Sir Griffin Markham (d. aft. 1644) was an English soldier.

Life

Griffin Markham was the son of Thomas Markham (1530–1607) and of Mary Griffin (1540-ca.1633) of Ollerton, Nottinghamshire. He likely converted to Roman Catholicism early in his life, under the influence of his mother. On 29 May 1592, he married Anne Roos.

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during th ...

, knighted him in 1591 at the siege of

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

. During the

Nine Years War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between France and the Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial possessions in the Americas, India, and West Africa. Relat ...

in Ireland (1594–1603) he commanded the cavalry under Sir Conyers Clifford, and his opportune arrival and counter-charge after the defeat of the infantry at the Battle of Curlew Pass (1599) saved the army from complete disaster. His right arm was broken during the affray. Markham was banished from court for unknown reasons around 1593. Although he had anticipated the accession of King James I with a degree of hope, after it occurred in March, 1603, he experienced disappointment with the new monarch's lack of favour, and took part in the

Bye Plot The Bye Plot of 1603 was a conspiracy, by Priesthood (Catholic Church), Roman Catholic priests and Puritans aiming at toleration, tolerance for their respective denominations, to kidnap the new English king, James I of England. It is referred to ...

(June, 1603) and subsequently the

Main Plot The Main Plot was an alleged conspiracy of July 1603 by English courtiers to remove King James I from the English throne and to replace him with his cousin Lady Arbella Stuart. The plot was supposedly led by Lord Cobham and funded by the Spani ...

(July, 1603), for which he was convicted (1603) and sentenced to death. However, he was reprieved from execution and exiled (1605).Markham, p. 102 His properties were given to his cousin, Sir John Harington. He spent the rest of his life in exile in Europe, acting as a spy for Robert Cecil, and joining the English regiment in the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

; there he fell out with Sir Edmund Baynham, a conspirator in the

Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was an unsuccessful attempted regicide against James VI and I, King James VI of Scotland and I of England by a group of English ...

, and fought a bloody duel with him.

Notes

References

** * English duellists English army officers 17th-century English knights English spies People of Elizabethan Ireland Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 16th-century spies {{England-mil-bio-stub