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Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury

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Gilbert Talbot
c. 1596
7th Earl of Shrewsbury
Reign1590–1616
PredecessorGeorge Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury
SuccessorEdward Talbot, 8th Earl of Shrewsbury
Born20 November 1552
Died8 May 1616(1616-05-08) (aged 63)
Noble familyTalbot
Spouse(s)Mary Cavendish
IssueMary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke
Elizabeth Grey, Countess of Kent
Alethea Howard, Countess of Arundel
FatherGeorge Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury
MotherGertrude Manners

Quartered arms of Sir Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury, KG.

Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury, 7th Earl of Waterford, 13th Baron Talbot, KG (20 November 1552 – 8 May 1616), styled Lord Talbot from 1582 to 1590, was a peer in the peerage of England.[1] He also held the subsidiary titles of 16th Baron Strange of Blackmere and 12th Baron Furnivall.

Life

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He was the eldest surviving son of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, by the latter's first marriage to Gertrude Manners, daughter of the first Earl of Rutland. He was born on 20 November 1553.[2]

On 6 February 1568 Gilbert was married to Mary Cavendish, daughter of his new stepmother, Bess of Hardwick; Mary had inherited much of her formidable mother's strength of character. When Bess and her husband fell out, Gilbert took the side of his wife and his mother-in-law against his own father. However, when the old earl died in 1590, Gilbert refused Bess the widow's portion that was her due, and consequently, they fell out. He appears to have been a highly quarrelsome individual, feuding with not only his stepmother but his brother and other family members, his tenants, and even Elizabeth I herself. He was overshadowed by his formidable wife: Francis Bacon remarked that she was undoubtedly "greater than he".

The children from his marriage to Mary Cavendish were:

Two sons, George and John, died in infancy.

Gilbert Talbot was elected knight of the shire (MP) for Derbyshire in 1572. As a New Year Day gift for 1574, Talbot gave his father a perfumed doublet.[3] In 1576, Talbot and his wife stayed at Goodrich Castle in Herefordshire and sent his father a gift of local produce, a Monmouth cap, Ross boots, and perry.[4][5] On 1 May 1578 Talbot was walking in the tiltyard, the tournament ground, at Greenwich Palace, and by chance saw Queen Elizabeth at the window of the gallery overlooking the yard, in her nightgown.[6] Later she slapped him on the forehead and told the Lord Chamberlain, Earl of Sussex about the morning's incident. Talbot saw this as a mark of favour and wrote to his father about it.[7]

In January 1589 he wrote to William Cecil from Handsworth Manor commiserating with him over the winter weather, and sent him a blanket and some Hallamshire foodstuffs.[8] He was summoned to the House of Lords as Baron Talbot in 1589 and became 7th Earl of Shrewsbury on his father's death in 1590.[9]

In 1592, he was created a Knight of the Garter, but feuded with his former friend John Stanhope when John's brother got the post of Earl Marshal of England, which Gilbert had assumed would be his. Gilbert's stepbrother Charles Cavendish challenged Stanhope to a duel for his sake, which was not fought. (Stanhope was discovered to be wearing a sword-proof doublet).[10] Elizabeth I was displeased and took Stanhope's side.[11] After this Gilbert challenged his own brother Edward to a duel over a lease, but Edward refused to fight him. Gilbert accused his brother of planning to poison him, but lost his case against him.

Shrewsbury employed a clockmaker, Michael Neuwers to make striking clocks in 1599.[12] He hosted a magnificent dinner in London for a French ambassador Aymar Chaste in May 1600 and afterwards a large crowd was entertained by a French acrobat performing on a rope.[13]

Reign of James VI and I

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At the Union of the Crowns in 1603, Shrewsbury wrote to James VI and I inviting him to stay with him during his progress to London.[14] Shrewsbury hosted the Stuart royal family at Worksop Manor as they travelled south.[15] King James visited first, and was welcomed by huntsmen dressed in green.[16] Anne of Denmark, Princess Elizabeth, and Prince Henry came in June. Shrewsbury made friends with the queen's secretary William Fowler.[17][18] Her crowd of followers was disorderly, and Shrewsbury, with the Duke of Lennox and Earl of Cumberland made a proclamation at Worksop that any followers without formal roles should leave.[19]

