Richard Rede (died after 1416) was a leading Irish statesman and judge of the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries.
The question of her inheritance, which was considerable, led to bitter disputes between neighbouring landowners, each of whom hoped to gain control of her estate by marrying her to his own heir.
Elizabeth was kidnapped by members of the Darcy and Cusack families, who no doubt hoped to gain control of her lands.
[2] Richard spent much of his career moving between Ireland and England, and seems to have been uncertain which country he wished to permanently settle in.
[2] He was held hostage until he paid a ransom of £1000 (a vast sum at the time) to Christopher,[5] and he was also robbed of £200 and numerous official records.
It has been suggested that the Flemings, like the Darcys and Cusacks, had previously had hopes of gaining the Netterville lands which Rede had acquired through his marriage to Elizabeth Netterville: while the latter families' abduction of Elizabeth in 1394 seems to have been fruitless, the Flemings' abduction of her husband brought them a substantial profit.
[2] The English Privy Council endorsed the petition, and for a time it seemed that the Flemings would suffer heavily for their treatment of Rede: in June 1401 a powerful commission was appointed to arrest and imprison Lord Slane and his wife Elizabeth Preston.