Joan (Plantagenet) of Kent LG (abt. 1328 - 1385)

Born about 1328 in England

Ancestors

Wife of Thomas (Holand) de Holand KG — married about 1339 in England

Wife of William (Montagu) de Montagu KG — married about 1342 in England

Wife of Edward (Plantagenet) of Woodstock KG — married 10 Oct 1361 in Windsor, Berkshire, England

Descendants

Died Aug 1385 at about age 57 in Wallingford, Berkshire, England [uncertain]

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Joan (Plantagenet) of Kent LG is a member of the House of Plantagenet.

Biography

Birth, Parents and Early Life

Joan was nicknamed by some in her lifetime as "the virgin of Kent" (possibly ironically in view of her marital history), and after her death as the "fair maid of Kent".^[1] She was the daughter of Edmund of Woodstock, a son of Edward I, and Margaret Wake.^[2] Her birth date is not wholly certain. 1353 Inquisitions Post Mortem for her brother John give her age as, variously, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 years and more, with the majority giving 24 and more:^[3] so she was born between 1324 and 1331, probably in about 1328.

Joan's father was executed in 1330^[4] and she was afterwards taken into the household of Philippa of Hainault, Edward III's wife.^[1]

First Two Marriages and Children

Possibly in or slightly before 1339 Joan secretly married Thomas de Holland, one of Edward III's household knights, without a priest being present. The possible date is given by a petition of May 1347 to the Pope in which Thomas de Holland said that he had married Joan over 8 years previously.^[2] (The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography says they married in the spring of 1340.^[1]) Her mother was either unaware of this or regarded the marriage as invalid, for soon after (while Thomas was crusading in Prussia^[2]) she arranged for Joan to marry William de Montagu, who was to become 2nd Earl of Salisbury in 1344, which was a much more advantageous marriage.^[5][6]

In May 1347 Thomas de Holland petitioned the Pope for his wife to be restored to him. Joan's mother and William de Montagu resisted. In a subsequent petition, Thomas de Holland stated that William was holding Joan in seclusion against her will. William was ordered to allow Joan to testify, and her testimony supported the validity of her marriage to Thomas. Despite this, proceedings dragged on. Eventually, in November 1349, Joan's marriage to William was annulled, and her marriage to Thomas was publicly confirmed as valid.^[1][5][6] Very soon after, William married Elizabeth, daughter of Lord Mohun of Dunster.^[6]

Joan and Thomas de Holland had the following children:

• Thomas, born in 1350^[1] (age 9 or 10 and more at his father's death in 1360^[2])
• John, who married Elizabeth, daughter of John of Gaunt^[7][8]
• Edmund, who died in infancy^[7][8]
• Joan, who married John de Montfort^[7][8]
• Maud, who married Hugh de Courtenay and Waléran de Luxembourg^[7][8]

Countess of Kent

Following the death of her brother John in December 1352, Joan inherited very extensive swathes of land across much of England^[3] and became Countess of Kent in her own right. She and her husband were granted possession of these lands in February 1353.^[2][9]

Marriage to the Black Prince

Thomas died in December 1360.^[2] Joan, an extremely wealthy widow, was an attractive marriage prospect. In the first half of 1361 Edward, the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, son of Edward III, sought her hand even though there were discussions of his possible marriage to Margaret of Flanders. They appear to have been secretly betrothed - risking a repetition of the sort of difficulties that arose in relation to her first marriage, all the more so as they were cousins and therefore within the degrees of consanguinity for which a papal marriage dispensation was required. Stories by French chroniclers that the betrothal angered Edward III seem unlikely, as the king joined his son the Black Prince in requesting a papal dispensation: this was granted on 7 September 1361.^[1] They were betrothed in the presence of the Archbishop of Canterbury on 6 October 1361 and married at Windsor four days later, on 10 October.^[1][2] The marriage made her Princess of Wales. It seems to have been a happy relationship. In 1362 Edward the Black Prince paid substantial sums for her clothing; and, after he returned from Castile in 1367, she met him outside Bordeaux Cathedral; he dismounted from his horse and they walked hand-in-hand to the Bishop's palace.^[1]

Joan and the Black Prince had two sons:

• Edward, born in 1365, who died in 1370^[1]
• Richard, born in January 1367, the future Richard II^[1]

Last Years and Death

The Black Prince died on 8 July 1376^[2] and Joan became guardian of their son the future Richard II, with a third of the revenues of Wales being set aside for her once he became Prince of Wales. Records of 1377-1385 show Richard granting a number of pardons at her request, so she seems to have been close to her son after his accession to the throne in 1377.^[1]

Joan appears to have been sympathetic to John Wycliffe and the incipient Lollard movement. Leading Lollard-inclining knights were close to her and in 1378 she stopped English bishops from condemning Wycliffe.^[1]

