John of Powderham

John of Powderham, otherwise John Dr(e)ydas, was a claimant to the English throne in the time of Edward II. He claimed to be the true son of Edward I and offered to prove this on the field of battle. He said that the king was, in fact, a carter's son, substituted in childhood when the real prince had lost an ear, mauled by a sow.

Taken before Parliament in 1318, John was put on trial for sedition, at the instance of some of the baronage. He then confessed to the imposture, saying he had been seduced into it by Satan, in the form of a cat. John and his cat were executed, although contemporary accounts indicate that Edward would rather have kept him as a court jester.