are certainly false The Berrock and Beroke might have something in them if our Author's name of the Shire Berrocscyre were the true one From whence he had it I know not nor can I be so uncharitable as to believe he would model it so on purpose to suit that conjecture 'T is plain however from the most ancient Annals of the Saxons that the old name was Bearrucscire which according to different ages we find afterwards first written Bearrucsyre and then Barrucscire from which the present name is easily melted 〈◊〉 the â—'s â—â—e b As for the Isis being call'd afterwards Thamisis neither the true name of the river is in any ancient Record Isis which was forg'd at first to encourage that opinion of Thame and Isis nor is the meeting of those two rivers the cause of Thamisis it being call'd Tems all along before their joyning as well as after For the proof of both it may be sufficient to refer the Reader to what is observ'd before upon this subject â—age 99. in * Wiltshire At the south part of Oxford there begins a great Causey going from Frier-Bacon's study near two miles towards Abingdon ‖ â—br Mon. â—an which one would imagine had been a work of the Romans but that it appears by Record to have been made by Robert Doiley in the time of William the Conqueror c The Thames running by Oxford goes on to Abingdon â—gdon which as it is now the Shire town for all publick business so was it formerly eminent for Meetings about the weighty affairs of the whole Kingdom For which reason and it 's ancient name Sheovesham written by Leland whether from Record or by a mistake I know not Seukesham I am enclin'd to think this the very place wherein two Synods were held one in the year 742. and the other in 822. both said to be at Clofes-hoo For tho' Mr. Camden settles it in Kent yet he expresses himself not fully convinc'd of the certainty of his opinion and I know not of any Author that agrees with him in calling it Clives at Ho which indeed gives the greatest colour to his opinion But what he himself suggests that it seems to have been in Mercia and that that is not by any means a convenient place for a Synod or Council are unanswerable objections For one may imagine that Aethelbald King of the Mercians had the greatest hand in it because the Saxon Annals mention him particularly as present and that in Kent is too much in a corner to answer the character of Clofeshoo mention'd only twice in the Annals and both times expresly said to be the place of a Synod And in a Council at Hertford in 672. we find it decreed that there should be two Synods yearly but because there are several incidental causes might prevent them it was unanimously agreed however that there should one meet yearly the first day of August at the place call'd Clofeshoh Which can never be suppos'd unreasonably to point out a place so little for the convenience of most of the members but may very rationally be meant of Abingdon a place perhaps as eligible by all parties as could well be thought of At present this town is particularly honour'd by affording to the right honourable James Bertie the title of Earl d From hence we come to White-horse-hill White-horse-hill the head of the river Ock above which by Ashbury-park * Aubr Monum MS. is a Camp of a figure as near round as square the diameter above an hundred paces and the works single which seems to prove it Danish But the works are now almost quite spoil'd and defac'd by digging for the Sarsden-stones as they call them to build my Lord Craven's house in the park Above the same hill there is another Camp with single works but very large and at about two furlongs distance is a barrow call'd Dragon-hill but whether from hence one should conclude this to be the tumulus of Uther Pendragon since the conjecture is not warranted by any direct testimony from history I leave to others to determine As also whether the White horse on the hill-side was made by Hengist since the Horse was the Arms or figure in Hengist's standard About a mile from the hill there are a great many large stones which tho' very confus'd must yet have been laid there on purpose Some of them are plac'd edge-wise but the rest are so disorderly that one would imagine they had been tumbl'd out of a cart e Next is Pusey Pusey which as our Author observes the Puseys hold by a Horn granted them by Canutus But whether his authority be the private Records of the Estate or the Inscription of an horn still in the possession of that family and implying what he affirms I cannot be certain The latter is more probable and if so liable to this Exception that both the character and stile are modern many hundreds of years after the Conquest so that of what antiquity soever the Horn it self may be the Inscription must have been added long after the age of Canutus Not but the tradition of Canutus's giving it may be very true since there are so many instances of this kind in many parts of England and Ingulphus has expresly told us that in those days it