‘to_Foreign_Commentators,_the_Pale_and_Gaelic_Ireland_Must_Have_Seemed_Like_Two_Different_Worlds’._Discuss.

‘To foreign commentators, the Pale and Gaelic Ireland must have seemed like two different worlds’. Discuss. In the 12th century Ireland had become governed by England. Gaelic Ireland however was more or less left to the Gaelic leaders in practice. As the years went past succeeding Norman- Irishmen had become more Gaelicised in their ways adopting the Brehon laws1 and Gaelic customs. The Gaels had also absorbed some of the Norman- Irish ways. In response to this in a bid to keep the two races separate the government introduced the Statutes of Kilkenny in 1366.2 Amongst the laws inter-marriages were declared punishable by death, the use of the Gaelic language or playing of the harp by Norman- Irishmen was forbidden and Gaelic clergy could not serve in the more affluent parishes without a grant of English law. The government responsible for the Statutes was effective only in an area of Leinster around Dublin. By the middle of the fifteenth century the “ English land” had become known as the “English Pale”.3 This area consisted of the lowland areas of Leinster and Munster. The Gaelic area that spanned most of the rest of the country consisted of more or less independent lordships. In sixteenth century, Ireland became better known through travel, trade and pilgrimage to areas such as Loch Derg.4 To foreign commentators travelling the country they would have discovered a land divided into two different worlds. The differences between Gaelic Ireland and the Pale could be seen through various differences in the economical, social, cultural, political and religious stances of these two areas. The Gaelic Irish areas were mostly in the west and the north of the country. Foreign visitors usually gave uniformly negative reviews of Ireland. “The representation of Gaelic Ireland as primitive, warlike, poor and semi- nomadic has persisted down to comparatively recently”.5 Most of Gaelic Ireland was covered in bad bog land, forest and lakes. This lead to the Gaelic Irish being a transient community, who spoke the Gaelic language, wore Gaelic clothes and generally men had long hair with beards. In Gaelic society herds of cattle were considered a symbol of wealth. They had a pastoral based agriculture and traded mostly in cattle. Due to continuous raids and the unstable quality of the land the clan’s tended to count mobility as a premium factor in day-to-day life. During the spring and autumn crops were sown and tillaged therefore there was a pattern to this transient lifestyle. There were huge bands of wandering cattle and their herdsman known as “creaghts” living in temporary huts. This constant moving was known as “Booyleying”.6 This was widespread in Connaght and Ulster. Cows were important commodities as their hides were considered Irelands best export at the time. Wools and sheepskins were also important exports while horses ploughed the land with the plough attached to its tail.7 Sheep an goats were also considered very important to the Gaelic Irish as they depended on agricultural produce to survive. The staple food of the time in Gaelic Ireland was oats (both for animal feed and human consumption) and butter. This supports the use of both pastoral and arable farming within the community. This contrasted greatly with the English area known as the Pale. Citizens of the Pale spoke English, dressed in English clothes and it was considered an area of civility within Ireland. Unlike the poor boggy land of Gaelic Ireland the Pale consisted of some of the best land in the country. This resulted in an intensive and efficient form of arable farming being conducted in areas of high population. The founding of towns along the ports and the manorial life contributed to the high levels of trade. Markets and fairs were established with the export of produce namely cereals, hides, beef, butter and wool keeping the area’s flourishing. Manors were originally built in wood and eventually rebuilt in stone and fortified. This was to provide defence from attacks from the Gaelic Irish who were considered uncivilised and barbaric “wild men of the woods”.8Soldiers were kept known as Kerne or Gallowglass to provide protection from these Gaelic raiders with the Gaelic lord being charged for their upkeep. Most manors were split into two sections, the lord’s demesne which he cultivated himself and the rest rented out to his tenants. Income was generated from the many landless labourers living and working on the land. All towns had a church usually backed by a rich local family. Religious houses were extremely important within the Pale and the centre of education. This was in stark contrast with the illiterate position of the Gaelic Irish. Towns