Sir Thomas Brandon, of

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, and of

Duddington Duddington is a small village in Northamptonshire, England. It is by the junction of the A47 and A43 roads, and is southwest of the town of Stamford. The village is on the east bank of the River Welland which is the county boundary of Rutlan ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, KG (died 27 January 1510) was an English soldier, courtier and diplomat.

Life

He was from a Lancastrian family, the son of William Brandon (died 1491) of

and Elizabeth Wingfield (died 1497), daughter of

Sir Robert Wingfield ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English language, English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist i ...

Letheringham Letheringham is a sparsely populated civil parish in the East Suffolk district (formerly Deben Rural District and then Suffolk Coastal) in Suffolk, England, on the Deben River. St Mary is a tiny church, the remains of the tower and nave of a ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. He was uncle to Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. His brother,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, was killed at the

battle of Bosworth The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 Augu ...

defending the standard of the future Henry VII. A contemporary manuscript speaks of Sir Thomas as having 'greatly favoured and followed the party of Henry, earl of Richmond.’ He was appointed to the embassy charged with concluding peace with France in 1492, and again in 1500 he formed one of the suites which accompanied Henry VII to

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

to meet the

Archduke Philip of Austria Philip the Handsome, es, Felipe, french: Philippe, nl, Filips (22 July 1478 – 25 September 1506), also called the Fair, was ruler of the Burgundian Netherlands and titular Duke of Burgundy from 1482 to 1506, as well as the first Habsburg Kin ...

. In 1503, together with Nicholas West, he was given the mission of concluding a treaty with the Emperor Maximilian at

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. The main object of this treaty was to induce Maximilian to withdraw his support from

Edmund de la Pole, 3rd Duke of Suffolk Edmund de la Pole, 3rd Duke of Suffolk, 6th Earl of Suffolk, KG (c. 147130 April 1513), Duke of Suffolk, was a son of John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk and his wife Elizabeth of York. Although the male York line ended with the death of Edw ...

, and banish him and the other English rebels from his dominions. Other points touched upon were the treatment of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and the question of Maximilian 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 George C ...

. Maximilian was indecisive and allowed the English ambassadors to leave. On his return to England, Brandon was given offices, including

master of the king's horse The following list contains many of the people known to have held the office of Master of the Horse in England. Some official records are incomplete, and not all office holders are known. Masters of the Horse 14th and 15th centuries * John (de) ...

. He was noted for his prowess as a knight and his skill in military affairs. In the records of a tournament held in 1494 to celebrate the creation of the

Prince Henry Prince Henry (or Prince Harry) may refer to: People *Henry the Young King (1155–1183), son of Henry II of England, who was crowned king but predeceased his father *Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal (1394–1460) *Henry, Duke of Cornwall (Ja ...

as Knight of the Bath and

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...

, Brandon is mentioned as having distinguished himself. He was made a Knight of the Garter. In October 1507 he was sent to meet

Balthasar de Castiglione Baldassare Castiglione, Count of Casatico (; 6 December 1478 – 2 February 1529),Dates of birth and death, and cause of the latter, fro, ''Italica'', Rai International online. was an Italian courtier, diplomat, soldier and a prominent Renaissan ...

, ambassador for the Duke of Urbino, who came to England to receive the Garter for his master. Brandon died on 27 January 1510..

Marriages and issue

Brandon married firstly, before 16 May 1496, Anne Fiennes (died 10 September 1497), widow of William Berkeley, 1st Marquess of Berkeley (died 14 February 1492). She was the daughter of

Sir John Fiennes Richard Fiennes, ''jure uxoris'' 7th Baron Dacre (1415 – 25 November 1483) was an English knight and hereditary keeper of Herstmonceux Castle, Sussex. He was the son of Sir Roger Fiennes, Member of Parliament (M.P.) for Sussex. and Elizabeth H ...

Alice FitzHugh Alice FitzHugh (c. 1448 – 10 July 1516) was the eldest daughter and co-heiress of Henry FitzHugh, 5th Baron FitzHugh, and Lady Alice Neville. Alice was born at the ancestral castle of Ravensworth. She married Sir John Fiennes, the son of Sir Ri ...

, daughter of Sir Henry FitzHugh, 5th Baron FitzHugh, and Lady Alice Neville, sister of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick ("Warwick, the Kingmaker"). By her father, she was the granddaughter of

Richard Fiennes, 7th Baron Dacre Richard Fiennes, ''jure uxoris'' 7th Baron Dacre (1415 – 25 November 1483) was an English knight and hereditary keeper of Herstmonceux Castle, Sussex. He was the son of Sir Roger Fiennes, Member of Parliament (M.P.) for Sussex. and Elizabeth Ho ...

of the South (died 1483). There was no issue from the marriage. She died on 10 September 1497 and was buried at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. Brandon married secondly, Elizabeth Dynham (died 19 October 1516),. widow of

Fulk Bourchier, 10th Baron FitzWarin Fulk Bourchier, 10th Baron FitzWarin (25 October 1445 – 18 September 1479) was the son and heir of William Bourchier, 9th Baron FitzWarin (1407–1470) and the father of John Bourchier, 1st Earl of Bath. He was feudal baron of Bampton in Devon. ...

(25 October 1445 – 18 September 1479) and of Sir John Sapcote (died 1501) of

Elton, Huntingdonshire Elton is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Elton lies approximately south-west of Peterborough. Elton is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a ...

. She was the daughter of Sir John Dinham (1406–1458) by Joan Arches (died 1497), and the sister and coheir of

John Dynham, 1st Baron Dynham John Dynham, 1st Baron Dynham, KG (c. 1433–1501) of Nutwell in the parish of Woodbury and of Hartland, both in Devon, was an English peer and politician. He served as Lord High Treasurer of England and Lord Chancellor of Ireland. He was on ...

(died 1501). According to Gunn, after Brandon's death his widow, Elizabeth, took a vow of celibacy before Bishop Fisher on 21 April 1510. She died 19 October 1516, and was buried in the

Greyfriars Greyfriars, Grayfriars or Gray Friars is a term for Franciscan Order of Friars Minor, in particular, the Conventual Franciscans. The term often refers to buildings or districts formerly associated with the order. Former Friaries * Greyfriars, Be ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

.Gunn states that she was buried in the priory of

St Mary Overie Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark. ...

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

Will of Fulk Bourchier, proved 10 November 1480, National Archives
Retrieved 5 April 2013
Will of Sir Thomas Brandon, proved 11 May 1510, National Archives
Retrieved 5 April 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Brandon, Thomas 1510 deaths Knights of the Garter 15th-century English people

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

Year of birth unknown Medieval English diplomats 16th-century English diplomats 15th-century diplomats