John FitzAlan, 2nd Baron Arundel
An English nobleman whose life was a brief, violent arc of military ambition, ending in a disastrous shipwreck that became a byword for medieval calamity.
1364–1390 (age 26)·Birthday: November 30
Biography
John FitzAlan, 2nd Baron Arundel, lived and died by the sword in the age of chivalric excess. Inheriting his titles as a minor, he came into his inheritance during the turbulent reign of Richard II. His career was one of relentless martial service, fighting in the Hundred Years' War in France and later against the Scots. FitzAlan embodied the aggressive, sometimes reckless spirit of the late medieval aristocracy. His final act cemented his place in history as a cautionary tale. In 1387, while en route to campaign in Brittany, his fleet was caught in a ferocious storm off the Irish coast. The shipwreck was catastrophic, drowning not only the Baron and his men but also a large number of women he was transporting, an event that scandalized contemporaries and underscored the brutal unpredictability of fate and war.
#1 When John Was Born
The biggest hits of 1364
John's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1364Born
1369Started school
1377Became a teenager
1380Could drive
1382Could vote
1385Turned 21
1390Died at 26
Key Achievements
- Served as Lord Marshal of England, a key military office, from 1386 until his death.
- Commanded English forces in naval and land campaigns against Scotland and France during the Hundred Years' War.
- Was summoned to Parliament as Baron Arundel, solidifying his family's position among the peerage.
- Held the lordship of the important port of Chichester through his inheritance.
Did You Know?
His death in the shipwreck of 1387 is vividly recounted by the chronicler Jean Froissart.
He was the son of Eleanor Maltravers, through whom he inherited the Barony of Maltravers.
The inquest following his death provided detailed records of the heraldic arms and equipment lost at sea.
He was buried in Lewes Priory, a Cluniac monastery in Sussex.
“My sword and my men are pledged to the King's service in France.”
