View source for Lordship of Ireland

{{Short description|Territory in Ireland owned by the Holy See, but under Lordship of the English Crown}}
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{{more citations needed|date=April 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name            = {{native name|la|Dominium Hiberniae}}<br/>{{native name|nrf|Seygnurie de Hirlaunde}}<br/>{{native name|ga|Tiarnas na hÉireann}}
| conventional_long_name = Lordship of Ireland
| status                 = Client state
| status_text            = [[Pope|Papal]] possession held in [[fief]] by the [[King of England]]
| common_name            = Ireland
| era                    = [[Middle Ages]]
| year_start             = 1177
| date_start             = May
| year_end               = 1542
| date_end               = June
| event_start            = Established
| event_end              = [[Crown of Ireland Act 1542|Crown of Ireland Act]]
| p1                     = Gaelic Ireland
| flag_p1                = 
| s1                     = Kingdom of Ireland
| flag_s1                = Royal Standard of Ireland (1542–1801).svg
| image_flag             = Banner of the Lordship of Ireland.svg
| flag_type              = Flag
| flag                   = List of flags of Ireland
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of the Lordship of Ireland.svg
| symbol_type            = Coat of arms{{efn|A commission of [[Edward IV of England|Edward IV]] into the arms of Ireland found these to be the arms of the Lordship. The blazon is ''Azure, three crowns in pale Or, bordure Argent''. Typically, bordered arms represent the younger branch of a family or maternal descent.<ref>{{cite book | first1 = W. G. | last1 = Perrin | first2 = Herbert S. | last2 = Vaughan | year = 1922 | title = British Flags. Their Early History and their Development at Sea; with an Account of the Origin of the Flag as a National Device | publisher = Cambridge University Press | place = Cambridge | pages = 51–52}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | quote = The insignia of Ireland have variously been given by early writers. In the reign of Edward IV, a commission appointed to enquire what were the arms of Ireland found them to be 'three crowns in pale'. It has been supposed that these crowns were abandoned at the Reformation, from an idea that they might denote the feudal sovereignty of the pope, whose vassal the king of England was, as lord of Ireland | title = Chambers's Encyclopædia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge | year = 1868 | page = 627}}</ref>}}
| symbol                 = Coat of arms of Ireland
| image_map              = Lordship of Ireland, 1300.png
| image_map_caption      = The Lordship of Ireland (pink) in 1300.<br/>
Gaelic Kingdoms (beige) in 1300.
| national_motto         = 
| capital                = [[Dublin]]{{efn|Although Dublin was the capital, parliament was held in other towns at various times.}}
| common_languages       = {{indented plainlist|
*[[Irish Language|Irish]]{{Efn|[[Middle Irish]] (until the 13th Century, [[Early Modern Irish]] (from the 13th Century}}
*[[English language|English]]{{Efn|[[Middle English]] (until the 15th century), [[Early Modern English]] (from the 15th century)}}
*[[Old Norman]] (widely used in administration, courts and government until the early 12th century)
*[[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman]] (used as an administrative language and by Hiberno-Norman elite till end of the 14th into 15th century)
*[[Latin]] (widely used in administrative and liturgical purposes){{Efn|[[Medieval Latin]] (11th-14th century), [[Renaissance Latin]] (from the 14th century)}}
*[[Fingallian]] (from the 15th century)
*[[Yola language|Yola]] (from the 15th century)
}}
| religion               = [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]]
| government_type        = [[Feudalism|Feudal]] monarchy
| title_leader           = [[List of Irish monarchs|Lord]]
| leader1                = [[John, King of England|John]] (first)
| year_leader1           = 1177–1216
| leader2                = [[Henry VIII]] (last)
| year_leader2           = 1509–1542
| title_deputy           = [[List of chief governors of Ireland|Lord Lieutenant]]
| deputy1                = [[Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath|Hugh de Lacy]] (first)
| year_deputy1           = 1177–1181
| deputy2                = [[Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset|Henry FitzRoy]] (last)
| year_deputy2           = 1529–1534
| legislature            = [[Parliament of Ireland|Parliament]]
| house1                 = [[Irish House of Lords|House of Lords]]
| house2                 = [[Irish House of Commons|House of Commons]]
| stat_year1             = 
| stat_area1             = 
| stat_pop1              = 
| currency               = [[Irish pound#First pound|Irish pound]]
| today                  = {{tree list}}
* Ireland
* United Kingdom
** Northern Ireland
{{tree list/end}}
}}
The '''Lordship of Ireland''' ({{langx|ga|Tiarnas na hÉireann}}), sometimes referred to retrospectively as '''Anglo-Norman Ireland''', was the part of Ireland ruled by the King of [[Kingdom of England|England]] (styled as "Lord of Ireland") and controlled by loyal [[Normans in Ireland|Anglo-Norman Lords]] between [[History of Ireland (1169–1536)|1177 and 1542]]. The lordship was created following the [[Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland]] in 1169–1171. It was a [[papal fief]], granted to the [[Plantagenet]] [[kings of England]] by the [[Holy See]], via {{lang|la|[[Laudabiliter]]}}. As the Lord of Ireland was also the King of England, he was represented locally by a [[chief governor of Ireland|governor]], variously known as the Justiciar, Lieutenant, Lord Lieutenant or Lord Deputy.

