Humphrey STAFFORD, Earl of Stafford, Earl of Devon^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]}

1439 - 1469  (~ 45 years)

• Name	Humphrey STAFFORD
  Suffix	Earl of Stafford, Earl of Devon
  Born	Between 1424 and 1439	Stafford, Staffordshire, England   [6]
  Gender	Male
  Govt Service	1461	Bristol, Glouchester, England   [7]
  	Constable of Bristol
  Govt Service	1465	Godley Par., Manchester, England   [7]
  	Constable of Bridgwater Castle
  _UID	A0CF5F4096AE39448CF953B3D8FA9AECB2C1
  Died	1469	St. Albans, but see note   [6, 7]
  Person ID	I16749	Branch 001 Roger De Toneii 1029 FR
  Last Modified	17 Jun 2010

  
  

  Father	Sir Humphrey STAFFORD, 1st Duke of Buckingham,   b. 15 Aug 1402, Stafford, Staffordshire, England ,   d. 10 Jul 1460, Battle of Northampton, England  (Age 57 years)
  Mother	Lady Anne NEVILLE,   b. Abt 1404, Westmoreland, England ,   d. 20 Sep 1480  (Age ~ 76 years)
  Married	Bef 18 Oct 1424	Raby, Durham, England
  Family ID	F6205	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Margaret BEAUFORT,   b. Abt 1437, London, Middlesex, England ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Married	1455  [3, 8]
  Children	1. Henry STAFFORD, 2nd Duke of Buckingham,   b. 4 Sep 1455,   d. 2 Nov 1483, Executed at Salisbury, England  (Age 28 years)   2. Humphrey STAFFORD,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Last Modified	24 Jun 2020
  Family ID	F6666	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  A Lancastrian. Wounded at the first Battle of St. Albans, 22-23 May 1455. The Stafford Knot The origin of the Stafford Knot is shrouded in the mists of antiquity, but it can be said that the somewhat barbaric tale of a certain sheriff who invented it to hang three criminals with one rope at the same time, may be dismissed as an effort of the imagination. The earliest authentic appearance of the Stafford Knot is on the seal in the British Museum, and this was the property of Joan, Lady of Wake, who died childless in 1443. Her personal possessions passed to her nephew, Humphrey, Earl of Stafford, who adopted the Knot of Rope, henceforward to be known as the Stafford Knot, as his badge, probably just preceding his creation as Duke of Buckingham in 1444. That he did adopt it from his Aunt is undoubted and she, being a direct descendent of Hereward the Wake, may have had it handed down to her from past generations, through many unknown but doubtless - romantic circumstances. The Duke of Buckingham and his descendants used this Stafford Knot as personal cognizance. It did not form part of their armorial bearings, which were personal to themselves, but it was their badge and they gave the knot of rope to their retainers and servants as a livery and means of recognition. The townsmen of Stafford were leigemen of the Stafford family, and as such also used this badge. As the days of feudalism passed and individual and civic liberties grew, it was gradually adopted by the Citizens, Freemen and Burgesses until ultimately it was included in the Borough Coat of Arms. Even following Local Government Reorganisation in 1974, the Stafford Knot still appears on the Coat of Arms of the new Stafford Borough.

  
  

• Sources

  [S211] AA CD#102: Automated Fam.Pedigrees #3. [S212] World Encyclopedia of Assassination. [S260] Tompsett, Brian (4 August 1998), http://www.dcs.hull.ac.uk/cgi-bin/gedlkup/n=royal?royal02096. [S202] John Stafford by Woodward. [S201] Stafford Data Branch 60. [S256] WFT, Vol. 1. [S243] Miriam Webster's Biographical Dictionary (1995). [S240] Stafford, G. M. G. (1943), p. 4, citing Media Research Bureau of Washington, DC.