Henry Sidney

rdf:langString Anne Pakenham

rdf:langString One of the grimmer aspects of government activity during this period was the formal extension of military severity over large sections of the ordinary populace. Threatening the peasantry was a guaranteed way to sever the ties binding the broad mass of ordinary people to their traditional local rulers. In the course of the crown campaigns the killing of the low-born became widespread. It was even considered unremarkable. Returning from one of his outings Lord Deputy Sidney joked in a letter to Whitehall that he had killed so many Irish 'varlets', he had lost count.

rdf:langString Age of Atrocity: Violence and Political Conflict in Early Modern Ireland, 2010.

rdf:langString Sidney, Sir Henry

rdf:langString Sir Henry Sidney KG (20 July 1529 – 5 May 1586), Lord Deputy of Ireland, was the eldest son of Sir William Sidney of Penshurst, a prominent politician and courtier during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, from both of whom he received extensive grants of land, including the manor of Penshurst in Kent, which became the principal residence of the family. Henry Sidney was brought up at court as the companion of Prince Edward, afterwards King Edward VI, and he continued to enjoy the favour of the Crown, serving under Mary I of England and then, particularly, throughout the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He was instrumental in the Elizabethan conquest of Ireland, serving as Lord Deputy three times. His career was controversial both at home and in Ireland.

rdf:langString Sidney