Thomas Holand

The peculiar mystery of the d’Aubrichecourt brothers….

Sep 29, 2024

anniversaries, battles, Book Reviews, buildings, religion

abduction, Anthony Goodman, Barbara Tuchman, Bridport, chastity, d’aubrichet brothers, dower lands, Earls of Kent, Edward the Black Prince, Elizabeth de Juliers, Epiphany Rising, evidence, executions, Froissart, Gascony, Henry IV, marauding, Medieval Free Company, Michaelmas, Normandy, Order of the Garter, Penny Lawne, Phillippa of Hainault, Poitiers, Prince Philip, richard barber, Richard II, sir john hawkwood, Thomas Holand, Treaty of Bretigny, usurpation, waverley abbey

I have written articles on this blog about the disgraceful way many 14th-century knights abducted women and married them by force. These men’s prey were usually widows with attractive fortunes that could provide their callous bridegrooms with the comfortable later life said scoundrels hadn’t bothered to prepare for during their careers (often as soldiers). Even…
The beginnings of the House of York….

May 25, 2024

anniversaries, genealogy, law, religion, sources

attempted annulment, bernard henry holland, bigamy, Countess of Cambridge, dragons, Dugdale, Earls of Surrey, Edmund of Langley, Edward II, Edward III, Edward IV, Edward the Black Prince, Elizabeth of Lancaster, House of York, isabel holand, Joan Holland, joan of bar, Joan of Kent, John de Warenne, John of Gaunt, laws of inheritance, Legitimacy, letters patent, ludlow hoard, maud de nerford, pre-contract, Richard Earl of Arundel, Richard II, seduction, Thomas Holand, treasure

There is an interesting story attached to the early days of the House of York. Edward IV wasn’t the first to be accused of being contracted to one woman while pretending to be married to another. And this one too affected the fortunes of the white rose. Back in the 14th century a similar situation…
A 14th-century castle and moat unearthed beneath a French hotel….

Apr 4, 2024

anniversaries, archaeology, battles, buildings, genealogy

breton war of succession, castles, charles de blois, Charles V, Charles VI, chateau de l’hermine, Edward III, Edward the Black Prince, hotel lagorce, Hundred Years War, Joan of Kent, John IV Duke of Brittany, Richard II, siege of Nantes, Thomas Holand, vannes

I have learned from this site (as well as numerous other sites, all you have to do is search “castle remains under vannes hotel”) that the remarkably well preserved remains of a14th-century castle and moat have been discovered only about 10 feet below the foundations of the Hotel Lagorce in Vannes. This lost castle…
The most beautiful woman in medieval England….?

Sep 20, 2023

anniversaries, buildings, genealogy, law, religion

annulment, bigamy, Canterbury Cathedral, Edmund Earl of Kent, Edward I, Edward II, Edward III, Edward of Woodstock, executions, Henry IV, Isabelle de France, Joan of Kent, John of Gaunt, pre-contract, Richard II, Stamford Greyfriars, Thomas Holand, usurpation, William Earl of Salisbury

The title of this article refers to Joan, Princess of Wales, mother of Richard II. She became known as the “Fair Maid of Kent”, a sobriquet acquired posthumously. But, was she the most beautiful woman in England? According to the standards of her time yes, she certainly was, although the contemporary likenesses we have…
A medieval mystery in Stamford….

Oct 13, 2021

anniversaries, buildings, religion

books, Collyweston, coronations, Edward the Black Prince, friaries, Henry IV, Joan of Kent, Lincolnshire, Linda Ball, Richard II, Stamford, Thomas Holand

I love it when local historians delve into their area’s past and start unearthing curious things. This is what retired academic Linda Ball has done for the part of Stamford in which she grew up. St Paul’s Street, Stamford, was on the site of what was once either Greyfriars or Whitefriars. The medieval mystery of…
Spreading propaganda works both ways, as John of Gaunt discovered….

Sep 30, 2021

anniversaries, genealogy, law, religion

“Tudor” propaganda, bigamy, books, Earl of Salisbury, Edward III, Edward the Black Prince, Henry IV, Henry VII, illegitimacy, Joan of Kent, John of Gaunt, Lancastrian propaganda, Mortimers, Phillippa of Hainault, popes, Richard II, rumours, Thomas Holand, usurpation

As we all know, the Tudors were masters of propaganda. The lies about Richard III poured forth throughout their usurpation, and still persist to this day. If they could say something unpleasant and derogatory about him, they did. Perhaps it was in their blood, of course, because they were descended (one way or another) from…
The “Devilish Dame” of Lincolnshire….

Mar 22, 2020

buildings, religion

⁰, Elizabeth Tempest, Sutton Bridge, Swineshead Abbey, Thomas Holand, witchcraft

According to https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=hdovAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA342&lpg=PA342&dq=elizabeth+devilish+dame&source=bl&ots=ZZGPTAz6n6&sig=ACfU3U00pw4KiBMUmlu-OBTeW7AFdQIeXQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj2ipLJwPvlAhVYSxUIHblZCHQQ6AEwAnoECAwQAg#v=onepage&q=elizabeth%20devilish%20dame&f=false in the middle of the 14th century, Sir Thomas Holand of Estovening (Estoveninghall, Estovenhall) Manor in the parish of Swineshead in Lincolnshire, married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Piers Tempest. Elizabeth was apparently known as the “Devilish Dame”, and the unfortunate (or exceedingly wise!) Sir Thomas spent most of his time in the…