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The Holland family was a medieval-era English noble family. Many famous people throughout American and British history were descended from the Hollands. Many Hollands were Counts, Dukes, Knights and Barons in medieval England. All of the male members of the family inherited the title Baron Holand.
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Robert de Holland, 1st Baron Holland
The first recorded Holland was a knight named Sir Robert de Holland of Upholland, indicating that the family might have its origins in Upholland. Robert had a son, Robert de Holland, 1st Baron Holand, born around 1283, who became a favourite knight of Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster. After fighting for Thomas in the Banastre Rebellion, a civil war started by rival barons, he acquired large plots of land, because of his role in the war, and he was even given the high honour of being a member of the House of Lords in the English Parliament. He fought with Lancaster at the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322 and after briefly being imprisoned continued rebelling until Queen Isabella's Invasion of England. In 1328 Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster followers declared Robert a traitor, took him prisoner, and beheaded him. Robert's children, Thomas Holland and Sir Otho Holland, carried on his legacy.
The Holland family's involvement in the founding of the Order of the Garter
Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent and his brother, Otho Holland, fought side by side in the Hundred Years' War, against the French. They were both daring commanders of the English army, and both saw intense action at the Battle of Caen and the Battle of Crécy. When he and his brother left duty in France, they returned home to England, and were two of the founding knights of the Order of the Garter, England's highest order of chivalry to this day. At the end of his life, Otho died childless, but his brother Thomas, had children. His eldest son, another Thomas, became the 2nd Earl of Kent after he died.
Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent
Thomas inherited his father's title of Earl of Kent, becoming the 2nd Earl of Kent, and like his predecessors, Thomas was a keen warrior. When he grew up, he fought in many battles, most notably the Battle of Nájera, in which he served under his stepfather: Edward, the Black Prince. His wife, Alice Holland, Countess of Kent, was related to Edward. Like his father, he became a Knight of the Garter. After he finished his career in the English army, he had several children. Through the marriages of his children, he became a progenitor of many key figures in the War of the Roses.