The FitzGeralds claim kinship with the Tudors who descended from the same Welsh royal line as Princess Nest's father, Rhys ap Tewdwr, King of Deheubarth. Consequently, the FitzMaurices and FitzGeralds are cousins to the Tudors (Tewdwrs in Welsh) through Princess Nest and her Welsh family.
In Irish history, an example of the FitzGerald dynasty becoming "more Irish than the Irish themselves" is Gerald FitzGerald, 3rd Earl of Desmond (1335–1398), who was also known by the Irish Gaelic Gearóid Iarla (Earl Gerald).[19][20]
Although made Lord Chief Justice of Ireland in 1367,[20] Gerald wrote poetry in the Irish language, most famously the poem Mairg adeir olc ris na mnáibh[19] ("Speak not ill of womenkind"). Indeed, although an accomplished poet in Norman French,[20] Gerald was instrumental in the move by the Fitzmaurices and Fitzgeralds of Desmond toward greater use of the Irish language.[19]
Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Lanstephan, progenitor of the Irish Geraldines, from a manuscript of the Expugnatio Hibernica, an account of the 1169 invasion of Ireland written by Maurice's nephew, Gerald of Wales, in 1189.
The surname FitzGerald is a patronymic of the Norman form, fitz meaning "son". "Fitz Gerald" thus means in Old Norman and in Old French "son of Gerald". Gerald itself is a Germanic compoundofger, "spear", and waltan, "rule". Variant spellings include Fitz-Gerald and the modern Fitzgerald. The name can also appear as two separate words Fitz Gerald.
The earliest recorded use of the patronymic FitzGerald is that of Raoul fitz Gerald le Chambellan, member of the Tancarville family. Raoul was a Norman baron, Chamberlain of Normandy, educator of the young William, future Conqueror of England, and father of William de Tancarville, Earl of Tankerville and chief chamberlain of Normandy and England after the Norman conquest. The eponymous ancestor of the various FitzGerald branches, as well as of the de Barry and FitzMaurice families, was Gerald FitzWalter of Windsor. Gerald was a Norman adventurer who took part in the 1093 invasion of South Wales upon the death in battle of Rhys ap Tewdwr, last king of South Wales.[citation needed]
Gerald was the youngest son of another Norman adventurer, Walter fitz Otho, William the Conqueror's Constable for the strategic military fortress of Windsor Castle, as well as the King's Keeper of the Forests of Berkshire. Domesday Book records Walter fitz Otho as tenant-in-chief of lands formerly held by conquered Englishmen in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, and Middlesex. Walter's positions and most of his lands were inherited by Gerald's older brothers, Robert, Maurice, and William, the oldest, ancestor of the earls of Plymouth, while Gerald inherited the estate of Moulsford, now in Oxfordshire, near to Wallingford, where his father owned a fortified house adjacent to those of other powerful Norman authorities.
The earliest record of the House of Gherardini of Ireland, represented by the FitzGeralds, can be traced back in the year 1413 to the accounts of Lord Antonio d'Ottaviano di Rossellino Gherardini.[28] A priest named Maurice Fitzgerald was of passage in Florence at that time, with a Bishop of the Order of Saint Augustine, and has been able to enter in contact with one of his fellow kinsman, who then introduced him to other members of the Gherardinis.[29] As being part of the Gherardini family that dwelt in the island of Ireland, further exchanges were eventually done by the family to meet again. A letter written in 1440 by the Chancellor of Florence, Leonardo Bruni, one of the associates of Cosimo de' Medici, stipulated that Giovanni Betti di Gherardini, a representative of the family, was sent to Ireland to become acquainted with his other kinsmen from the Geraldines of Ireland, the Earls of Kildare.[30]
Confirmed as well in 1507 by the Viceroy of Ireland, Gerald Fitzgerald, to Giovanni Manni, a Florentine merchant in passage to Ireland.[31][32][17] Gerald Fitzgerald's letters were signed as "Gerald, Chief in Ireland of the family of the Gherardini".[33] His son, the 9th Earl of Kildare, was also known as Lord Garrett, which translates as Signore Gherardini in Italian, and was married to Elizabeth Grey of the Royal House of Grey, a granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth Woodville.[34] A letter written in 1566 by Girolamo Fortini, who was married to a daughter of Antonio Gherardini from Florence, to his brother in London, also stated that the Earl of Kildare was of the same family.[35]
Since the 15th century, the FitzGeralds and the Gherardinis are known to be in touch and to acknowledge their kinship.[41][30][42][17] Recently, a cover story published by "Sette"; in 2014, the Italian weekly magazine of Corriere della Sera, an article was dedicated to the Gherardini family of Montagliari and their relationship with the FitzGerald Family as well as with the Kennedy family. According to the magazine, the three families have maintained relationship among them even in recent times or in the past (for example with American President John Fitzgerald Kennedy).[43][42] The link with the Kennedy family came from the Earl of Desmond branch, and can be seen on the coat of arms granted to John FitzGerald Kennedy by the Chief Herald of Ireland.
