Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk

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Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk (born June 1, 1300 in Brotherton , † uncertain: September 1338 ) was an English magnate .

Coat of arms of Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk

Origin, childhood and youth

Thomas of Brotherton came from the English royal family Plantagenet . He was the eldest son of King Edward I from his second marriage to Margaret of France . He was unexpectedly born in Brotherton , Yorkshire when his mother was on a trip to Cawood Castle . His birth was supposed to take place in this palace of the Archbishop of York. The birth is said to have been difficult until his mother asked for the help of St. Thomas Becket . Thereafter the child was named after this saint and his place of birth. When his parents married, it was agreed that a son from the marriage should be provided with property with an annual income of 10,000 marks . His father assured him of these possessions in August 1306, which is why he promised him most of the possessions of Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk , in the event that he died childless. Bigod had annual income of about 6,000 marks from his possessions, and when he actually died that same year without a direct heir, the possessions fell to the Crown according to an agreement of 1302. However, the properties were first handed over to Thomas' older half-brother Eduard , who became king in 1307 as her father's successor. In 1310 Eduard entrusted his two half-brothers Thomas and Edmund of Woodstock with the administration of the Bigod estate. It is said that Edward I also planned to give one of his younger sons the title of Earl of Cornwall , but Edward II gave this title to his favorite Piers Gaveston . Finally, in December 1312, after Gaveston's death, the king made Thomas Earl of Norfolk and gave him the Bigod estate as a fief . To this end, he handed him the office of Marshal of England in 1316 , which Roger Bigod had held until his death.

Supporters of the politics of Edward II.

As early as January 1313, the king called Norfolk, as Thomas was now called, to parliament , where the twelve-year-old boy had no political significance and which for him was only a proof of honor. In the same year he called him to serve in the war with Scotland , which was quickly revoked. After his mother's death in 1318, he and his brother Edmund were her executors, and in August 1318 both testified to the treaty of Leake , which was to reconcile the king with the Earl of Lancaster , who was at war with him . In the same year King Thomas and Edmund commissioned Edward Balliol to raise the young aspirant to the Scottish throne in their household. When the king set out on a new campaign in Scotland in 1319, he appointed Norfolk as governor. In this capacity he called on March 24, 1319 Hamo Chigwell , the Mayor of London , Bishop John Sandale of Winchester and the Earl of Pembroke , between whom there was a dispute over the holding of elections and over the occupation of offices in the City had come. He suggested that they should resolve the dispute themselves, should that not succeed, he would decide the dispute the next day in Westminster . Then the three opponents were actually able to come to an agreement. When an army was gathered in Newcastle for a new campaign to Scotland in 1319 , Norfolk was knighted by the king on July 15, along with numerous other squires . From June 19 to July 22, 1320, Norfolk accompanied the king with a large retinue to France, where the king paid homage to the French king for his south-west French possessions.

Role during the Despenser War and the Earl of Lancaster Rebellion

Shortly before the outbreak of a feared open rebellion by the Marcher Lords , Norfolk tried unsuccessfully in March 1321 to negotiate with the Earl of Hereford . After the failure of negotiations, Norfolk occupied the royal Builth Castle on March 16 , just before Hereford was able to occupy the castle. In this incident it became clear that Hereford had been gathering troops without permission. In April, Norfolk represented the king when the younger Hugh Audley was charged in court for having illegally left the king's entourage, contrary to an agreement made in 1317. At the beginning of May it came to the Despenser War , the rebellion of the Marcher Lords against the royal favorite Hugh le Despenser . The rebels allied themselves with the Earl of Lancaster and then moved with their army to London, where they successfully pushed through the banishment of the Despensers in Parliament in August 1321. In the autumn of 1321, however, the king began to take military action against the rebels. In October he commissioned Norfolk, together with the Earl of Pembroke and the Earl of Richmond , to besiege Leeds Castle in Kent , which resulted in open fighting again. In early 1322, Norfolk and his brother, brother Edmund, who had been raised to Earl of Kent, joined the royal army that moved to the Welsh Marches to put down the rebellion. In January 1322 the two of them, together with other supporters of the king, assured the rebel Roger Mortimer of Wigmore and other rebels safe conduct so that they could negotiate with the royal party. Mortimer surrendered, but the king then had him taken to the Tower of London as a rebel . Then Norfolk assisted the king in the pursuit of Lancaster and Hereford, who fled to the north of England.

