John de Bothby, or Boothby ( born c.1320-died after 1382) was an English-born cleric and judge who became

Lord Chancellor of Ireland The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland (commonly known as Lord Chancellor of Ireland) was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801, it was also the highest political office of ...

Biography

Boothby was born at

Boothby Pagnall Boothby Pagnell is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population is now included in the civil parish of Bitchfield and Bassingthorpe. History The village lay in the historical wapentake of ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, the second son of Thomas de Bothby and his wife Alicia; his family were Lords of the Manor of

Bourne, Lincolnshire Bourne is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies on the eastern slopes of the limestone Kesteven Uplands and the western edge of the Fens, 11 miles (18 km) north-east of Stamford, 12 mile ...

. John himself later held the nearby manor of

Cammeringham Cammeringham is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated north from the city and county town of Lincoln, and just off the A15 road near RAF Scampton. According to the 2001 Census the vi ...

. He is first heard of as a royal clerk. He rose in the public service, held a number of royal commissions, and was granted a licence to export

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

in 1360. He came to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

as Lord Chancellor in

1371 Year 1371 ( MCCCLXXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January – Edward, the Black Prince, gives up the administration of Aquitaine ...

and held the office until 1374. O'FlanaganO'Flanagan, J. Roderick ''Lives of the Lord Chancellors of Ireland'' London 1870 remarks that nothing is known of his career as Chancellor, other than the fact of his appointment. Elrington Ball however notes that he was entitled to a

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

guard while in Ireland, and he was sufficiently knowledgeable about Irish affairs to be sent back to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

by the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

to report on them in 1372. Smyth records the payment to him of the cost of maintaining six men-at-arms and six mounted archers, who were given to him for his personal safety and for the safe custody of the

Great Seal of Ireland The Great Seal of Ireland was the seal used until 1922 by the Dublin Castle administration to authenticate important state documents in Ireland, in the same manner as the Great Seal of the Realm in England. The Great Seal of Ireland was used fro ...

.Smyth, Constantine Joseph ''Chronicle of the Law Officers of Ireland'' London Butterworths 1839 Having undertaken the journey to England at his own expense, he was later repaid 12 marks by the Council for his expenses. Unlike many holders of the office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland, who could reasonably expect to be appointed to an English bishopric in due course, Boothby never rose above the position of

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

: he held the living of

Keyingham Keyingham is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The village is situated approximately east of Kingston upon Hull city centre and lies on the A1033 road. History A possible Iron Age or Roman enclosure was nor ...

, and later that of

Hound, Hampshire Hound is a village and civil parish in the borough of Eastleigh in southern Hampshire, England. The parish encompasses the villages of Netley, Butlocks Heath and Old Netley, and includes such landmarks as Netley Castle and Netley Abbey. In the ...

. He was finally appointed vicar of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Northampton, and died there. TheHolySepulchre

His date of death is uncertain. He was still living in 1382 when he was asked to inquire into whether lands held by the Priory of Walton had been unlawfully acquired. His property passed to his nephew, also called John de Bothby.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 p.87

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bothby, John De Lord chancellors of Ireland People from South Kesteven District 14th-century English people People from East Lindsey District