James Butler, 1st Earl of Ormond (17 October 13046 January 1338), was a noble in the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

. He was born in Arklow, Wicklow, Ireland and died in Gowran, Kilkenny, Ireland.

Family

James Butler was the son of

Edmund Butler, Earl of Carrick Edmund Butler (died 1321), 6th Chief Butler of Ireland and nominally Earl of Carrick, was an Irish magnate who served as Justiciar of Ireland during the difficult times of the Scottish invasion from 1315 to 1318 and the great famine of 1316 to 1 ...

, (126813 September 1321), Justiciar of Ireland and

Joan FitzGerald, Countess of Carrick Joan Butler (née FitzGerald), Countess of Carrick (1281 – 2 May 1320) was an Irish noblewoman, and the wife of Edmund Butler, Earl of Carrick, Justiciar of Ireland (1268 – 13 September 1321). She was the mother of James Butler, 1st Earl o ...

. His paternal grandparents were Theobald le Botiller (1242–1285), (the son of Theobald le Botiller and Margery de Burgh) and Joan FitzJohn (FitzGeffrey) (d. 4 April 1303), who was the daughter of John FitzGeoffrey, Lord of

Shere Shere is a village in the Guildford district of Surrey, England east south-east of Guildford and west of Dorking, centrally bypassed by the A25. Located on the River Tillingbourne it is a small still partly agricultural village chiefly set ...

, Justiciar of Ireland and Isabel Bigod. His maternal grandfather was

John FitzThomas FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Kildare John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, who married Blanche de la Roche.

Titles

Upon his father's death in 1321, the only hereditary title to which James succeeded was that of Chief Butler of Ireland. As the 7th Chief Butler, he inherited the title from his ancestor Theobald Fitzwalter, or Theobald Butler, whose successors adopted the surname

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

. The hereditary office of butler of Ireland was one of particular fealty to the Crown, whereby Theobald and his successors were to attend the Kings of England at their coronation.Otway-Ruthven, A. J. ''A History of Medieval Ireland'' New York: Barnes & Noble 1993 p. 67 A gap of seven years followed before James was rewarded for his especial loyalty with an earldom in his own right. His benefactor, the young

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 ...

, created him the first Earl of Ormond by patent dated 2 November 1328, at Salisbury—the king was holding a Parliament there—with the creation fee of £10 a year. Seven days later by patent dated at Wallingford, in consideration of his services and the better to enable him to support the honour, the king gave James the regalities, liberties, knights fees, and other royal privileges of the county of Tipperary, and the rights of a palatine in that county for life. At about the same time, in September 1328, the king created Roger Mortimer the 1st

Earl of March Earl of March is a title that has been created several times, respectively, in the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of England. The title derives from the "marches" or borderlands between England and either Wales (Welsh Marches) or Scotland (S ...

, who would soon arouse the anger of those most loyal to the Crown. In 1336, James founded the friary of Carrick-Begg (a townland on the

River Suir The River Suir ( ; or ''Abhainn na Siúire'' ) is a river in Ireland that flows into the Atlantic Ocean through Waterford after a distance of . The catchment area of the Suir is 3,610 km2.

opposite

Carrick-on-Suir Carrick-on-Suir () is a town in County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies on both banks of the River Suir. The part on the north bank of the Suir lies in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of "Carrick", in the historical B ...

) for

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Friars. On 3 June of that year, he gave the friars his castle and estate of Carrick, which they occupied on the feast day of SS. Peter and Paul (29 June).

Marriage and children

In 1327, James was offered a marriage arrangement that would give him the castle and manor of Kilpec, Hereford, for life. He married

Eleanor de Bohun Eleanor de Bohun ( – 3 October 1399) was the elder daughter and co-heiress (with her sister, Mary de Bohun), of Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford (1341–1373) and Joan Fitzalan, a daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel an ...

(1304–1363), daughter of the 4th Earl of Hereford, and Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...

; they had six children together, four of whom survived infancy: * Anne Butler (1328–1329) * Eleanor Butler (?) * John Butler (born and died an infant in 1330) * Elizabeth Butler (1330) *

James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond (4 October 133118 October 1382) was a noble in the Peerage of Ireland. He was Lord Justice of Ireland in 1359, 1364, and 1376, and a dominant political leader in Ireland in the 1360s and 1370s. The son of James B ...

(4 October 133118 October 1382), married Elizabeth Darcy, daughter of

John Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Knayth John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

Lord Justice of Ireland The Lords Justices (more formally the Lords Justices General and General Governors of Ireland) were deputies who acted collectively in the absence of the chief governor of Ireland (latterly the Lord Lieutenant) as head of the executive branch o ...

, and Joan de Burgh, and had issue. He was born at Kilkenny and given in ward on 1 September 1344his father, James Butler, had died in 1338to Maurice, Earl of Desmond, for the fine of 2,306 marks; and afterwards to Sir John Darcy, who married him to his daughter Elizabeth. James Butler the son was called the Noble Earl on account of his descent from the Royal Family through his mother.Lodge, John ''The Peerage of Ireland or, A Genealogical History Of The Present Nobility Of That Kingdom'', 1789, Vol IV, p 8. * Pernel Butler (133223 April 1368), married Gilbert Talbot, 3rd Baron Talbot, son of

Richard Talbot, 2nd Baron Talbot Richard Talbot, 2nd Baron Talbot (c. 1306 – 23 October 1356) was an English nobleman and soldier. As the husband of the heiress Elizabeth de Comyn, he played a role in the Second War of Scottish Independence. Family Talbot was the son and ...

and Elizabeth de Comyn, and had issue. They were ancestors to Lady Maud Parr, mother of queen consort

Catherine Parr Catherine Parr ( – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until Henry's death on 28 January 1547. Catherine was the final queen consort o ...

. James's successors held the title Earl of Ormond, which was later merged with the higher title of

Duke of Ormonde The peerage title Earl of Ormond and the related titles Duke of Ormonde and Marquess of Ormonde have a long and complex history. An earldom of Ormond has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland. History of Ormonde titles The earldom ...

; they held

palatine A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman Empire, Roman times.

rights in

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

until the County Palatine of Tipperary Act 1715.

Family

Titles

Marriage and children

See also

References

Further reading