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Edward Somerton, or Somertoune (died 1461) was an Irish
barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
and
judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...
who held the offices of
Serjeant-at-law (Ireland) This is a list of lawyers who held the rank of serjeant-at-law at the Bar of Ireland. Origins of the office of serjeant The first recorded serjeant was Roger Owen, who was appointed between 1261 and 1266, although the title itself was not us ...
and judge of the
Court of King's Bench (Ireland) The Court of King's Bench (of Queen's Bench when the sovereign was female, and formerly of Chief Place or Chief Pleas) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The King's Ben ...
and the
Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) The Court of Common Pleas was one of the principal courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror image of the equivalent court in England. Common Pleas was one of the four courts of justice which gave the Four Courts in Dublin, which is sti ...
. He was born in
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, possibly in Waterford, although he lived much of his life in Dublin. By 1426 he was a clerk in the
Court of Chancery (Ireland) The Court of Chancery was a court which exercised equitable jurisdiction in Ireland until its abolition as part of the reform of the court system in 1877. It was the court in which the Lord Chancellor of Ireland presided. Its final sitting plac ...
, and was paid 26 shillings for his labours in preparing
writs In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, and ''certiorari'' are common types of writs ...
and enrolment of
indentures An indenture is a legal contract that reflects an agreement between two parties. Although the term is most familiarly used to refer to a labor contract between an employer and a laborer with an indentured servant status, historically indentures we ...
, (indentures were agreements between the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and former Irish enemies of the Crown). In 1427 he is recorded in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
studying law at
Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...
. He returned to
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
and was again in the Crown service by 1435, when he was ordered to convey lands at Beaulieu, County Louth to Robert Chambre, one of the Barons of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland). He was appointed King's Serjeant for life in 1437; he also acted as
counsel A counsel or a counsellor at law is a person who gives advice and deals with various issues, particularly in legal matters. It is a title often used interchangeably with the title of ''lawyer''. The word ''counsel'' can also mean advice given ...
for the city of
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
,Hart p.21 a position subsequently held by another future judge, John Gough.


Serjeant-at-law

His duties as Serjeant were onerous (he was the equivalent of a
Government minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...
nowadays), and he complained that his
salary A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis. ...
of £9 per annum was entirely inadequate, given his workload. The Crown agreed to his demand for an increase, noting that he was required to attend all Council meetings and sessions of Irish Parliament "wherever they should be held in Ireland" at his own expense, and that £9 a year was wholly inadequate for this purpose.Smyth Accordingly in 1440 his salary was supplemented by an additional 100 shillings a year for his lifetime. His successor, Thomas Snetterby (who held office 1447–55), later made similar complaints about the low pay of an Irish Law Officer, as did the
Attorney General for Ireland The Attorney-General for Ireland was an Kingdom of Ireland, Irish and then, from 1801 under the Acts of Union 1800, United Kingdom government office-holder. He was senior in rank to the Solicitor-General for Ireland: both advised the Crown on ...
, Robert FitzRery, who held office 1450–63 (although FitzRery was not as far as we know obliged to attend Parliament or Council meetings). Both men received the same additional payment, which was charged, in all three cases, on certain lands at
Chapelizod Chapelizod () is a suburban village of Dublin, Ireland. It lies in the wooded valley of the River Liffey, near the Strawberry Beds and the Phoenix Park. The village is associated with Iseult of Ireland and the location of Iseult's chapel. Chap ...
and
Leixlip Leixlip ( or ; , ) is a town in north-east County Kildare, Ireland. Its location on the confluence of the River Liffey and the Rye Water has marked it as a frontier town historically: on the border between the ancient kingdoms of Leinster and ...
. In 1441, due to serious concerns about the lawless state of the southern half of the country, the Privy Council appointed Somerton and William Chevir, justice of the Court of King's Bench, to a commission of
oyer and terminer In English law, oyer and terminer (; a partial translation of the Anglo-French , which literally means 'to hear and to determine') was one of the commissions by which a judge of assize sat. Apart from its Law French name, the commission was also ...
to "execute the laws" in 6 counties of Leinster and Munster.''Close Roll 19 Henry VI'' Edward was to receive 4 shillings a day in wages, rather less than Chevir. His period as King's Serjeant, then the Crown's senior legal adviser, was one of great political turbulence, marked by fierce conflict between the rival Butler and Talbot factions, with both parties contending to dominate the Government. His name appears frequently in the
Patent Rolls The patent rolls (Latin: ''Rotuli litterarum patentium'') are a series of administrative records compiled in the English, British and United Kingdom Chancery, running from 1201 to the present day. Description The patent rolls comprise a regis ...
in connection with the various political controversies of the time. There is good reason to think that he personally tried to stay neutral in the conflict and to maintain friendly relations with men on both sides of the dispute. Although Robert Dyke, the
Master of the Rolls in Ireland The Master of the Rolls in Ireland was a senior judicial office in the Irish Chancery under English and British rule, and was equivalent to the Master of the Rolls in the English Chancery. Originally called the Keeper of the Rolls, he was respon ...
from 1436 to 1449, was a firm supporter of the Butler side in the feud and necessarily hostile to the Talbot faction, Somerton valued him highly as an "honest life and conversation" who had given many years of good service to the Crown. It was on his nomination that Dyke was made
Lord Treasurer of Ireland The Lord High Treasurer of Ireland was the head of the Exchequer of Ireland, and chief financial officer of the Kingdom of Ireland. The designation ''High'' was added in 1695. After the Acts of Union 1800 created the United Kingdom of Great Brit ...
in 1444. Both of them were witnesses to the
royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...
of 1446 whereby the liberties of
Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660–1661, even more si ...
were confirmed.


