text: john of brittany , earl of richmond john of brittany , called in french jean de bretagne ( c . 1266 – 17 january 1334 ) , 4th earl of richmond , was an english nobleman and a member of the ducal house of brittany , the house of dreux . he entered royal service in england under his uncle edward i , and also served edward ii . on 15 october 1306 he received his father 's title of earl of richmond . he was named guardian of scotland in the midst of england 's conflicts with scotland and in 1311 lord during the baronial rebellion against edward ii . john of brittany served england as a soldier and as a diplomat but was otherwise politically inactive in comparison to other earls of his time . he was a capable diplomat , valued by both edward i and edward ii for his negotiating skills . john was never married , and upon his death his title and estates fell to his nephew , john iii , duke of brittany . although he was generally loyal to his first cousin edward ii during the times of baronial rebellion , he eventually supported the coup of isabella and mortimer . after edward ii abdicated in favour of his son edward iii of england , john retired to his estates in france and died in his native brittany in 1334 with no known issue . early life john was the second surviving son of john ii , duke of brittany , and his wife beatrice , who together had three sons and three daughters who survived to adulthood . beatrice was the daughter of henry iii of england , which made john the nephew of henry 's son and heir edward i. his father held the title of earl of richmond , but was little involved in english political affairs . john was raised at the english court together with edward i 's son henry , who died in 1274 . he participated in tournaments in his but never distinguished himself in his early roles as a soldier . service to edward i when in 1294 the french king confiscated king edward 's duchy of aquitaine , john travelled to france but failed to take bordeaux . during easter of 1295 he had to flee the town of rions . in january 1297 he shared defeat at the siege of bellegarde with henry de lacy , earl of lincoln . after this defeat , he returned to england . despite his poor results in france he remained highly regarded by his uncle king edward i , who treated him almost as a son . after his return to england john became involved in the scottish wars . he was probably at the battle of falkirk in 1298 . he was certainly at the siege of caerlaverock in 1300 . the nobles who joined edward i at the siege of caerlaverock , including john of brittany , were commemorated in the roll of caerlaverock which named each noble and described their banner . in this roll , the banner and description of john of brittany immediately follows that of his uncle king edward i his father , the duke of brittany , died in 1305 , and was succeeded as duke by john 's elder brother , arthur . the following year edward i invested john with his father 's other title , earl of richmond . in addition edward i appointed him guardian of scotland , a position which was confirmed upon the accession of edward ii in 1307 . service to edward ii the english court viewed john of brittany as a trusted diplomat . he was a skilled negotiator , and his french connections were a useful asset . by 1307 he was also one of the kingdom 's oldest earls . as the relationship between edward ii and his nobility deteriorated , richmond remained loyal to the king ; in 1309 he went on an embassy to pope clement v on behalf of edward 's favourite piers gaveston . john was allegedly gaveston 's close personal friend , and did not share the antagonistic attitudes held by certain other earls . lord ordainers by 1310 the relationship between edward ii and his earls had deteriorated to the point where a committee of earls took control of government from the king . the earls disobeyed a royal order not to carry arms to parliament , and in full military attire presented a demand to the king for the appointment of a commission of reform . at the heart of the deteriorating situation was the peers ' opinion of edward ii 's relationship with piers gaveston , and his reputedly outrageous behavior . on 16 march 1310 , the king agreed to the appointment of ordainers , who were to be in charge of the reform of the royal household . john of brittany was one of eight earls appointed to this committee of 21 , referred to as the lords ordainers . he was among the ordainers considered loyal to edward ii and was also by this time one of the older remaining earls . john then travelled to france for diplomatic negotiations , before returning to england . gaveston was exiled by the ordainers but later made an irregular return . gaveston was killed in june 1312 by thomas of lancaster and other nobles . it fell upon john , together with gilbert de clare , earl of gloucester , to reconcile the two parties after this event . in 1313 he followed edward ii on a state visit to france , and thereafter generally remained a trusted subject . in 1318 he witnessed the treaty of leake , which restored edward to full power . war with scotland in 1320 he again accompanied edward ii to france , and the next year he carried out peace negotiations with the scots . when in 1322 thomas of lancaster rebelled and was defeated at the battle of boroughbridge , richmond was present at his trial , and when lancaster was sentenced to death . after this , the english invaded scotland only to have their army starved when robert the bruce burned the country before them . the bruce brought his army into england and crossed the solway firth in the west , making his way in a south - easterly direction towards yorkshire ; he brought many troops recruited in argyll and the isles . the boldness and speed of the attack soon exposed edward ii to danger , even in his own land . on his return from scotland , the king had taken up residence at rievaulx abbey with queen isabella . his peace was interrupted when the scots made a sudden and unexpected approach in mid - october . all that stood between them and a royal prize was a large english force under the command of john of brittany . john had taken up a position on moor , between rievaulx and byland abbey . to dislodge john from his strong position on the high ground , bruce used the same tactics that brought victory at the earlier battle of the pass of brander . as moray and douglas charged uphill a party of highlanders scaled the cliffs on the english flank and charged downhill into john of brittany 's rearguard . resistance crumbled , and the battle of old byland turned into a rout . john himself was taken prisoner and given a tongue lashing for his cowardice by robert the bruce . john remained in captivity until 1324 , when he was released for a ransom of 14 , 000 marks . after his release , he continued his diplomatic activities in scotland and france . final years in march 1325 john of brittany made a final return to france , where for the first time he made himself a clear opponent of edward ii . his lands in england were confiscated by the crown . in france , john aligned himself with queen isabella , edward ii 's wife , who had been sent on a diplomatic mission to france , and had disobeyed her husband 's orders to return to england . . later when edward ii was forced to abdicate and his son edward iii ascended to the english throne , john of brittany 's english lands were restored . he spent his last years on his french estates , and he remained largely cut off from english political affairs . he died on 17 january 1334 , and was buried in the church of the franciscans in nantes . john of brittany never married and as far as is known had no issue . he was succeeded as earl of richmond by his nephew john ( arthur 's son ) . ancestry