ABSTRACT
Thomas of Woodstock is a complex, often puzzling and always shadowy figure. The knowledge of his character which can be gleaned outside of national politics is uncertain, due to the ambiguous nature of some of the scanty evidence. Thomas emerged in his nephew’s reign as an intelligent and assertive politician, a man of positive opinions, whose explosive temper sometimes helped to carry his points, but in the long run damaged his reputation. In the highly charged atmosphere of the last two months of 1387, the duke of Gloucester may have temporarily let his ambition and faith in his own abilities overcome his judgment of what was practicable. In the period 1393-5 Gloucester tended to be at odds politically with the earl of Arundel, but he appears to have kept on friendly terms in the 1390s with most of his major political allies of the period 1386-9.
