Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton
 Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, miniature by Hans Holbein the Younger | |
| Born | 21 December 1505 London |
| Died | 30 July 1550 (aged 44) Lincoln Place, London |
| Noble family | Wriothesley |
| Spouse(s) | Jane Cheney |
| Issue | William Wriothesley Anthony Wriothesley Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton Elizabeth Wriothesley Mary Wriothesley Katherine Wriothesley Anne Wriothesley Mabel Wriothesley |
| Father | William Wriothesley, otherwise Wrythe |
| Mother | Agnes Drayton |
Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton | |
|---|---|
| Lord Chancellor | |
| In office 21 April 1544 – 1547 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Audley |
| Succeeded by | The Lord St John |
Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton
Early life
Thomas Wriothesley, born in London 21 December 1505, was the son of York Herald William Wriothesley, whose ancestors had spelled the family surname "Wryth", and Agnes Drayton, daughter and heiress of James Drayton of London. Thomas had two sisters, Elizabeth, born in 1507, and Anne, born in 1508, and a brother, Edward, born in 1509. Thomas's father and uncle were the first members of his family to use the "Wriothesley" spelling of the family surname.[4]
Wriothesley received his early education at
A useful courtier
A member of the royal secretariat, Wriothesley and William Brereton were charged with helping secure an annulment for the king against Katherine of Aragon from the Pope to allow Anne Boleyn to assume her royal position; they were sent out to get members of the nobility to sign written statements indicating assent to the annulment.[7]
Wriothesley was at Windsor with the Court when the series of protests known as the
Until May 1539, he was Henry VIII's ambassador in Brussels.
The expansion of the Pensioners from 50 to 350 members signalled the resurgence of the conservative noble faction at court during the 1540s. Wriothesley, having earned his place at court as a faithful attendant to Thomas Cromwell, betrayed Cromwell in 1540, telling the king that Cromwell was indiscreet about Henry's inability to consummate his marriage to Anne of Cleves. This news, coupled with the Cleves alliance threatening war with Emperor Charles V, proved Cromwell's undoing. Wriothesley happily lied to the Council and betrayed his master, in order to take his place beside the king.
Queen
A confident counsellor
Wriothesley disliked the arrogant, swaggering
Under Edward VI
He was one of the executors of Henry's will, and in accordance with the dead King's wishes he was created Earl of Southampton on 16 February 1547 and was a member of the
Later he was readmitted to the Council, and he took a leading part in bringing about the fall of the Duke of Somerset, but he had not regained his former position when he died on 30 July 1550. His successor in the earldom was his son, Henry.
Marriage and issue
Southampton married Jane Cheney (d. 15 September 1574) in 1533, the daughter and heiress of William Cheney of Chesham Bois, Buckinghamshire, by Emma Walwyn, daughter of Thomas Walwyn, by whom he had three sons and five daughters:[21]
- William Wriothesley (died young).
- Anthony Wriothesley (died young).
- Elizabeth Wriothesley (c.1535 - buried 16 January 1555),Thomas Radcliffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex.
- Mary Wriothesley (c.1537 - d. December 1561), who married firstly, Richard Lyster, a son of Margery Lyster and grandson of Sir Richard Lyster, and secondly, William Shelley of Michelgrove;[23]
- Katherine Wriothesley, born c.1539, who was contracted to marry Sir Thomas Cornwallis.
- Anne Wriothesley, born c. 1541, who was contracted to marry Sir Henry Wallop, but who died before the marriage could take place
- Mabel Wriothesley, born c.1543, who married Sir Walter Sandys.
- Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton (21 April 1545 – 4 October 1581), who married Mary Browne.
In fiction
- He was played by Patrick Godfrey in the BBC tv-series The Six Wives of Henry VIII
- Wriothesley is a character in Hilary Mantel's novels on Thomas Cromwell, Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies and The Mirror & The Light (nicknamed "Call-Me Risley" for the pronunciation of his name); he is played by Joel MacCormack in the television adaptation Wolf Hall. He will be played by Harry Melling in the television adaptation of The Mirror & The Light, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light.
- He is a character in C.J. Sansom's novel Lamentation.
- In the British/UK/Canadian BBC mini-series The Tudors he is played by Frank McCusker, an actor from Northern Ireland.
- Wriothesley is a central character in the "Tudor Crimes" series of historical novels by Anne Stevens, and he is portrayed as a knave, who will do anything to advance himself.
- Wriothesley is a major character and villain in three novels based on Thomas Cromwell, Frailty of Human Affairs and Shaking the Throne, and No Armour Against Fate, by Caroline Angus.
