When the Normans
arrived in England in 1066
Ireland was ruled by several different kings. In 1169, Dermont MacMurrough,
the king of Leinster was defeated by Roderic, the king of Connacht.
Dermont went to Wales and asked Richard
de Clare, Earl of Pembroke, to help him in his war against Roderic.
Richard agreed to help on condition that he was allowed to marry Dermont's
daughter, Eva.
With Richard de Clare's
help Dermont was able to defeat the king of Connacht's
forces, who were armed only with slings and stones. Richard de Clare,
whose army relied heavily on Welsh archers, soon obtained the nickname
'Strongbow'.
When Dermont died in 1171,
Richard de Clare became the new king of Leinster. Henry
II of England
became concerned about Richard de Clare's growing power in Ireland
and so later that year he arrived with his own army. Richard was forced
to surrender Leinster to King Henry. The land was then given back
to Richard in return for the service of 100 knights.
Henry II now began establishing
his hold over Ireland. He built several castles and persuaded most
of the Irish kings to accept him as their overlord.
In 1185 Henry sent his
son John
to rule Ireland. Disliked
by both the Normans and the Irish, John was unable to establish himself
in Ireland and six months later was forced to return to England.
Several attempts were
made by English kings to take control of the whole of Ireland. These
campaigns failed and royal authority was limited to a few hundred
square miles round Dublin known as 'the Pale'.
Richard
Strongbow did manage to keep control of Leinster. To help the
local economy he encouraged the development of towns and markets
in the area.
To maintain control he
built several castles. He divided the territory into five lordships:
Wexford, Kilkenny, Kildare, Dunamase and Carlow. A seneschal, based
at Kilkenny Castle, was appointed to administer the land for the Clare
family. He received £100 a year, which made him the highest
paid of all Richard de Clare's officials.
Richard de Clare, Earl
of Pembroke, died in 1176. The Irish estates were inherited by his
daughter Isabel and her husband William Marshall. The couple had five
boys and five girls. When William Marshall died none of his sons were
left alive and so the Irish estates were divided up among the five
daughters and their families. By 1262 only the lordship of Kilkenny
remained under the control of the Clare family. The lordship was valued
at £343 a year and in return the Clare family were required
to provide the king with 22 knights. However, instead of supplying
knights, the Clare family chose to pay a regular scutage of £44
to the king.
The
Normans: Classroom Activities
Available
from Amazon Books (order below)
