John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter

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Coat of arms of John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter

John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter (* around 1352; † January 9 or 10, 1400 in Pleshey Castle ) was an English magnate and military. During the late reign of King Richard II , he became one of the leading English nobles and mainstay of the regime. He gained a good reputation as a military man, and he also acquired a sizeable estate in south-west England. He was executed as a rebel against King Henry IV .

Origin and youth

John Holland came from the English noble family Holland . He was the second son and probably the youngest child of Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent and his wife Joan of Kent , a daughter of Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent . His older brother Thomas Holland inherited his father's title when her father died in 1360, and he had two sisters, Maud, who were first married to Sir Hugh Courtenay and second to Waleran III, Count of St Pol , and Joan, wife of Duke Johann V. . from Brittany . After the death of his father, his mother married Edward of Woodstock , the Prince of Wales, as a second marriage in 1361 , making Holland a half-brother of the future King Richard II. Holland's stepfather, the so-called Black Prince , appointed his Yeoman John de la Haye to be Holland's tutor . In 1371 Holland came to the royal court.

Early career as a military and administrator

During the campaigns of the Hundred Years War, Holland gained his first military experience shortly after his half-brother Richard had acceded to the throne. Under John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , he took part in the unsuccessful siege of St. Malo in Brittany in 1378 , for which he was awarded an annual pension of £ 100. Instead of his pension, he received his first own possessions from the king a little later, the estates of Ardington Philberds Court in East Hanney in Berkshire . In addition, he received the rule of Marensin in Gascony in 1380 . The administration of the estates of the minor Welsh Lord Rhys ap Gruffudd , which were mainly in Staffordshire , Northwich in Cheshire and in the Lords of Hope and Hopedale in Flintshire , was expanded on May 6, 1381 with the lifelong office of Justiciars of Cheshire. In addition, the king accepted him into the Order of the Garter in 1381 . The plan to send him to Ireland as a Royal Lieutenant in August 1382 was not carried out.

Further advancement in the wake of John of Gaunt

Holland came increasingly under the influence of the powerful John of Gaunt, the king's uncle. In 1383 and 1384 he accompanied Gaunt as envoy to Calais . In 1384 Holland was promoted to Knight Banneret . While the Parliament in Salisbury in May 1384 Holland's violent temper was first mentioned. A monk accused John of Gaunt of planning a conspiracy to assassinate the king, whereupon Holland and other members of the royal household cruelly murdered the monk. After the death of Sir James Audley and the collapse of his estates, Holland received thirteen estates in Somerset , Devon and Cornwall in December 1384 and two more estates in Devon after the death of Sir Neil Loryng . Through these acquisitions he laid the foundation for his later extensive possessions in south west England. In July 1385 he took part in Richard II's campaign to Scotland. One of his squires was killed in a quarrel in York by an archer from the entourage of Ralph de Stafford, the son and heir of Hugh de Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford . In search of the culprit, Holland met Ralph de Stafford and killed him without realizing who he was looking at. After the murder he fled to the sanctuary of Beverley Minster , fell from grace and lost many of his attributions. After an appropriate apology and reparation, he was pardoned at the intercession of John of Gaunt in February 1386 on the condition that three priests be appointed to pray for the soul of the murdered man. Nevertheless, Holland remained sidelined at court and thus dependent on Gaunt's support. Holland had a relationship with Elizabeth , a daughter of Gaunt, who was married to the underage John Hastings, 3rd Earl of Pembroke . Elizabeth became pregnant, after which the marriage with the Earl of Pembroke was divorced and Elizabeth was married on June 24, 1386 near Plymouth with Holland. At the beginning of July Holland and his wife left for Spain, where he served as a constable in the army with which Gaunt wanted to assert his claim to the throne of Castile . The army undertook a short but grueling campaign in Galicia in the spring of 1387 before retreating to Portugal. The expedition thus remained militarily unsuccessful. Holland took part in negotiations in Spain and also excelled in tournaments, but then he left the army with his wife. Gaunt's opponents gave them safe conduct, and through Castile they reached Gascony, from where they returned prematurely to England in April 1388. Presumably Holland was moved to return by the Lords Appellant , the aristocratic opposition to Richard II. They hoped to get Holland on their side and thus to get the support of Gaunt. However, while Holland continued to make a career at the royal court and became one of the most important supporters of his half-brother Richard, Holland and Gaunt became estranged. In March 1391 Holland still received an annual pension of 200 marks from the possessions of the Duchy of Lancaster in Norfolk , but in 1393 Sir Nicholas Clifton , a henchman of Holland, was involved in a revolt against Gaunt in Cheshire. Another point of contention was the plans to marry the daughters of John V , Duke of Brittany and Earl of Richmond. Although Holland was his son-in-law, Gaunt did not include him in his will of 1398.