was common among other things to make Grants of Lands by Horns f A mile above Wantage east from Ashbury there is a very large Camp on the brow of a hill of a quadrangular form and single-work'd from which it appears to be Roman Cuckamsley-hill East from hence is Cuckamsley hill call'd in Saxon CÆ¿ichelmes-hleaÆ¿e and by Florence of Worcester Cuiccelmeslawe from whence by degrees the present name is melted and the word hill added by a tautology for want of knowing that hleaÆ¿e in the Saxon implies so much * Chron. Sax. An. 1006. Over this it was that the Danes pass'd in their Depredations after they had destroy'd Wallingford in the year of our Lord 1006. g The Thames passing from Abingdon through Sunning goes to Wallingford Wallingford which appears to have been formerly a town of very great note as from our Author's description so also from †Itinerar MS. Leland's observation that it had once 14 Parish-Churches and that there were in his time several persons living who could shew the places where they all stood and the Church yards that belong'd to them Notwithstanding the two great misfortunes mention'd by our Author their Mault-trade and the convenience of sending corn and other commodities by water to London do still support it so that of late years 't is very much encreas'd both in buildings and number of inhabitants It is a Corporation govern'd by a Mayor and six Aldermen who are Justices of the Peace within the Burrough and there is a Free-school and a Market-house wherein the Mayor and Justices keep the quarter-Quarter-Sessions h The Thames running from hence receives the Kennet upon which stands
fish are vended At which time the Cinque-Ports by an old custom appoint so many Bailiffs Commissioners to send hither who to speak out of their Diploma or Commission along with the Magistrates of the Town during the free Fair hold a Court for matters belonging to the Fair execute the King's justice and keep the King's peace The harbour underneath is of great advantage not only to the inhabitants but those of Norwich also and 't is an infinite charge they are at to keep it open against the violence of the Sea Which to do justice and make amends for what it has swallow'd up on this coast has here heap'd up Sands into a little Island k At this Mouth also another river call'd by some Thyrn Thyrn river empties it self along with the Yare It rises near Holt so call'd from the wood and noted for its market and running all along as it were perpendicularly with the Yare at about five miles distance goes by Blickling Blickling f Sir Edward Cleere sold it to Sir Henry Hobart Attorney General and Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in the time of King James 1. whose great grandson Sir Henry Hobart Knight and Baronet now enjoys it now the seat of the ancient and famous family of Clere who liv'd formerly at Ormesby l and by Ailesham Ailesham a pretty populous market-town where formerly the Earl of Athol in Scotland was possess'd of Lands 15 Nor far from Worsted where as I read the Stuff Worsted in so great request among our Ancestors was first made and hence so nam'd as Dornicks Cameric Calecut c. had in like manner their denomination from the places where they were first invented and made then by the ruinous Monastery of Sr. Benedict de Hulmo commonly S. Benet S. Benets in the Holme i.e. in a river Island built by Canute the Dane and afterwards so fortify'd by the Monks with strong walls and bulwarks that it lookt more like a Castle than a Cloyster So that William the Conquerour could not possibly take it till a Monk betray'd it upon condition he should be made Abbot which he accordingly was But presently the new Abbot as the story goes among the inhabitants was by the King 's special order hang d for a Traitor and so was punisht answerably to his treachery The ground in this Island is so fenny that if you only cut the * Fibrae little strings and roots of the trees and shrubs that grow in it it swims upon the water and you may draw it after you whither you please And some conclude from the Cockles now and then dug up there that once the Sea broke in so far From hence the river glides on by Ludham Ludham a seat of the Bishops of Norwich then by Clipsby Clipsby which gave name to an ancient and eminent family in these parts and so presently joyns the Yare m From the Yare's mouth the shore runs in a manner directly northward to Winterton a little Promontory of note among the Sea-men which I fancy had that name given it from the winterly situation For it lyes open to the Sea that Parent of winds and cold which rushes violently against the banks rais'd on purpose to oppose it And yet the neighbouring fields all round are lookt upon by several to be the fattest and loosest in all England A soil very fat as requiring the least labour and bringing the largest increase For as Pliny says of Bizacium in Africa it may be plow'd with a horse of any sort and an old woman drawing against him From Winterton