Howard family

Arundel Castle, home of the Fitzalans and later the Howards

The later Howards would claim legendary descent from Hereward the Wake who was of Mercian background and resisted the Norman conquest of England from his base at the Isle of Ely. Hereward subsequently became a mainstay of English folklore.

A pedigree compiled and signed by Sir William Dugdale, Norroy King of Arms of the College of Arms, and dated 8 April 1665, stated that the Howard family are descended from the Howarth [sic, Howard] family of Great Howarth Hall, Rochdale. Also, "it is clear from above seventy deeds, without date, that the Howards, Dukes of Norfolk, do derive from the Howards Howarth of Great Howarth and that William Howard of Wigenhall… was a direct decedent of Osbert Howard de Howarth," and given lands in Rochdale on behalf of his service as Master of King Henry I's Buckhounds. Dugdale's account, however, has been disputed.[2]

The indisputable descent begins with Sir William Howard (d.1308) of East Winch and Wiggenhall in Norfolk, a Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, who was summoned as a justice to the House of Commons in the Model Parliament of 1295. Sir William's son, Sir John Howard I, became Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk and married Joan de Cornwall, an illegitimate granddaughter of Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall and King of the Romans,[3] the second son of King John.

Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII

Sir William's great-great-great-grandson, Sir Robert Howard, married Lady Margaret Mowbray, elder daughter of Thomas Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk (1366–1399). The Mowbray line of Dukes died out in 1476 and the heiress of the last Duke, Anne Mowbray, died at the age of nine in 1481; after declaring her widower King Edward IV's son Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York, illegitimate, Richard III of England created the son of Sir Robert and Lady Margaret, John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, of a new creation on 28 June 1483, the 200th anniversary of the Barony of Mowbray to which he was also senior co-heir. John had previously been summoned to Parliament as Lord Howard by Edward IV. He was also created hereditary Earl Marshal. John's son and heir, Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, was the grandfather of two English queens, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both wives of Henry VIII.

The Howard family became one of the foremost recusant families due to their continued adherence to Roman Catholicism throughout the English Reformation and its aftermath. This meant that they often could not take their seats in the House of Lords. Three family members in a row fell out of favor and were attainted because of their Catholic beliefs: Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey in late 1546 was arrested for treason and also partly for being a Catholic, being executed in January 1547.[4] The son of Surrey, Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk who, despite having been brought up as a boy in Protestantism, was a Catholic, fell into disgrace and was executed in July 1572 for having conspired against Queen Elizabeth I with intended to replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots and thus restore Catholicism to England.[5] Norfolk's son, Philip Howard, 13th Earl of Arundel was imprisoned in the Tower of London for his Catholicism in 1585, remaining there for over ten years until he fell ill with Dysentery and he died in October 1595.

Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII

Both the Dukedom and Earl Marshalship have been the subject of repeated attainders and restorations in the 15th to 17th centuries. Before Charles II restored the titles for good, the Howards had inherited the ancient title of Earl of Arundel through an heiress, and formed additional branches that have continued to this day.

A branch of the Howard family has been seated at Castle Howard, one of England's most magnificent country houses, for over 300 years.

In order of genealogical seniority:

• the Barons Howard of Penrith descend from a younger brother of the 12th Duke;
• the Earls of Suffolk and Berkshire descend from the 2nd son of the 4th Duke;
• the Earls of Carlisle descend from the third son of the 4th Duke;
• the Earls of Effingham descend from the fourth son of the 2nd Duke, who was Lord High Admiral and whose son was commander in chief against the Spanish Armada. (Curiously, this line was excluded from eligibility to inherit on the restoration of the Dukedom).

See: Gallery of Howard Arms

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Howard arms.

The Howard family's original arms were the white bend on red with the crosslets. On marrying the heiress of the dukes of Norfolk, the first Howard duke of Norfolk quartered his arms with those of Thomas of Brotherton 1st Earl of Norfolk, son of King Edward I Longshanks as well as the Mowbray arms. Starting with the 2nd Duke of Norfolk, the Howards added in the 3rd quarter the checkered blue and gold of the Warren Earls of Surrey, whom they became heirs of. Philip Howard was deprived of the dukedom of Norfolk, which was under attainer, but inherited the earldom of Arundel. His descendants used the gold lion on red of the Fitzalan Earls of Arundel in the 4th quarter.

