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The Ormond—St Leger feud, 1544–6

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2015

Alan Bryson
Alan Bryson*
Affiliation:
Humanities Research Institute, University of Sheffield
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Extract

Criticism of the lord deputy of Ireland, Sir Anthony St Leger, became vocal during 1544, especially among supporters of James Butler, ninth earl of Ormond, who felt that he was being excluded from a more prominent role in government. To head off this grumbling, St Leger returned to England in the spring for an audience with Henry VIII that resulted in his re-appointment in July with the king's blessing. On 18 May he was installed as a knight of the Garter and his stipend increased by £200 the following summer. Once back in Ireland St Leger (a gentleman of the privy chamber) cleverly maintained royal favour through well-thought gifts, like the two goshawks and ‘caste’ of falcons ‘of the best ayre of this Lande’ he sent the king in the summer of 1545. Most importantly, he kept Henry, the English privy council, and principal courtiers informed of his point of view through carefully crafted letters and frequent messengers, dominating communications between the two kingdoms. His tone was always well-judged: ‘this your Realme remayneth[e] in goode stay thank[e]s be to god and your highnes’.

Type
Research Article
Information
Irish Historical Studies , Volume 38 , Issue 150 , November 2012 , pp. 187 - 210
Copyright
Copyright © Irish Historical Studies Publications Ltd 2012

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References

1 The sources (T.N.A., SP 60/11, 60/12, and 61/1) are relatively accessible and full for the period, and many are transcribed in S.P. Hen. VIII.

2 L. & P. Hen. VIII, Jan-July 1544, 1035 (30–32); Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., 112–13; estimate of St Leger’s receipts, before July 1545 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/54, ff 128–29v); Alan Bryson, ‘St Leger, Sir Anthony (14967–1559)’, in Oxford DNB.

3 St Leger to Henry VIII, 3 Aug. 1545 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/14, ff 33–34v); cf. St Leger to Wriothesley, 26 Feb. 1545 (SP 60/12/1, ff 1–2v); to the English privy council, 14 Apr. (SP 60/12/6, ff 17–18v); to Paget, 3 Aug. (SP 60/12/16, ff 38–39v); to Paget, 10 Jan. 1546 (SP 60/12/28, ff 66–67v).

4 Bryson, ‘St Leger, Sir Anthony’, Oxford DNB; Christopher Maginn, ‘Civilizing’ Gaelic Leinster: the extension of Tudor rule in the O’Byrne and O’Toole lordships (Dublin, 2004), pp 63–98; idem, ‘“Surrender and regrant” in the historiography of sixteenth-century Ireland’ in Sixteenth Century Jn., xxxviii (2007), pp 955–74.

5 Edwards, David, The Ormond lordship in County Kilkenny, 1515–1642 (Dublin, 2003), pp 168–73;Google Scholar Brady, Ciaran, The chief governors: the rise and fall of reform government in Tudor Ireland, 1536–1588 (Cambridge, 1994), pp 13–25.Google Scholar

6 Alen and Aylmer to Henry, 27 Feb. 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/34, f. 80). The most detailed examinations of the feud are by Ciaran Brady and David Edwards: Brady, Chief governors, pp 41–3, 61; Edwards, David, ‘Malice aforethought? The death of the ninth earl of Ormond, 1546’ in Butler Soc. Jn., 3 (1987), pp 30–41;Google Scholar idem, ‘Further comments on the strange death of the ninth earl of Ormond’ in Butler Soc. Jn., iv (1997), pp 58–64. Cf. Bradshaw, Brendan, The Irish constitutional revolution of the sixteenth century (Cambridge, 1979), pp 256–60;CrossRefGoogle Scholar Fitzsimons, Fiona, ‘The lordship of O’Connor Faly, 1520–1570’ in Nolan, William and O’Neill, Timothy P. (eds), Offaly: history and society (Dublin, 1998), pp 207–42.Google Scholar