the shore presently turns westward giving back for a long way together and in a level without any considerable juttings out into the Sea as far as Eccles swallow'd up by the Ocean Then runs on though with a higher shore by Bronholme formerly a small Monastery endow'd by the Glanvils seated upon a high hill the Cross whereof was by our Ancestors had in mighty veneration 16 Next is Paston a small Townlet which yet hath given sirname to a family grown great both in estate and alliance since they match'd with the heiress of Beary and Maultbye So Holland The right name is Barry for Sir William Paston the Judge marry'd Agnes daughter and coheir of Sir Edward Barry Knight And not far from Gimmingham Gimmingham which among other manours J. Earl of Warren and Surrey formerly gave to Thomas Earl of Lancaster n So along by Cromer where the Inhabitants at great expence endeavour'd to maintain a †Cothonem little harbour against the violence of the Sea but all in vain it runs to Wauburnehope a creek not long since fortify'd so call'd from the little town of Wauburne Wauburne to which King Edward the second granted a Market and Fair at the instance of Oliver de Bourdeaux Next to this is Clay and over against it on the other bank of the little river Blakeney Blackney call'd by our Countryman Bale Nigeria a famous College of Carmelite Friers in the last age built by 17 Sir Robert Robert de Roos 18 Sir Robert Robert Bacon and J. Brett It bred John Baconthorp John Baconthorp nam'd from the place of his birth now the seat of the Heydons Knights a man in that age of so universal and so profound Learning that he was highly admir'd by the Italians and went commonly by the name of the Resolute Doctor Doctor Resolutus Whereupon Paulus Pansa writes thus of him If your inclinations lead you to search into the nature of Almighty God no one has writ more accurately upon his Essence If one has a mind to search into the causes of things the effects of nature the various motions of the heavens and the contrary qualities of the elements here he 's presented with a Magazine This one Resolute Doctor has furnisht the Christian Religion with armour against the Jews stronger than any of Vulcan's c. From Wauburne to the little Promontory of S. Edmund the coast lyes lower cut and parted by many rivulets and secur'd against the incursion of the Sea with Sand-heaps call'd g They are so call'd says Spelman from the Swedish and German mul signifying dust Meales Meales or Mieles not without great difficulty Scarce four miles more inward is Walsingham Walsingham which from the nearness of the Sea Erasmus calls Parathalassa This little town is noted at present for producing the best Saffron but was lately famous through England for Pilgrimages to the Virgin Mary For in the last age whoever had not made a visit and a present to the Blessed Virgin of this place was lookt upon as impious and irreligious But take the description of it from Erasmus who was an eye-witness Not far from the sea at almost four miles distance there is a village in a manner entirely maintain'd by the great resort of Travellers There is a College of Canons call'd by the
Ulster came Lord Chief Justice of Ireland upon whose coming the fair Weather suddenly turned foul and there was nothing but rainy and tempestuous Weather whilst he liv'd None of his Predecessors were comparable to him for he oppress'd the Irish and robbed both Clergy and Laity of their Goods neither did he spare the Poor more than the Rich under a colour of doing good he defrauded many He observed neither the Ecclesiastical nor Civil Laws He was injurious to the natural Irish and did Justice to few if any wholly distrusting all the Inhabitants except some few And being mis-led by his Wife's Counsel these things were his daily Attempts and Practices Item In March as he was going into Ulster through a Pass call'd Emerdullan he was there set upon by one Maccartan who robb'd him of his Mony Cloaths Goods Plate and Horses and kill'd some of his men But at last the chief Justice with the Ergalians got the Victory and made his way into Ulster MCCCXLV The seventh of June there was a Parliament held at Dublin where the Lord Moris Fitz-Thomas Earl of Desmond was not present Item D. Ralph Ufford the Chief Justice of Ireland after S. John Baptist's day without the consent of the Irish Nobility set up the King's Standard against D. Moris Fitz-Thomas Earl of Desmond and marched into Munster where he seized on the Earl's Estate and farmed it out to others for a certain yearly Rent to be paid the King Item Whilst he was in Munster he gave Sir William Burton two Writs who was to give one of them to D. Moris Fitz-Thomas Earl of Kildare The Contents of which were That under the forfeiture of his whole Estate he forthwith repair unto him with a considerable force to assist the King and him The other was an Order to Sir William Burton to apprehend the Earl of Kildare and imprison him which he finding impracticable persuaded the Earl who was preparing himself with his Army and levying forces to assist the Chief Justice that he should first go to the King's Council at Dublin and act in concert with them that in his Absence his Land might be kept safe and if any harm should come it shou'd be through the default of the Kings Council and not in him Upon this the Earl not distrusting Sir William nor any Plot that was against him prepar'd to go for Dublin where when he came altogether ignorant of the Treachery as he was consulting with the K.'s Council in the Exchequer on a sudden Sir William arrested him and he was taken and carried to the Castle Item The Chief Justice marched with his Army to O-Comill in Munster and to Kering where by treachery he took two Castles of the Earl of Desmond viz. the Castle of Ynyskysty and the Island-castle in which were Sir Eustace Poer Sir William Graunt and Sir John Cottrell who were first drawn and then in October hang'd Item The Chief Justice banished the Earl of Desmond with some other of his Knights After that in November he return'd with his Forces out of Munster to see his Wife then big with Child at Kylmainan near Dublin Besides what he had done to the Laity in indicting imprisoning and in robbing them of their Goods he had also plagued the Ecclesiastical Men as well Priests as Clerks by Arrests and Imprisonment to the end he might fleece them Item He revoked the Grants and Demises of their Lands bestowing them upon other Tenants as also the Writings concerning those Grants notwithstanding they were signed by him and sealed with the King's Seal Item The Earl of Desmond's 26 Mainprisers as well Earls as Barons Knights and others viz. William Lord Burke Earl of Ulster James Lord Botiller Earl of Ormond Sir Richard Tuit Sir Eustace Poer Sir Gerald de Rochfort Sir John Fitz Robert Poer Sir Robert Barry Sir Moris Fitz-Gerald Sir John Wellesly Sir Walter Lenfaunt Sir Roger de la Rokell Sir Henry Traharn Sir Roger Poer Sir John Lenfaunt Sir Roger Poer Sir Matthew Fitz-Henry Sir Richard Wallis Sir Edward Burk son to the Earl of Ulster David Barry William Fitz-Gerald Fulk Ash Robert Fitz-Moris Henry Barkley John Fitz-George Roch and Thomas de Lees de Burgh who notwithstanding some of them had been at great Expences in the War with the Chief Justice and in pursuing of the Earls of Desmond yet he depriv'd them of their Estates and disinherited them and sent them all to Prison during the King's pleasure except four viz. William Burg Earl of Ulster James Botiller Earl of Ormond c. MCCCXLVI On Palm-sunday which was on the 9th of April D. Ralph Ufford the Lord Chief Justice died whose death was very much lamented by his Wife and Family but the loyal Subjects of Ireland rejoyced at it and both the Clergy and Laity out of joy did on purpose celebrate a solemn Feast at Easter Upon his death the Floods ceased and the Air again grew wholesome and the common sort of People thanked God for it Being laid in a strong sheet of Lead his Countess very sorrowfully conveyed his bowels with his Treasure not worthy to be bestowed among such holy Relicks into England where he was Interr d. And at last on the second of May a Prodigy which without doubt was the effect of divine Providence this fine Lady who came so gloriously into Dublin with the King's Ensigns and a great number of Soldiers attending her through the Streets where she lived a short time like a Queen of Ireland went out privily at a back Gate in the Castle to avoid the Peoples Clamors for their just Debts and in her disgraceful return home was attended with the Symptoms of death sorrow and heaviness Item After the death of the said Chief Justice Robert Lord Darcy by the consent of the King's Ministers and others was chosen to supply the office of Chief Justice for the time being Item The Castles of Ley and Kylmehede were taken and burnt by the Irish in April Item John Lord Moris being made Chief Justice of Ireland arrived here the 15th of May. The Irish of Ulster gave a great defeat to the English of Urgale in June three hundred at least of them were cut off Item Moris Chief Justice of Ireland was turn'd out of that office by the King and Walter Lord Bermingham put in who came into Ireland with his commission in June sometime after the great slaughter but now mention'd Item The care and preservation of the peace was committed by the King for some time to Moris Fitz-Thomas Earl of Desmond Having receiv'd this order on the eve of the exaltation of the holy Cross he embark'd immediately thereupon with his Wife and two Sons at Yoghil and arriv'd in England where he pressed hard in a suiâ— at law to have justice against Ralph Ufford the late Lord Chief Justice for the wrongs he had done him Item by the King's order the Earl was to be allow'd twenty shillings a day from the time of his first arrival during
