 March 1361), also Earl of Derby, was a member of the English nobility in the 14th century, and a prominent English diplomat, politician, and soldier. The son and heir of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster, and Maud Chaworth, he became one of Edward III's most trusted captains in the early phases of the Hundred Years' War and distinguished himself with victory in the Battle of Auberoche. He was a founding member and the second Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1348, and in 1351 was created duke. An intelligent and reflective man, Grosmont taught himself to write and was the author of the book "Livre de seyntz medicines", a highly personal devotional treatise. He is remembered as one of the founders and early patrons of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, which was established by two of the guilds of the town in 1352.
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").