Thomas Cranley DD a.k.a. Thomas Craule ( c.1340–1417) was a leading statesman, judge and cleric in early fifteenth-century Ireland, who held the offices of Chancellor of

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, Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland.

Early career

He was born in England about 1340; little seems to be known about his family. He entered the Carmelite order. He is recorded as a

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of Merton College, Oxford, in 1366. He became

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...

of New College in 1389 and

Chancellor of the University of Oxford This is a list of chancellors of the University of Oxford in England by year of appointment. __TOC__ Chronological list See also * List of vice-chancellors of the University of Oxford *List of University of Oxford people * List of chancell ...

in 1390. He was a Doctor of Divinity and a judge.

Irish career

In 1397, on the death of

Richard Northalis Richard Northalis (died 20 July 1397) was an English-born cleric and judge who spent much of his life in Ireland. He held the offices of Bishop of Ossory, Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland. For the last decade of his life, he was ...

, he was made Archbishop of

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and arrived in Ireland the following year. After the accession of King Henry IV, Cranley undertook a diplomatic mission to

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, and was made Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1401. When Henry's son Thomas, Duke of Clarence, was made Lord Deputy of Ireland, Cranley was appointed to his council. A letter which he sent to the King around the end of 1402 painted a grim picture of the state of English rule in Ireland. Cranley assured the King of his absolute loyalty to both the King and his son, but implored the King to send over money and men since "''your son is so destitute of money that he has not a penny in the world ... and his soldiers have departed from him, and the people of his household are on the point of leaving''". The King, who was generally short of money, is not known to have responded to this plea. Cranley himself could probably have contributed something to the Deputy's expenses: certainly, he was sufficiently well off to lend the

Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The ...

40 marks in 1402. On the other hand there is no doubt that Crown revenue in Ireland was at a very low ebb, which contributed to the weakening of English rule in Ireland through the early fifteenth century. The pressure of official business, combined with the effects of ill health and old age, made Cranley increasingly unfit to perform his duties, and in his later years the functions of the Chancellor were usually carried out by his deputies, first Thomas de Everdon, then Laurence Merbury, and then Roger Hawkenshaw. Cranley resigned as Chancellor in 1410, but in 1413 the new

King Henry V Henry V (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422), also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the Hu ...

reappointed him to that office. This is a tribute to the high regard in which the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, the Earl of Shrewsbury, held him. He also acted as

Justiciar 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 ...

, following the sudden death of Sir John Stanley, although in view of his age and ill health it was understood that this was only a temporary appointment. As Justiciar he was assisted by a military council, made up of such noted soldiers as the Gascony-born knight Sir Jenico d'Artois.Otway-Ruthven, A.J. ''History of Medieval Ireland'' New York Barnes and Noble reissue 1993 pp.343-8 He became

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 ...

of Clonmethan in north County Dublin in 1410: in 1414 he was sued by the Crown for recovery of the profits of the prebend for the previous two years, on the grounds that he had been an absentee prebend, but the lawsuit was dismissed when Cranley produced the King's letters patent authorising his absence.

Death

In 1417 he was asked to present a memorial on the state of Ireland, which was highly critical of Lord Shrewsbury's record as Lord Lieutenant, to the English Crown. He reached England, but he was an old man even by modern standards, and in frail health. The journey proved to be too much for his constitution, and he died at

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in Oxfordshire on 25 May. He was buried in New College, Oxford: his memorial brass survives, and the inscription on his tomb hails him as "''the flower of prelates''".

Appearance and character

Early historians praised Cranley for both his mental and physical qualities: "''thou art fair beyond the children of men, grace is diffused through thy lips because of thine eloquence''" wrote one particularly eloquent admirer. He was described as tall and commanding in appearance, with fair hair and a ruddy complexion; his personality was witty, eloquent and learned. As a cleric, he was described as charitable to the poor, a notable preacher and a great builder of churches. The

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two cham ...

in 1421 praised him as the model of what a good chief governor should be.Beresford, David "Cranley, Thomas" ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'' Cambridge University Press

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cranley, Thomas 1337 births 1417 deaths Carmelites Archbishops of Dublin Fellows of Merton College, Oxford Wardens of New College, Oxford Chancellors of the University of Oxford 14th-century English people 15th-century English people Lord chancellors of Ireland Lords Lieutenant of Ireland 15th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland Wardens of Winchester College 14th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland