John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter (1395–1447)

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

John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter (also John Holand ) KG (born March 29, 1395 in Dartington Hall , † August 5, 1447 ) was an English magnate and military. He was one of the leading English military in the second phase of the Hundred Years War from 1415.

Origin and youth

John Holland was the second son of John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter and Elizabeth of Lancaster . His father was an older half-brother of King Richard II , his mother was a sister of Henry Bolingbroke , who overthrew the king in 1399 and when Henry IV became the new King of England. John was still a child when his father rebelled unsuccessfully against Henry IV and was executed in early 1400. His father was subsequently expropriated by Bill of Attainder , so that his titles were forfeited and his possessions were confiscated. In September 1400, John's older brother Richard died , so that John was now his father's heir. His mother married Sir John Cornewall in 1400 , in whose household John grew up. Cornewall was in the service of the heir to the throne, Henry of Monmouth, and in 1407 was awarded 100 marks annually by the king for the cost of John's upbringing and training.

Military in the service of Heinrich V.

In April 1413, on the eve of Henry V's coronation, Holland was defeated Knight of the Bath . After that he served the king as a military man. Before starting the campaign in France in 1415, he was a member of the tribunal that condemned those involved in the Southampton Plot . During the following campaign in Normandy, Holland and his stepfather Cornewall led a force to explore Harfleur . In October he distinguished himself for bravery during the Battle of Azincourt . In May 1416 he was accepted into the Order of the Garter. In July 1416 he became the commander of a fleet that terrified the besieged Harfleur . Around this time he was already calling himself Earl of Huntingdon , before this forfeited title of his father was formally restored by parliament and awarded to Holland in October 1416 . Since the higher ranking Duke of Exeter with the associated lands and income had previously been awarded to Thomas Beaufort , only part of his father's property could be awarded to Huntingdon in March 1417. Above all, he had to give up possessions in Devon. As a result, his income did not match the obligations and expenses he had due to his rank and service in the military, so that he lived in constant financial uncertainty.

Under the command of Thomas Beaufort, 1st Duke of Exeter as Admiral, Huntingdon captured several Genoese ships off Pays de Caux on June 29, 1417 . This attack, through which Huntingdon made rich booty, was the beginning of the invasion of Normandy by Henry V. During the campaign Huntingdon led an army with which he captured the castle of Touques and besieged Caen . In the spring of 1418 he occupied Coutances , Avranches and other cities with his troops . He then assisted the king in the siege of Rouen , during which his younger brother Edward was killed. In the next few years more campaigns and skirmishes followed, in which he mostly fought together with his stepfather Cornewall. Together with John Mowbray, 5th Earl of Norfolk , he defeated a Franco-Scottish army at the Battle of Fresnay in March 1420 . As early as 1418, the king had given him the lordship of Bricqueville-sur-Mer that had been conquered by Huntingdon . In 1419 Huntingdon became the commander of Gournay and Pontoise and after the conquest of Melun he was made governor of that town in November 1420. After signing the Treaty of Troyes with France in May 1420, the King made Huntingdon Constable of the Tower for life , for which he was granted an annual salary of £ 100 in August. Huntington entered Paris on December 1, 1420, following the king's entourage. Henry V appointed him in command of Vincennes and handed him over to the French King Charles the Mad . However, on March 22, 1421, Huntingdon was captured by the Scotsman Sir John Sibbald at the Battle of Baugé . In view of his low income, he could not raise the required ransom, so that he was imprisoned in Anjou for five years . During Parliament in 1424, it was even claimed that he owed Henry V, who died in 1422, £ 10,500. Finally, Huntingdon was able to return to England in early 1426 after his stepfather Cornewall waived part of the ransom of the Comte de Vendôme , who had been captured at the Battle of Azincourt , and released him. According to his own statements, Huntingdon had lost 20,000 marks due to his long imprisonment.

Magnate in England

After his release in early 1426, Huntingdon first tried to restore his position. In March 1426 he was appointed a member of the Privy Council, in addition he allied himself with Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester . In order to improve his financial situation, he was looking for a wife to be a widow who had a lucrative widow. Therefore, before July 15, 1427, he married Anne , the widow of Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March . She was a daughter of Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford . Since he had married her without royal permission, he had to pay a fine of 1200 marks. After his mother's death in 1425, he inherited most of their lands, and in 1427 he was given the county of Ivry in Normandy. However, Huntingdon got into disputes with several other members of the high nobility, including in 1428 with his brother-in-law, the Earl of Stafford and with the Duke of Norfolk . Stafford and Norfolk appeared armed because of the dispute in 1429, after which Huntingdon and several other magnates were ordered in 1430 to appear in Parliament without a large, armed entourage. In April 1430, Huntingdon was part of the retinue of young Henry VI. when this was brought to France. Then he supported Duke Philip III. of Burgundy during the siege of Compiègne , from where, however, he had to withdraw for lack of money. As the commander of Gournay and Gisors , he supported the Duke of Bedford , the English commander in France. In December 1431 he took part in the coronation of Henry VI. to the King of France in Paris. After the death of his first wife in September 1432, Huntingdon married Beatrice in January 1433 , the 40-year-old widow of the Earl of Arundel , an illegitimate daughter of the Portuguese King John I. He paid a fee of 200 marks for the approval of the marriage.

