John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter (c. 1352 – 16 January, 1400), also
Earl of HuntingdonEarl 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....
, was an English nobleman, primarily remembered for helping cause the downfall of
Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of GloucesterThomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester was the thirteenth and youngest child of King Edward III of England and Queen Philippa. He was the fifth of the five sons of Edward III who survived to adulthood....
and then for conspiring against
Henry IVHenry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . Like other kings of England, at that time, he also claimed the title of King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence the other name by which he was known, Henry Bolingbroke...
.
He was the third son of
Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of KentThomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent was an English nobleman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War.He was from a gentry family in Holland, Lancashire. He was a son of Robert Holland and Maud la Zouche....
and
Joan "The Fair Maid of Kent"Joan, Countess of Kent , known to history as The Fair Maid of Kent, was the first Princess of Wales...
, daughter of Edmund of Woodstock, a son of
Edward IEdward I , also known as Edward Longshanks, 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. In 1259 he briefly sided with a baronial...
. His mother later married
Edward, the Black PrinceEdward, Prince of Wales, was the eldest son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault, and father to King Richard II of England. He was called Edward of Woodstock in his early life, after his birthplace, and has more recently been popularly known as The Black Prince...
. Holland was thus half-brother to
Richard IIRichard II was the eighth King of England of the House of Plantagenet. 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.
Early in Richard's reign, Holland was made a Knight of the Garter (1381).
John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter (c. 1352 – 16 January, 1400), also
Earl of HuntingdonEarl 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....
, was an English nobleman, primarily remembered for helping cause the downfall of
Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of GloucesterThomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester was the thirteenth and youngest child of King Edward III of England and Queen Philippa. He was the fifth of the five sons of Edward III who survived to adulthood....
and then for conspiring against
Henry IVHenry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . Like other kings of England, at that time, he also claimed the title of King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence the other name by which he was known, Henry Bolingbroke...
.
He was the third son of
Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of KentThomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent was an English nobleman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War.He was from a gentry family in Holland, Lancashire. He was a son of Robert Holland and Maud la Zouche....
and
Joan "The Fair Maid of Kent"Joan, Countess of Kent , known to history as The Fair Maid of Kent, was the first Princess of Wales...
, daughter of Edmund of Woodstock, a son of
Edward IEdward I , also known as Edward Longshanks, 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. In 1259 he briefly sided with a baronial...
. His mother later married
Edward, the Black PrinceEdward, Prince of Wales, was the eldest son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault, and father to King Richard II of England. He was called Edward of Woodstock in his early life, after his birthplace, and has more recently been popularly known as The Black Prince...
. Holland was thus half-brother to
Richard IIRichard II was the eighth King of England of the House of Plantagenet. 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 , also known as Good Queen Anne, was a daughter of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, 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 ScotlandThe Kingdom of Scotland was a state in North-West Europe which existed from 843 until 1707...
. 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 LancasterElizabeth Plantagenet was the third child of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and his first wife Blanche of Lancaster. Some sources list her as having been born after 1 January 1363 but prior to 21 February 1363. On 24 June 1380, at Kenilworth Castle, she married John Hastings, 3rd Earl of...
, daughter of
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of LancasterJohn of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, Duke of Aquitaine was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. He got his name "John of Gaunt" because he was born in Ghent , then Gaunt in English...
and
Blanche of LancasterBlanche of Lancaster Countess of Derby was an English noblewoman and heiress. She was the first wife of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster and the mother of King Henry IV of England.-Lineage:...
. 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 EnglandThe Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state and island country to the northwest of continental Europe. At its zenith, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands—what is today the legal unit of...
, Holland was created
Earl of HuntingdonEarl 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....
, on 2 June, 1387. In 1389 he was appointed
Lord Great ChamberlainThe 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 CastleTintagel Castle is a castle currently in ruins found on Tintagel Island, located near the village of Tintagel in Cornwall, England, UK. The 'Island' is in fact a peninsula subject to erosion by the sea. The site was perhaps originally a Roman settlement, though the remains of the castle that stand...
. 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 GloucesterThomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester was the thirteenth and youngest child of King Edward III of England and Queen Philippa. He was the fifth of the five sons of Edward III who survived to adulthood....
and
Richard Fitzalan, 11th Earl of ArundelRichard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel and 10th Earl of Surrey 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 ExeterThe 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 RisingThe 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 KentThomas Holland, 1st Duke of Surrey KG , also 3rd Earl of Kent.He was the son of Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent KG and Alice Fitzalan. His maternal grandparents were Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel and Eleanor of Lancaster...
, 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 and executed. Among those who witnessed the execution was
Thomas Fitzalan, 12th Earl of ArundelThomas Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel 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 :...
, son of the Earl of Arundel who Holland had arrested some years before.
Holland's lands and titles were forfeited, but eventually they were restored for his second son
John Holland, 2nd Duke of ExeterJohn Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter KG was an English nobleman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War.-Family:He was the second son of John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter and Elizabeth Plantagenet...
.
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 Grey
Sir John Grey KG , English nobleman and soldier, was the eldest son of Reginald Grey, 3rd Baron Grey de Ruthyn and Margaret Roos....
, K.G.
- Alice Holland (c. 1392 – c. 1406), married Richard de Vere, 11th Earl of Oxford
Richard de Vere, 11th Earl of Oxford was the son and heir of Aubrey de Vere, 10th Earl of Oxford. His father died in 1400, and Richard succeeded on 21 December, 1406. He was married twice, first to the daughter of John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter, Alice Holland, who died before 1400...
- 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:He was the second son of John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter and Elizabeth Plantagenet...
(1395–1447)
- Sir Edward Holland (c. 1399 – aft. 1413)