7 Brady, Chief governors, p. 55.

8 Ellis, Steven G., ‘The Kildare Rebellion and the early Henrician reformation” in Historical Jn., 19 (1976), pp 807–30;CrossRefGoogle Scholar idem, ‘Thomas Cromwell and Ireland, 1532–1540’ in Historical Jn., xxiii (1980), pp 497–519; idem, Ireland in the age of the Tudors, 1447–1603: English expansion and the end of Gaelic rule (London, 1998), pp 119–43, 148–9; Brady, Chief governors, pp 13–25; Fitzsimons, ‘O’Connor Faly', pp 207–22; Carey, Vincent P., The end of the Gaelic political order: the O’More lordship of Laois, 1536–1603’ in Lane, Pádraig G. and Nolan, William (eds), Laois: history and society (Dublin, 1999), pp 213–19;Google Scholar Ann Lyons, Mary, ‘Skeffington, Sir William (d. 1535)’ and Ann Lyons, Mary, ‘Grey, Leonard, Viscount Graney’ (c.1490-1541)’, in Oxford DNB.Google Scholar

9 S.P. Hen. VIII, iii, 32–5.

10 Ciaran Brady, David Edwards, Steven Ellis, and Brendan Bradshaw think in terms of faction in studying relationships between the court and Ireland. For example, Ellis describes Kildare ‘mobiliz[ing] the support of an influential court faction to recover the deputyship’ in 1532, while Bradshaw writes of a ‘Butler-Cromwell nexus’ in the 1530s ‘to counteract the Fitzgerald-Boleyn-Howard one’ and ties Cromwell’s fall and that of Grey in summer 1540. See Bradshaw, Irish constitutional revolution, pp 87–98, 184–5, 195, 258–60; Ellis, ‘Cromwell’, pp 497–519; idem, Ireland in the age of the Tudors, passim; Brady, Chief governors, passim; Edwards, ‘Malice aforethought?’, p. 31; idem, ‘Further comments’, p. 60; idem, ‘Butler, James, ninth earl of Ormond and second earl of Ossory (b. in or after 1496, d. 1546)’, in Oxford DNB.

11 MacCulloch, Diarmaid, Tudor church militant: Edward VI and the Protestant reformation (London, 1999);Google Scholar Bradshaw, Brendan, ‘The Edwardian reformation in Ireland, 1547–53’ in Archiv. Hib., 34 (1977), pp 83–99.Google Scholar Religious changes in mid-Tudor England did not drive Catholics or Protestants out of court or local government, while the pervasiveness of faction has been overstated: Johnston, Andrew, ‘William Paget and the late-Henrician polity’ (Ph.D. thesis, University of St Andrews, 2003);Google Scholar Bryson, Alan, ‘Edward VI’s “speciall men”: crown and locality in mid Tudor England’ in Historical Research, 82 (2009), pp 229–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

12 Bradshaw, Irish constitutional revolution, pp 189–275; cf. White, Dean G., ‘The reign of Edward VI in Ireland: some political, social, and economic aspects’ in I.H.S., 14 (1965), pp 197–211;Google Scholar Carey, ‘O’More lordship’, pp 218–21.

13 Ellis, ‘Kildare Rebellion’, pp 807–30; idem, ‘Cromwell’, pp 497–519.

14 The themes discussed here are developed further in research on the reign of Edward VI (Alan Bryson, ’Sir Anthony St Leger and the outbreak of the Midland Rebellion, 1547–8’ in Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy (forthcoming)). Both articles arose from revisiting Dean White’s 1965 article (White, ‘Edward VI’, pp 197–211) and addressing questions raised more recently by Christopher, Maginn, ‘A window on mid-Tudor Ireland: the “Matters” against Lord Deputy St. Leger, 1547–8’ in Historical Research, 78 (2005), pp 465–82.Google Scholar

15 St Leger to Cromwell, 2 Jan. 1538 (T.N.A., SP 60/6/1, f. 1v).

16 S.P. Hen. VIII, iii, 235–40; Bryson, , ‘St Leger, Sir Anthony’, Oxford DNB.Google Scholar

17 McCormack, Anthony M., The earldom of Desmond, 1463–1583: the decline and crisis of a feudal lordship (Dublin, 2005), pp 69–71, 74–87.Google Scholar

18 Ellis, Ireland in the age of the Tudors, pp 150–3, 157-9; Maginn, ‘“Surrender and regrant”’, pp 955–74; Bryson, ‘St Leger, Sir Anthony’, Oxford DNB.

