Sir John Peryent of Digswell, Hertfordshire, also Known As: "John Peryent, Lord of Digswell" was born in 1350 in Gascony, France and is said to have emigrated to England with Edward, The Black Prince.
He is buried in the St. John's Church, Digswell church under one of the finest monumental brasses in England. Reputed to have died 10 APR 1432, but Dr Taylor believes that was his son John who was born in about 1370.
The first three generations of Peryents in England
Read Dr Taylor's entry about John Perient Esquire of Digswell died 1432 at the Ginn Hertfordshire Blog.
England Military Service: He was a knight and provided men-at-arms to Henry IV at Cirencester to suppress armed insurrection in 1400; Provided 3 men-at-arms and 9 foot-archers for Henry V's expedition to France, which culminated in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.
Sir John Peryent was responsible for an addition to the 800 year old St. John's Church in Digswell. Specifically he added a chantry chapel built at the east end of the north aisle, and it was completed by 1439, In the 16th century 2 extensions were made to the church, a tower (c 1510) built on to the west end and chantry chapel, then extended to meet the east wall of the chancel. In the 17th century a south porch was erected but is no longer there as this was demolished in the early 1960s when the church was considerably enlarged to accommodate the growth of Welwyn Garden City.
Inside the church are a number of brasses which attract a lot of interest. Those in the best condition are of Sir John Peryent and his Lady who died in 1432 and 1415 respectively. Sir John is depicted in full plate armour of the period and is known to have been Esquire to THREE Kings, pennon bearer to Richard II and Master of Horse to Joan of Navarre, second wife of Henry IV. Lady Joan Peryent was Chief Lady in Waiting to the same Queen and a brass rubbing of her was once used on a British postage stamp. (1)
John (1432) and Joan (1415) Peryent; From St John's Church, Digswell, Hertfordshire
The brasses of John and Joan Peryent in St John's Church, Digswell, Hertfordshire (2)
Description: The brasses of John and Joan Peryent are 66 inches long. In the silk screen print pictured at the left, John is shown in full plate armor of the Lancastrian period, typical of the early 15th century. He wears a metal helmet and a metal protector, called a gorget, around his neck, and circular protectors at the shoulders, called "besagews". Below his metal breastplate is a skirt of tasses -- metal rings encircling his hips and connected together by leather straps to provide freedom of movement. A fringe of interlinked chain mail is visible below this skirt, suggesting that he is wearing a shirt or vest of chain mail under his plate armor. He wears a small dagger on his right hip, and his sword is supported by an embossed belt around his hips. His feet are resting on an animal, possibly a leopard.
Lady Joan wears a voluminous, high-waisted gown with sweeping, floor-length sleeves. Her unique headdress shows her hair arranged on nets covering the ears and extending outward and upward, with a veil folded on top. In most brasses of this period, the veil is shown hanging down over the back of the head and neck. (See, for example the brass of Katherine Quatremayn.) The image of a small animal at her feet, which appears to be a hedgehog, was apparently originally filled with enamel, but is now an empty depression in the brass.
Both figures wear a collar of SS (sometimes called a "collar of esses") which originated in the 14th century. During the reigns of Henry IV, his son (Henry V), and grandson (Henry VI), the collar of Esses was a royal badge of the House of Lancaster. Its pendant was usually a white swan, which Lady Joan appears to be wearing on her left collar. The collar of esses appears prominently in Holbein's painting of Thomas More (1527).
1432 John Peryent Esquire for the body and pennon bearer to Richard ll, esquire to Henry lV and Henry V, master of the horse to Queen Joan of Navarre.
He has a leopard at his feet.
His wife Joan 1415 is daughter of Sir John Risain / Arisain, chief lady in waiting to the said Queen Joan with hedgehog at her feet a pun on her name Risain from the French Herisson (hedgehog) or Oursin (sea-hedgehog). She wears a swan on the collar of her dress the emblem of the Bohun mother of Henry V, they both wear the Lancastrian SS collar.
