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, 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 ...

, which declared him and his brothers traitors, were abrogated.

Family

Thomas Butler was the third son of James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond, by his first wife, Joan de Beauchamp (d. 3 or 5 August 1430). He had two elder brothers, James Butler, 5th Earl of Ormond, and John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond, as well as two sisters, Elizabeth Butler, who married John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury, and Anne Butler (d. 4 January 1435), who was contracted to marry Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond, although the marriage appears not to have taken place.

Career

Thomas Butler, as an Irish peer, should only have sat in the Irish Parliament. However, as a personal friend of Henry VII, he was summoned to the English Parliament in November 1488 as "Thomas Ormond de Rochford ''chevaler''". At this time he was already 8th Earl of Carrick and 7th Earl of Ormond, having succeeded his elder brothers James Butler, 5th Earl of Ormond and John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond, neither of whom left legitimate issue. He was afterwards sworn of the

Privy Council of England The Privy Council of England, also known as His (or Her) Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council (), was a body of advisers to the List of English monarchs, sovereign of the Kingdom of England. Its members were often senior members of the House ...

. He was known as ''The Wool Earl'', due to his enormous wealth. Besides being in the possession of major lands in the Irish counties of

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 ...

and Tipperary, and other lands in north

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

, he owned 72 manors in England, making him one of the richest subjects in the realm. He relied heavily on the advice and political skills of Walter Champfleur,

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

of St Mary's Abbey, Dublin, until the abbot's death in 1498 or 1499. Champfleur collected his rents, stored money for him, and kept him informed of important political developments, especially in Parliament. Champfleur in return solicited favours for his relations, but on a more personal note wrote inquiring about the health of the Countess (Ormond's second wife Lora), who was pregnant with their only daughter Elizabeth. After Champfleur's death the Earl's relations with the Abbey, and particularly the new Abbot, John Orum, deteriorated markedly: Orum even refused to hand over money which he admitted was Ormond's property and was held in the Abbey only for safekeeping. In 1509, he was appointed Lord Chamberlain to

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the Wives of Henry VIII, first wife of King Henry VIII from their marr ...

. He held this post until 1512.

Marriage and children

He married twice: *Firstly in 1445 to Anne Hankford (1431–1485), daughter and co-heiress of Sir Richard Hankford (c. 1397 – 1431) of Annery, Monkleigh, Devon, ''

jure uxoris ''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title '' suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could beco ...

'' feudal baron of Bampton (grandson of Sir William Hankford (c. 1350 – 1423), Chief Justice of the King's Bench) by his 2nd wife Anne Montagu (d. 1457), a daughter of John Montacute, 3rd Earl of Salisbury (c. 1350 – 1400). By Anne Hankford he had two daughters and co-heiresses who inherited the Butler estates in England: **Lady Anne Butler (1455 - 5 June 1533), heiress through her mother of Annery,Prince, p. 462 who married firstly Ambrose Cressacre, esquire, by whom she had no issue, and secondly Sir James St Leger (d. 1509), by whom she had two sons, Sir George St Leger, and James St Leger. **Lady Margaret Butler (c.1454–1539), who married Sir William Boleyn, by whom she had six sons and five daughters, including Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, father of Queen

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

, second wife of

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 six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...

. *Secondly before November 1496, he married Lora Berkeley (1454–1501), widow successively of John Blount, 3rd Baron Mountjoy (by whom she had two sons and two daughters), and Sir Thomas Montgomery (d. 2 January 1495) of Faulkbourne,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, and daughter of Edward Berkeley (d. March 1506) of Beverston Castle,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, by his wife Christian Holt (d.1468), second daughter and coheir of Richard Holt. By his second wife Lora Berkeley, Ormond had one daughter: **Elizabeth Butler (d. 1510).

Death and succession

Ormond died on 3 August 1515 and was buried in the Mercers' Chapel of the Hospital of St Thomas of Acre in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. As he died without male progeny the barony supposedly created in 1488 fell into abeyance. The Earldom devolved to his heir male and distant cousin Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond, 1st Earl of Ossory (1467–1539), the grandson of his first cousin Sir Edmund MacRichard Butler (1420–1464) of Polestown, County Kilkenny, Ireland, a grandson of James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond (c. 1359 – 1405) of Gowran Castle in Ireland.

Notes

References