Thomas Trahern (died 25 November 1542) was Somerset Herald, an English

officer of arms An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions: * to control and initiate armorial matters; * to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state; * to conserve ...

. His murder in Scotland, which may have been related to the

Pilgrimage of Grace The Pilgrimage of Grace was an English Catholic popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536 before spreading to other parts of Northern England, including Cumberland, Northumberland, Durham and north Lancashire. The protests occurre ...

rebellion, was a setback to Anglo-Scottish relations.

Somerset Herald

Trahern was made Somerset Herald in 1536. One of his early missions was to interview Thomas Darcy, who was implicated in the pro-Catholic rebellion called the

. He met Darcy at Templehurst, near

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse. At the 2021 Census, it had a population of 17,193. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire; from 1974 until 2023, ...

on 14 November 1536 accompanied by Henry Ray, Berwick Pursuivant. Though this meeting was conciliatory, Darcy was subsequently executed. With the other heralds and pursuivants, Trahern attended the funeral of

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (; 24 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was ...

on Monday 12 November 1537. In August 1538 he was at the assize at York that condemned Thomas Millar or Milner, former Lancaster Herald. Millar's crime was his submission to Robert Aske, leader of the Pilgrimage of Grace, at

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. It lies to the east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the ...

on 13 October 1536.

Death and legacy

On 12 November 1542, the Earl of Hertford sent Trahern to

James V of Scotland James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV a ...

from Sir Robert Tyrwhitt's house at Kettleby in Lincolnshire. Trahern was killed near

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the Anglo–Scottish border, English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and ...

while returning to England from Edinburgh on 25 November 1542. He was accompanied by Henry Ray and the Scottish Dingwall Pursuivant. Although Ray stated the murderers were three English fugitives, John Prestman, William Leech of Fulletby, bailiff of Louth, and his brother Edward, veterans of the Pilgrimage of Grace,

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

treated his death in Scotland as a diplomatic incident and blamed James V of Scotland. Henry Ray provided a statement;

And then there came riding two men of horsbakk, and oon on fote with them, and overrode me the said Barwik and Scottishe pursivaunte, and ranne to Somersett, withoute speaking anye oon worde unto hyme. And oon of thies strange men ranne the said Somersett thorowe with a launce staff by hynd him, and oon other did strike hym to the harte with a dagger, and the thirde stroke the said Somersettis boye on the face with his sword.

Trahern was buried in the parish church of Dunbar by Sir James Hamilton of Innerwick. Cardinal David Beaton sent a surgeon from Haddington to Dunbar to heal the wounds of the servant or "boy". Prestman and Leech sought

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

, but were imprisoned in

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on the rock since the reign of Malcol ...

and on 28 February 1543 sent to London for execution. William Leech was hanged at

Tyburn Tyburn was a Manorialism, manor (estate) in London, Middlesex, England, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. Tyburn took its name from the Tyburn Brook, a tributary of the River Westbourne. The name Tyburn, from Teo Bourne ...

on 8 May 1543, and his two companions were executed on 12 June. A later 16th-century English chronicle suggested that the distress caused by Trahern's murder contributed to the final illness of James V of Scotland. Thomas Traherne's own

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

, including a chevron and three black

heron Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...

s, shows that he was a member of a

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

family.Burke, Bernard, ''A General Armory'', (1878).

Footnotes

External links

William Leech and the Rebellion in Lincolnshire on Horncastle discovered
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trahern, Thomas 1542 deaths English officers of arms Court of James V of Scotland England–Scotland relations English people murdered abroad Year of birth unknown 16th-century English people People murdered in Scotland