Richard de Ledrede (died 1360/1361), also known as Richard Ledred, was a 14th-century churchman in Ireland who served as Bishop of Ossory. His long tenure as Bishop was marked by bitter controversies and repeated quarrels with his colleagues, both lay and clerical.
Richard was probably born between about 1260 and 1270. A report of c.1356 that he was by that date a centenarian is believed to be an exaggeration, although he was certainly so advanced in years that his fitness to perform his duties was questioned. [1] His name is thought to relate to Leatherhead in Surrey, England, but this may be misleading: other evidence suggests a family connection with the county of Somerset. [1]
A Franciscan of the Order of Friars Minor, he served as Bishop of Ossory from May 1317 until his death in 1360/1361.
Ledrede was known as a "scourge of heresy and witchcraft", [2] and was a central figure in the Kilkenny witch trials of 1324, when among the accused were Alice Kyteler and her servant Petronella de Meath. [3] Petronella was burnt at the stake, but Alice contrived to break out of prison and flee the country, almost certainly with the assistance of her brother-in-law Roger Utlagh (or Outlawe), the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, who had always maintained her innocence. The two men quarrelled bitterly about Ledrede's conduct of the Trials: Roger joined with the Seneschal of Kilkenny, Andrew le Poer, and others in having the Bishop imprisoned for a time, and the Bishop after his release in turn tried unsuccessfully to have Roger tried for heresy. This resulted in a humiliating defeat for Ledrede when a Commission of Inquiry, which was headed by William de Rodyard, a future Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas and included most of the magnates of Ireland, both lay and clerical, declared Roger to be a pious and zealous Christian, and cleared him entirely of any suggestion of heresy. [4]
Ledrede was in turn summoned before the Irish Privy Council to justify his actions, and also to account for certain charges he had made against Alexander de Bicknor, Archbishop of Dublin, but instead he fled the country in order to plead his case at the Papal Court. Bicknor followed him there to argue his side of the case. Bicknor enjoyed the goodwill of King Edward III, who sent a message to the Papal Court describing Ledrede ominously as a man notorious for stirring up rebellion, and urging them not to believe anything he said. Following mediation by the Curia, the two clerics were persuaded to drop their accusations against each other. However further differences arose between them in later years, in particular over Bicknor's sheltering of heretics who had fled from persecution in the Diocese of Ossory.
Ledrede again incurred the royal displeasure in 1355–56 when he excommunicated William de Bromley, the Lord Treasurer of Ireland, apparently in order to prevent him from collecting the King's revenue in the Diocese, resulting in a serious financial loss to the Crown. The Bishop, realising that he had blundered, made a humble submission to the King and was pardoned.
Ledrede also pursued a vendetta against Arnold le Poer, the Seneschal of Kilkenny, who had also defended Alice Kyteler, and like Roger, was a relative of Alice by marriage. The two men had always detested each other, and Ledrede had a personal grudge against le Poer, as it was le Poer who had arrested and imprisoned him, probably at Roger Utlagh's bidding. Less fortunate than Utlagh and Bicknor, le Poer was imprisoned, and died in prison in 1331 while awaiting trial for heresy. [4]
Ledrede's last years seem to have been peaceful enough, and were mainly occupied in making improvements to St Canice's Cathedral. In his last years, an effort was made by the Archbishop of York, John of Thoresby, to replace him on the grounds of his great age, but it was evidently decided to leave him in peace until he died.
Sixty short Latin hymns by him are preserved in the Red Book of Ossory.
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Kilkenny is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2022 census gave the population of Kilkenny as 27,184, the thirteenth-largest urban center in Ireland.
Dame Alice Kyteler was the first recorded person condemned for witchcraft in Ireland. She fled the country to either England or Flanders, and there is no record of her after her escape from persecution. Her servant Petronilla de Meath was flogged and burned to death at the stake on 3 November 1324, after being tortured and confessing to the heretical crimes she, Kyteler, and Kyteler's followers were alleged to have committed.
Petronilla de Midia (of Meath) (c. 1300 – 3 November 1324) was an alleged follower of Dame Alice Kyteler, a wealthy woman of Flemish ancestry who lived in the English colony of Ireland in what is now County Kilkenny. After the death of Kyteler's fourth husband, Kyteler was accused of practicing witchcraft and Petronilla was charged with being one of her accomplices. Petronilla was tortured and forced to proclaim that she and Kyteler were guilty of witchcraft. Kyteler fled to save her life, and Petronilla was then flogged and eventually burnt at the stake on 3 November 1324, in Kilkenny. Hers was the first known case in Ireland or Great Britain of death by fire for the crime of heresy.
Kells Priory is one of the largest medieval monuments in Ireland. The Augustine priory is situated alongside King's River beside the village of Kells in the townland of Rathduff (Madden), about 15 km south of the medieval city of Kilkenny. The priory is a National Monument and is in the guardianship of the Office of Public Works. One of its most notable features is a collection of medieval tower houses spaced at intervals along and within walls which enclose a site of just over 3 acres (12,000 m2). These give the priory the appearance more of a fortress than of a place of worship and from them comes its local name of "Seven Castles".
