George Cromer
{{for|the U.S. Representative from Indiana|George W. Cromer}}
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{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Archbishop
| honorific_prefix = The Most Reverend
| name = George Cromer
| honorific_suffix =
| title = Archbishop of Armagh
Primate of All Ireland
| image = Cromer Family Coat of Arms.jpg
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| caption = Arms of Cromer: Argent, a chevron engrailed, between three crows, sable{{Cite web |title=Parishes: Tunstall {{!}} British History Online |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol6/pp80-98 |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=www.british-history.ac.uk |quote=Sir William Cromer, or Crowmer, for his name was frequently spelt both ways, citizen and draper of London, and lord mayor in the years 1413 and 1423, who bore for his arms, Argent, a chevron engrailed, between three crows, sable.}}
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| church = Roman Catholic
| archdiocese = Armagh
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| elected =
| appointed = 2 October 1521
| term = 1521–1543
| quashed =
| predecessor = John Kite
| successor = George Dowdall
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| consecration = April 1522
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| birth_name = c.1470
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| death_date = 16 March 1542
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| nationality = English
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| parents = Sir James Cromer
Katherine Cantelowe
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George Cromer (died 16 March 1542) was Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland in the reign of Henry VIII of England, from 1521/2.[http://www.ulsterancestry.com/ShowFreePage.php?id=184 The Succession of the Bishops of Armagh [ Succession list ] : Free Genealogy Pages from Ulster Ancestry]
Biography
Cromer was English by birth, a descendant of the Cromer (also spelt Crowemer) family of Tunstall, Kent and Cromer, Norfolk. He was the younger son of Sir James Cromer of Tunstall (died 1503) and Katherine Cantelowe, daughter of Sir William Cantelowe, a wealthy merchant of Milk Street, London.Ball p.198 He was probably born around 1470.
He was referred to as a Doctor of Divinity, and appears to have been a royal chaplain attached to the English Court by 1518. He was consecrated Archbishop in 1522.
Caught up in Henry's Reformation of the Church of England, he was deprived of his See of Armagh.[http://www.ricorso.net/rx/az-data/index.htm George Cromer] He continued in place as Archbishop of Armagh, despite suspicions from Henry about his true beliefs and his loyalty to the Crown, and despite being suspended by the Pope on a charge of heresy, and in spite of his failing health.Concise Dictionary of National Biography{{cite web | url=http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/relg/historygeography/HistoryoftheCatholicChurchfromtheRenaissancetotheFrenchRevolutionVolume2/chap16.html | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050826053708/http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/relg/historygeography/HistoryoftheCatholicChurchfromtheRenaissancetotheFrenchRevolutionVolume2/chap16.html | archivedate=2005-08-26 | accessdate=31 October 2020 | title=History of the Catholic Church from the Renaissance to the French Revolution, Volume 2 | first=James | last=MacCaffrey }} dating this at 1539.
He was Lord Chancellor of Ireland 1532–4, as a placeman of Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare, whose family dominated Irish politics from the 1470s until the late 1530s, and wielded
such power that they were known as "the uncrowned Kings of Ireland".[http://www.libraryireland.com/JoyceHistory/Garrett9.php Garrett, Ninth Earl of Kildare (1513–1534)]{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070926231346/http://www.chaptersofdublin.com/books/chancellors/Chancellors12.htm]}}, {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20070703051126/http://www.chaptersofdublin.com/books/chancellors/Chancellors13.htm]}}. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926231346/http://www.chaptersofdublin.com/books/chancellors/Chancellors12.htm |date=26 September 2007 }} When the FitzGeralds destroyed themselves in the Rebellion of Silken Thomas, Cromer's own loyalty was naturally suspected, even though he had tried to prevent the Rebellion—in 1536 he had opposed the Acts of Supremacy which made Henry VIII Supreme Head of the Church of England. He was suspended from office as Chancellor and narrowly escaped prosecution for treason. In his last years, he was restored to limited royal favour, and was allowed to attend Parliament in 1541, but died the following year.
References
- Chapter in A.J. Hughes, William Nolan (eds.) (2001), Armagh: Interdisciplinary essays on the History of an Irish County
- Ball, F. Elrington The Judges in Ireland 1221–1921 London John Murray 1926
Notes
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External links
- [https://archive.today/20070302063601/http://www.ulsterbiography.co.uk/biogsC.htm Dictionary of Ulster Biography, page C]
{{Anglican archbishops of Armagh}}
{{Medieval Archbishops of Armagh}}
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Category:Roman Catholic archbishops of Armagh
Category:Lord chancellors of Ireland
Category:16th-century English bishops
Category:16th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Ireland
Category:Year of birth unknown
Category:Place of birth unknown
Category:Place of death unknown
Category:Anglican archbishops of Armagh