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 An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to the most important courts of Europe.

Family

John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond was the second son of

James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

, by his first wife, Joan de Beauchamp (d. 3 or 5 August 1430). He had an elder brother,

James Butler, 5th Earl of Ormond James Butler, 5th Earl of Ormond, Earl of Wiltshire (24 November 1420 – 1 May 1461) was an Anglo-Irish nobleman and soldier. Butler was a staunch Lancastrian and supporter of Queen consort Margaret of Anjou during the Wars of the Roses. He w ...

, and a younger brother,

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, b ...

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

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

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

Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond 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 ...

, although the marriage appears not to have taken place.

Career

War of the Roses

A supporter of the Lancastrian cause, he was present at 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 ...

in 1461 where his elder brother was killed. He succeeded his brother to the title, but was forced to go on the run after this heavy defeat. Taking shelter in either

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

he then crossed over to Ireland where there was still considerable support for his cause in Tipperary and

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

. After raising a force amongst them he was confronted by the pro-

Yorkist The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, th ...

head of the

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

government, Thomas Fitzgerald, Earl of Desmond. The two clashed at the Battle of Piltown in 1462, which ended in a decisive Yorkist victory. Ormond's army suffered over a thousand casualties. He was subsequently restored to the earldom by

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

after having been

attainted In English criminal law, attainder was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditary titles, but ...

for his part in the battle of Towton. Edward IV is reported to have said that "if good breeding and liberal qualities were lost in the world, they might be all found in the Earl of Ormond". He was a complete master of the languages of Europe, and was sent as

to its principal courts.

Marriage and children

Ellis says that 'according to family tradition, Ormond died unmarried in the Holy Land, on pilgrimage, before 15 June 1477, possibly on 14 December 1476'. By his mistress Reynalda O'Brien, daughter of Turlogh "The Brown" O'Brien,

King of Thomond The kings of Thomond () ruled from the establishment of Thomond during the High Middle Ages, until the Early modern period. Thomond represented the legacy of Brian Bóruma and the High Kings of Ireland of his line who could not hold onto all of ...

, he had three illegitimate sons: *

Sir James Ormond Sir James Ormond ''alias'' Butler (died 17 July 1497) was the son of John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond. He was Lord Treasurer of Ireland from 1492 to 1494, and helped to defend the Lordship of Ireland against the forces of Perkin Warbeck. He was ...

(1462–1497). Heir designate to the Earldom of Ormonde, murdered by the illegitimate Piers "Black Sheep" Butler. *John Ormond (1462 – 5 October 1503), who married the heiress Joan Chaworth (d.1507), by whom he had three daughters. *Edward Ormond, (b.1450) He was succeeded by his younger brother,

Notes

References

* * * * Year of birth unknown 1476 deaths

John 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 E ...