19 Bryson, , ‘St Leger, Sir Anthony’, Oxford DNB.Google Scholar

20 Robert Cowley to Henry, 26 Aug. 1541 (T.N.A., SP 60/10/28, f. 106); S.P. Hen. VIII, iii, 366–70, 372–4; cf. Brady, Chief governors, p. 41; Edwards, Ormond, pp 40–1, 165, 168–70; Clavin, Terry and McCormack, Anthony M., ‘Cowley, Robert’, in DIB.Google Scholar

21 The gentry of Counties Kilkenny and Tipperary to Henry, 26 June 1543 (N.L.I., Ormond MS D 2410); Maginn, ‘Civilizing’ Gaelic Leinster, pp 82–3. David Edwards describes how ‘the deputy and his officers rode south to Kilkenny hoping to collect information about the earl’s misgovernment of his territories’, but his source makes no mention of this event. St Leger did visit the town on another occasion, to ‘my lord of Ormondes displesur’, but for a completely different purpose: Edwards, Ormond, pp 169–72; Alen and Brabazon’s ‘Matters’ against St Leger, [Dec.?] 1547 (T.N.A., SP 61/2/53, f. 126); Maginn, ‘“Matters”’, p. 480.

22 White, Dean G., ‘Henry VIII’s Irish kerne in France and Scotland, 1544–1545’ in Irish Sword, 3 (1957–8), pp 213–25;Google Scholar Edwards, Ormond, pp 171–2.

23 The English privy council to St Leger, 5 Sept. 1545 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/21, ff 50–50v); cf. to the Irish privy council, 5 Sept. (SP 60/12/20, ff 48–49v); St Leger to the English privy council, 10 Oct. (SP 60/12/22, ff 51-52v); the Irish privy council to Henry, 19 Nov. (SP 60/12/25, ff 58–59v).

24 St Leger to Wriothesley, 26 Feb. 1545 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/1, ff 1-2); cf. Alen’s ‘Note of the state of Irlande’ (SP 60/11/53, ff 155v-156, 158v); Ellis, ‘Cromwell’, pp 513–14; Evans, Mihail D., ‘Kavanagh, Cahir Mac Art, baron of Ballyann (d. 15547)’, in Oxford DNB.Google Scholar Ormond was courting the Kavanaghs at this time: Maginn, ‘Civilizing’ Gaelic Leinster, p. 82.

25 St Leger to Wriothesley, 26 Feb. 1545 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/1, ff 1–2v); cf. Ellis, Ireland in the age of the Tudors, p. 106.

26 St Leger to Wriothesley, 26 Feb. 1545 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/1, ff 1v-2v); cf. Ormond to the English privy council, 18 Jan. 1544 (SP 60/11/33, ff 109-10v); St Leger to the English privy council, 14 Apr. 1545 (SP 60/12/6, ff 17–17v); Guy, John A., ‘Tudor monarchy and its critiques’ in Guy, The Tudor monarchy (London, 1997), pp 78–109.Google Scholar

27 St Leger to Wriothesley, 26 Feb. 1545 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/1, ff 1–2v).

28 Calendar of Ormond deeds, ed. Edmund Curtis (6 vols, I.M.C., Dublin, 1932–43), iv, 311, 319, 343, 349; Edwards, ‘Malice aforethought?’, pp 30, 32–3.

29 [St Leger to the English privy council] (T.N.A., SP 60/12/46, f. 106).

