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 An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to the most important courts of Europe.

Family

John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond was the second son of James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond, by his first wife, Joan de Beauchamp (d. 3 or 5 August 1430). He had an elder brother,

James Butler, 5th Earl of Ormond James Butler, 5th Earl of Ormond, Earl of Wiltshire (24 November 1420 – 1 May 1461) was an Anglo-Irish nobleman and soldier. Butler was a staunch Lancastrian and supporter of Queen consort Margaret of Anjou during the Wars of the Roses. He w ...

, and a younger brother,

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 ...

, as well as two sisters, Elizabeth Butler, who married

John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury, 2nd Earl of Waterford, 8th Baron Talbot, KG (12 DEC 1413 – 10 July 1460) was an English nobleman and soldier. He was the son of John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, 1st Earl of Waterford, 7th Baron Talbot ...

, and Anne Butler (d. 4 January 1435), who was contracted to marry

Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond Thomas FitzJames FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond (died 1467/68), called 'Thomas of Drogheda', and also known as the Great Earl, was the son of James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond and Mary de Burgh. He was Lord Deputy of Ireland under the Lieute ...

, although the marriage appears not to have taken place.

Career

War of the Roses

A supporter of the Lancastrian cause, he was present at the

Battle of Towton The Battle of Towton took place on 29 March 1461 during the Wars of the Roses, near Towton in North Yorkshire, and "has the dubious distinction of being probably the largest and bloodiest battle on English soil". Fought for ten hours between a ...

in 1461 where his elder brother was killed. He succeeded his brother to the title, but was forced to go on the run after this heavy defeat. Taking shelter in either

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

he then crossed over to Ireland where there was still considerable support for his cause in

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 ...

and

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 ...

. After raising a force amongst them he was confronted by the pro-

Yorkist The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, t ...

head of the

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

government, Thomas Fitzgerald, Earl of Desmond. The two clashed at the

Battle of Piltown The Battle of Piltown took place near Piltown, County Kilkenny in 1462 as part of the War of the Roses, Wars of the Roses. It was fought between the supporters of the two leading Irish magnates Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond, head of the ...

in 1462, which ended in a decisive Yorkist victory. Ormond's army suffered over a thousand casualties. He was subsequently restored to the earldom by

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

after having been

attainted In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditary ...

for his part in the battle of Towton. Edward IV is reported to have said that "if good breeding and liberal qualities were lost in the world, they might be all found in the Earl of Ormond". He was a complete master of the languages of Europe, and was sent as

to its principal courts.

Marriage and children

Ellis says that 'according to family tradition, Ormond died unmarried in the Holy Land, on pilgrimage, before 15 June 1477, possibly on 14 December 1476'. By his mistress 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 ...

, he had three illegitimate sons: * Sir James Ormond (1462-1497). Heir designate to the Earldom of Ormonde, murdered by the illegitimate Piers Black Sheep Butler. *John Ormond (1462 - 5 October 1503), who married the heiress Joan Chaworth (d.1507), by whom he had three daughters. *Edward Ormond, (b.1450) He was succeeded by his younger brother,

Notes

References

* * * Year of birth unknown 1476 deaths

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...