Jean Holland (1352-1400)

Jean Holland (1352 † January 16th 1400), count de Huntington, Duke of Exeter, was noble English, known to have taken part in the fall of Thomas de Woodstock, Duc of Gloucester, and then conspired against the king Henri IV

He was wire of Thomas, Baron Holland, and of Jeanne Plantagenêt, countess of Kent, itself girl of Edmond de Wookstock, Count de Kent, wire of the king Edouard I {{er}}. His/her mother had remariée herself with the Prince de Galles Edouard de Woodstock, and Jean Holland was half-brother of Richard II, to which it remained faithful all its life.

In the first times of the reign of Richard, Jean Holland was accepted among the knights of the Order of the Garter (1381). He made also party of the escort of the future queen Anne of Bohemia, at the time of his arrival in England.

He was carried, which caused him troubles on several occasions. The most known incident occurred in 1385 during a epédition of Richard II in the kingdom of Scotland. An archer with the service of Ralph Staffort, the oldest son of the count de Stafford, accidentally killed one of the rider of Jean Holland. Stafford went to be excused at Jean Holland, but this one killed it immediately. The king made seize the grounds of Holland. Their mother died for this period, and it is said that it is because of the sorrow caused by this history.

At the beginning of the following year, it was reconciled with Stafford, and recovered its properties. He married in 1386 Elisabeth Plantagenêt (1363 † 1425), girl of Jean of Ghent, Duc of Lancaster, and Blanche of Lancaster. He and his wife took part in the forwarding of Jean of Ghent in Castille, where he was constable of the army. After his return to the kingdom of England, Jean Holland was created Count de Huntingdon, the June 2nd 1387. In 1389, it was named Great chamberlain with life, admiral of the fleet for the Western seas, and lord of the manor of Tintagel. It also accepted grounds of the king.

During following years it held a certain number of loads: lord of the manor of Conway (1394), governor of Carlisle (1395), and governor of the Scottish steps. Its military actions were stopped by a pilgrimage in Holy Land in 1394 (which can be in connection with the litigations with Stafford).

Jean Holland helped the king to eliminate Thomas de Woodstock, Duc of Gloucester, and his ally Richard FitzAlan, Count d' Arundel, in 1397. In reward, it was created Duc of Exeter, the September 29th.

It accompanied then Richard II in a forwarding in Ireland. To the return, the king sent it to negotiate with his brother-in-law, Henri Bolingbroke. After Henri had deposited Richard II and had gone up on the throne (under the name of Henri IV ), it began again with all those which was implied in the arrest of Thomas de Woodstock, the goods that those had received in reward. Jean Holland became again simply count de Huntington.

In the beginning of the year following, it took part in a plot, the Epiphanie Rising , with its nephew Thomas Holland, Count de Kent, Thomas Despencer, Count de Gloucester and others. The goal was to assassinate Henri IV, to release Richard II and to replace it on the throne. The plot was discovered, Jean Holland was stopped and carried out. Among the witnesses of his execution appeared Thomas FitzAlan, count d' Arundel, wire of that which Jean Holland had stopped a few years earlier.

Its titles and its goods were confiscated by the Crown, but were then returned to his/her oldest son.

Children

Of Elisabeth Plantagenêt, it had had:

Richard Holland, dead on September 3rd, 1400.
Constancy Holland (1387 † 1437), married to Thomas Mowbray, count de Norfolk, then in Jean Grey.
Alice Holland (1392 † 1406), married to Richard de Vere, count d' Oxford
Jean Holland (1395 † 1447), Duke of Exeter
Edouard Holland (1399 † after 1413)

Source

Chronic of Jean Froissart: Sir John Holland kills Lord Ralph Stafford

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