The kings of England claimed lordship over the whole island, but in reality the king's rule only ever extended to parts of the island. The rest of the island – referred to subsequently as [[Gaelic Ireland]] – remained under the control of various [[Gaels|Gaelic]] Irish kingdoms or [[chiefdom]]s, who were often at war with the Anglo-Normans.

The area under English rule and law grew and shrank over time, and reached its greatest extent in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The lordship then went into decline, brought on by its [[Bruce campaign in Ireland|invasion by Scotland]] in 1315–1318, the [[Great Famine of 1315–1317]], and the [[Black Death]] of the 1340s. The fluid political situation and Norman [[Feudalism|feudal]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Norman Feudal System|url=https://spartacus-educational.com/NORfeudal.htm|access-date=2021-06-02|website=Spartacus Educational|language=en|archive-date=23 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423030740/https://spartacus-educational.com/NORfeudal.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> system allowed a great deal of autonomy for the Anglo-Norman lords in Ireland, who carved out earldoms for themselves and had almost as much authority as some of the native Gaelic kings. Some Anglo-Normans became [[Gaelicised]] and rebelled against the English administration. The English attempted to curb this by passing the [[Statutes of Kilkenny]] (1366), which forbade English settlers from taking up Irish law, language, custom and dress. The period ended with the creation of the [[Kingdom of Ireland]] in 1542.

==History==

===Arrival of the Normans in Ireland===
The authority of the Lordship of Ireland's government was seldom extended throughout the island of Ireland at any time during its existence but was restricted to [[the Pale]] around [[Dublin]], and some provincial towns, including [[Cork (city)|Cork]], [[Limerick]], [[Waterford]], [[Wexford]] and their hinterlands. It owed its origins to the decision of a Leinster dynast, Diarmait Mac Murchada ([[Diarmuid MacMorrough]]), to bring in a Norman knight based in Wales, [[Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke]] (alias 'Strongbow'), to aid him in his battle to regain his throne, after being overthrown by a confederation led by the new [[High King of Ireland|Irish High King]] (the previous incumbent had protected MacMurrough). [[Henry II of England]] invaded Ireland to control Strongbow, who he feared was becoming a threat to the stability of his own kingdom on its western fringes (there had been earlier fears that Saxon refugees might use either Ireland or Flanders as a base for a counter-offensive after 1066); much of the later [[Plantagenet]] consolidation of [[South Wales]] was in furtherance of holding open routes to Ireland.

