JOHN BEAUFORT, earl of Somerset (c. 1373-141o), assisted Richard II. in 1397 when the king attacked the lords appellants and made himself an absolute ruler. For these services he was made marquess of Dorset, but after the deposition of Richard, in 1399, he was degraded to his former rank as earl. In 1401, how ever, he was declared loyal, and appeared later in command of the English fleet. He married Margaret, daughter of Thomas Hol land, second earl of Kent, and died in March 1410, leaving three sons, Henry, John, and Edmund, and two daughters, Jane or Joan, who married James I., king of Scotland, and Margaret, who married Thomas Courtenay, earl of Devon.