Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley

Monumental brass of Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley and his wife Margaret de Lisle, Wotton-under-Edge Church, Gloucestershire[1]
Arms of Berkeley: Gules, a chevron between ten crosses pattée six in chief and four in base argent
Drawing of detail of mermaid livery collar of Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley (d.1417), from his monumental brass at Wotton-under-Edge. It is believed to refer to his career as an admiral.[2]
Seals of Thomas Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley (d.1417), two with mermaid supporters, used at successive times of his life

Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley (5 January 1352/53 – 13 July 1417), The Magnificent, of Berkeley Castle and of Wotton-under-Edge in Gloucestershire, was an English peer and an admiral. His epithet, and that of each previous and subsequent head of his family, was coined by John Smyth of Nibley (d.1641), steward of the Berkeley estates, the biographer of the family and author of "Lives of the Berkeleys".

  1. ^ Davis, C.T. The Monumental Brasses of Gloucestershire, London, 1899. Davis correctly states the date of death as 1417, yet incorrectly calls him 4th Lord in place of 5th; Also drawn in Hollis, George, The Monumental Effigies of Great Britain, 1841, Part 4, Plate 10
  2. ^ Boutell, Charles, Heraldry Historical & Popular, London, 1863, p.235 states that the mermaid was the heraldic badge of the Berkeleys. It appears to have been used only by the 5th Baron