Arms of the Fitzgeralds of Kildare, Viscounts of Leinster, by Charles Catton (1790)Fitzgerald family seal engraved on a signet ring from 1616Adare Manor, granted during the 13th century to the Earls of Kildare, was lost by Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare
Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare (died 1537), "Silken Thomas", eldest son of the 9th earl, led an insurrection in Ireland and his honours were forfeit, and he died unmarried
Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare (1525–1585), the "Wizard Earl", second son of the 9th earl, was given a new creation in 1554, then restored to his brother's honours in 1569
Other titles: Marquesse of Kildare (1761), Earl of Kildare (1316), Earl of Offaly (1761), Viscount Leinster, of Taplow in the County of Buckingham (GB 1747) and Lord of Offaly (c. 1193–?)
The heir presumptive is the 9th Duke's nephew Edward FitzGerald (born 1988), being the son of the present Duke's deceased younger brother Lord John FitzGerald (1952–2015)
The line of the Earls of Desmond has been extinct since the 17th century. Their branch of the dynasty continues only in their distant collateral kinsmen, Ireland's hereditary knights (for whom see section below).
The closely related FitzMaurice Barons and later Earls of Kerry continue in the male line with the current Petty-FitzMaurice Marquesses of Lansdowne, but they descend from John FitzGerald, 1st Baron Desmond's nephew, Thomas FitzMaurice, 1st Baron of Kerry, son of his brother Maurice FitzThomas. Thus in fact they represent a "sister" branch to the FitzGeralds of Desmond. However this technically makes them slightly closer to the FitzGeralds of Desmond than either are to the Offaly-Kildare-Leinster Geraldines, represented by the modern Dukes of Leinster, who descend from Gerald FitzMaurice, 1st Lord of Offaly, uncle of the 1st Baron Desmond.
According to the 1890 Matheson report, Fitzgerald/FitzGerald was the 36th most common surname in Ireland.[53]
Fitzgerald/FitzGerald is the 692nd most frequent surname in the United Kingdom.[54] The surname occurs most frequently in the following ten counties, in descending order, with the number of occurrences in parentheses: "1. Greater London, (500), Greater Manchester (191), West Midlands (176), Lancashire (130), Kent (118), Essex (117), West Yorkshire (113), Merseyside (108), Hampshire (84), and Surrey (76)."[54]
"Fitzgerald" (including "FitzGerald," as the survey was not case-sensitive),[55] was the 390th most common surname in the 2000 United States census.[55] 73,522 Fitzgeralds were counted, with 27.25 Fitzgeralds per 100,000 members of the population.[55] Respondents surnamed Fitzgerald had self-reported ethnicities of 88.03% non-Hispanic white only, 8.44% non-Hispanic black only, 0.32% non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander only, 1.28% non-Hispanic Asian only, 1.43% of two or more non-Hispanic races, and 1.43% Hispanic.[55]
^Fitzgerald, Walter 'The history of Morett Castle and the Fitzgeralds', Journal of the Kildare Archaeological Society IV 1903-5 285-96 National Library of Ireland
^Maund, Keri (2007). Princess Nest of Wales. Stroud, GL5 2QG: Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN9780752437712.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^Graves, James, and Samuel Heyman, editors. "Unpublished Geraldine Documents, The Whyte Knight." The Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland, vol. IV, pg 37. Dublin University Press, Ireland. 1885, p. 3-27-37
^Moore, T. "The Romantic Wanderings of Gerald, 11th Earl of Kildare." The Irish Monthly, vol. 46, no. 542, 1918, pp. 433–48. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20505105. Accessed 13 Aug. 2023. p. 446
^ abRitcheson, Charles R. (August 1983). "The Earl of Shelbourne and Peace with America, 1782–1783: Vision and Reality",The International History Review
^According to a study carried out by Enrico Faini of the University of Florence, there were about ten old aristocratic families who moved to Florence from 1000 and 1100: Amidei; Ardinghi; Brunelleschi; Buondelmonti; Caponsacchi; Donati; Fifanti; Gherardini of Montagliari; Guidi; Nerli; Porcelli; Scolari; Uberti; Visdomini. See: Jean-Claude Maire Vigueur and Andrea Zorzi ("Il gruppo dirigente fiorentino nell'età consolare" n "Archivio Storico", CLXII (2004), p. 210.
^"The earls of Kildare and their ancestors" by the Marquise of Kildare. Hodges, Smith & Co., Dublin 1858; "La leggenda dei tre Valdesani conquistatori dell'Irlanda", V. Uzielli, Firenze 1906. To see also: "I Gherardini ed il Castello di Montagliari" C. Corazzini, Firenze, 1898 and for a summary of the documentation available in the archives, see "Unpublished Gherardini documents" by Samuel Hayman
^Sette, Corriere della Sera, 28 March 2014, n.13. Cover: "Kennedy, l'Italiano". Title of the article at page 28: "Dall'America a Firenze passando per l'Irlanda. Così andando a ritroso fino ai "figli di Gerald" abbiamo ritrovato Kennedy "l'italiano".
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