John of Gaunt was one of the foremost figures of the late fourteenth century in both England's domestic affairs and European affairs more generally. At the root of his power lay the wealth of the Lancastrian estates and the income acquired by right of his wife Blanche. Gaunt was a highly controversial figure. In his own time his loyalties were considered to be deeply suspect and he provoked strong feelings, frequently of enmity. He was widely disliked by the Londoners in 1377 and the rebels in 1381, and among the chroniclers only Knighton, who wrote under his patronage, was openly sympathetic. Yet while he was unquestionably ambitious, it is likely that his concerns were to defend the royal prerogative and uphold royal authority, and his ambition was directed at the pursuit not of the throne of England, but a of foreign kingdom from where he could promote English interests, in accordance with Edward III's intentions for all his children.

Little material relates to Gaunt's household or domestic matters, although the first biography was followed by the publication of two key records from the archives of the Duchy of Lancaster, John of Gaunt's Register for 1372–76 in 1911, and that for 1379–83 in 1937. These contain copies of documents made by the Lancastrian chancery, mostly those passing under the duke's privy seal, and cover the full range of the duke's concerns.