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Cambro-Norman, later Hiberno-Norman dynasty, holding power in Ireland over centuries From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The FitzGerald dynasty is a Hiberno-Norman noble and aristocratic dynasty, originally of Cambro-Norman and Anglo-Norman origin. They have been peers of Ireland since at least the 13th century, and are described in the Annals of the Four Masters as having become "more Irish than the Irish themselves" or Gaels, due to assimilation with the native Gaelic aristocratic and popular culture. The dynasty has also been referred to as the Geraldines and Ireland's largest landowners.[9] They achieved power through colonisation and the conquest of large swathes of Irish territory by the sons and grandsons of Gerald de Windsor (c. 1075 – 1135). Gerald de Windsor (Gerald FitzWalter) was the first Castellan of Pembroke Castle in Wales, and became the male progenitor of the FitzMaurice and FitzGerald Dynasty ("fitz", from the Anglo-Norman fils indicating "sons of" Gerald). His father, Baron Walter FitzOther, was the first Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle for William the Conqueror, and was the Lord of 38 manors in England, making the FitzGeralds one of the "service families" on whom the King relied for his survival.[10] Some of its members became the Black Knights, Green Knights and White Knights.[11]
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The main branches of the family are:
The progenitor of the Irish FitzGerald dynasty was a Cambro-Norman Marcher Lord named Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Lanstephan, son of Gerald de Windsor and Princess Nest ferch Rhys, of the Welsh royal House of Dinefwr. Maurice married a daughter of the Norman magnate Arnulf de Montgomery: the Montgomeries, lords of 150 manors and 30 castles, were the most powerful magnates in both England and Normandy, and were of the same family as William the Conqueror.[12][13] His wife's maternal grandfather was the High King of Ireland, Muirchertach Ua Briain (see Arnulf de Montgomery) which may have influenced the important role Maurice played the 1169 Norman invasion of Ireland.
The FitzGeralds claim kinship with the Tudors who descended from the same Welsh royal line as Princess Nest's father, Rhys ap Tewdwr, King of Deheubarth. Consequently, the FitzMaurices and FitzGeralds are cousins to the Tudors (Tewdwrs in Welsh) through Princess Nest and her Welsh family.
In his poetry, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, a cousin of Anne Boleyn, also referred to Countess Elizabeth FitzGerald, (1527–89) as "Fair Geraldine", alluding to her family's Italian ancestry through the Gherardinis of Florence. The FitzGerald dynasty has played a major role in Irish history. Gearóid Mór, 8th Earl of Kildare and his son Gearóid Óg, 9th Earl of Kildare, were Lord Deputy of Ireland in the late-fifteenth and early-sixteenth centuries respectively. Both married to cousins of Henry Tudor, first monarch of the House of Tudor.
During the Italian War of 1521–1526, James FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Desmond, conspired with the Venetians and King Francis I of France, of Château de Chambord, against the Habsburgs, Tudors and Medicis.[14] After the war, he sided once again against England, and allied himself with Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor during the War of the League of Cognac.[15] Another notable rebel was Commander James FitzMaurice FitzGerald, who led the Desmond Rebellions against the Tudors, and negotiated with Catherine de' Medici with the ambition of making her son, Henry III of France, the new King of Ireland.[16] Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond led the Second Desmond Rebellion with the help of the King of Spain, Philip of Habsburg, and Pope Gregory XIII, in an attempt to put on the throne Duke Giacomo Boncompagni.
Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare (died 1537), known as "Silken Thomas," also led an unsuccessful insurrection in Ireland, while Lord Edward FitzGerald (1763–1798), the fifth son of the first duke of Leinster, was a leading figure in the 1798 Irish Rebellion against King George III of the House of Hanover. Thomas's half-brother, the 11th Earl, nicknamed the "Wizard Earl", went into exile in Italy, joined the Geraldine League, and became a member of the household of the Duke of Mantua, of the Gonzaga family, and Master of Horse to Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.[17][18]
In Irish history, an example of the FitzGerald dynasty becoming "more Irish than the Irish themselves" is Gerald FitzGerald, 3rd Earl of Desmond (1335–1398), who was also known by the Irish Gaelic Gearóid Iarla (Earl Gerald).[19][20] Although made Lord Chief Justice of Ireland in 1367,[20] Gerald wrote poetry in the Irish language, most famously the poem Mairg adeir olc ris na mnáibh[19] ("Speak not ill of womenkind"). Indeed, although an accomplished poet in Norman French,[20] Gerald was instrumental in the move by the Fitzmaurices and Fitzgeralds of Desmond toward greater use of the Irish language.[19]
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Many members of the Fitzmaurices also became notable over the centuries, such as William Petty Fitzmaurice, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, the Prime Minister of Britain who negotiated with Benjamin Franklin and secured peace with America at the end of the American War of Independence, or Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, Viceroy of Canada and India,[23] who became a half-nephew of Emperor Napoleon III, a step-grandson of Queen Hortense Bonaparte, and a great-grandson of Talleyrand, connecting the family with the Houses of Beauharnais, Talleyrand, and Bonaparte. The Treaty of Paris (1783), that gave the independence to the United States was drafted from William's home at Lansdowne House, and Henry was made a member of the prominent Brooks's Club, alongside the 8th Duke of Devonshire of Chatsworth House, Prime Minister Lord Rosebery of Mentmore Towers, and Baron Lionel de Rothschild, grandson of Mayer Amschel, founder of the House of Rothschild.[22][21]
The present-day seat of the Irish Parliament Dáil Éireann is housed in Leinster House, which was first built in 1745–48 by James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster as the ducal palace for the Dukes of Leinster. The White House in the United States, seat of the U.S. President, was based on Leinster House, and was designed by Irish architect James Hoban for George Washington, who also supervised the U.S. Capitol's construction for Thomas Jefferson.[24][25][26][27] The Dukes were related to the Royal houses of Bourbon, Medici, and Habsburg, among others, as the first Duke married the great-granddaughter of King Charles II of the Royal House of Stuart. Charles's mother, Queen Henrietta Maria de Bourbon, was the aunt of Louis XIV of Versailles, while his grandmother and great-grandmother were the Queens Marie de' Medici and Joanna of Habsburg. The current Duke is Maurice FitzGerald, 9th Duke of Leinster, who is also the 9th Marquess of Kildare, 28th Earl of Kildare, 9th Earl of Offaly, 9th Viscount Leinster of Taplow, 14th Baron Offaly, 6th Baron Kildare.
The surname FitzGerald is a patronymic of the Norman form, fitz meaning "son". "Fitz Gerald" thus means in Old Norman and in Old French "son of Gerald". Gerald itself is a Germanic compound of ger, "spear", and waltan, "rule". Variant spellings include Fitz-Gerald and the modern Fitzgerald. The name can also appear as two separate words Fitz Gerald.
The earliest recorded use of the patronymic FitzGerald is that of Raoul fitz Gerald le Chambellan, member of the Tancarville family. Raoul was a Norman baron, Chamberlain of Normandy, educator of the young William, future Conqueror of England, and father of William de Tancarville, Earl of Tankerville and chief chamberlain of Normandy and England after the Norman conquest. The eponymous ancestor of the various FitzGerald branches, as well as of the de Barry and FitzMaurice families, was Gerald FitzWalter of Windsor. Gerald was a Norman adventurer who took part in the 1093 invasion of South Wales upon the death in battle of Rhys ap Tewdwr, last king of South Wales.[citation needed]
Gerald was the youngest son of another Norman adventurer, Walter fitz Otho, William the Conqueror's Constable for the strategic military fortress of Windsor Castle, as well as the King's Keeper of the Forests of Berkshire. Domesday Book records Walter fitz Otho as tenant-in-chief of lands formerly held by conquered Englishmen in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, and Middlesex. Walter's positions and most of his lands were inherited by Gerald's older brothers, Robert, Maurice, and William, the oldest, ancestor of the earls of Plymouth, while Gerald inherited the estate of Moulsford, now in Oxfordshire, near to Wallingford, where his father owned a fortified house adjacent to those of other powerful Norman authorities.
