Edmund, Earl of Rutland

Infobox British Royalty|royal
name =Edmund of York
title =Earl of Rutland


imgw =
spouse =
issue =
royal house =House of York
father =Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York
mother =Cecily Neville
date of birth = birth date|1443|5|17|df=yes
place of birth = Rouen, Normandy
date of death = 30 December, 1460 (aged 17)
place of death = Wakefield, Yorkshire|

Edmund, Earl of Rutland (May 17, 1443 – December 31, 1460) was the fifth child and second surviving son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and Cecily Neville. He was born in Rouen.

Edmund was a younger brother of Anne of York and Edward IV of England and an older brother of Elizabeth of York, Margaret of York, George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence and Richard III of England.

He was styled Earl of Rutland.

Lord Chancellor of Ireland

In 1451, Edmund's father, who held the title of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, appointed Edmund as Lord Chancellor of Ireland. As Edmund was underage, the duties of the position were held by Deputy Chancellors. His first Deputy Chancellor was Edmund Oldhall, Bishop of Meath. His brother Sir William Oldhall was Chamberlain to the Duke of York and was likely behind that appointment. He acted as de facto Chancellor until 1454.

Goldhall was replaced by John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury who also held the office of Lord High Steward of Ireland. He would continue serving as the de facto Chancellor until his death at the Battle of Northampton (10 July, 1460).

His appointment and those of his Deputies were acknowledged by the Parliament of Ireland which at this time first asserted its independence. The Parliament declared that Ireland held separate legislature from the Kingdom of England and its subjects were only subject to the laws and statutes of "the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons of Ireland, freely admitted and accepted in their Parliaments and Great Councils".

According to Parliamentary decisions during his term, the Irish subjects were only bound to answer writs by the Great Seal of Ireland, held by the Lord Chancellors. Any officer attempting to enforce the rule of decrees from England would lose all of his property in Ireland and be subject to a fine.

The House of York in Ireland had won the support of Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Kildare and James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond. Several allies of the FitzGeralds followed them in their loyalties. On the other hand the House of Lancaster found its main Irish supporter in the person of James Butler, 5th Earl of Ormonde.

Death

Edmund died at the age of seventeen after the Battle of Wakefield (December 30, 1460) during the Wars of the Roses. He had fought in the battle at the side of his father.

By the account given by Roderick O'Flanagan in his 1870 biography of the Edmund:

"Urged by his tutor, a priest named Robert Aspell, he was no sooner aware that the field was lost than he sought safety by flight. Their movements were intercepted by the Lancastrians, and Lord Clifford made him prisoner, but did not then know his rank. Struck with the richness of his armour and equipment, Lord Clifford demanded his name. 'Save him,' implored the Chaplain; 'for he is the Prince's son, and peradventure may do you good hereafter.'

This was an impolitic appeal, for it denoted hopes of the House of York being again in the ascendant, which the Lancastrians, flushed with recent victory, regarded as impossible. The ruthless noble swore a solemn oath:- 'Thy father,' said he, 'slew mine; and so will I do thee and all thy kin;' and with these words be rushed on the hapless youth, and drove his dagger to the hilt in his heart. Thus fell, at the early age of seventeen, Edmund Plantagenet, Earl of Rutland, Lord Chancellor of Ireland."

Edmund was thus executed on the orders of the Lancastrian Lord Clifford, or by some accounts, by Lord Clifford himself. His head was displayed on the gates of York, England, along with those of his father and of his uncle, Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury. [http://www.thepeerage.com/p10164.htm#i101636]

In Shakespeare's play, "Henry VI, part 3", Rutland is inaccurately portrayed as a small child who is brutally murdered by Clifford after pleading for his life.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Arms

Edmund used the arms of the kingdom, differentiated by a "label argent per pale lions purpure (for Leon) and torteaux (presumably three each) gules (for York)". [ [http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/cadency.htm Marks of Cadency in the British Royal Family] ]

Ancestors

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1= 1. Edmund, Earl of Rutland
2= 2. Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York
3= 3. Cecily Neville
4= 4. Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge
5= 5. Anne de Mortimer
6= 6. Ralph de Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland
7= 7. Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland
8= 8. Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York
9= 9. Isabella of Castile, Duchess of York
10= 10. Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March
11= 11. Alianore de Holland
12= 12. John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville de Raby
13= 13. Maud Percy
14= 14. John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
15= 15. Katherine Swynford
16= 16. Edward III of England
17= 17. Philippa of Hainault
18= 18. Peter of Castile
19= 19. María de Padilla
20= 20. Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March
21= 21. Philippa Plantagenet, 5th Countess of Ulster
22= 22. Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent
23= 23. Alice FitzAlan
24= 24. Ralph Neville, 2nd Baron Neville de Raby
25= 25. Alice de Audley
26= 26. Henry de Percy, 2nd Baron Percy
27= 27. Idoine de Clifford
28= 28. = 16. Edward III of England
29= 29. = 17. Philippa of Hainault
30= 30. Paen de Roet

References

* page 134

External links

* [http://www.chaptersofdublin.com/books/chancellors/ "The Lives of the Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of Ireland - from the earliest times to the reign of Queen Victoria" by J. Roderick O'Flanagan, 1870 publication]