Gerald FitzGerald, 3rd Earl of Desmond
| Gerald FitzGerald | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gearóid mac Géarailt 1335 |
| Died | 1398 |
| Title | Earl of Desmond |
| Tenure | 1358–1398 |
| Nationality | Hiberno-Norman |
| Predecessor | Maurice FitzMaurice FitzGerald |
| Successor | John FitzGerald |
| Spouse(s) | 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) |
Gerald FitzMaurice FitzGerald (1335–1398), 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 Hiberno-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. He was half-brother to Maurice FitzGerald, 2nd Earl of Desmond.
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.
In 1356 he was brought to England as a hostage for his father's good behavior, 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.
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.
According to Alfred Webb:
"[He was] surnamed 'Gerald the Poet', [and] succeeded to the estates and honours of the family. He married, by the King's command, Eleanor, daughter of James, 2nd Earl of Ormond, who brought with her as her portion the barony of Inchiquin in Imokelly. Gerald was Lord Justice of Ireland, 1367. In 1398 he disappeared, and is fabled to live beneath the waters of Lough Gur, near Kilmallock, on whose banks he appears once every seven years. O'Donovan quotes the following concerning his character: 'A nobleman of wonderful bountie, mirth, cheerfulness in conversation, charitable in his deeds, easy of access, a witty and ingenious composer of Irish poetry, and a learned and profound chronicler; and, in fine, one of the English nobility that had Irish learning and professors thereof in greatest reverence of all the English in Ireland, died penitently after receipt of the sacraments of the holy church in proper form.' Fragments of Anglo-Norman verse attributed to him, known as Proverbs of the Earl of Desmond, survive."
...
Wikipedia