Sir Amias Paulet (died 1538) was an English

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...

, and

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

of Somerset and Dorset.

Origins

Probably born sometime in the late 1450s/1460s, Amias Paulet was the son of Sir William Paulet (d. 1488) of Hinton St. George, Somerset, and Elizabeth Deneland. Paulet was brought up a Lancastrian, and took part in Buckingham's rebellion of 1483 against

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

, for which he was attainted. Restored two years later, in 1485, Paulet was subsequently made sheriff for Somerset and Dorset under Henry VII.

Career

Amias Paulet was a skilled and respected soldier, fighting in 1487 at the Battle of Stoke and was one of the 52 men subsequently knighted for their service. Paulet was tasked with collecting the fines of various individuals implicated in the failed rebellion of

Perkin Warbeck Perkin Warbeck ( 1474 – 23 November 1499) was a pretender to the English throne claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, who was the second son of Edward IV and one of the so-called "Princes in the Tower". Richard, were he alive, ...

1497 Year 1497 ( MCDXCVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * February 7 (Shrove Tuesday) – Followers of Girolamo Savonarola burn thousands of ...

. In 1501, he was one of the west-country gentlemen who met with

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...

, the future wife of Henry VII's son and heir, Arthur. Under

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

, Paulet travelled to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

to command 25 men in the expedition to the north of France in 1513, during the first Anglo-French war of Henry VIII's reign.

Altercations with Thomas Wolsey

It is alleged that when Thomas Wolsey, not yet a man of much reputation, came to take possession of the benefice of

Limington Limington, also archaeically Lymington, is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Yeovilton and District, in Somerset, England, situated north of Yeovil in the South Somerset district. The parish has a population of 199. The pa ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, Paulet clapped him in the

stocks Stocks are feet restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law describing ...

. The precise details are unknown and vague but it is likely that Wolsey and Paulet quarrelled over a minor issue, the former possibly being inebriated. In 1521, Paulet became treasurer for

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

and Wolsey, now

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...

and the King's closest adviser, took revenge on him for the previous indignity which Paulet had put upon him. Wolsey ordered Paulet not to leave

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

unless given permission (by Wolsey) and so Paulet stayed virtually a prisoner in the Middle Temple for five or six years. In order to gain Wolsey's favour and forgiveness, Paulet placed Wolsey's arms on the Middle Temple gateway.

Marriages and children

Dying in 1538, Amias Paulet married twice. He only produced children from the second marriage: *Firstly, he married Margaret, daughter of Sir John Paulet, himself the grandfather of William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester, who held prominent positions under Henry VIII, Mary I, Edward VI, and

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

. *Secondly, he married Laura, daughter of William Kellaway and by her had three sons and a daughter: **Sir

Hugh Paulet Sir Hugh Paulet (bef. 1510 – 6 December 1573) (or Poulet, his spelling) of Hinton St George in Somerset, was an English military commander and Governor of Jersey. Origins Born after 1500, he was the eldest son of Sir Amias Paulet of Hinton St ...

(bef. 1510 – 6 December 1573), an English military commander and

Governor of Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the la ...

. **John **Henry **Elizabeth, who married firstly to John Sidenham, secondly to William Carswell, and thirdly to Henry Coppleston.Collins, Arthur, The Peerage of England, Vol. 3, 3rd edn., 1735, London, p. 223.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paulet, Amias 15th-century births Knights Bachelor People from Somerset 16th-century English soldiers People of the Wars of the Roses 1538 deaths Amias Burials at the Poulett mausoleum, Church of St George (Hinton St George) 15th-century English people