Nest ferch Rhys ap Tewdwr was the daughter of the last king of South Wales by his wife, Gwladys ferch Rhiwallon ap Cynfyn of Powys. Their grandchildren, Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Lanstephan, Raymond le Gros and Philip de Barry were leaders in the Norman invasion of Ireland. Nest's son by her second marriage, Robert FitzStephen, was another participant, as was William de Hay, husband of one of Gerald's and Nest's granddaughters. Nest's grandson (through her son by Henry I of England, son of William the Conqueror), named Meiler FitzHenry, was appointed Lord Justice of Ireland for his cousin, King Henry II of England, member of the House of Plantagenet.
The most renowned of Gerald's and Nest's grandchildren, Gerald of Wales, gave an account of the Norman invasion, as well as lively and invaluable descriptions of Ireland and Wales in the late 12th century. He became Archdeacon of Brecon, serving Archbishop Baldwin of Forde, a past tutor of Pope Eugene III's nephew, and worked with him at recruiting members for the Third Crusade of Richard the Lionheart against Saladin. On many attempts Gerald tried to become the Bishop of St. Davids but failed, despite having met in Rome Pope Innocent III, who would later experienced the Sack of Constantinople. More than twenty works has been produced by Gerald of Wales, and his statue can be seen today in City Hall, Cardiff, in Wales.
The earliest record of the House of Gherardini of Ireland, represented by the FitzGeralds, can be traced back in the year 1413 to the accounts of Lord Antonio d'Ottaviano di Rossellino Gherardini.[28] A priest named Maurice Fitzgerald was of passage in Florence at that time, with a Bishop of the Order of Saint Augustine, and has been able to enter in contact with one of his fellow kinsman, who then introduced him to other members of the Gherardinis.[29] As being part of the Gherardini family that dwelt in the island of Ireland, further exchanges were eventually done by the family to meet again. A letter written in 1440 by the Chancellor of Florence, Leonardo Bruni, one of the associates of Cosimo de' Medici, stipulated that Giovanni Betti di Gherardini, a representative of the family, was sent to Ireland to become acquainted with his other kinsmen from the Geraldines of Ireland, the Earls of Kildare.[30]
Confirmed as well in 1507 by the Viceroy of Ireland, Gerald Fitzgerald, to Giovanni Manni, a Florentine merchant in passage to Ireland.[31][32][17] Gerald Fitzgerald's letters were signed as "Gerald, Chief in Ireland of the family of the Gherardini".[33] His son, the 9th Earl of Kildare, was also known as Lord Garrett, which translates as Signore Gherardini in Italian, and was married to Elizabeth Grey of the Royal House of Grey, a granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth Woodville.[34] A letter written in 1566 by Girolamo Fortini, who was married to a daughter of Antonio Gherardini from Florence, to his brother in London, also stated that the Earl of Kildare was of the same family.[35]
Cristoforo Landino, tutor of Lorenzo de' Medici, stated in his preface of the Divine Comedy (Comedia) of the famous poet Dante Alighieri, that the descendants of Tommaso, Gherardo, and Maurizio Gherardini[36] were the ancestors of the Earls of Kildare and Earls of Desmonds, and went on to Conquer Ireland[37] with the King of England.[38][39] The Divine Comedy was first launch at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. The English poet Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, user of the sonnet form that would later be used by William Shakespeare, also referred to the ancestral seat of the Geraldines in Florence in his poem Description and praise of his love.[40]
Since the 15th century, the FitzGeralds and the Gherardinis are known to be in touch and to acknowledge their kinship.[41][30][42][17] A 2014 cover story published by "Sette", the Italian weekly magazine of Corriere della Sera, was an article dedicated to the Gherardini family of Montagliari and their relationship with the FitzGerald Family as well as with the Kennedy family. According to the magazine, the three families have maintained relationship among them even in recent times or in the past (for example with American President John Fitzgerald Kennedy).[43][42] The link with the Kennedy family came from the Earl of Desmond branch, and can be seen on the coat of arms granted to John FitzGerald Kennedy by the Chief Herald of Ireland.