were not of much importance within Gaelic Ireland. While there could be some small settlement beside ecclesiastical dwellings or tower- houses most lived in small gatherings of huts and very isolated.9 There were also permanent residencies taken up in crannog’s or forts. This points to the importance of defence during this time. A typical Irish dwelling was usually made up of mud and straw with many Gaelic chieftains living in huts. However due to the transient nature of their lives this was much to do with mobility and the ability to build and leave them quickly as warfare was rife. Within Gaelic Ireland clans held possession and ownership of land. These lineage groups or clans were descendant from a common male ancestor.10 Although land within a lordship was usually held by individual members one could inherit land if co- heirs agreed upon it (gavelkind). The chief of a lordship would be paid a tribute by each of the townlands within his domain. Landowners would often allow families to cultivate sections of land or use it for grazing in return for produce as a form of rent. This land could also be divided into tenancies. Women could not inherit land but could buy it and they did not inherit the lands of their husbands on his death. In general woman in Gaelic Ireland were of low status and it was common for men to have multiple relations while married.11 In contrast under English law a woman was entitled to one third of her dead husbands estate.12 The clan also had political and legal responsibilities. The position of Chief was not automatically handed down to the eldest son. Succession was achieved by an election usually from the derbfine, four generations linked to the chief. People who were eligible for Taoiseach or felt they had a right to the job could also be put forward leading to many bloody successions. Next in command was the Tanaiste.13 There were many lordships within Gaelic Ireland varying in size, subjects and power. As a chief’s territory and power increased he would also assert his authority over neighbouring lords. Thus attaining the role of overlord. “ The new, more demanding lord-vassal relationship depended very much on the deployment of force and the exaction of military support in return for protection”.14 A system known as Coign and Livery was in place whereby upon the arrival of the chief’s troops and servants, inhabitants of a townland were required to house and feed them at their own expense. To enforce the law and held with the utmost esteem was the Brehon. Also held in esteem would have been the other Gaelic class of learned men poets, historians and druids. He enforced the Brehon law’s that “stipulated in exact detail the rules, penalties and privileges governing social and political interest”.[1] As there was no parliament or gaol in Gaelic Ireland punishments for crimes usually took the form of fines. These fines were usually paid in cattle. There were various stages of the law depending on the crime and the rank of the offender. If fines were not paid the next stage of the law would be enforced. This included such things as having to give a hostage until the debt was paid, fasting outside the defendant’s door or occasionally but rarely executions in the form of hanging or burning. The Brehon law’s also gave guidance on the position of women compared with that of men regarding marriage divorce, property and inheritance. Our knowledge of fosterage is also derived from the laws. This practice was commonly used to maintain harmony between tribes and also because of friendship or an accompanying payment.[2] The Pale followed a different set of law’s laid down by the English crown. In 1494 Poyning’s Law was passed. This stipulated that the Kings permission was needed to hold parliament and to pass any law’s that were to be enforced. The Lord Lieutenant (someone of royal descent), Lord Deputy (without royal decent) or Chief Governor represented the King in Ireland. There was also a council of seven men, bishops, gentry and officials such as Keeper of the Great Seal and Master of Rolls to help with the running of the country who were elected by the King. In the 16 century the Kildare family held the position of Chief Governor. They were expected to run the country as cheaply as possible. Parliament would be held intermittently usually when money was needed and held in Dublin or Drogheda. Most major towns had individual councils with some sort of self-rule. The council was subsidised by the payment of fines and could also yield income through the rental of common lands. Additional income was generated through traders also would pay a fee to the council to trade within the markets and fairs. There was also the emergence of Liberties and Palantines, larger jurisdictions independent of the county