Thomas of Brotherton. Illumination from the 14th century

Increasingly volatile political attitudes

Choppy relationship with Eduard II.

After the rebellion of the Marcher Lords and Lancaster was put down by March 1322, Norfolk and his contingent took part in the failed campaign of the king to Scotland in the summer of 1322. After that, Norfolk apparently lost the king's favor at times. In August 1323 he had to cede the rule of Chepstow in South East Wales for a small annual rent of £ 200 to Hugh le Despenser. The next year he had to waive the further collection of the rent and all rights to Chepstow for a one-off payment of £ 800. Then the king temporarily withdrew his office of marshal after royal judges in Lancashire learned that Thomas had delegated the office there without authorization. Thomas was returned to office for a fine of £ 100, but the King severely reprimanded him and threatened further penalties if he neglected his office again. However, the king's attitude towards Thomas changed when he feared an invasion of the rebel Roger Mortimer of Wigmore, who had fled the Tower and who had allied himself with Edward's wife Queen Isabelle against the Despensers in France . In January 1326 he donated £ 200 to Norfolk from the confiscated income of the Bishop of Norwich . In May he appointed Norfolk royal captain and put him in charge of the drawing up of mobiles in a number of eastern English counties. In addition, Norfolk received from Edward II the administration of confiscated lands of the rebels, the administration of guardianship and other royal favors.

Supporter of the Mortimer and Isabelle invasion

Yet Norfolk was evidently in contact with Mortimer and Isabelle, whom his brother, the Earl of Kent, had also joined. The rebel army landed on September 24, 1326 on the River Orwell , where Norfolk's possessions were. The English warships under the command of Norfolk had apparently not attempted to attack the invading fleet, and Norfolk immediately supported the invading forces, which included the Earl of Kent. This support during the landing contributed significantly to the success of the invasion. At Norfolk's orders, his vassals plundered property belonging to the younger Despenser and his allied Earl of Arundel . For these extensive looting, Norfolk later received a special pardon from the new king. Norfolk itself joined the Queen's army, which advanced to the west of England and ended the reign of Edward II. On October 26th, Norfolk was one of the barons who appointed the young heir to the throne, Edward, as ruler in Bristol . On October 27, Norfolk and his brother Kent were among the judges sentencing Hugh le Despenser the Elder to death and in November they were among the judges sentencing Hugh le Despenser the Younger to death at Hereford .

Approval of the rule of Mortimer

Norfolk and Kent were at the top of the list of nobles invited to the first parliament after the overthrow of Edward II, and both were also on the Regency Council that was to rule for the underage king. Soon after the coronation of Edward III. it was clear, however, that the real power lay with Queen Isabelle and above all with her ally and lover Roger Mortimer. Norfolk nevertheless supported their rule. He was one of the commanders of the army that led an unsuccessful campaign against the Scots in 1327 , while he insisted on his priority as Marshal of England. He served on several committees and held a number of smaller offices. As a reward, he received not only Chepstow back, but also a number of goods from the Despensers, through which he received additional annual income of 1,000 marks. In addition he received guardianship administrations and other proofs of favor, and in 1328 his son Edward Beatrice , a daughter of Roger Mortimer, was allowed to marry. At the wedding celebration in Hereford, which was also celebrated with a tournament, Edward III also took part. and his mother Isabelle.

