James Butler, 5th Earl of Ormond

Ireland in 1450 showing the Earldom of Ormond.

James Butler, 5th Earl of Ormond, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, KG was born on 24 November 1420. He was the son of James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond and Joan de Beauchamp. A staunch Lancastrian and supporter of Margaret of Anjou during the Wars of the Roses, he was beheaded by the victorious Yorkists following the Battle of Towton.

Career

He was created Earl of Wiltshire, in the Peerage of England, by Henry VI of England on 8 July 1449, for his fidelity to the Lancastrian interest. In 1451 he became Lord Deputy of Ireland; the next year he succeeded his father in earldom of Ormond and was additionally appointed Lord Lieutenant for ten years. In 1454, he was constituted Lord High Treasurer of England and made a Knight of the Garter 1459.

When the dynastic civil wars - known as the Wars of the Roses - broke out, Wiltshire fought on the Lancastrian side, becoming one of Queen consort Margaret of Anjou's staunchest supporters. He was present at the first battle of St Albans in 1455, Mortimer's Cross in 1461 and at the Battle of Towton. He died on 1 May 1461, beheaded at Newcastle by the Yorkists after the Lancastrian Army was sounded defeated at the Battle of Towton.

Marriage

He married, firstly, Amicia or Avice Stafford, daughter of Sir Richard Stafford and Maud Lovell. By virtue of the rights of his wife, Avice, in the manor of Frome he exercised patronage of the chantry of St Andrew in the parish church at Frome in appointments made in 1452, 1453 and 1458. He married, secondly, Eleanor Beaufort, daughter of Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset and Lady Eleanor Beauchamp. He had no issue from either marriage and was succeeded in the earldom by his younger brother, John.

See also

• Butler dynasty

References

• Watts, John, "Butler, James", on the website of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (subscription or UK public library membership required), http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/4188 
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages

Notes

Political offices
Preceded by John Tiptoft	Lord High Treasurer 1445	Succeeded by Henry Bourchier
Preceded by John Talbot	Lord High Treasurer 1458–1460	Succeeded by Henry Bourchier
Peerage of England
Preceded by New Creation	Earl of Wiltshire	Succeeded by Extinct
Preceded by James Butler	Earl of Ormond 1452–1461	Succeeded by John Butler