30 Upper Ossory to St Leger, 1 and 11 Nov. 1544 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/1 (ii), f. 3v; SP 60/12/1 (iii), ff 4–4v).

31 McCormack, Desmond, pp 69–87.

32 St Leger to the English privy council, 14 Apr. 1545 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/6, f. 17).

33 Ibid., ff 17–18; St Leger to Wriothesley, 26 Feb. 1545 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/1, ff 1-2); cf. Ellis, ‘Cromwell’, pp 498–507. St Leger had dissuaded Henry from accepting Ormond’s offer in 1543 to campaign against the Kavanagh, O’Byrne, and O’Toole septs, fearing the earl would use it as an opportunity to seize strongholds in southern Leinster for himself. Ormond employed Thomas Howard, third duke of Norfolk, to mediate on this occasion: St Leger to the English privy council, 15 May 1543 (T.N.A., SP 60/11/9, ff 31–32v).

34 Ormond to the English privy council, 18 Jan. 1544 (T.N.A., SP 60/11/33, ff 109–10v); St Leger to Wriothesley, 26 Feb. 1545 (SP 60/12/1, ff 1v-2v); to the English privy council, 14 Apr. (SP 60/12/6, ff 17–18v).

35 St Leger to the English privy council, 14 Apr. 1545 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/6, f. 17).

36 St Leger to the English privy council, 14 Apr. 1545 (TN.A., SP 60/12/6, ff 17v-18); cf. Alen’s ‘Note’ (SP 60/11/53, f. 157v).

37 St Leger to Paget, 3 Aug. 1545 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/16, ff 38–39v).

38 Edwards, Ormond, pp 172–3.

39 Ormond deeds, ed. Curtis, iv, 255; Edwards, Ormond, p. 41.

40 The Irish privy council to the English privy council, 4 July 1545 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/12, ff 29–30v); cf. Acts of the privy council, 1542–7, 225–6.

41 Ormond to Russell, 15 Nov. 1545 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/24, ff 55-55v); anonymous to Ormond, [Oct.?] (SP 60/12/24 (i), ff 56–57v).

42 Anonymous to Ormond, [Oct.?] 1545 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/24 (i), ff 56–57v).

43 Ormond to Russell, 15 Nov. 1545 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/24, ff 55–55v); cf. the Irish privy council to Henry, 19 Nov. (SP 60/12/25, ff 58–59v).

44 Ormond’s codicil, 15 Nov. 1545 (N.L.I., Ormond MS D 2465–71); Ormond deeds, ed. Curtis, iv, 352.

45 Walter Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/52, ff 122–23v); the countess of Ormond to Somerset, 6 Mar. 1547 (SP 61/1/1, f. 1).

46 Acts of the privy council, 1542–7, 300–3.

47 The Irish privy council to the English privy council, 13 Aug. 1545 (SP 60/12/19, ff 46–47v); Acts of the privy council, 1542–7, 240; S.P. Hen. VIII, iii, 529–38, 541–4; v, 507; Merriman, Marcus, The Rough Wooings: Mary, queen of Scots, 1542–1551 (East Linton, 2000), pp 150–52, 158–9, 214–15;Google Scholar Munro, Matthew R.W. and Munro, Jean, ‘MacDonald family (c. 1300–c.1500)’, and ‘MacDonald, Donald Dubh (d. 1545)’, in Oxford DNB.Google Scholar

48 Ormond to the English privy council, 20 Feb. 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/30, ff 72–73v); cf. Alen and Aylmer to Henry, 27 Feb. (SP 60/12/34, ff 80–81v); Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] (SP 60/12/53, ff 124-7v).

49 Ormond to St John, 14 Dec. 1545 (Bodl., MS Carte 30, ff 12–15); Ormond to Wriothesley [Dec.], (Bodl., MS Carte 30, ff 13–14v).

