Sir

Sir

Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...

 William Butts (c. 1486 – 22 November 1545) was a member of King Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

's court and served as the King's physician.

He had his portrait painted by Hans Holbein the Younger

Hans Holbein the Younger

Hans Holbein the Younger was a German artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He also produced religious art, satire and Reformation propaganda, and made a significant contribution to the history...

 in 1543, and was knight

Knight

A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

ed the following year. His daughter Anne was married to the son of Sir Nicholas Bacon.

Career

The details of Butts's early life are unclear; he may have been born in either the London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 borough of Fulham

Fulham

Fulham is an area of southwest London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, SW6 located south west of Charing Cross. It lies on the left bank of the Thames, between Putney and Chelsea. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...

 or in Norfolk

Norfolk

Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...

.

Butts died in 1545, and is buried at All Saints Church, Fulham

All Saints Church, Fulham

All Saints Church, Fulham is an Anglican Church in Fulham, London sited close to the river Thames, beside the northern approach to Putney Bridge.-History:...

, London.

He worked with George Owen and Thomas Wendy

Thomas Wendy

Doctor Thomas Wendy was the royal physician to Henry VIII of England and was a member of his Privy Chamber; he also served Edward VI. He was one of the men selected to witness the King's last will and testament. He served alongside George Owen and Edmund Harman.-References:*Dictionary of National...

.

Religion

Butts was a known Protestant and close associate of Thomas Cranmer

Thomas Cranmer

Thomas Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build a favourable case for Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon which resulted in the separation of the English Church from...

, Archbishop of Canterbury and Catherine Parr

Catherine Parr

Catherine Parr ; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen consort of England and Ireland and the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII of England. She married Henry VIII on 12 July 1543. She was the fourth commoner Henry had taken as his consort, and outlived him...

, the sixth wife

Wives of Henry VIII

The wives of Henry VIII were the six queens consort married to Henry VIII of England between 1509 and 1547. The six women to hold the title 'queens consort' of King Henry VIII were, in order:* Catherine of Aragon ,* Anne Boleyn ,...

of Henry VIII. His family later became significant leaders of the Puritan faction in Norfolk.

Family

Butts had three children,

• Sir William Butts of Thornage, (c1506 - 1583) (m. Joan Bures). Butts was a patron of literature. After his death a collection of poems, A Book of Epitaphes (1583) was published in his memory. He is also the subject of a notable portrait by Holbein.
• Thomas Butts of Great Riburgh (m. Bridget Bures)
• Edmund Butts of Barrow (m. Anne Bures)