Risteárd de Tiúit (aka Richard Tuite) (died 1210) was a member of Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke's Irish invasion force, and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms. Richard de Clare 2nd Earl of Pembroke Lord of Leinster Justiciar of Ireland (1130 &ndash 20 April 1176) known as Strongbow, was a As the famous Song of Diarmaid and the Earl makes clear, De Tiúit was granted land in the western part of Meath (present-day Westmeath and Longford) under the authority of Hugh de Lacy in Trim:
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He built one of the largest Motte and Bailey settlements in Ireland in Granard in 1199. County Westmeath (Contae na hIarmhí is a County situated in the Irish midlands, also popularly called the "Lake county" in the western part of the province Longford ( An Longfort in Irish) is the county town of County Longford in the Midlands of Ireland. For the historical Irish figure see Hugh de Lacy Lord of Meath Hugh de Lacy (1020-1049 was the founder of a Norman Trim ( is the traditional County town of County Meath in Ireland, although the county town is now Navan. Granard (Gránard is a town in the north of County Longford, Ireland and has a traceable history going back to 236 A His death, while Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, is recorded in Athlone by the Annals of the Four Masters under the year 1210 and his remains lie today in Abbeylara's Cistercian abbey. Abbeylara ( is a village in the easternmost portion of County Longford, Ireland, located about three kilometers east of Granard on the R369
Risteárd de Tiúit had two sons who survived him, Risteárd 'Dubh' de Tiúit, the eldest son and heir to the title and lands, and Muiris. Lodge's Peerage says that it was this Risteárd, Risteárd Dubh, who established the monastery at Granard about 1210 and at this time Risteárd Dubh already held the manors of Kilalton and Demar, and was enfeoffed in that of Kilstir in Meath. Muiris became Lord of Jordanstown and had four sons who survived him, Tomás (Thomas), Piaras, Matthew and Ruairí (Roger). [1]
De Tiúit is also the ancestor of those who bear the de Tiúit/ Tuite surname. He is variously recorded as Tiúit, Diúit and Tuit. Numerous placenames in Meath (Tuiterath), Cavan (Droim Thiúit/ Drumyouth), Westmeath (Tuitestown in Fore; Tuitestown in Moyashel and Magheradernon, and Ballysallagh Tuite), Kilkenny (Baile an Tiúigh Thoir/ Tuitestown and Baile an Tiúigh Beag/ Tuitestown Little) and elsewhere are named after him and his descendants. There are two claimed sources for the Tuite surname. The first is derived from the old Norwegian words for two and one. "Tu ete" . In Viking times disputes were often settled by a duel. The preferred method for measuring strength was to connect the combatants at the waist with a large belt, give them each a knife and let them fight to the finish. One can imagine a large group of Vikings shouting "two-one" at two angry Vikings. (Two men start - one man survives) These sort of duels were often over a woman or livestock. Obviously the "Tuete" klan had an ancestor who appeared in these duels frequently and survived whereby the name "tuete" stuck. Even today the Norwegians and Swedish pronounce the letter "e" in the same way as English speaking people pronounce the letter "i". There is a famous statue in the "Bältespännaren parken" (the belt stretchers park) in the city of Gothenburgh in Sweden. Another suggested source is that the surname is from the Eure department of Normandy where the word "Tuit" indicates a clearing in a wooded area and is clearly the local development of the old Scandinavian placename, Thveit, brought by the Normans (Men of the North) when they settled in Normandy. The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. Even this source could be connected to the Tuete duels as these would presumably have been fought in a clearing.
De huge de laci vus conterai,
Cum il feffa ses baruns,
Cheualers, serianz e garsunz. 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 later medieval period in Ireland (" Norman Ireland " was dominated by the Cambro-Norman invasion of the country in 1171. The Lord Chief Justice of Ireland was the second most senior Irish judge under English rule and later while Ireland was part of the United Kingdom.
Chastelknoc tut premer donat
A huge tŷrel, kil tant amat;
E chastel brec, solum lescrit,
A barun willame le petit,
Macherueran alter si
E la tere de rathkeuni;
Le cantref pus de hadhnorkur
A meiler, qui ert de grant valur,
Donad huge de laci
Al bon meiler le fiz herui;
A gilbert de nangle en fin
Donat tut makerigalin;
A iocelin donat le nouan
E la tere de ardbrechan:
Li vn ert fiz, li alter pere,
Solum le dit de la mere;
A richard tuit ensement
Donad riche feffement. . .