John D'arcy, 1st Baron D'arcy de Knayth (c. 1290 – 30 May 1347) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
peer. He was created 1st Baron Darcy in 1317.
["Lady D'arcy de Knayth" (2008, March 12). ''The Telegraph''. Retrieved October 18, 2014 from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1581433/Lady-Darcy-de-Knayth.html]
The son of Roger D'arcy and Isabel de Aton, he was born circa 1280, possibly at
Knaith
Knaith is a village and civil parish about south of the town of Gainsborough in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 335.
Knaith is a community with roots in Anglo-Saxon ...
,
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 ...
. Darcy became one of the most trusted advisors to
Edward III of England
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...
and was appointed
in 1319,
High Sheriff of Lancashire
The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient officer, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales. The High Sheriff of Lanca ...
in 1323 and
High Sheriff of Yorkshire
The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere ...
in 1327. He served as Member of Parliament for
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
in 1320. He was summoned to Parliament in 1331, 1333 and 1341 as "Johanni Darcy le Cosin".
In 1323 (until 1326), 1332 (until 1333) and again in 1340 (until 1344) he was
chief governor of Ireland
The chief governor was the senior official in the Dublin Castle administration, which maintained English and British rule in Ireland from the 1170s to 1922. The chief governor was the viceroy of the English monarch (and later the British monarch ...
. In 1324, he presided at the trial of
Alice Kyteler, the celebrated Witch of
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 her associates, and condemned several of them to
death by burning
Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment ...
. Alice herself, helped by her influential friends, escaped from prison and fled the country.
Darcy was named a
Knight Bachelor
The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...
in 1336.
He was steward to the king (1337–1340) and then chamberlain (1342–1346). An ambitious programme to reform the Irish administration produced little result, possibly because it was delegated to his Deputy,
John Morice, a long-serving and conscientious but not very competent civil servant.
In 1342, he joined the
Earl of Northampton
Earl of Northampton is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created five times.
Earls of Northampton, First Creation (1071)
* Waltheof (d. 1076)
* Maud, Queen of Scotland (c.1074–1130/31)
*Simon II de Senlis (1103–1153)
* Simon II ...
on an expedition to Flanders and on his return was made
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
Nottingham Castle
Nottingham Castle is a Stuart Restoration-era ducal mansion in Nottingham, England, built on the site of a Norman castle built starting in 1068, and added to extensively through the medieval period, when it was an important royal fortress and o ...
(1343–1344) and of the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
(1345–1346). He took part in a number of wars against the Scots and French and fought at the
Battle of Crecy
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
in 1346, being sent home by the king to announce the victory in Parliament. He was created the first Lord Darcy of Knayth in 1332.
Marriage and issue
Darcy married twice. He had one son, John, with his first wife, Emmeline. She was the daughter of Sir Walter Heron of Silkston and Alice de Hastings. Darcy's second wife was Joan, widow of
Thomas FitzJohn, 2nd Earl of Kildare. Her parents were
Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster
Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster and 3rd Baron of Connaught (; ; 1259 – 29 July 1326), called The Red Earl ( Latinized to de Burgo), was one of the most powerful Irish nobles of the late 13th and early 14th centuries and father of ...
and his wife and cousin Margaret de Burgh. Darcy and Joan de Burgh had a daughter,
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
, who married
James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormonde
James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond (4 October 133118 October 1382) was a noble in the Peerage of Ireland. He was Lord Justice of Ireland in 1359, 1364, and 1376, and a dominant political leader in Ireland in the 1360s and 1370s.
The son of James Bu ...
.
[Richardson, Douglas, Everingham, Kimball G. (2005). Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc. p.161]
Death
After Darcy died in 1347, his son John succeeded to the barony. Darcy was buried at
Gisborough Priory
Gisborough Priory is a ruined Augustinian priory in Guisborough in the current borough of Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1119 as the Priory of St Mary by the Norman feudal magnate Robert de Brus, also an ances ...
.
References
*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darcy de Knayth, John Darcy, 1st Baron
Year of birth uncertain
1290s births
1347 deaths
13th-century English people
14th-century English nobility
People from West Lindsey District
Peers created by Edward III
High Sheriffs of Nottinghamshire
High Sheriffs of Lancashire
High Sheriffs of Yorkshire
High Sheriffs of Derbyshire
Burials at Gisborough Priory
Lords Lieutenant of Ireland
Barons Darcy de Knayth