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John, the King's son, landed in Ireland.

Robert Stevnson, foreman of the conquest.

The right of England to Ireland.

King Angusse of
Ireland was sum-
moned to come to
King Artur's court.

In Artur's time King Anguss of Ireland did war again [st] him with 5,000 men of arms. -The first Book of King Artur.

Also in the 8. Book of Artur, King Marke of Cornwall ought truage to the King of Ireland.

When the King's son made ready all things for to come in Ireland he put him to sail at Melford. After Easter day he had good wind, and on the morrow he landed at Waterforde with three hundred knights with many horsemen and footmen with him. He landed the year 22* his father's coming into Ireland, the 21 year of the Earl's coming, the 20 of Robert FitzStevens' coming, the year of our Lord's Incarnation 1185. Robert Stevenson was foreman, and opened the way before the Earl, and the Earl before the King, and the King before his son. And much was it to behold and praised, and great things he began that first into Ireland so boldly came. thing to begin was worthy much praise, and he that after the beginning so nobly came for to do that thing which was begun; and most of all to praise he that all thing[s] fully ended, and the lordship cleanly wan over all others.

The

Here men may well understand that the Englishmen came not with so much unright into the land as many folk think; for Robert Stev[e]nson's son and the Earl, with good right, came to McMorhoe into Leynester on his truth.† Nevertheless, Waterford, Mythe, nor of Dessemond, the Earl, at the beginning, came not to him, but conquered it out of Leynester. Neither said he that he had fully right thereto but by conquest, but of the first part of the land that was the Earl['s] through his wife. That lordship clearly the Earl gave the King, and all the princes of the land there by their good will after yielded them to the King, to be evermore subject to him and to his.

Upon all this the Pope of Rome, that is head of all Christendom, and that hath a special right of all the islands of Christendom as wide as the world is; he gave plainly and confirmed to the King the lordship of the land, as it is afore i-told. And of the elders right we findeth eke written that the Kings of England have had Ireland. Germone, Beline's son, King of Bretayne, that now is England, he came into Ireland, and the land had many a year borne him truage and other after him in Britayne. Thereafter, King Arture had truage out of Ireland, and Gelmorye, the chief King in Ireland that then was, with other Kings of the land, was with him at the great feast that he held at Carlione. On the other half, the folk of Ireland came foremost out of Basteles and out of Bayone, that longeths now to Gasquoyne, whereof the King[s] of England have been Lords. And thus men may well understand that both by old right and by new the Kings of England ought well to have the lordship of Ireland; and though the people of the land never had been subject there-before, yet they all,

*"of" omitted?

† [Note at foot :]-" Another cause was, that the Earl came for love of his daughter."

+ Sic.

$"longyht," MS.

f. 49. The let of the conquest.

4 prophets in Ireland.

by their good will, yield[ed] them to King Henry, by oaths and by hostages, and all things that himself liked; and the people that after him granted and confirmed the lordship of the land, and recorded all them that in any time there came; and now, through falsehood and unstableness that in them is, and little knowledge have they of what is oaths and monessinge; but so a man may bind himself with such things, but not so lightly unbind himself with such things; and in King Henry the Eighth's time all the Irish lords of Ireland did surrender their lands unto his Grace, and took these same lands to hold of his Majesty for ever. This is most truest.‡