- He is an important character in Will Somers, witnesses the last few months of Henry's reign.
- Wriothesley is a character in the videogame Genshin Impact, and is portrayed as a prison warden for the Fortress of Meropide.
Notes
- ^ The pronunciation uncertain. /ˈraɪzli/ RYZE-lee (archaic),[1] /ˈrɒtsli/ ROT-slee (present-day)[1] and /ˈraɪəθsli/ RY-əth-slee[2] have been suggested.
References
- ^ a b Montague-Smith 1977, p. 410
- ^ Wells 2008
- ^ Pollard, Alfred Frederick (1900). . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 63. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^ Cokayne 1953, p. 122; Graves 2004.
- ^ Graves 2004; Elton 1953, pp. 308ff..
- ^ Weir, p.399
- ^ Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII; Weir (2001), p.311
- ^ Letters and Papers of Henry VIII; Domestic State Papers: Spanish; Weir (2001), p.415
- ^ Thomas Wriothesley
- ^ Weir (2001), Henry VIII, p.422
- ^ Edward Hall, The Triumphant Reign; Weir (2001), p.455
- ^ Weir (2001), p.464
- ^ Weir (2001), p.479
- ^ Letters and Papers of the Reign of King Henry VII; Weir, p.479
- ^ Weir (2001), p.479-80
- ^ Alison Weir (1992). The Six Wives of Henry VIII. Pimlico Books.
- ^ Tytler, P. (1839), England under the Reigns of Edward VI and Mary, vol. 2 vols, London; Weir (2001), p.503
- ^ Starkey 2002, pp. 138–39; Alford 2002, p. 69
- ^ Elton 1977, p. 333
- ^ Loades 2004, pp. 33–34; Elton 1977, p. 333
- ^ Cokayne 1953, pp. 125–66; Stopes 1922, pp. 486–7; Akrigg 1968, pp. 4, 6; Elzinga 2004; Goulding 1920, p. 23; Baker 2004.
- ^ Cooper 1858, p. 469.
- ^ Dugdale reverses the order of her marriages.
Bibliography
- Akrigg, G. P. V. (1968). Shakespeare and the Earl of Southampton. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
- Alford, Stephen (2002). Kingship and Politics in the Reign of Edward VI. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-03971-1.
- Baker, J. H. (2004). "Lyster, Sir Richard (c. 1480–1553)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/17300. Retrieved 29 November 2012. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.) (subscription required)
- Cokayne, G. E. (1953). The Complete Peerage edited by Geoffrey H. White. Vol. XII (Part I). London: St. Catherine Press.
- Cooper, Charles Henry and Thomson Cooper (1858). Athenae Cantabrigiensis. Vol. I. Cambridge: Deighton, Bell & Co. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
- Elton, G. R. (1953). The Tudor Revolution in Government. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Elton, G. R. (1977). Reform and Reformation. London: Edward Arnold. ISBN 0-7131-5953-7.
- Goulding, Richard W. (1920). "Wriothesley Portraits, Authentic and Reputed". The Eighth Volume of the Walpole Society 1919-1920, ed. Alexander J. Finberg. Oxford: Frederick Hall: 17–94. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
- Graves, Michael A. R. (2004). "Wriothesley, Thomas, first earl of Southampton (1505–1550)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/30076. Retrieved 27 November 2012. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- Elzinga, J.G. (2004). "Wriothesley, Henry, second earl of Southampton (bap. 1545, d. 1581)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/30072. Retrieved 27 November 2012. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.) (subscription required)
- ISBN 0-582-77226-5.
- Montague-Smith, Patrick (1977). Debrett's Correct Form (1st ed.). London: Debrett's Peerage Ltd.(subscription required)
- Pollard, Albert Frederick (1900). Wriothesley, Thomas (1505–1550). Vol. 63. Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1890. pp. 148–54. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- Starkey, David (2002). The Reign of Henry VIII. London: Vintage. ISBN 0-09-944510-7.
- Stopes, Charlotte Carmichael (1922). The Life of Henry, Third Earl of Southampton, Shakespeare's Patron. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Wells, J. C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd.
- Weir, Alison (2001). Henry VIII: King and Court. London: Jonathan Cape.
External links
Works related to Thomas Wriothesley (1505–1550) at Wikisource: Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900, Volume 63- tudorplace.com.ar. Retrieved 4 December 2007
- Burke, John. A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerages of England, Ireland, and Scotland, Extinct, Dormant, and in Abeyance. London: H. Colburn and R. Bentley, 1831. googlebooks
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Southampton, Earl of". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 489–490.
