Alexander Iden
{{Short description|High Sheriff of Kent}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Sir Alexander Iden
|image = Alexander Iden.webp
|caption = A fictitious engraving of Alexander seen in the 1864-68 Plays of Shakespeare.
|office = High Sheriff of Kent
|term_start = 1456
|term_end = 1456
| predecessor = Philip Belknap
| successor = John Guildford
|birth_date = c. 1420
|birth_place = Westwell, Kent, England
|death_date = 19 November 1457
|death_place = City of London, England
|restingplace = St Martin Orgar, City of London, England
}}
Sir Alexander Iden ({{Circa|1420}} – 19 November, 1457) was the High Sheriff of Kent in 1456 and was a custodian of Rochester Castle. He is known for capturing Jack Cade, the leader of the 1450 rebellion in south-east England.
Biography
Very little seems to be known on Alexander's early life as both his mother and father have not been identified. It is known by late 1450 that he was married to Elizabeth Fiennes, the daughter of James Fiennes and widow of William Cromer, both of whom were killed in or near the Tower of London on July fourth of that year when Jack Cade's Rebellion broke out. They would go on to have at least one child, a daughter named Joan Iden. Alexander would also become the father-in-law of James Cromer.
On 10 July 1450 Henry VI issued a proclamation offering "1,000 marks" for Cade's capture, dead or alive.{{cite web |author1=Benjamin Brogden Orridge |title=Illustrations of Jack Cade's rebellion, from researches in the Guildhall records : together with some newly-found letters of Lord Bacon, &c. By B. Brogden Orridge, F.G.S. To which are added contributions by W. Darrant Cooper, F.S.A., on the rising of Cade and his followers in Kent and Sussex |url=https://archive.org/details/illustrationsof00orri/page/32/mode/2up?q=proclamation+ |website=Internet Archive |publisher=London : J.C. Hotten |access-date=24 January 2025 |page=33 |date=1869}} Equivalent to about 666 pound sterling. It is said that Alexander and his posse caught up with Cade on July 12 in Heathfield, East Sussex.{{cite web |author1=I. M. W Harvey |title=Jack Cade's rebellion of 1450 |url=https://archive.org/details/jackcadesrebelli0000harv/page/98/mode/2up?view=theater&q=alexander+iden |website=Internet Archive |publisher=Oxford : Clarendon Press ; New York : Oxford University Press |access-date=24 January 2025 |page=99 |date=1991}} It is written that Cade's injuries that he suffered from his capture were so severe, that he passed away before the group could return to London on July 15. Alexander's full proper name hints at the fact that he was knighted at some point in his life, likely a title awarded to him following Cade's death.
It is worth noting that this rebellion was likely a precursor to the Wars of the Roses, which began in May of 1455. It is unknown what side Alexander may have taken during the early years of this conflict as he would pass away in 1457. However, it could be safe to assume that he would have been in support of the House of Lancaster as he stopped Jack Cade's Rebellion and he would take the position of High Sherrif of Kent under the crown in 1456.{{cite web |title=General history: Sheriffs of Kent |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol1/pp177-213 |website=British History Online |publisher=University of London |access-date=21 January 2025}} He would pass away in the following year on 19 November. His wife Elizabeth would soon follow in 1459 in Herstmonceux, East Sussex.
Popular media
It is a common misconception that Alexander killed Cade immediately upon finding him. This version of events could have been made popular by William Shakespeare's 1591 historical play, Henry VI, Part 2.{{cite web |author1=William Shakespeare |title=The Second part of King Henry the Sixth |url=https://shakespeare.mit.edu/2henryvi/full.html |website=William MIT Education |access-date=24 January 2025 |page=Act IV Scene X |date=1591}}
This false history was used in the 1963 theatrical adaptation The Wars of the Roses and the subsequent mini-series that aired on BBC in 1965-66. In the BBC production, Alexander is played by Malcolm Webster and Cade by Roy Dotrice.{{cite web |author1=Peter Hall & John Barton |title=Edward IV - David Warner - Peggy Ashcroft - Ian Holm - The War of The Roses II - 1965 - 4K |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTxLhRgFc8M |website=YouTube |publisher=Shakespeare Network |access-date=25 January 2025 |date=15 April 1965}}