Thomas Brandon

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Sir Thomas Brandon's coat of arms as a Knight of the Order of the Garter

Sir Thomas Brandon , KG , († January 27, 1510 ) was an English courtier and diplomat at the court of King Henry VII. He belonged to the English gentry and was a knight of the Order of the Garter. During the Wars of the Roses , he joined the pretender to the throne Heinrich Tudor, later King Henry VII, and followed him into French exile. In 1485 he returned to England with Henry's victorious army and made a career at the court.

He was the brother of William Brandon , who died at the Battle of Bosworth , and the uncle of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk .

Life

Thomas Brandon was the third son of Sir William Brandon from Southwark († 1491) and Elizabeth Wingfield († 1497). He had two older brothers and six sisters. His ancestors had been minor traders on the Norfolk coast, but his father rose as a clerk in the household of the Mowbray Dukes of Norfolk to secure a seat in parliament and important local offices. Later he also succeeded in serving the kings Henry VI. and Edward IV , giving the family significant social advancement into the ranks of the landed gentry.

In exile with Heinrich Tudor 1484–1485

After the death of King Edward IV, his two young sons disappeared in the Tower ( Princes in the Tower ) and his younger brother Richard III. was crowned king. Like many former servants of Edward IV, Thomas and his family relied on the overthrow of King Richard III. and Thomas Brandon and his eldest brother William went so far as to join the 1483 rebellion of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham . This failed, however, whereupon the brothers had to leave England in November 1484. They fled from East Mersea to Brittany to Henry, Earl of Richmond, who also laid claim to the English throne and was preparing an invasion. At the head of a crew of only 30 Tudor's supporters, Thomas Brandon strengthened the Hammes fortress in France for Heinrich Tudor. King Richard III two months later he offered him an official pardon for this, but Brandon refused and remained loyal to Heinrich Tudor, because he was one of his favorites from the start after his accession to the throne.

Heinrich Tudor returned to England with an invading army in 1485, defeated Richard III. at the Battle of Bosworth and ascended the English throne as Henry VII. Thomas Brandon's brother William fell in the battle as Heinrich's standard-bearer, but it is not known whether Thomas Brandon was also involved in the battle.

Career under Henry VII. 1485–1509

From the beginning of the reign of Henry VII, Brandon was extremely active at his court and was obviously in his favor. In 1485 he took part in the baptism and accolade of the newborn Prince Arthur Tudor and in tournaments and had a lot to do with the royal hunting amusements. But above all he served the king as an advisor, as a soldier on land and at sea, and as a diplomat. In September 1486 he already held the prestigious rank of Esquire of the King's Body , from 1501, or maybe even 1499, he was Royal Rittmeister ( Master of the Horse ) and after the death of his father in 1494 he took over his position as Master of the King's Bench Prison . After the Battle of Blackheath in 1497 he was beaten to a Knight Bachelor on the battlefield . He had already served the king as naval commander in the spring of 1487 and took part in the so-called French campaign in 1492. In 1507 he was inducted into the prestigious Order of the Garter as a Knight Companion .

In 1503 he was sent as a diplomat to the Roman-German King Maximilian I in Cologne and Antwerp, and in 1506 he received the Castilian King Phillip the Beautiful at the head of an English committee when he unexpectedly arrived on the south coast of England. Most of the time, however, he dealt with foreign ambassadors in England and took part in council meetings.

Despite his rather modest land holdings, Sir Thomas made considerable fortune through financially advantageous marriages and the goodwill of the king. The king gave him twice the guardianship (and thus the financial control of his lands) for the underage Lord Say (1491 and again 1509) and gave him Freemantle Park and the Duddington estate. Even more important was the support of the king for Brandon's marriages to two wealthy widows, first Anne Fiennes, widow of William Berkeley, 1st Marquess of Berkeley and, after her death, Elizabeth Dynham, sister and co-heiress of John, Lord Dynham and widow 1st of Fulk Bourchier, Lord Fitzwairne and 2nd by Sir John Sapcotes.

death

After the death of Henry VII in 1509, his son Henry VIII ascended the throne and confirmed Thomas Brandon in his office as Rittmeister. He continued to be an active councilor, retaining all of his offices, and was named Warden and Chief Justice of the Royal Forests South of Trent on June 2, 1509 . Everything indicated that his career would go well under the new king too. However, he died less than a year after his accession to the throne on January 27, 1510 and was buried on the 29th in London Blackfriars . Since he had never had children, his nephew Charles Brandon inherited him . In his will, Thomas Brandon also made extensive financial contributions to Lady Jane Guildford, widow of Sir Richard Guildford, whose servants had cared for him during his last illness. Lady Guildford, on the other hand, asked for soul masses for Thomas Brandon in her will of 1538 . Sir Thomas' widow Elizabeth Dynham took a vow of chastity before Bishop John Fisher on April 21, 1510 and died on October 19, 1516. She was buried in St. Mary Overie Priory, Southwark.

Marriages

Thomas Brandon was married twice. In his first marriage he married no later than 1496 Anne Fiennes († September 10, 1497), daughter of Sir John Fiennes and Alice Fitzhugh, widow of William Berkeley, 1st Marquess of Berkeley . After her death he married Elizabeth Dynham († October 19, 1516), widow of Sir John Sapcotes, around 1502/03 ; she took a vow of chastity before Bishop Fisher after Thomas Brandon's death and was buried in the monastery of St. Mary Overie. Both marriages remained childless, so that his nephew Charles Brandon inherited him.

literature

  • Thomas Newcomen Archibald Grove:  Brandon, Thomas . In: Leslie Stephen (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 6:  Bottomley - Browell. , MacMillan & Co, Smith, Elder & Co., New York City / London 1886, p. 224 (English).
  • Steven J. Gunn: Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, c. 1484-1545. Blackwell Publishing, Williston 1988.
  • Steven J. Gunn: Brandon, Sir Thomas. In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Volume 7: Box-Browell. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861357-1 , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Steven J. Gunn: Brandon, Sir Thomas. In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Volume 7: Box-Browell. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861357-1 , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004
  2. ^ Gunn: Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, c. 1484-1545. P. 2
  3. ^ William Arthur Shaw: The Knights of England. Volume 2, Sherratt and Hughes, London 1906, p. 29.
  4. ^ William Arthur Shaw: The Knights of England. Volume 1, Sherratt and Hughes, London 1906, p. 19.
personal data
SURNAME Brandon, Thomas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English diplomat and courtier under Henry VII.
DATE OF BIRTH 15th century
DATE OF DEATH January 27, 1510