plain to see it Boodicia with her Daughters by her in a chariot went about to the several Nations for it was not unusual among the Britains to go to war under the conduct of a woman assuring them that she went not as one royally descended to fight for Empire or riches but as one of the common people for freedom and liberty to revenge the stripes they had given her and the dishonour they had done her daughters That now the Roman lust had grown so exorbitant and unruly that they left none neither old nor young unravished That God's just revenge would ever tread upon the heels of wickedness That the Legion which had dared to fight them was already cut off that the rest had either kept themselves in their camp or fled for safety That they could not endure the very huzza and clamour of so many thousands how much less could they bear their force and onset If they would but consider both armies and the cause of war on hoth sides they would either resolve to conquer in that battle or to dye in it That for her part who was but a woman this was her resolution but the men if they pleas'd might live and be slaves Suetonius also was not silent in so great danger for though he relied upon the valour of his men yet he excited it with exhortations suggesting that the Sonoras alià e Sâ—â—â—res clamour and vain threatnings of the Barbarians were contemptible that there were more women than young men among them that being unwarlike and ill armed they would no sooner feel their swords which had so often conquer'd them but they would presently fly that in an Army of many Legions a few would gain the victory and that their glory would be so much the greater if so few of them did the work of a whole Army that his advice was they should fight thick and after they had discharged their darts they should continue the slaughter with their pikes and swords and not heed the booty all that would be the consequence of their victory The Soldiers were so forward and couragious upon this speech and the veterans betook themselves so readily to their darts that Suetonius with assurance of the event gave the signal And first of all the Legion not stirring but keeping within the strait which was of great advantage to them till the Enemy had spent their darts sallied out in * Cuncis a wedge upon them The Auxiliaries gave them the like shock and the Horse breaking at last upon the Enemy routed all in their way that could make head against them The rest fled but with great difficulty for the passes were blocked up by the waggons quite round The Soldiers gave no quarter not so much as to the women which with the horses that were slain encreas'd the heaps of carcasses along the field This Victory was very eminent and the glory of it not inferior to those of old times for by the report of some there were slain not many fewer than fourscore thousand Britains whereas we lost but four hundred and not many more wounded Boodicia poisoned her self And Poenius Posthumus Camp-master of the second Legion upon the news of the success and victory of the fourteenth and twentieth Legions having deprived his Legion of a share in that glory and contrary to discipline and order disobey'd the commands of his General stab'd himself After a general muster and review of his army Suetonius took the field again to put an end to this war And Caesar reinforc'd him with a supply of two thousand Legionaries from Germany and with eight auxiliary cohorts and a thousand horse by which the ninth Legion was compleated These cohorts and some others were sent into new winter-quarters and the country that was either enemy or neutral was wasted with fire and sword But nothing was a sharper affliction to the Britains at this time than famine for during this uproar they had neglected to till the ground and giving themselves wholly to prosecute the war had depended upon our provisions Those nations which were yet unconquer'd were the more averse to treaty upon the news of a difference between Suetonius and the new Procurator Julius Classicianus J. Classicianus sent to succeed Catus which was very prejudicial to the publick interest He had spread a report that a new Lieutenant was to be expected who without the rancour of an enemy or the haughtiness of a conqueror would treat such as yeilded themselves with favour and clemency He writ to Rome likewise that there was no end to be expected of that war till Suetonius was succeeded by some one else imputing all miscarriages to his perverse conduct but whatsoever was prosperous and lucky that he attributed to the good fortune of the Commonwealth Upon this account Policletus one of the Emperor 's Liberti was sent into Britain to see the state of affairs there Nero hoping that the difference might be composed between the Lieutenant and the Procurator by his authority and the rebellious Barbarians won over to a peace Polycletus took care to shew his state and grandeur to Italy and Gaul by a great train and retinue and likewise to appear awful to the armies here upon his arrival This made him ridiculous to the enemy who being then in the full enjoyment of their liberty