Events from the year 1347 in Ireland.
Alexander de Bicknor was an official in the Plantagenet kingdom under Edward I of England, Edward II of England, and Edward III of England. Best known to history as the Archbishop of Dublin from 1317 until his death in 1349, his career involved extensive diplomatic missions for the King and the holding of numerous civil and ecclesiastical offices in Ireland, including Lord Treasurer of Ireland (1307–1309) and Lord Chancellor of Ireland.
Calverstown is a small village in County Kildare, Ireland. It lies 6 km (3.7 mi) south of the town of Kilcullen and about 16 km (9.9 mi) from each of the towns of Athy, Kildare, Naas and Newbridge. It is an old settlement located close to the archaeological sites of Dún Ailinne and Old Kilcullen. The village has a stream running through it with another to the south. As of the 2016 census, Calverstown had a population of 699.
Events from the year 1324 in Ireland.
St Canice's Cathedral, also known as Kilkenny Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Kilkenny city, Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. Previously the cathedral of the Diocese of Ossory, it is now one of six cathedrals in the United Dioceses of Cashel and Ossory.
The history of Kilkenny began with an early sixth-century ecclesiastical foundation, this relates to a church built in honour of St. Canice, now St. Canice's Cathedral and was a major monastic centre from at least the eighth century. The Annals of the Four Masters recorded the first reference Cill Chainnigh in 1085. Prehistoric activity has been recorded suggesting intermittent settlement activity in the area in the Mesolithic and Bronze Age. Information on the history of Kilkenny can be found from newspapers, photographs, letters, drawings, manuscripts and archaeology. Kilkenny is documented in manuscripts from the 13th century onwards and one of the most important of these is Liber Primus Kilkenniensis.
Roger Utlagh, or Roger Outlawe was a leading Irish cleric, judge and statesman of the fourteenth century who was Prior of Kilmainham, and held the office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland. He was the brother-in-law of the celebrated Witch of Kilkenny, Alice Kyteler, and is mainly remembered today for his efforts to shield her from prosecution, and subsequently enabling her to escape punishment, during the Kilkenny Witch Trials of 1324.
Walter de Islip, Isleep or de Istlep was an English-born cleric, statesman, and judge in fourteenth-century Ireland. He was the first Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer; he also held the offices of Treasurer of Ireland, Chief Escheator, and Custos Rotulorum of Kilkenny. He was a noted pluralist, who held numerous benefices. His career was seriously damaged by accusations of corruption and maladministration. He played an important role in the celebrated Kilkenny Witchcraft Trials of 1324.
John de St Paul, also known as John de St. Pol, John de Owston and John de Ouston, was an English-born cleric and judge of the fourteenth century. He was Archbishop of Dublin 1349–62 and Lord Chancellor of Ireland 1350–56. He had previously been Master of the Rolls in England 1337–40. Apart from a brief period of disgrace in 1340, he enjoyed the confidence of King Edward III. He was described as a zealous supporter of English rule in Ireland, but also as a pragmatic statesman who was willing to conciliate the Anglo-Irish ruling class. He did much to enlarge and beautify Christ Church, Dublin, although virtually no trace of his improvements survive, as they were destroyed by the Victorian rebuilding of the cathedral.
William de Rodyard, de Rodiard, or de Rudyard was an English-born judge and cleric in fourteenth-century Ireland. He held office as Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas. He was also Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, and briefly Deputy Lord Treasurer of Ireland. He was the first Chancellor of the Medieval University of Dublin.
Robert le Poer was an Irish judge and Crown official who held the offices of Lord High Treasurer of Ireland and Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer.
The Red Book of Ossory is a medieval manuscript produced in Kilkenny, Ireland, and usually kept in the Representative Church Body Library in Dublin.
The Seneschal of Gascony was an officer carrying out and managing the domestic affairs of the lord of the Duchy of Gascony. During the course of the twelfth century, the seneschalship also became an office of military command. After 1360, the officer was the Seneschal of Aquitaine. There was an office above the seneschalcy, the Lieutenancy of the Duchy of Aquitaine, but it was filled only intermittently.
Events from the year 1302 in Ireland.
John de Ponz, also called John de Ponte, John Savan, or John of Bridgwater (c.1248–1307) was an English-born administrator, lawyer and judge in the reign of King Edward I. He served in the Royal Household in England for several years before moving to Ireland, where he practised in the Royal Courts as the King's Serjeant-at-law (Ireland). He later served as a justice in eyre, and then as a justice of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland). He was a gifted lawyer, but as a judge was accused of acting unjustly. A case he heard in Kilkenny in 1302 can be seen as a precursor of the Kilkenny Witchcraft Trials of 1324, and involved several of the main actors in the Trials.
St. Kieran's Well, also St. Kyran's Well, Keverock's Well or Kerock's Well, was a holy well in Kilkenny known since at least the 13th century. Now situated in what is now the smoking area of Kyteler's Inn, it was located in the vicinity of the pre-Norman St. Kieran's Church which was demolished as late as the beginning of the 19th century. The street it was located on has since the 1930s been called St. Kieran Street or Kieran Street for short, but was called King Street, Back Lane and Low Lane before that.
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