Thomas Holland KG
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Thomas Holland KG (abt. 1350 - 1397)

Sir Thomas "2nd Earl of Kent, 3rd Baron of Holland" Holland KG
Born about in Upholand, Lancashire, Englandmap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married 10 Apr 1364 in Englandmap
Descendants descendants
Died at about age 47 in Upholand, Lancashire, Englandmap
Profile last modified | Created 19 May 2010
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Contents

Biography

Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent, 3rd Baron Holand (1350 – 25 April 1397) was an English nobleman and a councilor of his half-brother Richard II.[1]

Knight of the Garter - 1376.[2]

Thomas Holland (or de Holand) was born in Upholand, Lancashire[1] in 1350 "(aged 9 or 10 in 1360, aged 30 in 1385)."[3]

Holland died at Arundel Castle, Sussex, England on 25 April 1397.

He was the eldest surviving son of Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent and Joan "The Fair Maid of Kent".[1][4]

Thomas was the elder son of Thomas Holland, earl of Kent (c.1315-1360), and Joan (c.1328-1385), daughter of Edmund of Woodstock, earl of Kent,[5] and Margaret Wake.[citation needed] Edmund was in turn a son of Edward I of England and his second Queen consort Marguerite of France, and thus a younger half-brother of Edward II of England.[1]

After an early career soldiering abroad, Holland became one of the less spectacular props of Richard II's regime, established mainly on the south coast, in and around Hampshire. He had a younger brother, John Holland, Earl of Huntingdon (c.1352-1400), and two sisters, Maud (d. 1392), wife to Hugh Courtenay and then Waleran, count of St Pol, and Joan (d. 1384), wife to John de Montfort, Duke of Brittany. Perhaps most significantly, the second marriage in 1361 of his mother, Joan, to Edward, the Black Prince, meant that Holland had a younger half-brother, the future king Richard II.[5]

His father died in 1360, and later that year, on 28 December, Thomas became Baron Holand. His mother was still Countess of Kent in her own right.[1]

At sixteen, in 1366, Holland was appointed captain of the English forces in Aquitaine. Over the next decade, he fought in various campaigns, including the Battle of Nájera, under the command of his stepfather Edward, the Black Prince. He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1375.[1]

"Thomas Holland's early career from 1366 was spent in military service abroad, first in Spain and then in France. He was knighted by his stepfather and godfather, the Black Prince, at Vitoria in Castile in 1367, and was made a Knight of the Garter in 1376. His power and influence were restricted by the fact that his mother, Joan, held the estates of the Kent inheritance in her own right until her death in 1385. To help offset this somewhat, Thomas was married c.1364 to Alice (c.1350-1416), daughter of Richard (II) Fitzalan, the wealthy earl of Arundel; Alice's dowry was 4000 marks, and the Black Prince enfeoffed the couple with lands worth 500 marks in three Yorkshire manors."[5]

Richard II became king in 1377, and soon Holland acquired great influence over his younger half-brother, which he used for his own enrichment. In 1381, he actually succeeded as Earl of Kent.[1]

Holland married Alice FitzAlan (daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel) on 10 April 1364.[1] They had 11 children, 8 surviving.[citation needed]

Through the marriages of his daughters, he became the ancestor of many of the prominent figures in the Wars of the Roses, including Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Warwick the Kingmaker. He was also an ancestor of queen consort Catherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII.[1]

Family

Wife: Lady Alice FitzAlan married "Thomas de Holand, 2nd/5th Earl of Kent, son of Thomas de Holand, 1st Earl of Kent and Joan of Kent, Countess of Kent, circa 10 April 1364"[6]
Born "circa 1350 at Arundel Castle, Arundel, Sussex, England"[7] to Richard FitzAlan, 3rd/10th Earl of Arundel and Lady Eleanor Plantagenet.[8]
Holland's widow, Alice, remained constable of Corfe Castle until 1407 and then retired to Beaulieu Abbey; she died on 17 March 1416.[5]
Children:
Thomas had nine children:[5]
  • Thomas Holland, later earl of Kent and Duke of Surrey[9]
  • Richard (d. c.1396)
  • Edmund Holland, later earl of Kent,[10] fathered an illegitimate child (Eleanor Holand) by Constance of York, daughter of Edmund of Langley[11]
  • Eleanor (d. 1405) who married Roger (VII) Mortimer, earl of March, and then Edward Charlton, Baron Charlton of Powys[12]
  • Joan (d. 1434), who married first Edmund, duke of York, second William, Baron Willoughby, third Henry Scrope, Baron Scrope of Masham, and fourth Henry Bromflete, Baron Vessy[13]
  • Margaret (d. 1439), who married John Beaufort, earl of Somerset, and then Thomas, duke of Clarence[14]
  • Eleanor (d. c.1420), who married Thomas Montagu, earl of Salisbury[15]
  • Elizabeth (d. 1423), who married John, Baron Neville[16]
  • Bridget, a nun.