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  Howard Arms unaugmented (pre-1513)
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  Arms of Thomas of Brotherton (1300 † 1338), Earl of Norfolk, son of Edward I Longshanks, from whom all the Dukes of Norfolk are descended.Gules, three lions passant guardant in pale or armed and langued azure a label of three points argent.
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  Arms of John Howard, 1st Howard Duke of Norfolk, showing the unaugmented Howard Arms (I & IV), quartering the arms of Thomas of Brotherton (II) and the arms of Mowbray (III): Gules, a lion rampant argent.
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  Arms of Mowbray
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  The coat of arms used by the Howard Family. The Scots shield is an augmentation, see below.[6] Gules, on a bend between six cross-crosslets fitchy argent an escutcheon or charged with a demi-lion rampant pierced through the mouth by an arrow within a double tressure flory counterflory of the first.
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  Augmentation to the arms of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk for his services at the Battle of Flodden (1513).
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  Arms of the Warrenne Family, Earls of Surrey.
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  Coat of arms of the Howard Dukes of Norfolk, starting with Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk.Quarterly of 4: 1: Howard, with augmentation of honour; 2: Plantagenet, arms of Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk; 3: Chequy or and azure (de Warenne, Earl of Surrey); 4: Mowbray
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  Confirmation of arms, crest and supporters, dated 28 May 1580, by Robert Cooke, Clarenceux to Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel, omitting Howard arms and quarterings as the Dukedom of Norfolk was under attainder.
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  Usual quarterings of Howard, Dukes of Norfolk after 1842: with FitzAlan (Gules a lion rampant or) in the 4th quarter, in place of Mowbray; in 1842 the future 14th Duke adopted as a prefix the additional surname of FitzAlan (of Arundel Castle, feudal Earls of Arundel, Barons Mowbray, etc.), whose heiress in 1555 had married Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk.
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  FitzAlan, Earls of Arundel.
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  Arms of the arms of Henry Howard, Earle of Surrey, for which he was attainted. The main offense was bearing the undifferenced arms of England (2nd quarter), which only the monarch was allowed. Surrey was beheaded on 19 January 1547 on a charge of treasonably quartering the royal arms.
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  Coat of arms of Howard Earls of Suffolk, with a crescent for difference for a second son.
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  Coat of arms of Howard Earl of Carlisle

Earl Marshal is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England (then, following the Act of Union 1800, in the United Kingdom). It is the eighth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Constable and above the Lord High Admiral. The Earl Marshal has responsibility for the organisation of State funerals and the monarch's coronation in Westminster Abbey.[7] He is also a leading officer of arms. The office is hereditary in the Howard Family in their position as Dukes of Norfolk, the senior dukedom in the United Kingdom.

Coat of arms of the Duke of Norfolk

Adopted 1842 by the future 14th Duke of Norfolk, who added the prefix "FitzAlan" to his surname and replaced the 4th quarter "Mowbray" with "FitzAlan". Coronet A Coronet of a Duke Crest 1st: Issuant from a Ducal Coronet Or a pair of Wings Gules each charged with a Bend between six Cross-crosslets fitchy Argent (Howard); 2nd: On a Chapeau Gules turned up Ermine a Lion statant gardant with tail extended Or gorged with a Ducal Coronet Argent (Thomas of Brotherton); 3rd: On a Mount Vert a Horse passant Argent holding in the mouth a Slip of Oak Vert fructed proper (Fitzalan). Escutcheon Quarterly, 1st: Gules on a Bend between six Cross-crosslets fitchy Argent an Escutcheon Or charged with a Demi-lion rampant pierced through the mouth by an arrow within a Double Tressure flory counterflory of the first (Howard); 2nd: Gules three Lions passant gardant in pale Or, Armed and Langued Azure, in chief a Label of three points Argent (Plantagenet of Norfolk); 3rd: Checky Or and Azure (Warenne); 4th: Gules a Lion rampant Or, Armed and Langued Azure (Fitzalan). Supporters Dexter a Lion, sinister a Horse both Argent the latter holding in the mouth a Slip of Oak Vert fructed proper. Motto Sola Virtus Invicta (Latin for "Virtue alone is unconquered"). Orders Often, the coat of arms of the Duke of Norfolk appears with the Garter circlet of the Order of the Garter surrounding the shield, as seen in the arms of the 17th Duke of Norfolk. However, this is not hereditary; the 17th Duke did not become a Knight of the Garter until 22 April 1983. The 18th Duke of Norfolk, as of 2017, had not been appointed to the Order of the Garter. Other elements Placed behind the shield are two gold batons in saltire enamelled at the ends in black, which represent the Duke of Norfolk's office as Earl Marshal and Hereditary Marshal of England. Symbolism The shield on the bend in the first quarter of the arms was granted as an augmentation of honour by Henry VIII to the 2nd Duke of Norfolk, to commemorate his victory at the Battle of Flodden. It is a modification of the Royal coat of arms of Scotland. Instead of its normal rampant position, the lion is shown cut in half with an arrow through its mouth, commemorating the death of King James IV at the battle.[8]

• William Dugdale, Baronage of England (London, 1675–76);
• Collins, Peerage of England (fifth edition, London, 1779);
• Henry Howard, Memorials of the Howard Family (privately printed, 1834);
• Edmund Lodge, Portraits of Illustrious Personages (London, 1835); The Howard Papers, with a Biographical Pedigree and Criticism by Canston (London, 1862);
• Yeatman, The Early Genealogical History of the House of Arundel (London, 1882);
• Doyle, Official Baronage of England (London, 1886);
• Brenan and Statham, The House of Howard (London, 1907).

Wikimedia Commons has media related to House of Howard.

• European Heraldry page
• http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/HOWARD1.htm