50 Ormond to Wriothesley, [Dec. 1545] (Bodl., MS Carte 30, ff 13–14v); cf. Adams, Simon, ‘Faction, clientage and party: English politics, 1550–1603’ in History Today, 32 (1982), pp 33–9;Google Scholar Maginn, ‘“Matters”’, pp 465–82.

51 Ormond to Wriothesley, [Dec. 1545] (Bodl., MS Carte 30, ff 14–14v); cf. Ormond to the English privy council, 20 Feb. 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/30, ff 72–73v); Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] (SP 60/12/53, f. 125v). St Leger had in fact made every effort to supply the expedition, hampered by lack of notice and contradictory orders. One of his sons (probably Warham St Leger) even participated.

52 Ormond to the English privy council, 20 Feb. 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/30, ff 72–73v); cf. Alen and Aylmer to Henry, 27 Feb. 1546 (SP 60/12/34, ff 80–81v).

53 The Irish privy council to the English privy council, 5 Jan. 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/26, ff 62–63v).

54 St Leger to Paget, 10 Jan. 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/28, ff 66–67v); the Irish privy council to the English privy council, 26 Feb. (SP 60/12/33, ff 78–79v); cf. St Leger to Paget, 3 Aug. 1545 (SP 60/12/16, ff 38–39v).

55 Edwards, ‘Malice aforethought?’, p. 30.

56 The Irish privy council to the English privy council, 26 Feb. 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/32–33, ff 76–79v); Alen and Aylmer to Henry, 27 Feb. (SP 60/12/34, ff 80–81v); Browne to Henry, 28 Feb. (SP 60/12/35, ff 82–83v).

57 Edwards, ‘Malice aforethought?’, pp 33–7.

58 Alen and Aylmer to Henry, 27 Feb. 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/34, ff 80–81v); Alen’s ‘Note’ (SP 60/11/53, f. 158v); cf. Ormond to the English privy council, 20 Feb. 1546 (SP 60/12/30, ff 72–73v). Aylmer (like Alen) defended conciliar government, as he saw it, particularly after Grey forged alliances with the Geraldines between 1536 and 1540, but he retained his independence from Ormond and others: Brady, Chief governors, pp 18, 20–24.

59 Maginn, ‘Civilizing’ Gaelic Leinster, pp 82–9.

60 Browne perhaps thought Alen was behind the feud: Browne to Henry, 28 Feb. 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/35, ff 82–83v).

61 Ormond to the English privy council, 20 Feb. 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/30, ff 72–73v); St Leger to Paget, 11 Mar. (SP 60/12/36, ff 84–84v); Cal. pat. rolls Ire, Hen. VIII-Eliz, 125; cf. Cusack to Paget, 28 Mar. 1546 (SP 60/12/41, ff 95–96v).

62 Ormond’s last will and codicil, 10 Mar. and 18 Oct. 1546 (N.L.I., Ormond MS D 2465–71, 2484); Ormond deeds, ed. Curtis, iv, 352.

63 St Leger to Paget, 11 Mar. 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/36, ff 84-84v); Cal. pat. rolls Ire,, Hen. VIII-Eliz., 125–6; Brady, Chief governors, pp 9, 21–2, 31–U, 48, 61, 81–3, 105–6, 108–11, 214. St Leger, for example, leased ex-religious property to his allies, colleagues, nobility, and gentry, reinforcing the community of interest among them all and enhancing support for crown policy and himself as a result: Brady, Chief governors, pp 37–41, 43–4, 66–7.

64 Edwards, ‘Malice aforethought?’, p. 35.

65 The Irish privy council and nobility to Henry, 20 Mar. 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/38, ff 91–92v).

66 Gaelic Irish chieftains to Henry, 23 Mar. 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/40, ff 94–94v); Cusack to Paget, 28 Mar. (SP 60/12/41, ff 95–96v).

67 Cusack to Paget, 28 Mar. 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/41, f. 95).

68 Alen’s ‘Note’ (T.N.A., SP 60/11/53, ff 154–9v); Alen’s ‘Certen notes of the state of Irelande’ (SP 60/12/42, ff 97–97v); the English privy council to certain Irish privy councillors, 5 May 1546 (SP 60/12/43, ff 98–99v; SP 60/12/43 (i), ff 100–100v); Acts of the privy council, 1542–7, 402–5.

