Lancastrian William Courtenay

Lancastrian William Courtenay was the 1st Earl of Devon in its fourth creation, a title that was first created following the conquest of England, and passed to the Courtenay family in the 13th century via marriage to an heiress of the original title owners.

Courtenay was the son of Edward Courtenay who had been rewarded with the Earldom by Henry VII for his support. In 1495, he had married Catherine of York, sister of Elizabeth, Henry's queen. In 1504, despite his closeness to the royal family (and/or his connections to the previous one) Henry VII, always suspicious of a plot to topple him, suspected Courtenay of being involved with Yorkist Edmund de la Pole. Without any real evidence to support this, he had him imprisoned and attainted.

When Henry VII had died in 1509 Courtenay remained incarcerated, however, two years later, Henry VIII ordered Courtenay's release, some of his lands restored, and made him Earl of Devon on the 10th May 1511.

William Courtenay did not enjoy the earldom for long, he died of pleurisy almost a month later on 11th June and was buried at Blackfriars in London.

You can see Courtenay's coat of arms on the wall of the Speke Chantry at Exeter Cathedral in Devon.