===Henry Plantagenet and {{lang|la|Laudabiliter}}===
{{further|Laudabiliter}}
From 1155 Henry claimed that [[Pope Adrian IV]] had given him authorisation to reform the Irish church by assuming control of Ireland. Religious practices and ecclesiastical organisation in Ireland had evolved divergently from those in areas of Europe influenced more directly by the [[Holy See]], although many of these differences had been eliminated or greatly lessened by the time the bull was issued in 1155.<ref>{{cite book | first = Austin Lane | last =  Poole | title = From Domesday book to Magna Carta, 1087–1216 | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1993 | page = 303}}</ref> Further, the former [[Celtic Christianity|Irish church]] had never sent its dues ("[[tithe]]s") to Rome. Henry's primary motivation for invading Ireland in 1171 was to control Strongbow and other Norman lords. In the process he accepted the [[fealty]] of the [[Gaels|Gaelic]] kings at Dublin in November 1171 and summoned the [[Synod of Cashel]] in 1172, this bringing the Irish Church into conformity with English and European norms.

In 1175 the [[Treaty of Windsor (1175)|Treaty of Windsor]] was agreed by Henry and [[Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair]], [[High King of Ireland]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Ó Cróinín|first=Dáibhí|title=Early Medieval Ireland, 400-1200|page=6|year=2013|location=London|publisher=Routledge|quote=1175: Treaty of Windsor between Ruaidri Ua Conchobhair, high-king, and Henry II. 1183: Ruaidri Ua Conchobhair deposed.}}</ref>

The popes asserted the right to grant sovereignty over islands to different monarchs on the basis of the [[Donation of Constantine]] (now known to be a forgery). Doubts were cast by eminent scholars on {{lang|la|[[Laudabiliter]]}} itself in the 19th century, but it had been confirmed by the letters of [[Pope Alexander III]]. The Papal power to grant also fell within the remit of {{lang|la|[[Dictatus papae]]}} (1075–1087).  While {{lang|la|Laudabiliter}} had referred to the "kingdom" of Ireland, the Papacy was ambiguous about continuing to describe it as a kingdom as early as 1185.

===John Lackland as Lord of Ireland===
{{main|John's first expedition to Ireland}}
Having captured a small part of Ireland on the east coast, Henry used the land to solve a dispute dividing his family.  For he had divided his territories between his sons, with the youngest being nicknamed {{lang|nrf|Johan sanz Terre}} (in English, "[[John, King of England|John Lackland]]") as he was left without lands to rule. At the [[Oxford]] parliament in May 1177, Henry replaced [[William FitzAldelm]] and granted John his Irish lands, so becoming Lord of Ireland ({{lang|la|Dominus Hiberniae}}) in 1177 when he was 10 years old, with the territory being known in English as the Lordship of Ireland.

Henry had wanted John to be crowned King of Ireland on his first visit in 1185, but [[Pope Lucius III]] specifically refused permission, citing the dubious nature of a claim supposedly provided by Pope Adrian IV years earlier.<ref>{{cite book | last = McLoughlin | first =William | title = Pope Adrian IV, a Friend of Ireland | publisher = Browne and Nolan | place = Cork | year = 1906 | page = 100}}.</ref> {{lang|la|Dominus}} (usually translated 'lord') was the usual title of a king who had not yet been crowned, suggesting that it was Henry's intention. Lucius then died while John was in Ireland, and Henry obtained consent from [[Pope Urban III]] and ordered a crown of gold and [[peacock]] feathers for John. In late 1185 the crown was ready, but John's visit had by then proved a complete failure, so Henry cancelled the coronation.<ref name = "Warren">{{cite book | last = Warren | first = W. L. | title = King John | publisher = Eyre & Spottiswoode | place = London | year = 1960 | page = 35}}</ref>

Following the deaths of John's older brothers he became King of England in 1199, and so the Lordship of Ireland, instead of being a separate country ruled by a junior Norman prince, came under the direct rule of the [[Angevin Empire|Angevin]] crown. In the legal terminology of John's successors, the "lordship of Ireland" referred to the [[sovereignty]] vested in [[the Crown]] of England; the corresponding territory was referred to as the "land of Ireland".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Lydon|first=James|date=May 1995|title=Ireland and the English Crown, 1171–1541|journal=Irish Historical Studies|publisher=Cambridge University Press |jstor=30006815|volume=29|issue=115|pages=281–294 : 282|doi=10.1017/S0021121400011834|s2cid=159713467 }}</ref>