69 The English privy council to certain Irish privy councillors, 5 May 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/43 (i), ff 100–100v).

70 Alen’s ‘Note’ (T.N.A., SP 60/11/53, ff 154–55); Alen’s ‘Certen notes’ (SP 60/12/42, ff 97–97v); N.L.I., Ormond MS D 2410; Acts ofthe privy council, 1542–7, 402–5; Maginn, ‘“Matters”’, p. 475; cf. Ellis, ‘Cromwell’, pp 509–10; Ann Lyons, Mary, Church and society in County Kildare, c. 1470–1547 (Dublin, 2000), pp 15–17.Google Scholar Browne made the same gibe about wearing Gaelic Irish dress against Ormond: Browne to Henry, 28 Feb. 1546 (SP 60/12/35, f. 82). Alen had been outspoken since the 1530s, in defending conciliar government (and his own interests) and checking the independent power of lord deputies, allying himself with the Butler family against Grey between 1536 and 1541 and critiquing St Leger’s successor Sir Edward Bellingham in 1548’9, for example: Brady, Chief governors, pp 9, 18–25, 42–3, 50–51, 61, 65–7, 249–50.

71 Brian and Patrick were brothers-in-law: Rory O’More to Henry and the English privy council, June 1544 (T.N.A., SP 60/11/49, ff 145–46v); Alen’s ‘Note’ (SP 60/11/53, ff 155v–156); Carey, ‘O’More lordship’, pp 217–18; Maginn, ‘“Matters”’, p. 474.

72 Rory O’More to Henry and the English privy council, June 1544 (T.N.A., SP 60/11/49, ff 145–46v).

73 Alen’s ‘Note’ (T.N.A., SP 60/11/53, ff 156-58v); Alen’s ‘Certen notes’ (SP 60/12/42, ff 97–97v); the Irish privy council to the English privy council, 25 May 1546 (SP 60/12/45, ff 103-4v); Alen’s answers to St Leger’s charges (SP 60/12/47, ff 109 13v); cf. Lyons, County Kildare, pp 15–52.

74 Alen’s ‘Certen notes’ (T.N.A., SP 60/12/42, ff 97–97v).

75 [St Leger to the English privy council] (T.N.A., SP 60/12/46, ff 105–8); cf. the English privy council to certain Irish privy councillors, 5 May 1546 (SP 60/12/43, ff 98–99v; SP 60/12/43 (i), ff 100–100v).

76 [St Leger to the English privy council] (T.N.A., SP 60/12/46, ff 105v–107v); cf. Ellis, Ireland in the age of the Tudors, pp 177–8; Maginn, ‘Civilizing’ Gaelic Leinster, p. 86, n. 43.

77 [St Leger to the English privy council] (T.N.A., SP 60/12/46, ff 107–8); Brady, Chief governors, pp 66–8.

78 Alen and Brabazon's 'Matters' (T.N.A., SP 61/2/53, f. 124v); Maginn, '"Matters"', p. 477; St Leger to Wriothesley, 26 Feb. 1545 (SP 60/12/1, f. 1v); to the English privy council, 14 Apr. (SP 60/12/6, f. 17v); Ormond to the English privy council, 20 Feb. 1546 (SP 60/12/30, ff 72-73v); cf. Brady, Chief governors, pp 31-2.

