An Illustrated History of Ireland from AD 400 to 1800 Part 31

"It was not, however, within this town that the ceremony of Bruce's coronation took place, but, according to the best avouched tradition, on the hill of Knock-na-Melin, at half a mile's distance.

"Connaught the while was torn with dissensions and family feuds, of which availing himself, 'the Lord Justice' (to resume the narrative of Hollinshed) 'a.s.sembled a great power out of Munster and Leinster, and other parts thereabouts; and the Earl of Ulster, with another army, came in unto him near unto Dundalk. There they consulted together how to deal in defending the country against the enemies; but, hearing the Scots were withdrawn back, the Earl of Ulster followed them, and, fighting with them at "Coiners," he lost the field. There were many slain on both parts; and William de Burgh, the Earl's brother, Sir John Mandeville, and Sir Alan FitzAlan were taken prisoners.' Bruce's adherents afterwards ravaged other parts of the Pale, Meath, Kildare, &c., but met with much, resistance. At length 'Robert le Bruce, King of Scots, came over himself, landed at Cragfergus, to the aid of his brother, whose soldiers most wickedly entered into churches, spoiling and defacing the same of all such tombs, monuments, plate, copes, and other ornaments which they found and might lay hands on.' Ultimately 'the Lord John Bermingham, being general of the field, and having with him divers captains of worthy fame, namely--Sir Richard Tuiyte, Sir Miles Verdon, Sir John Cusack, Sirs Edmund, and William, and Walter Bermingham, the Primate of Armagh, Sir Walter de la Pulle, and John Maupas (with some choice soldiers from Drogheda), led forth the King's power to the number of 1,324 able men, against Edward Bruce, who had, with his adherents (the Lord Philip Moubray, the Lord Walter Soulis, the Lord Allan Stuart, with three brothers, Sir Walter Lacy, Sir Robert and Aumar Lacy, John Kermerelyn, Walter White, and about 3,000 others, writes Pembridge), encamped, not two miles from Dundalk, with 3,000 men, there abiding the Englishmen to fight with them if they came forward, which they did with all convenient speed, being as desirous to give battle as the Scots were to receive it. The Primate of Armagh, personally accompanying the English power, and blessing the enterprise, gave them such comfortable exhortation as he thought served the time ere they began to encounter, and herewith buckling together, at length the Scots fully and wholly were vanquished, and 2,000 of them slain, together with the Captain, Edward Bruce. Maupas, that pressed into the throng to encounter with Bruce hand to hand, was found, in the search, dead, aloft upon the slain body of Bruce. The victory thus obtained, upon St. Calixtus' day, made an end of the Scottish kingdom in Ireland; and Lord Bermingham, sending the head of Bruce into England, presented it to King Edward, who, in recompense, gave him and his heirs male the Earldom of Louth, and the Baronies of Ardee and Athenry to him and his heirs general for ever,' as hereafter noticed.

"'Edward Bruce,' say the Four Masters, 'a man who spoiled Ireland generally, both English and Irish, was slain by the English, by force of battle and bravery, at Dundalk; and MacRory, Lord of the Hebrides, MacDonell, Lord of the Eastern Gael (in Antrim), and many others of the Albanian or Scottish chiefs were also slain; and no event occurred in Ireland for a long period from which so much benefit was derived as that, for a general famine prevailed in the country during the three years and a half he had been in it, and the people were almost reduced to the necessity of eating each other.' Edward Bruce was, however, unquestionably a man of great spirit, ambition, and bravery, but fiery, rash, and impetuous, wanting that rare combination of wisdom and valour which so conspicuously marked the character of his ill.u.s.trious brother.

"During the sojourn of Edward Bruce in this kingdom, he did much to r.e.t.a.r.d the spread of English rule. Having for allies many of the northern Irish, whose chieftain, O'Neill, invited him to be King over the Gael in Ireland, and whose neighbourhood to the Scottish coast made them regard his followers as their fellow-countrymen, he courted them on all occasions, and thus the Irish customs of gossipred and fostering--preferring the Brehon laws to statute law, whether enacted at Westminster or by the Parliaments of the Pale--destroyed all traces of the rule which the English wished to impose upon the province of Ulster.

Many of the English settlers--Hugh de Lacy, John Lord Bissett, Sir Hugh Bissett, and others--openly took part with Bruce.

"The eastern sh.o.r.es of Ulster, Spenser informs us, previous to Bruce's arrival, bounded a well-inhabited and prosperous English district, having therein the good towns of Knockfergus, Belfast, Armagh, and Carlingford; but in process of time became 'outbounds and abandoned places in the English Pale.' According to the metrical history of Barbour, Edward Bruce was by no means disposed to continue a subject, while his brother reigned King; and, though Robert conferred his hereditary Earldom of Carrick upon him, it by no means satisfied his ambitious projects:--

"'The Erle of Carrick, Schyr Eduward, That stouter was than a libbard, And had na will to be in pess, Thoucht that Scotland to litill was Till his brother and hym alsua, Therefor to purpose he gav ta That he of Irland wold be king.'

"Shortly after his landing at Carrickfergus he proceeded towards the Pale. Dundalk, then the princ.i.p.al garrison within the Pale, had all the Englishry of the country a.s.sembled in force to defend it, when the Scots proceeded to the attack, 'with banners all displayit.' The English sent out a reconnoitering party, who brought back the cheering news, the Scots would be but 'half a dinner' to them. This dinner, however, was never eaten. The town was stormed with such vigour that the streets flowed with the blood of the defenders; and such as could escape fled with the utmost precipitancy, leaving their foes profusion of victuals and great abundance of wine. This a.s.sault took place 29th June, 1315. It was upon this success the Scots crowned Edward Bruce King of Ireland, on the hill of Knocknamelan, near Dundalk, in the same simple national manner in which his brother had been inaugurated at Scone.

"The new monarch, however, was not disposed to rest inactive, and his troops had many skirmishes with Richard de Burgh, called the Red Earl of Ulster, who drove them as far as Coleraine. There they were in great distress; and they would have suffered much from hunger and want, had not a famous pirate, Thomas of Down, or Thomas Don, sailed up the Bann and set them free. De Burgh's army were supplied with provisions from a distance; and one of Bruce's famous leaders, named Randolph, Earl of Murray, who commanded the left wing at Bannockburn, having surprised the convoy on its way to De Burgh's camp, equipped his men in the clothes of the escort, advanced at dusk with his cavalry, and the banner of the English flaunting in the night wind. A large party of De Burgh's force, perceiving, as they thought, the approach of the expected provisions, advanced unguardedly to drive off the cattle, when they were vigorously a.s.sailed by the Scots, shouting their war-cry, and they were chased back with the loss of a thousand slain. De Burgh's army included all the chivalry of Ireland--that is, the English portion, viz.:--'The Butlers, earls two, of Kildare and Desmond; Byrnhame (Bermingham), Widdan (Verdon), and FitzWaryne, and Schyr Paschall off Florentyne, a Knight of Lombardy; with the Mandvillas, Bissetts, Logans, Savages, and Schyr Nycholl off Kilkenave.' _The Ulster Journal_ thinks this list of Barbour's incorrect; certainly Sir Edmond Butler was not among them, nor probably either of the Geraldine lords. Some lords of Munster, however, were present--Power, Baron of Donisle; Sir George Lord Roche, and Sir Roger Hollywood, of county Meath.

"On the 10th September, A.D. 1315, De Burgh, being reinforced, marched to attack Bruce's position; but the Scots, leaving their banners flying to deceive the Anglo-Irish, fell upon their flank and gained the victory. This gave them Coleraine; and next day they bore off a great store of corn, flour, wax, and wine, to Carrickfergus.

"This success gave to the Gael of the north an opportunity of declaring their exultation. Bruce, whose royal authority was previously confined to his Scottish troops, was proclaimed King of Ireland, and addressed as such.

"He then sent the Earl of Murray to Edinburgh, where the King of Scotland kept his court, entreating him to join him in Ireland.

"'For war thai both in to that land Thai suld find nane culd thaim withstand.'

"Robert gladly promised compliance, but was for some time prevented by the exigencies of his own kingdom. Murray returned with a small reinforcement, but 500 men, and landed at Dundalk, where Edward Bruce met him. This was in the December of 1315.