Temporary support for the Henry of Lancaster rebellion and loss of political significance

But then Norfolk supported the opposition that formed under the leadership of Henry of Lancaster to Mortimer's rule. Tension arose between Norfolk and Lancaster when a Lancaster henchman murdered Robert de Holand in revenge for his earlier betrayal in October 1328 , but in early December Norfolk attended the meeting of opposition barons and prelates in London. When Lancaster joined the meeting, Norfolk became reconciled with him. The participants vowed to each other that the young king would rule, but in early January 1329, just before an open battle between the rebels and the king's troops at Bedford , Norfolk and Kent switched sides and again supported Mortimer. With that the conspiracy collapsed and Lancaster was ousted. Norfolk, on the other hand, was not punished for his support for the rebellion, but he had lost Mortimer's favor and trust and rarely attested to royal records. On February 17, 1330, he and Kent were part of the escort that Philippa of Hainault , the bride of Edward III, escorted from London to Westminster for her coronation, and in the summer of 1330 he traveled to Gascony on behalf of the government . He played no role in the overthrow of Mortimer's regime by the young king in October 1330, not even after his brother Kent was accused of treason, convicted and executed in March 1330.

Last years and death

Norfolk remained a loyal supporter of the young Edward III after the fall of Mortimer. In 1331 he belonged to an embassy that was in charge of negotiations with the French King Philip VI. traveled to France. In June 1331 he took part in a tournament in Stepney with the king . The king named him a member of several judicial commissions. In 1331 the king asked him to put down civil unrest in his Irish holdings, particularly the Carlow reign, but Norfolk never traveled to his Irish estates. However, he took part in the king's campaign to Scotland in the early summer of 1333 and commanded the right wing of the English army on July 19 in the battle of Halidon Hill . In the next few years the king entrusted his uncle with other tasks, such as overseeing the drawing up of contingents or in 1337 with the command of Perth .

In the 1330s, Norfolk made several land deals that were not to its advantage. In 1332 he left most of the possessions that he had received after the fall of the Despensers in 1327 to the king. He gave them back to him for lifelong management, but after Norfolk's death the goods should go to William de Bohun , a friend of the king. Eventually Bohun took over the management of the property, for which he was supposed to pay Norfolk an annual rent of £ 800, but then in 1336 Norfolk again waived his rights in exchange for a one-off payment, similar to how he had waived rent payments in favor of Despenser a few years earlier. Under an agreement on the marriage of Norfolk's daughter Alice to William Montagu the Younger , a son of the royal favorite William Montagu , Thomas gave Montagu the Elder his entire property in Ireland, including some estates in England, to Montagu the Elder for fifteen years in 1333. However, Alice then married Edward Montagu , a younger brother of William Montagu the Elder. These deals show that Norfolk has been negligent in handling its properties or unable to defend them against the claims of others. Both his half-brother Eduard II and his nephew Eduard III. allowed their minions to enrich themselves at his expense. Norfolk was evidently unable to organize its household either. When the king heard more and more reports of violations and violations of the law by members of Norfolk's household, the latter had to answer to him. Finally, in 1337, the king commissioned Constantine Mortimer to put his household in order. As in everything else, Thomas accepted the king's decision. Shortly afterwards, the office of marshal was revoked again, which he was given back before his death.

Marriages and offspring

By 1320 Thomas had married Alice , a daughter of Roger Hales , the Coroner of Norfolk . This wedding between a member of the royal family and a woman of fairly low rank was unusual. He had several children with her, including:

After the death of his first wife before 1330, Thomas was second married to Mary , the widow of Sir Ralph Cobham . She was a daughter of Sir Piers Brewes , so this marriage did not correspond to the noble rank of Norfolk. He died in 1338, probably in September. He was buried in Bury St Edmunds . Since his only son had died childless before him, his possessions were divided between his two daughters Margaret, who also inherited the right to the title of Earl of Norfolk, and Alice. His second wife Mary survived and did not remarry until her death in 1361.

