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f 


COLLECTANEA 


D    E 


REBUS  HIBERNICIS. 


VOL.    n. 


CONTAtNlNO 


No.  V.     Of  the  Utcraturc  I  No.  VIIL    An  Effay  on  the 

^  i-k«    In'IV   XI^*.:^,.    :n  AnfSnntrv    nf  thfi    Iri(k 


fsS  the  Irifh  Nation  in 
Heatheniih  Hmes. 

No.  VI.  An  Effay  on  the 
Study  of  Iri(h  Antiqui- 
ties. 

No.  VII,   Draidifin  reTived.  I 


Antiqoity  of  tJie  Irifh 
Language. 

IX.  The  Hiftory  and 
Antiquities  of  Irifh* 
town  and  Kilkeany. 


WITH    COPPER    PLATES. 


i^a^>aM« 


DUBLIN: 


LUKE      WHITE. 


lf|DCC,IiXZXTI. 


CONTENTS 


OF      VOL.      II. 

No.  V.     I.  Of  the  Literature  of  the  Iriih  Nation  ia 
Heatheniih  Times,  -  -  Page  3 

2.  Fragment  of  the  Brehon  Laws,  -  6 

3.  GaveL-Law  of  the  Iri£h  explained,  -  30 

4.  Literature  of  the  Lriih  after  the  Eftablifhment  of 
Chriftianity,  r         -         -         -         -         41 

5*    An  Liquirj  into  the  firft  Inhabitants  of  Ireland,  hf 
Lieut.  Col.  Charles  Vallancey,  -  -         56 

No.  VI.     I.  An  Efiay  on  the  Study  of  Irifh  Antiqui- 
ties, -  -  -  -  83 

2.  Diflertation  on  the  Round  Towers,        -         117 

3.  Memoirs  of  Dunamafe  and  Shean-Caftle,  in  the 
Queen's  County,  by  Edward  Ledwich,  L.  L.  B.    145 

No.  Vn.     I.  Druidifm  revived,         r         -         161 

2.  Of  the  Origin  and  Language  of  the  Iriih,  and  of 
the  Learning  of  the  Druids,  by  William  Beau- 
ford,  A.M.  r  -  -  218 

^    No.  Vni.     I.  An  Eflay  on  the  Antiquity  of  the  Irifh 
N       Language,  by  Lieut.  Col.  Charles  Vallancey,       252 

^    2.    Remarks  on  the  Eflay,        -         -         .        33^ 


s    No.  IX.     The  Hiftory  and  Antiquities  of  Iriihtown 
Q       and  Kilkenny,  by  Edward  Ledwich,  L.  L.  B.      34$) 


CoJleSlanea     de     Rebus     Hibernicis. 


NUMBER    V. 


Of  the  LiTskATu&fi  of  the  Irish  Nation  in 
HBATifEMisH  Times. 

Translation  of  a  Fragment  of  the  Brshon 
Laws;  or  rather,  z  Glossary  of  the  Brehon 
Terms. 

The  Gatel  Law  of  die  antient  Irish 

Of  the  Literature  of  the  Irish  after  the  EftaUUh- 
meatof  Christianity. 

An  ENqjjiRX  into  the  First  Inhabitants  of 
Ireland. 

The  Whole  intended  as  an  Essay  towards  (iimilfaing  fome 
lAght  for  future  EvopiaiBS  into  the  Origin,  Laws, 
and  MAaNBRt  of  the  Ancibmt  Uish. 


By  Lieut.  Cojl.  CHARLES  VALLANCEY. 


DUBLIN: 
f-UKE       WHITE. 


MiDCCyLXXXVMt 


/  Y 


TC  O      IM"  E. 


RtOHTHHOKO^It  ABLE 


N, 


^   ' 


AND 


ONE    OF   HIS  MAJESTY'S  MOST  HONOURABLE 
PRIVY  COUJfpJtt^  ^1^,  lElEXANa 


SIR, 

It  )^- 90  ibjttery^  ^t  aia&iincontefled  truth 
to  aver,  that  you  have  been  moft  emi- 
nciitly  ufefui  to  this  kingdom,  in  encourag- 
ing the  fine  arts  and  manufadures.  The 
extenfive  fhare  of  literature  and  difcerning 
judgment  you  enjoy,  would  not  permit  the 
curious  monuments  of  Irifh  antiquity  to 
pafs  unnoticed ;  at  your  own  private  expence 
very  able  artiAs  have  been  employed  to 
make  fuch  a  CoUeftion  of  Drawings  of  thefe 
Monuments  as  give  infinite  pleafure  to  every 
Jlover  of  antiquity  to  behold.  Permit  me. 
Sir,  to  join  the  public  voice,  in  hoping,  that 

B  a  th© 


DEDICATION. 

the  fame  fpirit  which  has  led  you  to  this 
expence  and  trouble,  may  induce  you  to  a 
publication  of  thi$  Colicdion  of  Drawings^ 
"which  have  juftly  entitled  you  to  be  re- 
corded as.the  Re0orer  of  Irifti  Antiquities  ; 
and  I  requeft  that  you  will  be  plfcaicd  to  ac- 
cept of  this  Dedication  of  the  Firft  Number 
of  the  Second  Votuniei  of  the  Coi^Ll^ctANEA 
DB  Rebus-Hibernicis  from, 


S  I  R, 

Your  moft  obedient. 


moft  humble  Servant, 


CHARLES  VALLANCEY. 


■  ^  I  » 


t  I 


ik^      ~  -* 


OP    THE 


LITERATURE 


Of      X    H    X 


IRISH    NATION 


t     N 


HEATHENISH    TIMES, 


A 


MONGST  all  the  proofs  that  can  be  ex* 
hibited  of  the  exiftencc  of  letters  and  learning  in 
pagan  times,  no  one  can  be  fo  much  depended 
on,  as  the  producing  of  certain  works,  that 
were  really  written  by  pagan  authors,  and 
which  exifted  before  St.  Patrick's  arrival  in  this 
ifland :  Such  a  proof  would  doubtlefs  folve  the 
queftion  propofed,  in  a  decifive  manner.  The 
dans  or  poems  given  us  by  Keating  to  atteft  the 
hiflories  of  remote  times,  far  from  aflifling  us  on 
the  occafion,  rather  have  appeared  to  many  as 
proofs  againft  us,  becaufe  the  words,  the  ftyle,  and 
the  very  poetic  drefs  of  thefe  poems,  ftiow  them 
to  be  of  modem,  date  and  invention.  Moil  of  that 
hiftorian^s  poetic  quotations  regarding  the  Belgian 
and  Daman  colonies,  the  Ha  fml^  &c.  are  taken 
from  poems  that,  by  the  hook  of  Lecan,  are  attri- 
buted 


6        LITERATURE  of  the  IRISH 

buted  to  Ecoha  o  Floin,  who  was  a  chriftian  poet. 
From  the  difcovery  of  thi»  truth,  which  neither 
Keating  nor  any  or  our  literati  did  take  proper 
care  to  explain,   the  enemies  of  our  anticpiities 
cried  up  vidory,   faying  that  thefe  aniient  fafts 
had  only  modern  writers  for  their  firft  inventors ; 
but  let  them  proceed  with  lefs  precipitation,  and 
confider  the  true  nature  of  things.  The  Irifti  ChriC- 
tians  when  they  began  to  compofe  verfes,  after  the 
manner  of  the  deihhi  or  dim  direchy  which  of  all 
others  exifting  in  either  our,  or  any  other  language 
I  am  acquainted  with,  was  the  moft  compendious, 
and  for  this  reafon  the  moft  proper  for  writing 
hiftory,  laid  themfelves  otit  for  recording  the  fadts 
of  remote  antiquity,  as  well  as  chronology,  &c. 
in  fuch  kind  of  verfes.     And  thus  the  Chriftians 
had  in  jtn  abridged  manner  laid  before  them  die 
lives  and  memorable  anions  of  the  princes,  the 
yearH  of  tbeir  mgn,  •  &c.  and  hence  Keating  or 
^ny  oth(5r  writer  m^y  very  fccurdy  cite  ofle  of  thefe 
antient  Chr;iftian  poets,  for  attefting  fads  belonging 
to  beatheniih  tixnes,  juft  as  he  might  cite  the  fame 
poet  for  att^mg  fk£la  beloioging  to  the  A%rian,' 
Median,.  P^riian,  or  Roman  empires;  the  princi- 
pal revolutions  of  all  which  ftates  have  been  often 
faithfully  recorded  by  thefe  Iriih  poets,  and  many 
are  to  be  met  with  in  the  parchment  manufciipOff 
ftill  exiili4g.    The  truth  is,  it  wad  much  eaiier  to 
cite  a  y^sf^  of  four  lines,  each  line  ocmnfting  anly 
of  eight  fyliables,  wherein  three  or  ftwr  fads  may 
be  recorded,  dian  to  have  the  trodble  of  citing  an 
old  pajSage  in  profe,  fuch  as.  it  was  before  Ckrif- 
tianity^  which  oa  account  of  its  obfcarity  and 

uncouth 


it»   HEATHENISH  TIMES.         7 

tmcouth  drefs,  muft  become  difagrecabfe  to  the 
modern  reader,  who  fought  for  elegancy  of  ftyle, 
plain  language  ^d  pleafure  in  his  reading.  -  And 
hence,  as  it  would  be  highly  ccmtradiftOry  to  all 
good  rcafon,  for  a  man  to  conclude,  that  a  fafit 
or  revolution,  happening  in  any  of  the  afore&id 
great  empires,  had  for  its  only  authority  an  Irifh 
Chriftian  poet,  becaufe  fach  a  fa(S  or  revolution 
was  really  defcribed  by  him,  fo  in  like  manner  it 
is  repugnant  to  good  fenfe,  that  a  Ghriftian  poet 
ihould  be  affigned  as  the  only  author  for  hiSts 
which  happened  in  headieniih  times,  becaufe 
tbefe  fads  are  recorded  in  his  verfes  I  the  reafon 
be  records  in  his  poetry  the  fz&s  relating  to  thofe 
empires  of  the  world,  is^  becaufe  hie  read  the  his- 
tory of  them,  and  underftood  the  language  where^ 
in  the  fa6b  were  contained,  and  by  a  like  reaibn 
doth  he  record  in  veife,  the  fads  regarding  his 
own  countiy,  becaufe  he  is  well  acquaiated  with 
the  hiftory  of  it,  and  underftands  his  native  lan- 
guage toperfeSion. 

In  my  humble  opinion  the  verfes  of  fuch  poets 
deferve  the  greateft  credit,  fincetheylay  before  us 
the  moft  abfurd  relations  and  ridiculous  tenets  of. 
our  pagan  anceftors,  as  well  as  the  moft  certain 
aikl  well  conne<^ed  points  of  their  dodlrine  and 
hiftory.  This  could  not  proceed  from  a  want  6f 
cfifcemmeiit  and  good  fenfe  in  them,  fince  they 
fliow  by  other  writings,  they  were  well  acquainted 
with  foreign  hiftory,  poetry  andoratory,  and  con- 
fequently  had  as  good  a  right  as  we  have  to  diftin- 
gmih  between  palpable  error  and  truth,  or  plauii- 
bility ;  and  iince  they  relate  thefe  palpable  errors 
and  fabulous  ftory,  it  appears,  their  true  motive 

fof 


$        LITERATURE  or  THB  IRISH 

for  fo  doing  was  to  hand  down  thefe  accountSji 
juft  as  they  found  them  in  our  pagan  hiftory,  with 
iincerity  and  candour.  The  Ghriftian  religion  de- 
rives one  advantage  from  their  fidelity  viz.  that 
we  can  by  that  means  take  a  retrograde  view  of 
pagan  blindnefs  and  mifery. 

Having  thus  offered  my  thoughts  in  vindication 
of  thefe  verfes,'  which  I  fnppofeto  have  been  com- 
polcd  by  Ghriftian  poets,  celebrated  in  their  times> 
(for  I  kaiow  what  little  dependance  ought  to  be  had 
on  the  vcrfification  of  our  modern  bards)  I  fhall 
now  proceed  to  give  fome  clear  proofs  of  our 
having  had  the  ufe  of  letters  before  Chriflianity . 
The  pioof  I  fpeak  of  is  the  exhibition  of  a  frag- 
mcntof  a  Code  of  Laws,  which,  I  think,;  every  ju- 
dicious reader,  whof.  is  ve^fed  in  Irilh  antiquities^ 
wfll  judge  to  have  been  the  produft  of  very  remote 
times,  much  higher  tUaloithc  fifth  or  fixth  centuries. 
This  fragment  contains  twelve  folios,  and  begins 
at  folio  fixty-four,  the  fixty-three  preceding  were 
mifling ;  and  here  I  nmft  beg  the  reader  to  remark, 
the  .difiereace  between  the  letter  of  the  law  and  the 
expHcaiioH  of  the  faid  law.  I  maintain  the  fii'ft  is  of 
pagan  inflitution,.  and  that  the  fecond  is  the  work 
of  one  or  many  Ghriftian  Jurifconfuhs,  who  inter- 
preted thia  law,  and  applied  it  to  particular  cafes, 
according  to  the  intention  of  the  Glffiftianlegiflator. 
This  coUedion  was  partly  madfe  in  the  time  of 
Bond  mac  Aodamac  Anmrcchy  who  was  a  Ghriftian 
prince,  by  Ceandfaela  mac  Aillily  called  I  fuppofe 
.CeandfiieLinaf)glmna\  and  partly  hy  Aid//  who 
lived  after  Cea^idfae/a's  time,  (on  the  environs  of 
Tara)  aad  after  the  time,  of  Icing  Cortnac,  for  he 

•  was 


IN    HEATHENISH   TIMES. 


* 


was  cotemporarjr  with  Carbre  IJffeachair  fon  of 
Cormac.     Neverthelefs  the  work  is  attributed  ta 
Cormac,  as  it  was  begun  by  him  and  ended  in  the 
reign  of  his  fon  (krbre ;  fo  that  the  Irifh  lawyers 
who  compiled  and  delivered  this  code  of  laws^ 
were  Aici/I  who  lived  in  the  reigns  of  Cormac  and  . 
of  his  fon  Carbre,  and  Ceandfaelafon  of  AilJ/l,  who 
flouriftied  in  the  reign  of  DonaJ  fon  of  Hugh  mac 
Ainrmrech.    No  doubt  but  that  thefe  laws  were 
collefiledby  the  order  of  thofe  Irifh  princes,  juft  as 
we  know  the  Roman  emperor  JuJHnian  I.   who 
had  the  Roman  laws  collected,  by  the  care  and 
labour  of  ten  able  Jurifconfults,  diredied  in  chief 
by  the  celebrated  Trebonianus^  calling  this  collec- 
tion the  JuJHnian  Code ;  he  alfo  caufed  the  fcattered 
decifions  of  his  judges  and  magiftrates,  reduced  to 
the  number  of  fifty,  to  be  called  digejia  or  pan- 
deda,  to  all  which  he  added  his  four  books  of  in- 
ftitutes,  which  are  an  abridgment  of  the  text  of  all 
the  Roman  laws ;  and  laftly  he  publilhed  his  own 
laws  which  he  called  novel/a ;  this  compilationhas 
procured  for  that  emperor  an  immortal  name* 

Our  Irilh  Chriftian  legiflators  took  the  fame  me- 
thod with  the  Chriftian  Jurifconfult  Trebonianus 
and  his  iUuftrious  afliftahts  eaiWcdanteceJ/bres  or  pro- 
feflbrs  and  interpieters,  for  in  the  preface  to  the 
Panded<B^  they  are  ftiled  T«f  y«/M»»  t^nmXH^  I  mean 
'Tbeophilus  and  Dorotheus,  who  explained  not  only 
the  laws  of  the  Chriftian  emperors  from  the  year 
527>  v^rhen  Jujlinian  fucceeded  his  uncle  JuJHn  in 
the  empire,  up  to  thereign  of  CmftantmeXht  Great, 
but  alfo  to  the  times  of  Julius  and  Auguftus  Cafar. 
They  evenintroduce  the  laws  of  the  fenate  and  the 

Bebijm 


to  FRAGMENT    OJf    THE     , 

Kebijcita  or  deciiiona  of  the  popular  tiribunes^  an^ 
ibmetimes  the  laws  of  the  twelve  tables^  all 
which  were  of  pagan.mftitatioD,  though  direfted 
and  compiled  by  a  Chiiftian  emperor  and  Chrif- 
tian  Jurifconfults. 

Tbefe  Irifli  princes,  feeing  th<?laws  of  the  Irifh 
natioa  difperfed  in  many  pieces,  thought  it  ex- 
pedient, both  for  the  public  order  and  oeconomy 
of  the  ftate,  and  for  the  fafety  and  comfort  of  each 
individual,  to  unite  them  all  together  in  one  code. 

The  FRAGMENT  begins  by  the  invocation  of 
the  name  of  God  thus,  in  ainm  DE  Jo ;  juft  like 
the  Juftinian  code,  which  begins  in  norrnne  I). 
n&firi  Jeju  Gbriji;  and  the  firft  folio  contains  an 
hiftorical  prelude  to  the  law,  as  I  have  juft  now' 
obferved,  viz. 

Locc  don  liubarfa  The  place  where  this 
Daire  lubran,  agus  aim-  book  was^  written  wa^ 
ier,  do  aimier  Doninall  Derry  in  the  times  of 
mac  Aeda  mac  Ainmi-  DonaLfonof  Aod,  fonof 
rech,  acus  pearfa  do,  Ainmirec,  by  thepcrfon 
Ceandfaelamac  Aillila.    called  Ceandfaela  Ton  of 

Aillila. 
.  This  Donal,  fon  of  Aod,  fuccceded  his  brothei 
Coiialen  who  died  in  605  ;  he  was  cotcmporary 
with  Fingin  mac  Aod,  king  of  Munfter,  who  in 
604  Succeeded  Amalgamac  EaBna;ihe  faid  Donal 
according  to  our  annals  flew  Seachnaffach,  fon  of 
Garvari  king  of  Tirowen,  who  oppofed  him  in  607. 

Carbre  LiSeachar  fucceeded  his  father  Cormac 
in  279,  bis  father  dying  of  Ihe  bone  of  a  falmon 
which  ftnck  in  his  throat ;  in  260,  he  fought  the 
battles  of  Bear  Loehlein,  Lunerick  and  Greine,and 

alfo 


BR  EH  ON    LAWS.  " 


alfo  of  Ardfeart ;  he  is  faid  alfo  to  have  killed  ia 
lingle  combat,  in  this  year,  twelve  Lagenian 
prinoes,  or  Galamh  Aenfir,  and  was  ksmlflied  by 
the  Ultonians  the  year  following,  and  was  not 
able  to  recover  the  royal  feat  of  Eman  for  four 
years,  when  at  length  he  was  vi£i6r,  and  banifh- 
ed  the  Ultonians  into  the  ifle  of  Man. 

ThenfoUows  this  ancientverfeinpraifeof  Donal : 
Ife  in  f:a  ar  nad  bufid  This  is  the  man  who 
ar  arCongal  in  a  gae ;  proved  viftorious,  de- 
feating Gongal  in  battle : 
Re  Domhnal  in  a  firinde  Who  tiTily  fellby  the 
uair  buaid  madm  ar  in :  fword  of  Donal : 
An  firen  rias  anfiren.  Voi!  he  coniqtiered  him  in 
Ife  in  f :°  ar  nad  buaid.   a  pitched  battle,  and  the 

faidiful  prince  flew  the 
imfaithful. 
Suibne  geilt  do  dul  re      He  was  the  man  who  yet 
geltacht.  i.  ar  facaib.      was  vidlor  t)ver  Suibne 

the    geilt    who  became 
crazy. 
Do  laidib  &  do  fgelaib  He  left  after  him  many 
agaiifiti  each  o  finille.   poems  and  ftorles  for  the 

nfe  and  entertainment  of 
pofterity. 
It  is  then  related  of  him  that  he  was  educated  at 
Tuam  Dercain>  at  the  meeting  of  three  roads, 
centrical  to  the  houfes  of  three  fuad  or  virtuofi, 
ynz.  a  genealogift,  a  poet,  and  a  fai  leigind ;  his 
capacity  and  memory  are  praifed^  and  concludes, 
that  whatever  he  learned  by  day  from  his  three 
teachers,  he  carefully  wrote  down  at  night  in  cailc 
Ihdbar,  a  chalk  book. 

Accord'*^ 


ift  FRAGMENT   QFTHE 

According  to  Tigemacli,  CiDfaela,  ftiled  by 
himjapens,  died  in  the  year  679. 

Then  follows  concerning  Ciorauic  and  Carbre 
Liffeachair  his  fon,  and  fhe  hillory  of  Cormac's 
being  blinded  is  mentioned  thus : 

Ceallach  fon  of  Cormac  ravi(hed  a  Lagenian 
lady  of  quality,  daughter  to  Solar  Ion  of  Artcorb, 
in  her  father's  houfe  at  Rath  Aedba  in  Leinfter ; 
fome  time  after  Aongus  Gaibuaibnech  pafiing 
through  Connaught,  went  into  the  houfe  of  a  wo- 
man of  the  free  ftate  of  Luigne,  and  forcibly  drank 
milk  there  ro  cait  bainde  in  ar  eigin ;  upon  which 
flie  told  him,  he  had  better  revenge  himfelf  on 
Ceallach  for  violating  his  brother  Solar's  honour, 
than  infringe  on  the  liberty  of  that  ftate;  which 
reproach  made  fo  deep  an  impreflion  on  the  mind 
of  Aongus,  that  he  immediately  went  home,  put 
on  his  armour,  and  after  the  letting  of  the  fun, 
met  Corma^  and  his  fon  Ceallach,  when  at  one 
blow  he  put  Ceallach  to  death,  and  with  his  armed 
elbow  ftruck  Cormac  blind ;  but  the  famous  Aicil 
performed  a  cure  for  his  eye. 

It  is  then  related  that  Coritiac's  part  of  this 
book  is  arafeftr  &  na  blai,  but  that  Cinfaela's  part 
is  the  reft  of  the  book. 

Then  the  perfon  of  Cinfaela  is  commended  in 

verfe  thus : 

ba  perfa  aireda  tra  Cin-  A  moft  illuftrious  perfo- 

faela  mac  Ailila  nage  indeed  was  Cinfaela  ] 

fon  of  Aillil 
iar  nafg  olltaid  ifim  cath  Who  after  fubduing  the 
he  do  rigne  duil  rofga-    Ultonians  in  battle,  conv 
dach,  pofed  folios  of  chiming 

poetry. 

It 


B   R    E    H    O   N      LAWS.  13 

It  is  then  mentioned  that  the  Lsitiajuum  licet  is 
in  Iriih  called  detTnm  dilmain\  that  its  Wire6l  figni- 
'fication  is  called  by  him  buna  airs ;  th^  coiichen 
means  common,  diles  proper,  and  ruidles  etrtire, 
fafe  and  found;  that  there  are  eight  common  terms 
of  the  laws  called  ocht  nernmlle  coitchena^  viz, 

INETO  or  FOGARCAILE, 
LANFRAC  or  COMRAILE, 
LEATHFRAC  Of  TMANFOT, 
AITHGIN  or  IN  IMDEITHBIR, 
TORBA, 

Slan, 

dsithbtr  torba, 

VODLATDSYtJ. 

The  reft  of  this  folio  is  effaced* 

The  next  page  begins  a  kind  of  exordium  to 
the  work  thus,  a/lach  on  aihairjhr  Ebha  &  toltnugad 
doEbbafria^  i.  e.  the  ferpent  prefented  the  forbid- 
den fniit  lo  Eve,  and  Eveconfented  to  receive  it. 
Imarbasy  is  the  prohibition  of  a  legiflator.  Comjugud 
do  Adam  fiia  Jlatarta  umcoimde^  i.  e.  Eve  delivered 
it  to  Adam  in  difobedience  to  the  Trinity ;  and 
hence  it  is  plain,  fays  the  author,  that  when  a  man 
knows  a  criine  in  virtue  of  the  law  eftablilhed, 
though' lie  Be  ignorant  of  the  penalty  enjoined  by 
it,  he  mdy  be  punifhed  according  to  the  full  mear 
fjre ;  is  ai  Jiff  is  folios  0  Uasfs  in  cinaidac  duine  gen 
.  coroibfs  na  hiru,  con  adhainfs  lanfrachy  and  hence 
by  a  greatfef  i%ht,  when  the  crime  or  fault  is 
known  and  the  penalty  too,  there  is  no  matter  for 
deception,  ni  damna  mtallaidl   ' 

EtGE  RIAN  iTGEN,     NO     CilN     RIA    CINAID,   a 

crime  for  a  crime;  means  if  a  man  commits  a 

crime 


H        F  R  A,  G  M  E  N  T      Q  F      THE 

Ciioae  h«  u  to  buffer  for  it,  and  then  tHe  law  ceafes, 
but  Jjii&Jkr  for  eai;aQ)ple  called  Joit/s  tmrgtech^  can 
226vor  bav^  the  benefit  of  tliis  law,  becade  his 
pvBiilhsnent  will  have  up^  end  ganfofa  coin,  \  and  this 
may  be  callje4  i^  ^gw  /«*  that  is,  aftpr  the  pu- 
niihmfSk  the  crime  remains  imputable ;  the  fame 
may  be  faid  of  Eve  for  having  eat  of  the  forbid- 
den fniit,  tomailt  torad  in  craind  ungairie. 

EisLiR  ^ODLA  EIT6ID.  Cia  ler  no  cia  lin  der- 
nalaib  fodeilitear  afieitgen  comforlea^an  in  cintaid; 
i.  e.  how  many  fold  and  how  extenfive  i^  the  crime 
and  how  many  ways  it  can  be  diftingiiifhed. 

NiHANDSusoN,  means  that  wM^V^^  ^ ^PP^  by 
advice  has  the  fame  force  with  the.  %&,  itjfelf> 

AcEATHATRj  <  W>  I>OJJt.ISCX  4l$^'  AIIISAM  C£A- 
T^XJLWA    pONAvKUItl^    A,IRMHX*       1^^   DUifiber 

ibur  excels  aU  other  numl^xprs  on  accQimt  of  the 
dem^iitS)  of  the  four  cardinal  ppii^ts^  and  for  many 
other  re^fons,  fi>  that  the  pnx>f  of  ^ur  perfbos  is 
beyond  difpute;  the  interpretatipn  is  in  l^atinrthus, 
qjaaterndis  prsec^ellit  omnibus  nu^^eris  i^  i^lla;  \p  e^ 
thp  univ^rfe  (a). 

.     CblJUlAITS, 


ii ' » 


{a)  Here  we  may  tdcc,  QOttjce*  that  tjjc;  Irjfli  glofTary 
Adopts  the  allegttHc'al  fftetliod  of  reafdhing,  ^^hereof  the 
-fhj»aic  philofo^erfli  wi3re>  ^CT^tiaeipll^iuL  f^uutkt  the 
^tQic  has  left  as  a  treatif^  oi^  atlesoricsdl^  iAterpt^Uit.ioQs,  from 
which,  and  from  his  ftudj  of  Platonic  philofop^y,  he  is 
dlodght  to  have  betrow;*dJ\is  method  of  aHcgoriatiAg  ffeveral 
Aa%ges  of  holy  writ,  ^e  Porphyrii||i|p;id  So^M^uip  Hift. 
Ecclcf.  lib.  6.  ch.  IQ.  Many  of  the  Djripkiv?  fathers  fell 
iilto  the  feme  mctnod ;  i'.  lren*as  i%afons  much"  after  the 
fame  manner  of  our  IrilKmaii  on  the  ttamber  of  four  evan- 
gcI^iU  {  he-fays,  ''  tber£  oiuft  be  four  goipels,  and  no  more, 
from  the  four  winds  and  four  corners  of  the  earth."  As 
that  kind  of  reaibniog  was  acceptable  to  the  lestrned  Gem* 

tilci, 


BREHON      LAWS.  15 

CoMjLAiTB)  meftiDs  the  corporal  prefenoe  of  a 
perfon,  which  is  to  be  known  by  jthe  five  fenlcs 
{ceadfiui  euirp  no  5  Jkmjih)  that  agree  and  join  to- 
gether in  the  perpetration  of  a  cnme ;  it  may  regard 
die  witnefi  wbofe  bare  recital  that  he  heard  the 
£aft  will  not  faflSce-  The  book  of  Sufantuih  ad- 
vertises uft  of  this  neceffaiy  precaution.  The  f©- 
crecy  of  the  fadl  fhould  alfo  be  attended  to  {cleifhfi 
an  maid)  and  which  of  the  two  contending  parties 
did  firft  inake  his  declaration  {coir  aanrnd  don  loA- 
bvd  mo  ro  aijhed  aPtu$.) 

ACASAK70T>    or    AMBI    DAIT»    Of   AINAOLACH 

VAiT^  means  that  an  ignorant  man,  who  is  like  a 
beafty  fhould  not  be  permitted  to  atteft  any  thing, 
for  thus  fayeth  Eearmuyan  mac  Echlan. 
bid  each  cafaitebusilbit  All  people  aflc  what  is  the 
isbrechtciamtiagaitoig  fignification  of  ^/;  it  is 

a  riddle  commonly  pro- 
pofed  to  youth, 
coria  de  ata  lot  faiteach  I  fay  that^  fignifies  fen- 
agtts  anf  hot  anfaitech.     fible  and  anfboiy  fooliih, 

nonfenfical. 

TpKBA  or  ToiRB£o,  mcaus  the  fei^etnce  of  a 

ju(^e  which  exempts  the  criminal  frpm  fimher  ap- 

prehenfions,  iafiter  h^  has  paid  the  fine.    Some  ai« 

^  of  opinion  it  means  {tmr)  confufion  or  fhame,  or 

^Ife  terror  to  hiqi  who  does  not  fatisfy  the  damages 

he 

tiles,  for  whofe  inftrodiion  they  wrote,  it  is  no  wonder  if  our 
Chriftian  do^prs  frequently  adopted  it.  S,  Aufiin  to  prove 
f hac  Chrift  was  to^  have  twelve  apoftiesi  ufes  a  very  fimilar 
argument^  for  fayfr  he,  '^  the  gofpel  was  to  be  preached  in 
the  four  comers  of  the  world  in  the  name  of  the  Trinity^ 
and  three  times  four  makes  twelve." 


FRAGMENT     OF     THE 

he  has  done ;  tairage  don  beo  ris  na  hi6bir  feic 
iar  ndenam  fogla. 

AcAsssBA,  i.  e.  Uais  bso^  or  happy  is  he  who 
fufifers  a  lols  unjuftly ;  it  is  applii^  thus :  BleiTed 
is  the  man  who  feeks  no  conipenfation  from  his 
ofienderSy  and  blefled  is  he  who  fatisfies  after 
having  done  the  damage,  icas  iar  denamfogla. 
And  it  is  alfo  nfed^o  fignify  the  complete  number 
of  witnefles,  required  by  law  for  certain  crimes ; 
for  example,  in  cafes  of  murder  or  robbery  (fagld) 
the  number  four  is  required,  yet  in  fome  cafes, 
two  may  be  fofiipent,  and  this  particularly  in.  the 
cafes  of  ctgencomtMe^  and  t^ha. 

Of  the  fiat  coMpairte  and  carad^  from  the  fourth 
Divifion,  which  comes  under  the  term  of  Etotn. 

Cl    AN     AV^IAND    NA     CINA     SIN,     Or    FODAIL 

ANAMAND  ciNAiD.  What  is  the  true  name  of 
the  crime,  ifi  cin  and  ih  gtdmugad^  it  is  aw,  which 
conlifk  in  the  aft,  though  ««  be  an  etgen.  Thgre 
are  four  divilions  of  etgeriy  and  ten  etgens. 

Nl  HANDSA  ON  FAILL,  Ot  D9  FAIRGEAND 
AFAILL     SMEACHT       HEATHA      OTHRUSA*    meaUS 

that  if  a  man  be  woimded  in  the  body  through 
malice,  the  aggreifor  muil  get  the  wound  healed 
{asfailldogan  an  totbrus  do  denam.) 

£isLEis  or  AiLSE  LEASA,  mcaus  a  crime  com- 
mitted with  a  full  and  malicious  intent ;  from^j 
leis  or  from  ai//e  leafa. 

Elonas  is  the  knowledge  of  the  thing  done  or 
doing,  whereby  a  perfon  receives  a  wound  or  da- 
mage. 

Anfis 


BREHONLAWS.  17 

Anfis  means  ignorance ;  fuch,  for  example,  as 
the  blind  cajk^  (dall  urchur)  viz.  over  a  houfe,  not 
knowing  who  is  on  the  other  fide ;  through  a  wood 
wlien  in  foil  leaf;  and  through  a  field  of  ftanding 
corn ;  thefe  are  the  three  dall  urchuir :  tar  tic  fo 
fuide  ;  dat  fdfo  duiik  ;  tar  govt  airbha. 

Imrajchnk  means  one  out  of  his  natural  fenfeSj 
fear  rcchta  in  ecofe  diljig.  i .  ime  do  merad  akhne. 
TiJCAiu  or  TOOAiRM,  fignifies  a  procefs  in  l^w. 
TuRTAiT  or  TOiRTEiT,  is  a  place  where  the 
trefpafs  is  done. 

T1DRADU8,  is  a  perfe^l  proof  of  the  faS,  called 
cm  na  himana. 

FocHuiN,  is  a  crime  committed  in  anger  or 
paflkm. 

AcAis,  is  the  proximity  of  the  place. 
AoH,  is  the  aft  or  perpetration  of  murder. 
DsAKAiDy   Ss  debate,   eacl][   debate  is  to  be 
weighed  according  to  the  cin  or  crime,  and  the 
penalty  proportioned  thereunto.  A  com/Umug  amail 
as  eemtechfa  do  reir  ccir  la  gac  cin* 

Teora  fodla  fogla,-  that  is  fogail  is  three 
fold,  aad  may  be  eoramhted  in  three  manners,  viz. 
hy  the  heart,  by  the  tongue,  and  by  the  aft  itfelf  j 
to  thofe  Gorrelpofid  the  three  terms,  ift.  Elguin, 
when  it  regards  tcmrmte  and  determines  the  fpecies. 
2d.  Anfot^  when  it  determines  the  fpecies  and  is 
referred  to  comraite.  3d.  Tmfiedy  when  it  regards 
neither  the  genu3  nor  the  fpecies,  but  is  applied  to 
Torba. 

£lQ9TN  rOlt,  FBRO  AGUS  TS  VUIRRE  FKRQ  FRI 

^tQuiK,  vi^.  Elgim  is  over  ferg  zsM^f^rg  is  undiej: 

JSlguin ;  kn  vniho\A  Elgmt  there  is  nerer  anger. 

Vol.  II.  C  and 


i8  FRAGMENT   OF    THE 

and  all  anger  is  Elguin ;  for  a  man  doth  many 
things  through  Elguin  which  are  not  of  anger,  and 
does  nothing  through  anger  which  is  not  of  Elguin^ 
therefore  Elguin  is  a  more  extenfive  term  than  anger 
or  ferg  (b).  Ni  can  elgym  k  fitg  is  gad^  ferg  is 
etguin ;  do  gena  duine  moran  ire  elguin  nod  bijtrgy 
agus  ni  digne  triferg  ni  na  bi  helguin ;  is  fcirleitbe 
elguin  inn  ferg  dejide.  # 

AnFOT  for  EsPA.  K  lUlRRS  FOI  £sBA  AnFOT» 

i.  e.  atijot  is  greater  than  or  over  ej^a^  or  onjct  is  in- 
ferior to  ejba.  The  "word  jimrre  is  the  comparative 
degree  oifo  ox  Jo  under,  and  correfponds  wilh  the 
Latin  word  i?iferius  from  ittfray  and  means  here  lefs 
extenlive  in  its  fignification  and  import,  or  appli- 
cable to  fewer  principles  and  cafes.  The  kind  of 
argument  above  mentioned  is  alfo  u£edthus:  every 
ejpa  is  a^fbiy  but  every  at^af  is  not  ej^a;  for  a  mail 
performs  many  a£lions  through  anfi^t  which  are  not 
ej?ay^  therefore  anfot  is.  more  extenfive  than  ejba.  , 
ToisciPE  FOR  ToREA,  Toifcide  is  more  ex« 
tenfive  than  Torba,  and  the  fame  kind  of  reafoning 
is  made  ufe  of.  N.  B.  Toifcide  is  the  will,  defire, 
or  inclination*  Ni  can  toifcide  is  torba,  &  gach 
torba  is  toifcide;  uaii*  do  genead  duine  moran  tria 
toifcide  na  bi  torba,  agus  ni  digne  tria  torba  na  bi 
toifcide  j;  is  forleite  toifcide  defin  ina  torba.. 

No 


{b)  This  reafbnine  isatrne  phiToibphicaJ  argument  of  aB 
antecedent  and  conlequent,  called  in  philofophy  Enthymima 
the  antecedent  whereof  is  clearly  demonftrated.  This  d'rf- 
tindion  between  th^e  terms,  together  witb  the  nuiay  others 
equally  difcernible  in  this  fragment^  proves  that  the  Irifli. 
.legiflator  was  accurately  verfed  in  the  phiTofophy  of  the 
great  Ariftotle,  accordwg  to  whom  fuch  temx  are  ftiled 
termini  magis  ct  f^inus  eommuaet,. 


B   R,E   H   O   N     L   A   W   S/  19 

No  FRFTHAIU  TORBA.  t.    FIR  TNDSAIGE  DO  IN 
BAILR  iMBITH  AO     DKNAM  GNIM     TORB  ;    mCailS 

one  who  aififts  a  fecond  perfon  to  commit  a  crime 
againft  law,  and  fuch  a  perfon  is  to  make  fatis- 
fadion  in  the  one^third  of  the  damage  and  pe- 
nalty ;  a  Aljedo  conuice  afrian ;  the  fame  is  to  hold 
good  if  having  it  in  his  power  to  hinder  the  prin- 
cipal aggreffor's  efcape  when  condemned  or  judg- 
ment pafied,  and  he  does  not  hinder  it ;  fome 
think  it  only  means  a  perfon  who  without  any 
aiiiilant  infringes  the  law.  In  a  marginal  note  it 
18  mentioned,  thsLtfrhaig  fignifies  any  lingle  man 
who  commits  a  crime  againft  the  law,  having 
another  perfon  to  countenance  and  fupport  him 
therein ;  to  AA^hich  it  is  added,  that  if  the  firft 
perfon  be  acquitted  and  obliged  to  pay  no  eric  or 
pecuniary  fine,  the  frhui/aige  or  affiftant  will 
thereby  be  alfo  eicempted  frbm  paying  one-third. 
*  TxoRA  poi>LA  vo&tA^  Fo^a  is  thtee-fold, 
viz.  hygne  cinel  cinetach  &  Jubalter ;  hyeimJis 
meant  fpecies,  and  hygrie  genus;  there  is  zgne 
in  comr catty  in  tafoi^  intdrbaj  ^d  in  tea/bay  but 
they  are  all  fpecies  deriving  under  ifgum,  which 
is  more  extenlive  than  any  of  them,  and  the  ge- 
nus of  all :  ag  oHfeagad  don  etguin ;  neverthelefe  it 
derives  itfelf  tmder  the  fcmrjogla,  and  thefe  again 
derive  under  the  twelve  divifions  of  etguin,  fo 
that  the  genus  is  under  its  genu3  as  a  fubaltemum. 

Bra,   means  the  judge  or  breheaman. 

CiD  DscHRUiTHs,  is  a  term  lignifying,  where 
is  the  criminal  i 

Mtss  A,  means  the  dead  body  of  a  perfon ;  the 
ic  or  fine  muft  be  paid  when  it  is  found  without 

G  2  modosx 


ap.      FRAGMENT     OF     THE 

nation  {cenfeoi  i2;i/f^i&)  and  this  is  the  fine  and  the 
nuQoer  thereof,  y\z.  three  cumalas  are  to  be  paid 
^S^sx  the  term  of  thirty  daY&»  which  are  granted 
free ;  (^o  which  by  a  partijcular  grace  twenty-five 
dap  ino-remay  be  added) ;  the  whole  to  be  paid 
Qut  oif  the  region  p?  territory  whereia  the  dead 
body  is fouiid.  Cai/ca hui(ie  ice.  i.  tria  x  ma eiftdeic 
i  X  ^ai^e  XX  it  fasrdajm  air  XXV  laite  aicent^  i  uidc  ice^ 
na  heneclanjin  eric  if  nefa  {c). 

Here  ends  the  part  called  ar  nafefer  or  the  ex- 
plication of  the  t^Tl^,  and  immediajtely  follows^ 
the  pai:t  ei^lled  ar.  ^<z  blai^  (or  on  the  fedion?  of 
law*  called  blai%  ai^d  do  aU  belong  to  the  l^gifla^ 
timi  of  Cormac  and  his  fon  Carbre  !(jiffeachair. 

.    BlA     BLAP  FIACliN    IIt|tG?  V^-  IcAOWk^  p}f  a^ 

dead  body  in  a  jbi^efp^w  pjaqe,  be  the  boijy  cwer- 
^4  or  lincpvered^  pr  hid^'^  i?fi^bjeft  to  tjbis  law* 
The  fame  holds  gppd  if  thie  l^dy  p^  covered  9 ver 
or  h^dder^,  thpugh  jEwnd  in  a  fre<mcptpd.  jj^a^e ;  it 
alio  takes,  jd^ce  until  fycjbL.tioieaft  thegiwlty  fferft» 
owns  the  crigiie,  pr  ^util.  ttlfe  proved  agwift  hw 
acqotdipg  tp  l^^Wj,  ov  ufltil  legal  compenfalioA  be 
mad/e  bj^  hiin,  Afld  if  the  ^y  h^th  periChed  in  ^ 
treiic^  c^r  in  wat^rV  proyi4ed  it  be  not  a  biddejpL 
4yk,e,  '^d!  m  a  Ip.ftelQjU^  pi?ce,  thei^  i^^np  ptber 
er-lQ  pK  ^ft^e  tp  tje  P^tid  but  tha,t  of*  bare  i^ian- 
'  flaughteiv 

« 

•  (t?)  Xhw  t9  an  a%brevmd(>n  oT  cumaby  and*  &  cumal  is 
three  cows.  H^.  Wt  tfii^i  ia^i*  great  afiiaty.  witjx  die  Le- 
vitical  law,,  wlvere  ^t  j;  cgijiDaanded  tli9Jt  if  ^jxj^rfpji  was 
fcmicl  flaia;*  artdk  was  not  Iknown  wh'o  h^d  fljitn  him,  tb^t 
an  heifer^  which  had  not  been  wrought  with,  (hoold  ba  fob- 
ftitvtc^if^Jt^K  piafc^  <jf  tV  Ki^^iWper  |  ^^e  jvidg«|ftiall 
ineai]are  unto  &^  c  tu&  round  ^out,  apcLtnat  city  next  ta 
ae.flain'ftHitt^d  the  heifer.  BeuL  xxi.  r>  2,5.  So  our 
JUAi  kBi^  ^7s»  die  eric  of  regioa  ia  aefa,  neareft  or  next. 


B  R   F  H   O  N      L   A   Vr  S.  if< 

llaughter*  Ifi  aitfade  2ln  doine  tsadhe  sL  AensLtA  an 
ditrtm  &  gaa  corp  do  fblach  L  a  deoaxn  itit  duin^ 
lb  inctichlea  &  corp  do  folach  &:  na  go  .nadmatii 
inti  do  rigne  hi  no  co  i:u£Ur  ar  do  reir  dlige  no  im 
dcnam  tuarafdal  &  cianatsfat  an  colam  i  claid  no 
in  uiigd  ach  narab  air  daigin  dicealta,  ni  fil  aclit 
eiric  marbta  na  msL  an; 

C  3  Hert; 

*^*  Th^  Editor  is  happy  to  inforfti  Lis  correfpbndent  C. 
thkt  in  the  MSS.  of  Tnaicy  College,  Dublin  clai's  ^  tab.  t. 
Ko.  5.  he  has  fotMid  the  retttaining  part  of  ihtf  ^/ii/ ;  /iJ^ 
book  berias  th«s»  /.^c  i^;r  //9^«r  fo  Axili  irahe  .Teji^Hr,  7 
Mmfir  £  aimjir  C^irpri  Lifftachair  mac  Cqrmac  7.  ptarfa  do 
C^rmucs  i*  e.  The  place  where  this  book  was  written  wsis 
Aiciit  near  Tara,  in  the  time  of  Carbre  Liffeachair  mac  Cor- 
mac,  and  the  perfon  Cormac.  Then  follows  the  hiftory  of 
Ccallach  mac  Cormac  thus,  Ceailach  M^Cormac  having 
hj  force  taken  away  the  daughter  of  Sorar  mac  Artcairb, 
Aongus  Gabhuaidach  who  was  an  Arigh-eachta,  and  at 
that  time  in  the  territory  of  Luighne,  revenging  fome  in^ 
juftice  done  to  his  tribe,  by  chance  went  into  the  houfe  of 
a  woman  of  that  tefritory,  and  forcibly  took  from  her  ibme 
milk  and  curds :  It  would  be  more  becoming  you,  fays  th% 
woman*  to  take  reve&ge  on  Ceailach  M'Cormac ,  in  your 
niece's  caoie,  than  to  rob  me  of 'my  provi  lions.  Difdain- 
ing  to  relent  this  language  on  the  woman,  he  made  dife^« 
ly  towards  lar^,  where  he  arrived  after  fun-fet.  Now 
there  was  a  law  prohibiting  any  perfon  coming  arnoed  into 
Tara  after  fnn-fet,  (b  he  went  in  unarmed,  and  taking 
down  Cormac's  fpear  from  the  pUce  where  ic  huug  in  the 
hall  of  Tara,  he  killed  Ceailach  M'Cormac  on  the  fpot, 
and  drawing  back  the  fpear  with  great  force,  the  ferrol  at 
the  end  ftruck  out  Cormac's  eye  and  wounded  the  rea^aire 
orjudg€.of  Tara  in  the  back,  of  which  he  died.  Then  Cor- 
mac was  fent  to  Aicill  hard  by  Tara,  to  be  cured  f  upon 
which  the  fovercignty  of  Ireland  was^  conferred  oA  Carbre 
Liffeachair,  the  fon  of  Cormac,  according  to  the  eftabliihed 
law,  that  no  king  having  a  corporeal  bleiuilb  can  reign  in 
Ireland.  It  is  then  added,  that  Tara  was  fo  lituated  it 
could  be  feen  from  Aicili;  but  Aicill  could  not  be  feen  from 
Taua ;  and  then  begins  the  Eitge,  one  fo){o  of  which  'ib 
W2lhting.  The  reader  muft  notice  that  in  this  preffice  Aicill 
if  defcribed  at  the  name  of  a  place  $  in  the  fragtnent  above- 
meAcioned  Al^Hl  isfaidfo.bo  a  Jurifconfult ;  this  mi^ 
proceed  from  the  place  being  fo  called  after  the  perfon. 


a»  FRAGMENT   OF   THE 

Here  ends  the  Fragment,  fo  that  all  the  reft  of 
the  blai  are  wanting,  and  all  that  part  compofed 
by  Cinfaela  and  promulgated  by  Donal  mac  Aeda 
mac  Aimirech  king  of  Ulfter. 

The  impartial  reader,  after  perufing  this  ex- 
trafl,  will  eafily  fee  that  my  diftindion  between 
the  text  of  the  law,  and  the  explication  of  the 
text,  is  well  grounded ;  that  the  former  is  of  a 
much  higher  antiquity  than  the  Chriftian  era, 
though  the  latter  was  really  the  compofition  of  a 
Chriftian.  Thie  ftyle  of  the  text  is  extremdiy  an- 
cient, and  the  language  admitted  of  many  expo- 
iitions,  even  from  a  writer  wEofetime  feems  to  ap- 
proach within  a  centuiy  or  two  at  the  moft  of  St. 
Patrick's,  He  fpmetimes  gi  ves  many  and  oppofitq 
fenfes  to  the  fame  term,  and  at  other  times  cites  the 
authority  of  the  ancients  in  order  to  explain  him- 
felf.  In  a^^'ord,  every  chara*Sler  difceraible  in  the 
text,  demonftrates  its  antiquity,  and  proves  it  is 
truly  and  genuinely  the  work  of  the  Pagan  Jurif- 
confult  and  pf  the  Pagan  Iriih  princes  to  whom  it 
is  attributed ;  which  being  duly  proved,  moft  po- 
fitively  evinces  the  ufq  of  letters  at  leaft  long  be- 
fore the  epoch  of  Chriftianity  in  this  ifland. 

I  do  hot  recoiled  to  have  met  any  where  A^ith 
the  words  cai/c  iuibar^  achalk  book ;  it  feems  to  de- 
note that  Cormac  ufed  tablets,  co\'^ered  with  fome 
certain  kind  of  matter,  fit  to  fmqoth  the  furfaces, 
and  to  render  them  fit  to  infcribe,  what  he  thought 
proper  on  them.  The  word  cailc  indeed  means 
cbaiky  but  it  may  alio  denote  parchment  rendered 
white  by  chalk.  The  true  fenfe  requires  to  b^ 
cleared  up  by  other  paftages  in  our  Iriih  monu* 
ments,  and  for  this  reafon  I  leave  it  to  the  better 

judgment 


BR  EH  ON    LAWS.  ij 

judgment  and  literary  refearches  of  our  antiqua- 
rians.    Now  as  the  laws  regarding  manflaughter 
form  the  firft  part  of  the  fedtion  called  na  hlai^  and 
that  the  explication  of  the  terms  ferved  only  for  a 
preparation  to  that  part,  I  fhall  take  notice  of  fome 
curious  and  ufefuldrcumftances  tending  to  illuftrate 
thofe  laws.     The  Eric  or  fine  for  manflaughter  fpe- 
cified  in  the  above  fragment,   did  not  regard  the 
perfon  who  committed  the  fafl,  but  was  payable 
to  the  provincial  king,  from  the  petty  Jiate  or  prin- 
cipality wherein  the  body  of  a  man  or  woman  was 
found  dead,  unl^fs  the  chief  of  that  ilate  had  the 
particular  privilege  and  faculty  of  ha  vinghis  people 
exempted  from  fuch  a  fine;  which  indeed  w  as  one 
of  the  moft  confiderable  immunities  a  provincial 
king  could  beftow  on  a  chief  of  his  province. 
There  was  a  di&rence  oWerved  in  the  infliflion  of 
this  fine,  for  if  the  £aft  was  proved  to  be  wilful 
murder,  the  fine  was  rigorous,   if  involuntary,  it 
was  lefs  rigorous,  and  in  both  cafes  proportioned 
to  the  dignity  or  bafenefs  of  the  deceafed  perfon's 
condition.     And  although  the  aggreffor  did  fufier 
the  penalty  which  the  law  inflidied,  the  diftrift  or 
ftate  whererein  the  crime  was  perpetrated,  was  not 
thereby  exempted  in  the  leaft  degree  from  paying 
the  fine-     This  rigour  obliged  the  natives  of  any 
diftrid  to  be  careful  and  vigilant  in  preferving  each 
others  lives,  as  well  as  of  ftrangers,  left  they  fhould 
fuffer  through  the  malice  and  wickednefs  of  others. 
And  certain  it  is,  that  many  misfortunes  which  we 
fee  happen  daily  amongft  us,  may  be  efficacioufly 
prevented  by  fuch  means;  the  natives  of  a  diftrift 
having  it  often  in  their  power  to  obviate  them.  It 

was 


24        FRAGMENT      OF      THE 

was  for  that  reafon,  without  doubt,  our  Irffh  legiC- 
labors  ena<fied  fuich  laws;  I  do  ivot  remember  to 
have  feen  any  example  of  the  kind  of  puni£hnieiit> 
which  thefe  laws  infii^iad  on  a  man  guilty  of  mur- 
der ;  they  all  regarded  the  ftate  or  region  wheite- 
in  the  fafts  were  committed ;  except  one  in  the 
Liber.  Lecanu^,  where  it  is  mentioned  a  perfon  was 
filled  {qm^ti  cumalas  (twenty-one  cows)  for  hav* 
irig  wounded  an  ecclefiaftic  in  the  arm ;  and  I  hav^ 
read,  that  the  anceftor  of  O'Mora,  lord  of  the 
country,  now  called  Queen's  county,  by  a  Ipecial 
grace,  had  his  ftate  exempted  from  paying  Eric 
or  fine,  to  the  king  of  Leinftei,  in  cafe  of  murder 
or  manflaughtcr  happening  in  any  part  thereof. 

We  muft  obfei've  that  the  Irilh  fines  are  mdftly 
fpecified  by  paying  mrnaias^  which  word  accord- 
ing to  its  diodem  acceptance,  fince  the  Chriftian 
^ra,  means  oidy  diree  cows ;  but  I  have  fome- 
where  met  with  that  erpreffion  regarding  Pag^n 
times,  wherein  it  denoted  men  or  women  flaves, 
guilty  of  crimes  defei-ving  death,  which  were  de* 
Uvered  up  as  a  part  of  die  Erk^  to  be  facrificed  to 
the  manes  of  the  ^eceafed. 

So  mudi  has  been  foid,  and  to  the  purpofe,  in 
the  preceding  numbers  of  this  Golleflanea  (p.  392) 
of  the  unjuft  and  fevere  afperfionof  Sir  John  Davis, 
on  the  ancient  Brehon  Laws  of  Ireland,  I  Ihall 
defift  entering  into  an  argument  that  has  been  al- 
ready fo  Well  handled ;  as  we  are  informed  thatthe 
moft  complete  colleftion  now  extant  of  the  Brehon 
Laws  wasin  tkedukeof  Cbandois'  library,  but  not 
perfe£t,  and  that  tweiity-eight  volumes  of  thefe 
la w8^  formerly  » that  libraiy,  •  are  tiow  4n  Ae 

poffeflion 


BRSHON      LAWS.  «$ 

p<sfle&m  of  Sir  Jobn  Sebright,  SatL  whofaas iii- 

dulged  the  atzithor  of  the  €olleAanea  vn^  tw^  yt^ 

Imnes ;  all  lovers  of  antiquity  fliouid  be  y^rf  d^- 

iirovis  to  have  dean  copies  of  thole  volumes  taken 

off  and  publifbed.  Thefe  ^would  rtry  piobably 

ferve  to  throw  fome  fuither  lights,  not  only  oti  the 

ftate  oonftitution,  the  manners  and  genius  of  oia 

anceilors,  but  alfo  on  the  veryorigin  of  the  natives* 

In  the  Eflay  on  the  AnttquOy  of  the  Itfh  Lang9tagi% 

addreffed  to  the  Literati  of  £urope,   the  aUthot 

gives  us  a  fpecimen  of  a  code  of  laws  compofed 

by  Sean  Ion  of  Aigki,  in  the  time  of  Fergus  mac 

Leid,  king  of  Ulfter  twenty-fix  years  before  the 

birth  of  Ghrift ;  it  is  called  Seancbas  nwr^  or  the 

great  antiquity.  The  exhibition  of  fuch  a  fragment 

would  evidendy  prove  the  point  in  qudiion,  if 

the  ftyle  did  not  ftiow  it  to  be  of  a  later  compo*- 

fition ;  and  hence  I  am  apt  to  think,   that  the  ex* 

plication  of  the  text  was  written  by  fome  Chrill 

tian,  but  that  the  texts  or  principal  heads,  to 

whichfuch  explicatory  gloffes  belong,  were  of  that 

author.     For  certain  it  is,  that  the  faid  fpecimen 

is  not  delivered   in  more  obfcure  and  obfolete 

terms  and  ftile,  than  the  terms  I  have  copied 

from  Carbre  Liflfeachair's  code,  as  above  fpecified. 

The  fpecimen  given  us  is  taken  out  of  the  body 

of  that  code,  and  regards  landed  properties,  that 

were  fequeftered  from  the  male  line,  in  favour  of 

females,  to  whom  they  had  been  ceded,  by  way  of 

marriage  portion  or  dowry.   The  ftatute  feys, 

ttiat  fuch  an  aiTignation  is  invalid,  and  is  to  be 

reformed  according  to  the  re^itude  of  jullice ;  it  is 

land  delivered  (fays  that  old  author)  againft  the 

right 


^6  FRAGMENT    OP    THE 

right  of  aiamily,  add  twelve  tongties  or  Juriicoii<» 
fults  are  of  more  weight  to  fupport  the  right  of  die 
male  line^  than  one  tongue  or  one  Jurifconfult 
that  would  reftore  it  to  the  females ;  meaning, 
that  there  is  twelve  to  one  in  favour  of  the  male 
right.  The  fpecimen  runs  thus:  Tir  do  beiri 
coibchi  mna,  nad  bi  maith,  nad  uidnaidet  a  folta 
coire.  Tir  do  bcir  dar  braigit  fine,  aratreiffu  in 
da  tengaid  dec  diathintud.  Oldas  in  toen  tenga 
doafend.  And  then  follows,  Gach  fuidir  cona- 
tothcus  techta  niica  cinaid  a  meic ;  which  words 
are  the  conclufionof  the  foregoing  part  of  the  fta- 
tute.  The  firft  words  are  an  axiom  of  the  law, 
^uivalent  to  the  Latin  axiom  regarding  proper- 
ty, viz.  resclanua  Domino  fuo.  The  Irilh  literal- 
ly meani^  every  profit  claims  a  return  to  the  right 
Gxvnep^  and,  the  reft  ferve  for  a  conclufion,  viz.  a 
fin  or  male  /uttered,  you /hall pay  no  fine  for  the  faulty 
m(ean.ing,  that^is  right  and  jultice  favour  you,  the 
law  Ihall  not  puniQi  but  proteft  you. 

The  following  words  are  the  text  of  a  new  law 

on  the  fame  fubjeiSVi  viz.  nachai  nachaiarmui  nach 

aindui  nach ;  ^nd  the  enfuing  part  to  the  end  is  an 

explication  ot  this  Very  old  text  which  may  be 

thus  interpreted:  Of  ike  proximity  of  bloody  tbatper-^ 

fin  is  tojuffer  the  legal pemlties  to  whofe  ejlaie  theJiU- 

ttned  cattle  belong ;  for  the  property  of  the  furniture 

does  not  belong  to  him,  exc^t  only  in  the  cafe  o/*etgin, 

nor  can  he  enjoy  the  rights  if  the  finis  offspring  when 

tiie  male  line  is  mt  extinS ;   but  the /aid  per/on  may 

^  poffejs  thejheep  which  are  fattened  on  the  ejlaie^ ;  if  be 

goes  beyond  this,  hemujlpayafinefor  his  fault,  andbear 

the  burden  of  bis  trejpafs.    The  words  ru»  thus : 

a  comoceus 


BREHON      LAWS.  »7 

a  cofnoceus  fine  nacti  a  cinaid  fadeifin  flathair  idm- 
biatha  ife  iccafs  a  cinaid.  Air  ni  lais  dire  a  feoit 
achd  colabhin  aithgena  na  ma  ni,  gaib  dire  ameic 
nai  naca  dibad  na  ceraicc  nacha  matbair  flaith  ar 
ambiatha  ifii  nodbetr,  agus  iccas  a  chinaid  agus 
follobg  acinta.  Here  the  fpecimen  ends ;  it  is 
hoped  the  author  of  that  effay,  will  oblige  us  with 
a  publicadon  of  the  whole  law,  and  every  other 
fragment  of  the  like  kind  in  his  pdBTeflion. 

By  the  above  fpecimen,  the  heads  whereof  appear 
to  be  compiled  by  a  pagan  author,  and  ordained 
or  digffted  by  the  perfon  to  whom  it  is  attributed, 
the  truth  of  the  exiftence  of  letters  in  Ireland  before 
Chriftianity,  is  probably  demonftrated.  But  this  is 
not  the  only  advantage  the  author  feems  defirous 
of  pointing  to,  by  this  feledion  of  that  code,  for  it 
alfo  gives  us  a  clear  and  pofitive  law,  according  to 
which  all  landed  properties  were  to  be  vefted  in  the 
male  line,  with  an  exprefs  exclulion  of  females 
even  in  the  cafe  of  dowry  or  portion,  and  unlefs 
the  male  offspring  of  the  family  were  extinft. 
This  law  was  univerfal  amongft  the  old  Irifti  in 
primitive  times^  from  the  fceptre  to  •the  plough- 
fliare,  from  the  king  to  the  lowed  condition  of  men  j 
who  pofieffed  landed  property ;  it  was  univerfally 
received  as  a  national  maxim,  flowing  from  the 
particular  genius  and  fpirit  that  charafterifed  the 
natives,  and  from  the  political  circumilances  in 
which  they  found  themfelves  fituated,  relatively  to 
their  neighbours,  as  well  as  from  their  own  com- 
mon views  and  public  interefts. 

Thus  that  national  and  ftate  maxim  originally 
eft»blifhed  among  the  Franks,  after  their  firft  fettle- 

-  • 

ments 


AS        F  R  A,  G  M  E  N  T     O  F     THE 

xMUtfl:  in  Oaul,  ;by  ^hich  all  female  fadica  were 
eluded  ffom- any  Harare  in  the  inheritances,  which 
-they  caUed  Salic  lands^  was  not  only  the  tefult  of 
their  militarygeQiufty  but  aKb  a  oeceffary  meafiire 
-of  puUiceJcpediency,  for  extemtiDg  their  conquefts 
On  the  ruins  of  the  Roman  empire.  Yet  it  fhould 
inO^  be  ^ged  that  the  Fraitks  were  either  the  firft, 
or  the  only  nation  that  adopted  it ;  no,  for  it  was 
certainly  common  to  other  nations  that  carefully 
obferved  it,  with  regard  to  all  landed  tenures  of  a 
like  ori^nal  conftitution  with  the  Salic  laiuk. 

We  have  good  authority  to  fay,  that  a  great  part 
cftbem  w^re  the^fame  individual  latids  (hift  had 
been  fee  apart  by  the  Roman  emperors,  pat  tictdatly 
by  Alexander  Severus,  in  the  ye^ofChrift  2^2, 
as  penfionary  livings^  called  mliiary  benefices,,  and 
appropriated  to  thofe  officers  who  were  charged 
with  the  defence  of  certain  provinces.  Now  ^ 
the  right  of  the  proprietors  was  conditional,  and 
depended  on  perfonal  military  fcrvice,  ^/imo/w 
were  naturally  excluded  from  any  fharc  in  them. 
The  Franks  being  poiTeffed  of  thefe  according  as 
they  fell  vacant,  under  their  king  Clovis  and  his 
Ions,  the  Salic  laws  made  no  change  in  their  tenure, 
but  left  them  ilill  fubjed  to  the  obligation  of  miH- 
tary  fervice.  Hence  that  exprefs  claufe  of  erclud- 
ing  women  and  their  race,  from  (l^arii^  in  thofe 
ilate  or  Salic  lands,  fo  fundamental  in  the  French 
conftitution,  took  its  firft  rife.  A«d  in  effcA  iince 
the  very  Crown  and  its  royal  landed  properties, 
were  the  firft  and  principal  Salic  fief,  a  female 
fucceffion  with  regard  to  the  Crown,  muft  be  highly 

inconfiftenc 


BREHONLAWS^       2^ 

ioconfiftent  with  tbe  Tundameintal  maxims  of  the 
Frendh  ftate. 

According  to  the  tesmte  of  oor  Infh  hiw$,  aU 
females  were  exchided  hom  hairing  any  ihase  ift 
the  chief  adminiftratioii  of  asfl'airs,  as  well  witb 
regard  to  4[he  gommaoeni:  s£  .the  whole  JdngidDiiv 
.  as  to  its  petty  ilatas  and  iolbrior  principalities ;  .for 
no  other  reaiiua^  witiio^  doubt,  than  that  thdk 
fiates  ieqniDedniil3tar7ierTiae>£s)ii  which  thefema3e 
fez  was  difquahfied  by  nature./    In  efib^l  tbcgr 
fouad  tljenifelves  Situated '  among  difietent  tsSbes 
of  people,  whofe  principal  reprefentatives  mere 
ibmefames  amfakifXBS,  and.ux^uft  eoaugh  to  en- 
croach COL  their  kiaded  properties;' the  feHe^iy 
of  being  eft^emed  more  powerfol  and  mm  especl 
in  war  dian  their  nMghboura,  joined  do  tfaieir  in- 
terefts  ajid  tibc  ajdvanccment  of  their  xeSpe^ve 
trials^  oft^  jdeten^oined  l3ie&  ttien  to  iJiStmh  the 
pubiie  quiets  and  endeavor  to  laife  themfid.'V68[  om 
tibierainsia£>9ther&.  Hen€££(24k>mxiapdJlkal.n&» 
ceffifcf  in  iifveffbrandDt  or  &pt,  lo  tdiiife  wH  foe 
their  chief  and  leaders,  eaen  of  Iu«>wn  valour  and 
^a^xtrieoiie,  ttftighftidiieirbattlesfuclcQB&Tsd^v,  lusd.to 
defend  i^mrl^afied  pippertieaagainft  aiQ  iniraders^ 
And  bditfe  fih^iinaaBimsftf  eidudsng woeum from 
inheriting  jbift^btfi  properties  wasvaa&ic^^  amongft 
the  ancient  Irilh,  as  amongft  ihe  Franks,  or  anjr 
otlner  ft&pki'i  Md  to  tibe.l^nds  of.  all  l3ie  petty 
fta^ies  did  abbliflttly  Aod  ixKfifpenfkbly  exclode 
women.  Innnci^jiiifiTitingitheo^^  fi>.  the  fame  law 
gr^htfiHy  bcmme  grneslal^  a»A  defcendsdto  tfaie 
hinf&  d^oomiw^KHk  Q§  land  pjoopnc^cufs.   i 

The 


30       FRAGMIKT     OF     TH£ 

The  above  Irilh  fpecimoi  defcribes  the  injufticc 
of  alienating  the  lands  from  the  male  line,  in  fa^ 
vour  of  women,  1^  the  ezpreffive  term  of  tir  do 
BEiR  DAR  BRAiGiv  PiME.  At  this  day  wben  a; 
man  encroaches  on  any  lands,  and  take^it  to  farm^ 
by  nndeHband  dealing  and  unknown  terms^  doghlac 
jt  tar  mobraigidcf  orelie,  as gniamh fU th  tin fe mo^ 
tbalamb  do  gbhca  ibar  wo  bhraghaid  amach  f  by. 
which  it  would  appear,  that  when  the  male  line  of 
one  family  was  eztinA^  die  eftate  was  to  devolve 
on  the  fept  or  fney  and  became  the  property  of 
their  males«  .  \, 

Tlie  fame  law  was  obferved  by  other  £u£OpeflU3D 
nations ;  the  Goths  and  Vandals  excluded  womea 
from  fucceeding  to  the  throne.  We  have  a  very 
remarkable  inftance  of  this,  in  the  hiftofy  of 
Anudafoniha^  daughter  to  the  famous  Theodoric,. 
(and  mother  of  Athelrk)  king  of  the  Oftiogoths^ 
This  priricefs,  whofe  bright  genius^  and  eminent 
'  Imcwledge  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  tongues  will 

always  do  her  ihemory  honour,  was  neverthelefs 
difqualified  to  reign  after  the  death  of  her  fon, 
on  account  of  her  fez,  and  married  Theodatus, 
with  a  view  to  exercife  all  regal  power  under 
^  his  name,  in  which  however  ihe  fi^uod  herfelf 

&tally  miftaken  in  534/   See  Caffiodor*  var.  lib. 
10.  ■."•'     • 

The  Roman  empire  and  the  Imperial  Ctown 
excluded  women  from  ever  inherkiDg-it.  Thus 
when  Atilla  king  of  the  Huns^  iumamed  the 
fcourge  of  God,  demanded  in  marriage  ttonoria 
filler  to  Valentinian  III«*  with  a  view^of  (baring 

in 


B    R    E    H   O    N     LAWS.  31 

in  the  empire,  by  virtue  of  her  right,  the  emperor 
anfwered,  that  even  4fl  cafe  he  were  married  to 
Honoiia,  he  could  derive  no  right  from  her,  in- 
afffluch  as  women  had  none  to  the  empire.  Neque 
impertum  Hcnoria  deberi;  virorum  enim  non  rmdie- 
rum  Ratnanum  in^rium  effe.  See  Prifcus  Rhetor. 
Duchefne,  torn.  i.  p.  223. 

The  Iriih  in  primitive  times  were  not  only  at- 
tentive in  obferving  ftri^y  the  above  law,  in 
favour  of  the  male  line,  from  a  political  and  n€ce£. 
faSy  principle,  but  they  alfo  obferved  diftributive 
juftice,  in  fharing  equitably  ^vith  the  males  of 
their  refpedtive  families.     They  ftiewed  particular 
honour  to  their  chiefs,  and  thefe  in  return  did  not 
defpife  their  inferiors,  in  the  diftribution  of  goods. 
The  heads  of  families  confidered  that  the  fupport 
of  their  friends  and  relations  in  time  of  war, 
was  abfolutely  nebeffary,  both  for  repelling  the 
power  of  their  enennes  and  advancing  their  mill* 
tary  conquefts  and  therefore  they  judged  that  the 
Jan£tion  of  rewards  and  a  fair  and  honeft  partition 
of  landed  properties,  which  were  often  the  fruit 
of  their  common  valour,  was  the  moft  firm  and 
efficacious  cement  of  union,   that  could   fubfiit 
between  the  prince  and  his  relations.    Hence  the 
very  nature  of  thefe  military  tenures  rendered  them 
capable  of  being  divided  and  fubdivided  between 
the  males  of  the  firft  proprietors,  and  hence  the 
law  of  Ravelling  them  took  its  rife,  and  was  as 
univerfally  obferved  in  this  kingdom,  as  the  very 
law  of  excluding  tbe  female  lex  from  any  fhare  in 
them^  has  been  proved  to  be. . 

This 


j»  Q  A  y  I  I4     t  A   w, 

Thi^  gs^v^lling  fettlem^ni  tbe  Iriih  called  GAB- 
HALTUS  CINE,  or  GARHAJL  CINE,  Hterally 
meaning  famii,y-8«tti.|e,mbnt;  from  whence 
the  Englifli  formed  the  terin  gay jij^kind.  Gar-t 
KAX.TUS  or  GABHAiJL,  prouQiunced  GAVAix,  in 
Irifh  fignifies  any  landed  fetlleioent,  lately  acquired 
by  conquefi,  by  inheritance,  or  by  contradl ;  but 
iu  etymologycal  mi^aQiag  is  co^ruast.  Thus 
by  the  words  UABHAit  i«a  gabhala  is  under* 
jlood  the  book  of  Conquefts ;  and  ia  the  Iriih 
hifioryof  Thomond  called  Caithreim  ToirdeaU 
bbaigt  defcribing  the  bloody  waxa  carried  on  ber 
tween  the  O'Briens  of  Thomond  and  thofe  of  Arra, 
iQ  the  thin^^enth  cenmiy^  the  fettlement  or  eftate 
which  the  latter  poifdfed  themfelves  of  in  the  counr 
try  of  Arra,  is  qajl^  gabhawus^ 

The  Franks  oKerved  the  fume  kw  of  dividing 
th^  tenmes  called  S^iq  lands.  Abbe  Du  Bos  fliows 
^  renark?ble  inAance  of  that  truth )  bt  quom  for 
h]§  voucher  the  celebrated  Bodiw»>  citing  the 
teibunentaiy  a£l  of  a  gentleman  ojf  Gujieime, 
whereby  the  father  divides  between  bis  ibn^  tbe 
Salic  or  feodal  lands  oi  which  he  was  proprietor. 
And  in  the  fai^  place,  this  author  obferves,  that 
hi  all  a{q]iearance  thofe  military  beaadices  were  the 
true  origin  of  the  landed  prpp^ti^^  called  Fi«r# 
NOBUt,  or  tenure^  in  military  fe/vice. 

The  Apglo-Saxpns  alfi>  obferved  this  coftofn ; 
it  is  well  known  they  divided  their  landed  interefts 
between  the  polleflbir's  child? es»9  which  they  eaSled 
in  their  language  gif^-axtKiki,  a  wcN^d  nearly 
£milar  in  found  and  ia  meaiupg  tp  4^  Iiiih  term 

QA|>HA1L-CINS. 

The 


EXPLAINED.  3a 

ITie  Welfh,  who  are  the  remains  of  the  old 
Britons,  in  like  manner  obferved  this  law,  at  all 
times,  ttxadUyin  the  fame  manner  as  the  Iriih,  and 
continued  fo  to  do  until  the  thirty-fecond  year  of 
Henry  the  Eighth's  reign.  See  War.  Aniiq.  Hib. 
e.  8.  Davis  Hift.  relat.  p.  %o. 

It  is  then  no  way  furprifing,  that  the  chief 
Strongbonian  families,  exclulive  of  thofe  con- 
fined within  the  £ngliih  pale  about  Dublin,  ob- 
ferved the  fame  old  cuftom  at  their  firft  fettling  in 
this  kingdom.  The  Fit2SG£ralds,  the  Barrys^ 
the  Burks,  &c.  &c.  were  as  obfervant  of  it  as  the 
Irifli;  and  whether  they  derived  it  from  the  pradice 
of  their  anceftors  the  Franco-Normans  and  Wetib, 
who  rdigioally  obferved  it,  as  I  have  fhow«,  or 
whether  they  conformed  themfelves  to  it,  as  they 
did  to  the  other  cufiomary  laws  of  this  nation, 
carUin  it  is,  that  they  did  ftiiftly  fdtow  k.  This 
has  been  a  difputed  point;  but  to  put  it  beyond  a 
doubt,  I  will  here  traoilate  a  pafTage  from  a  book 
called  L&tiar  Irfe  claime  I  Maokhonnaire\  whicli 
treats  particularly  of  fome  Gavels  made  in  three 
difier^t  branches  of  the  O^Brien  race ;  and  then 
foUows  this  Gavel  belonging  to  the  Burksof  Caftle- 
oonnel  and  Brittas. 

It  b^^ins  by  relating,  that  the  baron  of  Caftle-  ' 
coonel  was  cotemporary  vrfth  the  genealogift;  the 
faid  baron  was  Tiboid  fbn  of  Tfboid,  ion  of 
William,  fon  of  Edmond,  fon  of  William,  fon  of 
'  Richard,  fon  of  Walter,  fon  of  Richard,  foil  of 
Edmond,  fon  of  Richard  firft  earl  of  Ulfter,  called ' 
larla  rea,  foq  of  WHHam  og,  fon  of  William 
Vol*  II.  D  Concur. 


54  GAVEL        LAW, 

*  1 

Congur;  This  red  earl  was  gencraliijimo  to  Edward 
L  in  Ireland,  England,  Scotland,  and  Gafcony. 

Walter  Burk,  baron  of  Caftleconning,  now  call- 
ed Caftleconnel,  third  diredldefcendant  from  Rich* 
ard  de  Burgo  earl  of  Ulfter,  divides  bis  eftate  be- 
tween his  three  lon&  Richard,  £dinond,and  Tpbiasu 
Richard  firit  larla  ma  or  red  earl,fon  to  William 
og,  fon  of  William  Congur. 

Walter  gave^io  thefc  three  fons,  whom  he  had 
by  his  wife  daughter  to  Mac  William,  mieqnal  por- 
tions of  land,  viz,  to  the  eldeft  fon  Richard^  who 
i^  itiled  heir,  he  gave  the  four  plow-lands  of  Tiu- 
bridaron,CaiUeconaing  and  the  fix  plow-lands  that 
are  its  annexes^  two  plow-lands  of  Ballylafgy,  four 
}dow-lands  of  Cahircinlis^  and  four  plow-lands  of 
Gluain  Mauiagaxn  in  Clan  Richard ;  which  in  all 
make  twenty  plowland^;  he  had  befides  {da  {heath- 
ranK^an  dsag)  twelve  quarters^  of  the  lands  of  Gala. 

He  gave  his  fecond  foa  Edmond  four  plow-lands 
of  Diiirt  labrais,  the  four  plowJands  of  Garran  i 
ciava  iituate  in  Aoftri  muighe,  making  in  all  for 
him  eight  plow-lands^ 

To  his  third  fon  Tobiaa  or  Theobald  he  gave 
the  four  plow-lands  of  Brittas^  two  plowlands  of 
Rath  Siurtan,  and  a  plow-land  of-  Canig  Ciptail^ 
and  he  was.  to  receive  a  mark  every  year  as  rent 
out  of  the  two  free  plowJands  of  l^altylafky. 
Marg  cmfajkti  mhlifun  a  dha  Sheiftrk  baera  an  bhmU 
•  loifgtbe. 

It  was  indeed  reafonable  and  juft  that  Richaxd 
the  eldeft  fon  Ihould  be  more  generoufly  dealt 
with  than  his  brothers,  not  only  by  virtue  of  his 
birth-rank,  but  becaufe  he  had  many  children ; 

for 


EXPLAINED.  3; 

for  by  his  firft  wife,  daughter  of  Macnamara^  he 
had  John  and  Waltei ;  by  his  fecond  wife  Catha-> 
riue  Fitzgerald,  daughter  of  the  knight  of  the 
Glin,  he  had  Richard,  Ulie  and  Thomas ;  and 
by  Elizabeth  Butler,  daughter  of  Mac  Phiarais,  he 
had  Tobias  and  Ulic  the  yoiinger,  without  men* 
tiouing  the  female  offspring. 

Richard  the  red  earl  was  ftiled  earl  of  Ulfter,  in 
right  of  his  mother  Mora,  only  daughter  and  heir- 
els  of  Hugo  de  Lacey  earl  of  Ulfter ;  his  fecond 
fon  Edmond  married  Slany  0*Brien,  daughter  of 
Turlogh  O'Brien,  lord  of  Thomond.  Edmond^s 
eldeft  brother  John  de  Burgo  was  anceftor  to  the 
carls  of  Clan-Ricard. 

It  may  now  be  objeftcd  that  thefe  examples  of 
the  cxiftence  of  the  law  of  Gavel  kind  only  regards 
the  Iriih  in  the  tkne  of  Chriftianity,  and  is  no  way 
pertinent  to  the  defign  of  this  eflay,  which  fhopM 
principally  tehd  to  illuftrate  the  laws,  cuftoms, 
manners  and  literature  of  the  pagan  Irifh.  My 
anfwer  is,  that  the  introduction  and  eflablifhment 
of  .the  ChriiHan  religion  amongft  us  did  not  change, 
or  meddle  in  the  political  or  civil  laws  of  the 
nation,  that  were  juil  in  themfelves,  and  adapted 
%o  the  genius  of  the  people ;  it  only  re£tified  what 
was  vicious  or  imjuft  in  them,  and  fquared  them 
to  the  interior  law  of  confcience,  and  the  didates 
of  good  reafbn,  fecurely  direded  by  the  gofpel. 
Hence  the  converiion  of  a  people  to  Chriftianity 
did  not  zffeSt  their  political  principles  of  govern-^ 
ment,  nbr  caufe  the  leaft  alteration  in  their  civil 
^tutes,  1^%en  thefe  were  equitable.  And  fince  no 
ibrtof  injuiUce  was  fuffezedby  the  Gavel  law^  but 

D  3,  Oft 


3(5  G    A    V    E    ir        LAW, 

on  the  contrary,  all  parlies  had  thek  rights  main- 
tained for  them  by  its  tenure,  confequently  it  muft 
be  fuppofed  that.k  was  an  aAcient  fundamentaf 
maxim  of  tli€  Irifli  nation.  I  am  confident  that 
the  Irifh  will  find  it  enacted  amougft  their  laws,  ia 
the  literary  refearches  into  antiquity;  and  hence  I 
may  conclude  with  a  certain  degree  of  plaufibility, 
that  altbQugh  no  proofs  taken  from  authentic  writ- 
ings of  pagan  times  could  be  now  exhibited,  never- 
thelefs  a  fimple  perfpedlive  of  the  examples  above 
cited,  will  fafficiently  evince  its  having  exifted  in 
this  kingdom  long  before  St.  Patricks 

Nor  are  we  deftitute  of  proofs  to  clear  up  thiS' 
difficulty.  I  ihall  take  no  iK)tice  of  the  diviiions^ 
which  certain  Iri(h  princes  made  of  the  kingdom^ 
between  their  children^  atepocfaas  very  diflant  from 
Chriftianity,  as  mentioned  by  Keating  and  0'Fla<- 
herty ,  becaufe  they  are  efieemed  fabulous  authors. 
I  fhall  point  out  a  very  lingular  gavel,  from  the 
Liber  Lecanus ;  it  is  made  by  the  famous  Niai,, 
furnamed  of  the  nine  hoftages,  who  diftributed  hi« 
eftates,  cAUd^  eric  bunai/,  between  his  fons,  ip  the 
Allowing  manner,  vie.  ift,  tp  Eogan  he  gave  the 
lands  of  Oileach  ox  Oileach  tiir,  called  Tyronei  i^r 
to  Conalgulban  he  garve  from  Loi^h  Foyle  to  the 
ftrand  of  Neothaile  eaftwards;  3d,,  to  Eergus  the 
lands  intervening  between  botli,  thus  expreifed 
cehtarde  7  bai  fe  cehtar  nai^.  whfch  words  feem  tQ 
xn^an,  that  he  was  to  bav  f  his  alternative  in  the 
gOTernment,  with  his  two  now  mentioned  brothers^ 
judicet  leSof)  4th,  to  Conal  he  gave  the  territory 
of  Breag,  fituated  in  the  prpviiKre  of  Meath ;  5th, 
to  Carbre,  who  was  xko^finfear  or  eldeft  of  hi$  (bus, 

he 


*.  ^ 


EXPLAINED.  37 

he  gave  the  north  parts  of  his  demeOaes ;  6th,  to 
his  brother  Feachra,  the  territories  near  the  fea, 
firom  E^frua  to  Salmon's  leap  to  Rind  i  fiachrach  in 
CSonrvaught;  7th,  to  Maine  he  gave  from  Cfuachan 
fead,(or  the  woodof  Cruachan)  fituated  in  i  Brlaia 
Connaught  to  Lough  Ribh  on  the  Shannon,  and  he 
conftituted  him  high^rottdor  of  all  Ireland^  tugdo 
Ard-comairce  Mirin  uile;  8  th,  to  Laogaire,  furnamed 
garb,  he  gave  the  lands  and  government  of  Tara, 
Jhtlarmas  Teatnra ;  9th,  to  jEnna  llcrothach  (or  of 
many  Ihapes)  and  to  his  brother  Laogaire  beg  (oj 
the  little)  he  gave  from  Lough  Aidnin  iii  Meath  to 
the  north -weft";  10th,  to  Flacha  he  gave  Uifnech 
mor  in  Meath,  in  the  very  centre  of  Ireland- 

Upon  all  thefe  differentfpecimensof  Irifti  <Javels, 
ieveral  obfcrvations  do  naturally  occur.  Firft,  that 
either  the  fathers  or  thefeniors  of  families  generally 
obferved  an  equitable  and  fometimes  an  equal  por- 
tion of  fliares-between  the  males  of  the  faid  families, 
whereof  we  fee  perfefil  examples  in  the  preceding 
gavels.  Secondly,  that  the  natural  fern  had  their 
equal  Ihares,  as  vrell  as  the  fons  bom  in  lavv^ful 
wedlock;  from  both  which  circumftances,  we  have 
reafon  to  conclude,  that  this  cuftom  was  grounded 
on  the  patriarchal  or  primitive  law  of  nature,  and 
confequendy  derived  from  a  principle  of  a  more 
ancient  eftabliftiment  than  the  laws  of  Ghriftian 
princes,  whereby  bajlards  are  excluded  from  fuc- 
ceeding  to  the  family  eftate,  while  the  legitimate 
children  are  living.  Thus  according  to  the  fame 
primitive  law^  Jacob's  fons  by  the  handmaids  of  his 
wives  Leah  and  Rachel,  are  ranked  amongll  the 
b0ds  of  th^  twelve  tribes  oflfratl,  upon  a  level  in 

point 


$8        gav«l     law, 

point  of  landed  property,  with  the  fons  of  his  lawful 
wives,  and  their  defcendants  entitled  to  enjoy  their 
ihares  of  the  land  of  prornife,  as  well  as  thofe 
fprung  from  the  other  cluldren  of  that  patriarch, 
k  It  is  alfo  remarkable,  that  it  was  generally  the 
fenior,  and  not  the  divtSt  heir  in  lineal  defcent  from 
4he  common  ftock,  who  was  qualified  to  make  this 
gavel,  becaufe  he  waa  the  chief  proprietor ;  of  this 
we  fee  a  clear  inftance  in  the  Cuanagh  gavel  made 
by  Conor  mor  (yfirien,  whofe  coufin-german  Tur- 
logh  fon  of  Thady,  furnamed  Anchomraic  (the 
fighter)  was.  the  dired  heir,  .this  Thady  being  the 
elder  brother  of  Mortogh  father  to  Conor  mor. 
Notwithftanding  we  fee  that  Conor,  by  his  right  of 
feniority,  was  chief  of  the  family,  proprietor  of  its 
landed  eftates,  and  folely  qualified  to  make  the 
gavel ;  the  text  runs  thus :  Tug  an  Conchur  morfa 
leaih  na  codacb  ranna  fearainn  rainig  e  fan  do  dbk 
mhac  Taidg  an  chomhraic  air  a  mbcith  na  Jinjior  braitb-^ 
rech  aige;  he  explains  this  matter  folly  by  the  fol- 
lowing words,  dob  ogc  an  Muirtbeartacb  fo  atbair 
(Chonohubhair  mbcir  na  Taidbg  an  cbomhrak. 

Another  obfervation,  equally  curious,  may  be 
noticed,  viz.  that  though  the  chief  or  fenior  flints 
himfdf  to  a  bare  equality  of  (hare  with  every  other 
male  of  the  family,  yet  he  referves  the  chief  pro- 
perty of  the  eftate  as  veiled  in  himfelf  during  his 
life,  by  fubjeding  all  the  other  fliarcs  to  a  chief 
rent,  wlxich  was  to  be  paid  him  in  an  himibk  and 
dutiful  manner.  This  was  doubtlefs  flight  and  in- 
confiderable,  neverthelefs  it  was  a  fufficient  mark 
both  of  his  authority  Over  thein,  and  of  their  de- 
pendency on  him,  as  their  chief  lord;  in  a  word, 

the 


EXPLAINED.  39 

the  equality  of  ihares»  (bowed  a  real  banmiunily  of 
goods  between  the  membera  of  the  family,  and  the 
referved  chief  rent,  both  fecured  the  refped  due  to 
the  fenior,  and  declared  the  property  of  the  eftate 
to  be  veiled  in  him  alone.  Hence  what  Strabo 
applies  tothe  AJiatk  Iberians  was  equally  applicable 
to  the  Iri/h  nation  in  former  times.  Hi  omnia  ftr 
fBomlias  communia  habent ;  fed  is  imperai  et  rem  ha^ 
bft  quijenior  efi. 

I^ow  as  the  refer  ve  of  chief  rent  on  the  gavelled 
lands,  not  only  efiabliihed  the  fway,  and  influence 
of  the  chief  lord,  or  head  of  the  family,  over  all  the 
Qiemhe.rs  of  Xhe  tribe,  and  likewife  fecured  for  him 
a  reverlion  fA  jthe  eftate  when  the  a£hial  tenants 
either  forfeited  or  died  without  ilfue;  fo  this  cuftom 
va$  not,  and  could  not  be  then  attended  with  any 
Qonfequence^  (b  deftru£Uve  of  the  Jplendor  of  a  fa-^ 
mily,  as  it  muil  be  in  oiu:  days.  In  ancient  times 
Jthe  dignity  of  achief  did  not  depend  on  pecuniary 
ceveimes ;  it  confiiled  in  his  power  and  influence 
.over  the  tribe  he  governed,  in  the  afiiuence  of  pro- 
vifions  he  had  for  his  houihold^  and  in  the  number 
.of  fighting  men  he  owld  command  to  vindicate  his 
lights,  to  aflSil  his  friends,  or  to  enlarge  his  con- 
quefts.  Aivl  as  to  the  fplendor  of  the  tribe  in 
genera),  it  cppiiAcd  in  jthetr  numbers,  in  the  full 
and  peaceable  enjoyment  of  their  rights,  and  in 
tjbeir  capacity  of  fiimiihing  their  family  chie&  with 
iheir  different  fuppl^es. 

In  fine,  the  Gavd  cuflom,  as  it  was  obferved  by 
the  ancient  Irifh,  appears  to  have  been  perfedly 
reconcileable  with  thie  exigencies  of  the  flate,  and 
with  the  d^ity  of  any  chieftain,  were  he  even  a 

ibvereign 


4#  G    A    V    E    L       i    A    W, 

foveMga  pci&tt.  Asd  whjr  not  ?  fixus^  it  tra« 
gromxled  on  die  law  of  tuitate  aikl  rMlb&,  the  law 
of  diftdbiiti^re  jscftice  and  equky;  and  fince  it  was 
zdaptsd  to  timet  and  drcutnfta&ces  of  politkai 
gotenmieat)  in  wbidi  it  could  not  be  produiSive 
ci  anyconfbqpoQiiKsimrjiididal  to  public  or  ptivalse 
economy;  it  fecared  their  premgadves  to  die 
eldefiy  and  their  birthrights  to  the  younger  bno- 
thers  of  a  family,  far  from  qualifying  the  latter, 
ill  any  caiual  .circumfiances,  to  ufurp  thj^  natural 
lights  tf  the  iogcmiar* 

I  flatter  myfelf  the  Mader  will  now  be  Convinced 
of  the  utyuft  epithets  ^barbarous  undurtMil,  which 
have  bom  thrown  on  the  laws  and  manners  of  the 
'ancient  Irifli;  fbt  to  ufe  t^e  words  of  an  honour- 
able and vfsry  learned  autiM>r,  ''the  old  aSts  of  a 
fiate,  are  ilnt  only  the  beft  xnateriak  for  a  hiftory, 
but  *itey  are  iikewife  ftipng  defcriptions  of  t^ 
naimecsof  the  times/'  Ahd  X  am  for ry  this  hpt 
naurable  gentleman  {e)  ftmuld  fuffer  himfelf  to  be 
mifled  io  aocmch  with  ref|>cd  tothe  Iriib,  as  to  de^ 
elate  his  opinio)^  latdy  in  a  very  learned  aflinnbly, 
that  ''the  kings  of  Ireland,  even  fo  late  as  the  reign 
of  Richard  11.  iaem  to  have  been  as  little  civdiaed 
as  the  Jhvages  of  Nm^  Ameriiar  The  hcmcmr- 
able  gendemon  indeed  gMsmded  his  authority  on  a 
writer,  who  knew  as  much  of  the  manners'of  the 
jpieOf^Ie  of  Ireland)  as  he  did  of  thofe  of  Otaheit-e. 
With  as  much  propriety  he  might  i^ote  a  writer  of 

the 

i^y  Ifon.  Daiaek  Barrniyom,  iq  a  paper  read  before  t&v 

Society  oi  antiquariaxK[«  Loixtoo*  on  March  14,  v^^i^m^ 
prmred  in  the  third  toltime  ot  Archacblog.  p.  75.  Thfc 
aatluoTity  lie  mentions  is  Froifiarty  1.  3.  p.  204. 


''-r 


EXPLAINED.  4t 

die  hji  (Xfihrryy  to  prove  th^  Iriih  of  thm  age  to 
hxvt  been  pogans;  under  the  Brehm'iaws;  ikmg 
like  wildbeajs  of  the  woods;  drinkers  of  the  bhfod^f 
itnintais;  md  eaters  of  Y€Rv  jlejb  (f).  Bat  at  the 
very  period  this  honourabk  and  learned  gentleman 
b  pleafed  to  denominate  them  ravages,  we  beg 
leave  to  prove,  from  as  good  authority,  that  the 
Irifti  were  a  civilized,  mercantile  people,  and  re- 
nowned for  their  mannfaftnrfes  in  a  countiy  where 
arts  and  fdences  had  been  long  eftablilhed. 

Similamente  paffamo  en  IRLANDA, 

La  qual  fra  noi  e  degna  de  fama 

Pfcr  le  nobile  faie  che  d  manda. 

Quella  gente  ben  che  moftta  felvaggia 
E  per  11  monti  la  contrada  accierba 
Non  de  meno  le  dolcie  ad  cui  lafaggia. 
Dita  mundi,  componuto  per  Fazio  di  Gluberti 
de  Fizenza.     Capitulo  26.  Printed  1474. 

The 

(/)  Lucas  De  I.inda,  Defcriptio  Qrbis.    Amfterdam  1665. 
p.  385.     Mores  Hibernorum  noftri  temporis.     Baptizatis  in- 
fanubus  notninaimponunt  profana — niatriinoniacontrahunt» 
non  de  praefenti,  fed  de  fiuuro,   ideo  facile  divortiuiii  ad- 
mittanry   ubi  tine  negotio  maritixs  aliaoi  <[ucBrit  uxorem  et 
muUer  alterum  maritutn— filveftres  Irlandi  in  genua  procum- 
bant»   cum  noviiunium  fpedlant — frumentum    pro  equis* 
quorum  tngentem  gerunt  curam,  fervant— urgente  nimium 
facBc  etiam  crudas  carnes  comedunt-^vaccas  fanguinem  co- 
agulatum  butyro  fuperfunduac,   et  Jta  comedunt.     Adhsec 
Anglo- Hlberni  adeo  ab  antiquis  illis  Hibernis  funt  feperati 
ut  colonorum  omnium  uliimus  qui  in  Anglica  provincia  ha- 
bitat,  filiam  fuam,  vel  nobillflimo  Hibernorum  prtncipi  in 
marrlmonium  non  daret.— Tales   vero  lites  xdimare  folent 
certi  homines  quos  Brebpnios  appellant,  qui  tarn  jurfl  civilis, 
ooam  Britaunici  ignorantes  funt,  judicantque  folum  ex 
oomefticis  confuetudinibus,  qus  ufu  et  frequentia  adtuum 
receptac  funt. — Infylvis  et  montanisVelut  ferae  oberrent  locis 
— quod  iliorum  fpc6lac  eruditionem,  ilia  valde  exigua  eft. 
Medicos  ihi  hxreditas,  non  dodrina  facit*  fatifque  k  dodos 
putant,  fi  illud  Hippociatis,  an  ionga  vita  brevis  vtzxtzxe 
queant 


41  GAVEL  LAW,  EXPLAINED. 

The  author  accordmg  to  fome  was  prior  to 
Dante.    Crefcimbini  thioks  he  fiourifhod  about 

1370- 

In  art  Jaie  in  the  did.  ddla  Crufca,  there  is 
quoted  an  ancient  romance,  caiSltdquattrecontey  in 
which  the  hero  give^  a  gown  offaia  dlrlanda  to  his 
nufireft. 

G'  manda  in  line  3.  imdoubtedly  marks  an  cftab- 
lifiied  trade  and  not  an  accidental  intercourfe;  and 
in  the  Brehon  laws  prior  to  this  time,  we  find  a  tax 
upon  Italian  wine,  and  on  the  ihells  of  the  great 
cocoa  nuts,  brought  from  Italy,  to  be  made  into 
drinking  cups.  The  Brehon  laws  are  faid  to  have 
been  annulled  at  a  parliament  held  at  Kilkenny, 
in  the  government  of  L.  D.  of  Clarence,  who 
landed  in  1365. 


OF 


OF  THE 


LITERATURE 


or  TJis 


I        R        I        S        H, 


A  P  T  S  R     THE 


ESTABLISHMENT 


O  9 


CHRISTIANITY. 


N 


Q  man  underftood  the  languages  of  thefe 
iflands  better  than  Mr.  Lhwyd^  and  no  man  has 
done  more  juftice  to  the  purity  of  the  Ibemo- 
Celtic  or  Irifh  dialed.     This  learned  antiquarian 
averSy  that  he  had  feen  and  perufed  an  ancient  Irifh 
vocabulary  in  manufcript,  wherein  the  letter  P  was 
not  comprehended.     No  Irifh  manufcripts  flUl  ex- 
tant, or  even  in  Mr*  Lhwyd's  time,  can  with  any 
well  grounded  authority,  be  efleemed  of  higher 
antiquity,  than  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  century, , 
or  at  mofl  the  end  of  the  eighth,  although  it  mufl 
be  allowed,that  fome  poetical  fragments  regarding 
hiflory  and  genealogy,  compofed  by  authors  who 

lived 


44         LITERATURE  of    the   IRISH 

lived  before  the  eightK century,  have  been  copied 
by  the  annalifts  of  fucceeding  ages,  and  by  them 
tranfmitted  down  to  ws ;  jiet  we  muft  candidly 
own,  that  manufcripts  of  the  ninth  century  are 
exceeding  rare ;  but  fince  Mr-  Lhwyd,  whofe  can- 
dour  was  not  inferior  to  his  erudition,  does  not 
give  his  opinioa  of  the  antiquity  of  his  manu- 
fqrq*  vocabulary,  ladvance  its  date  high  enough, 
when  I  fuppofe  it  to  have  been  written  in  the 
tenth  century ;  and  if  the  letter  P  were  then  ufcd, 
it  is  beyond  all  doubt,  that  it  may  be  found  in  it, 
as  well  as  all  the  other  letters  of  the  IrUh  alpha- 
bet. ,  Hence  we  may  conclude  with  fall  affurance, 
that  the  Irifti  did  not  receive  the  letter  P  for  writ- 
ing their  own  language,  before  the  tenth  century, 
if  they  adopted  it  even  fo  early ;  the  plain  confe- 
quence  of  which  is/  that  till  then,  they  received 
and  made  ufe  of  no  more  than  fifteen  letters,  for 
writing  their  language. 

llie  (paring  ufe  the  Iriih  have  made  of  the  letler 
P,  even  fince  they  adopted  it,  and'their  carein  Tub- 
Rituting  the  letter  B  in  its  place,  plainly  fliows, 
they  looked  upon  them  as  charaders  of  the  fame 
oigan.  This  obfervation  carries  far  greater  weight, 
when  we  confider  this  fubftitution  to  take  place, 
even.in  wordscvidently  borrowed  from  the  Latin, 
whenein  theletter  P  always  was  the  dominant  cha- 
racter ;  as  in  the  Irilh  words  deifciobal  a,  difciple, 
db/Hiil  an  apoftle.  Now  it  is  clpar  to  every  perfon, 
that  thefe  two  words  unknown  to  the  Irifti  before 
their  converfion  to  Chriftianity,  were  written  with 
tfhe  letter  P  and  never  with  B,  the  fbrmcr  of  Latin 

ongm 


AFT£R    CHRISTIAN  I']^T.        4$ 

origiB  di/c^fis,  ainl  ibe  la4ter  cS  a  Greek  deriv»- 
tioB  was  always  wrut^  ap^Johs  iu  that  ton^c>  asd 
afofiolm  in  the  Lalia.    It  ia  evid^at  froio  aaajT 
examples  which  might  be  quofed»  that  the  Gxedb 
and  Romans  had  not  been  seccurate  etx^ogh.  to  ^ii- 
tinguilh  between  thefe  two  chara<^ecs^  until  thek 
languages  threw  off  tlie  antique  dxefs  of  barfaarilrn» 
and  bocanie  poliihed  and  re&oed  by  a  fucceffioEidf 
great  poets  and  orators  capable  of  refiniog  the)a£b- 
guage^  whil^  they  reformed  the  literary  tafte  cf 
their  countrymen.    And  it  is  a  ioMwn  faifi;^  that 
the  Dutch  and  Flemings^  suotd  leveral  provincialiAsf 
ou  the  c€»itiDent,do  notdiftin&ly  and  inconfoledly 
pronounce  tb<fe  two  chara^rs  to  diis  very  day. 
I  may  alio  add,  that  in  the  otd  Rimic  alphabet 
called  by  Olaus  Wormins,  alphabeium  Rtadenm 
Gothorum  veiuJHJfimum^  no  other  difference  is  to  fae 
feen  betwew  B  and  P,  except  that  the  fame  cha- 
ra^er  is  pun£^uated  twice  to  point  out  P»  though 
in  the  Runic  alphabet  of  Vulphila  (firft  bifhop  of 
the  Wigoths)  to  be  feen  in  Olaus  Wormius's  Ruuic 
literature^  both  thefe  charadters  are  as  differfmrt  as 
any  other  letters  of  that  alphabet.    It  is  needleis  to 
^uote  examples  where  the  Iiifii  have  generally  futv 
ilituted  the  letter  B  ioilead  of  P»  in  thefe  words, 
wherein  the  latter  letter  is  now  made  ufe  of  without 
any  diiEcully,  fince  many  examples  of  k  are  to  be 
met  with,  in  almoft  every  page  of  die  vellmn 
manufcripls.    Yet  I  have  not  feen  any  manufcri^rts, 
ia  which  the  letter  did  not  fbmetimes  occur,  (iome 
folios  of  the  Brehon  laws  ezoqpted)  although  lefe 
frequently  than  in  the  Irifli  writings  of  later  times, 
ib  that  the  hi^er  we  mount  up^  the  antiquity  of 

the 


46         LITERATURe   of    the  IRISH 

the  manufcripts  is  more  difcemaUe^by  the  litde  ufe 
made  of  P.  Indeed  it  is  fcarcely  at  sUI  to  beibund 
in  the  Iiifh  fragments,  dted  here  and  there,  from 
thefirftpreachersof  thegolpeland  their  immediate 
fucceffor^  confequently  before  the  introdu£don  of 
Latin  literature  in  this  iflancL  the  letter  P  was  not 
fo  much  as  known;  or  if  they  obferved  any  dif- 
ference between  it  and  £,  they  thought  fo  clofe  an 
afiinity  reigned  between  the  organic  powers  ot 
both,  as  that  the  charaflters  proper  for  exprefling 
the  one,  might  equally  ferve  for  founding  the  other; 
leaving  it  always  to  the  judicious  reader's  under- 
Handing  and  experience  to  make  the  difcemment, 
%id  to  diftinguifh  by  his  articulation,  what  was 
yet  undetermined  for  want  of  a  diftindl  character; 
hence  in  fome  of  our  modem  grammars  the  P  ii> 
called  B  beg  i.  e.  B  foft. 

To  the  above  remarks  I  (hall  acyoin  the  follow- 
ing obfervation,  as  curious  in  itielf,  as  pertinent  to 
the  prefent  difcufiioni;  The  Irifh  monuments  which 
dther  coniuming  time,  or  the  extravagant  zeal  of 
parties,  have  permitted  to  reach  our  times,  chiefly 
ooniift  of  literal  tranflations  and  comments  on  the 
old  or  new  teftaments,  commonly  concluding  with 
the  recital  of  Ibme  miracle,  or  the  lives  of  the  faints 
and  martyrs ;  and  there  is  fcarce  any  voluminous 
piece  of  veUum  manufcripts,  which  does  not  alfo 
comprehend  fome  few  diflertations  on  medicine, 
and  are  for  the  moft  part  literal  ti*anflations  of 
Hippocrates  and  Galen,  the  two  moft  celebrated 
phyficians  whom  antiquity  can  boaft  of.  In  all 
thcie  compofitions,  we  find  Latin  texts  and  quota- 
tions very  faithfully  dted,*  not  only  from  the 

Pentateuch, 


AFTER    CHRISTIANITY.        47 

Pentateuch,  the  Prophets,  and  the  Evangelifis^ 
moftly  according  to  the  ancient  vulgate  or  Italic 
verfion,  but  aUb  from  the  original  Greek  of  the  two 
famous  parents  of  medicine  above-mentioned.  I 
have  alfo  in  my  poffeflion  a  very  fair  copy  of  iSr/Ax- 
tms  de  Nigris  in  Almanforem^  beautifully  written  oa 
vellum.  Now  it  is  remarkable,  that  although  the 
letter  P  be  often  ufed  in  the  orthograpiiy  of  thefe 
authors,  yet  in  the  quotations  it  is  generally  omitted^ 
and  the  letter  B  fubftituted  in  its  room,  by  our 
IrUh  fcriveners.  This  muft  have  been  done  with 
knowledge  and  defign,,  and  clearly  demonftrat^^ 
that  the  Iriih  did  not  receive  or  ufe  it  earlier  than 
^bout  the  ninth  or  beginning  of  the  tenth  century ; 
for  it  is  unqueftionably  true,  that  feveral  of  thofe 
manufcripts  are  not  more  ancient  than  that  epochs 
as  may  be  eafily  difcovered  by  the  novelty  of  the 
Ayle  and  other  charafkers. 

There  is  another  inftance  regarding  this  charaSer 
worthy  of  notice,  as  it  ftands  coeval  with  Chrifl 
tianity  itfelf  in  Ireland,  and  feems  to  fumifh  us 
with  a  fubfidiary  proof  of  the  ufe  of  letters  having 
been  fubftituted  in  Ireland  before  that  period.  All 
readers  of  ecclefiaftic  hiftory  are  no  ftrangers  to  the 
religious  veneration  and  folemnity  paid  by  all 
Chriftians,  to  the  feftival  of  Eajkr^  both  in  the 
Greek  and  Latin  churches,  but  particularly  by 
thofe  who  were  to  be  employed  in  the  converfion  of 
infidels«  Great  debates  have  arifen  concerning  the 
day  of  its  celebration  in  an  early  period ;  it  may  be 
fuppofed  the  miiEonaries  into  Ireland,  who  firft 
delivered  the  divine  word  to  the  pagans  of  this 
country,  did  not  fail,  as  ufual,  to  infpire  into  the 

hearts 


48        LITERATURE   at   THe   IRISH 

beairte  of  their  comverts,  the  looft  profound  venew 
caticn  poffi^bk  foi'  this^  great  folemnity,  calling  it 
acccMrdiog  to  the  pra^e  of  the  oriental  and  occir 
dental  churches  by  the  name  of  PASCH A,  which 
iff(xd  was  always  retained  by  the  Chaldeans,  the 
Greeks  and  tkue  Latins,  to  lignify  that  auguft 
ieftival. 