Master Gerald telleth no further of the conquest, but of the let where through the land was not clearly conquered and brought unto peace. He telleth of those that had first come hither to conquest full well sped, if the King had not so soon sent them away, and forbade that no man should have come more to Ireland, and they that were into the land come, they should the land leave, and turn again, either lose all that they had of the King in other lands. And when the King was come into the land himself with so much power, it had been well enough if he had not so soon turne[d] again through the Pope's hestes and the Cardinals', and eke the foulles § that his sons had provided to him the while that he was out of the land; for the people that at the beginning heard of his sudden coming was so swift dismayed, and afraid of the weaponed men, stalworthness, and of the fear of arrows, through long abiding and sloth of masters, and that no stalworthness neither truth could be found in them. But by little and little the Irish learned to handle their weapon[s], to bear harness, and to shoot, and so did exercise themselves thereto, that oft after befel wonderly good fortune in fight upon Englishmen, and on this manner, that at the beginning lightly might be i-shent and i-brought under foot, through worthy, bold, and stalworth, which did stand and defend themselves. Men may read and over-see the Book of Kings and the Book of Prophets from end to end; and other times that afore hath been, men shall find how the wrath and displeasure of God came upon the folk of Ireland, both for their sins and unhappy living, to have war and wreak of other outlands-men. Nevertheless, God Almighty was not then so vengeable wrath that he would them fully to be undone.

Men say that the Irishmen had four prophets in their time: Patrick, Marlen, Braken, and Collumkill. Whosoever hath books in Irish written, every of them speak of the fight of this conquest, and saith that long strife and oft fighting shall be

*Sic; qu. "monishing." Here a few words are struck out.
From here to the end of the paragraph is in a different hand.
"trevys," MS.

§ The reading of this word is dubious.

66 weare and wrecke," MS.

Barkan's prophecy of English

men.

An act past, recited, may be a learning.

The manner of Irishmen, and how they were used.

f. 50.

The Irish banded themselves.

An history of the
Bible.

for this land, and the land shall be harried* and stained with great slaughter of men, but the Englishmen fully shall have the mastery a little before doomsday, and that land shall be from sea to sea i-castled and fully won, but the Inglishmen shall be after that well feeble in the land and disdained. So Barcan saith, that through a King that shall come out of the wild mountains of Saint Patrick's, that much people shall slew, and after shall break a castle in the wooden country of Affayle, with that the Englishmen of Ireland shall be destroyed by that.f

Now and for that thing that was the King's son's travail, and had much costs at this time, and sped not as he thought to do, it is no harm though men set it here in writing, for though of thing[s] that is passed there is no remedy, nevertheless, for that things that is to come, men may beware by ensample of their deeds past. When the King's son was come to Ireland at Waterforde, thither come to him all the Irishmen of that country, rich and poor, and besought of him peace, and made much gladness at his coming, and took him as their Lord, and proferred to kiss him. Then some of the new men, and namely of the Normans, they were shamefully retained and put back with their hand[s] by the beards; and this is the manner of the country to kiss their friend[s]. And, as soon as they came to their own dwelling, with all that they had, they withdrew them and left the country, and went to the King of Thomand, and also to the King of Dessemond and the King of Connoght, and told them how they had received the King of England's son with a company of younglings governed, and by young men that he brought,§ which had no wit nor stalworthness; with them was found no stedfastness nor truth to Irishmen.

When tidings thereof sprang abroad the country, the governors of Ireland were there ready to come to the King's son and do unto him homage; then thought they, that after small harm would come more, and when such things was done unto good men, they would do unto them worse than they did to the others. They took to reade and sware together that they would, upon their lives, withstand the rights of their old freedoms, and to defend them all together to the hour of their death. And for that they should this think, every wise man understood him by Salamon's son, how much harm falleth of pride and overthwartship. When he, after his father, was made King of Israel, the people to him did come, and besought him that he should them somewhat abridge of the service that they were wont to do his father. He was young, and by young men['s]

* 66
"horied," MS.

"that" seems to be struck out.
"by" omitted?

"wrought," MS.

In the King's son's time all the land perished.

The country ill guided, as it hath been since many times.

counsel asked and said, "My father's finger is smaller than mine, and if he you beat with yards, I will you beat with briars." Through that answer the ten kindreds him left, and made them a King of Jeroboam, and never after were under him, neither none of his; and all the folk of Israel, none with him abode but two kindreds.

