to adopt the English dress and an English name, on pain of forfeiture of his property. To this ordinance is due the fact that many Irishmen took names of Oppressive laws. towns, like Cork, Trim, Sutton; or colors, like and unjust Black, Brown, Green; or trades, like Carpenter and Smith. Another act forbade fishing in waters belonging to the native chiefs, as the money paid for this privilege would enrich the latter, to the detriment of the English. Most unjust was a criminal provision which made it lawful to execute any thief caught in the act, unless he was in the company of an Englishman. This made many opportunities for false accusations, ast any Irishman might be murdered, and his head taken to the mayor, with the accusation that he had been caught stealing. His murderer not only escaped punishment, but was even paid a reward. It is true that the Pale swarmed with robbers; but a law like this was more likely to increase crime than to diminish it. SUMMARY The Normans who had settled in Great Britain had by this time lost their Norman character and were blended with the English nation, so that all newcomers from Britain to Ireland may henceforth be called Englishmen. The old Norman barons began now to side with the Irish, and looked upon these new settlers as hostile intruders, and wars and murders were frequent. The English government maintained its only real authority in the small district round Dublin known as the "Pale." It was often forced to pay Black Rent or to call in the help of some Norman or Irish chief to protect it against the attacks of others. The Irish already suffered greatly through the injustice of the Norman law, which afforded protection to the English only. To make matters worse, in 1367 the Statute of Kil kenny was passed, which contained measures calculated further to separate the two races. Richard II made two expeditions to Ireland in 1394 and 1399 to subdue Art MacMurrogh Kavanagh, who was the most active of the Irish chiefs. The kings of England were, however, too much engrossed in the Hundred Years' War with France to accomplish anything effective in Ireland. A subsidiary War of the Roses was carried on in Ireland between the Geraldines and Butlers while the great war was going on in England, 1455-1485. The Butlers, who were the Lancastrians, were defeated. In 1465, the Irish Parliament passed more unjust laws to be enforced against the Irish within the Pale. CHAPTER XV RISE AND FALL OF THE GERALDINES 1485-1537 ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS: Henry VII, 1485-1509 Henry VIII, 1509-1547 nobles. 122. Henry VII. The Wars of the Roses were ended in 1485, by the accession of the Lancastrian Henry VII, who founded the House of Tudor. Under this line of sovereigns, the English were destined to extend their power in Ireland, regaining much lost ground. During this period, more attention was paid to Irish problems, and an attempt was made to find a serious solution for them. Henry realized that, if English author- Power of ity was to prevail in Ireland, he must first com- the Irish promise with the great barons and conciliate them, for much depended on their support. aldines were very powerful at this time, and though they had sided with the House of York, and opposed Henry, the latter nevertheless retained the Great Earl of Kildare as lord lieutenant, until Kildare gave his adherence, in 1487, to Lambert Simnel, a Yorkist pretender to the English throne. The earls of Kildare, it should be remembered, were the Leinster Geraldines, the earls of Desmond being the Munster branch of the family. The Ger 123. Poynings' Law. Besides the military force of the Norman barons in Ireland, a strong obstacle to the authority of the English crown lay in the control which Parliament these barons exercised over the parliament at Dublin. Henry VII took measures to weaken the parliament. He sent over a new lord lieutenant, Sir Edward Poynings, to undermine the power of the barAfter a short campaign in the north, the da. 1494. new lord lieutenant convened a parliament at Drogheda, in 1494, and at this session was passed the famous Poynings' Law, which contained the following provisions: of Droghe ons. I. All Acts intended to be passed by the Irish Parliament must first be submitted to the king of England and his Privy Council. 2. English laws were to be enforced in Ireland. 3. The Statute of Kilkenny was revived, alliances between the two races being once more forbidden, though the use of the Irish language was now permitted. 4. It was made a felony to allow enemies or rebels, that is, native Irish who resisted English authority, to pass through the districts on the border of the Pale. 5. Certain high offices, such as those of the chancellor, the treasurer, the master of the rolls, and judges, which had formerly been held for life, were now held only during the king's pleasure. 124. Results of Poynings' Law. All the measures carried out by the new lord lieutenant had two objects: to make the great Norman nobles more dependent on the king, and to protect the common people within the Pale from violence. Up to this time the Irish Parliament had been entirely independent; it had been called by the lord lieutenant when it seemed necessary to him, and had passed laws suited to Irish conditions. Poynings' Law made the Irish Parliament an echo of the English. The worst consequences of this step were not at once seen, because the native Irish had had no share in legisla tion hitherto, and therefore did not visibly lose anything. The parliament was wholly an institu- Dependence tion of the Pale, and no native Irishman could of the Irish Parliament. either vote or sit in it. In later times, when the whole of Ireland came under English law, and the Irish Parliament made laws for the entire country, for the natives and the colonists alike, the injustice of this restriction was a fruitful source of evil. Irishmen were forced to submit to laws which they had no voice in making, and which were passed in another country by men who knew neither their wants nor their situation. Long years of strife passed before the repeal of this unjust law was finally secured. 125. Trial and acquittal of the Earl of Kildare. Another act passed by this parliament at Drogheda accused the Earl of Kildare of treason for attempting to oppose the authority of Sir Edward Poynings. Kildare had been pardoned for his support of Lambert Simnel. This time he was arrested and taken to England for trial. Henry VII realized that the death of the Earl of Kildare would deprive him of a valuable officer. For some time, Kildare was kept a prisoner in London, but he was at last brought to trial, in 1496, and forced to answer many charges, largely for imaginary offences. One of the gravest accusations made by his enemies was that he had burned the cathedral at Cashel. "Spare your evidence!" said the Earl of Kildare, "I did set fire to the church, for I thought the archbishop was in it!" Kildare was then given the right to choose his own advocate, to defend him against these charges. Taking King Henry by the hand, Kildare exclaimed: "Yes, your highness, I choose the ablest in the realm. Your highness I take for my counsel against these false knaves!" Toward the end of the trial, one of his opponents, |