Michael de la Pole, first earl of Suffolk (d. 1389)

Michael de la Pole (c. 1330 - 1389), first earl of Suffolk, the eldest son of William de la Pole, merchant and financier of the crown, and his wife Katherine. In his youth, he campaigned with the Black Prince, and was also retained by John of Gaunt, the duke of Lancaster. In 1381, he was appointed together with the earl of Arundel, 'to advise and govern the person of the king', and from that date began his rapid rise in the court of Richard II; see Anthony Tuck, 'Pole, Michael de la, first earl of Suffolk (c.1330-1389),' in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison (Oxford: OUP, 2004). He was appointed as chancellor in 1383, and created as the first earl of Suffolk in 1385. He was impeached by the Wonderful Parliament in 1386, and accused of treason by the Lords Appellant in 1387, but avoided the fate of some of his fellow courtiers who were executed after the Merciless Parliament in 1388 by fleeing to France.

Bibliographic References:

Anthony Tuck, 'Pole, Michael de la, first earl of Suffolk (c.1330-1389),' in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison (Oxford: OUP, 2004)

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