Politician

He was a member of the
Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...
. In that capacity he "spoke as the mouth of the Council" at its meeting at
Trim, County Meath Trim () is a town in County Meath, Ireland. It is situated on the River Boyne and, as of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, had a population of 9,563. The town is in a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of the same name. The town ...
on 5 June 1442, when Richard Wogan, the
Lord Chancellor of Ireland The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland, commonly known as the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, was the highest ranking judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 until the end of 1800, it was also the hi ...
, and a prominent member of the Talbot faction, was questioned about certain articles he had sent to the
Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the Great Council of England, great council of Lords Spi ...
denouncing his political enemy,
James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormonde James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince James ...
, the head of the Butler faction, who was three times
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...
. After the council, in Wogan's absence, had examined the articles, Somerton, who was described as the
Prolocutor A prolocutor is a chairman of some ecclesiastical assemblies in Anglicanism. Usage in the Church of England In the Church of England, the Prolocutor is chair of the lower house of the Convocations of Canterbury and York, the House of Clergy. The P ...
(Chairman) of the council, declared that the council found the charges against Ormonde to be false, and further declared that Wogan had acted without their authority in sending the articles to the English Parliament.


Judge

In 1447 he was appointed second justice of the Court of King's Bench; unusually he was appointed by act of Parliament. He was to receive the same fee as his predecessor William Chevir. In 1457 he asked for permission to found a
chantry A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a set of Christian liturgical celebrations for the dead (made up of the Requiem Mass and the Office of the Dead), or # a chantry chapel, a b ...
at the Church of St. Nicholas Within, Dublin (which has largely disappeared), and Parliament granted his request the following year. He was transferred to the Court of Common Pleas as second justice in February 1458. In 1452 he was given joint custody of the lands of Nicholas Holywood deceased during the minority of his son and heir Robert, and the right to arrange Robert's marriage.''Patent Roll 31 Henry VI'' He died in 1461.


References


Sources

*Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221–1921'' London John Murray 1926 *Hart, A.R. ''A History of the King's Serjeants-at-law in Ireland'' Dublin Four Courts Press 2000 *Morrin, James ''Calendar of the Patent and Close Rolls of Chancery in Ireland of the 18th to the 45th Queen Elizabeth'' Dublin Alexander Thom and Co 1862. *Smyth, Constantine Joseph ''Chronicle of the Law Officers of Ireland'' London Butterworths 1839 *''Close Rolls Henry VI '' *''Patent Rolls Henry VI'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Somerton, Edward 1461 deaths Members of Lincoln's Inn Year of birth unknown Justices of the Irish King's Bench Serjeants-at-law (Ireland) 15th-century Irish lawyers Lawyers from County Dublin Lawyers from County Waterford