Thomas Ruthall

Thomas Ruthall
Thomas Ruthall
Bishop of Durham
Church	Roman Catholic
Diocese	Diocese of Durham
In office	1509–1523
Predecessor	Christopher Bainbridge
Successor	Thomas Wolsey
Other post(s)	Dean of Bocking (1495–?); Chancellor of the University of Cambridge (1503–1504); Dean of Salisbury (1505–1508); Dean of Wimborne (c. 1508–1509); Lord Privy Seal (1516–1523)
Orders
Ordination	1490 (deacon)
Consecration	1509
Personal details
Born	Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England
Died	4 February 1523 (aged c. 55); Westminster, Middlesex, England
Buried	St John's Chapel, Westminster Abbey
Nationality	English
Denomination	Catholic
Residence	Durham Place (at death)
Alma mater	University of Oxford

Thomas Ruthall (also spelled Ruthal, Rowthel or Rowthall; died 4 February 1523) was an English churchman, administrator and diplomat. He was a leading councillor of Henry VIII of England.^[1]

Education and early career[edit]

He was born at Cirencester. He was educated at the University of Oxford, ordained a deacon on 10 April 1490 at Worcester, and incorporated DD at Cambridge in 1500. Before this date he had entered the service of Henry VII of England. In June 1499, then described as prothonotary, he went on an embassy to Louis XII of France, and on his return occupied the position of king's secretary.^[2]^[3]

Church and court career[edit]

Ruthall had a long series of ecclesiastical preferments. In 1495 he had the rectory of Bocking, Essex (whose priest is called the Dean of Bocking), in 1502 he became a prebendary of Wells, and in 1503 Archdeacon of Gloucester, Dean of Salisbury and chancellor of Cambridge. In 1505 he was made prebendary of Lincoln; Henry VII, who had already made him a privy councillor, appointed him Bishop of Durham in 1509, but Henry died before Ruthall was consecrated. Henry VIII confirmed his appointment, and continued him in the office of secretary. He was part of the skeleton council that accompanied Henry VIII to the Tower of London at the beginning of his reign, following the death of Henry VII.^[4] In 1510, with Richard Foxe and Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, he negotiated a fragile peace with France.^[2]^[5]

He went to France with the king in 1513 with a hundred men, but was sent back to England when James IV of Scotland threatened war. He took a part in the preparations for defence, strengthened Norham Castle, and wrote to Thomas Wolsey after the Battle of Flodden (1513). He was present at the marriage of Louis XII and the Princess Mary Tudor in 1514, and in 1516 was made Lord Privy Seal.^[2]

In 1518 he was present when Wolsey was made a papal legate, and was one of the commissioners when the Princess Mary was betrothed to the Dauphin, Francis III, Duke of Brittany. He was at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520, and was again at Calais with Wolsey in 1521. When Buckingham was examined by the king, Ruthall was present as secretary. A hardworking official, he did a great deal of the interviewing necessary in diplomatic negotiations. Brewer represents him as Wolsey's drudge, and Giustinian speaks of his "singing treble to the cardinal's bass." He died on 4 February 1523 at Durham Place, London, and was buried in St John's Chapel, Westminster Abbey.^[2]

Legacy[edit]

As a benefactor he repaired the bridge at Newcastle, and built a great chamber at Bishop Auckland. He also increased the endowment of the grammar school at Cirencester which had been established by John Chedworth, in 1460.^[2] He was a patron of Erasmus.^[6] Thomas More was a colleague in government, and a friend, and dedicated his edition of Lucian to Ruthall.^[7]

Styles and titles[edit]

1490–bef. 1493: The Reverend Thomas Ruthall
bef. 1493–1495: The Reverend Doctor Thomas Ruthall
1495–1504: The Very Reverend Doctor Thomas Ruthall
1504–1509: The Very Reverend and Right Honourable Doctor Thomas Ruthall
1509–1523: The Right Reverend and Right Honourable Doctor Thomas Ruthall

References[edit]

^ G. R. Elton, The Tudor Revolution in Government (1953), p. 122.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Ruthall, Thomas" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
^ Gairdner, Letters and Papers of Richard III and Henry VII, Rolls Ser. i. 405, &c.; Cal. State Papers, Venetian, i. 795, 799.
^ David Starkey, Henry VIII: A Biography
^ Thomas Fowler, The history of Corpus Christi college (1893), p. 15.
^ H. C. Porter, Fisher and Erasmus, p. 87 in Brendan Bradshaw, Eamon Duffy (editors), Humanism, Reform and the Reformation: The Career of Bishop John Fisher (1989).
^ Letter to Ruthall, in The Yale Edition of The Complete Works of St. Thomas More Volume 3, Part 1, Translations of Lucian

Sources[edit]

M. Johnson, 2004, Ruthall, Thomas (d. 1523)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Attribution[edit]

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Ruthall, Thomas". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

Academic offices
Preceded by George Fitzhugh	Chancellor of the University of Cambridge 1503–1504	Succeeded by John Fisher
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Edward Cheyne	Dean of Salisbury 1505–1508	Succeeded by William Atwater
Preceded by Hugh Oldham	Dean of Wimborne c. 1508–1509	Succeeded by Henry Hornby
Preceded by Christopher Bainbridge	Bishop of Durham 1509–1523	Succeeded by Thomas Wolsey
Political offices
Preceded by Dr Owen King	Secretary of State 1500-1516	Succeeded by Richard Pace
Preceded by Richard Foxe	Lord Privy Seal 1516–1523	Succeeded by Henry Marney

[1] G. R. Elton, The Tudor Revolution in Government (1953), p. 122.

