of Leinster. To this suit of the aspiring soldier the earl's answer was cold and reserved, but at the same time sufficiently explicit, to show that with neither of the two requests did he mean to comply;-a repulse which so deeply offended the ambitious Raymond, that he instantly threw up his commission and retired into Wales, taking with him Meyler and others of his followers who had particularly distinguished themselves in these Irish wars.

The command of the forces was now again committed by Strongbow to his kinsman, Hervey of Mount-Maurice, who, being desirous of regaining the favour of the A. D. army, advised an attack, with a strong force, on the territories of Donald O'Brian, 1174. who had latety manifested a spirit of revolt. As if to confirm, however, Hervey's fame for ill-luck, this expedition, though commanded jointly by him and Strongbow, was unfortunate in almost all its results. A re-enforcement from the garrison of Dublin, which the earl had ordered to join him at Cashel, having rested for a night at Ossory on their march, were surprised, sleeping in their quarters, by a strong party, under Donald O'Brian, and the greater number of them put, almost unresistingly, to the sword. Finding his projects completely foiled by this disaster, Strongbow hastened to shut himself up in Waterford, while, in all parts of the country, the Irish, as if at a signal given, rose up in arms; and, even of the chieftains who had pledged their allegiance to Henry, many, following the example of the descendant of their great Brian, set up the standard of revolt.

Among others who at this crisis cast off their fealty, is said to have been Donald Kavenagh, the son of the late king Dermot, and hitherto faithful to the race which had patronised his ever to be remembered father. Even the monarch Roderic himself, conceiving the moment to be favourable for an effort to recover Meath, made an irruption, suddenly, with a large confederate force, into that province, from which Hugh de Lacy was then absent, and, destroying all the forts built by that lord, laid waste the whole country to the very confines of Dublin. Hugh Tirrel, who had been left to act for De Lacy, finding himself unable to defend the castle of Trim, demolished the fortifications and burned it down, as he did also the castle of Duleek, and escaped with his soldiers to Dublin.

Alarmed by the spread of this rebellious spirit among the natives, and fearing the probable revival of mutiny in his own army, Strongbow was left no other resource, however mortifying the necessity, than to ask of Raymond to return and resume his command, assuring him at the same time that the hand of Basilia should immediately be granted to him on his arrival. Such a triumph, at once fo love and pride, was far too tempting to admit of parley or hesitation. With a force hastily collected, consisting of about 30 knights, all of his own kindred, 100 men-at-arms, and 300 archers, Raymond, taking with him also his brave kinsman, Meyler, embarked in a fleet of fifteen transports, and arrived safe in the port of Waterford. So critically was this relief timed, that, at the very moment when the ships appeared in sight, sailing before the wind, with the ensigns of England displayed, the citizens of Waterford, provoked by the tyranny and exactions of the garrison, were about to rise and put all the English in the city to death. Landing his troops without any opposition, Raymond conducted the earl, with the whole of his force to Wexford, where, a short time after, his nuptials with the noble lady Basilia were, in the midst of pomp and rejoicings, celebrated. How imminent had been the danger from which Raymond's arrival had rescued Strongbow and his small army, was made manifest soon after their departure, when the rage of the citizens, repressed but for the moment, again violently broke forth, and a general massacre of all the English took place, with the exception only of the garrison left in Reginald's tower, which, though few in number, succeeded ultimately in regaining possession of the town.

Scarcely had the nuptials of Raymond and Basilia been celebrated, when, intelligence arriving of the advance of Roderic towards Dublin, the bridegroom was forced to buckle on hastily his armour, and take the field against that prince. But added to the total want, in Roderic himself, of the qualities fitted for so trying a juncture, the very nature of the force under his command completely disqualified it for regular or protracted warfare; an 1rish army being, in those times, little better than a rude, tumultuous assemblage, brought

Lambeth MS.-The office, it appears, could only be enjoyed by him during the minority of an infant daughter, left by De Quincy; or rather, till this daughter should be married to some one, by whom the duty of it could be performed.

Leland, who quotes as his authority, Annal. Ult. MS.

The substance of the letter addressed by him to Raymond on the occasion, is thus given by Giraldus:"Inspectis literis istis nobis in manu forti subvenire non differas: et desiderum tuum in Basilia sorore mea tibi legitime copulanda, &c.