John served Richard II and on his death in 1399 served the lancastrian King Henry IV who took over . Sir John was born in Brittany and after arriving in England became both an Esquire of the Body to Richard II and his pennon-bearer. After 1399, he was esquire to Henry IV and Henry V and served as Master of the Horse to Queen Joan of Navarre, the second wife of Henry IV. Since Queen Joan was the widow of John, Duke of Brittany, it is likely that Peryent found favour with the royal household through her due to their common connection with Brittany. In 1411 Sir John was given the status of an Englishman and in 1414 obtained the manor of Digswell. His wife Joan was also born in Brittany. When she became an englishwoman, she was described as one of the damsels of the queen and by the time of her death, this brass describes her as the chief lady-in-waiting. She died on 23 April 1415, leaving a young family of 3 sons and 2 daughters.
Sir John endowed a chantry at Digswell. His second son, John succeeded his father in lands and manors and built a chantry chapel completed in 1439. (3)
Digswell is an ancient village in the English county of Hertfordshire, recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book. In the 20th century Welwyn Garden City was built on land which included much of the old Parish of Digswell and further acquisitions nearby. The name Digswell is now used to describe an essentially 20th century residential area centered around Welwyn North railway station, on the northern outskirts of the original Parish. Much of Digswell is now part of the borough of Welwyn and Hatfield.
From Horowitz. 2002. Sir John is completely encased in plate. His sword belt, richly decorated, is clasped across his hips. He wears a misericorde, gauntlets and a collar of SS. His feet rest upon a leopard, unlike most brasses of men that have lions at their feet. His wife, Joan, has perhaps the most unusual headdress found on a brass. Her hair is curiously plaited and top-heavy, with a coverchef in folds at the top. Her gown is drawn at the waist by an ornamented band, and her folded collar, which falls back on her shoulders, has the popular symbol of the swan, adopted by the Lancastrian royal household as a badge since the days of Alianore de Bohun and her sister, Mary. Joan's gown falls to the ground at the sleeves, exposing the kirtle beneath. At her feet is a hedgehog, the only figure of its kind depicted on an English brass. This was undoubtedly a play on her maiden name, Risain or Arisain, from the French Herisson (hedgehog) or Oursin (sea-hedgehog). She wears a collar of SS around her neck. John Peryent was one of those fortunate individuals who served Richard II, survived the king's demise in 1399 and became a supporter of the triumphant Duke of Lancaster, now King Henry IV, without repercussion. Sir John was born in Brittany and after arriving in England became both an Esquire of the Body to Richard II and his pennon-bearer. After 1399, he was esquire to Henry IV and Henry V and served as Master of the Horse to Queen Joan of Navarre, the second wife of Henry IV. Since Queen Joan was the widow of John, Duke of Brittany, it is likely that Peryent found favor with the royal household through her due to their common connection with Brittany. In 1411, Sir John was given the status of an Englishman and decided to settle in Hertfordshire, where in 1414 he obtained the manor of Digswell. His wife, John, daughter of Sir John Risain, was also born in Brittany. When she received her "naturalization" status, she was described in the records as one of the damsels of the queen. Indeed, on the inscription of her brass she is referred to as the chief lady-in-waiting. She died on 23 April 1415, leaving a young family of three sons and two daughters. The brass of Joan and her husband was probably completed soon after her death but definitely before that of her husband's in April 1432. Sir John provided for the endowment of a chantry (masses for the dead) at Digswell. His second son, John succeeded his father in lands and manors. The son's much smaller brass was set in a stone near that of his parents. (4)
Inset of Joan: (Lady Peryent)
Wearing the Lancastrian SS collar and Lancastrian Swan badge of the Bohuns (See note)
Joan 1415 daughter of Sir John Risain / Arisain and wife of John Peryant 1432 who served Richard ll, Henry lV and Henry V. (5)
Both Joan and John came from Brittany and because of this found favour with Queen Joan consort of Henry lV, herself once Duchess of Brittany. Joan at the time of her death was chief lady in waiting to Queen Joan. Both became English nationals. She died on 23 April 1415, leaving a young family of 3 sons and 2 daughters.
Badge of Lady Peryent
Badges are frequently represented on brasses, and often beneath the feet. Occasionally a badge was engraved on the dress; thus a swan (or as some say a pelican) is embroidered on the collar of Lady Peryent, 1415, as represented on the brass in Digswell church, Herts. (6) She, and her husband, are both wearing the Lancastrian SS collar which is also a symbol used by the Bohun family.
She wears a swan on the collar of her dress the emblem of the Bohun mother of Henry V. Lady Peryent adopted the swan motif from the Bohun swan.
"The de Bohuns had used the swan as a personal badge from the 13th century, claiming that it symbolized their descent from the legendary Swan Knight. He became a cult figure in England during the reign of Edward I, who held a Feast of the Swans after the ceremony of knighthood for his son, the future Edward II and 267 others at Whitsuntide 1306".
Sir John Peryent's coat of arms, described as "gules, three crescents argent". That means the crest has three silver crescents against a red background. (British History Online) You can see a close representation here which includes some general family information.
A descendant, one Henry Peryent, used a similar motif in his own seal: The year is 6 Elizabeth I or 1563. Note the bird also represented in this seal along with Henry's initials.
John, Son of John Peryent
His son, John in 1432 married Joan daughter of Thomas Mansfeld "a man of great name under King Henry IV, and Matilda de Etton of noble race in County York".
In 1442, John Peryent, second son and heir of John Peryent and Joan Risain [were] prominent servants of Richard ll, Henry lV, Queen Joan and Henry V (7)
Children
1. Edmund m Ann Vernon (parents of Joyce 1st wife of William Roberts (8)
Notes
1: https://www.geni.com/people/John-Peryent/6000000001578603926
2: https://www.spurlock.illinois.edu/img-DB/orig-digi/1997/1997.05/1997.05.0010.jpg
3: https://www.flickr.com/photos/52219527@N00/12224600885/; Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/52219527@N00/12222834703/in/photostream/
4: Horowitz, Mark R. The Monumental Brasses of England: The Horrowitz Collection. Morton Grove, IL: Portcullis Productions, 1980 (1979). p. 15.;
Horowitz, Mark R. The Monumental Brasses of England. The Horowitz Collection. New Edition, 2002.;
p.27-28.
5: https://www.flickr.com/photos/52219527@N00/12222834913/
6: https://drawshield.net/reference/parker/b/badge.html
7: https://www.flickr.com/photos/52219527@N00/12222834913/
8: https://www.flickr.com/photos/52219527@N00/12222834703/; Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/52219527@N00/12224600885/in/set-72157624441797244/
George Peryent of Lavenham, Suffolk, whose will is proved 1532 is brother of Sir John Peryent.
https://fmg.ac/phocadownload/userupload/scanned-sources/tpg2/pp560-564.pdf
Dame Cordelia Harris, daughter of John Gyll, and widow of Sir Thomas Harris, Kt., remarried Robert, only son of John Bacon of Hesset, who died 1566, by his 2nd wife Catherine, daughter of George Peryent of Lavenham, Suffolk, whose will is proved 1532, brother of Sir John Peryent.
https://fmg.ac/phocadownload/userupload/scanned-sources/tpg2/pp560-564.pdf
George Perient
Birthdate: circa 1485
Birthplace: Digswell, Hertfordshire
Death: 1532 (42-52), Lavenham, Suffolk
Immediate Family:
Son of Edmund or Thomas Perient, Esq. and Mary or Alice Brocket
Husband of Alice Sporne
Father of Mary Perient and Henry Perient
Brother of Sir John Perient and Thomas Perient
https://www.geni.com/people/Sir-George-Perient/6000000017079488680
also:
George Periente (Peryent)
Also Known As: "George of Digswell"
Birthdate: 1505
Birthplace: Digswell, Welwyn, Hertfordshire
Death: April 25, 1556 (50-51), Lavenham, Suffolk
Immediate Family:
Son of Georges Periente and Linda Ann Billings
Husband of Agnes Sporne and Joan Periente
Father of Lady Elizabeth Styles Townshend and Katherine Peryente
https://www.geni.com/people/George-Periente/6000000006442422589
re: THOMAS SMITH OF BACTON, 1620. [ also mentions George Peryent of Lavenham ]
Grace, 2d daughter of Thomas Smith of Bacton (b c1521, d 01 Jun 1620!) married Thomas Gynn of Strageshill in Suffolk.
This is the funeral certificate of Thomas Bacton (d. 1620) and the name is clearly 'Gynn' but I can find nothing about this man.
see: https://books.google.ca/books?id=eVpIAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA, pg 1
https://archive.org/stream/genealogicalnote00miln/genealogicalnote00miln_djvu.txt
According to stirnet the name is 'Tyme'
https://www.stirnet.com/genie/data/british/ss4as/smith21.php
Thomas Perient, MP, 1614 :
PERIENT, Thomas, of Colchester, Essex and Gray's Inn, London; later of Ford Palace, Hothe, Kent and Acton, Mdx.
Constituency: ST. ALBANS
Dates: 14 Apr. 1614
Family and Education
b. 14 Aug. 1592,
1 1st s. of Thomas Perient of Great Birch, Essex, and Anne, da. of John Browne of Wickham Hall, Essex.
2 educ. Clare, Camb. 1609; G. Inn 1613.
3 m. (1) Anne, da. and coh. of Sir Roger Aston*, master of the wardrobe 1603-12, of Cranford, Mdx., at least 1s. 1da.;
4 (2) Mary (d.1678), da. of John Pennington of Chigwell, Essex, wid. of John Hodgson, upholder, of London and Robert Forster, Goldsmith, s.p.
5 suc. fa. 1612;
6 kntd. 22 Jan. 1616.7 d. by 1678.
http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1604-1629/member/perient-thomas-1592-1678
search for: https://www.google.ca/search?q=perient+site:historyofparliamentonline.org
Other Information
John Perient: https://www.google.ca/search?q=john+perient
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Digswell from Domesday to Garden City
http://www.cashewnut.me.uk/WGCbooks/web-WGC-books-1953-2.php
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The Perients of Digswell and their Heirs
https://www.google.ca/search?q=The+Perients+of+Digswell+and+their+Heirs
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Digswell Park
The medieval moated manor with a warren and
fish-ponds was bought in 1414 by Sir John
Perient. After various changes in ownership,
Digswell was held by Richard Willis who paid
Lancelot Brown £1,100 for work during 1771-73.
http://www.capabilitybrown.org/downloads/Digswell-Park.pdf
Name: John (Sir) of Digswell Peryent
Birth: ABT 1370 in Digswell, Hertfordshire, England
Death: 10 APR 1432 in Digswell, Hertfordshire, England
Burial: St. John's Church, Digswell, Hertfordshire, England.
Military: 1400
Person Id: I54085
Tree Id: 175105
Parents
Father:
John Peryente: Birth: ABT 1350.
Mother:
Joan Risain: Birth: ABT 1330. Death: 1415
Family
Son, John, married: Joan Mansfeld.
Joan Mansfeld: Birth: ABT 1360. Death: 1415 in Digswell, Hertfordshire, England
Children:
Edmund (or Thomas) of Digswell Periente: Birth: ABT 1400 in Digswell, Hertfordshire, England. Death: 23 MAR 1474; A second son, also named Thomas, and two daughters, Jane, who became a nun, and Margaret.
Sources
1. Page: p. 44
RootsWeb: lorenfamily: https://wc.rootsweb.com/trees/175105/I54085/-/individual
Sir John Perient
(shows him as "Sir" but Michael Taylor says that there is no evidence he was ever knighted)
source: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=lorenfamily&id=I54085
Sir John Perient (a descendant of Sir John Perient, above)
Birth: unknown
Death: 1551
Family links:
Parents:
Thomas Perient (____ - 1539)
Alice Brocket Perient
Children:
Gertrude Perient Gyll (____ - 1550)*
Sibling:
John Perient (____ - 1551)
Thomas Perient (____ - 1545)*
*Calculated relationship
Burial:
St Etheldreda Churchyard
Hatfield
Welwyn Hatfield District
Hertfordshire, England
Created by: Todd Whitesides [ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=mr&MRid=47553735 ]
Record added: Dec 02, 2013
Find A Grave Memorial# 121104556
source: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=121104556
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For pedigree, see: 'Perient1' (local copy) @ Stirnet [ perient1_at_stirnet.htm ]
source: www.stirnet.com/genie/data/british/pp/perient1.php