It  is  not  to  be  doubted  but  theie  preachers  and 
tSmrfucceSbrs  werefcrupuloufly  zealousinteaching 
the  Irifli  converts  the  true  orthc^raphy  and  pro- 
nunciation of  this  word  pafcha,  yet  they  never  d^ 
receive  that  word  int6  their  language,  but  rejeded 
And  threw  olBf  the  ioitial  P,  and  took  another  cha^ 
ra^er  of  a  quite  different  oi^an,  that  is  to  fay  C,  f^ 
as  to  found  caifi;  and  cajca^  a^a  in  the  oblique  in^, 
flexions  ;  though  it  is  well  known  to  any  period 
IkUled  in  the  Irifli  language,  idaaxpajca  BJud/Hi/ga 
or  faifgy  or  even  the  change  of  P  into  B,  fo  as  tQ 
found  it  baijg  or  ba/ga,  are  as  agreeable  to  the  Irifh 
ponunciation  as  it  now  is  in  its  extraordinary 
change.  A  charader  of  fo  different  an  organ,  ^ 
is  the  palaite  from  the  lips,  would  make  us  incline 
to  think,  that  the  letter  P  not  being  u&d  at  all  by 
the  pagan  Iriih,the  miflionaries  adopted  C  as  a  dbar 
radier  moft  frequendy  ufed  amongft  them,  and 
confequently  the  firft  preachers  of  Chriftianity  in 
Ijneland,  found  their  pagan  difciples  iq  poffeihon  of 
this  letter  C,  as  well  as  of  the  other  letters  neceifary 
for  exprefling  their  language  artjknilately. 

It  is  a  certain  truth,  that  the  Irifli  had  at  all  times 
in  their  language,  the  fame  organic  founds  which 
ai:^  now  appropriated  to  the  Latin  thara^ers,  tog!S- 
ther  with  other  organic  powers  pf  fpeech>  not  to  he 

found 


AFT^*    CHRlStlAMlTt.         4^ 

found  i!l  the  Latin  tongue,  for  which  confequentty 
the  Romans  had  no  charafters,  though  fome  of 
them  are  to  be  met  with  in  the  Greek  and  other 
European  diale<£ls ;  but  fince  they  laid  afide  their 
own  ancient  cha rafters,  and  adopted  the  Roman 
alplpibet,  they  Hill  retained  fuch  a  veneration  for 
their  old  liters,  ad  never  to  admit  any  of  the 
Roman  tharadlers,  which  were  not  found  in  their 
primitive  alphabet,  even*  when  they  wrote  Latin 
words,  wherein  fuch  charaders  were  ufed  at  alj[ 
limes. 

Thud  in  all  words  biegun  of  ended  by  X,  inftead 
of  writing  that  firople  charafter,  they  never  chofe 
to  reprefent  it,  otherwife  than  by  employing  two  of 
the  Roman  chara6lers,  viz.  gs  ores,  a  trouble  they 
certainly  might  have  faved  themfelves,  at  leaft  in 
writing  the  Latin,  had  they  not  rejefted  it  as  an 
exotic  charafter,  and  not  exifiing  in  their  ancitnt 
alphabet  \  if  this  was  not  the  true  motive,  I  candidly 
acknowledge,  the  cafe  feems  to  me  a  patadox ; 
for  if  thelriflihadno  letters  before  the  introdudiion 
of  the  Latin  alphabet,  what  could  be  their  motive 
conftantly  to  rejeft  fome  fimple  charafters,  and 
fubftitute  two  different  letters  in  their  ftead,  efpe- 
cially  in  writing  a  foreign  tongue,  to  which  all  fuch 
charaders  were  equally  proper  and  fitting ;  and  if 
all  letters  were  equally  new  and  exotic  to  them, 
certainly  all  had  an  equal  right  to  be  preferved  by 
them  ?  Yet  did  they  admit  X  as  a  numeral. 

Thid  is  not  the  onlyanftance  I  find  of  the  fame 
economy  being  praflifed  by  the  Irifh  writera  of^ 
ancient  tiqies,  for, when  occafion  offered  of  writing 
V  confonant  fo  natural  to  the  Latin,  they  always 

Vol.  JL  ^  E  rej«acd 


50     LITERATURE  oi  the  IRISH 

rgedled  tbis  chara6ler,  and  fubftituted  in  its  place 
bh  or  mh^  and  more  ancieudy  b  orm^  with  a  point 
or  dafh,  to  determine  the  found  and  value  of  the 
Latin  v  confouant;  their  reafon  muft  undoubtedly 
have  hfo^iiy  either  that;  that  fimple  ch^a£ler  v  w» 
never  ufed  in  their  own  alphabet,  or  elfe,  ths^he 
Jrilh  language  had  no  fuch  found  as  v  confonant  in 
their  dialed^  which  is  fo  far  from  being  the  cafe^ 
that  it  OCCURS  notinore  frequently  in  the  Latin,  of 
any  other  living  or  dead  language  whatfoever^r 
infomuchthatiican,  and  does  aflually  lake  place 
in  all  w©f  ds  beginning  wkh  either-  B  ©r  M.  in  ordei? 
to  form  the  inflexions,  and  is  ealily  diftinguiihed 
by  the  ikUful  reader,  to  whom  the  affixing  a  point 
or  daih,  aa  was  fomet^ies  pradifed  by  &e  ancients, 
wkl  be  unneceQary,  aoid  much  more  fo,  die  ad^ 
joining  oP  the  afpirate  H,  fo  as  to  make  it  bb  or 
mh,  by  which  thefe  ftrcHig  labial  elements  are  meta^- 
morphofed  into  afpirated,  or  whiftling  cfaaiaders^ 
If  I  may  ufe  ^  expreffion,  after  .the  example  of 
the  learned  DefbroiTes,  in  his  ingenilDUB^  work  oa 
the  mechanical  forma^n  of  languages; 

Now  as  this  coiidud  of  the  fivft  Iriih. converts,, 
with  regard  to  certain  letters  of  the  Latifi  alphabet,. 
Ceems  drredly  oppofiCe  to  alt  good  economy,. 
whereas  by  receiving  a  few  moreof  them,  cfpecially 
the  V  confonanf,  w©iild  have  fpared  them  cxpence 
of  time  and  labour  and  vellum,  objc As  not  ua^ 
Worthy  their  care,  fo  their  conftancy  m  adhering  tD 
fo  injudicious  a  pra<rtice,  affords  almoil  a  proof 
■and  argument  in  favour  of  the  prejucUces  of  their 
fiDrmer  education  and  letters,.whereof  they  intended 

to* 


AFTER    CHRISTIANITY.         s^ 

to  leave  us^  cl^ar  vefliges,  even  on  its  very  ruins 
ig)'  1  his  quality  of  preferving  old  cuftoms  and 
ufages  is  fo  innate  of  old^  in  Iriftimen,  that  no 
nation  can  pretend  to  it  with  more  juftice,  innova- 
tion being  at  all  times  diametrically  oppoiite  to 
their  genius. 

If  the  old  Irifti  had  no  letters,  no  alphabet  of 
their  own  fafliion,  with  a  peculiar  manner  of  em- 
ploying them,  for  expreffing  the  organic  founds  of 
their  language,  and  for  preferving  the  original 
ftrudure  of  their  words,  an  art  wherein  all  tine 
orthography  confifts,  it  is  apparent  from  the  very 
nature  of  things,  that  they  could  never  have 
thought  of  ufing  the  labial  letter  M  with  the 
ai{nrate  H  fubjoined  to  it,  to  render  the  found  of 
the  Latin  v  confonaut. 

At  a  time  when  all  the  languages  of  Europe 
were  poUflied  and  refined,  fo  as  to  become  new 
and  perfect  languages,  happy  for  the  literati,  the 
Irifli  had  neither  relifti  or  leifure  to  think  of  fuch  a 

£  2  reform, 

(gyXiui  learned  anttqnarian  Thomas  Heame  has  feleded 
a  Roman  infeription,  which  clearly  proires  that  we  ko^w  not 
what  power  (be  ancrent  Romans  gave  to  feveral  letters. 

Haod  alker  atque  apu4  Rooaanos  B  fsepiffime  idem  valebat 
quod  V  ut  illis  ezplorattffimum  eft  qm.io  monamentis  vetitfiit 
Terfantur,  inde  icerte  in  hac  infcriptione  ap«df  abrettum ; 

AGA   THEMER 

CO.IVGI    BENE 

BIBENTI    QVE    VI 

XIT  ANN  XXXII  p  XXVIII. 
kiktmH  aihil  alkid  fignifi^at  quam  Tiventi,  quamvis  corre^io 
immediate  feqvens  VIXIT  dabtam  relinquere  videator,  aA 
de  bibace,  an  de  fobrie  et  parce  vitam  ^^enti  intelligi 
debeac.  See  this  teamed  antiquarian  on  more  examples  of 
this  Iwnd  in  his  preface  to  Guil.  Neubrigends  Chronica. 
And  here  we  muft  obferve  that  Bieo'n  thr  Celtic  reot  dT  the 
Latin  vivo. 


ci       LITERATURE  OP  THE  IRISH 

reform,  fo  as  to  lofe  the  radical  words  and  ortho- 
graphy. In  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  or  at  moll  in 
the  time  of  Hen.  VIII.  the  Irifti,  like  all  other 
languages  of  Europe,  began  to  take  a  new  drefe; 
but  no  fooner  was  this  attempted  by  the  natives, 
than  the  EngliQi  reformers  took  fteps  to  extirpate 
its  traces  in  Ireland,  which  has  been  the  chief  rea- 
fon  of  Its  jetaiiiing  its  Celtic  purity  and  orthogra- 
phy ;  the  Iiiih  at  ihat  time  being  bent  in  oppofi- 
tion  to  preftTve  it,  had  no  leifure  to  continue  that 
refinement,  which  would  probably  have  difguifed 
its  radical  Celtic!:  ftrudture,  fo  as  to  be  fuch  as  we 
fee  the  Welfh  dialedl  at  this  day. 

This  proceeding  of  the  Englifh  reformers,  far 
from  being  conformable  to  good  fenfe,  and  towards 
obtaining  the  intended  purport  and  end  of  theii- 
defigns,was  in  efied  diametrically  opposite  to  both. 
For  in  order  to  perfuade  any  people  into  a  new 
opinion  and  a  new  form  of  worfliip,  it  revolts  all 
reafon,  to  think  that  the  method  of  efie6iing  it 
fhould  be  exhorting  them  in  a  foreign  language ; 
for  in  that  cafe,  they  mufl  firfl  have  had  the  trouble 
of  teaching  them  this  new  language,  or  wait  until 
-the  people  firft  rcjeded  their  own  diale£l,  which 
^W9&  as  elegant  and  as  proper  as  the  language  of 
•  the  reforming  miniHers  at  that  time,  to  exprcfs  all 
the  thoughts  of  man's  heart,  and  to  convince  the 
hearers  of  any  truth  whatfoevcr,  in  either  a  literary 
or  a  religious  matter.  And  this  blindneis  of  the 
reformers  with  regard  to  their  uniformly  praying 
aiid  preaching  in  Engiifh,  has  been  afcribed  to  a 
Articular  providence  of  God  in  favour  of  the 
T{.oinan  Catholic  religion,  and  to  the  holy  prayers 

and 


AFTER    CHRISTI  ANIT  Yv 


S3 


and  interccffion  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  as  well  as  to 
that  of  St.  Patrick  and  his  fellow  labourers  in  this 
country. 

Now,  as  to  the  abfblute  orders  and-  command 
which,  it  is  faid,  had  been  impofed  on  the  primitive 
Irifti  converts,  by  their  fpiritual  guides  and  fupe- 
riors,  to  lay  afide  the  ufe  of  their  antient  pagan  cha- 
racters ;  I  am  far  from  thinking  it  was  altogether 
founded  on  the  notion  of  fome  preachers  of  the 
gofpel,  mentioned  by  the  author  of  the  Irifh  hillori- 
cai  library  after Verelius,by  which  they  reprefented 
thofe  charafters  as  if  they  had  really  been  the  hand- 
writing of  the  Devil.  This  opinion  certainly  docs 
not  want  for  authority  in  the  Irifli  antiquities,  for 
in  the  Liber  Lecanus  it  is  exprefsly  faid,  in  a  very 
ancient  pece  of  profe  fpeaking  of  the  literature  of 
the  Damans  (who  preceded  the  Miiefians  by  200 
years),  that  they  compofed  dans  or  verfes,  which 
were  for  that  reafon  preferved  carefully,  until  fuch 
time  as  the  Chriftian  faith  was  preached  in  Ireland; 
but  that  they  were  then  dicurtach,  exterminated, 
bccaufe  they  were  the  invention  of  the  devil 

I  ftiall  give  the  text  at  large  in  its  antique  attire, 
and  add  thereto  the  reafon  of  this  ancient  writers 
faying,  "  that  it  is  manifeft  from  hiflory  contained 
in  thefeflbwj  or  poems,  <hat  they  were  of  diabolical 
itivenrion.**  Ar  da  tainic  creidim  ni  ro  dkhurthe  na 
dona  Jin  ar  it  maiihe  7  rd  dernai  deaman  maith^-^^is 
fit  las  ajfhfebaib  T  as  a  naigedaib  nau  do  dedmhntib  na 
fidgmghe  do  TuOtb  d.  daman.  From  this  ancient  text 
it  feems  to  follow  that  this  Danian  colony,  which 
farniflied  druids,  poets,  harpers,  and  handicrafts 
of  Bumy  profcffions,  whofe  names  are  recorded, 

muft 


1 


54        LITERATURE  op  thb  IRISH 

muft  buve  had  fome  kind  of  characters  to  write 
tb«fe  dans  in,  dsough  I  own  it  does  not  follow  as  a 
neceflary  confeqoenc^e,  but  a  probable  one ;  for  as 
they  contained  the  fonn  of  pagan  worfhip,  and 
were  for  this  reafon  attributed  to  devils  by  the 
Cbriitian  miifionaries,  fo  the  great  care  thefe  pagan* 
druidshad  in  prefervug  them»  muft  very  naturally 
have  led  them  on  to  find  out  certain  charaders, 
which  might  ezprefs  their  meaning,  in  order  to  be 
read  with  more  eafe  by  the  druidiih  priefts,  and 
delivered  to  the  people  with  greater  confidence 
and  fecurity ;  as  no  traces  of  thefe  dans  have  been 
handed  down  to  pofterity,  probably  they  were 
exterminated  foon  after  Chriftianity. 

It  is  evident,  the  author  of  the  book  of  Lecan, 
who  lived  long  after  the  epoch  of  Chriftianity,  had 
no  fort  of  view  of  doing  honour  to  this  colony  of 
people,  but  was  rather  inclined  tad^preciate  their 
real  merit,  fo  his  afcribing  to  them  excellent  verfes 
before  the  Chriftian  era  in  Ireland,  is  a  pretty 
ftrong  proof,  that  the  ufe  of  letters  was  well  known 
before  that  dme ;  for  the  text  fays,  that  until  the 
coming  of  the  Jahb^  thefe  dans  were  not  bani/bed  by 
reafon  ofthdr  goodnefo ;  it  is  impofiible  to  conceive 
how  thefe  excdlent  verfes  could  be  prefervcd  by 
the  help  of  oral  tradition  only,  to  the  time  of  St. 
Patrick  s  arrival  j  or  how  could  the  new  converts 
deftroy  or  exurpate  them,  imlefs  they  had  been 
committed  to  writing. 

The  compilers  of  the  Liber  LeBanus,  from  whence; 
this  extradl  was  made^  were  of  the  tribe  of  people 
called  Qan  Firbi/fy  who  wer^  hereditaiy  antiqva* 
rians,  not  of  the  tribe  cilU4d  1  fiachrath^Aidime  hi 

Ae 


AFTER   CHRlSTlAKtTY.       55 

the  county  of  Galway,  as  I  have  fomeM^hefe  ]?ea<i» 
whereof  O  Heney  wa8  chief  lord,  and  OShaghaeffey 
Dynaft,  but  of  the  tiibe  of  I  fiachrach  Muaidh,  of 
which  O  Doude  was  chic^;  this  I  gather  out  of  the 
liber  Lecanus,  where  it  is  often  fald,  (hat  th^ 
derived  tinder  O  Doude>  whom  they  acknowledge 
as  th^ir  lord  and  matter.    The  j^ader  muft  undeiv 
Aand,  that  thefe  antiquarians  only  tranfcribed  their 
v(duminoi]8  pieces  of  hiftory  and  genealogy  out  of 
other  writings,  without  the  Icaft  difcernment  ot 
<riticifm,  and  in  the  drefe  wherein  they  found  them 
recorded,  infomuch  that  tl>e  ftyle  ufed  in  relating 
fads  near  their  own  times,  is  as  different  from  that 
made  nfe  of  for  recording  the  deeds  of  remote 
antiquity,  as  our  modern  Engliih  diflfers  from  that 
fpoken  in  the  days  of  Hen.  IV,  and  V.  in  England. 
This  defeat  of  ciitiqal  examination  in  them, 
p^x>duces  a  double  advantage  to  us,  ift,  we  have 
a  view  of  the  jnianners  of  thie  ancient  Irifti,  %d, 
we  are  fully  inftru<Sed  in  the  ftyle  and  language. 
By  the  firft,  WiC  are  enabled  to  pafe  a  right  judg- 
ment on  thofe  ancient  times ;  and  thus  when  we 
find  notions  ferioufly  delivered  for  truths,-  that  are 
Dotorioufiy  incompatible  with  the  firft  principles 
of  Chriftianity,  and  are  known  to  be  the  tenets 
of  pagan  perfuafion,  then  no  realbnable  caufe  of 
doubt  remains  for  us  to  concludie,  that  fuch  writ- 
ings  are  of  pagan  times. 

This  truth  can  be  exemplified  in  a  moft  ftiiking 
]nftance,{rom  theLiberLecanns,  wherein  the  pag^n 
fyftem  of  the  tranfrmgraium  of  fouls  is  gravely  exhi- 
bited Many  authors  affirm,  that  the  do6^rine  of 
ifi^emffychojis  firft  taught  in  £gypt,  and  thence 

introduci^ 


5tf       LITERATURE  or  thq  IRISH 

introduced  into  Greece  by  Pythagoras,  was  by  his 
difciples  communicated  to  the  Italians,  and  not 
unknown  in  Gaul  to  thq  druid^  ^d  pagan  do£lors(, 
I  have  not  met  with  any  other  paflage  in  Irifii 
antiquities,  that  evidently  points  out  the  metemp- 
iychofis,  as  a  known  tenet  of  religious  perfuaficm ; 
although  it  is  very  probable,  that  not  only  thi% 
but  many  other  tenets  belonging  to  pagan  times, 
may  be  as  yet  found  in  the  old  Iy\Rx  ^<^ll)iins,  \( 
duly  examined  by  men  jpf  letter^. 

Whether  Pythagoras  was  the  firft  author  of  th? 
dodrine  of  metempfychpfis  in  Greece,  or  not, 
and  the  firft  propagator  of  it  in  Italy,  wherein  hp 
held  his  fchool,  called  the  Italic  fphpol,  it  is  afiert- 
ed  as  an  undoubted  faA  by  many  authors,  th^t 
his  dodrine  was  taught  and  underflpod  in  Gaul, 
and  well  known  to  the  dniids  of  that  and  the 
neighbouring  countries* 

In  this  book  it  is  recorded,  that  no  doubt  can  be 
raifed  concerning  the  poftdiluvian  invafion  of 
Ireland,,  fince  Tua/t  fon  of  CairiJ,  who  was  bom  of 
the  wife  of  Murdoch  Mundmgy  •  afferted  it ;  for  he 
lived  in  Kc/air^s  time  in  the  form  of  a  man ;  then 
for  300  years  in  the  form  of  a  deer ;  after  for  200 
years  in  the  fhape  of  ^  wild  boar ;  then  300  years 
in  the.ihape  of  a  bird;  an^  laftly  100  years  in  the 
Aiape  of  a  falmon;  which  being  caught  by  a 
fifherman,  was  made  a  prefent  of  to  the  cjuee^  of 
Ireland,  on  accoimt  of  its  rare  beauty,  and  (he 
upon  eating  it,  immediately  conceived  and  bi  oug^it 
forth  the  famous  Tuan  tnae  Cairil,  who  related  the 
truth  of  ^^rV  expedition  into  Ireland,  and  alfo 

informed 


AFTER   CHRISTI  ANITT,        57 

informed  them  of  the  invafions  of  the  Firbolgs  and 
Danians. 

From  this  quotation  and  literal  tranflation  two 
confequences  may  be  drawn ;  firft,  that  the  Irifli 
did  anciently  believe  the  tranfmigration  of  fouU 
from  one  being  into  another,  they  ftill  retaining 
the  powers  of  reminifcence  and  knowledge,  during 
all  the  different  times  of  their  infufion  into  tfaofe 
bodies ;  fecondly,  that  the  writer  of  fuch  a  piece 
was  truly  a  pagofij  and  as  a  necefiary  corollary, 
that  the  Irifh  pagans  knew  letters  and  writing. 

Thus  Pythagoras  pretended  he  knew  and  re- 
membered in  what  bodies  his  foul  refided,  before 
be  was  ftyled  Pythagoras ;  firft,  he  was  Cethalidus, 
the  fuppofed  fon  of  Mercury;  next,  he  became 
Eupl^irbiiSy  who  was  flain  by  Menelaus  at  the  fiegc 
of  Troy ;  afterwards,  he  was  Hermatmus'i  then  he 
became  a  filherman  of  Delos  by  name  Pyrrbus ; 
and  at  laft  he  became  Pythagoras ;   and  he  alfo 
affirmed,   that  he  well  remembered  all  thefe  dif- 
ferent tranfmigrations ;   that  he  fuffered  in  Hell, 
and  faw  others  fuflfer  Ixkewife.     Let  it  be  remem- 
bered, that  this  ma«,  ,by  the  clear  light  of  reafon, 
difcovered  that  nfeful  demonilration,of  the  fquare 
of  the  hypothenufc  being  equal  to  the  fum  of  the 
two  I'quares,  &c.  &c.  which  proved  as-  ufeful  in 
mathematical  fqlutjons,  ^s  it  was  agreeable  to  this 
great  philofoplier. 


AN 


AN 


B      N      d     tJ      I      R 


INTO     THE 


FIRST   INHABITANTS 


P  F 


IRELAND. 


I 


T  is  t\&  opinion  of  many  learned  Iriflimen,  that 
Ibftie  colony  of  the  oriental  people,  who  wor- 
ftipped  Betus,  or  Baal  as  the  Chaldseans  exprefs  it, 
gave  its  firft  inhabitants  to  this  ifland.  In  all  pro- 
bability they  were  no  other  than  the  indigenae  of 
the  L^cid  of  Promife,  the  Chanaanitks;  who 
having  been  difpofTefled  byjofhua,  and  the  people 
of  Ifrael,  made  vaft  emigrations  into  the  iflands  of 
the  Mediterranean  fea,  and  planted  themfelves  not 
only  in  thofe  iflands,  but  alfo  on  the  maritime 
eoafts  and  regions  of  that  fea.     • 

Inftead  of  Chanaanites  they  then  took  the  name 
of  PhenicianSy  not  from  their  dwelling  at  Tyn^ 
Sidon^  and  the  comitry  near  the  Red  Sea  <PMn»«^,  or 
by  allufion  to  the  traffick  of  purple  garments,  or 
from  the  palm  trees  4>m»i»k  as  different  etymologifts 
will  have  it ;  but  rather  from  the  Phenici&n  word 

BSK-ANAK, 


AN     EN  QJJ  I  R.T,    far.  59 

BSN-ANAX,  the  diildien  or  tribe  of  Amax,  liie 
Anakites  being  the  principal  tribe  of  the  wholes 
agreeable  to  the  Irifh  tribes  MaoMahon,  Mac* 
Caithy,  &c  Although  it  muft  be  owned,  that 
the  emergency  of  their  affairs  had  firfl  ODmpelled 
the  Phenicians  to  engage  in  naval  expeditions, 
they  however  derived  great  advantages  from  Aat 
neceflity.  ^hey  excelled  all  nations  of  the  XJni« 
verfe  in  failing  and  traffick,  and  made  uleful  dif- 
coveries  of  iflaods  in  the  European  feas,  the  Me^ 
diterranean,  in  Egypt,  Greece,  Spain,  &c.  beforp 
then  uninhabited. 

Ben-Anak,  literally  means  the  fons  of  giants  or 
heroes,  which  is  certainly  the  iignification  tile  Iriih 
gave  the  word  fens  and  feins  ;  hence  to  this  day 
FBiNXAO  ox  FEiNZG  is  ufed  in  old  records  and 
fongs  to  deikHe  a  champion,  a  hero,  or  a  giant. 
The  author  of  a  learned  work  on  the  primitive 
elements  of  languages  blames  the  great  Bochart, 
for  not  having  underftood  the  word  Phenicians,  to 
be  of  the  fame  import  with  the  Chaldsean  word 
Chanaanite^  for  as  Ghanaanite  fignified  a  merchant 
or  negotiant  in  that  language,  from  the  Chaldaean 
radix  Cbanaany  a  merchailt,  fo  doth  fherddoH  mean 
the  fame  thing  in  Greek,  fays  this  author,  for  psm 
and  PHEN  means  money^  traifick,  ufury,  thus 
PHENTMiM  doth  alfo  denote  riches,  or  jew^s,  and 
FANUs  in  latin  is  ufury.  He  means  to  flrengthen 
his  opinion,  by  laying,  that  thofe  of  Syria  and  Pa- 
lefiine  were  the  firft  merchants.  The  Ifraelites 
trafficked  in  fpices  and  perfumes  in  the  times  d[ 
the  patriarch  Jacob,  that  is,  after  the  year  of  the' 
creation  2300.    All  this  would  as  diredUy  prove 

that 


6o         AN    ENQ^UIRT    INTO    THE 

that  the  Ifmaelites  in  particular,  and  the  other  trad<- 
ing  people  of  Syria,  fhould  bee  ailed  Ghanaanites^ 
with  as  much  propriety  as  the  people  of  Chanaan. 
He  oppofes  the  fame  learned  author's  opinion,  diat 
the  Phenicians  abandoned  their  old  name  of  Cha- 
naanites,  on  account  of  the  infamy  they  were 
fubjedl  to,  through  the  curfe  pronounced  againft 
their  progenitor  Chanaan ;  the  reaibu  he  gives  for 
thiscorreclionis  as  infufficieut  as  the  above,  witnefs, 
fays  he,  the  Ghanaanean  women  mentioned  in 
Matthew  xv  and  xxii,  who  came  from  the  environs 
of  Tyre  and  Sidon,  This  proves  nothing ;  for  the 
evangelifts  without  doubt  mentioned  her  extraftion 
from  Ghanaanites,  as  they  had  been  accufed  by 
God,  and  particular  orders  given  by  him  for  their 
utter  extirpation,  that  fo  the  office  d  our  Redeemer 
may  be  more  confpicuous,  while  he  defpifed  not  the 
afflifled  offspringof  an  accurfed  people;  fo  that  this 
is  not  the  language  of  a  Phcnician  writer,  but  of  a 
Chriftian  evangelift.  Some  interpreters  think,  fhe 
was  called  Ghanaanean  from  a  town  fituated  in 
Phenicia,  bordering  on  the  lands  allotted  to  the 
tribe  of  Afer,  which  was  called  Cana,  whereof 
there  is  alfo  mention  made  in  Jolhua,  ch.  xix,  where 
it  is  erprefly  faid,  that  the  boundaries  of  the  tribe 
of  Afer  were  Abran,  Rohgb,  Hamon  and  Gana, 
unto  the  great  Si  don.  If  this  interpretation  be 
true,  his  argument  becomes  void ;  St.  Mark  calls 
this  woman  a  Syrophenician,  either  becaufe  the 
Syrians  at  different  periods  incorporated  with  the 
Phenicians,  or  elfe  to  diftinguilh  them  from  the 
Garthaginian,  who  were  fometimes  called  Libyo- 

pheoicians. 

The 


FIRST  INHABITANrS  OF  IRELAND.        6t 

The  word  anak  which  means  a  giant  or  hero> 
feems  to  be  the  radix  of  the  Greek  anax,  genitive 
anaxtos,  the  ufual  term  for  a  king;  the  feptuagint 
interpreters  tranflate  mblech  and  melchi,  a  king, 
into  anax,  anakta,  or  anaf^a ;  this  however  was 
not  its  true  and  proper  meaning,  it  firft  imported 
a  faviour  or  defender,  and  as  this  was  the  true 
office  of  a  fovereign,  and  the  motive  for  creating 
him  was  to  defend  and  prote£l  a  people  or  kindred 
from  deftniAion  or  oppreffion,  fo  it  was  not  imr 
natural  it  ihould  become  the  firft  appellative  of  a 
king.  Homer  calls  Agamemnon  and  others  by 
this  name ;  Jupiter  is  ftiled  anax  of  gods  and  men; 
nevertheleis  the  inferior  gods  are  ftiled  anaktes  to 
fignify  defenders  or  faviours.  Afty-anax  was  a 
title  the  Trojans  gave  Scamandrius  the  fon  of 
Hedor,  which  according  to  Homer's  interpretation, 
meant  a  defender  of  the  city.  See  Iliad,  vi.  399. 
Now  the  Irifh  word  anac  or  anaik,  means ^o;^, 
(kfind ;  thus  we  fay  anaic  Jinn  a  Tbiama,  fiwe^ 
prated  us,  0  Lord;  anacal  means  protection,  alfo 
the  fafe^uard  of  a  prince,  and  anac  c/an,  fome- 
times  writLea  eneaclani  is  the  term  in  the  Brehoa 
laws,  for  the  tribute  paid  by  the  claji  or  tribe,  to 
the  chief,  for  his  proteflion. 

The  obfcure  traditional  accoimts  pr^ferved  in 
the  old  Irifh  itaanufcripts,  and  renewed  by  Keating 
and  others,  that  the  anceftors  of  the  firft  inhabi<^ 
tants  of  Ireland,  firft  fettled  in  Crete  and  other 
iflands  of  the  Mediterranean  fea,  as  alfo  in  £gypt» 
Greece,  Spain,  &c.  do  apparently  point  out  to 
the  reader,  the  ftate  and  progrefs  of  the  I^xnidans, 
afterih^rexpulfion  under  the  condud  of  Cadmus. 

who 


6z         AN  ENQUIRY   INTO   TH£ 

vrbo  built  Tbebes,  and  poflefled  a  great  part 
Greece^  together  with  the  iflands  of  the  £gean  fea. 
Tbe3r  alio  ihow  us  the  coiiqudU  of  that  other 
Phenician  general  Hercules^  who  built  Carthage, 
iettled  in  Spain,  and  erefied  the  pillars  of  his  name 
at  the  entrance  of  the  ftrei^ts  of  Gibraltar. 

Befides  thefe  general  obfcure  remarks,  we  hav« 
fpedal  and  plain  reafons  to  think,  the  Phenicians 
were  the  foft  inhabitants  of  Ireland.    The  moil 
ancient  Iriih  dialedl  is  called  biarla  na  FxiNs,or 
BASCMA  MA  FxNZ,  which  means  the  dialed  of  the 
Fenians,  the  tongne  of  the  Fenians.    The  inventor 
of  their  le^rs  and  one  of  themoil  ancient  progenia 
tOFsof  the  Ir]£h,colemporary,  as  it  is  fnppoied,  with 
KrMBRoo  ar  Bslu^  is  called  Fhjcmicjs  a  Farsa, 
which  is  nothing  moie  than  Phenician  Farfa,  or 
Farfa  the  Phenickn.    The  word  Pheine,  Fene, 
and  Feine,  is  ind^d  more  like  to  the  word  PCENI 
which  meant  the  Otrihaginians,  andideaeted  nor- 
thing lefs  than  Pheniqiaxis>  than  it  is  to  Phenicians ; 
and  as  that  was  the  term  the  CanhagiarU  affiled 
to  be  calld  by,  in  order  to  preferve  the  generical 
name  of  their  firil  progenitors;*  fo  it  may  be  con^ 
jarred,  that  the  Irifh  preferred  th^  fame  term  to 
denote  their  firil  progenitors  the  Carthagians  or 
Phenians.     It  is  certain,  the  truth  cannot  be  fo 
wen  fuppoited  on  the  part  of  the  IrUh,  they  were 
too  diftantly  fituated  from  each  other,  and  the  time 
(of  their  ieparation  too  remote  to  be  obierved  but 
inanobfeure  manner;  whereas  the  contiguous 
fituationof  Tyre  and  Carthage,  made  the  renewal 
of  their  frieniUhip  no  way  difficult ;  ineffiiA,  we 
find  a  ftrift  and  iniriolable  «mkm  to  have  alwaya 

fubiiiled 


FIRST  INHABITANTS  OF  IRELAND.        63 

&bfifted  between  the  Pheaicians  and  Garthagiia- 
ans.    Heiodotos  tells  us,  that  when  Catabj^ies 
meant  to  wage  war  with  the  Carthaginians^  he  was 
forced  to  deiift  from  that  undertaking,  hy  reaion  of 
a  firm  declaration  made  bjr  his  cbblen  HieniciaA 
foldiers,  that  they  would  not  fight  againft  their 
countrymen ;  again,  we  cead  that  when  Tyte  was 
befieged  by  Alexander  the  Great,  the  Carthagini- 
ans received  the  wives  and  children  of  the  1  yrians 
into  their  city,  with  the  tendernefs  of  the  moft  af- 
feflionate  parents ;  we  alfo  zead,  that  the  great 
Annibal,  after  being  obliged  to  fly  from  his  un- 
grateful country,  and  an  his  way  to  AntipcbuB 
kmg  of  Syria,  he  was  received  wkh  open  arms  ia 
Tyre,  and  all  honours  due  to  a  general  of  Us 
great  reputation,  cordially  paid  him. 

The  huge  piles  of  ftones,  ereded  from  time  im«- 
memorial,  in  feveral  parts  of  Ireland,  with  immenfe 
coverings,  raifed  in  due  order,  afe  doubtleft  of 
pagan  and  remote  times,  and  pais  with  fome  ibr 
draidical  alurs,  have  the  gei^ncal  name  of  lb  aba 
MA  FxiMs  to  this  very  day  ^  thefe  words  plainly 
fignify  the  beds  of  the  Pheni  or  Carthaginians ; 
the  Irifh  warriocsof  ancient  times  aie  called  Fjuns 
or  F&iNG,  andFsiNTG  at  this  day  figuifies,  for  that 
reafbn,  any  brave  warlike  man. 

In  the  inveftigation  of  the  true  origin  df  any 
country,  great  attention  is  always  due  to  the  argu> 
ment  that  fhows  it  received  its  firft  name,  from 
another  ancient  people,  or  from  their  language, 
efpecially  when  other  probable  argumaits  are  pixv 
duced  to  ftrengthen  the  fame  opinion.  The  firft 
and  moft  ancient  name  in  Ireland  known  to 

foreigners^ 


64        AN   ENQUIRY    INTO    THE 

£3reigners»  and  avowed  by  the  natives  was  Hi^ 
DjCRNiA  and  IkRtIsuk.  Now  the  word  Hibernia  id 
the  Phenician  tongue,  fignifies  wxstxiln  island^^ 
heingcompouBdedof  H  iBEn^which  implies  wefiem^ 
and  of  NAE  an  ifland ;  a  very  proper  name  indeed 
for  Ireland^  as  it  is  the  mod  weftern  ifflaud  of  the 
European  feas.  This  name  was  fo  highly  efteemed 
by  the  writers  of  old  Icifh  chronicles,  that  in  de» 
fcribing  the  martial  exploits  of  their  principal  war* 
xiors  and  princes,  they  afiefled  gready  to  com-' 
pliment  thefe,  with  the  tide  of  champions  of  the 
weftem  ifle,  or  princes  of  the  weftern  ifland  of 
Emrope;  thus  Curaidhs  oilraim  iarthaik, 
and  Oilran  iartharagh  ma  Heoirpe,  are 
honourable  terms  we  meet  with  in  every  page  of 
the  old  vellum  writir^s*  As  to  the  fecond  name 
of  Ireland,  its  etymon  can  be  traced  in  the  Irilh 
dialed,  without  th^  help  of  the  Phenician  or  any 
t>thertongue,alth(Highit  be  identically  the  fame  with 
thelignificationafligned  toHibemia;  it  is  a  complex 
of  the  Iriftx  prepoiition  iar  or  ier  which  means^ 
aflety  bebindj  and  confequently  the  we/t^  according 
to  the  oriental  and'  Irifh  manner,  beginning  at  tlje 
eaft  in  front,  as  iar  fin  after  that ;  iar  Mumhan 
weft  Munfter,  and  maoi  or  aoi  an  ifland,  as  aoi 
Choluim,  the  ifland  of  Columba ;  fo  as  to  mean 
weftern  iflaCnd.  It  muft  be  obferved,  that  n  ferves 
often  in  Irifti  for  an  expletive  letter,  in  order  to 
render  the  found  more  harmonious,  and  to  avoid  a 
hiatus,  which  is  frequently  obferved  in  the  Greeic 
and  Latin ;  thus  we  add  n  to  the  words,  or  gold^ 
AiRGiD  filver,  ATHAR  father,  by  faying  go  nor  agus 
{o  nairgid,  with  gold  and  with  iilver,  ar  nathaic, 

ouc 


FIRST  INHABITANTS  OF  IRELAND.       6$ 

^ttr  fiitfaers  &c.  &c.  I  am  indined  to  think,  that 
N  was  c»ly  an  expletive  dement  in  the  Phenidan 
HAS  an  iflaad,  efpecidiiy  as  the  Hebrew  woid  ax  iar 
an  ifland,  for  n  is  often  inferted  as  expletive  in 
the  beginning,  middle,  and  end  of  Hebrew  words  i 
thus  ScHALMsi  tnmquil,  in  the  plural,  from 
scHALAH  to  be  tranquil;  and  to  phacao  he  has 
vifited,  they  add  n  twice,  and  fay  ntphicadnou 
we  have  been  vifited,  and  miphicadthsn  you 
have  been  vifited,  &c.  &c. 

In  fa£^  the  cuftonu  of  the  oriental  B^ioos,  fo 
tau&lj  followed  bere  ia  primitive  times  and  ilill 
continoed,  are  plaufible  proofs  that  (ome  em^rat- 
ing  cokNiy  of  thefe  people  muft  have  fettled  in 
Irdand,  which,  without  doubt,  can  be  no  other 
tban  the  ofispring  of  the  Phenidan^  fettled  by 
Tynan  Hercuks  in  Spain.  I  prqpofe  to  enlarge 
hereafter  on  thefe  cuftoms  and  manners  of  the 
people  of  Ireland,  in  a  diftina  effay,  and  fliall 
now  only  notice  a  few  which  are  in  vogue  am<»Qgft 
OS,  as  alfo  with  them,  fo  that  the  reader  may  be 
enabled  to  judge  how  far  they  may  be  depended 
upon;  and  if  I  ihotild  hereafter  make  it  appear, 
that  the  names  of  the  di&rent  illands  of  the-  Ma-. 
diterranean,  as  well  as  the  countries  borderag  on 
that  fca,  which  had  beenoccupied  by  the  Phenidan 
emptors,  were  originally,  if  not  identically,  of 
the  fame  literal  fignificsltaon  and  forceinthe  Ibcmo- 
Catic  or  Irilh  language,  wi^h  the  very  fijift  names 
given  thofe  countries  by  the  Phenicians,  under  the 
command  of  Cadmus  and  Hercules ;  I  am  cow.- 
vioced  this  d^comifance  will  indtne  Ae  reader  to 
bdieve,  that  the  firft  inhabitants  of  Iiel^d  were  a 

y®*-  ^'  F  tribe^ 


fltlic*  lie  twJits  of  jftft  PlMweia«s^ 

IRaie  JHfti  call  tte  «iOtt^/0f  Ifcy  ^Bfilrl^ife  !» 
|ff€i0f  Belufi>  and  the  fiitft  ^s^r^f  Mpy  /la  ^l-tt9ft 
>«r.  ij;t$  4ay  of  Beli^s's  fife ;  tfeey;fl^  ;th(?  we  of  t^p 
|[#pfNoy€mberpi(icbe-Sfewifc«R(«o^^^ 
.|loai¥?ed  ee  owiia)  qx  the.  j^v^  igf  S^fl|«U  J^gh  WA^ 
the  Carthaginian  nam^^  jfa/R  S«a,  'Mr.  ^^^i^i^ 
tfcys,  be  Qopied  an.<^!lriih:gl^ai5y,?wl;ere  it  was 
tnei*i«ned  that  the  I^^wWf  we«e>14fi}d'ip  l^t 
two  fokflw  fiaes  in  every  jrear,5tbro«g^  jwfe<^.^ 
{oui^lboted  bea^s  were.  Anvrnt  .  as  a  pn^inra^^ 
aig»inftc9»tig}9us.difteixipert.  -JVlr.  iMartbr iftiis 
iiftory,  of  the  w^miflea^  of  §co(ibs4  w1h,#  ^9fS^ 
j)eQpled  b ytbe ancient  Itiih^  obfefv«,  tb^li^a 
^f  ilygi  waed  Bqlw  pr  Sfilkifts*  whi?b  feejniaj  jfeiftipp 
^n  the  Aflyr^  Qpct  gei  a|i^  jw0l«^ly^«iw^s 
jpagan  deity  CQ¥pes  tt^e  Se^ts  ^oroiof  £elH9>  ;<Sbe 
.firftdayof  May,  teving  j«s  ^  ii^e  ^ro©  ifee 
.^9?i  pc36^fed  ^  jtfce.droids.:^  t^dfe  ]Aefi>  lof 
i^^slinguilhing  all  the  &r«  in  dbeipariflijun^  f^be 
tytbes  were  paid,  nA  upon  payme&tti^  Aeoj,  die 
/fires  were  kindled  ia  e^ch /ft0uiy,.andi[M;v€ar:lall 
»t]pen.  In  thofe  di^^comii^iiefl.the  aiithpr,  joiale- 
hjBto^  were•bw^til)etw1een  two  fire$;  lieooe^^iidieii 
t)^  w<K}14:e2q[n(ef$,am  i^  a.^at^rti^, 

^4fS^y:^y!:iekJ^Mlcn^^f^^^  iniilidir 

la^S^age  ith«y)«iffft|f«tbtt^iodirjdharlhkM  fihv^I, 

Tb^U'AiJMXliirf^^  .feitliieifire 

. .  '  men. 


FIRST  I>tHAB|TAN9r^  OF  l^h^UfD.      -67 

men,  women  snd  children,  for  the-  fame-  ireafon 
pafs  through  or  leap  over  the  facred  fixes,  and  the 
cattle  are  driven  through  the  flames  olf  the  bumii^g 
ilraw,  9n  the  firft  of  May-  Jii  fome  partj^  as  the 
counties  of  Waterford  and  Kilkenay,  the  brides, 
married  fince  the  laft  May-day,  are  CQmp^Ued  jto 
fumilh  the  young  people  with  a  ball  covert  with 
gold  lace  and  another  covered  with  filver  lace, 
finely  adorned  with  filver  taflils ;  the  priqe  pf  thefe 
ibmet;ipes  amoxmts  to  two  .guineas;  thefe  balls, 
the  fymbols  of  the  Sun  and  Moon,  are  ^uipend^^d 
in  a  hoop  ornamented  with  flowers,  which  hoop 
reprefents  the  circular  path  of  Belns  or  the  Sun ; 
sax^  in  this  manner,  they  walk  in  procefiion  from 
houfe  to  houfe.  On  the  ^ve  of  St*  John  another 
bonfire  is  lighted univeif ally  through  the.kingdom; 
on  this  night  every  family  extinguifhes  the  fire, 
which  muft  be  relighted  f rom.the  bon^re;  a  lighted 
ftick  is  alfo  thrown  with  iplemnity  into  the  cabbage 
garden,  to  caufe  the  ropts  to  grow,  ai^d  the  young 
people  fun  through  ppe  another  with  lighted  flicks 
in  their  hands.  This  is  not  a  pagan  cuftom,  but 
h^dcd  down  from  the  firft  eftablimment  of  Chrit 
tianity  on  the  continent ;  for  though  the  council 
of  Elvira  abolHbed  the  cuftom  of  moft  of  the  pagan 
fires,  which  had  continued  fome  centuries  aCter 
Chriftianity ;  the  illumination  of  the  eve  of  St, 
John  the  Baptift  ftill  continued,  the  tradition  of 
which  is  coeval  with  the  prediction  he  made  of 
Jefus  Chrift ;  which  fire  St.  Bernard  notices  to  his 
lratei:nity,  was  become  fo  univerfally  pradifed  in 
his  timp,  that  it  was  even  obferved  among  fhe 
3aj;aceiis  and  Turk^.  See  Homil.  in  {^&  loan.  Bapt. 

^  %  Some 


69         AN   ENQUikt    INTO   THE 

Some  Mountains  m  Ulfter  (UIl  bear  the  name 
of  Bel-tine ;  but  in  the  fouthern  part  of  the  king- 
dom the  name  Inore  frfequcntly  occurs.  At  the 
foot  of  Knocmaoldown  mountain,  near  Clogheen 
in  CO.  of  Tipperary,  is  Logh  Bbeal  br  Plus's  Lake ; 
on  the  Moanmhullagh  mountains,  not  far  diftant 
from  this  lake,  is  Bam  na  Bhcal  a  mullach,  i.  e.  the 
Gap  of  Belus  on  the  fummit ;  the  ufual  falutation 
o(  the  common  people  was  Bel  de  dhuit^  the  God 
Belus  to  you  j  the  meaning  of  which  not  being  un- 
derftood  by  the  prefent  race,  they  now  fay  Balo 
Dhna  dbtdt,  which  they  interpret  thus,  a  mark  from 
God  to  you ;.  bal  fignifying  a  fpot  or  blemifh,  a. 
very  improper  term  for  a  falutation ;  this  is  pecu- 
liar to  the  counties  of  Waterford  and  Kilkenny. 

The  month  of  May  was  indeed  the  moft  proper 
feafon  of  the  year  to  acknowledge  the  beneficent 
favours  of  Belus  or  the  Sun ;  as  the  month  of  No- 
vember was,  to  acknowledge  their  gratitude  to 
the  fame  deity ;  becaufe  in  May,  that  great  planet 
begins  to  beautify  the  face  of  the  earth,  to  nourifh 
its  decayed  plants  and  vegetables,  and  to  put  life 
and  warmth  into  its  animd  beings;  and  in  Novem- 
ber the  harvcft  and  the  vintage  is  gathered  into 
the  barn.  Hence  of  all  created  objefts,  that  planet 
deferved  moft  to  be  noticed  and  loved  by  rational 
fublunary  beings,  becaufe  its  benign  infhience 
produced  them  health  of  body,  and  an  acceptable 
profpefl  of  nourifhment.  And  hence  it  was,  with- 
out doubt,  that  almoft  every  pagan  nation  adored 
this  beautiful  planet  as  the  parent  of  nature,  imder 
different  names  and  appellations ;  a  religion,  which 
as  Mr.  Young  obferves  in  his  Revelafi^t,  p.  35. 

took 


FlRSr  INHABITANTS  OF  IRELAND.        69 

took  its  ri£  in  Cbaldea,  was  foon  carried  into 
Egypt,  and  from  thence  to  Greece ;  it  fpread  itfelf 
alio  to  the  moil  diftant  parts  of  the  world,  and 
infe6ied  not  only  the  eaflern  but  the  weftem 
Scythians  and  Tartars,  but  the  Mexicans  too,  for 
the  Spaniaids  found  it  there.  (See  Gage's  new 
Survey  of  the  Weft  Indies,  ch.  12.)  Even  the 
defcendants  of  Shem,  wliofe  pofterity  preferved 
the  memory  of  the  true  God  for  a  longer  time 
than  thofe  of  Ham  or  Japhet,  at  length  transferred 
their  homage  to  the  Sun  and  Moon.  (Photius  ex 
Ctefia.  C^Curt.  1.  8.  c*  9.  Philoft.  1. 3.  ch.  35.) 

The  ancient  praclice  of  adoring  the  Sun  by  the 
fymbol  of  fire,  was  firft  introduced  into  the  world 
by  Nimbrod^  otherwife  called  Baal  or  Belus,  which 
in  the  Hebrew,  Syriac  and  Pheniclan,  literally 
meant  lord,  or  mafter.  Belus  is  juftly  conlidered 
by  the  learned  to  be  the  firft  who  withdrew  a  con-r 
fiderable  number  of  people,  employed  by  him  in 
building  Babylon,  from  the  true  worihip  of  God 
to  the  fpurious  adoration  of  the  Sun  by  fire. 
This  idolatrous  mode  of  worihip  foon  overipread 
the  earth,  the  Chanaanites  or  Phenidans  obferved 
it  in  the  fame  manner  with  the  pagan  Irilh.  We 
read  in  the  fourth  book  of  Kings,  that  they  ferved 
Baal,  and  religioufly  pafled  their  fonsand  daughters 
through  his  fire,  in  which  they  were  imitated  by 
the  idolatrous  Ifraelites.  We  alfo  read  in  the  fame 
book,  that  Achar  kingof  Ifraelisblamedfor having 
religioufly  pafled  his  fon  through  the  facred  pagan 
fire;  and  it 'may  be  inferred  from  the  faid  paffage 
that  many  Ifraelitiih  kings  provoked  God,  by  the 
fame  idolatrous  pradice. 

The 


70         AN    ENQUIRY    INTO   THE 

TRieippillative  of  Nembrod  given  alfo  to  Belu*, 
ivhidiaccorditig  to  Ifidorus  literally  fignifies  tyrant 
(Nembrod  tyrannum  fignificat.  Etym.  1.  17.)  can 
more  naturally  and  more  conformably  to  ancient 
rtiytholbgy,^  be  inveftigatcd  and  cleared  up  in  the 
Infti  language.  It  is  a  complex  of  «^m  heaven^ 
and  i7-a/captivity,irifomuch  that  both  words  jcnned 
together  by  way  of  attribute  to  Belus  grandfon  of 
Chato,  plainly  fignify  captivator  of  heaven,  or 
Cdli  captivatori  or  Calorum  expugnaior.'  The  Greek 
and  Latin  poets  who  defcribe  the  war  of  the  giants 
againft  the  gOds,  ufe  no  fttonger  expreflion  la 
paiiit  the  iiifblence  of  the  former,  than  Ccelos  exfug^ 
nare  'bolebant.  Homer  in  hfe  firft  Iliad  kitroduce^ 
Venus,  who  reminds  Jupiter  of  her  fervices;  by 
havitig  delivered  him  from  his  captivity  and  dhains,, 
through  herinfluenceonthegiantBriareus.  Bfefideff 
tTife  argutoisnt,  ft  further  a{Jpears  from  the  joint 
authority  of  ^feveral  learned  commentators  on  the 
firft  trok  erf  Genelis,  that  Belus  had  not  the  epithet 
Nembi'od  or  Nimbrod  given  him,  until  the  time 
of  his  i'lfiplotis  undertaking  in  building  the  tower,, 
whichbroughtdown  upon  him  and  his  accomplices- 
the  iminedlatse  veiigeance  of  God,  not  only  by  the 
total  demOllfhriient  6f  tHat  edkice,  but  alfd  by  a 
multiplication  of  the  fifft  language  into  feveral 
diilefts,  that  weVe  all  undcrftbod  by  the  three  fons^ 
of  Koah.  (ffidor.  locofupra  citato-)  Now  if  we 
conftdet  ^felbs  ^fter  thiiitijlirious  undertdkirlgi  and 
his  fefclttflfen  oif  fo  many  tbotifand  people  inta 
fifoktryati'd  rebellion  againft  God,  we  will  readily 
COticiod^-Ire  tv*as  the  01^  perfon  living,  thai  moft 

di^fetved 


FIRST  INHABITANT^  OF  IRELAND.        71 

deferved  the  attriljute  of  Nertibrod  or  H^aVen- 
Gjlptivator. 

If  the  Phenicians  came  from  Spain  ttf  Ireland,  it 
is  probable  they  firft  planted  themfelves  in  the 
fotithem  parts  of  the  ifland ;  accbrdingly  I  find 
fome  plaulible  reafons  to  think  their  chief  fettle- 
ment  maft  have  been  in  a  large  diftrid  of  the 
county  of  Cork,  which  comprehends  the  entir6 
barony  of  Fermoy  and  thehalfbaronV  of  Condons. 
This  diftrift  was  anciently  called  MAGtt-FfitN£, 
literally  meaning  the  plains  of  the  Phenians, 
Ph^^nio-magus  ;  the  inhabitants  were  always 
called  Fear  A  Maigh  Fkine,  afterwards  the  word 
Pheine  was  left  out,  as  inaking  the  name  too 
tedious,  ancionly  a  part  of  the  compound  prefer  ved 
ty  the  moderns,  who  to  this  day  call  it  Fear  a- 
maigh,  in  Engllln  Fermoy- 

The  Liber  Lecaiius  calls  the  inhabitants  Ftbl 
M  AGH  FjBtNE ;  the  author  or  cfariipiler  of  the  annals 
of  Iilnisfalleri,  at  the  yiear  of  Chrift  254,  mentions 
that  FiachaMuillethan,proi?incialking  of  Munfter, 
bellowed  tliis  country  called  Magh-Feine  to  the 
telebratcd  druid  Mogruth;  but  the  author  of  th^ 
t Jlfter  book,  ha  the  Liber  Lecanus,  is  more  exafl;  he 
mentions  that  in  confideration  of  thisdruid's  advicd 
and  influence  Over  Cormac  fon  of  Con  of  the  btin- 
dred  battles,  !d  gtve  hoffages  £0  fiacha  MiiiHethah, 
after  Cormac^  iigrial  defeat  at  the  battle  of  Dun 
Claire,  the  Mbihonian  priiice  gave  hini  arid  hi* 
pofterity  for  ever,  the  lands  called  Maghinac 
Neirce,  which  was  afterwards  called  D'al-Mbg- 
ruith,  and  formed  only  a  part  of  IVifaghJeinej  u 
runs  thus  in  verfc : 

Do 


7a         AN   ENQ^UIRY   INTO   THE 

Do  breat  dofom  iar  tikdlin;  as  lin  cath  do  bacEi 

Saor  dilfe  Muighe  mic  Keircaoi;  do  isdachloia 

CO  bf  atbl 

He  granted  bim  after  the  return  out  of  fbe 

field  of  battle  the  freehold  property  of  Magb 

mac  Nerce,  for  him  and  his  race  perpetually. 

Betides  the  affinity^  or  rather  fimilarily  of  names, 

there  are  ftill  to  be  difcovered  in  the  fame  difl:ri£t^ 

other  plain  monuments  of  Chanaamticor  Phenician 

fafhion,  fuch  as  are  defcribed  by  Dom  Calmet  in 
his  learned  comments  on  the  pentateuch ;  I  mean, 

large  pillars  of  mde  ftone  perpendicularly  ereAed 
either  feparately,  or  joined  with  others  in  fquares 
and  circles,  whereof  fome  are  placed  as  fupporters 
to  flat  ilones  of  a  furprifing  magnitude,  either  in 
aninclinedor  horizontal  pofition.  TheChanaanftic 
altars  which  the  people  of  God  were  commanded 
to  demolifh,  feem  to  have  been  of  this  kind  bf 
firu£lure»  (Deut.  7*  5.  Exod.  23,  24.)  It  is  indeed 
remarkable,  that  on  the  (ummit  of  many  high 
places  round  thecountry  of  Ma  gh-Phxi  NE,  we  find 
heaps  of  ftones  joined  together,  with  a  huge  flone 
on  the  top  as  a  plat-form,  whereon,  it  is  probably 
the  builders  immolated  their  viAims,  and  lighted 
their  lacred  fires  in  honc^ir  of  Belus*  Thefe  without 
doubt  were  of  the  lame  nature  with  the  high  places 
of  the^children  of  Chanaan  or  the  Phenicians,  who 
communicated  the  ufe  of  them  to  the  rebellious 
Jews,  for  which  they  are  fo  frequently  and  fa 
feverely  iiq>rimanded  by  Almighty  God. 

The  mod  remarkable  monument  of  Phenician 
t^e  in  this  part  of  the  ifland,  is  to  be  feen  on  the 
load  leading  from  Fermoy  to  Glanwoith,  fituatedt 

in 


FIRST  INHABITANTS  OF  IRELAND.      73 

in  a  plain  or  even  cotmtry.  .  Smith  in  his  hiftoty 
of  the  county  of  Cork,  voL  2.  p.  409,  has  given 
a  very  imperfeft  drawing  and  defcription  of  this 
work ;  he  fays  it  is  called  by  the  country  people 
Laba-cally  or  Hag*s  bed,  that  the  people  fay  it 
belonged  to  a  giantefs ;  and  he  concludes  with  his 
opinion,  that  it  is  the  tomb  of  one  of  the  ancient 
kings  of  Fermoy,  and  was*ere6led  in  the  ages  of 
Chriftianity ;  this  laft  wife  conjefture,  he  acknow- 
ledges, arifes  from  its  lying  eajl  and  wefi. 

The  ingenious  and  learned  antiquary,  governor 
Pownal,  has  favoured  us  with  an  Accurate  drawing 
and  defpription  of  another  Phenician  monument  or 
fepulchral  taphos,  at  New-Grange,  near  Drogheda, 
and  of  the  Phenician  infcription  on  one  of  the 
ftones.  See  Archseolog.  Soc.  Antiq.  Lond.  vol.  2. 
If  the  Tynan  Hercules,  or  any  of  the  prmcipal 
defcendants  of  the  Phenician  colony  he  brought 
with  him  to  Spain  and  the  European  iiles,  were 
leaders  of  the  firft  people  that  inhabited  this 
ifland ;  the  folemn  worfhip  and  facrifices  perform- 
ed by  them,  may  have  been  very  agreeable  to  the 
pure  patriarchal  religion.     And  as  Tyre,  wheieof 
Hercules  was  founder  according  to  Herodotus,  is 
mentioned  in  fcripture  as  a  well  fortified  city  in 
Joihua'stime ;  and  it  feems  alfo  probable,  that  all 
the  Chanaanites  had  not  as  yet  fallen  into  idolatry, 
but  that  many  of  them  ftill  worihipped  the  true 
GSod  ;  {o  we  may  conclude,  that  Hercules .  may 
poflibly  have  been  a  worfliipper  of  the  true  God^ 
as  well  as  Abimelech  king  of  Gerar  and  his  fub- 
je£b,  who  were  alfo  Chanaaneans  or  Phenidans. 
Hie  purity  of  oar  Phenician's  worfliip  gains  more 

advantage, 


.^4         AN    BJiqUIRY    JNTP   THE 

,/^va^it?ge,  if  we  allow  him  to  Jiave  been  cotem- 
jppraiy  with  Abraham,  Ifeacj  or  Jacob,  as  Dr. 

'.  ^keley  prfitfcads ;  pr  as  the  authors  of  the  Univer- 

.  fa'l  iiiftory  affirm,'  (aying,  tha.t  tyflw  Hercules 
A3«ri(hed  Ipng  before  the  Jewi%  law,  publilhed 

;  -l^'Mofes.    •^,.  §tukdey  ^  Stoftehenge-    I3n. 

jffiy^".  vol.  I,  .p.  3J3-:°<^«  "^O 
'  .But.thpugh>the  .wprft4pof  God  was  aduJteratQd, 

jg4  «ven  i^latry  ftfbiftituted  in  its  room,  «ev<pr- 
thelefs  it  is  certain,  the  folemnity  and  exterior 
]^a^  of  facFJfice  mjght  ftill  have  been  retained 
.nune.and  waformaWe  to  the  patriarchal  religion. 
Xcannot  clofe  this  fhort  eflay  better  than  with 
.  dip  fi^owing  rem?iifla.  No  womwi's  name  is  more 
.  .^mmon  in' Ireland,  among  the  old  n;»uves,  tlian 
*hat  which-w^  D\4q's  pwper  Puwc  or  Phemcian 
aajae,  accp^^g :tp Sphnus  and  others;  I  mean 
■JEWWA,  ft  wpr(l,y'fe^t:the  old  Iri{b,.accordmg,to 
.the  genius  pf  their  language,  bavc<pntrailed;mt«» 
£1.18,  as  th$y,baye  the  mafculine^name  Daw.us 
4ato  Dairk.    The  names  of  the.thtee  great  nyers 
:  StAHNPN,  SuiR  and  NoiR,. are. alio  of  onefi^al 
ta^i  Seanan,  or  as  it  is  now  pKjnounoedSbawwB, 
:m8»BS literally  the  old  river  or  water;  m  Af,^ic, 
'  /»,  is  old,  Wtas,  and  am  a  fpypm,  fpnng,  or 
ibur^'e,  fons.     5wr  was  an  ^aftjjrn  name,,  adfu- 
.-t««»^*ir.BflChartPhal.  c.  8.    Nau-  kom  Na/jr 

•iuvius.    Idem.  . 

Bela.  Punice  et  Ambice  Forti^fluo  Mves  abipr- 

•  ieidair.    Hence  Bffa-Mfi^  now  Belfaft,  a  dan- 

:  serous  harbour  in  the  nor^  of  Ireland ;  >/«/. 

ly^ceOftium,  the  mouth  of  ahaven;  foalfothe 

,teaad  in  Cofli  ^^Pm^^X  Um9^  ^^^^ 


M   ^  *     * 


FIRST  INHABITANTS  OF  IRELAND.      7  j 

Middleton  river,  was  anciently  called  bela-fearfad ; 
hence  the  north  and  fouth  bulls  of  the  bay  of 
Dublin,  &c.  &c. 

In  a  future  number,  I  will  produce  fuch  proofs 
and  veftiges  of  an  Iberian  or  Spanifh  colony  an- 
ciently fettled  in  Ireland,  as  may  be  reafonably- 
prefumed  of  fome  weight,  in  the  eyes  of  an  impar- 
tial reader,  to  fupport  the  old  tradition  of  our 
bards  and  antiquarians  on  that  head,  in  conjunction 
with,  and  in  confirmation  of  Mr.  Lhwyd's  argu- 
ment on  the  fame  fubje6l.  Some  of  thefe  veftiges 
of  a  Spanifh  colony  in  Ireland,  have  been  already 
touched  on  by  other  writers,  fuch  as  Mr.  Gambden, 
who  thinks  to  find  the  Lucenfii  and  Qmcanioi  Spain, 
in  the  Luceni  and  Conganiy  which  Ptolemy  places  in 
the  fouth-wefl  of  Ireland,  facing  Spain.  The 
marks  and  veftiges  I  have  to  offer,  appear  more 
plain,  more  natural,  and  more  flriking. 


FINIS. 


•*'>^. 


»•♦ 


An 


S         A  V     Y 


ON     THE 


STUD? 


O  F 


IRISH    ANTIQJUITIES. 


By  EDWARD  LEDWICH,   L.L.B. 

ViCAB.  of  Agkaboe  in  the  QtrsEK's  County. 


A  N 


E 


ON     T  H  « 


STUDY 


OF 


IRISH   ANTIQUITIES. 


NATIONAL  antiquities  have  always  en- 
gaged the  attention  of  every  learned  and 
polilhed  people.  The  inquiries  of  (a) 
Pfammitichus  into  the  original  language,  whatever 
truth  may  be  in  the  anecdote,  (hows  that  fuch 
diiquifitions  were  not  imufual  in  former  times,  nor 
b  the  flouri{hing  periods  of  antient  empires. 

Qgeitions  involving  national  honour  naturally 
J^fe  the  flame  of  patriotifm  in  every  breaft,  and 
produce  contefts  between  kingdoms  concerning 
ftcir  antiquities.  Intemperate  zeal  led  to  the  fabri- 
cation of  fictitious  annals,  and  the  wild  {b)  delufions 
of  romantic  hiftory,     Thefe  exeelfes  created  a 

G  2  contempt 

(«)  Herod.  Euterpe. 

W  *A{i«)k(  •»  Kcu  fr^Mt  ZikwtMii  v^wiM.  Apollon.  Argon. 
«^.  f.  M  an  early  inftance  of  what  is  alledged.  To  whick 
J«7  be  added,  wiial  is  faid  of  the  Atbeniati  Autodhonoi  in 
Pivftnias,  Corinth,  pag.  no.  edit.  Sylburgij.  Much  more, 
<o  ihe  fame  purpofe,  oii^ht  be  produced. 


84  ONTHESTUDYOF 

contempt  of  the  learning,  the  cuftoms  and  man- 
ners of  remote  times.  When  civilisation  was  per- 
fedled,  and  found  knowledge  and  juft  criticifra 
enabled  mankind  to  form  proper  difcriminations, 
reafon  foon  recovered  her  equilibrium ;  a  calm 
review  of  thefe  fubjedts  fucceeded,  and  the  progrefe 
of  mankind  from  barbarifm  to  civility,  through  all 
the  fubordinate  details  of  the  arts  and  fciences, 
became,  as  it  c?er  will  be,  the  objei^  of  manly 
and  rational  inveftigation ;  and  as  a  favpurite  ftudy, 
which  it  is  at  this  day,  found  univerfal  countenance 
and  encouragements 

It  was  the  love  of  glory  and  of  his  country, 
traits  the  mod  conf^xcuous  in  the  chara£lor  of 
king  Henry  VIII.  that  didated  to  him  the  ap- 
pointment of  (c)  Leland  to  the  office  of  Royal 
Antiquary.  The  confequence  was  happily  (jecijivf, 
in  collefting  a  (d)  body  of  men  of  real  learnioi^  and 
preferving  from  impending  deftruftion,  innunle^ 
rable  and  valuable  literary  monuments.  Mttch 
more  might  have  been  done,  did  not  an  undefined 
fyftem  of  government,  the  pride  of  feudal  gian- 
deur,  the  intrufions  of  popular  importance  and 
religious  heats,  difturb  the  reigns  of  queen  Elizabeth 
and  her  fucceffors:  thefe  excited  groundlds  jca- 
loufies  of  their  fubjed^s,  and  made  them  apprehend 
{e)  danger  from  the  examination  of  a  worm-eaten 
miflal  or  a  muity  charter.  Thefe  political  terror 
vanifhed  at  the  Revolution,  but  it  was  not  before, 
the  accefTion  of  the  illuftrious  houfe  pf  Brunfvnck, 

that 

(c)  Biographia  Britannica,  article,  Leland. 
(J)  Ibid,  article,  Agard. 
(f)  Ibid,  article,  Spelaian. 


IR!S^  ANt^IQJJltlES.  85 

that  antiquities^  with  every  ufeful  and  ornamental 
blanch  of  knowledge,  received  regal  patronage. 
It  was  in  the  rdgn  of  king  George  11.  th« 
the  fodety  of  antiquaries  of  London  was  incor- 
porated. ' 

To  the  ailimated  exertions  of  individuals^  and 
the  munificent  protection  of  a  few  noblemen  and 
gentlemen,  is  England  indebted  for  that  great  . 
body  of  antient  records  and  documents  to  be 
found  in  the  Britifh  mufeum,  and  in  the  other 
puUic  and  private  libraries  of  that  kingdom.  Un« 
fortunately  for  Ireland,  the  (ame  fervice  w&s  not 
rendered  to  her  by  any  of  her  fons,  csicept  in  a 
partial  degree.  A  prey  to  the  mercilefa  ravaged  of 
the  O&nen  4  plundered  by  the  (f)  Englifti  adventu- 
rers; convulfedand  torn  by  domeilic  broils;  fh^ 
fliared  every  viciffitude  of  humj^n  mifery,  and  pre* 
ferved  frdall  remains  of  that  piety  and  learning 
which  made  her  the  mart  of  literature  and  the  admi* 
ration  of  Europe  in  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries. 

To  retain  the  natives  in  their  faith,  the  eccle- 
fiafiics,  of  the  Romifh  profeflion,  colledted  and 
pubiiifaed  the  lives  of  their  {g)  faints  and  coHaterat 
hiftorical  pieces.  In  thefe,  and  in  the  fubfequent 
defence  of  them,  many  points  of  national  antiquities 
were  difcufled  and  afcertained.  Manufcripts  were 
ibarcbed  for  and  carefully  examined,  copies  of 
tfiem  imtltiplied,  and  a  foundation  was  laid  for  the 

elegant 

(f)  Sec  Giraldw  Cainibrcnlis,  Expug.  lib.  2.  cap.  35.  who 
Tpeaks  of  the  actions  of  bis  countrjinen,  with  indignant 
Varmtb. 

(g)  Religion  of  the  anrient  IriAi  b^priamre  U(hfr,  ra  t\% 
«piaic. 


86  ON   THE   STUDY   OF' 

W 

elegant  fuperftrudture  reared  by  Sir  James  Ware. 
It  is  not  eafy  to  determine,  whether  he  merits  moft 
praife  for  the  perspicuous  divifion  of  his  work,  or 
for  the  accuracy  and  extent  with  which  be  treats  it. 
The  whole  evinces  a  natural  turn  for  fuch  ftudies, 
and  an  eminent  difplay  of  abilities  and  erudition. 

Yet  ftill  it  murt  be  confidered  as  an  infant 
undertaking,  and  very  far  from   exhaiifting  the 
various  topics  it  comprehends.    Neither  the  genius 
or  induftry  of  any  one  man  is  adequate  to  the 
thorough  elucidation  rf  the  antiquities  of  a  country ; 
the  additions  to  Carabden  and  Ware  prove  this. 
.  The  talents  of  mankind  are  fo  different,  and  fuc- 
cefs  is  fo  likely  to  attend  that  purfuit  to  which  na- 
ture prompts,  that  we  are  furc  of  information  and 
entertainment,  where  ingenuity  and  erudition  unite 
in  handling  a  fmgle  fubjedt.    To  encourage  fuch 
exertions,   and  to  coUedt   the   fcattered   rays  of 
fcience,   focicties  have  been  formed  throughout 
Europe.     Ireland  has  had  her  phyfico-billorical  and 
antiquarian  focielies :   under  the  aufpices  of  tlie 
firft,  the  hiftories  of  the  counties  of  Down,  Water- 
ford,  Cork  and  Kerry  have  appeared ;  and  under 
that  of  the  latter,   the   excellent  produdtions  of 
lieutenant  colonel  Charles  Vallancey.    Thefe  blof- 
ibms  gave  enlivening  hopes,  but  a  fetal  languor 
has  hitherto  blafled  the  faireft  fruit  of  Iridi  litera- 
ture ;  it  is  as  yet  a  ftranger  to  the  cheering  beams 
of  public  or  private  protedlion.    While  every  nation 
of  Europe  is  polilhing  its  antiquities,  and  maldng 
new    difcoveries,    Ireland    abounding  in  learned 
men  and  in  curiofities  of  every  kind,  remains  to 
tbe  naturaliU  and  antiic^uarian  a  terra  incognita,  a 

regioH 


ikiSh  ANTIQUltlKS.  '      87: 

region  unexplored.  A  few  fparks  of  patriotic  ar- 
dour are  alone  wanting  to  (how  its  latent  treafures, 
and  elevate  it  to  a  rank  it  ha^  always  juftly  claimed^ 
but  never  enjoyed.  Undifmayed  by  this  retro- 
ipeft,  the  gentlemen  aflbciated  in  the  prefent  work 
arc  happy  in  contemplating  a  tafte  and  fpirit  now 
prevalent,  very  different  from  thofe  of  former  ages. 
They  obfcrve  with  what  avidity  the  foreign  antt- 
quarign  refearcheS  are  read ;  nor  can  they  pay  their 
countrymen  fo  ill  a  compliment,  or  betray  fuch 
diffidence  of  themfelves,  as  to  imagine,  that  their 
labours  will  be  paffed  over  with  indifference  or 
ftcgleft. 

As  it  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  the  writer  to  vindi-^ 
cate  the  ftudies  of  his  brethren,  and  to  addrefs  the 
public  on  this  occafion,  he  humbly  begs  their  in- 
dulgence to  the  following  pages,  defigned  to  ftiow 
what  has  and  may  be  done  towards  the  illufh-ation 
of  Irifh  antiquities ;  and  which,  for  greater  clears 
ncfs,  are  thrown  under  diftinft  titles. 

BREHON     LAWS. 

Barred  from  every  intercourfe  with  the  natives  by* 
Ihc  moft  penal  ftatutes,  the  Englifh  knew  but.  little 
of  their  jurifprudence  and  municipal  regulations  9 
every  rtiention  of  their  laws  iiS,  confequently,  iri 
terms  of  deteftation.  As  forfeitures  were  no  part 
of  the  Brehonic  inftitutes,  the  Eitglifh,  who  were' 
conftantly  enriching  tliemfclves  by  the  delinquen- 
cies of  the  natives,  without  doubt,  reprobated  a 
fyllem  fo  unfavourable  to  their  fchemes,  arid  with- 
MA  minutely  examining,  pronounced  it  a  lewd 

cuftom. 


U  ON   THE  ST.UDY  QfFi 

cuftom.  The  notices  concerning  it|  in  our  wfitcrSi 
ace  £^w  and  general  CampioB,  wbc&  work  ap- 
peared in  1370,  tells  us :  (A)  "  Other  lawyers  the 
Iriih  have,  liable  to  certain,  families^  which,  after 
the  cuik)m  of  the  country,  determine  and  judge 
caufes.  TheCb  confider  of  wrongs  offered  and 
received  among  their  neighbours  -,  be  it  murder, 
or  felony^  or  trefpais,  all  is  redeemed  by  compo* 
filion.  The  Breighoon^  fo  they  call  this  kind  of 
lawyer,  fitteth  him  down  on  a  bank,  the  lords  and 
gentlemen  at  variance  round  bhn/'  To  this  Stani- 
hurft,  writirigin  1584,  adds,  (i)  "That  theya-c 
intirely  unacquainted  with  the  Englifli,  the  canon 
and  civil  laws :  that  ^ir  deterixMnations  are  found- 
ed on  no  ibtid  rules,  but  on  precedents  (andified 
by  time  and  uTage,,  and  that  thefe  are  kept  pro- 
fiaund  fecrets,  whereby  they  acquire  admiration  and 
preferve  their  influence.'"  {k)  Sir  James  Ware,  in 
1654,  allows  them  fome  (kill  in  the  canon  and 
civil  law,  and  confirms  what  is  &id  of  their  decrees 

being 

(*)  Pag.  *9- 

(j)  Uruntus  ad  tales  lites  xftimandas  quibufdam  arbilris, 

^uos  iUi  Br«honios  appellant.     Ifti  funr  ex  una  famiiia  pro- 

i^ininad,  inteliigentiam  juris  Britannici  non  habcnt,  civilla 

eriam  ac  pontifRialfs  inipericiinini.     Retinent  foluoiodo  do- 

meftica  pfephifaiatii,  ufu  &  diuturnitate  corroborata,  ^orum 

animadveruone^   artem   aliquam   ex   rebus   6£tis  commen- 

fitiifque  confltttam  peperecunt,  quam  nullo  modo  divnigari 

patitlntur>  fed   libimetip(is»    Telurt  abftrufa  atque  abdiia 

mjfteria  a  €onimunrhoniinwii  (i&nfu  vemotiOkna,  earn  refeT- 

vant.  Atque  ob  vanani  banc  recondita:  cognitionis  opinionem^ 

eorum  nomen  ab-  imperita  plebicula  (quae  citius  oftentatione 

quara  vera  (imp! ioi rate  capicur)  valde  celebratur.     Pag.  37. 

See    what  is  faid   of  the  Brehon   O'Briflao,   Colletlanea^ 

No.  II.  pag.  1 59. 

(/)  £k  i>raefcrrptia  et  confuetudioibus  quibufdam  Hiber* 

licis  fe  dicigebaiit.  Antiq.  cap..  8^  pag.  4a. 


IRISH  ANTIQJJITIES.  89 

being  Conformable  to  nati(mal  cuftomsand  pre- 
fciiptidns.  In  another  place  this  author  fiiys, 
(/)  "  I  am  informed  there  arc,  at  thia  day  ex- 
tanti  many  volumes,  in  which  the  laws  of  fome 
of  the  anticnt  kings  of  Ireland,  before  the  arri- 
val  of  the  Englifh,  are  written  in  the  Irifli  lan- 
guage. Thcfe  without  doubt  are  very  ufeful  for 
the  difcovery  of  the  form  of  government  among 
the  antient  Irifh,  and  deferve  a  thorough  fcarch.'' 
This  with  a  few  particulars  more  is  all  that  thofe 
writers  knew,  or  thought  proper  to  communicate 
of  our  civil  polity  ;  and  how  meagre  an  account  it 
is,  every  one  may  eafily  judge.  It  was  referved 
for  the  learned  pen  of  colonel  Vallancey  to  do 
juftice  to  fo  curious*  and  interefting  a  fubjedt. 
With  a  knowledge  of  the  Irifh  language  to  which 
few  have  arrived,  he  was  enabled  to  read,  and 
was  fedulotis  in  procuring  the  moft  antient  MSS. 
Hence  he  has  given  fuch  a  view  of  our  legal  infti- 
tutfons  in  the  third  and  fourth  numbers  of  this 
Colle<Slanea,  as  frees  us  from  the  charge  of  barba* 
rifm,  and  our  Brehons  from  that  of  ignorance  j 
and  he  has  proved  by  an  extraft  of  confiderable 
length,  that  the  latter  condudted  themfelves,  in 
their  juridical  decifions  by  rules,  neither  capricious, 
uncertain  or  oppreffive. 

We  have  only  to  lament,  that  other  indifpei)- 
fable  avocations  interrupted  his  labours,  and  de- 
prived the  public  of  larger  fpccimens  of  his  erudi-< 
tion.  However  it  will  be  fome  partial  confolation 
to  inform  them,  that  he  lias  promifed  his  aid  to 

this 

(t)  Aniiquiiies  of  Ireland,  chap.  ii.  pag.  69* 


90  ON   THE   STUDY   OF 

this  fociety,  and  the  world  may  cxpeft  to  fee  fome 
feledl  pieces  frorti  his  rich  ftore.  This  favour, 
with  that  of  permitting  us  to  take  the  title  of  his 
work,  muft  always  claim  our  warmell  acknow- 
ledgements. 

DRUIDIC  LITERATURE. 

Mr.  Whitaker,  who  has  written  admirably  on 
many  parts  of  Britifli  Antiquities,  ftudioufly  omits 
treating  of  the  Druids,  or  their  learning.  That 
he  confidered  it  a  barren  or  exhaufted  fubjedt, 
the  following  brief  obfervations  fufficiently  evi- 
dence. "  All  the  various  combinations,  fays  (m)  he, 
of  the  Noachidae  at  Babel  muft  have  carried  a  re- 
guUr  alphabet  away  with  them,  to  the  places  of 
their  various  difperfions.  This  moft  of  them  af- 
terwards forgot  The  Gauls  in  particular,  had 
affuredly  loft  the  ufe  of  their  original  alphabet, 
and  in  the  days  of  Csfar  had  adopted  the  Grecian 
from  the  neighbouring  Greeks  of  Marfeilles.  The 
Britons  alfo  had  forgot  the  knowledge  of  their  ori- 
ginal charadersj  and  in  the  days  of  Tiberius  had 
borrowed  the  Roman  alphabet  from  the  neighbour- 
ing Romans  of  Gaul.  We  find  the  moft  nor- 
therly ftates  of  Caledonia,  a  little  after  the  vidloriee 
of  Velpafian  and  the  conquefts  of  Agricola,  poffeft 
of  an  alphabet,  and  the  celebrated  Offian,  in  the 
third  century,  making  ufe  of  the  Roman  charac- 
ters for  his  poems.     From  the  ftiore  of  Caledonia 

letter 


s 


(m)  Hiftor/  of  MaDchefter,  book  T.  chap.  lo.  pag.  371, 
37a.  of  the  fdition  in  ^uano. 


IRISH    ANTIQJJITIES.  91 

letters  muft  have  been  foon  wafted  •  over  into  Ire- 
land. A  comiaual  intercoiirfe  was  maintained  be- 
twixt the  inliabitants .  of  the  two  countries  v  and 
Ireland  muft  certainly  have  received  an  alphabet 
before  the  period  which  is  conftantly  affigncd  for 
the  introdudion  of  it,  even  one  or  two  centuries, 
at  leaft,  before  the  days  of  St.  Patrick.  And  the 
Cornilh,  the  Welfh,  the  Scotch  and  the  Irilh  lan- 
guages have,  from  that  period  to  the  prefent,  in- 
variably ufed  the  charadters  of  the  Romans  in 
writing/* 

Our  antiquarians  endeavour,  with  unavailing 
pains,  to  prove,  that  the  prefent  Irifh  elements 
have  not  the  leaft  refemblance  to  the  Greek  or 
Roman :  whereas  it  is  manifeft  they  are  the  cor- 
rupt latin  letters  of  the  fixth  century,  as  given  in 
Bemard^s  20th,  21ft,  and  2  2d  tables  improved  by 
the  learned  Dodtor  Morton.  So  far  Mr.  Whitaker's 
alTertion  is  indifputable.  The  period  of  their  in- 
trodu<5tion  feeras  like  wife  accurately  ftated.  We 
have  the  authority  of  («)  Caefar  for  the  Druids 
ufing  the  Greek  letters  in  fecular  concerns.  Five 
hundred  and  forty-three  years  before  the  chriftian 
era,  according  to  the  Samaritan  chronology,  the 
Phocean  colony  arrived  at  Marfeilles.  Grecian 
manners  foon  produced  a  wonderful  change  in  the 
country  and  its  inhabitants.  The  Gauls  foon  laid 
afide  their  barbarifm,  built  cities  and  applied 
to  agriculture: — ut  non  Graeciam  in  Galliam 
cmigrafle,  fed  Gallia  in  Graeciam  tranflata  videre- 
tur,  fays  (0)  Juftin.      Whether  the  Druids  ufed 

the 

(n)  Lib.  6. 

(0  Lib.  43.  cap.  4,     Cicer.  pro  Flacco- 


^4  ONTHESTUDYOF 

the  Greek  langiiage,  or  the  letters  albne^  a  point 
very  much  agitated  among  the  {p)  learned,  we 
may  allow  them  to  be  acquainted  with  tht  Oredc 
alphabet  at  an  early  age. 

But  this  knowledge  of  the  Gifeek  and  Roman 
elements,  by  no  means  fuperfeded  or  extinguish- 
ed the  ufe  of  their  more  antient  ones  among  the 
Druids :  the  latter  were  religioufly  preferved,  and 
carefully  handed  down  from  the  remoteft  ages  to 
a  late  period,  and  may  be  ranked  among  the  aN 
phabets  of  the  Noachidae  hinted  at  by  Mr,.  Whit- 
aker.    The  difcovery  of  thefe  claaients,  after  an 
oblivion  of  many  centuries,  is  certainly  the  moft 
curious,  valuable  and  ufeful  in  the  compafs  of  n)o- 
dern  literature ;  and  is  due  to  the  fagadty  and 
perfeverance  of  an  ingenious  aflbciatc.    Private 
firiendfliip,  in  this  inftance,   has  operated  publio 
advantage.     An^dous  to  promote  the  fuccels  of 
a  work  which  the  writer  warmly  efpoufed,  Mb 
learned  man  freely  furrendercd  the  fruits  of  his 
labour,  and  cOnfented  to  their  publication ;  without 
anticipating  that  event,  it  may  be  j>roper  to  gratify 
the  antiquarian  with  a  few  particulars- 
He  has  given  from  manufcripts,  ftone-croflfes, 
(epulcbral  and  monumental  infcriptions,  all  accu- 
rately noted  and  delineated,  the  Bobeloth  letters, 
and  fhown  their  order,  charadter,  power  and  name. 
The  latter  he  has  decompbfed,  and  by  the  judici- 
ous ufe  of  etymology,  difcovercd  their  eaftem  ori- 
gination, and  clearly  pointed  out  the  progrefe  of 

letters 

(pj  Burtoo.  Grxc.  ling.  hift«  pag.  19.  and  Che  auihors 
cited  by  him.  Scldes.  Janus,  pag.  as. 


IRISH  ANTIQJJITIES.  ^ 

letters  from  pidhires  to  fymbols.  This  Bobeloth 
was  the  vulgar  character  of  the  Druids,  and  fa- 
vours of  tht  ear^eft  antiquity  ■  but  th^  had  ano- 
ther character  called  Ogham,  appropriated  to  Aeir 
hierogrammatic  writings ;  this  has  hitherto  been 
cfteemed  nothing  but  cyphers,  or  unmeanmg  floui- 
lifhcs ;  but  he  has  confuted  this  notion  from  let^ 
terod  remains.  The  utility  of  this  difcavery  will 
be  very  extonfive,  as  it  enabtes  us  to  unfetd  an* 
tient  knowledge  wrapped  up  in  unknown  letters. 

h  is  really  furprtfing,  that  no  one  had  turned 
his  thoughts  this  way  and  enquired  sAm  Dn»die 
{earning,  of  which  confiderable.fpecitncnB  are  ex- 
tant»  particularly  at  New-Grange,  in  the  ooonty  of 
Meatb»  and  on  the  crofles  at  Caftjedermot,  in 
the  county  of  Kildare.  Ware  does  not  fo  moch 
as  mention  the  Bobeloth,  and  of  tho  (^  Ogham, 
hfi  dryly  fays,  the  anticnts  writ  their  fecrets  in  it 
Mr.  O'Connor  aHb  paflfos  it  over }  0*Flaherty 
and  Harris  remind  ut,  that  the  Ififli  had  a  cha* 
faster  called  Bobeloth.  (r)  Colonel  Vaittancey^^ 
yAiok  penetration  nothing  can  ^fcape,  is  moM 
explicit  and  to  the  purpofe.  Jbdeed  it  cannot  b^ 
thwgbt  firange  that  writers  prepofieflfed  in  fkvouv 
of  the  antiquity  and  originality  of  the  prefent  Irifh 
elements,  (hould  not  trouble  theniCelves  in  fearch* 
tng  after  others. 

MODES 


(f)  Antiqnit.  cap.  a.  p.  id. 

(r)  Grammar,  pag.  2.  **  The  Bechlui-AiioA  was  th«  an- 
tient  order,  and  continued  U>  to  be  tHl  chriftianit/  was 
thoroughly  propagated  ii)  Ireland.  Tbfs  ord«r  was  altered 
when  th«  language  began  to  be  mixed  in  Greece."  Reo^aiaii 
fff  }aphj8Cy  peg*  404.    How  ignorant  of  the  matter) 


94  ON  THE  STUDY  OF 


MODES    OF    INTERMENT. 

The  various  modes  of  fepulture  praftifed  by  our 
anceftors  form  a  pleafmg  and  extenfive  department 
in  our  antiquities.  Sir  James  Ware  has  (a)  treated 
it  fuperficially. ;  but  (b)  Mr.  Harris,  with  inde- 
fatigable induftry,  has  made  many  valuable  addi- 
tions. The  following  remarks  are  given  to  excite 
attention,  and  as  a  fpecimen  of  what  hereafter  may 
be  executed  on  a  lai-ger  fcale. 

First  Epoch.  Wormius  has  made  a  triple 
divifion  of  the  modes  of  interment ;  it  is  certainly 
not  accurate,  but  whatever  contributes  to  tbrow  a 
confufed  fubjedl  into  order  has  its  ufe,.  and  muft 
elucidate  it.  Cremation  he  fpeaks  of  firft.  Bunfmg 
the  body  after  death  was  univerfally  prevalent  in 
Europe  in  the  earliell  ages.  It  was  (c)  confefledly 
fo  in  Ireland.  .  There  is  a  very  concife,  but  ob- 
jedionabte,  manner  of  accounting  f6r  this  and  other 
oriental  cuftoms^  by  faying,  they  were  introduced 
by  Phenician  colonies  or  Carthaginian  traders.  We 
can,  in  the  prefent  inftance,  recur  to  other  and 
more  fatisfaAory  evidence. 

Odin,  the  great  legiflator  and  deity  of  the 
northern  nations,  arrived  in  Europe,  with  his  Afiatic 
poths,  (d)  twenty-four  years  before  the  chriftian  era ; 

hi;$ 

{a)  Antiquit.  cap.  3;^.  pag.  34.8. 

(jt)  Edition  ofWare,  pag.  140. 

(r)  Harris's  Ware,  fupra.  Pomp.  Mela,  &c. 
,   (d)  In  cujus  texnpora  incidii  Odinus,  Afiatica  Imniigra* 
tionisy   faflse  anno  24  ante  natuui  Chriiluai^^   antefignaou^* 
Qrymoi^  Amg.  Jon.  lib.  |.  cap.  4. 


_  T" 


IRISH  ANTIQJJITIES.  .95 

his  laws  refpedting  funeral  (blemnities,  here  follow : 
(e)  The  bcklies  of  the  dead  with  their  goods  are  to 
be  burnt,  and  the  people  admoniihed,  that  the 
Gods  will  receive  thofe  facrifices  with  more  diftin- 
'^iflied  favour,  in  proportion  to  their  value  and 
quantity.  Great  tun;iuli  or.barrows  are  to  be  raifed 
over  chiefs,  and  large  flpnes.  to  be  iiet  up  for  thofe 
who  performed  illuftrioqs  actions.  His  own  body 
was  burnt,  and  with  it  much  gold  and  filver.  (f) 
Odin'?  country  was  Geof gi^  on  the '  confines  of 
Perfia,  where  the  Sabean^  inftitutes,  fBll  preferved 
by  the  Brachmans,  were  in.uie ;  fome  of  the  prin- 
cipal of  their  tenets  were  the  adoration  of  the  fun, 
the  burning  of  their  children  and  their  dead.    - 

The  celebrity  pf  this  leader,  ddfied  by  liis 
countrymen,  the  actions  and  conquefts  of  his  heroic 
Afs,  and  the  bellowing  the  alphabeftc  elements 
on  a  rude  people,  were  motive$  fufficient  to  excite 
admiration  and  eftablifh  his  Jaws..  They  were 
adopted  in  part  of  Germany,  in  Siveden,  Den- 
mark and  Norway,  and  muft  have  foon  found 
their  way  to  the  Britifh  ifles,  where  numerous 
veftiges  of  cremation  ftiU  remain.  This  hypothecs 
is  not  deftitute  of  authority-  Yet  we  *  may  with 
confidence  afcend  higher,  and  fay,  that  Sabeifm 

was 

[e)  Ille  Wodcnus^  Icgcin  ^c  moriuis,  una  cum  eoruni 
bonit  combtrendis  tulit,  xnonuitque>  ut  eo  magis  honorific^ 
a  Dili  acciperentur,  quo  plura  bdna  comburerehtur.  Man- 
davit  etiam,  ut  optimatibus  magnos  tumulos  in  memoriam 
erigerent,  atque  ut  eorum  fepulchris,  qui  egregia  patref- 
feoty  magnos  lapides  fuperponerent.  Woden  jSigtuni  obiit, 
xnagnoque  honore,  cum  multo  auro  et  argento,  crematu$ 
eft.  Mefleo.  ex  chron.  antiq.  Sueogothico.  Sturloion  to 
tnc  fame  Purpofe. 

(f^  Warion's  Hlftorj  of  Epglifli  Po^trj,  diiT.  i. 


96  ON   THESTITDY   OF 

vnB  predominant  in  ths  Eaft  (b  arly  as  the  days 
of  Abrahon)^  and  was  carried  by  the  primeval 
colonics  of  Europe  to  di^ir  various  {ettlem^ts ;  it 
is  therefore  no  groimdieis'  conjedture  to  derive  {g) 
many  Druidic  ufages  front  tH'is  fource ;  tiiey  are 
plainly  of  eaftem  ori^nation,  let  their  tranfit  into 
the  weftern  world  be  fetil^  as  it  may.  Our 
Cromleac,  oaken  groves^  upright  (lones  and  coped 
cairns  refer  to  omntal  fuperftition  i  nor  would  the 
writer  have  heikated  to  fay  the;  fame  of -our  Round 
Towers  in  the  enfuing  difiertalion,'  was  there  any 
proof  of  our  acquamtatice  wi^  ardiite€^ufe  in  tl^ 
ages  antecedent  to  tho&  affigned  for  the^r  ereflion. 
Odin  might  then  have  done  no  more  than  give  a 
new  fandion  to  pra£tioes<  long  before  introduced. 

In  Worn^usls  age  of  cremation,  the  body  re- 
duced to  aOiea  was  piac€i)d  in  an  urn  and  laid  in 
the  earft,  over  whid)  a  (A)  conical  mound  was 
raifed,  juftfuf&cient  to  indicate  what  was  under  it. 
The  um  is  always  of  baked  clay,  and  #ie  mould* 
ings  round  the  ifim  often  (liow  bodi  tafte  and  defign. 
Whatever  we  may  conceive  of  the  batbarifm  of 
ihofe  a^es,  they  were  by  no  means  to  f  ude  and  ig-- 
norant  as  is  generally  imagined ;  we  have  (/*>  daf* 
fical  authority  that  the  Celts  ufed  earthen  difhes  at 
their  tables,  and  pottery  feems  to  have  been  wdl 
underflood.  Ware,  Harris,  Molyneux  and  Smith 
give  numberlefs  infiances  of  cremation  amoag:  US| 
and  others  daily  occur. 

SscoKB 

(g)  Warton,  fapra. 

(k)  Rudieres  ex  foia  terra  in  rotunditatem  &  conum  coo* 
gefta.  Worm.  Monum.  Danic. 
(f)  Strab.  lib.  4.  155.  Atb^n.  I>iepDofop.  lib.  4.  cap.  ts. 


IRISH  ANTIQJJITIES. 

Second  Epoch.  This  Wormlus  calls  the  age 
of  hiUocks ;  when  grandeur  and  more  laboured 
fepulchres  were  formed^  of  confiderable  {k)  height 
ftiid  furrounded  with  rows  of  flones.  If  the  laws 
of  Odin  were  obferved,  the  pradices  of  the  firft 
and  fecond  epochas  were  the  fame.  Wormius 
grounds  the  dittindlion  on  the  bodies  being  con« 
figncd  to  the  earth  whole  in  the  latter,  which  had 
it  been  regular,  rnade  a  material  difference;  but 
flceletons  and  urns  full  of  burnt  bones  are  fre- 
quently found  in  the  fame  cemetery,  which  proves 
the  impoifibility  of  defining  the  duration  of  a 
cuiion?,  when  it  is  fluctuating  and  about  to  give 
way  to  a  new  one.  The  time  when  burning  was 
exchanged  for  burying  in  Ireland,  was,  according 
to  our  hiAorians,  in  the  reign  of  Eochadh,  fourteen 
years  before  Chrift.  There  is  reafon  to  believe^ 
cremation  was  not  difufed  for  many  years  after^ 
as  Pomponius  Mela,  who  lived  in  the  firft  century 
of  Chriitianityy  tell  us  the  Druids  ufed  ^both  modes 
of  interment.  So  that  probably  not  before  the 
full  eftaUifliment  of  the  Chrillian  religion  in  this 
iile  did  cremation  intirely  ceafe.  It  was  again  rCf- 
vived  during  the  domination  of  the  Oilmen  here, 
in  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries,  who  were  then 
pagans.  On  account  of  this  lad  circumftance,  it 
is  no  eafy  matter  to  oicertain  the  date  of  thofe 
monuments. 

H  The 

(i)  Arcosfii  ec  terrain  exaggerando  ufque  dum  in  juftam 
monticuli  infurgerent  alcitudinein.— Eciaiii  tumulos  ipfot 
tarn  in  apice  quani  circa  cafim  vifeudse  niagnitudinis  cinxere 
iaxts.— Secunda  setas,  qii4  cadavera  integra  ec  non  cremata 
CDiD  fuisornaxnentis  io  circulo  ex  graodionbus  confer  Uium, 
iocabanr.     Worm,  fupra. 


5<  ON   THE   STUDY   OF 

The  old  oriental  cufiom  becoming  unfiiftiionabic 
in  this  fecond  epoch,  a  liew  ftyle  in  the  conftruc- 
tion  of  fepulchres  and  difpofing  of  the  body,  beg$n« 
While  f  rematbn  continued,  an  elegant  campani- 
form  hoi  low  artificially  made  in  the  earth,  as  the 
barrows  at  Stonehenge  are,  and  covered  by  a  light 
tumulus,  feemed  a  fuitable  receptacle  for  an  urn 
and  its  cineritious  contents.  This  was  the  idea  of 
the  Romans,  as  appears  by  their  (/)  Columbaria. 
Vaft  coacervations  of  clay  and  (tones  were  efteemed 
proper  and  graceful  for  the  new  mode.  The 
tombs  of  the  greateft  leaders  at  firft  were  humble, 
but  in  procefs  of  time,  fays  (m)  Wormius,  ,morc 
labour  was  bellowed  on  them. 

The  fplendour  of  perfonal  valour,  of  great  ex- 
ploits and  extenfive  conquefts,  will  ever  give  a 
brilliancy  to  the  memory  of  illuftrious  princes^ 
and  create  a  profound  veneration  for  them.  Odin 
gave  the  names  of  his  twelve  (»)  deified  com* 
panions  talis  children,  to  perpetuate  this  fuper* 
natural  refpefk.  From  thefe  the  northern  kings 
(o)  traced  their  pedigree.  Divine  honours  were 
paid  to  them,  and  the  places  of  their  interment 
became  places  of  worlhip.  The  monftrous  obis- 
liiks,  that  compofe  the  tomb  of  Harold  Hylcde* 
tand  at  Leire  in  Seland,  have  an  altar*{lone,  under 
which  he  lies,  and  on  which  the  people  annually 

.    f)erfbm3ed 


(/)  Viaggiana,  pag.  iij. 

{m)  JEavliis  progrefltiy  plus  operse  in  magnatnm  tumnlls 
pofitum  videtur.  Supra. 

(xr)  Sturlsefon. 

(0)  De  quo  (Wodeno)  omnium  fere  barbaroruni  gentium 
f egivm  genus  lineam  trahit.^  Guil.  Malioelb. 


IRISM  ANtlC^tfiTIES.  >      $J 

performed  (p)  (acrifices.  Wormius,  Mr.  Pennant^ 
the  Compte  de  Caylus,  and  every  other  intelligent 
writer,  allow  thefe  ftone  circles  to  be  fepulchrali 
and  that  they  certainly  are  fepulcHral  appears  from  a 
human  body  being  found  under  each  upright  ftone^ 
in  fome  circles  lately  opened  in  Connaught.  So  that 
after  all  that  has  been  written  on  Stonehenge,  it 
may  be  the  fepulture  of  Hengift  and  the  Anglo^ 
Saxon  chiefs ;  the  firft  being  burled  under  the  altar^ 
and  the  others  under  the  trilithons. 

Thefe  ftone  circles  thus  dedicated  to  religious 
ufes,  their  application  to  other  folemn  purpofes 
ca/ily  followed.  Here  kings  were  elefted  and  in- 
augurated, and  courts  of  juftice  and  fmgle  combats 
were  held.  We  had  formerly  in  our  {q)  churches, 
plays,  feafts,  courls-leet  and  mufters,  and  at 
prefent  our  kings  are  anointed  there,  all  remains 
of  ancient  ufages.  As  thofe  pyramidal  and  per- 
pendicular pillars  (r)  had  epitaphs  expreffing  the 
name  and  rank  of  the  deceafed,  (b  Chriftians  imi-^ 
tatcd  fuch  examples  by  their  grave-ftones  and 
tombs.  Wormius,  the  two  Magni,  Saxo  Grara- 
maticus,  and  the  northern  writers,  conftantly  and 

H  z  invariably 


(p)  Quotannis  facra  peragantur.  Worm.  In  the  Lara- 
rmins^  the  Romans  preferved  the  aihes  and  pidures  of  their 
aoceftors  \irUh  their  houfhold  Gods.  Sed  qutim  a  prima, 
origine  intra  foas  quifque  xdes  defofla  cadavera  haberent ^ 
node  Lares  in  fingulis  sedibus  coleodi  religio  perfuafit,  in 
Larario*  in  quo  prz(cr  deorum  penatiumt  etiam  infignium 
tirortim  quas  venerareniur^  effidtas  imagines  habebant. 
Alei.  ab  Alexand.  lib.  6. 

{q)  Canons  of  the  church  of  Ireland,  A.  D.  1634.  Canon 

{r)  Grandei  <:ippo8  patriis  titefis  notatos  impofiicrunt. 
Wprm* 


ioa  ON  THE  STUDY  OF 

mvariably  refer  to  thofc  lettered  tnonunlcnts  for 
the  dttertninition  of  many  important  points  in 
their  hiftory  and  antiqniticB,  and  with  great  juftice; 
for  our  antient  ftone  crofles,  which  are  ^he  earlicft 
fubfiitutes  for  the  heathen  upright  Honea^  oontfun 
many  curious^  authentic^  yet  hitherto  Unnoticed 
memoriale*  So  that  credit  is  due  to  what  Caml> 
den  reports,  of  a  tin  plate,  infcribed  with  lettei% 
being  found  at  Stonehenge ;  as  alTo  to  what  Speed 
mentions,  of  an  cngravement  in  Danifh  chara^s 
exifting  on  great  ftoi^s  at  Exmore  m  Deyon* 
Did  antiquarians,  at  home  and  abroad,  careftiUy 
examine  thofe  fione  circles^  ibmething  wot  A  the 
kbour  might  be  difcovered. 

The  rule  given  by  Worrtwus,  (j)  of  generals 
and  duefs  being  buried  within  a  iingle,  double  ot 
triple  row  of  pillars  may  be  partly  true ;  but  wc 
know  they  were  alfo  eredted  as  monuments  of 
Tidlortes,  and  he  gives  in^nGes  q£  this  in  his  work 
.   fo  often  quoted » 

The  cam  as  well  as  the  flone  pillar  came  fifom 
the  eaft,  aiid  Rowlands^  Harria  and  others  are 
right  in  averting  it.  Some  are  furrounded  at  the 
bafe  with  circles  of  flones^  and  fome  round  the 
top  i  others  have  a  circlet  of  fmaller  earns  on  the 
•  fiimmit  of  larger  ones.  As  they  did  not  require 
lb  much  of  exertion  as  of  perfeverance,  ilones 
every  where  abounding^  there  are  a  great  number 
and  variety  of  them.    Tbefe  jules,  fays  Mr.  Peifc- 

nanty 

(sy  Et  lis  qui  una  vel  multiplici  faxorum  ferie  circa  btfim 
cinguntur  extrrcituum  impcFaloribus^  aiiifque  aiagnaixbat 
dicati  Gredttniup.  Wofoi.. 


IRISH  ANTIQJJITIES.  ^tfl 

cant,  may  juftly  be  fuppofed  to  have  been  pro 
portioned  ia  fi^  to  the  rank  of  the  perfoHt  or  lo 
his  popularity ;  the  people  of  a  whole  diftridt 
dcmbled  to  (hew  their  xt{jpcSL  to  the  deqeafed, 
and  by  an  adive  bonoviring  of  his  memory^  foon 
accumalated  heaps,  equal  to  thofe  that  ailonifli  us 
at  this  day.  Many  of  thena  have  alters,  $11  of  , 
Aem  were  places  of  wor(hip.  Jn  theCb  too,  in- 
icriptioas  have  been  found ;  witnefs  that  valuable 
one  at  New-Grange,  foon  to  W  laid  before  the 
public. 

As  fione  girctes  and  cams  diftinguiihed  this 
iecond  epoch,  fo  did  high  mounts ;  thefe  the  (/) 
Daneis  raifed  over  their  kings  and  heroes,  when 
fiones  were  not  convenient.  The  earlieft  of  thefe 
OieBtioned  in  our  billory,  are  thofe  of  (u)  Eogan  and 
Fncehus,  ot%  the  plains  of  Mogleoe,  in  the  King'i 
County,  A.  P.  iBo:  The  tradition  concerning 
them  is  {o  unintern:^t6d,  dmt  it  would  be  worth 
while  to  have  thein  opened ;  tixeir  contents  mt^t 
f^mOk  matter  pf  ^^uriofity  aad  u(<^. 

Third  Epoch  \  w^  that  of  ChriiUanlty  ^  when 
Ibe  body  was  incloM  in  a  farcopbagus  or  wooden ' 
o^ffia  and  iaterr ed« 

MONASTICON 

(/)  Sctepdum  autem,  quod  Dani  propter  defedtcrin  faxo- 
'Ml  p^TftOHdcf  ac  obdifccM  eztmere  i&inime  poiucrint^  in 
ilMmoriam  regum  et  herouni  fuorum  ex  terra  coacervata 
ingentem  JDoIem^  montis  inftar,  eminentem  erigere  folebant. 
liocjebreg.  Comm. 

(«)  Extant  ad  hue  eo  loci  duo  coJles,  <qu€riin]  alter  Euge- 
flit,  alter  Frxchi  Hifpani,  ibidem  occi/i,  corpus  fepultum 
1r«iiiur  jcontezifie.    O'Flah.  Og}'g.  pag.  316. 


jfti  ONTHESTUDYpF 


MONASTICON   HIBERNICUM. 

In  a  country  where  the  clergy  were  as  numcr 
rous  as  (s)  all  the  other  claffcs  of  men,  and  thofe 
(or  the  moll  part  Monks,  an  account  of  their  or- 
ders and  their  various  cftablifliments  includes  no 
fmall  (hare  of  the  general  hiftory  of  the  nation. 
About  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century  Mona- 
chifm  was  introduced   into    Italy,    and   quickly 
fpread  through  the  Weft.    The  (/)  biographers  of 
St.  Patrick  tell  us,  he  learned  monadic  difcipline 
under  Martin  bilhop  of  Tours ;  a  prelate  who 
had  no  lefs  than  two  {u)  thoufand  Monks  in  a  mo- 
naftery  contiguous  to  his  cathedral.    Our  apoftle 
ftudied  this  feihionable  profcffion  for  many  years 
among  the  Italian  afcetics,  and  his  predilection  for 
lit  wais  confpicuous   when  he    formed    the  IiKh 
church.    In  fucceeding  centuries  thefe  foundations 
multiplied  amazingly,  fo  that  at  the  reformation, 
there  were  five  hundred  and  twenty -nine  monaf- 
teries  and  nunneries  in  this  kingdom. 

The  Monafticon  Hibernicum,  the  writings  of 
Ware,  Allemande  and  others,  are  too  fhort  to 
give  fatisfaftion  .on  fo  ample  a  fubjeft.  Doftor 
King  archbifhop  of  Dublin,  who  knew  the  value 
of  it,  did  not  think  it  beneath  his  attention  to 
piake  large  (tp)  compilations  from  original  records 

for 


(j)  Nicolfon's  Irifli  Hid,  Library,  pref.  pag.  i^ 

(/)  Apud  Uflier.  Primord.  cap.  i6. 

