The English statesman Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (1391-1447), was a leader of the strong expansionist policy against France. His lasting importance, however, lay in his patronage of learning and his benefactions to Oxford University.

Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, whose other titles were Earl of Hainaut, Holland, Zeeland, and Pembroke; Lord of Fresia; Great Chamberlain of England; and Defender of the Realm, was popularly known as the "Good Duke." He was the fourth and youngest son of Henry IV. Possibly educated at Balliol College, Oxford, he was made a knight of the Garter at the age of 9 and was created Great Chamberlain of England in 1413 and Duke of Gloucester the following year. During the French campaign he served on the War Council, supervised the plundering of Harfleur, and was wounded in the stomach by a dagger while fighting beside his brother Henry V at Agincourt (1415).

While recovering, Humphrey was...