[DNB-2] "Ruthall, Thomas" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

[3] Gairdner, Letters and Papers of Richard III and Henry VII, Rolls Ser. i. 405, &c.; Cal. State Papers, Venetian, i. 795, 799.

[4] David Starkey, Henry VIII: A Biography

[5] Thomas Fowler, The history of Corpus Christi college (1893), p. 15.

[6] H. C. Porter, Fisher and Erasmus, p. 87 in Brendan Bradshaw, Eamon Duffy (editors), Humanism, Reform and the Reformation: The Career of Bishop John Fisher (1989).

[7] Letter to Ruthall, in The Yale Edition of The Complete Works of St. Thomas More Volume 3, Part 1, Translations of Lucian

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v t e Deans of Salisbury
High Medieval	Walter Osbert Robert Serlo Roger Azo Robert of Chichester Henry de Beaumont John of Oxford Jordan Eustace Richard Poore Adam William de Wanda Robert de Hertford Robert Wickhampton Walter Scammel Henry Brandeston Simon de Micham
Late Medieval	Peter of Savoy William Rufati Reymund de Fargis Bertrand de Fargis Reynold Orsini James Orsini Robert Braybrooke Thomas Montagu John Chandler Simon Sydenham Thomas Brunce Nicholas Bildeston Adam Moleyns Richard Leyot Gilbert Kymer James Goldwell John Davison Edward Cheyne
Early modern	Thomas Ruthall William Atwater John Longland Cuthbert Tunstall Richard Pace Peter Vannes William Bradbridge Thomas Cole Edmund Freke John Piers John Bridges John Gordon John Williams John Bowle Edmund Mason Richard Baylie Ralph Brideoake Thomas Pierce Robert Woodward Edward Young John Younger John Clarke Thomas Greene Rowney Noel John Ekins
Late modern	Charles Talbot Hugh Pearson Francis Lear Henry Hamilton J. C. Ryle George Boyle Allan Webb William Page Roberts Andrew Burn John Randolph Edward Henderson Henry Robins Robert Moberly Kenneth Haworth Fenton Morley Sydney Evans Hugh Dickinson Derek Watson June Osborne Ed Probert (Acting) Nick Papadopulos

v t e Bishops of Durham
Bishops of Lindisfarne	Aidan Finan Colmán Tuda United to York Eata Cuthbert Eadberht Eadfrith Æthelwold Cynewulf Higbald Egbert Heathwred Ecgred Eanbert Eardulf
Bishops of Chester-le-Street	Eardulf Cutheard Tilred Wigred Uhtred Sexhelm Ealdred Ælfsige Aldhun
High Medieval Bishops of Durham	Aldhun Edmund Eadred Æthelric Æthelwine
High Medieval Bishops rulers of the County Palatine of Durham	Walcher William de St-Calais Ranulf Flambard Geoffrey Rufus William Cumin William of St. Barbara Hugh de Puiset Philip of Poitou Richard Poore John de Gray Morgan Richard Marsh William Scot Richard Poore Thomas de Melsonby Nicholas Farnham Walter of Kirkham Robert Stitchill Robert of Holy Island Antony Bek
Late Medieval Bishops rulers of the County Palatine of Durham	Richard Kellaw Lewis de Beaumont Richard de Bury Thomas Hatfield John Fordham Walter Skirlaw Thomas Langley Robert Neville Lawrence Booth William Dudley John Sherwood Richard Foxe
Early modern Bishops rulers of the County Palatine of Durham	William Senhouse Christopher Bainbridge Thomas Ruthall Thomas Wolsey Cuthbert Tunstall James Pilkington Richard Barnes Matthew Hutton Tobias Matthew William James Richard Neile George Montaigne John Howson Thomas Morton Episcopacy abolished (Commonwealth) John Cosin Nathaniel Crew William Talbot Edward Chandler Joseph Butler Richard Trevor John Egerton Thomas Thurlow Shute Barrington William Van Mildert
Late modern Bishops	Edward Maltby Charles Longley Henry Montagu Villiers Charles Baring J. B. Lightfoot Brooke Foss Westcott Handley Moule Hensley Henson Alwyn Williams Michael Ramsey Maurice Harland Ian Ramsey John Habgood David Jenkins Michael Turnbull N. T. Wright Justin Welby Paul Butler

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