Upon this the Irishmen of Fernes,† since the time that Robert Stev[e]nsone first came into this land, truly with Englishmen had they ever been taken against their foemen. And they anon turned against the Englishmen, and did to them all the harm they might devise unto the Englishmen, if it were so much the more, as they might in their enterprise do.

The towns upon the sea and the castles, with the lands that to them belongeth, and the truage and the rents that should be spent in coming to the land, they were set to such that well fain gathered gold and silver, with eating and drinking, and leading of a[n] idle life, and all thing[s] unprofitably wasted, to the harm of peace-men and not of foemen. Among other harms betide yet more in the land. They were shrewd‡ and angry folk, so wayward and so unready, and so much harm did; the keeping and the mastery have they in hand, that rather had their rich robes than weapon[s]; had rather to sit at board than any host to lead; rather to flee than to fight; lever to hold a fair maid by the womb than spear and shield to bear in hand; neither true to their subjects nor dreadful unto their enemies. They had not that good heart, neither of kind it came to them for to speak well, and would wreak them on the poor; but for all that they spared not him but strived against the stream, and banished them that no harm did. Under which governors the Irishmen began to be proud, and to take over hand of the Englishmen.

They brent and slew, robbed and stale. The masters, with their meynghe,§ held them alway within the cities. Upon the seas there was plenty of wine and of women, to which they were all clean i-give to; but the land[s] within and the marches next their enemies, the castles and towns that were amid were i-left and brent, the men robbed and slain, without any let. The good knights and eldest people of the land, as men that nought told by, that while withdrew them all sleghtly, and held them all still for to await what ending such hideous stoures would then come to; that through the land, in all places, was wailing and mourning, yelling and crying. In all the ways no man durst to meet with other.

[blocks in formation]

f. 51.

The young Prince called his Council, and chose Sir John Coursey, ruler of all.

**

Every day came tidings of burning and slewing, robbing and revenge, in the outlands; under a little shadow of peace was in the borough towns, where, as the wine quenched all the sorrow, the gold and silver all other harms. Whereas men should in such ways wend from country to country with folk weaponed, and chast[is]ed them of that misdeed, they sat as justice[s] been in their robes of scarlet and miniver, men with swords and battes, them for to keep where were no need. Then was there nothing but pleading and raigning of good men and true that no harm did; was worse,† them did the harm, they there had the robbing and revenge that their enemies them did.

Another thing that much was to rue befel also, where God was most displeased. The Prince that came newly into the land, it became every man to worship God and their Prince, and holy Church, maintaining the rights, and give more praise unto him. But that new Prince only held him from that for to eschew the good of holy Church; but lands, rents, and privileges, they of the old world had used at their first coming in many places, he took after.

King Henry sending his son John as Lord of Ireland into Ireland, bringing with him such a company of young gentlemen, nothing careful of the country, but given their minds always to disdain those‡ that was before them as old soldiers, which was, is, and shall be the common usages of all those that to Ireland come, as though they all had with one mind sworn this same custom to observe from the beginning to the ending; those men gave their delights and pleasure to painted clothes, great and horrible oaths, drinking of wine, deflowering of women and maidens against their wills, lying in soft beds and warm clothes, and made no account of none but of themselves, and were great dissemblers and flatterers; and no man loved they but those that they kept, but of earnest, faithful, and true men they made no accompt, for those was contrary to their disposition.

At length the country that was well stablished with great civility, riches, and quietness became at length through their misgovernment so far out of order that no man could travel in safety without slaughter, robbery, or imprisonment throughout the country. As they were in rags § afore, so they waxed poor and in thraldom. After that wonder it was to behold, that at length no man thought him sure of his life unless he were within a strong town or castle.

The young Prince called his Council, required at them the cause of these disorders, and after long debate between them confessed their fault and the cause thereof. Upon this the Prince called for Sir John Coursey, and gave him the charge

*"revinge," MS. ; qu. "ravin.”
† Sic.

"thes," MS. "reges," MS.

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