sheriffs and royal courts.17 Before the reformation Christianity was the only religion in Ireland. With a building boom occurring in the 1600 there was an explosion in church buildings. The church was split into two distinct parts Inter Hibernicos relating to the Gealic Irish and Inter Anglicos relating to people within the Pale. While many English churches were elaborate and ornate Gaelic churches were less spacious, poor and bland. Clerical positions were hereditary and celibacy was not enforced in Gaelic Ireland. Most monk’s had wives or children and in 1541 a law allowing the outward keeping of a concubine was passed.18 One of the main differences between the two churches was the poverty and rural nature of the Inter Hibernico’s. The norm in Gaelic Ireland was for the rectory to be a sinecure possibly by a scholar or poorly paid and trained priest. The lack of a university in Ireland contributed to the lack of training for the clergy. The chief tenant of church lands was the hereditary Erenagh or Coarb (had less power and social standing than an erenagh) who among many duties furnished and maintained the church. These positions were held in high esteem previously by a member of a religious house but eventually by a literate layman.19 Compulsory attendance at mass was not required however most would attend at Christmas, Corpus Christi and Easter. The fire and brimstone type sermons were loved by the Gaelic Irish, as was pilgrimage to Loch Derg. Both religions loved pictures as many were illiterate however this was less seen in Protestant churches as they believed in praying directly to God. Inter Anglicos differed in many other ways to its Gaelic counterparts. Parishes were smaller and served the elite and gentry of the Pale. As money was more abundant the churches were more ornate. Priests were English and educated to a high standard and usually favoured administrative positions within the Pale then pastoral ones within a rural diocese. Unlike Gaelic Ireland were a hereditary system took place whoever held the advowson decided who became parish priest or curate. Usually candidates were family members. Bishops were members of parliament and members of the council within the Pale. 20 A tithe was always paid to the church that amounted to 1/ 10 of the persons income and this was usually divided out on a two to one bases between the vicar and the rector. In Gaelic parishes this tithe was split in four ways. Although along the marches of the Pale interaction between the two races did occur despite the Statutes of Kilkenny, Ireland could still be divided clearly into two different lands. Differences occurred between the two races in culture, society, politics, religion and economics. Some visitors came as sightseers such as Francesco Chiericati. He reported “Irish people are very religious but do not regard stealing as sinful, nor is it punished as a crime…I have heard that in places farther north people are more uncivilised, going about nude, living in mountain caves and eating raw meat.”21 However most visitors came under duty to the crown and could report on the land with political bias and give an unfair view of Gaelic Ireland in comparison to the “civility” of the Pale. One similarity that can be observed is that both races had a complex and organised system of institutions with its own principles and rules of arrangement. However to foreign commentators, the Pale and Gaelic Ireland must have seemed like two different worlds and in many ways they were.22 Bibliography Barnard, Toby, A New Anatomy of Ireland: The Irish Protestants 1649-1770 (Great Britain, 2003). Beckett, J.C, A Short History Of Ireland (Great Britain, 1986). Ellis, Steven G, Ireland in the age of The Tudors 1447-1603 (London, 1998). Gillespie, Raymond, The Transformation Of The Irish Economy 1550-1700 (Southern Ireland, 1998). Lennon, Colm, Sixteenth Century Ireland (Dublin, 2005). O’Beirne Ranelagh, John, A Short History Of Ireland (Cambridge, 1997). Simms, Katherine, From Kings To Warlords (Great Britain, 2000). ----------------------- 1 Brehon Laws were the laws followed in Gaelic Ireland enforced by Brehon’s or Irish judges. 2 John O’Beirne Ranelagh, A Short History of Ireland (Cambridge, 1997), p.40-42. 3 J.C. Beckett, A Short History of Ireland, (London, 1986), p.17-35. 4 Lecture 3, HY113. 5 Colm Lennon, Sixteenth Century Ireland (Dublin, 2005), p.43. 6 Lecture 3, HY113. 7 Lennon, p.46. 8 Steven G. Ellis, Ireland in the age of The Tudors 1447-1603 (London, 1998) p.31. 9 Lennon, p.48. 10 Ellis, p.40. 11 Ellis, p.41-44. 12 Lennon, p.60. 13 Lennon, p.52. 14 Lennon, p.63. [1] O’Beirne Ranelagh, p.14. [2] O’Beirne Ranelagh, p.15-17. 17 Lennon, p.10-19. 18 Lecture 5, HY113. 19 Ellis, p.192-198. 20 Lennon, p.113-136. 21 Lennon, p.43. 22 Ellis, p.44.