*This Robert Fitz Stephen, Moris Fitzgerald his brother, and their nephues Robert Meyler and Raymond, with an armie of Welshmen under the conduct of Richard Strangbow Earle of Strigule were the chiefe captaines and dooers in the conquest of Ireland, when it was first reduced under the subjection of the crowne of England.— (Powel.)

dition to

A.D. 1169 (p. 229.) " Also Richard Strangbowe Earle Rd. Strongof Strigul went to Ireland without the king's leave, and bow's expemarried the daughter of Dermot king of Dublyn; where- Ireland. fore the king seased all his lands in England to his own A. D. 1169. hands, and Dermot died shortly after and was buried at Ferna."

preparatory

Eod. (pp. 230, 232.) "Then the king called his nobles Proceedings to consult about the enterprise of Ireland which had of Henry II. beene before determined to be taken in hand. To this to and conconsultation came messengers from Richard Strangbowe, nected with Earle of Strigule, Marshall of England: to deliver to his expedithe king's hands the citie of Dublyne and the towne of tion to IreWaterford, with such other townes as he had by the right of his wife: whereupon the king restored to him again his lands in England and Normandie, and made him steward of Ireland, and so it was concluded for the

kings going to Ireland. When the king was in his journey towards Ireland, the Lord Rees come to the king, who received him to his peace, and confirmed unto him all that he had. Then Rees promised the king towards his conquest of Ireland 300 horses, and 400 oxen, and gave him fourteen pledges. Then the king came to South Wales; [where some of his proceedings gave occasion to trouble and disturbances in the country, but Henry notwithstanding] kept on his journie to PenVOL. III.

N

land.

He arrives at Dublin,

and winters there.

brooke, and there he gave Rees all Caerdigan, &c.
Then Rees came to Penbrooke in the Calends of
October, and spake with the king. The daie after
the king went to St. David and . . . dined with the bi-
shop David, the son of Gerald, coosen German to Rees :
whither Richard Strangbowe earle of Strigule come
from Ireland to speake with the king, and after dinner
the king returned to Penbrooke. Within a while after
the morrowe after the feast of S. Luke the Evange-
list, the king tooke shipping there, and had faire pas-
sage to Ireland, and so landed at Dublyne, where he laie
quietlie that winter. The Christmasse folowing, Henrie
the yong king kept a solemne feast, where William
S. John procurator of Normandie, and William Fitzha-
mon seneschall of Brytaine and 110 besides were made
knights. In the year 1172 there fell a great plague
among the kings souldiours in Ireland, by reason of
the change of the aire and victuals, and therefore the
king returned and landed at Wales in the Passion
week."

It will be at once seen how strikingly these extracts illustrate the portion of our history to which they refer. Many interesting notes and reflections might here be added in connection with this topic. But the length of the extracts themselves is such as to forbid any further enlargement of them by way of comment. Only we may add that as the margin of the chronicle does not include every year of our Lord, but only some of them, the transactions recorded under certain ones of the dates must belong not precisely to that year under which they appear

to be given, but occasionally to a subsequent one included between that one and the next occurring in the margin.

No. XXXIV.

LETTER OF THE BURGESSES OF DUBLIN TO RALPH, ARCHBISHOP OF
CANTERBURY, A.D. 1122.

of Letter of

at

the Bur

gesses, &c. of

Ralph, Abp.

The following is the letter of the citizens Dublin to Ralph of Canterbury, alluded to p. 433 of this work. It occurs as No. 40 in the Dublin to Sylloge, and is also to be found MS. in the Li- of Canterbrary T.C.D., E. 3, 13, with this heading, "At bury the foot of the Collection of Decretals by Isidore Mercator (in the Cotton Library) transcribed shortly after 1125."

"To the most reverend and most religious Lord, Ralph, archbishop of Canterbury, All the burgesses of the city of Dublin, and the whole body of the clergy, wish eternal health.

A. D. 1122.

him.

"Seeing, holy Father, that a wellearned reputation for The occathe deepest piety gains for you the veneration of multi- sion of their tudes, and that you have secured the esteem and attach- addressing ment of all faithful people by your earnest faith and soundness of doctrine, we judge it to be meet, that we should send over to you, Gregory, by the grace of God our bishop elect, [in order that he may receive consecration at your hands]. For we have ever voluntarily subjected our [prelates] to the control of your predecessors, as remembering that it was from that quarter

Jealousy of the Irish

account of

their proceedings.

that our [chief pastors originally] received their ecclesiastical dignity.

"Know you however for certain, that the bishops of Ireland entertain towards us the very greatest jealousy, prelates on and in particular that bishop who has his residence at Armagh, in consequence of our unwillingness to submit to their ordination, and our preferring to continue always in subjection to your authority. We therefore humbly supplicate your assistance in advancing Gregory to the sacred order of the episcopate, if you be disposed any longer to retain the charge of that parish, which we have now preserved to you for this considerable time past. Fare you well."

No. XXXV.

IRISH ACCOUNT OF THE SYNOD OF KELLS.

Account of the Synod

of Kells,

Four Masters."

The account of the Synod of Kells furnished in the Irish Annals of the Four Masters, as from "The published by Dr. O'Conor, although very meagre and unsatisfactory, is not without interest. The original passage will be found in the Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores, tom. iii. pp. 770, 774, 775, ad ann. 1151, 1152, (Buckingham, 1826.) In the translation of it here subjoined we follow Dr. O'Conor's Latin version.

Arrival of

"A.D. 1151. A Cardinal belonging to Peter's vicar, C. Paparo by name Jn. Papiro, came into Ireland, to institute reguin Ireland. lations and ordinances, and to reform all matters accord

ing to their exigencies. He spent a week in the house of the cowarba of Patrick in Armagh.(1)

Synod of

"A.D. 1152. A synodal meeting was held in Drogheda of the matof the bishops of Ireland, with the cowarb of Patrick, ters transthe Cardinal John Papiro, and 3000 ecclesiastics, monks, acted at the and canons. They introduced on that occasion several Kells. regulations pertaining to morals, to this effect;-that the men must banish their mistresses and concubines ;-that no allowance must be asked for extreme unction or for baptism; (and yet that it was not well that nothing should be given, seeing that they were instituted for the benefit of men ;)-that nothing should be taken for conferring ecclesiastical orders;-and that tithes should be punctually paid. (2)

On these passages O'Conor has the following Dr. O'Co

notes:

"(1) The principal cause of Paparo's coming to Ireland was to introduce Roman rites and to confer the four palls on the four archbishops of Ireland. His arrival

some refer to A.D. 1152. [Wrongly, vid Lan. iv. 141.]

66

nor's notes on the above.

perty in Ire

(2) This first mention of tithes should be carefully Original of noted. For neither in these nor in the other Irish annals Church prois there any where mention made of Church property, and. down to this year 1152, under any other denomination than the episcopal tribute of Armagh, which is called the Riar Patraice, and the episcopal tribute of Derry called the Riar Coluimcille. Other churches as well as these had their lands assigned to them of old by the kings, which went by the name of Termon, i. e. (Terræ immunes) free lands, and nemeadh, as above at A.D. 1148. The word Riar signifies the king's land, or portion, or donation, such as the old churches were endowed with by the kings in ancient times."