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

He was born atCirencester. He was educated at theUniversity of Oxford, ordained a deacon on 10 April 1490 atWorcester, and incorporatedDD at Cambridge in 1500. Before this date he had entered the service ofHenry VII of England. In June 1499, then described asprothonotary, he went on an embassy toLouis XII of France, and on his return occupied the position ofking's secretary.^[2][3]

Ruthall had a long series of ecclesiastical preferments. In 1495 he had the rectory ofBocking, Essex (whose priest is called the Dean of Bocking), in 1502 he became a prebendary ofWells, and in 1503Archdeacon of Gloucester,Dean of Salisbury andchancellor of Cambridge. In 1505 he was made prebendary of Lincoln; Henry VII, who had already made him aprivy councillor, appointed himBishop 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 theTower of London at the beginning of his reign, following the death of Henry VII.^[4] In 1510, withRichard Foxe andThomas 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 whenJames IV of Scotland threatened war. He took a part in the preparations for defence, strengthenedNorham Castle, and wrote toThomas Wolsey after theBattle of Flodden (1513). He was present at the marriage of Louis XII and the PrincessMary Tudor in 1514, and in 1516 was madeLord Privy Seal.^[2]

In 1518 he was present when Wolsey was made apapal legate, and was one of the commissioners when thePrincess Mary was betrothed to the Dauphin,Francis III, Duke of Brittany. He was at theField of the Cloth of Gold in 1520, and was again atCalais 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 atDurham Place, London, and was buried in St John's Chapel,Westminster Abbey.^[2]

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

• 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 andRight Honourable Doctor Thomas Ruthall
• 1509–1523:The Right Reverend and Right Honourable Doctor Thomas Ruthall

• Secretary of State (England)
• Diplomats (England)

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

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

• 16th-century English Roman Catholic bishops
• Chancellors of the University of Cambridge
• Lords Privy Seal
• Deans of Salisbury
• Bishops of Durham
• Archdeacons of Gloucester
• People from Cirencester
• 15th-century births
• 1523 deaths
• 15th-century English clergy
• Deans of Bocking
• Alumni of the University of Oxford

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