Memorials of the Tower of London
De Ros, William Lennox
1866
EARLS OF KILDARE.
EARLS OF KILDARE.
FROM the time of Henry II.'s conquest of Ireland disturbances had never ceased to prevail in that country, arising partly from the impatience with which the native Irish submitted to their rulers, and partly from the dissensions constantly occurring among those rulers themselves. The most powerful of the Norman Lords of the Pale, the Earls of Kildare, of Desmond, and of Ormonde, were a constant cause of anxiety to the English Government. In Henry VII.'s reign Gerald Earl of Kildare (Mr. Froude erroneously calls him Thomas) warmly espoused the cause of the two successive pretenders, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck, and, raising a body of troops, carried fire and sword through the Pale, till the able Sir E. Poynings was sent over as Chief Governor, who succeeded in defeating the Earl of Kildare, and making him prisoner. Uncivilized and brutal as were these half Norman and half Irish nobles, they appear to have possessed a large share of ready wit, and a freedom and chivalry of address, which stood them in good stead when summoned to London to answer for their misdeeds. Gerald, the eighth earl, when brought before the King | |
49 | and Council, was warned by Henry himself that great crimes were alleged against him, but that he should have a fair trial, and might choose some fit person to plead for him. He answered boldly, "I will choose the ablest in England, for I will take your Highness yourself for my counsel against these false knaves." |
In the course of the trial it was laid to Gerald's charge that he had burned the cathedral of Cashel. The Earl did not attempt to deny the fact, but contented himself with declaring, as his defence, that he would never have set fire to the cathedral had he not been assured that the Archbishop was inside of it. This extraordinary plea so amused the King and his Council, that upon one of them observing, "All Ireland could not govern this Earl," the King replied, "This Earl shall govern all Ireland." | |
So fully did Gerald acquit himself of the charges of treason, and succeed in gaining Henry VII.'s good graces, that he returned to Ireland a Knight of the Garter, and with Elizabeth the daughter of Oliver St. John (a gentleman high in the royal favour) for his wife. Although he ruled over the country with a hand of iron, and little regard to justice or law, yet he maintained a tolerable condition of order; and the Lords of the Pale, as well as the Irish, were kept in a comparatively peaceable state till his death, in 1513, a period of nearly twenty years. | |
His son Gerald, the ninth Earl, was allowed by Henry VIII. to succeed his father as Chief Governor; but such strong proofs of intended rebellion were brought against him, that, in 1520, the Earl of Surrey was sent | |
50 | over to supersede him, and transmit him prisoner to London, where he was lodged in the Tower. However, by his loyal professions, and the grace and courtesy of his manners, the Earl contrived so to ingratiate himself with the King, that, releasing him from prison, Henry took him in his suite to the Field of the Cloth of Gold, where the young Irish nobleman gained such applause by his skill in the tournament, and noble carriage and behaviour, that, on the King's return to London, he was allowed to become a suitor of Lady Elizabeth Grey, daughter of the Marquis of Dorset, and nearly allied to the blood royal, and, after a short probation, to marry her. Though not immediately restored to the government of Ireland, yet, in consequence of the alleged misconduct of Ormonde, who had succeeded Surrey, he was soon after (1524) again made Governor. It was not long before Henry had reason to repent his choice, for on the breaking out of war with France in that year the Earl of Kildare entered into secret relations with the Earl of Desmond, who had actually commenced a negotiation with Francis I. for the invasion of Ireland by a French army. The peace between England and France having put an end to this project, Kildare opened a similar proposition to the Emperor Charles V. through the Earl of Desmond, pretending all the while to be at enmity with that Chieftain. |
Again the King's suspicions were excited, and again was Kildare summoned to London in 1527; but his sagacity and shrewdness enabled him to clear himself, and Henry appointed him to act as a sort of adviser to his natural son the Duke of Richmond, who became | |
51 | Chief Governor; Sir W. Skeffington, a veteran officer in favour with the King, being appointed to command the English troops. |
Allen, one of those able men who owed their first advancement to the discernment of Wolsey, was nominated Archbishop of Dublin, and directed to keep a sharp watch on Kildare. Meantime the most violent feuds broke out between the Geraldines and Butlers, while O'Neill ravaged the province of Ulster. | |
