The later medieval period in Ireland ("Norman Ireland") was dominated by the Cambro-Norman [1] invasion of the country in 1171. Cambro-Norman is a term used for Norman knights who settled in southern Wales after the Norman conquest of England in 1066. The Norman invasion of Ireland was a Norman military expedition to Ireland that took place on 1 May 1169 at the behest of Dermot MacMurrough Previously, Ireland had seen intermittent warfare between provincial kingdoms over the position of High King. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world A High King of Ireland ( Ard Rí na hÉireann) is a historical or legendary figure who claimed lordship over the whole of Ireland. This situation was transformed by the intervention in these conflicts of Norman mercenaries and later the King of England. The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. The Kings of Wessex, who conquered Kent and Sussex from Mercia in 825 became increasingly dominant over the other kingdoms of England during After their successful conquest of England, the Normans turned their attention to Ireland. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Ireland was made a Lordship of the King of England and much of its land was seized by Norman barons. The Lordship of Ireland ( 1171 - 1541) was the nominally all-island Irish state created in the wake of the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169-71 However, with time Hiberno-Norman rule shrank to a territory known as pale ("the Pale") stretching from Dublin to Dundalk. The term Hiberno-Norman is used of those Norman lords who settled in Ireland, admitting little if any real Fealty to the Anglo-Norman settlers A pale is a territory or Jurisdiction (possibly non-territorial under a given authority or the limits of such a jurisdiction The Pale ( An Pháil in Irish) or the English Pale ( An Pháil Sasanach) was the English-controlled part of Ireland that had reduced by the late Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. Dundalk (Dún Dealgan is the County town of County Louth in Ireland, situated close to the border with Northern Ireland. The Hiberno-Norman lords elsewhere in the country became Gaelicised and integrated in Gaelic Irish society.
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The coming of the Normans, 1167–1185
By the 12th century, Ireland was divided politically into a shifting hierarchy of petty kingdoms and over-kingdoms. The Norman invasion of Ireland was a Norman military expedition to Ireland that took place on 1 May 1169 at the behest of Dermot MacMurrough A petty kingdom is an independent realm recognizing no suzerain and controlling only a portion of the territory held by a particular ethnic group or nation Power was concentrated into the hands of a few regional dynasties contending against each other for control of the whole island. The Northern Uí Néill ruled much of what is now Uladh (Ulster). Ulster ( Ulaidh ˈkwɪɟɪ ˈʌlˠu / ˈʌlˠi is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in addition to Connacht, Munster and Leinster Their kinsmen, the Southern Uí Néill, were Kings of Breaga (Meath). The kingship of Laighean (Leinster) was held by the dynamic Uí Chinnsealaigh dynasty. Leinster (ˈlɛnstər Irish: Laighin, lainʲ one of the Provinces of Ireland, lies in the east of Ireland and comprises the counties of A new kingdom rose between Leinster and Mumhan (Munster), Osraighe, ruled by the family of Mac Giolla Phádraig. Munster ( Irish: An Mhumhain, ənˈvuːnʲ Cúige Mumhan or Mumha) is the southernmost of the four Provinces of Ireland. The Kingdom of Ossory (historically Osraige; Modern Irish Osraí) was an ancient kingdom of Ireland. Munster was nominally controlled by the Mac Cárthaigh, who were however in reality often subject to the Uí Bhriain of Tuadh Mumhan (Thomond). Thomond ( Irish: Tuadhmhumhain, meaning North Munster, now spelled Tuamhain) The region of Ireland associated with the name Thomond North of Thomond, Connachta Connacht's supreme rulers were the Uí Chonchobhair.
After losing the protection of Tír Eoghain (Tyrone) Chief, Muircheartach Mac Lochlainn, High King of Ireland, who died in 1166, Dermot MacMurrough (Irish Diarmaid Mac Murchada) , was forcibly exiled by a confederation of Irish forces under the new High King, Ruaidhrí Ó Conchobhair. A High King of Ireland ( Ard Rí na hÉireann) is a historical or legendary figure who claimed lordship over the whole of Ireland. Early Life and Family Mac Murchadha was born in 1110 a son of Donnchadh, King of Leinster and Dublin he was a descendant of Brian Boru.
