Thomas Ruthall (also spelled Ruthal, Rowthel or Rowthall; died 4 February 1523) was an English churchman, administrator and diplomat. He was a leading councillor of
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
.
Education and early career
He was born at
Cirencester
Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...
. He was educated at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
, ordained a deacon on 10 April 1490 at
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
, and incorporated
DD at Cambridge in 1500. Before this date he had entered the service of
Henry VII of England
Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor.
Henry's mother, Margaret Beauf ...
. In June 1499, then described as
prothonotary
The word prothonotary is recorded in English since 1447, as "principal clerk of a court," from L.L. ''prothonotarius'' ( c. 400), from Greek ''protonotarios'' "first scribe," originally the chief of the college of recorders of the court of the B ...
, he went on an embassy to
Louis XII of France, and on his return occupied the position of
king's secretary
In the Kingdom of England, the title of Secretary of State came into being near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603), the usual title before that having been King's Clerk, King's Secretary, or Principal Secretary.
From the ...
.
Church and court career
Ruthall had a long series of ecclesiastical preferments. In 1495 he had the rectory of
Bocking, Essex (whose priest is called the Dean of Bocking), in 1502 he became a prebendary of
Wells, and in 1503
Archdeacon of Gloucester,
Dean of Salisbury
The Dean of Salisbury is the head of the chapter of Salisbury Cathedral in the Church of England. The Dean assists the archdeacon of Sarum and bishop of Ramsbury in the diocese of Salisbury.
List of deans
High Medieval
* Walter
* Osbert
...
and
chancellor of Cambridge. In 1505 he was made prebendary of Lincoln; Henry VII, who had already made him a
privy councillor, appointed him
Bishop of Durham
The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham ...
in 1509, but Henry died before Ruthall was consecrated. Henry VIII confirmed his appointment, and continued him in the office of secretary. He was part of the skeleton council that accompanied Henry VIII to 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 sep ...
at the beginning of his reign, following the death of Henry VII. In 1510, with
Richard Foxe
Richard Foxe (sometimes Richard Fox) ( 1448 – 5 October 1528) was an English churchman, the founder of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He was successively Bishop of Exeter, Bath and Wells, Durham, and Winchester, and became also Lo ...
and
Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey
Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk (144321 May 1524), styled Earl of Surrey from 1483 to 1485 and again from 1489 to 1514, was an English nobleman, soldier and statesman who served four monarchs. He was the eldest son of John Howard, 1st Duk ...
, he negotiated a fragile peace with France.
He went to France with the king in 1513 with a hundred men, but was sent back to England when
James IV of Scotland threatened war. He took a part in the preparations for defence, strengthened
Norham Castle
Norham Castle (sometimes Nornam) is a castle in Northumberland, England, overlooking the River Tweed, on the border between England and Scotland. It is a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The castle saw much action during ...
, and wrote to
Thomas Wolsey
Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's Lord High Almoner, almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the ...
after the
Battle of Flodden
The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton, (Brainston Moor) was a battle fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, resulting in an English ...
(1513). He was present at the marriage of Louis XII and the Princess
Mary Tudor in 1514, and in 1516 was made
Lord Privy Seal.
In 1518 he was present when Wolsey was made a
papal legate, and was one of the commissioners when the
Princess Mary was betrothed to the Dauphin,
Francis III, Duke of Brittany
Francis III ( br, Frañsez; french: François; 28 February 1518 – 10 August 1536) was Duke of Brittany and Dauphin of Viennois. He was the first son of King Francis I of France and Duchess Claude of Brittany.
Life
Francis I said of his son ...
. He was at the
Field of the Cloth of Gold
The Field of the Cloth of Gold (french: Camp du Drap d'Or, ) was a summit meeting between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France from 7 to 24 June 1520. Held at Balinghem, between Ardres in France and Guînes in the English ...
in 1520, and was again at
Calais with Wolsey in 1521. When Buckingham was examined by the king, Ruthall was present as secretary. A hardworking official, he did a great deal of the interviewing necessary in diplomatic negotiations. Brewer represents him as Wolsey's drudge, and Giustinian speaks of his "singing treble to the cardinal's bass." He died on 4 February 1523 at
Durham Place
Durham House, or Durham Inn, was the historic London town house of the Bishop of Durham in the Strand. Its gardens descended to the River Thames.
History
Origins
Bishop Thomas Hatfield built the opulent Durham House in about 1345. It had a lar ...
, London, and was buried in St John's Chapel,
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...
.
Legacy
As a benefactor he repaired the bridge at Newcastle, and built a great chamber at
Bishop Auckland. He also increased the endowment of the grammar school at Cirencester which had been established by
John Chedworth, in 1460.
He was a patron of
Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' w ...
.
Thomas More
Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...
was a colleague in government, and a friend, and dedicated his edition of
Lucian to Ruthall.
[Letter to Ruthall, in ''The Yale Edition of The Complete Works of St. Thomas More Volume 3, Part 1, Translations of Lucian'']
Styles and titles
*1490–bef. 1493: ''
The Reverend
The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. ''The Reverend'' is correctly ...
'' Thomas Ruthall
*bef. 1493–1495: ''The Reverend'' Doctor Thomas Ruthall
*1495–1504: ''
The Very Reverend
The Very Reverend is a style given to members of the clergy. The definite article "The" should always precede "Reverend" as "Reverend" is a style or fashion and not a title.
Catholic
In the Catholic Church, the style is given, by custom, to pri ...
'' Doctor Thomas Ruthall
*1504–1509: ''The Very Reverend and
Right Honourable
''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...
'' Doctor Thomas Ruthall
*1509–1523: ''
The Right Reverend
The Right Reverend (abbreviated The Rt Revd, The Rt Rev'd, The Rt Rev.) is a style applied to certain religious figures.
Overview
*In the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church in Great Britain, it applies to bishops, except that '' The ...
and Right Honourable'' Doctor Thomas Ruthall
See also
*
Secretary of State (England)
In the Kingdom of England, the title of Secretary of State came into being near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603), the usual title before that having been King's Clerk, King's Secretary, or Principal Secretary.
From the ...
*
Diplomats (England)
References
Sources
* M. Johnson, 2004, Ruthall, Thomas (d. 1523)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Attribution
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruthall, Thomas
16th-century English Roman Catholic bishops
Chancellors of the University of Cambridge
Lords Privy Seal
Deans of Salisbury
Bishops of Durham
Archdeacons of Gloucester
People from Cirencester
15th-century births
1523 deaths
15th-century English clergy
Year of birth uncertain
Deans of Bocking