The Normans
Thursday, May 15th, 2008
Above : Picture Of Normans Knight
It is necessary to understand who and what were those Normans to whose King the deposed Diarmuid had gone for support against his fellow-countrymen.
Archive for the ‘The Coming Of The Normans’ Category
Diarmuid Macmurrough
Wednesday, May 14th, 2008
Above : Picture Of Diarmuid Macmurrough
It was, apparently, towards the close of the year 1166 that Diarmuid furtively left his dun of Ferns and sailed across the Irish Sea for the coast of Wales. He first made his way to Bristol, then the chief city of the West of England, with close associations with the people of Leinster. Thence lie journeyed to seek Henry of Anjou. That King was then in Aquitaine, a great province lying south of France, of which he was Duke under the nominal suzerainty of the King of France. Henry was busily engaged at the time in fighting his own subjects of Aquitaine and also his liege lord, the King of France. He was so much occupied by his ambitions for Continental power that he was unable to give personal assistance to Diarmuid. But he welcomed the exile, and sympathised with his story of revolted subjects and an unjust suzerain. Besides, he had for some time fostered designs upon the western island. Accordingly, he gave liberty to Diarmuid to recruit such of the Norman adventurers on the Welsh marches as might be enticed into an enterprise in Ireland.
The First Adventurers
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
Above : Picture Of Robert Fitz-Stephen
In the month of May, 1169, the first body of the adventurers arrived under the leadership of Robert Fitz-Stephen and others. About 2,000 strong, they landed at Bannow Bay in the extreme south of the present county of Wexford. The district was part of Ui Cinnsealaigh, and the people of the open country were loyal to their chief. But on the one side lay Waterford, and on the other Wexford, and the Norse inhabitants of both towns were bitterly hostile to Diarmuid. From Ferns, Diarmuid sent a body of men under his natural son, Domhnall Caomhanach (” Kavanagh “) to meet his friends, and the combined forces attacked Wexford. Retreating before the mail-clad knights, the inhabitants defended the walls and beat off their assailants. At length, however, they yielded on terms, and recognised Diarmuid as their lord. The town and surrounding country were granted to Fitz Stephen and his principal associates.
Adventurers Continues
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
Above : Picture Of St. Laurence O’Toole
Two of the great seaports on the eastern coast were now in the possession of the invaders. Greater than either, however, was Dublin. Like them, it was occupied by inhabitants of Norse descent, and, like Wexford, it was situated in Laighin, and Diarmuid, therefore, had claims over it. All the Norse, however, had fiercely resisted the supremacy of Diarmuid, and they were even less friendly disposed towards the Norman barons and their armies of Flemish soldiers, whose record of pillage in England was well known to them. The Norse of Dublin had a special reason for fearing Mac Murrough, for they had murdered his father and given him an ignominious burial. Accordingly when Diarmuid sent messengers demanding their submission, their King, Asculph Mac Torkill defied him, and, on the other hand, besought the help of the Ard Ri.
Arrival Of Henry
Sunday, May 11th, 2008
Above : Picture Of Henry II
On the 18th October, 1171, Henry’s fleet of 400 ships arrived in Waterford Harbour, and the King landed at Crook with a fully equipped army of nearly 10,000 men. From the first he professed to come not as a conqueror, but to curb his lawless subjects and to protect the Irish from their aggression. When the people of Wexford handed him over their prisoner, Fitz-Stephen, he ordered him to be fettered—but released him in a few days. At the same time, however, he claimed an acknowledgment of his over-lordship as a powerful and protecting sovereign.
The Feudal System
Saturday, May 10th, 2008
Above : Empire Of Charlemagne Map
Some knowledge of the feudal system is necessary in order to understand the new relations which were created between Henry and the Irish, when on the one hand the chiefs acknowledged the supremacy of the King, and on the other hand he professed to give away large tracts of Irish land to his followers. The ” submissions ” as well as the ” grants ” were looked upon by both parties from different points of view, and their meaning was interpreted in different ways by the Irish, whose ideas were those of the clan system, and by the Normans, who were governed by the feudal system. Two different conceptions of social and political life were brought into conflict.
The “Submissions” & The “Grants”
Friday, May 9th, 2008
Above : Another Picture Of Henry II
It will be seen, therefore, that so far as the submissions made to Henry II by the Irish chiefs were concerned, there was not so much difference between the Irish and feudal conceptions of their meaning. In Ireland, from time immemorial, the chiefs of a tribe or an oi^-jm’ acknowledged the supremacy of the \u without sacrificing the internal independence or the possessions of his clan. Nor did the homage paid to the •cV.jvo-’Rt before the time of Brian confer upon him any right to interfere in the jurisdiction of such of the ” provincial Kings” as acknowledged him. The removal of the ” provincial Kings ” had left the political integrity of the clans unimpaired, although their chiefs now submitted to the High King himself direct. Similar personal submissions conferring no right of interference in internal affairs were well known under feudalism. Henry himself paid homage to the King of France, but had absolute dominion over his duchies of Normandy and Aquitaine and his other possessions, and he was, in fact, at constant war with his liege lord. The dukes and counts who ruled most of what is now France were similarly placed, and so also were the kings, dukes and electors who comprised the Empire of the Germans. Kings of Scotland had frequently paid homage and fealty to English Kings, but they still ruled their own Kingdom.