===Perennial struggle with Gaeldom===
{{main|History of Ireland 1169–1536}}
[[File:Ireland 1450.png|thumb|right|The Pale (grey) in 1450]]
{{History of Ireland}}
The Lordship thrived in the 13th century during the [[Medieval Warm Period]], a time of warm climate and better harvests. The [[feudal system]] was introduced, and the [[Parliament of Ireland]] first sat in 1297. Some counties were created by [[shiring]], while walled towns and castles became a feature of the landscape. But little of this engagement with mainstream European life was of benefit to those the Normans called the "mere Irish". "Mere" derived from the Latin {{lang|la|merus}}, meaning "pure". Environmental decay and deforestation continued unabated throughout this period, being greatly exacerbated by the English newcomers and an increase in population.

The Norman élite and churchmen spoke Norman French and Latin. Many poorer settlers spoke English, Welsh, and Flemish. The Gaelic areas spoke Irish dialects. The [[Yola language]] of [[County Wexford]] was a survivor of the early English dialects. The [[Kildare Poems]] of c. 1350 are a rare example of humorous local culture written in Middle English.

The Lordship suffered invasion from Scotland by [[Edward Bruce]] in 1315–1318, which destroyed much of the economy and coincided with the [[Great Famine of 1315–1317|great famine of 1315–1317]]. The [[earldom of Ulster]] ended in 1333, and the [[Black Death]] of 1348–1350 impacted more on the town-dwelling Normans than on the remaining [[Gaels|Gaelic]] clans. The Norman and English colonists exhibited a tendency to adopt much of the native culture and language, becoming "Gaelicized" or in the words of some "[[more Irish than the Irish themselves]]". In 1366 the [[Statute of Kilkenny]] tried to keep aspects of Gaelic culture out of the Norman-controlled areas albeit in vain.  As the Norman lordships became increasingly Gaelicized and made alliances with native chiefs, whose power steadily increased, crown control slowly eroded.

Additionally, the [[House of Plantagenet|Plantagenet]] government increasingly alienated the Irish chiefs and people on whom they often relied for their military strength. It had been a common practice for the Norman lordships as well as government forces to recruit the native Irish who were allied to them or living in English controlled areas (i.e. [[Leinster]] including [[County Meath|Meath]] and [[Kingdom of Ossory|Ossory]], [[Munster]] and some parts of [[Connacht]]). This was easy to do as the native Irish had no great sense of national identity at that time and were prone to [[Mercenary|mercenarism]] and shifting alliances. But the Irish chiefs became increasingly alienated by the oppressive measures of the English government and began openly rebelling against the crown. Some of the more notable among those clans who had formerly cooperated with the English but became increasingly alienated until turning openly anti-Norman and a thorn in the side of the Dublin administration were the [[Kingdom of Uí Failghe|O'Connor Falys]], the [[MacMurrough-Kavanagh dynasty]] ([[Kingdom of Leinster]]), the [[Byrne]]s and the [[Moore (surname)|O'Mores]] of [[County Laois|Leix]]. These clans were able to successfully defend their territories against English attack for a very long time through the use of asymmetrical guerrilla warfare and devastating raids into the lands held by the colonists. Additionally, the power of native chiefs who had never come under English domination such as the [[O'Neill dynasty|O'Neills]] and the [[O'Donnell dynasty|O'Donnells]] increased steadily until these became once again major power players on the scene of Irish politics. Historians refer to a Gaelic revival or resurgence as occurring between 1350 and 1500, by which time the area ruled for the Crown – "[[the Pale]]" – had shrunk to a small area around [[Dublin]].

Between 1500 and 1542 a mixed situation arose. Most [[Irish clans|clans]] remained loyal to the Crown most of the time, at least in theory, but using a Gaelic-style system of alliances based on mutual favours, centered on the [[Lord Deputy]] who was usually the current [[Earl of Kildare]]. The [[Battle of Knockdoe]] in 1504 saw such a coalition army fight the [[Clanricarde|Burkes in Galway]]. However, a rebellion by the 9th Earl's heir [[Silken Thomas]] in 1535 led on to a less sympathetic system of rule by mainly [[English people|English-born]] administrators. The end of this rebellion and [[Henry VIII]]'s seizure of the Irish [[List of monastic houses in Ireland|monasteries]] around 1540 led on to his plan to create a [[Kingdom of Ireland|new kingdom]] based on the existing [[Parliament of Ireland|parliament]].

