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Gerald FitzGerald (1335-1398)

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  • 3rd Earl of Desmond, "Gerald The Poet"
  • 1367: Lord Chief Justice of Ireland
  • 1398: Mysterious disappearance
  • FitzGerald dynasty

Biography

Gerald FitzMaurice FitzGerald, 3rd Earl of Desmond, 3rd Earl of Desmond, was born 1335 in Shanid Castle, County Limerick, Ireland to Maurice FitzGerald (c1292-1356) and Aveline FitzNicholas (c1308-1358) and died 1398 Ireland of unspecified causes. He married Eleanore Butler (c1348-1395) 1359 JL in Ireland.

Gerald FitzMaurice FitzGerald (1335–1398),[1] also known by the Irish Gaelic Gearóid Iarla (Earl Gerald), was the 3rd Earl of Desmond, in southwestern Ireland, under the first creation of that title, and a member of the Hiberno-Norman dynasty of the FitzGerald, or Geraldines. He was the son of Maurice FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond, by his third wife Aveline (Eleanor), daughter of Nicholas FitzMaurice, 3rd Lord of Kerry.[2][3] He was half-brother to Maurice FitzGerald (c1314-1358), 2nd Earl of Desmond]].[1]

Maurice Fitzgerald, 2nd Earl of Desmond, would have been followed by Gerald's older brother, Nicholas, but Nicholas was described as "an idiot", and so was passed over for the earldom. Because of this, some older histories list Gerald as the 4th Earl.

Ireland 1450

Norman Ireland, showing the Earldom of Desmond in the southwest

Life

In 1356 he was brought to England as a hostage for his father's good behaviour, but as his father died that same year, he was soon released. Three years later, he succeeded his brother Maurice, who had died without male heirs, and became the 3rd Earl of Desmond.[4]

King Edward III confirmed Gerald in his large estates in Munster, provided that he marry Eleanor Butler (c1370-1395), daughter of the Justiciar, James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond. Gerald did so, but did not make peace with Ormond, nor adopt English ways and customs as expected.[4]

Career and poetry

According to Alfred Webb:

"[He was] surnamed 'Gerald the Poet', [and] succeeded to the estates and honours of the family. He married, by the King's command, Eleanor, daughter of James, 2nd Earl of Ormond, who brought with her as her portion the barony of Inchiquin in Imokelly. Gerald was Lord Justice of Ireland, 1367. In 1398 he disappeared, and is fabled to live beneath the waters of Lough Gur, near Kilmallock, on whose banks he appears once every seven years. O'Donovan quotes the following concerning his character: 'A nobleman of wonderful bountie, mirth, cheerfulness in conversation, charitable in his deeds, easy of access, a witty and ingenious composer of Irish poetry, and a learned and profound chronicler; and, in fine, one of the English nobility that had Irish learning and professors thereof in greatest reverence of all the English in Ireland, died penitently after receipt of the sacraments of the holy church in proper form.' Fragments of Anglo-Norman verse attributed to him, known as Proverbs of the Earl of Desmond, survive."[1]

Duanaire Ghearóid Iarla (‘'The Poem-Book of Earl Gerald’') is preserved in a fifteenth-century manuscript, the Book of Fermoy. In addition, nine of his poems are preserved in the Book of the Dean of Lismore. Duanaire Ghearóid Iarla was published by Gearóid Mac Niocaill in Studia Hibernica 3 (1963): 7-59.[5]

In 1367 Desmond was made Lord Chief Justice of Ireland,[1] but was soon replaced by Sir William de Windsor. In 1370 Brian O'Brien of Thomond expelled his cousin Turlough. Desmond attempted to reinstate him. Brian marched on Limerick, and defeated Desmond, burning the city and Desmond's lands and imprisoning him.[4]

While in prison, Gerald wrote poetry in Irish, most famously the poem Mairg adeir olc ris na mnáibh (Speak not ill of womankind).[6] Also an accomplished poet in Norman French,[1] Gerald was instrumental in the move by the Desmond Geraldines towards greater use of the Irish language.[7]

In legend

LoughGur 2002

Lough Gur, beneath which Earl Gerald was said to sleep

In legend, Gerald had a romantic relationship with or raped the goddess Áine,[8] a legend that draws upon a pre-existing Celtic legend about the King of Munster Ailill Aulom raping this deity,[9][8] updating it with themes drawn from the Francophone courtly love poetry of Continental Europe,[7][10] in particular the motif of the man who falls in love with a swan maiden.[8] The Geraldine claim to an association with Áine is typical of the family's Gaelicisation.

After his disappearance in 1398, another legend grew up that Gerald sleeps in a cave beside (or under) Lough Gur,[7][11] and will someday awaken and ride forth on a silver-shod steed to rule again in Desmond,[7] – one of the many worldwide versions of the King asleep in mountain mythologisation of heroes.


Adare Castle

Adare Manor IMG 1017

Adare Castle today.

