THE CAREER OF SIR THOMAS TRIVET (1330-88)

military career. For example, on the 10th March 1378. Thomas was engaged to serve under Gournay in Aquitaine with 80 men at arms and 80 archers.¹⁹ Even earlier than this, Gournay had been present at the Battle of Najara in 1367, as had John Trivet, and like the Trivets, he too became one of the military fo11owers of the Black Prince. Gournay and Thomas Trivet were obviously close, since Gournay acted as one of his nephew's mainpernors on the 30th May 1388 after Trivet's trouble witi tie Appellants.²⁰

Thomas Trivet owed much of his success to his abilities as a soldier. The first recorded encounter of his military exploits was on an expedition to Spain in 1367 alongside his father, John²¹ Five years later he was in Poitou, serving under Sir Thomas Catterton in the Contentin. He continued in Catterton's service, and in 1375 took part in the defence of St Sauveur le Vicomte, before returning home after the town fell.²² It was in recognition of his military abilities that he received his first royal grant of a regular income of £40 yearly on the 27th October 1375. Catterton, on the other hand, faked less well and was ordered before the King and parliament on the 13th June 1376.²³

It seems relatively surprising that Trivet should gain royal favour through his 'military abilities' since the majority of expeditions in which he played a part, ended in failure for one reason or another. After St Sauveur le Vicomte, his luck did not change. In October 1379 (after he had returned to England from Navarre where he had been promoting the English cause in the Peninsula - another failure) he was appointed to accompany Sir John Arundel on the ill-fated expedition to Brittany. The fleet hit bad weather even before they had managed to engage the enemy, and Trivet's ship was one of the few lucky ones able to limp back to Southampton.²⁴ His pride, perhaps more than mildly dented he had the chance to redeem himself in the following year in Buckingham's subsequent expedition to Brittany. Trivet formed part of the advanced guard on tie long march from Calais and he had some successes, capturing Seigneur de Brimeu at Clery-sur-Sommne and routing the Burgundians at Fervaques and Sire De Hangest.²⁵ But the expedition itself achieved nothing strategically, though it did provide the environment for Trivet to prove himself as a capable soldier. From these opportunistic successes, he was ordered to accompany Sir Thomas Percy and Sir Robert Knolles on a mission to the Duke of Brittany at Rennes in October 1380, and from there, he served at the siege of Nantes.²⁶ He had returned to England before June 1381, for when the Peasants' Revolt struck, he was ordered to keep the peace in Kent and to take part in the subsequent retribution in July.²⁷ His inclusion in the quashing of the revolt in Kent is more likely explained bv the fact that he had a minor landed interest in the county, since he held tenements in Bethersden (near Ashford) through his second wife, Elizabeth 1imbury.²⁸

19 Kingsford, DNB, vol.XIX, p.1163

20 CCR 1385-9, p.397-8

21 Kingsford, DNB, vol. XIX, p.1163

22 Ibid.

23 CCR 1374-7, p.318.Trivet was one of those ordered to produce Catterton before this parliament

and he acted as one of the mainpernors on the 19^th July 1376 (Ibid.p.439)

24 Kingsford, DNB, vol. XIX-, p 1103

25 Ibid.

26 Ibid.

27 CPR 1381-5, p.23 & p.72

28 IMP 7-15 Richard II, vol. XVI, p298 (no.766); (see Appendix 2 )