79 Alen’s answers (T.N.A., SP 60/12/47, ff 109v–110); Bryson, , ‘St Leger, Sir Anthony’, in Oxford DNB.Google Scholar

80 Alen’s answers (T.N.A., SP 60/12/47, ff 109–13v).

81 Bale, John, The vocacyon of Iohan Bale to the bishoprick of Ossorie (STC 1307, [Wesel?], 1553/4), sigs. C2v–C3v, D8–D8v;Google Scholar Maginn, ‘“Matters”’, p. 480; cf. Bradshaw, Brendan, ‘George Browne, first reformation archbishop of Dublin, 1536–54’ in Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 21 (1970), p. 310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

82 The expression ‘lewde boke’ is Alen’s and Cowley’s: Alen’s answers (T.N.A., SP 60/12/47, f. 110); Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] 1546 (SP 60/12/50-51, ff 120-21v); cf. Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] (SP 60/12/53, ff 124, 126). Cowley was Robert Cowley's eldest son and Ormond’s kinsman, a Butler servant since the 1530s, and clerk of the crown. Between 1536 and 1540 he lobbied for Grey’s removal from office: Edwards, ‘Malice aforethought?’, pp 33–4, 36; Terry Clavin, ‘Cowley, Walter’, in DIB.

83 The English privy council to certain Irish privy councillors, 5 May 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/43 (i), f. 100v); Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] (SP 60/12/50–51, ff 120–21v; SP 60/12/52, ff 122–22v; SP 60/12/53, f. 124).

84 Alen’s ‘Note’ (T.N.A., SP 60/11/53, ff 154–9v); Alen’s ‘Certen notes’ (SP 60/12/42, ff 97–97v); [St Leger to the English privy council] (SP 60/12/46, ff 107v–108); Alen’s answers (SP 60/12/47, ff 109–13v); Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] 1546 (SP 60/12/52, ff 122–22v).

85 To confuse matters further, another ‘book’ by Cowley fell into St Leger’s hands at this time. Neither this nor his ‘lewde boke’ is extant: Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/52, ff 122–23v); Acts of the privy council, 1542–7, 396–7.

86 Cowley said that his depositions and petitions ‘cu[m]ith to yo[u]r hono[u]rable hand[e]s’ ‘amidd[e]s yo[u]r noble Ioyfull ffeaste’. This surely refers to the Garter feast in June, not the Limehouse one in October: Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/49–53, ff 118–27v); L. & P. Hen. VIII, Jan.-Aug. 1546, 736, 920–4; Cal. S.P. Ire., 1509–73, pp 75–6.

87 Alen and Brabazon’s ‘Matters’ (T.N.A., SP 61/2/53, f. 126v); Maginn, ‘“Matters”’, pp 470, 482.

88 Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/49, ff 118-18v; SP 60/12/50–51, ff 120–21v).

89 Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/49–51, ff 118–21v; SP 60/12/53, ff 124-7v); Alen and Aylmer to Henry, 27 Feb. (SP 60/12/34, ff 80–81v). Cowley claimed not to be motivated by revenge for his father’s dismissal and exile in England in 1542, saying that St Leger was not to blame, who ‘yet gentilly … wrote for his licence to pass home at my desire’: SP 60/12/53, f. 124v.

90 Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/49, ff 118–18v; SP 60/12/50–51, ff 120–21v; SP 60/12/53, ff 124–24v, 126).

91 Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/50–51, ff 120–21v); cf. Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] (SP 60/12/52, ff 122–23v).

92 If Cowley’s depositions are accurate, St Leger got wind of Cantwell’s activities late in the year and tried to turn him against Ormond then: Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/49, ff 118–18v; SP 60/12/50–51, ff 120–21v).

93 Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/53, ff 125v–126).

94 Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/49, ff 118–18v; SP 60/12/50–51, ff 120–21v; SP 60/12/53, ff 125v–126).

95 Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/53, ff 126–26v).

96 Ibid., f. 126v; Maginn, ‘“Matters”’, pp 470, 477.

97 Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/53, f. 125v).

98 This letter is no longer extant. There is no evidence (despite David Edwards’s claims) that Cantwell wrote it: Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/50–51, f. 120; SP 60/12/53, f. 125); Edwards, Ormond, pp 172–3.

99 Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/49, ff 118–18v).

100 Ormond to the English privy council, 20 Feb. 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/30, ff 72–73v).

101 Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/49, f. 118v; SP 60/12/52–53, ff 122–22v, 124–7v).