Shrewsbury became a patron of the arts, as was his daughter Alethea, who became Countess of Arundel by her marriage to Thomas Howard in 1606. Shrewsbury was also interested in sport, though sometimes had gout, and he wrote in September 1607 that he was laid up on a couch at Sheffield Lodge, "neither fit for football nor tennis".[20] He sent the Earl of Shrewsbury a case of knives with handles representing the twelve Apostles, of Sheffield workmanship.[21]

As well as bringing up their three daughters, Gilbert and Mary Talbot spent a good deal of time with their orphaned niece, Arbella Stuart. The downfall of Arbella, who as the closest relative of King James I of England had greatly offended him by marrying without his consent, had serious consequences for Gilbert and Mary: Mary, who had aided the marriage, went to the Tower of London as a result, and Gilbert lost his seat on the Privy Council.

Death

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In the absence of a male heir, he was succeeded in the earldom of Shrewsbury by his younger brother, Edward. However, some of the extensive estates passed then (or after Edward's death) to his daughters. There were rumours that Edward Talbot had had him poisoned using a pair of perfumed gloves.[22]

Notes

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  1. ^ "Talbot, Gilbert (1553-1616)" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
  2. ^ Hunter, J., Hallamshire, London,1819, p.74, note 2
  3. ^ John Holland, History, Antiquities, and Description of the Town and Parish of Worksop (Sheffield, 1826), 44.
  4. ^ Edmund Lodge, Illustrations of British History, vol. 2 (London, 1791), pp. 152-4.
  5. ^ Kirstie Buckland, "The Monmouth Cap", Costume, 13: 1 (January 1979), p. 27. doi:10.1179/cos.1979.13.1.23
  6. ^ John Daniel Leader, Mary Queen of Scots in Captivity (Sheffield, 1880), p. 409.
  7. ^ John Daniel Leader, Mary Queen of Scots in Captivity (Sheffield, 1880), p. 409: Edmund Lodge, Illustrations of British History, vol. 2 (London, 1791), p. 170.
  8. ^ Edmund Lodge, Illustrations of British History, vol. 2 (London, 1791), p. 414.
  9. ^ "History of Parliament". History of Parliament trust. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  10. ^ John Gage, History and Antiquities of Hengrave (London, 1822), pp. 184-6.
  11. ^ Lovell, Mary S. (2005). Bess of Hardwick, First Lady of Chatsworth. Little, Brown. pp. 398–402. ISBN 0-349-11589-3
  12. ^ HMC 6th Report: Frank (London, 1877), p. 449.
  13. ^ Michael Brennan, Noel Kinnamon, Margaret Hannay, The Letters of Rowland Whyte to Sir Robert Sidney (Philadelphia, 2013), p. 477.
  14. ^ HMC 6th Report: Frank (London, 1877), p. 456.
  15. ^ John Holland, History, Antiquities, and Description of the Town and Parish of Worksop (Sheffield, 1826), 51–53.
  16. ^ HMC Salisbury Hatfield, vol. 15 (London, 1930), p. 143.
  17. ^ Allison L. Steenson, The Hawthornden Manuscripts of William Fowler (Routledge, 2021), 40, 166.
  18. ^ Henry Meikle, Works of William Fowler, 3 (Edinburgh: STS, 1940), xxxii, xxxvi
  19. ^ Susan Doran, From Tudor to Stewart: the regime change from Elizabeth I to James I (Oxford, 2024), p. 121: Mary Anne Everett Green, Calendar State Papers Domestic, 1603-1610, pp. 24 SP 14/2 f.13, 463 SP 14/37 f.50
  20. ^ HMC 9 Salisbury Hatfield, vol. 19 (London, 1965), p. 248.
  21. ^ M. S. Giuseppi, HMC Salisbury Hatfield, 18 (London, 1940), p. 445.
  22. ^ Joseph Hunter, Hallamshire (London, 1819), p. 75.
[edit]
Political offices
Preceded by Lord High Steward of Ireland
1590–1616
Succeeded by
Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire
1590–1616
Vacant
Title next held by
The Earl of Devonshire
Lord Cavendish of Hardwick
Peerage of England
Preceded by Earl of Shrewsbury
1590–1616
Succeeded by
Baron Talbot
(writ in acceleration)

1589–1616
In abeyance
Title next held by
Alethea Howard
as sole heiress
Baron Furnivall
1590–1616
Baron Strange of Blackmere
1590–1616
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Earl of Waterford
1590–1616
Succeeded by