John Fitzalan, 7th Earl of Arundel
A young English earl whose brief, violent life was spent fighting to secure his family's contested title and England's fading claims in France.
1408–1435 (age 27)·English noble·Birthday: February 14
Biography
John Fitzalan entered the world amid a bitter inheritance dispute. His father spent decades litigating for the earldom of Arundel, a title and lands that would not be formally recognized as belonging to the Fitzalans until 1433, two years after the father's death. Suddenly the young earl, John found himself a key player in the final, desperate stages of the Hundred Years' War. Thrust into command, he displayed a martial ferocity that quickly made him a favorite of the English commander John, Duke of Bedford. In 1435, he was tasked with relieving the besieged town of Gerberoy in Normandy. His campaign was brutally effective but short. During the fighting, he was struck in the foot by a cannonball—a wound that led to a fatal infection. He died at just 27, a symbol of a generation of English nobility consumed by the costly and ultimately doomed French adventure, his hard-won earldom passing to his infant son.
#1 When John Was Born
The biggest hits of 1408
John's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1408Born
1413Started school
1421Became a teenager
1424Could drive
1426Could vote
1429Turned 21
1435Died at 27
Key Achievements
- Was formally confirmed as the 7th Earl of Arundel in 1433, resolving a decades-long familial legal battle.
- Served as a military commander in Normandy during the latter part of the Hundred Years' War.
- Was appointed to the Order of the Garter, the pinnacle of English chivalric honor.
- Led a successful campaign to lift the siege of Gerberoy in 1435, though it resulted in his mortal wound.
Did You Know?
He died from gangrene after being wounded by a cannonball at the Siege of Gerberoy.
His father, John Fitzalan, 3rd Baron Maltravers, died without ever being officially recognized as the Earl of Arundel.
His son and heir, Humphrey, became the 8th Earl at just six years old.
His effigy, in full armor, lies in Arundel Castle's Fitzalan Chapel.
“My title is not a gift; it is a right won through law and my father's blood.”
