Gerald FitzGerald, 3rd Earl of Desmond explained

Gerald FitzGerald
Earl of Desmond
Tenure:1358–1398
Predecessor:Maurice FitzMaurice FitzGerald
Successor:John FitzGerald
Spouse:Eleanor (or Ellen) Butler
Issue:John FitzGerald
Maurice FitzGerald
James FitzGerald
Robert FitzGerald de Adair
Joan FitzGerald
Catherine FitzGerald
Parents:Maurice FitzThomas FitzGerald
Aveline (or Eleanor)
Birth Name:Gearóid mac Géarailt
Birth Date:1335
Death Date:1398 (disappeared)
Nationality:Hiberno-Norman

Gerald FitzMaurice FitzGerald (1335–1398),[1] also known by the Irish Gaelic Gearóid Iarla (Earl Gerald), was the 3rd Earl of Desmond, in southwestern Ireland, under the first creation of that title, and a member of the Anglo-Norman dynasty of the FitzGerald, or Geraldines. He was the son of Maurice FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond, by his third wife Aveline (Eleanor), daughter of Nicholas FitzMaurice, 3rd Lord of Kerry.[2] [3] He was half-brother to Maurice FitzGerald, 2nd Earl of Desmond.[1]

Maurice Fitzgerald, 2nd Earl of Desmond, would have been followed by Gerald's older brother, Nicholas, but Nicholas was described as "an idiot", and so was passed over for the earldom. Because of this, some older histories list Gerald as the 4th Earl.

Life

In 1356 he was brought to England as a hostage for his father's good behaviour, but as his father died that same year, he was soon released. Three years later, he succeeded his brother Maurice, who had died without male heirs, and became the 3rd Earl of Desmond.[4]

King Edward III confirmed Gerald in his large estates in Munster, provided that he marry Eleanor Butler, daughter of the Justiciar, James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond. Gerald did so, but did not make peace with Ormond, nor adopt English ways and customs as expected.[4]

Career and poetry

According to Alfred Webb:

Duanaire Ghearóid Iarla (‘'The Poem-Book of Earl Gerald’') is preserved in a fifteenth-century manuscript, the Book of Fermoy. In addition, nine of his poems are preserved in the Book of the Dean of Lismore. Duanaire Ghearóid Iarla was published by Gearóid Mac Niocaill in Studia Hibernica 3 (1963): 7-59.[5] In 1367 Desmond was made Lord Chief Justice of Ireland,[1] but was soon replaced by Sir William de Windsor. In 1370 Brian O'Brien of Thomond expelled his cousin Turlough. Desmond attempted to reinstate him. Brian marched on Limerick, and defeated Desmond, burning the city and Desmond's lands and imprisoning him.[4]

While in prison, Gerald wrote poetry in Irish, most famously the poem Mairg adeir olc ris na mnáibh (Speak not ill of womankind).[6] Also an accomplished poet in Norman French,[1] Gerald was instrumental in the move by the Desmond Geraldines towards greater use of the Irish language.[6]

In legend

In legend, Gerald's conception was the result of his father's romantic relationship with, or rape of, the goddess Áine, a legend that draws upon a pre-existing Celtic legend about the King of Munster Ailill Aulom raping this deity,[7] [8] updating it with themes drawn from the Francophone courtly love poetry of Continental Europe,[6] [8] in particular the motif of the man who falls in love with a swan maiden.[6] [8] The Geraldine claim to an association with Áine is typical of the family's Gaelicisation.

After his disappearance in 1398, another legend grew up that Gerald sleeps in a cave beside (or under) Lough Gur,[6] [9] and will someday awaken and ride forth on a silver-shod steed to rule again in Desmond,[6] – one of the many worldwide versions of the King asleep in mountain mythologisation of heroes.

Marriage and issue

In 1359 Gerald married Eleanor (or Ellen) Butler, daughter of James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond. She died in 1404. They had four sons:

  1. John FitzGerald, 4th Earl of Desmond
  2. Maurice FitzGerald
  3. James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond, 'the Usurper'
  4. Robert FitzGerald de Adair

and two daughters:

  1. Joan, who married Maurice FitzJohn, Lord of Kerry
  2. Catherine, who married John FitzThomas

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. [Alfred Webb|Webb, Alfred.]
  2. [Bernard Burke|Burke, Bernard]
  3. [George Cokayne|Cokayne, George Edward]
  4. Web site: "Gerald Fitzgerald", Limerick City . 11 July 2015 . 4 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304104604/http://limerickcity.ie/media/Media,4209,en.pdf . dead .
  5. G Mac Niocaill, Duanaire Ghearóid Iarla, Studia Hibernica 3 (1963): 7-59
  6. http://www.searcs-web.com/fitzgerald.html Gearóid Iarla FitzGerald (1335–1398)
  7. Web site: Áine, Celtic Goddess. 9 October 2017.
  8. Web site: From MYTH, LEGEND & ROMANCE. www.grailwerk.com.
  9. Web site: Folklore at Lough Gur. https://web.archive.org/web/20120508012245/http://www.loughgur.com/home/folklore-literature/. 8 May 2012.