Thomas de Dent

Last updated

Dent, Cumbria, birthplace of Thomas Dent, present day Main Street, Dent.jpg
Dent, Cumbria, birthplace of Thomas Dent, present day

Thomas de Dent, Thomas Dyvelyn, Thomas Denton, or Thomas of Dublin (died after 1361) was an English-born cleric and judge who held high office in Ireland during the reign of King Edward III, and was praised as a diligent and hard-working Crown official, who damaged his health through overwork. [1]

Contents

He was born at Dent, then in the West Riding of Yorkshire (now in Cumbria), and may have been the son of John de Dent. [2] During his years in Ireland he was sometimes known as Thomas Dyvelyn, which was an early form of "Thomas of Dublin", [3] or as Thomas Denton. [4] His petition to the Crown in 1358, confusingly, calls him both Thomas Dent and Thomas Dyvelyn. [3]

He took holy orders, and became a clerk in the Royal service. He is first heard of in 1331 as the defendant in a lawsuit for poaching and trespass at Ingleton, North Yorkshire brought by John, 3rd Lord Mowbray; John de Dent, who was possibly his father, was named as co-defendant. [2]

Early Career

Lord Mowbray's lawsuit against him in no way impeded his career as a lawyer. He came to Ireland to serve as King's Attorney (the office which was later called Serjeant-at-law, not Attorney General for Ireland; his actual title was King's Advocate) in 1331. He quickly became a trusted member of the Irish administration and in 1332 was sent to Westminster to report on the political crisis which had led to the imprisonment of Maurice FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond and other Anglo-Irish nobles.

Judge

In 1334 he was appointed a justice of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland). [5] He was transferred to the Court of King's Bench (Ireland) in 1337. He became Lord Chief Justice of Ireland in 1341, as part of a widespread reform of the Irish judiciary, [2] which included the replacement of Irish-born personnel with English judges. This was a common remedy of the English Crown for complaints about the corruption and inefficiency of the Irish government, and on this occasion reflected the King's personal preference for English over Anglo-Irish Crown servants.

Sir Ralph d'Ufford, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1344-6, pursued a vigorous policy of filling the administration with his own men. Dent later complained that for some time he sat on the Court of King's Bench alone, with no puisne justices to assist him. He returned briefly to England by 1343, when he served on a Royal Commission at Kendal, but was back in Ireland the following year. [2] In 1347 he was appointed to head a commission of oyer and terminer to investigate the activities of Hugh de Burgh, who was accused of "oppression", i.e. maladministration, as Lord Treasurer of Ireland. There is an entry in the Close Rolls for 1347 ordering payment to him of 10 marks, stated to be in part payment of his full salary of 40 marks per annum. [6]

He was appointed Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas, then often titled "Chief Justice of the Dublin Bench", [4] and served in that office from 1344–58. [5] In 1345 he received a rather stern communication from King Edward III and his Privy Council, concerning a case of assault brought by Margery Poe against John de la Pulle. John complained that the case had been repeatedly adjourned by Denton's colleagues Simon Fitz-Richard and John Gernoun, "through the intervention of error", to John's great prejudice. [4] Denton was ordered to examine the records and report to the Justiciar of Ireland, so that the Justiciar could take whatever action was necessary to remedy the injustice. [4]

Denton stepped down as Chief Justice of the Pleas in 1358, due by his own account to his "infirmity". His salary, according to his own petition for payment of it, which is partly corroborated by the Close Rolls, was seriously in arrears when he retired. [3]

He was granted a lease for the term of his life of the royal manor of Esker, near Lucan in County Dublin in 1351: [2] Esker was often leased out to royal servants who were in high favour with the Crown; the previous tenant had been Roget Darcy, Constable of Newcastle Mackynegan (presumably the same Roger who was briefly Justiciar of Ireland). In 1355, on his own petition, Thomas was granted a special allowance of £13 for his "great and strenuous labours" in 1354-5, when he served as Chief Justice without any puisne judges to assist him, injuring his own heath thereby, and for his general diligence in the King's business. [1]

Petition for payment of his salary

He is last heard of in 1361, when he was visiting England. [2] He was still in the King's service at the time, but probably retired soon afterwards. He may have been in some financial distress in his last years, judging by his petition to the English Parliament asking for payment of the sums due to him, which was evidently written shortly after he left office in 1358. According to the petition he was forced to step down as Chief Justice due to ill health, and his fees were now seriously in arrears. We know from the Close Rolls that in 1347 he was paid 10 marks instead of the 40 due. He requested that the arrears be paid from the King's Treasury in England or any other suitable source. [3]

Related Research Articles

Maurice FitzThomas FitzGerald, 4th Earl of Kildare was a prominent Irish nobleman in the Peerage of Ireland who held the office of Lord Justice of Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Cantock</span> English-born Irish bishop and judge

Thomas Cantock, Quantock or Cantok was an English-born cleric and judge in medieval Ireland, who held the offices of Bishop of Emly and Lord Chancellor of Ireland.

