VIII. HENRY VIII DECLARED KING OF IRELAND (1) A Letter of Advice. ["A certain Information for our sovereign Lord's most honourable Commissioners in Ireland" (1537). S.P. Hen. VIII, II. 480.] Where(as) the Irish men, of long continuance, hath supposed the regal estate of this land to consist in the Bishop of Rome for the time being, and the Lordship of the Kings of England here to be but a governance under the obedience of the same, which causeth them to have more respect of due subjection unto the said Bishop, than to our sovereign Lord; therefore me seemeth it convenient, that his Highness be recognised here, by Act of Parliament, Supreme Governor of this dominion, by the name of the King of Ireland, and then to induce the Irish Captains, as well by their oaths as writings, to recognise the same, which things shall be, in continuance, a great motive to bring them to due obedience. . . . (2) An Act that the King of England, his Heirs and Successors, be Kings of Ireland (33 Hen. VIII, c. 1). [Irish Statutes (1786), I. 176.] Forasmuch as the King our most gracious dread sovereign lord, and his Grace's most noble progenitors, Kings of England, have been Lords of this land of Ireland, having all manner kingly jurisdiction, power, pre-eminences, and authority royal, belonging or appertaining to the royal estate and majesty of a king, by the name of Lords of Ireland, where the King's Majesty and his most noble progenitors justly and rightfully were, and of right ought to be, Kings of Ireland, and so to be reputed, taken, named, and called, and for lack of naming the King's Majesty and his noble progenitors Kings of Ireland according to their said true and just title, style, and name therein, hath been great occasion, that the Irish men and inhabitants within this Realm of Ireland have not been so obedient to the King's Highness and his most noble progenitors, and to their laws, as they of right and according to their allegiance and bounden duties ought to have been: wherefore at the humble pursuit, petition, and request of the lords spiritual and temporal, and other the King's loving, faithful, and obedient subjects of this his land of Ireland, and by their full assents, be it enacted, ordained and established by authority of this present Parliament, that the King's Highness, his heirs and successors, Kings of England, be always Kings of this land of Ireland, and that his Majesty, his This is in the handwriting of Alen, Master of the Rolls. 2 See p. 22. heirs and successors, have the name, style, title, and honour of King of this land of Ireland, with all manner honours, pre-eminences, prerogatives, dignities, and other things whatsoever they be to the estate and majesty of a King imperial appertaining or belonging i and that his Majesty, his heirs and successors, be from henceforth named, called, accepted, reputed, and taken to be Kings of this land of Ireland, to have, hold, and enjoy the said style, title, majesty, and honours of King of Ireland, with all manner pre-eminences, prerogatives, dignities, and all other the premises unto the King's Highness, his heirs and successors for ever, as united and knit to the imperial crown of the Realm of England. . (3) Meeting of the Irish Parliament (1541). [Sir Anthony St. Leger, Lord Deputy to the King (26 June, 1541). S.P. Hen. VIII, III. 304-5.] It may please your most excellent Majesty to be advertised, that the morrow after Trinity Sunday (13 June) your Highness's Parliament began in this your Highness's Realm. And for that the Earls of Ormonde and Desmond, and many other lords of Munster, were not then come, we deferred the solemn Mass of the Holy Ghost till the Thursday following, being Corpus Christi Day. The said earls, with divers other lords of Munster . . . came the Tuesday, and were all present at the said Mass, the most part of them in their robes, and rode on procession solemnly, in such sort as the like thereof hath not been seen here of many years. And the Friday following, being assembled in the place of Parliament accustomed, the Commons presented unto us their Speaker, one Sir Thomas Cusack, a man that right painfully hath served your Majesty at all times; who made a right solemn proposition, in giving such laud and praise to your Majesty, as justly and most worthily your Majesty hath merited, as well for the extirpation of the usurped power of the Bishop of Rome out of this your Realm (who had of many years been a great robber and destroyer of the same), as also for your innumerable benefits showed unto your realms, and subjects of the same. Which proposition was right well and prudently answered by your Highness's Chancellor here; and after, both the effect of the proposition and answer was briefly and prudently declared, in the Irish tongue, to the said lords, by the mouth of the Earl of Ormonde, greatly to their contentation. And that done, and the said Speaker and Commons withdrawn, it was by me, your poor servant, proposed, that forasmuch as your Majesty had always been the only protector and defender, under God, of this Realm, that it was most meet that your Majesty, and your I See p. 71, n. 10, p. 72, n. 3. * Cusack was Sheriff of Meath at this time. He became Lord Chancellor in 1551. heirs, should from thenceforth be named and called KING of the same; and caused the Bill devised for the same to be read; which once being read, and declared to them, in Irish, all the whole House most willingly and joyously consented and agreed to the same. And being three times read, and with one voice agreed, we sent the same to the Lower House, where, in like wise it passed, with no less joy and willing consent. And upon the Saturday following the same Bill being read in plain Parliament, before the Lords and Commons, it was by me, your most humble servant, most joyously consented, no less to my comfort, than to be again risen from death to life, that I, so poor a wretch, should, by your excellent goodness, be put to that honour, that in my time, your Majesty should most worthily have another imperial crown. There was at the same consent 2 earls, 3 viscounts, 16 barons, 2 archbishops, 12 bishops, Donough O'Brien, and the doctor O'Nolan and a bishop, deputies assigned by the great O'Brien to be for him in the Parliament, the great O'Reilly, with many other Irish captains, and the Common House, wherein are divers knights, and many gentlemen of fair possessions. And for that the thing passed so joyously, and so much to the contentation of every person, the Sunday following, there were made in the city great bonfires, wine set in the streets, great feastings in their houses, with a goodly sort of guns; and for that all men should have the more cause to rejoice, I, with others, of your Majesty's