James FitzGerald, de jure 12th Earl of Desmond

James fitz Maurice FitzGerald, de jure 12th Earl of Desmond (died 1540), also counted 13th, was called Court Page as he grew up as a hostage for his grandfather Thomas FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Desmond, the Bald, at the court of Henry VIII. He should have succeeded this grandfather in 1534, but John FitzGerald, de facto 12th Earl of Desmond usurped the earldom and was followed in 1536 by his son James, fitz John. In 1539 the lord deputy of Ireland, Leonard Grey seized some Desmond land in southern County Cork and handed it to Court Page, who came to Ireland to claim his rights but was killed by Maurice fitz John FitzGerald, called Totane. He was succeeded by James fitz John, now rightful 13th earl.

James fitz Maurice FitzGerald
Earl of Desmond
Tenure	1534–1540
Predecessor	Thomas, 11th Earl of Desmond
Successor	James, 13th Earl of Desmond
Other names	Court Page
Died	19 March 1540 Leacan Sgail, County Kerry
Cause of death	murdered
Spouse(s)	Mary MacCarthy
Father	Maurice fitz Thomas FitzGerald
Mother	Joan FitzGibbon

Birth and origins

James was born the only son of Maurice fitz Thomas FitzGerald and his wife Joan FitzGibbon. His father was the only son^[1] of Thomas FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Desmond, called the Bald, but predeceased him.^[2] His father's family, the FitzGeralds of Desmond, were a noble cadet branch of the Old English Geraldines, of which the FitzGeralds of Kildare were the senior branch.

James's mother was a daughter of John fitz Gerald FitzGibbon, the white knight.^[3]

James had a sister, Ellen, who married Thomas Butler, 1st Baron Cahir as his second wife.^[4]

Family tree

James FitzGerald with wife, parents, and other selected relatives.[a] Thomas 7th Earl d. 1468 of Drogheda Thomas 11th Earl 1454–1534 the Bald Sheila MacCarthy John de facto 12th Earl d. 1536 More O'Brien Maurice fitz Thomas d. 1529 d.v.p.* Joan FitzGibbon James 13th Earl d. 1558 Maurice FitzJohn Totane James 12th Earl d. 1540 Court Page Mary MacCarthy d. 1548 Gerald 14th Earl c. 1533 – 1583 Rebel Earl Maurice 6th Viscount Fermoy d. 1600 Eleanor FitzGerald James 1st Earl 1570–1601 Tower Earl Joan Roche Thomas fitz James Ruadh Ellis le Poer James fitz Thomas d. 1608 Sugan Earl Legend XXX Subject of the article XXX Earls of Desmond XXX Viscounts Fermoy *d.v.p. = predeceased his father (decessit vita patris).

Ireland in 1450, showing the Earldom of Desmond

Henry VIII playing his harp beside his jester, Will Somers, in an illustration from Henry's psalter. James FitzGerald, the "Court Page," grew up a hostage at Henry's court.

Marriage and child

FitzGerald married Mary, eldest daughter of Cormac Laidir Oge MacCarthy, 10th Lord of Muskerry.^[5]

James and Mary had an only daughter:

• Judith who died unmarried in 1565^[6]

His widow married Daniel O'Sullivan Mor.^[7]

Later life

Upon the death in 1634 of his grandfather Thomas FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Desmond, called the Bald, Court Page should have succeeded as the 12th earl of Desmond, but he was absent in London. His right to the title was disputed by his granduncle John FitzGerald. When John died in 1536,^[8] his son James, fitz John continued in the claim to the earldom.

Court Page came or was sent to Ireland^[9] in 1539 after Leonard Grey, Lord Deputy of Ireland helped by James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond had seized the Desmond territories of Imokilly and Kerrycurrihy in southern Cork.^[10]

Death and timeline

On 19 March 1540 Court Page was killed by his cousin, Maurice fitz John FitzGerald, called Totane, brother of James FitzGerald, 13th Earl of Desmond. Court Page is reported to have died at a place called Leacan Sgail in County Kerry that does not seem to have been identified.^[11]

Timeline
As her birth date is uncertain, so are all her ages.
Age	Date	Event
0	1500, estimate	Born
8–9	1509, 22 Apr	Accession of Henry VIII, succeeding Henry VII of England[12]
19–20	1520, Sep	Grandfather and his ally Cormac Laidir Oge MacCarthy, 10th Lord of Muskerry defeat James FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Desmond in the battle of Mourne.
27–28	1528	Grandfather succeeds as 11th Earl of Desmond.
28–29	1529	Father died predeceasing his grandfather
33–34	1534	Succeeds his grandfather as 12th Earl of Desmond but the earldom is usurped by John FitzGerald, de facto 12th Earl of Desmond
35–36	1536	James fitz John continues the usurpation of the earldom begun by his father John FitzGerald, de facto Earl 12th of Desmond.
38–39	1539, Nov	Took possession of Imokilly and Kerrycurihy[10]
39–40	1540, 19 Mar	Killed by Totane and succeeded by James fitz John as the rightful 13th Earl of Desmond.

Ancestors of James FitzGerald, de jure 12th Earl of Desmond
James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond Mary de Burgh Thomas FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Desmond William Barry, 8th Baron Barry Ellice de Barry Ellen de la Roche Maurice FitzThomas FitzGerald Cormac Laidir MacCarthy of Muskerry Sheila MacCarthy James FitzGerald, de jure 12th Earl of Desmond John FitzGibbon, the White Knight Joan FitzGibbon