Thomas de Rokeby (died 1356)

Last updated

Sir Thomas de Rokeby (died 1356 or 1357 [1] ) was a soldier and senior Crown official in fourteenth-century England and Ireland, who served as Justiciar of Ireland. [2] He was appointed to that office to restore law and order to Ireland, and had considerable early success in this task, but he was recalled to England after the military situation deteriorated. He was later re-appointed Justiciar, and returned to Ireland to take up office, but died soon afterwards. [2]

Contents

Background

The Rokebys were a prominent landowning family from Mortham in North Yorkshire; Thomas was probably the son of Thomas de Rokeby, who died in 1318 (some sources name his father as Alexander). [2] His nephew, also named Thomas, the son of his brother Robert, was closely associated with him in his later years and the elder Thomas was often called "l'oncle" to distinguish him from his nephew. It was almost certainly the nephew, not the uncle, who was the grandfather of the second Sir Thomas de Rokeby, who died sometime after 1423. [2]

Service in Scotland

Rokeby first came to public attention in 1327 when, after his return from prison in Scotland, he received the thanks of the new King Edward III for being the squire who had first pointed out the approach of the Scots army during the invasion of the previous July. As a reward, he was knighted and given lands worth £100 a year. [2] He saw action against the Scots regularly between 1336 and 1342 and had charge of Stirling Castle and Edinburgh Castle while they were held by the English. He was High Sheriff of Yorkshire 1342–1349. He was one of the English commanders at the Battle of Neville's Cross in 1346, and it was said, "gave the Scots such a draught as they did not care to taste again". [2] He was then entrusted with bringing King David II of Scotland as a captive to London, and he received further grants of land as a reward for his good services. [2]

Justiciar of Ireland

In 1349 he was appointed Justiciar of Ireland, and given a large armed retinue to accompany him, as it was recognised by the English Crown that "Ireland is not in good plight or good peace". [2] While there was some surprise at the appointment of an old soldier to such a sensitive political position, the more informed view was that Rokeby would be well suited to the task of enforcing justice by military force. He arrived in December and made a quick circuit of the south of Ireland, mainly to keep watch on the powerful and troublesome magnate Maurice FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond. [3]

Administrative reforms

Rokeby was praised by his contemporaries for his regard for justice and his zeal in checking extortion by Crown officials. He undertook a general overhaul of the Irish administration, aimed particularly at the detection and prevention of corruption and the removal of incompetent officials. [3] Arguably he showed excessive zeal in arresting and imprisoning the Treasurer of Ireland, Robert de Emeldon, a man who enjoyed the King's personal regard. [4] Admittedly the charges against Emeldon were very serious, including rape, robbery and manslaughter, but Rokeby must have known that the King, out of regard for their long friendship and Emeldon's record of good service to the Crown in Ireland, had already pardoned Emeldon for killing one Ralph de Byrton, a knight, in 1336. Emeldon was once more pardoned and quickly released. [5]

Not all those with whom Rokeby clashed were necessarily corrupt: William de Bromley, Emeldon's successor as Lord High Treasurer of Ireland, whose reputation was fair enough, later complained that Rokeby had fined him £200 without lawful authority. [6]

In November 1351 Rokeby held a Great Council at Kilkenny. It dealt partly with the problem of official corruption already mentioned, partly with the problem of defence of the Pale, and partly with the question of intermarriage and other close contacts between the Anglo-Irish and the Old Irish. [2] Otway-Ruthven notes that little of the legislation was new, apart from the application to Ireland of the English Statute of Labourers of 1351, and that much of it was repeated in the better-known Statutes of Kilkenny of 1366. [3]

Military campaigns

In 1353 the Clan MacCarthy of Muskerry, the dominant clan in central County Cork, who had until then been loyal to the English Crown, rebelled. Rokeby showed considerable skill in crushing the uprising and succeeded in replacing the rebellious head of the clan, Dermot MacCarthy, with his more compliant cousin Cormac. Cormac's descendants gained great wealth, extensive lands and the title Earl of Clancarty. [3]

