Sir James Ormond ''alias'' Butler (died 17 July
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 ...
) was the son of
John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond
John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond (died 14 December 1476) was considered one of the first gentlemen of the age in which he lived. He was an ambassador to the most important courts of Europe.
Family
John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond was the second ...
. He was
Lord Treasurer of Ireland
The Lord High Treasurer of Ireland was the head of the Exchequer of Ireland, chief financial officer of the Kingdom of Ireland. The designation ''High'' was added in 1695.
After the Acts of Union 1800 created the United Kingdom of Great Britain a ...
from 1492 to 1494, and helped to defend the
Lordship of Ireland
The Lordship of Ireland ( ga, Tiarnas na hÉireann), sometimes referred to retroactively as Norman Ireland, was the part of Ireland ruled by the King of England (styled as "Lord of Ireland") and controlled by loyal Anglo-Norman lords between ...
against the forces 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, ...
. He was murdered by
Sir Piers Butler on 17 July 1497. Piers would later hold the title of
Earl of Ormond.
Family
James Ormond was the eldest of three sons of
John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond
John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond (died 14 December 1476) was considered one of the first gentlemen of the age in which he lived. He was an ambassador to the most important courts of Europe.
Family
John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond was the second ...
(d. 14 October 1476), by his wife Reynalda O'Brien, daughter of Turlogh "The Brown" O'Brien,
King of Thomond
The kings of Thomond ( ga, Rí Tuamhain) ruled from the establishment of Thomond during the High Middle Ages, until the Early modern period. Thomond represented the legacy of Brian Bóruma and the High Kings of Ireland of his line who could no ...
. In 1458 one of his younger brothers, John Ormond (d. 5 October 1503) married the heiress Joan Chaworth (d.1507), by whom he had three daughters. Nothing is known of his other younger brother, Edward Ormond, apart from his name.
Career
He is thought to have been raised at court by his uncle,
Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond
Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond PC (1426 – 3 August 1515) was the youngest son of James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond. He was attainted, but restored by Henry VII's first Parliament in November 1485, and the statutes made at Westminster, by ...
. In June 1486 he was admitted to
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...
. In 1487 his uncle, the 7th Earl, appointed him as his deputy in Ireland after the death of Sir
James Butler of Polestown
Sir James Butler of Polestown (died 1487) was a warlord in Yorkist Ireland.
Career
James was the eldest son of Sir Edmund MacRichard Butler, whom he succeeded in 1464 as Lord Deputy of Ireland over his absentee cousins John and Thomas, the 6th ...
; however the appointment was disputed by the latter's son,
Sir Piers Butler.
In December 1491 Ormond was sent by King
Henry VII of England
Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor.
Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufort ...
in company with Thomas Garth and 200 soldiers to defend the interests of the
Crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
against the
pretender
A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term is often used to suggest that a claim is not legitimate.Curley Jr., Walter J. P. ''Monarchs-in-Waiting'' ...
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, ...
, and was appointed Governor of both
Kilkenny
Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512.
Kilken ...
and
Tipperary
Tipperary is the name of:
Places
*County Tipperary, a county in Ireland
**North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh
**South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel
*Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...
. In June 1492, having become one of Henry VII's councillors, he succeeded
Rowland FitzEustace, 1st Baron Portlester
Rowland FitzEustace, 1st Baron Portlester (c. 1430 – 19 December 1496) was an Irish peer, statesman and judge. He was one of the dominant political figures in late fifteenth-century Ireland, rivalled in influence probably only by his son-in-law ...
as
Lord High Treasurer of Ireland
The Lord High Treasurer of Ireland was the head of the Exchequer of Ireland, chief financial officer of the Kingdom of Ireland. The designation ''High'' was added in 1695.
After the Acts of Union 1800 created the United Kingdom of Great Britain a ...
, and he and
Walter Fitzsimons,
Archbishop of Dublin
The Archbishop of Dublin is an archepiscopal title which takes its name after Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Irelan ...
, were appointed jointly as governors of Ireland, to replace
Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare
Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare KG (born – ), known variously as "Garret the Great" (Gearóid Mór) or "The Great Earl" (An tIarla Mór), was Ireland's premier peer. He served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1477 to 1494, and from 149 ...