(u)  Sulp.  Sever.  Epid  ad  B&lTul. 

(w)  Thev  are  now  in  the  library  of  the  Dublin  Socictv. 


IRISH  ANTIQJJITIES.  wy 

for  its  further  illuftration  -;  and  Sir  James  Ware  has 
left  a  large  volume  of  inquifitions,  reciting  the 
grants  and  poffeflions  of  the  principal  abbies, 
taken  from  the  public  offices.  The  coUeding  and 
digefting  thefe  documents,  .and  prociuing  other 
materials  have  employed  for  forae  years,  the  lei- 
fare  hours  of  a  reverend  clergyman  and  an  alTo- 
date.  An  extraordinary  ikill  in  our  antiquitiest 
and  an  eminence  in  every  branch  of  polite  learn- 
ing, recommended  him  to  the  patronage  of  his 
late  excellent  diocelan,  dodor  Pococke,  fuccef- 
lively  bi(hop  of  Offory  and  of  Meath  :  than  whom 
a  better  judge  of  merit,  or  a  more  generous  pro- 
tedor  of  it,  our  hierarchy  has  not  produced. 

Sir  William  Dugdale  and  Mr.  Dodfworth  ac- 
quired immortal  fame  by  the  Englilh  Monafticon. 
The  civil,  military  And  ecclefiaiiical  hlftory  of 
Britain  has  derived,  as  bifhop  Nicolfon  remarks, 
vaft  advantages  from  it :  fcarce  a  family  of  any 
antiquity  or  property,  but  find  themfelves  intereft- 
cd  in  it.  The  fame  would  be  the  cafe  in  Ireland, 
did  public  fpirit  encourage  a  fimilar  undertaking. 
Both  the  BritiQi  and  Jrilb  libraries  fupply^  abun- 
dant matter.  All  that  can  be  offered,  under  the 
prefent  circumftances,  are  (hort  annals  and  ex- 
tradls  from  charters,  which  will  form  part  of  this 
Colledanea. 

I"  ^753>  dodor  Thomas  Burke,  late  titular  bi- 
Ihop.of  Offory,  was  appointed  hiftoriojgrapher  of 
the  Dominican  order  in  Ireland,  and  in  1762,  be 
produced  bis 

HIBERNIA 


t04  ON  THE  STUDY  OF 


HIBERNIA   DOMINICANA; 

Sive  Hiftoria  ProvinciaK  Hiberniap  Ordinis  Pr«- 
dicatorum,  ex  antiquis  manufcriptis,  probatis  auc- 
toribus.  Uteris  originalibus  nunquam  antehac  imr 
preffis,    inftrumentis  aulhenticis  et   archivis,    alU 
ifquc  invidlae  fidei  monumentis  deprompta.     In 
qua,  nedum  omnia,  quae  ad  memoratam  attinent 
provinciam,  ct  Gaenobia  ejus,  tarn  intra  quam  ex- 
tra regnum  Hiberniae  conftituta  Oi^^^JJeAis  fingu- 
lorum  fiindatorum  gencalogiis)  atquc  alumnos  ipr 
fins,  feu  dignitatc  epifcopali,  feu  munere  provin-^ 
ciali,  feu  iibronim  vulgatione,  feu  martyrio,  pub- 
licave  virtutis  opitiione  claros^  fuccinfte  diftiriAc- 
que  exhibentur.    Sed  etiam  plura  regulares  genc- 
ratim  fumptos,  clerunlque  fs^ularem,  necnqn  ct 
res  civiles  Hibernise,  atque  etiam  Magna^  Brttan- 
niae  fpeftantia,  ,iparfim  appofiteque,  adje^s  in? 
fuper  notis  opportunis,  ii)feruntur^  et  iij  pcf (picuo 
prdine  coliocantur.  ^ 

After  fo  large  a  title-page  it  is  only  neceflary  to 
obferve,  that  it  bears  marks  of  confiderable  learn- 
ing and  induftry.  It  was  printed  in  Kilkenny  un- 
der his  own  infpcftion,  though  the  title  mention) 
Cologn  in  Germany,  in  1772,  he  pubfilhed  an 
appendix  to  this  work.  The  particular  notice  ta- 
ken of  this  book  is,  to  recommend  it  as  a  pattera 
for  other  religious  communities  to  imitate  j  and  a$ 
one  eafy  and  obvious  mean  towards  pcrfefting  our 
Monafticon.  Were  the  original  charters  and  de- 
fcriptions  of  the  abbies,  (fome  of  them  beautiful 
and  well  prefervcd)   given,    his  work  had  been 

complete. 


IRISH  ANTIQUITIES.  105 

complete.  As  the  firft  edition  has  been  long  {met 
jfoid  off,  and  the  book  become  very  fcarce,  an 
abridgement  of  it,  freed  from  extraneous  matter, 
will  form  the  fubjed  of  fome  future  number. 


ARCHITECTURE. 

The  buildings  of  the  antient  Irifti  were  the  fame 
as  thofe  of  every  uncivilized  people ;  confifting  of 
materials  the  flighted  and  the  eafieft  to  be  procured. 
-Sir  James  Ware  and  his  followers  have  fully  llated 
this  evidence,  and  there  dropt  the  fubjeft,  leaving 
an  impreflion  upon  the  reader,  as  if  there  were  no 
other  Itrudures  in  Ireland  but  ftraw-built  cottages* 
This  among  other  things  has  countenanced  that 
idea  of  barbarifm,  fb  conftantly  inculcated  in  books 
Df|  geography  and  travels ;  and  is,  in  reality,  as 
glaring  a  fellhood  as  any  to  be  found  in  fuch  inju-* 
dicious,  flimly  and  wretched  produdtions.  It  is 
certainly  not  amiis  to  recur  to  the^earliefl  ufages  of 
nations,  but  why  flop  there  ?  Is  it  not  as  pleafing 
an  inveftigation,  to  trace  the  progrefe  of  know- 
ledge from  its  fimpleft  exertions  to  its  mod  refin- 
ed energies  ?  The  different  ftages  of  architc£lurc 
mark,  in  dccifive  cliarafters,  the  date  of  civility : 
nor  is  there  one  topic,  in  the  amiquities  of  a  king- 
dom, produftive  of  more  elegant  eutertainment, 
or  more  ufefiil  information. 

In  the  enfuing  differtation,  the  dyle  of  our  an- 
tient habitations,  and  the  dawnings  of  its  improve- 
n^t  are  given  froni  apparently  indifputable  au- 
thority. 


io6  ON   THE   STUDY  OF' 

thorily.  As  it  was  intended  there  to  proceed  but 
to  a  certain  period,  the  further  profecution  of  the 
fubjeft  is  referved  to "  a  tra£t — On  the  civile  tniU- 
iary  and  eccUfiafiical  architeSure  of  the  Irijb^  from 
the  earlieft  ages — which  will  foon  appear  in  a  fubfe- 
quent  number  of  the  Colleftanea,  illuftrated  with 
drawings ;  in  that  traft  will  be  an  account  of  our 
buildings  without  cement ;  our  monadic  cells  and 
cryptical  receflesj  our  ftone- roofed  churches;  as 
Cormac's '  at  Cafhel,  St.  Doulagh's,  Glendaloch, 
Saul  abbey  and  Portaferry.  Specimens  of  every 
variety  of  the  Gothic  ftyle  will  be  exhibited,  and 
many  particulars  relative  to  our  civil  and  military 
ftrudtures  collefted.  The  writer  alfo  introduces, 
as  collateral  to  the  foregoing,  the  hiftory  of  our 
Stone-Crofles,  and  an  inquiry,  whether  our  antient 
churches  refembled  the  Greek  temples.  A  para- 
dox is  alfo  folved,  of  a  nation  warmly  cuhivating 
the  arts  and  fciences,-  and  yet  negledting  arcliitcc- 
ture;  which  was  the  cafe  of  Ireland  in  certain  ages. 
This  will  be  followed  by  the — hiftory  and  antiqui- 
ties of  Glendalock,  and  its  Seven  Churches^  in  the 
county  of  ff^icklow ; — wherein  many  of  the  fadts  and 
obfervations,  in  the  preceding  treaties,  will  be  fur- 
ther elucidated  and  confirmed. 

The  knowledge  of  perfpeAive  and  a  tafte  for 
drawing,  fo  generally  diffufed  at  prefent,  have 
refcued  many  unheeded  and  mouldering  objects 
from  total  decay,  and  enriched  every  colledion 
with  beautiful  fpecimens  of  our  antient  buildings. 

ECCLE- 


IRISH   ANT  IQJJITIES.  107 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY. 

A  conne£ted  hiftory  of  the  introdudion  and  pro- 
pagation of  Chriftianity  in  this  ifland,  is  a  defidera- 
tum  long  complained  of,  yet  no  attempt  has  been 
made  to  fupply  the  defedl.  The  fixteentb  and  fe- 
ventecnth  chapters  of  archbilhop  Ulher's  antiquities 
of  the  Britifti  churches,  and  his  difcourfe  on  the  re- 
ligion of  the  antient  Irilh,  are  the  only  things  to 
be  found  in  our  ecclefiaftical  bibliotheque  deferv- 
ing  notice  on  this  head.  Of  the  firft  our  prelate 
Q3eaks  with  truth  and  modelly,  and  candidly.  (^) 
confefles  his  inferting  much  frivolous,  doubtful 
and  fome  falfe  matter ;  (bowing  at  the  fame  time, 
that  ibme  advantages  may  arife  from  each  of  thefe. 
His  difcourfe  is  extremely  valuable,  but  far  from 
being  complete.  The  abbe  Ma  Geoghagan*s  pom- 
pous performance  is  a  tiflue  of  incredible  fidlions 
and  legendary  tales,  with  fcarce  an  inftance  of 
judgment  or  feleftion. 

It  is  peculiarly  unfortunate  for  Ireland,  that  flic 
>?lio  illuminated  the  weftern  hemifphere  with  the 
radiance  of  divine  truths,  and  Is  therefore  repre- 
fcnted  by  Aldhelm,  in  the  year  650,  as  a  {^y)  pa- 

radife 

{x)  In  noftra  autcm  hac  ex  omni  fcriptorum  gencrc  pro- 
ini'tcii6  congefta  farraginc,  &c.  Prxfat.  ad  Aniiquit.  Britan. 
Eccies.  ' 

(jr)  Quanivis  cnim  prxdidlum  Hiberniae  rus,  difccdtium 
epnlans  veroafifque  (ut  ita  dizenm)  patcuofa  numeroficaie 
ledonim,  quemadmodum  poli  ,cardines  aftriferis  micantium 
orneptur  vibraminibus  (iderum.  Aldhei.  cpill.  ad  Eahfrid. 
apud  Ufhcr.  S/Jlog.  pag.  40. 


»o8  ON  THE   STUDY  OF 

radire  or  new  laAeal  circle  brightened  by  innume- 
rable ftars  of  learning;  (hould  want  a  native  writer 
to  record  her  celebrity  in  thofe  times,  and  do  jus- 
tice to  the  purity  of  her  faith.  It  is  a  work  of  la- 
bour, but  full  of  curiofity  and  inilru^kbn :  fuch 
a  work  we  are  happy  in  announcing  to  be  al- 
ready finiftied  by  an  aflbciate,  under  the  title  of — 
Anecdotes  of  ecclefiafiical  hifiorj  :  or  a  view  of  the 
doHrine  and  SfcipUne  of  the  church  of  Ireland^  from  the 
f^th  to  the  thirteenth  century. 

Until  this  compofition  can  conveniently  appear 
in  the  Colleftanea,  the  following  extradt  will  give 
fome  idea  of  its  execution. 

"  Joceline  informs  us,  that  St.  Patrick  ordained 
three  hundred  and  fifty  bifhops  for  the  Irifti  church  : 
Nennius  (ays,  three  hundred  and  fixty-five.  The 
appointment  of  fuch  a  number  hath  hitherto  beea 
efteemed  abfolutely  falfe,  or  inexplicable  ^  becaufe 
writers  too  frequently  take  their  notions  from  what 
they  fee,  without  being  at  the  pains  to  examine 
antient  ufeges.  Thus  bifhop  Lloyd  (z)  imagines, 
that  befides  thirty  biOiops  which  St.  Patrick  confecra- 
ted  for  the  principal  fees,  he  made  as  many  fufFrg- 
gans  as  there  were  rural  deaneries,  fuppofing  each 
to  contain  eight  or  nine  parilh  churches,  But  there 
is  no  more  connexion  between  rural  deaneries  and 
our  antient  fees,  than  there  is  between  the  {a)  days 
of  the  year,  and  St.  Patrick's  biOiops,    {h)  0*Hal- 

ioraa 

(s^  On  church  governmeiit,  pag;.  9a. 

{a)  It  feetnc,  fajs  the  writer  laft  cited,  that  when  th« 
authors  of  thofe  times  wer«  fet  upon  the  pin  of  multtfrffinf* 
they  u&d  to  fay,  that  things  were  as  many  as  the  da/s  of 

the  year.     Hence  Nennius  wakes  them  36j;. 
iff)  Introdufiion  to  the  hiftory  of  Ireland. 


IRISH  ANTIQJJITIES.  109 

loran  thinks  our  apofile  might  ordain  ninety-iix  bi- 
(hops,  and  as,  many  of  thefe  might  have  died  dur- 
ing his  long  life,  and  fo  many  fucceeded  in  their 
room,  as  comj^eted  the  number  above. 

All  this  is  mere  conjedture :  the  folutipn  of  the 
difficulty  ariies  from  confidering  the  (late  and  prac- 
tices of  the  early  cbriftian  church.  From  Clemens 
Romanua  we  learn,  that  in  his  time,  the  epifcopal 
order  was  very  numerous  -,  every  {c)  city,  village, 
and  region  had  a  bifhop ;  many  cities  had  two  and 
Ibme  more.  Thus,  (d)  Alexander  and  NarcilTus 
were  biffiops  of  Jerufalem  together ;  Paulinus  and 
Miletus  of  Ant ioch ;  Theoddius  and  Agapetus  of 
Synada,  and  Valerius  and  Auguftine  of  Hippo. 
The  cuftom  for  a  city  to  have  but  one  bifliop,  was 
firft  begun  in  Alexandria,  as  Epiphanius  remarks. 
So  much  had  the  chorepifcopi  or  village-bilhops 
increafed,  that  it  became  neceflary  to  reftrain  their 
number,  wtuch  was  done  in  the  Laodicean  coun* 
cil,  in  A.  D.  367,  and  before  in  the  Antiochean. 

In  the  fourth  century,  St.  Bafil  writes  to  Ann 
philochius,  bifhop  of  Iconium,  that  he  did  not  ap« 
prove  of  his  multiplying  bilhops,  as  thereby  the 
dignity  went  into  contempt :  it  would  be  better^ 
adds  he,  to  choofe  fome  man  worthy  a  biHioprick^ 
who  ouglit  takfi  priefis  to  his  affiftance^  than  divide 

a  (mail 

(c)  %£h»  x*^  "^  waOm,  Epift*  ad  Corinth.  Salmas.  de 
Priuiatu.  Burcaard.  Jib.  i.  cap.  125.  Do&ot  Hamaiond 
fays,  x*^*  fignifies  a  province.  Vindication  of  cpifcopacy» 
pag.  154,  and  from  that  inters  they  were  not  fo  numerous  : 
but  it  will  be  feen  from  the  nature  of  the  epifcopal  office, 
and  the  cuftom  of  the  oriental  churchy  that  his  conclu6oflr 

ts  not  juft. 
(J)  Eafeb.  Socr&t.  and  PofidoD.  vir.  Aoguft.  cap.  8. 


iio  ON   THE   STtJDV  01? 

a  fmall  diftri<fl  into  many  fees.  Thefe  oriental 
praftices  were  clofely-  followed  by  St.  Patrick.  If 
is  not  infifted  on,  that  the  number  he  is  laid  to 
have  ordained,  is  accurate,  but  great  as  it  is,  it 
will  not  appear  incredible. 

By  the  fifty-eighth  Neo-Caefarean  canon,  made  • 
in  A.  D.  315,  the  adminiftration  of  the  facraments 
were  in  a  great  meafure,  confined  to  the  bilhops 
and  chorepifcopi ;  and  in  {e)  TertuUian  it  is  ex- 
prefsly  declared,  that  prelbyters  had  not  the  liberty 
of  baptizing  without  the  bifhop's  permiflion  ;  or  of 
'preaching  in  fome  churches,  as  Socrates  affures  us. 
Leo,  in  his  ninety-fecond  epiftle,  dcfires  Maximus, 
bifliop  of  Antioch,  to  hinder  monks  and  laymen 
.from  preaching,  which  was  folely  the  bi(hop*s  of- 
fice. In  England,  by  the  third  of  archbifhop 
Cuthbert's  canons  in  A.  D.  747,  the  bifliop  is  en- 
joined to  vifit  his  parifli  once  a  year,  and  preach 
the  word  of  God  which  it  rarely  hears.  Thefe  laft 
words  refer  as  well  to  the  paucity  of  clergymen 
then,  as  to  the  reftriftion  of  this  duty  to  the  bifhop. 
Similar  canons  may  be  found  in  the  legatine  coun- 
cil of  Cealchy  the,  in  A.  D.  785,  and  in  Odo*s,  in 
A.  D.  945. 

The  great  offices  of  religion  being  thus  confined 
to  the  bifliops  and  their  fuffragans,  and  that  by 
the  difcipline  of  the  eaftern  and  wellem  churches ; 
we  cannot  be  furprifed  at  their  increafe,  or  at  the 

number 

{e)  Dandi  baptirmum  jus  babet  fummus  facerdos,  qui  eft 
epifcopusy  dein  preibyteri  &  diaconi,  non  tamen  fine  epif- 
CQpi  authoritate,  De  baptifmo,  cap.  17.  And  much  earlier 
Ignatius:  M«)Wf  X^^^  imcsavv  r%v^%ivn*  Epifl.'  ad  Sm vrn. 
See  the  feventh  conititution  of  the  council  of  Seville,  A.  £>. 
619,  which  is  full  to  thefe  points. 


IRISH   ANTIQJJITIES.  iii 

number  ordained  by  St.  Patrick :  the  (/)  eftablifli- 
ment  and  extenfion  of  Chriftianity  dejDended  on  it. 
Another  inftance  of  the  Orient alifm  of  our  church, 
and  corroborative  of  what  is  advanced,  is  the  pow- 
er exercifed  By  our  prelates  and  primates  in  or- 
daining bifhops  and  erefting  fees.  By  the  canons 
of  the  African  code,  collected  in  A.  D.  419,  me- 
tropolitans and  primates  were  invefted  with  fuch 
power.  St.  Bernard,  in  his  life  of  Malachy  arch- 
bifliop  of  Armagh,  complains :  "  that  bifhops  mul- 
tiplied according  to  the  will  of  the  metropolitan ; 
that  one  fee  was  not  contented  with  one  bifliop, 
but  almoft  every  church  had  a  feparate  one."  Lan- 
franc  to  the  lame  purpofe  (g)  fays,  "  in  villages  and 
towns  were  many  bifliops,  and  as  (A)  Anfelm  adds, 
made  without  a  title,  or  alignment  of  any  particular 
place."  Here  was  another  fruitful  fource  for  mul- 
tiplying the  epifcopal  order.  Ordination  without  a 
title  was  common  in  the  call,  and  was  prohibited 
by  the  Antiochean,  Ancyran  and  other  canons." 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

• 

It  would  much  exceed  the  limits  of  this  eflay, 
to  enumerate  the  various  heads  of  Irifti  antiquities^ 
which  will  receive  illuftration  in  the  courfe  of  this 
work.     Coins,  infcriptions  and  fepulchral  monu- 
ments 

( f)  The  learned  Mr.  Johnfon  (Clergyman's  Vade  Mecum, 
▼ol.  2,  pag.  188)  is  very  much  puzzled  at  an  expreflion  of 
Aurelius,  bi(hop  of  Carthage,  who  fays  :— We  have  fre- 
<lucDtly  and  almoft  every  Sunday,  biifaops  to  be  ordained— • 
hut  the  explanation  is  now  given. 

Ig)  Epift.  ad  TirdeWac.  Apud  Uflier,  Syllog, 

i^)  Epift.  ad  Muriardach.  Uiher»  fupra. 


iia  -    ON  THE  STUDY  OF 

xnents  will  not  l>e  forgotten;  nor  the  learnings 
cuftoms  and  manners  of  the  natives  in  every  age. 
As  a  fpecimeu  of  the  latter,  the  writer  bega.  leave 
to  offer  the  following  mifcellaneous  obfervations« 

G&EBK  Lang u  age .    Virgil,  our  countryman, 
was  one  of  eight  (i)  Iriih  biOiops,  who  undertook, 
agreeaUe  to  the  devotion  of  the  times,  a  journey 
to  the  Holy-land.     In  France  he  was  appointed  to 
a  fee,  by  pope  Stephen  and  king  Pepin.    The 
latter  detained  him  in  his  family  for  two  years, 
to  pro6t  by  his  unccmimon  erudition  and  piety. 
He, was  afterwards  promoted  to  the  biflioprick  of 
Saltzburg,  by  Otilo,  duke  of  Bavaria,  wherein  he 
remained  to  die  time  of  his  death  in  the  year  785. 
)         We  are  tokl  he  concealed  his  rank  for  finne  time, 
and  had  with  him  a  bilhop,  named  Dobdan,  a 
Greek,  who  followed  him  from  Ireland.    I  (hould 
wonder,  fays  Uflier,  at  a  Grecian's  going  from 
Ireland,  did  I  not  know,  that  at  Trim  in  Meath  is 
a  church  called  the  Greek  church,  at  this  day, 
A.  D.  1632.    The  learned  primate  has  thrown  no 
further  light  on  this  matter,  but  it  will  not  appear 
extraordinary  when  we  confidcr,  that  {k)  Johannes 
Scotus  Erigena,  fome  years  after,  gave  the  cleared 
demonflration  of  his  proficiency  in  this  language 
by  his  tranflation  of  Dionyfius  Areopagita,  which 
he  dedicated  to  Charles  the  Bald,  king  of  France. 

If  it  be  afked,  wher6  Johannes  acquired  this 
knowledge,  the  letter  of  Anaflafms  concerning  this 

tranflation 

(f)  Uflier.  S/llog.  pag.  131. 

(i)  Poflemus  etiam  his  addere  virum  loagc  do^ifGmum^ 
Johannem  Erigenam  Scotum,  id  eft,  Hibernigenam  e  Scotid 
onuin  hoc  enim  nomine  Celebris  oiiin  Hiberoia.  Burton. 
Hift.  Grec.  ling.  pag.  53, 


IRISH  ANTIQJJITIES.  «a 

truflation  fof^lies  the  wxjR,  unequivocal  proof  that 
it  was  la  Irdand.  It  is  wonderful^  iays  tbLs  (/) 
author,  with  aU  the  aSedatioa  of  Italian  |)olitenels» 
how  a  barbarian  placed  in  the  end  of  the  world,  and 
removed  from  the  converfation  jq^  the  learned  and 
the  knowledge  of  the  Greek  tongue^  could  under- 
fiand  fudi  things,  or  tranflate  them  into  another 
language  j  Thefe  difrefpedful  expreffionts  ibow  him 
ignorant  of  the  ilate  of  letters  beyond  the  bounds  of 
Rome,  and  betray  an  illiberal  mind,  Ainworthy  the 
librarian  of  the  Ron»an  church.  He  complains,  that 
he  adhorcd  too  cbfe  to  the  origmal,  and  thereby 
rendered  a  difficult  fubjedt  more  unintelligible.  To 
our  Johannes  we  are  alio  indebted  for  a  valuable 
tnidt  of  about  fifty  pages  in  odavo — De  difierentiis 
et  focielatibus  Graeci  Latinique  verbi — extradted 
from  a  larger  work  of  (m)  Macrobiusi  uid  coUe£led 
for  his  own  private  inflru6lion»  He  treats  laigely 
of  the  Greek  tenfes^  of  defective  verbs  and  riie  forms 
€(  woidfi^  and  his  graGftmatical  ikill  in  both  tongujea 
is  very  conffMcuous^  He  (if)  onuts  many  Uungs 
advanced  by  Macrobius  withoiit  fuffident  authority^ 
and  infects  6thers  li^n  bett^. 

This  inflance  of  Johannes  will  juftify  us  hi 
%iiig»  that  had  time  and  war  fpared  our  fettered 
monuments^  tfiis  ifle  abne  would  havie  redeemed 
the  reputation  of  tiiofe  ages  now  denominated  <lark 

VoL.IL  I  and. 

(0  Uftier,  fupra,  pag.  65. 

(«)  Explicit  defbriatio  de  t^iro  Ambrdfii  Macrdbii  Theb« 
dofii,  qQftin  Johanoes  carpferat  ad  difcendas  Grzcoruni 
Yerborum  reguias.  Macrob.  Oper.  pag.  579.  Edit.  I^ontani, 
iJ97.  Uih.  Syllog.  pag.  lac. 

(n)  Muka  not  praeteriQinfle  pcrfpexerit.— -Quzdaui  tanien 
infcratmusy  quae  aobn  ex  proportione  alionun  veridaiiiia 
&cn  ?ir«  (uat.  pag.  i^z. 


114  ON  THE  STUDY   OF 

and  obfcure.  Inftead  of  the  paltry  and  difgracrful 
ipecimens  of  our  literature  giveA  by  Colgan  and 
others,  we  fliould  then  behold  works  of  real  genius 
and  confummate  learning,  of  profound  philofophy 
and  corredl  criticifm. 

Brogues  worn  with  hay  in  them.    At 
this  day  the  pradtice  is  univerfal  for  the  natives  to 
have  their  brogues  fluffed  with  hay  or  ftraw,  without 
being  able  to  affign  any  reafon  for  the  cuftom :  the 
following  is  offered  both  as  curious  and  fatisfadlory, 
Linnaeus  tells  (p)  us,  the  Laplanders,  through  their 
long  and  cold  winters  keep  abroad  with  their  herds 
of  Rhen-deer :  that  they  never  experience  kibes, 
or  other  efFefts  of  intenfe  frofts,  by  means  of  this 
precaution.    In  fummer  they  cut   and  dry  the 
flender-eared,  broad-leaved  cyperus  grafs,   carex 
veficaria;  this  they  comb  and  rub  in  their  hands, 
and  then  place  it  in  their  fhoes  fo  as  to  cover  their 
feet  and  legs ;  their  (hoes  are  made  of  the  fkiij  of 
the  Rhen-deer,  the  hairy  part  turned  inward ;  they 
have  no  ftockings,  their  breeches  are  of  the  larac 
Ikin  and  come  down  to  their  ankles.    This  grafs 
keeps  off  the  cold  in  winter,  and  in  fummer  pre- 
vents the  efFedl:s  of  perfpiration. 

In  like  manner,  an  {p)  eye-witnefs  informs  us, 
that  the  Englifti,  when  they  firft  fettled  in  America, 
ufed  the  baflard  calamus  aromaticus  to  keep  their 
feet  warm.  The  antient  brogue  was  made  of  raw, 
or  half-tanned  leather,  of  .qne  intif e  piece,  and  ga- 
thered round  the  foot  by  a  thong  -,  fuch  an  one  was 
found  in  the  year  1770,  at  Aghaboe,  in  a  bog 

fcvw 

(0)  Apud  StilliDgfleet's  traQs,  pag.  138. 

(^)  Joflelyn'sNew  England  rarities,  pag.  53. 


IRISH  ANTIQUITIES.  tig 

fcven  feet  below  the  furfkce.  The  fole  being  thin, 
the  fluffing  prevented  injury  from  flones  or  flumps 
•f  trees,  befides  keeping  the  foot  warm ;  but  that  o 
it  (hould  be  ufed  now,  when  the  (bles  of  brogues 
are  flrong  and  impervious  to  wet,  can  only  be  ac- 
counted  for,  from  that  extraordinary  retention  of 
old  cuftoms  for  which  mankind  are  remarkable.    ' 

Cr  E  A  G  H  T  s .  The  manners  and  cufloms  of  rude 
nations  are  nearly  the  fame  in  all  parts  and  all  ages 
of  the  world.  The  Scythians,  according  to  {q) 
Herodotus  and  Juflin,  had  neither  houfes  nor  fixed 
fcttlcments;  they  wandered  through  die  country 
with  their  flocks  and  herds.  Their  wives,  their 
children  and  little  fiirniture  they  carried  in  carts  or 
waggons,  covered  with  (kins.  They  were  ftrangers 
to  agnculture.  Thefe  manners  were  realized  in  our 
Creaghts,  and  that  fo  late  as  in  the  laft  century,  as 
appears  by  this  entry  in  counfellor  Harris's  collec- 
tions, now  in  the  library  of  the  Dublin  Society. 

"  Orders  by  the  general  aflembly  of  confederate 
Catholics,  at  Kilkenny,  the  12th  of  Nov.  1647, 

Whereas  feveral  peribns  of  the  province  of 
Ulfler,  and  other  parts  of  this  kingdom,  with  their 
cattle  and  families,  go  in  great  multitudes  through 
feveral  parts  of  the  feveral  provinces  of  this  king- 
dom ;  being,  as  they  alledge,  neceflltated  for  the 
&fety  of  their  lives  and  fortunes,  to  leave  their 
fonner  dwellings  and  habitations,  and  where,  by 
their  daily  rat^ing^  they  have  very  much  prejudiced 
Several  counties^  in  deftroying  the  grafs,  com  and 
other  goods  of  the  inhabitants  there,  which  hath 
occafioned,  that  feveral  counties  and  places  are 

I  2  quite 

(7)  Lib.  4.  Juftin,  lib.  2.  cap.  %. 


i|i6  ON  THE   STUDY,   «tc, 

q^te  4efeAed  gnd  ivafted^  and  the  (aid  KqrrMghti 
ftYoid  the  coBtfibuttion  wUdi  falls  due  upon  ihxa, 
o  It  is  therefore  far  the  future  redreia  bf  fueh  mlf^ 
dbidSi  didttght  fit,  that  the  lord  geqeral  of  Ulfter, 
calling  to  bis  affiflanoe  fuch  other  peribos  of  tha 
faid  province  aa  (hall  be  fit^  (hall  inquire  and  find 
out,  and  return  to  the  fupreme  counml  now  to  be 
efiab&flied,  the  head  KeyriaghtB  of  the  faid  pro- 
vmcei  of  Ulfter,  within  the  feveral  provineea  of 
teinfter^  Munller  and  Connaught,  and  what  num- 
bers of  cattle  tach  of  them  hath.  Upon  retura 
whereof,  ahd  exanailnitions  bty  the  toi^ncfl^  of  tht 
lands  graded  m  ttte  f^vbral  (kmnlieB^  Which  are  fet 
for  county  charges  oitly)  or  whieh  firfe  wafted  lidd 
ytdd  nd  county  dlargee,  to  aiftgn  unto  the  fiud 
Keyria^ts,  or  or  unto  federal  of  them  togethei^ 
(o  much  of  the  wdfte  lands  in  th^  lei^al  prdYtncaft 
Ibr  theit  haytati<!»r^^  and  their  pttying  county 
charges  for  the  iame,  is  others  df  the  &id  couotieB 
will  d0)  wh4re  ifaey  ttrc  to  refide,  till  xhc^  may  re- 
turn to  thar  fotm^r  habitations^  Ktid  qot  to  arinc^^ 
^eir  neighbourti,  Or  any  of  the  q[uarterq  ttf*  ^e 
t:oiifederate  Gutbolicsi  at  their  peril 

Prihted  at  Kilk^iny,  1647/* 
The  encampments  of  thefe  Creaghts  are  ftill  t^ 
be  feen  in  many  parts  df  the  kingdom ;  one  of 
them  is  on  Knockacolla  Hill,  near  Caftldtown,  ik^ 
the  Queen's  county.  Nuitift'ous  burrows^  or  botes 
wber^  they  placed  their  pots,  appear,  a3  is  prac- 
tifed  at  fail's.  In  their  journies  tkey  fiiarried  ^4fb 
the  rdident  natives^  and  we  may  XHct  ihe  remains 
of  them  in  that  county,  in  the  names  of  Mac 
X)owcl|  Mac  ponnel;»  Sinclair,  and  the  like. 


»    ; 


DISSERTATION 


ON    TH  ]& 


ROUND   TOWERS 


I  N 


IRELAND 


By  EDWARD  LEDWICH,  L.L.R 

Vicar  of  Aghabob  in  the  Qusbn'i  County. 


DiSSERTATiON 


ON      T  H  It 


ROUND    TOWERS 


IK 


I  R  E  L  A  M  D* 


M  O  N  G  the  many  curiofities  pf  nature 
and  art,  with  which  this  kingdom  remark* 
ably  abound^,  not  one  of  them  merits  a 
more  particular  atti^Ation  than  the  numerous,  flen- 
dcr  round  towers  eVcry  where  found ;  and  which, 
from  the  obfcurity  of  their  origin,  and  the  uncer- 
tainty of  their  ufe*  have  opened  to  men  of  leifure 
and  erudition,  a  fpacious  field  for  hypothefis  and 
conje£lure4 

It  is  worth  remarking,  that  men  blindly  devot^ 
ed  to  fyftems  too  often  deal  unfairly  by  the  au-. 
thors  to  whom  they  are  mod  indebted ;  they  felcdt. 
fuch  parts  as  make  for  their  argument ;  in  thefe  no 
error  or  imperfedion  appears ;  but  thofe  that  con- 
travene their  favourite  notions  dre  reprobated  as 
undeferving  the  lead  regard ;  not  confidering,  that 
by  invalidating  the  credibility  and  authority  of  a 

writer 


izo  A  DISSERTATION  on  the 

writer  in  any  inllance,  they  muft  defeat  the  pur- 
pofe  for  which  they  adduce  him.  Giraklus  Cam- 
brenfis  hath  remarkably  experienced  this  treat- 
ment }  in  fome  cafes^  his  te^mony  is  allfdged  as 
decifive,  when  in  others  he  is  faid  to  be  fabulous 
and  prejudiced  ^  yet  if  we  allow  for  the  age  in 
which  he  lived  j  the  prevalence  of  romantic  fidir 
oq  ;  the  low  Ikte  of  learning  and  criticifm,  with  a 
tin^re  of  pQribnal  vanity  i^  wc  ihall  fee  hi(n 
throughout  his  works,  a  man  of  excellent  talents, 
and  well  verfed  in  the  varbus  departments  of  fd- 
ence  (hen  known  and  cultivated.  His  coming  to 
this  kingdom  at  different  times,  with  his  continu- 
ance in  il,  muft  give  a  degree  of  credit  tQ  his  re- 
lations not  lightly  to  be  regarded,  nor  rejected 
without  fufficient  reafon. 

*^  The  Jrifii  nation,  fitys  (^  this  writer,,  is  inllof- 
pitabte,  Rving  on  the  produce  of  their  cattle,  mad 
leading  a  Kfc  but  little  fuperior  to  them ;  nor  have 
they  emerged  from  the  paftoral  Hate.  As  th^  pro^ 
grefs  of  human  (bciety  is  to  advance  from  woods 
to  open  fieidd,  and  from  the  latter  to  towns,  this 
nation  de(pi(ihg  agriculture,  inattentive  to  dvit 
wealth  and  regardkfs  of  kw^  f|>end  their  Uvea  in 
woods  and  paftures/^ — Thefe  remarks  are  juft,  and 
evince  the  fine  philofophical  turn  of  the  authdr  ; 
they  are  exadkly  the  fame  ideas  which  make  a  con- 
fpicuous  figure  in  one  of  the  iketches  of  (jb)  lord 
Eaims.  The  Irifh  had  quitted  th^  hunter,  and  ad- 
vanced 

{4)  Eft  atttam  gef»s  hax:^  geiu  iohofyita ;  gens  ex  beftils 
fplmq,  &c.     Topog.  Hiberii/ 
(t)  Skctcb  a.  book  i. 


ROUND  TOYTEBtS  i»  IRELAND.  «« 

vwoed  to  th«  ihepherdditte^  the  fecpod  fiage  in 
the  emiisation  of  matridnd ;  but  thdr  mumor^ 
were  little  altered  •»  their  feed,  their  domeitica^o^. 
and  every  other  cireumfUnce  (howed,  that  thf  U* 
bertyt  the  ferocity  and  antamed  nature  of  tenants 
of  the  £brcfi»  were  br  from  being  reclmmedt  and 
ftill  ferther  from  fubmitting  to  the  falatary  ref- 
tratnts  of  kgal  inAttutions.  Their  but  little. (^)  af- 
ihding  civil  wealthy  (which  includes  the  ornament-^ 
al  artSy)  refulted  from  their  want  of  foreign  trade^ 
home  manofadture^  and  great  towns.  % 

X^Qimbrcnfis  proceeds: — **  The  (i)  different  kinds 
^^etal  with  which  the  deeper  veins  abound^ 
through  an  idle  diijpo&tion  are  ndther  dug  for  any 
ule,  or  turned  to  any  account.  For  gold,  which 
they  covet  to  have  in  abundance^  is  Imported 
among  them  by  Ofimen  merchants*  They  havQ 
HP  roanufaSures  of  liaeo^  woollw,  or  other  l^ind9< 
Sunk  in  indolence  and  floth,  they  eft^em  it  theif 
Ui^kA:  fattft  not  to  liUx)ur,  and  their  groatefi  ric^ 
to  eruqy  their  libtf  ty.***— This  and  the  former  cita^ 
ism  acf»pd  i.  there  are  aii  union  and  harmony  of 
purts^  whieh  ihow  the  pemsil  of  the  painter  waa 
guided  by  truth  \t%  the  great  outline,  k  is  fcarcely 
poffible  to  conceive,  as  it  would  be  very  prepof* 
teroua  to  afiert,  that  the  writer  rather  indulged  a 
licentious  fancy  on  this  occafion,  than  reprefented 
livmg  manners ;  the  njoft  perverfc  nationality  muft 
Uoih  to.aibrt  it. 

The 

(0  Civiles  gtiitfts  panim  nSbiSftns,  Cambreos.  ftipra. 

(J)  Metaliontm  quoque  diveKoruni  genera  quii^us  venae 
fettoriom  interiorei,  ejufdecn  ociofitatis  vitio»  ncc  ad  ufuni 
prodeonty  nee  proficiai^t*  CaipbrQos.  fupra* 


liz  A  DISSERTATION  on   *hb 

'  The  gold  imported  by  the  Oftmen  was  ufcd  bf 
the  natives  for  perfonal  ornaments.  They  bdield 
thefe  Grangers  decorated  with  this  (hining  metaiy 
worked  into  {e)  bracelets,  rings  and  other  garni-' 
tares,  as  badges  of  nobility,  and  rewards  of  va- 
lour, and  they  were  eager  to  adorn  themfclves  in 
like  manner.  Coined  money  was  not  (/)  com- 
mon in  the  tenth  century  among  the  northern  na- 
tions, and  out  of  the  EngUfli  pale  the  Irilh'  had 
very  little. 

Even  fo  late  as  the  year  1331,  it  appears  by 
{g)  record,  that  fines  or  law-mul6ts  were  ordered 
to  be  paid  no  longer  in  cattle  but  in  money ;  and 
in  1399,  the  prince  of  Leinftcr's  horfe  was  valued 
at  four  hundred  cows.  The  gentleman  who  at- 
tended king  Richard  II.  in  his  expedition  hither  at 
this  time,  adds : — (A)  For  in  that  country  they  bar- 
ter by  exchange,  and  one  commodity  for  another, 
and  not '  for  ready  money. — If  then  permutation 
was  in  ufe  in  1399,  the  Iri(h  were  furely  not  more 
improved  in  1185,  when  Cambrenfis  was  here 
and  examined  the  country !  So  Aat  we  may  give 
fiill  credit  to  his  narration  in  this  refpeft,  notwith* 
Handing  what  our  antiquarians  tell  us  of  the  vail 
treafures  of  our  monarchs. 

Cambrenfis 

{e)  Sax.  Gramma t.  paiT.  Bartholin,  de  Armillis  vetenim. 
Some  of  thefc  Armillae,  and  of  different  fizes,  were  found 
a  few  years  ago  in  a  Danifh  rath  at  CartoWDy  Queen's 
County,  by  Daniel  Kane,  a  labouring  man. 

f/J  Ilia  vero  tempeftate  (deventh  century)  nulla  erac  m 
terra  moneta,  fed  rebus  res  commutantes  vetuftilfimo  more, 
mercebantur.  Krantz.  Wandal.  iib.  3.  p.  70. 

ig)  Quod  de  cetero,  fines  de  vaccis  pro  redemptione  non 
capiantur  fed  denarii.     Prynnc  on  the  4th  Inftit.  $  £dw.  III. 

{h)  Apud  Harris's  Hibern.  pag.  S3- 


ROUND  TOWERS  iK  IRELAND.  125 

Cambrenfis  having  (hown,  that  the  dawnings  of 
commerce  among  the  Iriih  originated  from  their 
intercourfe  with  the  Oftmen,  intimates  alfo  other 
arts,  with  which  thofe  foreigners  brought  them  ac* 
quainted,  and  particularly  that  moil  ufefui  one  of 
maibnry.  The  Celtic  nations  did  not  know  (/)  the 
ufe  c^  lime  or  cements,  and  the  reafon  is  obvious ; 
they  were  in  a  rude  and  difperfed  flate,  without 
fixed  habitations  or  domeflic  improvements ;  and 
timber  abounded  for  every  purpofe.  In  America 
moil  of  the  public  and  private  buildings  are  of 
wood,  as  well  as  the  fmall  fortreffes  in  remote 
parts.  It  was  the  fcarcity  of  timber,  and  the  dan- 
ger of  wooden  houfes  from  fire  in  populous  towns, 
that  made  mankind  turn  their  attention  to  more 
durable  materials,  and  borrow  the  arts  of  more  ci- 
vilized nations. 

This  neceiSty  had  not  operated  in  favour  of  Iri(h 
ardiite£ture  at  this  time,  nor  for  fome  ages  after 
the  i^rrival  of  the  Oilmen ;  who  at  firil  introduced 
themielves  here  as  traders,  if  we  believe  Cambren- 
fis, but  more  probably  as  (k)  pirates,  infefling  and 
trading  alternately  along  the  coalls  of  the  kingdom, 
as  circumflances  offered.  This  was  in  the  year 
795.  Succefs  allured  others  to  fimilar  enterprizes. 
Finding  the  country  open  and  fertile,  and  the  in- 
habitants in  no  fituation  to  oppofe  large  bodies, 
they  attempted  the  conquell  of  them.  England, 
Scotland  and  (/)  France  had  felt  the  force  of  the 

northern 

(f)  Ne  uementonim  quidem  apud  illos  ufus.  Tacit.  Germ. 
cap.  16. 

(i)  Warzi  Antiq.  pag.  lai. 

(/)  On. commence  i.  parler  des  Normands,  des  Anglois, 
des  Danoisy  &c.  Charlemagne  previr  avec  douleur  les  ra** 
vages.  Heoauk  Hid.  de  France^  pag.  68.  A.  D.  807. 


124  ^   DISSERTATION  on    rnM 

tioriliffrn  piowefi.  The  ihort  (m)  hmces  6#  Ae 
kUh,  tiudr  flings  i^nd  darts  vftxt  UUnuitGfaed  widi 
die  Daniih  habergeon^  their  Ihdlds,  lai^  ascea  ani 
long  fwordsii  no  wonder  if  tlfi^  fuceumbed  to 
filch  enemifis.  To  this  (uperiority  of  their  betnf 
dad  in  inail»  our  (n)  hi&mana  afcrilie  the  vidsoiiea 
of  the  Saxons  over  the  ScQts  and  Pifts.  Theft 
incidental  fadts  are  addidoaally  illuAvadve  of  ow 
incivility  la  thofe  ages. 

Turgefiis,  the  Danifh  chief,  having  in  the  year 
S40,  fubdued  this  ifland,  examined  it  round,  and 
at  proper  fialions  eredted  {0)  caftles  and  fortfefl^ 
throughout  it.  Hence  it  is,  feys  {p)  CambrcnfiB, 
that  we  fee  at  this  day  ah  infinite  number  (^bi** 
trcnchments,  very  high,  round,  and  many  of  them 
triple  i  alio  walled  caftles  now  (A.  D.  Eit5)  in 
gCKxi  prefervation,  though  empty  and  deferted  ( 
the  remans  and  traces  pf  former  times.  For  the 
Iriih,  continues  he,  build  no  caftles  §  woods  ftrve 

tften 

(m\  Tribes  fameQ  utunhir  (Hibet^i)  igrmoriim  gesAHbuf  | 
tanceU  non  lon^is  &  jaculis  binis.  L%pidc9  qtio<)ue  pueilLartisf 
cum  «lia  deftoerint,  keftibus.  19  eonfii^ii  damnoSffinis  pne 
alia  genu,  proioptiuf  'k  ezpedituia  ad  maflnpi  llftbeoU  Vin 
bellicofi,  Danico  mon^  undique  ferro  veftiti,  ^Iji  loriP; 
loBgif,  aiii  lamtnis  ferreis  arte  conitztis»  dypeis  quoque 
retundip*  et  ruWlp  circidarirer  feno  mnaitis.  Q^mkmnwL 
fup.  cap.  21. 

X»)  Curnque  hoftes  pilis  ct  lanceis  pugnar^nt,  Anglofaxones 
vero  fecvribui  gladiifque  loAgis  rigidiffime  deqertarent,  ne- 
quiverunt  Pi^ae  &  Scod  pondua  t^ntum  perfarre,  i^  fii^ 
faluti  fu«  confulucrunt.  Langhorn.  Chron.  pa^  7. 

(•)  Totam  undique  terrain,  locis  idoneis  incaftcllavit. 
Cambrens.  fup. 

(f)  Unde  foffata  iiifoita»  alta  flimis,  ntinda  queque  ac 
pleraque  tnplicia.  Caftella  ctiam  murata,  et  adbuc  ineegra, 
vacua  tamcn  ct  deferia,  ex  rtliqutis  iUit  et  antiquitatis 
veftigiif^  multa  r^^ia^  Ctmbreaa.  fup.  cap.  37. 


ROUND  TOWERS  w  IRELAND.  U5 

them  for  fortificattioas^  atid  the  morafles  for  ei|» 
to^enchments.  Thefe  accounts,  our  author  tell^  us, 
he  learned  from  ln(h  writers,  and  he  himfelf,  who 
was  well  aoquainted  with  the  Dani(h  (bttlements  at 
DubliB»  Wat^rford  and  LAmerick,  aad  with  the 
DanUh  dargy,  many  of  whom  poiOfefied  high  dig- 
nities in  the  church,  foggefted  nothing  to  contra** 
difk  theoi.  Our  own  writers  oomplain : — (j)  That 
being  enftanchifed  from  tiie  tyranny  of  Turgefius, 
we  refigned  eurfel^^es  to  eafe  and  unmafculine 
la^inefe;  neglefled  navigation  and  fleets,  which 
abne  could  fectire  us  from  frefh  attacks  *,  and  wer^ 
fo  (W  blinded  as  to  flight  all  the  Dani(h  fortiBca^- 
iKHiSy  making  none  in  their  ftead,  ndt  even  in  thfe 
iea-ports. — 

Gambreafis,  in  the  preceding  extract,  accarately 
diffingiufiies  rtie  different  forts  of  Daniih  foftrefles  4 
4bme  wem  of  day,  others  of  lime  and  ilone.  The 
feflkum  was  generally  a  conical  rifing  ground  ^ 
tiie  &tR  intrenchment  was  made  round  the  vertex, 
and  the  earth  thrown  down  the  hill ;  tMs  fwelled 
ks  drcUF^ference  add  etilarged  its  bafe.  By  work- 
ing thus,  die  ditches  were  eafier  made,  and  the 
valla  or  ramparts  became  higher  and  more  pre* 
dpitous.  The  caftella  murata  being  of  lime  and 
dene  are  mentioned  in  contradifiinftion  to  the 
foflata  $  and  from  die  former  being  called  (r)  »^ 

Inr 


I! 


V)  Walfli'«  Prefpcd,  pag.  51. 

(r)  Cbmque  refponfum,  nidos  eorum  ubique  deftruendos, 
fi  jam  foTtt  nidifKrafleiit,  de  Caftellin  NorwagteDftum  hoQ 
inr(r|>retaDtes.  Cambrens.  fup.  cap.  42.  EH'ewbere-^CivitatCf 
foflatis  &  muris  opiime  cinxerant:  dill  preferving  the  di<^ 
tindion.  Thefe  oefls  were  the  circular  towers  hereaf^ef 
noticed  hf  Maq»herfoiL 


ii6  A  DISSERTATION  oif  the 

•by  the  natives,  they  muft  have  been  high  circular 
buildings,  if  any  connexion  was  meant  between 
the  two  ideas.  In  the  erection  of  thefe  forts,  Tur- 
gefius  confulted  prudence  and  the  paucity  of  his 
troops,  as  by  them  he  could  extend  his  communi- 
cations to  a  great  diftance,  and  yet  be  fure  againft 
the  confequences  of  infurredtions. 

The  evidence  now  produced  of  the  uncivilized 
ftate  of  the  Irifh,  of  their  ignorance  of  the  me- 
chanic arts  and  the  introduction  of  malbnry  by  the 
Oilmen,  muft  be  allowed  to  have  great  force  ;  but 
it  will  receive  an  higher  degree  of  certainty,  if  it 
fliould  be  confirmed,  as  to  the  laft  particular,  by 
both  Irilh  and  Englifli  writers.  Mr.  O'Connor  (j)  in- 
forms us ;  "  that  the  buildings  of  the  ancient  Scots 
were  for  ufe  folely  and  not  for  oftentation.  They 
built  their  houfes  of  timber^  as  feveral  nations  of 
Europe  have  done  until  very  lately,  and  as  fomc 
do  at  this  day.  They  did  not  conceive,  that  real 
magnificence  confifted  in  rearing  heaps  of  ftone, 
artfully  difpofcd  and  clofely  cemented ;  or  that  real 
grandeur  received  any  diminution  fi-om  the  humility 
of  its  habitation.  The  firft  in  worthy  accompUlh- 
ments  was  generally  ele<Sted  to  the  dignity  of  ma- 
giftrature,  whether  royal  or  dynaftal.  In  fuch  a 
country  durable  or  fuperb  ftruftures  could  not  well 
take  place,  as  the  poffeffion  was  temporary  (6  was 
the  building.  And  fo  far  did  inveterate  cuftom 
prevail  among  the  people,  that  even  after  their 
reception  of  Chriftianity,  they  could  not  be  induced 
to  build  their  churches  and  monafteries  of  more 

durable 

(/)  Biflertations,  pag.  104,  |d  edit. 


ROUND  TOWERS  in  IRELAND.  izj 

durable  materials  than  their  own  habitations.  The 
exceptions  are  very  few,  and  the  church  of  St. 
Kianan,  built  in  the  fixth  century,  is  the  firfi  inftance 
of  any  ftone-work  ereded  in  this  kingdom.  They 
had  no  cities  or  towns  in  the  earlier  ages.  In  a 
country  where  the  inhabitants  have  but  few  me- 
chanical arts ;  where  they  draw  moft  of  their  neceC- 
fanes  from  the  foil  they  cultivate,  and  where  pre- 
cious metals  are  not  made  equivalents,  or  figns  of 
national  wealth,  there  can  .be  few  or  no  cities.  In 
their  wars  with  the  Englifti  they  were  at  laft  obliged 
to  avail  tliemfelves  of  the  arts  of  their  enemies,  by 
eredling  caftles  and  other  ftrong  holds.  This  gave 
rife  to  ftone-buildings  in  Leinfter,  Munfter  and 
Connaught,  and  foon  after  in  Ulfter.  The  northern 
bards  inveighed  bitterly  againft  this  innovation, 
and  reprefented  it  as  a  fignal  that  the  nation  was 
ripening  for  foreign  fubjeftion.  *'  Let  us,  faid  one 
of  them,  pull  down  thofe  fortreffcs  of  the  infidious 
jcncmy,  and  ceafe  working  for  them,  by  ere<5ting 
any  of  our  own  5  their  ftratagems  will  afluredly 
wreft  them  out  of  our  hands.  Our  anceftors 
trufted  intirely  to  their  perfonal  valour,  and  thought 
the  ftone-hou/cs  of  the  Galls  a  difgrace  to  courage." 
Every  line  of  this  citation  goes  to  confirm  the  au- 
thority of  Cambrenfis.  Let  us  hear  (/)  fir  John 
Davis,  a  candid  and  intelligent  obferver. 

"  Though  the  Irifiiry  be  a  nation  of  great  anti- 
quity, and  wanted  neither  wit  nor  valour;  and 
though  they  have  received  the  Chriftian  faith  above 
fzoo  years  fince,   and  were  lovers   of  poetry, 

mufick, 

(/)  Hilb>rical  ReUti9iM. 


it%  A  DISSERTATION  ok  the 

midick,  and  all  lands  of  Ibamtf^  ind  weit  pof* 
fefled  of  a  land  m  all  things  neceflary  for  the  civU 
life  of  man,  yet,  which  ts  ftrange  lo  be  rdated, 
they  did  nerer  build  any  houfes  of  biick  or  ftone, 
feme  few  poor  religious  boufes  excepted,  before 
the  rdgn  of  king  Henry  11.  though  tiiey  were  lords 
cf  the  ifte  many  hundrdi  3rears  before  and  fince  Ae 
conqueft  attempted  by  the  EnglUh.  Albeit,  whea 
they  faw  us  bmld  caftles  upon  -their  borders,  tiiey 
Mve  oniy  in  imitation  of  us,  ere^ed  fame  few  pttea 
for  the  captains  of  the  country.  Yet  I  dare  boldly 
iay,  that  never  any  particular  perfon,  either  before 
or  fince,  did  build  any  (lone  of  fafick  houfe  for  his 
private  habitation,  but  fuch  as  have  lately  obtained 
cftates  according  to  the  courfe  of  the  law  of  Eng- 
knd.  Neither  did  any  cf  them  in  all  this  tin^, 
plant  any  garden  or  orchard,  fettle  villages  or 
towns,  or  make  toy  provifion  for  pofterity. — 

"  There  is  at  this  day,  fays  Sir  William  Petty  in 
Ins  Political  Anatomy  oi  Ireland,  nt>  riionument  or 
real  argument,  that  when  the  Irifli  w«re  firft  in- 
vaded by  Henry  II.  Aey  had  any  fion^  lipujb^  dt 
Mj  any  money,  any  foreign  trade,  nor  any  learn- 
ing but  the  legend  of  the  faihts,  pfaltcrs,  miflals, 
rituals  i  nor  geometry,  aftronomy,  anatomy,  arcM- 
tedture,  enginfeery,  painting,  carving,  nor  any  kind 
of  manufedture,  nor  the  leaft  ufe  of  navigation^ 
nor  the  art  military."  Doftor  Campbell,  in  his 
Political  (tf)  Silrvey  of  the  South  of  Ireland,  pofitively 
afferts,  that  what  is  reported  by  bards  and  others  of 
the  magnificent  palace  of  Teamor  cannot  be  true, 

for 

(if)  Letter  ^th. 


ROUND  TOWERS  in  IRELAND.  lap 

for  the'  hill  of  Taragh  itfelf  is  evidence  enough  to 
prove^  that  there  never  could  have  been  a  con- 
fiderable  houfe  of  lime  and  ftone  upon  it. 

Having  cvidled  the  Irifti  of  any  pretenfions  to 
works  of  lime  and  Hone,  the  Oftmen,  who  pof- 
feiTed  this  country  for  above  a  century  and  a  liaif, 
appear  to  have  firft  introduced  them.    On  their 
convcrfion  to  Chriftianity  in  the  {w)  beginning  of 
the  tenth  century,  they  exprefled  the  moft  fervent 
and  lively  zeal  for  it,  in  founding  churches,  mona- 
fteries  and  religious  ftruftures  j  and  fo  confpicuous 
and  fincere  were  their  lives,  that  at  the  Englifh 
invafion  they  filled  with  reputation  both  bifhopricks 
and  abbies.    From  the  proofs  before  ailed  ged,  it 
is  evident  that  our  ecclefiaftical  buildings  were  of 
wood,  and  therefore  not  calculated  for  bells,  the 
common  and  ufeful  appendage  of  fuch  flrudlures. 
The  campaniljc  or  belfry  in  England  was  dittindt 
from  the  church,  as  we  learn  from  the  Monafticon, 
and  in  Ireland  it  was  the  Round  Tower.     The 
following  coincidences  will  confirm  this  opinion* 
"  The  era  of  the  invention  of  bells,  fays  (x)  Mr. 
Bentham,  is  fomewhat  obfcure;   fome  traces  of 
them  may  be  difcovered  in  our  monafteries  (y) 
even  in  the  feventh  century.    Yet  I  believe  one 
may  venture  to  aflert,  that  fuch  large  ones  as  re- 
quired diftinft  buildings  for  their  fupport,  do  not 
appear  to  have  been  in  ufe  among  us  until  the 

Vol.  II.  K  tenth 

(tt)  Warxi  Antiq.  p.  13?,  places  it  in  948,  but  it  waj 
ctrlier. 

(x)  Antiquities  of  Ely,  pag.  29, 

(j)  On  croir,  que  Tufagc  dans  nos  eglifes  n'ont  eft  pas 
tnterieur  an  lixieme  fiecle  ;  il  y  etoit  etablic  en  61^ 
Eocjdoped.  s^rticlc,  Ciocbe. 


I30  A  DISSERTATION  on  the 

tenth  century,  about  the  middle  of  which,  w6  find 
fcveral  of  our  churches  furnilhed  with  them  by  the 
munificence  of  our  kings ;  but  they  were  not  very 
common  in  that  age." 

About  the  middle  of  the  eighth  .century,  pope 
Stephen  III.  built  a  (z)  tower  on  the  church  of 
St.  Peter  at  Rome,  and  placed  in  it  three  bells; 
and  yet  fuch  towers  were  not  common  in  France 
and  the  Weft  at  a  much  later  period,  as  appears 
from  an  antient  (a)  writer,  whofe  exprelllons  leave 
no  doubt,  that  they  were  feparate  buildings  from 
the  church  and  their  eredtion  very  unufual.  About 
the  end  of  the  ninth  century  (A.  D.  874)  the  (i) 
Greek  church  adopted  bells  from  the  Venetians  \ 
their  belfry  alfo  {c)  was  diftinft  from  the  church. 
The  Turks  who  imitated  the  Chriftians  in  many  of 
their  religious  pradtices,  did  the  feme  in  this  of  the 
tower,  and  by  it  they  formed  their  (d)  minarets. 
In  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  century  the  Saracens 
ieitled  in  Spain,  and  in  the  next  age,  the  northern 
rovers,  by  us  called  Oflmen  and  by  the  conti- 
nental people  Normans,  began  to  be  formidable, 
to  commit  depredations  and  to  eilablifli  fettlements 
on  the  French  and  Spanilb  coafls  a&  well  as  in 

Ireland* 

(z)  Du  Cange,  voce  Campana. 

(a)  !n  ejus  qua  que  iVonte,  prt^pe  <ua!'uas  majoris  ecclefiae^ 
(^c  quadratis  ec  niaximis  faxis,  niirlRcam  qua?  vulgo  CaxDpa.* 
liariuin  nuncupatur»  erexit.     Du  Cange,  lupra. 

{h)  Sabellic.  Ennead.  9,   lib.  i. 

(c)  Ko^nrayo^ov-^xAmTQi  »7toy  ra(»f.     Du  Cnnge  fupra. 

(d)  Quo  inagis  ifta  proclauiatio  (Ezan)  longius  exaudiatur. 
In  turrini  quandaai  pyrainidalcni  (M6nar)  e  lapide  au(  latcr^ 
conftrodlaui,  quo  Mofchese  adjacet,  afccndiiur.  Smith  de 
morib.  Turcar.  pag.  33.  This  is  cxa^I/  the  ides  of  obf 
towers. 


ROUND  TOWERS  ik  IRELAND.  131 

Ireland.  In  thefe  expeditions  they  muft  have  fcen 
the  Chriftian  and  Saracenic  belfries,  and  brought 
back  the  ideas  of  them  on  their  return  •,  why  then 
it  may  be  afked  are  they  not  found  in  England  ? 

England  in  the  feventh  century  commenced  an 
clegmt  ftyle  of  building  in  her  principal  churches 
and  monaftic  foundations,  under  the  patronage  of 
Wilfrid,  Bifcopius  and  others.  They  were  followed 
by  feveral  other  prelates  and  abbots  in  proportion 
to  their  power  and  opulence.  In  the  year  935, 
their  tafte  was  fo  much  improved,  that  (e)  crols- 
ailes  and  high  towers  were  addfcd  to  religious 
edifices.  But  the  round  tower,  which  was  a 
Danifh  work,  could  not  find  place  in  England, 
becaufe  the  domination  of  thefe  nortlierns  was  not 
cftablifhed  there  until  half  a  century  after  the  intro- 
duftion  of  crofs-aiies ;  by  which  time  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  ftyle  was  going  into  difufe,  and  almoft  funk 
in  the  Gothic  or  Norman.  Had  the  Danes  reared 
their  towers  before  thofe  elegant  ftruAures,  the 
mcaneft  peafant  would  have  ridiculed  the  attempt. 
But  in  Ireland  the  cafe  was  totally  different ;  our 
churches  were  of  wood,  and  as  mean  as  pofTible ; 
a  bell  was  wanting  (which  they  could  not  admit) 
to  colledt  people  to  divine  worfhip,  who  were 
generally  fettled  in  the  vicinity  of  the  church ;  and 
it  alfo  fcrved  to  give  an  alarm  in  times  of  danger. 
Cambrenfis  calls  them  ccclefiaflical  towers,  which 
fixes  their  appropriation,  as  the  Irilh  do  (f)  Cloghad, 
or  belfries. 

K  2  That 

(0  Bentharn,  fupra. 

ffj  Molyn^ux  on  Danifh  Mounts, 


i^z  A  DISSERTATION  on  the 

That  they  are  Danirti  works  their  rotund  figure 
manifeftly  evinces  j  this  was  the  (g)  form  of  their 
camps  and  fortifications,  of  their  barrows  and  ftone 
circles,  and  of  their  antient  habitations  ftill  exifting. 
**  It  is  unqueftionably  certain,  fays  (/)  the  learned 
Dr.  Macpherfon,  that  the  oldeft  forts  on  the  weftern 
and  northern  coafts  of  Scotland,  were  erefted  by 
die  barbarians  of  the  northern  Europe.  All  the 
Norwegian  towers  in  the  Ebudes  were  of  a  circular 
form ;  the  old  fquare  caftles  there  are  of  a  much 
later  date." — Tlie  opinion  of  a  (k)  refpedable  native 
writer  deferves  notice ;  "  It  is  moft  certain,  that 
lliofe  high,  round,  narrow  towers  of  ftone,  built 
cylinder- wife,  whereof  Cambrenfis  fpeaks,  were 
never  known  or  built  in  Ireland,  as  indeed  no 
more  were  any  caftles,  houfes,  or  even  churches  of 
ftone,  at  leaft  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  before  the 
year  of  Chrift  838,  when  the  heathen  Danes  pof- 
feffing  a  great  part  of  that  country,  built  them  in 
fcveral  places,  to  ferve  as  watch-towers  againft  the 
natives.  Though  ere  long  the  Danes  being  ex- 
pulfed,  the  Chriftian  Irifti  turned  them  to  another, 
and  much  better,  becaufe  an  holy  ufe,  tliat  is  to 
fteeple- houfes  or  bell-fries ;  from  which  latter  ufe 
made  of  them  it  is,  that  ever  fince  to  this  prefeiit, 
they  are  called  in  Irifli  cloghteachs^  that  is,  bell- 
fries  or  bell-houfes;  doc  or  clog  fignifying  a  bell, 
and  teach  a  houfe  in  that  language." 

In 

(^}  Cadra  autem  hxc  Temper  rotunda.     Spelman.   Tit. 
jtlfred.  pag.  58. 

{b)  dl.  Magn.  ct  Ol.  Worm.  Mor.  Dan. 
(r)  Critical  Differ  tat  ions,  pag.  293. 
(i)  W'alili's  Profpc^a,  pag.  416,  4 17- 


ROUND  TOWERS  ik  IRELAND.  X32 

In  an  antient  Irifh  manufcript  (fays  the  (/)  hifto- 
rian  of  the  county  of  Cork)  containing  fome  annals 
of  Munfter,  there  is  nnention  made  of  the  building 
the  tower  of  Kincth  in  this  county,  about  the  year 
loif,  foon  after  the  celebrated  battle  of  ClantarfFe. 
This  is  too  late  a  period  to  make  it  the  era  of  their 
general  ereftion  by  at  leaft  a  century  ;  but  it  does 
not  weaken  the  probability  of  both  Danes  and  na- 
tives continuing  the  pradtice  of  building  fuch  ftruc* 
tures  until  nearly  the  time  of  the  Norman  invafion, 
that  is,  until  an  improved  tafte  in  architedure  took 
place,  which  was  about  that  time.  Mr.  Brereton  • 
imagines,  (tw)  thefc  towers  to  be  places  from 
whence  the  people  were  called  to  worlhip  by  the 
found  of  fome  wind  inftrument.  This  notion  arofe 
from  an  iron  trumpet  being  found  in  one  of  them  ; 
if  this  circumftance  be  really  true,  it  is  a  new  proof 
of  their  being  Danift^works,  though  the  inference 
deduced  may  be  doubtfuL  The  author  laft  cited 
afferts,  that  thefe  towers  preceded  the  ufe  of  bells 
in  Ireland;  this  is  conjedture  without  the  leaft 
proof;  bells  were  ufed  in  the  ceremonies  («)  of 
religion  as  early  as  the  fifth  century,  and  thefe 
towers  were  conftrudled  about  the  tenth. 

Whether  there  are  any  round  towers  in  Denmark 
or  Norway  is  not  pofitively  decided ;  we  have  no 
evidence  of  accurate  inquiries  being  made  after 
them ;  for  curforj'  queftions  put  to  ignorant  natives, 
or  the  reports  of  fuperfidal  obfervers  will  never 

determine 


(/)  Smith's  Hift.  of  Coric,  vol.  2.  pag,  4.09. 
(m)  Archaeoloji«,  ptihliflied  bviht  Sovitfi)'  of  Antiquariis, 
London,  vol.  2«  pag.  3o. 
(«)  See  the  auihurs  cited  by  Du  Cangc,  voce  Cairpana. 


134  A  DISSERTATION  on   the 

determine  the  point.  Mr.  Paireant  (^)  tells  us, 
that  while  he  lay  in  the  found  of  Jona  in  the  He* 
brides,  two  gentlemen  from  the  Ifle  of  MulJ,  and 
who  had  pofleflions  there,  feemed  to  know  nothing 
of  that  aftonilhing  curiofity,  the  Bafaltig  ifle  of 
StafFa.  If  fuch  was  the  want  of  attention  and  in* 
formation  in  perfons  of  property,  and  to  fo  extra- 
ordinary a  rarity  in  their  vidnity^  we  may  well 
fuppofe  the  round  towers,  if  any  there  be  abroad, 
are  as  indifferently  paffed  over.  Nor  is  it  lefe  re- 
markable, that  until  at  mercurial  (p)  traveller  enu- 
,  merated  thofe  in  this  kingdom,  they  had  been 
before  but  flightly  noticed  by  our  hiftorians,  topo' 
graphers  and  antiquaries,  though  more  than  forty 
c(  them,  and  thofe  well  prefcrved,  ftill  remain. 
The  fame  may  be  faid  of  the  Swedi(h  antiquities, 
which  were  but  imperfeclly  known  until  Dahlberg 
lately  exhibited  many  of  them  in  hie  Suecia  Hodicraa 
ct  Antiqua. 

But  the  late  reception  of  Chriftianlty  will  very 
well  account  for  the  want  of  ro-und  towers,  or 
other  antient  monuments  of  religion,  in  northern 
Europe.  The  Normans,  Danes,  Swedes  and  their 
neighbours  did  not  embrace  (^)  the  dodtrine  of 
redemption  until  the  twelfth  century.  At  that  time 
the  more  fouthern  nations  were  tolerably  civili2ed; 
fumptuous  edifices  dedicated  to  facred  ufes,  were 
common  among  them,  the  antient  being  mouldered 
into  ruins,  or  funk  iqto  oblivion  \  even  had  they 

furvived, 

[o)  Tcur  in  Scotland. 
(/')  Twifs's  Tour  in  Ireland,  177$. 
(f)  Spanheim.    Epift.  Hift.   Ecclcs.    p.  444-r-3ox— Joa. 
W.  Malmcfb.  pag.  69. 


ROUND  TOWERS  m  IRELAND.  13. 

farvived,  no  one  would  dream  of  making  then:j 
models  of  imitation. 

After  all,  thefe  ftrudtures  might  have  been  pe- 
culiar to  Ireland,  and  Cambrenfis  intimates  as  much 
when  he  fays,  they  were  built  patrio  more^  after 
the  fafliion  of  the  country.  The  circular  Norwe- 
gian towers,  mentioned  above  by  Dr.  Macpherfbn, 
might  have  fuggefled  the  idea  of  them,  and  their 
appropriation  to  religious  purpofes  arofe  fropi  the 
ftatc  of  Chriftianity  then  in  this  kingdom.  When 
once  they  were  adopted,  they  foon  were  muU 
tiplied. 

Mr.  Pennant,  fpeaking  of  the  Soottith  round 
towers,  fays  they  could  not  be  intended  for  belfries, 
becaufe  they  ate  placed  near  the  fteeples  of  churcliea, 
infinitely  more  commodious  for  that  end.  This 
fuppofes  the  fieeples  and  round  towers  to  be  coeval, 
which  la  not  the  cafe ;  our  anceilors,  whatever  niay 
be  thought  of  them  at  this  day,  were  incapable  of 
commiitting  fuch  a  folecifm  in  airchitedture.  Though 
the  tower  was  ufed  as  a  belfry,  yet  this  by  no 
means  fuperceded  the  neceiTity  of  ileeples  on  ftone-- 
buildings  of  later  conffaudion ;  fuch  ftrudVures, 
being  generally  in  the  form  of  a  crofs,  had  a  fteeple 
raifed  on  its  interfcdlion.  Thus  in  the  cemetery  of 
the  cathedral  of  Sf.  Canice,  Killcpnny,  there  is 
a  beautiful  round  toWcr^  yet  the  fymmetry  of  the 
cathedral,  which  is  Gothic,  required  a  (leepie,  and 
it  has  one.  Wherever  we  find  a  round  tower,  we 
may  be  certain  the  church  contiguous  to  it  is  of 
early  antiquity,  and  not  later  than  the  eleventh 
century. 

A  learhed 


136  A  DISSERTATION  on  the 

A  learned  (r)  antiquary  is  of  opinion,  that  thefe 
towers  y^ere  ereded  by  the  Phenicians  or  Carthagi- 
nians in  their  trading  voyages  hither  -,  feme  paffages 
in  antient  authors  feem  to  countenance  this  conjec- 
ture. Diodorus  Siculus,  {s)  difcourfing  of  the 
Hyperboreans  who  inhabited  an  ifland  oppofitc  the 
Celtic  region,  fa,y8:  ^*  The  trees  there  beai*  fruit 
twice  every  year.  The  fabulous  chronicle  records, 
that  Latona  was  born  in  that  country  ;  hence  the  in- 
liabitants  adore  Apollo,  whofe  praifes  they  arc  con- 
tinually chanting.  In  the  ifle  is  a  noble  foreft, 
dedicated  to  this  deity,  a  temple  alfo  of  zfpheric<d 
figure,  filled  with  prefents,  and  a  city  facred  to  the 
fame  God  5  the  greateft  part  of  the  people  arc 
muficians,  they  play  on  the  harp  in  his  temple,  and 
fing  hymns  to  his  praife." 

This  defcription  is  plainly  the  work  of  fancy ; 
the  author  is  not  to  be  cenfured,  when  he  himfeif 
intimates  a  fufpicion  of  his  authority. 

Neither  are  they  the  Pyratheia  of  the  Perfians,  a 
notion  lately  taken  up  on  the  authority  of  Mr. 
Hanway  (/),  who  in  his  travels  into  Perfia,  found 
round  towers  in  the  country  of  the  Gaurs,  or  wor- 
(hipperi  of  fire.  Mr.  Hanway  barely  mentions 
their  exiftenc^  without  reafoning  on,  or  deducing 
any  inference  fi-om  it.  In  the  year  634,  the  Sara- 
cens conquered  Perfia,  and  placed  ox\  its  throne  a 
monarch  of  their  own.  Their  zeal  in  eftablilhing 
their  religiqn,  wherever  their  arms  extended,  to 

the 


(r)  F^lciil.  Col.  Vallancey.    GoIlt6ianca,  No.  a>  pag«  ^^ 

(3)  Lib.  a  pag.  91. 
/)  Travels  iiiio  PcrSa,  part  2.  chap.  43. 


ROUND  TOWERS  in  IRELAND.  137 

the  exclufion  of  all  others  is  fully  (u)  afcertained, 
and  thefe  towers  are  remains  of  their  Minarets.  It 
is  very  foreign  from  the  Turkifli  or  Mahometan 
religion  to  fuffer  monuments  of  heterodoxy  to 
remain,  as  the  Chriflian  temples  have  fadly  expe^ 
rienced;  much  lefs  would  they  fhow  marks  of 
favour  to  a  contemptible  fedt.  But  this  opinion  is 
groundlefs  for  another  reafon,  which  is,  tliat  the 
Gaurs  do  not  worftiip  fire,  as  Tavemier  afTerts; 
the  refpeA  they  have  for  that  element  is  only  com- 
memorative of  fome  fervices,  it  is  fuppofed  to  have 
done  their  prophet. 

But  an  examination  of  the  antient  Pyrajtheia  will 
fet  this  matter  in  the  cleareft  light.  **  Strabo  (w) 
informs  us,  that  they  were  inclofures  of  great  com- 
pais ;  in  the  middle  were  altars,  and  on  them  the 
Magi  prcfervcd  much  alhes  and  a  perpetual  fire/ 
Can  we  from  thefe .  words  conclude  that  they  were 
buildings  of  lime  and  ftone,  and  of  the  altitude  of 
our  round  towers?  As  to  their  being  Phenidan 
works,  we  know  thefe  people  derived  much  of 
their  religion  from  (at)  Egypt ;  it  is  therefore  to  be 
prefumed,  that  their  temples  refembled  thofe  of  the 
latter,  which  confided  of  four  (y)  parts,  and  of 
confiderable  extent,  and  not  refembling,  in  any 
inftance,  our  round  towers,  as  the  learned  reader 
will  perdeive  by  recurring  to  the  paflage  cited  in 
^he  margin. 

The 


(ir)  Modern  Uolvcrfal  Hiftory,  paffim. 

(w)  Lib.  17. 

[x)  Kircher.  Ocdip.  iEgyptiac.  torn.  i.  pag.  2|6. 

If)  AAii^Ttn,  n^TilAflMcr,  UfofOit  i^  I  Nfl»^.     Sirab.  lib,  1 7, 

V^i.  805. 


ij8  A  DISSERTATION  ow  the 

The  opinion  acijiriefced  in  fof  fome  years^  is,ttat 
of  the  late  rcvferend  dean  Richardfon,  and  fisice 
adopted  and  improved  by  Mr.  Harris,  in  his  edition 
of  Sir  James  Ware's  antiquities.  This  fuppofes 
our  towers  to  be  the  refidence  of  anachorite  jnonks, 
and  imitations  of  the  eadern  pillars ;  and  is  founded 
on  the  account  Evugrius  gives  of  Simeon  Stylitcs, 
which,  to  avoid  ambiguity,  it  may  be  proper  to 
(z)  extraa :  ''  The  fabrick  of  Simeon*a  churdi 
rcprcfeftts  the  form  of  a  crofe,  beautified  with  pot* 
ttcoes  of  four  fides ;  oppofitc  thefe  are  placed  pillars* 
curioufly  made  of  poliflied  ftone,  whereon  the  roof 
is  gracefiilly  raifed  to  an  height.  In  the  midft  of 
thefe  porticoes  is  an  open  courts  wroi]^ht  wiA 
much  art,  in  which  court  iknds  the  pillar^  forty 
cubits  faighv  tvfaereon  that  incarnate  angel  upon 
earth  (Simeon)  led  a  celeftial  life/'  It  muft  requlit 
a  warm  .imagination  to  point  out  tlie  fimilarity 
between  this  pillar  and  our  tower.  The  one  was 
folid,  the  other  hollow ;  the  otie  was  fquare,  and  the 
othdr  circular* 

The  ardli  incliiforii  ergaftulum  (a)  of  Harri^i 
was  a  monaftic  cell  or  hermitage.  Raderus^  on 
whom  he  much  depends,  fays,  {h)  **  The  houfe  cf 
the  rcclufe  ought  to  be  of  ftone ;  the  length  and 
breadth  twelve  feet;   with  three  windows,   one 

facing 

(«)  Lib.  I.  cap.  14.  Not  ^avIng  the  original  convenient. 
1  make  ufc  of  Hanmer's  tranflation. 

(a)  Ware's  Antiquities,  pag.  134, 

(I)  Inclufa,  id  eft,  donjus  Inclufi^  debet  efle  lapidea,  lon- 
gltudo  et  latitudo  in  12  pedes  abeat  ;  rres  fencftras,  unani 
contra  chorum,  per  quam  corpus  Chnfti  accipiat ;  alteram 
in  oppofico,  per  quam  vit'tuni  recipiat;  lertiam  unde  Juccai 
habeat,  quae  femper  debet  efle  claufa  vitro  vel  cornu.  Rader. 
in  Savar.  San£t. 


ROUND  TOWERS  ik  IRELAND.  139 

fadng  the  choir,  through  whioh  he  naay  receive  the 
body  of  Cbrift  y  the  other  oppofite,  through  which 
food  is  conveyed  to  Urn  v  and  the  third  for  the  ad*- 
iBiilion  of  light ;  the  latter  to  Jbe  always  covered 
widi  gla{s  or  horn."    This  alfo  was  very  difTerent 
from  our  round  tower.     Mr.  Harris  fpeaking  of 
Donchad  O  Brien,    abbot  of  Clannaacnois,  who 
(hut  himfelf  up  in  one  of  ihefe  cells,  fays :  "  I  will 
not  take  upon  me  to  affirm,  that  it  was  in  one 
of  thefe  towers  at  Clonmacuois  he  was  inclofed.*' 
—Here  was  a  fine  opportunity  of  proving  his  by- 
potheiis  was  it  capable  of  it.     Mr.  Harris  ihould 
liave  (hown  from  hiftory,  or  other  monuments,  that 
tbefe  round  towers  were  the  receptacles  of  anacho- 
rites,  and  not  to  have  begged  thequeftion;  but 
not  a  word  of  this  is  to  be  found  in  any  record^ 
either  in  print  or  manufcript ;  all  he  is  able  to  pro- 
duce is  the  names  of  twenty  five  afcetics,  in  the 
fpace  of  503  years.     The  annals  of  Ulfter  and  of 
the  four  mailers,  from  whence  he  takes  them^  only 
mention : — "  Kellach  anachoreta  floruit,  A.  D.  8a 8. 
Conlach  anachoreta  fbruit,  A.  D.  862,  &c."  this 
furely  hath  no  reference  to,  nor  doth  it  prove  them 
to  have  been  inhabitants  of  the  round  towers.  Thus 
dellitute  of  every  foundation,  it  is  a(loni(hing  how 
implicitly  and  unrefervedly  this  reverie  hath  been 
embraced   What  Lucretius  obferves  of  the  wonders 
of  nature  is  as  applicable  to  literary  paradoxes  (c) : 
Nil  adeo  magnum,  nee  tarn  mirabile  quicquam 
Principio,  quod  non  minuant  mirarier  omnes 
PauUtim, 

We* 

{4)  Lib«  2.  iin.  1027. 


140  A  DISSERTATION  ok  the 

We  are  told  by  Mr.  Smith  {d)  that  he  once  be- 
lieved thofe  towers  to  be  the  retreats  of  anachorites ; 
but  from  new  information,  derived  from  an  Irifli 
manufcript,  he  now  thinks  they  were  places  of 
penance.  The  penitent  mounted  on  the  higheft 
loft,  performed  there  a  probation  of  feme  days ; 
in  like  manner  he  proceeded  to  the  next  ftage,  and 
fo  downwards  until  he  finifhed  his  religious  courfe, 
when  he  was  received  at  the  door  of  the  tower, 
(which  faced  the  weftern  door  of  the  church)  by  the 
clergy  and  people.  And  he  credits  this  notion,  as 
it  coincides  with  the  general  pofition  of  the  doors  of 
thefe  towers,  which  are  always  to  the  eaft ;  but  the 
pofition  is  pofitively  otherwife,  as  will  prcfently  be 
feen  in  thofe  of  Abernethy  and  Brechin,  nor  is  any 
general  rule  obferved  .in  placing  the  doors,  as  he 
muft  have  known  from  examining  many  of  them 
in  the  counties  he  defcribes.  It  was  therefore  very 
difingennous  to  facrifice  his  veracity  in  fupport  of  a 
groundlefs  hypothecs,  and  an  anonymous  manu- 
fcript,  efpecially  as  he  himfelf  fupplies  the  ftrongeft 
proof  of  their  original  defignation  in  (e)  another 
work,  where  he  remarks,  that  the  round  tower  of 
Ardmore  had  been  ufed  for  a  belfry,  there  being 
towards  the  top,  not  only  four  windows  to  let  out 
the  found,  but  alfo  three  pieces  of  oak,  fliU  remain- 
ing, on  which  the  bell  was  hung.  And  Mr,  Pen- 
nant informs  us,  the  tower  of  Brechin  is  ufed  for  a 
belfry;  as  is  that  of  Rofcrea.  This  evidence 
feems  decifive ;  it  is  truth  confirmed  by  immemo- 
rial ufage,  and  triumphing  over  learned  whims. 

The 

(</)  Hlftory  of  the  county  of  Cork,  vol.  s.  pag.  407, 
(<)  Hiftory  of  the  county  ot  Watctford,  pag,  71. 


ROUND  TOWERS  in  IRELAND. 

V 

The  profound  filence  of  archbifliop  Uftier  and 
of  Lynch,  Roth,  Ward,  Colgan,  O  Flaherty  and* 
0  Conor,  men,  who  have  fucccfsfuUy  elucidated 
Irilh  antiquities,  is  a  negative  argument  againil 
the  numerous  fyftems  before  noticed,  not  eafily 
to  be  anfwered. 

With  the  utmoft  diffidence  of  himfelf  and  pro- 
found refpedt  for  the  learned,  the  writer  of  thefe 
pages  does  not  think  the  aggregate  of  his  in- 
duftions  incontrovertible,  nor  the  folution  of  this 
difficult  problem  pcrfeftly  fatisfaftory  j  he  offers 
them  as  the  refult  of  much  inquiry,  and  the  con- 
viftion  of  his  own  mind  on  this  obfcure  fubjedt.  ' 

The  following  is  a  lift  of  fuch  round  towers 
in  Ireland  as  have  come  within  the  author's  know-- 
kdge ;  it  is  much  larger  than  any  hitherto  exhi- 
bited, and  yet  he  is  convinced  there  are  many 
more. 


141 


Aghagower, 

Dublin, 

Antrim, 

Dyfart, 

Ardfert, 

Ferbane ;  two. 

Ardmore, 

Fertagh, 

Ballagh, 

Glendalochi  two. 

Cailtree  Ifle^ 

Kells, 

Cafhell, 

Kilcullen, 

Caftledermot, 

Kildare, 

Qondalkin, 

IQlkenny, 

Clonnaacnois, 

Killala, 

Cloyne, 

Kilmacduagh, 

Dcvenilh, 

Kilree, 

Downpatrick, 

Lulk, 

Drumboe, 

Mahera^ 

Drumlane, 

Monafterboice, 

Newcallle, 

14^  A  DISSERTATION  on  the 

Newcaftle^  nqar  Faxfait,  •   iSigo;  two, 
Oughterard,  Swords, 

Ram  ifle,  Timahoe, 

Rattoo,  Tulloherin, 

Rofcrea,  Turlogh, 

Scattery,  Weft  Carbury. 

Scotland  being  nearly  in  the  fituation  of  Ireland 
as  to  the  invafions  and  fettlement  of  the  Oftmen, 
we  accordingly  find  two  towers  there,  of  which 
Mr.  Gordon  gives  (f)  the  following  defcription, 
applicable,  with  little  variation,  to  ihofe  in  this 
ifland. 

"  I  went  diredly,  fays  he,  to  Abernethy,  the 
ancient  capital  of  the  Piftifh  nation,  about  four  miles 
from  Perth,  to  fee  if  I  could  find  any  remain*  of  the 
Pidls  hereabout ;  but  could  difcover  nothing  except 
a  ftately  hollow  fwllar  without  a  ftair-cafe ;  fo  that 
when  I  entered  within  and  looked  upward,  I  could 
fcarce  forbear  imagining  myfelf  at  the  bottom  of  a 
deep  draw-well.  It  has  only  one  door  or  entrance, 
facing  the  north,  fomewhat  above  the  bafis,  the 
height  of  which  is  eight  foot  and  a  half,  and  the 
/  breadth  from  jam  to  jam,  two  and  a  half.  Towards 
the  top  are  four  windows,  which  have  ferved  for  the 
admiflion  of  light ;  they  are  equidiftant,  and  five  foot 
nine  inches  in  height,  and  two  foot  two  inches  in 
breadth,  and  each  is  fupported  by  two  fmall  pillars. 
At  the  bottom  are  two  rows  of  ftones^  projefting 
from  beneath,  which  ferved  for  a  bafis  or  pedeftal. 
The  whole  height  of  the  pillar  is  feventy-five  foot^ 
and  confifts  of  fixty-four  rows,  or  regular  courfes  of 
hewn  ftone.  .The  external  circumference  at  the  bafe 

is 

(f)  Itinerar.  Septentrional,  pag.  164. 


ROUND  TOWERS  in  IRELAND.  143 

is  forty-eight  foot,  but  diminifties  fomewhat  towards 
the  top,  and  the  thicknefs  of  the  wall  is  three  foot 
and  a  half.  This  is  by  the  inhabitants  hereabouts 
called  the  round  fteeple  of  Abernethy,  and  is  fup- 
pofcd  to  be  the  only  remains  of  Piftifli  work  in 
ibefe  parts.** 

Of  another  tower  he  thus  fpeaks :  "  In  my 
journey  northward,  I  found  a  fteeple  at  Brechin, 
differing  little  in  fhape  from  that  at  Abernethy, 
only  it  was  larger  and  covered  at  the  top  -,  for  its 
height  from  the  bafe  to  the  cornice  is  eighty- five 
foot,  and  from  thence  to  the  vane  fifteen,  in  all 
one  hundred  j  it  confifts  of  fixty  regular  courfes  of 
ilone  ;  the  external  circumference  thereof  is  forty- 
feveii  foot,  and  the  thicknefs  of  the  wall  three  foot 
eight  inches.  However  this  has  no  pedeftal  like  the 
other,  but  feems  to  ftioot  out  of  the  ground  like  a 
tree  J  it  has  a  door  fronting  the  fouth ;  the  height  and 
breadth  of  which  differ  little  from  Abernethy ;  only 
upon  it  are  evidences  fufficient  to  demonftrate  that 
it  was  a  Chriftian  work,  for  over  the  top  of  the  door 
is  the  figure  of  our  Saviour  on  the  crofs,  with  two 
little  images  or  ftatues  towards  the  middle. 

**  This  fteeple  has  a  low  fpiral  roof  of  ftone, 
with  three  or  four  windows  above  the  cornice,  and 
on  the  top  thereof  is  placed  a  vane.  It  has  no  ftair- 
cafc  within,  any  more  than  the  other,  but  the  inha- 
bitants of  both  towns  afcend  to  the  top  by  ladders. 
The  vulgar  notion  of  thefe  is,  that  they  are  PiAifli, 
and  I  fhould  eafily  have  refted  in  that  opinion,  had 
I  not  been  fince  that  time  afTured,  that  fome  of  the 
like  monuments  are  to  be  feen  in  Ireland,  where 

the  Rfts  never  were  fettled*'' 

MEMOIRS 


MEMOIRS 


O  F 


DUNAMASE 


AND 


SHEAN    CASTLE, 


IN    THE 


Q^U  E  E  N'«    COUNT  Y; 


voL.n. 


I    I 


MEMOIRS 


O  F 


DUNAMASE 


AND 


SHEAN      CASTLE, 


IN  the  earlier  ages  of  fociety,  the  wants  of 
mankind  and  their  provocations  to  injuries 
fecm  to  have  been  few;  and  yet  ambition  and 
jcaloufy  too  frequently  called  forth  the  ferocity  of 
untamed  nature  and  the"  exertions  of  brutal  force ; 
difturbed  the  favage  inhabitants  of  the  wildemefs, 
and  compelled  them  to  feek  fecurity  on  {a)  emi- 
nences, and  in  places  of  difficult  accefs ;  to  inclofe 
an  area  with  a  ditch ;  or  form  an  abatis  of  trees. 
Convenience  and  emergency  pointed  out  thefe 
different  modes  of  defence,  and  this  kingdom  is 
fall  of  thofe  antient  fortrcfles.  Separated  from  ♦^o 
dmn  of  neighbouring  hills,  and  precipitous  on  all 
fides,  except  ^o  the  fouth-weft,  Dunamafe  offered 
a  iafe  afylum  to  the  firft  pofleflbr ;  and  if  any 

L  2  reliance 


{a)  See  Oefar's  account  of  thofe  antient  Forts»  and  Plat. 
it  Leg. 


148  MEMOIRS      OF 

reliance  is  to  be  placed  on  its  (b)  name^  it  was  ^ 
place  of  ftrength  in  the  rcmotaft  times. 

D6n  na  maes  in  Celtic  is — The  Fort  of  the 
Plain. — The  plain,  is  the  Great-Heath  of  Mary- 
borough, lying  to  the.north^eaft  of  the  Diin ;  a  flat 
of  confiderable  extent.     Ptolemy  makes  Dunum 
an  inland  Irifh  town,  but  (c)  Cambden  places  it  in 
Ulfter,  and  fays  it  is  Downpatrick.     Ware  (</) 
believes  the  Britifh  antiquary  hath  affigned  it  an 
improper  fituation,   which  fuppofition  of  Ware's, 
Harris  doth  not  contradidt.    But  the  latter  writers 
are  certainly  miftaken;  for  Dunamafe,  from  ihc 
narrownefs  of  its  circumference,  never  could  coth 
tain  but  a  few  cabbins,  and  in  records  it  is  con- 
ftantly  mentioned  as  a  fortrefs ;  whereas  Down- 
patrick, as  Cambden  rightly  obferves,  was  a  very 
old  town,  an  epifcopal  fee,  and  memorable  on  othei 
accounts ;  befidps,  Ptolemy's  information  was  very 
imperfedt  as  to  the  interior  of  the  ifland,  but  tole- 
rably accurate  as  to  what  refpefts  the  fea-coaft. 

"  We  are  (e)  told,  but  upon  apocryphal  authority, 
^hat  the  remarkable  building  iiear  Maryborough, 

in 

(h)  D^n  na  maes,  tliehill  of  the  plain,  and  metaphoricailj, 
the  fort.  Maes  is  M^gh  in  Iriih.  Luid.  Adverfar.  pag.  271. 
The  records  in  Birniingham  tower  call  it  Duneoiafke  ;  Sir 
John  Davis,  Duamafe ;  Ware,  Duneniaufe  ;  and  Baron 
Finglas,  with  ftill  greater  propriety,  Dunnamaufe;  all  ccrr 
ruptions  of  its  Celtic  originHJ.  Dun-mow,  or  Dun-magh  is 
the  fame.  The  French  call  fuch  hills,  Dunes,  and  the 
Putch,  Duynen.  Ut  aggeribus  arenarum  illic  copiofis,  quod 
punas  vocitant,  fere  cosequaretiir,  Annal.  Berijn.  A.  D.  83S, 

(c)  In  ipfius  iilhmo  Dunum  floruit,  cujus  meminit  etiam, 
fed  non  fuo  loco  Ptolou.aus,  nunc  Down,  vetuftae  fane  mc- 
.  inorlac  oppidum,  fedes  epifcopalis,  &c.  Brifanri.  pag.  707. 

(</)  Cambdenus  quaii  fub  alio  fole  locat,  et  Dunum  vult 
cfle  in  agro  Dunenfi.  Warsci  Antiq.  pag.  51. 

((f)  0*Halloran's  Hiftory  of  Ireland,  vol.  1.  pag.  267. 


bUNAMASE  AND  SHEAN  CASTLfe.  149 

in  the  Queen*s  County,  vulgarly  called  Dunamafcj 
was  originally  conftruftcd  by  I-iaigfeach,  a  cele- 
brated hero,  and  from  him  called — D(in  uY  Laig- 
ftach,  or  the  fortrefs  of  Laigfeach.**  It  is  not  eafy 
to  develope  the  writer's  meaning  in  this  palfage ; 
having,  probably,  never  feen  this  ifolated  rock,  or 
only  viewed  it  at  a  diftance,  he  imagined  it  the  work 
of  art ;  for  the  buildings  on  it  are  no  more  remarkable 
than  fimilarones  of  lime  and  ftone;  his  ignorance 
ftlfo  of  the  antient  Irifh  language  niakes  him  pro- 
duce a  very  inapt  and  inadequate  etymology ;  the 
vulgar  appellation,  as  he  is  pleafed  to  ftyle  it^ 
preferves  a  ftrong  refemblance  of  the  Celtic  original  j 
and  leads  us  to  its  primitive  defignation. 

Mr.  Pennant,  in  his  tour  in  Scotland,  faw,  near 
Struan,  a  Danilh  fortification  on  the  top  of  a  rock ; 
about  a  furlong  diflant,  was  another  large  fortified 
rock  5  thefe  fortrefles,  he  adds,  are  univerfally  called, 
in  the  Erfe,  Duns.  There  are  two  D6ns  in  the 
Queen's  County,  and  the  fame  in  every  circum- 
ftance  as  the  Scottilh  ones ;  this  of  Dunamafe,  the 
other  at  Clopokc,  about  five  miles  diftant.  They 
are  conoid  hills  of  limeftone,  exhibiting  a  very  An- 
gular appearance,  and  not  only  tenable  by  a  fmalL 
garrifon,  but  before  the  ufe  of  artillery,  almoft 
impregnable. 

On  the  fubmiflion  of  tlie  Iriih  chiefs  to  Idng 
Henry  the  Second,  the  Englilh  government  par- 
celled out  the  country  among  the  adventuiers,  as 
the  only  means  to  extend  and  retain  its  conquefts* 
la  the  fragment  of  hiftory  given  us  by  (f)  Maurice 

Regan, 

(f)  Harris*^  Hibcrnica,  pag  41. 


tso  M  E  M  O   I  R  S      O  F 

Regan,  the  names  of  the  dtftri£^s  and  of  fhc 
grantees  are  preferved ;  but  the  former  are  fo  antU 
quated  as  to  b6  inexpltcable ;  however  it  is  pro* 
bable,  that  Dunamafe  was  included  in  ^obd  ^ 
Clahul's  portion,  which  contained  all  the  land  be- 
tween Aghaboe  and  Leighlin. 

Perrhod,  kingof  Leinfter,  ntarrying  his  daughter 
Eva  to  Strongbow  carl  of  Pembroke^  on  his  dc- 
ceafe  made  him  his  univerial  heir;  whereby  the 
earl  inherited  the  {g)  prpvince  of  Leiniler,  and 
was  afterwards  enfeoffed  of  it  by  Henry  H.  He 
died  in  1176,  and  left  an  only  daughter,  Ifabd, 
efpoufed  to  William  Marfhall,  earl  of  Pembroke  ^ 
by  her  he  had  five  ibns,^  who  fucceeded  to  his  great 
d^ates  in  Leinfter ;  Anfelm,  the  fourth,  died  the  30 
Hen.  HI.  A.  D.  1245,  ^F^^  which  his  pdTeilkms 
gavelled  among  his  five  fitters.  *^  She,  who  married 
William  de  Bruce,  lord  of  Brecknock,  had,  fays 
(A)  baron  Finglas,  the  manor  of  Dunncmaufe  in 
Leix,  with  other  certainc  londes  in  the  county  of 
Kildare." 

From  thefe  words  we  may  infer,  that  Ehinamafe 
•was  early  made  a  (i)  manor  by  the  Pembroke 
family.  A  capita!  manors  as  defcribed  by  {k} 
'  Bradon,  liad  fubordinate  and  appendant  to  it, 
many  cafiles,  villages  and  hamlets,  that  owed  it 
Mts  and  iervices  -,  tUs  was  the  cafe  with  Duna- 
mafe, 

{g)  Davis's  Relatloni,  pag.  85 — 96,  et  fer«  pafilai. 

(h)  Harris's  Hibcmica,  litpra. 

(i)  Maneiiun.— vulgo  accipiiTir  pro  prsecipua  ftudi  domtf, 
Du  Cange,  voce  Maneriuni 

(k)  Poterit  etiam  efle  per  fe  nianerium  capitale,  et  plures 
fillas  et  plures  hainletas,  quafi  Tub  uno  capiie  sut  domimo. 
Lib.  4.  tra£l.  1.  cap.  31.  i  3. 


DUNAMASE  awd  SHEAN  CASTLE.  151 

mafe,  as  we  fhall  prefently  fee.  Finglas,  by  men- 
tioning Dunamaie  alone,  intimates  that  it  was  the 
chief  rcfidence  or  manfion  of  the  family  in  thofc 
parts ;  and  agreeable  to  this  idea  and  its  importance. 
Sir  John  pavis  calls  it — the  principal  honfe  of  Lord 
Mortimer  in  Leix. 

As  it  bounded  the  Englilh  pale  on  the  weft,  a 
ftrong  caftle  was  built  there  to  protedt  the  vicinity ; 
it  was  the  refidence  of  the  (/)  fenefchal^  who  repre- 
fented  the  lord ;  and  the  feat  of  military  authority 
and  civil  jurifdi£lion ;  here  all  the  incidents  of  the . 
feudal  fyftem  were  difcharged,  and  hither  the 
tenants  reforted  for  juftice  and  proteftion.  The 
precife  time  of  erefting  this  caftle  cannot  be  afcer- 
taincd,  but  it  may  be  conjedlurcd  to  have  been, 
about  the  beginning  of  Henry  IH's  reign,  in  the 
year  1 2 1 6  -,  for  nearly  at  the  fame  time,  the  caftle 
of  Ley,  eight  miles  diftant,  was  ercfted  by  the 
b^trons  rf  Ophaly,  on  the  banks  of  the  Barrow ;  a 
ftradlnre,  in  the  thitcknefs  and  height  of  its  walls, 
its  vaults  and  difpofition  of  rooms,  and  its  general 
ftyle  of  building,  refembling  the  former. 

As  the  lord  Paramount  was  bound  by  the  feudal 
conftitution  to  provide  the  ftate,  on  every  occafion, 
with  a  certain  number  of  foldiers ;  to  anfwer  fuch 
emergencies,  and  to  ftxure  his  property  againft  the 

in(brredlions 

(/)  Davis  fupra,  pag.  96.  Ficra  rhm,  in  part,  defcriLrji 
J>»s  office  :— Cuiifis  ttnere  inanerioruin,  et  c!e  fubtraftionibus* 
confaecudiniim,  ferviciorum,  rcddiiuuni,  feft.  ad  cur.  mercat. 
uioiendin.  Domini,  cr  ad  vilus  frank  pleg.  aliaruaique  librr- 
Uturii  Doiiilijo  ptrilnentiii.T)  int^iiliat.  Lib.  2.  csip.  66. 
Thefc  ncceiTarily  brought  a  concourle  of  pecple  to  Duna- 
0*3^?,  and  made  a  caftle,  ilroiig  works,  and  armed, men  in* 
dilpenfablc. 


iSt  MEMOIRS      OF 

infurreftions  of  the  natives ;  he  eilabiiflied  around 

his  capital  panfion  a  military  tenantry,  who  held 

by  knight's  fervice,  and  were  always  (m)  prepared 

for  war.    This  gave  rife  to  the  numerous  calUes 

that  furround  Dunamafe;  as  Dyiart,  Palace^  Shean, 

Moret,   Ballymanus,    Coolbanagher,  Ballybrittas^ 
Kilmarter  and  Ballyknockin. 

Nor  were  the  other  concomitants  of  baronial 
magnificence  wanting  to  Dunamafe.  About  it  lay 
the  demefne  and  other  tenemental  lands;  the 
Great-Heath  was  the  lord'is  wafle  and  common  to 
the  manors,  and  the  cafile  was  crouded  with  armed 
men,  the  terror  of  the  neighbourhood^  and  the 
bulwark  of  the  pale.  Such  was  the  (Uuation  of 
Dunamafe  for  many  years.  While  the  Britilh 
fettlers  preserved  their  original  manners,  the  fickle- 
nefs  of  the  Icifh,  and  their  pronenefs  to  refiftance 
were  efFedually  curbed;  but  when  the  pride  of 
power,  without  any  of  the  virtue  that  acquired  it, 
was  only  found  amoi^  them ;  when  corruptions 
had  degraded  their  national  chara^er,.  they  then 
became  contemptible  to  thofe  who  formerly  dreaded 
them,  and  inilead  of  mailers  became  fuitors  for 
protedlion. 

"  Taking  advantage,  fays  Sir  John  Davis,  of  tliofc 
w^ak  timcs>  the  Irifh  ufurped  thofe  feigniories  that 
were  in  poflenion  of  the  Englifli ;  fetting  up  a 
perpetual  claim  to  thofe  great  lordfhips,  they  were 
employed  by  the  Englifh  noblemen  for  their  pro- 

tedtion, 

(m)  One  of  the  laws  of  Edward  the  Confcffor  i$: — 
Debent  univcrfi  liberi  homines,  fecunciuin  fuum  fcedum,  et 
fecundum  tenementa  fua,  arma  habere,  et  iiln  femper, prompts 
i9nfer*u{ire^  ad  tuitioneiii  regni,  ct  fcrviciuiu  Doniinorum 
i»Ocuni»     Lambatdy  155. 


DUNAMASE  akd  SHEAN  CASTLE.  153 

tedUon,  but  feized  them  as  their  inheritance  when 
opportunity  offered.  Thus  about  the  end  of  Ed-  ^ 
ward  IPs  reign,  A.  D.  1325,  Lyfagh  O  More, 
the  antient  proprietary  of  Lcix,  being  intrufted  by 
lord  Mortimer,  who  had  married  lord  Brecknock's 
only  daughter,  with  the  care  and  protedlion  of  his 
cftates ;  aifumed  the  name  of  O  More,  took  eight 
caftles  in  one  evening,  deftroyed  Duamafe  (Duna* 
mafe),  and  recovered  that  whole  country  •,  de  fervo 
Dominus,  de  fubjedto  Princeps  affeftus,  faiih  Friar 
Clynn  in  his  annals."  Such  is  the  account  given  by 
Davis,  corroborating  what  hath  been  advanced 
concerning  Dunamafe  and  its  caftles. 

In  the  year  1329,  under  the  government  of  Sir 
John  Darcy,  Dunamafe  and  other  caftles  were 
recovered  from  the  Irifh;  but  fuch  at  that  time 
was  the  debility  of  the  Englifh  adminiftration  in 
this  kingdom,  that  there  was  very  little  fecurity  for 
property  againft  the  rapacity  of  the  firft  invader. 
The  O  Mores  again  feized  on  Dunamafe,  about 
the  1 8th  of  Edward  the  Third,  but  were  difpofrelTed 
in  two  years  after ;  for  by  a  («)  plea-roll  of  tlie 
20th  of  Edward  the  Third  it  appears,  that  Connel 
OMoreof  Leix,  who  after  rebellion  had  fubmittcd 
himfelf  at  Athy  to  Walter  Berminghatn,  Jufticiaiy 
of  Ireland,  acknowledged  that  he  held  his  manor 
of  Bellet  and  other  his  lands  in  Lqx,  of  Roger 
Mortimer,  as  of  his  manor  of  Donmaflce  (Duna- 
mafe). 

In -the  year  1398,  the  fame  Mortimer,  carl  of 
March  and  Ulfter  and  loid  of  Dunamafe,  being 

IV.uicnant 

{n)  Apud  Harri*'s  Hiberiiica,  pag.  74. 


15+  M  E  M  O  I  R  S      O  F 

neutcnant  of  Ireland,  had  his  paternal  caftlc  repsire^, 
and  hs  works  enlarged  ;'it  is  probable  he  would 
have  vifited  his  cflates  in  Lcix,  had  he  not  been 
unfortunately  (lain  in  an  engagement  with  the 
O  Byrnes,  at  Kdls  in  Offory,  the  twentieth  of  July 
this  year. 

Very  little  remarkable  is  recorded  of  Dunamafe 
for  feme  fuccceding  centuries,  but  its  change  of 
maimers  in  the  perpetual  convulfions  which  this 
nation  experienced.  In  the  reign  of  the  cider 
James,  this  wKh  the  other  fortreffes  of  (he  kingdom 
was  put  into  a  defenfible  flate.  It  was  found,  that 
the  conflruiflion  of  caftles  and  ftrong  houfes,  were 
the  only  certain  means  of  fecuring  the  allegiance  of 
the  natives,  and  the  pofleffions  of  the  Englifh. 
Hence  in  the  fpace  of  thirteen  years,  from  the  flight 
of  Tyrone  and  Tyrconnel  in  1606  to  161 9,  (the 
time  (0)  Pynnar  made  his  furvey)  there  were  buih  in 
the  fix  efcheated  counties  of  Ulfter,  one  hundred 
and  eighty-feven  cailles  with  bawns,  nineteen  with- 
out bawns,  and  forty-two  bawns  without  caftles. 
'j/  Under  the  adminiftration  of  the  earl  of  Strafford, 
t  i  as  Borlafe  acquaints  us,  many  new  caftles  were 
-^-  built  and  the  old  repaired  1  amid  this  attention, 
Dunamafe  was  not  neglcfled,  as  we  (hall  now  fee. 
In  the  beginning  of  the  Irifli  rebellion,  the  in- 
furgents  fecured  Maryborough,  Dunamafe,  Carlow 
and  other  ftrong  holds.  The  earl  of  Ormond  ar- 
riving at  Athy  from  Dublin,  in  April  1 642, detached 
parlies  to  the  relief  of  thofe  fortrefles.  Of  one  of 
ihefe  detachments  Sir  Richard  Cox  thus  fpeaks  in 

his 

(a)  Hibernjci,  fupta. 