This promising state of good order did not last long: a rebellion by the O'Byrne Clan of Wicklow in 1354 was followed by a general uprising headed by the MacMurrough-Kavanagh dynasty. Although Muirchearteach MacMurrough-Kavanagh, the self-styled King of Leinster, was captured and executed, Rokeby suffered several military defeats. He was unable to suppress the O'Byrnes' rebellion, and other risings took place in Tipperary, Kildare and Ulster. [3]

Recall and last years

Rokeby was now an ageing and discouraged man, and in 1355 it was decided to recall him. His replacement, rather surprisingly, was that Earl of Desmond whom it had been one of his main tasks to keep in check. Desmond died a year later on 26 July 1356. [2] Rokeby was reappointed Justiciar, and returned to Ireland, only to die soon afterwards at Kilkea Castle. [3]

He was married: his wife was named Juliana, but little else is known of her. They had no children, and his estates passed to his nephew, the younger Thomas. [2]

Kilkea Castle, Rokeby's Irish stronghold, where he died in 1356 Kilkea Castle Castledermot Ireland.jpg
Kilkea Castle, Rokeby's Irish stronghold, where he died in 1356

Character

Rokeby was a popular and respected figure in Ireland: he was described as "a just and prudent man, who paid well for his victuals, and did not rob the poor" (i.e. he did not abuse the much-criticized system of purveyance, the forcible requisition of foodstuffs from the public). [7] He was also noted for his modest lifestyle: "I drink only from wooden vessels" is one of his recorded sayings. [2] The citizens of Cork, protesting at his recall, referred to his "evident good work" in maintaining law and order. On the other hand, he could be high-handed, as in his clash with Lord Treasurer Bromley, who, unlike Emeldon was not suspected of corruption.

Otway-Ruthven contrasts his early successes with his disappointing later record, and notes that the 1350s was the crucial decade in which the English Crown lost control of much of Ireland until the sixteenth century. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baron Inchiquin</span> Title in the Peerage of Ireland

Baron Inchiquin is one of the older titles in the Peerage of Ireland. It was one of two titles created on 1 July 1543 for Murrough O'Brien, Prince of Thomond, who claimed descent from Brian Boru, a High King of Ireland. The grant of the English titles was conditional upon the abandonment of any Irish titles, the adoption of English customs and laws, pledging of allegiance to the Crown, apostasy from the Catholic Church, and conversion to the Church of Ireland. Murrough was made both Earl of Thomond in the Peerage of Ireland, with remainder to his nephew Donough O'Brien and Baron Inchiquin, with remainder to his male heirs. Following the death of his cousin, Conor Myles John O' Brien in June 2023, Conor John Anthony O' Brien is currently the 19th Baron Inchiquin

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter de Lacy, Lord of Meath</span> Lord of Meath in Ireland

Walter de Lacy was lord of Meath in Ireland. He was also a substantial land owner in Weobley, Herefordshire, in Ludlow, Shropshire, in Ewyas Lacy in the Welsh Marches, and several lands in Normandy. He was the eldest son of Hugh de Lacy, a leading Cambro-Norman baron in the Norman invasion of Ireland, and Rohese of Monmouth.

John FitzThomas was an Anglo-Norman in the Peerage of Ireland, as 4th Lord of Offaly from 1287 and subsequently as 1st Earl of Kildare from 1316.

Thomas de Clare, Lord of Thomond was an Anglo-Norman peer and soldier. He was the second son of Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester and his wife Maud de Lacy, Countess of Gloucester. In 1272 he served a term as Lieutenant of the Duchy of Aquitaine. On 26 January 1276 he was granted the Lordship of Thomond by Edward I of England; he spent the next eight years attempting to conquer it from the O'Brien dynasty, kings of Thomond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen de Fulbourn</span> English archbishop and official in Ireland

Stephen de Fulbourn was an English-born cleric and politician in thirteenth-century Ireland: he was Justiciar of Ireland, and Archbishop of Tuam 1286–88. He was a member of the Order of Knights Hospitallers.

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.

Sir John Morice, Morris or Moriz was an English-born statesman of the fourteenth century whose career was mainly spent in Ireland. He is remembered chiefly for his enthusiastic, if not very successful, efforts to reform the Irish administration, and for the fact that a portrait of him still exists. This is said to be the earliest portrait of an Irish judge and can be viewed by the public.