Diarmaid fled first to Bristol and then to Normandy. Bristol ( ˈbrɪstəl is a city, Unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London Normandy (Normandie Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. He sought and obtained permission from Henry II of England to use the latter's subjects to regain his kingdom. By 1167 MacMurrough had obtained the services of Maurice Fitz Gerald and later persuaded Rhŷs ap Gruffydd Prince of Deheubarth to release Maurice's half-brother Robert Fitz-Stephen from captivity to take part in the expedition. Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Lanstephan (c1100 - 1 September 1176) was a major figure in the Norman conquest of Ireland. Robert Fitz-Stephen (fl 1150 was the son of Stephen constable of Cardigan, whom Robert succeeded in that office Most importantly he obtained the support of the Earl of Pembroke Richard de Clare, known as Strongbow. The Earldom of Pembroke, associated with Pembroke Castle in Wales, was created by King Stephen of England. Richard de Clare 2nd Earl of Pembroke Lord of Leinster Justiciar of Ireland (1130 &ndash 20 April 1176) known as Strongbow, was a
The first Norman knight to land in Ireland was Richard fitz Godbert de Roche in 1167, but it was not until 1169 that the main forces of Normans, Welsh and Flemings landed in Loch Garman Wexford. Flanders (Vlaanderen Flandre Flandern is a geographical region located in parts of present day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. County Wexford (Contae Loch Garman is a maritime county in the southeast of Ireland, in the province of Leinster. Within a short time Leinster was regained, Port Láirge Waterford and Baile Átha Cliath Dublin were under Diarmaid's control, and he had Strongbow as a son-in-law, and named him as heir to his kingdom. Waterford ( or Windy fjord;) is a city in Ireland. It is the primary city of the South East region and the fifth largest in the country Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. This latter development caused consternation to King Henry II of England, who feared the establishment of a rival Norman state in Ireland. Accordingly, he resolved to visit Leinster to establish his authority.
The Papal Bull and Henry's invasion
Pope Adrian IV (the first English pope, in one of his earliest acts) had already issued a Papal Bull in 1155, giving Henry authority to invade Ireland as a means of curbing ecclesiastical corruption and abuses. Pope Adrian IV (or Hadrian IV – c 1100&ndash 1 September, 1159) born Nicholas Breakspear or Breakspeare, was Pope History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and A Papal bull is a particular type of Letters patent or charter issued by a Pope. Little contemporary use, however, was made of the Bull Laudabiliter since its text enforced papal suzerainty not only over the island of Ireland but of all islands off of the European coast, including England, in virtue of the Constantinian donation. Laudabiliter was a Papal bull issued in 1155 by the English Pope Adrian IV purporting to give the Angevin King Henry II of England The relevant text reads: "There is indeed no doubt, as thy Highness doth also acknowledge, that Ireland and all other islands which Christ the Sun of Righteousness has illumined, and which have received the doctrines of the Christian faith, belong to the jurisdiction of St. Peter and of the holy Roman Church". References to Laudabiliter become more frequent in the later Tudor period when the researches of the renaissance humanist scholars cast doubt on the historicity of the Donation of Constantine. The Donation of Constantine ( Latin, Donatio Constantini) is a forged Roman imperial edict devised probably between 750 and 775, the
