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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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John of Gaunt
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(1340–99) Son of *Edward III, father of *Henry IV (see the *royal house) and the ancestor of the Lancastrians in the *Wars of the Roses. In 1359 Gaunt married Blanche, the heiress of a powerful northern baron, the duke of Lancaster. He inherited her lands and after his father-in-law's death was himself created duke of Lancaster. With his son's accession to the throne in 1399 the duchy of Lancaster became attached to the crown and has remained so ever since. Gaunt's public image is almost entirely the creation of Shakespeare in *Richard II, where he is given the great patriotic speech about this *'precious stone set in the silver sea'. Even the name by which Gaunt is now known (deriving from the fact that he was born in Ghent) is due to Shakespeare; it was used in his lifetime only until he was three.
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