Somerset, First Duke of

Somerset, First Duke of 

(Edward Seymour). Born circa 1506; died Jan. 22, 1552, in London. English state figure. Earl of Hertford from 1537; duke of Somerset from 1547.

As protector of England during the minority of King Edward VI, Somerset concentrated absolute power in his own hands. He continued the Reformation begun by Henry VIII. Striving to alleviate the people’s dissatisfaction with enclosures, he revised the enclosure system in 1548. In October 1549 he was deposed by the earl of Warwick and a group of landowners who were dissatisfied with Somerset’s policy of compromise. Somerset was imprisoned in the Tower of London and executed on a charge of treason.