Thomas de Montpellier

Thomas de Montpellier, or de Monte Pessulano (died after 1347) was a fourteenth-century Anglo-French judge and Crown official, much of whose career was spent in Ireland. He held a number of important lay and clerical offices including Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland and, briefly, Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer.^[1]

His family, who came to England from Montpellier in France in the late thirteenth century, had a tradition of service to Edward I and formed part of the royal entourage.^[1] Thomas himself is recorded as being in the service of the Crown by 1307, and in his official capacity, he visited Ireland on several occasions.^[1] Peter de Montpellier, who was Royal Physician to the English Court from c. 1303 to the end of the reign of Edward II, was probably Thomas's brother or cousin.^[2]

He became a prebendary in the Diocese of Ossory in 1318 and was subsequently made prebendary of Lusk;^[1] he was appointed Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, about 1338.^[1] He made the pilgrimage to the shrine of St James the Great in Santiago de Compostela in 1319.^[1]

He was appointed Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer in 1327, with a salary of £10 a year, but seems only to have served in that office for a few months.^[3] He was made Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer the following year. In the same year, Robert de Wodehouse appointed him his Irish attorney.^[4] In 1332 Alexander de Bicknor, the Archbishop of Dublin, appointed him as one of his attorneys while the Archbishop was in England, along with his colleague Nicholas de Snyterby.^[5] Montpellier himself repeatedly visited England. In 1335 he returned to the Court of Exchequer (Ireland) as the second baron but was quickly transferred to the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland).^[6] He went to England in 1341. Shortly afterwards he was removed from the Bench: whether this was at his own wish or not is unclear.^[1] He was still Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral in 1347, but nothing seems to be known of him after that date.^[1]

References

1. Ball, F. Elrington The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921 John Murray London 1926 Vol.i p.68
2. Hamilton, J.S. Some Notes on "Royal" Medicine in the Reign of Edward II in "Fourteenth Century England" Chris Given-Wilson editor; Boydell Press 2002 Vol.2 p.33
3. National Archives "Officers in Ireland anno primo R. Edwardi III with their yearly fees"
4. Patent Roll Edward III Vol. 1
5. Patent Roll 6 Edward III
6. Patent Roll 9 Edward III