"In January, 1316, Edward Bruce led his forces into the county of Kildare, and was stoutly opposed by the Lord Justiciary, or Viceroy, Sir Edward Butler, who, backed by the Geraldines, under John Fitzgerald, first Earl of Kildare, bravely repulsed the invaders. They retreated with the loss of Sir Walter Murray and Sir Fergus of Ardrossan, with seventy men, as Clyn records. A new ally for the Palesmen arrived at this juncture--Mortimer, Lord of Meath, in right of his wife, Joan de Joinville. He a.s.sembled a large force, and endeavoured to intercept the Scots at Kells, but, on the eve of the onset, was deserted by the Lacys and others, who left him almost defenceless. The season and scarcity made war against the Scots, and vast numbers perished from hunger. Bruce was forced to retreat once more northward, where his chief adherents lay. The citadel of Carrickfergus resisted the attacks of Bruce's army for a year. It was in this town that (probably in September, 1316) Robert, King of Scotland, with a strong force, came to his brother's help. Barbour gives the number who accompanied Robert at 5,000. This was enough to make the Viceroy take heed for his government. He hasted, Barbour says:

"'To Dewellyne, in full gret by, With othyr lordis that fled him by, And warnysit both castyls and towness That war in their possessionnys.'

"The stout defence of Dublin is already mentioned; and, as on the fate of this metropolis the duration of English rule depended in Ireland, the public spirit and intrepidity of the citizens of Dublin ought, according to Lord Hailes, be held in perpetual remembrance. The citizens took the defence of the city into their own hands. The chief civic dignity was at that time most worthily borne by Robert Nottingham, who seems to have distanced the celebrated Sir Richard Whittington considerably, being _seventeen times_ Mayor of Dublin. Knowing the close connexion between the Earl of Ulster and the Bruces (he was father of the Queen of Scots), the Mayor headed a strong band of citizens, and resolved to make him a hostage for the safety of the city. This was not effected without loss of life. The Mayor succeeded, and announced 'he would put the earl to death if the city was attacked.' This prompt step had the desired effect. Robert Bruce feared to risk his father-in-law's life, and, instead of entering the city, turned aside and encamped. Time was gained, of which the citizens promptly availed themselves. That night the blazing suburbs told they were ready to antic.i.p.ate the fire of Moscow, rather than allow their invaders to possess their capital. They also worked so hard to strengthen the walls, that the Scots, seeing such determination, broke up their camp and retired. The value set upon the earl as a hostage was so great, that, although the King of England instantly wrote for his liberation, he was detained until the Scots left the kingdom.

"Disappointed in their efforts on Dublin, the Scots ravaged the Pale, burned Naas, plundered Castledermot, pa.s.sed on to Gowran, and advanced to Callan; thence they went to Limerick. Sir Edmond Butler followed with an army of 30,000 well-armed men; but, at the express desire of Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, the Lord Deputy, who was himself desirous of having the command against the King of Scots, delayed the encounter.

"Mortimer did not accomplish this; for, shortly after, Robert hastened to his own kingdom, leaving a great number of his bravest knights to carry on the war for his brother. Edward continued in the north for several months, and once more proceeded south.

"'For he had not then in that land Of all men, I trow, two thousand, Owtane (except) the Kings of Irischery That in great route raid him by, Towart Dundalk he tuk the way.'

"When the Viceroy was aware of the advance of the Scots towards the Pale, he a.s.sembled a great army, said to amount to '20,000 trappit horse,' and an equal number of foot.

"The approach of this immensely superior force did not dishearten the brother of the lion-hearted King of Scotland. He declared he would fight were they sixfold more numerous.

"In vain his officers and allies counselled caution; in vain the Irish chiefs recommended him to avoid a pitched battle, and hara.s.s the enemy by skirmishing. Edward indignantly bade them 'draw aside, and look on,'

which Barbour declares they did. A very interesting account on the battle on St. Callixtus' day is given in the _Ulster Archaeological Journal_. The battle was on Sunday, 14th October, 1318. According to Barbour, Edward Bruce had a presentiment of his death, and would not use his usual coat-armour. The legend is, that having the idea the fall of King Edward Bruce would decide the battle, Sir John Bermingham, leader of the Anglo-Irish army, disguised himself as a friar, pa.s.sed into the Scottish camp, and, being shown the king, who was hearing Ma.s.s, craved alms, so as to induce Bruce to look up from his prayer-book. This gave Bermingham the opportunity of marking well his face, in order to single him out in the fray. The king ordered relief to be given to the importunate friar; but the eager glance of the intrusive applicant so disquieted him--agitated, doubtless, from the idea of his small force being about to engage at such desperate odds--that he presently caused the attendants to look for the friar, but he was nowhere to be found.

