Wogan's Parliament, Earl of Desmond, "Butcher of England."

Chapter II.

1275-1478.

Wogan’s Parliament - The Statute of Kilkenny - The Viceroyalty of the Duke of York - His Popularity - Birth of the Duke of Clarence in 1449 - His Baptism - Claim of Independent Legislation - The Earl of Desmond - His Intimacy with Edward IV. - Rash Answer to the King - The Queen’s Resolve - Earl of Worcester Viceroy - Earl of Desmond tried and executed - “The Butcher of England” - His Fate - Eulogy of Caxton.

The Parliament of 1295, called by Sir John Wogan, then viceroy, may be regarded as the first regular Parliament held in Ireland. Though, as we learn from the historical review of the Irish legislative system, by the Right Hon. Mr. Ball, the representative constitution of this Parliament was continued, as time went on writs were not always issued to the same counties and towns. As might have been expected, the native Irish were not representatives in these early Parliaments. These Parliaments appear to have their inception from the king addressed to the Privy Council, as to what laws were required to be enacted. This Parliament met at Kilkenny, when the notices enacted the celebrated statute called by that name. It declares that many of the English of Ireland, discarding the English tongue, manners, style of riding, laws, and usages, lived and governed themselves according to the mode, fashion, and language of the Irish enemies, and also made divers marriages and alliances with them, whereby the lands and the liege people thereof, the English language, the allegiance due to their lord the King of England, and the English laws then were put in subjection and decayed, and the Irish enemies exalted, and raised up contrary to reason. The statute then prohibited alliance by marriage, gossipred [Standing godfather or godmother for children.], fostering of children between English and Irish, under penalty of treason; also selling to the Irish horses, armour, or victuals, under a like penalty. All Englishmen or Irish living among them were to use the English language, be called by English names, follow the English customs, and use saddles in riding. If ecclesiastics dwelling among the English did not use the English language, the profits of their benefices were to be seized by their superiors, but they had respite to learn the English language.

The effect of this statute was to banish the language, usages and sports, the music and festive meetings between the Irish and English.

In 1449 Richard, Duke of York, was appointed viceroy. He was accompanied by the duchess and his children, and he soon showed a desire to treat the Irish with kindness. This had the natural effect. The heart of man leaps kindly back to kindness, and the Irish chiefs entered into friendly relations with me princely viceroy. Maginnis of Iveagh, MacMahon of Farney, MacArtan, O’Reilly, O’Flanagan of Turah, and other Irish chiefs were glad to treat with him on friendly terms. The O’Byrnes of Wicklow engaged to have the laws of England observed in their territory, and the chief promised his wife should wear the English dress and learn the English language. The viceroy was so popular it was declared that in 12 months the wildest Irishman would be sworn an English-man; and when the duke’s son, George of York, Duke of Clarence, was born in Dublin Castle, on 12th October 1449, aware of the Irish regard for the affinity of gossipred, despite the statute of Kilkenny, he procured the chief of the great rival houses - the Earls of Desmond and Ormond, FitzGerald and Butler, the Irish Guelphs and Ghibelline

• to be sponsors of the infant prince.

We learn from Mr. Gilbert’s able work, *The Viceroys of Ireland, *that, stimulated by the presence and position of the duke, the Parliament publicly enunciated the independence of the legislature in Ireland, and asserted rights which had hitherto been suffered to lie in abeyance, owing to the relations of the colonists with England. Having asserted the right to their own coinage in Ireland, distinct from that of England, the Parliament formally declared that, as Normandy and Guienne when under the obedience of England were separate from its laws and statutes, so also in Ireland, though under the obedience of the same realm, was nevertheless separate from its laws and statutes, except such as were, by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons of Ireland, freely admitted and accepted in their Parliaments and great councils.

The Parliament further declared that, according to ancient prescription, the king’s subjects in Ireland were not bound to answer writs, except those under the Great Seal of Ireland; and that any officer attempting to put decrees from England into force in Ireland should incur forfeiture of all his Irish property, and be fined 1,000 marks. Appeals of treason were confined to the constable and marshal of Ireland, and while the Duke of York resided as viceroy in Ireland [Lives of the Lord Chancellors, vol. i. P. 108.], he was to be respected as king. When the alternate fortunes of the Wars of the Roses brought the house of York again in the ascendant, Edward, son of the popular viceroy, was King Edward IV.

The Earl of Desmond was no exception to the high character of the other members of this distinguished family. He was brave in the fight, and wise in the senate. He had fought in many a well-contested field, and at tilt and tourney was distinguished for his knightly accomplishments. During a visit to England, while staying in London, he felt it his duty to pay his respects to the sovereign.

He was related by marriage to King Edward IV., by whom he was much beloved for his gallantry in the field and wisdom in the council. This king was of an amorous disposition, and fell in love with the beautiful Elizabeth Woodville, widow of Sir John Grey of Groby. Finding the lady too pure to yield to his illicit proposals, King Edward married her, and, finding the alliance was regarded as worthy of his position as England’s king, and that his subjects looked coldly on the lovely queen, the king asked his friend Desmond’s advice on the matter.