DUNAMASE  am©  SHEAN  CASTLE.  155 

bis  Hiftory  of  bdand :  ^  Sir  Charley  Cootc  going 
to  £ir,  viras  to  pafs  a  caufeway  vAach  the  rebels  had 
brok^i  up^  aod  had  cail  up  a  dhdi  at  the  end  of  it ; 
but  Coote  made  thirty  of  his  diagoofns  alight,  and 
in  perfon  led  them  on,  and  beat  off  the  Iriih  with 
the  flaughter  of  forty  rebels  and  their  captain ;  and 
thai  rebeYed  the  caftles  of  Bir,  Burcas  and  Knock- 
namafe)  (Dunandafe)." 

On  the  retreat  of  Ormond,  thefe  forts  (p)  fub- 
mitted  to  general  Preflon,  but  were  re-taken  by  the 
long's  forces,  and  contiuued  in  their  pofleilion  until 
the  year  1 646,  when  Owen  Roe  O  Neil  entered  the 
Q2;eeQ*s  county,  coaunitting  every  a£t  of  outrage 
and  cruelty;  he  (q).  took  Dyfiurt,  Maryborough, 
CuUenbrack,  Sheehen  alias  Dfiden,  Bealaroyn, 
Caillereban,  Sea  Dunamafe  within  a  finall  mile  of 
Dyfart  cfid  not  efcape. 

In  1648,  O  Neil  offered  to  furrender  bis  garriibns 
in  the  Qieen's  county  to  colonel  Jones,  and  to  lay 
down  his  arms,  provided  he  and  the  confederate 
catholics  might  have  the  privileges  oonfirmed  tp 
than  whkh  they  enjoyed  in  the  r«gn  of  king 
Jaracs ;  but  this  was  not  accepted  ^  the  next  year 
lord  Caftlehaven  drove  ONeil  out  of  the  county. 

In  July  1650,  Mary.horough,  Dimamafe,  and 
the  ue'^bouriog  forts  furrendered  to  the  colonels 
Heufon  and  Reynolds ;  Dunamafe  was  blown  up 
and  efTeftnally  difmantled,  as  were  the  reft. 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  a  defcription  of  this  an- 
tient  fortrefs  : — The  entrance  is  S.  W.  and  faces 
the  road  to  Stradbally;  here  was  the  barbican, 

which 

(/)  Caftlchavcn's  Memoirs. 

{q)  Defiderata  Curios.  Hibem.  pag.  So6. 


156  M  E  M  O  I  R  S      O   P 

which  ferved  for  a  watch-tower,  and  was  joined  td 
the  ditch  by  a  draw-bridge.  On  each  fide  of  th6 
barbican  were  ditches,  as  far  as  the  hill  was  ac- 
ceifible,  and  the  (r)  outward  ballium  was  flanked 
with  two  towers  or  baftionsj  the  firft  gateway  is 
feven  feet  wide,  and  the  wails  fix  feet  thick ;  it  has  a 
{s)  machicolation  over  it,  for  pouring  down  melted 
lead  or  fcalding  water  -,  the  wall  of  this  ballium  is  a 
parapet,  crenellated,  and  to  the  N.  E.  is  twenty 
feet  high,  with  long  chii\ks  and  oillet  holes.  The 
diftance  between  tower  and  tower  is  one  hundred 
and  feventy-four  feet. 

Between  the  outward  and  inward  ballia  is  a 
length  of  one  hundred  feet  ^  the  gate  of  the  latter 
is  placed  in  a  tower,  and  over  it  was  a  guard-room; 
in  the  thicknefs  of  the  walls  are  fide  paifages  ad- 
mitting but  one  perfon  at  a  time,  and  he  by  no 
means  corpulent.  From  this  fecond  tower  begins 
the  parapet  wall  that  furrounds  the  fummit  of  the 
hill ;  its  circumference  is  1086  feet ;  the  area  is  not 
perfeftly  circular,  though  nearly  fo,  as  far  as  the 
projections  and  inequalities  of  the  rock  will  admit; 
fo  that  Its  diameter  at  top  is  362  feet.  The  hill 
is  naturally  an  elliptical  conoid;  in  fome  parts, 
from  its  bafe  to  its  vertex,  it  meafures  200  feet. 

The  inner  wall,  at  proper  diftances,  had  towers ; 
the  foundations  ftill  appear ;  on  the  liinimit  of  the 
hill  flood  the  keep  or  donjon  5  fome,  and  not  im- 

probablyj 

(r)  BaHium  is  the  (pace  immediately  within  the  otittfr 
wall. 

(j)  Machicolations  are  fmall  done  projections,  fopported 
by  brackets,  having  open  intervals^at  bottom,  or  a  kind  oS 
grates  for  the  ufes  mentioned. 


DUNAMASE  akd  SHEAN  CASTLE. 

probably,  have  fuppofed  this  to  be  the  chapel ;  it 
18  call  and  weft,  and  the  caftem  window  intire. 
It  was  this  appropriation  to  a  reli^ous  ufe,  that 
perhaps,  flopped  the  fury  of  the  fanatic  deftroyers 
of  this  building,  and  left  it  untouched.  Contiguous 
to  this  was  a  dwelling  houfe,  feventy-two  feet  long 
and  twenty -one  wide ;  on  this  were  platforms  and 
embattled  parapets,  from  whence  the  garrifon 
might  fee  and  command  the  exterior  works.  The 
houfe  was  divided  into  apartments,  and  vaults  ran 
under  the  whole.  To  the  N.  W.  was  a  well  of 
excellent  water ;  and  on  the  weft  was,  what  tra- 
dition calls,  a  prifon ;  but  it  feems  to  have  been  a 
poftern.  The  naked  rock  appears  on  the  N.  E. 
fide,  and  the  approach  to  the  other  parts  was  diffi- 
cult and  dangert)us.  When  whole  and  complete 
it  was  a  beautiful  model  of  military  architedture, 
and  even  at  this  day  prefents  the  curious  vifitant 
with  noble  ruins  of  its  former  grandeur. 

Small  filver  coins,  belonging  to  the  early  Irifli 
{Kinces,  have  been  found  at  Dunamafe ;  there  is 
one  in  the  colledlion  of  the  Rev.  Mervyn  Archdall, 
rcdlor  of  Attier- Attanagh,  in  the  diocefe  of  Oflbry, 
that  is  a  great  curiofity  j  it  is  the  fize  of  a  filver 
four-pence,  but  thinner ;  on  the  face  is  this  epi- 
griphc — Re  Morrah,  King  O  Mora,  or  O  More ; 
and  on  the  reverfe  is,  Na  Dunegh,  or  rather 
Dunadh,  of  the  Fort ;  expreffing  the  place  of  coinage, 
^nd  the  refidence  of  the  chief.  The  letters  are  the 
antient  Ogham  croabh  characters,  and  the  fame 
with  thofe  that  appear  on  the  coins  of  O  Toole, 
found  at  Glendaloch  in  the  county  of  Wicklow. 
This  coin  was  ttruck  in  the  eleventh  century  -,  for, 

fubrcquent 


15»  MEMOIRS      OP 

fubfequent  tx>  the  Normaa  iovafion,  the  native 
Iriih  princes  coined  no  money^  though  before  diat 
period  the  practice  was  common.    ' 

SHEAN     CASTLE, 

As  we  before  obferved,  was  a  manor  dependent 
on  Dunaniafe,  and  buik  not  many  years  pofterior 
to  it.  The  name  is  varioufly  written.  In  a  record 
of  the  zo  Richard  JI:  A.  D.  1397,  it  is  Sion ;  artd 
in  a  (/)  tradt  relative  to  the  Iriih  rebellion,  it  is 
Sheehan  ;  but  as  the  moft  antient  name  generally 
approaches  neareft  the  true  one,  fo  ^loi)  in  Iriih 
expreiTes  its  expofure  to  all  the  viciffitudes  of  wea- 
ther, it  Handing  on  an  high  eminence  and  uri- 
flieltered. 

In  an  account  of  the  caftles  in  the  Queen's  county 
in  1 61 5,  it  is  called  Shi  an;  and  on  the  banks  of 
the  Blackwater  near  Lifmore,  in  the  county  of 
Waterford,  is  a  Shian  cattle;  but  the  (u)  writer 
who  gives  this  information  offers  nothing  in  expla- 
nation of  the"  appellation. 

It  has  efcaped  the  notice  of  our  antiquaries,  that 
,  the  Englifti  on  their  fettlement  here,  gave  Saxonic 
names  to  places,  which  have  pafled  with  the  in- 
curious for  Irifli  ones,  and  therefore  their  etymology 
is  in  vain  fouglit  for  in  the  latter  language ;  thus  the 
name  of  the  third  cantred  of  the  barony  of  "DflTory, 
in  the  Queen's  county,  is  Upperwoods  •,  intimating 
its  forcfts  mounted  on  its  lofty  mountains.  The 
^  parilb, 

(/)  Defiderat.  Curios.  Hib.  fupra. 

fu)  Su]ith\s  Hiftory  of  the  County  of  Waterford,  pag.  61?. 


'    DUNAMASE  and  SHEAN  CASTLE.  159 

parUh,  which  comprehends  the  whole  caatred,  is 
called  OfFerelane,  corrupted  from  Oferly ng,  which  in 
Saxon  means  fuperior,  and  is  fy nonymous  to  Upper- 
'woods.  Shean  might  originally  have  been  Sien, 
the  Saxon  Scoo,  the  pupil  or  fight  of  the  eye,  it 
bearing  tHs  analogy  to  Dunamafe.  The  Englifh 
fpoke  almoft  pure  Saxon  in  the  reign  of  Henry  II. 
wUch  ^?e8  caunteuahce  to  the  preceding  conjee* 
ture. 

SSiean  caftle  is  fituated  on  one  of  thofe  high 
conical  hills,  which  are  (o  common  in  its  vicinity. 
Though' not  remarkable  for  its  magnitude,  it  was  a 
place  qS  confiderable  flrength ;  the  declivities  round  . 
it  being  fteep  and  eafily  defended.  By  the  (w) 
record  before  cited,  .it  appears,  that  Sir  Robert 
PrcftoKi  in  the  year  1 397,  held  by  the  law  of  Eng^ 
land,  the  inheritance  of  Margaret  his  late  wife  the 
manor  of  Sion  in  Liex,  of  Roger  Mortimer,  as  of 
his  manor  of  Dunmafke  (Dunamafe) ;  it  (bared  the 
revolutions  of  the  latter  in  the  fubfequent  periods 
of  Wftoty ;  but  being  neither  £0  ftrong  or  tenable 
it  efcaped  demolition,  and  continued  for  centuries 
in  its  prifline  Hate,  until  it  came  into  poifeflion  of 
its  prefent  occupier,  the  reverend  dodtor  Charles 
Coote,  dean  of  Kilfenora. 

He  has  revived  Shean  with  new  fplendor,  and 
added  at  a  vaft  expence,  fuch  embellifhrnents  to 
its  fine  fituation,  as  make  it  both  an  ornament  to 
the  country  and  a  delightful  refidence. 

(v;)  Tennit  per  legem  Anglise  de  hsreditate  Margarita. 
nuper  uzoris  fux,  manerium  de  Sion  in  Leix,  de  Rogero  de 
Mortuomariy  lit  dc  manerio  fuo  de  Donmalkc.  Hibernica, 

pas-  74- 

FINIS, 


speedily  will  be  Fublifhed, 

ColleSianea  de  Rebus  Hibernkh* 


NUMBER     VII. 


DRUIDISM  REVIVED; 

-OR, 

A  Discourse  on  the  Letters,  Learkikg,  and 
Religion  of  the  HIBERNIAN  DRUIDS. 

Jlluftrated  by  nsmeroiu  exifting,  jet  hitherto  unobfcTred, 

MOROMBNTS. 


By  WILLIAM  BEAUFORD,  M.A; 

SOCIET.   ANTIQ:.'HIB.   SOC. 


Colle&anea  de  Rebus  Hibernicis, 


NUMBER      VII. 


CONTAINlNOi 

I.  Druidism  Revived  :  or,  a  Dissertation  oq 
the  Characters  and  Modes  of  Writing  ufed 
by  the  Irish  in  their  Pagan  State,  and  after  their 
Conversion  tp  Christianity. 

U.  Of  the  Origin  and  Language  of  the  Irish  ;  and 
cf  the  Lsarnino  of  th^  Druids.  .      . 


By  WILLIAM  BEAUFORD,  A.M. 
societ.  antiq^  hib.  ^oc. 

■ 

ILLUSTRATED  WITH  COPPER-PLATES. 


DUBLIN: 

PRINTED'BV   R.   M  A  R  C  H  B  A  N  K, 

VKINTER    TO    THE    ANTIQJJARIAN    SOCIETY, 

AND  SOLD  BY  L.  L,  FLIN,  CASTLE-STREET. 


M,DCC^LXXXI. 


/ 


TO 


Sir  ROBERT  STAPLES,  Bart. 


THIS 


SEVENTH  NUMBER 


OF   THE 


COLLECTANEA 


PE 


REBUS  HIBERNICIS, 


IS    INSCRIBED, 


Br  BIS  MOST  OBBPIBHT 


AHD  HVMBI.B  SBRVAHT, 


ynUAAM  BEAUFORD, 


.  ^ 


••    «.        * 


*  * 


JL 


.     ■» 


DRUIDISM  REVIVED : 

O  R,    A 

DISSERTATION 

■ 

O  N      T  H  E 

mm 

I 

CHARACTERS    and    MODES 


o  F 


WRITING 

USED    BY    THE     - 

I       R       I       3       H 

IN  THEIR  PAGAN  STATE,  AND  AFTER  THEIR 
CONVERSION  TO  CHRISTIANITY. 

IT  has  been  much  controverted  in  the  Republic 
of  Letters^  whether  the  ancient  inhabitants  of 
Ireland,^  before  their  converfion  to  the  Chriftian 
faith,  had  the  ufe  of  Letters,  or  any  means  of 
communicating  their  thoughts  in  writing.  If  we 
give  credit  to  their  antiquaries  and  hiftorians,  no 
people  cultivated  learning  with  fo  much  affiduity, 
and  that  at  a  period  when  the  Greeks  and  Romans 
remained  in  a  ftate  of  barbarifm.  According  to 
them  (a\  the  art  of  writing  was  known  in  this  ifland 
as  early  as  the  tenth  century  before  the  Chriftian 
Vol.  II.  M  era ; 

I 

(«)  O  Flaherty,  Keating,  Toland,  Harris,  &c,      • 


i6%  DRUIDISM  REVIVED. 

era  %  for  it.  is  aflerted^  that  OUainMlah  a  king  of 
Ireland,  about  the  year  of  the  world  3236,  in- 
ffituted  the  eonvention  of  Taragh  in  the  county  of 
Meath^  as  a  college  or  fociety  to  infpeft  geneatc^es, 
cbronides   and    hiftories;    whatevef  paffed  their 
fcrutiny  was  inferted  in  a  book  or  regiller,  called 
the  pfalter  of  Taragh^  which  for  feveral  ages  was 
confidered  as  the  grand  repofitory  of  the  ardiives 
of  the  kingdom.   This  convention  however  appears^ 
to  have  been  the  firft^  which  publicly  cultivated 
this  excellent  art ;  for  it  is  acknowledged  that  writing 
was  not  in  general  ufe,  and  the  kiifa  did  not  commit 
their  poems  and  laws  to  writing  till  near  700  years 
after,  that  is,  in  the  r^ign  of  M'Neffan  king  of 
Ulfter.    ' 

Notwithftanding  the  drcumftantial  account  givea 

hy  the  antiquaries  ^nd  hiftorians  of  the  middle  and 

fetter  ageSf  relative  to  the  fearning  and:  dvUifntifiQ 

of  the  antient  In(h>  the  learned  in  gencrd  have 

l^een  much  divided  on  this  head ;  as  the  teftimonies 

hitherto  gvcn,  have  rather  been  pofitive  aflertbnci^ 

unfupported  by  proofs  and  matters  of  fadt^  than 

real  hiftories.   For  though  they  have  made  frequent 

,     mention  of  feveral  fpecies  of  letters  and  alphabets^ 

made  ufe  of  by  the  pagan  inhabitanta  of  this  ifland, 

yet  they  have  given  very  few  fpeciraens  of  the 

eharaders,  and  none  before  their  converfion  to  the 

Chriftian  faith.     And  though  they'ahb  make  ftc- 

q^uent  mention  of  ancient  writings  or  records^  from 

which  their  more  modern  hiftories  are  fuppofed  to^ 

ht  taken,  few  if  any  of  thefe  records  have  come 

down  to  our  time.     To  obviate,  in  fome  meafiire, 

^  drcumitance  wluch  mig^it  call  in  queftion  the 

«  ,  authenticity 


DRUIDISM   REVIVED.  t6$ 

authenticity  of  their  hiftorical  tranfadtions,  they 
have  aliedged,  that  in  the  ravages  committed  by 
the  Danes  in  the  ninth  century,  the  greater  part  of 
the  books  and  chronicles  were  defiroyed,  and  the 
few  remaining,  during  their  conteft  with  the  Englilh, 
and  the  civil  wars  which  rent  this  unhappy  country 
for  near  800  years,  were  either  deftroyed  or  carried 
by  the  clergy  to  the  continent;  but,  though  dili- 
gent enquiry  has  been  made  by  feveral  learned 
perfons,  in  Spain,  Denmark  and  other  countries, 
ilo  fuch  writings  have  hitherto  been  found.  Evea 
the  moil  authentic  Irifh  records,  which  have  in 
any  degree  come  within  the  verge  of  the  cmphre 
of  letters,  as  the  annals  of  Ulfter,  Innisfail,  Tiger- 
nach,  and  the  pfalter  of  Caftiel,  all  of  which  were 
written  about  the  tenth,  eleventh  and  twelfth 
centuries,  begin  at  the  fifth  and  conclude  with  the 
tenth,  without  making  the  leaft  mention  of  the 
pagan  ftate  of  the  Irilh  •,  if  there  had  at  the  time  of 
compiling  thefe  works  been  any  records  relative  to 
that  period,  or  any  remarkable  tradition  handed 
down  by  the  bards,  we  may  rcafonably  fappofc 
they  would  have  mentioned  it ;  but'their  filcnce  on 
this  head  may  ferve  in  a  great  nieafure,  not  only 
Id  confirm  us  in  the  opinion  of  the  learned  in 
general,  that  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Ireland  had 
not  the  ufe  of  letters  prior  to  their  converfion  to 
the  Chrifiian  faith,  and  that  the  firft  alphabet  this 
ifland  ever  faw  was  that  of  the  Latins  of  the  middle 
ages,  introduced  by  St.  Patrick,  or  fome  other  of 
the  Chrillian  raiflionaries,  but  alfo  the  affcrtions  of 
moft  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  writers,  as  Strabo, 
Diodorus  Siculus,  Caefar,  Pliny  and  others.    Thefc 

M  z  writers 


x64  DRUIDISM   REVIVED. 

writers,  fo  far  from  confidering  the  Irifli  of  theTr 
times  a  civilized  and  learned  people  in  general,, 
efteem  them  a  favage  and  ignorant  race ;  though 
Ireland,  in  thofe  periods,,  mud  have  been  well 
known  to  them^  both  by  reafdn  of  the  trade  which 
the  Romans  carried  on  with  it,  and  their  remarning 
fo  many  years  in  Britain*  Strabo  is  the  firft  writer 
of  antiquity,  who  treats  with  any  degree  of  precifioa 
of  the  manners  of  the  old  Iriih  v  his  account  differs 
in  no  refpedk  from  thofe  we  have  at  prefent,  relative 
to  the  favage  tribes  of  Indians  who  perambulate 
the  wilds  of  A^merica  v  nay,  in  fome  of  his  relations 
(i),  he  not  only  afferts  they  were  in  a  barbaroas 
i^ate,  but  much  more  ib  than  tlie  Britons :  and 
ncientions  feveral  of  their  manners,  which  would  be 
fufficient  to  degrade  the  niofl  ferocious  favages  {c\ 
Nor  is  the  teftimony  of  Diodorus  Siculus  (jt)  more 
favourable  than  that  of  Strabo ;  they  werfe  in  the 
days  of  this  writer,  fb  far  fron  bring  civilized  by 
long  poflefHon  of  letters  and  a  conftant  cultivatiorr 
of  arts  and  fclences,  that  they  were  thought  to  feed 
on  human  bodies ;  a  circumilance  poUtively  afierted 
by  St  Jerom,  who  fays  that  in  his  younger  days, 
having  an  occafion  to  make  a  voyage  into  Gaul, 
he  there  iaw  the  Scots  or  Irifh,  a  people  of  Britain, 
eat  human  flelb,  though  there  were  found,  (ays  he,  j 
lai  their  forefts,  great  herds  of  fwine  and  other 
cattle  (fV  Even  the  account  given  by  Pomponius 
Mela,  is  extremely  unfavourable  to  a  civilization 
arifing  from  a  long  poffeffioa  of  letters }  he  calls 

them 

(j)  Strabo,  lib.  %. 

(r)  Strabo,  lib.  4. 

(//)  Diod.  Sicu.  iib.  ^ 

(«)  MieronyiD.  adv.  Jovia*  Hb.  2*  p*  55- 


DRUIDISM  REVIVED.  .     165 

ftem  a  race  of  men,  unpolifhed,  barbarous  and 
ignorant  of  every  virtue  (f).  Nor  were  they  much 
improved,  if  we  can  credit  Julius  Solinus,  about 
the  third  century  {g).  Thcfe  authorities  appear 
fafficient  to  overthrow  intireiy  the  pretenfion  of  the 
Jrifh  hiftorlans,  relative  to  the  learned  ftate  of  their 
pagan  ancettors  \z&  the  Britons  who,  according  to 
Strabo,  reforted  to'Rome  (A)  could  not  be  ignorant 
of  the  internal  ftate  of  this  iflarwi ;  and  frcMn  whom 
we  may  reafonably  conclude  both  Strabo  and 
Mela  obtained  their  information  concerning  the 
Irifti.  And  in  the  days  of  Tacitus,  the  ports  of 
Ireland  were  well  known  (/) ;  confequently,  that 
j;:elebrated  hiftorian  could  not  be  ignorant  of  the 
real  charafter '  of  its.  inhabitants.  But  Solinus  had 
a  better  opportunity  than  either  Strabo,  Mela,  or 
Tacitus,  of  obtaining  information  on  this  fobjedt ; 
as  in  his  time,  Britain  had  been  a  province  of  the 
empire  at  leaft  200  years. '  Some  communication 
muft  have  been  maintained  between  the  two  iflands 
during  that  period,  and  confequently  the  Romans 
covdd  not  have  remained  ignorant  of  the  manners 
and  cuftoms  of  the  inhabitants  of  Ireland. 

Sir  James  Ware,  the  moft  juftly  elteemed  of 
all  the  Irifli  antiquaries,  and  ever  zealous  for  the 
honour  of  his  country,  gives  not  the  leaft  credit  to 
the  pretenfions  of  the  Irifh  to  an.alphabet,  before 
tjhelr  converfion  to  Chriftianity ;  and  Nennius  feems 

to 

{f)  Pomp.  Mela,  lib.  4. 

^^).Solious.  36. 

{b)  'ArrHr«u<U<  wi|  ^^mic  %yk^  h  P«ytfi.     Sxrabo,  ^ib.  4 

fjr)  Tacitus  viL  As^*c.  ^4. 


l66  '    DRUID  ISM  REVIVED. 

to  affert,  that  the  ufe  of  letters  was  firft  tau^t  the 
Irirti.  by  St.  Patrick  (*). 

In  the  ignorance  of  letters  howevert  if  this  wa^ 
really  the  cafe^  the  Irirti  were  in  no  worfe  predica- 
ment than  their  neighbours,  the  Britons  and  Gauls, 
For  moil  of  the  Roman  writers,  as  Capfar  (/)| 
Tacitus,  Strabo  and  others  ponfiantly  maintain, 
that  neilhe/  the  Gauls,  Britons  nor  Celtes  in  general 
were  acquainted  with  letters  \  but  on  the  contrary, 
committed  their  poems,  laws  and  religious  tenets 
to  memory  only  \  fo  that  it  required  of  thofe  who 
entered  into  the  druidic  orders,  the  labour  of  forac 
years  to  attain  their  learning  and  do(^rine,  to  any 
degree  of  perfeftion.  Being  accuftomed  to  no 
other  bufinefs  but  arms  and  the  cli^ce,  they  efteemed 
It  mean  and  ignoble  either  to  read  or  write.  Eliaa 
from  Androtion  hj^s  preferved  a  remarkable  paiTage 
on  this  fubjeft  ^  "  There  was  not,  fays  he,  among 
the  ancient  Thracians,  any  one  who  underi^od 
the  ufe  of  letters  \  and  that  in  general,  all  the  bar- 
barians eftablirtied  in  Europe,  looked  upon  tbo 
knowledge  of  letters  as  the  moft  mean  and  ftxaroeful 
thing  in  the  world.  An  opinion  alfo  maintained 
by  the  barbarians  of  Afia.*'  (iff) 

Seeing 

% 

ijt)  Sanftus  Tatricius  fcripfir  Abietoria  36$  et  eo  tmplivs 
■uinero.     Neno.  99.. 

(/)  Neque  fks  efle  exidimant  ea  Uteris  mandare^  id  mihi 
duabus  de  cau^s  inftitoifS  videotur ;  quod  neque  in  vulgus 
difciplinam  efferri  velint ;  neque  eos  qui  difcuat.  Uteris  con- 
iifosy  minus  meiiiorise  dudere^  quod  fere  plerifque  accidit, 
ut  prxfidio  literarum  diligentiaih  in  perdifcendo  ac  memontm 
remittant.     Czfar,  6.  14. 

wn^t^it  0U<7%tr0»  2iNu,   fiWrf«<  o»  w  Bmgi»w»i  iMtrnvc   Bu^mfth 

i*«W^r.    Liian.  V.  H.  8. 


DRUIDISM  REVIVED.  t«} 

Seeing  therefore  the  mod  refpedlabie  authorities, 
ancient  and  moderQi  agree  in  excluding  not  only 
the  Irifh^  but  all  the  Celtic  tribes  in  general  from 
an  eariy  knowledge  of  letters^  it  may  be  thought 
prefumptuous  to  attempt  the  eftablifhment  of  a  v 
contrary  opinion.  But  we  ought  not  to  be  deterred 
by  the  authority  of  great  names,  however  refpedl- 
able,  firom  fearching  after  truth  ^  for  though  thoi^ 
whom  we  have  quoted  and  many  others,  have 
declaimed  againft  the  4ife  of  letters  among  the 
aboriginal  inhabitants  of  Europe,  yet  there  are 
feveral  who  h^ve  maintained  the  contrary.  Laertius 
in  lus  life  of  Arifiotle,  and  in  his  difcourfe  on  phi- 
lotbpby,,  fays,  that  the  Greeks  had  the  original  of 
their  theology,  and  the  mod  fublime  parts  of  theit 
philoibphy  firom  the  druids  of  the  Celtes  (»).  And 
J.  Magnus  aflerts  ((?),  that  the  northern  inhabitants 
of  Europe  had  the  art  of  exprefTing  things  by 
writiDg,  long  before  the  Latins  invented  letters; 
and  that  the  aboriginals  of  Italy,  whom  the  Romans 
expcHed  on'  their  fettlemenl  therein,  though  rude^ 
had  the  knowledge  of  letter^  and  taught  them  to 
Iheir  conquerors.  Even  the  Goths  in  a  very  early 
period,  engraved  cbara^^s  or  letters^  on  large 

fiones, 

In)  Ap.  Lt€ft,  <i«  yit.  Philo.  cap.  I,  • 

{o)  IpCos  aquiloivares  oninino  caruifle  fcriptonbus  rerum  4 
{e  magnifice  geftaruin,  cum  longe  ante  inventas  literas  La- 
lioas,  et  antequam  carmenta  ex  Grsecia  ad  oftia  T/beris, 
et  {Lomanuin  folum  cum  Evandro  perveoiint^  expuliifque 
aboriginijbus  gencem  illam  rudem  mores  et  literas  docuifler« 
Gotbi  fuas  literas  foabuerint,  cujus  rei  iDdicium  pracilant 
eziniic  magnitudinis  fa^a  ;  qux  literarum  formis  infculpta 
pcrfoailere  poifint,  quod  ante  univerfale  diiavium.  vcl  paulo 
poft  gigantea  vircute  ibi  ere^a  fuifltat^  J.  MagQus,  lib.  f« 
Hift.  Sue.  Qtp.  7. 


|68  DRUIDISM   REVIvteD. 

ftones,  which  ihe  later  inhabitants  believe  were 
placed  there  before  the  univerfal  deluge,  or  after 
that  event,  were  creded  by  giants,  AMb  Lin- 
debrogius  in  his  commentaries  relates,  that  Cadmus 
introduced  among  the  Greeks,  letters  which  refcm- 
bled  thofe  of  the  Galathians  and  the  Mseoiiicii, 
which  letters  were  the  fame  as  thofe  of  the  Phoe- 
nicians ;  from  whence  he  concludes,  that  before  the 
time  of  Cadmus,  letters,  philofophy,  poetry,  theo^ 
logy  and  laws  were  amongft  the  Gauls,  Germans 
ip)  and  mod  other  inhabitants  of  ancient  Europe, 
Even  Caefar,  though  he  aiferts  that  neither  the 
druids  of  the  Gauls  or  Britons  committed  their 
dodrine  to  writing*  yet  acknowledges,  that  the 
merchants  on  the  fca-coafts  wrote  their  common 
affairs  in  letters,  nearly  refembling  thofe  of  the 
Greeks  (q).  This  affertion  of  Caefar,  tiiough  by 
fome  critics  fuppofed  to  be  introduced  into  the 
text  by  fome  commentator  or  tranfcriber,  feems 
.  to  be  confirmed  by  Tacitus,  who  relates  that 
among  the  Rhetii  in  Germany,  feveral  monuments 
and  tumuli  were  to  be  found  in  his  time,  inferibed 
with  letters  not  unlike  the  Greek  (r).  And  Strabo 
informs  us,  that  the  Gauls  and  Britons  wrote  their 
letters,  contrads,  accompts  and  whatever  related 
to  public  bufmefs  and  civil  life,  in  Greek  cHarac- 
>    lets  (s).    But  the  druids  would  never  confent  that 

they 

(p)  Shedius  de  dts  German,  lib.  %•  cap.  i8. 

^'^)  In  reliquis  fere  rebus,  publicif  privatifque  rationibui, 
(Graecis)  literis  utuntur.     Caefar.  6.  14. 

(r)  Monamenta  er  lumulos  quofdaai  Graecis  Uteris  iti^ 
fcripcos  in  confinio  Germanise  Rheriaeque  adhuc  exiftere. 
Tacitus  in  L.  de  mor.  Germ. 

{s)  ContraAus  Graced  oracioae  fcribunt.  StrabO|  lib.  4. 


DRUIDiSM   REVIVED.  169 

«they  (hould  commit  to  writing  their  laws  and  hiC- 
tory,  much  lefs  the  tenets  of  their  rcUgton,  taking 
all  poffible  care  to  conceal  thofe  matters  from  the 
people. 

From  thefe  teftimonies  it  appears  probable,  that 
the  Celtic,  Sarmatic  and  Scythic  clans,  which 
reiided  in  the  forefis  and  wilds  of  uncultivated 
Europe,  as  well  as  the  Egyptians  and  Phoenicians ; 
had  the  art  of  expreilmg  their  thoughts  by  means 
eidier  of  characters  or  letters,  at  a  very  early 
period ;  and  the  aflertion  of  the  Iri(h  antiquaries,  as 
before  quoted,  refpedting  the  learning  of  the  an-  . 
cient  inha}>itants  of  this  country,  though  in  a  date 
of  nature,  may  not  intirely  be  void  of  truth ;  for 
ihe  faculties  of  the  human  mind,  in  all  ages  and 
nations,  are  nearly  the  fame,  and  a  date  dF  bar- 
barilm  (for  barbarous  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  all 
parts  of  Europe,  before  their  commerce  with  the 
Phoenicians,  Greeks  and  Romans,  undoubtedly 
were)  doth  not  exclude  reflection  and  abftra£t 
ideas,  from  whence  arife  philo(bphy  and  the  polite 
arts. 

Egypt  is  at  this  time  univerfally  conCdered,  by 
the  learned,  to  have  been  the  fource  from  whence 
fprang  that  light  of  knowledge  and  learning,  which 
Ihone  with  fuch  diftinguilhed  luftre  in  the  Greek 
and  iloman  empires ;  fo  as  to  furnifh  the  Phoeni  • 
cian  traders  with  letters  and  learning,  fufficient  not 
only  to  enable  them  to  become  the  greatelt  naviga- 
tor^ at  that  time  in  the  world,  and  thereby  to  be 
the  means  of  propagating  thefe  ufeful  arts  to  the 
remoteft  nations ;  a  circumftance,  as  we  (hall  fee 
ijx  t^e  fequel,  was  really  the  cafe  >  for  though  from 

tbp 


^o  pRUIDISM  REVIVED. 

die  quotations  and  authorities  before  redted,  tfier9 
is  the  greateft  probability,  that  the  inhabitants  of 
the  we&ra  parts  of  Europe  bad  the  knowledge  o£ 
letters  long  before  the  Romans  were  much  ac- 
quainted with  them,  yet  we  are  not  to  infer,  that 
they  had  fuch  knowledge,  prior  to  the  era,  when 
the  Phoenicians  by  eltablifhing  colonies  on  the. 
wefte^n  coal^  of  Iberia,  Gaul,  and  building  of 
Carthage,  had  rcxtended  thet^r  wmmerce  to  Gaul, 
£elgiufn  and  the  Britifh  iiles,  about  250  years 
J>efore  the  tirth  of  Chtifi,  and  zoo  before  the 
Romans  wer^  nwch  acquainted  either  witfi  Britain 
orGau)« 

During  this  commerce  it  can  fearce  be  doubted, 
that  there  might  be  eftablifhed  on  the  different 
coafts,  factories  for  the  greater  convenience  of 
trading  with  the  natives  for  (kins,  furs,  tin  and 
fuch  other  commodities,  as  the  refpefkive  countries 
then  produced,  and  thereby  introduce  amon^  their 
philofophers  the  knowledge  of  letters ;  before  which 
period  it  is  probable,  they  were  intirely  ignorant 
of  fuch  alphabetic  elements.  Thefe  authorities, 
from  ibme  of  the  moft  refpeifted  names  of  anti*- 
quity,  are  extreniely  favourable  to  the  general 
tenor  of  the  Irifti  hiftories ;  which  relate,  that  the 
ancient  inhabitants  of  this  ifle,  not  only  received 
their  letters,  but  alio  feveral  of  their  religious  .cere- 
monies from  the  Milefians;  Hfho  are  fuppded 
to  be  a  colony  of  Phoenicians  or  Carthaginians, 
from  the  weftern  coafts  of  Spain,  in  a  very  yixly 
period. 

Though  the  Irifh  chronicles,  efpecially  thofe  of 
tbe  latter  ages,   are  very  circumfiantial  on  this 

fubjeft, 


PRUIDISM  REVIVED.  vjt 

fubjcft^  yet  as  they  hav^  not  produced  any  au- 
thentic authorities,  or  living  proofs  to  corroborate 
their  affextions,  their  hiftories  hitherto  have  been 
confidercd  by  the  learned  in  general,  little  better 
than  ingenious  fables,  the  invention  of  dark  and 
illiterate  ages.    They  do  indeed,  in  feveral  places, 
(pecify  the  names  and  order  of  their  ancient  pagan 
ktters,  but  have  not  given  the  characters  them- 
felvM,  having  in  their  fiead  inferted  the  Latin  let*  ^ 
ters  of  the  fifth  and  (ixth  centuries ;  to  which  they 
have  not  only  given  the  names  of  their  pagan, 
but  have  alfo  annexed  feveral  fanciful  interpreta- 
tions, that  have  not  the  le^ll  foundation  in  truth, 
but  arofe  intirely  from  the  imagination  of  the 
refpedlive  writers..    Notwithftanding  therefore  the 
probability,   from  the  authorities  before  quoted, 
that  the  Phoenician  and  Punic  traders  did  introduce 
letters  both  into  Ireland  and  Britain,  yet  the  truth 
mud  ever  remain  involved  in  darknefs  and  obfcu- 
rity,  and  a  doubt  muil  ever  hang  on  the  alfertions 
relative  to  the  learned  Hate  of  the  pagan  Irifh,  if 
Vfc  were  not  in  poffelfion  of  living  evidence,  from 
feveral  monuments  of  antiquity,  ftUJ  remaining  in 
different  parts  of  the  kingdom  \   fome  of  which 
evidently  owe  their  exiftcnce  to  ag^  prior  by 
{bme  centuries,  to  the  eftablifhment  of  Clviftianity 
in  Ireland.    The  infcriptions  found  on  tihefe  monu-- 
ments  confirm,  beyond  the  power  of  confutatiout 
the  aflertions  of  the  Iri(h  antiquaries,  refpeding  the 
literature  of  the  pagan  inhaWtants  of  this  country.  - 
By  thefe  we  are  impowered  to  afferl,  that  the 
Irifh  druids  had  not  only  tKe  method  of  cominitting 
tb^ir  4o£trinc  and  learning  to  writing,  but  that 


1)4  DRUIDISM   REVIVED. 

the  charaftcrs  and  letters  made  ufe  of  for  this  pur- 
pofe,  bear  not  only  a  great  affinity  to  thofe  of  the 
ancient  Phoenicians,  Carthaginians  and  Egyptians, 
but  in  feveral  inttances  are  exaftly  the  fame  j  a$ 
may  be  feen  on  comparing  them  with  the  charaftcrs 
and  infcriptions  on  the  Bembine  and  RamefTsean 
tables.  By  thefe  alfo  it  appears,  that  the  Hibernian 
druids,  like  the  Egyptian  priefts,  made  ufe  of  both 
hieroglyphic  and  alphabetic  charafters.  Their 
letters  alfo,  like  thofe  of  the  ancient  Egyptians, 
were  of  two  fpecies  that  is,  facred  and  prophane ; 
the  prophane  were  thofe  ufed  in  the  common  oc- 
currences of  life,  public  contraflts,  ordinances  of 
ftate,  poems,  &c.  and  mentioned  by  antiquaries 
under  the  denomination  of  the  Boheloth  charaHers^ 
and  were  the  fame  or  nearly  fo,  whh  thofe  of  the 
Punic  and  Phoenician.  The  facred  were  thofe 
mentioned  under  the  name  of  Ogham  and  Ogham 
Croabh ;  thefe  letters  were  mixed  with  fymbols  and 
hieroglyphics,  in  their  hiero-gramrpatic  writings, 
or  thofe  which  treated  of  their  religion,  philofophy 
and  laws. 

The  method  of  defcribing  the  human  thoughts 
by  the  reprefentatlon  of  the  feveral  objedts  of 
nature,  fcems  to  have  been  the  firft  effort  of  the 
mind  towards  tranfmitting  the  knowledge  of  paft 
tranfadtione  to  pofterity.  At  what  period  therefore 
this  invention  took  its  rife  is  impoffible  to  determine  \ 
!t  probably  was  during  the  infant  ftatc  of  fociety, 
as  the  pfadtice  of  writing  by  means  of  piftures  and 
fymbols  was  univerfal,  not  only  among  all  the 
nations  of  antiauity,  but  even  fuch  among  the 
Jipodern  who  are  in  their  firft  ftages  of  civilization ; 

for 


DRUIDISMREVIVED.  m 

for  not  only  the  ancient  Egyptians,  Ethiopians, 
Libyans,  Indoftans,  Chinefe,  Perfians,  Medcs,  Phoe- 
nicians, Syrians,  lonians,  Scythians,  Sarmats  and 
Celtes  (/)  ufed  hieroglyphics,  but  the  ancient  Mex- 
icans, before  their  commerce  with  the  Europeans, 
and  even  the  wandering  tribes  of  North  America, 
to  this  day  draw  on  the  bark  of  trees,  in  (ymbolic 
and  hieroglyphic  characters,  their  obfervations  oa 
places  and  things.  From  the  univcrfality  therefore 
of  this  method  of  depiAing  the  human  thoughts, 
there  is  fome  probability,  that  it  took  its  rife  in 
ages  prior  to  the  univerfal  deluge,  though  the  pro- 
grefe  which  the  antediluvians  made  therein  muft 
ever  remain  an  impenetrable  fecret.  The  rude 
refemblance  of  men,  trees,  animals,  &c.  on  rocks 
and  {Ibnes  feem,  from  an  ancient  tradition,  to  tiave 
been  the  firft  books  in  which  mankind  in  the  moft 
early  periods,  tranfmhted  the  knowledge  of  paft 
events  to  future  ages  («).  But  the  method  of  de- 
fcribing  only  fubftantives  or  things,  to  exprefs  the 
cUfferent  afFeftions  of  the  mind,  being  extremely 
imperfect,  as  human  ideas  were  enlarged  by  the 
advancement  of  the  arts  of  civil  life,  the  philofo- 
phers,  prieils  and  legiflators  of  the  different  nations, 
foacid  it  neceffary  to  invent  other  characters  to 
cxpreis  the  abftradt  ideas  and  relative  qualities; 
from  whence  arofe  the  fevetal  fpecies  of  fymbolic 
writing  in  univerfal  ufe,  through  every  ftage  of  the 
Chinefe,  Perfian  and  Egyptian  empires.  But  as 
fymbols  required  greater  efforts  of  the  mind  than 

barely 

(/)  Herodotus,  Clem.  Alex.  Strom,  lib.  5.  p.  567.    Olacs 
Magnus,  lib.  1.  cap.  2. 

{u]  Herodotas>  J.  Magnuf„  Tacitus,  &c.. 


174  DRUIDISM  REVIVED. 

barely  hieroglyphics  or  pictures,  they  probably 
were  not  the  invention  of  barbarous  nations,  but 
that  all  the  middle  and  weftern  countries  of  the 
ancient  world  were  indebted  for  them  to  the 
E^ptiansi  at  leatt  all  thofe  which  have  hitherto 
been  difcovered,  belonging  to  the  aboriginal  inha- 
bitants of  Europe,  are  found  in  the  Rameffaean, 
Bembine,  and  otljer  iablee  of  Egyptian  infcriptions. 

The  Irifh  fymbols,  hitherto  difcovered,  are  by 
no  means  numerous,  though  fev^al  more,  moft 
proboUy^  -rnxj.  be  brought  to.  light,  by  .a  diligent 
fearch  into  fuch  monument*  of  antiquityl,  yet  un- 
explored in  feveraf  parts  of  Ireland ;  fome  might 
alio  very  probably  be  found  in  Britain^  if  not  in 
France,  Spain,  Germany  and  other  couiftriee  pof- 
feffed  by  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  t  at  lead,  it 
would  be  worth  the  labour  of  the  le4rned,  in 
different  parts  of  Europe,  to  make  the  tr]|(aL 

Of  fuch  Hibernian  druidic  iymbols  as  l»ve  come 
to  our  knowledge,  we  have  attempted  an  explana-  * 
tion,  according  to  the  beft  authorities^  ia  the  order 
•  df  the  annexed  table.  \ 

No.  I,  2,  .3  and  4  .  j 
Are  the  traces  of  fpiral  lines  found  on-ftones  in 
the  tumulus  of  New-Grange  in  the  cjounty  of 
Meath.  .  Thefe  lines^ppear  to  be  the  repr^fcntation 
of  ferpents  coilled  up,  and  probably  werp  fymbols 
of  the  Pivine  Being ;  for  ierpents  we  are  aifured 
by  Pliny,  Tacitus  and  others,  w.ere  held'  in  great 
veneration  by  not  only  the  Gauls  arid.Celtes  in 
general,  but  alfo  by  the  Sarmatae,  Scythae  and 
every  other  people  inhabiting  ancient  Europe. 
Even  this  veneration  proceeded  fo  Ux  as  to  induce 

the 


ild.  2. 


M-f 


TABZIt  I. 

Druu&c    Symlxrls. 


K." 

C/?/7ract^r, 

JTf 

(yi<iracler. 

1 

@ 

s 

o 

9. 

# 

9 

A 

5 

^ 

la 

/ 

4 

^f' 

11 

t. 

3 

® 

n 

^ 

6 

0 

13 

n 

7 

H 

CD 

r 


DRUIDISM  REVIVED.  tjg 

the  people  to  pay  them  divine  honours  ^  and 
Gaguinns  fays,  that  the  Lithuanians  and  Samo* 
githians  retained  ferpents  as  their  penates  or  houfhold 
gods ;  the  Egyptians  alfo  ufed  a  ferpent  as  a  fym« 
bolic  reprcfentation  of  the  Divine  Nature  and  Eter- 
nal Wifdom  (w)  i  indeed  all  authors,  iacred  and 
prophane,  agree  in'  afcribing  to  the  ferpent  the  fym- 
botic  reprefentation  of  wifdom  and  eternity,  through- 
out all  nations  of  antiquity.  Even  Mofes^  in  bis 
relation  of  the  fall  of  man^  feems  to  infmuate  fome* 
thing  myfterious  in  the  fagacity  df  this  reptile ;  and 
St.  Paul  alludes  thereto,  where  be  (ays,  be  as  wife 
iufcrpems.  The  ancients  underfiood,  undoubtpdiy 
much  better  than  the  moderns,  the  real  difpofition 
of  the  brute  creation ;  whilil  the  modems  are  ex- 
ploring the  different  fpecies  of  animal  organization, 
the  ancients  turned  fheir  thoughts  towards  thdr 
dtfpofitions  and  mental  pro{>erties.  The  druids  of 
the  Celte^  feem  to  have  been  as  well  verfed  in  this 
fcience  as  any  of  their  cotemporaries  ^  fince  they 
invented  a  fiory  of  the  ferpents  and  their  egg,  aa 
an  allegory,  in  which  they  involved  the  creation  of 
the  world  and  the  origin  of  things,  according  to 
Pliny,  who  has  preferved  in  his  natural  hiftory 
thia  curious  fpecimen  of  Celtic  theology  {m)  ;  from 
whence  we  may  juftly  conclude,  that  the  fpiral 
lines  found  in  the  tumulus  of  New-Grange,  on  a 
cromleach  near  Dundalk,  and  on  feveral  Britifh 
coins,  are  reprefentations  of  ferpents  and  fymbota 
of  the  Divine  Being.  A  circumftance  confirnied 
by  Quintus  Curtius,  who  (ays,  tlie  temple  of  Jupiter 

Ammon 

(w)  Herodotus,  Warburton's  Divine  LegatioB** 
(jr)  Plin.  lib.  v(^  cap.  it. 


fje  DRUIDISM  REVIVEl^. 

Ammon  had  a  rude  ftone,  whereon  was  drawn  a 
fpiral  line,  the  fymbol  of  the  Deity.  And  the 
cuftom  aiilong  the  Greeks  and  Romans  of  fumifh- 
ing  the  meffenger  of  the  Gods,  Mercury,  with  a 
caduceus  of  twifted  ferpents,  as  an  emblem  of  his 
divine  commiflion,  feems  to  be  derived  from  this 
ancient  fymbol. 

No.  5. 
la  alfo  found  in  the  tumulus  at  New-Grange, 
'  and,  ^s  it  bears  a  great  refemblance  to  the  cha- 
ra£ter  or  fymbol  ufed  by  the  Egyptians  to  reprcfent 
their  goddefe  Ifis,  when  confidered  as  the  earth  or 
paiflive  principle  of  nature,  it  is  very  probable,  that 
by  the  druids  it  was  taken  in  the  fame  fenfe.  The 
Egyptians  in  their  myfteries  maintained,  that  every 
thing  owed  its  exiftence  to  two  principles,  the  one 
a£tive  and  the  other  paffive ;  the  active  principle 
they  underftood  to  be  fire,  which  vivifies  and 
nourifhes  the  productions  of  nature  Cy)^  and  the 
paffive  the  earth,  which  brings  them  forth,  as  the 
great  mother.  The  firft  they  called  Apis  or  Ofiris, 
or  the  male  principle,  and  the  fecond  Ifis,  or  the 
female  principle.  By  a  conjundtion  of  thefe,  after 
the  manner  of  animal  procreatbn,  not  only  the 
Egyptians  but  the  Thracians,  Samothracians,  PIx»- 
nicians,  Carthaginians  and  Celtes  (z)  believed  every 
produAion  was  brought  forth  and  nourifhed. 
Whence  Hefiod  relates,  that  gods  and  men  are 

the 


(yJ  Warburton's  Divine  Legation.    Ramfcj's  Mythology 
of  the  Ancients.    Herodotus. 

(«)  Hiftoire  de$  Celtes,  torn.  a.  liv.  3.  chap.  6. 


DRtriDfsM  Revived.  177 

theiflue  of  the  marriage  of  heaven  and  earth  (tf). 
The  drukliS  dittmguifhed  the  aftive  principle  or 
fire  by  the  rtame  of  //>,  /fo,  or  /«//  and  tentateSy 
\\m  is,  the  He  or  tnttrculine  principle,  who  by  ita 
aftion  on  the  earth,  M^hom  they  confidered  the 
Mother  of  Nature,  caufea  it  to  produce  the  feveral 
fpecies  of  animals  and  vegetables.  The  earth  there- 
fore was  the  paflTive  principle,  which  in  this  cafei  ' 
they  frequently  called  ops  or  opis^  fitnn  the  Celtic 
op  to  cry  out,  from  whence  opcigh  a  crier,  alluding 
to  the  cries  of  a  mother  in  labour ;  the  earth  being 
fuppofed  to  labour,  in  bringing  forth  her  various 
produdions,  as  a  woman  in  child-birth  {b) ;  whence 
we  may  reafonably  conclude,  that  the  Egyptian 
Ofiris,  the  Celtic  Die,  Tis  or  Teut  were  the  fame^ 
and  fignified  the  univerfal  fpirit  or  aftive  principle^ 
which  the  ancients  undcrllood  to  be  fire;  alfo  the 
Egyptian  Ifis,  the  Greek  Ceres,  and  the  Celtic  Ops 
were  of  the  fame  import,  and  reprefehtcd  the  earth 
or  nature  In  general.  The  charadker  therefore  we 
are  now  fpeaking  of,  as  it  bears  fo  great  a  refem- 
blancc  to  thofe  in  the  Bcmbine  tables  reprefenting 
the  earth  or  nature,  undoubtedly  among  the  druids 
was  of  the  fame  fignification.  It  feems  alfo  to 
have  been  retained  by  the  ancient  Irifh,  long  after 
their  converfion  to  Chriftianity,  in  the  form  of 
No.  6,  to  reprefent  Jefus  Chrift  the  Saviour  of  th<J 
World ;  in  which  fenfe  it  ftands  on  all  the  Irilh  coins. 
Vol.  II.  N  No- 

(n)  Deonim  gentis  tcnerandiinj  (Mofac)  imprimis  celebranc 
carmiaibus,  quos  ab  exordio  ttllus  et  latum  cslum  genuc-^ 
rent,  quinque  ex  bis  prognati  funt,  dii  datores  bonoruoi. 
Hcfiod  Theag.  p.  44 

(b)  Rhea  katinis  Ops.  Aufon.  Idyll.  12.  p.  114.  Nam 
O^tf  icrfa  eft.  Seivius  ad  /i^^ncid,  1.  325. 


178  DRUIDISM   REVIVED. 

No.  7, 

Is  a  fort  of  Trellis-work  found  on  one  of  the 
tabernacles  at  the  mount  of  New-Grange,  and  on 
fevera!   ftones  and    crolfes  both  in  Ireland  and 
Britain.  Trellis-work  or  fmall  lozenges}  amongft  the 
ancient  Britains,  Germans  and  indeed  all  the  abo- 
riginals   of   Europe,/  fignified  fate,    providence, 
chance,  or  fortune.     It  feems  to  have  been  derived 
from  a  fpecies  of  divination  ufed  by  the  Scythic 
and  Celtic  tribes,  confifting  of  long  quadrangular 
pieces  of  wood  taken  from  fruit  trees ;  thefe  pieces 
Had  fevera!  fymbolic  charafters  engraven  on  them, 
when,  being  in  the  aft  of  divining,  they  were 
thro>^n  acrols  ^   as  the  feveral  characters  fell  and 
anfwered  to  each  other,  the  aufpices  were  taken  (c). 
Thefe  pieces  of  wood  called  by  the  Scythae  run-Jichs 
and  by  the  Irilh  ogham  croabh^  that  is,  the  ftaves  and 
furrows  of  wifdom,  were  retained  many  centuries 
after  the  eftablidiment  of  Chriiilianity,  and  their 
pofition  in  divining  frequently  drawn  on  croffes 
and  the  walls  of  churches,  as  emblems  of  the 
Divine  Providence ;  nay,  the  divination  itfelf  was 
retained  in  fome  parts  of  England  to  the  prefent 
century  (^). 

No.  8, 

Is  a  Circle  found  on  feveral  Irifh  coins.  The  drcle 
among  the  Egyptians,  Phoenicians,  Carthaginians, 
&c.  generally  reprefented  the  Sun  and  fometimes 

the 

(r)  Tacitus  Mor.  Germ.  37.  Verftegan's  ReftitutioD  of 
decayed  Intelligence. 

(//)-The  Scytb«,  during  their  pagan  (late,  writing  on  fuch 
fquare  pieces  of  \vood,  called  them  buckdobs;  whence  the 
German  uanne  at  prefent  for  letters  is  buckftab. 


DRUIDISM   REVIVED.  17^ 

the  World  ie).  With  the  Celtic  druids  it  atfo 
.  reprefented  the  Sun,  and  with  a  dot  in  the  centre^ 
the  whole  Univerfe.  The  ancient  Irifli  retained  it 
during  the  middle  ages  as  the  fymboi  of  a  country, 
and  with  a  point  in  the  centre,  for  the  whole 
kingdom,  or  Ireland  in  general  (f). 

No.  9,  / 

Is  found  on  two  ftone  croffes  at  Caftle^dermot 
.  in  the  county  of  Kildare,  and  there  feems  to  ftand 
as  a  fymboi  reprefenting  a  ghoft  or  fpirit;  hhas 
the  power  of  B  in  the  Bobeloth  alphabet,  and  ia 
there  called  Boibel  or  the  chief  ipirit.  The  Egyp- 
tians ufcd  fuch  a  charader  to  reprefent  a  hawk,  < 
which  was  their  fymboi  for  the  foul,  called  Baietb, 
becaufe  the  human  foul  by  them  was  fuppofed  to 
refide  in  the  heart  {g). 

No.  10, 

Is  found  on  two  ftone  croffes  at  Caftle-dermot,  and 
there  ftands  for  a  perfon.  The  Egyptians  ufed  this 
character  as  the  reprefentation  of  a  perfon  or  ipan 
in  general,  as  may  be  feen  in  the  Rameffaean  and 
Bembine  tables ;  it  is  alfo  ftill  ufed  in  the  fame 
fcnfe  by  the  Indians  of  North- America  (A). 

No-  II, 

Is  the  reprefentation  of  an  arrow,  and  is  found  on 
feveral  Irilh  and  Britifti  coins.    The  arrow  among 
the  Egyptians  and  Arabs  was  the  fymboi  of  hunt-    ' 
ing ;  in  which  fenfe  it  probably  ftood  among  the 

N  2  Celtcs, 

(#)  Warburton's  divine  Legation. 

(/J  Oy  literam,  nominibus  pradigunt  optimates  Hiberou 
Camden. 

(g)  Warburton's  divine  Legation. 

(b)  RaynaPs  European  Sectlemenls  19  tbe  Indiesi  vol.  3, 
Carver's  Travels,  &c. 


ito  DRUIDISM  REVIVED. 

Celte^  and  is  placed  on  the  coins  of  thdr 
to  exprefs  their  abilities  in  the  chace. 

No.  12, 

Is  alfo  found  on  feveral  coins  both  Britifb  and 
Irifh;  fuch  a  character  is  found  in  the  Bembine 
tables  reprefenting  a  ihieid,  and  was  the  fymboi  of 
a  commander  in  war ;  in  which  fenfe  it  feems  to 
have  been  ufed  by  the  Celtes  in  general. 

No.  1 3, 

Is  found  on  feveral  Iri(h  coins ;  fuch  a  character  is 
found  in  a  number  of  Egyptian  infcriptions,  where 
it  fe  the  fymboi  for  a  king,  judge  or  governor  5  in 
which  fenfe  it  feems  to  have  been  ufed  by  the 
ancient  lri(b. 

No.  14, 

Is  found  in  the  tumulus  at  New-Grange,  arni 
probably  is  the  fymboi  of  a  houfe  or  habitation. 
The  Egyptians  ufed  a  charadber  nearly  refembling 
this  in  the  fame  fenfe,  as  may  be  feen  on  one  of 
the  obelifks  of  Cleopatra. 

In  the  explanation  of  Numbers  i^  2,  3  and  4  of 
the  above  fymbols,  it  may  be  objected,  that  there 
being  no  ferpents  in  Ireland,  the  Irifh  druids  could 
not  have  taken  that  reptile  as  the  fymboi  of  the 
Divine  Being ;  but  we  ought  to  confider  that  the 
Cehic  religion  was  not  confined  to  any  particular 
country,  but  maintained  by  alt  the  aboriginal  inha- 
bitants of  Europe  j  being  the  religion  not  only  of 
Ihc  ancient  Irifh,  but  of  the  ancient  Britons,  Gauls, 
Cimbri,  Celto-Iberians,  Italians  and  Thracians  ^  it 
likewife  laid  the  foundation  of  that  of  the  Greeks 
and  Romans. 

By 


DRUIDISM  REVIVED.  iSi 

By  the  few  chara^ers  hitherto  difcovered  it  is 
extremely  probable,  that  the  weftern  Celtic  tribes 
as  well  as  the  Irifli  received  their  fymboU  from  the 
Carthaginian  and  Phoenician  traders  -,  though  pof* 
fibly  they  might  have  had  feme  fort  of  hieroglyphic 
writing  in  an  earlier  period ;  however,  it  is  more 
than  probable^  that  the  ufe  of  letters  was  not 
known  among  them  long  before  the  Punic  met; 
chants  vifited  their  coails. 

* 

The  invention  of  letters  or  alphabetic  charadkers 
have  by  (bme  been  placed  prior  to  that  of  hiero- 
glyphics and  fymbolsj  but  if  we  confider,  that 
they  were  the  laft  effort  of  the  human  mind,  in 
order  to  accomplifh  an  effedtual  method  of  tranf- 
mitting  the  ideas  to  future  ages,  we  (hall  be  inclined 
to  place  their  difcovery  in  much  later  periods.    If 
they  had  been  the  invention  of  the  antediluvians^ 
or  of  equal  Handing  with  hieroglyphics,  as  fom^ 
learned  perfons  have  imagined,  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth  would  moft  probably  have  been  conver- 
fiint  with  them,  whereas  the  contrary  is  fufficientLy 
evinced.    All  the  focieiies  of  mankind,  in  the  dif- 
ferent periods  of  time,  at  a  certain  ftage  of  civili- 
zation, had  the  method  of  expreffing  their  thoughts 
by  hieroglyphics  if  not  fymbols ;  but  letters  were 
confined  among  the  ancients  as  among  the  moderns, 
to  not  only  a  particular,  but  in  a  great  meafure 
thrf  very  fame  part  of  the  globs.    The  only  nations 
of  antiquity  who  underf\ood  this  divine  art,  were 
the  Egyptians,  the  Libyans,  the  Ethiopians,  the 
Arabians,  the  Indoftans,  the  Medes,  the  Perfians, 
the  Syrians,  the  Hebrews,   the  Phoenicians,  the 
Celtas,  the  weflern  Scythse,  the  Grteks  and  Romans; 

compre- 


iH  DRUIDISM   REVIVED. 

comprehending  the  prefent  Europe,,  the  north  and 
north-eaft  parts  of  Africa,  and  the  fouth  and  weftem 
parts  of  Afia  j  the  only  part,  of  the  world  at  this 
day  which  have  the  knowledge  of  alphabet  charac- 
ters, except  the  European  colonies  in  America  and 
Africa,  within  the  laft  century. 

Egypt  therefore^  as  (he  was  the  parent  of  the 
fcveral  arts  and  fciences  which  illuminated  the  an- 
cient world,  probably  gave  birth  to  letters  j  a  dr- 
cumftance  not  only  confirmed  by  the  affertion  of 
feveral  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  writers  (/),  but 
further  evinced  from  the  remarkable  fimilarity  be- 
tween all  the  alphabets  of  antiquity ;  for  the  letters 
contained  in  the  ancient  Ethiopic,  Arabic,  Mala- 
barian,  Chaldaic,  Samaritan,  Phoenician,  Punic, 
Etrufcan,  Cuphic,  Greek  and  Runic  alphabets  (how 
(evident  figns  of  being  derived  from  one  aommon 
origin ;  and  feveral  of  them,  in  each  alphabet,  are 
adtually  found  as  fymbols  and  hieroglyphics,  not 
only  in  the  RamefTaean  and  Bembiiie  tables,  l^ut  in 
feveral  infcriptions  difcovered  in  the  pyramids. 
To  the  Egyptians  therefore  are  we  indebted  for 
the  invention  of  letters,  which  they  took  from  thejr 
hieroglyphic  and  fymbolic  charaders ;  but  the  time 
they  made  this  important  difcovery  cannot  be 
determined  ;  it  was  probably  in  a  very  early 
period ;.  for  Mofes,  who  was  (killed  in  all  the 
learning  and  wifdom  of  the  Egyptians,  wrote  in 
alphabetic  charafters,  which  he  undoubtedly  ob- 
tained from  thence,  though  they  have  been  long 
fmceloft-,  the  prefent  Hebrew  letters  not  being 

the 

(f)  Dps  Vignols  Chfon.  tome  a.  Arundel  tables. 


DtlUIDISM   REVIVED.  183 

the  fame  in  which  the  Pentateuch  was  originally 
written.     But  in  whatever  period  Egypt  made  a 
difcovery  fo  beneficial  to  the  human  race  in  general, 
it  fcems  to  have  been  the  fource  from  which  lettere 
proceeded  in  three  diftinft  channels  through  th? 
ancient  world.    The  firft,  taking  a  northern  courfe, 
watered  the  weftern  parts  of  Afia,  and  the  eaftern, 
fouthern   and  midland    parts  of  Europe.      The 
fecond  proceeding  weftward,  enlightened  the  north- 
cm  parts  of  Africa,  and  in  procefs  of  time,   in 
conjundtion  with  the  firil,  the  weftern  coafts  of 
Europe  j  whilft  the  third,  being  thrown  in  a  fouth 
and  eaft  direction,  furni(hed  the  Ethiopians,  Ara- 
bians and  Indians,  with  the  ineftimable  art.     The 
Egyptian  letters,  efpecially  during  the  middle  ages 
of  their  empire,  confifted  of  three  fpecies,  that  is 
the  literal,   the    epiflolary  and  hiero-gramraatit. 
In  the  firft  were  written  their  fdentific  works,  33 
philofophy  and  laws;  in  the  fecond,  their  common 
occurrences  of  life,  and  in  the  third,  their  religious 
fubjedts  {k).     The  feveral  people  who  vifited  that 
country,  having  been  inftrudled  in  thefe  methods 
rf  writing  by  the  priefts,   introduced  them  into 
their  own ;  where  they  not  only  were  retained  for 
the  aforefaid  purpofes,  but  from  them  and  the  fym- 
bolic  charaAers  new  alphabets  were  formed,   in 
which  the  feveral  fpecies  of  the  Egyptian  letters 
were  found,    caufing  thereby  the  letters  of  the 
.  feveral  nations,  though  derived  from  a  common 
origin,  to  be  materially  different  from  each  other. 

Mofes  may   be  confidered  the   father    of  the 
northern  branch,  and  the  firft  who  brought  letters 

into 

{k)  Warbunon's  ditrine  Legation. 


IH  DRUIPISM   REVIVED. 

into  the  weftcrn  parts  of  Afia,  tl>ougb  they  foem 
to  have  made  no  confiderable  progrefs  for  fome 
lime,  being  qoniined  to  the  Jewi(b  nation.    It  .was 
not  until  about  the  fourteenth  gentury  before  the 
Chriftian  era,  when  the  Canaanites,  who  fled  bom 
Jolhua  and  retireci  into  Egypt,  had  been  expelled 
that  country  by  Amofts,  and  fettled  in  Phcenicc, 
that  we  n>ay  date  the  generol  introdu^ion  of  lettcis 
into  the  weftern  parts  of  Afi«  (/) ;  from  Pbocnice 
they  proceeded  to  the  Syrians,  lonians  and  Modes, 
snd  were  probably  thofc  charafters  mentioned  by 
Pliny,  under  the  name  of  eternal  letters,  being  the 
foundation  of  tlie  Pbo&nician,  Samaritan,  loiuan 
,     find  Chaldaic  alphabets.     In  the  beginning  of  the 
eleventh  century  before  Chrift,  the  'Phoenicians  and 
jSyiians,  flying  under  the  condudk  of  Cadmus  and 
pther  captains  from  David,  introduced  letters  into 
Greece  and  ^he  adjacent  countries  (m) ;  about  three 
hundred  years  after  Cadmus  had  thus  introduced 
letters^  mufic  and  poetry  among  the  Greeks,  the 
JVfedes  revolting  from  the  Aflyrians,  numbers  were 
obliged  to  feek  an  asylum  in  the  fouthern  and  mid- 
land parts  of  Europe,  where  they  were  known  for 
feveral  ages  by  the  name  of  Sarmatse  or  Sar-^Mads, 
that  is  defcendants  of  the  Mcdes  (») ;  thefe  people, 
w1k>  liad  obtained  the  ufe  of  letters  about  four 
hundred  years  before  their  fettlement  in  Europe, 
probably  introduced  them  among  the  Celtic  and 
Scy  tliic  tribes  of  the  middle  regions ;  where  after 

undergoing 

(/)  Newton's  Chronology. 
(m)  Ibid. 

(w)  They   were   fo   called    hy   the'  Hebrews.      Pezron'^ 
^ntu|uities  of  Nations.     Hilloifc  des  C^^lu^i  torn.  |. 


DRUIDISM  REVIVED.  185 

undergoing  feverid  <^nge«  and  alterations  by  the 
Teveral  clans,  laid  the  foundation  of  the  Runic 
alphabet,  and  the  feveral  fpecies  of  letters  ufed  by 
the  Goths  and  Saxons,  before  their  converfion  to 
tlie  Chriftian  faith,  mentioned  by  Saxo  Grammaticus 
and  other  writers  on  the  antiquities  of  the  northern 
nations.  In  the  mean  time,  the  Cadmasan  letters 
being  fomewhat  altered  by  the  Felafgians  and^thcr 
abwiginalfl  of  the  country  (0),  were  by  the  lonians 
and  Fhoceans,  on  their  eftabliihment  of  the  colonies 
of  Etruiia  and  MaiElia,  about  the  forty-fifth 
olympiad,  introduced  into  Italy,  thereby  laying 
th^  foundation  of  the  Etrufcan,  Maflilian  and 
lUuettc  alphabets  (p)  ;  for  which  reafon  Csfar  and 
Tadtus  obferve,  that  the  Gauk  and  Rhaets  of 
their  times,  had  letters  refembUng  the  Greeks ;  and 
PKny  afierts,  that  it  was  the  received  opnion  that 
all  tbfl  European  nations  had  their  letters  from  the 
lonians  (q). 

The  third  branch,  from  the  great  fourcc  of  learn- 
ing proceeding  weftward,  fettled  in  the  northern 
parts  of  Africa  among  the  Lybians;  where  in 
procefs  of  time,  an  alphabet  was  formed  fomewhat 
difierent  from  any  of  the  others ;  the  charaftcrs 
belonging  to  this  alphabet  are  Ml  preferved  in 

fome 

(5)  Diod.  Slcul.  1.  3. 140. 

(/)  See  note  (f)  and  (r),  page  l68. 
(^)  Genriumconfenrus  laciius  primus  omniufn  conrpIra?it» 
ut  ioAucD  Uteris  uterentur.     Piin.  I.  7.  57.    Strabo,  1.  4. 

idi. 

The  Romans  appear  to  have  received  the  Ionian  letters 
from  the  Etrufcans,  about  the  400th  year  of  their  city,  and 
3S4  before  Cbrift,  as  in  their  391  ft  year,  they  had  the 
cultom  of  placing  a  nail  in  the  capiiol,  to  afccrtain  the 
Dumber  of  years  from  the  foundation  of  Rome.  LiV.  I.  7*  3. 


i86  DRUIDISM   REVIVED- 

fome  antique  infcriptions,  found  in  Sicily,  men- 
tioned by  Mr.  Brydone  in  his  Tour  through  that 
ifland,  and  there  called  the  Chaldaic ;  they  are  not 
Chaldaic  but  the  ancient  Libyan  (r).    The  Phoeni- 
cians, on  their  eftabli(hment  at  Carthage  under 
Dido,  mixed  their  letters  with  the  Libyan,  whence 
the  Punic  alphabets  were  in  feveral  inftances  dif- 
ferent from  the  ancient  Phoenician,  and  nearly  the 
fame  as  the  Maffilian,  which  had  obtained  feveral 
I-ibyan  letters,   from  their  commerce  with  thcfe 
people.    From  the  Maffilians  the  Gauls  received 
their  letters,  which  on  the  eftabliftirftent  of  the 
Chriftian  religion,  being  mixed  with  the  Etrufcan, 
laid  the  foundation'  of  the  Latin  alphabets  of  the 
middle  ages.    On  the  conqueft  of  Spain  by  the 
,  Carthaginians,  the  compound  Punic  alphabet  was 
introduced  into  that  country ;  where  it  feems  to  have 
taken  place  in  the  commercial  affairs  of  the  ancient 
Iberians,  which  probably  was  the  fame  as  the  Li- 
byan, and  that  mentioned  by  Strabo,  who  fays  (s\ 
'  that  the  priefts  of  the  Iberians  had  the  art  of  writing 
very  early.     From  Spain,  letters  probably  were 
introduced,  by  means  of  the  Iberian  and  Gallic 
merchants,   fome  few  years  before  the  birth  of 
Chrift,  into  the  Britifti  ifles. 

For,  from  the  afferiions  of  Strabo,  Ptolemy  and 
others,  there  is  the  greatett  probability  that  Ireland 
was  not  unknown  to  the  Phoenician  merchants  (bon 
after  the  conqueft  of  Spain  by  the  Carthaginians ; 
but  what  fettlement  they  made  therein  we  have  not 

any 

(r)  The  language  of  ihefe  infcriptions  appcari  to  be  the 
Punic  or  Phcenician. 
(j)  Strabo,  L  3.  1^9. 


DRUIDISM   REVIVED;  1*7 

any  authentrc  information ;  as  the  benefit  of  trade 
with  this  ifland,  at  that  time,  could  not  be  great, 
confifting  only  of  ikins  and  filh,  they  probably 
made  only  temporary  and  occafional  vifits,  whilft 
Britain  remained  their  chief  place  of  rendezvous, 
by  reafon  of  its  tin,  a  commodity  in  much  requeft 
with  the  fouthepi  nations  of  antiquity.  Britain 
therefore  may  be  confidered  as  the  grand  faftory 
of  thefe  traders  in  this  part  of  the  world,  and  where 
they  bad  the  greateft  opportunity  of  introducing 
letters,  arms,  commerce  and  religion  among  the 
natives  ^  which  improvements  might  be  in  fucceed- 
ing  ages  brought  into  this  country  by  the  Briti(h 
colonies,  who  fled  from  the  terror  of  the  Roman 
arms  •,  if  they  were  not  introduced  by  the  Gallic 
and  Iberian  merchants,  who,  on  the  conquell  of 
Sf)ain  and  Gaul  by  the  Romans,  carried  on  an  . 
cxtenfive  trade  to  Ireland  fome  few  years  before 
the  Chrifiian  era,  as  we  are  aifured  by  Tacitus ; 
who  ailerts,  that  in  his  time  the  ports  of  Ireland 
were  better  known  to  foreign  merchants  than  thofe 
of  Britain  (/).  In  fome  of  the  mod  ancient  Irifli 
poems,  the  arrival  6f  thefe  ftrangers  on  the  Hiber- 
nian coails  is  frequently  mentioned,  to  whom  fub- 
fequent  writers  have  attributed  the  introdudtion  of 
letters  and  feveral  other  arts  of  civil  life ;  in  confe- 
quence  of  which,  they  aifert,  that  the  firft  grammar 
of  the  Irifti  tongue  was  written  fome  few  years 
before  the  birth  of  Chrift  by  Forchern,  who  in  the 
compilation,  ufed  the  Bobeloth  charafter,  which 
they  elleem  the  mod  ancient  form  of  letters  ufed 

in 

(/)  Tacitus  ?it,  A^rig, 


l8t  DRUID  ISM  REVIVED. 

in  Ireland  {u).  The  names  and  order  of  thefe  letters 
have  been  preferved  by  the  latter  writers,  elpedally 
hy  Ceanfaolidh,  an  author  of  the  ferenth  century, 
who  is  fatd  to  have  trsuifcribed  and  illuftrated 
V  Forchern^s  gramtniaf; ;  but  whether  Ceanfaolidh  in 
hb  tranfcdpt  made.  uie.of  Farcbtra's  characters,  or 
tbofe  of  the  Latins  then  in  general  nfe  throughout 
the  ifland,  we  are  not  informed ;  but  which  ever 
might  have  been  ufed  fof  this  pnrpofe,  the  form  of 
the  Bobeloth  characters  have  undoubtedly  been  loft 
for  feverat  centuries,  as  none  of  the  writers  of  the 
ktier  ages  gjve  the  leaft  fp^cimen  of  thera. 

As  little  iatisfaCtion  therefore  as  the  bare  names 
and  order  of  letters  muft  be,  without  thfc  characters 
themfelves,  yet  they  have  been  the  means  of  fupply- 
ing  the  dtk&.  and  negligence  of  former  antiquaries ; 
and  have  enabled  us,  from  a  number  of  antient 
infcriptions  found  in  different  parte  of  the  kingdom, 
and  firom  fomc  MSS.  to  give  the  Bobeloth  characters 
complete,  as  far  at  lealt  as  concerns  the  alphabet, 
in  the  annexed  table. 

By  this  table  it  appears,  that  the  ancient  Bobeloth 
characters  of  the  Irirti  were  all  fymbols,  and  bear 
A  great  affinity  to  the  Phoenician  and  Punic,  as  will 
be  fully  (hown  in  the  examination  of  eadi  particular 
letter. 

The  name  of  the  firft  is  Infibel  or  hM^  whidi  ra 
tlie  old  Celtic,  Irifh  and  Punic  tongues  fignifies  the 
chief  fpirit  or  ghoft,  from  boj  boi  or  boe  a  ghoft  or 
apparition,  and  bd  a  chief  or  lord  j  from  whence 
Bd  or  Baal  in  the  Canaanitifh,  and  Beat  in  the 

"^  rlrifli, 

(tf)  O  Flaherty,  Keating^  &c. 


Vol.i. 


T^4BLE    IT. 


/use 


BOBELOTH 


C/iuraitrr 

Fewer 

JVam^ 

K 

n 

Bm/^el 

J. 

z 

Zot/i 

X 

F 

JF'ora/in 

•-V. 

s 

SaAu 

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JV 

^eu^a//(m 

H 

IT 

[/iri/i 

^ 

n 

•  2?ail^/!ot/A 

4- 

T 

lei/m^n 

S. 

c 

Cool  - 

• 

cc 

Ca/7^ 

iSL 

ji 

Afmna 

r 

G 

6^a/h 

A/ 

^9 

^Nfeun/ir 

T 

J 

s/dra                               , 

>o 

n 

Jiralen 

^ 

A 

Acal^ 

X 

o 

Cse 

■v 

r 

Ura                              , 

3 

£ 

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J'aickun 

m-  ^^ ' 

# 

lo 

O  ^ot  ^ 

y  r-l-j  1 


DRUIDISM   REVIVED.  it^ 

Iiiib,  the  genertl  name  araong  the  Cartiiag^niatia 
for  God.  Thi;  charafter  was  ufed  by  the  Egyptians 
as  the  reprefentation  of  a  hawk  and  the  fy mbol  for 
the  foul^  as  we  have  before  obferved ;  and  as  a  B^  ia 
found  on  a  ftone  cro&  at  Caftle-dermbt. 

The  fecond  letter  of  the  Bobeloth  alphabet  haa 
the  power  of  L,  and  is  called  losk ;  which  was  of  the 
fame  import  in  the  Phoenician  and  Punic  tongues,  as 
k  in  the  Celtic,  and  lot  in  Irifh,  which  fignifies  li^t, 
the  day,  and  foraetimes  figuratively  the  fun  (•»). 
The  Egyptians  as  well  as  the  Thracians  and  Celteas 
in  general,  reprefented.the  fun  or  light  by  a  fingie 
pillar  (x) ;  that  of  the  Egyptians  was  in  the  fame 
form  as  this  letter,  as  appears  from  the  RamefTaBan 
tables.  This  charafter  is  found  as  an  L  on  one  of 
the  crofies  at  Callle-dermot,  and  in  the  Libyan 
alphabet. 

The  third  letter  is  called  fbram  and  has  thiB 
power  of  F*  Foran  or  furan  fignifies  in  the  andeol 
Cdtic^  a  cunning  and  fkilful  man  in  any  art  or 
fciencc,  figuratively  a  (harper  or  thief.  This  letter  ' 
has  great  affinity  to  the  Punic  P,  and  as  fuch  ia 
found  on  one  of  the  crofles  at  Caftle-dermot. 

The  fourth  letter  is /aha^  and  has  the  power  of  S* 
Salia^  in  the  old  Celtic  and  Punic,  fignifies  a  wave, 
from  fal  to  leap  (yX  by  rcafon  waves  are  cooftantly 
in  motion;  whence  figuratively  the  fca.  The 
Egyi^iana  and  Arabs  ufed  this  character  for  water, 
atKl  is  the  iame  as  the  Phoenician  S  placed  in  a 

different 


(ho}  Hiftoire  des  CeUcs.     ClTdi  fur  te  Un^u4  Ccldqu^. 
(x)  Pezron  on  rhe  Antiquuies  of  Nations. 
(jj  Pesroii  on  t4atiotis« 


ipoi  DRUIDISM   REVIVED. 

different  direftion ;  and  as  fuch  is  found  on  a  cro(s 
at  Caftle-dermot  and  in  fomc  ancient  MSS. 

The  fifth  letter  is  called  neigadon  and  has  the 
power  of  N.  Neigadon  in  the  ancient  Phoenician, 
if  not  in  the  Celtic,  fignifies  a  ruler  or  governor. 
This  diaradter  was  ufcd  by  the  Egyptians  as  the 
reprefentation  of  an  eagle,  and  the  fymbol  for  a 
king,  as  may  be  feen  on  the  Bembine  tables,  and 
is  only  the  Phoenician  N  inverted.  This  letter  is 
found  on  a  crofs  at  Caftle-dermot,  where  with  fomc 
additional  ftrokes,  it  is  become  a  contradion  for 
laim  or  lain  the  hand. 

9 

The  fixth  is  called  uiria^  and  has  the  power  of 
H.  Uiria  in  the  Phoenician  language  fignifies  a 
fervant  or  flave  ;  what  relation  the  charadter  has  to 
that  name  doth  not  appear,  but  it  is  evidently  de* 
rived  from  the  Phoenician  H,  to  which  it  has  a 
great  affinity,  wanting  only  the  tranfvcrfe  lines. 
The  Phoenician  H  bears  fome  refemblance  to  a 
chair  inverted ;  whether  the  Egyptians  ufed  a  chair 
as  the  fymbol  of  flavery  is  not  certain.  This  letter 
is  found  in  an  infcription  at  Fre(hford  in  the  county 
of  Kilkenny. 

The  feventh  has  the  power  of  D,  and  is  called 
Daibhoith  or  Dhaibhaith^  that  is,  the  wifdom  of  God; 
from  the  Punic  and  Egyptian  Dfu  God  and  baeith 
afoul,  fpirit  or.  wifdom.  The  char  after  reprefents 
a  ferpent,  which  we  have  obferved  before,  was  the 
fymbol  of  the  Divine  Nature ;  it  is  the  Libyan  D, 
which  was  afterwards  introduced  into  the  Latin 
alphabets  of  the  middle  ages  with  fome  alterations. 
This  letter  is  found  on  a  ftone  at  Dunbrody  Abby, 
and  on  feveral  Britilh  coins,  which  are  evidently 

older 


DRUIDISM   REVIVED.  i^ 

older  than  the  introdudtion  of  Chriftianity  into  that 
ifle. 

The  eighth  has  the  power  of  T,  and  is  called 
tcilmon  or  teilmen^  that  is,  the  ftone  of  power,  from 
men^  in  the  Libyan  and  old  Celtic,  a  ftone,  and  teil 
or  tal  of  power  (z).  The  Libyans  and  all  the 
Celtes,  Phoenicians  and  Egyptians  ufed  large  up« 
right  fl:on<^s  as  the  fimulacres  of  God  and  fire  ^ 
whence  this  charadter  is,  in  the  Beithluifnon  alphabet, 
called  tienne  or  fire.  This  charadter  nearly  refem- 
bles  the  Punic  T,  and  is  found  on  a  crofs  at 
Caftle-dermot. 

The  ninth  has  the  power  of  C,  and  is  called  cm^  . 
which  in  the  Phoenician  tongue  fignifies  a  hand,  to 
which  the  charadter  has  a  great  refemblance ;  the 
two  upper  lines  reprefenting  the  fingers  and  thumb, 
and  the  other,  part  of  the  arm.  The  Hebrews 
called  their  Cj  caph  or  the  hollow  of  the  hand. 
This  letter  is  found  on  a  crofs  at  Caftle-dermot  and 
is  only  the  Phoenician  C  inverted. 

The  tenth  is  called  cailep^  and  has  the  power  of 
CCy  which  is  in  Irifh  pronounced  nearly  like  G 
hard  in  Engli(h.  Cailep  fignifies  a  double  hand, 
and  is  only  two  cms  joined  together.  The  cha- 
radter nearly  refembles  the  Etrufcan  K  reverfed, 
and  is  the  fame  as  the  Runic.  It  is  found  on  a 
crofs  at  Caftle-dermot,  where  it  is  a  contradtion  for 
cajb  or  a  foot. 

The  eleventh  is  called  moiria^  and  has  the  power 
of  M.  Moira  or  mora  fignifies  a  fhip,  from  mm'  in 
the  Celtic,  which  is  the  fca.     This  character  is  the 

fame 

(s)  Pezron's  Antiquities. 


154  DRUIDISM  REVIVED. 

fame  as  the  andetit  Canaanttifh  and  libyaii  M 
reverfed,  as  is  found  in  an  infcription  in  Sicily  •,  it  is 
alfo  found  in  ihe  tumulus  at  Ncw^range,  and  on 
a  ftone  at  Dunbro^y  Abby. 

The  twelfth  ha«  the  power  of  G,  and  is  called 
gAth  or  gt^k^  which  in  the  old  Irifli,  Cehic  and 
Phoenician  fignifics  a  fword  or  battlc-ax.  The 
charader  is  evidently  the  ancient  battle-ax,  and  the 
fame  as  the  Greek  jf^ww/war,  and  nearly  refcmbles  the 
Punic  G,  wMch  was  the  Saracenic  Gh.  This  cha- 
raiker  is  found  in  fome  ancient  MSS,  where  it  is  a 
contradion  for  gagh  or  fpear. 

The  thirteenth  is  called  i^oifnar^  and  hath  the 
power  of  Ng,  which  in  the  Irifli  has  the  fame  found 
as  the  digantma  of  the  Greeks.  Ngointat  oir  nganw  itt 
the  old  Celtic  and  Phoenician  fignifies  an  anchor  or 
brace ;  it  is  the  Etrufcan  N,  and  is  found  on  a  crofi 
at  Caftle-dermot,  where  it  is  an  N. 

The  fourteenth  is  called  idrUy  and  has  the  power 
of  J.  It  is  not  certain  what  idra  figrtifies  in  the 
Pho&nicitrt,  but  the  chatadter  is  evidently  the  J  or 
Y  of  thofe  people,  and  was  found  at  the  rums  of  a 
church  near  A  thy,  and  alfo  on  a  tomb-ftone  at 
Ca&le-dermot,  which  appears  to  be  as  old  as  the 
tenth  century. 

The  fifteenth  has  the  power  of  R,  and  is  called 
ruiben^  that  is,  the  round  head ;  from  the  old  Cekic 
rui  or  rotd^  round ;  and  ben  or  pen^  a  head ;  to 
which  the  charafter  has  fome  refemblance,  and  is 
evidently  the  Phoenician  R,  and  might  be  the  fame 
as  the  ancient  Hebrew  R,  as  the  more  modem 
Hebrew  letter  of  this  power  is  called  refch^  which 
alfo  fignifies  a  head.  The  character  appears  among 

the 


l^RUID  ISM  REVIVED.  153 

« 

^be  Egyptians  to  have  been  a  fymbol,  as  it  fre* 
quently  occurs  in  the  Bembine  tables  and  Florentine 
obelifk.  As  an  R,  it  is  found  on  a  tomb  at  Caftlc- 
dermot,  and  in  an  infcription  in  the  old  cathedral 
of  Down. 

The  fixteenth  is  called  acab^  and  has  the  power 
of  A.  Acab  or  agabh  in  the  old  Phcenician  and 
Punic  iignifies  a  plough,  in  which  fenfe  and  that 
of  agriculture,  this  charafter  ftands  on  the  Rame{^ 
isean  tables.  It  is  the  character  from  whence  is 
derived  the  Etrufcan  and  Roman  A,  and  is  found 
in  fome  Irifh  MSS.  as  a  contraction  for  Ar. 

The  feventeenth  is  called  ofe;^  and  has  the  power 
of  O.  The  charafter  is  the  fame  as  the  Phcenidan 
O,  and  as  a  fymbol  is  found  in  the  Bembine 
tables;  it  is  alfo  found  in  feveral  irifh  MSS. joined 
with  an  N,  arid  is  a  contraction  for  NO. 

The  eighteenth  has  the  power  of  U,  and  is  called 
ura^  which  iii  the  Phoenician  fignifies  a  ram,  to  the 
head  of  which  animal  the  charaAer  has  Ibmp  re(em« 
blance ;  among  the  Egyptians  it  was.  the  fymhol  for 
the  (pring  and  paftoral  lifcr  As  an  U,  it  is  found 
in  fome  manufcripts  mixed  with  the  Latin  Hibernian 
characters. 

The  rtinetecnth  has  the  power  of  an  E,  and  is  called 
efn^  Which  fignifits  in  the  Phoenician  the  beafts  of 
thefbreft  in  general  i  in  which  fenfc  and  that  of 
huntings  the  character  placed  in  a  different  direction^ 
fiands  in  the  Bembine  tables.  It  is  evidently  de* 
rived  from  the  Phoenician  and  Etrufcan  Es,  and  is 
found  in  feveral  MSS.  of  the  thirteenth  and  four- 
teenth centuries.  _ 

Vol.  H.  O  The 


f^  DRtrjDISM  REVIVED. 

The  twentieth  has  the  power  of  I,  and  is  called 
iachhtty  which  fignifi^s  a  ladder  or  ftepa  i  the  Egyp- 
tians. Ujfed  thi^  character  to  reprefent  a  icalli^ 
ladder,  and  the  fymbol  for  a  iiege  and  .architedtuit 
in  general;  as  is  ken  in  the  Rameflkan  tables, 
The  charade  is  the  old  Phoenician  and  Etrufcan  L 
which  wa£  preferved  in  the  Britifh  Latin  alphabet 
until  tb&  laft  oentuiy.  It  is  probable  this  charader 
Idooged  to  the  ancient  pagan  Britilh  a^abet,  if 
sot  to  that  of  iJie  Saxon. 

Thefc  are  all  the  letters  given  by  Antiquaries, 
as  belonging  to  the  Bobeloth  alphabet,  and  are 
evidently  derive^  frona  the  Phoenician  or  Punic, 
and  were  probably  the  commercial  tetters  of  thofc 
people.  The  order  of  the  Bobeloth  alphabet  differs 
&ideed  ntaterially  from  all  thofe  of  antiquity,  ex* 
eept  the  ancient  Libyan,  between  which  and  the 
Boibeloth  ther^e  is  a  remarkable  conformity  ^  efpe- 
eiadly  io  the  vowels,  which  in  both,  are  placed  at 
Ihe  end,  cooatiatry  fo  the  orientals,  Greeks,.  Latins 
andl  Etruibuis.  This  alphabet  was  probably  the 
&me  as  the  ancient  BritiOi,  mentioned  but  ooc 
Reified  by  the  learned  Mr»  Whitaker,^  in  his  hiflnry 
of  Manchefter ;  and  appears  to  be  the  vulgar  one 
iifed  b}^  the  Hibernian  druids  in  their  common 
occurrences  of  life;  who  horn  them,  after  the 
maaner  of  the.  ancient  Egyptians,  Phcenidans^, 
.Gartbaginiana,  Libyans  and  indeed  by  all  the 
fearned  nations  of  antiquity,  invented  feveral  4^cics 
of  (acred  charaders  to  be  ufed  witli  their  fymbols 
in  their  hiero-grammatic  writings ;  in  order  to  pre- 
vent their  being  read  either  by  thofe  of  the  lower 

claitesy 


DRUlbiSM   REVIVEEf.  i^ff 

ckflcs,  or  by  fuch  bf  thfe  people  who  underftooa 
the  ufe  of  letters. 

Thefe  facred  charaftets  hare  been  niuch  fpokciil 
of  by  antiquaries,  unddr  the  denomination  of  Ogham. 
O  Flaherty  and  Harris,  in  the  fecond  tolumc  of  his 
edition  of  Ware,  hav6  given  feveraf  fpeciracns  of 
them ;  and  Sir  James  Ware  delates,  that  he  had  a 
book  written  in  them  on  parchment.  Thefe  charac- 
ters they  afleft  were  of  three  fpecies,  that  is,  the 
Ogham  Croabb,  the  Oghanri  Beith,  and  the  Ogham 
Coll  or  Colt,  and  Were  iifed  by  the  druids  in  the 
time  of  paganifm ;  alfo  by  the  kings  on  their  coins. 
Sec.  after  the  eftablifhment  of  the  Chriftian  religion 
in  the  country.  They  have  however  been  looked 
up6n  by  the  learned  m  g^rreral  in  no  other  light  than 
cyphers,  invented  by  the  riionks  of  the  latter  ages; 
and  probably  would  not  have  merited  any  further 
confideration,  if  they  were  not  aftually  found  ott 
fever^l  ancient  coms^  dug  tip  in  (avtral  parts  of  the 
ktngdoitii  and  in  feme  of  the  infcriptions  at  New^ 
Grange.  By  thdfe  it  appears,  that  the  ancient 
Ogham  confitted  only  of  two  fpecies,  that  is,  thd 
Oghai^  and  Ogham  Groabh. 

The  Ogham  was  the  fecred  alphabetic  charadlert 
of  the  druids,  fo  called  from  the  Punic  word  Ochuih 
or^Hogbam,'  which  fignifies  wifdom;  by  reafoil 
that  all  the  wifdom  of  the  druids  was  written,  irt 
thefe  charadters.  The  names  of  the  letters  of  the 
O^ham  alphabet  have  been  loft  for  fevefal  ages, 
but  the  charafters  themfelves  are  preferred  in  fortle 
of  the  infcriptions  in  the  tumulus  at  New-Grange^ 
in  the  old  cathedral  of  Down,  on  one  of  the  croflcs 
at    Gaflle^dernAot,    and  on   fcveral  Britifh  coins. 

O  2  They 


i$6  DRUID  ISM   REVIVED. 

They  fecm  fo  be  the  charafters  from  whence,  la 
the  middle  ages,  the  Chriftian  clergy  invented  a 
new  alphabet,  which  they  .ufed  in  ccclefiaftical 
affairs,  known  in  after  ages  by  the  name  of  church 
text.  The  Ogham  ch3ra(£kQr5,  a?  4cgwa  rudely  on 
ftones  we  tettTe  given  in  table  j. 

The  Ogham  Groabh  'charadlers  were  all  upright 

.  lines,  and  appear  to  be  derived  from  upright  ttones, 

the  conitant  fimiilacres  of  God  and  fire  amongft 

•  aU  nations  of  antiquity.  They  were  called  Ogham 
Croabh,  or  the  furrows  of  wifdom,  from  the  Punic 

'  ogham  wifdom,  and  the  Celtic  croabh  a  "furrow,  and 
not  as  has  been  interpreted  by  the  monks  of  the 
latter  ages,  xhtfecret  branch. 

As  the  Ogham  and  Ogham  Croabh  are  words  of 
foreign  extradtion,  probably  the  charaAers  under 
thefe  denominations  were  not  the  invention  of  the 
Hibernian  druids,  but  the  fecred  charadters  of  the 
Punic,  Phoenician  and  Egyptian  priefts,  if  not  of 
all  the  heathen  priefts  of  antiquity ;  for  Herodotus 
afTures  us,  that  the  Greeks  and  lonians  wrote  in^ 
:chara6ters  compofed  intirety  of  right  lines;  and 
they  are  aftually  found  in  feveral  Egyptian  infcri|> 
lions.  The  Goths  alfo  wrote  in  ftraight  lines  called 
by  them  run-rhets  or  furrows  of  wifdom.  ' 

From  the  druidic  Ogham  Croabh,  thie  Irilh  of 
|lie  middle  and  latter  ages  invented  feveral  others. 
The  firft  is  found  on  the  ancient  Irifti  coins,*  and 
feems  to  be  derived  from  the  flicks  of  divination, 
mentioned  in  the  explanation  of  the  fcvcnth  fymbol, 
which  were  fomelimes  called  the  divine-branches ; 
from  whence  the  writers  of  the  latter  ages  have 
imagined  e^ham  croabh  fignified  the  fecret^branch. 

The 


roi.a 


TABLE  m. 

OaJiams. 


/i.J)6^ 


(?o/i4zrrt   C/i^zracTers, 


€ir  $  4  /  j^  c  j^ 


Oykam  CroadA  C/in/actO's , 


L 


J)rui\:fic. 


i 

111 

Hi 

iiii 


o.  /.  d.  n^. 

e,s ,c  .r. 


OnCozns, 


I 

II 

III 
lill 

IIII 


c.s .  c\  /v. 


Given  fry    O  JTlaAerty,  Morns  kc. 


»-  U'iii>  mi'llin. 


^ini.iim.'/";"!'""'""'y^/>y 
////'//y/.i  n 


h.  d.  t.    c    f. 


J    oi 
-^      lUl 

JL  ia. 


^.     ^5- 


O    ^^• 
^    ui. 


.   £ 


1W.2 


TABLE  m 


M97 


C^ara£t^r 


Pmi'fA      JVarne 


J 

u 

A-  ^ 
I  > 


a; 


/TL-.yi 


Z 

JV 
F 

S 
D 
T 

C 

M 

G 

I* 

H 

A 

O 
U 

E 

I 

s/i 

cr.yr 
or 

ch 

CO 

-dha 


Bath 

JOuzs 

JViuin  orNbm 

Sut7 

Diiir 

Tinne 

Co  U  or  Colt 

3fuim 

(rart 

Jiuis 
A  dim 

On 
Ubc 

JSactha 

Joda 


J- 


CUTTl 
TtO 

lis 

a^A,  efAkc 

con 

/lis 


i* 


DRUIDISM  REVIVED.  197 

The  power  of  this  Ogham  appears  to  be  taken 
from  the  Latin  alphabet,  but  in  the  order  of  the 
Bobeloth ;  which  in  fome  meafure  evinces,  that  it 
was  formed  after  the  introdudion  of  Chriftianity  into 
the  ifle. 

The  fecond  is  that  given  by  Harris  in  his  fecond 
volume  of  Ware,  and  (hows  the  foundation  of  the 
others,  especially  the  laft  ^  and  was  undoubtedly 
formed  from  the  Hibernian  Latin  ch^after^,  in 
the  order  of  the  BobeJoth ;  the  diphthongs  of  this 
Ogham  feem  to  have  belonged  originally  to  the 
Bobeloth  alphabet. 

Thefei  are  the  principal,  if  ndt  all  the  alphabetic 
charadlers,  known  to  the  ancient  pagan  inhabitants 
of  this  ifle,  fome  contraftigns  excepted ;  for  we ' 
Ihall  not  fpeak  here  of  the  Ogham  Beith  and* 
Ogham  Coll,  they  being  only  cyphers,  invented  in 
the  latter  ages ;  thofe  who  are  defirous  of  confulting 
them,  may  fee  them  explained  in  the  fecond  volume 
of  Harris's  Ware.  It  will  not  however  be  im^ 
proper  to  take  notice  of  another  alphabet,  men- 
tioned by  feveral  antiquaries  under  the  name  of  the 
Bcithluifnon,  and  which  they  afTert  was  the  fecond 
pagan  Alphabet,  and  contained  only  feventeen 
letters  ;  the  names  of  thefe  letters  they  have  given, 
but  not  any  of  the  eharafters,  inftcad  of  which,  as 
in  the  Bobeloth,  they  have  annexed  the  Latin  cha- 
raiflers  of  the  middle  ages.  On  diligent  enquiry, 
we  have  been  able  only  to  difcover  the  Bcithluifnon" ' 
characters  on  two  ttone  croffes  at  Caftle-dermot 
in  the  county  of  Eldare,  though  an  ancient  crofs 
at  Sletty  in  the  Queen's  county  appears  to  have 
been  inf(iribed  with  them,  but  now  too  much  de- 
faced 


?5«  DRUIQISM  HJBVIVED. 

faced  by  time  tq  ht  cjecyphercd.  By  thefe  it  apr 
pears,  that  the  Heithluifpon  owfss  its  origin  to  th^ 
monks  of  the  middle  ages^  who  cprnpofed  it  from  the 
Hebrew,  Greek  and  Arabic  alphabet^,  as  an  Abraxas 
or  fecret  chara(5ter  wherein  to  write  their  charms 
and  incantations;  for  the  ancient  inhabitants  of 
Europe,  in  their  pagan  fiate,  were  much  given  to 
thefe  fpccies  of  magip  j  and  after  their  converfion 
to  the  Chriftian  faith,  retained  an  unconquerable 
pafEon,  not  only  for  thefe,  but  for  a  number  of  their 
oth^r  heathen  fuperttitions.  .  Even  though  the 
canons  frequently  condemned  fuch  practices,  yet 
the  very  clergy  in  the  middle  ages,  made  no  fcruple 
pf  felling  to  the  people  c^arnt^s  aqd  taiifmans 
written  in  unknown  characters.  The  Saxons, 
Germans  and  others  of  the  Scythst  uf^d  their 
Runic  characters  for  this  purpofe,  which  on  the 
introduAion  of  the  Latin  had  become  obfol^te  ^ 
but  the  Irifli  Hill  retaining  their  Bohelotb  charsjCters 
intermixed  with  the  Latin  in  their  common  .occur- 
TPnces  of  life,  ha4  not  this  refource ;  they  werp 
therefore  obliged  to  invent  n^w  ones  •,  for  this  pur- 
po(e  the  oriental  alphabets  fupplied  them  with  eyay 
neceffary  material,  for,  by  taking  fome  of  the 
characters  from  one  alphabet,  and  fome  from  ano- 
ther, and  new  modelling  them,  according  to  th^if 
minds,  they  compofed  a  fet  of  letters  really  inex- 
plicable to  the  body  of  the  people,  and  indeed  to 
any  one  not  initiated  into  their  n^yftcries.  We 
muft  not  expcdl  therefore  much  conformity  in  the 
Beithluifnon,  between  the  names  and  characters. 
Beiih  is  evidently  a  corruption  fronpi  the  Hebrew 
j^r/A,  and  is  pnly  that  lette?  deprived  of  its  head ; 


DRUID  ISM  REVIVED.  f$f 

litis  is  only  the  Latin  and  Tufcan  L,  and  ieems 

derived  from  the  Arabic  &W;  nuin  is  the  Arabic 

nun ;  fearm  is  the  Bobebth  fordmn^  only  adapted  to 

the  more  modem  orthography ;  Juil  or  fml-  is  only 

a  corruption  from  the  Bobeloth  falm^  the  chara^er 

is  the  Arabic  Ze  reverfed ;  iuir  is  evidently  taken  \ 

from  the  Hebrew  ddeth ;  //ii»^,  which  in  IriHi  fig* 

nifies  fire,  reprefents  the  dmidic  fymboi  for  that  ' 

element,  and  is  the  fame  as  the  Bobeloth  teilmon^ 

which  we  have  (hown  before  (ignified  the  fame 

thing ;  ^  C9U  or  colt  feems  to  be  an  arbitrary  name; 

the  character  is  derived  from  the  Latin  and  Tufcaa 

Cs ;  fminij  both  in  name  and  charadler,  is  evidently 

derived  from  the  Arabic  mim  or  mem ;  gort  feems 

to  be  an  arbitrary  name,  the  character  is  evidently 

derived  from  the  Het«"ew  gimd  or  Arabic  gaini 

pofh  is  probably  arbitrary  both  in  name  and  cha- 

lader ;  ruis  appears  to  be  derived  from  the  Arabic 

re  or  Hebrew  refi ;  aiJim  is  evidently  derived  from 

die  Arabic  elim  or  elfy  on  is  derived  firom  the 

Arabic  un  or  ain ;  ux  appears  to  be  arbitrary,  the 

chanufler  is  from  the  Tufcan  U ;  eaSha  feems  to 

be  from  the  Arabic  el^\  joda  is  evidently  derived 

firom  the  Hebrew  yod  or  Greek  iota. 

Thefe  are  the  letters  which  antiquaries  have 
given,  as  belonging  to  the  Beithluifnon  charadters ; 
for  H  as  an  afpirate,  was  made  by  a  point  placed 
over  the  afpirated  letter,  as  was  done  in  the  modern 
Irifti ;  feventeen  letters  therefore  are  fufficient  to 
cxprefs  every  found  in  the  Irifli  tongue,  though 
the  Latin  alphabet,  which  the  Chriftian  miflionaries 
introduced  into  Ireland  in  the  fifth  century  and 
wbicb  became  the  vulgar  character  throughout  the 

ifland. 


«oo  DRUIDISM   REVIVED.. 

ifland,  even  down  to  the  feventeenth,  conftantly 
retained  twenty. 

During  the  fourth,  fifth  and  fixth  centuries,  thq 
priefis,  who  were  (ent  to  propagate  the  Chriffiaa 
faith  amongfl  the  northern  inhabitants  of  Europe, 
carried  with  them  not  only  the  Latin  tongue  but 
alfb  the  letters  ufed  during  thofe  periods,  in  Italy 
and  other  fouthern  countries;  which  charafters 
were  evidently  derived  from  the  ancient  Etrufcan 
mixed  with  the  Punic  and  Libyan  •,  and  which,  in 
procefs  of  time,  laid  the  foundations  of  mod  of  the 
alphabets  ufed  in  the  f^veral  countries  of  Europe 
during  the  middle  ages,  as  the  Iriih,  Saxon,  German 
and  Gallic. 

The  letters  therefore  ufed  by  the  Irifli,  both 
in  their  manufcripts  and  printed  btooks,  down  to 
the  laft  century,  were  the  Latin  charafters,  intro* 
duced  by  St.  Patrick  or  fome  other  of  the  Chriftian 
miffionaries,  and  were  the  fame  as  thofe  ufed  through 
the  greateft  part  of  Europe  during  the  middle  ages ; 
.for  which  reafon  Nennius  aflerts,  that  the  Irifh  were 
taught  their  Abieloria  by  St.  Patrick  (a) ;  an  affer- 
tion  from  which  Bolandus,  Ware  and  Innes,  fup- 
ported  by  the  authority  of  Tirechan,  a  writer  of 
the  feventh  cen;tury,  have  imagined,  that  the  ancient 
Irilh  had  not  the  ufe  of  letters  prior  to  their  ac- 
quaintance with  the  light  of  the  gofpel(^).  But 
thefe  learned  antiquaries  ought  to  have  confidered, 

that 

(a)  San^us  Patricius  fcrip^it  Abietoria.365,  et  60  amplius 
numero.     Ncnniiw  59, 

(^)  Unde  conftat  opinor,  AbictorUfignificarealphabetum, 
iivc  clcmcnta  qu9  fcripfu  et  docuit  Sanftus  Emriciu«.  War. 
dc  fcript.  Hibern.  I  z. 


DRUID  ISM  REVIVED.  aoi 

that  as  the  Greek  alphabet  was  called  alphaheta^ 
from  the  three  firtt  letters,  and  the  ancient  Irilh 
Bobeloth  from  the  two  firft,  fo  was  the  Latin  of  the 
middle  ages  frequently  called  abietoria  or  abicetoria^ 
from  b^ginnin^  with  ab c  (vide. the  fifth  table). 
Though  iheChriftian  Hibernian  chara<Slers  are  evi- 
dently derived  from  the  Latin,  yet  they  have  been 
cruelly  diilorted  and  mangled  in  their  order  and 
names  by  the  monks  of  the  latter  ages,  who  having 
loft  the  form  of  their  Bobeloth  and  Bethluifnon, 
applied  their  names  to  the  Abiqetoria,  which  they 
put  in  the  order  of  thofe  ancient  charafters ;  but 
even  not  content  with  thus  disfiguring  them,  in 
order  to  give  them  the  greater  appearance  of  an- 
tiquity,  hearing  from  forae  lof  their  poems  and 
chronicles  that  the  ancient  Irifli  wrote  upon  wood 
and  the  bark  of  trees,  imagined  their  letters  bore  the 
names  of  trees ;  in  confequence  of  which  they  have 
interpreted  the  names  of  the  Bethluifnon  to  fignify 
ib  many  trees,  though  they  have  no  fuch  fignifica- 
tion  in  any  language  upon  earth;  from  whence 
^o,  Bobeloth  has  been  interpreted  the  Wooden 
Row  ;  an.inftance  of  the  ignorance  and  impofitioa 
oi  the  nionks  and  antiquaries  of  the  latter  ages. 

