Gerald FitzMaurice FitzGerald (1335–1398), Webb, Alfred.
A Compendium of Irish Biography
'. Dublin: 1878. also known by the Irish Gaelic ''Gearóid Iarla'' (Earl Gerald), was the 3rd

Earl of Desmond Earl of Desmond ( meaning Earl of South Munster) is a title of nobility created by the English monarch in the peerage of Ireland. The title has been created four times. It was first awarded in 1329 to Maurice FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond, Maur ...

, in southwestern Ireland, under the first creation of that title, and a member of the Anglo-Norman dynasty of the FitzGerald, or Geraldines. He was the son of Maurice FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond, by his third wife Aveline (Eleanor), daughter of Nicholas FitzMaurice, 3rd Lord of Kerry. He was half-brother to Maurice FitzGerald, 2nd Earl of Desmond. Maurice Fitzgerald, 2nd Earl of Desmond, would have been followed by Gerald's older brother, Nicholas, but Nicholas was described as "an idiot", and so was passed over for the earldom. Because of this, some older histories list Gerald as the 4th Earl.

Life

In 1356 he was brought to England as a hostage for his father's good behaviour, but as his father died that same year, he was soon released. Three years later, he succeeded his brother Maurice, who had died without male heirs, and became the 3rd Earl of Desmond. King

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

confirmed Gerald in his large estates in Munster, provided that he marry Eleanor Butler, daughter of the Justiciar, James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond. Gerald did so, but did not make peace with Ormond, nor adopt English ways and customs as expected.

Career and poetry

According to Alfred Webb: ''Duanaire Ghearóid Iarla'' (‘'The Poem-Book of Earl Gerald'') is preserved in a fifteenth-century manuscript, the Book of Fermoy. In addition, nine of his poems are preserved in the Book of the Dean of Lismore. ''Duanaire Ghearóid Iarla'' was published by Gearóid Mac Niocaill in Studia Hibernica 3 (1963): 7-59. In 1367 Desmond was made

Lord Chief Justice of Ireland The Court of King's Bench (or Court of Queen's Bench during the reign of a Queen) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The Lord Chief Justice was the most senior judge ...

, but was soon replaced by Sir William de Windsor. In 1370 Brian O'Brien of Thomond expelled his cousin Turlough. Desmond attempted to reinstate him. Brian marched on Limerick, and defeated Desmond, burning the city and Desmond's lands and imprisoning him. While in prison, Gerald wrote poetry in Irish, most famously the poem ''Mairg adeir olc ris na mnáibh'' (''Speak not ill of womankind''). Also an accomplished poet in Norman French, Gerald was instrumental in the move by the Desmond Geraldines towards greater use of the Irish language.

In legend

In legend, Gerald's conception was the result of his father's romantic relationship with, or rape of, the goddess Áine, a legend that draws upon a pre-existing

Celt The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

ic legend about the

King of Munster The kings of Munster () ruled the Kingdom of Munster in Ireland from its establishment during the Irish Iron Age until the High Middle Ages. According to Gaelic traditional history, laid out in works such as the ''Book of Invasions'', the earli ...

Ailill Aulom raping this deity, updating it with themes drawn from the Francophone courtly love poetry of Continental Europe, in particular the motif of the man who falls in love with a

swan maiden The "swan maiden" () is a tale classified as Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index, ATU 400, "The Swan Maiden" or "The Man on a Quest for His Lost Wife," in which a man makes a pact with, or marries, a supernatural female being who later departs. The ...

. The Geraldine claim to an association with Áine is typical of the family's

Gaelicisation Gaelicisation, or Gaelicization, is the act or process of making something Gaels, Gaelic or gaining characteristics of the ''Gaels'', a sub-branch of Celticisation. The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group, traditionally viewed as having spread fro ...

. After his disappearance in 1398, another legend grew up that Gerald sleeps in a cave beside (or under) Lough Gur, and will someday awaken and ride forth on a silver-shod steed to rule again in Desmond, – one of the many worldwide versions of the

King asleep in mountain The king asleep in the mountain (D 1960.2 in Stith Thompson's Motif (folkloristics), motif-index) is a prominent folklore Trope (literature), trope found in many folktales and legends. Thompson termed it as the Kyffhäuser type. Some other design ...

mythologisation of heroes.

Marriage and issue

In 1359 Gerald married Eleanor (or Ellen) Butler, daughter of James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond. She died in 1404. They had four sons: # John FitzGerald, 4th Earl of Desmond # Maurice FitzGerald # James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond, 'the Usurper' # Robert FitzGerald de Adair and two daughters: # Joan, who married Maurice FitzJohn, Lord of Kerry # Catherine, who married John FitzThomas

Ancestry

References

External links

''The Noble Earl''
a review in the ''Dublin Review of Books'' of ''Scéal Ghearóid Iarla'' by Máire Mhac an tSaoi {{DEFAULTSORT:Desmond, Gerald Fitzgerald, 3rd Earl Of 1335 births 1398 deaths 14th-century Irish nobility Áine Normans in Ireland Earls of Desmond (1329 creation)

Gerald Gerald is a masculine given name derived from the Germanic languages prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Gerald is a Norman French variant of the Germanic name. An Old English equivalent name was Garweald, the likely original ...

Missing person cases in Ireland People from County Cork King asleep in mountain Lords Lieutenant of Ireland