Dartington Hall, the Devon country estate built by John Holland

Favorite of Richard II.

Earl of Huntingdon

After his return from the Spanish campaign by Gaunt, Holland was elevated to Earl of Huntingdon on June 2, 1388 . With this title he received property and income in South West England and Suffolk , through which he received 2,000 marks annually . In the next few years his possessions were expanded by further lordships and the provision of lifelong usufructs from the Duchy of Cornwall . Among other things, Holland received Berkhamsted Castle on October 8, 1388 , Tintagel Castle on January 6, 1389 and Trematon Castle in 1392 . In addition, the king gave him numerous castles in England and Wales for administration, including Rockingham on April 19, 1391, Horston on September 29, 1391, Haverfordwest on September 10, 1392 and Conwy on September 3, 1394. First Berkhamsted Castle was Holland's residence in south west England before he built Dartington Hall as a prestigious residence. With his power increase in south-west England, Holland became a rival of Edward de Courtenay, 3rd Earl of Devon , but the king's favor allowed Holland to expand its influence even further. On May 18, 1389, he was appointed Admiral of the West , and on June 1, 1389, he was made Commander of Brest . This city in Brittany was occupied by England during the war with France and, because of its exposed location, needed an energetic and experienced commander.

Chief Chamberlain of England

Because the king wanted as many relatives and close supporters as possible in his entourage, he appointed Holland on May 31, 1390 Chief Chamberlain of England . This office was initially awarded to him for life before it was converted into an inheritance office on February 2, 1398. Through this office Holland was involved in the planning of ambitious projects abroad. In 1394 he prepared a trip to Jerusalem and possibly also to Hungary, which he did not take. In 1395, however, he took part in the king's campaign to Ireland. After the campaign to Ireland in March and April 1395, Richard II appointed Holland the custodian of the western Scottish Marches and on February 16, 1397 the administrator of Carlisle, making Holland an adversary of the northern English families Neville and Percy . On March 1, 1397, Holland was even appointed gonfaloniere of the church and commander of the papal troops. He therefore planned to raise an army for a campaign to Florence to end the schism in Italy.

Since the king himself was childless so far, he used his half-brothers to bind other barons closer to him. Holland's older daughter Constance was betrothed to wealthy heir Thomas II Mowbray in 1391 , while Holland's younger daughter was betrothed to Richard de Vere , heir to the Earl of Oxford. Holland's nieces were married to members of the Mortimer , York , Beaufort , Montagu and Neville families, tying these families closer to the king.

Action against the Lords Appellant and elevation to Duke of Exeter

Along with his nephew Thomas Holland , who had succeeded his father as Earl of Kent, Holland was one of the main supporters when Richard II took action against the Lords Appellant of 1388 in July 1397. After a dinner with Holland, the king rode to Pleshey Castle , where he arrested his uncle, the Duke of Gloucester . The Earls of Arundel and Warwick were also arrested and their estates confiscated. Arundel was executed, and Holland was rewarded with the possessions of Arundel in southern England on August 3, 1397, including Arundel Castle . In addition, he became the guardian of Arundel's heir, Thomas Fitzalan , whom he abused until he fled to France. On September 29, 1397 he was raised to the Duke of Exeter . When Thomas I Mowbray was exiled in 1398, Holland received other former possessions from Arundel that had previously been awarded to Mowbray, including Lewes Castle on September 23, 1398 and Reigate Castle on January 15, 1399 . When the Earl of March died in July 1398 and his inheritance was still a minor, Holland was given the lucrative administration of his possessions in South Wales. Holland's own holdings in Wales were expanded to include the lands of his former mentor, John of Gaunt, in South Wales after he died in February 1399.