Seeing  the  Irifti  and  Britons  not  only  before  thdir 
lX)nverfion  to  the  Chriftian  faith,  but  even  before 
their  commerce  with  the  Romans,  had  the  method 
of  expreffing  theijr  -  thoughts  by  means  of  letters 
^nd  charafters,  in  common  with  the  other  aboriginal 
inhabitants  of  Europe ;  how  are  we  to  reconcile 
fuch  improvements  with  the  aflertions  of  the  Roman 
fiiftorians,  who  have  conilantly  maintained,  tliat 
|}oi)e  pf  the  barbarians  of  Europe  had  the  ufe  of 

%     letters 


*02  DRUID  ISM   REVIVED. 

ktters,  as  we  have  before  quoted  ?  This  fceming 
difficulty  however,  will  in  a  great  meafure  be 
overcome,  if  we  confider  that  not  only  letters  but 
all  knowledge  whatever,  among  the  ancient  inha- 
bitants of  Europe,  was  intirely  confined  to  a  fet 
of  people  diftinguiflied  by  the  name  of  druids; 
thefe,  fo  fer  from  communicating  their  knowledge 
and  learning  to  the  people  in  general,  took  all 
poffiblc  cTare  to  conceal  them ;  alledging,  that 
neither  confbience  nor  religion  permitted  the  laity 
to  read,  and  that  the  memory  would  be  greatly 
impaired  if  they  began  to  commit  their  thoughts  to 
writing,  for  no  perfon  would  be  at  the  trouble 
of  learning  by  heart  what  they  could  find  in  every 
book  (r) ;  befides  their  inflrudlions  being  only  for 
thofe  initiated  into  the  myfteries  of  the  laws  and 
religion  of  the  country,  they  ought  to  be  held  in- 
tirely fecret,  and  that  it  would  be  really  a  facrilcge 
to  commit  them  to  public  writing,  becaufe  after 
that  it  would  be  impoffible  to  prevent  their  dodtrine 
from  falling  into  the  hands  of  ftrangers.  So  great 
an  efFedt  had  this  artful  infinuation  on  the  minds  of 
the  people,  that  for  feveral  years  after  their  com- 
merce with  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  nay  after 
their  converfion  to  the  Chriftian  fahh,  they  were  fo 
far  from  receiving  the  knowledge  of  letters  with  that 
avidity  their  utility  deferved,  that  they  conftantly 
neglected  and  even  refufed  to  become  acquainted 

with 

(r)  Ncque  fas  cfle  exiftimant  ea  literis  mandare  .  : . . 
,  .  .  id  mihi  duabus  de  caufis  inftituifle  videntur  f  quod 
neqiie  in  vulgDS  difciplinam  cfferri  velint ;  neque  cos  qoi 
diicuot,  literis  coDfifos,  minus  memorix  ftuderc,  quod  fere 
plerifque  accidit,  ut  praefidio  litcrarum  diiigeniiam  in  per*- 
difpcndo  ac  nicmoriam  reuiitiant.     C«far.  1.  6.  14. 


DRUIDISM   REVIVED.  3105 

with  them  (d).  The  body  of  the  people  therefore^ 
throughout  all  the  Celtic  and  Scythic  tribes^  were 
undoubtedly  involved  in  the  grofleft  ignorance; 
being  accuilomed  to  hear  thdr  laws  and  hifiory 
fung  extempore  by  their  bards,  they  coqld  not  be 
perfuaded  to  receive  the  facred  truths  of  the  gofpel 
by  any  other  pneans.  Wherefore  in  the  ninth 
century^  when  Louis  le  Debonnaire  had  a  mind  to 
give  the  iacred  writings  to  the  Saxons,  he  was 
obliged  to  employ  a  poet  of  that  nation  to  tranflate 
both  the  old  and  new  tefiament  into  Teutonic  verfe 
(0 ;  alfo  Otfridus  havipg  undertaken  in  the  fame 
age  to  tranflate  the  four  evangelifts  into  the  Gothic 
or  German  tongue,  was  obliged  to  publiih  them  in 
verfe.  Even  the  Anglo-Saxons  neither  knew  how 
to  read,  or  would  be  at  the  trouble  of  learning, 
but  contented  themfelves  with  getting  by  heart  the 
&cred  books,  provide  they  were  put  into  verfe 
that  they  might  iing  them  (f).  Whence  as  in  the 
time  of  paganifm,  all  knowledge  and  learning  were 
centered  in  the  breads  of  the  druids,  fo  after  the 
eilablifliment  of  Chriftianity  in  the  northern  pro- 
vinces of  Europe,  every  fpccies  of  erudition  was 
lodged  in  the  hands  of  the  clergy,  and  immured 
within  the  walls  of  cloifters ;  in  confequence  thereof, 
through  all  parts  of  Europe  during  the  middle  ages, 
the  monks  became  the  clerks  and  fcriveners  in 
every  public  bufmefs  \  no  will  could  be  drawn,  no 
donation  or  privilege  granted,  or  any  other  public? 
fL6t  paflfed  without  their  affiftance. 


From 


(//)  Hiftoire  des  Celtes,  torn.  |.  chap*  lo. 
(f)  Du  Chefne  Rer.  Franc,  torn.  a.  p.  3269 
f/D  Hiftoii'e  des  Celteii  ^om«  1.  chap.  ip. 


ft04  DRUIDISM   revived; 

From  thtfe  circumftances  we  cannot  be  furprized, 
that  the  Greek  and  Roman  writers  fliould  aflfert  that 
none  of  the  Celtes  had  the  ufe  of  letters ;  for  though 
the  druids  committed  the  principal  tenets  of  their 
religion,  philofophy  and  laws  to  writing,  yet  as 
they  took  all  poflible  care  to  conceal  the  books  in 
which  thefe  fubjeds  were  written,  not  only  from 
Arangers  but  even  from  their  own  people,  the 
~  ancients  had  no  means  of  becoming  acquainted 
with  the  dnudic  writings. 

On  what  materials  therefore  the  druids  wrote,  or 
what  were  the  form  of  their  books,  we  have  not 
the  leaft  authentic  information ;  but  as  paper  was 
,  not  invented  till  the  eleventh  century  (^),  nor 
parchment  known  in  the  north  of  Europe  until  the 
Romans  had  introduced  it,  it  bould  not  have  been 
on  thefe  fubibinces.  Tacitus  &ys,  that  the  ancient 
Germans  wrote  on  monuments  of  (lone  (A) ;  and 
fculptured  ilones  are  mentioned  in  the  poems  of 
Offian.  The  IriOi  antiquaries  aflfert,  that  their 
druids  wrote  on  tables  of  wood  and  the  bark  of 
trees  with  an  iron  ftile  (/)  ;  a  circumftance  far  from 
being  improbable. 

The  method  of  writing  on  wooden  tables  is 
undoubtedly  very  ancient,  it  was  praftifed  by  the 
Egyptians  and  Phoenicians ;'  and  we  are  affured  by 
Plutarch,  that  the  laws  which  Solon  gave  to  the 
Athenians,  in  the  courfe  of  the  forty-fixth  olympiad, 

were 


(;^)  Robcrtfon's  Hlft.  of  Charles  V. 
(tj)  Tacitus  de  Mor.  Germ. 

(/)  O  Flahcrtj's  Ogygia.  Kcaiing^s  Hift,  Harris's  Wart, 
vol.  %. 


DRUIDISM  REVIVED.  tof 

were  engraven  on  tables  of  wood  (k).  •  Even  the 
prefent  Brahmins  of  India  continue  to  write  their 
prayers  and  fcveral  other  fubjedks  relative  to  their 
religion^  on  thin  plates  of  wood  j  and  the  greater 
part  of  the  aboHginal  inhabitants  of  North  America 
to  this  day,  draw  their  plans  and  hieroglyphic 
writings  on  the  bark  of  birch;  from  whence  we 
can  fcarce  have  a  doubt,  that  the  Celtic  druids  in 
general  as  well  as  the  Irifli  wrote  on  thefe  materials. 
The  form  of  the-Scythic  wooden  books  was  that 
of  a  fiquare  prifm,  about  *  a  foot  in  length,  having 
the  ebarafters  engraven  op  the  four  fides  ;  but  thofe 
df  the  ancient  Greeks,  Phoenicians  and  Irifti  we're 
thiti  oblong  pieces,  on  which  the  charadters  were 
written  with  an  iron  ftile  after  the  manner  of  the 
Carthaginians,  Egyptians  and  Phoenicians,  that  is 
from  the  left  to  the  right,  and  from  the  right  to  the 
left  alternately,  as  is .  evinced  from  the  infcriptions 
at  New-Grange  an#ftom  feveralMSS.  This  method 
of  writing  was  called  by  the  Greeks  bouftrophedon 
orthe  plowed  ridges,  as  it  refembled  the  courfe  of 
the' furrows  of  the  plough  ;  the  Irifli  called  it  ciom^ 
fk  €it€\  or  the  head  of  the  ridge,  and  cor  fa  chafan^ 
or  the  reapers  path  (/).  The  Hibernian  Chrittian 
clergy  frequently  wrote  in  the  cionnfa  cite  down  to 
the  fourteehth  century,  though  fomewhat  altered 
from,  the  ancient ;  they  only  ufing  it  in  the  clofe  of 
a  fentence,  wUlft'  the  ancients  ufed  it  almoft  in 
f^tty  other  line,  writing  from  the  left  to  the  right, 

and 

{k)  PItttarcb.  in  Solone.  Des  Vignol,  torn.  a.  p.  830,  and 
Soloois  leges,  ligneis  axibus  infcriptx.  Suidas  in  Solone, 
torn.  3.  p.  345. 

(/)  Col.  Vailancey's  Eflay  on  the  Antiquity  of  ibc  Iriili 
language. 


ao6  DRtriPISM  REVIVEEt. 

and  right  to  thtleft  indiffef^i&tly.  Befidos  this  ai« 
tdrnate  method  of  writing,  the  druidd  appeicr  to  have 
frequently  written  thdr  fyoKbol*  like  the  Egyptians 
and  Chinefe,  in  perpendicular  ]lnes  from  the  fop 
to  ^  bottom  {  and  it  is  probable,  that  the  Ogham 
Croabh  was  frequently  >vritten  in  this  macfner. 

Though  the  ancient  inhabitants  0f  Ireltod  un-> 
doubtedly  received  the  knowledge  of  letters  dther 
from  the  Punic  or  Iberian  traders,  fome  few  years 
before  the  Chrifttan  era,  yet  jknowledge  was  not 
univerfal  throughout  the  ifland  for  fome  centuries 
after.     It  vras  not  until  the  middle  of  the  fecood 
century  thit  the  Hibernhin  di^uids  commitled  their 
poerns^   laws  and  philofop^-  to  Writing;  when 
Conor  mor  or  Connachar  NPNeflan^  calted  by  the 
Irifli  hiftorians  Fedliifnid  and  OllMmfodlah,  that  is; 
the  wife  and  learned  man,  was  by  the  CaS  or 
Tuiath  de  Danans  eteded  king  of  the  northern  ptfts 
of  Ireland  in  A.  D.  .1644    THtsf) great  prince,  who 
wias  of  the  dtuidic  order,  obfeifving  the  imperfedtion 
of  the  l^wfi'  and  hift<^ies  by  beidg  ifetained  in  the 
memory  only^  revived  the  celebrated  oonventioii 
ofTai^v  fo  muchfpofceft  pf.by  the  Irifliai^i- 
qiiariel,  af^d  which  hafd  beetr  origi^aUy  iafiituted 
^Qtut  the  middle  c^  thb  &ft  century  for  the  aflem- 
My  of  the'  fktest    In  this  conventiony  all  poetic 
coxxipt^^Titi^ns  relative  to  hiftory  and  lawa^  compofed 
by  any  of  the  druidic  order,r  were  rented  before 
the  ge^ral  aCembly  of  the  ^hiefis^  dmids^and 
bards ;  fuch  as  received  their  approbation  were 
committed  to  writing  and  carefully  taught  the 
youths .  in  the  feveral  academies  throughout  the 
Hland,  over  which  the  druids  prefided.     The  WH 


DRUIDISM   REVIVED.  507 

of  Taraghf  on  vfhidx  the  convention .  was  held 
l^nerally  every  year^  was  called  .Laberagh  or  the 
ipeaking  place,  from  whence  Ptolomy  in  his  geo* 
graphic  defcription  of  this  ifland,  calls  it  Laberus. 
The  books  alio,  or  rather  plates,  on  which  thefe 
Gompofitions  were  written,  were  denominated  Uab^ 
huiruibh  or  fpeakers^  whence  Uabhuir  in  the  Irtfh 
tongue  fignifies  a  book  to  this  day  v  though  from 
this  period  we  may  date  the  general  commitment 
of  the  druidic  learning  to  writing,  we  mull  under- 
iland  the  public  ufe  of  it  amooglt  the  whole  druidic 
order  only ;  for  their  hiftories,  philofophy  and  teneta 
of  religion,  were  certainly  written  near  200  years 
earlier,  though  not  communicated  to  the  lower 
dafies,  except  .by  tradition. 

By  the  general  eftablifhmentofthe  art  of  writing, 
by  authority,  among  all  orders  of  the  Hibernian 
druids,  we  may  reafonabiy  conclude,  that  the 
druidic  books  were  confiderably  encreafed  from  the 
fecond  century,  and  were  numerous  on  the  intro- 
dudion  of  Chriftianity ;  yet  none  of  their  work^ 
have  come  to  us,  nor  even  to  the  eighth  century ; 
ib  indefatigable  were  the  firil  Chrillian  miflionaries 
ia  dedroying  every  monument  of  heathen  fuper- 
flition.  Though  we  ought  not  to  attribute  the 
.entire  defirudtion  of  the  druidic  literature  to  the 
2eal  of  thofc  who  propagated  tlie  facred  trutlis  of 
the  gofpel  among  our  heathen  anceilors ;  much  is 
owing  to  the  druids  themfelves,  who  on  embracing 
the  new  religion  conftantly  deftroyed  fuch  of  their 
hiero-grammatic  writings  as  treated  of  their  old  ^ 
(o  that  from  the  eameft  delire  of  one  party  to  keep 
tfadx  do^ine  an  eternal  fecretk  and  the  zeal  of  the 

>  '  »  • 

t  other 


aof  I)RUIDISM  REVIVED. 

other  in  abolilhing  every  trace  of  idolatry,  thcrt 
-were  probably  no  druidic  writings  remaining  ill 
Irelarid  after  the  firft  fifty  years  from  the  preaching 
of  St.  Patrick,  who  is  faid  to  have  burned  tw6 
hundred  of  them  in  one  pile ;  an  event,  near  five 
hundred  years  after  the  time  that  we  may  reafon- 
ably  fuppofe  letters  were  introduced  into  this  ifland, 
•  and  more  than  feven  hundred  from  the  time  that 
the  druids  firft  fet  foot  therein. 

The  lofe  of  the  druidic  books  may  probably  ht 
regretted  by  the  curious,  and  in  feveralinftances 
perhaps,  would  havetbeen  of  real  utility,  yet  they 
might  not  give  us  the  information  we  expcft. 
The  hiero-grammatic  writings,  or  thofe  which  con- 
tained the  principles  of  their  religion  and  philofophy, 
were  chiefly  written  in  fyrhbols ;  a  method  though 
nfeful  to  thofe  who  were  matters  of  the  fubjedl,  iti 
order  to  refrelh  the  memory,  yet  would  be  almoft 
inexplicable  to  thofe  not  initiated  into  the  myfterici. 
Tbeir  laws  andhittoric  poems,  being  wrote  in  literary 
charaftcrs,  would  be  the  only  part  of  their  erudition 
of  ufe  to  the  moderns  j  thefe  not  being  on  religious 
fubjefts,  efcaped  the  fury  of  the  zealots,  and  re- 
mained either  in  the  minds  of  the  people  or  pre- 
fervcd  in  the  Latin  charadters,  feveral  ages  after  the 
druidic  order  was  no  more,  and  many  have  found 
their  way  down  almoft  to  our  own  time.  It  was 
from  the  hiftoric  poems  of  the  druids  and  andent 
bards,  that  O  Flaherty  and  Keating  compofed  their 
ancient  hiftory  of  Ireland,  not  indeed  immediately 
from  the  poems  themfelves,  but  from  comjrilations 
of  them,  made  about  the  fourteenth  century. 
But  if  thefe  injudicious  hiftorians  had  obtained  the 

originaf 


DRUlbi^M  REVIVED.  So^f 

original  pieces  in  the  hand  writing  of  the  fefpeiStive 
Authors,  they  would  have  found  them  vefy  inade- 
quate to  fuch  a  work,  much  more  fo,  after  paffing 
through  the  mtttilating  hands  of  Ignorant  monks, 
i>ards  and  fileas ;  for  all  the  poems,  not  only  of 
the  ancient  Irtfti  but  of  the  Celtesiiigeneral,  tholigH 
treating  on  hiftoric  fubjefts,  were '  rather  detached 
relations  of  particular  battles  And  Expeditions  of 
the  chiefs  of  fingle  fepts  or  clans,  than  regular  hif- 
tories  of  a  nation ;  befides,  not  mentioning  any 
fixed  or  known  era  from  whence  to  date  the  tranf- 
tiftions,  or  fpecifying  the  time  when  any  event 
happened,  they  are  very  improper  materials  froni 
wMch  to  deduce  a  regular  and  fucciridt  hiftory  ;  of 
which  circumttance,  the  molt  ancient  arid  refpefted 
Irifh  hiftorians,    as  Cormac,  king  and  bilhop  of 
Cafhel^  who  wrote  the  pfalter  of  Gafhel  irt  the 
^ginning  of  the  tenth  century,  and  Tighernach 
^ho  wrote  the  Irifti  annals  in  the  eleventh,  feem  to 
be  fo  well  aware,  that  they  begin  their  hiftories  iri 
tiie  fifth  age,  without  taking  the  leaft  notice  of  any 
tranfadlion  prior  to  that  period ;  though  there  miift 
have  been  a  number  of  ancient  druidic  poems  re* 
maining  in  thofe  times  in  different  pans  of  the  king- 
dom 5  from  whence  we  may  juftly  conclude,  that 
notwithftanding  the  Irifh  Druids  had  the  ufe  of  letters 
at  leaft  as  early  as  the  middle  of  Xh€  firft  century 
before  Chrift,  and  really  committed  their  doftrine  to    - 
writings  yet  through  the  imperfedtion  of  their  hiftoric 
Conipoflf  ions,  little  dependance  is  to  be-had  on*  any 
tranfadtions  relative  to  the  affairs  of  Ireland  prior  to 
the  fixth  century,  when  th^Chriftian  clergy  began  to 
tum  their  thoughts  towards  recording  hiftoric  events. 
Vol.  II.  P  Having 


sio  DRUIDISM  REVIVED. 

Having  in  the  preceding  pages  treated  at  brge 
of  the  fisveral  fymbolic  and  alphabetic  chara^n 
\kkd  by  Ae  ancient  inhabitants  of  thU  ifle,  we  (hail 
iKyw  proceed  to  the  expl/^mtion  of  tbofe  andent 
mfcriptions  found  on  -  feTeial-  moAWHeiRa  of  an- 
tiquity, ftiU  remaining  in  the  king(ionEi,  and  which 
led  ufr  to  the  above  diicoveries* 


INSCRIPTIONS  AT  NEW^RANGE. 

,1 

The  moft  andent  infcriptions  no^  v^mmg  is 
Ireland,  if  not  in  theib.  parts  pf  Eurc^pe,  are  w* 
doubtedly  thofe  focmd  in  the  tumirlus  ht  mouot  of 
New-Grange  near  Di:ogheda  in  the^  county  of 
Meath.  Ttus  curious  remnant  of  anti^iity,  wtidl 
appears  to  have  been  a  fepulchre  anc^  temple,  we 
fliaU  defer  giving  a  patttcuiar  deicriplion  o^,  until 
we  treat  fally  oi^  the  temples  and  fepdjkiiral  monu- 
ments of  the  ancient  kifli,  IS  a^ubfequent  Number 
of  this  Coiteftanea ;  confining  pur^lvds  here  to  the 
explanation  of  the  feveral  inlibrip^ons  ifound  m  the 
cave  Of  dome^  fkuated  in  the.  centre  cjf  the  mount 

No.  I.     * '       i 

The  infcription  contained  in  No.  k,  confifls  of 
a  fpiral  line  oil  one  of  the  upright  flonts  compofii^ 
tiie  light  fide  of  the  gallery;  land  reprefents  the 
Supreme  Being  or  a£Vive  principle.     I 

No.  z.  ; 

Is  found  on  another  ftone  on  the  j  (ame  fide  of 
the  gallery 9  and  is  written  in  the  fymbolic  and 
ancient  Ogham  Crpabh  charaA^s.  i  The  three 
fynibois  reprefent  the  Supreme  Being,  or  firft  caufe ; 

-..   ;  .  ...  but 


?W.2. 


TABLE  r 


A 


.2JO 


^dir^/i?rui  A^iAa^el. 

1 

CA(7raz:t^r  Power 

1 

1 1 

^4 

J 

Aw 

l>^ 

i9 

Bai 

i:c< 

c 

Cm 

bb 

^ 

Da/ 

Z  e 

A' 

>^ 

Ff 

i^ 

A'/r 

55 

6^ 

Bff/ui 

Tf^ 

^ 

Au^/i 

J7t 

7 

JTi 

^^ 

Z. 

Ea 

^n? 

il/ 

E?n    ' 

hi?^ 

7V^ 

En 

0  o 

^ 

0 

T>p 

i* 

I'm 

l^T^ 

i? 

Aiir 

^rr 

J* 

Efs 

c^ 

7* 

Tai 

AXw^ 

u 

He 

^ 

y 

Ye 

Z 

^. 

Zenu/' 

TV 

la 

49 

ao 

1 

ea 

K^,   !. 


DSmniC  JNSCRIFTIONS 
Jl New- Grange. 


«   •     •■»  • 


DRUIDISM  REVIVED.  itt 

% 
\ 

but  being  repeated  three  times,  (how  them  to 
figriJfy  the  great  eternal  (J)irit,  The  Ogham  is 
evidently  written  in  the  Cionn  fa  eite,  from  the 
right  to  the  left  and  ffom  the  left  (6  the  right,  fig- 
nifying  a  i,  that  is,  to  thi  lU^  for  i  in  old  Iriflx 
and  Celtic  fignifies  He  or  the  mafculine  gender, 
whence  this  infcriptiOn  is  3l?  him  toho  is  the  Uviverfat 
Spirit. 

No.  3,  i 

Is  found  on  xht  front  of  the  covering  ftone  of  the 
caft  tabernacle,  and  is  written  m  fymbolic  cha- 
rafters,  fignifying  the  Houfe  of  Gdd.  It  is  remark- 
able that  all  the  ancient  altars  found  in  Ireland,  and 
now  diflrnguiftied  by  the  name  of  Ctomleachs  or 
floping  ftones,  vftxe,  originally  called  ^othal  or  the 
Houfe  of  God ;  and  they  feem  to  be  of  the  fame 
ipecics  as  thofe  mentioned  in  the  book  of  Genefis, 
called  by  the  Hebrews  Bethel^  which  has  the  fame 
fignification  as  the  Irifti  Eothal.  The  tabernacles 
in  the  mount  of  New-Grange  have  an  cxaft  con- 
formity to  the  Cromleachs,  found  in  different  parts 
of  the  kingdom. 

No.  4, 

Is  found  on  the  fouth  fide  of  the  eaft  tabernacle, 
written  in  the  Ogham  and  fymbolic  charafters. 
The  (ymbol  is  that  reprefenting  the  earth  and 
univerfal  nature,  and  with  the  Ogham  which  is 
writteti  from  the  left  to  the  right;  makes  amtrr  thi 
Opj,  that  is,  to  the  great  mother  Ops^  or  to  the  great 
mother  Nature. 

No.  5, 

Is  found  on  the  front  ftone  of  the  north  tabernacle; 
nd  reprcfents  chance,  fate  or  providence. 

P  2  No. 


DRUIDiSM  REVIVED, 

No.  6, 

Is  found  on  the  north  Hone  of  the  weft  tabernacle 
written  in  the  Ogham,  Bobeloth  and  Ogham  Croayi 
charafters,  from  the  left  to  the  right ;  the  fiift 
charadler  being  an  Ogham  CE,  the  fecond  a.  Bobe- 
loth M,  and  the  others  in  the  Ogham  Croabh  are 
G,  U,  H,  making  Oetiguhf  Oett^tk,  that  is,  the 
fepulchre  of  the  hero  («). 

No.  7, 
•  Is  found  on  a  ftone  on  the  left  of  the  gallery,  is 
written  in  the  Ogham,  from  right  to  left,  ternunat- 
ingin  the  Cionnfa  eiie,  being  a/ar,  ddm^  ^f^that 
is,  men,  oxen,  fwiiie;  probably  fpecifying  tlie  feveral 
fpecies  of  vi<5lims  iacrificed  at  tlus  temj^,  ui 
bonbur  of  univerfal  nature,  providence  and  the 
manes  of  the  hero  interred  within,  and  to  whom 
the  diree  laBemacIes  appear  to  have  been  dedicated, 
and  wlach  wwe  the  principal  obje^  cf  wwlhip 
among  ^1  the  Celtic  tribes. 

At  wha^  time  this  tumulus  was  erected  cannot 
bcafcertairwd  j  it  probably  was  not  long  before  the 
art  of  writing  became  univerfal  in  the  ifland,  as  all 
the  different  fpecies  are  contained  in  the  infcriptions  j 
tf  it  was  not  ereiSled  by  the  founder  of  the  con- 
vention of  Tara^  himlelf,  as  a  temple  and  fepul- 
chre  for.his  family,  towards  the  clofe  of  the  fecond 
century;  it  was  however  conftantly  diftinguifhed 
by  the  name  of  Oenguh  or  Oengus,  viz.  the  tomb  of 
the  chiefe  or  heroes,  by  the  body  of  the  people  i 
and  we  find  it  mentioned  in  the  Chronicon  Sco- 
torum, 

(«)  dtm  or  oiti  (ignilies  a  hollov  or  dome,  figurativelj  4 
loiub  or  fepulchie,  and  gui  or  gutb  a  coaiuitader  or  duef. 


4 


t 

t 
I 

t 


r 

» 
» 


M 


k 

t 


I 


DRUID  ISM   REVIVED.  fit^ 

torum,  with  the  grove  whi^iwrowKicd  it,  by  the 
name  of  Fiodh  Aongufa^  or  the  grove  of  Aongiis, 
or  rather  the  grove  of  the  feptrichre  of  the  heroes ;' 
though  feveral  perfons  have  imagined,  that  a  chief 
of  the  name  of  Aongus  or  Oengus  was  interrjed 
here. 

Aongus  or  Oengus  was  the  name  of  the  diftri<3: 
adjacent  to  this  monument,  and  which  was  alfo 
called  Magh-Breaffaii  or  the  plain  of  the  noble 
(hades ;  the  chiefs  of  which,  as  cuftomary  amor|g 
the  ancifcnt  Irifh,  took  the  name  of  Aongus  fropi 
their  diftrift,  which  in  procefs  of  time  became!  a 
family  and  hereditary  name. 

Infcriptions,  as  curious  as  thofe  of  New-Grange, 
are  fourtd  on  two  ftone  crofles,  in  the  church -yard 
of  Caftle-deraiot  in  the  county  of  Kildare.  Thefe 
infcriptions  ar?  written  in  the  Bobeloth,  Bethluifnon* 
Ogham,i  Ogham  Croabh  and  Symbolic  charaden^,. 
mixed. 

:  No.  8/ 

Reprefents  the  front  of  one,  nbw  ftanding  oil 
the  north  fide  of  the  church,  but  appears  to  have' 
been  placed  originally  at  the  weit  entrance -of  the 
old  church,  as  the  capital  belonging  thereto  now  - 
lies  not  far  from  the  door.  In  the  head  comparti- 
ment,  written  in  the  Bethluifnon  and  Bobeloth 
cfaaradters,  is  cianlaeh  or  the  place  of  the  head  ;  iii 
the  center,  in  the  Bethluifnon  only,  is  crioghlouh  at 
the  place  of  the  heart  In  the  compartment  on  the 
right  ami,  in  the  Bethluifnon,  is  laim  deas  or  the 
right  band ;  on  the  left  arm  is  cUs  laim  or  the  left 
hand;  the  charafter  for  laim  is  the  Bobeloth  N, 
with  a  line  under  it,  fo  that  it  has  fome  refemblance' 

to 


4i4  DRUIDISM  REVIVED, 

to  a  hand  and  arm  ^  this  contraftion  for  a  hand  is 
alfo  found  in  fome  MSS.  The  upper  dompartment 
of  the  (haft,  contains  in  the  Beihluifnon,  a  mbhan  * 
i^us  corpj  th^t  is,  the  reins  and  body ;  the  q  in  corp 
18  of  the  Ogham  Croabh.  In  the  fecond  compart- 
ment is  braghan  chajb^  or  the  thighs  and  feet ',  the 
latter  a  in  braghan  is  placed  by  miftake  of  the 
fculptor  near  the  ch ;  the  /is  df  the '  Abicetoria. 
The  lower  compartment  coptaiqs  fymbolic  cha- 
ra<Jters ;  the  three  upper  ones  reprefent  a  ghoft  or 
fpirit,  as  we  have  Ihown  in  the  explanation  of  the 
fymbols;  three  of  them  being  placed  together 
Cgnify  the  Almighty  Spirit  pr  Holy  Ghoft;  the 
three  lewer  characters  are  fymbols  of  perfons; 
lybence  the  compartment  contains,  three  perfons 
Tjnited  in  one  Almighty  Spirit,  or  the  Holy  Trinity. 

No.  g, 

Reprefents  the  back  of  No,  8.  The  head  coco- 
partment  contains  fymbolic  charafters,  exprefling 
the  Trinity,  under  which  is  eian  or  the  head. 

The  center  contains,  croigheafh  or  the  dwelling 
of  the  heart. 

The  compartment  on  the  left  arm  cpntalns  cks 
or  the  left. 

That  on  the  right  contains  dhcas  qr  the  right,  the 
/  is  of  the  Abicetoria, 

The  three  compartments  oii  the  (haft  reprefent 
the  Trinity. 

No.  lo, 

Reprefents  the  right  fide  of  the  (haft  of  a  fnt^all 
ftone  crois,  oppofite  the  fouth  door  of  the  old  church. 

The  upper  compartment  contzms  fuich  ra  doman \ 
the  chara&er  for  dohum  is  a  fymboi,  or  rather  con- 
tradlion  for  a  perfon,  found  alfo  in  feveral  MSS. 

Tlie 


DRUIDISM  REVIVED.  *I5 

The  fecond  conttins  i  o  bq/ah  peacadha  uile  ;  the 
charadera  for  peacadha  and  uUe  are  found  in  fome 
MSS.  of  the  middle  ages. 

The  tUrd  contains  i  o  biackroH. 

The  fourth  h  brieanuis. 

Which  words  according  to  the  more  modern 
orthography  are,  feuch  ro  dom  an  £  chock  bife^k 
peacadha  uile  I  chock  biacrau  loi  breitheanms^  viz. 
Behold  the  very  perfon,  he  who  died  for  the  fina 
of  all^  he  who  will  come  again  at  die  day  of  judg^ 
ment. 

No.  If, 

Reprefents  the  front  of  No.  lo.  The  upper 
compartment,  written  in  the  Bobeloth  and  Ogham 
charafters,  contains  bai-ie  or  bkimi  cupam  i,  drini^ 
of  this  cup.  The  character  for  cupmn  is  a  kind  of 
Ueroglyphic  found  in  feveral  MSS.  of  the  mid<;lle 
ages. 

The  fecond  compartment  contains,  in  the  Betbr 
linfhon  charaflers,  buiig  agus  carta  or  the  bowels  and 
fkin,  which  feems  to  be  an  error  of  the  fculptor^ 
it  probably  was  defigned  for  builg  agus  C9rp^  that  is» 
the  bowels  and  body. 

The  third  contains  braghagk  or  the  thighs. 

And  the  fourth,  in  the  Bobeloth  charaders* 
contains  contradkions  for  da  chaik  or  the  two  feet. 

No.  I  a,    I 

Reprefents  the  left  fide  of  Numbers  9  and  10. 
The  three  compartments  contain  fymbolic  charac- 
ters expreiling  the  Trinity^  The  arms  and  head 
of  this  crofs,  now  broken  off,  ferve  for  a  neigh- 
bouring tomb-ftone;  they  were  not  cemented  to 
the  fliaft  by  mortar  when  in  their  proper  place^ 

but 


iSiiB  DRU  I  DISM  REVIVED. 

but  made  faft  by  means  of  a .  mortice,  after  the 
manner  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  in  the  fliafts  of 
their  columns;  the  infcriptions  on  them  are  the 
fame  as  thofe  on  the  front  of  the  northern  crofs, 
therefore  need  not  be  repeated. 

The  charadters  on  thefc  croiTes  are  all  in  creux, 
and  from  two  to  four  inches  in  length,  though  now 
fo  much  worn  by  time,  that  the  true  form  of 
feveral  can  with  difficulty  be  traced ;  they  appear 
to  haye  fupplied  the  place  of  an  image,  and  pro- 
bably at  the  time  of  their  ereftion  were  not  undcr- 
ilood  by  the  people,  but  were  intended  as  Abraxas 
pr  Chaldaic  figna,  which  contained  fortie  hiddea 
myftery,  and  which  the  devotees  efteemed  effi- 
cacious either  in  the  remiffion  of  their  fins  or  in  the 
cure  of  Ibme  bodily  infirmity.  The  firft  Chriilians, 
we  have  obferved,  like  their  pagan  anceftor^,  were 
much  given  to  charms  and  incantations,  particularly 
in  Abraxas  wrote  in  charadters,  underftood  only  by 
thofe  whole  bufinefs  it  was  to  decypher  them.  The 
Saxons  and  Germans  ufed  for  this  purpofe  the  an- 
cient Runic,  yyhich  on  the  introdudtioh  of  the 
JL.atin  had  become  obfolete,  and  therefore  not  un- 
derftood by  the  people.  To  fuch  a  degree  of 
infatuation  were  the  people  arrived  for  charms  and 
Talifmaqs  in  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries,  that  the 
Runic  letters  in  which  they  were  generally  written, 
were  in  a  council  held  at  Toledo  in  1115,  forbid 
to  be  ufed ;  and  the  Germans  laid  them  afide  in 
TOO  I,  by  the  perfuafion  of  the  pope  and  of  Sifirid  a 
Pritifh  bifliop  («).    The  promifcuous  manner  in 

whid^ 

(fi)  VVormii  Hift,  Run.  chap.  z3. 


DRUIDISM   revived:  iif 

Mrhich  the  charaflere  on  thefe  crofles  are  placed^ 
was  not  peculiar  to  the  ancient  Irifli,  but  appears  • 
to  he  the  general  method  ufed  by  all  die  Chriftian 
clergy  during  the  middle  ages,  in  their  infcriptions 
and  talifmans,  probably  to  render  them  more  in- 
explicable ;  for  feveral  infcriptions  have  been  found 
at  Conftantinople,  written  in  this  manner,  in  the 
Greek  letters  intermixed  with  the  Qialdaic  figna, 
refembling  in  feveral  inftances  the  (:hara£ters  on  the 
croffes  at  Caftle-dermot  (m).  As  fome  of  thefe 
infcriptions  are  evidently  of  the  tenth  century,  we 
may  reafonably  conclude  thofe  on  the  croffes  are 
not  much  older ;  indeed  every  part  of  the  building, 
cfpecially  the  tower  and  ornaments,  (how  them  to 
be  of  that  period. 

From  thefe  t:roffes  we  may  obferve,  that  the 
Bobeloth  chara£ters  and  feveral  of  the  druidic 
fymljols  were  not  irturely  lofi  in  the  tenth  and 
eleventh  centuries,  though  it  is  probable  that  the 
clergy  had  long  neglected  to  ufe  them  in  their 
writings;  they  appear  however  to  have  been  retained 
in  the  minds  of  the  people,  which  they  mixed 
with  the  Latin  charadkers  in  their  public  infcriptions 
down  to  the  fifteenth  century.  And  the  ancient 
pagan  Saxon  charadters  are  yet,  in  a  great  meafure, 
retained  by  the  common  .people,  of  England,  which 
they  ufe  as  brands  and  marks  for  the  parifhes 
and  hundreds,  though  their  power  and  fignificatioa 
have  long  fmce  been  loft. 


(•)  Vide  Diflcrt.  Imp.  Conftantlnopolitanorum,  feu  dc  la- 
ferioris  aevi  vel  impeni^  uti  vocant,  Numifmaiibus.  Dufrefne. 
Sloif.  torn.  J. 


OF   TH8 

ORIGIN   AND   LANGUACB 

OP    THB 

I     R     IS      H, 

4VD0»    THI, 

LEARNING 

0  r      T   H   B 

D      R      U      IDS. 

TO  d^vdope  from  obfcurity  the  primeval  coIo* 
nization  of  Europe  is  an  arduous  under- 
taking. ImperfeA  hints  and  mutilated  records  are 
(ufpicious  guides  in  the  wide  ocean  of  remote  times; 
and  yet  even  thefe  afford  fome  clue  to  the  lagacious 
inquirer,  and  no  improbable  conjeftures  have  been 
formed  on  Ais  fubjedt.  In  the  opinion  of  fome 
learned  men,  Europe  received  its  firft  colonics  from 
three  diftin£t  bodies  of  emigrants,  that  is,  the  in- 
habitantfi  of  the  weft  and  fbuth  from  one,  thofe  of 
the  eaft  from  another,  and  thofe  of  the  north  and 
midland  parts  from  a  tWrd.  From  whence  we  may 
reafonably  infer,  that  ancient  Europe  received  its 
inhabitants  after  the  univerfal  deluge,  like  mod 
other  countries,  at  different  periods  and  from 
different  races  of  men ;  as  is  conformable  to  the 

tefiimony 


ORIGIN  AMD  LANGUAGE,  &c.  «ij| 

tcftlmony  of  moft  of  the  ancients  i  who  conftantly 
confidered  the  univerfal  inhalxtante  of  the  feveral 
countries  of  uncultivated  Europe  as  of  three  diftindt 
races,  that  is^  the  Celt^,  the  Sartnato^,  and  the 
Scythae. 

The  Celtae,  from  fa'cred  as  well  as  prophanc 
writers,  appear  to  have  been  the  firft  of  the  human 
race  who  repienifhed  with  inhabitants  the  wilds 
of  Europe,  after  the  deftruftion  of  the  old  world 
by  water.  They  were  frequently  called  by  the 
Greeks  and  Romans,  Calts,  Gauls,  Gallatae,  Celtae 
and  Cimbri ;  according  to  the  different  dialedts  of 
the  Celtic  or  Gomerian  tongue  fpokcn  by  thefe 
"people,  who  originally  inhabited  or  rather  peram^ 
bulated  all  the  countries  of  ancient  Europe,  from 
Pontus  Euxinus  to  the  Cherfonefus,  and  from  the 
Viftula  to  the  pillars  of  Hercules;  comprehending 
the  prefent  Germany,  Poland,  Hungary,  Italyt 
Spain,  Portugal,  France  and  the  Britilb  ifles.  They 
generally  diftinguifhed  themfelves  by  the  name  of 
Calt,  Cuilt  and  Cael,  that  is  woodlanders,  froni 
inhabiting  woods  and  forefts ;  for  Cale  and  ChiUc^ 
in  the  Gomerian  tongue  iighify  a  wood,  and 
from  thence  undoubtedly  is  deriyed  the  Latia 
Ccha  and  the  Greek  ^eltoi^  names,  which  have 
ever  diftinguUhed  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of 
Europe  among  the  ancients. 

The  fecond  colony  which  contributed  to  the 
population  of  ancient  Europe,  appear  to  be  the 
Sarmatae;  who  were  apparently  defcendcd  from 
the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Perfia,  Media  and  thofe 
countries  now  appertaining  to  Afia-minor,  and  lying 
))etween  the  Euxine  and  Cafpian  fea,  the  ancient 

Phrygia, 


ito         ORIGIN  AND  LANGUAGE  of  the  IRISH, 

Phrygia,  Armenia  and  Iberia.  Thefe  people  were 
'  called  by  the  Greeks,  Phoenicians  and  Hebrews, 
Sar-madae,  that  is,  defccndants  of  the  Medes. 
They  probably  made  their  jfirft  eftablilhment  in 
Europe  on  their  revolt  from  the  Aflyrians;  about  ' 
746  years  before  the  Chriftlan  era,  where  in  procefs 
of  time,  they  inhabited  that  tradt  of  country  com- 
prehending the  prefent  Hungary,  Bohemia,  Poland 
and  the  greaieft  part  of  Turkey,  the  ancient 
Sartnatia  Europea. 

The  third  European  colony  was  the  Scythae,  a 
people  defcended  frbm  the  Scythae  of  Afia ;  who 
in  former  ages,  inhabited  all  the  country  at  prefent 
diftinguidied  by  Great  Tartary  and  Ruffia,  the 
ancient  Scythia  AJiatica.  They  were  called  Scythe 
by  the  Greeks,  from  their  unfettled  mode  oi  life, 
and  are  fuppofed  to  have  made  their  way  into 
Europe  either  round  by  the  gulphs  of  Finland  and 
Bothnia  into  the  ancient  Scandinavia,  from  whence, 
in  procefe  of  time,  they  overflowed  the  middle 
regions  by  Jutland  and  the  Danifli  ifles,  or  acrofs 
the  Viftula  by  the  fouthern  coafts  of  the  Baltic  (p). 

From  thefe  three  people  who  were  feperate  and 
diftindl  races,  and  as  different  in  their  language, 
religion,  manners  and  cuftoms  as  a  barbarous  ftate, 
(common  to  all)  could  admit,  not  only  ancient  but 
modern  Europe  is  indebted  for  its  inhabitants; 
for  from  the  Celtae  are  defcended  the  greater  part 
of  the  prefent  inhabitants  of  Ireland,  Wales  and 
the  weftern  parts  of  Scotland,  with  the  body  of  the 

prefent 

[p)  The  Scythians  probabl7  made  their  firft  migration  into 
Europe  about  635  years  before  Chrift,  in  the  period  when 
their  fouthern  brethern  invaded  ihe  Mcdes  and  Afl/rians, 
JJewion's  Chronology. 


AND  LEARNING  op  the  DRUIDS.  Xi^ 

prefent  French,  Spaniards  and  Italians,  as  aUb 
numbers  of  the  Swifs  and  Germans.  From  the 
Sarmatae  are  dcfcended  the  greater  part  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Bohemia,  Hungary,  Bucharia,  Scla- 
vonia,  Poland  and  the  greater  part  of  Turkey ;  , 
and  from  the  Scythse  are  defcended  the  Swedes, 
Danes,  Germans  and  Englifh,  with  the  eafiern 
Scotch  and  numbers  of  the  RufTians,  alfo  feveral 
of  the  French,  Swifs,  Spaniards  and  Italians ;  from 
the  irruptions  of  the  Goths,  Vandals  and  Franks 
in  the  third  and  fourth  centuries,  who  were  different 
tribes  of  thofe  people. 

At  what  time  the  Celtes,  as  the  aboriginal  inha-*  ' 
bitants,  had  planted  colonies  in  the  feveral  European 
countries,  and  from  thence  croiTed  the  fea  to  the 
Britiih  iiks,  we  have  no  certain  information^  It  is 
certain  from  the  moft  ancient  and  authentic  Iri(h 
hiftorians,  as  Cormac  and  Tighernach,  who  make 
not  the  lead  mention  of  thofe  fables,  (which  during 
the  latter  ages  have  difgraced  the  Hibernian  hiftoric 
page)  that  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  this  ifland 
derived  their  origin  from  thofe  of  Britain.  The 
time  therefore,  in  which  Britain  received  its  original 
inhabitants  will,  in  fome  meafure>  determine  that 
of  Ireland.  The  Celtic  tribes  who,  in  a  very  early 
period,  rather  perambulated  than  inhabited  the 
wilds  of  ancient  Europe^  were  probably  neither 
flrong  nor  numerous ;  but  wandered  from  place  to 
place,  as  the  convenience  of  pafturage  for  their 
flocks,  hunting  and  other  circumftances  might 
admit,  and  therefore  cannot  be  fuppofed  to  have 
committed  themfelves  to  the  hazards  of  the  fea  in 
fearch  of  new  habitations,  until  obliged  thereto  by 

fome 


izz         ORIGIN  AKD  LANGUAGE  or  thb  IRISH, 

fome  remarkable  incident.  Richard  of  Cirencefter, 
who  wrote  about  the  clofe  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
thinks,  that  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  Britain 
arrived  in  that  iftand  about  the  year  of  the  woild 
3000  (y).  But  the  moll  eariy  tranfadtion  we  have 
of  the  barbarians  of  ancient  Europe  is  that  men- 
tioned^ by  Livy,  concerning  the  firft  migration  of 
the  Gauls  acrofs  the  Aljps,  in  the  reign  of  Tarcpiin 
the  elder,  about  600  years  before  the  birth  of 
Chrift  (r).  What  could  induce  thefc  people  witfi 
innumerable  armies  to  undertake  fuch  a  difficult 
and  laborious  journey  we  are  no  where  informed ; 
it  was  probably  occafioned  by  the  irruption  of  the 
Scythic  and  Sarmatic  tribes,  who  about  the  begin- 
ning of  the  feventh  Century  before  the  Chriftian 
era,  paflied  their  colonies  from  the  banks  of  the  • 
Danube  and  Viftula  towards  the  middle  regions  of 
Europe,  and  thereby  obliged  the  original  Cehic 
inhabitants,  in  a  fliort  time,  to  rdlnquifli  their 
native  feats,  and  feek  in  foreign  climes  that  peace 
and  tranquility  they  could  no  longer  find  in  their 
own.  Some  therefore,  who  refided  in  the  fouthern 
parts  of  Germany  and  Gaul,  crofled  the  Alps, 
whilft  thofc  whormhabited  the  weftern  coafts,  being 
perhaps  fomewhat  enured  to  a  naval  life,  took 
refuge  in  Britain,  whofe  virgm  fieUs  afforded  them 
ample  means  of  fubfiflance  and  retirement.    From 

this 

V 

(^)  A.  M.  3000  circa  bsec  tempera  cuham  et  faabitatam 
primum  Britanniam  arbitrantnr  nonoulli.     Ricbard,  p.  50. 

(r)  trallos  eos  qui  oppugnaverunt  Clufium  non  fuifle  qui 
primi  Alpes  tranfierint,  fatii  coaftati  Ducentis  quippe  annis 
antequam  Clunum  oppcgnarent  urbem  Roiuaxn  caperenc,  in 
Italiam  Galli  tranfcenderunt. 

Dt  tranfitu  in  Italiam  Gallorum  bxc  accepiaiU5.  Prifco 
Tarquinis  Romse  regnantc.    Li?,  i.  $.  c.  33. 


AND  LEARNING  op  the  DRUIDS*  %%f 

this  period^  md  not  earlier^  may  we  re^onably 
place  the  arriyal  of  the  abori^inl  inhabitants  df 
Britain ;  from  which  we  cannot  fuppofe  they  re*- 
moved  to  Ireland,  till  a  drcumitance  fimiUur  to 
that  which  obliged  their  anceftoni  to  ^t  their 
original  feats  on  the  contineiit^  forced  them  to  the 
wefiern  extremities  of  Europe.  The  moft  ancient 
colony  mentioned  in  the  Irifh  annals  is  that  of  the 
Fd:  Boigac,  faki  to  have  tranfinigrated  &om  fome 
part  of  Britain  m  an  esfrly  period.  Richard  of  Ciren* 
ceiler  thinks  they  were  Britons,  who  retired  into 
this  iiland  on  the  arrival  of  the  Beigae,  about  ^$0 
years  before  the  Chrit^m  era,  where  in  procefs  of 
time,  they,  came  to  be  called  Scots  (i).  That 
the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  Ireland  retired  froni 
Britain  into  X\ia  ifland  on  the  arrival  of  the  BelgoSp 
h  extremely  probable,  but  the  Fir  Botgae  from  the 
poems  of  Offian  and  ibme  of  the  moll  ancient 
Irifli  bards,  do  not  ap]9ear  to  have  been  the  original 
inhabitants  of  this  country ;  whoever  thefe  were, 
they  feem,  as  Oflfian  expnreffes,  to  have  arrived  in 
the  dark  periods  before  the  light  of  (bng  arofe,  and 
were  probably  the  aboriginal  Gael  of  Britain,  wh6 
having  retired  into  the  northern  parts  of  that  ifland^ 
on  the  arrival  of  the  Belg^,  croifed  over  from  the 
Mull  of  Galloway  and  Cantire  into  the  northern 
pairts  of  Ireland  ^  where  they  came  to  be  diliin^ 
^iftied,  by  the  foothem  Hibernian  writers,  by  the 
name  of  Tuath  de  Danans,  or  northern  people, 
aad  who  have  ingenionfly  deprived  them  of  their 

birthright 

(/)  A.  M.  3650.  circa  hate  tempore  in  Hiberniani  commi- 
^rarunt,  ejedtis  i,  Bclgis,  Brittones,  ibique  fedes  poAierunty 
ex  illo  tempore  Scotti  appeUati.    Richard,  p.  50. 


ii24  ORIGIN  AJip  LANGUAGE  of  the  IRISH, 

birthright,  making  them  a  fubfequent  colony  to  the 
Fir  Bolgae.  The  Fir  Bolgse,  (b  much  fpoken  of  by 
the  ancient  Irifli  hiflorians,  appear  to  have  been  of 
the  fecond  migration  from  Britain,  and  defcendants 
of  the  ancient  Silures,  >vbo  inhabited  the  couritry 
on  the  north  and  fouth  fides  of  the  Severn,  and 
who,  on  the  arrival  of  the  Belgae  under  Divitiacus 
retired  into  Ireland,  and  eftabliHied  a  colony  on 
the  fouth  and  call  fides  of  the  Shannon  mouth, 
about  eighty  ycar;5  before  the  driflian  era,  as  is 
particularly  mentioned  by  Offian  (/),  who  fays, 
the  Bolgae  under  the  conduct  of  Lathmon  chief  of 
Lumon  (n),  came  from  Cluba  or  the  crooked  bay, 
in  Innifhona  an  ifland  beyond  the  waves,  and 
fettled  in  Culbin  or  the  leifer  crooked  bay ;  thefe 
people  do  not  appear  however  to  have  diilin* 
guiihed  themfelves  by  the  name  of  Bolgac,  but  of 
Momonii  or  children  of  the  wave,  from  coming 
.  over  fea;  and  Momonienfis  or  Mumhan  the  fouthem 
part  of  Ireland,  has  been  ever  thus  denominated 
by  the  ancient  Irifti  writers. 

Thus  were  the  north  and  fouth  parts  of  Ireland 
peopled  by  two  grand  migrations  from  Britain,  and 
the  other  parts  alfo  received  from  that  ifland  fub- 
fequent colonies,  who  fled  from  the  terror  of  the 
Roman  arms;  for  Tacitus  obferves,  that  in  the 
.  time  of  Auguflus,  migrations  from  Britain  to  lie* 
lahd  were  frequent ;  and  we  may  add,  in  much 
later  periods,  efpecially  on  the  arrival  of  the  Saxons 
in  the  fifth  century.  Whence  we  may  infer,  the 
intirc  population  of  this  country  from  Britain  was 
completed  in  the  fpace  of  800  years. 

As 

(/)  Temora,  b.  7. 

(tf)  Lumon  the  Luentum  of  Ptolonif. 


ANb  LEARNING  op  tnt  DRUIDS.  ^ig 

m 

As  the  firft  Inhabitants  of  Irdand  derived  their 
origin  from  tbofe  of  Britain,  they  generally  like 
them,  diftinguiftcd  themfclves,  from  the  rcmoteft 
periods^  by  the  name  of  Gael  or  Gadhil.  It  is 
true,  they  frequently  ufed  other  appellations,  arifing 
from  their  (itnation  and  mode  of  life;  as,  their 
country  Eirinn  or  weftern  ifland,  and  themfelvei 
Eirinnach  or  weftern  people;  but  tlie  name  by  • 
Vfhich  they  were  beft  known  to  foreigners,  during 
the  middle  ages,  was  that  of  Scoti  and  their  country 
Scotia;  as  we  are  affured  by  CUudian,  Ifidore, 
Bede,  Nenhius,  and  moft  other  writers  of  thofe 
periods.  As  the  Scots  are  not  mentioned  in  hiftory 
until  about  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century,  when 
in  conjunction  with  the  Pidts  they  invaded  the 
Roman  Provinces  in  Britain,  feveral  have  concluded 
they  muft  have  been  a  new  people  at  that  time, 
in  thcfe  parts;  indeed  who  they  were  and  from 
whence  they  derived  their  origin  has  been  a  fub- 
jedl  of  much  controverfy  in  the  learned  world. 
Some,  from  the  affertions  of  Radulphus  de  Diceto, 
(«?)  Relnerus  and  others  have  imagined  them  Scy  ths, 
from  Scandinavia ;  others  again  have  maintained  * 
that  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Ireland  were  called 
Scots,  from  dwelling  in  a  country  covered  with 
clouds  and  mifts ;  the  Irilh  antiquaries  themfelves 
generally  derive  them,  from  Spain,  Carthage,  Phoe- 
nicia or  Egypt.  But  without  enumerating  all  the 
wild  extravagant  ftories,  of  different  authors,  relative 
to  this  fubjecl,  we  (hall  only  obferve,  that  the 
words  Cithae,  Cite,  Cuite  and  Scyth  in  the  ancient 

Vol.  II.  CL  Celtic 

(«tf)  Diceto  wrote  in  118$  and  fa^s,  E  regione  quadam 
^ux  dicitur  Scjthia,  diciiar  Scita,  Sciuus,  Scotus^  &c. 


«,a6         ORIGIN  akd  LANGUAGE  o?  tHE  IRISM^ 

Celtic  txmgue,  fignifies  a  mmdeter ;  from  whence^ 
Scilhs,  Scitae,  Sctiita^  and  Scots  a  race  of  vrm^ 
defers^  or  who  have  no  fixed  liai:ntatipiK  About 
the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century  the  anctent 
Jrifli,  m  wicker  boats  covered  with  fkina  called 
curraghs,  tnfdRed  the  eoafls  of  Britaan,  then  belong;- 
ing  to  the  Romans.  Thefe  boats  being  made 
narrow  at  tlte  ends,  like  an  Indian  canoe,  obtamedl 
among  the  Romans  and  Latins  of  the  middle  ages, 
the  name  of  Sagittarii  or  Darters  (x),  from  the  fwiff 
manner  in  which  they  iaited,  and  tlie  mariners 
^ho  navigated  them  were  generally  difiinguifhed 
by  the  names  of  Scttitae  or  Scythae,  fhiit  is,  wan- 
derers, from  their  roving  from  place  to  pkce  in 
fearch  of  plunder ;  whence  the  Hibernian  pyialea 
were  in  general  by  the  Romans  called  Scoti^  wtikb 
during  the  middte  ages,  came  to  be  appfied  to  aK 
fhe  inhabitants  of  this  country,  and  the  idand  in 
confequence  thereof  obtained  the  name  of  Sootku 
kichard  of  Grencefter  ^jeabing  of  the  maritime 
tribes  of  Ireland  as  given  by  Piolemy  and  ofhan, 
obferves,  that  all  the  interior  parts  of  the  ifland 
were  inhabited  by  the  Scots,  though  he  doth  not 
feem  to  know  from  whence  they  obtained  that 
name  -,  but  as  the  Hibernian  pyrates  had  obtained 

{jr)  Dofreihe^s  GloTs.  torn.  ).  tinder  tht  words  fiigkit 
tod  Sa^itcaria.  From  whence  all  foiall  boats  or  barks  which 
were  iharp  at  the  ends  obtained,  during  the  middle  ages» 
the  name  of  fagittaria  throughout  Europe ;  and  their  nati- 
gators  were  denominated  fagitt^iri^runi  and  fcutarius,  from 
the  Celtic7ri//iia  wanderer  ;  whence  any  foldkcrs  who  made 
defuitory  expeditions  were  calledi  fcutii  and-fcmarii,  the 
general  vulgar  name  for  any  efquire,  captain  or  military 
fyfficer  in  the  eleventh  century.  See  %ib  aiKkr  die  wi»rd^ 
fcutuoi^  fcacRriua»  fcatarii^  ^c. 


AKD  LEARNING  op  the  DRUIDS.  ii? 

from  the  Romans  the  name  of  Scoti,  from  their 

pyraticai  courfe  of  life,  ib  the  internal  inhabitants 

towards  the  clofe  of  the  middle  age  obtained  that 

appellation  from  the  Britons,  by  realbn  of  their  dd* 

hering  to  the  perambulatory  and  paftoral  life  of  their 

anceftors,  feveral  centuries  after  the  Britons  had 

reoeiv^d  agriculture,   and  other  arts  of  civil  life, 

bat  wen  after  the  maritime  coafts  of  their  own' 

oouatry,  by  the  commerce  of  foreign  merchants^ 

had  obtaioed  permanent  habitations;  a  circumilance 

in  a  great  mea(ure  confirmed  by  the  aflertion  of 

St.  Remard,  who  ipeaking  of  the  iirft  ilone  houfe 

or  cattie  in  Ireknd,  ere£ted  in  1 135  by  Malachias 

O  Morgair  archbiffaop  of  Armagh,  introduces  a 

aative  of  the  oonntry,  thus  addrefiing  that  prelate : 

**  What  vronderful  work  is  this  ?  Why  this  inotva* 

tion  ki  our  country  ?  We  are  Scois  and  not  Gauls^ 

wiiat  tieceiSty  have  we  for  fooh  durable  edifices  ?'' 

by  vrhich  intimaling,  that  aa  they  had  no  fixed 

place  of  refidetiee  like  the  Britons,   Gaols  and 

SuooM,  fudi  bufldtings  were  tmnecefiary,  as  wdl 

BB  expeiifive.   Nay^  even  ib  iate  as  the  ierenteenth 

century,  we  find  afber  the  rebellion  4n  1 644,  feyend 

meandering  clans  of  the  natives,  lander  the  detnomi^ 

natiMi  of  creaghs  or  herdirnen,  overrunning  the 

comiVFf  with  fhetr  numerous  flocks,  fo  much  to  the 

prejudice  cf  the  Engli(h  fettlers,  that  they  were 

G^tiged  to  be  reftrained  by  public  authorky.    From 

theie  cipcumftanoes  it  is  apparent,  that  the  ancient 

ir^habilants  <$f  Ireland  obtained  the  name  of  Scota 

dnring  the  middle  age^,  from  their  occupation  and 

fnode  of  life,  wliich  they  retained  until  agricukurc, 

^e  arts  <^  ctv'd  Irfe  and  increaie  of  population,  * 

Q^^  about 


a?S-r        ORIGIN  an5  LANGUAGE  at  the  IRISH, 

about  the  tenth  century,  had  in  fome  meafure  con- 
fined their  refidence  to  particular  fpots;  an  aj^l- 
lation,  which,  from  their  fettlen:>cnt  and  coramerce 
with  North  Britain,  they  have  cooimnnicated  Xo 
that  intire  diftrift  of  Britain. 

Seeing  therefore  all  the  ancient  inhabitants  of 
this  country  derived  their  origin  from  Britain,  and 
confequently  were  of  Celtic  extradion,  we  may  rca- 
fonably  infer  that  their  language  was  a  dialed  of 
that  tongue,  fpoken  by  all  the  aboriginal  inhabitants 
of  Europe.     The  Celtic  language  was  undoubtedly 
one  of  the  original  tongues,  formed  at  the  confoficn 
of  Babel,   and  a  dialed  of  thofe  fpoken  by  the 
Hebrews,    Phoenicians,    lonians,    Egyptians  and 
Libyans,  as  is  agreeable  to  the  aflertion  of  Herodotus 
and  other  ancient  writers.  That  tlic  Irilb,  Hebrew 
and  Punic  languages  were  different  dialedts  of  the 
fame  tongue  has  been  proved,  beyond  the  powcf 
of  confutation,   by  that   learned  antiquary  CoL 
Vallancey,  in  his  effay  on  the  antiquity  of  the  Iri(h 
language.    What  was  the  ftate  of  the  Celtic  tongue, 
on  the  arrival  of  the  Britifti  cofonies  in  Ireland,  c^- 
not  poifibly  be  afcertained  v  it  moft  probably  at  that 
period  had  been  much  altered  from  its  original  flate^ 
as  well  by  time  as  by  the  mixture  of  other  languages, 
radically  different  therefrom.     The  Scythae  and 
Sarmat£,  had  long  before  this  period,  extended 
their  tribes  towards  the  weftern  confines  of  Europet 
and  thereby  introduced  a  proportion  of  their  -  re* 
fpedtive  languages  among  the  original  Celtic.    The 
Belgic,    Cimbric  and    weftern    Gallic  had   been 
.mixed  with  the  Scythic ;  and  the  Helvetic,  Rhetic 
and   fouthern  Gallic   with   tlie   Sarmatic.      The 

Britift 


AND  LEARNING  op  the  DRUIDS.  jta^ 

Britifh  perhaps  was  at  that  time  the  only  pure 
diale<^  remaining  of  this  ancient  mother  tongue ; 
their  anceftors  arriving  in  that  ifland,    not  only 
before  the  arts  of  civil  life  had  made  any  re-mark- 
able  progrcfe,    but   alfo  before  the  Scythae  had 
made  any  confiderable  connexions  with  the  Celtes ; 
they  probably  therefore  retained,  during  their  fe- 
queftered  ftate,  the  purity  of  their  language,  at 
kaft  till  diey  tranfmigrated  to  Ii  eland,  excepting 
thofe  alterations  caufed  by  time  and  other  latent 
circumftances ;  for  which  reafon,  the  original  Hi- 
bernian colonies,  proceeding  not  only  from  different 
parts  of  Britain,    but  in  different  periods,   their 
language  could  not  be  exadly  fimilar ;  whence  we 
may  infer,  that  the  language  fpoken  by  the  ancient 
inhabitants  of  this  ifle,  confifted  in  the  early  ages, 
as  at  prefent,  of  feveral  dialefts,  agreeable  to  the 
afiertions  of  antiquaries.     The  firft  and  oldeft  was 
that  ipoken  by  the  Gael  in  the  northern  parts,  the 
iecond  that  fpoken  by  the  Momonii  in  the  fouth 
and  weft,  and  the  third  that  fpoken  by  the  fub- 
fequent  Britiih  colonies  who  fettled  in  this  ifland 
from  the  firft  to  the  fifth  century  after  the  Chriftian 
era ;    this  laft  dialefl:  was  probably  more  altered 
from  the  original  tongue  than  either  of  the  other, 
as  (everal  of  thefe  fettlers  were  of  the  Belgic  and 
Cimbric  race,  who  had  taken  poffelTion  of  the  fouth 
of  Britain  prior  to  the  arrival  of  Caefar ;  and  the . 
other,  thofe  Britons  who  had  in  fome  meafure  cor- 
rupted their' language  by  their  [commerce  with  the 
Romans.    What  efFeft  the  fettlement  of  foreigners, 
from  other  parts  of  the  world,  had  on  the  language 
§1  different  periods,  cannot  be  cafily  afccrtained  ; 

it       • 


^S^         ORIGIN  AND  LANGUAGE  of  rm  n^SH, 

.♦  it  is  evident  from  the  tffcrtions  of  Strabo,  Dyonifius, 
C^tfar,   Tacitus  and  Pliny,  that  a  Gcxi£d<raUe 
commerce  was  carried  on  with  Ireland  and  Britain 
by  the  Punic,  Iberian  and  Gallic  merchants,  from 
the  firfl:  century  antecedent  to  the  Cbriitian  era, 
to  the  clofc  of  the  fecond  fubfequent  to  it.    From 
which  commerce,  tlie  Hibernian  druids  obtained 
the  ufe  o£  letters,  and  perhaps  feveral  tenets  of 
their  religion  and  pbilofophy  i  but  what  fettlemeot 
thefe  traders  made  in  the  ifland,  or  what  alteratioa 
was  caufed  in  the  language  in  confequence  thereof^ 
we  are  intirely  ignorant;  they  being  occaiionaUy 
mentioned  in  feveral  of  the  mod  andent  Iriih 
poems,  have  laid  the  foundation  whereon  the  barda 
and  monks  of  the  latter  ages  have  built  the  6tbulou& 
iyftem  of  the  Milefian  tale ;  they  alio  maintain^ 
that  from  this  period,  the  written  Iriih  language 
was  called  Bear  la  Fenc  or  the  Pl^oenician  tongue  (y)^ 
But  if  the  Bearla  Fene  was  really  nfed  by  the  ancient 
inhabitants  of  Ireland,  it  muA  have  fignifred  tho 
learning  and  not  the  language  of  the  Phoenicians  {z). 
It  is  poffible,  the  druids  might  have  dil^nguifhed 
their  literary  knowledge  by  that  name,  but  even 
this  is  doubtful.     Whatever  quantity  of  the  Pha^ 
niclan  tongne  was  in  thofe  periods  introduced  by 
the  merchants  into  either  Ireland  or  Britain  by  the 
factories  which  they  eftablilhed,  it  could  not  have 
.made  any  confiderable  alteration  in  the  generml 
language  of  the  cpuntry,  9s  the  Celtic  and  Punic 

toi^ues, 

fy)  See  Col.  Vallancey'f  Eflay  on  the  Antiquii/  of  ibc 
Iiilh  Language,   Keating,  Ike. 

(»)  Bf^  or  har  in  the  old  Celtic  iignified  eloquence, 
jrhence  hforla  learned  eloquence  or  w/itten  knowledge  j 
from  wfaicb  iemla  in  the  more  modern  Iriih  fignifies  fpeech. 


AKb  LEARNING  o>tHE  DRUIDS.  l^i 

toBgues,  in  thefe  periods,  were  not  widely  different « 
nor  could  the  Infix  language  huve  undergone  any 
innovations  of  confequence,  by  the  piracies  which 
the  inhabitants  carried  on  along  the  coafts  of  Gaul 
and  Britain^  from  the  middle  of  the  third  to  the  clofc 
of  the  fixth  century  j  much  more  might  have  been 
expeffced  from  the  Latin  on  the  inh-odudlion  of 
Chriftianity  -^  but  fo  cautious  were  the  ancient  Irifli 
of  admitting  exotic  terms  into  their  language,  that 
though  the  clergy  conftantly  wrote  in  the  Latin 
tongue,  few  words  of  that  language  are,  even  at 
this  day 9  to  be  found  in  the  Iriib.  The  firit  inno- 
vation made  in  this  language  was  that  of  the 
Scythic,  introduced  by  the  Danes  from  the  nintU 
to  the  twelfth  century ;  that  language  being  rad'^ 
cally  different  from  the  Celtic,  caufed  a  fmaU 
alteration  in  the  Irilh  on  the  fea-coafts,  but  doth 
not  feem  to  have  penetrated  into  the  internal  parts* 
The  only  foreign  language,  which  appears  to  have 
made  any  confiderable  alteration  in  the  Irifh  tongue 
was  the  Englifti ;  thefe  people,  being  for  feveraj 
centuries  fettled  in  the  heart  of  the  country,  and 
intermarrying  with  the  natives,  a  great  quantity  of 
EngUfh  and  Saxon  words  are  to  be  found  in  the 
modem  Iriih  ^  but  the  greateft  alteration  caufed  ux 
this,  and  indeed  in  every  other  tongue,  is  that  pro^ 
diuced  by  time*  The  conftant  changing  of  thp 
original  lignification  of  fome  words,  the  perpetual 
flu£tuation  of  the  pronunciation,  mull  make  the 
loxiguage  of  any  country  at  feveral  periods  appear 
very  different,  and  to  which  the  Hibernian  barda 
of  the  latter  ag^s  contributed  not  a  little  in  their 
ras,  by  admitting  into  their  compofitions  words 

of 


43*  ORIGIN  AND  LANGUAGE  of  the  IRISH, 

t)f  various  and  dubious  fignifications.  To  trace  ^ 
the  Irifli  language  through  its  feveral  ftages,  would 
far  exceed  the  limits  of  this  effay  •,  we  hope  to  fee 
it  more  fully  treated  on  in  a  fubfequent  number  of 
this  work,  by  the  learned  gentleman,  who  forae 
few  years  fince  favoured  the  public  with  an  eflfay 
on  the  anti<}liity  of  the  Irifh  language;  he  being 
the  only  perfon,  perhaps  in  Europe  at  this  time, 
capable  of  treating  the  fubjedl  with  propriety. 

The  Irifh  language,  notwithftanding  the  feveral 
alterations  which  it  muft  have  undergone  by  time, 
and  other  circumftances,  is,  with  the  Erfe  and 
Welch,  the  only  genuine  remains  at  this  day  of  that 
iiniverfal  tongue  Ipoken  by  all  the  aboriginal  Inlia- 
bitants  of  Europe,  and  from  which  proceeded  not 
only  the  Greek  and  Roman  languages  (^),  but  the 
foundation  of  the  modern  Italian,  Swifs,  French 
and  Spanilh,  with  much  of  the  Dutch  and  German ; 
and  though  at  this  time  little  underftood  or  fpoken, 
except  by  the  natives,  and  even  by  them  in  a  very 
corrupt  manner,  appears,  to  have  been  when  in  its 
titmoft  purity,  a  bold  and  mafculine  language  j  not 
confifting  of  a  number  of  words,  but  extremely 
cxpreflive,  and  when  properly  fpoken,  had  an  har- 
monious and  beautiful  cadence,  rendering  it  proper 
for  pofetic  compofition.  It  is  much  to  be  lamented, 
that  the  ftudy  of  the  Celtic  tongue  in  fome  of 
its  branches,  was  not  cultivated  by  the  learned 
fome  centuries  fince,  when  the  knowledge  of  it  yet 
remained  not  only  in  Britain  but  in  feveral  countries 
on  the  continent ;  as  thereby  a  great  part  of  the 
{indent  hirtory  of  the  European  nations  niighthavc 

been 

(a)  Pezron  od  the  Antiquity  of  Nations. 


AKD  LEARNING  op  the  DRtTlDS.  S3$ 

been  preferved,  as  alfo  much  of  the  Celt  jc  learnings 
now  eternally  buried  in  oblivion.  But  by  confining' 
their  lludies  to  the  Greek  and  l^atin  languages,  the 
learned  indeed  obtained  a  competent  knowledge  of 
thofe  people,  but  loft  all  remembrance  of  their 
own.  It  is  fincerdy  to  be  wilbed  however,  that 
ibme  of  the  univerfities  of  Britain  or  Ireland^  would 
encourage  the  ftudy  of  the  Irtfti  or  Erfe  language^ 
even  in  this  late  period^  as  fcveral  fubjedls  migh^ 
by  that  means  be  expUuned,  which  appear  now  in^ 
explicable. 

From  a  negledt  of  the  cultivation  of  the  Celtio 
tongue,  with  the  feveral  characters  in  which'  it  was 
anciently  written,  all  knowledge  of  the  arts  and 
fciences,  cultivated  by '  our  heathen  anceftors,  has 
been  intirely  loft ;  the  only  fragments  now  remain-^ 
iog  of  them  lie  fcattered  in  the  works  of  the  Greek 
and  Roman  writers  v  forhe  few  excepted,  wUch 
have  been  tranfmitted  by  tradition.  Therefore  to 
fee  this  fubje6t  treated ' "here  in  a  circumftantial 
manner,  cannot  be  expected  ;  nor  indeed  is  it  poCn 
fible,  from  the  few  lights  relative  thereto  which  we 
are  able  to  obtain. 

We  have  obferved  that  all  knowledge  among  the 
ancient  inhabitants  of  thefe  ifles  was  confined  to  a 
clafs  of  men  called  druids,  Thefe  people,  whom 
we  may  confider  as  the  body  of  the  learned,  were 
of  difierent  orders;  to  each  of  which,  the  cuhivalion 
of  a  particular  art  and  fcience  was  appropriated ; 
and  as  the  whole  clafs  was  held  in  the  moft  honour- 
able eftimation,  none  but  thofe  of  noble  parentage 
coiikl  be  initiated  into  their  rayfteries ;  all  the  Celtic 
^bes  in  general,  after  the  manner  of  the  ancient 

Greeks, 


H^a^         ORIQIN  AHTf  LANGUAOB  w  th^  IRJSH, 

Qre^H;^  fileeming  il  igrioble  to  mfirud^any  of  the. 
plebeua  orders  in  the  liberal  ^rts  and  feieiKsos  (^)• 
The  dumciic  orders^  cqafifted  oi  two  prindpal 
daSea^  tb^t  is,  the  Jkr^d  and  pr^p/ume.  The 
prcphane  or  lowefi  or d^r  was  denominated  hhardag/i 
or  ^jrejp^>  that  is,  learo^  men  {e)  v  to  tlvs  clafe 
appertained  the  iludy  of  oratory^  UAory,  laws, 
poetry- Slid  muftc(^).  For  inflru&mg  youth  in. 
tbofe  fdences,  (chooia  were  eftabliibod  in  gropes 
and  cave$  in  different  parts  of  the  ifland,  as  ia 
agreeable  to  the  affertions  of  the  Irifti  antiquaries  (r). 
One  of  thefe  academies  is  mentioned  by  QdTian  to 
be  in  UUIer,  others  were  at  Qogher,  Ardma^a^ 
Taragh,  &c.  and  in  general  alt  the  celebrated 
fchoolsy  elkbltftied  in  Ireland  by  ihe  ChriftUin 
clergy  in  the  fifth  coitnry,  were  ere^ed  on.  tho 
/  rains  of  the  druidic  academies.    The  couife  in 

&de  feminaries,  beiide&the.ooQ&mt  ufe  of  arnr^a^ 
was  ift.oratory,  2d  muiic,  $6.  poetry,  and  4.tli 
Kftory  (f)i  HI  eadi  of  tfaefe,  as  they  advaocod^ 
the  itndeats  took  their  d^;rees  according  to  the 
bent  of  their  ifaidies;  thofe  who  proMed  Ofity 
mufic,  obtained  the  name  of  dtharad^h  ot  eUffopha  \ 
{£)  thofe  who  profeflTed  hiftoric  poetry*  and  mufic 
obtained  the  title  of  hluttdL  \  and  thofe  who  iludted 
only  poetry,  containing  their  laws,  obtained  the 
title  of  hrehom  or  judges.    The  divfmluif  b^ng 

only 
•  '  • 

{b)  Cx&r.  com.  I.  fi.    SchcdiQs  de  dis  .Ccrai.  - 
(c)  Camden.     Col.  Vallanccy. 
(</)  Lucian.  Lexiph.     Jul.  Server!. 
{e)  Pomp.  Mei.  I.  5.  c.  i.  p.  73.  O  Flaherty,  Ketiin^»  %c. 
(f)  Neceflaria  orationuiQ  frequent  lf£Uo»    bo^tQ  Qrdiuc 
prinio  pQgtas  deind*  hiftoricos.  Serv,  4.  -    '* 

{^)  Otmden. 


km  LEARNING  of  the  pRUIDS-  a^f 

tmly  inibDineivtal  muficians,  wore  of  the  loweft 
order,  and  atteodtots  on  the  khards  at  the  couna 
of  the  heroes,  places  of  devotion  and  field  of 
battle  (A).  The  bkards  properly  fo  called,  were 
not  only  compofers  of  the  feveral  fpecies  of  poetry 
and  mufic,  but  the  heralds,  aid  de  camps,  and 
Gonftant  attendants  on  the  chiefs  in  battle,  marching 
at  the  head  of  their  armies,  accompanied  by  the 
eiar/acha^  clad  in  white  flowing  robes  and  beards, 
jfinging  fome  martial  ftr^n  to  the  harp  (/)  ^  whence 
Qiiian  compares  them  to  the  ^^  moving  foam  on 
the  dark  ridge  of  the  wave  {k)  9*  they  alfo  (ang 
the  requiem  of  fuch  aa  fell  in  battle,  without  which, 
and  the  funeral  rites,  the  CeUes  like  the  Greeks 
believed  the  manes  of  their  heroes  could  not  be 
happy.  The  bards  were  held  in  great  refped  by 
the  people,  and  their  perfons  held  iacred  even  by 
enemies  (/),  for  which  reafon  they  were  fometimes 
called  ullagh  or  the  (acred  order.  After  the  ellablifh" 
ment  of  Chriftianity,  and  the  druidic  order  was  in  a 
great  meafure  aboliihed,  the  bards  were  dill  retained, 
though  not  in  their  original  fplendour  and  confe* 
quence ;  they  feem  alfo  to  have  altered  their  n^mes. 
The  bhard^^h  being  called  Jbeanchagh  or  genealo* 
gifts,  and  the  clarfachaj  citharados  or  harpers,  in 
which  capacity  they  were  retained  in  the  family  of 
the  chiefs,  down  to  the  fixteenth  century. 

The  facred  order  was  compofed  of  thofe  pro- 
perly termed  druids,  or  as  they  were  anciently 

denominated 

(h)  OfTun's  Poems. 

(r)  Plin.  1.  16.  cap.  44.  Demoft.  ortt.  Clemens.  Alcxtnd. 
paedag.  cap.  lo*  Diod.  Sicui.  Paufan. 
(k)  Badle  of  Lumon. 
{I)  Pocnis  of  Ofiian, 


13«  ORIGIN  AND  LANGUAGE  op  the  IRISH, 

denominated  trudhi  or  turduliy  that  is,  diviners  and 
interpreters  of  the  Gods  (m).  Their  ftudies  were 
confined  to  theology  and  the  fublimc  fciences,  and 
confiilcd  like  the  bhards  of  feveral  degrees  or 
orders;  that  is,  the  drudhicydeigh^  the  drudhibhaitkei^h^ 
Ihedrudhicerglios  and  the /amodhH: 

The  drudhicydeigh  (n)  or  the  interpreters  of  the 
Gods  of  the  forefts,  refided  in  the  facred  groves  in 
caves,  or  in  the  trunk  of  an  hollow  oak;  they 
divined  by  the  motion  of  the  leaves  of  trees,  by  the 
blowing  of  the  wind,  and  by  long  fquare  flips  of 
wood  taken  from  feveral  trees.  Their  particular 
.  fttidics  were  botany  and  phyfic. 

•  The  drudhibhaitheigh  ((?),  or  as  they  were  called 
by  the  Latin  writers,  vates  zxiA  ubates^  were  the 
lacrificers^  and  divined  by  the  entrails  and  flowing  of 
tiic  blood  ofthe  viftims  at  the  time  of  facrifice  (p). 

•  The  drudhicerglios  (q)  prefided  over  the  manes 
and  tombs  of  heroes,  they  were  the  dreamers,  and 
divined  by  dreams  and  tifions  of  the  night  (r). 

•  The  famodhti  or /amothai^  that  is,  the  wifdom  of 
the  gods,  were  ofthe  highefl-  degree  ofthe  druidic 
order;  they  cultivated  the  ftudy  of  theology,  aftro- 
nomy,  and  moral  and  natural  philofophy,  and 
divined  by -the  afpedl  of  the  fun,  moon  and  ftars, 

by 

-  («)  Schedius  de  Dis  Germ.  p.  256,  258.  The  Irift 
called  them  drudbidiigb^  that  is»  diviners. 

{n)  DruSi^deigh  ngnifies  diviners  by  the  oaken  groves. 
Perron's  Antiquities. 

(0)  Druidbibbaitbeigb  lignifies  diviners  by  beads, 

{p)  Diod.  Sicul.  I.  5.     Strabo,  1.  4.  . 

{q)  H.  Boethius,  1. 2.  calls  this  order  corruptly  durcergl!osi 
DrudbicergUos  fignifies  the  diviners  by  the  grey  or  greei 
caves. 

(r)  Poems  of  OfEan. 


AND  LEARNING  o*  the  DRUIDS.  43^ 

by  meteors,  by  liie  colour  and  figure  of  the  clouds^ 
the  blowing  of  the  Mrind,  and  the  flame  and  fmoke 
of  fire  (j). 

No  perfon  could  be  admitted  into  the  draidic 
order,  until  he  had  taken  his  feveral  degrees  in  that 
of  the  bards ;  but  as  the  order  was  facred  and 
related  to  the  divinity,  the  tenets  of  which,  were 
kept  an  eternal  fecrct  from  the  people,  every  druid, 
on  being  admitted,  was  obliged  to  fwear  by  the 
circle  of  the  Sun,  the  irregular  Moon,  the  Stars 
and  all  the  Hofts  of  Heaven,  that  he  would  not 
divulge  what  was  taught  him,  but  retain  it  in 
memory  only  (/) ;  nor  were  they  permitted,  in  the 
public  fongs,  either  facred  or  prophane,  to  mention 
any  of  the  fublime  tenets  of  their  religion  and  phi* 
lofbphy ;  for  which  reafon  perhaps,  we  do  not  find 
mention  of  the  worlhip  of  a  divinity  in  the  poems 
of  OfTian.  The  cuftom  of  enjoining  fecrecy  to  the 
pupils  of  the  druids  was  not  peculiar  to  them,  the 
ancient  Greeks  had  the  fiime,  for  we  find  Hippo- 
crates fwore  his  pupils  on  being  admitted  under  bis 
tuition  (u). 

Ap  the  bards  were  chofen  into  the  academies 
firom  the  moft  (lately  and  beautiful  of  the  noble 
youths,  fo  the  druids  were  eledked  from  the  talleft 
and  mod  leamed  of  the  bards ;  for  which  reafon^ 
it  was  not  fufficient  that  they  had  taken  the  feveral 
degrees  belonging  to  tlie  bards,  they  muft  be  re- 
markable 

(5)  Strabo,  1.  4.  Diod.  Siculus,  1.  5. 

(/)  Omnes  qui  incideriot,  adjuropeF  fenim  folis  circuluni» 
inaequales  lunse  curfus,  reliquoruroqae  fidcruin  vires  .et 
fignifenim  circulum,  ut  ii>  reconditis  h«c  habeant,  nee  in- 
do^tis  aut  profanis  communicent,  fed  prseceptoris  memoret 
fior.    Vettius.  Valens.  Antiocheoes,  1.  7. 

(tt)  Schcdiut  de  Dis  Germ.  cap.  t6.  p«  ^'99* 


i^t         OktGtt^  AND  LANGUAGE  or  the  IRISH, 

iMrtaible  for  tlidr  ftrength  find  graccfoliKft  of 
peKbn ;  wherefore,  when  two  <:ompetitors  arefe 
whofe  mental  and  corporeal  acconipIi(hnieats  Were 
tteariy  equal,  ttie  decifion  was  left  to  the  ftte  of 
trms,  l>y  fingle  combat  (^).  The  time  neoefikry 
lo  obtain  the  feveral  degrees  in  the  fi^KX)Is  of  the 
bards  was  ten  or  twelve  yearis,  and  in  thoiTe  of  the 
dntidft  nearly  as  long;  whence,  between  twenty 
and  thirty  years  clofe  application  watt  i^({fiii«d  id 
obtain  the  degree  rf  a  fomotheei  {k). 

In  fpeaking  of  the  fev^al  fpeciea  of  bsarmng 
cultivated  by  thefe  heathen  philofbphers,  we  (hatt. 
only  mention  here  the  iecc^r,r  that  is,  oraiory, 
poetry,  mufic,  phytic,  coftnography,  agronomy 
and  ethios,  referving  the  theological  to  be  fpofeen 
of  more  ftilly  hereafter.  To  fpei^  with  cafe  and 
eloquence  in  public  stflembFies,  was  efteemed  the 
greatcft  ornament  in  the  circle  of  druidic  Ihemtnre, 
«od  as  this  was  the  moft  efiedtual  method  of  laying 
a  true  feundation  for  poetic  and  mufical  compo- 
ihion^  no  pains  wtrc  omitted  to  ground  the  ymmg 
pupils  in  oratory  and  elocution,  on  their  entrance 
into  the  academies.  To  find  a  barbarous  and  un- 
civilized nation,  ctdtivating  with  aflidaity,  «i  brandi 
•of  Utemture  ieldom  attained  in  perfe6^n  by  the 
ttiott  refined  and  pdifhed  focieties,  may  at  firft 
appear  fomewbat  eictraordinary ;  but  we  ou^  to 
oonfider,  that  trae  doquenoe  is  not  confined  to  soy 
particular  ftate  of  fociety.  The  harangues  of  an 
Indian  facheih  at  the  head  of  his  tribe,  has  often 
more  energy  than  is  to  be  £Dund  in  the  moft  learned 

aiTcmblies » 

(w)  SchediusdtDiaGcrm.ptf.  255.  Afon.  l.i.  Li't.  iS. 
(x)  Ccf.  QOOK  U  6»  Pomp.  Mtta^  K  5.  c  a.  |>.  73. 


.  /  aSd  learning  0^  'rut  DRUIDS.  4^9 

•flcmblies ;  and  the  orations  of  Demoflhenes  are 
more  to  be  admired  than  thofe  dcKvered  in  a  more 
improved  fiate  of  the  Grecian  empire*  In  the  early 
fiages  of  fociety  the  paffions  alone  are  confuited^ 
in  the  later  the  reafim.  Man  living  in  micuitivBted 
deferts,  and  fupported  by  the  chace^  h&s  few  ab- 
ftrafk  ideas ;  reafoning  therefore,  from  a  kmg  train 
of  connected  fubjedts  would  be  loft  on  faini)  be 
would  neither  have  patience  to  attend  to  the  con^ 
dufion  nor  underfland  the  ai^ument.  Whence  ' 
the  drtiidic  oratory  was  intirdy  calculated  to  work 
on  the  paffions,  confifting  of  energetic  cxpreffions 
and  flroDg  metaphors,  as  is  evinced  through  every 
ipedes  of  ttieir  poetic  compoiitiotis. 

To  judge  of  the  Cdtic  poetry  by  the  few  remaittf 
to  be  found  at  this  time  in  Ireiand»  would  be  im>- 
proper;  none  of  tbe  compofitions  of  this  kind 
appear  older  than  the  fourteenth  century ;  fome  of 
•them  indeed  are  taken  from  much  earlier  pr(xluc* 
tionsy  but  fo  mutilated  by  the  latar  bards,  as  to 
tiave  little  refemblance  to  the  originals.  The  oaly 
^nuine  remdn^  of  the  old  druidic  poetry  are  in 
the  works  of  Oifian,  to  be  found  in  the  highlands 
of  Scotfatnd ;  true  and  elegant  tranflations  of  the 
^caler  part  of  the  productions  of  tlHS  noble  heathm 
bard,  \^o  flouri(b:d  about  the  dofe  of  the  third 
century,  have  been  given  to  the  public  fome  years 
lince,  by  Mn  M'Pherfim.  From  thefe  poems  it  is 
apparent,  that  the  Celtic  poetry  confided  of  feveral 
.^secies,  as  the  degiac,  the  lyric,  heroic,  epic  and 
dramatic,  as  has  been  conftantly  afferted  by  the 
IriHi  antiquaries  and  feveral  of  the  ancients  (y). 

The 

{jj  Fabric!!  Bibl.  Lat.  p.  74.    Prudtnt,  tpotheoC  V.  »96. 
Soiio.  25.  p.  134. 


^4^         ORIGIN  AND  LANGUAGE  o^  ^he  IRISH, 

The  elegiac  was  intirely  confined  to  funeral 
obfequies  and  other  ferious  fubjefts. 

The  lyric  contained  their  love  ibnnets,  paftoral 
pieces,  &c. 

The  heroic,  under  which  fpecies  we  may  com- 
prehend the  epic  and  in  fome  inftances  the  'drarn- 
atic,  contained  the  poems  relative  to  their  hiftory  and 
adlions  of  their  chiefs  j  beautiful  fpecimens  of  this 
compofition  are  given  in  the  works  of  Oflian ;  they 
were  performed  generally  at  the  feafts  of  the  nobles^ 
affembiies  of  the  ftate,  on  the  eve  of  battle,  the  ob- 
taining of  vidtory,   and  indeed  on  every  other 
public  occafion  (z) ;  their  performance,  when  cir- 
cumftances  admitted,  was  grand  and  noble ;  the 
chiefs  being  feated  in  the  opeti  air  during  the  night, 
with  torch  light,  in  a  circle,  on  mounds  of  turf  or 
fkins  of  wild  beafls;   the  bards  (landing  in  the 
centre,  recited  the  narrative  JDart,  in  a  kind  of  re*   ' 
citative  accompanied  by  tlie  harp ;  after  which,  the 
lyric  part  was  fung  in  full  chorus,  after  the  manner 
of  the  Greeks,  in  which  were  frequently  introduced 
lymphonies  of  pure  inftrumental  mufic  by  the 
clar&cha,  Handing  on'  the  outer  circumference  of 
the  circle  {a) ;  fo  that  perhaps  there  was  not  a  more 
auguft  and  noble  fpedacle,  than  to  hear  the  recital 
of  an  elegant  hiftoric  production,  at  the  geaeral 
aflfembly  of  the  ftates,  when  the  moft  eminent  bards 
throughout  the  realm  were  collected ;  there  bnng 
the  greateft  probability  that  they  far  furpafled,  ia 
noble   fentiment,    beautiful    expreilion  and    true 

melody, 

(e)  Amm.  Matrcell.  I.  ly,  c.  13.  p.  146.    Diodor.   SicuU 
I.  5.  212.     Liv.  42.  60,  aad  tbe  Poems  of  OfliaiQ. 
[a)  Poems  of  Oflba. 


AND  LEARNING  of  ths  DRUlDd.  HH 

melody,  all  the  modern  compofitions  of  operas  and 
oratooM,  efpedally  after  the  efiabliihment  of  the 
conVetrtion  of  Taragh.  To  that  celebrated  infti- 
tJMoQ,  which  probably  was  erected  in  imitation  of 
thofe  of  the  aij^ient  Iberians,  mentioned  by  Strabo^ 
(*)  the  Celtic  poetry  in  thefe  iflands  feems  to  have 
been  indebted,  for  that  elegance  and  refinement 
which  we  find  in  the  worics  of  Oifian.  For  about 
the  middle  of  the  third  century,  as;  appears  front 
Offian  and'  Hector  Boethius,  Fingall  or  Fynnan^ 
called  by  the  Irifh  Fin  mac  Comhal  and  great 
grand(bn  of  Connor  mor,  infiituted  a  like  convention 
at  Selma  in  Scotland  {c) ;  fo  that  the  f)dems  of 
Offian  may  be  confidered  as  the  mod  corredk  fpe- 
cimens  of  the  Celtic  poetry,  being  compofed  in  the 
raoft  learned  and  refined  period  of  antiquity. 
After  the  eftablifliment  of  Chriftianity,  and  the  dru* 
kfic  order  was  ncgleded,  their  poetry  fuffered  con- 
fiderable  diminutions,  er[)ecialty  thehiftoric,  though 
the  lyric  retained  its  perfection  feveral  centuries 
after,  and  fome  compofitions  of  that  fpecies  are 
fiill  to  be  found  in  Ireland  and  in  the  highlands  of 
Scotland,  excellent  in  their  kind. 

As  all,  or  moft  of  the  Celtic  poetry  was  fet  to 
tnulic,  the  Irifti  antiquaries  have  faid  much  relative 
fo  their  ancient  mufical  compofition;  but  how 
much  it  exceeded,  or  came  Ihort  of  the  modern. 
Cannot  perhaps  be  determined,  it  not  being  certain, 
that  any  of  the  druidic  mufic  has  been  handed  down 
to  us.  The  national  mufic,  found  at  this  day  both  in 
Ireland  and  the  highlands  of  Scotland,  has  great 
Vol.  II.  R  originality, 

(A)    Srrabo.  I.  J.  p.  139. 

{c)  OlFian,  Songs  of  Selma,  H.  Bo€thiu»,  L  2. 


%^Z     .     ORIGIN  ANb  LANGUAGE  oi>  tut  IRISH, 

onginality,  and  is  far  from  wanting  merit,  being  of 
a  plaintive  ftiie,   but  exceedingly  cxpreffivc,  and 
well  adapted  to  the  genius  of  the  people.    Whether 
'     the  druidic  mufic  refembled  arty  of  thefe  ij,jipi 
certain ;  there  is  found  in  fome  of  the  remote  parti 
of  the  ifles  of  Scotland,  mufic  of  a  noble  fimple 
nature^  exceedingljr  expreflive,  and  bearing  evi^ 
dent  marks  of  great  antiquity ;  it  is  faid  to  be  fome 
of  the  mufic  to  which  the  poenos  of  Offian  were 
originally  fet,   if  fo,   the  Hibernian  and  Britiflx 
druids  cultivated  mufic  widi  the  fame  fuccefe  they 
did  poetry  ;  fome  al(b  of  the  Irifh  airs  appear  to  be 
very  old  ;  and  if  they  are  not  fome  of  theremains, 
are  at  ieaft  in  imitation  of  their  ancient  mufic. 
We  mull  not  expedt  however,  that  the  Hiberniaa 
Celtic  mufic  contained  pieces  in  the  various  parts  of 
harmonic  compofition ;  its  merits  like  that  of  Ae 
ancient  Greeks,  depended  intirety  on  melody,  and 
even  in  this,  of  no  great  latitude ;  the  fcak  exceed- 
ing little  more  than  a  fingle  o£tave  in  the  diatonic^ 
the  chromatic  was  entirely  unknown.     Tins  defeft 
however  in  the  druidic  mufical  fcale  did  not  pre- 
vent their  having  pieces  in  the  feveral  fpecies  of 
melodious  compofition;  as  the  penferofo,  allegro, 
martial,    &c.      The  penferofo,    called  by  them 
gemtraidheacht  {d)  or  forrowful,  was  ufed  in  the 
Tequiem  of  the  dead,  and  on  other  folemn  occa- 
fions  (<?).     The  allegro  called  langotmdheacht  or 
delightful  was  ufed  in  their  dances,  and  generally 
adapted  to  their  lyric  compofitions.    The  amarofo^ 

called 

{d)  O  Conor,  p.  68. 

(/)  Whence  the  funeral  poems  were  cHltdgeiman  or  (ar- 
rowtul  (iitiies^  a  name  which  th'^y  have  preierved  to  this 


Airb  LEARNING  op  the  DRUIDS.  ft4| 

cdilcd  Juaniraidheachf  or  repofmg,  was  adapted  to 
their  love  fonnets,  and  other  fubjefts  where  plain-  * 
tive  foftnefs  was  required.     The  martial,  called 
golhraidheacht^  was  ufed  in  war ;  to  this  (pecies  alfcf 
the  heroic  parts  of  their  hiftoric  poems  were  fet, 
and  was  frequently  performed  on  inftruments,  in 
their  hunting  matches.     From  the  poems  of  OITian 
it  appears,  that  the  only  mufical  inflrument3  known 
in  the  early  ages  to  the  BritiQi  and  Hibernian  Celtes^ 
were  the  harp  and  horn.    The  harp,  called  clarfachi 
was  nearly  of  the  fame  form  as  thofe  ufed  at  prefent 
by  the  Weigh  and  Irifh,  only  inttead  of  having 
firings  of  gut  as  in  the  former,  or  wire  as  in  the  latter, 
was  Itrung  with  thongs  of  leather  (/),  and  feldom 
contained  more  tlian  eight  or  ten  firings.     The 
harp  appears  to  be  the  original  infirument  among 
all  nations  of  antiquity,  it  being  in  general  ufe  not 
only  among  all  the  Celtes,  but  alfo  among  the  He- 
brews, Greeks  and  Sarmatae.     The  horn  was  only 
ufed  in  war  and  the  chace,  and  was  no  other  than  the 
common  bugle-horn,  ftill  retained  by  the  common 
people,  and  our  modern  huntfmen.     Several  of 
the  ancients  aflert,  tliat  the  Hebrews  and  Gaultf 
were  acquainted  with  the  organ  \  that  this  noble 
mufical  infirument,  in  its  prefent  form,  was  known 
to  the  nations  of  antiquity,  is  not  in  the  lejrfl  pro- 
bable i  it  is  certainly  of  modern  invention.     The 
Hebrew  word  huggahy  which  has  been  generally 
tranflated  organ,  fignifies  any  tubical  infirument, 
founded  by  wind,  or  in  general  a  pipe.     The  Irifh 
antiquaries  relate,  that  the  ancient  inhabitants  of 
this  country,  during  the  middle  ageSj  ufed  twa 

R  z  fpecics 

(f)  Gambrenlls. 


N. 


&44  ORIGIN  AND  LANGUAGE  of  the  IKlSfi, 

fpccies  of  wind  inftruments,  called  ^M/f  and  adhtr- 
caidhciitfl\  Jinie  figmfies  a  tube  or  pipe,,  and  was 
probably  the  eonrmon  pipe ;  adharcaidkciuitii^^^ 
a  colleflfon  of  pipfes  joined  together,  and  appears 
to  be  ndf  other  than  the  bag-pipes,  fo  much  ufed  ia 
Ireland  at  prefent ;  as  neither  of  thefc  inftniments 
feem  to  have  been  known  in  this  ifknd  in  the  day& 
of  Offian,  they  pwobably  were  introdux:ed  by  the 
foreign  merchants  about  the  fourth  or  fifth  cen- 
tury, and  feem- to  be  of  Galiic  or  Iberian  origin,  and 
io  be  thofe  mentioned  by  the  Latin  writers^  undcif 
.fhc  denomination  of  organs  {g\  As  to  the  trumpet 
and  drum,  rnentioned  by  Cambrenfe,  they  were: 
of  Scythic  origin,  and  introduced  by  the  Danes. 

Poetry  and   mulic  appear  to  have  been  the 
fciences,  cultivated  with  the  greateil  fuccefe  by  the 
-druids ;  tliough  their  knowledge  in>  cofmogra]^ 
and  aftronomy  was  not  defpicaWfe,  confidering  their 
mode  of  Mfe,  and  their  total  want  of  inllrument^ 
proper  to  make  experiments  and  obfervations.  Their 
ideas  relative  to  the  origin  of  things  were  neatly  the 
feme  as  thofe  of  the  Egyptian  priefts  and  Perfian 
magi  5  they  maintained*  that  the  world  was  eternal, 
and  engendered  by  fire,  which  they  conficfered  the 
aftive  principle  of  nature  (A> ;  that  the  principle 
eppofite  to  fire,  and  conftantly"at  variance  with  it, 
was  water ;  which  two  principles^  after  contending^ 
together  for  fome  time,  would  alternately  fuccecd, 
firft  water  and  then:  fire  -r  that  during  the  dominion 

of 

{g)  The  bag-pipes  hy  the  Latins  of  the  middle  ages  wt» 
feequently  called  the  travelling  organ.  Dufrcfne's  Glofs^ 
torn.  J. 

^y  Juftin.  X.    Scrabo.  h^  p.  v^. 


AV©  LEARNING  op  th^  DRUIDS;  a4j 

*  of  fke,  a  total  chaqge  (hould  take  place  in  the 
univerfCy  and  the  earth  and  all  things  contained 
therein  would,  by  that  aftive  principle  be  diiTolved, 
but  in  a  (bort  time  be  renewed  in  great  fplendor,  and 
men  refide  wkh  the  gods(/).  The  fyftem  of  the 
univerfe  and  a  plurality  of  worlds,  at  tlus  time 
jrcceivcd  by  the  learned  in  philofophy,  and  thought 
to  be  the  difcoverics  of  the  latter  ages,  was  not 
only  maintained  by  the  Celtic  druids  but  by  th^ 
Egyptian  ftfiefts,  and  indeed  by  moft  of  the  phi- 
lofophers  of  remote  antiquity  (k)  j  they  even  appear 
to  have  had  the  method  of  calculating  eclipTes,  and 
other  afpeds  of  the  planets  (/).  Diodorns  Siculus 
{m)  fays,  that  in  an  ifland  weft  of  the  Celtes,  the 
druids  brought  the  fun  and  moon  near  them; 
vfhence  feveral  have  conjedlured  that  tetefcopes 
were  aot  unknown  in  thofe  early  periods  -,  but  this, 
certainly  was  not  the  cafe,  the  invention  of  optic 
inflruments  undoubtedly  belongs  to  the  moderns. 
The  expreffion  of  Diodorus,  of  bringing  the  fun  and 
moon  near  them,  probably  fignifies,  to  be  well 
acqusunted  with  their  motions,  and  feems  to  refer 
to  the  calculation  of  eclipfes  -,  which  certainly  was " 
not  performed. by  aftronomical  tables  as  at  prefent, 
hut  by  cycles  of  nineteen  years  i  a  method,  though 
not  corred  to  an  hour  and  fometimes  a  day,  yet 
was  fufficient  for  thefe  ancient  philofophers ;  it 
esicreafed  their  confcquence  with  the  people.  They 
appear  alfo  to  have  formed  the  ftars  into  confiella- 

tions^ 


(0  Sfrabo.  I.  4.  p.  197.  (^)  Herodotus. 

(/)  Amm.  Marcell.  1.  14.  c.  9.  {«)  Diod.  SiC  I.  6# 

9.  {jt)  Tcinorg,  book  7. 


t46  ORIGIN  AND  LANGUAGE  op  the^  IRISH, 

tions,  efpecially  thofe  of  the  northern  hemifphere  j 
but  how  far  they  fucceeded  in  this,  it  is  not  poffible 
to  determine,  though  fome  of  their  names  are  men- 
tioned by  Oifian. 

In  their  chronology,  called  by  them  chranog  (o), 
they  Calculated  time  by  the  night,  beginning  at 
funfet,  according  to  the  general  pradlice  of  anti- 
quity j  their  feafons  were  generally  regulated  by 
the  moon,  after  the  manner  of  the  Egyptian 
priefts,  and  their  years  by  the  fun,  whence  the 
ancient  Irilh  for  a  year  is  bealahte  (p). 

In  mathematical  knowledge  they  feem  to  have 
been  extremely  defeftive,  it  not  being  certain  what 
method  they  had  of  numerating  and  performing 
arithmetical  calculations.  They  appear  to  have 
been  acquainted  with  fome  geometrical  figures,  as 
the  circle,  triangle,  fquare,  and  polygon  (^),  but 
the  external  form  of  thefe  bodies,  probably  termi- 
nated their  geometrical  knowledge ;  indeed  living 
in  an' uncultivated  country,  and  leading  an  un- 
fcttled  life,  they  were  not  under  the  ncccflSty  of 
cultivating  geometry  like  the  Egyptians.  In  ana- 
tomy, they  appear  to  have  had  a  fuperficial  know- 
ledge of  the  muicles,  veins  and  nerves,  as  they 
frequently  divined  by  them  in  their  facrifices  (r). 
In  fyrgery  they  generally  applied  herbs  to  wounds 
and  fradtures ;  indeed  vegetables  compofed  the 
whole  of  their  materia  medica,  and  they  applied 
them  in  all  phyfical  cafes,  both  internal  and  external, 

thougl^ 

(o)  O  Brien*s  DlQionarv^ 

(f>)  Caef.  Com.  I.  6.     Tacit,  mor.  Germ. 

(q)  Avcntin."  1.  i .     Ifidor,  Qlofs. 

(t)  Tacit.  I.  14. 


AND  LEARNING  OF  THE  DRUIDS.  24Y 

though  the  generality  of  xiifeafes  were  attempted 
to  be  cured  by  charms  and  incantations. 

Their  morality  confifted  of  fhort  fentences  or 
proverbs,  which  they  obliged  the  people  to  retain 
in  their  memories ;  the  principal  of  which  were,  to 
fear  the  gods,  do  no  ill,  and  ftudy  to  be  valiant  (/). 

But  the  fcience  to  which  the  druids  paid  the 
greateft  attention  was  that  of  divination,  to  be 
perfedt  mafter  of  which,  was  thought  to  be  un- 
attainable by  any  one  perfon ;  wherefore  it  was 
divided  into  claffcs,  that  each  druid  might  apply  to 
the  cultivation  of  feme  particular  branch,  whence 
the  feveral  orders  of  the  druids  were  denominated 
from  the  fpecies  of  .divination  they  profeflcd. 

The  fublime  parts  of  their  philofophy  and  theo- 
logy were  firft  taught  their  pupils  in  the  fchools  of 
the  bards  under  fiftion  and  allegory  (/),  after  the 
majnner  of  the  orientals  and  all  remote  nations  of 
antiquity,  but  were  not  explained  until  their  ad- 
miffion  into  the  druid  order. 

To  this  concife  account  of  the  druidic  learning, 
it  may  not  be  improper  to  mention  the  fyftem  of 
education  given  by  them  to  the  people ;  referving 
a  more  circumftantial  explanation  of  their  erudition, 
till  we  fully  treat  of  the  religion,  poetry,  mufic, 
archite<Sure,  army,  njavy,  cuftoms  and  manners 
of  the  ancient  pagan  Irifh,  under  difiind  heads. 

The  Celtic  nations  have  ever  been  looked  on  by 
the  Greeks  and  Romans  as  an  ignorant  and  bar- 
barous people ;  the  lower  orders  undoubtedly  were  (p, 
\y\ii  this  certainly  was  not  the  cafe  with  the  noblefs. 

Tbero 

(f)  Diogenes  Laeru  prosm.  p.  4. 
(/)  Ibid.  p.  4. 


