|Thomas of Brotherton|
Coat of arms of Thomas, Earl of Norfolk
1 June 1300|
Brotherton, Yorkshire, England
|Resting place||Bury St Edmunds Abbey, Suffolk
|Title||1st Earl of Norfolk|
|Tenure||1312 – 1338|
|Known for||Younger half-brother of Edward II of England|
|Years active||1316 – 1338|
|Wars and battles|
|Offices||Lord Marshal of England|
|Successor||Margaret, 2nd Countess of Norfolk|
|Issue||Edward of Norfolk
Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk
Alice of Norfolk
|Parents||Edward I of England
Margaret of France
Thomas was born at the Manor House in Brotherton. His mother was staying at Pontefract Castle and was following a hunt when she went into labour. He was born in the main house, later demolished in the 1930s due to disrepair, although the new 17th century wing still exists. He was named in honour of Thomas Becket, since his mother had prayed to him during her pregnancy.
Edward 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 wetnurses 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.
His father died when he was 7 years old. Thomas's half-brother, Edward, became king of England. 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 who had died without heirs in 1306.
In 1312, he was titled "Earl of Norfolk" and on 10 February 1316 he was created Lord Marshal of England. While his brother was away fighting in Scotland, he was left Keeper of England. Thomas was known for having a 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, Earl of March 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.
|This section does not cite any references or sources. (May 2013)|
He died in August 1338, and was buried in the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds. Thomas was succeeded by his daughter Margaret, 2nd Countess of Norfolk, she was later created Duchess of Norfolk for life in 1397.
|Ancestors of Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk|
The Countess of Norfolk
|Peerage of England|
|New creation||Earl of Norfolk
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