Desmond strongly advised the king to strengthen his position by alliance with a foreign princess, and hinted at a divorce from his newly-made queen. The king, however, as a Catholic, remained true his marriage vows, and the Earl of Desmond was destined to suffer for his worldly advice. On some provocation from the queen, the king unguardedly said -

“Your pride, madam, would be humbled had I followed the advice of my cousin of Desmond.”

“What advice was that, prithee?” quoth the queen.

“Nay, that must not be told,” said the king. But, alas! the words sank deep into the mind of the queen, and when, later on, she moulded the king to her humour, she gradually found out the secret advice of the unfortunate Desmond. It rankled in her breast, and aroused an inordinate desire for vengeance. The graces of Desmond’s person - he was one of the handsomest men of his time, and the gifts of his mind, for he was very accomplished - availed nothing to allay her thirst for vengeance. The opportunity soon presented itself.

John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester, a man of illustrious birth and large fortune, possessed a cruel and relentless heart. The queen was not slow to impress upon him ideas of hostility towards Desmond. Worcester, too, was related to the king, and the crafty queen represented him as sure of Edward’s chief favour if Desmond was out of the way. To further her intentions, she procured the removal of Desmond from the office of viceroy in Ireland, and caused the Earl of Worcester to be appointed in his stead. This gave him the requisite power to accomplish her aim against Desmond. The new chief governor caused a Parliament to be assembled at Drogheda, one of the chief towns of the Pale, remote from the south of Ireland, the territory where the Earl of Desmond’s power lay. This servile Parliament, under the viceroy’s control, speedily entertained articles of impeachment of treason against the earl for violation of the statute of Kilkenny, by fosterages and alliances with the king’s Irish enemies. The earl was at once attainted as a traitor, and condemned to death. He was quickly beheaded by the commands of Worcester at Drogheda, on the 14th February 1467.

Retribution was promptly at hand. The treasurer of Ireland, FitzEustace, Lord Portlester, was allied to the Geraldines by the marriage of his daughter with the Earl of Kildare, and he was accused before Worcester with having incited the late Earl of Desmond to assume the title of King of Ireland. This charge was boldly denied by the treasurer, and fell to the ground. The Earl of Worcester was recalled into England, and employed in trying a number of the adherents of the house of Lancaster. He did so with such barbarity that he obtained the *soubriquet *of “The Butcher of England.”

When Henry VI. once more occupied the throne in 1470, “the Butcher” sought to conceal himself. His character was so odious, both in England and Ireland, that he knew there was no chance of his life being spared if he was discovered. He avoided the city, he shunned the town, he sought shelter in the forest, and supported life as best he could. Even these precautions did not tend to prolong his miserable existence. He was discovered crouching like some bird of night, among the branches of a lofty tree in the forest of Havering. With shouts of execration he was hurried to London, and stowed away in one of the deepest dungeons in Tower.

Impatient to rid the. earth of “the Butcher” Worcester was speedily brought to trial. How strange are the revolutions of Fortune’s wheel! In the chamber wherein he was tried for his life he presided, only four years previously, at the trial of de Vere, Earl of Oxford. The earl was then found guilty, and by him condemned to death; and lo! the son and successor of this earl was presiding as judge now. Well might he exclaim, * Tempora mutantur!* His trial was short - his sentence sure; he was beheaded on Tower Hill.

So few were able to say a good word for “the Butcher,” that I cannot forbear extracting the account William Caxton, the printer, gives of how the earl passed his last hours on earth. Had we not known so much of his antecedents, we might imagine the worthy printer referred to some totally different peer, for he describes the Earl of Worcester as one who “flowered in virtue, so that none was like unto him among the lords of the temporality in science and moral virtue. What great loss was it of that noble and virtuous and well-disposed lord, and what worship had he in Rome, in the presence of our Holy Father the Pope, and so in all places unto his death, every man there might learn to die and take his death patiently, wherein I hope and doubt not but that God received his soul into His ever lasting bliss, for, as I am informed, he right advisedly ordained all his things, as well for his last will of worldly goods as to his soul’s health, and patiently and holily without grudging in charity, before that he departed out of this world. I beseech Almighty God to have mercy on his soul, and pray all them that shall hear or read this little treatise, much virtuous of friendship, in likewise of your charity to remember his soul among your prayers.” [*Tullius His Book of Friendship, *printed by Caxton, 1481.]

I am afraid few adherents of the house of Desmond would respond “Amen” to that prayer. They believed the terrible fate of “the Butcher” was the just judgment of Heaven upon the cruel murderer of the beloved Earl of Desmond. The Irish Parliament also sought to atone for the injustice, by enacting that all the possessions of the Earl of Worcester in Ireland should be given to the Earl of Kildare, in compensation for the injustice he sustained at the hands of the earl; and Lambay Island, which had been given to him, was restored to the Archbishop of Dublin.

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