Thomas Fiennes Lord Dacre of The South [2373] ²⁵

   FamilySearch ID: LVMQ-Z1F.

  General Notes:

Notes: fought on Richard III's side at the Battle of Bosworth. Did not suf fer forfeiture under Henry VII.

http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/FIENNES.htm#Thomas FIENNES (2° B. Dacre of t he South)


[2706494.FTW]

Among the great families of Cumberland, the martial house of Dacre stan ds out most prominently. The Dacres,
"So daring in love, so dauntless in war,"
are ever inseparably connected in history with memories of Flodden, of bor der warfare and border raids, while their wild slogan, "A Daker, A Dake r, a read bull, a read bull," was ever a terror to the Scotch, as their ba nner of martial red with its silver escallops was ever a rallying point f or the English border-men.

There were in the North, two powerful branches of this famous family, Lo rd Dacre of Greystoke, Cumberland, and Lord Dacre of Gilsland, Northumberl and. A Chieftain of the former branch, of hot and obstinate temper, was Wa rden of the West Marches during the reign of Edward VI., and it is he w ho figures in Scott's "Lay of the Last Minstrel," and again in the seige a nd storm of Jedburgh, described in the Appendix to the Introduction of t he same poet's "Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border." From my own wide readi ng and research, I am quite convinced that this was Lord William, the 2 nd Lord Dacre of Greystock, the son of a famous father, Sir Thomas, Lord D acre, who eloped with the Lady Elizabeth of Greystoke; who commanded the r eserve and contributed to the victory of Flodden Field and who was subsequ ently made a Knight of the Garter.

They took their name from Dacer, or Dacor, a Manor in Cumberland, of whi ch they were lords under the Baron of Greystoke, tho' tradition has it th at the name is D'Acre, derived from the exploits of one of the family on t he field of Acre, during the Third Crusade, conducted by Richard Coe ur de Lion, but as a matter of fact, which the Dacre Family Tree proves, t he name had existed for six or seven generations before this period (1189- 1199). However, there is reason to believe that there was a Crusader in t he family; Sir Walter Scott's historic poem points to the fact, and the u se of the escallop in both Banner and Badge would verify the statement, a nd if it be true that one of the family accompanied King Richard, I., it w ould seem probable that an earlier Sir William, father of the 1st Lord Dac re of Gilisland, being eligible, was the one who assumed the Cross.

The famous "Belted Will Howard," of "The Lay of the Last Minstrel," (Lo rd William Howard), married Lady Elizabeth Dacre, the granddaughter of t he Lord William with whom he figures in the poem, by a poetical anachronis m. By this marriage, he succeeded to Naworth Castle, and a large domain an nexed, in right of his wife, which has since remained with the Howards, a nd is now the property of the Earl of Carlisle.

The body of the Lord William Dacre....is buried in the Cathedral of Carlis le, beside his wife, Lady Elsabeth, daughter of the Earl of Shrewsbury.

The Badge of these Lords Dacre is herewith shown, and so the account of su ch Badges may be interesting:--The Badge may claim a greater antiquity a nd a wider use than armorial bearings. In the 14th and 15th Centuries eve ry magnate had his Badge which he displayed on his horse, furniture, on t he hangings of his bed, his wall, and his chair of state, besides givi ng it as a "livery" to his servants and followers. An escallop argent (sil ver) was used by this family as a Badge. Escallops may perhaps be allow ed to rank as one of the most widely used heraldic characters, both in Eng lish and other armories. They figured in early days outside the limi ts of heraldry as the badge of pilgrims going to the Holy Land and m ay be seen on the shields of many families at the period of the Crusades.

Excerpts from the Annals of the Leonard Family, Pages 19-21
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Thomas married Anne Bourchier Baroness Dacre of The South [2383] [LZ88-FXS] [MRIN: 374], daughter of Sir Humphrey Bourchier [2411] [MQNG-MYG] and Elizabeth Tilney Douchess of Norfolk [2412] [LHRG-KZG], in 1492 in Berners, Roos And Crom, Scotland.²⁵ (Anne Bourchier Baroness Dacre of The South [2383] [LZ88-FXS] was born in 1470 in Beddingborough, Yorkshire, England,^25,442 died on 29 Sep 1530 in Hurstmonceaux Castle, Hailsham, Sussex, England ²⁵ and was buried in All Saints, Hurstmonceux, Sussex, England ²⁵.)