%4B  ORIGIN  AND  LANGUAGE  or  rut  IRISH, 

There  was  perhaps  no  nation  of  antiquity,  where 
the  education  of  the  young  nobility,  was  fo  much 
attended  to  aa  among  the  ancient  Irifli ;  they  were 
not  only  initiated  early  into  the  ufe  of  arms,  but 
conftantly  went  through  a  regular  courfe  of  oratory, 
hiitory,  poetry  and  mufic,  in  the  academies  of  the 
bards  •,  from  whence,  if  they  thought  proper,  they 
were.admitted  into  the  druidic  order,  and  initiated  into 
all  their  myilic  rites ;  for  which  reafon  we  find  that 
feveral  of  the  ancient  Irifli  kings  were  not  only  bards 
but  druids.    Even  the  fair  fex  were  not  negledled, 
and  the  ancient  Hibernian  ladies  received  an  edu- 
cation, according  to  their  mode  of  life,  equal,  if  not 
fuperior,  to  that  of  the  modems.    The  young  ladies 
in  the  early  ages,  fo  far  from  being  put  under  the 
care  of  foreign  tutoreffes  collefted  from  the  lower 
people,  without  education,   fentiment  and  often 
without  principle,  were  committed  to  the  care  of 
druids,  who  paid  conftant  attention  to  their  mental 
and  corporeal  accomplifliments  («) ;  whilft  mufic, 
'  eloquence  and  poetry  cmbellifbed  their  minds,  the 
cxercife  of  the  chace,  archery  and  throwing  the 
lance,  ferved  to  give  their  bodies  health,  vigour 
and  beauty,    the  conftant  chafaderiftics  of   the 
Celtic  kdies ;  even  the  line  did  not  terminate  here, 
thofe  who  attained  to  perfedion  the  learning  of  the 
bards,   on  application,   were   admitted   into    the 
druidic  order  (w),  and  initiated  into  all  the  fublime 
tenets  of  their  religion  and  philofophy,  where  they 
became  the  priefteffes  in  feveral  modes  of  their 

wor(bip> 

(u)  Poems  of  Oflian,  Colgan.  Adt.  Sanft  Probus.  I.  *• 
cap.  14. 

(^)  Poems  of  Oi&ao; 


AND  LEARNING  op  the  DRUIDS.  24^ 

worfliip,  and  were  often  chofen  in  preference  to 

the  druids  themfdves,   in  drawing  prefages  from 

the  blood  and  entrails  of  the  vidtima  offered  in  ,^ 

fecrifice  (x). 

On  the  eftablifliTnent  of  the  Qiriftian  religion, 
and  the  druidic  order  being  aboltlhed,  the  Hiber- 
nian fyftem  of  education  as  well  as  learning  fuffered 
confideraWe  alterations.  For  the  feveral  Sciences 
being  clothed  in  a  foreign  language,  few,  except 
thofe  intended  for  the  priefthood,  would  be  at  the 
trouble  of  cultivating  knowledge  of  fuch  difficult 
accefs;  efpecially,  as  it  was  different  from  that 
they  had  been  accuftomed  to.  •  In  confequence,  the 
education  of  the  laity,  and  even  the  noWefs,  were 
not  much  attended  to  •,  and  after  the  arrival  of  the 
Englilh,  the  wars  attendin^the  conftant  firuggle 
for  liberty,  for  near  400  years,  fo  far  perverted 
the  mind  from  literary  purfuits,  that  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  few  of  the  Irifh  nobility,  could  either 
icad  or  write  (y). 

(x)  Rclig.  dc$*G?uIs.     Poems  of  Offisui. 
\j)  Cox*«  Hift.  of  Ireland. 


F    I    N    I    a 


speedily  will  be  Publiihed, 

ColkSianea  de  Rebus JJibernicis* 


NUMBER     VIII. 


CONTAINING,- 

I.  Ad  Essay  on  the  Antiqjjit^  (^  the  Irish  Lan- 
guage; being  a  Collation  of  the  Iriih  v^ith  the 
Punic  Language.  With  a  Preface,  proving  Ireland 
to  be  the  Thule  of  the  Ancients.  Addreffed  to  the 
Literati  of  Europe. — To  which  is  added :  A  Correfiion 
of  the  Miftakes  of  Mr.  Lhwyd  in  reading  the  an- 
cient Irifh  Manufcript  Lives  of  the  Patriarchs ;  and 
of  thofe  comniitted  by  Mr.  Baretti  in  his  Collation 
of  the  Irifl)  with  the  Bifcayan  Language. — The  Secowi 
Edition,  with  confiderable  Corredions  and  Additions.— 
By  Lieut.  CoLXharles  Vallahcey,  Antiq.  Hib. 
Soc, 

n.  Remarks  on  Lieut.  Col.  Vallancey's  Essay^ 
addrefled  to  the  Printer  of  ^  the  London  Chronicle, 


r 


In  the  Pre/sy  andfpeedihf  mil  be  Publifbedy 


G   R  A   M   M    A   R 


OF   TH  B 


I  B  E  R  N  O-C  E  L  T  I  C, 


OR 


IRISH   LANGUAGE. 


TJkeSxcoKp  C01TIOH  with  mwy  Ai>9iyiOK«» 


TO  WHICH  i«  PupriKeo^ 


AN 

ESS     A      Y 

oir  TBB 

CELTIC    LANGUAGE; 


Shewing  the  Importance  of  the  Iberko-Celtic 
Dialedy  to  the  Students  in  Claflics^  Hiftory^  &c. 


ColkStanea  de  Rebus  Hibernicis> 


NUMBER      VIII. 


CONTAINING, 

I.  An  Essay  on  the  Aktiqjjity  of  the  Irish  Lan. 
guage;  being  a  Collation  of  the  Irish  with  the 
Punic  Language.  With  a  Preface,  proving 
Ireland  to  be  the  Thule  of  the  Ancients. 
Addrefled  to  the  Literati  of  Europe. 

TO    WHICH    IS    ADDED, 

A  Corre6tion  of  the  Miftakes  of  Mr.  Lhwyd  in  reading  the 
ancient  Iriih  Manufciipt  Lives  of  the  Patriarchs;  And 
of  thofe  committed  bj  Mr.  Baretti  in  his  Collation  of  the 
Iriih  with  the  Biicajan  Language. 

THE   SECOND   EDITION, 
With  cow8XBimABi.B  Corexctiohi  and  Additxovi 

By  Lieut.  Col.  CHARLES  VALLANCEY,  L.L.D. 

£T  SOCIET.    ANTIQs.  HIB.   SOC, 

AND, 

IL  Remarks  on  the  Essay  on  the  Antiqjjity  of 
the  Irish  Language.  Addrefled  to  the  Printer  of 
the  London  Chronicle  in  the  Year  1772. 


DUBLIN: 

PRINTED    BY    R.    M  A  R  C  H  B  A  N  1C» 
raiNTBR    TO    THE    A  N  T  I  QJT  A  R  1  A  N    SOCIETY, 

AND  SOLD  BY  L.  L.  FLIN.  CASTLE-STREET. 


M,DCC,LXXXI. 


Advertifement. 


THE  Essay  on  the  Antiquitt  of  the 
Irish  Language  pubUfhed  in  the 
Year  1772  being  out  of  print,  and  much  in- 
quired after,  the  Author  befiowed  part  of  his 
leifure  in  correding  and  making  additions  to 
it ;  but  being  called  upon  to  attend  the  fer-. 
vice  of  his  country  at  this  critical  period,  he 
left  his  papers  in  the  hands  of  a  friend  to 
di^fe  of  as  he  (hould  think  proper.  On 
confulting  fome  learned  and  judicious  friends, 
they  agreed  that  the  EfTay  thus  revifed  and 
improved  would  be  a  moft  acceptable  pre- 
lent  to  the  curious ;  in  compliance  with  this 
determination,  the  Editor  now  prefents  it 
to  the  Public  as  the  Eighth  Number  of 
the  Collectanea  be  Rebus  Hibernicis, 
hoping  that  the  unavoidable  abfence  of  the 
Author  will  be  admitted  as  an  excufe  for 
any  errors  that  may  appear  in  it. 


•     r 


.4  •   « 


•  • 


PREFACE. 


IRELAND,  properly  fo  called,  was  probably 
the  firft  of  the  Britilh  ifles  that  got  the  Name  of 
Thule,  as  being  the  firft  the  Carthaginians  met 
\9\lh  fleering  their  courfc  northward,  when  they 
departed  from  Cape  Finellre  the  northern  head-land 
of  Spain.  And  this  ifland  fecms  to  be  the  fame 
faid  by  Ariftotle  to  have  been  difcovered  by  the 
Carthaginians,  Lib.  de  mirabil.  aufcuhat.  where  he 
fays,  "  extra  columnas  Herculis  aiunt  in  mari  a 
Carthaginenfibus  infulara  fertilem  inventam,  ut 
quae  tam  fylvarum  copia,  quam  fluminibus  navi- 
gationi  idoncis  abundet,  cum  reliquis  fruflibus 
floreat  vehementer,  diftans  a  continente  plurimum 
dierum  itinere,  &c." 

Bochart  confirms  this  by  what  he  obferves  that 
the  ancient,  writer  Antonius  Diogenes  (who  wrote 
twenty-four  books  of  the  ftrange  things  related  of 
Thule,  not  long  after  the  time  of  Alexander  the 
Great)  had  his  hiftory  from  certain  tables  of  cyprefs 
wood  digged  at  Tyrus  out  of  the  tombs  of  Mantima 
and  Dercelis,  wlio  had  gone  from  Tyrus  to  Thule, 
and  had  remained  fome  lime  there. 

The  fituation  of  Thule  has  been  much  contro- 
verted ;  yet  all  agree  it  was  fome  place  towards  . 
the  north,  with  refped  to  the  fiift  difcovercrs,  and. 
Vol.  II.  a  many 


PREFACE. 

many  make  it  to  be  one  of  the  Britifti  ides.  THi 
agrees  perfedly  with  the  fituation  of  Ireland,  for 
the  Carthaginians  in  failing  from  Cadiz  having  once 
cleared  Cape  St.  Vincent,,  had  Ireland  ia  a  dired 
northern  courfe  before  them. 

The  ancients  feem  moftly  to  agree,  that  ThuFe 
was  one  of  thofe  iflands  that  are  called  Britilh. 
Strabo,  one  of  the  moft  ancient  and  beft  geogra- 
phers extant^  fpeaks  thus ;  Py theas  Maflilienfis  lays, 
it  is  about  Thule,  the  furtheil  north  of  all'  the 
Eritilh  ifles.  Yet  he  himfelf  maketh  it  nearer  than 
Py  theas  did  :  But  I  think^  fays  he,  that  northern 
bojind  to  be  much  nearer  to  the  fouth ;  for  they 
who  furvey  that  part  of  the  globe,  can  give  no 
account  beyond  Ireland,  an  ifle  which  lies  not  fat 
towards  the  north,  before  Britain;  Inhabited  by 
wild  people  almoft  ftarved  with  cold  -,  there,  there- 
fore,  I  am  of  opinion  the  utmoft  bound  is  to  be 
placed  ;  fo  that  in  his  opinion,  that  wluch  he  calt 
Ireland  muft  be  Thule  {a). 
Catullus  is  of  the  fame  mindl 

Sive  trans  altas 
Graditur  Alpes, 
Csfaris  vifens 
Monumenta  magni,. 
Gallicum  Rhenum, 
Horribilefque  et 
Ultimos  Britannos. 
Whether  he  o'er  the  Alps  his  way  purfile 
The  mighty  Ca&far's  monuments  to  view,' 
As  Gallic  Rhine  and  Britons  that  excel 
fe  fiercenefs,  who  on  the  earth's  limits  dvrelH 

Serve* 

(tf)^  Gamd.  Br.  p.  1407^' 


PREFACE; 

I 

Serves  iturum  Caefarem  in  ultimos  orbis 
Britannos.  Hor.  (b). 

Preferve  thou  Caefar  fafe,  we  thee  implore, 
feound  to  the  world's  remoteft  Britonis  fhore. 

Caeriilus  haud  aliter  cum  dimicat  iricola  Thulesi 
Agmina  falcifero  circumvenit  adla  covina. 

SiLicus  Italicus. 

As  Thule's  blue  inhabitants  (brround 

Their  foes  with  chariots  hoofc'd;  and  them  confound. 

Pliny  placed  Thule  among  the  Britidi  ifles,  and 
Tacitus  (c)  fays,  when  the  Roman  navy  failed 
about  Britain,  dcfpefta  eft  ct  Thule,  **  they  faw 
Thule  alfo.*'  ' 

Statins  ad  Claud.  Uxorem^  defcribes  Thule  tc^ 
the  weftward  of  Britain. 

*r—  et  fe  gelidas  irem  manfuras  ad  Ardtas, 


Vcl  fuper  Hefperiae  vada  caligantia  Thules. 

If  in  the  cold  north  I  go  to  aWde, 

Or  on  dark  feas  which  weftern  THule  hide. 

Although  the  Rortians  never  were  in  Irelana^ 
yet  Statins,  with  the  liberty  of  a  poet,  has  certainly 
brought  them  there  in  this  verfe,  apparently  fdr  the 
honour  of  having  them  in  Thiile. 

^ tu  difce  patrem,  quantufque  nigraritem 

Fludtibus  occiduis,  fcffoque  Hyperione  Thuleil 
Intrarit,  mandata  gerens; 

Learn,  from  thy  fight,  how  glorious  he  was^ 
When  he  did  with  the  fenate*s  order  pafi 

a  2  0*ct 

(^)  Lib;  I.  od.  35.  (0  Vita  Agrlc.  fupra. 


1 


PREFACE 

O'er  to  dark  Thule,  in  that  ocean,  weft. 
Where  Phcebus  gives  his  weary  horfcs  reft  (/)* 

Qu.  Where  could  he  condud  them  wefiward' 
from  Britain,  but  to  Thule— to  Ireland. 

Sir  R.  Sibbald  explains  the  tranfmarinae  Gentes 
or  Scotornm  a  Qrcio,  k  e.  the  Scots  from  the 
iiorth-:vreti  and  beyond  the  feas,  mentioned  by 
Bede,  to  be  Scots  and  Pight^^  becaufe,  ikysfaCr 
Ireland  cannot  foe  faid  to  lie  to  the  north-weft  of 
the  Roman  province.  I  do  affirm  the  Scoti  or 
northern  Irifh,  from  whom  all  expeditions  pztki 
into  Albion^  lie  due  north-weft  of  the  Romao- 
province. 

,  Ireland  was  ever  antiently  remarkable  for  learn- 
ing, it  was  the  infula  fandlorum.  Stephanus  By- 
zantinus  fays,  ^e'pnk,  iincm^  ir  tf  «%0th  «^  h^iuSi, 
Upon  which  words  Hdftenius  thus  remarks,  i"^ 
iila  infula  eft,  quae  hodie  Hibernia  dicitur.    ArUi£>- 

teles    de    Mundo  :    £*»  «f  tSmuuZ  y%  fun   vS^w  paytr^  «r 

Ocemo  infula  dtue  Jita  Junt,  yiam  maxitne^  quas  Bri- 
umnicas  apellant^  Albion  et  lerna :  de  hac  vide  plan 
apud  Audr.  Schottum  lib.  i-i.  Obfervat.  cap.  acx 
Fefto  Avieno  in-  ora  maritima  Hibernia  vocatur 
facra  infula.  Quod  quam  aliam  ob  caufam  fcccrit 
nunc  non  fuccurrit,  nifi  quod  ♦  i V  legerit  pro  fi^. 
T^  idnKlr,  i'c^Mti»5  tfc  Ai^Mffi^.  Et  fssminiuum  f*^u  quod 
apud  Orpheum  legitur  Argon,  v.  1179.     tul{  f 

Feftus 

(il)  Camd.  fupra. 

^  I'f^iuc.  Sacerdos.  Augur  a  Flutarcho  ve^itur  Tc^itorpro 
tltffU»i  T9,'  viftima,  facrificia. 

(e)  Holden.  in  Stepb.  ByjAnK,  de  urb.  p.  144.- 


PREFACE. 

Fcftos  Avicnus  lived  in  the  fourth  center))?^ 
4!berc&ffe  this  was  not  named  the  holy  ifland  after 
St.  Paitrick*s  ccmverfion,  as  fome  think,  for  he  did 
not  arrive  here  till  the  beginning,  of  the  fifth  cen- 
tury ;  this  muft  therefore  be  the  ifland  facred  t© 
ApoUo  (that  is  to  Baal}  of  which  Diodorus  Siculus 
crakes  particular  mention.  See  p.  a^  i . 

Thus,  Aragrimus  Jonas  defcribes  Thule  (f) : 

■  penetravit  ad  Indos, 

Ingeniumque  jpotens  ultima  Thule  colit. 

His  eloquence  did  reach  the  utmoft  Indies, 
And  powerfirf  wii  enlightened  fartheft  Thule. 

And  then  he  adds ;  from  whence  it  may  fairly  be 
inferred,  that  eitlier  Britain  or  (as  Pliny  will  have 
it)  fome  iffand  of  Britain  was  the  ultima  Thule ; 
yet  Sibbaid  will  interpret  fome  jfiand  of  Brilam  to 
be  Britain  Vtfelt 

Again,  *^  In  the  hiftory  of  the  kings  of  Norway, 
^  it  is  faid  that  king  Magnus,  in  an  expedition  to  the 
Orcades, .  Hebrides,  Scotland  and  Britain,  touched 
al(b  at  the  ifland  of  Thule  and  fubdued  it."  Here 
Scotland,  Britain  and  Thule  are  very  plainly 
diffinguiffaed. 

Wernerus  Ralwingus  fays,  in  the  time  of  pope 
Linus  arofe  the  Scottifli  nation  of  Pifts  and  Hiber- 
nians in  Albion,  which  is  a  part  of  England  ;  that 
is,,  a  nation  of  Ftds  and  Hibernians  arofe  in  Albion 
a  part  of  England.  As  plain  and  intcrUgible  as 
this  is,  Sibbaid  will  have  Hibernia  to  be  part  of 
Scotland. 

Strabo  always  mentions  Thule  and  Britain  as 
the  Britifli  ifles.    Speaking  of  Pytheas's  blunders, 

he 

/y]^  Specimen  Ifland.  hid.  p.  2.  p.  \2o. 


P     R     E     P     A     G     E. 

Quod  Pytheas  Maflilienfis,  cum  viliis  fit  Philofo* 
phus  eflc,  in  defcriptione  Thules  ac  Britannia, 
inendacinimus  deprehenditur. 

And  thus  an  anonymous  author  (g)  in  the  life  of 
St.  Cadrac,  extra Aed  ex  membranis  monaiterii  S. 
Huberti  in  Ardenna,  fpeaking  of  the  migration  of 
the  Irirti,  fays,  "  Padolus  igitur  Afiae  fluvius 
Choriam  Lydiamque  regiones  dividit,  fuper  quem 
Chorifchon  urbem  manus  antiqua  fundavit ;  cujus 
incola  lingua,  et  cultu  nationem  Graeci  multimodi 
laboris  negotiis  ferviebant,  &c. — itque  Uliricos  ex- 
cuntes  fludtus,  inter  Balearesinfulas  deve^fti  ebufura 
Hifpanicum  intraverunt.  Nee  multo  poll  per 
Gaditanas  undas  occidentale  pelagus  ingrefli,  ap- 
pulfi  funt,  rupibus  quae  vifus'hominum  altitudinc 
excedentes,  antiqui  erroris  fama,  columpae  Herculis 
diftae  fuerunt.  Hinc  illius  Africo  vento  exurgentc 
poft  immenfa  pericula  in  Tyle  vcl  Thulc  ultimam 
detorqucntur. 

Some  derive  the  name  Thule  from  the  Arabic 
word  Tuky  which  fignifies  afar  off,  and  think  it 
was  in  allufion  to  t^is  the  poets  ufually  called  it 
uhinta  Thule.  Bochart  derives  it  from  a  Phoenidaa 
word  fignifying  darknefs.  But  the  >yords  Thual 
and  Thuathal  in  the  Irifli  and  probably  in  the 
tunic  language  fignified  the  north,  as  alfo  the  left 
hand^  agreeable  to  the  oriental  manner  of  naming 
Jhe  cardinal  points  with  refpedk  to  their  looking 
towards  the  eaft  in  their  devotions.  Thus  thfe 
north  part  of  Munfter,  in  old  manufcripts  is  called 
^huatfial'Mhumhdn  qr  Thuafh-Mkumhany  in  Engllfli 

Thomond^ 

CiJ  Colg.  p.  495.  col.  I.  ^ 


PREFACE. 

Thamondj  and  the  fouth  part  of  the  fame  province 
IS  named  Deas-Mkumhan^  in  Englifli  Defmond.  So 
alfo  the  northern  province  of  Ireland  retains  the 
word  ^hual  to  this  day,  in  Coigt  ^husUk  &  corruptc 
Coige  Ulla  (the  th  being  an  hiatus)  in  Englifli 
Ulfter.  See  the  Irilh  names  of  the  cardinal  Points 
more  fuUy  explained  at  page  269  of  the  following 
Eflay. 

To  what  I  have  already  faid  I  will  adjoin  the 
opinion  of  a  gentleman  who  has  made  many  curious 
rcfearches  into  the  antiquities  of  Great  Britain. 
*'  The  Thule  of  the  ancients  feems  moft  clearly  to 
have  been  Ireland,  from  the  manner  in  which 
Statics  addrefles  a  poem  to  Crifpinus,  whofe  father 
had  carried  the  emperor's  commands  to  Thule^ 

• tu  difce  patrem,  quantufque  nigrantem 

Fludlibus  occiduisy  fcjjoque  Hyperiene  Thulen 
Intravit  mandata  gerens. 

It  (hould  alfo  feem,  from  other  parts  of  the  fame 
poem,  that  this  general  had  crolTed  from  Scotland 
to  the  north  of  Ireland  or  Thule : 

Quod  fi  te  magno  XtWw^  franata  parcnti 
Accipiat,  quantum  ferus  exultabit  Araxes  f 
Quanta  Caledonios  attoUet  gloria  campos  ? 
Cum  tibi  longaevus  referet  trucis  incola  terras. 
Hie  fuetus  dare  jura  parens,  hoc  cefpite  turmas 
AfFari ;  nitidas  fpeciilas,  caftellaque  longe. 
Afpicis  ?  ille  dedit  cinxitque  hsec  msenia  fofla. 

Statius,  v.  14. 

Grifpinus's  father,  therefore,  muft  have  refided 
(bmc  time  in  Scotland,  from  whence  he  went  to 
Thule  or  Ireland ;  for  the  Hebrides  (the  only  land  to 
the  weft  except  Ireland)  could  not  have  been  of  fuffi- 

ci?nt 


F    R     E     F     A     C     E. 

cient  eonfeqiienec;  for  the  er^peiPDr'a  comHiiffioa^  or 
ih€  fortifications  aliuded  to  i  befrcte,  itiat  vhe  ex- 
pFdlloii  oS  feffo^f  Hyferme  unplics,  that  tba  lan<| 
lay  c^ficktably  to  llie  w^jftw^  (A> 

Althopg^  Ireland  be  the  firil  Tbdlt  di&^v^red 
by  the  Carthaginians^  fityrs  Sir  Robert  Sibbdd, 
fcX  it  is  not  thaJt;  Th,qle  in  vrhich  the  Romans  weie 
and  made  conquell  of  j  for  it  is  certain  they  never 
were  in  Irelaiad,  ptoperly  fo  called.  The  H^efti^ 
that  is  the  Highlanders  were  oallcd  Hy^emiy  fays  he, 
as  being  a  colony  fronn:  Ireland.  Yet  Strafaa  fitys,. 
Qui  lermn-Britanniam  Yiderunt,  nihil  de  ^fhuif 
dkuRt  (^).  But  feeing  Scotland  has  thfyfe  wkhki 
herfelf  who.  a[:e  able  to  trace  her  ori^nal  firan  the 
higheft  antiquity,  I  will  onfy  point  out  tlie&iuitaift 
from  whence  I  caa  coaceVve  the^  tf  utha  m^  ta  be 
drawn,  and  offer  fome  rhing;^  whicb  I  would  hav^ 
them  diligently  to  confide^  &f  in  thish  pomt  I 
profefs  rpyfejf  a  feeptick. 

Firft  therefore  of  their  fJriginal,  sMid  ^ken  of  tho 
place  from  whence  they  were  ti$n(phmted  into 
Ireland.  For  it  is  plain,  that  out  of  Ireland  (aii 
ifland  peopled  by  the  Britons)  they  canfje  over  into 
Britain ;  and  that  they  were  feated  in  Ireland  whei> 
they  firft  became  known  to  writers  by  that  name« 

So  Claudian  fpeaking  of  their  inroads  into  Britain  ^ 
'        totam  cum  Scotus  Hibemeiti,  ♦ 
Movit  et  infellD  fpuna^vit  remige.  Thetis. 
Wlien  Scots  came  thund'ring  from  the  Irifli  fhores 
And  th'  ocean  trembled  ftruck  with  hoftite  oars. 

In 

(/j)  See  ThepofTibilitr  of  upproaclioir  the  notth  pok  dif^ 
cuifedy  in  page  62  oF  Mifceilanies  by  the  hon.  Oaincs  1^^ 

ringfon.     London  17U1.  Quarto. 

(/>  Lib.  I.  p.  ^6,  *  lernqiq 


PREFACE. 

Ut  another  place^ 
Seolionir»  eumuloB  flevU  gladaii&  Hibesne.  * 
And  frotefi  heland  moan'd  the  crowding  htap^. 
Of  mtirthemi  Scots  (*). 

The  firft  inhabitants  of  Ireland  can[^  from  Bfilaifi, 
Ireland  was  ii^biled  by  Scots.  Paulus  Orofius. 
IHr.  I .  cap.  a.  He  is  an  author  of  the  fifth  century. 

GUdas  whO'  mufi  have  peFfe<5tly  known  that 
country,  affures  us,  that  in  the  6th  century  the 
nets  atMi  the  Scotfr  iofaiabited  Iieiaind.  Bafnage 
Hift.  Eeclef.  (/).  This  tefiiirxmy  of  Gildas  is  con* 
finned  m  ouir  aatient  topography. 

h  was  a  received  opinion  in  the  ttflcie  of  Pro^ 
pcrtios,  who  Kved  under  Augufhis  CaeTar,  that  the 
bifii  were  defended  &om  the  Scythi^ns^  witjieifi 
that  vcrfc,  lib.  4.  e^  3, 

'  Hibernique  Getae^  pidoqtie  Britannia  cur ru. 
When^!  it  appears  that  the  Iri(h  were  defcend^ 
firom  the  Geta^  (Goftbs)  a  branch  of  the  Scythians, 
the  comnion  origin  of  all  the  Celtic  tsibes  whp 
inhajbtted  Europe. 

Scytgt  itf  quarta  state  n>undi  obtinuerii^  Hiber^ 
niam,  fey*  U(ber  {m). 

Bntones  m  tertia  naundi  aetate  in  Britanniain, 
Scott  ia  quarta  venecuot  in  Hlbernianv.  Huqtingdbn, 

bb.  f . 

Hence  il  appears  that  the  Scoti  were  a  colony  of 
ttas  Scyt« ;  that  tb^  ^ere  the  iaxm  people,  ai«) 
even  preferved  ai^^d  bore  the  (anaie  name  with  tWe 
fiher^Mrion  of  one  letter  only,  the  « ibr  the^^  owing 

to 

1^  Icrne.  {i)  Camd.  Brit.  p.  cxliv. 

^I)  Vol.  I.  p.  7^7.  (i»>  Prim.  p.  73  fr. 


PREFACE.. 

to  the  difference  of  pronunciation,  Scoytay  Scou^ 
Scoti  for  Scyta ;  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  the 
word  Celta  is  likewife  a  corruption  of  Scyta^  in  • 
procefs  of  time  probably  called  Schelta  or  Skeha^ 
.Kelta  or  Ceha. 

Ferociffimi  Gallorum  funt,  qui  fub  feptcntrionem 
habitant  et  Scythae  vicini  funt ;  dicunt  ex  iis  non- 
nuUos  antropophagos  elfe,  ficut  Britannos  qui  Irin 
inhabitant. 

Galatae  qui  ad  feptcntrionem  vergunt  et  Scytiae 
vicini  funt,  ferociffimi  funt ;  eorum  nonnullos  dicunt 
hominibus  vefci,  ut  Britannos  qui  Irim  inhabitant 

Diodorus  Siculus  (»)  fuppofes,  as  a  thing  known 
and  out  of  difpute,  that  the  inhabitants  of  Ireland 
were  Britoiis,  and  confequently  defcended  from 
the  Gauls,  Galatae,  Skeltae  or  Celts. 

Buchanan  {o)  confirms  the  Irifli  hiftory,  that 
numbers  of  Spaniards  fled  to  Ireland,  beir^  much 
difquieted  in  their  own  country  by  the  Carthaginians 
and  Romans,  and  that  all  the  north  fide  of  Spain 
was  poflefled  by  Gallic  colonies.  He  contradidks 
Tacitus,  who  fays,  the  weft  fide  of  Albium  was 
poffefled  immediately  by  Spaniards,  but  that  they 
came  from  Ireland  \  for,  fays  he,  alt  our  annals 
relate  that  the  Scots  pafled  more  than  once  out  of 
Ireland  into  Albium  •,  firft  of  all  under  Fergufius 
fon  of  Ferchard.  And  Eecje's  account  of  the 
Scythians  coming  to  Ireland  by  diftrefs  of  weather 
correfponds  with  our  Irifli  hiftory. 

At  what  period  th^fe  Spaniards  or  mixtUFc 
of  Spaniards  and  Carthaginians  emigrated  firom 

Spain 

(»)  Lib.  5.  p.  214.  edit.  H.  Steph.  1559. 
(o)  Edit.  Edinb.  Vol.  i.  p.  6|. 


PREFACE. 

{Spain  to  Ireland  is  varioufly   related    by   Irifh 
liiAorians. 

Keating  from  various  authors  fixes  this  emigradon 
from  Spain  at  the  280th  year  after  Pharaoh 
periflied  in  the  Red  Sea  to  1000  years  before 
Chrift;  but  it  is  moft  probable  it  was  about  the 
time  of  Afdrubal's  defeat  in  Spain  by  Scipio  and 
his  brother  Cneius,  that  is  about  216  years  before 
Chrift ;  for  at  that  time  the  Carthaginians  were  npt 
only  repulfed  in  Spain  but  in  Africa,  and  the 
Balearic  iflands  likewife ;  and  many  of  the  cantons 
of  Spain  at  this  time  threw  off  the  Carthaginian 
yoke  and  fubmitted  to  the  Roman  power*  Some 
of  the  Iriih  hiftorians  agree  in  this  period. 

Here  it  muft  not  be  forgotten,  that  all  agree 
that  Milefius,  who  headed  this  colony  from  Spain, 
was  only  fo  named  on  this  expedition  from  mil  a 
champion,  and  diat  his  proper  name  was  Gallamk^ 
I.  e.  the  white  hand,  and  this  method  of  naming 
became  common,  as  red  hand,  withered  hand,  Src. 

The  old  name  of  Leinfter  was  GalJiain^  that  is, 
the  country  of  the  Galls ;  many  places  yet  retain 
the  name  as  Dun-na-Gall  (Donnegal),  Fian-fM-^Gall 
(Fingal),  Port-m-Gall  (Gallorum  portus)  Galway, 
pr  Gallamhain^  i.  e.  amnis  Gallorum,  ^uamdalhalan 
pow  Tuam,  with  many  others. 

In  travelling  through  Ireland  we  frequently  meet 
.with  mounts  or  raths,  the  repofitorics  of  the  illuftrious 
dead.  In  two  very  remarkable  paffages  of  the  Iliad 
the  poet  intimates,  that  this  was  the  pradkice  both  of 
the  antient  Greeks  and  Phoenicians,  and  their  manner 
pf  burying  their  dead,  particularly  of  their  herpes 

and 


F    R    B     F    A    C    E 

and  emtfteiit  naefi,  of  whidft  the  moniutnent  cf  Patn>* 
clus  in  the  23d  book  of  the  Iliad,  and  that  of  HcQioi 
lA  the  ktft,  af e  refnaj^kai^  iRikiicc&  See  aUb  Vtrgil's 
Mndd  lib.  I  u  &e.  Luam's  Phar&lia,  lib.  8.  Et 
regnvsn  cinere&  extrutSko  monte  quicfcunt.  The 
In£h  had  aUb  the  cdtitfAon  Idtter  and  the  O^am ; 
and  that  they  were  bothi  in  ufe  at  om  and  the  &me 
lime  ifi  evident  ftomr  this  paiage  in  the  antient  book 
of  Bftlliiiiote,  £bk  14&.  Fiaehra  Mac  Eaeha  Mui^ 
iohea^ion  (Righ  Eirin)  do  gfxmn  fan  gcatb  ro  (hroin 
ibc  Mnineachaibb  L  Gcasnce«  A,  ecc  dm  gonaibh 
iar  tteacbr  gp  Hui-mac-uaia  Mdhe,.  lociadb  a  leacfat 
&  vo  lai^  a^ffheaft  for  au  faibh^  a  Aims  O^hakn ; 
i.  e.  Fiacre  (an  of  £adlia  Moymedon  wafii  mortaliy 
wovtuded  at  the  bofttle  of  Caaiiry^  whercia  be  was 
vidlonom  ^ainft  the  Mononoidna.  On  Mis  vetum 
ito  Hy-mac-utttf  in  Mealji^  he  dkd  of  biB  vmmiufe. 
H'm  funeralf  kadit  ws&  eidSsed^  and  on  Jnss^  tomb 
waa  'ynktibcjA  host  name  m  the  Ogam  ehatadter* 
K.B.  The  battle  of  Caoiiiy  was  fioogbt  A.  I>.  5801 
Tlidt  the  Latin  language  waa  'm  later  ages  the 
eenmnofi  diakdt.  of  the  Airk^aas  aa  weft  aa  tba 
PuQjcv.  we  leaim  from  St  Augnffine^  who  &ys  be 
learned  the  Lalin  rn  A&iea;  vUer  Uandimenro'  ntr* 
irkum:  and  the  iianie  author  alfa  notifies  the  decay 
of  the  Punic  language  ia  another  part  of  his  works^ 
via.  de  vet bta  Apoftoli,  "  Provcrbinni'  noturn  eft 
Puiiicum  quod  qukkm  Latinc  vobis  dtcaaiy  qicm 
Ptinice  non  onmes  noiiis»"  St  Hierome  alfe 
writing  to  a  young  noble  Roman  lady  called  De^- 
fnetrksy  being  in  Afiricav  %s,  ^  Stridor  Punicse 
Kngos  procacia  txbi  fefcennina  cantabit" — "-^  the 

janring 


?    R    E    J    A    C    fi. 

jarring  Iconic  language  ftail  fing  tltcc  bawdy  I5mgj 
at  thy  wedding.'*  From  l!hefe  authorititcs  we  may 
conclude,  the  Latm  language  arid  the  Roman 
letter  were  common  even  in  Carthage  in  ihe  time 
of  Plautus,  and  l!hat  the  Punic  fpcech  given  hy 
rfiat  author  in  his  comedy  of  the  PoeniAis,  was 
written  in  riie  Roman  letter. 

The  poiitivc  affeitions  of  all  the  friftr  Wftorians^ 
that  their  anceftors  received  the  ufe  of  letters 
direftly  from  the  Phoenicians,  and  the  concurrence 
of  them  alt  in  affirming  that  feveral  colonies  from 
Africa  fettled  in  Ireland,  induced  the  author  of  the 
following  effay,  who  had  made  the  antient  and 
modern  language  of  Ireland  his  peculiar  Itudy  for 
fome  years  pall,  to  compare  the  Phoenician  dialeft 
or  Bearla  Feni  of  the  !ri(h  with  the  Punic  or  lan- 
guage of  the  Carthaginians. 

The  affinity  of  the  language,  worlhip  and  man- 
ners of  the  Carthaginians,  with  thofe  of  the  ancient 
Irifli  appeared  fo  very  ftrong,  be  communicated 
his  difcoverics  from  time  to  time  to  fome  gentlemea 
well  jfkilled  in  the  antiquities  of  Ireland,  and  df  the 
eaftern  nations ;  their  approbation  of  this  rude 
flcetch  induced  the  author  to  offer  it  to  the  confi- 
deration  of  thofe  who  have  greater  abilities  and 
more  leifure  to  profecute  fuch  a  work. 

Well  knowing  the  ridiculous  light  moft  etymolo 
gifts  are  held  in,  the  author  has  trod  with  all  poffible 
caution  in  this  very  remote  path  of  antiquity.  The 
arbitrary  liberties  taken  by  fome  etymologifts  have 
juftly  drawn  on  them  the  cenfure  of  the  learned. 
Their  general  rule  of  the  commutation  of  letters 
has  often  led  many  aftray,  and  caufed  them  to  lofe 

fight 


P     ft     E     F     A     G     Bi 

light  of  the  radical  word  and  its  primitive  fenfe  i 
thus  for  example,  the  word  adder  may  by  an  ety- 
mologill  unacquainted  with  the  Englifh  language 
be  turned  to  otier^  for  the  a  and  o  being  both 
broad  vowels  are  commutable,  and  the  word  may 
be  written  odder  ^  the  d  being  alfb  commutable 
with  /,  the  word  may  be  formed  to  ouer^  an  animal 
of  a  very  different  fpecies  from  the  primitive  word 
adder. 

Monfieur  Bullet  in  his  Memoirs  de  la  Langue 
Celtique,  has  been  guilty  of  the  fame  error,  in  lis 
etymon  of  the  Britilh  names  of  rivers,  towns,  &c. 
as  is  obferved  by  the  ingenious  tranflator  of  Mr. 
Mallet's  northern  antiquities  (p) ;  and  the  learned 
Lhwyd  has  in  my  humble  opinion  fucceeded  little 
better  in  his  collation  of  the  Irifh  language  with  the 
Bifcayan  or  Bafque;  between  which  I  do  aver 
there  is  no  affinity,  but  between  the  Irifti  and  the 
Punic  I  think  I  may  affirm  there  is  a  greater  affinity, 
than  between  the  Irifli  and  any  other  ancient  lan- 
guage whatever. 

Many  learned  men  are  of  opinion  that  the 
Hebrew  charaders  now  ufed  by  the  Jews  were  firit 
invented  by  Ezra.  Scaliger  is  fo  much  convinced 
of  this,  he  reproaches  every  one  who  is  not  of  the 
fame  opinion ;  in  his  epiftol.  ad  Thompfonum  &t 
Ubertum,  he  affirms,  Grsecas  literas  a  Phoenicibus 
natas  quibus  omnes  olim  et  Canana^i  et  Hebraei  ufi 
funt,  adhucque  Samaritani  utuntur;  neqiie  alias 
in  ufu  fuilfe  a  temporibus  Mofis  ad  excidium 
templi.  Nam  eae,  quibus  Judaei  hodie  libros,  et 
omnia  afta  fua  fcribunt,  nuperae  et  novitiae  funt,  ex^ 

Syriaefa 

W  Preface^  p.  14. 


PREFACE. 

Syriactk  depravatas,  illae  autem  ex  Samarkams; 
quod  cum  luce  clarus  fit,  tamen  quidam  femidoftiy 
femitheologi,  et  ut  fignatii^  loquar,  femihomines 
non  (oliim  Jud^cas  lit  eras  vere  Hebraicas  efle 
prifcas  audent  dejerare,  fed  etiam  impios  putant, 
atque  adeo  vocant,  qui  aliter  fentiunt^  miferam 
vero  dodlorum  et  priorum  hominum  conditioneniy 
fi  dodtrinae  et  pietatis  fux,  non  alios  teftes  baberent^ 
quam  afinos. 

Grotius,  Bochart,  Morinus,  Voflius  agree  with 
Scaliger,  and  of  the  antients  Hieronymus  and 
Eufebius  are  of  the  fame  opinion.  Certum  eft, 
iays  Hieronymus,  Efdram  fcribam^  legifque  doc- 
torem,po(l  captamHieorofolyman  et  inftaurationem 
templi  fub  Zorobabel,  alias  literas  comperiife^ 
quibus  nunc  utimur,  ciltm  ad  illud  ufque  tempus^ 
idem  Samaritanorum  et  Hebraeorum  charadteros 
fuerint.  And  Eufebius  fays,  affirmatur  Efdra  di* 
vinas  fcripturas  memoriter  condidiiTe,  et  ut  Sama* 
ritanis  ncm  mifcerentur  literis,  Judaicas  commutaiTe. 
Scaliger  further  obferves,  he  had  feen  coin  of  the 
Hebrews  with  infcriptions  in  the  Samaritan  charac- 
ters. Siclos  quotidie  circumferii  qui  fub  regibus 
Judae  in  ufu  fuerunt,  quibus  eadem  literas  incifie 
funt  qua&  in  fcriptis  Samaritanorum  leguntur,  fine 
uila  aut  exigua  mutatione.  Yet  Angelus  Rocca 
confirms  what  Diodorus  Siculus  fays^  (q).  that  the 
Phoenicians  received  their  letters  from  the  Syrians. 

With  the  authority  already  quoted,,  we  may 
venture  to  affirm,  that  the  priniitive  Phoenician 

letters 

fioAoiTH  TcSk  EXT^i^i  wofoih^Minu  Syri  quidem  liteuruDi  in- 
ventores  luni»  ab  iilis  autcui  Plioenices  difcentes  GrsecU' 
tiadideruiit. 


?    R    fi    P    A    C    E. 

letters  were  die  fame  as  the  ^tortjent  SatAaritan. 
Thtft  fbe  antient  Spaniards  had  Tarious  ai^iafbetB 
and  varioos  languages,  fee  Strabo,  lib.  3.  ipeaftang 
xfE  the  Twdetani,  ''*  Hi  inter  Hifjianitt  popsrlos, 
Apiemia  ptttantur  excellefe,  et  litemram  itudtiB 
tituntuf  et  memorandec  vetuilatifi  volumina  lMibe»t 
]9oemata,  icges  quoque  Terfibus  <x)n(criptas  -ex  kjt 
finnoram  inflibtiS)  Qt  aiunt.  Csteri  autem  Bitpanc 
ufum  habent  literarum  non  uno  quidem  igbneitf 
neque  una  iHis  lii^a  eft* — ^UtOntur  et  TCKqui 
Hifpani  grammatica  non  urtius  otnties  genena^ 
tjnippe  nc  eodem  <jmdem  fernwrne. 

That  the  prefisnt  Irifh  chara<fVer  (\mpcopcAy 
called  the  Roman  Saxon)  was  formerly  vifhA  m 
Spain,  fee  t^ie  antient  MSS.  copied  in  Aldretes 
origin  de  la  lingifia  CafteHana,  <ii.  18. 

Pftey^cwf  ec  ompef  bj*.  - 

Prefcius  et  omnipotens  Dens,  lite.  &c. 
And  that  the  Punic  letter  differed  from  the  Greeks 
fee  Juftin.  lib.  20.  in  fin.  "  Fadofenatus  oonfulto^ 
ne  quis  poftea  Carthaginenfis,  aut  literis  Grscis, 
aut  Grarco  fermoni  ftuderet,  ne  aut  loqui  cum 
liofte,  aut  fcribere  fine  interprete  poffet.^ 

It  matters  not  in  the  prefent  treatife,  whether  we 
acknowledge  the  Irilh  to  be  a  Cekic,  Poeno-Celtic, 
or  Scytho-Cehic  dialed;  they  all  were  originally 
the  fame ;  at  the  time  of  riiis  ifland  being  firft 
peopled^  they  were  identically  the  fame,  as  may 
be  proved  from  language,  cuftoms  and  manners. 
I  refer  the  reader  to  the  Obfcrvationes  Sacraj  of  the 
learned  Campegius  Vitringa,  who  publiflied  his 
works  in  quarto  at  Leovardia  in  1 689.  His  feventh 
chapter  is  entitled  dc  Pedis,  Scythis,  horumque 

progenic. 


PREFACE. 

progenies  populis  fcptentrionalcs  regiones  incolcn- 
tibus^  difleritur,  eorumque  linguarum  conveniently 
inutua  iiiter  fe»  et  origo  ex  una  Hebraea  lingu4 
oftenditur.  Proferuntur  etiam  ad  finem  exempla 
modorum  loquendi  integrorunx,  qui  Hebraeis  ac 
Bel^s  communes  funt.  I  mean  not,  fays  he, 
to  fpeak  of  the  jperfians  fo  denominated  by 
Xenophon,  but  of  ihat  more  ancient  people  under 
the  name  of  cihvt  gnailim^  gailim^  as  we  find  them 
in  facred  hiftory.  'E^wfowi*,  whofe  moft  powerful 
king  was  known  in  the  age  of  Abraham,  under 
the  name  of  Cedorlaomer,  apud  Mofen.  1. 1.  c.  14. 
Strabo  mentions  the  Elymaei,  inhabiting  between 
Media  and  Melbpotamia,  1.  15.  Thwo,  H  •n?  T^vtrt^i  mt 
Bo&AAWMKr  Sec.  Scc.  i.  c^  Sufidi  ca  pars  Babylonia 
proxima  eft,  quas  quondam  Sitacena,  pofiea  ApoU 
lionatis,  eft  dida :  Ambabus  a  feptentrione  orientem 
verfus  Elymasi  imminent,  et  Paratacxni,  latrones, 
et  aljperis  montibus  freti. 

Symmachus  and  Procopius  prove  thefe  Elymasi 
to  be  Scythians  -,'  Herodotus  that  they  were  neigh- 
bours to  the  Medes ;  and  Bochart  diat  they  were 
the  anceftors  of  the  Peirfians. 

I^t  us  now  collate  the  ojd  Perfic  words  with  the 
Iri(h,  as  we  find  them  in  BriiTonius  de  regno 
Feriarum,  1.  11.  p.  ZT9* 

wn  cheresy  H.  folf  Perfic ;  crian,  criay  gria^  grian^ 

Irifti. 

vr\  decy  ieccmy  P.   deichy  Ir. 

tmf  jbacy  rex,  P.  feadhy  Ir.  potens. 

T^D  -ma  nar-malchay  amnem  regium.  D^y^-malaciy 
$iqua,regia. 

Vol.  II.  c  Stircfty 


PREFACE. 

Suri^H,  furenay  next  in  power  to  the  king. 
Zofimus  5  ab  Ebneo  n»  Jari  vel  y»  far^  princq^s. 
h\(h/a&r  sxid  foots  a  burgefs,  a  noble ;  from  whence 
the  Engliih  Sir,  and  the  French  Mon-Sieur. 

Gottrgamely  P.  a  cancel's  hovel;  M^nona^  Heb. 
i.  e.  goHy  locnm  obtedum ;  Ir.  gati^  feptus,  an  in^ 
clofed  i^aoe ;  gan-ailj  a  hovel,  i.  e.  incloCed  with 
Hone  and  covered  •,  ganaihgantuil^  a  camel's  hovel ; 
hodie  gam-f  a  hovel. 

Hefychius  fays,  that  a^^'ik  imi  lUfam  is  called 
ffwiftH,  inquiror ;  this  is  eafily  derived  from  the 
Hebrew  .  wn  daras^  inquirere ;  Iri(h  dearOf  make 
particular  enquiry  or  notioe ;  M^e  a  proper  name 
of  the  feme  (ignification  with  the  Perfian  Darius^ 
Strabo  ikys  Dareis^  Darius^  Doriaues^  diSct  only  in 
their  termination.  Reland  tbini|:s  it  is  derived 
from  the  Perfian  dara^  lord  or  mafier;  or  darab^ 
i.  e.  in  the  water,  becauf^,  as  they  pretend,  Darius 
was  expofed  by  his  mother  on  the  river  Tigris. 
But  after  ail,  is  not  the  name  Darius  derived  from 
the  Celric  6t{i;<  dair^  an  oak,  the  moft  Qrong  and 
majeftic  of  all  trees  ? . 

The  celebrated  Boxhomius  has'  this  remarkable 
paflage  from  Strabo  (r),  "  Sicut  notas  veifus  fep- 
tentrioncm  gentes  uno  prius  nomine  Scythx,  vcl 
Nomades  (ut  ab  Homero)  appeliabantur,  ac  poftea 
temporis  cognitis  regionibus  occiduis  Cdtas,  Iberi, 
aut  mixto  nomine  Ceitiberi  ac  Celto-Scythae  did 
ceperunt,  cum  prius  ob  tgnorantiam  fingolas 
gentes  imo  omnes  nomine  afficirentur.**  Therefore 
^11  the  nations  which  migrated  northwards  were 

called 

(r)  L.  I.  p.  22. 


PREFACE. 

called  Scythe.  Thus  these  were  the  Afiatic  Scy* 
thians  and  the  Eur opejan  Scythians. 

The  learned  Mr.  Selden  alfo  fays  (s\  "  A<i  hiinc 
certe  modnm  qui  occidemem  inhabitabant  ple- 
ramque  omnes  gei>eratim  Celtasy  qui  auftrum 
^thiopes,  qui  ultra  Syriam  Indi,  qui  Boreacn 
Scythae  veteribus  dicebantar.  Quae  in  fobulis  de 
Syro  rege,  atque  alia  hujus  nominis  etyma  confulto 
praeterimus.  Hoc  fane  nos  acquiefcendum  daximus» 

It  may  be  thought  prefumptuous  ia.any  one  to 
attempt  an  EiTay  of  this  kind  after  fuch  learned 
orientalilts  as  Selden,  Bochart,  Voflius,  Sec.  who 
have  all  treated  of  the  Punic  language ;  yet  the 
opinion  of  that  learned  body  of  men  who  compofed 
die  Royal  Academy  of  Infcriptions  and  Belles 
Lettres  at  Paris,  ^ves  room  to  think  that  an  Iriflv> 
man  bat  Httle  (killed  in  the  Hebrew  has  an  equal 
light  to  an  attempt  of  this  kind ;  take  their  own 
words. 

" .  Plufieurs  favans,  &  entre  autres  M.  Bochart 
dans  fon  Phaleg,  ontentrepris  de  prouver  que  le 
langue  Phenicienne  etoit  la  meme  que  I'Hebraique, 
&  que  la  Punique  ou  celle  de  Carthage  etoit  aufli 
la  meme.  U  y  a  c^rtaineraent  une  grand  oon- 
formite,  mais  elle  n'eft  pas  telle  qu'oii  puiffe  dire 
que  ces  langues  fuiflent  les  memes ;  car  la  peine 
que  Scaliger,  Saumaife,  Petit,  Bckihart,  &  d'autres 
ont  eue  ^  expliquer  la  (bene  Punique  du  Ptenulus 
de  Plaute,  en  eft  une  preuve  au(ri  bien  que  Tobfcu- 
rite  dcs  medailles  &  quelques  infcriptions  Puniqites, 
qui  n'ont  pu  jufq'a  preicnt  etre  liies^   &  encore 

mains 

(j)  De  Dis  S}T.  proicg.  p.  5. 


PREFACE. 

moins  expliquees  par  le»  favans,  quoique  Ics  carac* 
eres  de  la  plupart  fbiient  tres  nets  &  tres  bied 
confervez  (/)". 

With  the  greateft  deference  this  fmall  treatife  is 
oflFered  to  the  confideration  of  the  learned,  and  in 
particular  to  thofe  Irifli  antiquaries  {killed  in  the 
Bearla  Feni  or  Phoenician  dialeft  of  their  own 
country,  in  which  language  their  moft  antient 
records  and  codes  of  laws  are  written.      * 

If  an  affinity  of  the  Irifti  language  with  the 
Punid  be  allowed,  this  difcovery  will  throw  gr&t 
lights  on  the  darker  periods  of  the  Heathen  Irifli 
hiftory.  It  will  (how,  that  though  the  details  be 
fabulous,  the  foundation  is  laid  in  truth.  It  will 
.  demonftrate  the  early  ufe  of  letters  in  this  ifland, 
becaufe  nothing  but  that  ufe  could  preferve  the 
leaft  affinity  from  the  flourifhing  era  of  Carthage  to 
the  prefent,^  a  fpwce  of  more  than  2300  years.  It 
will  account  for  the  Iri(h  affuming  to  themfelves 
the  names  of  Feni  or  Fenicians,  which  they  have 
retained  through  all  ages.  It  will  with  the  &me 
certainty  account  for  their  giving  the  name,  of 
Bearla  Feni  (the  Phoenician  tongue)  to  one  of  thdr 
native  dialeds.  In  fine,  it  will  (how,  that  when 
they  adopted  the  Phoenician  Syntax,  they  confined 
their  language  to  oriental  orthography,  while  it 
harmonized  itfelf  out  of  it^  primitive  confonantat 
Celtic  harihnefs,  by  the  fuppreifion  of  many  radical 
letters  in  the  pronunciation  of  words. 

Ex  plane  ratione  Phoenicum  vocem  a  Gra^cis 
fuilTe  puto  ad  inilar  Hebraicarum  pjy  ni  Pheni-Anak, 

ac 

(0  Mem.  de  racadem.  torn.  3.  p.  30. 


PREFACE. 

ac  fi  filios  Anac  vel  Anaceos  dixeris.  Redtius 
quidem  fcripferit  Bene-Anak;  fed  Graeci  Beth 
HebraEum  paflim  ita  emoUhmt,  ut  cum  Sophmem 
dicit  Jofcphus  pro  Soba.  Ut  jam  nemo  mirctur 
quod  nos  et  Phoenices,  et  Punicos  et  Poenos  pro 
iifdem  habeamus  {u). 

Or  are  we  to  be  furprifed  at  the  affertions  of  the 
Irifti  Seanachies,  of  the  Milefians  or.Phenians  finding 
themfelves  underftood  by  the  natives  at  the  time 
of  their  landing ;  for  the  antient  Gauls,  who  al(b 
colonized  this  country  as  well  as  Britain,  fpoke  the 
(ame  Phenian  dialeft.  *  Non  eft  tamen  quod  quif- 
quam  putet  Poenis  et  Gallrs  aut  eandem  fuiffe 
linguam  aut  fola  dialedo  diverfam.  Ita  enim 
afferit  Polybius  de  Autarito  Gallo,  Punice  loqui  didi- 
cerai  Imgo  militia  ufu  (w).  Conftat  igitur  Gallos  et 
Poenos,  et  fi  propter  commercia  vel  communia 
bcUa,  vel,  quod  fufpicamur  potius,  propter  vetuftam 
aliquam  Phoenicura  coloniam  in  Gallias  deduftam, 
alii  ab  aliis  muha  vocabula  mutuati  fmt. 


(u)  Bocb.  geog.  facr.  p.  362. 
(w)  Id.  p.  758. 


AN 


A  N 


ESSAY 


ON     T  H  I 


A  N  T   I  <;i^U  I  T  Y 


O^    T  if  B 


IRISH  LANGUAGE. 


_  • 

IT  has  been  generally  thought,  that  the  Iritb 
language,  is  ^  compounci  of  the  Qeltic,  and  old 
Spaaifti,  or  Bafque ;  whoever  will  take  the  pains  to 
compare  either  of  thefe  languages  with  the  ancieat 
maoufciipts  of  the  IriHi,  will  (bon  be  convinced, 
that  the  Irifti  partakes  not  the  leaft  of  the  Bifcayan. 

.On  a  collation  of  the  Jtrifh  with  the  Celfic^  Punic, 
Phoenician  and  Hebrew  languages,  the  ftrongeft 
affinity,  (nay  a  perfect  identity  in  very  many  words) 
will  appear ;  it  may  therefore  be  deemed  a  Punic- 
-Celtic  compound  ;  and  the  following  EiTay  will 
prove  this  to  be  fomewhat  more  than  a  bare  con- 
Jc£lure. 

The  Irifli  is  confequently  the  moft  copious  lan- 
guage extant ;  as  from  the  Hebrew  proceeded  the 
Phoenician,  from  the  Phoenician,  Carthaginian  or 
Pmiic,  was  derived  the  ^olian,  Dorian  and  EtruG 
can,  and  from  thefe,  was  formed  the  Latin ;  the 

Vol.  1L  S  Irilh 


252  Ak  essay  oU  the  antiquity 

.  Irilh  is  therefore  a  language  of  the  utmoft  im- 
portance, and  moft  defirable  to  be  acquired  by 
antiquaries  and  etymolo^fts. 

The  Irifli  hifftorians  da  all  agree,  that  they  re- 
ceived their  letters  from  the  Phoenicians,  and  that 
their  language  was  called  bearla  Fine  or  the  Fenician 
dialedt,  of  which  their  ancient  manufcripts  bear 
fufficient  tcftimony. 

Keating  (a),  and  M*Curtin  in  their  general  hif- 
tories  of  Ireland,  and  the  M*Firbifs*s  (authors  of  the 
Liber  Lecanus),  all  confirn>  the  arrival  of  the 
Fomhoraicc*s  or  African  pirates  in  Ireland  at  feveral- 
periods :  that  they  introduced  the  art  of  building 
v^ifh  ftone  and  lime,  aftronomy,  &c.  that  they 
adored  certain  flars  fuppofed  to  have  power  from 
the  God  of  the  Sea,  either  to  guide  or  miflead  the 
(hips:  that  at  length  they  over-ran  the  country, 
and  made  a  complete  conquelt,  drove  out  the 
Nemedians,  and  laid  the  ifliand  under  tribute 
Spencer,  who  bears  as  hard  on  the  Irilh,  and  with 
arguments  futile  as  Macpherlbn's,  allows,  that  they 
received  the  ufe  of  letters  from  the  Phoenicians,  and 
pofitively  aflerts,  that  a  colony  of  Africans  fettled 
in  the  weftern  part  of  Ireland,  Orofius  and  even 
fome  modern  authors,  have  gone  fo  far  as  to  deny 
the  ufe  of  letters  to  the  Carthaginians,  before  the 
Romans  conquered  that  republic,  and  as  a  proof  of 
this  they  quote  many  infcriptions  in  Roman  charac- 
ters from  varbus  places  in  Africa, 

It 


(fl^  KcatingV  Hift,  Ireland,  Dublin  edit.  p.  i8,  19.  CoK- 
fcftanea  Lib.  Lecan.  p.  r,  2,  3.  M'Currin's  Antiq.  of  Ireland, 
T*  39-  fencer,  p.  1546. 


bF  tHK  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  t5J 

It  is  true,  the  Carthaginians  adopted  the  Romati 
letter  in  the  firft  Punic  war,  which  charadter  it  is 
very  probable  they  brought  with  them  to  Ireland^ 
as  no  infcription  has  been  found  in  this  ifland  in  the 
Phoenician  letter.  It  is  evident  from  the  order  of 
the  alphabet  and  from  the  figure  of  the  letters  in 
the  ancient  manufcripts,  that  the  Irifli  did  not  re- 
ceive the  ufe  of  letters,  or  the  alphabet  from  St. 
Patrick;  nay,  that  faint  in  his  own  life  declares 
that  Fiech,  poet  laureat  to  Laogaire  at  the  time  of 
his  arrival,  found  fo  little  alteration  in  the  charac- 
ter that  he  read  the  Latin  gofpels  in  fourteen  days, 
in  two  months  after  he  embraced  Ghriftianity,  and 
ahb  compofed  an  ode  in  praife  of  that  faint. 

Of  the  Roman  Saxon  capital  letters,  the  Irifli 
ufe  but  three,  all  the  others  bear  a  very  great  re- 
femblance  to  the  primitive  Hebrew  and  Phoenician, 
as  given  us  by  Scaliger  and  Poftellus ;  and  in  the 
Chaldaic  charadlers  given  us  by  the  latter,  are  to  be 
found,  all  thofe  ufed  by  the  ancient  Irifli,  bearing 
the  fame  figure  and  power. 

Pliny  fays  (i),  the  Romans  held  the  Carthaginian 
writings  on  agricuhure  and  botany,  in  fo  great 
cfteem,  that  after  the  facking  of  Carthage,  they 
ordered  twenty-eight  volumes  on  thefe  fubjedts^ 
the  work  of  Mago  or  Magon,  to  be  tranflated  into 
the  Latin  language ;  and  that  Q^Septimius  tranf- 
lated the  hiftory  of  the  Trojan  war  from  the  Punic 
into  the  Latin.  Again,  that  author  (c)  mention^ 
the  memoirs  of  Hanno's  voyage  to  the  W.  <:oaft 
of  Africa,  being  tranflated  into  Latin  by  order  of" 

S  ^  the 

(*)  L  i8.  c.  4.  (0  ^-  a.  c  67. 


«      I 


454  An  essay  on  tite  ANTIQIJITY 

the  fenate,  the  original  of  which  was  a  long  timtf 

prcferved  with  great  care  in  the  public  library. 

Almoft  aR  the  Carthaginian  manuferipCS  were 

committed  to  the  flames,  and  the  hiftory  of  \\m 

brave  and  learned  people,  has  been  written  by 

their  moft  tetter  enemies,  the  Greeks  and  Romans ; 

in  this  too  they  refemble  the  IrBh  («/) : — Qiand 

l^orriblc  deibord  des  Arabs  et  Sarrafins  fut  faift 

iors  que  ies  Scrfmatiques,  qui  laiflerent  \c  pontife  de 

Bagadeth,  paflTerent  en  Afriqoe,   fcs  roys  Mrfio- 

metiftes  fcipcnt  brufler  tous  Ies  li«res  des  Africains, 

afiin  que  par  la  le£ture  d'iceux  iis  ne  fe  re«K>ita(rent 

de  la  religion  de  ieur  alcoran,  et  amfi  l^ignorafice  a 

cause  la  roine  de  ce  people  iadis  taut  g^tit,  ridie, 

courtois  et  fcavant,  lequel  ^n  eftime  auoir  eu  aux 

fiecles  paflez  des  diaraderes  de  lettres  a  I^sy  pro- 

pres,  Cirees  et  extraiftes  des  >chata^res  des  lettres 

des  Qiananeens,  Syrians,  et.  Phoeniciens  iu(ques  a 

ce  que  ies  Remains  s^en  firent  fetgneuts  Idquek  y 

introduirent,  conuzie  di£t*e{l,   ks  eharafteres  dc 
kurs  lettres  Latines. 

From  Pliny  <0  we  learn,  that  the  Carthaginians 
were  the  firft  that  traded  by  fea ;  and  that  tbey  had 
great  j(kill  in  the  art  of  buildii>g,  whidi  tfa^  ix^ 
herited  from  the  Tyrians,  Sec  tWe  raocc  fotiy 
under  the  article  of  Hercules. 

Herodotus  fays  (fX  the  FhoeniciARs  were  of  a 
jmoll  happy  geni4.is :  arithmetic  and  agronomy 
^ther  took  their  rife  with  them,  or  were  bro^|bt 

(fi)  C.  Duret  Bonrb.  IL  de  I'Origine  dtsLangues  dc  cca 
Univ.  p.  39J. 

(f)  L.  71.  c.  s6.  Univ.  Hift.  8vo.  vol.  a.  p.  538. 
(fj  L.  J.  c.  58. 


w  THE  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  igS^ 

by  them  to  great  perfcftion-  From  themr  thofe 
ejccellerrt  finences  flowed  into  Greece  together  with 
their  letters. 

The  Fhoenkians  traded  to  all  the  known  part» 
of  the  wo^kl^,  in  which  were  included  the  Britifb 
ifles,  commonly  underftoodi  hy  the  name  of  the 
Cqfiterides  {g). 

They  had  two  kinds  of  ftiips,  called  ik}gali  aqd 
(/)  argo  (k}y  the  firft  moved  only  by  the  wind>  and 
were  chiefty  defigned  for  trade,  the  laft  moved  by 
wind  and  oajs,  and  were  ffaips  of  war.  Gaultis 
gemiB  navigii  pene  rotmdiim. 

Their  firll  fettlement  in  Sp^a  was  at  the  iitand 
of  Gadiz  or  Cadiz,  where  they  met  with  a  friendly 
reception  from  the  inhsbitants,  therefore  Hercules 
edited  it  (/)  Cadiz. 

Polybiiui  (m)  infonw  us,  that  the  Carthsigiiiians 
were  the  firft  foreign  nation  ttje  Romans  entered 
into  an  alliance- with,  out  of  their  own  continent; 
that  a  treaty  of  commerce  and  navigation  was  con* 
firmed  between  them  as  early  as  tiie  confulihip  of 
iSrutus,  which  treaty  was  engraved  on  a  marble 
pillar  $  and  that  thi&  infcriptioa  was  dlicovered  fo 
foon  after  as  the  fecond  Punic  war,  when  not  a  . 
Roman  was  to  be  found  who  could  read  it.  Such 
an  alteration  had  the  Latin  tongue  fuflfered  in  to 
(hort  a  fpace  J 

I  arpi  not  of  Galateushis  opinion,  that  the  Punique 
tongue  was  utterly  extinguilhcd  by  the  Ronrans. 

(Galit* 

fg)  Hn«t.  Hift.  d«  la  Nav.  des  Anc.  p.  $8, 

(A)  Wiih'gal^  a  gale  of  wind. 

(f)  y^rg/tf  champions,  warriori ;   ar^^dh  to  plunder. 

\k)  Feftus,  p.  162. 

(/}  Iridi  codas ^  friendihip. 

{m)   L.  3.  c.  23. 


%}6  An  essay  on  the  ANTIQUITY 

(Galat.  de  Situ.  Japyg.  p.  98.)  Nor  can  I  agrees 
^ith  the  whims  and  fancieis  of  fome  learned  men, 
that  it  was  the  vulgar  Arabic  fpoken  in  Africa  at 
this  day.  (See  Gefncr,  in  Mithridat.  in  Ling.  Afric. 
et  Arab.  Roccha  de  dialed  in  Ling.'  Arab. 
^ofiellus  de  Ling,  i  z.  in  Lipg.  Arab.  Maf.  in  Gr. 
Syriaca,  Bibliand.  de  ratione  Linguar.  Schindler, 
Lex.  Pcntaglotto  in  voce  mp.  Mart.  Galeott.  de 
dodr.  promifcua,  cap.  6.  and  many  others. 

For  it  is  well  known  the  Poeni  were  of  another 
.offspring  and  not  of  Arabian  race,  and  that  it  is 
not  yet  1000  years,  fmce  that  tongue  was  brought 
hy  the  Arabians  into  Africa. 

And  as  certain  alfo  it  is,  that  the  remnants  of  the 
Africans  progeny,  as  Leo  Africanus  hath  recorded^ 
have  a  different  language  from  the  Arabic.  The 
Punic  tongue,  without  doubt,  was  the  Canaanitifh 
or  old  Hebrew  language,'fomewhat  altered  from  the 
.original  pronunciation,  as  ufually  befalls  all  colo* 
nifts  planted  amongft  ilrangers.  That  Carthage 
and  divers  other  cities  of  Africa  (of  which  Pliny 
nameth  Utica  and  Leptis  as  the  principal)  were  colo- 
nies of  die  Phoenicians,  namely  of  the  Tynans,  is 
not  only  acknowledged  by  Strabo,  Mela,  Livy, 
Pliny  and  many  others,  but  alfo  the  very  names  of 
Foeni  and  Punici  being  but  variations  of  the  name  i 
Phcenicii  import  fo  much,  and  laftly  their  language 
confirms  it.  For  Hierome  writing,  that  their 
language  was  grown  fomewbat  different  from  the 
Phoenician  tongue,  doth  manifeftly  declare,  it  had 
been  the  fame.  Now  the  Phoenicians  were  Canaan- 
|tes,  pf  whofe  merchandizing  we  read  fo  much  in 

ancjen^ 


OP  THE  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  ifiT 

arident  hiftorics,  and  whofe  name  ca^wa  Canaim 
(Irifh  Canaithe)  fignifieth  merchants. 

For,  the  very  fame  nation  that  the  Grecians 
called  Phcenicians  (♦o{w«0  and  the  Romans  in  imi- 
tation of  that  name  Paws  and  Putucos^  for  the 
exceeding  ftore  of  good  palms  wherewith  that 
country  abounded,  in  fo  much  that  in  monuments 
of  antiquity  the  palm  tree  is  obfervcd  for  the  enfign 
of  Phoenicia ;  the  fame  nation  I  fay  called  them- 
felves,  and  by  the  Ifraelites  their  next  neighbours 
were  called  Canaanites. 

And,  that  they  were  indeed  no  other,  I  am  able 
eafily  to  prove.  For  firft,  the  fame  woman  that  in 
Matthew  xv.  22.  is  named  a  Canaanite,  is  in  Mark 
vii.  26.  called  a  Syro-Phcenician.  Secondly,  where 
mention  is  made  in  Jolhua  of  the  Idngs  of  Canaan, 
they  are  in  the  feptuagint  tranflation  named 
ftwn^iK  nw  ^wim-  Thirdly,  to  put*  it  out  of  all  quef- 
tion,  all  that  coaft  from  Sidon  to  Azah  (that  was 
Gazah)  near  to  Gerar,  is  regiftered  by  Mofes,  Gen. 
X.  I  p.  to  have  been  poffeffcd  by  the  pofterity  of 

Chanaan. 

Herodotus  fays,  the  language  of  the  Phoenicians 
was  a  dialed  of  the  Hebrew ;  it  was  that  of  the 
Canaanites.  Their  letters  or  charafters  were  the 
feme,  or  very  like  the  Samaritan  charafters  (»). 

The  Plwenician  language  being  a  dialedt  of  the 

Hebrew,  and  the  Poeni  or  Carthaginians  having 

been  originally  Phcenicians,  it  is  undeniable  their 

firft  language  muft  have  been  Phoenician.    How- 
ever 

(«)  See  Doaor  Shaw's  remarks  on  the  Showiah  language, 
aiicl  Mr.  Jones's  on  the  Shilhsc,  in  the  cffa/  on  ihe  Celtic 
language  prefixed  to  the  Irilh  Grammar,  pag.  u,  &C.  of 
^e  fecopd  edition^ 


Jt58  An  essay  on  the  ANTIQJJITY 

ever  ScaUgcr  fays  {o\  thtt  the  Pucuc  in  fome 
refpedts  deviated  from  the  Hebrew  and  PhcemclaQ  9 
which,  confidering  hour  diftant  the  Carthaginians 
were  from  thdr  motiier  country  FbGemcta^  afid 
the  people  they  were  ificorpofarted  among^  ii^  not 
to  be  wondered  at ;  it  is  much  more  wonderful  tbit 
they  (houkl  retain  fo  much  of  their  original  tongue. 
Thefeus  Ambrofius  (p)  had  ieen  fame  Pank 
writings ;  he  gives  two  alphabets,  one  of  wlneh  he 
calls  the  original  charader  of  the  Phceniciana^  the 
other  the  Phoenician-Ionic  :  whether  this  author 
had  ever  feen  a  grammar  of  thdr  language,  I 
cannot  (ay  ^  but  be  gives  us  the  dectenfion  of  a 
noun  fttbftantive,  which  Co  perfectly  agrees  with  tbe 
Irifti,  I  (ball  here  prefent  it  to  the  reader  *'  Variai 
^*  atque  differentes  eOe  Puniccvtim,  Carthaginen- 
^^  fium,  five  Arabicorutn  elcmcntorum  fprmas,  it^ 
<^  clarum  efle  fufpicor,  ut  pjobatione  nod  fit  opos ; 
♦*  fufit  quippe  mihi  plus  quam  triginta  libromm 
*•  capita,  turn  parva,  turn  magna,  et  volumine  duo 
f*  qusfe  explicata  ad  quinquafere  brachiorum  long^ 
"  tudinem  fe  cxtendunt,  &c." 

Ex.  Gr. 
Punic.  I;i(b.     ' 

Nom.  a  dar  the  houfc  N.  an  dae    the  houfe 


Gen. 

mit  ta  dar 

G«  meud  na  dae  (the  bignefs 

of  the  houfe 

Dat. 

la  dar 

D.  la  dae  with  or  to  the  houfe 

Ace. 

a  dar 

A.  an  dae  the  houfe 

Voc. 

ya  dar 

V.  a  dae    O  houfe 

Abl. 

ifadar 

Ab.  fadae  with   or  by   the 

houfe. 

It 

(o)  Ad  Ubert.  p. 

36?. 

(/^J,  In  his  Appendix. 

Of  THE  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  1159 

II  is  very  remarkable^  that  all  the  Irifb  grammar 
riana  ancient  and  modern,  have  followed  this  me^ 
tfiod  q(  expreifing  the  gemtive,  by  the  fubftantive 
mtnd  prefixed  aa  in  the  extn^ile  above. 
.  In  the  dative,  la  in  old  manuTcripts  is  equal  to 
Jma  or  dvn^  as  Idghias  Cmoin  la  German^  u  e.  Ugk 
Cofumes  ad  Gernumum,  vita.  S.  Patricii.  Fiacb  apu4 
Colganum. 

In  the  plural,  dor  k  turned  into  diar^  by  the 
addition  of  the  vowel  /|  the  fame  rute  fubliilB  ia 
the  Iri(h  language* 

Selden  and  Scaliger  are  the  firft  who  endeavoured 
in  eameft  to  fettle  the  Punic  language;  As  for 
Petit  and  Bochart  they  have  been  much  more 
oopious  on  this  head ;  however  there  is  ftUl  room 
enough  left  &r  any  learned  man  to  exerdfe  Us  wit 
imd  talents  on  this  fubje£k. 

M.  Mains,  profeiTor  of  the  Greek  and  Oriental 
languages  in  the  Ludovician  univerfky  of  Gieflen, 
(g)  publifhed  a  (mall  piece  in  1718,  wherein  he 
proves,  that  the  prefent  language  of  the  Maltefe 
contains  a  great  deal  of  the  old  Punic  He  was 
fuppKcd  with  the  materials  for  tMs  tradt  by  father 
James  Staniflaus  John  Baptift  Ribier  dc  Gattis,  a 
miffionary  Jeiuit,  and  native  of  Malta,  who  died 
at  Oxford  in  1736.  One  of  the  authors  of  the 
Univerfiil  Hiftory  knew  this  father  Riluer.  He 
confirmed  to  this  perfon  by  word  of  mouth,  every 
particular  he  had  communicated  to  Maius,  and 
added  ibme  others ;  to  wit,  that  he  had  carefully 
^examined  moft  of  the.oriental  words  in  the  Maltefe 

tongue^ 

{^)  J.  H.  Nfalus  ia  fpec.  ling.  PunJc.  in  hod.  Melitens* 


i6d  An  essay  om  the  ANTICiUITY 

tongue,  and  found  that  they  approached  much  nearer 
the  Hebrew,  and  Chaldee,  than  the  Arabic  (r) ; 
that  the  natives  had  a  fort  of  tradition,  that  they 
were  defcended  from  the  Carthaginians,  &c.  &c. 
Some  fmall  manufcripts  relating  to  the  prcfent 
fubje<a,  he  left  in  the  hands  of  the  perfon  above 
mentioned. 

If  this  fmall  treatife  (hould  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  perfon  now  in  pioffeffion  of  the  above  papers, 
and  he  will  be  pleafed  to  communicate  a  copy  of 
them,  direaed  to  the  committee  of  Irilh  antiquaries 
at  the  Dublin  Society's  houfe,  in  Grafton-ftreet, 
.  Dublin,  the  favour  will  be  moft  gratefully  acknow- 
ledged, and  thp  expence  of  tranfcribing  repaid.  . 
Andrew  Theuet  fays  (^),  the  language  of  the  old 
inhabitants  of  the  ifland  of  Malta  favours  ftrongly 
of  the  ancient  Punic  or  Carthaginian  language,  and 
that  an  ancient  marble  was  difcovered  in  Malta 
with  thefe  words,  Eloi  Effetha  et  CumL 

And  in  another  place  he  adds,  "  The  Maltefi; 
have  always  preferved  the  Morelque  and  African 
language,  not  that  as  fpoken  this  day  by  the 
Moors,  but  the  dialeft  forrherly  fpoken  by  the 
inhabitants  of  Carthage,  and  as  a  proof,  the 
"  Maltcfe  underftand  fome  of  the  verfes  in  Plautus, 
"  which  are  in  the  Carthaginian  language. 

Quintus  Hoeduus  in  a  letter  to  his  friend  Soj^us, 
dated  Malta  20  Jan.  1533,  has  ihefe  words, 
"  Noftra  haec  Melita  infula  eft  Millib.  60.  Mari 
"  fatis  periculofo  ab  Sicilia  disjundta  Africam  verfua 
^^  Funics  quondam  ditionis  quae  et  ipfa  adliuc 

Aphroruni 


'     44 


(tr)  Un.  Hift.  vol.  17.  8vo.  p.  298.  note, 
i^f)  Cofmog.  i.  c.  19* 


AC 

44 


OP  THE  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  a6i 

^^  Aphrorum  lingua  utitur ;  et  nonuUse  etiamnum 
^^  Punicis  litteris  infcriptas  ftellac  iapidae  extant; 
^  figura  et  appofitis  quibufdam  pundhilis,  prope 
"  accedunt  ad  Hebraeas.  Atque  ut  fcias  aut  nihil 
"  aut  minimum  differe  a  vetere,  qucxi  nunc  habet 
^^  Idioma  Hannonis  cujufdam  Faeni  apud  Plautum^ 
**  Aviccnnx,  hujufque  fimilium  punica  verba 
plurima  intelligunt  Melitenfes,  tametfi  fermo  is 
fit  qui  litteris  Latinis  exprimi  bene  non  potefl 
multo  minus  o^  aliquo  enunciari,  nifi  fuae  gentis. 
Ejufdem  quoque  funt  linguae  verba  ilia  in  Evan* 
gelio  Eloi  tffta  Qitm.  Nunc  ficuli  juris  eft  ac 
"  maris." 

G.  Pictro  Francefco  Agius  de  Solandis,  published 
a  treatife  della  Lingua  Punica  prefentemente  ufata  da 
Mahefi^  &c.  &c.  to  which  he  added  a  Punica- 
Maltefe  didionary  \  from  this  book,  the  author  of 
this  cflay  has  taken  the  following  Punic  words, 
omitting  fuch  only  as  Agius  declares  to  be  purely 
Hebrew  or  Arabic,  To  thefe  arc  annexed  fuch 
Irifli  words  as  correfpond  thereto  in  letter  and 
fenfe. 

It  will  be  neceffary  firft  to  (how  the  reafon  why 
the  orthography  in  fome  do  not  fo  clofely  corref- 
pond, although  the  pronunciation  and  meaning  do, 
and  this  is  beft  exprefled  from  the  author's  own 
words. 

Conofco  invero  eflere  alquanto  malagevole  im- 
prefa  il  favellare  della  lingua  Punica*Maltefe,  e 
^'  I'andarne  a  riceercare  I'origine*  non  avendone 
pure  prefentemente  il  proprio  alfabeto,  quale  per 
i^  altro  non  le  manco  in  ahri  tempi. 

''  Ci6 


44 
44 
44 
44 


4(. 


€1 

•4 


t6t  Am  ESTSAY  oh  the  ANTIQpiTY 

^  Cii  non  oftatite  andano  al  fiwite,  da  cui  c  ori- 
^^  ginata  qne&i  iSivelia,  ufafta  ibb.  a  ink>  parera 
^  nelie  Bole  di  Malta,  Gozo,  c  Pantdlareav  ritrovo 
^  die  molti  Scrifttori  accrecfitati,  anno  data  il  pro- 
^  prb  giwinia  fenza  pero  proTaib.  Fra  €fatSi 
^^  chi  crcdclella  fola  Araba,  cht  Carthagkiefe,  chi 
^  Ebrea^  dn  Fenicia,  dii  Greca,  chi  Punica,  chi 
^  Samaritana,  e  chi  finabnente  Siriaca.  Quanti 
^  pxsfXai  fopia  una  ibla  lingm  .^  De^  noftr?  appieno 
immo  parlonne,  degli  St|rani€ii  (blafmente  Gio. 
Jhfig9  M^&^  cdebre  ptofeflbre  delle  Kngue 
Ortentaii'  in  JefTa,  dimolW  in  t6ie  D^rfazme^ 
con  proue  ed  autorita  valcvoU,  effere  kt  noftra 

•^  Kngiia  prbpriamenle  fiunica.- ^La  lingua  Pu- 

^  nica  oertamente  venne  prontinaiata  anticamente 
coUagorgia,  e  ne  rel^a  pnovato  in  quel  piccot 
monumento,  che  la  SajM  pyima  di  Plauto  d  ha 
•*  kfciato  col  carattere  Latino.** 

All  etymoiogiits  agree  that  where  the  letter  and 
the  fenfe  conre^nd  in  any  two  languages,  they 
muft  be  identically  the  fame  \  before  we  proceed  to 
the  collation  it  may  not  be  improper  to  advcrtife 
the  young  ctymologift,  that  in  mofi  languages  the 
letter  d  is  commutablc  with  / ;  *  with  p ;  c  witli  g ; 
hkj  mh  with  v  confonant ;  that  the  broad  vowels 
4^  ^^  tu  are  indifferently  written  one  for  the  other, 
as  alfo  the  fmall  vowels  r,  and  i,  are  often  fubfti- 
tuted  one  for  the  other ;  that  in  the  Irifh  language 
an  adventitious  d  with  an  hiatus,  or  dh^  is  often 
introduced  in  fyllables,  where  two  or  more  vowels 
arc  conneded  :  this  liberty  was  taken  by  the  Iiifli 
poets  of  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries,  to  make  up 
the  juft  metre,  ahhough  the  dh  is  not  allowed  to 
(Jfevi^e  the  fy liable?. 

Pumoi 


or  rae  IRISH  LANGUA<5E. 


«^S 


Punica  Ikifeltere. 

Samim^  (/)  Ahs  Heavem. 

fima,  am  aflennblT. 

£i»i/,  Sidoniorum  fen  Phoc'* 
ntcum,  et  Behes  Kartagi- 
nienfium  nmrnms  nomen 
eft:  ut  Bft  ChsldeortM 
Satumus. 

Mai  bkr  iq,  G«d  btefs  y&ifi 

iva  yaUt,  a  •cnrfe. 


hmmin,  tr\Aj. 

nra  !  intcrjeSt«. 

j»ri»»  the  end  or  fummit. 

ortap^  liquido,  molk^^ifi^o^ 
foft,  flabby* 


taghda^  bSL^v^di  ilrife. 
^47/iW;,  an  B€6Vn,  aUb  tt  i»l»ry* 

4Bg  placiu  a  momiiifiem. 


tfifli. 

jrf/f,  nriglAy»  otntirpotent 

Jilt'dhe  pznates^ 

Samh,    the    Sun^    fambra^ 

fummer. 
famhadhf  a  congregation. 
£r/,  £17/,  £^«/,    the  chief 

Deity  of  the  ancient  Irilh* 


■» 


J. 


Zfftf  {pro  eatta  Lhwyd)iWr« 
dhuii^  may  you  repent* 
God  forgive  you. 

yobbadh  {pronounced  iva)  U 
0  j/i/a,  may  -Aixikh  corat 
from  the  Almighty. 

ism  ann,  that"s  tr^e^  i^ridy* 

kfr/TJ^/  an  interjedbifQii. 

orda,  Wgh/lijraghty. 

tfrrf,  a  hiH. 

vnairff  foft. — Mr/  i^  afiiaffiix 
•  of  the  Arsibic,  Signifying 
thcf  ovcrfiowiflg  «♦  a  c!ver> 
hence  artap  may  imply 
ooze,  flabj  mffe'— from 
tap,  the  IriQi  fap^kr^ 
t9pary  tohar,  a  well  or 
fpring. 

iagh,  a  contefft>  a  ^gt^ts. 

baNacbtf  the  "wraltof  a  gv^^€» 
a  fnonufRent. 


(/)  Phllo  "Bybllus  ex  Sancliorniathone  Beyretio  tSto?  9s^ 

Ki^^Oc^yS  £ivt  h  ma^'  &My6Y,  riunc  detiin  putaJbanrt  toium 
ccbli  <ioini»«tn,  E^etumin  Vocantes,  quod  eft  Fhcsnicibuf 
doininus  CGeli,  Zeus  Grsecorum.     Bayerus,  p.  69. 


^64 


An  essay  on  the  ANTIQIJITY 

Punica  Maltefe.  Iri(h. 


bandla,  a  cord^  a  fwing,  a 
meafure. 


han-^gham-mii  the  Ton  of  my 
uncle. 


gbamt,  an  aunt. 

b^rqarqara^  or  cafatt  bercar^ 
ftfriVjinM^ka  il  piu  vicino 
Citta  Valitta^  i.  e.  bil 
aPtica ;  berquara  Augufta, 

:  grande^  L  e.  antico  Au- 
gullo  Villagio  di  Malta. 

bin  or  bin,  a  Ton. 

bm  ti  muthof  figlio  de  la 
.    morte. 

* 

bir,  a  well,  a  Fountain. 
buOf  of  bva,  to  drink. 
biniit,  young  women. 
abu/  voce  amroirativa  I 


cballa^  or  cballi,  to  forfake^ 

to  abandon. 
cball,  fliarp. 
(bafiTf  to  pardon. 


^jif/t,  fufpenfion. 

bandla  and  landal,  a  certain 
meafure  ufed  in  thefoutb, 
fomewhat  more  tliaif  half 
a  yard,  by  which  coarfe 
linens  are  fold  in  the  mar-i 
kets  under  the  name  of 
bandal  cloth. 

bannHmhf  a  handle,  a  cubit 
in  meafurement. 

ban  is  a  fon»  as  in  the  com- 
pound. 

banfiotby  a  fon-in^law. 

bantOy  is  alfo  a^  niece. 

gian,  a  woman. 

ingiOHf  a  daughter. 

barracbas,  auguft,  great 
power — overplus. 

baf'^atbar,  {cabar)  anauguft 
city. 

ban  or  bar,  as  banfcoth,  a 
fon-in-law. 

mugbaim,  to  be  ptit  to  death. 

ttadb,  to  grieve. 

bani  teadb  mugba* 

bior,  bir,  a  fountain,  a  well. 

buadh,  food,  ibba,  to  drink. 

bmm-itte,  woman's  age. 

aboJ  the  war  cry  of  the  an- 
cient Irifli — now  a  com- 
mon interjeSion  of  admi' 
ration. 

caillidh,  to  lofe^  to  deftroy. 

fiala,  to  feparate. 

calg,  a  prick,  a  (ling. 

cabbar,  help,  ai&(tance,  re- 
lief. 

for,  prote^ion,  defence. 

ibePa, 


OP  THB  IRISH 

Punica  Malteft. 

chiles,  folution,  refolution, 
determination. 

€iacirf  meandring,  fcatter- 
ing. 

iajra,  trefles^  or  locks  of 
h^ir. 

daqqoj  an  a£t  or  deed. 

dar,  a  houfe,  and  impro- 
perly written  (fay$  our 
author)  dars, 

iar  il  binatf  a  nunnery,  a 
houfe  for  young  women. 

Jar,  dir,  deflre^  v/UL 


gboghl  (armentum)  a  herd 

of  cattle. 
fart,  an  ox,  bull  or  cow. 


fahbalf  a  fptteful  expreflion, 
glfo  derifion. 

fabbaly  a  flail  fed  ox. 
Thus  we  call  a  libertine 
fahhal,  and  to  a  harlot^ 
we  commonly  cry, 

ha^a  or  haqar. 


harra,  befides^  cut  of. 

lafcy  below,  at  the  bottoni. 
tabu,   to  empty,  to  make 

void. 
bedui^  a  countryman. 
tilt,  a  houfe. 


LANGUAGE. 
IriOi. 

ctil,  fenfe,  reafon;  do  cbur  a 
cceilf  to  demonftrate. 

aaracadb,  wandering,  ftray- 
ing. 

fraigh,  a  bufli  of  hair. 

diaedahy  a  law. 

dars,  a  habitation ;  doi,  a 
houfe;  ricgb-dbae,  a  pa- 
lace. 

dSi  or  daras  na  bom,  a  nun- 
nery. (See  the  word  ben, 
O  Brien's  diftionary.) 

deoir,  will,  pleafure.  (Lh  wyd, 
at  the  word  voluntasw) 

deoir  dior,  a  proper  incli- 
nation. 

giogail,  to  follow  dofc,  to 

herd. 
/oarb,  an  ox,  or  cow ;  mart, 
the  fame ;    og-wart,  an 
heifer. 
fala,  fpite,  malice. 

fail,  a  ftye,  a  fiall ;  OisfaU 
muici,  a  pig-dye. 


baecain  and  boccar  are  terms 
of  reproach  in  Irifh,  fully 
anfwering  the  idea  of  the 
Punic  word. 

barr,  over  and  above,  be- 
fides,  the  end. 

bas,  the  bafe  or  bottom. 

batbamb,  (pronounced  buhu) 
to  cancel,  to  blot  out. 

bodacb,  a  ruftic,  a  clown. 

bathy  hoitb,  a  cottage,  hut, 
or  booth. 

ba-al. 


7,6$ 


3166  An  fefiSAY  k^  the  ANTIQUITY 

Punica  Maltefe.  Iriftl. 

iehai,  domtis  Det.  htb-oll,  domus  Dei. 

tit  t  iem,  domus  pants.  both-Ian,  domns  fatietts. 

inn.  Mood,  kindred.  dmmhf  .kindred^  confaAgui- 

nity- 
dor^s,  fmit.  foradh,  fruit. 

feithb,  to  open>  to  difcovcr,    fiiiheaf  to  overlook^  to  give 

attention. 
€mma,  but.  ambt  but,  even,  dllfe. 

ingkarre,  impofition*  ^incbe^i,  an  imppftor. 

aincheara,  Hnpoikion. 
t^/ma,  hear  me^  hearken.        tifd  miy  tiear  me,  liften  to 

me,  mere  property  iifd 
Item. 
far,  over,  beycnad,  totranf-    for,  e^er,  beyond ;  finnmi, 

port  from  place  to  p4ace.         a  journey. 
farac,  mirtfe,  coalblatidn.       forc^fmrca,  advice,  confola* 

tion. 
f6i^,  -entertainment,  >hG%U 
tality. 
ffg'iu,  poiverftil,  purflaht.      feadhmaciifotetUt,  pOfwetM. 

feadb'Cuaitb,    an    extenfive 
country,  (dominions.)! 
filfla,  a  Tock  in  the  Tea,  on   ftik-fia,  an  arrant  4)ad  fow* 
the    Maltefe    coaft,    fo         reign,  a  bad  «iafter. 
called  becaufe,   formato 
delta  natura  aggutfa  di 
Pape  nella  forma. 
fuq,  the  fummit,  high  above.    fa-'UaAiar,  upon  the  fummit. 
gha-dtra,    ftanding    water,    ^cor^fl,  thefea-;  ;*-aftr/m, 

morihy  ground,  fltilh.  water  without  paflage. 

ghain,  the  face,  from,  the-    cainji^  the  face  or  countc- 

eyesi  naiice. 

gbana,  to  Hng.  canaiff),  cvanM&f  (pronoonc- 

€i\ga7ia)  tofmg^  degluin^ 
yj  he  (ings. 
aghniq,  rich,  profperous.        <jjfAiw^^r<7r A,  fortunate,  pros- 
perous. 
gb-arma,  [^nty  of  com.        armhar,  or  strhhar^  com. 

aga-armhar,  plenty  of  cor  n- 
gba-qal,  fenfible,  reafbnable.    go^ciill,  fenfible,  reafonable^ 

^.  gh^-aqqs. 


•  ;' 


bi^  TkE-  IRISH  LANGUAGfi. 

Punica  Malrefe.  Iriih. 


2&7 


j^ha-aqqa^  t  term  ufed  to 
mortify  a  ftrumpet.  I 
believe  (fays  our  author) 
from  accoy  a  famous  har- 
lot in  our  hiftory. 

gbaz-^el,  diftindion^  com- 
prehenfion. 


gberq^  tyhoides  cocci ncus 
tuberofus,  fea  blubber, 
fea  fpunge. 

gbufciat  a  place  in  Malta, 
but  properly  a  forcerer,  a 
conjurer. 

glbuf  to  give,  to  prefcnt. 

leckarty  a  gift. 

hbablay  corn. 

hhadir^  to  a^fllft  at  a  wedding. 

bbai^  to  live. 

bbaiOf  life. 

bh-alleitu,  releasM,  aban- 
doned. 

bhamif  hot. 

hbamria,  reddilh  earth, 
alfo 

bbam-riai  ah  afs, 

I  believe  (fays  our  author) 
from  his  dun  colour. 

Jj^h-apasy  a  prifon  for  (laves. 


i^aqtm^  a  m^n  in  power,  a 
captain. 
Vol.  II.  -  T 


^iabhair,  a  harlot,  a  flriim- 
pet. 

dgOy  addition^  an  augmenta* 
tive. 

giabhaif-aga^  a  very  whore. 

ceafny  geafoy  to  fee  plainly 
and  diftindly ;  the  Arabic 
affix  ily  anfwers  to  the 
Irifli  prefix  con^  as  ad 
cen-aas,  I  diftinguiihed, 
or  faw  plainly. 

gearg,  a  blubber,  botch,  or 
bile,  any  tubulous  body; 

gU'fighe ;  gu  a  lie— ^^A/  si 

demon,  a  familiar  fpirit } 

geafay  forcery. 
geibhadh^  to  obtain,  to  get. 
tilacay  a  gift. 
arbhary  corn. 

adharadhy  to  join  together* 
beatha^  to  live. 
beathoy  life. 
dealuightbif    Veleaied,     di« 

vorced,  feparated. 
timiy    heat,    (Lhwyd.'  vid. 

Calor.) 
ic/m,  earth ;  rwy  (ky  toloured; 
ruadby  red. 
uim  ruoy  red  earth. 
aimhreidbi,  obdinacy,  ftrife  ; 

This  word  feems  more 

analogous  to  the  qualities 

of  this  bead. 
adbblaSy  a  garrifon;  abasf^ 

a    great    man's    houfe; 

adhbhoy  a  dungeon. 
acmhiiiny  potent,  able ;  tfiV'^ 

ginif  to  plunder  or  fpoil. 

batiTif 


a6g  Ak  essay  on  the  ANTIQyiTY 

Punica  Maltefe.  Irifh. 

hatttiy  knawledge.  ^/Vii/,  knowledge;  aitbnif\9 

know« 
hazir^  an  entrance,  or  fore-    a/aidb,  to  reft>  or  flop. 

court  to  a  palace. 
hhabar,  news>  novelty.  aibra,  ^(petch;  abarffpc^ 

tbou. 
abranny  bad  news. 
bbdntenay  pity,  (voca  fenicia)     anaoidhin^  pity,  eompaffion  ; 

is  anaoidbin  Auitf  woe 

unto  thee^ 

iajfu^  old  age.  ^oifi^  old  age. 

ieqerduy  ruin,  deftru^ion^       /^^-^r^/^,  ruinous  {IragmentS) 

,  (Lhwyd.  ad  voc.  Ruina.) 

iaf-cefcy  fhri veiled  with  age^    aois-caifeac,  wrinkled  witb 

age. 
j'detTjf  the  hand,  the  nfl.         dorn,  the  fift. 
itqattOf  iwifted.  atbcafda,  twifted. 

itzahhar,  to  expand.  atbjsarradb,  to  ftretch,  to 

expand. 
iadirif    a    prolongation    of    ciirde,  delay ;  do  cburfi  air 
time.  fairdef  he  prolonged  the 

time. 
iafary   to  bind  to  a  per-    caitbfiS,      mutk,      ought , 
formance.  (oportet)   an  imperfonal 

compulfive  verb. 
f  comb'/arran,    to    keep    by 

^  compulfion. 

gbana,  to  Ting.  canadb,  tp  fing. 

tares,  cruel,  mercilefs.  ^ruas,  rigour. 

ia/ma,  a  gap,   a  chink,  a    ca/naS,  fplit-wood,  chips. 

feparation. 
ifim,  to  divide,  to  bend.         ca/amf  to  wind,  to  turn,  to 

bend. 
|j- VI,  flrong,  valiant,  robuft.     catb-fbir,  warriors. 
^k-aurOf  a  place  in  Malta;     agiathar^agiare^xutht^tik* 
Jignifica  pomnte,  the  wefl.         ahbor,  Hebrew,  afterius, 

the  wefl. 


It 


OF  THE  IJ^ISH  LANGUACJE.  »e^ 

.  It  is  to  be  wlftied  we  had  the  pure  Punic  names 
6f  the  four  cardinal  points,  as  the  Irifh  language 
differs  from  all  others  in  this  particular ;  although  the 
manner  of  expreffion  agrees  perfcAly  with  the  old 
Hebraical  or  fcriptural.  Firft,  Th6  Hebrew  word 
Janiih  properly  fignifies  the  right  hand  (i/),  and 
Benjamittj  i.  e.  filius  dextra,  is  alfo  written  to  imply 
the  South  {w) ;  becaufe  the  Hebrews  in  their  prayers 
to  God  always  faced  the  Eaft,  and  thdrefore  being 
confidered  in  that  pofition,  their  right  hind  was 
next  to  the  South.  Jamin  eft  mundi  Phgo  Auftralis^ 
ttt  qua  Oritfttem  afpicientibus^  orantium  modo  dextrd 

eft.  Dav.  Lex. This  form  is  alfo  peculiar  to 

tlie  Irifh  nation  and  language,  for  the  word  deds 
properly  means  the  right  hand,  as  najbuidhe  ar  deas 
.  iaimh  Diy  fitting  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  and  deas 
is  ahb  the  only  word  to  exprefs  the  South. 

Secondly,  The  Hebrew  word  ftnol^  which  pro- 
perly figaifies  the  left  hand  (x),  is  ufed  for  the  fame 
reafon  to  imply  the  North  (y)j  and  is  the  fame  ia 
Irifti ;  for  thuaidh  is  properly  the  left  hand,  as 
ttuuhallach^  a  left-handed  or  undextrous  man,  is 
the  only  proper  word,  viz.  tuath  and  tuag  to  point 
out  the  North. 

Thudly,  The  Hebrew  word  achor^  which  pro- 
perly fignifies  behind  (z),  is  commonly  ufed  to 
imply  the  Weft  (a),  and  the  Irilh  word  iar  figni- 
fying  behind  or  after,  is  the  proper  word  to  exprefs 
the  Weft. 

T  2  Fourthly, 


(n)  Jercm.  tx.  24.  (aw)  Job  xxiii.  9    Pf.  Ixxxix.  4. 

(^jc)  Gen.  xxiv.  49.  xlviii,  14.  (y)  Job  xxili.  9. 

(s)  Gen.  ix.  28.  2d  Sam.  x.  9.  (a)  Joih.  ix.  &2* 

Job  xxiii.  3. 


tT<>  Ait  ESSAY  ok  tae  ANTIQpITY 

Fourthly,  The  Hebrew  word  cedem^  which  natu- 
rally means  before,  or  the  fore  part  (Jb\  is  ufed  to 
fignify  the  Eaft  (c).  In  the  fame  manner  the  Iri(h 
words  oir  and  mrthear^^  whence  the  Latin  orieps  and 
wtus^  are  the  proper  words  in  this  language  to  fig^ 
nify  the  Eaft  or  the  rifing  Sun;  and  tWs  word 
oirthear  alfo  fignifies  tlie  beginning  or  fore  part,  as 
iarthar  alfo  means  the  end  or  Mndmoft  part  of  any 
thing, — as  in  this  example,  O  oirthear  go  hiarthar  a 
mje^  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  his  age. 

The  Irifti  ftill  retain  one  of  the  PhoBnician  names 

of  the  cardinal  points,  viz.  hadhb^  which  the  didtio- 

,  nary  writers  tranflate  the  North,  but  it  is  evidenriy 

the  Chaldean  and  Phoenician  iia  badhy  \.  e.  pofterius, 

implying  the  Weft. 


PuDica  Maltefe. 

i'fcuir^  to  feparate  the  hull 
from  the  gram — ehaff^ 
alfo  bran. 

Imlh  the.nighe. 

tuguriot  cafaruftica,  avHe^ 
a  wretched  but,  a  cabin. 

mirgiarTf  or  megiarrj  two 
places  in  Malta,  fo  called 
becaufe  near  the  fea^ihore^ 

rnitta^  a  certain  tax  on 
any  vendible  commodity. 
The  word  is  totally  Pu- 
nic, and  has  been  nfed 
time  innmembrial  by  the 
Punic  people  of  SieiPy, 
Malta  and  Gozo. 


Irifli. 

€aiih^  chtfff;  ftaradb,  Tepa^ 
ration. 

daiKe^  the  night.  (Lhwyd. 

Nox.) 
Uagbf  a  houfe ;  mr^  moM^ 

clay. 
teagh-uire^  a  houfe  of  clay^ 
muir-giarff  cfofe  to  the  k%* 


nuafioy  taxed;  it  is  nfed  in 
that  fenfe  in  all  the  old 
Irifh  law  books,  and  in 
the  new  tedament,  Luke, 
ch.  it.  V.  r.  an  Jombam 
vite  (h  mbios. 


{b)  Pfalffi,  Iv.  a^. 


(r)  Num.  xxiii.  Ifa.  xk 


OF    TH£   IRISH 

Piiiiica  Maltefe. 

mar'amma,  a  country  edi* 
fice. 

fena  &  1  (parola  Fcnici)  the 
/nin      i  feafons,  a  year. 
famaf   the   heavens^    (voce 

Punica). 
febm^  a  portion,  a  (har^ 
fciehhy  un  uffizio  decorofe, 
con  cui  ft  gloriano  i  litte- 
rati^  Ogniori,  principi  e 
governadori  delle  Citta. 
fara9  tocombatf  to  fight. 


JUlurCf  an  eel. 

fabbta^  wafted^  deilroyed. 

lemhi^  a  vefTel  for  working 
or  ftamping  dough  with 
the  feet. 

Uvi  &  hmf  to  bend,  or 
wring. 

Utiy  «  grand  proceflioa. 

hqmai  a  bit  of  bread,  a 
morfeh  ' 

marhatf  (anello^aring)  Voce 
de  Feniciy  dt  cui  il  Sal- 
maiio,  e  Boceardo,  par- 
lano  prefib  il  MaJ0|  da 
CUI  nacque  marhuX  legato. 
Brbit^  legare  (to  bind) 
norhm  ligaoio. 


LANGUAGE. 

IriOi. 

m6r*ttmaghi  a  building  or 
dwelling  in  the  plains  or 
country. 

fioHy  the  weather,  the  feafont . 

foinifiif  the  feafons. 

famhf  the  fun. 

feimhf  a  fmall  portion,  (ingle. 
fgeitb,  chofen,  feleded. 
fciy  fcia^    to   beautify,    to 
adorn. 

Jkragbtif  conqueft,  vidory. 
Jarugba^    to  overcome,   to 

refcue. 
fiUoUi  (Armoric6)  eels. 
facbadbf  to  fack,  to  deftroy. 
JagbaiStbe,  deAroyed. 
liim,     leaping,     jumping, 

(lamping ;  bif  bia,  food* 

iubba,  to  bend,  or  twift. 

Utbf  folemn  pomp;   iaitb, 

a  crowd. 
Ugbda,  an  allowance. 

mear,  a  finger,  and  bearf, 
an  ornament  or  clothing ; 
as  ms'bhearif  worn  on 
the  legs,  1.  e.  ftockings  ; 
ttann-lf hearty  worn  on  the 
head,  i.  e.  a  hat ;  thefe 
compounds  are  very  com- 
mon 'in  the  Iri(h ;  fo 
mear-bheartj  worn  on  the 
firiger,  i.  e.  a  ring.. 


47  « 


ma 


|i7i 


An  essay  on  the  ANTIQUITY 

Punica  Maltefe.  IrUh. 


ma-fraf  e  difficile  ritrovare 

,  un  terroine  proprio  ad  ef- 
primare  quefta  vQce^  ma 
piuttefto  per  abbeliimento 
di  chi  e  dilletante  della 
propria  favella»  nc  altro 
iignifica,  fe  non  Ji  e,  it  fo, 
fay  you  fo  ? 

medd,  magnitude,  prolonga- 
tion. 

merif  to  contradid^to  thwart. 

meut,  death. 

muty  il  Majo  fcrive  muto, 
nomine  confecravit  mor- 
tuumyCumPhoenices  mor- 
tem &  Plutoneni  vocat. 

ml-alit,  a  ball  of  wool. 


mnariay  fefiivata  di  S.  Petro 
e  Paolo  apoftoli,  il  fuo 
{ignificato  mnlto  differ 
rifce  dall  fua  etimologia. 
Minor  che  prefTo  i 
Turchi,  fono  quelle  torri 
altiffime,  attacate  alle  loro 
JVlofchee,  illuminate  nelle 
fefte  priocipali  del  loro 
falfopropheto  Maometta, 
c  Mnaria  vuol  dire  illmni' 
nazUfUy  facendoTi  da  per 
tut  to  in  quefto  giorno  de' 
Santi  Apofloli,  donde  nac- 
que  mnara  la  lucerna,  che 
e  il  candellire  dell  baiTa 
gente. 

tfafciar^  to  cut  off,   to  ex- 
clude. 


ma  tOf  if  fo  ;  mar  ata,  if  fo, 
ma  ta  raidh,  if  fo  fa  id. 
mature^  foon,  fpeedily. 
ma-trathf  if  in  due  time. 
ma-atraidhi  If  he  faid. 


mtidy  bignefs,  magnitude, 

mearaighs  tq  mi(lake>  to  err. 
miatb,  decay*  (death.) 
mudha,  dying,  periibing. 
mtathadhy  to  die. 
mudhay  mutba,  dying. 

mbl'Qlla,  (Munfter  dialed) 
combed  wool,  made  up 
in  a  ball. 

moighe^iar  is  a  word  in  the 
Bearlafem  or  Phoenician 
dialed  of.  the  IriCh,  no( 
yet  explained  in  any 
didionary.  Dr.  O'Brieo 
t  r^anflates  motgbianearftar 
do  cbonairc  an  la  fQ\ 
Happy  is  the  man  that 

.  faw  this  day. — It  there- 
fore means  feftivity,  bap- 
pinefsj  rejoicing,  and  an- 
fwers  to  the  Maltefe 
mnaria. 


ap-aradhf  feparatipn. 
eifcidby  tolopofF,  to  exclude. 
B^xam.  eifcis  agdonna  dbioh^ 

i.  e.  their  heads  Ihall  be 

cut  off. 

icby 


OP    THE   IRISH 

Punica  Maltefe* 

tf£hf  a  nun. 

iafchar,  good  tidings^ 

iofidf  cafedy  holy,  undefiled. 

f'tf/,  fpccch. 

qatOy  the  bread,  the  bofom. 

qaloy  the  fail  of  a  (hip. 