Henry landed with a large fleet at Waterford in 1171, becoming the first King of England to set foot on Irish soil. Waterford ( or Windy fjord;) is a city in Ireland. It is the primary city of the South East region and the fifth largest in the country The Kings of Wessex, who conquered Kent and Sussex from Mercia in 825 became increasingly dominant over the other kingdoms of England during Both Waterford and Dublin were proclaimed Royal Cities. Waterford ( or Windy fjord;) is a city in Ireland. It is the primary city of the South East region and the fifth largest in the country Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. Adrian's successor, Pope Alexander III ratified the grant of Irish lands to Henry in 1172. Pope Alexander III (c 1100/1105 &ndash August 30, 1181) born Rolando (or Orlando) Bandinelli, was Pope from 1159 Henry awarded his Irish territories to his younger son John with the title Dominus Hiberniae ("Lord of Ireland"). When John unexpectedly succeeded his brother as King John, the "Kingdom of Ireland" fell directly under the English Crown. John (24 December 1167 &ndash 19 October 1216 reigned as a King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death
Henry was happily acknowledged by most of the Irish Kings, who saw in him a chance to curb the expansion of both Leinster and the Hiberno-Normans. The term Hiberno-Norman is used of those Norman lords who settled in Ireland, admitting little if any real Fealty to the Anglo-Norman settlers This led to the ratification of the Treaty of Windsor (1175) between Henry and Ruaidhrí. The Treaty of Windsor was signed in 1175 in Windsor Berkshire between King Henry II of England and the High King of Ireland, Rory O'Connor However, with both Diarmaid and Strongbow dead (in 1171 and 1176), Henry back in England and Ruaidhrí unable to curb his nominal vassals, within two years it was not worth the vellum it was inscribed upon. John de Courcy invaded and gained much of east Ulster in 1177, Raymond le Gros had already captured Limerick and much of north Munster, while the other Norman families such as Prendergast, fitz Stephen, fitz Gerald, fitz Henry and le Poer were actively carving out virtual kingdoms for themselves. John de Courcy (1160 &ndash 1219 was a Norman knight who arrived in Ireland in 1177 Limerick (pronounced /ˈlɪmrɪk/ Luimneach in Irish) is a city and the county seat of County Limerick in the Province of Munster
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Ireland in 1014: a patch-work of rival kingdoms.
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The extent of Norman control of Ireland in 1300.
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Lordship of Ireland, 1185-1254
Initially the Normans controlled large swathes of Ireland, securing the entire east coast, from Waterford up to eastern Ulster and penetrating as far west as Gaillimh Galway and Maigh Eo Mayo. Waterford ( or Windy fjord;) is a city in Ireland. It is the primary city of the South East region and the fifth largest in the country Ulster ( Ulaidh ˈkwɪɟɪ ˈʌlˠu / ˈʌlˠi is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in addition to Connacht, Munster and Leinster County Galway (Contae na Gaillimhe is located on the West Coast of Ireland. The most powerful forces in the land were the great Hiberno-Norman Earldoms such as the Geraldines, the Butlers and the Burkes, who controlled vast territories which were almost independent of the governments in Dublin or London. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The Lord of Ireland was King John, who, on his visits in 1185 and 1210, had helped secure the Norman areas from both the military and the administrative points of view, while at the same time ensuring that the many Irish kings were brought into his fealty; many, such as Cathal Crobhdearg Ua Conchobhair, owed their thrones to him and his armies.
