{{Infobox noble, type , name = Thomas FitzGerald , title = The

Earl of Kildare Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

, image = Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare.jpg , caption = , alt = , CoA = , more = no , succession = , reign = 1534–1537 , reign-type = Reign , predecessor = Gerald FitzGerald , successor = Title forfeited , suc-type = , spouse = , spouse-type = , issue = , issue-link = , issue-pipe = , full name = , styles = , titles = , noble family =

FitzGerald dynasty The FitzGerald dynasty is a Hiberno-Norman noble and aristocratic dynasty, originally of Cambro-Normans, Cambro-Norman and Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman origin. They have been Peerage of Ireland, peers of Ireland since at least the 13th centur ...

, house-type = , father = Gerald FitzGerald , mother = Elizabeth Zouche , birth_date = 1513 , birth_place = , christening_date = , christening_place = , death_date = 3 February 1537 (aged 23/24) , death_place =

Tyburn Tyburn was a Manorialism, manor (estate) in London, Middlesex, England, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. Tyburn took its name from the Tyburn Brook, a tributary of the River Westbourne. The name Tyburn, from Teo Bourne ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from the late 9th century, when it was unified from various Heptarchy, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland to f ...

, burial_date = , burial_place = , occupation = , memorials = , url = , module = Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare (1513 – 3 February 1537), also known as Silken Thomas ( Irish: ''Tomás an tSíoda''), was a leading figure in 16th-century

Irish history The first evidence of human presence in Ireland dates to around 34,000 years ago, with further findings dating the presence of ''Homo sapiens'' to around 10,500 to 7,000 BC. The receding of the ice after the Younger Dryas cold phase of the Qua ...

Life

Thomas Fitzgerald was born in

in 1513, the son of

Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare Gerard FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare (1487 – 12 December 1534; Irish: ''Gearóid Óg Mac Gearailt'', meaning "Young Gerald FitzGerald"), was a leading figure in 16th-century Irish history. In 1513 he inherited the title of Earl of Kildar ...

, and his first wife Elizabeth Zouche, who was a distant cousin of Henry VII. After the death of his mother, he was raised by the wife of his father's steward, Janet Eustace. Little else is known of his early years. What is known is that Thomas spent a number of years in the English court and married the youngest daughter of Sir Adrian Fortescue, named Frances. It's unclear whether this marriage took place before or after his father's return to Ireland in August 1530. In February 1534, his father was summoned to London and appointed the 21-year-old Thomas (by then Lord Offaly) deputy governor of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in his absence. In June 1534, Thomas heard rumours that his father had been executed in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

and that the English government intended the same fate for himself and his uncles."The Fitzgeralds of Kildare", Ask About Ireland
/ref>

Kildare rebellion (1534–1535)

He summoned the council to St. Mary's Abbey, Dublin, and on 11 June 1534, accompanied by 140 armoured

gallowglass The Gallowglass (also spelled galloglass, gallowglas or galloglas; from meaning "foreign warriors") were a class of elite mercenary warriors who were principally members of the Norse-Gaelic clans of Ireland and Scotland between the mid 13th ...

es with

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

fringes on their helmets (from which he got his nickname), rode to the abbey and publicly renounced his allegiance to his cousin King

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

Lord of Ireland The Lordship of Ireland (), sometimes referred to retrospectively as Anglo-Norman Ireland, was the part of Ireland ruled by the King of Kingdom of England, England (styled as "Lord of Ireland") and controlled by loyal Normans in Ireland, Anglo ...

.Webb, Alfred. "Silken Thomas Fitzgerald, 10th Earl of Kildare", ''A Compendium of Irish Biography'', Dublin, M.H. Gill & Son, 1878
/ref> The Chancellor, Archbishop

John Alen John Alen (1476 – 28 July 1534) was an English priest and canon lawyer, whose later years were spent in Ireland. He held office as Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and was a member of the Privy Council of Ireland. In the l ...

, attempted to persuade him not to commit himself to such a rash proceeding; but the young lord's harper, understanding only Irish, and seeing signs of wavering in FitzGerald's bearing, commenced to recite a poem in praise of the deeds of his ancestors, telling him at the same time that he lingered there over long. Roused by this he threw down the sword of state and rushed from the hall, followed by his adherents. The council sent an order for his immediate arrest to the

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin () is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The incumbent, since December 2024, is Fine Gael councillor Emma ...

, who, however, had not sufficient force at his disposal. The Earl of Desmond and many of his father's oldest and best friends reasoned with him; but he was not to be turned from his purpose. As Lord Deputy, Kildare had under his control most of

the Pale The Pale ( Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast s ...

's fortresses and large government stores.

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle () is a major Government of Ireland, Irish government complex, conference centre, and tourist attraction. It is located off Dame Street in central Dublin. It is a former motte-and-bailey castle and was chosen for its position at ...

alone held out for the King of England. Lord Offaly called the lords of the Pale to the siege of the Castle; those who refused to swear fidelity to him he sent as prisoners to his

Maynooth Castle Maynooth Castle is a ruined castle in Maynooth, County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland which stands at the entrance to the South Campus of Maynooth University. Constructed in the early 13th century, it became the primary residence of the K ...

