Thomas de Montpellier, or de Monte Pessulano (died after 1347) was a fourteenth-century

Anglo Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from, the Angles, England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to peopl ...

- French judge and Crown official, much of whose career was spent in

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 ...

. He held a number of important lay and clerical offices including Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral,

Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland The Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland was the head of the Exchequer of Ireland and a member of the Dublin Castle administration under the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Kingdom of Ireland. In early times the title was sometimes given as ...

and, briefly,

Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer was the Baron ( judge) who presided over the Court of Exchequer (Ireland). The Irish Court of Exchequer was a mirror of the equivalent court in England and was one of the four courts which sat in the build ...

.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 Vol.i p.68 His family, who came to England from Montpellier in France in the late thirteenth century, had a tradition of service to Edward I. Thomas himself is recorded as being in the service of the Crown by 1307, and in his official capacity, he visited Ireland on several occasions. Peter de Montpellier, who was Royal Physician to the English Court from c.1303 to the end of the reign of Edward II, was probably Thomas's brother or cousin.Hamilton, J.S. ''Some Notes on "Royal" Medicine in the Reign of Edward II'' in "Fourteenth Century England" Chris Given-Wilson editor; Boydell Press 2002 Vol.2 p.33 He became a

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of th ...

in the

Diocese of Ossory The Bishop of Ossory () is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Province of Leinster, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been ...

in 1318 and was subsequently made prebendary of Lusk; he was appointed Dean of

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Saint Patrick's Cathedral ( ir, Ard-Eaglais Naomh Pádraig) in Dublin, Ireland, founded in 1191 as a Roman Catholic cathedral, is currently the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. Christ Church Cathedral, also a Church of Ireland cat ...

, about 1338. He made the

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

to the shrine of

St James the Great James the Great, also known as James, son of Zebedee, Saint James the Great, Saint James the Greater, Saint James the Elder, or Saint Jacob (Aramaic ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܪ ܙܒܕܝ, Arabic يعقوب, Hebrew בן זבדי , '' Yaʿăqōḇ'', Latin '' ...

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...

in 1319. He was appointed Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer in 1327, with a salary of £10 a year, but seems only to have served in that office for a few months.

The National Archives National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives. Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...

"''Officers in Ireland anno primo R. Edwardi III with their yearly fees''" He was made Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer the following year. In 1332

Alexander de Bicknor Alexander de Bicknor (1260s? – 14 July 1349; usually spelt "Bykenore" in original Middle English sources) was an official in the Plantagenet kingdom under Edward I of England, Edward II of England, and Edward III of England. Best known to histor ...

, the Archbishop of Dublin, appointed him one of his attorneys while the Archbishop was in England.''Patent Roll 6 Edward III'' In 1335 he returned to the

Court of Exchequer (Ireland) The Court of Exchequer (Ireland) or the Irish Exchequer of Pleas, was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was the mirror image of the equivalent court in England. The Court of Exchequer was one of the four royal courts of justic ...

as the second baron but was quickly transferred to the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland). He went to England in 1341. Shortly afterwards he was removed from the Bench: whether this was at his own wish or not is unclear. He was still Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral in 1347, but nothing seems to be known of him after that date.

References

{{authority control Deans of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin 14th-century Irish judges Irish people of French descent Chief Barons of the Irish Exchequer 14th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests