Richard Talbot

John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, elder brother of Richard Talbot, who was John's strongest political ally. Richard Talbot (c. 1390 – 15 August 1449) was an English-born statesman and cleric in fifteenth-century Ireland. He was a younger brother of John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury. He held the offices of Archbishop of Dublin and Lord Chancellor of Ireland. He was one of the leading political figures in Ireland for more than thirty years, but his career was marked by controversy and frequent conflicts with other statesmen. In particular, the Talbot brothers' quarrel with the powerful Earl of Ormonde was the main cause of the Butler–Talbot feud, which dominated Irish politics for decades, and seriously weakened the authority of the English Crown in Ireland.

Early life He was the third son of Richard Talbot, 4th Baron Talbot, and his wife Ankaret le Strange. His elder brothers were Gilbert Talbot, 5th Baron Talbot and John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury. He seems to have entered the Church while he was still in his early teens. He became prebendary of Hereford Cathedral and York Cathedral, and Dean of Chichester in 1415. In 1416, when he was still only about twenty-five, he was elected Archbishop of Armagh but failed to secure Papal confirmation of his election. The following year he was consecrated Archbishop of Dublin.

Archbishop of Dublin

He was an active and reforming Archbishop, who established a new corporation in St. Patrick's Cathedral and founded chantries in St. Michael's Church, Dublin (which he converted into a parish church) and St. Audoen's Church.

Political career Richard's elder brother John, the future 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland between 1414 and 1420 and again in 1425 and in 1446–7. Richard acted as Lord Deputy of Ireland during his brother's Lieutenancy, and also as Justiciar of Ireland. In 1423 he was appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland and held the latter office for most of the next twenty years.

The condition of English rule in Ireland at this time has been described as "a chronic state of imbecility, folly and corruption". The English Council in the end rebuked both sides of the dispute for weakening the Irish government by "creating divisions and rumours among the King's men". The rebuke had little effect, and both men remained in office, their hostility unabated.

Relations between the Talbots and the Butlers did eventually improve, and to mark the two families' reconciliation, Ormonde's daughter Elizabeth married Shrewsbury's son and heir, the future 2nd Earl.

Last years

Talbot was removed from the office of Lord Chancellor, though he acted as Justiciar of Ireland and as Lord Deputy during his brother's final term of office. He showed his usual spirit by refusing a second chance to become Archbishop of Armagh when Swayne, at last, retired in 1439.

He died in Dublin on 15 August 1449, aged about sixty, and was buried in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. His brother Lord Shrewsbury was killed at the Battle of Castillon in 1453.

Character Richard Talbot was undoubtedly a man of great intelligence and strong character: O'Flanagan thought him a man in every way as remarkable as his brother "the great Earl of Shrewsbury". On the other hand, he had serious character flaws, being high-handed, quarrelsome and undiplomatic, His refusal to hand over the Great Seal to Thomas Chace shows him to have been arrogant and obstructive. His feud with Archbishop Swayne weakened the authority of the Church; and his quarrel with Ormonde, which seems to have been as much personal as political, is generally agreed to have been a major factor in seriously damaging English rule in Ireland.

Even in a turbulent age when cases of assault and even murder were common enough it was notable that Talbot, despite his clerical office, was prepared to use violence, as shown by the credible accusation in 1442 that he had beaten up two senior members of the Irish Privy Council, Hugh Banent and Robert Dyke.

He had a reputation for extravagance: his successor Michael Tregury, having conducted an audit, complained in 1451 that Talbot had reduced the income of the Archdiocese to below £300 a year.