James Butler, 5th Earl of Ormond, Earl of Wiltshire (24 November 1420 – 1 May 1461) was an Anglo-Irish nobleman and

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' deri ...

. Butler was a staunch Lancastrian and supporter of Queen consort Margaret of Anjou during the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the throne of England, English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These w ...

. He was beheaded by the victorious Yorkists following the

Battle of Towton The Battle of Towton took place on 29 March 1461 during the Wars of the Roses, near Towton in North Yorkshire, and "has the dubious distinction of being probably the largest and bloodiest battle on English soil". Fought for ten hours between a ...

Family

James Butler, born on 24 November 1420, was the eldest son of James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond, by his first wife,

Joan de Beauchamp, Countess of Ormond Joan Butler (née Beauchamp), Countess of Ormond (1396 – 3 or 5 August 1430) was the first wife of James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond, and the mother of his five children. Their principal residence was Kilkenny Castle in Ireland. Life Joan de ...

(d. 3 or 5 August 1430). He had two younger brothers,

John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond (died 14 December 1476) was considered one of the first gentlemen of the age in which he lived. He was an ambassador to the most important courts of Europe. Family John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond was the second ...

, and

Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond PC (1426 – 3 August 1515) was the youngest son of James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond. He was attainted, but restored by Henry VII's first Parliament in November 1485, and the statutes made at Westminster, by ...

, as well as two sisters, Elizabeth Butler, who married

John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury, 2nd Earl of Waterford, 8th Baron Talbot, KG (12 DEC 1413 – 10 July 1460) was an English nobleman and soldier. He was the son of John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, 1st Earl of Waterford, 7th Baron Talbot ...

, and Anne Butler (d. 4 January 1435), who was contracted to marry

Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond Thomas FitzJames FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond (died 1467/68), called 'Thomas of Drogheda', and also known as the Great Earl, was the son of James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond and Mary de Burgh. He was Lord Deputy of Ireland under the Lieut ...

, although the marriage appears not to have taken place.

Career

He was created Earl of Wiltshire, in the Peerage of England, by King Henry VI on 8 July 1449, for his fidelity to the Lancastrian interest. In 1451 he became

Lord Deputy The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland. The plural form is ' ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

; the next year he succeeded his father in the Earldom of Ormond and was additionally appointed

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibilit ...

for ten years. From March to May 1455, he served as Lord High Treasurer of England and was made a Knight of the Garter in 1459. Butler served as Lord High Treasurer again from 1458 to 1460. Butler's tenure as Lord High Treasurer occurred during the

Great Bullion Famine The Great Bullion Famine was a shortage of precious metals that struck Europe in the 15th century, with the worst years of the famine lasting from 1457 to 1464. During the Middle Ages, gold and silver coins saw widespread use as currency in Euro ...

and the Great Slump in England. By virtue of the rights of his wife, Avice, in the manor of Frome he exercised patronage of the chantry of St Andrew in the parish church at Frome in appointments made in 1452, 1453 and 1458. When the dynastic civil wars - known as the

- broke out, Wiltshire fought on the Lancastrian side, becoming one of Queen consort Margaret of Anjou's staunchest supporters. He raised a significant force of Gaelic Irish troops to serve in England. He was present at the First Battle of St Albans in 1455,

Battle of Wakefield The Battle of Wakefield took place in Sandal Magna near Wakefield in northern England, on 30 December 1460. It was a major battle of the Wars of the Roses. The opposing forces were an army led by nobles loyal to the captive King Henry VI o ...

in 1460, Battle of Mortimer's Cross in 1461 and the

Death

He died on 1 May 1461, beheaded at Newcastle by the Yorkists after the Lancastrian army was soundly defeated at the Battle of Towton. He has been described by Dan Jones (The Hollow Crown) as "perhaps the greatest coward of his generation, (having) previously run away from the first battle of St. Albans and the battle of Mortimer's Cross. He brought his tally to three desertions by abandoning Towton, but this time his luck had run out". He was succeeded by his brother,

Marriages and children

He married firstly Avice Stafford (1423-1457), daughter and heiress of Sir Richard Stafford by Maud Lovell, daughter and heiress of Robert Lovell, esquire, by whom he had no children. He married secondly Eleanor Beaufort (1431-1501), daughter of Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, by

Eleanor Beauchamp Lady Eleanor Beauchamp, Baroness de Ros and Duchess of Somerset (September 1408 – 6 March 1467) was the second daughter of Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick and Elizabeth de Berkeley, daughter of Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkele ...

, daughter of Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick. The couple had no children.

Appearance and character

The Earl of Wiltshire was described as the most handsome man in the Kingdom and as Gregory records, at the First Battle of St Albans in 1455, Wiltshire "fought mainly with the heels, for he was frightened of losing his beauty"; prudently he had taken off his armour and hidden it in a ditch, donning a monk's habit.Desmond Seward: "The Wars of the Roses" pp.43-44

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ormond, James Butler, 5th Earl of 1420 births 1461 deaths James Lords Lieutenant of Ireland Lord High Treasurers of England Knights of the Garter People of the Wars of the Roses Executed English people Executed Irish people People executed under the Yorkists 15th-century Irish people People executed under the Plantagenets by decapitation Earls of Wiltshire Earls of Ormond (Ireland) Irish soldiers