§ Hibern. Expugnat. 1. 2. c. 4.

together by the impulse of passion, or the prospect of plunder, and, as soon as sated or thwarted in its immediate object, dispersing again as loosely and lawlessly as it had assembled. In this manner did the army of the monarch now retire, having overrun that whole province as far as the borders of Dublin; and there remained for Raymond, but the task of restoring the disturbed settlers to their habitations, while to Tyrrel fell the charge of repairing and rebuilding* the numerous forts which had been damaged and demolished by the Irish.

With the hand of Basilia de Clare, Raymond received from the earl, as her dowry, the lands of Idrone, Fethard, and Glascarrig, and was likewise appointed by him to the high office of constable and standard-bearer of Leinster. It is said to have been also on this occasion that he was made possessor of that great district in Kilkenny, called, after him, Grace's Country;-the Cognomen of Gros, which he transmitted to his descendants, being changed, in later times, to Gras, and at last, Grace.

Conscious that his fame and influence with the soldiery could only be maintained by ministering constantly to their rapacity, Raymond now turned his eyes to Limerick as affording temptations in the way both of rapine and revenge. The achievement of Brian, the prince of that district, the preceding year, in cutting off Strongbow's expected re-enforcement at Ossory, had marked him out as a special object of vengeance; and it was therefore resolved that his dominions should be attacked, and Limerick itself, if possible, taken by storm. This was found, however, to be no easy enterprise, as that town, being built on an island, was then encompassed round by the river Shannon. On approaching the bank, the troops hesitated, alarmed by the rapidity of the current; when Raymond's cousin, the valiant Meyler, crying out, "Onward, in the name of St. David!" spurred his horse into a part of the current that was fordable; and, followed at first by but four other knights, he succeeded in gaining the opposite bank, amidst a shower of stones and arrows from the walls, which hung over the margin of the river. Taking courage from this bold example, the remainder of the troops then forded the stream with the loss of but one knight and two horsemen of inferior rank; while the citizens, struck with alarm at such daring, deserted not only the bank, but the walls and rampart itself, and fled into the city. The usual excesses of slaughter and plunder ensued; and Raymond, leaving behind him a sufficient force to garrison the place, returned, with the remainder of his army into Leinster.

A. D.

It was about this time that the Bull of Pope Adrian granting the kingdom of Ireland to Henry II., and obtained by this sovereign from the holy see as far back 1175. as the year 1151, was for the first time publicly announced to his Irish subjects.† He had, in the interval, obtained also a brief from Alexander III. confirming the grant made by the former pope, and under the same condition of the payment of the Peter-pence. His chief motive for so long delaying the promulgation of Adrian's bull is supposed to have been the fear lest certain aspersions contained in that instrument, as well on the morals as the religious doctrines of the people of Ireland, might cause irritation, among both the clergy and laity, and prevent that quiet submission to his claims which he then expected. The present rebellious temper of the Irish completely falsified this hope; and the influence of the clergy being now the only medium through which he could act on the minds and affections of the people, and endeavour to incline them to his government, the papal authority was thus late resorted to by him as a means of enlisting the great body of the clergy in his service.

The persons appointed to carry these documents to Ireland were, William Fitz-Aldelm, and Nicholas, the prior of Wallingford; and a synod of bishops being assembled, on their arrival, the papal grants were there publicly read. After performing their appointed commission, the prior and Fitz-Aldelm repaired to the king, who was then in Normandy, for the purpose of reporting to him the state of his kingdom of Ireland, and explaining the causes from whence its increased disorders had sprung. As from Hervey these royal commissioners had chiefly derived their knowledge and views of the subject, their representations would probably be tinctured with the feeling of jealousy which that officer entertained towards his popular rival. They were, however, not perhaps very remote from the truth, when they accused Raymond of having converted the English army into a inere band of freebooters, whose continued depredations had driven into revolt not only the natives themselves, but even the more friendly disposed population of the Dano-Irish

* At Castle Knock, in the neighbourhood of Dublin, there are still the remains of a castle, said to have been built by Hugh Tyrrel.

t Hibern. Expugnat. 1. i. c. 6. Ware's Annals, ad ann. 1775. Lanigan, chap. 29. § 7.-By Leland, the promulgation of this Bull, and all the transactions connected with it, are placed without any grounds or au thority that I can discover, so late as 1777.

towns. To this, on Hervey's authority, they added the serious and startling charge, that Raymond intended, with the aid of the army, to usurp the dominion of the whole island, and had even bound his soldiers to assist him by secret and treasonable oaths. Giving full credit, as it appears, to this intelligence, Henry resolved to recall so dangerous a subject; and with that view, sent over two lords of his court, in the spring of the year, to Ireland, ordering them to bring him with them into Normandy; while at the same time two other noblemen, who accompanied them, were charged to remain with the earl, and assist him with their counsels.

