The Diplomatic Career of Sir John Colville (ca. 1365-ca. 1447)

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to reconstruct the career of the English knight, Sir John Colville, and the important role diplomacy played in it. While he did nothing particularly significant in the world of international relations, the length and geographic range of Colville’s diplomatic service distinguished him from most other contemporary knights. Over the course of nearly three decades, he represented all three Lancastrian monarchs as an envoy to kings, nobles, popes, and councils from Scotland to Rome. His career serves as a case study of fifteenth-century English knighthood and late medieval diplomatic practice.