N.  B.  This  is  the  Cartha- 
.  ginian  name  of  thofe  (hips 
moved  by  wind  only,  to 
diftinguiib  them  from 
ihips  of  war,  worked  both 
by  wind  and  oars. 

qarab,  an  approaching. 

qaita,  a  ftick,  club,  or  fpear. 

Voce  dc  Fenice. 
qabir  &  cabir,  a  grandee,  a 

nobleman. 


qi*ilpj  hounds. 


ra,  fight. 

rahhoy  plenty,  cncrcafe. 
r'^asy    a   headland,    a   pro- 
montory. 
riebhy  wind. 

r*aqha,  a  cavalcade. 


Jabaq^  (Irong,  valiant. 
Jaffaq^  ferene. 
sfaffaqy  obferving,  careful, 
frugal. 


LANGUAGE. 

Irifli. 

9ghy  anaaid;  a  virgin. 
ba-fcealf  good  tidings. 
fdcarbhuigy  z  confeiTion. 
i-g/?,  'undefiled,  chafte. 
agall,  fpeech. 
gail€,  the  ftomach. 
gal,  a  gale  of  windi 


gara,  near,  at  hand. 
gar-abf  not  clofe.  - 
gath,  a  fpear  or  javelin. 

cairbre,  the  name  of  feveral 
Irifti  princes;  foalfoC^^^- 
riherty  one  of  the  kings  of 
France.  Cairhte  alfo  fig* 
nifies  a  territory. 

cti-ealb^a,  a  pack  of  hounds, 
i.  e.  hounds  in  herd,  or 
drove. 

ughy  an  egg ;  orcay  eggs. 

abhra  (avra)  ;  romhra ;  ra* 
dharcy  fight. 

rabbacy  fruitful,  plentiful. 

itrosy  a  headland ;  rofs  has 
the  fame  meaning. 

atiabh,  wind.  (Lhwyd.  Ven- 
tus) 

This  is  a  compound  of  the 
Irifh  eacy  a  horfe,  a  word 
ftill  ufed  at  Conftantino- 
ple ;  ar^eicy  upon  horfes. 

fab  d£  fahagy  able,  ftrong. 

Jluvacy  ferene,  calm,  mild. 

fabballachy  careful,  fparing. 


It 


|k7f  An  essay  pn  thb  ANTIQyiTY 

It  is  evident,  that  iti  this  catalogue  of  word; 
given  by  Agius,  as  Punic,  many  are  purely  Arabic, 
and  fome  are  Hebrew.  The  difference  in  ortho- 
graphy  between  thcfe  Maltefe  words  and  the  Irifh 
words  correfponding  thereto  i$  eafily  accounted  for  ^ 
the  Maltefe  ufe  the  Arabic  charadter,  and  the  diflS- 
culty  the  author  found  in  tranfcribing  them  into 
the  Roman  letter,  has  already  been  fliown  in  his 
own  words.  TI12  author  of  tl)is  cflay,  has  fre- 
quently converfcd  with  the  various  nations  of  the 
Mediterranean  Sea,  particularly  with  the  Africans, 
and  from  his  own  experience  can  teftify  that  every 
nation  of  Europe,  would  differ  in  the  orthography 
of  the  fame  word,  particularly  in  the  guttered  and 
afpirated  confpnants  j  the  Irilh  would  be  the  moft 
fimilar  to  the  original  African  dialed.  Quintilian 
pbferves,  in  his  time  they  were  rnuch  embarraflTcd 
how  to  tranfcribe  the  ancient  Latin,  having  iolt  the 
power  of  feveral  letters ;  and  Claudius  and  Origen 
fay  the  fai^ie. 

pf  the  PII  PUNIGI,  or  CARTHAGINIAN 

DEITIES. 

THE  knowledge  we  have  of  the  Carthaginian 
inariner  of  worfhip,  is  derived  from  the  Greek  and 
Roman  writers  (d)y  who  have  affixed  the  names  of 
iheir  own  Gods  to  thofe  of  the  Carthaginians,  This 
has  rendered  their  accounts  and  obfervations  on  this 
head  more  imperfedt  and  lefs  valuable. 

It 

(</)  Herod.  Poljb.  Diod.  Sic.  Liv.  Quint.  Cart,  alii^, 
roulii. 


_J 


OF  T»E  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  ^75 

It  is  therefore  impoffible  to  come  to  an  exa£fc 
knowledge  of  the  Carthaginian  Gods,  from  what 
is  delivered  of  them  by  the  Greek  and  Roman 
authors/ 

The  chief  Deity  of  the  Carthaginians  was  Baal^ 
BeaJy  or  BcU  the  Sun,  to  whom  they  offered  human 
Jacrifi{:es.  The  chief  Deity  of  the  Heathen  Irifh 
was  Bealy  the  Sun,  to  whom  alfo  they  offered 
human  facrifices.  The  Irifh  fworc  by  the  Sun, 
Moon,  Stars,  and  the  Wind  :  *'  Omnes,  qui  inci- 
derint,  adjuro  per  facrum  Solis  circulum,  in  aequales 
Lumg  curfiis,  reliquorumque^ifr«»>  vires  et  Jigni^ 
ferumcirculum^  ut  in  reconditis  haec  habeant,  nee 
indo(flis  aut  profanis  communicent,  fed  praecep^oria 
memores  fmt  eique  honorem  retribuant.  Dii  jam 
difti  faodte  jurantibus  dent  quae  velintj  pejeranti- 
bus  contraria."  Attrologus  autem  hie  Vettius 
Valens  eft  Antiochenus  et  in  proemio,  Lib.,  7. 
a»9o^4r/«,  inferwit.     Seldcn.  de  Dis  Syr.  (e) 

The  facrifice  of  beafts  was.  at  length  fubfKtuted 
among  the  Carthaginians,  the  fame  cuitom  we 
leam  from  the  ancient  Irifh  hiitoriatis,  prevailed  in 
this  country.  The  month  of  May  is  to  this  day ' 
named  Mi  BeaJ  teinne^  i.  e.  the  month  of  Bcal's  fire ; 
and  the  firfi  day  of  May  is  called  la  Beal  teinne^  i.  e. 
tlie  day  of  Beal's  fire.  Thefc  fires  were  lighteci  ori 
the  fummits  pf  bills,,  in  honour  of  the  Sun  -,  many 
bills  in  Ireland  ftill  retain  the  name  of  Cnoc-greme^ 
\.  e.  the  hill  of  the  Sun  ;  and  on  all  thefe  are  to  be 
feen  the  ruins  of  druidical  altars. 

On  that  day  the  druids  drove  all  tbe^cattle  through 
th^  fires,  to  preferve  them  from  diforders  the  en- 

futng 

{')  Prol.  p.  35. 


276  Am  essay  on  the  ANTIQIJITY 

fuing  year ;  this  pagan  cuftom  is  ftill  obferved  ia 
Munller  and  Connaught,  where  the  meaneft  cot- 
tager worth  a  cow  and  a  whifp  of  ftraw  pradtifes 
the  fame  on  the  firit  day  of  May,  and  with  the 
fame  fuperftitious  ideas.  The  third  day  of  May  is 
alfo  at  this  day  named  treas  lafamh-ra^  or  the  third 
day  of  the  Sun's  quarter.  On  this  day  e^ch  bride 
married  within  the  year  makes  up  a  large  ball 
covered  with  gold  or  filver  tiflue,  (in  rcfemblance 
of  the  Deity)  and  prcfents  it  to  the  young  un-r 
married  men  of  the  neighbourhood,  who  having 
previoufly  made  a  circular  garland  of  hoops,  &c. 
(to  reprefent  the  zodiac)  come  to  the  bride's  houfe 
to  fetch  this  reprefentation  of  that  planet.  To  fuch 
a  pitch  is  this  fuperftitious  ceremony  carried,  I  have 
known  in  the  county  of  Waterford  a  ball  to  have 
coft  a  poor  peafant  two  guineas.  The  old  Irifh 
name  of  the  year,  is  Bealamy  now  corrupted  into 
Bliadhain^  i.  e.  the  circle  of  Belus^  of  of  the  Sun. 

The  Carthaginians  did  not  reprefent  BeaU  as  they 
had  him  before  their  eyes  daily  in  all  his  glory; 
they  made  their  addreffes  immediately  to  him  ac* 
cording  to  the  ancient  rite.  No  idol  of  Beat  is  ever 
mentioned  by  the  ancient  Irifli  hlftorians,  or  was 
any  ever  found  fince  Chriftianity  was  introduced. 
Had  they  rcprefented  their  chief  Deity  by  any 
image,  St.  Patrick  would  have  taken  particular 
notice  of  it.  Bal  in  the  Punic  language  fignified 
power,  knowledge ;  bale  in  Irifli  fignifies  the  fame  % 
and  bal^  is  a  man  of  erudition. 

BaaUfamhain  was  another  Punic  appellative  of 
his  Deity ;  BeaUfamham  in  Irifli  fignifies  Beal  the 
planet  of  the  Sun  \  for  an  is  a  planet,  and  famh  ia 

thQ 


.  OF  THE  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  ^77 

the  Sun ;  thus  we  fay  lu-an  the  Moon,  i.  e.  the  fmall 
.planet;  r^-<j« altar;  and/awAr^isIriftiforfummcr, 
i.  e.  the  Sun's  quarter ;  fo  alfo  dia-ra  daily,  &c.  tlie 
word  ra  fignifying  a  quarter  or  divifion  of  time. 

Sam-minj  vel  famhmim^  vel  famhaiu^  la  /oinhmm 
vel  lafamhm'n^.  is  alfo  to  this  time  the  name  of  tho 
firft  day  of  November  or  AHliallow-tidc,  the 
vigil  of  which  is  called  oidch^  Jbamhna  agreeable  to 
the  idiom  of  the  language,  and  corruptly  ee  owna. 
♦On  what  day  this  feftival  of  the  Sun  was  obferved 
is  not  noticed,  but  at  th^  change  of  the  heathen  to 
the  Chrifiian  kaldndar  was  judicioufly  fixed  at  the 
eve  of  AH  Souls. 

jSamk^  as  I  have  aheady  (hown,  is  the  Sun,  and 

-  Mcni  is  an  appellative  of  the  fame .  Deity  :  "  But 

ye  arc  they  that  forget  my  holy  mountain,  that 

prepare  a  table  for  Gad^  and  that  furnifli  the  drink*- 

offering  unto  Mm(f)'^    The.  Seventy  tranflatc 

•  this  thu^,   iToifi^yTic  rv  ^|uo»2tf  r^i^t  xo)  vAi^pvptk  tS  t^ 

f^fM,  wliich  pafiage  St.  Jerom  has  fully  explained 
to  have  been  miftaken  by  t^e  Seventy,  and  it  (hould 

^  have  been  **;  .Parentcs  fortune.  (Gad)  menfam;  et 
implentes  dsmoni  (Meni)  mixtam  potionem  j"  for 

.  as  St.  Jerom  and  feveral  others  agree,  gad  fignifies 
fortune,  or  rather  good  fortune,  and  in  this  fenfe  it 
is  ufed  in  the  30th  chap.  Genefis,  v.  11.  and  is  / 

further  confirmed  by  Seldeii  in  his  Diis  Syris. 
Here  then,  is  a  full  confirmation  of  the  Origin  of 
the  Irifti  cad-druidhea£l  or  necromancy,  handed 
down  to  .us  by  the  cuftom  ftill  retained  of  burning 

nuts 

^/^  Ifa.  \xy.  %if. 


278  An  essay  on  the  ANTIQPITY 

nuts  and  (hells  to  tell  fortunes  on  this  evening,  and 
of  the  apples  and  hbations  of  ale  (to  Meni)  joined 
to  the  ceremony  of  the  fame  evening. 

Origen  in  his  commentaries  on  St.  John,  re- 
buked the  Jews  for  the  worfhip  they  paid  to 
'fu»»  xm  <nxm»  to  Meni  and  to  the  Moon. ,  Meni  there- 
fore is  manifeflly  the  Sun.  The  Avord  meni^  which 
produces  the  Greek  pv  comes  from  the  Hebrew 
root  mD  meftj  which  fignifies  to  number  *,  and  be- 
caufe  the  motion  of  the  Sun  ferves  to  meafure 
time,  the  Syrians  added  tMs  a]^llative  to  Samh ; 
and  becaufe  the  Moon  ferves  us  for  the  fame  pur- 
pofe,  the  Greeks  called  her  alfo  Mii»ii ;  hence  alfo 
the  ^gyptiians  gzvt  the  name  Menfxo  thdr  God 
Orus  (which  was  the  Sun) ;  hence  ajfo  the  Greek 
f^mu  and  the  Latin  menfes,  and  the  Englifh  months, 
L  e.  the  fpace  of  tirtie  meafured  by  Meni  or  the  Sun ; 
and  firom  the  fame  root  comes  the  ^olick  tumt^^ 
from  whence  the  Latin  tnanes  which  were  the 
,Genii,  according  to  Servius.  Manes  genios  didt, 
quos  cum  vita  fortimur  (g). 

Thofe  paffages  in  Jerenjiah  (A),  where  he  com- 
plains fo  bitterly  againft  the  fiiperftition  of  the  Jews, 
of  making  cakes  for  the  queen  of  Heaven, -&c. 
bear  a  great  affinity  with  this  of  Ifaiah. 

Camden  gives  us  feveral  ancient  infcriptions  of 
altars,  found  in  England,  dedicated  to  Belus  •  ho 
fuch  infcriptions  or  idols  have  ever  been  found  in 
this  ifland  ;  feveral  mountains  retain  his  name,  as 
Sliabh  Bal'teinney  i.  e.  the  mountain  of  Baal's  fire; 
gnd  fome  towns  hand  down  to  us  the  fcite  of 

his 

(f)  ^neid,  v.  743.  {h)  vii.  i8.  apd  xliv.  1718, 19. 


OP  THE  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  279 

his  temples,  as  Bal-ti-mm'e^  i.  e.,  the  great  houfo  of 
Belus^  Bal-u-na-glai/e  (Baltinglafs),  the  houfe  of 
Belus*s  necromancy.  Sec.  &c.  Semiram  in  Belo 
fanum  in  arce  Babylonias  condidiflfe  his  verbis  fcribit 
Periegetes  f^rw  i^f^  «^«v»  b6^,  id  eft  magnam  do* 
mum  extruxit  Belo.  Selden,  pag.  1 64. 

But  the  pagan  cufioms  of  the  common  people  dill 
retained  in  the  country,  are  the  moft  valuable  monu^^ 
ments  of  antiquity. 

Now  as  the  ancients  at  this  feftival  did  eat  the  fa« 
crifices  of  the  dead,  to  ufe  the  pfalmift's  words,  where 
could  the  primitive  Chriftians  have  fixed  this  day  ' 
fo  properly  as  on  the  eve  of  AH  Souls  ? 
.  Ut  mittam  nunc  Irlandos  feu  incolas  Hibemise^ 
qui,  referente  audore  de  llatibus  imperiorum  dt 
Hybemia,  p.  44,  fe  mettent  ^  genoux  en  voyant 
la  Lune  nouvelle  et  difent  en  parlant  i.  Lune,  go 
faga  tu  me  mur  tu  fuaras  f^^^-^laifie  nous  aufi  fains 
que  tu  nous  as  trouve — ita  nos  (alvos  degere  iinas, 
ficuti  nos  invenifti,  &c.  Vid.  de  PEftat  du  Roy 
d*£fpagne,  p.  236,  ubi  dicitur,  quod,  plufieurs 
adoront  le  Soleil  et  la  Lune,  recogncuflans  toute  fois 
tin  feill  Dieu,  Createur  de  toutes  chofe.  Sec.  (/) 

This  cuftom  is  ftill  preferved,  and  every  peafant 
in  Ireland  on  feeing  the  new  Moon  croiTes  himfelf 
and  fays,  flan  fuar  tu  Jin  agui  flan  aS^aga  tu  fin^ 
whole  you  find  us  and  whole  leave  us. 

Moft  of  the  ancient  places  of  druidical  worftiip  in 
Ireland  retain  the  name  of  the  God  Baal,  and  Magh-^ 
adhair  or  the  field  of  wordiip  \  as  Glanrtnagh-adludr^ 

now 


(/)  And.  Bcycri  ad  J.  Sfelden.  de  Dis  Syris  f/niagnxii*^ 
afii<lic.  proI«  ad  cap/  ^  p.  %9f. 


28o  An  essay  on  *he  antiquity 

now  Glan-mire^  four  miles  north  of  Cork,  and  neaf 
the  fame  place  is  Bed'atha'tnagh-aihair^  \.  e.  the 
plain  of  Baal's  field  of  worlhip,  where  the  druidical 
altar  yet  remains.  See  O'Brien's  di^ionary  at  the 
word  magh.  Several  places  alfo  retain  the  name  of 
the  Moon,  or  places  allocated  to  the  particular  wor-^ 
Ihip  of  that  planet }  as  Atha4uM^  Athlone ;  Lot^h- 
Re^  a  part  of  the  river  Shannon  not  far  diftant, 
and  a  town  of  the  fame  name  at  the  fide  of  a  lough 
in  the  county  of  Galway. 

Sf^i^^'^i  Grian^  the  name  of  the  Sun  in  Irifli,  was 
latinifed  into  GrynauSy  which  was  a  claffical  epithet 
of  Apollo ;  and  in  Camden  we  meet  with  an  in- 
fcription  apolliki  granno.  It  is  true  this  had 
been  fet  up  by  a  Roman,  but  this  might  have  been 
done  in  compliment  to  the  tutelar  deity  of  the 
nation  he  governed.  This  epithet  of  Grynaeus  for 
Apollo  we  find  in  Virgil  {k) : 

His  tibi  Grynsei  nemoris  dicatur  origo 

Ne  quis  fit  lucus,  qua  fe  plus  jadet  Apollo. 
Again  (/) : 

Sed  nunc  Italiam  magnam  Grynaeus  Apollo 

Italiam  Lyciae  juffere  capefferc  fortes : 

Hie  amor,  haec  patria  eft. 

Grynium,  fays  Strabo,  was  a  town  in  iEolia, 
where  was  a  temjrfe  of  Apollo  and  an  Oracle. 
And  the  Greeks  being  ignorant  of  the  Celtic  deriva- 
tion of  Grynaeus,  have  formed  according  to  their 
cuftom,  a  fabulous  hiftory  for  Grynaeus,  that  he 
was  the  Sun,  Eupopborinus,  &c. 


Vcteri 


W  Eel.  6.  (/)  ^n.  4.  I.  345. 


J 

OP  THE  IRISH  LANGUAGE-  3>t 

Vctcri  fane  infcripto  (axo  ct  apud  Confejanos  in 
NovciHpopulonia  repcrto  ita  legitUr 

MINERVA 
BELISAM^ 
CVALERIUS 
MONUM. 
Haut  cuiquam  conftaret  opinor,  quid  aliud  Belifam^ 
hie  denotet.    Minerva  autcm,  Junonis,  Veneris, 
Lunae  nomina  funt  ita,  cum  ad  Afiaticos  Dcoa 
rcfpcxcris,  confufa,  ut  qui  Mnervam  Bciifamam, 
Junoncm  Belifamam,  Venercm  aut  Lunam  dixerit, 
idem  Temper  ipfum  dixerit.    An  Littori  Britanniae 
occidentalioris  (Lancallrenfem  agrum  dico)  aeftua- 
rium  illud  BowmfjM  Ptolemaeo  didlum,  ab  banc  Dea 
apud  vicinos  culta,  fic  foerit  nuncupatum,  qogitent 
quorum  intereft. 

Apollo  was  the  principal  God  of  the  pagan  Irifh, 
and  from  the  harp's  being  facred  to  him  we  may 
difcern  the  rea(bn  why  that  inftrument  is  the  enfign 
armorial  of  Ireland. 

Diodorus  Siculus  gives  an  account  of  a  northern 
ifland,  about  the  bignefs  of  Sicily,  fituated  over 
againft  the  Ccltae,  as  being  fruitful  and  pleafant 
and  dedicated  to  Apollo,  to  whom  round  temples 
and  large  groves  were  facred,  wherein  the  priefts 
chaunted  to  their  harps  the  praifes  of  their  God, 
Every  particular  of  this  is  very  applicable  to 
Ireland. 

The  lail  Sunday  of  the  fummer  quarter  is  called 
by  the  Iriih  domhna  crom^  and  is  obferved  with 
fcveral  druidical  fuperftitions  to  this  day.  Some  have 
thought  crom  was  a  pagan  deity,  but  we  (hall  prove 
lliat  it  was  another  d$iy  confecrated  to  particular 

worfhip> 


^tt  Ak  essay  Gti  THE  ANTIQIJITY 

wbrlhip,  and  to  the  punifliment  of  the  guilty,  by 
the  fcntence  and  execution  of  the  druidd..  Crtmt^ 
In  the  modern  Irifli,  implies  bending  or  bowing 
the  body  -,  60  Cjion)  jioy  6o»  io6c(lj  he  bowed  down 
to  the  idol.  Chrom^  in  the  Bohemian  language, 
fignifies  a  temple,  church,  or  place  of  worfliip. 
Crtm^li^  or  crom-kac^  is  the  name  given  by  all 
Celtic  nations  to  the  druidical  altars,  yet  remaining 
in  many  places  in  Ireland,  Scotland,  and  England  ; 
we  alfo  find  cromthear  the  old  Irifh  name  for  a 
prieft,  perhaps  particularly  from  bis  office  on  this 
day ;  the  root  of  this  word  in  all  the  eaftern  dialers 
implies  worlhip.  In  Arabic  ana  reverere,  honorarc. 
So  in  Matthew  xv.  v.  4,  it  is  the  word  ufed  to  de- 
note reverence  and  honour  to  your  parents.  With 
the  Talmudilts  it  implies  a  fynagoguc,  gymnafium, 
fchola;  fee  Schindler.  n»^DnD  cremlith^  in  the 
Chaldaic,  implies  a  public  place  of  worfliip,  the 
fiindum  fandtorum,  which  the  common  people 
were  not  to  approach.  Locus  communis  et  publicus 
fed  inacceffus,  qui  publice  tranfiri,  vel  non  folet, 
vel  non  poteft.  Buxtorf.  And  this  I  take  to  be  the 
origin  of  the  Irilh  crom-liag  and  cromUac^  from 
xxh  luch^  a  table  of  itone ;  m^  cann  cherem  luch^  a 
confecrated  ftone ;  hence  lac  and  laac  in  old  Saxoa 
is  a  facrifice.  But  oin  cherem^  in  the  Hebrew, 
Chaldaic  and  Arabic,  fignifies  anathemati  fiibjicere, 
Deo  dicare,  morti  adducere,  excommunicare ;  and ' 
this  day  I  fancy  is  in  remembrance  of  the  annual 
excommunication  and  punifliment  of  the  people^ 
by  the  druids,  from  whence  many  have  conjcftured 
they  offered  human  facrifices.  In  old  manufcripts 
we  find  frequent  mention  of  the  crom-crua^  or  bloody 


OF  THE  IKtSH  LANGUAGE.  aSj[ 

crom,  (from  cruy  blood)  fo  called  from  the  punirti- 
ment  inflided  on  this  day.  This  was  alfo  praftifed 
by  the  antient  Jev«rs,  as  we  learn  from  Relandus, 
p.  r  1 7.  (bat  query,  at  what  fwfon  of  tlie  year  ?) 
^  decernebat  hoc  Synedrium  de  rebud  majoris  mo- 
mcmi  tarn  polhicis  quam  facris,  privatis  quam 
publi'cis,  et  pafenas  capi tales  leis  irfogatas,  haeauicm 
quatuor  fuere  aptid  Judagos,  lapidatio,  combuflio, 
decollatio  et  ftrangulatlo,  et  excommunicatio,  cujiis 
fpecies  levior  ma*  etlam  Hnott^  didla  fuit,  gravior  cb*»ri  ^ 
cherem. 

The  pagan  Irifh  were  ftrangers  to  any  other 
idolatrous  worfhip,  than  what  their  anceftors  brought 
from  the  Affyrians,  rtamely,  that  of  the  Sun,  Moon 
and  Smrs ;  all  were  included  in  the  general  name 
of  ji}mm  or  pmnim,  which  to  tWsday  is  the  appel- 
lation of  Ihie  ftarry  conftellations ;  and'  this  word 
explains  that  paflage  in  the  fecond  book  of  Kings, 
V.  I S.  "  In  tiiis  thing  the  Lord  pardon  thy  fer- 
**  vant,  that  when  my  matter  goeth  into  the  houfe 
"  of  Rimmon  to  worfhip  there,  and  he  leaneth  on 
**  my  hand,  and  I  bow  myfelf  in  the  houfe  of 
•*  Rimmon''  &c.  This  Rimmon  "was  certainly  a 
Syrian  idol  fay  fome,  but  Mr.  Hutchinfon  very 
properly  conjectures  that  it  coUeftively  expreffes 
the  fixt  Stars  ;  but  all  others  before  liim  have  been 
much  at  a  lofs,  as  the  word  in  Hebrew  po*^  Rimmon 
fignifies  a  pomegranate,  both  fruit  and  tree  j  which 
name  I  conjedlure  was  given  that  fruit  from  the 
beautiful  ftar  formed  on  the  top,  like  the  apex  of 
an  apple.  The  Cim-ceafla  or  Northern  bear  feems 
to  have  been  the  peculiar  wordiip  of  the  pagan  Irifli ; 
when  the  Fomorii  or  Phoenicians  landed  in  Ireland 

Vol.  II  U  they 


»l4.  Ak  essay  oh  the  antiquity 

they  facrificcd  to  the  Stars  which  had  guided  them ; 
Ihefe  could  be  no  other  than  thofe  of  the  North  pole, 
viz.  cdm-cjted ;'  hence  the  word  pocU  fignifies  both 
an  ofTering  and  the  ]!4orth ;  and  it  appears  as  if  the 
word  cgdtett  was  alfo  derived  from  the  Hebrew 
nMvn  chataay  facrificium  •,  fee  Ezra,  xlv.  %p  to 
which  was  added  ctfm,  to  bow,  bend  cm:  adore. 
Although  I  have  applied  this  to  the  North  pole,  it 
is  certain  an  orientalift  would  apply  the  Hebrew 
rmn  nvwn  Chama  Chataa  to  fignify  literally  the  fecri- 
ficc  of  the  Sun,  for,  as  I  noticed,  m  the  preceding 
page  Chama  is  SoL  This  is  again  fully  explained 
by  St.  Stephen  in  his  argument  with  the  Jews,  (as 
mentioned  by  Ste.Luke)  to  be  the  God  Rintmrn^  as  I 
have  already  defcribed.  Sec  A6ts  of  the  Apoftlies, 
vii.  43.  *'  Yea^  ye  took  up  the  tabernacle  of 
*'  Moloch,  and  the  Star  of  your  God  Remphmy 
**  figures  which  ye  made  to  worfliip  them."  This 
is  evidently  no  more  than  the  tabernacle  of  the  Sun 
and  Planets ;  for  mole  or  mdoc  in  Irifli  fignifies  fire, 
which  they  worlhipped  as  a  type  of  the  Sun,  and 
Remphan  or  Remman  fignified  the  inferior  planets. 
Again,  this  Remphan  is  called  Kiun  by  Amos, 
▼.  z6.  "  You  have  borne  the  tabernacle  of  your 
**  God  Moloch  and  Kiun^  your  images,  and  the 
•*  ftar  of  your  Gods  whom  ye  have  made.*  Now 
Rimmon  was  the  Syrian  name,  and  Remphan  and 
Kiun  the  name  given  to  the  fame  deity  by  the 
Moabites.  This  pafTage  has  put  the  mterprelcrs  on 
the  rack,  becaufe  of  the  difference  between  the 
Hebrew  text  and  that  of  the  Septuagint.  St.  Jerom 
explains  this  to  be  Lucifer  or  Saturn  only.  [Scldcn, 
Grotius  and  ThomaffinJ    Now  ATwn,  or  as  the 

Perfians 


OF  THE  IRISH  LANGUAGE;  ^H 

Per  Hans  name  it,  Kaivan^  is  the  name  of  the  pUnet 
Saturn,  becaufe  he  has  many  fatellites  to  light  him,' 
and  his  belt  alfo  is  compofed  of  many  more ;  now 
Kaivan  is  the  fame  as  the  Iberno-Cehic  Ctfiteccn  or 
caivauy  fignifying  a  throng  or  cluiler^  and  is  thid 
day  ufed  for  a  rout  or  throng  of  people,  and  there- 
"fore  applicable  to  the  Deity  they  worlhipped  under 
the  name  of  Rimmoftj  Rinnim^  Rempham  and  Kuin^ 
that  is,  the  heavenly  hoft  together ;  all  which  returns 
again  to  Baal^  Belus^  and  Rimmin. 

The  Irifh  druids  caufed  all  fires  to  be  extin- 
guiftied  throughout  the  kingdom  on  the  eve  of 
May  day,  and  every  houfe  was  obliged  to  light  hiff 
lire  from  the  arch-druid's  holy  fire,  kindled  on  fome 
cicvated.place,  for  which  they  paid  a  tribute  to  the . 
druid.  This  exadtly  correfponds  with  Dr.  Hydc*s 
defcription  of  the  Parfi  or  Guebri,  defcendants  of 
the  ancient  Perfians,  who  have,  fays  he,  an  annual 
Hre  in  the  temple,  from  whence  they  kindle  all  the 
fires  in  their  houfes,  which  are  previoufly  extin- 
guifhed,  which  makes  a  part  of  the  revenues  of 
their  priefts  \  and  this  was  undoubtedly  the  ufe  of 
the  round  to\/ers,  fo  frequently  to  be  met  with  in 
Ireland,  and  which  were  certainly  of  Phoenician 
conftrudtion. 

I  will  here  hazard  a  conjefture.  I  find  hm  gadul 
to  fignify  mc^nus  \  I  find  alfo  that  the  oriental  nations 
at  length  fo  named  the  tower  of  Babylon,  &c.  m^ijo 
tnagudaluthy  turres  ab  amplitudine  didae.  Bochart. 
p.  42.  Geog.  Sacn  Gad^  i.  e.  gaduU  turns  •  may 
not  our  Irilh  name  cloghad  for  the  round  towers 
built  in  Ireland,  which  apparently  were  of  Phoe- 
nician workman(hip,  be  derived  from  this  word 

U  2  gaiU 


1#8€  An  essay  ok  t«e  ANTIQUITY 

gad^  and  clcgh  a  (lone.  It  muft  be  allowed  that  dug 
is  a  bell,  and  hence  thefe  towers  have  been  thought 
to  have  been  belfries ;  but  we  have  many  places 
called  cl<^h^  i.  e.  (axutn. 

Agaitty  the  dnitds  called  every  ptace  of  worfhip* 
cloghadj  alluding  to  the  circles  of  ftones  they  ufually 
fct  up  in  thofe  places ;  there  is  therefore  no  pofitive 
authority  to  fey  thefe  cloghads  or  towers  were  ufed 
as  beHHea  only,  or  that  they  took  their  name  from 
that  ufe. 

There  £fre  many  reafons  which  induce  me  to 
believe,  that  the  druids  of  the  Britifh  iflanda  main- 
fained  their  reKgicMi  in  its  purity,  much  longer  thark 
Ihf"  upon  the  continent.  They  all  of  them  had 
f  etained  fo  much  of  the  original  doftrine^  as  inclined 
them  to  diftinguifh  their  errors,  and  enabled  them 
fo  fee  the  great  conformity  there  was  between 
fheir  ancient  tenets  and  the  precepts  of  the  golpcl^ 
^ich  they  nniverfally  entertainedv  They  believed 
the  Deity  to  be  irtfinite  and  ornniprefent,  and 
thought  it  ridrctrlous  to  imagine,  that  he  M^iom  the 
Heavfen  of  Heavens  cannot  contatn,  fhould  be 
circumfcribed  within  the  narrow  limits  of  a  roof; 
and  for  the  perpetual  eftabliflirtient  and  fiipport  of 
the  fcvenlh  day^  they  were  wont  to  dedicate  the 
tenth  of  aH  their  fubftance  {m\ 

Again.  The  chiefs  of  their  refpeftive  families 
were  their  priefts  and  princes,  yet  all  acknowledged 
one  fupertor  in  the  facred  office.     Hence  in  the 
-  Fhoenician  and  Hebrew  inp  kaken  is  a  prieft,  and  in 
Irilh  cmac  \t  a  lord,  ac  being,  an  adjundt  termina- 
tion 

{jrt)  Cooke  on  the  Pairiar.  and  Druidic  Fclig.  p.  6^. 


OF  THE  IRI5H  LANGUAGE.  SXf 

ticm  in  die  Celtic,  cou-ac  brdly,  by  the  Irifli  pdcls 
written  codhn-ac. 

Ccdum^  Col  was  the  moft  antient  of  the  GodSt 
and  had  for  one  of  his  children  I'ime.  named  Saturn. 
It  is  no  hard  thing  to  guefs  why  Calum.  is  faid  to  be 
the  firfi  of  the  Gods,  and  ihe  father  c^  Saturn  or 
Chronus,  fince  it  is  evident  that  the  motions  of  the 
Heavens  naake  and  meafure  the  duration  of  time; 
h2  ccd^  all,  perfedt ;  ^*b  an  holacauil,  a  facrifice. 

Chronus.^  acqording  to  fome,  was  another  name 
oiBeal\  but  we  will  fhow  hereafter  that  Chronus 
was  an  appellative  of  Saturn.  Chron  figiiiiieG  in 
Iriih  time,  and  Cbroneg  a  circle,  i.  e.  the  orbit  of 
the  Sun. 

♦*  Here,  fay  the  authors  of  the  Univerfal  Hiftory^ 
we  have  three  Baals^  who  are  faid  to  have  beea 
pace  mcH'tal  men  ^  which  might  fairly  induce  one  to 
think,  that  the  learned  are  miflaken  in  Happening 
the  Phoenician  God  Baal  in  general  to  be  the  Sun.'* 
It  is  evident  From  the  foregoing  explanation,  that 
they  were  only  different  appellatives  fignificant  of 
the  fame  God,  the  Sun. 

Baal^  Balj  Beel^  Bel.  "  San  Hieronymo  junta 
dellos  mudio,  i  de  fu  origen,  i  aviendo  del  Ret 
B^by  i  iu  hiftoria  proiigue.  Quam  Bdus,  primus 
Rex  AiTyriorvim,  ut  fupra  diximus :  Quos  conflat 
Satarnum,  quern  et  Solem  dicunt,  Junonemque 
coluiife :  quas  numina  etiam  apud  A&os  poftea  culta 
funt.  Unde  ct  lingua  Punica  Bal,  deus  dicitur. 
Apud  Affyrios  autem  Bel  dicitur  qiwtdam  facro- 
rum  ratione  et  Saturnus  et  Sol." 


The 


%tZ  An  essay  ok  the  ANTIOyiTY 

The  chief  if  not  the  only  deities  of  the  heathen 
Jrifh  were  '^jiidr)^  Col,  and  CecCcc,  which  fignifies 
the  Sun,  Moon  and  Stars ;  though  it  appears  that 
they  worfhipped  the  Wind  alfo ;  for  to  fwear  by  the 
Wind  was  a  common  oath.  ]^fticcn  is  to  this  day 
Irilh  for  the  Sun,  and  cam  ceatca  for  the  Bear  or 
Seven  Stars  which  roll  about  the  Pole ;  this  word 
;s  Phoenician  and  is  derived  from  nno  cimah  (Pleiades 
the  Seven  Stars)  and  a3|D  cocabh  (Stella  alfo  Merr 
curius)  plur.  cocauth^  alfo  non  Cham^  Sol,  the  Siin. 
Scindler,  p.  827. 

To  tbofe  who  do  not  trace  the  origin  of  the 
antient  Celtes  and  their  language  from  the  Orientals^ 
it  is  matter  of  wonder  how  the  wor(hip  of  Baal 
ihould  be  known  to  the  Iberno-Celts  or  Irifli.  The 
name  of  Beat  or  Baal  which  fignifies  dominus  or 
dominator,  was  firft  the  name  of  the  true  God ; 
and  after  the  AfTyrians,  'Chaidaeans  and  Phoenicians 
had  conveyed  this  (acred  name  to  the  Sun,  whom 
they  adored  as  their  chief  deity,  the  Lord  com- 
manded the  people  of  Ifrael  to  call  him  no  more 
Baal\  as  in  Hofea,  ch.  ii.  v.  16.  "  And  it  (hall  be 

in  that  day,  that  thou  (halt  call  me  I(hi,  and 

fhalt  call  me  no  more  Baali"  So  alio  they 
called  tl>e  Moon  rrw^  afchera^  i.  e.  regina  Cceli ; 
**  et  ut  Sol  refpedtu  LunaeBaal  dicitur,  quod  re(J3edlu 
Lunae  fit  inftar  domini,  qui  de  fuo  decore  et  fplen- 
idore  uxori  fuae  communicat ;  fie  etiam  Li^na  vocatur 
Afchera^  quod  nomen  eft  f^minini  generis  quafi 
Ula  fit  faemina  Solis,  quia  illius  defiderio  tenetur* 
Hibernice  Eafca^  vel  Eafga  et  Rc.^  Bal  mhaith  a*/ 
^nd  Bal  dhia  dhuit^  the  good  Bal  and  the  God  Bal 

tq 


<•.•/ 


OT  THE  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  2% 

to  you,  are  to  this  day  common  falutations  in 
Munfter,  and  particularly  about  Waterford. 

Hercules  was  the  protedlor  of  Tyre  and  Carthage  ; 
Africus  and  Bufebius  prove  bis  Cartbaginian  name 
was  Archies,  u  e.  fay  they,  ftrong,  robuft.  Bochart 
(»)  derives  bis  name  from  the  Hebrew  word  ercol 
fmewy.  Aichill  in  Iri(h  fignifies  ilrong,  robuft ;  and 
hence  Achilles.  Thus  alfo  with  us  aicillidhe  means 
&n  aftive,  dextrous  man.  May  we  not  conjec- 
ture that  bur  great  weftem  promontory  <16nU, 
Aichil,  and  the  iflands  of  Aichil,  were  the  Herculis 
promontorium  of  the  Phoenicians.  Pliny  {o)  calls 
Hercules  Midacritus^  but  his  Phoenician  name  was 
Archies ;  he  was  indeed  named  Mil-car-thus  at 
Carthage,  as  being  the'peculiar  Deity  and  protedor 
of  that  city  {p.)  He  was  a  great  navigator,  and  th6 
firft  that  brought  lead  from  the  CaflSterides  or  Briti(h 
iflands ;  he  was  called  Melec-cartha,  i.  e.  king  of  the 
city,  fays  Bochart:  Mil-cathair  in  Iriib,  is  the 
champion  of  the  city.  Pliny  {q)  calls  him  cor- 
ruptly Midacritus.  Sir  Ifaac  Newton  rejedts  this 
notion,  and  derives  his  name  from  his  having  been 
the  founder  of  Carteia  in  Spain  \  but  Hefychius 
fays,  the  AmathuHans  called  Hercules  by  the  name 
of  Malic. 

Next  to  Hercules  was  JoUaus.  Voffius  and  Pau- 
fanias  defcribe  the  ceremonies  paid  to  this  Deity. 
The  Carthaginians  fuppofed  him  nearly  related  to 
Hercules ;  tliat  he  helped  to  deftroy  the  Hydra,  and 
tliat  he  was  called  JoUaus,  becaufe  when  he  had 
lived  to  a  very  great  age,  he  was  changed  into  a 

youl'i. 

(if)  Phaleg.  {o)  Plin.  I.  7.  cap.  56. 

(/)  Univ.  Hift.  Svo.  vol.  a.  p.  338.        (f)  L.  71.  cap.  56. 


Am  essay  on  thi?  ANTIQJJITY 

youth.    Jol  in  Irifli  is  tp  chai>j^e,  and  aos  is  agc> 
the  compound  n>^k^s  yol-aos. 

Aefculapius  or  Aifculapm  was  the  God  of  phyfical 
knowledge  j  his  jemple  was  built  on  a  high  rock, 
where  all  his  healing  miracle?  were  performed,  and 
from  thence  he  took  his  nam^.  Aijci  in  Irifli  is  to 
heal,  and  fcealp  is  a  rock.  Servius  calls  him  aKo 
Poeni'geWy  becaufe,  fays  he,  horn  of  a  Carthaginian 
woman  ;  Poeni-gdne,  in  Irifti^  i^  the  offspring  of  a 
Carthaginian. 

Syria  or  Dea  Syria  were  Gods  not  d^fcribed  by 
any  author  with  certainty ;  probably  they  were  the 
fea-nymphs,  for  /uire  is  Irift;  for  fca-nymphs. 
Keatiijg  in  his  anticnt  hiftory  of  Ireland,  defcribes 
t\it Juire  playing  round  tlje  (hips. of  the  Mlcfian? 
^n  their  piaifage  to  Ireland. 

Ores  or  Kercs  was  worfhipped  as  the  Moon^ 
Oo  in  Irifti  fignifies  clouds,  v^ipours;  and  Rg  is 
Jhe  Moon,  which  compounded  forms  Ceore.  She 
was  alfo  named  Ceoleftis  and  j^ioUUis^  and  was  in- 
voked in  droughts  in  order  to  obtain  jfam :  "  ipfa 
virgo  Ceoleflis  pluviarum  poUicitatrix."  Tertullian. 
(/)  CeO'leis'tctfi^  in  Iri(h,  figoifics  dropping,  mifts^ 
or  rain.  Mr.  Rollin  thinks  this  Deity  was  the  fame 
Queen  of  Heaven,  to  whom  the  Jewifti  womei^ 
burnt  incenle,  poured  out  drink-offerings,  and  made 
cakes  for  her  with  their  own  liands,— :Ut  faciant  pla- 
centas reginai  Coeli.  The  children  gathered  the 
wood,  the  fathers  kindled  the  fire,  and  the  women 
kneaded  the  dough,  to  make  eakes  for  the  Queen  of 
Heaven.  Jeremiah,  vii.  1 8.  This  pagan  cuftom  is 
preferved  in  Ireland  on  the  eve  of  St.  Bridget, 

and 

(r)  iVpol.  c.  23. 


^  THB  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  2^ 

And  -which  was  probably  tranfpofcd  to  St.  Bridget!s 
icvc,  from  the  feftival  of  a  famed  poetefs  of  the  faijae 
name^  in  the  time  of  paganifm.  In  an  antient 
gloffary  now  before  rae,  (he  is  thus  defcribed : 
JBrig^id  ban  fhileadh  inghan  an  Dagha ;  bean  dhe 
Eirinni  i.  e.  Brigit  a  poa:efs,  tlie  daughter  of 
Dagha ;  a  goddefs  of  Ireland.  On  St.  Bridget's 
eve  every  farmer's  wife,  in  Ireland  makes  ^  cake 
called  bairin-breacy  the  neighbours  are  invited,  the 
madder  of  ale  aad  the  pipe  go  round,  and  the 
evening  co^cUides  with  mirth  and  feflivity. 

Tfllus^  the  earth,  was  alio  worfhipped  by  the 
Carthaginians.    T^Uur^  tella^  telamh  is  Irifli  for  earth. 

Uranuf  was  their  God  over  lapd  and  water.    Uk  ^    ' 
in  Irilh  is  land,  and/i«  water.     "  Uiran,  Urania 
IBem'met    (Diodorus)    tanquam    urbes    Carpafi^ 
vicinflp,   ctyua  Cabula?  vclVigia  alibi  non  reperi/* 
Eochart  <x). 

They  worfliipped  the  Moon  under  the  name  of 
jiJbtSrethy  and  the  women  gave  up  their  bodies  to 
the  men  in  her  temples  for  hire  ^  ai^rfocht  in  IriQi 
is  leachery,  lewd,  laicivbus  pranks.  AQitoreth  or 
Afiarte,  i^ys  Bochart,  ^^  eadem  quae  lo  muta:l;a 
in  bovem,  est  mater  Phoenicium;  tamcn  Afli- 
toreth  vulgp  pro  Venere  fumitur.  nipw»  aftarach^ 
ardcre  libidine,  Rom.  i.  17.  i  Pet.  iv.  4.  fiajfm% 
9Uf«^iof  v^^  pr^omai  i^/M^.  Veneris  fpon&lis  aqua  feilra- 
chus  amabilis,  pro  z<re<MO(  iegerim  Br$«i#o(.  Vid.  Bo* 
chart  (/). 

At  Byhlos  AJbtoreth  was  worihipped  ia  a  temple 
j^  the  Ferns  oi  Adonii^  and  the^e  fuch  women  4s 

wpuld 

i')  P«E-  37I-  f^o-  W  ^-  370- 


559*  An  essay  on  the  ANTIQIJITY 

would  not  conform  lo  the  ftaving  their  heads,  at 
the  annual  time  of  lamenting  Adonisj  were  bound 
to  prc^itute  their  bodies  one  intire  day  for  hire,  and 
the  money  thus  earned  was  prefented  to  the  God- 
defs.  Admis^  Qftris^  and  Adonojiris  or  ^hafmaz^ 
all  center  in  one  obje<5t,  and  IJis  had  a  temple  at 
By  bios  where  they  worfliipped  the  heath  which  con- 
cealed Offiris's  coffin :  this  Bybiian  IJs^  fay  the  au- 
thors  of  the  Univerfal  Hiftory,  muft  have  been 
AJiarte  or  AJbtoreth.  "  Inde,  fays  Selden  (»),  Ala- 
gabalus  (quem  Heliogabalum  etiam  depravati  ve- 
teres  efferebant^  nos  Alagabalum  magis  dicendum 
fuiflfe  in  capite  de  Belo  adftruimus)  nimirum  Sol 
ipfe  Pyramidis  fpecie  colebatur  Syris;  Venus  pikp 
feu  quadratifam  Arabibus,  uti  etiam  Paphius  alibique, 
et  feptem  columns  ere£tae  funt  ritu  prifco  apud 
Laconas  tefte  Paufania  (erantiumJleUarum  figna). — 
Prophetae  ejus  "  a  mane  ulque  ad  meridiem  invo- 
caverunt  nomen  Baal,  dicentes,  O  Baal  exaudi  nos,'' 
Mof.  ^gyp.  More.  Neboch.  1.  i.  c.  58.  (w)  So  we 
'  end  as  we  begun  with  Baalim  and  Aftoreth. 

"  Ilios  tummodo  Syros  jam  vocamus  Deos — 
cujus  modi  agnofcas  licet  Belum  feu  Baalim^  AJiartem 
five  AJbtarothj  Dc^on^  Dammutz^  &c.'*  {x) 

*'  And  the  children  of  Ifracl  did  evil  in  the  C^t 
"  of  the  Lord,  and  ferved  Baalim  and  AJbtarotk, 
**  and  the  Gods  of  Syria,  and  the  Gods  of  Zidon/* 
&c.  Judg.  X.  6. 

Saturn  was  the  God  of  bread-corn,  becaule  he 
taught  men  to  till  the  earth :  He  is  often  reprefcnlcd 
on  Punic  medals  by  an  ear  of  wheat :  He  was  alio 

called 

(i#)  Prolog,  p.  5a.  (w)  Id.  p.  $6. 

(^)  Selden  de  Dis  S/ris.  Prolegom.  cap.  «. 


OP  THE  IRISH  LANGlfAGE.  ig^ 

called  Chranusi  though  fome,  as  we  have  before 
obferved,  think  Ckronus  and  Baal  were  the  (ame. 
Sat^  in  Irifh,  is  abundance,  and  aran  is  bread  ^ 
which  compounded  makes  Satfiaran. 

The  God  Neptune^  fay  the  authors  of  the  Uni- 
verfal  Hiftory,  was  the  Punic  Scyphus^  from  fcyph 
a  rock :  I  think  thefe  learned  authors  miftaken,  for 
we  have  already  proved  fcealp  was  Punicc  a  rock ; 
fcif  or  fcib  is  Irifli  for  a  (hip,  and  Neptune  was  the 
God  of  the  fea ;  but  the  name  Neptune  is  plainly 
derived  fi-om  the  Iriih  Nimh  a  Deity,  and  ton  the 
waves  of  the  fea. 

Mercury  is  reprcfcnted  as  a  fwift  mefienger  of 
the  Gods,  and  being  an  humble  iervant  of  theirs, 
lays  Bochart  (y)^  was  called  by  the  Carthaginians 
yljjumes,  Affumhal^  in  Irifti,  is  very  humble,  moft 
humble,  but  the  ^olic  name  Mercury  is  derived 
ftoni  three  IrUh  words,  viz.  Mer  aAive,  cu  a  grey- 
hound, and  ri  running.  May  not  this  be  the  reafbn 
that  he  was  ibmetimes  reprefented  with  a  Dog's 
head?  Rowland  (z)  fays  he  was  fo  called  from 
rnarc  a  horfe,  and  ri  running. 

Tbey  had  a  certain  God  of  antiquity  named 
P'ataSj  called  by  the  Greeks  Pateeci  and  Patakoi^ 
the  etymon  of  wHch  words  have  confufed  many 
of  the  learned. 

Some,  from  the  ignorance  of  the  Grecian  au- 
thors, have  thought  it  was  an  ape,  from  tHe  affinity 
pf  the  Greek  word  pithekos  an  ape.  Monfieur 
Morin,  agrees  with  Scaliger,  and  both  think  it 
fliDuld  be  read  Fatas ;  tl)e  letter  P  with  an  hiatus  ^ 

being 

(y)  Pfcaleg.  (»)  Mon.  Ant. 


^^4  As  ESSAY  on  the  AtlTIQJJITY 

being  equal  to /";  they  therefore  afcdbe  tlus  diyinit^ 
to  l^uicm,  the  fopreme  Hetty  df  the  Egyptiaiw, 
remark^ihle  fcr  his  fliiU  and  knowledge.  Faibas  in 
Iri(h  figniiies  Jk'rll,  knowledge,  and  alfi>  divine 
poetry.  But  M.  Bullet  very  juftly  derives  Patakoi 
Stom  the  Celtic  pat^  "vel  'mt^  yd  bad^  a  boat,  a 
ikifT;  to  which  may  he  added  iihat  oichi  fignifies 
chansons;  and  ibenoe  Bad-oiihi  or  Patakoi  may 
figntfy  ratoi  champions  or  ikil^  mariners. 

Hefychiiis  and  Snidas  will  hav^  thefe  Pataci  to 
Jaave  been  placed  in  the  poops  of  the  ibips ;  and 
Herodotus  compares  them  to  pygmies :  if  they 
wece  the  .futelar  Gods  of  fea&ring  men,  and  carried 
^dhont  £>r  prdedion  from  difafiers  at  fea,  the 
ctdElom  fecms  to  be  fiill  preferved  by  the  Spaniards, 
who  at  ihis  day  carry  to  fea  with  them  little  images 
of  their  iaints,  that  they  may  ftand  theif  friends  in 
diftrefs  i  thefe  are  Chriflian  PatflBci :  why  (hould  m^ 
wonder  at  the  Carthaginians  or  Phoeracians  i 

They  fuipended  certain  fiones  to  their  necks 
called  baiyii^  as  preferyativ^s  of  the  body  agatnll 
danger.  Bith  Irifh  for  lifisu  uik  dXi^  whole,  com- 
pleat  \  bitkuiie  :  "  thefe  flones,  fays  Bochart  (^), 
**  were  alfo  called  abdir^  probably  from  aband  or 
^  thendus^  Hebrew  words  for  a  rowd  (lone ;"  ab 
a  prieft  in  IriQi  and  dior  the  law ;  fo  that  I  ftiould 
tranflate  it  a  fomething  worn  by  the  law  of  the 
prielis,  (if  Bochart  be  right.)  P6rn  means  in  Irifh  a 
round  flone,  and  abd6rn  Would  mean,  the  round 
ftone  of  the  priefts. 

The  biftiop  of  Cork,  in  his  letter  (*)  to  the 
Jloyal  Society  in  London,  has  ftrangely  confufed 

the 
•    W  Phaleg.  (^)  Phil.  Tr.  N0.47U 


OT  T«is  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  i$$ 

• 

the  Baituha  with  the  Ettk-aJ^  in  his  dcfctiption  of  the 
druidicai  monufncntt  in  Ireland.  W^e  have  already  ' 
fhtown  that  Beitk-alj  both  m  Hfebrew  and  Irifh 
fignifies  the  Houfe  of  God  j  the  biftiop  therefore 
thinks  it  w^s  one  of  thefe  monftrorrs  nntev^n  ftoires 
forming  the  dnridical  teniptes,  which  Rhea  gave 
to  Saturn  to  fwallow  inftead  of  a  child,  becaufe  it 
was  called  by  the  Greeks  baituhs.  Jfelychhis  is 
alfo  as  much  millaken  in  the  etymon  of  the  ioftylij 
which  he  fays  was  covered  with  a  woollen  garment  j 
from  the  Greek  Word  baite. 

Birt  St,  Auftin  feys,  the  Carthaginian  Deities  in 
general  were  called  abdire ;  and  the  priefts  wh» 
afltfted  at  their  facrifices  euc-aSu :  now  ab  in  Irilh 
cxprefles  a  Deity  alfo,  and  adhra  is  to  worfhip : 
thus  dbadhra  the  worfhip  of  the  Deity  -,  fo  eugadh  is 
to  die  in  Irilh,  and  eugadhra  means  to  die  in  the 
Sacrifice,  or  worfhip* 

^han^  fays  Pezron,  was  the  RcXic  name  of  the 
Snn,  and  fignifies  fire  and  water  j  it  is  true,  tith  or 
teth  is  heat  in  Hfti,  and  an  rs  water,  but  we  have 
already  explained,  that  an  in  the  Iri(h  and  Punic 
fignifies  a  planet,  fo  "fhhan  or  7'etkan  is  the  planet 
of  heat ;  thus  alfo  greadh  is  to  fcorch,  ^ndgreadhan 
or  gri-an  is  the  Iriih  common  appellative  for  the 
San,  i.  e.  the  fcorching  Planet. 

The  fire  of  the  ftars  feems  to  have  been  hi> 
noured  in  the  perfon  of  Jupiter,  called  in  Greek 
z^o^  and  in  Phoenician  tstr^  Chaniy  both  names  being 
derived  from  heat  and  fire  (r). 


loh- 


(jc)  Dsnet's  di6t.  of  anti^.  ad  verb,  igni». 


296  Am  essay  on  the  ANTIQJJITY 

loh'pater  Jupiter,  was  efteemed  the  father  of  aH 
fruits ;  ioh  is  Irilh  for  the  fruit  of  beafi,  plant,  or 
tree,  and  p^  as  hair ^  u  e.  priomh  at  hairy  firll,  or 
chief,  father.  The  Etrufcan  name  of  Jupiter  was 
aa+R«ivi,  (iup'ter)  i.  e.  iu-primus  atar\  and  thus 
primus  atar  was  contra£ted  to  p,  atar^  all  from  the 
Phoenician  priomh athair^  firft  father;  hence  the 
Greek  pater ^  znd  -  pateros -^  Lat.  pater  ^  Bifc.  aita-^ 
Gothic  atta ;  Theffal.  atta  ;  Perfic,  padder^  &c.    . 

It  is  plain  (fays  Adrian  Reland  de  nomine  Je- 
hovah, Utrecht  1707)  that  the  Latins  formed  the 
name  of  tlieir  God  Jupiter,  whom  they  called 
Jovis,  from  the  name  Jehovah  or  Jehovih. 

It  however  is  very  uncertain,  whether  or  no  the 
Latins  borrowed  their  Jovis  of  the  Hebrew  \  fince 
Varro  derives  it  from  the  Latin  verb  juvare^  to  aid 
or  aflift  (i). 

The  pagan  Irifti  never  admitted  the  modem 
Deities  of  the  Greeks  or  Romans  into  their  worfliip ; 
even  to  the  days  of  St.  Patrick  their  worfhip  was 
pure  Aflyrian,  and  confided  of  the  heavenly  hoft 
alone,  as  I  have  defer!  bed  elfe where. 

Curetes  were  the  keepers  of  Jupiter,  remarkable 
for  valour,  as  well  as  for  Ikill  in  aftronomy :  curaithe 
in  Irifh  is  champions.  Thus  /Eolus  the  God  of  the 
winds  was  fo  called  from  his  knowledge  in  aftronomy 
and  the  winds;  in  lx\(\igaoith  is  the  wind,  and  eolas  is 
knowledge,  htnccgaoth-eolas  into  aeolus.  **  Memoiis 
tradidit  Ifacius,  ^olum  hominem  fuiffe  aftronomiae 
peritilSmum,  et  illam  fcientiam  prscipue  exercuiffe 
quae  pertinet  ad  naturam  ventorum,  ut  prodeffet 

navigantibus.. 

{J)  Supp.  du  journ.  dcs  Sea  vans.  Juin  1709.  torn.  44^ 


OP  THE  IRISH  LANGUAGE-  Z9l 

navigantibus.    Praedicebat  igitur ct  qu« 

mari  futura  cflet  tempeftas  (e).  Bochart  thinks  the 
derivation  of  this  name  is  from  the  Hebrew  hxt  aol^ 
\t\gaaoU  tempeftais.  Indeed  the  Ceiti  never  had 
thefe  Greek  and  Roman  Deities,  for  they  were 
deified  from  the  Celtic  fables  by  the  Greeks ;  I  mean 
moft  of  them,  for  as  we  learn  from  the  Stoic  Cor- 
nutus  or  Phurnutus  they  borrowed  from  various 

nations,   T«  J^  voXXa^  km  VQwdUL^  vi^  9ifl^  yiyonMu  wa^  tm« 

a  vop  Ayyvwno^i  km  KiXtok,  km  Atfivn,  mm  ^^s  km  tqk  aV«4< 

iOiwn,  cap.  17.  i.  e.  among  the  many  and  various 
fables  which  the  ancient  Greeks  had  about  the 
Gods,  fome  were  derived  from  Mages,  fome  from 
-Egyptians,  fome  from  the  Celti  or  Gauls,  and 
others  from  the  Africans  and  Phrygians,  &c. 
Will  not  this  flop  the  laughter  of  the  claflic  gentry, 
at  my  deriving  the  names  of  Apollo,  Mars,  Mer- 
cury, Venus,  Jupiter,  &c.  from  the  Celtic,  whofe 
virtues  and  powers  are  not  to  be  explained  in  the 
compofition  of  their  names  in  any  other  language. 

Venus  is  derived  from  bean  or  bhean^  pronounced 
-tw«,  or  vean  a  woman.  But  to  return  to  thfe  Car- 
thaginians. 

Phi^tia  ox  fidites  were  public  feafts  at  Carthage, 

where  the  elders  inftrufted  their  youths.     Irilh 

fijify  fithify  and  feathair,  a  teacher  or  dodor,  and 

Juuihaithe^  relating,  telling,  inftrudting,  as  fi.Uhaid 

a  bhasy  they  relate  his  death. 

Badoxbadliby  the  wind,  and  fome  think  parti- 
cularly the  North  wind  \  it  is  alfo  faid  to  be  a  bean- 

{e)  Natal.  Com.  mitolog.  \.  8.  cap<  la 


ft9«  Ai^  fiSSAt  OK  tHU  ANTfQpITY 

j^A?,  or  familiar  f^irit,  f^hich  is  fuppofed  to  belong 
to  particular  families  :  this  word  appears  to  be  of 
Afiatic  toot,  for  in  the  prefect  Perfic  language  bad 
Is  not  oniy  wind,  but  aifo  the  name  of  the  genius  or 
deity,  who,  like  the  iEol'us  of  the  Greeks,  prefides 
over  winds ;  he  has  the  fuperintetidance  of  the  z  lA 
day  of  the  month,  which  is  cotlfecratted  to  this 
fpirit  and  called  by  his  name  (f). 

The  fnprcme  magiftrates  of  Carthagfe  \^ere  catted 
foj^tes  (g)j  becaufc  men  in  great  pbwer ;  fofar  in 
Irifli  is  powerful,  ftrong,  valiant,  plnrsl  fo/ataitk. 
They  are  csMcii  foffiteSj'  fays  Selden  (A),  from  the 
Hebrew  fouffiteniy  judices  fonat.  So  in  compound 
Irilh  words  fignifies  an  aptnefs,  or  facility  in  doing, 
alfo  excellency  ;  thus  fofither  means  moft  capable 
of  teaching,  or  governing,  and  is  moft  applicable 
to  the  fupreme  magiftrate. 

Barach.  *^  SL  Hieronyrao  en  la  vlda  de  S.  Halk* 
lion  dize,  que  lbs  Saracenos  falian  a  encontrar  a  el 
fancfto  con  fus  mugeres  i  hijos,  et  fubraittentes  colla 
el  voce  Syra  Barach  inclamantes ;  id  eft  Benedidl:. 
Barach  i  Benedic,  eadem  eft  Hcbraeis  fignificatio, 
a  quorum  lingua  non  folum  Syram  fed  Chaldaeam 
quoque,  Arabicum,  et  ^thiopicam  deraonftra- 
mus  (/).'*  In  Irifli  bar  a  learned  man,  barrachas 
fupreme  excellency,  great  fway,  and  barraighhm  is 
a  mitre. 

The  name  of  Carthage  was  Carthago  from  its 
fituation  by  the  fea-fide,  fays  C.  Duret ;  caiJuiir  is 

Irilh 

(I)  See  Richardfon's  Perfic.  Lex.  p.  ?i8. 

U)  Liv. 

(h)  De  Dis  Syr.  c.  i , 

(0  Ant.  de  Efpan.  Africa.  Aldrete,  lib.  2.  p.  187. 


dF  tH£  IRISH  LANGUAGBi  a^sf 

Irifli  foi'  a  city^  and  go  is  the  fea.  According  to 
Rocbart  and  VoiTius  it  waa  called  Caihanb  and  Ci-^ 
tharAremnaci^  nieaning  fhe'ncw  aXy .-^atbardo  and 
OukardreOfmad  In  Iri(h  fignifies  the  good  city^  for 
door  da  and  dreannad^  means  good. 

Howel  explaing  this  mxat  much  better,  he  (ays 
Carthage  was  built  at  three  feveral  times  j  the  firft 
foundation  confifted  of  €t>thm^  I  e.  the  port  or 
harbour ;  in  Irifh,  cum  is  an  harbour  or  port^  and 
c$thadhrM  is  a  noble  fupport.  Megara  was  a  part 
of  the  town  built  next^  and  in  refpe^  to  cothon  was 
called  Kartha  adatfh  ag^h^  or  hadtha^  that  is^  fays 
he,  the  new  buildings,  or  the  additional  town ;  ia 
]ri(h,  agadih^  or  adxuh^  is  an  addition,  and  thus 
€ahair-adath  fignifies  the  new  added  city. 

Theantient  name  of  Carthage,  as  given  by  Dido^ 
was  Bofra^  or  as  fome  have  it  Byrja ;  Bofra  they 
&y  means  a  royal  fort.  Borrfa  in  Irifli  is  noble^ 
royal,  magnificent,  and  rath  (pronounced  rd)  is  a 
fort ;  thus  Borrfa-riUh^  is  a  royal  fortrefs.  Byrfa^ 
according  to  fome,  (ignifies  plenty  of  water ;  bior 
in  Iri(h  is  a  fpring  or  fountain,  (hence  tobair  a  well» 
alfo  Birr  the  name  of  many  towns  abounding  with 
iprings)  and  fa  is  an  augmentative  article,  fo  biorfy 
implies  plenty  of  water. 

The  names  of  the  Carthaginians,  fays  Bocbart, 
had  commonly  fome  particular  meaning,  thus  AnnQ 
iignified  gracious,  bountiful:  the  proper  name 
Etmo  frequently  occurs  in  the  Irifli  hittory,  but  Am 
ia  Iriih  fignifies  plenty  of  riches,  a  comu-copia » 
said  adds,  the  lame  author.  Dido  means  amiable, 
^vcll- beloved ;  and  Sophonijba^  one  who  keeps  her 
hulband's  fecrets  faithfully :  in  irifh  Ml  is  excelfirc 
Vol.  II.  X  lover 


joo  Aw  ESSAY  OK  MB  A^t^fTIOplTY 

love,  dide  gratitude,  ziy^  ,diUo:m>^  amia&lc,  ^ 
finm-eajba\2M&it^Ti&&^  Oiucb  addl£kd  to  vanity. 

Adshui*.Rielaadt  in  hU  imfeelhiniesy  ttnoks  tbe^ 
(Mirts  mfty  be  derived  from  tbe  Hebrew  ivi^cluA^^ 
chabirim^  to  unllr  or  conjobr  as  nsuch  as  to  fay  the 
Qntted  deities^  Here  again  ia  a  proof  of  the  affinity 
of  die  Iri(h  kmgmge  to  the  Hebrew,  for  cabr^  is 
to  coigoicr  or  imife  togedieri  cabar  a  jun£tion^  He 
mfifis  that  cabir^  as  well  as  the  root  c(^ar^  is  always 
tifed  to  exprefs  the  quanibty  or  nnihitude,  and  ncrer 
to  exprefs  the  greatneis  or  grandeur  ^  he  owns  that 
m  the  Arabic  it  do»  nseaxt  grand,  gi^eaty  but  denies 
the  w(^d  having  any  foch  meamng  in  the  Hebrew, 
s  and  leaves  Jt  to  others- whether  it  may  not  alfo  be 
derived  fioEii  the  Hebrew  keiirmy  bwied,  de^ 
leeafed.  See. 

The  Carthaginiana  had  certain  undifiinguilhed 
Deities  caHed  Gtbiri^  a  land  of  Penates  or  houlhokl 
Gods,  who  were  fuppc^d  te  preiide  over  every 
action  of  their  lives,  and  whom  diey  occafionally 
invoked  for  tbnr  help.  Cabasr  in  Iriih  fignifies 
help,  affidance,  and  cah'a  is  a  target  or  ihield. 
Yet  Seiden  {k)  feems  to  think  Cex^/W fignified  Venus: 
5^.  Saracenorum  C^ar  five  CuBar  a  Syria  feu  Baby- 
Ionia  Venere  alia  non  erat. ;  fed  commmre  iis,  qm 
tarn  vicini  eranty  numen.  Otbar  enim  ip&  Verms 
(qus  et  Luna  Dea)  effe  cmfebatur.*'  And  this  is 
not  his  opinion  only  (/),  ^'  Ad  FJeracIii  Imperatoria 
fempora  Saraceni  idolis  decM  funt.  Ludfermn 
adopabant  et  Vinerem  quam  Cabar  fna  n<xninani 
f  Kngoar. 

:     (k)  Synti-2.  p.  ir. 

(/)  Euchemius  Zygabeenus  in  Pftnoplia.  Catacbefi  Sara* 
'ceaonmuv 


ot  THE  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  i^fi 

lingua.  CabarsMXtmMagnaminterprtititVLr."  Again 
— -Catachefi  Saracenorum.  "  Anathematizo  eos 
qui  matutinum  fidus  Luclferum  et  Venerem  adorant^ 
quam  Arabum  lingua  Chabar^  qood  Mi^num  (igni- 
ficat,  nominant.  Scd  vero  (w)  minime  diverfa 
fentias  Luciferum  ct  Veniruth  numina.*"  But,  lays 
Bochart,  tbefe  Gods  were  called  Diofcuire^  high^ 
mighty,  puiiTant.  Dtfar  is  Iri(h  for  fierce,  valiant, 
mighty ;  but  is  not  this  word  more  properly  derived 
from  di  a  God,  as  having,  curam  the  care ;  diaf^ 
curantj  the  God  who  had  the  particular  care  of  them, 
as  the  Penates  were  fuppofed  to  hav^,  , 

Polybius  (»)  has  tranfmitted  to  us  a  treaty  of  a 
peace  concluded  between  Philip  fon  of  Demetrius 
king  of  Macedon,  and  the  Carthaginians,  in  which 
their  intimate  perfuafion  that  the  Gods  aiTifted  and 
prelided  over  human  affairs,  and  particularly  over 
folemn  treaties  made  in  their  name  and  prefence,  is 
ifaongly  difplayed.  **  This  treaty  was  concluded 
m  the  prefence  of  Jupiter,  Juno,  Apollo,  &c.  in 
the  prdcnce  of  the  Daemon  of  the  Carthaginians ; 
of  Hercules,  lolaus.  Sec.  &c.** — It  is  very  remark- 
able that  this  cuftom  prevailed  in  Ireland  after 
Chriffianity,  even  down  to  queen  Elizabeth's  reign, 
in  all  folemn  contradls,  bonds,  deeds,  &c.  I  have 
icen  many  fentences  of  the  Brehon  laws,  and  other 
deeds  and  contradts,  as  late  as  the  lime  here  men- 
tioned, all  of  which  conclude  thus,  abhfiddhnaijt^ 
dia  air  ttus^  f  A.  j  B.  &c.  i.  e.  in  the  prefence  of, 
C5od  firft,  and  of  A.  and  of  B.  &c. 

Marmol  fays,  near  the  fpot  where  Carthage  once 
flood,  the  Chriftians  have  ercftcd  a  tower,  on  a 

X  2  rock 

(j»)  Scld.  Synt.  i.  p.  21.  (i»)  Lib.  7.  p.  699. 


#Wt  Aft  ESSAY  o*  Trii  AMTIQUITV 

rock  which  the  Africans  call  al  menare ;  which  ht 
interprets  le  roque  de  Maftinace.  jflmionafre  is  in 
iriih  the  fiiamelefs  rock,  and  wonderfully  agrees 
with  thia  Jtilthor^s  explanation  of  the  Africiart 
almenare. 

NuUibI  pitires  reperiesPunleaquam  apxidPlauttinl 
in  Pasnufe ; 
which  lines^  feys  Bbchart,  (^)  are  partly  Purtic  and 
partly  Lybiee,  for  they  ufed  both  languages,  as  we 
may  learn  from  Virgil : 

Q^ippe  domufh  teniet  ambtguann^   Tynafi)ue 
bilingues.' 
Add  from'  Stlius : 

Di(cintos  inter  Li&ycos$  popidb(que  bifingues. 
And  from  Claudian : 

ToUite  Maflylaa  frau^es^  renaovete  biKngues  in- 
fidias: 

AH  whidi;  with  great  deference  toEocbart,  does 
in  my  opinion  prove  no  more  than  that  the  Punie 
language  was  a  compound  of  the  Ly  biai> ;  net  that 
the  Carthaginians  (poke  fometimes  a  fentience  in 
one,  and  (bmetime^  in  another ;  that  would  be  a 
inoft  ridiculous  fuppofition  indeed  :=  and  I  befieve 
no  inftanee  can  be  given  of  people  fpeaktng  fuch  a ' 
dialed. 

The  following  Punic  fpeecb  of  Plaatus  will  on 
eonfideration  be  found  to  have  as  great  or  greater 
affinity  witfcthe  ancient  Irifli,  or  bearle  Ferd^  i.  e.  the 
Phcenician  dialedt,  than  with  the  Hebrew,  and  as 
Ivith  as  few  alterations  of  the  text  as  are  to  be  found 
in  Boeharty  Petit,  Patreus,  Paufanias,  Voflius,  Src. 

I  have 

(p)  Phaleg.  p.  699; 


-Of  THE  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  ^0| 

I  have  now  before  me  fevcral  editions  of  PlautUB  5 
each  of  them  vary  confiderably  in  this  fpeech. 

The  cnrioiifi  and  learned  reader  who  would  con* 
fult  the  variotis  copies  of  Platitus,  will  fifld  a  cata- 
logue of  143  commentators  on  this  author,  in  the 
edition  publilhcd  by  Gronovius,  at  Xcyden,  in 
1665. 

The  fecoiid  edition,  in  14^2,  is  to  be  found  in 
4he  library  of  Trinity  College,  Diiblin,  from  which 
the  Punic  fpeech  is  traniciibed,  together  with  the 
Latin  tranflation.  We  have  not  fufficient  ajuthority, 
from  any  of  the  edttorsi,  to  fay  whetliei"  Plant  us 
i3(ed  the  Phoenician  or  the  Roman  diara£ters  in 
Ibis  Specdi :  We  know  it  was  written  during  the 
iboocid  Punic  war,  and  the  Roman  letter  was  ufed 
ta.  Cdrthage  as  ear4y  as  the  end  of  the  firft  Punic 
war. 

Erom  the  flawing  confeifion  of  Gronoviua,  we 
fiuiy  judge  what  interpolations  and  omiiGons  have 
been  comn^itted  in-  this  fpeech  by  ignorant  traiv* 
icribers;  ^^  PunicaK  hacc  fcripto  erant  fine  pun£tis 
vocaUbis;  ut  et  Heb»a  five  Phoenicia  omnia; 
fibraiii  veto  vocalee  pro  iagenii,  et  eruditionis  fuse 
modulo  fubftituemnt,  falfo  6epius  quam  fadlum 
vellem  ;*'  but  he  does  not  fay  he  had  feen  the  ma- 
nuibipt)  nor  does  he  tell  us  from  what  authority  he 
a>nje^re6  that  this  fpeech  was  written  in  Phce* 
Tuctan  €hai:a£ker&. 

*.  In  the  French  edition  of  Plautus  by  M.  de 
Limiers,  bebas  ^dded.the  following  note  to  this  play. 
^*  Ixs  dix  lignes  qu'il  prononce  (Hanno)  en  langue 
Punique  ou  Phenicienne,  n*aiant  jamais  eie  ecrites 
|iu*en  car adlfires  Latins,  et  par  4^s  Igens  qui  ne  les 

>  .  ijntendoipnt 


S04  An  essay  on  the  ANTIQUITY 

eatendolent  pas,  U  aurok  ete  difficile  d'ea  penetrer 
1^  veritable  Sens. 

And  although,  f^ys  Dr.  Brerewood  (p ),  that 
Punique  fpeech  in  Plautus,  which  is  the  only  con* 
tinned  fpeech  of  that  language,  that  to  my  kno«r-f 
}edge  remaineth  extant  in  any  author,  have  no 
fuch  great  convenience  with  the  Hebrew  tongue  4 
yet  I  afTure  myfelf  the  faults  and  corruptions  that 
have  crept  into  it  by  many  tranfcriptions,  to  have 
been  the  caufe  of  fo  great  difference,  by  reafim. 
.whereof,  it  is  much  changed  from  what  It  was  at 
iiril,  when  Plautus  writ  it,  about  1 800  years  ago, 

"  L^s  Carthaginois,  obfcrv^s  the  learned  M.  Huet^ 
Cq)  auroient  pu  apprendre  des  Africains  I'uikge  de 
la  rime.  Dans  ce&ters  Puniques  que  Plitute  ^  inferet 
dans  (on  Penule^  Seldcn  (r)  a  cru  avoir  trouv^ 
une  rime  ^ntre  le  premier  et  le  fecoqd  vers,  ftous 
nvoir  poufle  plus  loin  fa  recherche,  fuppo&nt  le 
refte  femblable.  Mais  ceux  qui  oat  anstomUe  cw 
vers  plus  curieufement,  n*y  ont{rien  apper^u  de  teL 

Had  this  fpeech  been  the  only  remains  of  the 
^unic  dialed,  the  author  would  not  have  attempted 
this  collation,  perfuaded  from  the  above  tefiioxmyt 
that  we  have  not  in  our  pdOfeffion  the  (peedi  of 
Hanno  the  Carthaginian,  but  of  the  various  train 
fcribers  of  Plautus ;  nay  Plautus  himfelf  aiTures  us» 
'  he  founded  his  comedy  on  a  Greek  tragedy  of 

Achilles  Ariflocles ;  and  it  may  be  conjeAured  by 
the  dialogue  in  the  next  fcene,  between  Milj^o 
and  Agaraitoclts,  that  he  (Plautus)  did  not  uader- 

lland 

{pj  Enquiries  touching  the  divcrfit/ of  laoguagca,  p.  57. 
(f)  Hueciana,  p.  189.  -  '         '  * 

(r)  Seldea  de  Dis  S/r.  Prol.  c.  2« 


OF  THE  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  cpS 

ftand  the  Fume  langu^ge^  more  tljact  Milphio^ 
whom  heliai  choifeii  as  the  ifiterpreter.' ' 

The  great  af&nity  fbuad  in  mariy  words,  ^ay 
whde  lines  and  fentences  of  this  (peech,  between 
the  Punic  and  iHmc;  Iti^'(bearlafem)  ftrengthcned 
and  fupported  by  the  collation  in  the  fotmer  pages, 
urged  the  author  to  attempt  an  Irifli  tranfcript,  and 
from  thence  to  mal(:e  a  free  tranflation  into  the 
Engliih ;  how  far  he  has  fuceeeded^  mull  be  left  to 
the  impartial  critic.         1 

From  Gronov I us*s  Edition  we  give  the  Argu- 
ment and  the  D&aM  atis  P£it-soHiC. 

Quidam  adoiotcens  Carthaginienfia  furtun  furreptus, 
avehitur  Calydonia  in  £toliam,  et  ibi  venditur 
V  feni  ctvi.  Hie  adoptavit  ilium,  et  moriens  reli- 
c|uit  hacredem.  Amabat  adolofeins  puellam 
popularem  et  cognatam:  patrui  enim  ea  filia 
erai;  quod/ipTe  neftiehat,  nam^prtedones  ruri 
deprehenfas  duas  purvulas  filias  h)i)U8,  una  cum 
nutrice  abdudjtas  lenoni  Calydonb  vendiderant 
in  AnaAorlo,  quod  nomen  loci,  et  oppidi  fiiit 
in  Acarnania*  '  Cum  nihil  -deqai  adolpfcens  a 
icoone  de  (bis  amoribus  impetrare  poflett  ufus  - 
fervi  fui  copfifio^  inficbas  fecit  lenoni,  ut/ilLe  furti 
jcnanifefti  condemnaretur.  Interea  indicium  fit, 
puellas  efle  Carthagmienfes  ingenuas:  <t  pater 
iUarum  (Hanno)  qui.ubique  gentium  jpfasquae- 
rebat,  advenit,  et  eas  asgnofcit ;  et  major^ni  notu 
miptum  fiat  frjitri?'  filio. 


Dramatis 


go6  Aw  ESSAY  OK  THt.  ANTIQyiTY 

DRAMATIS  PERSON^. 

AgaraftQclcs,  Adolofcens  Carthag. 

Milptuo,  Scrvus.         - 

Adelphaiium,  7^,       . 

>  Meretriccs, 

Anteraftilis,  )         '    '  ' 

Lycus,  Leno. 

Anthemomdes,  *  Miles. 

Hannq,  Pocnu?. 

Giddcncnw  nutri?,  &c.  j^c 

ACTUS  OyiNTI  SCENA  PRIMA. 


From  the  Editioci  pf  Mocbnigus. 

^arvijii  i^itdie  zt  Junii  Joanne  Mocmiigo  Principe 
jucundijjimo  et  Duee  Foelicifimo.  In  the  Lihrary  of 
Trimty  CollegCj  Dublin.  T.  T.  Z.  4. 

Nythatemm  ualon  uth  fi  corathillima  oomfytli 
Chim  lach  chunyth  mumys  tyal  mydhibarn  hntTchi 
Lipho  canct  hyth  bynuthii  ad  sedin  bynuthii. 
Bymarob  fyllo  homalonlm  uby  mifyrtholio 
Bythlym  mothym  nodothli  uelcdianti  dafmadion 
Yflidelcbcm  thyfd  yth  chylys  chon.  them  lipbul 
Uth.  bynitn  yfdibur  thyofto  cutU  nu  Agoraftocles 
Ythe  maneth  ihy  chirik  lycoth  fith  nafo 
Bynni  id  chil  luhili  gubulin  lafibit  thym 
}3odyaIyt  hcrayn  nyn  nuys  lyra  monchot  lufim 

Exanoliia 


OP  THiB  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  307 

£xanolim  uolanus  fuccuratim  miftim  ^tticum  efTe 
Concubitum  a  bello  cutin  beant  laiacant  chon^ 

enus  es 
Huiec  filic  panefle  athidmafcon  ?S^m  i^dub€rtp 

felono  buthume. 
Celtiim  comucro  lucni,  at  enim  auofo  uber  hcnt 

hyach  Ariltoclem 
£t  te  fe  aneche  na(p£telia  elicos  alemus  duberter 

mi  comps  uefpti 
Aodeanec  li£tor  bodes  iufium  limnimcolus;. 

jF^orx^  the  fame  in  Latin. 

Deoa  4c9^ue  veneror,  qui  .l;ianc  urbem  colunt  ut 

quod  de  mea  re 
Hue  ycneri  te  venerim.  meafque  ut  gnatas  ct  mei 

fratris  filium 
Reperif em.  efiritis :  id  voftram  fidem  quae  mihi 

furreptac  funt. 
Et  fratris  filium.  ^ui  mihi  ante  bac  hofpes  antim^das  . 

fuit ' 
Eum  feciflfe  ^unt :  fibi  quod  fapiundum  &it  ej^s 

fifium 
Hie  praedicant  efle  Agoroftocjem.    Deunj  hofpi- 

,talepi  ac  tcflcram 
Mecum  fero.  in  hifce  habitare  mQnfiratuft  regi* 

onit)US. 
Hos  percontabor,  qui  hue  egre^uintuj:  foraj. 

Bocbart  (j)  thinks  thefe  lines  of  Plautus  are 
partly  Punic  and  partly  Libyan:  the  fix  laft  l^e 


does 


(f)  Phtleg.  cb.  2. 


|oS  An  essay  on  t»b  ANTIQPITY 

<locs  not  attcanpt  to  tranfcribe  or  tranflate^  but 
conjcdhircs  that  they  arc  a  repetition  of  the  ten 
iirft,  in  the  Lybian  language ;  the  ten  firft  he 
fays  are  Punic,  and  he  thus  tranicribes  them  in 
the  Hebrew : 

Na  eth  eljonim  veeljonoth  fechorath  ii^Inecu^  20th 
Chi  malachai  jitthemu :  maflia  middabarehen  ifld. 
Lephurcanath  elh  beni  eth  jad  udi  ubenothui 
Berua  fob  fellahem  eljonim  ubimefuratebem. 
Beterem  moth  anoth  othi  helech  Antidamarchon 
Is  fejada  li ;   Beram  tippd  eth  chele  fechinatim 

leophel 
Eth  ben  amis  dibbur  tham  nocot  nave  Agorailocles 
Otheim  anuthi  hu  chior  fceli  choc :  20th  nofe 
Binni  ed  chi  io  haelie  gebulim  lafeboth  tham 
Bo  di  all  thcra  inna^  Hinno,  efal  immancar  Ip 

fcm. 

Which  lines  Bochart  thus  tranllates  into  Latin. 

■ 

'  Rogo  Dcos  et  Deas  qui  hanc  tegionem  tuentur 
Ut  confilia  mca  compleantur^  Profpenun  fit.  ex 

dudtu  corum  negotium  meum. 
Ad  liberationem  fiiii  mei  manu  praedonis,  et  filia- 

rum  mearum 
Dii  per  fpiritum  multum  qui  eftis  in  ipfis,  et  per 

providentiam  fuam 
Ante  obitum  diveriari  apud  me  folebat  Antidamar- 

chus, 

yir  mihi  familiaris ;  fed  is  eorum  coetibus  jundlus 
t%  quorum  habitatio  ett  in  caligine. 

Filium 


t)F  THY  IRISH  I.ANGUAGE.  ^§ 

Filium  ejus  confians  iama  eft  ibi  fiiufle  fedem 

AgontftDclem  (noimne) 
Sigiilum  hofpitii  md  eft  tabula  fculpta,  cujus  fculp- 

turn  eft  Deus  meus :  id  fero. ' 
Indicavit  mihi  teftis  eiim  halntare  'm  his  fioibuf. 
Venit  aliquis per portam banc ;  Ecceeum;  rogabo 

nunquid  tioveiit  nomen  (Agoraftodis;) 


Wc 


p9  As  ESSAY  6m  ink  A^^TlQyiTY 

1  .  ....  .        •  r  , 

Wc  will  now  collate  tbi^  &ecch  with  tliie  bifli. 

"  :-'      •  'ftAUTtTS.* 

Nyth  al  o  nim  ua  lohuth  Kcoratbiili  ine  com  fytfa  (/) 
Chilli  tich-<^«uiy(h  imim  ys  t  jal  nfiydhi  barii  im  fchi. 

N'iaith  all.o'mmh  uatU  looniriihcl  "fecruidhfe  tne  cbm  fith. 
Omnipotent  much  dreaded  Deity  of  this  country!  aflfwage 

my  troubled  raindf 
Chin^i  la^h  chuinigh  I  muini  is  toil^  mipcht  beiridh  iar 

mo  fcith 
(thou)  the  fupport  of  feeble  {u)  captives !  being  now  ezi- 
haufted  with  fatigue,  of  thy  irpe  will  guide  me  to  my 
children. 

PjLAUTUS- 

Lipho  can  ethyth  by  mitbii  ad  «dan  bbuthii 
Byr  nar  ob  fyllo  homal  o  nim  I  ubymis  ifyrthoho. 

Irish. 
Liomhtha  can  ati  bt  mijtche  ad  &dan  beannaithe, 
O  let  my  prayers  be  perfedly  acceptable  in  thy  iight, 
Bior  nar  o^  filadh  umhal ;  o  nimh  I  ibhim  a  frotha  t 
An  inexhauftible  fountain  to  the  humble ;  O  Deity  I  let 
fot  drink  of  its  dreams ! 

PLAUTtIS, 


(/)  We  haye  a  remarkable  Trilli  poem  written  id  the  131}! 
century,  beginning  nauch  in  the  fame  manner. 


*^  Athair  chaidh  choimfidh  neimhe 
({/)  Captives  ^  bis  daughters. 


i> 


o¥  Trie  iFitdH  LAN6uAdE.  '  fi^ 


Irish  virhum  vetlt. 
{io)  O  all  ntnih  (i)  n'iaith^  lonnakh,  (2)  usth !  ibcinidfaiif 

ittecomiith 
O  mighty  Deity  of  this  country^  powerful^  terrible  I  quiet 

me  with  reft. 
Chuinigh  lach  (3)  chimithe ;  is  toil,  muini  beiridh  (4) 

miocht, 
A  fopport  of  weak  captives ;  be  thy  will  to  inftrud  (oie) 

to  obtain  my  children, 
lar  mo  fcith  (5) 
After  my  &tigiie« 


(5)  Gin  ati  liomtha  (7)  mitche  bi  beantiaithe  ad  eadao,  (8) 
Let  it  come  to  pafs,  that  my  eameft  prayers  be  blefled 

before  thee, 
Bior  nar  ob  filadh  mrihal;  O  Nimhl  ibhim  a  frotha^ 
A  fountain  denied  not  to  drop  to  the  humble  ;  O  Deity 

that  I  may  drink  of  its  ftreams. 

Irish 

^fv)  See  Lhwyd  and  O  HrWs  Di&ionaries  for  tlefe  words : 

(l)  iati^  land*  territory,  as  iaii  0  machaci^  a  part  of  the 
county  of  Waterford* 

(a)  uasb^  dread,  terrible.     Lb.  O  Br. 

(3)  cimet  cimiib^  timeaJb^  prifoners,  cimim^  to  eo(ta?e.  OBr. 

(4)  mbd^  children,  mioch,  my  children.  O  Br. 

(5)  Mtrique   terraque   ufqne  quaque  qusericat.     Plaut. 
Prolog,  lin.  ro$. 

(6)  con  aJi^  let  it  fo  happen.     Old  Parchments. 

(7)  itcbe^  a  petition,  requed ;  Homiba^  pronounced  bm^a. 
OBr. 

(8)  W*  eaJan^  in  thy  face,  eaJan^  the  front  of  any  thing. 


L 


•Mi  Ak  BfiSAT  OH  THf  lANTIQpiTY 

Plautus. 
Byth  lym  mo  thym  oodothii  nel  ech  an  H  daifc  machon 
Yt  i  de  kbrim  thyfe  lyth  chy  lys  chon  temlyph  ula 

Irish. 
Beith  liom  I  mo  tbime  nodaithe^  nid  ach  an  d  datfic  mac 

coinne 
Foriake  me  cot  I  my  earned  define  b  now  difcloiedt  which 

is  only  that  of  recovering  my  daoghlers  ; 
Is  i  de  leabhraim  tafach  leith^  chi  lis  oon  teampluibh  utta 
Thi9  was  my  fervent  prayer,  lamenting  their  misfortunes 

in  thy  facivd  temples. 


PLAOTUS. 


•  OP  THE  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  31^ 

Irish  virbum  vsrh. 
Beith  Uomi  mo  (i)  thime  (2)  nodatthe,  niel  ach  an  ti  (3) 
Be  with  me !  ray  fears  being  dildofed^  I  have  no  other 

intention  but 
'{4)  daiiicy  maeoinne.  (5) 
of  recovering  my  daughters. 

(6)  tafach  a  (7)  leith,  is  i  de  leabhraim»  (8)  chi  lis  (9) 
this  particular  requeft^  was  what  I  made^  bewailing  their 

misfortunes, 
con  (10)  uUa  teampluibh. 
in  (thy)  facred  temples. 

Irish 

(1)  /lOT,  time,  fear,  dread*     O  Br.  alio  pride,  cftimation. 

(2)  nocdaipbif  Sc  mda  nzkeif  open,  difclofed.     OBr. 

(j)  it  defign,  inteorion.  Lb.  Jo  ratiadar  or  tif  they  in- 
tended. Nehem.  iv.  7.  nocb  do  bbi  or  ii  lamb  do  cbur^  who 
defigned  to  lay  hands.  Eft.  vi.  a. 

(4)  aiJioCf  reftitution  :  aifiocadb  to  reftore.  Lh.  OBr. 

(;.)  mac  cbmnne  daughters ;  macoamb^  a  yontbt  a  girl.  OBr. 

(6)  /^/^c  craving*  alfo  exhortation.  Lh.  OBr. 

(7)  a  leitb^  diftindt,  particular,   ibid. 

(8)  a'y  to  lament  ;  a  mbacain  na  ciy  lament  not  young  men.' 
OBr. 

(9)  Ax,  cyiU  mifchicf.  O  Br. 

(10)  ulia^  a  place  of  devotion.  OBr. 


'3H  Ak  ESSAY  ON  tHE  ANTIQJJITY 

Plautus. 
Uth  bynim  ys  diburt  hyno  ocuthnu  Agoraftocles 
Ythe  man  eth  ihychirfae  lycoth  fith  na(a« 

Irish. 
Uch  bin  nim  i  is  de  beart  inn  a  ccomhnuithe  Agoraflocleal 
O  bounteous  Deity !  it  is  reported  here  dw^lteth  Ago*- 

i^aftocles  I 
liche  mana  ith  a  chtfhirfi ;  leicceath  fith  no(a ! 
Should  my  requeft  app^r  juftf  here  let  my  difquretudes 

ceafe  I 

Plautpsi 
Buint  id  chillu  iii  guby  lim  la  fi  bithym 
Bo  dyalytber  aynnyn  myily  mono  chetl  us  im. 

Irish. 
Buaine  na  iad  cheile  ile :  gabb  liom  an  U  fo  bithim'  I 
Let  them  be  ho  longer  concealed ;  O  that  I  may  this  day 

find  my  daughters ! 
Bo  dileachtach  nionath  u'lfle^         -  mon  cothoil  us  im 
they  will  be  fatheilefs,  and  preys  to  the  worft  of  men^ 

unlefs  it  be  thy  pleafure  I  (faould  find  them. 


Plautus. 


or. THB  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  315 

litiBH  Virtum  tferh, 
Vth  Mil  nim  t  is  4e  beart  inn^  accomdnfiitl^  Ajgorttftoclei 
O  fweet  Deity  I  it  is  faid  in  this  place,  dwells  Agoraflocles 
(i)  mana  itche        a  chithirfi  f2)  ith;  Mik  (j)  feioc6ath 

fith. 
if  the  caufe  of  my  requeft  ihould  feem  to  you  to  be  juft; 

now  grant  (tne)  {>eace. 


na  cheile  tad  (4)  buaine  (5)  ile;  gabh  lioin(6)  bithm'  an 

lafoi 
do  not  conceiil  them  for  ever;  O.tbat  I  may  find  my 

daughters  this  day  I 
dileachtach  bo  niooath  a'ifle ;  raona     codchoU  t 

being  orphans,  they  will  be  the  prey  of  the  very  dregs  of 

men ;  unkfi  it  be  thy  will 
(7)  us  im 
(to  give)  tydings  about  them. 

To  obviate  the  cenfure  of  the  modern  IrifhmaR 
we  have  quoted  the  authors  where  the  obfolete  words 
ia  the  foregdng  fpeech  ofi  Hanno  are  to  be  found. 

« 

(i)  mana^  a  caufe  or  occafion.     O  Br. 

(2)  idb  or  itb^  good,  juft.   Lh.  O  Br. 

(3)  leicctadb  or  Uigeadb^  to  permit.   O  Br. 

(4)  tuaine,  perpetuity,  contiauance.  OBr. 

(5)  S^^^  a  diverfity,  a  difference,  partially.  OBr. 

(6)  \iiihe,  females ,  belonging  to  the  female  fez.  O  Br. 
Hanno  here  prays  they  may  not  be  partially  concealed,  i.  e. 
that  he  may  difcover  his  nephew,  Agoraftocles»  as  well 
as  his  daughters,  and  then  breaks  out  with  the  following 
<jaculation,  refpe^ing  his  daughters  particularly. 

(7}  utt  news,  tydings.    OBr. 

Vol.  II.  Y  all 


3i6  An  essay  ok  the  ANTIQUITY 

Plautus. 
Ec  anoltm  ao  lanus  fuccur  rattm  mifti  atticum  efle 
Con  cubittt  nubel  lo  cutin  bean  da  la  cant  chona  enufcs. 

Irish. 
Ece  all  o  nim  uath  lonnaitbe  I  focair-ratai  mitcbe  aiti^iofife 
But  mighty  and  terrible  Deity,  look  down  upoq  met 

fulfil  the  prayers  I  now  offer  unto  thee. 
Con  cuibet  meabail  le  cuta  bean^  tlait  le  catnt  con  inifis, 
without  effeminate  deceit  or  rage,  but  with  the  utmoft 
humility,  I  have  reprefented  my  unforttinate  fituatioo. 

Plautus. 
Hute  cfi  lee  pan  effe,  athi  dm  as  cop  alem  in  dubart  felo 

no  buth  ume 
Celt  um  CO  mu  cro  lueni !  ateni  nuuo  fuber  r  benthyadi 

Agorafloclenu 

\       Irish. 
Huch  I  -caifi  leicc  plan  effe  athi  dam^  as  con  ailim  in 

dubirt  felo 
C%h  I  the  negleft  of  this  petition  will  be  dei^th  to  me  I  let 

no  fecret  difappointment 
no  buth  ume 
befall  me. 
Celt  uairo  c'a  mocro  luani  I   athini  me   an  fubha  ar 

beanuath  Agoraftocles. 
Hide  not  froni  me  the  children  of  my  loins  I  and  grant  me 

the  pleafure  of  recovering  Agoraftocles* 


PtAUTUS. 


OP  rue  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  317 


Irish  vtrbum  virb$. 
ail  o  nim  lonnaithe,  uath  Reel  (i)  ratai  focatr.  mitche  (i) 

aiticimfe. 
O  great  Deity  powerful,  terrible.  Behold  (me)  t  profper 

with  fuccefs  my  petition  I  a(k. 
(3)  Con  cuibet  (4)  meabail  le  cuta  (5)  bean  ;  le  tlait 

c'aint  inifis  con  (6) 
Without  deceitful  fraud  or  effeminate  rage ;  with  humble 

fpeech  I  have  told  ny  meaning. 


Hucb!  (7)  leicc  caiii  as  con  ailim,  pian  efle  (8)  aith  (9} 

dhamhna  bioth 
Alas  I  the  n^lefi  of  the  caufe  I  have  fet  before  thee, 

would  be  the  pains  of  death  to  me,  let  me  not 
tiatm  an  feile  dobart  (10) 
meet  any  fecret  raifchief. 
Celt  (11)  c'a  uaim  (la)  cro  mo  luant;  aithia  me  an 

fubha  ( 1 3)  beanuath 
Hide  not  from  me  the  children  of  my  loins ;  and  grant  me 

the  pleafure  of  recovering 
ar  Agoraftocles.  (14) 
Agoraftocles. 

Y  a  Ece 

(i )  rathm^  to  mtke  profperous.  Lh.  O Br.  ficmr^  piofperity, 
reflexive,  (z)  aitkbim,  to  pray  or  entreat,  ibid.  (3)  con 
pro  gant  old  MSS.  (4)  cuibbety  fraud,  cheat*  (5)  cutba, 
rage,  furv.  (6)  con^  .fenfe,  meaning.  O  Br.  (7)  teicc^ 
neglea.  O'Br.  (8)  f/,  death.  Lh.  OBr.  (9)  aitb^  auick, 
fudden.  Lh.  (to)  Mard  mifchief.  O  Br,  (iiVrrv, 
children.  Dkbu go  lum  erg,  i.  c.  go  Hon  clamt.  Lh.  (12)  cba 
for  »/,  old  MSS ;  frequently  ufed  by  the  old  Irifli  at  this  day; 
AS,  €ba  deanan^  I  will  not  do  it.  (13)  beanugbadb^  to  recover. 
^9  bhtanfe  or  tiomlant  he  recovered  the  whole.  Lb«  ( 1 4)  His 
siephew. 


SiS  Am  essay  ok  Ihe  ANTIQyiTY 

Plautus. 
Ex  te  fe  ancchc  na  fodelia  eli  cos  alem  aa  dubert  ar  mi 

compsy     , 
Uefptis  Add  eanec  lib  tor  bo  definffum  lim  nim  co  lus. 

Irish. 
Ece  te  fo  a  Neach  na  foichle  uile  cos  ailim  as  dubairt ; 
Behold  O  Deity^  tbefe  are  the  only  joys  I  eameftly  pray  for ) 
ar  me  compais, 
take  compai&on  on  me, 
is  bidis  Aodh  eineac  lie  Tor,  ba  defiughim  ie  m6  nimh  co 

lus. 
and  grateful  fires  en  flone  tpwera^  wiU  I  ordain  to  Ua^ 

to  Heaven. 


ACTUS 


or  TKf  IRISH  I^AN^UAOC,  sf^ 


Irish  virbum  vtrho. 
£ce  a  (i)  Neach  eie  fo  uile  cos  m  fekUe  (^  ailim  at 

(3)  dubairt ; 
behold  J  O  Deity,  this  is  e^ery  confideratioa'  j^f  joy,  I 

earnefUy  pray  for ; 
ar  me  (4)  compais, 
take  pity  on  me 
•    is  bidfs  (5)  eineac  (6)  Aodh  ar  (7)  lie  tor  ba  ddiughim  co 

lus 
and  there  fliall  be  gratefbl  fires  on  fione  towers^  nvhich  I 

will  prepare  to  bum 
le  mo  ninth. 
to  my  Deity. 

(i)  mack^  i.  e.  neamtacb,  a  heavenly  ipirit.  O  Br. 
(a)  iuUm^  to  pray  or  intreat.   Lh.  O  Br. 

(3)  dubairt f  an  carneft  prayer.  O  Br. 

(4)  cbompmsj  compai&on,  pity;  OBr. 

(5)  fineachp  bountiful,  liberal.  O  Br. 

(6)  jfodb,  fire.   Lh.  O  Br. 

(7)  /iV,  Iricf,  a  ftone ;  Oac,  a  great  ftone.  O  Br. 


ACTUS 


1*0  Ak  essay  om  the  ANTIQpITY 


ACTUS  QJJINTI  SCENA  SECUNDA. 

A<S0RASTOCL£8.      MiLPHlO.      HaNKO. 

Mi  LP.  It  Dibo  hofce,  atque  appellabo  Punic^; 

XJL  St  refpondebunt,  Punic^  pergam  loqui : 
Si  Don :  turn  ad  horum  mores  linguam  vertero. 
Qaid  ais  tu?  ecquid  adhuc  commeminifti  Punic^  } 

Ag»  Nihil  adepoh  nam  qui  fcire  potui^  die  mibi, 
Qsii  iUtnc  fexennts  perierim  Karthaginc  ? 

Hah.  Prd  Di  immortales !  plurimt  ad  hunc  modum 
Periere  pueri  liberi  Karthagioe. 

MuL.  Qpidaistu?     Ag.  Quid  vis?     Mil.  Vin*  ap- 
pellem  hunc  Punice?     Ac.  An  fcis?     Mil.  NuUus  me 
eft  hodie  Poenus  Punidr. 

Ac.- Adi  atque  appelia,  quid  velif,  quid  venentj 
Qui  Ht  quojattS)  unde  fit :  ne  parferis. 

Mil.  AvoI  quojatis  eftis  ?  am  quo  ex  oppido  ? 

Han.  Hanno  Muthumballe  bi  Cbaedreanech. 

irijb. 

Hanno  Muthumbal  bi  Chathar  dreannad. . 

I  am  Hanno  Muthumbal  dwelling  at  Carthage. 

Chathar  dnatmad,  fignifies  the  good  city ;  we  bave  alreadj 

(hown  from  gopd  authority,  that  it  was  alfo  called 
,    Cathar  agaS.     See  the  word  Carthage. 
Lambinus  reads  this  paflage  thus  ;  Hanno  Mutbum  BalU 

biccha  edre  amch. 
Reinefius  has  it   thus ;  Mutbum  taHs  bin  chadre  anab. 
Which  he  tranilates,  Deum  vel  Dominum  Averni,  Ditein» 

feu  Plutonem :    Mutb  id  eft  Pluto  Phoenicibus*    feu 
.  domicilium  mortis. 
That  mutb  in  the  Punic  and  mmtb  in  the  Irtlby  i^nifies 

(death,  deftrudion,  decay,  &-C.  we  have  fhown  in  the 

preceding  collation  of  the  Punica  Maltefe  words  with  the 

Irift 


ot  TkE  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  3Z1 

Irifli ;  but  that  Muibumkil  was  Ponied  a  proper  naiACi 
is  evident  from  a  Punic  medal  now  in  the  choice  cabinet 
of  the  earl  of  Chaiiemont,  round  the  exergue  of  which 
is  the  word  MVTHVMBALLVS^  and  on  the  reverie^ 
the  city  of  Carthage>  with  fome  Phoenician  chara&ers. — 
This  is  alfo  a  ftrong  proof  of  the  early  introduSion  of 
the  Roman  letters  among  the  Carthaginians,  and  a 
fufficient  reafon,  in  my  opinion,  that  no  other  charadert 
have  been  found  in  ufe  amongft  the  antient  Iriih  than 
^the  old  Roman  or  Etnifcan,  except  the  contradions 
which  are  to  be  found  in  the  Chaldean,  Coptic,  &c. 

Ac.  Qyid  ait  ?     Mil.  Hannonem  fefe  ait  Karthagine 
Carthaginienfem  MuthumbalHs  (ilium. 

Han.  Jvo.      Mil.  Salutat.      Han«  Dcnni. 
Mil.  Doni  volt  tibi  dare  hinc  nefcio  quid^   audin* 
poUioerier  ? 

Avo  I    doimi ! 

Alas  I  moft  ui^fortunate  that  I  am. 
^j/tf,  pronounced  dfv#,  ^^ddmaiSe,  thecompar.of  A«tf, 
unfortunate,  are  interje£tions  common  arooi^  the 
Iri(h  to  this  day. 
Ag.  Saluta  hunc  rurfus  Punicd  verbis  meis. 
Mil.  Jvo  donni!  hie  mihi  tibi  inquit  verbis  fuls. 
Hak.  Me  bar  bocca  I 

Irijb. 
a  ma  babachtl  O  my  fweet  youth,  (meaning  his 
nephew.)  « 

Mil.  Iftuc  tibi  fit  potius  quam  mihi.   Ac.  Quid  ait  ? 
Mil.  Miferam  efle  prsedicat  buccam  (ibi 

Fortafle  medicos  nos  efle  arbitrarier. 
Ag.  Si  ita  eft.  Nega  efle,  nqlo  ego  errare  hofpitem« 
Mil.  Audi  tu  rufen  nuco  iftam.     Ag.  Sic  volo, 
Profefid  vera  cundif  huic  expedirier. 
Roga,  nunquid  opus  (it  ?    Mil.  Tu  qui  Zonam  non  habes 
Qi|id  in  banc  veniftis  urbem,  aut  quid  quaeritb? 

Hak. 


3^«.  An  essay  w  thb-ANTIQJJITY 

Han,  Mt^hurfiif    Ao.  Qgid»!tl    Hak;  Mmit 
Mamta  f- 

Mb  tfeuirfe  I '       >    Mo  baiie  cklonna ! 
O  my  grief  i  Mf  ferioiir  is  of  long  ftandkig* 

Ag.  Q9«d  Tenit;  \ 
Mil.  Non  audis  ?  mures  Africanos  prrdicat 

In  poinpam  hidts  dare  fe  irelk  wAitibuft. 
Han.  LoicA  kg  tiatumim  limiHscbit. 

Iri/b. 
,     Lruach;  le  cheaimaigbiin  iiora  miodtt. 

At  any  price  I  woald  purchafe  my  chlldrmv 
Mil.  Ligulas  canalts  ait  fe  adv^JSTe  et  nuces : 
Nunc  orat,  operam  ut  des  (ibi^  ut  ea  veoeant. 
<    Ac.  Mercator  credo  eft.       Hah.  Is  Mm  ar  utnam* 

Irijb. 
Is  am  ar  uinaeaai  \ 
This  is  tlur  time  for  refekition  f 

Ag.  Qsidcft? 
Han.  Palum  srga  diSfba  I 
IriJb.   ''"'*'" 
Ba  Horn  earga  dea^. 
I  mil  fubmit  to  the  didates  of  Heaveo. 

Ag,  Milphio^  ^uid  nunc  ait. 
.  Mil.  Palas  vendundas  fibi  ait  &  mergas  datas^ 
Ut  bortuni  fodiat,  atque  ut  frumencum  metat. 
Ad  mefllm  credo  miflfus  hie  quldem  tuam. 
Ag«  Q}iid  iftoc  ad  me?     Mil*  Certiorem  te  efl^  voluiy 

Ne  quid  clam  furtive  accepiflfe  cenfeas* 
Han.  Afa  phanmumfuearabinu 

me  fulaim  \  focaraidhaoi ; 

that  I  may  here  &wSx  my  fatiguie{  and  that  I  may  now  be 
atieft! 