Invasion contained
The Normans also were lucky to have leaders of the calibre of the Butler, Marshall, de Lyvet (Levett), de Burgh, de Lacy and de Broase families, as well as having the dynamic heads of the first families. Levett is an Anglo-Norman territorial Surname deriving from the village of Livet-en-Ouche now Jonquerets-de-Livet, in Eure, Normandy de Lacy (Lascy Lacie Lacey Lacy is the surname of an old Norman noble family originating from Lassy (Calvados. [2][3][4] Another factor was that after the loss of Normandy in 1204, John had a lot more time to devote to Irish affairs, and did so effectively even from afar. Normandy (Normandie Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. However, the Hiberno-Normans suffered from a series of events that slowed, and eventually ceased, the spread of their settlement and power:
Firstly, numerous rebellious attacks were launched by Gaelic lords upon the English lordships. Having lost pitched battles to Norman knights, to defend their territory, the Gaelic chieftains now had to change tactics, and deal with the charging armoured knights. They started to rely on raids against resources, and surprise attacks. This stretched resources of the Normans, reduced their number of trained knights, and often resulted in the chieftains regaining territory. Secondly a lack of direction from both Henry III and his successor, Edward I (who were more concerned with events in England, Wales, Scotland and their continental domains) meant that the Norman colonists in Ireland were to a large extent deprived of (financial) support from the English monarchy. Henry III (1 October 1207 &ndash 16 November 1272 was the son and successor of John "Lackland" as King of England, reigning for fifty-six years from 1216 Edward I (17 June 1239 – 7 July 1307 popularly known as Longshanks, was a King of England who achieved historical fame by conquering large parts of Wales and almost This limited the ability to hold territory. Furthermore, the Norman's position deteriorated due to divisions within their own ranks. These caused outright war between leading Hiberno-Norman lords such as the de Burghs, FitzGeralds, Butlers and de Berminghams. The term Hiberno-Norman is used of those Norman lords who settled in Ireland, admitting little if any real Fealty to the Anglo-Norman settlers Finally, the division of estates among heirs split Norman lordships into smaller, less formidable units – the most damaging being that of the Marshalls of Leinster, which split a large single lordship into five.
Politics and events in Gaelic Ireland served to draw the settlers deeper into the orbit of the Irish, which on occasion had the effect of allying them with one or more native rulers against other Normans.
Gaelic resurgence, Norman decline 1254–1536
Hiberno-Norman Ireland was deeply shaken by three events of the 14th century. The first was the invasion of Ireland by Edward Bruce of Scotland who, in 1315, rallied many of the Irish lords against the English presence in Ireland. Edward Bruce ( medieval Gaelic: Edubard a Briuis; Modern Scottish Gaelic: Eideard Bruis / Iomhair Bruis) (c Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Although Bruce was eventually defeated in Ireland at the Battle of Faughart, near Dundalk, his troops caused a great deal of destruction, especially in the densely settled area around Dublin. The Battle of Faughart, also known as the Battle of Dundalk, was fought on October 14, 1318 between an Anglo-Irish force led by John of Birmingham Dundalk (Dún Dealgan is the County town of County Louth in Ireland, situated close to the border with Northern Ireland. In this chaotic situation, local Irish lords won back large amounts of land that their families had lost since the conquest and held them after the war was over. A few English partisans like Gilbert de la Roche turned against the English king and sided with Bruce, largely because of personal quarrels with the English monarchy. [5][6]
The second was the murder of William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster, in June 1333. This resulted in his lands being split in three among his relations, with the ones in Connacht swiftly rebelling against the Crown and openly siding with the Irish. This meant that virtually all of Ireland west of the Shannon was lost to the Hiberno-Normans. It would be well over two hundred years before the Burkes, as they were now called, were again allied with the Dublin administration.
The third calamity for the medieval English presence in Ireland was the Black Death, which arrived in Ireland in 1348. The Black Death, or the Black Plague, was one of the deadliest Pandemics in human history widely thought to have been caused by a bacterium named Yersinia Because most of the English and Norman inhabitants of Ireland lived in towns and villages, the plague hit them far harder than it did the native Irish, who lived in more dispersed rural settlements. A celebrated account from a monastery in Cill Chainnigh (Kilkenny) chronicles the plague as the beginning of the extinction of humanity and the end of the world. The plague was a catastrophe for the English habitations around the country and, after it had passed, Gaelic Irish language and customs came to dominate the country again. The English-controlled area shrunk back to the Pale, a fortified area around Dublin.
Additional causes of the Gaelic revival were political and personal grievances against the Hiberno-Normans, but especially impatience with procrastination and the very real horrors that successive famines had brought. Pushed away from the fertile areas, the Irish were forced to eke out a subsistence living on marginal lands, which left them with no safety net during bad harvest years (such as 1271 and 1277) or in a year of famine (virtually the entire period of 1311–1319).
