John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter
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John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter KG
(c. 1352 – 16 January 1400), also 1st Earl of Huntingdon
, was an English nobleman, primarily remembered for helping cause the downfall of Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester
and then for conspiring against Henry IV
.
He was the third son of Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent
and Joan "The Fair Maid of Kent"
, daughter of Edmund of Woodstock
, a son of Edward I
. His mother later married Edward, the Black Prince
. Holland was thus half-brother to Richard II
, to whom he remained loyal the rest of his life.
, on her trip to England.
Holland had a violent temper, which got him in trouble several times. The most famous incident occurred during Richard II's 1385 expedition to the Kingdom of Scotland
. An archer in the service of Ralph Stafford, eldest son of the Earl of Stafford, killed one of Holland's esquires. Stafford went to find Holland to apologize, but Holland killed him as soon as he identified himself. The king had Holland's lands seized. Their mother, Joan of Kent, died during this time; it was said she died of grief at the quarrel between her sons.
Early the next year Holland reconciled with the Staffords, and had his property restored. Later in 1386 he married Elizabeth of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
and Blanche of Lancaster
. He and Elizabeth then went on Gaunt's expedition to Spain, where Holland was constable of the English army. After his return to the Kingdom of England
, Holland was created Earl of Huntingdon
, on 2 June 1387. In 1389 he was appointed Lord Great Chamberlain
for life, admiral of the fleet in the western seas, and constable of Tintagel Castle
. During this time he also received large grants of land from the king.
Over the next several years he held a number of additional offices: constable of Conway Castle (1394), governor of Carlisle (1395), and then governor and then constable-general of the west marches towards Scotland. His military services were interrupted by a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1394 (which may be connected with his earlier troubles with the Staffords).
Holland helped the king take down Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester
and Richard Fitzalan, 11th Earl of Arundel
in 1397 (though it is less certain he was involved in Gloucester's death). He was rewarded by being created Duke of Exeter
on September 29.
He then went with Richard on the king's 1399 Ireland expedition. When they returned the king sent him to try to negotiate with Holland's brother-in-law Henry Bolingbroke. After Henry deposed Richard and took the throne (as Henry IV), he called to account those who had been involved in the downfall of Thomas of Woodstock, and in the end took away all rewards Richard had give them after Thomas' arrest. Thus Holland became again merely Earl of Huntingdon.
Early the next year Holland entered into a conspiracy, called the Epiphany Rising
, with his nephew Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent
, Thomas le Despencer, 1st Earl of Gloucester, and others. Their aim was to assassinate king Henry and return Richard (who was in prison) to the throne. Their plot failed, Holland fled, but was caught near Pleshy Castle in Essex
and executed by the order of Joan Fitzalan, Countess of Hereford, the mother-in-law of Henry IV, and sister of the executed Earl of Arundel who Holland had arrested some years before. Among those who witnessed the execution was Arundel's son, Thomas Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel
.
Holland's lands and titles were forfeited, but eventually they were restored for his second son John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter
.
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
(c. 1352 – 16 January 1400), also 1st Earl of Huntingdon
Earl of Huntingdon
Earl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The title is associated with the ruling house of Scotland, and latterly with the Hastings family.-Early history:...
, was an English nobleman, primarily remembered for helping cause the downfall of Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester
Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester
Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Buckingham, 1st Earl of Essex, Duke of Aumale, KG was the thirteenth and youngest child of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault...
and then for conspiring against Henry IV
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
.
He was the third son of Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent
Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent
Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent, 2nd Baron Holand, KG was an English nobleman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War.-Early Life:...
and Joan "The Fair Maid of Kent"
Joan of Kent
Joan, Countess of Kent , known to history as The Fair Maid of Kent, was the first English Princess of Wales...
, daughter of Edmund of Woodstock
Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent
Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent was a member of the English Royal Family.-Early life:He was born at Woodstock in Oxfordshire, the son of Edward I Longshanks, King of England and his second wife, Margaret of France. He was 62 years younger than his father, who died when Edmund of Woodstock...
, a son of Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
. His mother later married Edward, the Black Prince
Edward, the Black Prince
Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Prince of Aquitaine, KG was the eldest son of King Edward III of England and his wife Philippa of Hainault as well as father to King Richard II of England....
. Holland was thus half-brother to Richard II
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
, to whom he remained loyal the rest of his life.
Political career
Early in Richard's reign, Holland was made a Knight of the Garter (1381). He was also part of the escort that accompanied the queen-to-be, Anne of BohemiaAnne of Bohemia
Anne of Bohemia was Queen of England as the first wife of King Richard II. A member of the House of Luxembourg, she was the eldest daughter of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, and Elizabeth of Pomerania....
, on her trip to England.
Holland had a violent temper, which got him in trouble several times. The most famous incident occurred during Richard II's 1385 expedition to the Kingdom of Scotland
Kingdom of Scotland
The Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...
. An archer in the service of Ralph Stafford, eldest son of the Earl of Stafford, killed one of Holland's esquires. Stafford went to find Holland to apologize, but Holland killed him as soon as he identified himself. The king had Holland's lands seized. Their mother, Joan of Kent, died during this time; it was said she died of grief at the quarrel between her sons.
Early the next year Holland reconciled with the Staffords, and had his property restored. Later in 1386 he married Elizabeth of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , KG was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault...
and Blanche of Lancaster
Blanche of Lancaster
Blanche of Lancaster, Duchess of Lancaster was an English noblewoman and heiress, daughter of England's wealthiest and most powerful peer, Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster...
. He and Elizabeth then went on Gaunt's expedition to Spain, where Holland was constable of the English army. After his return to the Kingdom of England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
, Holland was created Earl of Huntingdon
Earl of Huntingdon
Earl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The title is associated with the ruling house of Scotland, and latterly with the Hastings family.-Early history:...
, on 2 June 1387. In 1389 he was appointed Lord Great Chamberlain
Lord Great Chamberlain
The Lord Great Chamberlain of England is the sixth of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Privy Seal and above the Lord High Constable...
for life, admiral of the fleet in the western seas, and constable of Tintagel Castle
Tintagel Castle
Tintagel Castle is a medieval fortification located on the peninsula of Tintagel Island, adjacent to the village of Tintagel in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The site was possibly occupied in the Romano-British period, due to an array of artefacts dating to this period which have been found on the...
. During this time he also received large grants of land from the king.
Over the next several years he held a number of additional offices: constable of Conway Castle (1394), governor of Carlisle (1395), and then governor and then constable-general of the west marches towards Scotland. His military services were interrupted by a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1394 (which may be connected with his earlier troubles with the Staffords).
Holland helped the king take down Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester
Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester
Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Buckingham, 1st Earl of Essex, Duke of Aumale, KG was the thirteenth and youngest child of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault...
and Richard Fitzalan, 11th Earl of Arundel
Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel
Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel and 9th Earl of Surrey KG was an English medieval nobleman and military commander.-Lineage:...
in 1397 (though it is less certain he was involved in Gloucester's death). He was rewarded by being created Duke of Exeter
Duke of Exeter
The title Duke of Exeter was created several times in England in the later Middle Ages, when Exeter was the main town of Devon. It was first created for John Holland, the half-brother of King Richard II in 1397. That title was rescinded upon Henry IV's accession to the throne two years later, and...
on September 29.
He then went with Richard on the king's 1399 Ireland expedition. When they returned the king sent him to try to negotiate with Holland's brother-in-law Henry Bolingbroke. After Henry deposed Richard and took the throne (as Henry IV), he called to account those who had been involved in the downfall of Thomas of Woodstock, and in the end took away all rewards Richard had give them after Thomas' arrest. Thus Holland became again merely Earl of Huntingdon.
Early the next year Holland entered into a conspiracy, called the Epiphany Rising
Epiphany Rising
The Epiphany Rising was a failed rebellion against Henry IV of England in January 1400.-Background:After the murder of Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester in 1397, Richard II rewarded those who had supported him against Gloucester and the Lords Appellant with a plethora of new titles.Upon...
, with his nephew Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent
Thomas Holland, 1st Duke of Surrey
Thomas Holland, 1st Duke of Surrey, 3rd Earl of Kent, 4th Baron Holland, KG, Earl Marshal was an English nobleman.-Early life and family:...
, Thomas le Despencer, 1st Earl of Gloucester, and others. Their aim was to assassinate king Henry and return Richard (who was in prison) to the throne. Their plot failed, Holland fled, but was caught near Pleshy Castle in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
and executed by the order of Joan Fitzalan, Countess of Hereford, the mother-in-law of Henry IV, and sister of the executed Earl of Arundel who Holland had arrested some years before. Among those who witnessed the execution was Arundel's son, Thomas Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel
Thomas FitzAlan, 12th Earl of Arundel
Thomas Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel and 10th Earl of Surrey, KG was an English nobleman, one of the principals of the deposition of Richard II, and a major figure during the reign of Henry IV.-Lineage:...
.
Holland's lands and titles were forfeited, but eventually they were restored for his second son John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter
John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter
John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter KG was an English nobleman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War.-Family:...
.
Children
He had the following children:- Richard Holland (d. 3 September 1400)
- Constance Holland (1387–1437), married first Thomas Mowbray, 4th Earl of Norfolk, married second Sir John GreySir John GreySir John Grey KG , English nobleman and soldier, was the eldest son of Reginald Grey, 3rd Baron Grey de Ruthyn and Margaret Roos. He was a 13th generation descendant of King Stephen of England....
, K.G. - Alice Holland (c. 1392 – c. 1406), married Richard de Vere, 11th Earl of OxfordRichard de Vere, 11th Earl of OxfordRichard de Vere, 11th Earl of Oxford KG was the son and heir of Aubrey de Vere, 10th Earl of Oxford. He took part in the trial of Richard, Earl of Cambridge and Lord Scrope at Southampton, and was one of the commanders at Agincourt in 1415.-Life:Richard de Vere was the elder son of Aubrey de Vere,...
- John Holland, 2nd Duke of ExeterJohn Holland, 2nd Duke of ExeterJohn Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter KG was an English nobleman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War.-Family:...
(1395–1447) - Sir Edward Holland (c. 1399 – aft. 1413)