On receiving the orders of his sovereign, Raymond lost not a moment in preparing to obey them; and there was now wanting only a fair wind for his departure, when intelligence arrived that O'Brian of Thomond, the ever active enemy of the English power, had surrounded Limerick with a large force, and that, all the provisions laid in for the garrison having been exhausted, they were reduced to the last extremity. Strongbow, conscious of the critical position in which this event placed him, ordered his forces to be immediately mustered, and prepared to march, at their head, for the succour of the town. But a new triumph awaited the popular general. The troops refused to march under any other leader; and the earl, after consulting with the king's commissioners and receiving their sanction, in consideration of the emergency of the occasion, requested of Raymond to take the command of the expedition. To this the general, with well-feigned reluctance, consented; the troops saw in his power the triumph of their own; and he was now again at the head of an army in whose minds good fortune was identified with his name. The force he at present had under his command consisted of four-score heavy armed cavalry, 200 horse, and 300 archers; and the already too common spectacle of Irishmen fighting in the ranks of foreigners against their own countrymen was exhibited on this occasion;-the detachment being joined, on its march, by some bands of Irish infantry, under the chiefs of Ossory and Kinsale, whom family feuds had rendered inveterate against O'Brian.

Before the arrival of this force at Cashel, they learned that the Irish, on hearing of their approach, had raised the siege of Limerick, and, taking up their position in a defile, near Cashel, through which the English army must pass, had there strongly entrenched themselves. Raymond, on learning this intelligence, pushed forward; and when, upon arriving in sight of the enemy's position, he proceeded coofly and deliberately to prepare for the attack, the prince of Ossory, who, having been accustomed to the impetuous onsets of his own countrymen, mistook this quiet for irresolution or fear, addressed an encouraging speech to the English troops, exhorting them to behave, on that day, in a manner worthy of their former exploits, and adding this extraordinary menace-“If you conquer, our axes shall co-operate with your swords, in sharply pursuing and slaying the fugitive enemy. But should you be vanquished, then shall these same weapons of ours, which never strike but on the conquering side, be as certainly, turned against you." The assault, however, proved as successful as the preparation for it had been cool and determined;* Meyler Fitz-Henry, who led the vanguard into the pass, having broken, at a single charge, through all the defences opposed to him.

The results of this victory, which was attended with great slaughter of the Irish, proved also in other respects important; as not only had Limerick been relieved by it, but the brave O'Brian, at length exhausted by his long and fruitless struggle, was now induced to ask for peace; and, with that view, proposed a conference with the English general. At the same time, Roderic also, repentant, as it would seem, of his late inroads into Meath, solicited an interview, with the like object; and the precautions used in arranging the parley, showed how little the parties engaged in it were disposed to place confidence in each other ;-the monarch, Roderic, who had come for the purpose with an escort of boats down the Shannon, having taken up his station on the western shore of Lough Dearg, while the prince of Thomond and his train fixed themselves in a wood on the opposite side of the lake; and the place chosen by the English general was near Killaloe, at an equal distance from both. The result of the parley, so cautiously conducted, was, that the two princes renewed their fealty to Henry, and gave hostages for a more faithful observance of their respective engagements in future.

Scarcely had Raymond thus signalized his military administration, by receiving on one day the submission of the king of Connaught and the prince of Thomond, when he found himself called upon to assist M'Arthur, prince of Desmond, whose son had rebelled against him, and nearly succeeded in effecting his expulsion from his dominions.

"I presume," says Lord Lyttelton, "That in this and other assaults of entrenchments, or any fortified places, the English horsemen dismounted, and fought on foot, sword in hand; cavalry not being proper for such operations."