New service in France

In recognition of his previous services, Huntingdon received 1,300 marks from the government, which also meant the invitation to continue military service in France. In 1433 he horrified the besieged Montargis . In 1435 he belonged to the English delegation, which led negotiations with Burgundy in Arras , probably because of his status and his relationship with the king as because of his experience as a diplomat . With official permission he was allowed to carry household items worth £ 6,000, which indicates his lust for luxury. Shortly before he left Arras in July 1435, he was appointed defenders of the Eastern and Western Scottish Marches along with the Earl of Northumberland , after the Earl of Salisbury had previously resigned as defender of the Western Scottish Marches. On his return to England he was appointed Admiral of England on October 2, 1435 . In this office he supported the defense of Calais against a Burgundian attack in August 1436. When Henry VI. 1436 or 1437 came of age, Huntingdon lost like Gloucester his position as royal council, but he retained his other offices. After the French had conquered larger areas of Gascony in a successful campaign in 1438, Huntingdon was appointed King's Lieutenant of Aquitaine for six years in March 1439 . He was personally paid £ 1,000 for this post before sailing to Bordeaux with his wife in August . In the autumn of 1440, however, he left south-west France again and returned to England in December. It is possible that he did not have enough funds to defend the region effectively, as his wife died on October 23, 1439 in Bordeaux. To compensate for areas in northern France that were recaptured by France, in February 1440 he had received the dominion of Lesparre , which was characterized by viticulture, as a fief.

Last years and death

In England, because of his tight finances, Huntingdon asked the government for an annual grant, which was granted to him in July 1441 in the amount of 500 marks to compensate for his losses in France. In addition, he was given the lifelong administration of Southampton Castle in November 1441 because of his services . Huntingdon was also embroiled in the power struggle between the Duke of Gloucester and the Earl of Somerset . He was re-elected as a member of the royal council and was also among the judges convicting Gloucester's wife, Eleanor Cobham, of witchcraft. Exeter himself married in their third marriage the twice widowed Anne Montagu († 1457), a daughter of John Montagu, 3rd Earl of Salisbury . Holland now had closer contact with the royal court again. Probably as a token of his appreciation, the king gave Exeter for life to the royal estate of Berkhamstead in December 1443 , and on January 6, 1444 he was made Duke of Exeter. It was determined that this title was the highest-ranking English nobility title after the title of Duke of York . In 1445 he agreed with the Duke of York that his son Henry would marry his daughter Anne , with York willing to pay a large dowry for his daughter's marriage to a close relative of the king. Presumably at this time, Exeter's health was deteriorating. In February 1446 his son took over the office of Admiral of England and the next year also the office of Constable of the Tower. After his death, Exeter was buried in St Katharine's by the Tower with his first wife Anne and sister Constance .

rating

Despite his titles, offices and the favor of the king, Holland's finances remained strained until his death. His annual income was just over £ 1000 in 1436, the lowest income for the English earls at the time. Therefore he married three widows, each of whom brought a widow into the marriage. However, since they were only entitled to this Wittum until their death, Holland could not use it to expand its lands. Instead, Holland served as the military and was not in England for many years. This led to the fact that, unlike his father, he never connected himself to south-west England, where the focus of his possessions was. Although Holland was a highly respected military leader and despite his kinship to the king, he apparently had only limited political influence.

family

Holland had two children from his marriage to Anne Stafford:

  1. ∞ Sir John Neville († before March 15, 1450), son of Ralph Neville, 2nd Earl of Westmorland
  2. ∞ John Neville, 1st Baron Neville (X March 29, 1461 at the Battle of Towton )
  3. ∞ James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas .

His marriages with Beatrice of Portugal and with Anne Montagu had remained childless. His son Henry became his heir.

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predecessor Office successor
New title created Duke of Exeter
1443-1447 		Henry Holland
John Holland
(until 1400) 		Earl of Huntingdon
1417-1447 		Henry Holland
personal data
SURNAME Holland, John, 1st Duke of Exeter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Holland, John, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English nobleman
DATE OF BIRTH March 29, 1395
PLACE OF BIRTH Dartington Hall
DATE OF DEATH August 5, 1447