Theobald Walter (sometimes Theobald FitzWalter, Theobald Butler, or Theobald Walter le Boteler) was the first Chief Butler of Ireland. He also held the office of
Chief Butler of England and was the
High Sheriff of Lancashire for 1194. Theobald was the first to use the surname Butler of the
Butler family of Ireland. He was involved in the Irish campaigns of King
Henry II of England and
John of England
John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...
. His eldest brother
Hubert Walter became the
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
and
justiciar and
Lord Chancellor
The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...
of England.
Family
Theobald was the son of Hervey Walter and his wife, Matilda de Valoignes, who was one of the daughters of Theobald de Valoignes.
[Cokayne, George Edward ''The Complete Peerage: Volume Two Bass to Canning'' Vicary Gibbs & H. A. Doubleday eds. Microprint reprint edition Stroud:Sutton Publishing 2000 pp. 447–448]
Their children were
Theobald,
Hubert—future Chief Justiciar and Archbishop of Canterbury—Bartholomew, Roger, and Hamon. Theobald Walter and his brother Hubert were brought up by their uncle
Ranulf de Glanvill, the great justiciar of
Henry II of England who had married his mother's sister Bertha.
[Lodge, John ''The Peerage of Ireland or, A Genealogical History of the Present Nobility of That Kingdom'' 1789, Vol IV, p. 3]
Career
On 25 April 1185,
Prince John, in his new capacity as "Lord of Ireland" landed at Waterford and around this time granted the hereditary office of
butler of Ireland to Theobald, whereby he and his successors were to attend the Kings of England at their coronation, and on that day present them with the first cup of wine.
[Otway-Ruthven, A. J. ''A History of Medieval Ireland'' New York: Barnes & Noble 1993 p. 67] Theobald's father had been the hereditary holder of the office of butler of England.
[Poole, A. L. ''Domesday Book to Magna Carta 1087–1216'' Second Edition Oxford:Clarendon Press reprint 1986 p. 313] Some time after, King Henry II of England granted him the prisage of wines, to enable him, and his heirs, the better to support the dignity of that office. By this grant, he had two tuns (barrels) of wine out of every ship, which broke bulk in any trading port of Ireland, and was loaded with 20 tons of that commodity, and one ton from 9 to 20.
[ Theobald accompanied John on his progress through Munster and Leinster. At this time he was also granted a large section of the north-eastern part of the Kingdom of Limerick.][ The grant of five and a half cantreds was bounded by: ]"...the borough of Killaloe and the half cantred of Trucheked Maleth in which it lay, and the cantreds of Elykarval, Elyochgardi, Euermond, Aros and Wedene, and Woedeneoccadelon and Wodeneoidernan."
These are the modern baronies of Tullough (in County Clare
County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...
), Clonlisk and Ballybritt (in County Offaly
County Offaly (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland, ancient Kingdom of Uí ...
), Eliogarty, Ormond Upper, Ormond Lower, Owney and Arra (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 ...
), Owneybeg, Clanwilliam and Coonagh (in County Limerick).
Theobald was active in the war that took place when Rory O'Connor attempted to regain his throne after retiring to the monastery of Cong, as Theobald's men were involved in the death of Donal Mor McCarthy during a parley in 1185 near Cork.[Otway-Ruthven, A. J. ''A History of Medieval Ireland'' New York: Barnes & Noble 1993 p. 69] In 1194 Theobald supported his brother during Hubert's actions against Prince John, with Theobald receiving the surrender of John's supporters in Lancaster. Theobald was rewarded with the office of sheriff of Lancaster, which he held until Christmas of 1198. He was again sheriff after John took the throne in 1199.[Joliffe, J. E. A. ''Angevin Kingship'' London:Adam and Charles Black 1955 p. 66]
In early 1200, however, John deprived Theobald of all his offices and lands because of his irregularities as sheriff. His lands were not restored until January 1202.[Joliffe, J. E. A. ''Angevin Kingship'' London:Adam and Charles Black 1955 pp. 67–68] A manuscript in the National Library of Ireland points to William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber as the agent of his restoration:"Grant by William de Braosa, (senior) to Theobald Walter (le Botiller) the burgh of Kildelon ( Killaloe) ... the cantred of Elykaruel (the baronies of Clonlisk and Ballybrit, County Offaly), Eliogarty, Ormond, Ara and Oioney, etc. 1201."
"Elykaruel" refers to the Gaelic tuath of "Ely O'Carroll", which straddled the southern part of County Offaly
County Offaly (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland, ancient Kingdom of Uí ...
and the northern part of Tipperary (at Ikerrin). The other cantreds named are probably the modern baronies of Eliogarty, Ormond Upper, Ormond Lower and Owney and Arra 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 ...
.
Theobald founded the Abbey of Woney,[ in the ]townland
A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...
of Abington (, meaning "the monastery of Uaithne"), of which nothing now remains, near the modern village of Murroe in County Limerick Ireland around 1200.[Otway-Ruthven, A. J. ''A History of Medieval Ireland'' New York: Barnes & Noble 1993 p. 73] He also founded the Cockersand Abbey in Lancaster, Abbey of Nenagh 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 ...
, and a monastic house at Arklow
Arklow ( ; ; ) is a town in County Wicklow on the southeast coast of Ireland. The town is overlooked by Ballymoyle Hill. It was founded by the Vikings in the ninth century. Arklow was the site of one of the Battle of Arklow, bloodiest battles ...
in County Wicklow
County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...
.[
]
Marriage and children
Theobald married Maud le Vavasour (1176–1226), heiress of Robert le Vavasour, a baron of Yorkshire,[ John Lodge in the ''Peerage of Ireland'' in 1789 gave the year as 1189,][Lodge, John ''The Peerage of Ireland or, A Genealogical History of the Present Nobility of That Kingdom'', 1789, Vol IV, p 5.] but on no apparent authority, as no other author follows him on this.
He died on 4 February 1206 at Arklow Castle and was buried at Wotheney Abbey.
Their children were
* Theobald le Botiller, 2nd Chief Butler of Ireland[
* Maud (1192–1244) marries three times yet only has two surviving children Ralph and Marie
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Theobald Walter, 1st Baron
Theobald Theobald is a Germanic dithematic name, composed from the elements '' theod-'' "people" and ''bald'' "bold". The name arrived in England with the Normans.
The name occurs in many spelling variations, including Theudebald, Diepold, Theobalt, Ty ...
People from County Tipperary
Normans in Ireland
12th-century Irish people
13th-century Irish people
High sheriffs of Lancashire
1165 births
1206 deaths