102 Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/52, f. 123); cf. Ellis, ‘Cromwell’, pp 498–507.

103 Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/53, f. 124).

104 St Leger to Paget, 3 Aug. 1545 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/16, ff 38–39v); to Paget, 10 Jan. 1546 (SP 60/12/28, ff 66–67v); the Irish privy council to the English privy council, 26 Feb. (SP 60/12/33, ff 78–79v).

105 Holinshed, Raphael and Stanihurst, Richard, The Second volume of Chronicles, eds Abraham Fleming and Richard Hooker (STC 13569, London, 1587), p. 104;Google Scholar Acts of the privy council, 1542–7, 396–7.

106 Acts of the privy council, 1542–7, 396–7; Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/50–51, ff 121–21v).

107 The Irish privy council to the English privy council, 25 May 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/45, ff 103–104v).

108 Acts of the privy council, 1542–7, 516–18, 522–4; cf. Irish privy council minutes, 24 Sept. 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/48, ff 114–14v).

109 Holinshed, , Chronicles, p. 105.Google Scholar

110 Ibid., pp 104–105.

111 Alen and Brabazon’s ‘Matters’ (T.N.A., SP 61/2/53, f. 125); Maginn, ‘“Matters”’, p. 477.

112 Walshe, Edward The office and duety in fightyng for our countrey (STC 25000, London, 1545);Google Scholar White, ‘Henry VIII’s Irish kerne’, pp 213–25.

113 Irish privy council minutes, 24 Sept. 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/48, ff 114v–115v, 116); cf. Alen’s ‘Note’ (SP 60/11/53, f. 158v); Ellis, ‘Cromwell’, pp 509–10.

114 In fact, it was Alen who originally suggested creating this council as a means of dividing Ormond, Desmond, and Thomond: Irish privy council minutes, 24 Sept. 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/48, ff 114v, 115v); Alen’s ‘Note’ (SP 60/11/53, f. 158v); McCormack, , Desmond, pp 82–7.Google Scholar

115 The Irish privy council to the English privy council, 25 Feb. 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/31, ff 74–74v; SP 60/12/31 (i), ff 75–75v).

116 Cowley to the English privy council, [Apr.xJune] 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/50-51, f. 121; SP 60/12/53, f. 125v).

117 Holinshed, , Chronicles, pp 105–06.Google Scholar

118 Irish privy council minutes, 24 Sept. 1546 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/48, ff 114–17v); L. & P. Hen. VIII, Sept. 1546–Jan. 1547, 476 (38); Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Hen. VIII-Eliz., 132.

119 Sir William Usher, ‘The redd Counsell booke’, 1542/3-52 (B.L., Additional MS 4792, ff 121–21v); cf. Edmund Butler to Somerset, 25 Feb. 1548 (T.N.A., SP 61/1/11, ff 29–30v); Edwards, , Ormond, pp 59–61,Google Scholar 97, 178–80.

120 Brady, , Chief governors, pp 56–7.Google Scholar

121 Ellis, , ‘Cromwell’, pp 512–4;Google Scholar McCormack, , Desmond, pp 76–7.Google Scholar

122 St Leger to the English privy council, 14 Apr. 1545 (T.N.A., SP 60/12/6, f. 17v).

123 Scarisbrick, John J. Henry VIII (London, 1968), pp 484–8.Google Scholar

124 A version of this article was presented at the Durham University Early Modern Group Seminar and the Warwick University ‘Rethinking politics in sixteenth-century England’ Conference (15–17 Apr. 2009), and a research trip to Ireland was funded by the British Academy. I am grateful to Mike Braddick, Tom Charlton, Jessica Edmondes, Caoilfhionn Gallagher, John Guy, Ed MacKenzie, Chris Maginn, Steve May, Natalie Mears, Tony Moore, Rory Rapple, Fred Schurink, Claire Taylor, and David Trim, and to the anonymous referees at I.H.S.