===Transformation into a Kingdom===
English monarchs continued to use the title "Lord of Ireland" to refer to their position of conquered lands on the island of Ireland. The title was changed by the [[Crown of Ireland Act 1542|Crown of Ireland Act]] passed by the [[Parliament of Ireland|Irish Parliament]] in 1542 when, on Henry VIII's demand, he was granted a new title, [[King of Ireland]], with the state renamed the [[Kingdom of Ireland]]. Henry VIII changed his title because the Lordship of Ireland had been granted to the Norman monarchy by the Papacy; Henry had been excommunicated by the Catholic Church and worried that his title could be withdrawn by the [[Holy See]]. Henry VIII also wanted Ireland to become a full kingdom to encourage a greater sense of loyalty amongst his Irish subjects, some of whom took part in his policy of [[surrender and regrant]]. To provide for greater security, a [[Royal Irish Army]] was established.

Queen [[Mary I of England|Mary I]], one of Henry VIII's daughters, would take the English throne in 1553. As a Catholic, she sought to smooth relations with the Pope. [[Pope Paul IV]] would grant [[Philip II of Spain]] (Mary's husband) and Mary the title of King and Queen of Ireland in 1555, endorsing the position that the Tudors were indeed the rightful Irish monarchy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.heraldica.org/topics/national/ireland_docs.htm#act1542|title=The papal bull of 1555 conferring the title of king of Ireland on Philip II of Spain |work=Heraldica|date=25 July 2003|access-date=1 November 2012}}</ref> This grant would not work as Paul IV had expected, as Mary died in 1558 and was succeeded as Queen of England and Ireland by her half-sister Elizabeth I, a Protestant.

==Parliament==
The government was based in Dublin, but the members of Parliament could be summoned to meet anywhere, whether Dublin or Kilkenny:
{{colbegin}}
*1310 [[Kilkenny]]
*1320 Dublin
*1324 Dublin
*1327 Dublin
*1328 Kilkenny
*1329 Dublin
*1330 Kilkenny
*1331 Kilkenny
*1331 Dublin
*1341 Dublin
*1346 Kilkenny
*1350 Kilkenny
*1351 Kilkenny
*1351 Dublin
*1353 Dublin
*1357 Kilkenny
*1359 Kilkenny
*1359 Waterford
*1360 Kilkenny
*1366 Kilkenny
*1369 Dublin
{{colend}}

== See also ==
* [[History of Ireland]]
** [[History of Ireland 1169–1536]]
* {{slink|Monarchy of Ireland|Lords of Ireland, 1177–1542}}
* [[Ireland King of Arms]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* {{cite book | first = Norman | last = Davies | title = The Isles: A History | publisher = Palgrave-Macmillan | year = 1999 | isbn = 0-333-76370-X}}.
* {{cite book | first = Robin | last = Frame | title = English Lordship in Ireland 1318–1361 | publisher = Clarendon Press | year = 1982 | isbn = 0-19-822673-X}}

==External links==
*[https://www.historyireland.com/volume-23/free-gaelic-people-in-english-ireland-c-1250-c-1327/ Free Gaelic people in English Ireland, c. 1250 – c. 1327] at [[History Ireland]]

{{s-start}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Gaelic Ireland]]}}
{{s-ttl|title  = Lordship of Ireland}}
{{s-aft|after  = [[Kingdom of Ireland]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Irish states since 1171}}
{{Ireland topics}}
{{British overseas territories}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ireland, Lordship Of}}
[[Category:Lordship of Ireland| ]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1171]]
[[Category:Medieval history of Ireland|Lordship of Ireland]]
[[Category:Former monarchies of Europe]]
[[Category:Former countries in Ireland]]
[[Category:1171 establishments in Europe]]
[[Category:1542 disestablishments in Europe]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1542]]