Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk

Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk (1 June 1300 – August 1338), was the fifth son of King Edward I (1272-1307), and the eldest child by his second wife Margaret of France, the daughter of Philip III of France. He was, therefore, a younger half-brother of King Edward II (1307-1327) and a full brother of Edmund, Earl of Kent. He occupied the office of Earl Marshal of England.

Early life

Thomas of Brotherton was born 1 June 1300 at the manor house at Brotherton, Yorkshire, while his mother was on her way to Cawood, where her confinement was scheduled to take place.^[1] According to Hilton, Margaret was staying at Pontefract Castle and was following a hunt when she went into labour.^[2] The chronicler William Rishanger records that during the difficult delivery his mother prayed, as was the custom at the time, to Thomas Becket, and Thomas of Brotherton was thus named after the saint and his place of birth.^[3]

Edward I quickly rushed to the queen and the newborn baby and had him presented with two cradles. His brother Edmund was born in the year after that. They were overseen by wet nurses until they were six years old. Like their parents, they learned to play chess and to ride horses. They were visited by nobles and their half-sister Mary of Woodstock, who was a nun. Their mother often accompanied Edward on his campaigns to Scotland, but kept herself well-informed on their well-being.^[2]

His father died when he was 7 years old. Thomas's half-brother, Edward, became king of England and Thomas was heir presumptive until his nephew Edward was born in 1312. The Earldom of Cornwall had been intended for Thomas, but Edward instead bestowed it upon his favourite, Piers Gaveston, in 1306. When Thomas was 10 years old, Edward assigned to him and his brother Edmund, the estates of Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk who had died without heirs in 1306.

Career

Ruins of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds where Thomas of Brotherton was buried

In 1312, he was titled "Earl of Norfolk" and on 10 February 1316 he was created Earl Marshal. While his brother was away fighting in Scotland, he was left Keeper of England. He was known for his hot and violent temper. He was one of the many victims of the unchecked greed of the king's new favourite, Hugh Despenser the Younger and his father Hugh Despenser the Elder, who stole some of the young earl's lands. He allied himself with Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer when they invaded England in 1326, and stood as one of the judges in the trials against both Despensers. When his nephew Edward III reached his majority and took the government into his own hands Thomas became one of his principal advisors. It was in the capacity of Lord Marshal that he commanded the right wing of the English army at the Battle of Halidon Hill on 19 July 1333.

He died about 20 September 1338, and was buried in the choir of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds.^[3][4][5]

He was succeeded by his daughter, Margaret, as Countess of Norfolk.^[3] She was later created Duchess of Norfolk for life in 1397.^[5]

As a son of Edward I of England, he was entitled to bear the coat of arms of the Kingdom of England, differenced by a label argent of three points.^[6]

Marriages and issue

He married firstly, before 8 January 1326, Alice de Hales (d. before 12 October 1330), daughter of Sir Roger de Hales of Hales Hall in Loddon in Roughton, Norfolk, by his wife, Alice, by whom he had a son and two daughters:^[7][3]

• Edward of Norfolk, who married Beatrice de Mortimer, daughter of Roger de Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, but died without issue before 9 August 1334.^[8]
• Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk, who married firstly John Segrave, 4th Baron Segrave, and secondly Sir Walter Manny.
• Alice of Norfolk, who married Sir Edward de Montagu.^[9]

Alice Hales died by October 1330, when a chantry was founded for her soul in Bosham, Sussex.^[10]

He married secondly, before 4 April 1336, Mary de Brewes (died 11 June 1362), widow of Sir Ralph de Cobham, (d. 5 February 1326), and daughter of Sir Peter de Brewes^[3] (d. before 7 February 1312) of Tetbury, Gloucestershire, by Agnes de Clifford (d. before 1332), by whom he had no surviving issue.^[11][12]

Ancestry

Notes

References

• Archer, Rowena E. (2004). "'Brotherton, Margaret, suo jure duchess of Norfolk (c.1320–1399)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/53070.  (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Cokayne, George Edward (1936). The Complete Peerage, edited by H.A. Doubleday and Lord Howard de Walden. IX. London: St. Catherine Press. pp. 596–9. 
• Hilton, Lisa (2008). Queens Consort, England's Medieval Queens. London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson. p. 240. ISBN 978-0-7538-2611-9. 
• Richardson, Douglas (2011). Everingham, Kimball G., ed. Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. II (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City. ISBN 1449966349. 
• Richardson, Douglas (2011). Everingham, Kimball G., ed. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. IV (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City. ISBN 1460992709. 
• Waugh, Scott L. (2004). "Thomas, first earl of Norfolk (1300–1338)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/27196.  (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

Further reading

• Mortimer, Ian. The Greatest Traitor, 2003.

House of Plantagenet
Henry II of England Wife: Eleanor of Aquitaine William IX, Count of Poitiers Henry the Young King Richard I of England Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile Joan of England, Queen of Sicily John, King of England Illegitimate: William de Longespée, Earl of Salisbury Geoffrey (archbishop of York)
Henry the Young King Wife: Margaret of France, Queen of England and Hungary William Plantagenet (died in infancy)
Richard I of England Wife: Berengaria of Navarre Illegitimate: Philip of Cognac
John, King of England Wife: Isabella of Angoulême Henry III of England Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall Joan of England, Queen of Scotland Isabella of England Eleanor of Leicester Illegitimate: Joan, Lady of Wales Richard FitzRoy Oliver FitzRoy Geoffrey FitzRoy John FitzRoy Henry FitzRoy Osbert Gifford Eudes FitzRoy Bartholomew FitzRoy Maud FitzRoy Isabel FitzRoy Philip FitzRoy William de Forz
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Edward I of England Wives: Eleanor of Castile Margaret of France, Queen of England Eleanor of England, Countess of Bar Joan, Countess of Hertford and Gloucester Alphonso, Earl of Chester Margaret of England, Duchess of Brabant Mary of Woodstock Elizabeth of Rhuddlan Edward II of England Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent
Edward II of England Wife: Isabella of France Edward III of England John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall Eleanor of Woodstock Joan of the Tower
Edward III of England Wife: Philippa of Hainault Edward, the Black Prince Isabella de Coucy Joan of England (1335–1348) Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York Mary of Waltham Margaret, Countess of Pembroke Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester
Richard II of England Wives: Anne of Bohemia Isabella of Valois
Henry IV of England Wives: Mary de Bohun Joan of Navarre, Queen of England Henry V of England Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester Blanche of England Philippa of England
Henry V of England Wife: Catherine of Valois Henry VI of England
Henry VI of England Wife: Margaret of Anjou Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales
Edward IV of England Wife: Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth of York Mary of York Cecily of York Edward V of England Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York Anne of York, Lady Howard Catherine of York Bridget of York Illegitimate: Elizabeth Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle Grace Mary John Tuchet, 6th Baron Audley unnamed
Edward V of England no consort or issue
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