Burial

Thomas de Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent[17] was buried at Bourne Abbey, Bourne, Lincolnshire, England.[citation needed]

Coat of Arms and Seal

Undated seal of Thomas de Holand, Earl of Kent

A shield of arms, couché: three lions passant guardant in pale, within a bordure [Holand]. Crest on a helmet, lambrequin and chapeau, a lion statant guardant, crowned. Within a traced gothic pane. In place of the legend, a wavy sprig of foliage and flowers.[18]
Arms of Thomas: England and a bordure argent.[citation needed]

Research Notes

Additional information about his birth (c1350), from a 2018 comment regarding a database error:

"The Hollands, Dukes of Exeter, Earls of Kent and Huntingdon, 1352-1475. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:ff873c44-1488-4918-8ccd-586a7ff94caf/download_file?safe_filename=602323386.pdf&file_format=application%2Fpdf&type_of_work=Thesis, Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Faculty of Modern History in the University of Oxford, Hilary Term 1987. Has numerous citations for sources and cites Thomas 2nd date of birth in 1350. This is also verified by the fact that Thomas 1st was gone on Crusades and reclaimed his wife upon return. Their marriage was confirmed in 1349, and Otto Holland was present at the christening as Godfather to Thomas 2nd in 1350. Otto Holland was imprisoned in July of 1350 so Thomas 2nd's birth was most likely between January and July." ~ Marcure-3

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Source: Thomas Holland (#Wikipedia)
  2. Knights of the Garter (Heraldica list)
  3. Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2013), Volume III, page 433 KENT #10. Thomas de Holand, K.G., 2nd Earl of Kent
  4. noted as son of Thomas Holland by #ODNB and son of Joan by #MedLands
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Source: #ODNB
  6. The Peerage (Lady FitzAlan, #Peerage), citing
    • Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003
  7. The Peerage (#Peerage), citing
    • Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy (London, U.K.: The Bodley Head, 1999), page 93. Hereinafter cited as Britain's Royal Families.
  8. The Peerage (Lady FitzAlan, #Peerage), citing
    • Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume XII/2, page 899.
    • #Weir, page 78.
  9. another #unnamed_source had "1st Duke of Surrey (1374 – 7 January 1400), who succeeded him"
  10. another #unnamed_source had "4th Earl of Kent (6 January 1384 – 15 September 1408), had a child by Constance of York"
  11. Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham, (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2013), Vol V, p 197
  12. another #unnamed_source had "Alianore Holland (1373 – October 1405), married first Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March and second Edward Charleton, 5th Baron Cherleton"
  13. another #unnamed_source had "(ca. 1380–12 April 1434), married Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York"
  14. another #unnamed_source had "(1385 – 31 December 1439), married first John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset and second Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence"
  15. another #unnamed_source had "(1386- after 1413) married Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury"
  16. another #unnamed_source had "(1388 - 1423), married Sir John Neville (c.1387 – before 20 May 1420), eldest son and heir of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, and by him had three sons, Ralph Neville, 2nd Earl of Westmorland, John Neville, Baron Neville, and Sir Thomas Neville, and a daughter, Margaret Neville.[8]"
  17. Ancestry; Royal and Noble Genealogical Data] by Brian Tompsett Copyright 1994-2001, Version March 25, 2001; CNTC Angela Lady Buchan Hepburn of Smeaton and Hepburn, Obtained digital photo in Lady Hepburn's house (Grander's Cottage) July 2009; Descent of Sir Archibald banister Buchan-Hepburn of Smeaton - Hepburn near Prestonkirk and Letham Houseco. Haddington, Baronet from Henry III and Edward III, Kings of England and James II of Scotland
  18. Source: #MCA

See also:

  • Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham, (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2013), Vol. II, pp 246, 476, 589, and 610; Vol III, pages 292, 424 and 504:
    • page 292: 11. Maud la Zouche, and Robert De Holand (Holland) had four sons, Robert, Knt., 2nd Lord Holand (Holland), Thomas, K.G. [Earl of Kent], Otes, K.G., and Alan, and five daughters, Isabel, Margaret, Maud, Elizabeth, and Eleanor.
    • page 424: 9. Joan of Kent and Thomas de Holand (Holland), in right of his wife, Earl of Kent, younger son of Robert De Holand (Holland) Knt., 1st Lord Holand (Holland), by Maud, daughter and co-heiress of Alan la Zouche, Knt., Lord Zouche [see Holand 11 for his ancestry]. He was born in or before 1319.
  • Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham, (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2013), Vol III, pages 433:
  • MCA: Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, Royal Ancestry series, 2nd edition, 4 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham, (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2011)
  • Marlyn Lewis.
  • The Peerage (website, compiled by Darryl Lundy, Ngaio, Wellington, New Zealand; accessed September 10, 2015)
  • Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB)
  • Wikipedia: Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent (accessed September 12, 2015)
  • Burke's Peerage and Landed Gentry
  • Sir Thomas Holand, Find a Grave memorial #46668476 - no sources given, although text includes numbers in brackets that may have been for citations (accessed September 10, 2015) - note - in trying to cite where information in the profile came from, it seems as if the Find a Grave memorial copied his Wikipedia biography.
  • The Holland Family, English Monarchs - no sources apparent, and no "owner" of site listed (accessed September 10, 2015)
  • Sir Thomas Holland, 2nd earl of Kent, GeneAll (accessed September 12, 2015) - Ancestry as source citation, I think (color-coded, but all colors of legend listed by Ancestry)
  • Camelot International (WayBack Machine capture).
    • Royal Database. Camelot International (page not found, September 10, 2015; closest I could find on the site was wife's grandfather, Edward I - which was still live 16 Jan. 2021)
  • Genealogy 4 u (not accessed: "Error: TNG is not communicating with your database. Please check your database settings and try again." September 10 & 12, 2015)
  • "Unnamed Source": One of the merged profiles gave a copied paragraph of children that included apparent footnote references. The profile cited Wikipedia & Find a Grave (see #Wikipedia and #Grave), but if the source was either of those cites, the information has changed since it was copied.
  • Beltz, George. Memorials of the Order of the Garter (William Pickering, London, 1841) Page 217-21
  • MedLands: Thomas and Joan, parents of Thomas

Acknowledgements

Magna Carta Project

Thomas Holland KG appears in Magna Carta Ancestry in a Richardson-documented trail from Gateway Ancestor Thomas Rudyard to Magna Carta Surety Baron Saher de Quincy (vol. III, pages 461-465 RUDYARD) that has not yet been developed on WikiTree by the Magna Carta project. This trail is set out in the Magna Carta Trails section of the Gateway's profile.
Thomas Holland KG appears in Magna Carta Ancestry in a Richardson-documented trail from Gateway Ancestor Mary Johanna Somerset to Magna Carta Surety Baron Saher de Quincy (vol. IV, pages 38-55 SOMERSET). This trail needs further development by the Magna Carta Project and is set out in the Magna Carta Trails section of the Gateway's profile.
  • Needs Development: This profile needs development against the project's checklist to bring it up to current project standards. ~ Thiessen-117 23:24, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
See Base Camp for information about Magna Carta trails. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".






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Comments: 8

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update - done

Hi!

I'll be adopting this profile for the Magna Carta Project. Douglas Richardson's Magna Carta Ancestry, volume IV, pages 38-55 SOMERSET, includes him on the trail between surety baron Saher de Quincy and Mary Johanna Somerset. (See Somerset-14#Magna Carta Trails.

Cheers, Liz

posted by Liz (Noland) Shifflett
edited by Liz (Noland) Shifflett
How does a purely judgmental and evaluative description as "less spectacular props" belong in a historical biography?
posted by Blake Finley
It's a quote from the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . . .
update: merge completed

De Holand-118 and Holland-31 appear to represent the same person because: These are the same person. Please merge. ... Per EuroAristo naming guidelines, his LNAB should not include "de". Thanks, Liz (17x- & 18x-gr-grand of de Holand-118 through Edmund, Eleanor & Thomas)

posted by Liz (Noland) Shifflett
Holland-1115 and Holland-31 do not represent the same person because: dates
posted by Brent Bowen
Holland-1115 and Holland-31 appear to represent the same person because: See notes on Fitz_Randolph-48. The dates on Holland-1115 and his entire tree are all way way off. But his daughter was Holland-1114 before she was merged, and that makes him the ggf of the 3rd earl of Westmoreland.

Note the date ranges in the bio on Holland-1115.

posted by [Living Horace]
Holland-1115 and Holland-31 do not represent the same person because: The birth dates are too far apart.
posted by [Living Ross]
Holland-1115 and Holland-31 appear to represent the same person because: Thomas de Holand, 2nd Earl of Kent, b abt 1350, Upholland, d 25 Apr 1397, Arundel.

1115 was father of 1114, detached to merge with Holland-598. Dates on whole family are way off.

posted by [Living Horace]