Edmund Dudley | |
|---|---|
 Edmund Dudley (right), along withHenry VII of England (centre), and SirRichard Empson (left) | |
| Born | c. 1462 |
| Died | 17 August 1510 Tower Hill, London |
| Cause of death | Decapitation |
| Resting place | Blackfriars, London |
| Known for | English financial officer |
| Notable work | The Tree of Commonwealth |
| Spouse(s) | Anne Windsor Elizabeth Grey |
| Children | Elizabeth Lady Stourton John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland Sir Andrew Dudley Jerome Dudley |
| Parent(s) | Sir John Dudley of Atherington Elizabeth Bramshott |
Edmund Dudley (c. 1462[1] or 1471/1472[2] – 17 August 1510) was an English administrator and a financial agent ofKing Henry VII.[3] He served as a leading member of theCouncil Learned in the Law,Speaker of the House of Commons andPresident of the King's Council. After the accession ofHenry VIII in 1509, he was imprisoned in theTower of London and executed the next year on atreason charge. While waiting for his execution he wroteThe Tree of Commonwealth. Edmund Dudley was both the father ofJohn Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland,Edward VI's second Regent and the grandfather ofRobert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, a favourite of Henry VIII's daughter,Elizabeth I.
Edmund Dudley was the son of Sir John Dudley ofAtherington, West Sussex and a grandson ofJohn Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley. After studying atOxford, and atGray's Inn, Dudley came under the notice of Henry VII, and is said to have been made aPrivy Councillor at the early age of 23. In 1492, he helped to negotiate thePeace of Etaples with France and soon assisted the king in checking the lawlessness of the barons.[4] He and his colleagueSir Richard Empson were prominent councillors of theCouncil Learned in the Law, a special tribunal of Henry VII's reign, which collected debts owed to the king, requested bonds as surety, and employed further financial instruments against high-born and wealthy subjects. Henry VII took a strong interest in these procedures and closely supervised the accounts of the two men.[1]
Dudley was elected MP forLewes, in 1491, andknight of the shire forSussex, in 1495. In 1504, he was chosen asSpeaker of the House of Commons. While collecting the king's money, Dudley amassed a great amount of wealth for himself, which resulted in estates inSussex, Dorset, andLincolnshire. A 1509 inventory of his house in Candelwykstrete,London, gave the earliest reference towindow curtains.[5]
When Henry VII died in April 1509, Dudley was imprisoned, and charged with the crime ofconstructive treason. Dudley's nominal crime was that during the last illness of Henry VII he had ordered his friends to assemble in arms in case the king died, but the real reason for his charge was his unpopularity stemming from his financial transactions.[4] He wasattainted and made preparations to escape from theTower of London. He gave up his plan, though, when parliament did not confirm his attainder,[6] which led him to believe that he would be pardoned. However while in prison he declared a will.[7] Dudley and his colleague Empson were executed on 17 August 1510 onTower Hill.
During his imprisonment, Dudley sought to gain the favour of KingHenry VIII by writing a treatise in support of absolute monarchy, calledThe Tree of Commonwealth.[1] It may, however, never have reached the king. Several manuscript editions survive: the earliest was possibly commissioned by Dudley's son,John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland; while the second oldest was made byJohn Stow in 1563 for Dudley's grandson,Robert Dudley.[1]
Edmund Dudley married twice:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Dudley, Edmund".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 363.| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Speaker of the House of Commons 1503 | Succeeded by |
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