Walter Fitzsimon or Fitzsimons (died

1511 Year 1511 ( MDXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 19 – The Siege of Mirandola by the Papal States, with help from the Duchy of Urbino and Spanish and Venetian t ...

) was a statesman and cleric in Ireland in the reign of Henry VII, who held the offices of

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

and

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 ...

Biography

He was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, the son of Robert Fitzsimon and his wife Janet Cusack. He had close links to the

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

nobility through his sister Alison, who married as his third wife

Nicholas St Lawrence, 4th Baron Howth Nicholas St Lawrence, 4th Baron Howth (c. 1460 – 1526) was a leading History of Ireland, Irish nobleman, soldier and statesman of the early Tudor period, who held the office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Early life He was born about 1460, el ...

; after Lord Howth's death, Alison remarried into the influential Plunkett family. It is interesting that one of his co-defendants was the then Archbishop, Michael Tregury. Fitzsimon was appointed

precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

of St Patrick's Cathedral in

1476 Year 1476 ( MCDLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * March 1 – Battle of Toro ( War of the Castilian Succession): Although militarily inconclusive, this ensures the Catho ...

, and represented the Cathedral Chapter in the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

of 1478. He was also Vicar-General of the Diocese. He was consecrated

1484 Year 1484 ( MCDLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar, the 1484th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 484th year of the 2nd millennium, the 84th year of the 15th century, and the 5th ye ...

. He was the first Archbishop to be consecrated in St Patrick's Cathedral. Having accepted the promotion without royal consent, he was required to obtain a pardon. He was

Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...

1492–93 and

1496–98. He died at

Finglas Finglas (; ) is a northwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies close to Junction 5 of the M50 motorway (Ireland), M50 motorway, and the N2 road (Ireland), N2 road. Nearby suburbs include Glasnevin and Ballymun; Du ...

Career

Like most of the

nobility (except his brother-in-law, Lord Howth) he made the mistake of supporting the claim of the

pretender A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term may often be used to either refer to a descendant of a deposed monarchy or a claim that is not legitimat ...

Lambert Simnel to the English throne, and was present at his

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

as "King Edward VI" in

Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin Christ Church Cathedral, more formally The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (Irish: ''Ardeaglais Theampall Chríost''), is the cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of the Uni ...

, although it is unclear if he officiated. After the crushing of Simnel's cause at the

Battle of Stoke Field The Battle of Stoke Field, which took place at East Stoke, Nottinghamshire, on 16 June 1487, may be considered the last battle of the Wars of the Roses, since it was the last major engagement between contenders for the throne whose claims deriv ...

, Fitzsimon was pardoned and played a prominent part in the ceremony by which the Irish nobles expiated their

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

. Soon afterwards he quarrelled with the

Earl of Kildare Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

, the dominant figure in Irish politics, and the moving force behind the Simnel rebellion, and with Kildare's father-in-law, Lord Portlester, whom he accused of encroaching on the

temporalities Temporalities or temporal goods are the secular properties and possessions of the church. The term is most often used to describe those properties (a '' Stift'' in German or ''sticht'' in Dutch) that were used to support a bishop or other religious ...

of the Archdiocese. Thereafter the Archbishop was considered a reliable supporter of the

Tudor dynasty The House of Tudor ( ) was an English and Welsh dynasty that held the throne of England from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd, a Welsh noble family, and Catherine of Valois. The Tudor monarchs ruled the Kingdom of Eng ...

Sir James Ware Sir James Ware (26 November 1594 – 1 December 1666) was an Anglo-Irish historian. Personal details Born at Castle Street, Dublin on 26 November 1594, James Ware was the eldest son of Sir James Ware (1568–1632) and Mary Bryden, daughter of ...

''"Works"'', edited by Walter Harris. 2 Volumes. Dublin, 1764 It may well have been at least partly his influence which prevented a later

Perkin Warbeck Perkin Warbeck ( – 23 November 1499) was a pretender to the English throne claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, who was the second son of Edward IV and one of the so-called "Princes in the Tower". Richard, were he alive, would ...

, from gaining significant support in Ireland.

Lord Deputy

1492 Year 1492 ( MCDXCII) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. 1492 is considered to be a significant year in the history of the West, Europe, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Spain, and the New World, among others, because of the ...

he became Lord Deputy of Ireland Chrimes S.B. ''Henry VII'', Yale University Press, 1999, p. 161. and convened a

at Dublin which was largely devoted to annulling measures previously taken against him by his principal political opponent, Baron Portlester.Beresford, David "Fitzsimons, Walter" ''Cambridge Dictionary of Irish Biography'' However, Portlester and Kildare were still very powerful, and their hostility led to Fitzsimon's resignation from the Deputyship in September 1493. He was eventually reconciled with Kildare at the King's instigation, as Henry had come to recognise that Kildare was indispensable in the Government of Ireland. The Archbishop saw himself as a social reformer, and persuaded the King to take stern action against

beggars Begging (also known in North America as panhandling) is the practice of imploring others to grant a favor, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation. A person doing such is called a beggar or panhandler. Beggars m ...

: he argued that most of them were perfectly well able to work but preferred to live on charity: "such as live in sloth and indolence on account of the great plenty of all kinds of provisions which this land naturally produces". The King agreed, and orders were accordingly issued that no one be permitted to beg without a certificate from the appropriate local authority. Further, a

workhouse In Britain and Ireland, a workhouse (, lit. "poor-house") was a total institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. In Scotland, they were usually known as Scottish poorhouse, poorh ...

was to be built in every

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

for

vagabonds Vagrancy is the condition of wandering homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants usually live in poverty and support themselves by travelling while engaging in begging, scavenging, or petty theft. In Western countries, v ...

to work in. At the same time he urged that the younger sons of the nobility, whom he denounced for their incorrigible idleness, should be encouraged to learn a useful trade rather than live off their parents.

Lord Chancellor

He was

from 1496–98; there is some doubt as to whether he resumed the office at a later date. O'Flanagan states that he was a diligent Chancellor, but this did not lead him to neglect his duties as Archbishop.O'Flanagan J. Roderick, ''Lives of the Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of Ireland'' 2 Volumes London 1870 He held a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

in Dublin in 1494. In 1497 he granted John Alleyne, the

Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral The Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral is the senior cleric of the Protestant St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, elected by the chapter of the cathedral. The office was created in 1219 or 1220, by one of several charters granted to the cathedral by ...

, licence to build a hospital at Kevin Street for the poor people of Dublin, who must, however, be able to satisfy the Dean that they were good Catholics of blameless life and of English origin. He made some efforts to revive the moribund

Medieval University of Dublin The medieval University of Dublin () was an early unsuccessful attempt to establish a university in Dublin, the capital city of the Lordship of Ireland. Founded in 1320, it maintained an intermittent existence for the next two centuries, but it ...

(not to be confused with

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

), by imposing a levy on the clergy to provide salaries for the

lecturers Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. ...

. In his later years, he spent much of his time at the English Court, and despite his previous support for Lambert Simnel he seems to have enjoyed the complete trust of King Henry VII, who was not by nature or experience a trustful man. O'Flanagan tells the story that the King asked Fitzsimon what he thought of a recent sermon preached by one of the Royal

chaplains A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a ho ...

: the Archbishop said frankly that it was unduly flattering of the King. The King, highly amused, replied that this was his opinion also.

Character

Early accounts call him a learned philosopher, and a man of gravity and commanding aspect. Ball describes him as a man of remarkable strength of mind and body and one of the most learned men of his time.''The Judges in Ireland'' O'Flanagan calls him a man of great gravity and learning.

References