John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester
KG (8 May 1427 – 18 October 1470), was an English nobleman and scholar who served as
Lord High Treasurer
The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State ...
,
Lord High Constable of England
The Lord High Constable of England is the seventh of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Great Chamberlain and above the Earl Marshal. This office is now called out of abeyance only for coronations. The Lord High Constable was ...
and
Lord Deputy of Ireland
The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland. The plural form is ' ...
. He was known as "the Butcher of England" to his
Tudor detractors.
Life
Birth and education
Born at Eversden in 1427, he was the son of
John Tiptoft, 1st Baron Tiptoft
John Tiptoft, 1st Baron Tiptoft (died 27 January 1443) was a Knight of the Shire for Huntingdonshire and Somerset, Speaker of the House of Commons, Treasurer of the Household, Chief Butler of England, Treasurer of the Exchequer and Seneschal of ...
, and Joyce Cherleton, co-heiress of
Edward Charleton, 5th Baron Cherleton. He was notable for his education, studying at
University College
In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...
at
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
from the ages of 13 to 16.
Through his father, he was a descendant of
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...
and through his mother he was a descendant of
Llywelyn the Great
Llywelyn the Great ( cy, Llywelyn Fawr, ; full name Llywelyn mab Iorwerth; c. 117311 April 1240) was a King of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually " Prince of the Welsh" (in 1228) and "Prince of Wales" (in 1240). By a combination of war and ...
and
Henry III of England
Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry ...
.
Marriages and children
He married thrice:
#
Cecily Neville, Duchess of Warwick
Cecily Neville, Duchess of Warwick, Countess of Worcester (c.1425 – 26 July 1450) was a daughter of Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury and Alice Montacute, 5th Countess of Salisbury. Her siblings included Richard Neville, 16th Earl of War ...
, daughter of
Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury
Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury (1400 – 31 December 1460) was an English nobleman and magnate based in northern England who became a key supporter of the House of York during the early years of the Wars of the Roses. He was the ...
, in 1449, by whom he had no issue. She died 28 July 1450.
#Elizabeth Greyndour (d. 1452), daughter and sole heiress of Robert (d. 1443) of and
Joan Greyndour of
Clearwell
Clearwell (anciently "Clower-Wall" etc.) is a village and former ancient manor in the Forest of Dean, West Gloucestershire, England. A recent survey indicated that the population of Clearwell is approximately 350.
There are mines locally that ...
, Gloucestershire. They had one son, John, who died the year of his birth, 1452.
#Elizabeth Hopton (b. c. 1445, d. 22 June 1498), daughter of Sir Thomas Hopton and Eleanor Lucy; granddaughter of Sir Walter Hopton and widow of Sir Roger Corbet of Moreton Corbet (d. 8 June 1467). They married at Ludlow about September 1467, and received a pardon for marrying without a licence dated 9 May 1468. They had a son, Edward, who died unmarried in 1485.
Career
He enjoyed a brilliant early career. After being created
Earl of Worcester
Earl of Worcester is a title that has been created five times in the Peerage of England.
Five creations
The first creation came in 1138 in favour of the Norman noble Waleran de Beaumont. He was the son of Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leice ...
on 16 July 1449, he was employed in a number of official posts, first as
Lord High Treasurer
The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State ...
(1452–1454) and then as
Lord Deputy of Ireland
The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland. The plural form is ' ...
(1456–1457). He then departed on a pilgrimage to the
Holy Land
The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...
in 1458, and returned by way of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, where he stayed for two years, studying at the
University of Padua
The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from ...
. There he gained a considerable reputation as a scholar of
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
.
He returned to England in 1461 and was received with favour 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 Englan ...
, receiving the
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the Georg ...
and being appointed to a number of posts, including in 1461,
Constable of the Tower of London
The Constable of the Tower is the most senior appointment at the Tower of London. In the Middle Ages a constable was the person in charge of a castle when the owner—the king or a nobleman—was not in residence. The Constable of the Tower had a ...
for life and in 1463,
Lord Steward of the Household. Most notably, as
Lord High Constable (1462), he presided over trials which resulted in the
attainder
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 hereditar ...
s and
executions of Lancastrians, an office which he carried out with exceptional cruelty, having them
beheaded
Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the au ...
, quartered, and
impaled. In 1464 he was appointed
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 ...
for life and in 1467 he again became
Lord Deputy of Ireland
The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland. The plural form is ' ...
, and brought about the execution of
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 Lieut ...
. Tiptoft served again as
Lord High Treasurer
The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State ...
from 1462 to 1463 and
again from July to October 1470. Tiptoft's tenure as Lord High Treasurer occurred during the
Great Bullion Famine
The Great Bullion Famine was a shortage of precious metals that struck Europe in the 15th century, with the worst years of the famine lasting from 1457 to 1464. During the Middle Ages, gold and silver coins saw widespread use as currency in Euro ...
and the
Great Slump in England.
Death
Upon the
Readeption of Henry VI in 1470, Tiptoft was unable to escape with Edward IV and his supporters. He was captured by the Lancastrians and
beheaded
Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the au ...
at the Tower of London, attainted and his title forfeited. His last act was to ask the executioner to chop off his head with three blows, for the sake of the
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...
.
The title "2nd
Earl of Worcester
Earl of Worcester is a title that has been created five times in the Peerage of England.
Five creations
The first creation came in 1138 in favour of the Norman noble Waleran de Beaumont. He was the son of Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leice ...
" was the only peerage restored to his minor son Edward, on 14 April 1471, although no
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
is named. His son Edward died in 1485, while still a minor, and without issue. The titles thus became extinct on his death,
[M. C. Jones, 'Feudal lords of Powys' ''Montgomeryshire Collections'' I (1868), 357.] or in abeyance between his aunts as co-heiresses.
Notes
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Worcester, John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of
1427 births
1470 deaths
Tiptoft
Knights of the Garter
Lord chancellors of Ireland
Lord High Treasurers of England
English Renaissance humanists
People executed under the Lancastrians
People of the Wars of the Roses
Executed English people
People executed under the Plantagenets by decapitation
Executions at the Tower of London