Ingilbies and Kings

Buried at All Saints Church at Ripley, North Yorkshire, are two Ingilby knights who lived at the nearby castle. Sir Thomas Ingilby, who died in 1369, once famously saved King Edward III from a wild boar, presumably while out hunting. His descendant, Sir William Ingilby, also has his tomb there, a sign noting his entertaining King James I in 1603 on his journey down from Edinburgh to London.

These men were wealthy and powerful landowners in their day, but wished to be remembered for their associations with royalty. Doubtless, they had a keen eye for grand titles, extra wealth and personal prestige. Yet the Christian, though he or she may be well respected and influential in their own spheres, derives greatness from the King whom they serve. You might own a vast estate, live in a castle and have all manner of flunkeys and lackeys hanging on your every word, but without the King’s blessing, company and approval, you are nothing- nothing at all.