. The Earl's dismissal 'stoked the old Butler–Fitzgerald feud' until, in the early summer of 1493, Ormond and Kildare were reconciled in
St Patrick's Cathedral, where Ormond had sought refuge, by shaking hands 'through a hole cut in the chapter house door'.
To forestall a second invasion by
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, ...
, Henry VII sent forces to Ireland, and in September 1493 replaced Ormond and Fitzsimons as joint governors by Viscount Gormanston. Ormond and other prominent Irish officials spent the winter of 1493 in England at Henry VII's court preparing to defend Ireland against Warbeck. The King appointed
Sir Edward Poynings as Deputy Lieutenant of Ireland, and he sailed for Ireland with a force of 653 soldiers. Ormond was replaced as Lord Treasurer by
Sir Hugh Conway
Sir Hugh Conway (or Conwey) (1440–22 March 1518), was a member of the royal household of king Henry VII of England, Henry VII who served in a number of official posts including Lord High Treasurer of Ireland and Treasurer of Calais.
Family
Hugh ...
, but in recompense was granted several manors by the King, and returned to Ireland in June 1494. He was appointed
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
of
Limerick Castle
King John's Castle ( ga, Caisleán Luimnigh) also known as Limerick Castle is a 13th-century castle located on King's Island in Limerick, Ireland, next to the River Shannon. Although the site dates back to 922 when the Vikings lived on the ...
, and worked closely with Poynings, accompanying him on an expedition to
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
in November 1494. In February 1495 the Earl of Kildare was arrested for treason. His brother seized
Carlow Castle
Carlow Castle ( ga, Caisleán Cheatharlach) is located near to the River Barrow in County Carlow, Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated fro ...
, which Poynings and Ormond besieged in the spring and retook in July. Warbeck and Desmond then laid siege to
Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
, mapsize = 220px
, pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe
, pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe
, pushpin_relief = 1
, coordinates ...
. Ormond brought troops to Waterford, and shortly thereafter Warbeck's support in Ireland collapsed. Sir Edward Poynings was recalled to England, together with most of his forces, and as a result, Ormond assumed a greater role in Irish military affairs.
However, in the spring of 1496, Henry VII decided to restore the Earl of Kildare as Governor, and Ormond was summoned to England in July of that year for a formal reconciliation between the Earl of Ormond and the Earl of Kildare and their supporters. The English troops which Ormond had commanded in Ireland were ordered back to England, and according to Ellis, 'Kildare favoured Ormond's rival,
Piers Butler
Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond, 1st Earl of Ossory (1539) also known as Red Piers (Irish ''Piers Ruadh''), was from the Polestown–– branch of the Butler family of Ireland. In the succession crisis at the death of Thomas Butler, 7th Earl ...
'. Butler alleged that Ormand was claiming to be the rightful Earl of Ormond, and plotting with Perkin Warbeck. Allegations of this nature prompted Henry VII to summon Ormond to England early in 1497 and again in May. However, Ormond ignored both summonses, and was slain by his rival and kinsman Sir Piers Butler on 17 July 1497 'in a kind of impromptu duel near Kilkenny'.
His brothers were John Ormond, esquire, Sir William Butler of
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
, and Edward Ormond. James and his brother John were born in
Alfreton
Alfreton ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. The town was formerly a Norman Manor and later an Urban District. The population of the Alfreton parish was 7,971 at the 2011 Census. The villages of Ir ...
,
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
. They were the grandsons of the Irish King Turlogh ''The Brown'' O'Brien, King of
Thomond
Thomond (Classical Irish: ; Modern Irish: ), also known as the kingdom of Limerick, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Clare and County Limerick, as well as parts of County Tipperary around Nenag ...
(d.1460). He was knighted in 1493 by King
Henry VII of England
Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor.
Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufort ...
for services in battle for the
Tudor cause. He held lands in
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
. The year before his murder he was made an Irish
peer by Henry VII. He was hailed as
Earl of Ormond by the Irish, but never attained that title.
Footnotes
Citations
References
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External links
Door of Reconciliation, St Patrick's Cathedral, DublinRetrieved 16 December 2013
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ormond, James
1497 deaths
15th-century Irish people
People of the Tudor period
Irish murder victims
Irish knights
Lord High Treasurers of Ireland
James
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
Year of birth unknown