mortimer

Edmund Mortimer was born 9 November 1376 at Ludlow Castle in Shropshire.  He was the younger son of Edmund Mortimer and Phillipa Plantagenet, and brother to Roger Mortimer, father to rightful heir Edmund Mortimer (the Fifth Earl of March), and Elizabeth Mortimer, wife of Hotspur.  Edmund had a reputation for being slow-witted, but some historians think that this was a deliberate and politic choice he made in order to make himself seem less threatening.  Though not directly in line for the throne, Edmund was of royal blood and, when it came to it, actually had a better claim to the throne than King Henry IV did. 

The King certainly knew this, and when the opportunity to get rid of Mortimer arose, he did not hesitate to take it.  Edmund was captured by Owen Glendower in 1402 while fighting against the Welsh, and despite the pleas of his family, the King refused to ransom him.  After being imprisoned for nearly half a year, Mortimer consented to a truce with Glendower and earned his freedom by marrying Glendower's daughter, Katherine, in November.  Not much is known about their life together, but they are believed to have had at least four children.

Mortimer fought along with the Percys at Shrewsbury, supporting his nephew's claim to the throne and no doubt exercising his displeasure with the King, who had already branded him a traitor.  Mortimer survived the day at Shrewsbury and went on to fight against England on Glendower's side for many years after.  The time and place of Mortimer's death is much contested by historians, but it seems most likely that he died in 1409 during the siege of Glendower's fortress at Harlech.  He was 33 at the time, and it is still unknown whether he died from battle wounds or of the plague.

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