This request being accompanied by offers, as tempting to the general himself as to his followers, of rich gifts, abundant plunder, and liberal pay, the required aid was promptly given, and the prince of Desmond, released from the prison into which his own son had cast him, took ample revenge, by depriving the son of his head. In return for the important service thus conferred upon him, M'Arthy bestowed upon his gallant deliverer a large territorial possession in that part of Desmond called Kerry.* After so full a flow of success, no farther thoughts were, of course, entertained of removing Raymond from the country, or depriving him of a post which there appeared no other so eminently qualified to fill.

A. D.

1175.

An important event occurred at this period, the conclusion of a treaty between Henry and the Irish monarch, which owes its importance, however, far less to any practical consequences that have ever resulted from it, than to its bearing on the question once so warmly and uselessly agitated, as to the nature and extent of the right of dominion which the King of England at that time acquired over Ireland. Even had Roderic been a prince capable of grappling with adverse fortune, the nature of the armies he had to depend upon, and the constant defection of his subordinate princes, must have left him hopeless of ultimate success in a prolonged struggle against the English, however a desperate spirit of patriotism might have urged him still to persevere. But the Irish monarch was of no such heroic mould. To preserve his province from farther ravage, and secure, by timely submission, favourable terms from the English king, were now the great and sole objects of his policy. Accordingly, in the course of this year, he sent over to England an embassy, empowered to negotiate, in his name, with Henry, consisting of Catholicus, archbishop of Tuam, Concors, abbot of St. Brendan's and "Master" Laurence (as the excellent archbishop is styled,) chancellor of the Irish king. These plenipotentiaries having, about Michaelmas, waited on Henry at Windsor, a grand council was there held by extraordinary summons, and a solemn convention ratified, of which the terms were as follows:-t

Henry granted to his liegeman, Roderic, that, as long as he continued faithfully to serve him, he should be a king under him, ready to do him service, as his vassal, and that he should hold his hereditary territories as firmly and peaceably as he had held them before the coming of Henry into Ireland. He was likewise to have under his dominion and jurisdiction all the rest of the island, and the inhabitants thereof, kings and princes included, and was bound to oblige them to pay tribute, through his hands, to the king of England, preserving to that monarch his other rights. These kings, princes, &c., were likewise to hold peaceable possession of their principalitiest as long as they remained faithful to the king of England, and paid him their tribute, and all other rights, through the king of Connaught's hands,-saving in all things the honour and prerogative of both these kings. And, in case that any of them should rebel against the king of England, or against Roderic, and refuse to pay their tribute or other duties, in the manner before prescribed, or should depart from their fealty to the king of England, the king of Connaught was then authorized to judge them, and, if requisite, remove them from their governments or possessions; and, should his own power not be sufficient for that purpose, he was to be assisted by the English king's constable and his household. The annual tribute demanded of Roderic, and the Irish at large, was a merchantable hide for every tenth head of cattle killed in Ireland.

It will be seen by these articles, that the amount of power and jurisdiction still left in the hands of Roderic was considerable; but with respect to the territories within which he could exercise these powers, strict limits were laid down; nor in any of those districts immediately under the dominion of the King of England and his barons, was Roderic allowed to interfere, or to claim any authority whatsoever. In this exempted territory, which formed what was afterwards called the Pale, were comprised Dublin and all its appurtenances, the whole of Meath and Leinster, besides Waterford, and the country from thence to Dungarvon included.

And if any of the Irish (continued the treaty,) who had fled from the territories of the

This property Raymond settled upon his younger son Maurice, who became in right of it, Lord of Lixnaw; and was the ancestor and founder of the Fitz Maurice family, of which the marquis of Lansdowne, as earl of Kerry, is now the representative.

The exceptions will be found specified afterwards.

At the time of the invasion of Ireland by the English, that country was subdivided into several indepen. dent provinces, of which the following seven were the principal:-Desmond, under the Mac Carthys; Thomond, subject to the O'Brians; Hy-Kinselagh, or Leinster, under the Hy-Kinselagh line of Mahons; the south Hy-Niall, or Meath, under the Clan Colmans, otherwise the O'Malachlins; the north Hy-Niall, under the O'Neills and O'Donalls; and Hy-Brune, together with Hy-Fiacra, otherwise Connaught, under the O'Con nors."-Dissertat., Sect. 13.

