king's lieutenant

king's lieutenant, the title given to the more socially exalted governors of Ireland in the later Middle Ages. It was also borne by nobles sent to rule English Gascony, and by those whom French kings appointed to govern regions of their kingdom. The first king's lieutenant in Ireland was Piers Gaveston, earl of Cornwall, the favourite of Edward II, who was sent as a form of exile in 1308. The second was Roger Mortimer, who arrived in 1317 to resist the Bruce invasion. William de Burgh, earl of Ulster, held the position in 1331–2. A justiciar continued to serve under these early lieutenants. The title became more common from 1361, when Lionel, the second surviving son of Edward III, was sent to Ireland with some 800 troops whose wages were paid from England. The habit of financing Irish wars from English resources, and of appointing members of the royal family or higher nobility to the lieutenancy, continued in the 15th century. These lieutenants made contracts with the king to serve for a fixed term and to receive wages for a specified number of troops; they were given wider powers, especially of patronage, than justiciars.

Robin Frame