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The Dukes of Norfolk A Quincentennial History

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Very few high families in England have had so dramatic a history as the Fitzalan-Howards. All the first four Howard dukes were attainted, the 3rd duke escaped execution only because Henry VIII died that morning (though two of his neices who became queens of England were beheaded), the 4th duke was unjustly executed, the 5th duke went insane, the 6th duke was excluded from public life because of his Catholicism, the 7th duke's wife left him in a public scandal, the 8th duke died prematurely, the 9th duke was childless and saw the end of his branch of the family, the 10th duke died an alcoholic, the 11th duke lost two wives and produced no legitimate children, the 12th duke's wife left him shortly after their marriage, the 13th duke's eldest son died suddenly just before his majority, the 14th duke died young and painfully, and the 15th duke's only son was born blind and epileptic. As the leading Catholic family in England, they were aristocratic outlaws -- yet they were and are that nation's premier peers, hereditary marshals of England, and possessed of great wealth. The author (who is Fitzalan Pursuivant Extraordinary) makes clear that high title is no guarantee of success or happiness. And yet their dukedom has survived for more than five centuries. As Earl Marshal, the 16th duke was responsible for organizing the corona-tions of two sovereigns, the funerals of two more (as well as that of Sir Winston Churchill), and the investiture of the present Prince of Wales; with the advent of radio and television, this made him widely recognized to the public at large. Semi-scholarly (there are numerous footnotes) and heavily illustrated, this volume is most instructive to the general reader and of particular interest to the student of peerage pedigrees.

This book came out in 1982, published by Oxfold University Press. According to the book's jacket, John Martin Robinson, "Fitzalan Pursuivant Extraordinary, has been Librarian to the Duke of Norfolk since 1978, and has worked in the GLC Historic Buildings Division since 1974." I found this book several years ago when researching my maternal family line, but I was sidetracked and couldn't continue my research until recently. Recalling what a good reference tool it was, I bought it from Amazon at a fantastic price as a used book. The condition of the book is very good, but understandably a little worn because it was withdrawn from the stock of Calderdale Libraries.

Robinson traces the founding of the royal Howard line carefully, beginning with Sir William Howard because the only authoritative document he could find dated 1277, locating Howard in East Winch, Norfolk. Like many biographers of the royal families, he only discusses the sons who were titled and of note, leaving out the children in the various families who didn't inherit. He devotes chapters to each Duke of Norfolk up through 1917, giving a great deal of information about marriages, accomplishments, and misdeeds. As Robinson so aptly says in his preface, "...no other English family has had so dramatic a history as the Howards, or seen such vicissitudes of life, such heights and depths of fortune: on the one hand all the principal offices of the State, the favour of sovereigns, power, influence, riches, glory, and on the other murder, treason, attainder, imprisonment, divorce, disgrace, martyrdom and ruin" (v). This statement is a perfect summation of this book. Robinson includes a variety of illustrations, among them portraits, manor houses and castles, tombs, etc. He expertly weaves history and biography together and provides a geneaology chart, excellent index, endnotes, and a selected bibliography.

In his postscript, Robinson explains, "I have chosen to end this book with the death of the 15th Duke of Norfolk in 1917 because it makes a good place to break, leaving a decent gap between the historical past and the present, where objectivity may be distorted by respect for the feelings of the living" (238). With such a rich history as Robinson has provided, his book is thorough, complex, and unflinching. I would recommend Dukes of Norfolk to anyone doing research the royal Howards or on the various parts of English history in which they lived and died.