Thomas Nevill, 5th Baron Furnivall (died 1407), was a late-14th and early-15th century English nobleman of the

House of Neville The House of Neville or Nevill family (originally FitzMaldred) is a noble house of early medieval origin, which was a leading force in English politics in the Late Middle Ages. The family became one of the two major powers in northern England an ...

. He was the son of

John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville, (c.1337 – 17 October 1388) was an English peer, naval commander, and soldier. His second wife was Elizabeth Latimer (later Elizabeth Willoughby) who was the 5th Baroness Latimer in her own right. Origins ...

and Elizabeth Latimer, 5th Baroness Latimer, and the younger brother of

Ralph Neville Ralph Neville (or Ralf NevillClanchy ''From Memory to Written Record'' p. 90 or Ralph de Neville; died 1244) was a medieval clergyman and politician who served as Bishop of Chichester and Lord Chancellor of England. Neville first appears in th ...

, later

Earl of Westmorland Earl of Westmorland is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The title was first created in 1397 for Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, Ralph Neville. It was forfeited in 1571 by Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorl ...

. By 1379, Nevill had married Joan Furnivall, after which he took the title of Baron Furnivall ''

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 ...

''. Furnivall was summoned for military service by Richard II before the 1385 invasion of Scotland in July, and to parliament by his new title on his return the following month. Here he was appointed a peace negotiator with the Scots. He acquitted himself honourably in battle against the Percy's at the Shrewsbury in 1403, and was a member of his brother's council, helping plan Westmorland's campaign again the rebellious

Percy family The Percy family is an old English noble family. They were among the oldest and most powerful noble families in Northern England for much of the Middle Ages. The noble family is known for its long rivalry with the House of Neville, another fam ...

in the north. Furnivall had been steward of the royal household and councillor of

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

, and was promoted to

Treasurer of the Exchequer The Lord High Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in England, below the Lord Hi ...

by Henry IV from 1404 to his death in March 1407. In this capacity he received the begging poem of

Thomas Hoccleve Thomas Hoccleve or Occleve (1368/69–1426) was a key figure in 15th-century Middle English literature, significant for promoting Chaucer as "the father of English literature", and as a poet in his own right. His poetry, especially his longest w ...

, '' Male Regia'', urging Furnival to pay him his wages as a Privy Seal clerk; Hoccleve's technique is to allow Furnivall to "feel superior, and thus, with a little luck, generous". An important servant of the crown—he was the only noble to sit on the

West Riding The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The lieutenancy at that time included the city of York a ...

quarter sessions—and one of the richest nobles in Yorkshire, he also able to lend the king large sums of money, totalling £6,362. Furnivall held the new King's sceptre and staff at his coronoation in 1399. At the Parliament of 1404 in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

, the Commons voted the King two taxes on the fifteenth, "on condition that the money went to the Lord Furnivall for use in the wars of the King". Furnival by now was War Treasurer. Historian Chris Given-Wilson has described Furnivall as of the "buyers of land, builders of castles, patrons of religious houses, and lenders of money, ho wasoutstanding among their generation". Thomas and Joan had one daughter, Maud, who married John Talbot—later

Earl of Shrewsbury Earl of Shrewsbury () is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Ireland ...

—which took the Furnival barony out of Neville hands for good. Furnivall married twice. Joan died in 1401, and the same year he married—without royal licence—Ankarette Talbot, a widow and heiress to the estates of John Lestrange. Ankarette was the mother of his daughter's husband. Furnivall was buried with Joan in

Worksop Priory Worksop Priory (formally the Priory Church of Our Lady and Saint Cuthbert, Worksop) is a Church of England parish church and former priory in the town of Worksop, Nottinghamshire, part of the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham and under the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furnivall, Thomas Neville, 5th Baron 1407 deaths 14th-century English nobility 15th-century English nobility

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 ...

Lord high treasurers of England Knights of the Garter Barons Furnivall