In 1379 John of Gaunt came into conflict with the citizens of London and sought refuge in one of her houses: she sent three knights to ask the Londoners to calm down for her sake, with an implication that she was popular in the city. During the 1381 Peasants' Revolt she was left unharmed, and leaders of the revolt invited her to kiss them.^[1]

In her last years Joan was very fat and her mobility suffered. She did not allow this to stop her travelling between the royal court and John of Gaunt in 1385 to try and effect a reconciliation and avert civil war when Richard II attempted to arrest John of Gaunt. In June that year Richard II, presumably fearing for her safety in uncertain times, set 13 knights to guard her while he was in Scotland. She died a few weeks later, probably at Wallingford Castle, Berkshire, where she signed her will on 7 August 1385, and was buried at Grey Friars, Stamford, Lincolnshire, where Thomas de Holland was buried,^{[2][7][8][10]} on 27 January 1386, the funeral having been delayed until after the return of her son Richard II from Scotland.^[1] The site of her burial is marked by a modern wall inscription.^[11]

Joan's will, dated 7 August 1385, was proved on 9 December 1385.^[2]

Inquisitions Post Mortem show the very large extent of Joan's landholdings. They give varying dates, in July (clearly wrong in view of the date of her will) and August 1385, for her death.^[12]

Order of the Garter

One of several legends for the origin of the Order of the Garter has it that its name is due to a garter slipping from Joan's leg when she was dancing, with Edward III picking it up and saying "Honi soit qui mal y pense!" - "Shame on anyone who think ill of this!"^[13]

In 1378 she was herself made a Lady of the Order of the Garter.^[14]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Richard Barber for 'Joan, suo jure countess of Kent, and princess of Wales and of Aquitaine [called the Fair Maid of Kent]', print and online 2004
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9} G E Cokayne. Complete Peerage, revised edition, Vol. VII, St Catherine Press, 1929, pp. 150-154, Internet Archive
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} A. E. Stamp, E. Salisbury, E. G. Atkinson and J. J. O'Reilly, 'Inquisitions Post Mortem, Edward III, Files 118 and 119', in Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem: Volume 10, Edward III (London, 1921), pp. 41-57, British History Online, accessed 21 October 2022
4. ↑ G E Cokayne, Complete Peerage, revised edition, Vol. VII, pp. 146-147, Internet Archive
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by M M N Stansfield for 'Holland, Thomas, earl of Kent, (c. 1315–1360)', print and online 2004, revised online 2008
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by John L. Leland for 'Montagu, William [William de Montacute], second earl of Salisbury, print and online 2004, revised online 2008
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4} Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011), Vol. II, pp. 485-496, Google Books
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4} Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), Vol I, pp 97-103; Vol III, pp 424-433
9. ↑ Calendar of the Fine Rolls, Edward III, A.D. 1347-1356, HMSO, 1921, pp. 356-357, Hathi Trust
10. ↑ Mark Duffy. Royal Tombs of Medieval England, Tempus, 2003, pp. 151-152
11. ↑ Image at Find A Grave: Memorial #46672269
12. ↑ M. C. B. Dawes, M. R. Devine, H. E. Jones and M. J. Post, 'Inquisitions Post Mortem, Richard II, File 41', in Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem: Volume 16, Richard II (London, 1974), pp. 110-118, British History Online, accessed 21 October 2022
13. ↑ George Frederik Beltz. Memorials of the most noble Order of the Garter, William Pickering, 1841, pp. xlii-xliii, Internet Archive
14. ↑ George Frederik Beltz. Memorials of the most noble Order of the Garter, p. ccxxi, Internet Archive

See also:

• G E Cokayne. Complete Peerage, revised edition:
  • Vol. III, St Catherine Press, 1913, pp. 435-437, Internet Archive
  • Vol. XI, St Catherine Press, 1949, pp. 388-390, viewable on Familysearch
• Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900,:
  • Vol. 29, pp. 392-393, entry for 'JOAN (1328–1385), the Fair Maid of Kent', Wikisource
  • Vol. 17, pp. 19-101, entry for 'EDWARD, Prince of Wales (1330–1376)', Wikisource
  • Vol. 27, p. 156, entry for 'HOLLAND, Sir THOMAS, first Earl of Kent', Wikisource
  • Vol. 38, pp. 214-215, entry for 'MONTACUTE or MONTAGU, WILLIAM de, second Earl of Salisbury', Wikisource
• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Richard Barber for 'Edward [Edward of Woodstock; known as the Black Prince], prince of Wales and of Aquitaine', print and online 2004, revised online 2008
• Charles Cawley. 'Medieval Lands':
  • Joan of Kent
  • Thomas de Holand
  • William de Montagu
  • Edward of Woodstock
• Wikipedia:
  • Wikipedia: Joan of Kent
  • Wikipedia: Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent
  • Wikipedia: William Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury
  • Wikipedia: Edward the Black Prince
• The Peerage.com: Joan of Kent, Countess of Kent