Adare Castle is a manor house located on the banks of the River Maigue in the village of Adare, County Limerick, Ireland, the former seat of the Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl. It origins date from the 13th Century Norman invasion of Ireland when it became the seat of power for the Earl of Desmond. One descendant Robert FitzGerald (1366-1445), when fleeing justice in Ireland, settled in Scotland and adopted the name Adare, thereby founding the Adair Family.

The present house was built in the early 19th century, though retaining some of the walls of the 17th-century structure. It is now the Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort, a luxury hotel, and contains the Michelin-starred Oak Room restaurant.

Marriage and issue

King Edward III confirmed Gerald FitzGerald (1335-1398), 3rd Earl of Desmond, in his large estates in Munster, provided that he marry Eleanore Butler (c1348-1395), daughter of the Justiciar, James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormonde (1331-1382). Gerald did so, but did not make peace with Ormond, nor adopt English ways and customs as expected.

In 1359 Gerald married Eleanor (or Ellen) Butler, daughter of James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond. She died in 1404. They had four sons:

  1. John FitzGerald (c1360-1399), 4th Earl of Desmond
  2. James FitzGerald (c1370-1463), 6th Earl of Desmond, 'the Usurper'
  3. Robert FitzGerald (1366-1445) AKA: Robert FitzGerald de Adair- Earliest documented Adair, son of Earl of Desmond, fled Ireland to escape justice, landing in Wigtownshire, Scotland where he then captured the Dunskey Castle.
  4. Maurice FitzGerald (c1375-)

and two daughters:

  1. Joan, who married Maurice FitzJohn, Lord of Kerry
  2. Catherine, who married John FitzThomas



Children


Offspring of Gerald FitzGerald, 3rd Earl of Desmond and Eleanore Butler (c1348-1395)
Name Birth Death Joined with
John FitzGerald (c1364-1399) 1364 Ireland 4 March 1399 Ardfinnan, County Tipperary, Ireland
James FitzGerald (c1370-1463) 1370 County Limerick, Ireland 1463 Ireland Mary Burke (c1390-1435)
Robert FitzGerald (1366-1445) 1366 Adare, County Limerick, Ireland 1445 Wigtownshire, Scotland Arabella Campbell (1370-1450)
Joan FitzGerald (c1368-)
Katherine FitzGerald (c1370-)
Maurice FitzGerald (c1375-)



Siblings


Offspring of Maurice FitzGerald (c1292-1356) and Catherine de Burgh (c1296-1331)
Name Birth Death Joined with
Maurice FitzGerald (c1314-1358) 1314 1358 Beatrice de Stafford


Offspring of Maurice FitzGerald (c1292-1356) and Aveline FitzNicholas (c1308-1358)
Name Birth Death Joined with
Nicholas FitzGerald (c1333-1367) 1333 Shanid Castle, County Limerick, Ireland 1367 Ireland Eleanore Butler (c1348-1395)
Gerald FitzGerald (1335-1398) 1335 Shanid Castle, County Limerick, Ireland 1398 Ireland Eleanore Butler (c1348-1395)



Notable Royal Ancestors

Gerald FitzGerald (1335-1398), 3rd Earl Desmond, aka: "Gerald the Poet", is an important family link. While serving as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland in 1398, he "mysteriously disappeared" and was never heard from again. He had many political enemies of the time any of whom could have had hand in this. However let's note his marriage to Eleanore Butler (c1348-1395) for she was the great-great-granddaughter of King Edward I of England. This union gives virtually every Adair descendant a direct lineage to many great figures of Medieval Europe including William the Conqueror, Hugh Capet, Rurik of Russia, Alfred the Great and many more. Some of these family lines trace to the Early Middle Ages.It is thru this connection that all Adair descendants can claim a direct link to royal blood of the Normans, Welch, Irish, English, and French.


External links

  • The Noble Earl a review in the Dublin Review of Books of Scéal Ghearóid Iarla by Máire Mhac an tSaoi
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by
Maurice FitzGerald (c1314-1358) 		Earl of Desmond
1st creation
1358–1398 		Succeeded by
John FitzGerald (c1360-1399)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Webb, Alfred. A Compendium of Irish Biography. Dublin: 1878.
  2. ^ Burke, Bernard, A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire. London: Harrison. 1866. p. 204
  3. ^ Cokayne, George Edward, Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant. Volume III. London: George Bell & Sons. 1890. p. 83
  4. ^ a b c ""Gerald Fitzgerald", Limerick City". http://limerickcity.ie/media/Media,4209,en.pdf. 
  5. ^ G Mac Niocaill, Duanaire Ghearóid Iarla, Studia Hibernica 3 (1963): 7-59
  6. ^ Gearóid Iarla FitzGerald (1335–1398)
  7. ^ a b c d Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named searcs-web.com
  8. ^ a b c MYTH, LEGEND & ROMANCE
  9. ^ Áine, Celtic Goddess date = 9 October 2017
  10. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named DÓH
  11. ^ "Folklore at Lough Gur". Archived from the original on 8 May 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120508012245/http://www.loughgur.com/home/folklore-literature/. 

See Also


Footnotes (including sources)

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