This caused him to array one Gib Harper in his armour, and appoint Lord Alan Stewart general of the field. The fight commenced with a rapid charge on the Scots by the Anglo-Irish under Bermingham. With him were divers lords and a great army. The force was chiefly composed, however, of yeomanry, or, as an ancient record says, 'the common people, with a powerful auxiliary _dextram Dei_.' Bermingham, believing Lord Stewart was Bruce, singled him out, and, after a terrible combat, slew him, whereon the Scots fled. According to the _Howth Chronicle_, few escaped, their loss being 1,230 men. Bruce's death is generally ascribed to John Mapas, one of the Drogheda contingent. The _Ulster Journal_ states:--'There can be little doubt that the ancient Anglo-Irish family of "Mape," of Maperath, in the shire of Meath, was descended from this distinguished slayer of Edward Bruce.' The heiress of John Mapas, Esq., of Rochestown, county of Dublin, was married to the late Richard Wogan Talbot, Esq., of Malahide. After the defeat at Dundalk, the small remnant of the Scottish invaders yet alive fled northward, where they met a body of troops sent by King Robert as a reinforcement to his brother. They could not make head against the victorious troops of Bermingham, so they made their way to the coast, burning and destroying the country through which they pa.s.sed."

[Ill.u.s.tration: BUTLER'S TOMB, FRIARY CHURCH, CLONMEL.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: CARRICKFERGUS.]

FOOTNOTES:

[337] _Crime_.--We really must enter a protest against the way in which Irish history is written by some English historians. In Wright's _History of Ireland_ we find the following gratuitous a.s.sertion offered to excuse De Clare's crime: "Such a refinement of cruelty _must_ have arisen from a suspicion of treachery, or from some other grievous offence with which we are not acquainted." If all the dark deeds of history are to be accounted for in this way, we may bid farewell to historical justice. And yet this work, which is written in the most prejudiced manner, has had a far larger circulation in Ireland than Mr.

Haverty's truthful and well-written history. When Irishmen support such works, they must not blame their neighbours across the Channel for accepting them as truthful histories.

[338] _Shooting_.--Four Masters, vol. iii. p. 435. These champions appear to have been very famous. They are mentioned in the Annals of Ulster and in the Annals of Clonmacnois, with special commendations for their skill. The following year O'Dowda was killed by Adam Cusack. It is hoped that he is not the same person as "the Cusack" whom he had a.s.sisted just before.

[339] _Horses_.--As votaries of the turf maybe interested in knowing the appellations of equine favourites in the thirteenth century, we subjoin a sample of their names: Lynst, Jourdan, Feraunt de Trim, Blanchard de Londres, Connetable, Obin the Black, &c.

[340] _Progress_.--The following pa.s.sage is taken from a work published a few years ago. It is not a work of any importance, but it had some circulation in its day; and like many other works then published, was calculated to do immense mischief, by quoting the false statements of Cambrensis as authority, and by giving grotesque sketches of Irish character, which were equally untrue. The writer says: "They [the Irish chieftains] opposed the introduction of English law, because they had a direct interest in encouraging murder and theft." The fact was, as we have shown, that the Irish did their best to obtain the benefit of English law; but the English n.o.bles who ruled Ireland would not permit it, unquestionably "because _they_ had a direct interest encouraging murder and theft."

[341] _Calculating_.--We derived the word from _calculus_, a white stone, the Romans having used small white stones for arithmetical purposes. Probably they taught this custom to the aboriginal English, whose descendants retained it long after.

[342] _Notched_.--Quite as primitive an arrangement as the _quipus_, and yet used in a condition of society called civilized.

[343] _Salary_.--The value may be estimated by the current price of provisions: cows from 5s. to 13s. 4d. each; heifers, 3s. 4d. to 5s.; sheep, 8d. to 1s.; ordinary horses, 13s. 4d. to 40s.; pigs, 1s. 6d. to 2s.; salmon, 6d. each; wheat, corn, and malt varied with the produce of the season. Most of the details given above have been taken from Mr.