§ Both Leland and Lyttleton mention "soldiers" here; but without any authority from the original.

king's barons should desire to return thither, they might do so in peace, paying the tribute above mentioned, as others did, or performing the services they were anciently accustomed to perform for their lands, according as their lords should think best; and if any of the Irish who were subjects of the king of Connaught should refuse to return to him, he might compel them to do so, in order that they might quietly remain in his land.* The said king of Connaught was, moreover, empowered to take hostages from all those whom the king of England had committed to him, at his own and the king of England's choice, and was to give the said hostages to the king of England, or others, at the king's choice; and all those from whom these securities were demanded were to perform certain annual services to the king of England, by presents of Irish dogs and hawks,† and were not to detain any person whatsoever, belonging to any land or territory of that prince, against his will and commandment.

Such were the articles of this singular treaty, agreed upon and ratified in a council of prelates and barons, the names of eight of whom are affixed to the document: and among these subscribing witnesses is found the pious and patriotic Laurence O'Toole, then archbisohop of Dublin; By this compact, it was solemnly determined that the kings of England should, in all future time, be lords paramount of Ireland; that the fee of the soil should be in them, and that all future monarchs of Ireland should hold their dominion but as tenants in capite, or vassals of the English crown.

CHAPTER XXX.

False notions respecting the conquest of Ireland-First appointment of an Irish bishop, by Henry.-Death of Strongbow.-Raymond summoned to Dublin.-Entrusts the custody of Limerick to O'Brian.-Dishonourable act of O'Brian.-Fitz-Aldelm appointed chief governor.-Jealously entertained of the Geraldines.-Death of Maurice Fitz-Gerald.-Illiberal conduct of Fitz-Aldelm towards his sons.-Success of the Irish in Meath.-Character of FitzAldelm's administration.-Expedition of De Courcy into Ulster.-Council convoked by the Pope's legate.-Dissensions in the family of Roderic.-Unsuccessful expedition of the English into Connaught.-Henry constitutes his son John, Lord of Ireland.-Grants of land to Fitz-Stephen and others.-Fitz-Aldelm recalled from the government.-Cogan succeeded by Hugh de Lacy.

THE reciprocal relations of chief and vassal, which arose naturally out of military service, and furnished one of the two great principles on which the feudal system was founded, had already, with its exactions of homage and fealty, formed a part, as we have seen, of the polity of the Irish. Familiarized, therefore, as had been their princes and chieftains to the custom of holding their territories from superior lords, on conditions of allegiance and homage, there was to them nothing novel or startling in the mere forms, as they deemed them, of submission by which Roderic now laid the lordship of Ireland at the feet of an English prince. But though thus acquainted (as were, indeed, most of what are called the barbarous nations‡) with that part of the policy of the feudal system

"Et si Hyberniens qui anfugerunt redire voluerint ad terram Baronum Regis Angliæ, redeant in pace reddendo tributum prædictum sicut alii readunt, vel faciendo antiqua servitia qauæ faere solobant pro terris suis et hoc sit in arbitrio et voluntate dominorum suorum. Et si aliqui redire noluerint ad dominum eorum regem Conactæ, sipse cogat eos redire ad terram suam, ut ibi maneant et pacem habeant."—Benedict. Abbas. Thus translated by Leland, who has entirely, it will be perceived, mistaken the meaning of the whole pas. sage:"The Irish who had fled from hence (the English districts) were to return, and either to pay their tribute, or to perform the services required by their tenures, at the option of their immediate lords; and if refractory, Roderic, at the requisition of their lords was to compel them to return."

The Irish wolf-dogs were at a very early period famous; there being little doubt that the Scotici canes mentioned by Symmachus, as having been exhibited at the Circeusian games, were of that peculiar species of wolf-dog for which Ireland was once celebrated, but which, after the extinction of wolves in that country, come to be neglected, and of course degenerated. (See Harris on Ware, chap. 22) The dogs mentioned, however, among the annual services required of Roderic, were evidently of the greyhound kind; and how great was the value set upon Irish greyhounds and hawks in the time of Henry VIII. may be judged from a grant made by that king to a foreign nobleman, at "the instant suit," as it is said of the duke of Albuquerque, of "two goshawkes and four greyhounds, out of Ireland, yearly."

To Robert Barry is attributed by Carve (Lyra sive Anacephal.,) the credit of having first introduced the diversion of hawking into Ireland.-"Fuit luc primus qui accipitres cicuravit atque venandi seu accipitrani usui assuefecit."

↑ Meaning, in general, all such as were beyond the bounds of the Roman empire.