. Goods and chattels belonging to the King's subjects he declared forfeited, and he announced his intention of exiling or putting to death all born in England. He sent messengers to his cousin and friend Lord Butler, son of the Earl of Ormond, offering to divide the kingdom with him if he would join his cause, but Butler refused. Several children of the citizens of Dublin in different parts of the Pale were seized as hostages for the good behaviour of the city. In July, he attacked Dublin Castle, but his army was routed. He was, rightly or wrongly, judged to be responsible for the execution at Artane of Archbishop Alen, who had tried to mediate; this lost him support from the clergy. According to a long-established tradition, the killers, John Teeling and Nicholas Wafer, misunderstood his order, given in Irish, to "take this fellow away" (''Beir uaim an bodach'') as an order to kill Alen. By this time his father had taken ill and died in London, and he had technically succeeded as 10th

earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

, but the Crown never confirmed his title. He retreated to his stronghold at Maynooth Castle, but in March 1535 this was taken by an English force under

Sir William Skeffington Sir William Skeffington (c. 146531 December 1535) was an English knight who served as Lord Deputy of Ireland. Early life William Skeffington was born in Skeffington Hall, Leicestershire, the eldest son of Thomas Skeffington by his wife, Mary. ...

by bribing a guard, while Thomas was absent gathering reinforcements to relieve it. The surrendered garrison was put to death, which became known as the "Maynooth Pardon". Thomas had wrongly assumed that his cause would attract overwhelming support, in particular from

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

opposed to Henry VIII's

English Reformation The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...

. But Henry's new policy also outlawed

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

, and so Henry was not finally

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

until 1538.

Execution of Offaly and five uncles

In July, Lord Leonard Grey arrived from England as

Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), 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 ...

; Fitzgerald, seeing his army melting away and his allies submitting one by one, asked for

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

for his offences. He was still a formidable opponent, and Grey, wishing to avoid a prolonged conflict, guaranteed his personal safety and persuaded him to submit unconditionally to the King's mercy. According to the Irish Tree Council, legend has it that Silken Thomas played a lute under the boughs of the now oldest planted tree in Ireland, th
Silken Thomas Yew
the night before he surrendered to King Henry VIII. In October 1535 he was sent as a prisoner to the

. Despite Grey's guarantee, he was executed with his five uncles{{cite journal, last1=Palmer, first1=William, title=Early Modern Irish Exceptionalism Revisited, journal=Historian, date=March 2017, volume=79, issue=1, pages=9–31, doi=10.1111/hisn.12419, s2cid=151481709, postscript={{subscription required, via=EBSCO at

Tyburn, London Tyburn was a Manorialism, manor (estate) in London, Middlesex, England, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. Tyburn took its name from the Tyburn Brook, a tributary of the River Westbourne. The name Tyburn, from Teo Bourne ...

, on 3 February 1537. According to G. G. Nichols, the five uncles were "...draune from the Tower in to Tyborne, and there alle hongyd and hedded and quartered, save the Lord Thomas for he was but hongyd and hedded and his body buried at the Crost Freeres in the qwere...""McCorrestine, "The Revolt of Silken Thomas; A challenge to Henry VIII," Wolfhound Press, Dublin 1987. The Attainder of the Earl of Kildare Act 1536 was passed to permit his execution and the confiscation of his property. The 1536 Act remained law until it was repealed by the

Statute Law Revision (Pre-1922) Act 2005 The Statute Law Revision (Pre-1922) Act 2005 (No. 32 of 2005) is an Act of the Oireachtas. Section 1 of the Act, with the Schedule, repeals statutes of Ireland, England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The Act r ...

. Silken Thomas's revolt caused Henry to pay more attention to Irish matters, and was a factor in the creation of the

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland (; , ) was a dependent territory of Kingdom of England, England and then of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1542 to the end of 1800. It was ruled by the monarchs of England and then List of British monarchs ...

in 1542. In particular, the powers of the lords deputy were curbed, and policies such as

surrender and regrant During the Tudor conquest of Ireland (c.1540–1603), "surrender and regrant" was the legal mechanism by which Irish clans were to be converted from a power structure rooted in clan and kin loyalties, to a late-Feudalism, feudal system under t ...

were introduced. To provide for greater security the

Royal Irish Army Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...

was established as a

standing army A standing army is a permanent, often professional, army. It is composed of full-time soldiers who may be either career soldiers or conscripts. It differs from army reserves, who are enrolled for the long term, but activated only during wars ...

References

{{reflist

External links

{{EB1911 poster, Fitzgerald, Lord Thomas
The hum in Ireland during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI. (1509–1553)
from History of the Catholic Church from the Renaissance to the French Revolution by Rev. James MacCaffrey, S.J., 1914 {{S-start {{s-reg, ie {{succession box , before= Gerald FitzGerald , title=

, years=1534–1537 , after=Forfeit
(restored in 1569
for Gerald FitzGerald) {{S-end {{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Kildare, Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of

Thomas 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 A ...

Kildare, Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare, Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of FitzGerald, Thomas,10th Earl of Kildare 16th-century Irish nobility Irish Roman Catholics Irish revolutionaries People from County Kildare People executed by Tudor England by hanging, drawing and quartering People executed under Henry VIII People executed at Tyburn Earls of Kildare

Life

Kildare rebellion (1534–1535)

Execution of Offaly and five uncles

See also

References

External links