literature

Web links

Commons : Thomas of England, 1st Earl of Norfolk  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Scott L. Waugh: Thomas [Thomas of Brotherton], first earl of Norfolk (1300-1338). 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. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 131
  3. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 23
  4. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 71
  5. ↑ John Roland Seymour Phillips: Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, 1307-1324. Baronial politics in the reign of Edward II. Clarendon, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-19-822359-5 , p. 172
  6. ↑ John Roland Seymour Phillips: Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, 1307-1324. Baronial politics in the reign of Edward II. Clarendon, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-19-822359-5 , p. 183
  7. ↑ John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 265
  8. ↑ John Roland Seymour Phillips: Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, 1307-1324. Baronial politics in the reign of Edward II. Clarendon, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-19-822359-5 , p. 201
  9. ^ Ian Mortimer: The greatest traitor. The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327-1330. Pimlico, London 2003, ISBN 0-7126-9715-2 , p. 112
  10. ↑ John Roland Seymour Phillips: Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, 1307-1324. Baronial politics in the reign of Edward II. Clarendon, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-19-822359-5 , p. 221
  11. ↑ John Roland Seymour Phillips: Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, 1307-1324. Baronial politics in the reign of Edward II. Clarendon, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-19-822359-5 , p. 226
  12. ↑ John Roland Seymour Phillips: Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, 1307-1324. Baronial politics in the reign of Edward II. Clarendon, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-19-822359-5 , p. 228
  13. ^ Ian Mortimer: The greatest traitor. The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327-1330. Pimlico, London 2003, ISBN 0-7126-9715-2 , p. 127
  14. ↑ Natalie Fryde: The tyranny and fall of Edward II, 1321-1326 . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2003. ISBN 0-521-54806-3 , p. 183
  15. ^ Ian Mortimer: The greatest traitor. The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327-1330. Pimlico, London 2003, ISBN 0-7126-9715-2 , p. 150
  16. ↑ Natalie Fryde: The tyranny and fall of Edward II, 1321-1326 . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2003. ISBN 0-521-54806-3 , p. 186
  17. ↑ Natalie Fryde: The tyranny and fall of Edward II, 1321-1326 . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2003. ISBN 0-521-54806-3 , p. 183
  18. ↑ Natalie Fryde: The tyranny and fall of Edward II, 1321-1326 . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2003. ISBN 0-521-54806-3 , p. 5
  19. ↑ Natalie Fryde: The tyranny and fall of Edward II, 1321-1326 . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2003. ISBN 0-521-54806-3 , p. 194
  20. ^ Ian Mortimer: The greatest traitor. The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327-1330. Pimlico, London 2003, ISBN 0-7126-9715-2 , p. 158
  21. ^ Ian Mortimer: The greatest traitor. The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327-1330. Pimlico, London 2003, ISBN 0-7126-9715-2 , p. 160
  22. ^ Ian Mortimer: The greatest traitor. The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327-1330. Pimlico, London 2003, ISBN 0-7126-9715-2 , p. 177
  23. ↑ Natalie Fryde: The tyranny and fall of Edward II, 1321-1326 . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2003. ISBN 0-521-54806-3 , p. 217
  24. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 36
  25. ^ Ian Mortimer: The greatest traitor. The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327-1330. Pimlico, London 2003, ISBN 0-7126-9715-2 , p. 211
  26. ^ Ian Mortimer: The greatest traitor. The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327-1330. Pimlico, London 2003, ISBN 0-7126-9715-2 , p. 218
  27. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 132
predecessor Office successor
New title created Earl of Norfolk
1312-1338 		Margaret Brotherton
personal data
SURNAME Brotherton, Thomas of, 1st Earl of Norfolk
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Brotherton, Thomas of
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English nobleman, member of the House of Plantagenet
DATE OF BIRTH June 1, 1300
PLACE OF BIRTH Brotherton , North Yorkshire
DATE OF DEATH uncertain: September 1338