William Tany or Tani was Prior of the Order of Hospitallers in Ireland; he also served as Justiciar of Ireland 1373-1374, and as Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1374 to 1377, and again from 1382 to 1384.

John Frowyk was an English-born cleric and judge in fourteenth-century Ireland.

Sir Elias de Asshebournham, or Ellis de Ashbourne (c.1290-1357/8) was an Irish judge who held the office of Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, and fought a long battle with a rival candidate, Thomas Louth, to retain it. Despite frequent allegations of corruption, and a reputation for violence, for many years he retained the confidence of the English Crown, although he also suffered periods of imprisonment.

Nicholas de Balscote was an English-born official and judge in fourteenth-century Ireland. He attained high judicial office, but his career was damaged by a quarrel with King Edward II.

John de Burnham, or John Brunham was an English-born cleric, judge and Crown official who spent much of his career in Ireland. He held office as Lord High Treasurer of Ireland and Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer. He spent many years defending himself against charges of corruption, which seem to have been the invention of malicious colleagues.

Robert de Emeldon, or Embleton was an English-born Crown official and judge who spent much of his career in Ireland. He held several important public offices, including Attorney-General for Ireland, Lord High Treasurer of Ireland and Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer. He was a turbulent and violent man, who was guilty of at least one homicide, was imprisoned for a number of serious crimes including rape and manslaughter, and had a reputation for corruption: but he was a royal favourite of King Edward III and was thus able to survive his temporary disgrace in the early 1350s.

John Keppock was an Irish judge of the late fourteenth century, who held the offices of Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer and Deputy Lord Chancellor of Ireland. He became a politician of some importance.

Robert Preston, 1st Baron Gormanston was an Anglo-Irish nobleman, statesman and judge of the fourteenth century. He held several senior judicial offices including, for a brief period, that of Lord Chancellor of Ireland. He was the founder of the leading Anglo-Irish Preston family whose titles included Viscount Gormanston and Viscount Tara.

John Gernoun, or Gernon was an Irish landowner, soldier and judge who held office as Serjeant-at-law (Ireland) and Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas. He gave good service to the Crown during the Scottish Invasion of 1315-18, but as a judge, he was accused of injustice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John de Rednesse</span>

John de Rednesse was an English-born judge who served four times as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland.

John Hunt, le Hunt, Hunter or Hunter del Nash was an English-born judge who served briefly as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. He was the ancestor of the prominent Longueville family of Wolverton.

Nicholas Lumbard or Lombard was an Irish barrister and judge of the fourteenth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas atte Crosse</span>

Thomas atte Crosse, also called Thomas de Crosse, or simply Thomas Crosse was an English cleric, Crown official and judge, who had a highly successful career in both England and Ireland. Little is recorded about his early years, but by 1336 he was referred to as an official of long-standing, who had been put to great "labours and charges" on the King's business in England, Ireland and Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas de Snyterby</span> Ireland judge

Nicholas de Snyterby, or Snitterby was a Law Officer and judge in Ireland in the fourteenth century, who held office as King's Serjeant, Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland) and justice of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland).

Sir Peter Mallore, or Mallory was a prominent landowner and local politician in fourteenth-century Northamptonshire, who also served as a judge in Ireland. His career was marked by controversy: he was imprisoned on at least two occasions, the second time for assaulting another judge. The troubles of his later years were due largely to the actions of his son Giles, who was accused of wasting the inheritance of his infant stepson and ward. Fortunately for his career, Sir Peter enjoyed the personal regard of a number of influential men, notably the Black Prince and King David II of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter de la Haye</span> English official in Ireland

Sir Walter de la Haye, or de Haye was an English-born statesman and judge in Ireland of the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, who served for many years as Sheriff of County Waterford and as Chief Escheator of Ireland, and briefly as Justiciar of Ireland.

William Alysaundre or Alesander was an Irish judge and Crown official in the reigns of King Edward I of England and his son Edward II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Brettan</span> Irish judge and Crown official

John Brettan or Breton was an Irish judge and Crown official. His petitions to the Irish Privy Council, of which he wrote five between 1376 and 1382, and which have survived ; cast a valuable light on the disturbed condition of English-ruled Ireland in the late fourteenth century, and especially the situation in Carlow, his home town, which was the effective seat of English government in the latter half of the fourteenth century.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 Close Roll 29 Edward III 30 July 1355
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ball p.74
  3. 1 2 3 4 National Archives SC/8/44/2189
  4. 1 2 3 4 Close Roll 19 Edward III 24 November 1345
  5. 1 2 Hart p.167
  6. ↑ Close Roll 21 Edward III

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.