Walter de Thornbury was an English-born statesman and cleric who held the office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland in the 14th century. His efforts to secure confirmation of his election as Archbishop of Dublin ended in tragedy with his death in a shipwreck.

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

John L'Archers, Larger or L'Archer was an English-born cleric and judge who had a distinguished career in Ireland, holding the offices of Lord Chancellor of Ireland and Deputy Justiciar. He died during the first outbreak of the Black Death in Europe and was probably a victim of it.

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.


Hugh de Burgh was an Irish lawyer, Crown official and judge who held the offices of Lord Treasurer of Ireland and Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, and was praised for his good service to the English Crown and pardoned of accusations of maladministration.

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.

Sir Thomas Mortimer was a medieval English soldier and statesman who served briefly in several important administrative and judicial state offices in Ireland and played a part in the opposition to the government of King Richard II. He was an illegitimate member of the Mortimer family, who were one of the leading noble houses of England and Ireland, and he helped to manage the Mortimer lands during the minority of the family heir, his nephew Roger, earl of March. Sir Thomas was also a close associate of the Lords Appellant, the powerful faction of nobles who opposed the administration of King Richard II.

Hugh Canoun, or Hugh Canon was an English-born judge in early fourteenth-century Ireland. He was a justice of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) and served as Deputy Justiciar of Ireland. As a judge he was praised for his good and faithful service to the English Crown, and as a lawyer he was known as "a man very knowledgeable about all the King's business". On the other hand, his loyalty to the Crown during the Scottish Invasion of Ireland in 1315-18 was said to be extremely doubtful, although he was saved from disgrace by his influential connections. He was murdered by Andrew de Bermingham of Athenry in 1317/18, during the last months of the Bruce Invasion, in the course of a private feud, of which little is known.

Nicholas de Clere, or le Clerk was an English-born Crown administrator in the late thirteenth-century Ireland. He was a skilled financier who achieved high Government office, becoming Lord Treasurer of Ireland, but he faced serious charges of corruption, as a result of which he was removed from office. He was ruined financially by the huge debts he owed to the Crown, and spent his last years in prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William de Essendon</span> English-born cleric, lawyer


Sir William de Essendon, de Estdene or Eastdean was an English-born cleric, lawyer and Crown official, much of whose career was spent in Ireland in the reign of Edward I of England and his son. He served twice as Lord High Treasurer of Ireland, and had a high reputation for integrity and efficiency.

William fitz Roger was an Anglo-Norman cleric, judge and Crown official in late thirteenth-century Lordship of Ireland. He was Prior of the Irish House of the Knights Hospitallers at Kilmainham, and served as a Privy Councillor and as a justice in eyre. He led several military expeditions, but was a notoriously incompetent commander, whose campaigns invariably ended in failure. He served as Deputy Justiciar in 1284-5, and as acting Justiciar of Ireland in 1294.

Sir Thomas Fitzadam was a leading Irish administrator and judge during the reigns of King John and his son Henry III of England. He held a wide variety of official positions, including military commander, Constable of Dublin Castle, Chief Escheator of Ireland and Chief Forester of the Royal Forest of Glencree. He was one of the first three judges to be appointed an itinerant justice in Ireland.

References

  1. ↑ "Rokeby, Sir Thomas". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/24012.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Lee, Sidney, ed. (1897). "Rokeby, Thomas de"  . Dictionary of National Biography . Vol. 49. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 152.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Otway-Ruthven , A.J. History of Medieval Ireland Reprinted Barnes and Noble 1993 pp.277-282
  4. ↑ Gilbert, Sir John History of the Viceroys of Ireland Dublin J.Duffy and Co. 1865 p.205
  5. ↑ Gilbert p.205
  6. ↑ Close Roll 39 Edward III
  7. ↑ Grace, James Annales Hiberniae 1842
Military offices
Preceded by Governor of Edinburgh Castle
1338-1340		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Justiciar of Ireland
1349–1355		Succeeded by
Preceded by Justiciar of Ireland
1356		Succeeded by
Notes and references
1. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/edinburgh-burgh-records/1403-1528/pp287-291
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.