Council, thought it good, that all prisoners, not lying at suit of any party for debt, or such like, should be freely delivered out of the prisons wherein they were, unless it were for treason, wilful murder, rape or debt. And the said Sunday all the lords and gentlemen rode to your Church of Saint Patrick's, where there was sung a solemn Mass by the Archbishop of Dublin, and after the Mass, the said Act proclaimed there in presence of 2,000 persons and Te Deum sung, with great joy and gladness to all men. IX. HENRY VIII'S VIEWS UPON IRISH (1) Letter to the Earl of Surrey (1520). [S.P. Hen. VIII, II. 52-4.] We, and our Council think and verily believe, that in case circumspect and politic ways be used, ye shall not only bring them (the Irish "captains ") to further obedience, for the observance of our laws, and governing themselves according to the same, but also following justice, to forbear to detain rebelliously such lands and dominions as to us in right appertaineth; which thing must as yet rather be practised by sober ways, politic drifts, and amiable persuasions, founded in law and reason, than by rigorous dealing, comminations, or any other enforcement by strength or violence. And, to be plain unto you, to spend so much money for the reduction of that land, to bring the Irishry in appearance only of obeisance, without that they should observe our laws, and resort to our courts for justice, and restore such dominions as they unlawfully detain from us; it were a thing of little policy, less advantage, and least effect. Wherefore we think right expedient, that at such assemblies and common councils, when ye shall call the lords, and other captains of that our land, before you, as of good congruence ye must needs so do, ye, after and among other overtures, by your wisdoms then to be made, should declare unto them the great decay, ruin, and desolation of that commodious and fertile land, for lack of politic governance and good justice, which can never be brought in good order, unless the unbridled sensualities of insolent folks be brought under the rules of the laws. For realms without justice be but tyrannies and robberies, more consonant to beastly appetites, than to the laudable life of reasonable creatures. And whereas wilfulness doth reign by strength, without law or justice, there is no distinction of propriety in dominions, nor yet any man may say, this is mine; but by strength the weaker is subdued and oppressed, which is contrary to all laws, both of God and man. And it may be said unto them, in good manner, that like as we, being their Sovereign Lord and Prince, though of our absolute power we be above the laws, yet we will in no wise take anything from them, that righteously appertaineth to them; so, of good congruence, they be bound, both by law, fidelity, and liegance, to restore unto us our own. For it so much toucheth our honour to conserve our rightful inheritance, that we neither may, nor will, suffer any prince, of whatsoever pre-eminence he be, to usurp or detain any part thereof, but by our puissance, to repress such usurpation and detention accordingly. And much more it soundeth to our dishonour to permit and suffer our own subjects to detain violently any part of lands to us righteously appertaining. Endeavouring yourself by these and other persuasions, as ye shall think good, to cause them to know the ways of justice, whereby they shall be the rather moved, not only to incline thereunto, but also to leave such unlawful and sensual demeanours, as they have hitherto used. Howbeit, our mind is not that ye shall impress in them any opinion by fearful words, that we intend to expel them from their lands and dominions, lawfully possessed, but to conserve them in their own, and to use their advice, aid and assistance, as of faithful subjects, to recover our rightful inheritance; nor yet that we be HENRY VIII'S VIEWS ON IRISH GOVERNMENT 105 minded to constrain them precisely to observe our laws ministered by our Justices there, but under good manner to shew unto them, that of necessity it is requisite that every reasonable creature be governed by a law. And, therefore, if they shall allege, that our laws, there used, be too extreme and rigorous, and that it should be very hard for them to observe the same; then ye may further ensearch of them, under what manner, and by what laws, they will be ordered and governed; to the intent that if their laws be good and reasonable, they may be approved, and the rigour of our laws, if they shall think them too hard, be mitigated and brought to such moderation as they may conveniently live under the same. By which means ye shall finally induce them, of necessity, to conform their order of living to the observance of some reasonable law, and not to live at will, as they have used heretofore. And if by these, and “semblable" (like) drifts an entry might be made, that part of our lands, detained by usurpation, might be reduced to our possession, either of the Earldom of Ulster . . . or of or of any other which notoriously appertaineth unto us, it might be the mean that successively, and from time to time, not only the residue to us belonging should be recovered, but also such lands as by force be detained from all other lords, might be brought to their "pristinate" (ancient) state; which is the best and most speedy way to bring that land in good order and obeisance, and to cause the same to be inhabited and manured; considering that every lord, having his own, should not only be able to live there honourably, and to subdue tyranny, but also would see their lands inhabited, tilled, and laboured for their most advantage. (2) Letter of Henry VIII to the Lord Deputy and Council of Ireland (1541). [S.P. Hen. VIII, III. pp. 332-4.] You shall know, that we divide the Irishmen, and the lands they occupy, into two parts. The one part, as O'Reilly, O'Connor, the Kavanaghs etc., we take to lie so upon the danger of our power, as you may easily bring them to any reasonable conditions, that may be well desired of them. The other sort, as O'Donnell, MacWilliam, O'Brien etc., we think to lie so far from our strength there, as, without a greater force, it will be difficult to expel them out of their country, and to keep and inhabit the same with such as we would thereunto appoint; albeit we may easily correct and punish any of them, as the case shall require. Therefore we would, that to them all you shall use good and discreet persuasions, to make them "saver" (perceive) what it is to have their lands by our gift certainly and quietly, what honour and benefit it shall be to them 1 The claim of the Crown to Ulster is set forth in the Act of Attainder of Shane O'Neill (11 Eliz. c. 1). Irish Statutes, I. 322. |