The fall of Richard II and the subsequent overthrow of Holland

Holland remained familiar with the defense of kingdom outposts. On February 24, 1398 he was appointed Captain of Calais . From Calais he traveled to England to take part in the king's second campaign to Ireland in May 1399. When they heard in Ireland of the return to England of the exiled Henry Bolingbroke, the son of John of Gaunt, Holland accompanied the king, who quickly translated to Pembroke in July 1399. In Wales, however, the royal army disbanded. With a few faithful, the king moved to Holland's Conwy Castle in North Wales. From there he sent Holland to Bolingbroke to begin negotiations. Bolingbroke had Holland imprisoned in Chester, and a little later the king also surrendered. Presumably, Holland was brought to London with Richard in September. Bolingbroke initially left Holland his lands, and in October 1399 he took part in parliament that formally deposed Richard. He denounced the actions of his half-brother and took part in the coronation of Bolingbroke, who had now become King Henry IV. On October 20, however, he was arrested in Hertford and sentenced along with other former favorites of Richard on November 3, 1399. He had to do without all the acquisitions he had received since July 1397 after the fall of the Lords Appellant, and the title Duke of Exeter was revoked.

Participation in the Epiphany Rising and Death

Holland, now again Earl of Huntingdon, had hardly been able to benefit from his last donations, but now his further possessions were also threatened. His title to numerous properties, which he had obtained thanks to Richard's favor, was about to be reviewed, and a number of rivals were now claiming his lands. On December 22, 1399 he had to hand over his goods, which he had received from the Duchy of Cornwall and which now fell to Harry of Monmouth , the new Duke of Cornwall and Prince of Wales. The Abbey of St Mary Graces claimed his property in Devon and by August he had had to give up Barfold St Martin , an estate in Wiltshire. Other former favorites of Richard II, such as Holland's nephew Thomas and John Montagu, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, also saw their position in danger. At the end of 1399 they met to prepare for the overthrow of Henry IV. The conspirators planned to attack and kill the king during a tournament in Windsor in early January 1400. This so-called epiphany rising was betrayed and failed. The king barely escaped the conspirators and their troops and fled to London, where he raised an army. The conspirators then fled. Holland, who should not take part in the tournament, should after the news of the overthrow of King London. When he learned that the conspiracy had failed, he fled to eastern England on January 6th. Adverse winds forced him to go ashore in Essex, where he hid in Hadleigh Castle , a castle owned by Aubrey de Vere, 10th Earl of Oxford . Eventually he was arrested at Prittlewell by the King's mother-in-law, Joan, Countess of Hereford and imprisoned at Pleshey Castle . In the presence of his former ward John FitzAlan , the new Earl of Arundel, he was beheaded on January 9th or 10th by popular request. His severed head was erected over London Bridge before being buried with his body in the Holy Trinity Church of Pleshey in February 1400 .

progeny

Holland had several children with his wife, Elizabeth, including:

After his death, his widow Elizabeth married John Cornwall for the third time , later 1st Baron Fanhope and 1st Baron Milbroke. His son John served the Crown as military leader in France and received his father's title and property back from King Henry V.

Others

Holland was also known as a knightly tournament fighter who successfully competed in tournaments in May 1390 in Calais and in October 1390 in Smithfield . Holland's military successes moved Philippe de Mézières , Holland, the patron of the new Passion Order, to make an order of knights that he propagated, but ultimately not founded. Mézières gave him a short version of his rules of the order. This shows that Holland's violence, impatience, and rashness did not deter its contemporaries.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Anthony Goodman: Elizabeth of Lancaster (1364? -1425). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004
  2. ↑ GL Harriss: HFitzalan, Thomas, fifth earl of Arundel and tenth earl of Surrey (1381-1415). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004
predecessor Office successor
New title created Duke of Exeter
1397-1399 		Revoked title
New title created Earl of Huntingdon
1388-1400 		Title forfeited
( John Holland from 1417)
personal data
SURNAME Holland, John, 1st Duke of Exeter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Exeter, John Holland, 1st Duke of; Holland, Sir John; Holland, John, 1st Earl of Huntingdon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English magnate and military
DATE OF BIRTH around 1352
DATE OF DEATH January 9, 1400 or January 10, 1400
Place of death Pleshey Castle