knew not what the power of a * Libâ—rti Freeman was and thought it strange that a General and his army after such great exploits could thus be subject to a slave However every thing was related as fair as could be to the Emperour And Suetonius who was then employ'd in dispatching one business or other having lost some few gallies on the shore and the men in them was commanded as though the war continued to deliver up his Commission to Petronius Turpilianus who had just before been Consul Petronius Turpilianus He neither troubled the enemy nor was troubled by them calling this lazy and unactive course by the honourable name of a real peace And thus having quieted the former broils without advancing the conquest Trebellius Maximus Propraeter he deliver'd the Province to Trebellius Maximus He was of an unactive temper and unexperienc'd in war-affairs and so govern'd the Province after as soft a manner as he could Now the barbarous Britains began to be tainted and to yeild to the charms of vice and the civil wars of the Empire was a fair excuse for the remisness of the Lieutenant but the soldiers grew mutinous for being formerly inured to labour and discipline the present peace and idleness made them wanton and haughty Trebellius grew odious and contemptible to his army by his baseness and avarice Their indignation at him was the more enflam'd by Roscius Caelius Lieutenant of the twentieth Legion who was formerly out with him and now by reason of the civil wars more than ever Trebellius charg'd Caelius with all the mutinies and neglect of discipline in the Army and
from the Church as a Feudatory and Vicegerent and obliged his Successors to pay three hundred Marks to the Bishop of that See Yet the most eminent 1 Sir Thomas Hol. Thomas Moor who sacrificed his life to the Pope's Prerogative denies this to be true For he says the Romanists can shew no grant and that they have never demanded the said money nor the Kings of England acknowledged it However with submission to this great man the thing is really otherwise as most clearly appears from the Parliament-Rolls which are evidence incontestable For in a Parliament in Edward the third's Reign the Chancellor of England informs the House That the Pope intended to cite the King of England to a tryal at Rome as well for homage as for the tribute due and payable from England and Ireland and to which King John had bound both himself and his Successors and desired their opinion in it The Bishops required a day to consider of this matter apart as likewise did the Lords and Commons The next day they met again and unanimously voted and declared that forasmuch as neither King John nor any other King whatsoever could put the Kingdom under such a servitude but by the consent and agreement of a Parliament which was never had and farther that since whatsoever he had done in that kind was directly contrary to the Oath which he solemnly took before God at his Coronation if the Pope would insist upon it they were resolved to oppose him with their lives and fortunes to the very utmost of their power Such also as were learned in the law made the Charter of King John to be void and insignificant by that clause of reservation in the end saving to us and our heirs all our rights liberties and regalities But this is out of my road From King John's time the Kings of England were stiled Lords of Ireland till within the memory of our fathers Henry the eighth was declared King of Ireland by the States of that Realm assembled in Parliament the title of Lord seeming not so sacred and venerable to some seditious persons as that of King In the year 1555 when Queen Mary offered the subjection of the Kingdom of England by the hands of her Ambassadors to Pope Paul the fourth this name and title of Kingdom of Ireland was confirmed by the Pope in these word To the praise and glory of Almighty God and his most glorious mother the Virgin Mary to the honour of the whole Court of Heaven and the exaltation of the Catholick Faith We at the humble request of King Philip and Queen Mary made unto us by the advice of our brethren and by virtue of our full Apostolical authority do erect the Kingdom of Ireland and do for ever dignifie and exalt it with the title honours powers rights ensigns prerogatives preferments Royal praeeminencies and such like privileges as other Christian Realms have use and enjoy or may have use and enjoy hereafter Having accidentally found a Catalogue of those English Noble men who went in the first invasion of Ireland and with great valor subdued it to the Crown of England lest I should seem to envy them and their posterity the glory of this atchievment I will here give you them from the Chancery of Ireland for so 't is entitled The Names of such as came with Dermic Mac Morrog into Ireland Richard Strongbow Earl of Pembroke who by Eve the daughter of Morrog the Irish petty King aforesaid had an only daughter who brought to William Mareschall the title of Earl of