In consequence probably of Archbishop Allen's reports to the King, Kildare was for the third time summoned to London, and, without any form of trial, thrown into the Tower. The King had got wind of the negotiation with Charles V.; and Pope Clement having proceeded to his sentence of excommunication of Henry, there was every likelihood of the troubles in Ireland assuming a religious character. | |
The son of Kildare, Lord Thomas Fitzgerald, best known as "Silken Thomas," accompanied his father to London, but was not imprisoned with him, and shortly returned to Ireland. Historians have differed as to whether it was with his father's sanction or not that Silken Thomas, on his return, broke out into rebellion. It is not likely that Kildare would have desired his son to do that which must imperil his own life; and the most probable version is, that his son's rash and hopeless rebellion was not approved or instigated by the Earl. It is at all events certain that Lord Thomas, breaking violently into the presence of the Council, seized the sword of state, and, abjuring all further allegiance to the King, | |
52 | dashed it on the table, and, mounting his horse, galloped off with a large body of his adherents to raise the country in rebellion. |
At the head of several thousand men he laid siege to Dublin, and obliged Sir J. White, who commanded the garrison, to withdraw into the Castle. Archbishop Allen endeavoured to escape to England in a small vessel, which, unobserved by the Irish, dropped down the Liffey to the sea; but, unluckily, the master, being attached to the Geraldines, ran her on shore at Clontarf, and, sending a messenger to Dublin, betrayed the unfortunate Archbishop. Silken Thomas rode down to Clontarf with three of his uncles, and caused him to be dragged from the pallet where he had lain down, in a small cabin, for repose; and one of the savage followers of the Geraldine having struck him on the head as he kneeled for mercy, he was instantly despatched with numerous wounds, and his body treated with every indignity. | |
Although Silken Thomas afterwards attempted to show that he had had no intention of committing this ruthless murder, yet all doubt must be removed by the fact of his having written to boast of the deed, both to the Emperor and to the Pope. | |
The siege of Dublin Castle was now pressed hard; but Ormonde, with his brave Butlers, made so gallant an assault on the Geraldine forces that he forced his way through their lines and relieved White when at the last extremity. | |
Sir W. Skeffington arrived a few days after with a considerable body of troops from Wales; and though he | |
53 | acted with little decision or promptitude himself, yet his lieutenant, Sir W. Brereton, entered the Liffey with five or six hundred men, and at once restored confidence in Dublin. Silken Thomas withdrew with his troops in confusion into the country; but not finding himself pursued by Skeffington, who was in a bad state of health, as well as far advanced in years, made some attempts with parties of horse to harass the English posts round Dublin. The inactivity of Skeffington being reported to Henry, he sent over Lord Leonard Grey, brother to the Countess of Kildare, to act as marshal of the army. Roused by the arrival of Lord Leonard, Skeffington marched upon Maynooth Castle, the stronghold of the Geraldines, and, besieging it with heavy cannon (supposed to be the first employed in a siege in Ireland), took the castle by storm, and barbarously hanged the survivors of the garrison. |
Meantime the news of these proceedings in Ireland, and the expectation of the King's vengeance, so affected the unfortunate Earl in his prison, that he expired, after a short illness, and was buried in the Tower chapel. Lord Thomas, driven to the last extremities, and deserted by most of his followers, was induced by Lord Leonard to surrender on hopes of pardon. How far Lord Leonard may be said to have entrapped his unfortunate nephew by false assurances was never quite clear; but the result was the seizure and committal to the Tower of Lord Thomas and his five uncles. His name and arms carved on the gloomy wall of the Beauchamp Tower bear witness to his confinement in that dreary prison, which lasted | |
54 | about a year before he was taken to Tyburn and there hanged, with his uncles. It was said that the Duke of Norfolk advised this cruel delay, on the ground that to execute them at once would have cast dishonour on Lord Leonard Grey; while, on the other hand, if a certain time were allowed previously to elapse, other circumstances might be supposed to have transpired concerning their rebellion which would to a certain degree disconnect their execution from the actual seizure and delivery of their persons by their kinsman. |