The line of the Earls of Desmond has been extinct since the 17th century. Their branch of the dynasty continues only in their distant collateral kinsmen, Ireland's hereditary knights (for whom see section below).
The closely related FitzMaurice Barons and later Earls of Kerry continue in the male line with the current Petty-FitzMaurice Marquesses of Lansdowne, but they descend from John FitzGerald, 1st Baron Desmond's nephew, Thomas FitzMaurice, 1st Baron of Kerry, son of his brother Maurice FitzThomas. Thus in fact they represent a "sister" branch to the FitzGeralds of Desmond. However this technically makes them slightly closer to the FitzGeralds of Desmond than either are to the Offaly-Kildare-Leinster Geraldines, represented by the modern Dukes of Leinster, who descend from Gerald FitzMaurice, 1st Lord of Offaly, uncle of the 1st Baron Desmond.
The House of Corsygedol (Vaughans) is a branch of the Lords of Desmond, now Earls of Desmond, and was founded by Osborn Wyddel (Fitzgerald-Osbourne), a descendant of Gerald de Windsor.[44][45][46][47] Wyddel, c. 13th century arrived in Wales (Kingdom of Gwynedd) from Ireland with Prince Llywelyn the Great and was granted estates and arms, he married a ward of Llywelyn, who was also an heiress of the Corsygedol and Plas Hen estates in Gwynedd. They flourished in North Wales for centuries, by the 18th century, their Corsygedol estates were inherited by the Mostyn baronets family through marriage.[46][48]
Its cadet branches are the House of Yale (Yale family) of Plas-yn-Yale, and the Hughes of Gwerclas of Gwerclas, native royal families of the Mathrafal dynasty.[49][50] Their coat of arms are those of Osborn Fitzgerald ; viz. erm. on saltire gu. a crescent or. Crest is a wild boar in a toil.[51][47]
These three hereditary knighthoods were created for their kinsmen by the Earls of Desmond,[52] acting as Earls Palatine.
According to the 1890 Matheson report, Fitzgerald/FitzGerald was the 36th most common surname in Ireland.[53]
Fitzgerald/FitzGerald is the 692nd most frequent surname in the United Kingdom.[54] The surname occurs most frequently in the following ten counties, in descending order, with the number of occurrences in parentheses: "1. Greater London, (500), Greater Manchester (191), West Midlands (176), Lancashire (130), Kent (118), Essex (117), West Yorkshire (113), Merseyside (108), Hampshire (84), and Surrey (76)."[54]
"Fitzgerald" (including "FitzGerald," as the survey was not case-sensitive),[55] was the 390th most common surname in the 2000 United States census.[55] 73,522 Fitzgeralds were counted, with 27.25 Fitzgeralds per 100,000 members of the population.[55] Respondents surnamed Fitzgerald had self-reported ethnicities of 88.03% non-Hispanic white only, 8.44% non-Hispanic black only, 0.32% non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander only, 1.28% non-Hispanic Asian only, 1.43% of two or more non-Hispanic races, and 1.43% Hispanic.[55]
The FitzGerald dynasty was the subject of a poem called "The Geraldines" by Thomas Osborne Davis, the chief organizer and poet of the nationalist Young Ireland movement. The ill-fated romance of Thomas FitzGerald, 5th Earl of Desmond with Catherine MacCormac was the subject[56] of the air "Desmond's Song"[57] by the Irish poet Thomas Moore.
Saint Patrick's Saltire, sometimes used to represent Ireland in modern flags, may have derived from the arms of the Geraldines.[58]
The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Fitzgerald in the United States Navy is named for Lieutenant William Charles Fitzgerald, USN. The Fitzgerald family coat of arms (a white shield with a red saltire) provides the foundation for the coat of arms for USS Fitzgerald.
A variety of people, places, and businesses bear the name FitzGerald or Fitzgerald, including the FitzGerald crater on the far side of the Moon, named for physicist George FitzGerald.
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