Pembroke with a fair estate in Ireland and had issue five sons who in order succeeded one another all childless and as many daughters who enriched their husbands Hugh Bigod Earl of Norfolk Guarin Montchensey Gilbert Clare Earl of Glocester William Ferrars Earl of Derby and William Breose with children honours and possessions Robert Fitz-Stephens Harvey de Mont Marish Maurice Prendergest Robert Barr. Meiler Meilerine Maurice Fitz-Girald Redmund nephew to Stephen William Ferrand Miles de Cogan Richard de Cogan Gualter de Ridensford Gualter sons of Maurice Girald Alexander sons of Maurice Girald William Notte Robert Fitz-Bernard Hugh de Lacy. William Fitz-Aldelm William Macarell Hunfrey Bohun Hugh de Gundevill Philip de Hasting Hugh Tirell David Walsh Robert Poer Osbert de Harloter William de Bendenge Adam de Gernez Philip de Breos Griffin Nephew of Stephen Ralph Fitz-Stephen Walter de Barry Philip Walsh Adam de Hereford To whom out of Giraldus Cambrensis may be added John de Curcy Hugh Contilon Redmond Cantimore Edmond Fitz-Hugh Miles of St. Davids and others The Government of the Kingdom of IRELAND SInce Ireland has been subject to the Crown of England the Kings of this Realm have ever sent their Vice-Roys to manage the publick affairs there who at first in their Letters Patents or Commissions Loâ—d Depâ—â—ies of â—â—â—â—and were stilled Keepers of Ireland after that Justices of Ireland or at pleasure Lieutenants and Deputies Their jurisdiction and authority is really large and Royal they make war and peace have power to fill all Magistracies and other Offices except some very few to pardon all crimes but those of high treason and to confer Knighthood c. These Letters Patents when any one enters upon this honourable office are publickly read and after the new Deputy has took a solemn oath of a certain set form for that purpose before the Chancellor the sword which is to be carried before him is delivered into his hands and he is seated in a Chair of state attended by the Chancellor of the Realm the Members of the Privy-Council the Peers and Nobles of the Kingdom the King at Arms a Serjeant at Arms and other Officers of State So that whether we consider his jurisdiction and authority or his train attendance and splendor there is certainly no Vice-roy in Christendom that comes nearer the grandeur and majesty of a King His Council are the Chancellor of the Realm the Treasurer and such others of the Earls Barons and Judges as are of the Privy-Council Orders or degrees iâ— Ireland For Ireland has the same orders and degrees of honour that England has Earls Barons Knights Esquires c. The Courts or Tribunals of IRELAND THE supream Court in Ireland is the Parliament which Parliament at the pleasure of the King of England is either called or dissolved by his Deputy â—as an 〈◊〉 12. and yet in Edward the second 's time it was enacted That Parliaments should be held in Ireland every year 2 Which seemeth yet not to have been effected Here are likewise observed foure Law-terms in the year as in England and five Courts of Justice held 〈◊〉 the a The Court was called The Court of Castle-chamber because it was usually kept in the Castle of Dublin but has never been held since the Court of Star-Chamber was supprest in England Star-Chamber the Chancery King's-Bench Common Pleas and the Exchequer Here are
to the enemy they marched on as far as Armagh whereby the Earl was obliged to leave the fort of Blackwater burn all the villages round about the town of Dungannon nay demolish great part of his own house there and reflect upon his own misery and how he could abscond But our Army could proceed no farther for want of Provision and so returned after they had proclaimed the Earl Traitor in his own territories and put a Garison into the Church of Armagh The Earl took care to watch them diligently in their return yet notwithstanding they reinforced the Garison at Monaghan When they had marched near as far as Dundalk the Lord Deputy according to the Queen's orders left the war to the conduct of Norris and after they had took their leave with great compliments on both sides returned to Dublin where he took great care of the Counties of Leinster Conaght and Munster Norris remained in Ulster but whether out of envy to the Lord Deputy or that fortune had now left him as it often does great men or whether out of favour to the Earl to whom he was certainly as kind as the Lord Deputy was averse he atchieved nothing answerable to the greatness of his Character For Norris had under hand accused the Lord Deputy that out of ill will to the Earl he had resolved to make no peace with him for the Deputy would not be perswaded but that the Earl's design was only to gain time till his recruits from Spain might arrive whereas Norris was more easie and credulous and thought it no hard matter to induce the Earl to a peace wh ch opinion the Earl cherished so cunningly in him that he offer'd him his submission under his hand and seal and