Gilbert's _Viceroys_.

[344] _Carbury_.--Extensive ruins still mark the site.

[345] _Oppression_.--The original Latin is preserved by Fordun.

Translations may be found in the Abbe MacGeoghegan's _History of Ireland_, p. 323, and in Plowden's _Historical Review_. We append one clause, in which these writers complain of the corruption of manners produced by intercourse with the English settlers: "Quod sancta et columbina ejus simplicitas, ex eorum cohabitatione et exemplo reprobo, in serpentinam calliditatem mirabiliter est mutata."

[346] _Effect_.--See Theiner, _Vet. Man. Hiber. et Scot._ p. 188, for the efforts made by the Holy See to procure peace. The Pope's letter to Edward III. will be found at p. 206. It is dated _Avinione, iii. Kal.

Junii, Pontificatus nostri anno secundo._

[347] _Prisoners_.--Gilbert's _Viceroys_, p. 138.

[348] _Subject.--History of Dundalk_, pp. 46-58.

CHAPTER XXII.

The Butlers--Quarrels of the Anglo-Norman n.o.bles--Treachery and its Consequences--The Burkes proclaim themselves Irish--Opposition Parliaments--The Statute of Kilkenny and its Effects--Mistakes of English Writers--Social Life in Ireland described by a French Knight--"Banishment" to Ireland--Richard II. visits Ireland.

[A.D. 1326-1402.]

Richard de Burgo, the Red Earl, died in 1326. He took leave of the n.o.bles after a magnificent banquet at Kilkenny. When he had resigned his possessions to his grandson, William, he retired into the Monastery of Atha.s.sel, where he expired soon after. In the same year Edward II.

attempted to take refuge in Ireland, from the vengeance of his people and his false Queen, the "she-wolf of France." He failed in his attempt, and was murdered soon after--A.D. 1327.

The Butler family now appear prominently in Irish history for the first time. It would appear from Carte[349] that the name was originally Walter, Butler being an addition distinctive of office. The family was established in Ireland by Theobald Walter (Gaultier), an Anglo-Norman of high rank, who received extensive grants of land from Henry II., together with the hereditary office of "Pincerna," Boteler, or Butler, in Ireland, to the Kings of England. In this capacity he and his successors were to attend these monarchs at their coronation, and present them, with the first cup of wine. In return they obtained many privileges. On account of the quarrels between this family and the De Burgos, De Berminghams, Le Poers, and the southern Geraldines, royal letters were issued, commanding them, under pain of forfeiture, to desist from warring on each other. The result was a meeting of the factious peers in Dublin, at which they engaged to keep the "King's peace." On the following day they were entertained by the Earl of Ulster; the next day, at St. Patrick's, by Maurice FitzThomas; and the third day by the Viceroy and his fellow Knights Hospitallers, who had succeeded the Templars at Kilmainham. The Earldoms of Ormonde[350] and Desmond were now created. The heads of these families long occupied an important place in Irish affairs. Butler died on his return from a pilgrimage to Compostella, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Jacques--"a liberal, friendly, pleasant, and stately youth"--who was married this year to King Edward's cousin, Eleanor, daughter of the Earl of Ess.e.x. The Desmond peerage was created in 1329, when the County Palatine[351] of Kerry was given to that family.

The quarrels of these n.o.bles seemed to have originated, or rather to have culminated, in an insulting speech made by Poer to FitzGerald, whom he designated a "rhymer." The "King's peace" did not last long; and in 1330 the Lord Justice was obliged to imprison both Desmond and Ulster, that being the only method in which they could be "bound over to keep the peace." The following year Sir Anthony de Lucy was sent to Ireland, as he had a reputation for summary justice. He summoned a Parliament in Dublin; but as the barons did not condescend to attend, he adjourned it to Kilkenny. This arrangement also failed to procure their presence. He seized Desmond, who had been placed in the care of the Sheriff of Limerick, and conveyed him to Dublin Castle. Several other n.o.bles were arrested at the same time. Sir William Bermingham was confined with his son in the Keep of Dublin Castle, which still bears his name. He was hanged there soon after. De Lucy was recalled to England, probably in consequence of the indignation which was excited by this execution.[352]