Outside the Pale, the Hiberno-Norman lords adopted the Irish language and customs, becoming known as the Old English, and in the words of a contemporary English commentator, became "more Irish than the Irish themselves. The term Hiberno-Norman is used of those Norman lords who settled in Ireland, admitting little if any real Fealty to the Anglo-Norman settlers The Old English (Seanghaill were the descendants of the settlers who came to Ireland from Wales, Normandy and England after the Norman " More Irish than the Irish themselves " ( Níos Gaelaí ná na Gaeil iad féin, Hiberniores Hibernis ipsis) was a phrase used in the Middle Ages " Over the following centuries they sided with the indigenous Irish in political and military conflicts with England and generally stayed Catholic after the Reformation. The authorities in the Pale grew so worried about the "Gaelicisation" of Ireland that, in 1367 at a parliament in Kilkenny, they passed special legislation (known as the Statutes of Kilkenny) banning those of English descent from speaking the Irish language, wearing Irish clothes or inter-marrying with the Irish. Kilkenny, ( is a city and county town of County Kilkenny in Ireland. The Statutes of Kilkenny were a series of thirty-five acts passed at Kilkenny in 1366, aimed at curbing the decline of the Hiberno-Norman Lordship Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. Since the government in Dublin had little real authority, however, the Statutes did not have much effect.
Throughout the 15th century, these trends proceeded apace and central government authority steadily diminished. The monarchy of England was itself thrown into turmoil during the Wars of the Roses, and as a result English involvement in Ireland was greatly reduced. The Wars of the Roses (1455–1485 were a series of dynastic Civil wars fought in England between supporters of the Houses of Lancaster and York Successive kings of England delegated their constitutional authority over the lordship to the powerful Fitzgerald earls of Kildare, who held the balance of power by means of military force and widespread alliances with lords and clans. The Lordship of Ireland ( 1171 - 1541) was the nominally all-island Irish state created in the wake of the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169-71 Earl of Kildare is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. John FitzThomas FitzGerald the eldest son of Thomas Lord Offaly, was created Earl of Kildare This in effect made the English Crown even more remote to the realities of Irish politics. At the same time, local Gaelic and Gaelicised lords expanded their powers at the expense of the central government in Dublin, creating a polity quite alien to English ways and which was not overthrown until the successful conclusion of the Tudor reconquest.
- See also: Anglo and Gaelic Ireland 1367-1536
Notes
- ^ Seán Duffy in Medieval Ireland observes that 'there is no contemporary depiction of it [the invasion] as Anglo-Norman or Cambro-Norman, or, for that matter, Anglo-French or Anglo-Continental. Such terms are modern concoctions, convenient shorthands, which serve to emphasize the undoubted fact that those who began to settle in Ireland at this point were not of any one national or ethnic origin' (pp 58-9).
- ^ Philip de Livet, Calendar of Documents, Relating to Ireland, Great Britain Public Record Office, 1171-1251, H. S. Sweetman, 1875
- ^ John Lyvet, Lord, Ireland, 1302, Debrett's Peerage of England, Scotland and Ireland, John Debrett1839
- ^ Richard de Burgh, John Livet, Maurice FitzGerald, Calendar of Documents Relating to Ireland, H. S. Sweetman, Great Britain Public Record Office, 1875
- ^ Gilbert de la Roche beheaded, Calendar of Patent Rolls, Preserved in the Public Record Office, Great Britain Public Record Office, 1903
- ^ Seizure of Gilbert de la Roche estates, forfeited and conveyed over to John Lyvet, Ireland, Calendar of Patent Rolls, Preserved in the Public Record Office, Great Britain Public Record Office, 1903
See also
The Song of Dermot and the Earl (Chanson de Dermot et du comte is an Anglo-Norman Chronicle telling how Strongbow arrived in Ireland in 1170 The history of Ireland begins with the first known settlement in Ireland around 8000 BC when Hunter-gatherers arrived from Great Britain and continentalDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic