Joan Beaufort
Baz Aveyard
- Regions:
- East Midlands, East Midlands, East Riding, East Riding
- Notice Period:
- Emergency (maybe less than one week's notice)
- Type:
- Historian
- Fee:
- Free
- Category:
- History
- Updated:
- 13th May 2026
- Tagged:
- Medieval
Baz Aveyard’s talk on Joan Beaufort explores the life of one of the most important yet overlooked women of medieval England. Daughter of Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt, Joan stood at the centre of a remarkable dynastic network that would shape the future of the English monarchy and the Wars of the Roses.
The talk follows Joan’s journey from her birth into the controversial Beaufort family to her position as Countess of Westmorland and matriarch of the powerful Neville dynasty. Through marriage, family alliances, and political influence, Joan became grandmother, mother, or close relation to many of the leading figures of fifteenth-century England, including kings, queens, rebels, and kingmakers.
Drawing on chronicles, monuments, wills, family records, and the surviving evidence of medieval Lincoln and the north of England, Baz explores Joan not simply as the daughter of famous parents, but as a formidable political and dynastic figure in her own right. The presentation also examines the devastating personal cost of dynastic conflict, as Joan’s descendants became deeply entangled in the struggles that culminated in the Wars of the Roses.
Accessible, engaging, and grounded in ongoing historical research, the talk brings Joan Beaufort and her extraordinary family vividly back into the spotlight.
Views: 20 | Enquiries: 0About Baz Aveyard
Barry Aveyard is an independent historian, researcher, and speaker specialising in late medieval England, with particular interests in Katherine Swynford, the Beaufort family, and the dynastic politics of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Based in Lincoln, Barry combines rigorous historical research with an engaging and accessible presentation style that has made him a popular speaker with U3A groups, local history societies, and heritage audiences across England.
A former nurse academic and qualified teacher, Barry previously authored several nursing textbooks before turning his attention fully to historical research and writing. He is currently writing his first full-length history book, Matriarch of the North: Joan Beaufort, Daughter of Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt, exploring the remarkable influence of Joan Beaufort and her descendants on the political landscape of medieval England.
Barry’s work focuses particularly on challenging myths and oversimplified narratives surrounding medieval women. His research explores the lives of figures such as Katherine Swynford not simply as romantic heroines, but as politically significant and influential women operating within the realities of medieval society. His talks draw upon primary sources, chronicles, monuments, and local landscapes to bring the medieval world vividly to life.
Alongside his speaking engagements, Barry writes the historical blog Katherine Swynford: A Life Well Lived, where he shares ongoing research, reflections, and explorations of medieval Lincolnshire and the wider Plantagenet world.
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