fell upon his knees before him for his mercy and pardon Yet at the same time he was plying the K. of Spain both by his letters and agents for his assistance so that one or two messengers arrived from Spain to the Rebels who concluded with them that if the King of Spain their master would send them such an Army as could cope with the English by such a set time they would joyn it and that in case he supplied them with ammunition in the mean time they would not treat with the English upon any terms whatsoever This treaty was subscâ—ibed by O-Rorck Mac-William and others but the Earl was so cautious he would not sign it though it is not doubted but he gave his consent However to disguise his designs he sent the Lord Deputy the King of Spain's answer to the Rebels hereupon which was full of great promises of what he would do for them as if he detested it yet relying upon the hopes of those Spanish recruits therein promised he recanted the submission he had made to Norris but a little before and broke loose from the promise he had given him Norris finding himself deluded thus by his credulity fell upon him with an angry and sharp expostulation for putting shams upon him after this manner But the Earl knowing still how to temporize for his advantage enter'd into another Parley with Norris and Fenton his Secretary and having given Hostages concluded another Peace or rather a bargain which soon after he broke with the same levity pretending he could not but think he was deceitfully dealt with because the Lord Deputy and the General varied with one another in their proceedings that the Lord Deputy had treated those he had sent to him about the peace with contempt and scorn that the Lord Deputy was wholly for the war had recruited his horse from England and detained the King of Spain's letters aforesaid and that the Marshal his bitter enemy was now returned with a new commission from England Upon this he began immediately to waste the adjacent country to burn the villages and drive away the cattle he could meet with but being touched with the sense of this wickedness and hearing that a peace was concluding between England and Spain he sent again to desire a parley and that terms of peace might be allowed him 'T is impossible to lay open all the folds and windings of his dissimulation But in short when ever he found himself in danger he acted a sincere submission and penitence so well both in his carriage countenance and address that he deluded them till they lost their opportunity and were obliged to withdraw their forces Again such was the slothfulness of the Commanders in Ireland the frugality of the Council in England and the innate clemency of the Queen who was loath these flames in Ireland for it could not be called a war should be quenched with blood that he was always believed and hopes of a pardon were given him to soften his obstinacy In the year 1597. by which time all Ulster beyond Dundalk except the seven Garison Towns viz. Newry Knoc-Fergus Carlingford Green castle Armagh Dondrom and Olderfleet as also all Conaght in a manner had revolted from the Queen Thomas Lord Burough Baron Burough Lord Deputy a person of compleat courage and conduct was sent Lord Deputy into Ireland The Earl by letters desired a cessation of arms and his Lordship thought it his interest to allow it for one month The month being expired the Lord Deputy drew his forces together and what was both for his advantage and honour at his entry upon this office he marched them in Battalia against the Earl and though the Earl gave him an ill welcome in a narrow passage 28 Within the space of the Moiry yet he made his way through by his valour and took the Fort at Blackwater which had been repaired by the Rebels open'd a passage into the County of Tir-Oen and was the only fence the Rebels had besides their woods and marshes to secure them This one action sufficiently shewed that if the war was well followed it could not continue long The very day that the Fort was taken as the Lord Deputy and his Army were giving God thanks for their success an allarm was given on the sudden that the enemy appeared upon the hills hard by so Henry Earl of Kildare with a troop of horse and some volunteers of the Nobility were detach'd against them who accordingly fell upon the enemy and put them to flight Yet we lost in this skirmish Francis Vaughan brother to the Lord Deputy's Lady R. Turner Serjeant Major an experienced Soldier and two foster brothers of the Earl of Kildare which so much troubled him that he died of grief some few days after for there 's no love so strong in any degree of relation as that between foster brothers in Ireland There were also many more of the English wounded among the rest 29 Sir Thomas Thomas Waller particularly eminent for his great valour As soon as the Lord Deputy had strengthen'd the Fort with new works and drawn off his Army the Rebels who began now to fluctuate between hope fear and shame resolved to lay siege