Mx^.  hemJ  caue  fia  fcceris 
Qgod  hie  te  orat.  Ag  .  Quid  ait  ?  aut  quid  orat  ^  cxpedi. 

Mil. 


(IF  run  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  ^3 

Mtl.  Sab  cnitim  lUi  Jobcas  feefe  fappoaif  jtcpie  m 
Lapides  imponi  multos*  ut  fefe  nec^. 
Han.  Gmm  j6il  Bdfanum  ar  ajtau 

Irijh. 
Gun&  bil  Bal-famen  'ar  «  fon  I 
O  that  the  good  BaUfiNniMin  may  favor  tfaeml 
BaUiamhan^  i  e.  Beat  tibeSiui,  as  cxpla'niBd  befope  at 
the  word  Bal. 

Ag«  (^pdait? 
Mil.  Non  Hercle  nunc  quidem  quicquaiin  fi:^o. 
Han.  At  ut  (bias  nunc,  de  hinc  latipe  jam  ioqti^r. 

&c.  &c. 

In  the  THIRD  SCENE  of  the  fifth  act  of* 
Plautup,  where  the  plot  begins  to  o]pen,  are  two 
more  lines  of  the  Pfanic  language,  and  bearing  4i 
greater  affinity  with  the  old  Irifh  than  any  of  the 
former.  In  this  Scene  the  old  Nurfe  recoll^dls 
Hanno.  . 

GiDD£N£ME,MiLPHio,  Hanno,  Agorastocles. 

GiD.  Quispultat?  Mil.  Qui  te  proximus  eft.   Gid. 
Q^id  vis  ?     Mil.  Eho» 
Noviftin'  tu  illunc  tunicatum  hominem,  qui  fiet. 

Gid.  Nam  quern  ego  afpicio  ?  pro  fupreme  Jupplter, 
herus  meus  hie  quidem  eft 
Mearum  alumnarum  pater^;  Hanno  Carthaginenfis. 
Mil.  Ecce  autem  mala,   praBftigiator   hie    quidem 
Poenus  probus  eft 
Perduxit  omnis  ad  fuam  fententiam.    Gip.  O  mi  here 

falve  Hanno, 
Inrperatuflime  mihi,  tuifque  filius,  faWe  atque  eo 
Mirari  noli,  neque  me  contempCarier^  -Cogiibfein'  Gid- 
denemen 

Ancillam 


> 

3*4  Ak  essay  61*  *rfB  AWTIQyiTY 

Andllam  tuam  ?    Pox^  Novi^  fed  ubi  fimt  mee  gnatae  ? 
id  fcire  ezpeto. 
Ago.  Apud  fledem  Veneris.    P6£.  Q]»id  ibi  fachint 

die  mihi  ? 
Ago*  Jpbr^JiJia  {x)   hodie  Vederi^  eft  feftus  dies« 
Oratum  ierunt  deam,  uC 
6ibt  eflet  propikia.      GiD.  Pol  fati»  fcio  impetrarant^ 

quando  hict  hie 
Adeft.    Ago.  Eo  an  hujus  funt  illse  filing.     Gti>.  Ita  uf 

prflcdicas. 
Tua  pietas  nobis  plan^  auxiUo  fuit.     Cum  hue  advenifti 

hodie  in  ipfo 
Tenspore.    Namque  hodie  earum  routarcntur  nomina. 
*   Faeerentque  indignum  genere  quacftum  c«rpore. 
PoE.  Handone  filli  hanun  bene  fiUi  in  mufttne. 
j^dnbo^e  yilli  hdDum  (y)  bene,  ^\\\y  lu  {%)  muf ntje 
Whenever  Venus  proves  kind,  or  grants  a  favour^  ihe 
grants  it  linked  or  chained  with  misfortunes. 
GiD.  Meipfi  &  en  efte  dum  &  a  lam  na  eeftin  um. 
COeifj  7  tJCn  eifzn  im  7  {a)  tiltinm  i\<i  ccij^cin  <ii?)  {b). 
Hear  me^  and  judge,  and  do  not  too  baftily  queftion  me 
(about  this  furprize). 

The 


(*)  The  AphroSJia  were  celebrated  in  honour  of  Venus 
at  CTprus  and  other  places.  Here  they  who  would  be  in- 
itiatedy  gave  a  piece  of  money  to  Venus*  as  to  a  proilicute, 
and  received  prefeuts  from  her.     Abbe  Banier. 

(y)  Bene^  Celtic,  from  whence  Venus. 

(z)  This  is  a  compound  of  muis  and  tine;  muis  a  frown- 
ingy  contraf^edy  menacing  brow,  tine^  link  of  a  chain. 

(tf)  <(l<[1Jb  idam^  out  of  hand,  o(F-hand,  indifcrimi* 
nately. 

{p)  ^no  un)  .1.  o\L 

Cei|*C11>nn).  to  queftiooy  to  doubt,  to  be  afraid. 

0 


OP  THE  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  325 

The  following  fpecimen  of  the  Bcarla  Feni  or 
nioenician  diale£t  of  this  country  is  extradted  from 
ancient  law  books  now  in  the  author's  poffeflion  ; 
the  language  will  appear  much  more  foreign  to  the 
vulgar  Irifti  of  this  day  than  the  Punic  fpcech  of 
Hanno. 

£ictra£t  from  the  Sehanchas  mor  or  the  Great  Anti- 
quity^ being  a  code  of  laws  compofed  by  Sean  the 
ion  of  Aigid  in  the  time  of  Fergus  Mac  Leid  king 
of  Ulfter,  26  years  before  the  birth  of  Chrift. 

"  Tir  do  beir  ioxbchi  mna  nad  bi  maith  naduid- 
naidet  a  folta  coire. 

Tir  do  bdr  dar  braiglt  fine  aratreifTu  indatengaid 
dec  diathintud.  Oldas  intoentenga  doafcud. 

Gach  futdir  conatothcus  techta.  Niicca  cinaid  a 
mdc.  Nachai  nachaiarmui  nach  aindui  nach  a 
comoccusfine.  Nach  acinaid  fadeifin  flathair  id- 
mbtatha  ife  iccafs  acinaid.  Airnilais  dire  afeoit 
achd  colauin  aithgena  nama  nigaib  dire  ameic  nai 
naca  dibad  naceraicc  nacha  mathair  flaith  aram- 
biatha  ifS  qodbeir,  agus  iccas  achinaid  agus  foUoing 
adnta/* 

The  following  fpecimen  is  extradled  from  another 
ancient  manufcript  on  vellum  in  the  author^  poifef- 
fion.  This  manufcript,  as  alfo  that  from  whence 
the  foregoing  is  taken,  bears  the  name  of  Edward 
Liiwyd  on  feveral  leaves,  and  from  the  following 
paflage  given  by  that  author  at  the  end  of  his  pre- 
face to  bis  Irifli  dictionary,  it  is  evident  thefe  manu^ 
fcripts  did  once  belong  to  the  collection  of  that 
great  antiquary. 

Mr. 


326  An  essay  om  the  ANTIQyiTY 

•  Mr.  Lhwyd  has  done  great  injuftice  to  the  ori- 
ginal, as  he  did  not  underftand  our  {c)  Gonnfa&ti 
or  Cor  fa  cha/an^  i.  e.  the  Benfiropff^don  of  the  Jnik  j 
and  has  confequently  made  a  ilrange  j  amble  of  un- 
connected words. 

Mr.  Lhwyd  prefaces  this  paflage  in  thefe  words : 
**  Ar  an  adhbhair  gur  nach  lanchloidhte  an  dhulth- 
aobh  lin,  cuirim  an  fo  Ihios  Siompladha  eigetn  as 
leabhruibh  Ghaoidheilg  ro  aofda.  Mas  eidh*  lets  aon 
Leughthoir  fa  nEirin  no  Halbuin  a  heidirmhin- 
iughadh :  ataim  far  dhulchannach  coimhfhreagradh 
dfagail  ids.  Do  thairng  me  iad  cboin^hpb^art  biidh 
feidir  learn  amach  as  fean  mheanHrui^ibh  %  Mbaile 
ath  cliatb."  i.  e.  *^  As  the  ibUowiog  pages  ar^  not 
in  print,  I  have  here  ^ven  an  e^i[aiiE^l9  of  very 
ancient  Iri(h  out  of  certain  old  books.  .  {f  any 
reader  in  Ireland  or  Scotlai^d  is  able  t<>  explaio  Jt,  I 
earnefiiy  requeft  his  correfpo^idence.  I  drew  thefe 
examples  as  exad  as  I  opioid  from  p}d  parf;hmeiits 
in  Dublin.*' 

The 

• 

{c)  Oonnfaeite  {eitin  or  ertrigh)  figaides  the  hva'd  of  t 
ridge,  and  Cor  fa  cbafan  means  the  reaper^s  path  ;  the/  aic 
commonly  denoted  in  ancient  manufcripts  by  this  mark^^ 
or  this  ^,  which  imp^^,  that  a  ionics ce  iiniAe/',  ud  that 
the  reader  is  to  go  to  the  next  line,  from  the  end  of  which 
he  is  to  I4irn  to  the  Cionnfaeite,  Wheflher  the  ancient  IriA 
returned  from^right  to  Is-ft  9^  the.Phpsaicians  djd*,  does  Q9l 
appear  from  any  manufcripts  that  have  fallen  io  the  author's 
way,  or  whether  the  Carthaginians  did,  has  not  occurred 
to  his  reading  We  know  <h<  Gnecians  pm^UTed  ske 
iwftro^hedon^  which  thej  learned  from  ihc  PhflBakiaoi. 
Paufanias,  lib.  $.  3ao.  mentions  an  iofcriptioo  written  in  this 
laaimer  on  a  monument  dedicated  toOiympius  by  Cypfehts; 
And  Suidas  r-emxtrks^  the  Jaws  »f  Solpn  ^er^  writtep.ni  \\^ 
»  fame  manner  on  the  Axones  and  Cyrbes.  {r  is  cemarkabie 
that  the  interpretation  oi  Boufiropbedon^  and  oiCiotinfdeiUH 
«Stremely  iimilar,  both  meaning  the  ridges  of  a  plowed  field, 
which  arc  returned  from  right  to  left,  and  from  left  to  right. 


*>  THB  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  szj 

The  E:ttra£t  according  to  Lhwyd. 

P^c  250.  Buidin  inrighan.  i.  rabacca  oc  cift«' 
eachd  fri  fin  atsfi:  don  reilg  aitt  iriubhe  iacob  ag 
ingrai  csrach  conep — fris  coti&db  dochafnumh 
nabeanr  an  frifm  innc^l  cinnus  do  de  nuinnfi  ol 
lacop  ifm  fo  olii.  i.  marbhtha  le  tuime  ann  olamr 

The  Extrad  from  the  Original. 
-— jCsin,  7  ro  eirigh  reimpi  iar  ndul  do  cbach 
Buid  in  righan.  1 .  rebecca  oc  eiftcachd  fris  in  athaefc 
don  tfeikCy  aitt  iraibhe  iacop  ag  inguiri  caerach. 
Oep^  fris,  cotifad  do  chofnumh  na  beanneachdan  fria 
fin  mac  aUe.  Cinnus  do  denuinn  fin  ol  iacop  ^  ife  fo 
6l  fi.  I .  marbhthar  latfk  meannan  ol  a  ^  7  fuinntir 
lat  7  tabair  do.  Ocus  do  fuaid  d'iceann  meannain 
f6t  laimh,  ariri^r&u,  ar  is  finnfad^  lamha  itCiu. 
Do  gni  iacop  in  nisin,  7  fiiladaigh  in  meannain,  7 
betrid  lais  inbrochan,  7  atnaigh  dia  atair.  Ocus  aSEc 
ris ;  caith  infeire  ol  ui.  A  mic  ol  ifac,  is  moc  do 
rochdais  on  tfeilcc  indiu  feach  ga  la  riamh,  mas  for 
fir  atai.  In  ceud  tfeilcc  for  andeachus  is  fuirre  fuaras 
adbair  f*re  7  b^chain  deitfiu ;  ife  fin  dom  fiic  co 
moch.  Na  hapuir  breg  ol  fe,  oir  is  tufa  iacop  7  ^ 
tu  ie(au.  Is  deaim  cam  n^  aiberainn  gai  atag  ol  fc. 
Sin  uait  do  laimh  ol  ifac,  co  feafam  inn  tu  iefau. 
Sinis  uadh  a  laimh  d6,  7  tf^icinn  mininn  impi. 
Geibidh  ifac  in  laimh.  is  fota  atai  oc  imrifin  fiiom 
ar  iacob,  ar  is  me  iafau.  Atnaigh  ifaac  oc  lamuch — 
na  laimhe  7  ad  bT  Is  i  laimh  iefau  ol  ifaac,  7  is  0 
guth  iacob.  &c.  &c. 

The  two  firfi  lines  of  which  muft  be  read  thus. 
Buid  In  righan.    i.  rebecca  oc  eiftcachd  fris  in 
athaiefc  fin,  7  ro  eirigh  reimpi  iar  ndul  chach  don 
Ifeilcc,  aitt  iraibhe  iacop,  &c.  &c. 

Tbe 


328  Am  essay  on  the  ANTIQyiTY 

The  Translation,  (d). 

The  Queen,  viz.  Rebecca,  hearing  this  difcourfc, 
after  the  people  were  gone  to  hunt,  (he  (Iraightway 
arofe,  and  went  to  Jacob  where  he  was  tending  his 
flieep.  She  told  him  he  (hould  receive  the  blelfing 
inftead  of  the  other  fon.  How  (hall  I  do  that,  quoth 
Jacob ;  do  this,  fays  (he ;  viz.  kill  a  kid,  and  dre(s 
it  and  give  it  to  him,  and  I  will  fow  the  (kin  of  the 
kid  upon  thy  hands  to  refemble  £(au,  for  the  hands 
of  Efau  are  hairy.  Jacob  did  fo,  and  drefled  the 
kid  and  brought  with  him  the  pottage  and  prefented 
it  to  his  father;  and  he  (aid  to  Mm,  eat- this  mds, 
O  fon,  fays  Ifaac,  you  are  returned  this  day  from 
hunting  earlier  than  any  former  day,  if  you  tell  the 
truth.  At  the  firlt-hunt  1  quickly  found  wheicwith 
to  make  you  a  mefs  of  pottage,  and  that  is  the 
reafon,  fays  Jacob,  I  returned  fo  foon.  Teii  not  a 
lie,  (ays  he,  for  thou  art  Jacob,  and  thou  art  not 
Efau.  Truly,  replied  he,  I  would  not  tell  a  lie 
before  thee.  Stretch  forth  thy  hands,  fays  Ifaac, 
that  1  may  know  thou  art  Efau.  He  ftretched  forth 
his  hands  to  hitp  with  the  (kin  of  the  kid  about 

them; 


fd)  Potior  O  Brien  has  quoted  this  valuable  manafcript 
frequent]/  in  his  Irifh  dictionary  as  a  ftandard  of  the  BearU 
feni  or  Phosnician  dialed  of  the  ancient  Irifh  ;  fee  the  words 
fualacbti^db^  fpirff  Uc.  in  his  di^ionary. 

p  Brien  ^alls  this  the  fpeckled  hook,  or  UM>ar  hrt^t  oi 
Mac  Eogan,  properly  Mac  Aodbagan.  Keating  and  bilhop 
Nicolfon  mention  leahkar  breac  of  Mac  Eoghan  as  a  valiuble 
chronicle  pf  the  Irifli  hiftor/,  and  this  nianufcript  before  us 
contains  only  the  lives  of  the  patriarchs  and  Mofcs,  fo  that 
probably  there  are  two  manufcripts  of  ;he  fiame  author  under 
the  fame  name  :  this  is  fuppofed  to  be  a  copy  of  tbe  OSi! 
TeftameDt  brought  to  Ireland  either  by  St.  KientD*  St.  Ailln^ 
St.  Decbn  or  St  Ibar,  the  precurforn  of  St.  Patric|c. 


OP  THB  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  s*9 

thems  ITaac  took  the  hand.  Thou  art  long  fuf^ 
picious  of  me,  fays  Jacob;  I  am  £(au,  liaac 
feeling  the  hand  faid,  this  is  the  hand  of  Efau,  and 
it  is  the  voice  of  Jacob,  &c.  &c.  Vide  GeneGsi 
chap.  27. 

Mr.  Lhwyd  has  extracted  the  following  paflage 
from  the  fame  book,  and  with  greater  miftakes  than 
IB  the  former. 

Do  rias  umro  iacop  iarfm  go  atair,  feifinrotid  dha 
imdha  exam  a  doiafau.  i .  diabrathriarbh  7  an  bifidh 
ficairdine  bhunuidh  7  a  mbrathairfi  iarfin  ite  ann  (b 
na  hafgadha.  i.  200  caerach  7  200  gabhar  7  xxx 
camhal  7  xl  bo.  20.  reiti,  20  tarbh  ocech  nt  dx. 
Da.  c.  coera  xx  boc  da.  c.  ngabur  tre  ginn  ngort  ix 
rdthi  rad  cenlochd  xl  bo  reithi  bale.  Fiche  tarbh 
nach  taraill  tonn  7  xxxngall  xx  ai&n  aluinnoU  oeii9 
XX  oiceach  ann.  MUogh  (hidha  ia(au  fut.  o  iacop 
cembrigh  a  brecc.  febh  adcuadus  duibhi  ar  fir  ife  fin 
alUn  na.  c.  da.  c.  coerrc.  tzc. 

Here  follows  the  Extradt  taken  exactly  firom.ths 

Original. 

— : -^Cluic  alga  / 

Po  rias  umro  iacop  iarfin  go  atair  feifin  ro  tid- 
dha  imdha  exa^a  doia(aiu  i.  dia  brath  ar  b7'  doib 

tfidh  7  i 
c^rd  ne  bhunuidh  7  ambrathairfi  iarfin.  Ite  ann  fo  na 
hafgadha.  i.  200.  caer*  7  200  gab"  7.  xxx  camaiil  7 

XL.  bo. 
XO  reithL  xx  tarbh  ocech,  ut  dr- 

Da.  c.  caera.  xx.  boc, 

da.  c.  ngabhur  tre  gnim  ngart. 

XX        . 


tjo  Am  essay  o»  the  ANTIQyiTY 

.  XX  reithi  rad  ceiUochd, 
xl  bo  reithi  bale. 
'    Fiche  tarbh  taraiU  toiin, 
7  XXX  eamhall  ngall,  (i) 
XX  afTan  aliunn  oil, 
ocus  XX  oieeach  ann. 
Hillogh  Ihidha  iafau  fut 
o  iacop  cen  brigha  brdcc. 
febh  ad  euadhas  datbh  iar  fir 
is  e  fin  allin  na.  c. 

Da.  c.  caera.  Sec. 

Mr.  Lhwyd  having  confounded  the  verfe  with 
the  profe,  and  having  negledted  the  Cionn  fa  eite^ 
has  rendered  tMs  paffage  entirely  obfcure:  The 
laft  Tme,  Da.  c.  caera^  is  a  repetition  of  the  firft  fine 
of  the  verfe ;  this  method  was  obferved  by  all  the 
ancient  poets  of  Ireland  to  fhow  the  copy  was 
.   complete. 

The  Translation. 

Therefore  after  Jacob  had  been  with  his  father, 
he  prefented  divers  gifts  to  Efau  his  brother,  as  the 
pledge  of  his  brotherly  peace  and  friendfhip  thence- 
forward ;  Thefe  are  the- gifts ;  viz.  200  ewes,  and 
200  fhe-goats,  and  30  camels,  and  40  cows  •,  20 
rams,  20  young  bulls,  as  the  poet  has  (aid. 

Two  hundred  ewes,  xx  he-goats 

Two  hundred  flie-goats,  he  generoufly  beilow'd. 

XX  rams  without  Biult  he  gave, 

XL  kine,  which  proudly  herd  together. 

Twenty 

(e)  CalL  lac,  Latk^,  niili  j  old  g^ofTarj  n  my  pofltfiioo. 
Gall  is  alfo  tranflalcd  milk  in  M*Naghton's  didlionary  in  cbc 
.<;o!icgc-iibrary. 


I  .  ■  <    I  ^ 


»  1  'f 


Twenty  bulls  with  ortffy  hid<»> 

Arid  xxx.  camels^mng  nulk* 
XX  .v«iy  &ir  (beHafjTcSy 

And  XX  coks  along  wj|[i  ;th^m. . 

Thefe  were  the  peac^^offerings  to  ESMy  * 
•  f^Tom  Jacob  moft  fineerely  given ; 
For  having  wandered  from  the  truth. 
Thefe  are  the  numbers  of  the  hundreds  (given).  (/^ 

By  the  Arabian  humerals  ufed  in  the  manufcript, 
we  may  nearly  afcertain  the  time  it  was  written : 
the  figures  are  not  Arabic,  nor  fo  old  as  thofe 
given  us  by  Jo.  dc  facro  Bofco,  nor  are  -they  the 
.^htient  Saxon,  but  they  are  all  our  modern  iigurcs 
improved  from  the  Arabian.  Dr.  Waliis  is  6f 
Opmibn,  contrary  to  J.  Gerard  Voflius  and  father 
M^biilpn,  that  the  ufe  of  figures  in  thefe' European 
parts,  was  as  old  at  leflfft.asthetimeofHermannus 
Co/itralflus,  who  lived  about  the  year  of  our  Lord 
1050 ;  and  he  vouches  an  old  mantle* tree  at 
Helmdon  in  Nprthamptonftiire  with  this  date, 
A^  D*.  M^  133.  that  is,  11 33.         ' 

Mr.  LufFkin  aft6twatrds  produced  an  infcription 
from  Colchefter  of  the  date  of  1090. 

Dr.  Harris,  in  his  hiftory  of  Kent,  gives  the  date 
on  a  window  at  Prefton  thus,  II02,  and  obferves 
that  the  ^gures  ufed  at  prefent  were  firft  generally 
made  ufe  of  about  1 1 20. 

The  poem  quoted  by  our  author  is  bf  much 
greater  antiquity  \  the  Rpman  numerals  only  being 
ufed. 

Vol.  11.  .    Z  It 

ff)  Vide  Genef.  zxxii.  1 3. 


$31  An  ESSAY  OK  THB  ANTIQUITY 

It  is  not  probable  diat  the  Irifh  recdved  the  ufe  of 
figures  diredly  from  the  Spaniards ;  as  all  mter- 
courfe  with  that  nation  was  llopped,  long  before 
figures  were  improved  by  them  into  their  prefent 
form.  •  Profeflbr  Wallis  thinks  they  came  fiiil  from 
the  Perfians  or  Indians  to  the  Amlxans,  and  from 
them  to  the  Mooss,  and  fo  to  the  Spaniards.  This 
was  the  opinion  of  John  Gerard  Vodlus^  John 
.    Greaves,  hifhop  Beveridge  and  many  others. 

Jeoflf.  Keating  mentions  an  arvcient  chronicle  of 
Irilh  aflfairs  written  by  Mac  Aodhagain^  entitled 
the  Leabhar  BreaCj  which  he  (ays  was  then  30b 
years  old;  Keating  finilhed  bis  hiilory  in  1625; 
we  may  therefore  conclude  this  MS.  to  be  part  of 
the  &me  Leabhar  Breac  or  fpectded  book  of  Mac 
Eogain^  who  died  in  the  year  1325. 

It  cannot  be  properly  called  a  very  ancient  MS. 
as  Mr.  Lhwyd  terms  it  in  the  (hort  preface  to  his 
quotations ;  but  it  is  a  ftrong  proof  that  the  Irifli 
lai^age  of  this  day  is  totally  different  in  (enie  and 
orthography,  to  that  dialedt  fpoken  4Q0  years  ago. 
The  abufes  which  have  been  admitted  into  this 
language  by  the  liberties  taken  by  the  modem 
poets^  (hall  be  the  fubjeft  of  another  work* 

We  have  already  taken  notice,  that  on  com- 
paring the  Bafcongada  or  Bifcayan  language  with 
the  Irifh,  there  does  not  appear  the  leafi  affinity. 
The  author .  of  this  cffay  has  carefully  perufed  the 
Bifcayan  grammar  written  by  Larramendi,  oikI 
could  not  perceive  the  leaft  affinity  between  that 
language  and  the  Irifb,  even  in  thofe  parts  of 
fpeech,   which  generally   bear  (bme  affinity 


OF  THE  IRISH  LANGUAOB.  dSi 

twmi.two  dide6ts  formed  on  the  &me  radical 
language. 

Mr.  Baretti^  in  the  fourth  volume  of  his  journey 
fiom  London  to  Genoa,  has  taken  upon  him  to  (ay 
the  faipe,  and  has  given  the  Pater  Nofler  in  the 
Bifcayaii  and  inliifli;  the  former  varieis  fo  much 
from  that  given  by  (g)  Wilkins^  (A)  Megeferiu^ 
(/)  Reuterus,  and  the  (k)  anonymous  publi(her  of 
the  jLord'^  Prayer  in  one  hundred  languagcis  \  and 
the  Irifh  given  by  Mr.  Baretti  is  fo  mutilated,  tfiat 
the  author  of  thefe  (beets  could  not  pals  it  by 
unnoticed.  The  reader  is  here  jarefented  with 
Mr.  Baretti's  Bifcayan  and  Iri(h  in  one  column^ 
and  in  the  qppotiXt  with  the  Bifdayail  from  the 
above  named  authors,  to  .  which  Is  added  the 
proper  Irifh, 

Baretti.  W  ilklns.  Mtgi^erius.  Renter. 

I 

« 

Pater  Nojier  qui  es  in  caUs faniiificetuf  nomeH  imni. 

I  ,    I 

Bifcayan.  Bifcayan. 

Gure  Alta  ceruetant  za-  GureAitaceruetanaice- 

renaerabilbedifainduqui  na  fan£tifica    bedi  lure 

zure  iccna.  icena. 

Iri(h.  Proper  Iri(h« 

Ar  Nahir  ata  ere  neave  Ar  n Athatr  ata  ar  neamh, 

guh  neavfiar  thanem.  naomthar  hainm. 

Z  z  Advenit 

ig)  Wiikins  in  Op.  Anglico.  do  lingua  Phil.  p.  435. 
(^h)  H.  Megifcriu*  in  Spec.  50  lineu. 
(r)  J.  Reocerus  Livon.  in  Torat.  Dom.  40  lingu. 
{^k)  Oratio  Domin.  London  1700. 


t34  Ah  E«SA:T  ok  ♦hb  AHTIQJJITY 

Battttk  ■  WBUeitfs.libgiftc  Rmter. 

.2 

Advenitrezhum  tuum. 

ft  .  ,     2  . 

•  •  •  .11 

Kfcayan.  Bifcayaa. 

Ethor  bedi  tMte,  CFrefuma    £^  hoz  bedi  bure  jechuim. 
ktfh.  ;  i^roperlrUb.  ' 

/jii^  voluntas  tmficui  in  c'ald'M  in  terra/ 


»» 


Bifcayan.  Bilcayanl 


Eguin  bedi  xmt  boroi^  £giua  bedi  hire'  vozoiir- 

datea  ceruam  bezala  lur-  datea'cervan  be.  cala  lur* 

ream  ere.  rean  ere. 

-  *    *       Iiifti.  .  Proper  IrHh. 

Gu  nahium  de  heil  ar  Deuntar  do  thoil  ar  an 

dallugh  marr  thainter  ere  ttalamh  mar  do  mtbcar 

neave.  arneamb. 

4  ■ 

PdHefn  n^fum  quotidkmum^  da  nobis  hodie. 

-4  "  4 

Bifcayan*  BlfcaydUL 

I  guzu  egoa  gure  ega-   Guie  eguneco  ogiua  iguc 

Beco  og  wa,  cgun. 

Iriftiv  Proper  Ififli; 

Thourdune    nughe    ar    Ar  naran  leathamh^tab- 

naran  leahule.  '  bair  dhuiiin  a  niu. 


Et 


i 

i 


oB,,TiiB 'I Hi4-SH  LANGUAGE.  .  S36 

;    B^retti.  Wilktns.  M^ifbn  Reuter. 

Et  Jimittt  nobis  debits  nofira^ 

5  S 

Bifcayaa.  Bifcayan. 

Eta.  barkhua  detz^^utzu    Eta  quitta  j|ctragae  guie 
gure  corrac.  cozrac. 

frUh.  Proper  frilh. 

Moughune  are  veig^       ^V^  maitb  dhuinn  af 

bhfiacba* 

Sicut  tt  nos  Smittitms  iebitoribus  mjku. 

6  6 
Biicayan.                           Bifcayan. . 

Guc  gure  gana  zordun  Nola  gucre   gttrc   coz* 

direnei  barkhateem  de-  duney  quittatzen  baitra 

ruztegim  bezala.  vegu. 

Irilh,  Proper  Irifli. 

Marvoughimon     yare  Mar    mhaithmidne  dar 

vieghuna  fane.  bhfi&itheamhnuibh  fein. 

7 
Et  ne  nos  inducas  in  tentationem. 

7  7 

Bifcayan.  Bifcayan. 

Eta    ezgattzatzula    utz   Eta  quitta  zalafar  eraci* 

tentamendutan  crorcera.    tenta  tentatione  tan. 

Irifli.  Proper  Irifli. 

I^a  {eaghfliine  a  caghue.    Agus   na   leig   finn    a 

ccathughadh. 


Sei 


336         An  essay  on  the  ANTlQyiT^Y,  &c. 

Barettl.  Wilkins.  Megifer.  Reuter. 

8 

Sed  libera  ttos  a  malo.    Amen. 

8  8 

Bifcayan.  Bifcayan. 

Aitciticbeguiragaitzatzu    Baima    delibiza    gaitzac 

gaicetic.    Halabiz.  gaich  totic. 

Irifli.  Proper  Irifti, 

Agh  cere  fticn  onululkt.  Achd  faor  inn  o  olc 
baighmarron(/)aheama,  biodh  mar  fin;  id  e/f^ 
Amen.  Amen. 


(!)  a  bearna  if  xxM^    ihould   be  written,   n  tbigbtmnm^ 
id  cit,  43  Lord.  ^ 


REMARKS 


R     E     MARKS 


O  N    T  H  E 


ESSAY  ON  THE  ANTIdUITY 


O  F    T  HE 


IRISH     LANGUAGE, 


ADDRESSED    TO    THE 


PRINTER  OF  THE  LONDON  CHRONICLE, 

r- 

IN  THE  YEAR  i]^«« 


S  I  R, 

IN  the  prcfent  Century  foaic  ufeful  refearches 
have  been  made  into  European  antiquities,  and 
the  fubjeft  having  fallen  under  the  direction  of  a 
higher  principle  than  bare  curiofity,  much  may  be 
iexpe£ted  from  future  inveftigations.  Relatively 
to  our  own  northern  nations,  the  ends  propofcd, 
gnd  the  means  purfued,  are  now  admirably  fuited 
to  each  other ;  to  learn,  as  much  as  can  be  known 
of  their  ancient  hiftory,  it  has  been  judicioully  con- 
certed to  rejc^  in  the  lump,  every  modern  hypo- 
thelis,  generally  containing  fewer  deformities,  but 
certainly  fewer  truths  than  the  ancient  documents 
they  are  brought  to  demolifh.  It  was  deemed 
proper  aUb|  to  try  the  fwoUen  panegyrics  of  ancient 

bards^ 


338  REMARKS  on  an  ESSAY  ok  the 

bards,  and  the  federal  iiwe€tive»  of  ancieat  fira«« 
gers,  by*  fhe  d^fccs  of  probability  on^  one  fide; 
and  the  means  of  information  on  the  other;  to 
•"Weigh  at  the  fame  tinie  flie  credibility  of  the  fedk^ 
in  which  both  agree,  and  inveftigate  the  reafon 
why  oia  ^>mWy,  Who  couid  hot  aft  in  concert, 
happened  to  agree  fo  well.  It  was  further  found 
expedient  to  try  the  prctenfiohs  of  domeftic  hifto- 
rians,  by  getting  acquainted  with  the  languages^ 
in  which  thdy  ccfriveyed  their  infdrraatibns  i  d 
drudgery  not  to  be  borne,  were  it  not  rewarded 
by  real  knowledge;  by  infallible  fignatures  of  the 
defefts,  and  grammatical  incongruities,  which 
poiht  out  at  once  an  unlettered  and  barbarous 
nation,  or  thofe  elegancies  of  expreffion  and  com- 
modious texture  of  wbrds  which  declare  a  civilised 
one.  On  thefe  principles,  aflbciattons  for  the  ftudy 
of  our  northern  antiquities  have  been  efiiUi(hed  in 
feveral  European  kingdoms,  and  within  the  prcfent 
year  the  fpirit  lias  Happily  tnigrsited  into  Irelan^. 
The  Dublin  Sociejy,  (now  fo  celebrated  in  Europe 
iiave  appoint ed  zJcleB  committee  of  their  own  Body 
to  irifpedt  into  the  ancient  ftate  of  literature  and 
arts  in  Ireland,  and  Mr.  Vallancey  one  of  the 
learned  members  of  that  committee,  has  already 
given  the  pubfic  a  fpecimen  of  his  abilities,  in  an 
Rjfay  on  the  Lijb  Langut^e ;  it  is  a  new  and  great 
accefl;on  to  European  literature,  and  without  any 
doubt  the  forerunner  of  a  greater.  To  trace 
languages  to  their  fountain  heads;  to  point  out 
the  Areams  they  have  mingled  with  in  their  defcent 
to  our  own  times,  and  mark  the  changes  they 
Underwent,  in  their  feveral  ftages  of  improvement 

ancl 


i 


ANnriQyiTY  o  t^H«  irish  i^^nguaqe.       339 

tfldicsritaptioti  iav^o  arduous  •  ta(k  moft  certainly « 
Few  nati^iia  can  aSbrd  fufficient  materials  fgr  fuch 
W  inVcitigabon ;  fm  writerahave  fkillienovgh  to 
aooen^liiodiite  fudi,  inateriab  to  the  purpofes  of 
ufeful  iaformatkm.  •  The  learned  pains  of  moli 
pWWbgte  fervodonly  to  cover  their  ignorance  of 
particfilats  which. ailone  Hiould  enfure  fuccefa  to 
<heir .  initjuiries.  They  have  furfdtec}  the  world 
with  .^JyftiOlogics  unfupported  by  probability,  with 
graa)ii)ati0al  ,wnc<it8  \inat]tetidi^d  witjviational  ana- 
logy^jknd  with  l^pothpf;sjcofltrad^ed, by  ancient 
refu>rds^  and  intidoii(fible  had  no  Aicli  records 
exifted.  .Front):  thokafnftdG^ropiudB^canus  down 
to  tfa^  itigdnioiia  toanilat^ftr  of  Ofljan  they  have  done 
nothing  elfe.  The  difplay  of  their  cruditioq*^ 
boveoveri  ebuld  not  infipofe  long,  but  it  has  created 
a  difgufi,  which  nothing,  but  the  taking  up  this 
furbje<!t  on  the  prinoiples<  laid  down  by  the  learned 
Lhwyd  and  recoraniended  by .  the  great  Leibnitz, 
could  remove.  On  fuqh  principles,  now  adopted 
by  Mr.  Vallancey,  languages :  may  b?  traced  to  , 
their  true  fources;  nauph-Jbght  fnay  be  ^rown  9a 
the  antiquities  of  nations^  and,  a  rule  berag  forxQ4 
through  this  medium,  for  feparating  the  true  fro(^ 
the  faife  in  old  traditions,  the  fum  of  our.  inquiriea 
rtiuft.centcr  in  knowledge.  The  era  of  the  culti- 
vatioh  of  letters  JOMiytbfl  «{certained  with  fome 
truth,  among  any  people  who  have  pretcnfions  to 
an  early  civilization ;  or  at  leaft  fuch  a  ftate  of  it, 
as  may  intitlc  their  early  Kftory  to  any  degree  of  . 
attention. 

Fortunately,  no  countries  in  Europe  can  fiirnifli 
better  materials  for  the  knowledge  attainable  from 

antient 


H0  REMARKS  ok  av  ESSAY  ok  rnt^ 

dntient  languages,  tban  our  own  ifles  idf  Britant 
and  Ireland.  Allowing  for  the  altemtiohs  una- 
voidably made  by  ttme^  the  Celtic,  as  antient  a 
language  as  any  in  the  wcvld,  ia  to  tins  day  ver- 
nacular in  Wales.  To  ttrnt  language  the  Greeka 
have  been  indebted  for  a  great  number  of  fignifi- 
cant  terms,  witli  which  they  have  enriched  their 
own ;  and  tlie  Romans  have  adopted  a  ftiil  greater 
number.  The  introduction  of  it  into  Britain  pre^ 
cedes  all  memory  of  things  in  Europe  by  letters  i 
and  it  forms,  (o  to  fpeak,  a  moft  autiientic  infcrip- 
tion  of  itfelf,  fo  legible  to  all  notions,  as  to  inform 
us  with  precifion,  that  a  people  exift  flill  in  a 
comer  of  Europe,  who  have  furvived  all  revo-^ 
lutions,  and  have  hitherto  baffled  every  effort  for 
fubduing  them  to  a  dereii€ticm  dE  their  own  Ian* 
guage. 

Ireland  planted  ori^nally  by  Britifti  colonies  did 
not  efcape  like  the  parent  nation.  The  Gomera^, 
or  primaeval  Celtic,  was,  no  doubt,  the  current 
language  in  both  ifles  for  many  ages ;  but  in  pro- 
cefs  of  time,  a  new  mixed  language  (wherein 
(fideed  the  Celtic  terms  bore  the  greater  part) 
prevailed  over  the  old.  A  colony  from  the  con- 
tinent, partly  Celts,  partly  Plioenicians  invaded 
and  fubdued  Ireland,  long  known  before  to  the 
latter  people,  the  firft  and  beft  navigators  in  the 
world.  The  moft  antient  Iri(h  Fileas  have  re- 
corded this  revolution,  their  (ucceflbrs,  from  a 
vanity  common  to  all  nations,  have  antedated  it ; 
but  the  tradition  itfelf  has  been  invariably  prderved 
through  all  ages;   and  we  ihall   fee  bow  Mr. 

Vallancey 


ANTIQJJITY  OP  THE  IRISH  LANGUAGE.  341 

Vallanccy  in  a  few  pages  has  fumilhed  us  with  an 
irrefragable  proof  of  its  authenticity. 

By  collating  the  language  in  the  old  books  of 
Ireland,  with  the  Gomeraeg  now  fpoke  in  Wales^ 
that  learned  gentleman  found  a  thorough  identity 
of  fignification  in  a  great  number  of  words,  but 
po  analogy  of  fyntax  in  the  texture  of  thofe 
tongues.  From  this  difference  of  conftruftion,  a^ 
well  as  the  ufe  of  numberlefs  words  in  Irifh,  not  to 
be  found  in  Welch  books  or  gloflaries;  he  dis- 
covered that  he  mufl  (cek  further  for  the  original 
of  the  former  language.  His  knowledge  of  the 
oriental  tongues  opened  a  furc  path  for  him.  On 
collating  the  Irifh  with  the  remains  of  the  antient 
Punic  now  fpoke  in  the  ifland  of  Malta,  and  the 
fpccimen  of  the  fame  language  preferved  in  the 
Poenulus  of  Plautus,  he  found  fo  perfcdt  an  identity 
in  the  fignification  of  many  words,  and  fuch  an 
affinity  of  conflrudtion  in  the  phrafeology  (fo  far  as 
it  could  be  picked  from  the  corrupt  copies  of  the 
Punic  in  Plautus)  as  (hows  to  a  demonftration, 
that  the  colony  who  imported  this  mixed  language 
into  Ireland^  had  early  intercourfes  with  the  Phoe- 
nicians. 

Here,  as  in  other  inftance$,  Ae  antient  Iri(h 
traditions  refleA  back  on  Mr.  Vallancey*s  difcovery 
the  illuflration  they  rc;ccive  from  it.  They  tcrni 
the  Irifh  a  Berk  Tcibidhe^  i.  c.  a  mixed  language, 
and  they  denominate  one  of  its  dialers,  a  Beth 
Fcne^  or  the  Phoenian  dialedk ;  they  inform  us  alfo 
that  the  ancelbrs  of  the  Irifh  natbn  (when  on 
the  Continent)  learne<J  the  ufe  of  letters  from  a 
celebrated  Phcnius,  from  whom  they  took  the 
■^    "^ patronimic 


3^  REMARKS  on  an  ESSAy  otf  rmf 

patmnimic  appcllatioa  of  JPl^eni  or  Ph^t)i<^i^« 
Thefe  traditions  infonn  us^  furtfieiv  that  tbofe  oon- 
tioental  anceftors  fojoumed  49f'  fe^^ral  geaera^ns 
in  Getluige  (the  Getulia  .o£^  the  Romans),  and  in 
this  account,  ftripped  of  .its  poetical  garb,,  we  find 
the  original  of  the  name  of  Gaedhil,  which  with 
that  of  Phetii  the  Iriih  retamed  through  all  ages. 
They  tell  .us  moreover,  that  the  Gaedils  nugrated 
firom  Getluige  into  Spain  i  and  thence,  after  a  con* 
fiderable  time,,  into  Ireland. 

Let  thefe  reports  be  paraUeled  with  foreign 
traditions  univerfally  credited.  .  The  latter  inform 
tis  that  the  Phenician$  were  the  firft  inllru^ors 
of  the  Europeans  in  navrg^tton  and  letters ;  that 
one  of  th^c  cpbnies  pl^fited  iii  Carthage,  arofe  to 
a  mighty ;  republic,  conquered  feveral  maritime 
provinces :  in  Lybia  aiv4  S^parn^  and  according  to 
the  policy,  of  tbe  early  s»gei|,  tranfplanted  con- 
quered tribes  from  one  country  to  another.  Thefe 
truths  confirm  in  a  great  degree,  the  certainty  of 
the  Irifl):  trjiditions  relatively  to  thofe  migrations 
fromtiybia  td  $pain.  They  account  for  the  in- 
trodu6ti<^n'. of  letters  by  a  great  Phenius,  as  the 
Greeks  account  for  their  receiving  in  like  manner 
the  Mfe  of  letterSj  from  the  brother  of  another  great 
Phenix  or  Phenkian^  whom  they  call  Cadmus. 
We  find  in  this  parallel  of  ancient  reports,  how 
thefe  Getnii,  or  Lybian  fulycds  of  Carthage,  n^xed 
M'ith  Celtiberians  pr  (a)  Scylho- Celts  in  Spain;  bow 

llic 
♦ 

(ii)  I  fay  Scrtli«-Cdts  •  a»  the  Scythian*,  a  roving  people 
>n  nil  agfs,  have  mixed  with  the  norrhcm  Celts  of  Spain, 
^iltui  halicii«,  a.  Spaniard  by  feirth,  conftffcs  tke  fa^,  and 

the 


/INTIQyiTY  M  <rH& JRISH  lMiQ€AGE.         943 

the  two  people  inoorpor^ed  iato  on&i  IbbMeiaBder, 
Punic  oiafters,  a  naixcd  -language  vrc|s  ffbordieot  <^ 
the  Celtic  and  Punic ;  and  laftly .btn^JafiMHo  rcaa- 
uruifion.  of  tiic  CaribdgiDian  governrii0iiitv(aft  the 
lime -probably  whenitheCbaideans  m^r^^rim'Spaifn, 
ttccoT^ng  to  Jofephos  a|kd 'Oiher 'lanotems  590 
yekrs  before  our  SaViDtir)',TiumErillynfie  rpeoptc  .df 
SpaiA  ited  For  Ihefterlntio  >Irdanti,' ^  i^thisr  ihan 
iubmit^o  fervitude  frotn  nevldllnattets, 

Mucb  -darkhds/  no  dotbt;  fpri^adB.  itiblf  ovdr 
iheearru^r  periods  ^tif  Lybian  and  iSpaniAi  e(!air&; 
^.  <la:ric|t'pretedd  to  dlfpd  the  dot^  which  r<s(t 
vponihcffn;  it  ia  enou^ 'if  in  c6nfirofttfiAg  a  few 
Ibrttgn  M^ith  a  fewdomefiic  tradttioas,  we  can 
ciiXd^  ^'{bmt  ti^ith«,'  and^hpfe  w$  have  mentioned 
are  important.  Thvoiigh^t^.  Vattincey^s  leaitned 
t«feii-ch09,  we  diiborvei-  why  a  diak^  cK  the  sfrifh 
lan^okgei-is  to  thia^lay  csilleA  Btria  Etnt  or  the 
-Fh|snk:iafrf ;  and  in  but^  ^cient  tradhionei^e  haoe 
fiil^  -a  -^afon*  why  th6  vulgar  dtaled !  is  caUed 
^G^^iJbfi^^  iliftead  ^  driving  it  firomm  fingleGaedal 
whcM' fable' hafi  Miade  the  grandfon  of  Phmius: 
W^  dkcdrer  alfe,  'th&  mfoli  why  the  hatihnefe  ^f 
th6'<^t!(3, 4b  grating  tb  <he  ears  of  the  6M  R<^man6, 
•  haH  4^«ft  kid  iddt  •  fdr  an  harmonious  orietital 

■ 

ctfd«6^e*;'  arid  in  iihe,  wti^r  the  cOnfohadlal  roots 

♦  '    *  of 

.  ifre  miitiife  of  Gdts  and  Sc/thUns  tn  ^ver^l  other  couo- 
ir'ies,,  wai  the  more  common,  from  ihe  little  difference  m 

-  tbdr  tiinguages»  till  tbey 'kave  ({^Ih  ihto  varidos  and  dif- 
•fotdi^ot  d)^le6la  in  laiier  ag.cs.  I  mjcntiOR^his  oniy,to  inicy- 
ducc-ihe  tradition  Of  the  Irifti  wherein  they  pretend  "a 
^ftfiwt'frdtn  a  famotii  Eber-6cot ;  that  i$,  from  a li  Iberian 
Sfcyihiftii;.'  h  accoitnis  for  the  pamt'of  Scots;  as  ih^  Lyhmn 
ji^uue^  oCGaedhal  and  rhenius  account  for 'the  appeilatiosu» 
Caecftils  and  Phcni. 


1 


544  REMARKS  on  ak  ESSAY  ok  fui 

of  moft  Cdtic  words  hava  (for  the  fake  of  etymon 
logy)  been  preferved  in  writing,  but  fupprefled  in 
dae  pronunciation. 

At  what  time  (bever  a  colony  of  lettered  Grangers 
migrated  from  a  Punic  province  into  Ireland^  we 
are  not  at :  liberty  to  pronounce  gratuitoufly  that 
they  immediately  degenerated  into  favages.  Tiie 
defcription  of  ibrne  old  Greek  and  l^tin  writers 
are  of  no  great  weig^K  in  this  cafe.  They  received 
their  intelligence  from  nwiners,  who  had  but  jull 
fidetity  enough  to  aver  that  the  climate  of  Ireland 
was  of  all  others  the  mofl  Iiorrid ;  and  philolbphy 
enough  to  report,  that  the  natives  knew  no  diftinc- 
tion  of  right  and  wrong.  Such  accounts  equally 
true,  may  well  go  together, ^  and  dignify  the  pages 
of  ibme  modern  declaimera. 

Thlt  bar.barifm  however  prevailed  in  Ireland 
in  fome  periods  cannot  be  denied;  their  tumul- 
tuary government  infers  it,  though  it  never  pre* 
vailed  in  kind  or  degree,  equal  to  what  might 
be  natuially  expected.    Cuftoms  controlled  their 
barbarifm,    particularly   the .  admirable   edablifli* 
ment  of  the  order  of  FiJfaSt  that  is,  of  colleges 
of  pbtloTophers,  who  devoted;  themfelves  to  abftrad 
fiudies,  who  Ukewife  had  la  rigfit  td  vot?^  in  thdr 
national  aflembbes,  and  whofe:diiirij(^6  in  theheat 
pf  the  moft  cruel  domeflic  confiids  were  left  un- 
touched, as  £>  many  facred  places  of  refuge,  for 
the  cultivation  of  human  knowledge.    It  was  the 
cuftom  of  ail  ages  and  times,  while  the  fhadow  of 
monarchy  remained  in  the  kingdom.     Their  Ian* 
guage  likewife  is  a  living  proof  of  the  influence 
and    induftry  of  the  Fileas,    as  it  includes  the 

elegance^ 


ANTIOyrrY  op  t  hb  IRISH  language.  545 

el<^imoe»  the  oq^ioufiitrst  the  varigtiot»«  and  con- 
Ycrfions  which  none : but  a  thinking  and  free  people 
can  ufe^  and  which  barbarians  can  never  attain 
to;  as  it  contiMns  alio  tlie  figns  ofthofe  mixed 
modes  and  technical  t^rms  of  art,  which  no  en* 
lightened  people  can  want.  It  is  eafy  to  account 
for  the  prefervation  of  a  language  under  fuch  regu* 
lations  as  I  have  heje  flightly  mentioned.  Through 
the  want  of  fuch  regulations,  letters  have  been 
defpifed  in  the  Gaul  now  called  France,  though  not 
abfolutdy  in  the  iincient  Gaul,  wlach  extended 
from  the  Elbe  to  the  pillars  of  Herculfs ;  the  like 
contempt  of  letters  is  remarkable  v(  the  Thraosins^ 
in  the  vei^  confines  of  Greece ^  and  even  among 
Chriftian  nations  we .  iind,  from  the  fifth  to  the 
thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  fuch  a  flight  put  « 
upon  letters  in  mod  European  counties,  that  even 
the  prime  nobility  knew  not  how  to  write  or  read. 
That  Ireland  fared  better  is  certain.  Its  CeUo-Punic 
could  not  be  pnefcrvcd .  without  the  ijife  of  letters; 
believer  it  might  be  fomewhat  altered  in  the  coucfe 
of  ages,  it  could  not  certainly  be .  adulterated,  in 
an  iflahd  feldom  diftnrbed  by  foreign,  invafions  till 
the  ninth  century. 

Thb  language  imjluded  two  prindpol  i^le^s, 
the  Gnath  Bheria  and  the  Berh,  Fene^  u  e.  the 
Common  and  the  Phentan :  the  latter  Tike  the 
Mandarin  language  of  the  Chinefcy  was  known 
only  to  the  learned  :  tlie  fcience  of  jurifprudence 
was  committed  to  this  diale«a  peculiarly,  under 
the  patronage  of  Concovar  Mac  Ncfle  king  of 
Ulfter,  who  reformed  the  order  of  the  Fileas,  and 
ilouriihed  in  the  firft  century.    This  jurifprudence 

under 


346  REMARK^S  ^  ah  iESySti'Y  x^k  n>Ht 

under  the  title  of  Bfeatha  Mmki  pr  judgment's  iof 
.  Heaven,  wa6  cultivated  Vi^tth  remafrkabte  induftry 
under  Cormac  O  Quin  kit^  df'  Treiand  in  the  third 
century,  and  it  continued  to  beejctendedand  com-^ 
mented  upon  under  his  fUc^^eflbrs,  tilt  the  end  of 
■the  ninth  century ;  many  of  thofe  trafVs,  and  fomc 
of  them  of  the  eariieft  date,'  are  ftilbexta^it  in  our 
*  EngKih  and  lTi(h'  librarieis ;  nor  <was  the.  knowledge 
'of  the'Pheniah  dialeft  negledtediiti  irekiad,  nilUhc 
reign  of  Ghdrles  11. ;  the  laft  fchool  for  the  ftudy^of 
*         it  was  -kept  f n-  the  county  of  j  Tippferary^  'under ^tbe 
'  profelTorfhif)  of 'Boethiu&Mac  Egan  in  the  reign  of 
Charles  1/  and  it  was  in  that  fenoinary  that  the  .cele- 
brated DUfiiid  Mac  Firbis  got  hist  knowledge;  of  it, 
and  clofed  the  line  of  Phehian  Learnbg..'   AmtUig 
'     feverai  old  triads  of  Phenian  jurdrprud<bae»;tbfire 
are  (bme  itranfcripts  of  it  in  Mac  Firbis's.  Dikrn  hiuid 
writings  and  I  am  well  infotani  that  tbiey  faai^e 
-  lately  been  put  into  the  handb  of  Mr.  VdltAOPey, 
by  Sir  John  Seabright,  Bart,  and  that  be  $a  /OQW 
engaged  in  collecting  and  tranflating  .the  fro^ 
fragments  of  thefe  laws  left  ia  thisxxxiatry ;  B.vffA 
which  cahnot  fail  of  being,  as  acceptable  ;tP  ^ 
public  as  was  the  publication  of  the  Welch  law$;of 
Howel  Dba.    Pity  it  islndeedf  tf  ;not  a  jeproach 
to  the  kingdom,  that  fo  valuable,  a  part  of  vERCijent 
learning  (hould  furvive  the*  dxmiefiic  conliifiDQS  of 
many  centuries,  and  b^  loft  inourowapeacseable 
times!  The  recovery  of  it  is. certainly  one  of  ihc 
great'defiderata  of  the  prefentage. 

Why  the  eariieft  hiftorical  accounts  of  the.  Iri/h 
have  been  long  defpifed  by  the  Jearned,  w^s  partly 
owing. to  a  natural  notion^  that  To  very  remotes 

people 


/ 


ANTIQyiTY  OP  THE  IRISH  LANGUAGE.         54^ 

people  conld  fere  no  better  in  the  cultivation  of 
literature  than  the  other  northern  nations. 

It  was  only  on  the  publication  of  Sr  Wkae 
Netvton*s  Chtondogy,  that  a  trial  was  made  whether 
thehr  traditiom,  ftrippedf  of  the  poetical  and  mar- 
vellous, could  be«^  the  new  light  which  that  great 
man  has  poured  on*  European  anti^iftties.  The 
trial  focceeded  beyond  expe6tation,  and  I  refer  for 
the  many  proofs  on  tWs  ftfbjeft,  t6  the  learned 
«utbcrf  of  the  Rtmdms  rf  Japhetk  ^  I  will  only  ob- 
ferve,  by  the  way,  how  very  remarkable  it  is,  that 
Sir  Ifaac  Newton,  whofe  work  has  been  fo  fevercly 
attacked  by  fome  critics,  fliduld  after  his  death, 
find  props  to  fome  parts  of  his  fyftem,  in  the  very 
traditions  which  he  judged  of  no  value ;  and  which, 
in  truth,  \\t  rieveir  thought  worthy  of  the  fmalleft 
examination. 

On  the  whole  Mr.  Vallancey  has  poured  ftiU 
more  day  light  on  this  fubjeft;  and  his  Effay  on  the 
Irijb  Language  is  highly  worthy  of  the'  attention  of 
the  learned  of  Europe,  to  whom  it  is  infcribed.  He 
has  made  his  fiudy  of  this  and  other  ancient  lan- 
guages fubfervient  to  the  hiftory  of  arts  and  civil 
fociety  in  their  earlicft  periods,  and  in  the  fraall 
pamphlet  before  me,  ftrengthened  Us  principal 
argument  by  fhowing  the  conforrtiity  of  the  an- 
cient Irifti  theology,  with  that  of  the  Phenicians. 
What  he  has  now  publiflied  is,  evidently,  only  a 
bare  delineation  of  a  future  pidture,  on  which  he  is 
(we  may  fuppofe)  at  prefent  laying  the  ftrongeft 
colouring :  and  to  the  want  of  the  lights  he 
ftruck  out,  we  fliould  attribute  fome  miftakes  of 

Vol.  II,  A  a  Dr. 


■348  REMARKS  on  am  ESSAY,  &c. 

Dr.  Paribns  and  of  the  writer  of  the  Differtasims 
on  Irijb  Hiftoryy  in  fome  matters  they  have  advanced 
relatively  to  the  Irifh  language. 

To  conclude ;  I  do  not  advance  that  Mr.  Val- 
lancey  has  committed  no  miftakes  himfelf  in  fome 
parts  of  his  collation^  particularly  in  compound 
wordsy  and  even  in  a  few  that  are  leis  complex ; 
it  is  enough  that  he  is  right  in  the  greater  number^ 
and  that  he  hath  the  merit  of  exciting  the  leamed 
of  thefe  iflands  to  cultivate  the  fertile  field  he  has 
thrown  open  to  them. . 

I  am,  Sir, 

Your  humble  fervant, 

CELTICUS. 


I 


F    I    ^^    I    s. 


Speedily  will  be  PubKfhed, 

ColleSianea  de  Rebus  Hibernicis. 


NUMBER     IX, 


CONTAINIKG, 


THE 


HISTORY  AND  ANTIQUITIES 


O  F 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY: 

From  Original  Records  and  Authentic 

Documents. 

illustrated  with  coppbr-plates. 
By  EDWARD  LEDWICH,  L.L.B. 

Vicar  of  Aohabob  in  the  Queen's  County^  and 

SociET.  ANTiq^  HiB.  Soc. 


^ 


<' 


p        •  '  • 


*    •         • 


•  .  . 


r 


-» ' 
/» 


l^itECTioKS  fbr  pladng  the  Plates. 


PUn  of  Kilkenaj  to  face  the  title 

Market  Crofj            -           -  pag«  44^ 

St.  John's  Abbey            -              -  53« 

The  DomiDican  Abbey                 -  $54 


ERRATA. 

(OccafiMed  by  the  Author'a  diftance  from  the  Preft.) 

Page  3$Ot  note  (/t)  for  CbrfjMf,  read  Connm. 

35 1^  note  (^  for  1085  anJ^  read  i#8$  tt. 

3549  the  notet  (h)  and  («)  have  changed  places. 

35S,  line  3a,  for  at  a  kng  read  ai  tbt  bug. 

36a,  1.  I7»  (ot  ReSmm  Tend  RuSurn. 

36;,  1.  29>  for  vMii  read  WHY. 

377,  1.  15,  iorfwr/^ten  read  ituer^yfivt. 

381, 1.  12,  for  Coirt  read  Cairc. 

385 »  note  (/),  at  the  end  add :  "  There  li  fome  con- 
fi^oa  in  writers  refpefting  the  name  of  this 
benefa6tor»  not  now  ealily  to  be  reconciled. 

388*  1.  I9f  after  Sjdne;^  place  a  comma. 

390,  note  (k)f  for  fage  at  read  ^ge  379. 

39S»  1.  *f  fof  «WM,^^  rca<l  lueriffint. 

4'3»  1-  »4».fof  irw/it  read  hreujtt, 

4$79  !•  i»  for  f&^MlUont  read  nudalUMs, 

463*  I.  a,  for  mfmidu  mac9njugi  mroremt  read  infandum 
c^njugt  mcerortM, 

5o;^9  I.  iiy  for  /iii  ji  read  x&o/ //• 


^ 


iV    1   .    •     ' 


I  « 


*  *      .  I  .  4  • 


I  •  I 


)    I  •  >■ 


r 


J 


THE 


A  N  T  1  Q^U  I  T  I  E  S 


OF 


IRISHTOWN 


AKD 


KILKENNY. 


^- 


SECT.      I. 

THE  moft  probable  fyftcm  of  the  colonization 
of  this  ifle  is  to  be  found  in  the  (a)  hiftory  of 
Manchefter :  it  cuts  off  thcffc  excentric  wanderings 

of  Keating,  O  Flaherty,  and  their  followers ;  is 
iimple  and  confident  in  its  parts  and  conflruftion  ^ 
and  not  deftitute  of  internal  and  external  evidence; 
and  if  certainty  in  fuch  matters  was  attainable,  it 
ieems  to  approach  near  it.  Difgufted  with  a  per- 
petual round  of  incredible  fidlions,  the  diifgrace  of 
our  antient  annals,  the  mind  gladly  repofes  in  fome 
fbber  relation  ;  and  though  it  may  be  fuppofed  that 
novelty  has  its  influence  on  this  occafion,  it  will  be 
found  to  be  rational. 

Vol.  IL  B  b  This 

00  Vol.  t.  and  ihehiftorv  of  the  Britons  aiT^rtccl. 


S50  THE   ANTIQUITIES  OF 

This  learned  and  ingenious  antiquary  informs 
-  us,  that  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  years  before 
the  Chriffian  aera,  the  Britons,  invaded  and  dif- 
poffefled  by  the  Belgee  frgna  the  cpntiiv^t,  fled 
hither  and  firft  inhabited  this  ifland.  That  in  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  after,  a  fecond  migration 
and  from  the  fame  caufes,  happened:  thelattor 
incorporated  with  the  former,  and  both  people 
were  called  by  their  countrymen  who  temaiaed  in 
]|feritain,  Scuites  and  %ots,  that  1$,  Wi&ndercrs  or 
refugees. 

That  in  fubfequent  ages,  the  Britilh  BelgaCi 
yielding  to  the  Roman  power  under  Vefpafian, 
with  the  Durotriges  and  Damnonii,  retreated  to 
this  kingdom,  and  were  known  by  thp  naqies  dl 
Fir-bolg  and  Fir-damnon.  He  then  proceeds  to 
point  out  with  as  much  precifion  as  can  be  expedtcd 
from  the  imperfedt  hints  of  furviving  memorials, 
the  ttation  and  fettlement  of  each  colony.  The 
central  regions,  particularly  the  King's  and  Queen** 
counties,  with  thofe  of  Kilkenny  and  Tippervy, 
are  affigned  to  the  Scots  :  their  capital  towns  were 
Rheba  and  Ibernia :  the  (b)  latter  fituated  to  the 
eaft  of  the  river  Shannon.  This  river  is  lefs  than 
thirty  miles  from  Kilkenny,  and  by  placing  Irifti- 
town  to  the  eaft  ward  of  it,  we  are  almoft  certain  it 
was  the  antient  Ibernia;  at  leail  it  approaches 
nearer  the  fituation  of.  the  old  Scottilh  capital  than 
any  other  place  to  be  found  in  the  topography  of 
thofe  parts.  Had  Mr.  Whi taker  been  acquainted 
with  the  name  of  this  town,  as  it  is  Hill  preferved 

(t)  Ibernia  altera,  fita  ad  orientale  Seni  flttminis  kittts. 
Ricard.  Coriaeas.  cap*  S.  §.  16. 


IRHSHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  351 

by  the  natives,  lie  would  not  have  hefitated  to 
prohounce  on  the  identity  of  Ibernia  and  Irilhtown. 
It  is  called  (c)  Bally-gael-Ioch,  literally  tlie  town 
of  the  Gael,  or  antient  Irirti.  The  ctymolojgy  of 
this  compound  carries  us  back  to  the  remoteft 
times ;  it  is  purely  Celtic,  and  expreflive  of  the 
high  antiquity  of  the  place. 

The  firft  fcttlement  of  the  Gael  feems  to  have 
been  on  the  low  ground,  along  the  margin  (rf)  of 
the  Nore  ;  the  higher  land,  extending  from  the  fitc 
of  the  cathedral  to  the  caftle,  was  covered  with 
wood^  and  from  this  circumftance  had  a  Celtic 
name,  and  was  called  Coil  or  Kyle-kcn-ui,  the 
wooded  head  or  bill  near  the  river,  and  by  the  na- 
tives (f)  Cillcahnigh  or  Kilkenny.  From  the  record 
gked  in  the  laft  note  we  find,  tliat  there  was  a 
imall  village  always,  where  Kilkenny  now  ftands^ 
dfftindt  from  Irifhtown,  but  of  little  confequencc 
before  the  arrival  of  the  Normans. 

Harris  (f)  diflikcs  the  preceding  derivation,  bd- 
caufc  it  overthrows  the  popular  opinion,  which 
deduces  Kilkenny  from  St.  Canice  or  Kenny,  to 

Bb  2  whom 

(c)  Whirtker's .genuine  hiftory,  fupra,  pag.  113,  who  is 
copious  on  ihe  Gael  5  ocb  is  a  relative  adjective. 

(//)  The  Celtic  nations  were  fond  of  fuch  fituatiocs : 
Uc  tons,  ut  neiTHJs,  ut  campps  placuir,  fe/s  Tacitus, 
German.  And  Caefar :  pleiuraque  (ylvaruin  ac  fluminuni 
p«tulit  propinqni tares.  Comment,  lil^.  6.  Hence  the  names 
of  fo  many  towns  and  villages  ending  in  fizld,  wood,  borne 
and  water.  Cluver.  Germ.  Aniiq.  cap.  13.  An  oblervation 
cxiretoel/  applicable  to  our  prefcnr  purpoie. 

(r)   Cillcannigh    feu   Kilkennia  fuccenfa,  annis  1085  and 

1114.    Colgan.  Trias,  pag.  633.     In  Mr.  Pennant's  tour  in 

Wales,  we  find  a  Kilkcn  of  the  fanae  import  with  ours, 

Pag.  4ii-     Did  it  impend  over  a  large  river  as  our  city 

doe.*;*    it  would  have  had  the  other  addition  to  its  name. 

(yi^  Apud  Ware's  Antiquities,  pag.  41. 


554  THE   ANTIQJJITIES   OF 

whom  the  Cathedral  there  is  dedicated.  Uflicr  (g) 
alfo  acquiefces  in  this  vulgar  and  groundlefs  notion* 
We  have  numberlefs  inftances  of  the  monks,  in 
dark  ages,  pcrfonifying  rivers  and  places  like  the 
heathen  mythologilts.  Thus  they  have  made  of 
the  river  Shannon  or  Senus  (A),  St.  Senanus,  and 
of  the  town  of  Down  or  Dunum,  St.  Dunus,  and 
of  Kilkenny,  St.  Kenny.  In  Wales  (/)  we  find 
traces  of  the  fame  praftice  -,  and  Colgan's  lives  of 
the  Irifh  faints  will  fupply  many  firpilar  ones. 

But  according  to  the  legend,  Kilkenny  got  its 
name  upon  removing  thither  from  Aghaboe  the 
ftirine  of  St.  Canice,  in  the  year  1200.  Ahtecedeat 
to  this  epoch,  Kilkenny  muft  have  had  fome  appel- 
lation ;  what  it  was  we  are  not  told ;  but  we  arc 
certain  it  was  Kilkenny,  from  what  is  already 
advanced,  and  of  which  the  following  is  an  addi- 
tional proof.  In  the  annals,  at  the  end  of  the 
Englilh  edition  of  Ware,  under  the  year  1192, 
being  eight  years  before  the  removal  of  the  fhrioe, 
k  is  recorded,  that  the  Englifh  were  fettled  m 
Kilkenny,  and  the  foundation  of  the  caftle,  fdB 
remaining,  was  then  laid.  But  the  legend  itfcS 
fpeaks,  more  powerfully  than  any  argurrient,  the 
weaknefs  and  abfurdity  of  deriving  from  fudi 
materials  any  hiftoric  fad. 

"  (k)  This  towne  is  named  Kilkennie  from  a 
holie  and  learned  abbat,  called  Kanicus,  born  is 

tte 

Cg)  Kilkennia — quotl  nomcn  ecdefiam,  feu  fanuni  Canki 
den'Jtat.  Priiiiord.   pag.  957. 

(6)  Lbudii  Aoverlar.  fob.  lin.  Baxter!  Gloffar.  pag.  ayi. 

(f)  Uilier,  lupra  pafllai. 

(k)  Sianihurft  apud  Hollitiflied,  pag.  27.  *  Cave  rcmtife 
ef  ihetie  works :   Certe  augh  nugaclfliausy  fidis,   inept'J- 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  35J 

the  countie  of  Kilkcnnie,  or  as  it  is  in  fome  bookes 
recorded,  in  Connaght*  This  prelat  being  in  his 
fuckling  yeres  foftered  through  the  providence  of 
God  with  the  milk  of  a  cow,  and  baptized  and 
bilhoped  by  one  Luracus,  thereto  by  God's  efpeciall 
appointment  deputed,  grew  in  tradt  of  time  to 
fuch  devotion  and  learning  as  he  was  reputed  of  all 
men  to  be,  as  well  a  mirrour  q{  the  one,  as  a 
paragon  of  the  other  ^  whereof  he  gave  fufficient 
conjefture  in  his  minoritie.  For  being  turned  to 
the  keepinge  of  (heepe,  and  his  fellow  Iheepheards 
whollie  yeildinge  themfelves,  like  lu(ki(h  vaga- 
bonds, to  flough  and  flugifhnefle,  yet  ftill  would 
he  finde  himfelf  occupied  in  framing,  with  ofiars 
and  twigs,  little  wooden  churches,  and  in  fafliining 
the  furnitures  thereto  appertyninge.  Being  ftept 
further  in  yeres  he  made  his  repair  into  England, 
when  cloiftering  himfelf  in  an  abbaie,  whejeof  one 
named  Doftus  (Docus)  was  abbat,  he  was  whollie 
wedded  to  his  boo^c  and  to  devotion.  Wherin 
he  continued  fo  painfull  and  diligent,  as  beinge  on 
a  certaine  time  penning  a  ferious  matter,  and  not 
havinge  drawne  the  fourthe  vocale,  the  abbaie  bell 
tingd  to  aflemble  the  covent  to  fome  fpirituall  ex- 
ercife,  to  whjch  he  fo  battened,  as  he  left  the  letter 
icmicirclewifc  unfiniflied,  untill  he  returned  back 
to  his  bookc.  Soon  after  beioge^promoted  to  eccle-  , 
iiaitical  orders,  he  travelled  by  the  confent  of  his 

monks 

gnii^uc  n&rrationlbus  refertiiTioium,  qux  non  fine  immenf} 
Ohriftianz  religionis  fcandnlo  legi,  §)uUo  minus  defcndi 
poAnt.  Hift.  Lirerar.  Sec.  13.  pag.  654.  See  Melch.  Can. 
«Je  locts  theolog.  lib.  1 1.  cap.  16.  Marian,  de  advent.  S.Jacob. 
ff>  Hifpan.  cap.  1.  Si  fandtus  Canacus  nihil  eft*  quod  fane 
flibcft  fufpicariy  (ays  Baxter,  voce  Macoiicuui. 


354  THE   ANTIQJJPTIES  Off 

monks  to  Rome  -,  and  in  Itaiie  he  gave  fadi  nam- 
fefie  proof  of  his  piety,  as  to  this  date,  in  ftmifi 
part»  thereof,  he  is  highlic  renowned." 

A.  D.  1172.  In  fome  anonymous  annals^  in  the 
poflefiion  of  Cd  Vallancey,  we  find'  Doaald 
O  Brien,  king  of  Thompnd,  this  year  proclaimed 
a  hofting  to  Kilkeni\y  ;  he  was  joined  by  Connor 
Mac  Ragbry,  and  the  forces  of  Weff  Connaug^ 
The  Galls  or  Normans  hearing  of  this,  retreated 
to  Waterford,  leaving  the  caftle  of  iiilkenny.  Ate 
their  departure  the  towa  w^  demoUthed^  acid  the 
country  wafted. 

From  this,  document  we  leani)  aa  well  as  frca 
Maurice  Regan's  account  of  the  Engltfh  invafioa, 
that  as  the  £ngli(h  advanced  in  the  redufiiQftof 
the  ifland,  they  fecured  their  conqucfie  by  the  {/) 
eredion  of  ftrong  ca&les.  Amoi^  many  othM 
^  this  time  built,  v^as  this  of  Kilkenny,  but  bf 
whom  we  haye  not  been  able  to  difcoveifi  W 
H  was  probably  by  Strongbow.  On  ths  afriVai  <rf 
H^nry  II.  the  eighteenth  <rf  Oftober  ^.172,  4e 
ki(h  chieftains  were  intimidated  -,  they  fiiibmttid 
an^  fwore  allegiance  y  but  oq  his  return  to  £fig;}aDd 
the  next  year,  they  reAicned  courage  and  wi* 
verfally  rebelled.  Hence  in  Qn)  other  annals,  uodfi 
tlie  year  1173,  we  are  told^  that  Donakl  OBncQ 
jetraded  his  ohcdienC©  to  Henry^  broke  dowa  ik 
paftle  of  KUkenpy,  and  de^Aioyed  the  Ec^lA 
Settlements. 

Notwilb- 


(/)  Soft  the  dztc  of  fome  of  tbofe  in  Hanincr's  cbroalcki 
pae.  i6t. 

(w)  Apud  Archbifliop  King'*  GjJleilioiw,  pag.  587^  la 
potilfllon  of  the  DiiUia  Societ/. 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KPLKENNY.  3BS 

Notwhhflianding  thefe  Abtlces,  ftrong  internal 
evidence  of  the  prior  antiquity  of  Irifhtown,  befides 
that  before  adctoced^  exills  in  the  («)  charter  of 
William  Marfhall,  earl  of  Pembrolte,  to  theA\i- 
gaflinian  abbey  of  St.  John  in  Kilkenny ;  it  is  dated 
A.  D.  1 220.  In  thid  mehrion  is  made  of  two 
bridges,  four  churches,  with  milts,  orchards,  cede- 
fiaftical  tythes  arid  obvemions  in  Irifhtown ;  ail 
marks  o(  a  k>ng  fettled  community ;  whereds  the 
ftate  of  the  new  town  appears,  from  the  fame 
riscord,  quite  recent;  we  can  difcover  in  it  but 
the  earl's  caftle,  one  church,  and  a  few  burgage 
tenements* 

Irifhtown  always  enjoyed  very  antient  prefcrip- 
tive  righiB :  its  holding  markets  and  fi;nding  mem- 
bers to  parliament  are  anxmg  the  other  privileges 
of  the  corporation.  A  cloCe  (o)  roll  of  the  51 
Edw.  Ill:  A.  0.  1376,  forbids  the  fovereign, 
provoil  and  commonalty  of  IGlkenny  to  obftrudt 
the  iale  of  vi^ihials  in  the  market  of  Iriflitown,  or 
within  the  crofs,  under  pretence  of  cuftom  for 
murage.  And  leaft  the  ample  grants  made  to 
Kilkenny  might  be  interpreted  fo  as  to  include 
IriHitown,  the  corporate  body  of  the  latter  fecured 
their. antSenf  rights  by  letters  patent  of  the  15 
£dw.  ly.  A.  D.  1474-  Thefe  renew  to  them  the 
privilege  of  holding  a  market ;  and  provide,  that  a 
pcfrtdeve  bechofen  every  aift  of  September,  or 
St.  Matthew's  day,  and  be  fworn  into  office  on 
the  nth  of  October  following,  being  St:  Canice's 

day. 

The 

(n)  Appendix  I.  (0)  Appendix  IL    • 


I 
I 


SS^  THE   ANTIQJUflTIES   OF 

The  portrieve*s  prifon  was  at  Troy's  gate, 
Whenever  the  mayor  of  Kilkenny  came  within 
Watergate  he  dropt  down  the  point  of  the  city 
fword,  to  tt\ow  he  claimed  no  pre-eminence  within 
the  borough.  Bilhop  Cantwell  obtained  from  (p) 
Jien.'VIl.  (1  confirmation  of  the  former  grants  to 
Irifhtown.  The  ftile  of  portrieve  was  afterwards 
changed;  for  on  the  I2th  of  Odobcr  1618,  the 
following  entry  appears  in  the  corporation  books ; 
^'  Thomas  Tobin  de  Legerath,  alias  Leyrath,  elei5lus 
&  juratus  praepofitus."  But  tlie  old  title  was  again 
revived,  and  pontinqe^  at  prefent.  At  the  fame 
time  porters  were  appointe4  for  Green's  gate, 
Troy's  gate,  and  Dcari*s  gate  to  colle<a  the  tolls; 
and  alfo  appraifers  for  meat.  The  portrieve  was* 
to  feize  provifions  brought  to  niarket,  and  expofed 
to  fale-on  Sundays.  A  feaft  was  folemnly  held  in 
the  borough  on  St.  John  the  Baptifi's  day.  The 
adventuriers  and  foldiers  of  1649  deprived  the 
corporation  of  a  large  eftate,  which  Aey  never 
Recovered. 

The  (q)  following  notices  are  curious,  and  worth 
ihferting;. 

Corporation  of  Irifhtown,  i5thDecemfaier)  ^557* 

By  an  order  of  the  court  made  by  the  Portrieve^ 
Burgeffes  and  Commons  of  Irifhtown,  the  7th 
of  January  1537,  H  wasorderec^,  that  the  fol- 

lowingj 

(p)  Ware's  Bifliops,  pag.  a  15. 

U)  They  arc  to  be  found  in  the  firft  yolomc  of  the 
Colit^anea  de  Rebus  Hibernicis  ^  but  as  many  readen 
may  not  hayc  that  work,  it  was  (bought  proper  to  giyt 
them  here.'    *  * 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY,  ^57 

lowing  prices  (hould  be  paid  within  the  faid 
Corporation,  for  making  the  underneath  parti« 
culars,  vi;z. 

A  qi\ilted  dublet  with  a  new  Fafhioned  bellire  to 
be  cut,  to  be  made  for  one  fhilling  fterling. 

The  pair  (r)  of  gally-eniflics  to  be  made  for 
eight  pence. 

The  pair  of  new  fa(hioned  clofe  hofe,  fixpence. 

The  .woman's  Iri(h  coat,  doublc-feamed,  being 
not  wrought  with  filk,  feven  pence. 

Every  unce  of  filk  to  be  wrought  upon  a 
woman's  coat  for  nine  pence, 

The  offender  to  forfeit  two  fhillings. 

Anno  1564,  This  year  happened  the  great 
flood,  when  divers  men  and  women  were  drowned, 
and  St.  John's  bridge  and  caftle  fell  down. 

Anno  1565.  A  bye  iaw  in  the  corporation  of 
Irifhtown  :  that  no  inhabitant  dwelling  within  the 
Mitre-land,  being  a  free-man  or  woman,  wear  na 
apparel  but  after  the  Englifh  fafhion  •,  nor  no 
woman  wear  caps  upon  pain  of  forfeiture ;  and 
that  every  burgefs  (hall  go  in  his  cloak,  excepting 
W.  Dullany,  Teig  Lowry,  R.  Wale, 

At  a  Doer  hundred  held  ihfi  8th  pf  Jai^uary, 

It  is  enaded  by  the  J^Teqt  of  the  Portrieye,  Bur. 
gefles  and  Commons,  that  whereas  great  inconve- 
niences have  happened,  and  wafte  and  fcarcity  of 
yittles,  to  the  great  impoverifhment  of  many  of 
fhis  (:orpQration  \  who  though  their  abilitie  coul4 
pot  afford  the  like  charge,  ye^  pride  and  com-r 

parifon, 

(r)  GalUencch  is  the  Engiifliman's  ihir^ 


55S  THE  AxHTlQlSlTlESi  OF 

jpEUtffbiiv  vptko  ihookfc  make  the  great€ft  oboer  at 
dnKGhmg>  of  wkmuqh  after  diild*birthv  bath'  B^en 
the  utter  undoing  of  many,  as  we  daily  fee.  For 
to  avoid  ll)e  tike  gio&  enoirhfiity  imd  harm^  lie  it 
eoaded,  thai!  no  man  or  woitiatv  ihati:  come  here- 
aft^i»  Xo  any  chrilleain^  o£  cbikifetr,  or  cfaurcIHng 
cf  women  thought  a  bed,  but  the  goflbbs  fee  the 
time  bding^-  fathers  stndr  mothers^  brbtbers'  and 
S&titi,  Qpoa  p»n  of  forty  (hiUitigB,.  IriAi;  ta  be 
kvied  and  taken  of  the  owner  ci  t\rr  houfe,  ib 
H>akm®  the  feaft^oUee  quoties^,  to  be  divided,  one 
half  to  the  portrieve  and  fpiCi  Atod  it  fhatt  be 
lawful  for  any  that  fpieth'  fiich  mea>  and^  womea 
coming,  from  the  feaft,  to  take  away  their  hats  or 
loUs  and  mantles,,  and  the  fame  to  fbr&it  v  and  to 
take  away  the-  midwife's  roll  and  mamie,  that 
gpetb  to  warn  the  people;  And  the  pari(h  pdefi 
IbftU  have  none  in  bis  company  but  his  clerk. 
Serjeants  apppinted  to  execute*  this  fiatute, 

Thomafi  Foore,.  Rowry  Dooly» 

StaitOnsft  writing  in?  1577,  %^  •  ''  Kilkennie^ 
ibD  faeft  iiplatidi(h«  t6w»n,  or  as  tbey  teorme  it,  the 
properefi  drie  towne  in  Irelaad,  is  paired  into  the 
highe  towue,  and  the  Jrifh  towne.  The  Irifli 
tdwne  clakneth  a  cofpcHration  apait  Yrom  the  highe 
lowne,  wherby^  great  fatJtidns  grew  dailic  between 
the  inhabitants;  Trcie  it  is,  that  thfe'Irilh  toWne  is 
ibe  ancieiltcr^  and  was  called  the  old  Kilkennie, 
being  under  the  blfhot^'  hi^  beck^  as  they  are;  or 
ought  to  be' at  this  prefent.**' 

The-  Biitts  are  a  part  of  Irifhtown,  where  the: 
irfiahitants  cxcraifednhemfelves^  at  a  long  bow  j  to 
^icb'  they  were  obliged  by  feveral  Irilh  ftatutes. 

That 


IRISHTOWKP  ANI>  KILKENNY.  S39 

That  of  the  5  Edw.  IV.  A.  D.  1464,  recites: 
**  That  every  Englilhman,  and  Irifhman  that  dwell 
with  Engliflimais  and.  fpeak  EngKfli,  that  be  be* 
twixt  fixteen  and  fixty  in  age,  (hall  have  an  Englifh 
bow  of  his  own  leng.tb^  and  one  filbncle,  aft  the 
leaft,  betwixt  the  necks ;  with  twelve  ibafts  of  th« 
length  of  three  quartern  o£  the  fiandard  ^  the  bows 
of  ewe,  wyche-liaffel,  awburne„  or  other  reafooable 
tree,  according  to  their  power ;  the  (bafts  in.  the 
(ame  manner^  on.  pain  of  two  pence  per  n^ondu'* 
Again :  *^  In  every  Englifh.  town  in  this  land„  the 
conftable  (hall  ordain.oqe  pair  of  butts  for  (hoQtiiig> 
^nd  that  every  man  betweeQ  fixteen  and  fixty  (kfH 
ixmfier  at  the  butt%  and  (hoot  up  and  down^ 
three  tinaes»  every  &all  day,  under  psiia  of  an  baif 
penqy  per  day/'  The  poetry  of  the  tiipofr  ia^  full  of 
thefe  ideas. 

(^}  The  butts  are  (ett,  the  (hpoting&  iiude», 

And  th^re  will  be  great  rqyakic  ^ 

And  i  ai^  fworn  iota  my  bille, 

Thither  to  bring,  my  lof d  Percic 
The  bu^ts  v^re  (^  \J^_  mas  where  thi&  Butts^  croft 
np»vr  %ads.  The  pedelkl  and  (haft  of  tfai^  aoft 
only  now  remain*  Not  far  firon  the,  croA  w^ 
the  Bullrring^  where  ouc  a^ceftors  divei^ed  thQUir 
(elves  ytith  an(\thei:  fayouilte  amulenfient. 

l*}  Perm's.  r^U^iifs^  W)k  ».  pfg.  a^i* 


SB<?T. 


$6o  THE  ANTIQJJITIES   OF 


SECT,      IL 

IT  is  aflcrted  in  the  (/)  life  of  Hugh  Rufus,  fccond 
bifhop  of  Oflbry,  that  he  granted  a  great  part  of 
the  city  of  Kilkenny  to  William  Earl  Marflial, 
referving  to  himfelf  and  his  fucceflbrs  a  chiefry  of 
an  ounce  of  gold,  Notwithftanding  the  authority 
now  cited,  there  are  certainly  fome  miftakes  in  this 
account.  It  fuppofes  two  things  j  either  that  the 
biihop  had  a  paramount  right  to  the  foil  prior  to 
the  Englirti  invafion,  which  however  does  not  ap- 
pear, or  there  was  fome  diftinft  exemption  in  his 
favour  when  thofe  conquerors  feized  and  colonized 
the  country  -,  which  is  equally  deilitute  of  foua-^ 
dation. 

For  Richard  Strongbow  had  all  his  acquifitions 
in  L,einfter  given  in  (u)  perpetuity  to  hini  by 
Jicnry  II.  with  the  refervation  of  the  maritime 
towns.  Thcfe  grants  of  his  father  were  confirmed 
•by  king  John  to  Wijliam  Earl  Marftial,  who  mar- 
ried Ifabella,  Stroqgbow's  daughter.  Both  held 
Leinfter  in  cafrite,  invefted  with,  and  exercifmg 
abfolute  regal  jurifdidiion  and  prerogative.  Waj 
he  not  enfeoffed  himfelf  in  this  ample  manner^ 
William '  could  never  make  the  grants  he  did  to 
St.  John's  priory ;  the  (^)  tqnour  of  which  expreffes 
9  fuperiprity  but  little  favouring  of  epifcopal  deriva-? 

Vion. 

(i)  Wasc's  Bifhops,  pag.  403. 

{u)  Davis's  hiilorical  Relations,  pag.  61. 

i'uj)  Habeanc  ec  teneant  orones  donationes,  conceOione$ 
tt  CO  n  firm  at  ion  es  praediAas,.ia  liberaQ),  puram  et  perpetual^ 
fl/moGnam.     Appendix  I. 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  361 

tion.  Stanihurft  indeed  has  fomething  which  feems 
to  countenance  what  is  here  contcfted :  *'  The 
highe  towne  was  builded  by  the  EngHfti  after  the 
conqucft,  and  had  a  parcel  of  the  Irifhtdwne  therto 
united  by  the  biftiop  his  grant,  made  unto  the 
founders  upon  their  earneft  requeft."  From  the 
inaccurate  and  unfuj^rted  manner  in  which  this 
tradition  (for  it  is  no  more)  is  expreflcd,  we  may 
rank  it  with  thofc  numerous  monldfli  fidions,  that 
aim  at  exalting  the  fpiritual  above  the  civil  power. 
The  original  charter  of  incorporation  given  by 
William  Earl  Marfhall  probably  does  not  exift : 
Cox  (;()  fays  it  was  granted  in  1223 ;  but  an  ex-^ 
emplification  of  it  appears  in  an  infpeximus  of  the 
3  Edw.  III.  A.  D.  1328.  It  (y)  recites,  that  the 
earl  who  was  lord  of  all  Leinfier,  had  in  his  life  time 
granted  to  the  fovereign,  burgeffes  and  commonalty 
of  Kilkenny,  for  the  time  being,  various  Uberties 

and 


(jr)  Hift.  of  Ireland.  Hanroer  fays  ft  was  dated  the  fixth 
of  April,  and  witneflcd  hy  Thomas  Fitz  Antony,  Walter 
Purcell,  William  Grace,  Haman  Grace,  Amnar  Grace  and 
others.  Chronicle,  pag.  17 v  The  Walfhes  and  Cantwellt 
came  over  with  Fitz  Stephen,  and  fettled  about  Kilkenny. 

(y)  Edvardus  Dei  gratia,  rex  Angliae,  Dominus  Hibernlac, 
dux  Aquitanix,  omnib»s  balliris  et  minillrib  omnium  villa'rum 
«t  viUatorum  Lagenix,  et  cxtcris  qiiibulcunque  de  iifdein 
partibus,  falutem.  Supplicavit  nobis  fuperior  et  communitas 
de  Kilkenny,  quod  cum  Willielmus,  nuper  comes  marefcaliut 
ct  Pembrochiae  (tempore  quo  idem  comes  exivterat  dominus 
totivs  terrae  Lagenias)  concefferit  burv;enfibus  et  communitati 
▼illse  prxdiflae,  qui  pro  tempore  fuerint,  diverfas  Hbertaies, 
inter  quas,  videlicet,  quo  ipfo  in  perpetuum  per  totam 
Lageniam  terram  et  poteftatem  fuam,  tarn  in  villa  quam 
alibi,  eflent  quieti  de  theulonio,  ladagio,  pontagio,  et  de 
OfDnibos  aliis  confuetudinibus  quibufcunque  ;  quara  quidem 
chartam  infpeximus,  &c«  tefle  Johanne  Darcy,  jufliciari* 
noitro  Hiberniae,  apud  Kilkenny,  8  die  Julii,  annoque  rcgni 
aoftri  tertio.    Per  billam  ipfius  juiliciarii.   Hanmer  fupra. 


^    ,  THE  A^NTKivUlTOES  OF 

And  imfl^unitks,  ^wfaich  tfae^  tune  to  enjoy  (or  ev«r 
•throughout  liwnftcr^  as  well  its  in  the  town.  P»- 
tkulai'ly,  Ihot  they  fiiould  %ie  iree  from  toll,  laft^e, 
'Or  payment  far  weighmjg  goock,  firorti  pontage  .aod 
all  other  cufioms  what  foe  ver.  Tliefe  exfctnpttons 
were  pov^erfal  inddcement^ibr  people  to  fettle  m  a 
-oty  fo  mueh  favoured ;  and  Ae  rearl  by  thus  de^ 
|7rivijEkg  himfelf  of  coniklcrable  revenues,  evinced 
ius  wifttes  to  ycgjgBtn&x  h.  No  wdnder  tf  we  (hall 
find  it  incseafing  »q»d}y  in  extdnt,  in  .papulation 
and  riches ;  afnd  feleded  by  the  great  aflferrrWies  of 
:ftc  natioH,  *bove  any  other  place,  for  its  hippfy 
lempemtiire,  its  ample  convenances  and  undlf- 
torbed  iecurky,  aisd  as  the  propereft  plsx:^  Sor 
jioldifiig  their  fneetingis.  This  excellent  nobleman^ 
'equ^ly  accomplt(hed  in  the  arts  of  peace  and  war, 
^Redbum  ((&)'  ihtis  charaderi^es  in  his  epitaph ; 
Swn  quem  6aturnum  (ibi  feniit  Hibernia,  Solera 
Anglia,  Mercurium  Normannia,  Gallia  Martem. 
In  1195,  a  fpacious  and  noble  cafile  was  begun 
In  Kilkenny  en  the  fite  of  that  deftroyed  by  the 
irifti  in  1173.  The  fituatioh,  in  a  military  view 
•was  moft  eligible ;  the  ground  was  originally  a 
conoid ;  the  elliptical  fide  abrupt  and  precipitous, 
with  the  rapid  Nore  running  at  its  bafe;  there  the 
natural  rampart  was  faced  with  a  wall  of  folid 
maCbnry,  forty  feet  high;  the  other  parts  were 
defended  by  baftions,  courtins,  towers  and  out- 
works ;  and  on  the  fummit  the-caftle  was  ereifted. 
The  area  thus  inclofed,  beikles  furnifhing  accom« 
W^atidns  for  the  earl  and  his  domelVics,  contained 

ca&ms 

(«)  CambdeD  in  Pcxnbrokefhire. 


IRJSHTOWN  ANP  KILKENNY.  jfif 

caferns  fpr  a  &taag  gsuriibn  with  their  cqu^panMts. 
The  carl,  in  bis  charter  to  St.  John's  priory,  pro* 
vides,  that  if  he  be  abfent  the  monks  of  that  boufe 
(hall  ferve  his  c^ftle-chapel,  and  receive  the  emolu-* 
naents  from  thence  arifmg ;  but  if  he  be  reiideiit» 
then  his  own  domeftic  chi^plains  fhall  attend.  -In 
the  fame  record,  his  bams  lying  beyond  the  bridge 
^e  inentioned,  with  every  other  circuniftance  indi- 
cating a  regular  houlhold  and  court, 

Gilbert  Clare,  earl  of  Glqcel^  aikd  Henetbrd, 
marrying  ^fabella,  one  of  ^  daughters  and  co* 
betreflcs  of  William,  earl  maribal,  -receive  as  bqr 
dower  the  county  of  Kilkeauy.  .  Hcf  e^temled  the 
privileges  of  the  coiporation  by  the  foHowing 
charter  redted  (fl)  by  Hammer.  ^  To  our  (tsieizkA 
of  Kilkenny,  and  to  our  treaTvurer  of  the  iam^ 
greeting.  Know  y^,  that  for  the  comnaon  poofit ' 
pf  the  towa  of  Kilkenoy»  of  our  fpeciai  favour,  w« 
bave  granted  to  our  loving  bucgefles  of  the  Said 
town,  that  none  (hall  fell  vidtuals  there,  but  fuch 
as  (hall  be  prized  by  the  officers  of  faid  town,  &c/* 
Prrfage,  by  {b)  Blacfcitene,  is  mentioned  as  equiva- 
lent to  butlerage,  or  a  duty  on  wine ;  befides  this, 
it  had  a  more  general  acceptation,  and  meant  thofe 
duties  which  every  Caltellan  had  a  right  to  receive 
fJDr  commodities  brought  for  fale  to  fairs  and  mar^ 
kets  within  the  precinfts  of  his  caftle.  Of  this,  our 
antient  regal  charters,  our  old  hidorians  and  the 
monatlicon  fupply  many  proofs.  Thefe  duties  the 
carl  of  Gloccfter  transferred  to  the  citizens. 

By 


(a)  Pag.   I7«. 

(^)  Commentaries,  vol.  i.  pag.  314. 


3^4  THE  ANTIQUITIES  OP 

By  marriage,  Kilkenny  came  into  the  antient 
and  noble  family  of  Le  Dcfpcncer;  Hugh  Lc 
Defpenccr  marrying  Eleanor,  fifter  and  coheir  of 
Gilbert,  earl  of  Gloccfter.  Hugh  le  Defpenfcr,  a 
defcendant  of  the  preceding,  married  Alice,  daugh- 
ter of  Sir  John  de  Holhum,  lord  of  Hotfaum  in 
Yorkftiire,  and  poflTeffed  of  other  great  properties 
there  and  in  different  counties  in  (c)  England,  con- 
ferred on  his  anceftor  by  the  conqueror,  immediately 
after  the  battle  of  Haftings.  This  Hugh  (d)  by 
deeds  dated  the  fourth  and  twelfth  of  September, 
1391,  being  the  15  Rich.  11.  conveyed  the  caftic 
of  Kilkenny  and  its  (e)  dependencies  to  James, 
carl  of  Ormond;  which  earl,  in  1386,  had  built 
the  caftle  of  Dunfert  (now  called  Danesfort)  men- 
tionedin  the  laft  note. 

Among  the  families  attached  to  the  earl  marflialf 
and  early  planted  in  Kilkenny,  that  of  Grace  feem^ 
to  have  been  very  refpedable.    William,  Hamaa 

and 

(c)  In  the  8  £dw»  1h  John  de  Hoihtim  had  fummons  to. 
parliament  j  and  in  the  following  reign,  he  had  charters  of 
free  warren  granted  him,  for  his  lordfhips  of  Horbum, 
Craoimewyke  and  Byrfay  in  the  county  of  York ;  and  for  bis 
manors  of  Scorelburg,  V/ynthorp,  Lokynton  and  Cruncewyke 
in  the  faid  county  ^  for  his  manor  of  Bondby  in  Lincolofhire, 
and  Fyfehide  in  Eilex*  Dugdale's  Baronage,  pag  91.  vol.  2« 
From  this  family  the  prefeht  lord  bimop  of  OfTory  is 
defcended. 

(//)  Carte's  life  of  Ormond,  introduftion,  pag.  36. 

(e)  Thefe  comprehended  ;  the  caftle  of  Kilkepny,  with 
the  mills  ;  the  borough  of  Rofbargon,  with  the  mills;  the 
manors  of  Dunfert  ard  Kildermoy  j  the  ferjeancy  of  Ovcrk  | 
all  his  tenements  in  Kalian  ie  Hill ;  ;^.33  i$s.  3V.  in  Kalian 
,  and  ihe  advowfon  of  the  church  ;  with  ail  the  lands,  tene* 
menis,  advowfons  and  knight's  fees  in  Noverk,  Rofbargon, 
JLoeherai),  Killagh,  Rofman,  filid,  Knoftofre,  the  new  towa 
of  Terpoint,  Kiilamery,  Arderefton,  Lyfdonf/,  Kilfeckamm-* 
liuaFand  Tbolleoabroge.    Carte  fupra. 


iRl^HTOWH  AND  KlLKfiMMY.  36^^' 

rfhd  Arnhar  Grace  fubfcribie  as  witnelTes  his  charter  ^ 
to  the  cfty  i  ind  thre^  years  tefore,  Wifliaih  and 
i^aman  atteft  his  charter  to  St.  John's..  William 
crefted  a  caflfe  in  the  city ;  this  old  building,  fome 
yeirs  ago,  V^as  pilllcd  down,  and  a  court-houFe  and* 
prifon,  cfedted  on  itiS  fite  at  the  expcnce  of  the 
iioilnty ;  hfere  are  held  the  affizes  and  feffiohs  for  the 
county ;  it  is  in  Coal-market,  and  ftill  called  Grace's 
oM'  caftle.  The  earl  gave  them'  large  pbffefliohs,' 
and  an  extenfive  tradt  of  country,  known  by  the 
Aame  of  Grace's  parifli.  Mamiain  Grace's  pofterity 
fettled  in  the'  codnty  (f)  of  Wexford,  and  other 
branches  (g)  at  Bally linch,  at  Carney  and  Leighan . 
m  the  tfoiinty  of  Tippcrary.  In  1560,  one  of 
them  wasf  baron  of  Cburtiftown,  and  lies  interred' 
ih  the  cathedral.  ... 

The  internal  police  of  Kilk'erihy  beirig^  fixed  on' 
1  folid  bafis  by  the  ^preceding  grants  and  charters; 
and  the  profperity  of  its  citizens  fecured  and  ex- 
tended by  m^ny  privrlegfes  and' immunities,  it  foon 
Attained  a  prime  ertiinence  anton'g  the  central  towns . 
6f  the  kingd6m;  In  1 294;  Richkrd,'  (A>  earl  of 
Ulfter  Was  taken  prifoner  by  lord  Jbhn'Fitz  Thomas, 
ind  k^pt  in'lVold  Until  the  feall  of  pope  Gregory -, 
he  was  then  fet  at  liberty  by  th&  king's  cbunciT 
iffembled  in  parliarHeritat  Kilkenhy .  Thfe jealoufies' 
And  compfetittonS  anAbng  the  Irilh  nobility  per- 
petually excited  violent  feuds  ahd  dbmeftic  ditTen-^ 
tions.  Thfe  I'uling  pbwert  of  goverrirtent  wad 
^eak/  and  inadequate  to  rcftrain"  their  enornuties. 

Vol.  11.  Cc^  and' 

fff  Annals  at  the  cndof  Cambden,  under  ihe  year  t^oi^- 
(/)  Hibcrn.  Ooniioic.  paij.  2~o. 
(^)  Annals  fvprz. 


S&S  THE   ANTIQjaiTIES  OF 

and  excefies.  Lord  Fitz  Thomas  Fitz  Gerald  layingi 
claim  to  feme  lands  belonging  to  the  earl  of  Ulfter  * 
in  Connaugbt,  endeavoured  to  pofieis  himfelf  of 
them  by  an  stfmed- force ;:  the  earl  oppofed  bim^ 
but  with  ill  fuccefsy  for  he  was  taken  and  im- 
prifoned,  as  above  hinted,  in  the  barons  ftrong' 
caftle  of  Ley,  on  the  banks  of  the  Barrow,  in  the 
Queen's  county. 

Mr.  Selden  and  Mr.  Prynne  aflfert  that  parlia- 
ments did  not  cxift  at  the  time  here  menticmed^ 
but  the  contrary  feeras  well  eftablifhed  from  (i). 
what  others  have  coUedked  on  ttes  fubjeft.  They 
were,  as  to  conftituent  members,  not  numerous ; 
becaufe  the  great  lords  were  enfeoffed  of  the  whole 
kingdom ;  alienatic^s  were  then  unknown,  »id  die 
boroughs  but  few,  fo  that  the  reprefentatives  wece* 
necefTarily  confined  to  a  fmall  number ;  and  fuch 
affemblies  wefe  in  reality  raAer  Polilh  diets  -than 
BritiOi  parliaments.  Multitudes  of  retainers  fbl- 
bwed  their  lords  to  thofe  n>eetii^s;  turbulence 
and  fadlion  difturbed  tlieir  deliberations,  and  the 
public  were  rather  amufed  than  benefitted  by 
them  i  however,  the  magnificence,  prodigality  and 
numbers  difplayed  on  thofe  occafions  could  not  but 
very  much  enrich  the  inhabitants  of  Kilkenny. 

The  next  parliament  held  in  Kilkenny  was  in 
the  3  Edw.  II.  1309;  its  adls  are  to  be  found  ia 
the  feveral  {k)  editions  of  our  ftatutes ;  but  there  . 
are  others  ftill  extant  in  the  black  book  of  Chiift 

churchy 


(x)  Ware's  Antiquities  by  Harris,  vol.  i.  pag.  79,  ct  fcq. 
(k)  Statutes  of  Ireland  by  Bolton,  Dublin  i6zi.     Vefey's 
Statutes.     Harris's  iViSS.  penes  Societ.  Dublin,  voi,  2.  pag.. 


IRISHTOWK  AND  Kltl^EMNY.  367 

■ 

church,  Dublin,  and  gjvpn  to  the  public  by  (/)  Dr. 
^  Leland.  One  claufe  ordains,  "  that  the  EnglifJi 
hero  (hall  conform  in  garb  and  in  the  cut  of  their 
bair  t0  the  fafhion  of  their  countrymen  in  England ; 
whoever  afFea;ed  that  of  the  Irifh  w^  to  be  treated 
as  fuch  I  their  lands  and  chatties  to  be  feized  and 
their  pcrfods  imprifoned."  Here  is  clearly  di(clQfe4 
the  beginning  degeneracy  of  the  Briti(l>  colonies. 
Unreftraincd  by  the  who^efon^e  feverity  of  wife 
laws,  and  plunged  in  a  perpetual  round  of  violence 
end  rapine,  they  foon  loft  that  manlinefs  of  fenti- 
iBcnt  and  propriety  of  conduft  which  they  brought 
with  them  into  the  ifland  \  they  infenfibly  contradted 
a  familiarity  with,  and  a  fondaefs  for  th^  diffipated 
manners  of  the  natives ;  they  adopted  their  vices» 
and  degenerated  fo  far  as  to  affume  their  dreis,  and 
*  looked  on  the  long  glibbs  of  this  uncivilized  people 
as  their  boaft  and  ornament. 

Sir  John  Wogan,  a  Welflbman,  animated  with 
a  love  of  antient  Britilh  virtue,  beheld  with  grief 
and  indignation  the  falling  off  of  his  countrymen, 
and  exerted  his  utmofl  efforts  to  prevent  the  con- 
tagion from  fpreading-  To  give  the  higheft  fandtion 
to  thefe  laws,  and  to  imprefs  them  on  the  people, 
Maurice  Maccarwell,  archbilbop  of  Cafhel,  affifted 
by  other  prelates,  denounced  anathemas  againft 
the  infringers  of  them  in  the  cathedral  church  of 
St.  Canice,  in  the  prefence  of  Wogan,  and  many 
of  the  nobility.  In  131 7,  lord  Roger  Mortimer, 
jufticiary  of  Ireland,  and  the  hilh  nobility  met  at 

Cc  2  Kilkenny 

(/)  Hift.  of  Ireland,  vol.  i.pag.  zS3,aS4-  Compare  Ware's 
9i{hops.  pag.  476.  wbcre  we  n.ay  obfcrvc  greai  inaccuracy 
in  4ates« 


3<8  THE   AN-TIOUltlES  OF 

Klkenny  to  confider  how  they  might  oppofe  Edward 
Bruce.  • 

The  annals  before  quoted,  under  the  year  1326, 
tell  us  of  a  parliament  held  in  Kilkenny  at  Whit- 
fontide,  at  which  the  earl  of  Ulfter  and  other  lords 
alfifted,  who  were  fumptuoufly  entertained  by  the 
faid  earl ;  but  that  lie  foon  after  died.  Cox  (m)  lays  it 
doth  not  appear  what  was  then  done,  except  order- 
ing five  thoufand  quarters  of  wheat  into  Aquitiuirfbr 
the  king's  ufe.  To  throw  fome  light  on  the  obfcu- 
iity  of  the  annaRft  we  may  obferve,  that  Edward 
Bruce,  towards  the  end  of  Edward  the  Second's 
rtign,  headed  the  Scottiih  invafion  of  this  kingdonr*. 
and  fprcad  terror  and  defolation  wherever  he  came; 
the  northern  and  middle  counties  were  over-ran, 
and  he  penetrated  through  (k)  Oflbry  in  his  way  to 
Munfter ;  private  animofrties  were  forgotten  in  the 
general  diflrefs,  and  the  rancour  of  rivalry  gave 
way  to  the  more  imminent  terrors  of  public  danger ; 
foreign  enemies  and  domeitic  infurredtions  called 
for  unanimity  and  vigorous  exertions.  A  fubju- 
gation  to  Scottiih  power  or  Irifti  tyranny  was 
equally  alarming  to,  and  dreaded  by  the  Engltfb ; 
if  the  latter  fucceeded,  difpoffeflion-  and  expulfion 
were  the  gentleft  treatment  to  be  expedted  ;  if  the 
former,  every  thing  was  to  be  dreaded  from  the 
Cruelty  of  ferocious  conquerors;  Connefted  by 
one  common  intereft,  and  eager-  to  make  one 
effort  to  check  the  career  of  a  Iriumf^iant  enemy, 
the  Englifh  lords  affembledat  Klkenny,  where  an. 
army 

(«)  Hift.  of  Ireland,  vol.  i. 

(li)  Some  veftigM  of  ihi»  invafion  yet  remain.  Near 
Aghaboe  is  an  old  roriilica.iion,  vulgarly  called  Seotfrath; 
Btti  properly  Scottifwftiih,  or  ihe  Seois  walls  or  forticls. 


mi SH TOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  JS9 

"array  of  thirty  thoufand  men  was  collefted,  and  a 
♦  prodigious  number  of  irregulars,  who  cluttered  tO'- 
gcthcr  on  the  general  alarm.  The  earl  of  Ulfter^ 
though  married  to  the  After  of  Robert,  king  of 
Scotland,  faw  the  danger  that  awaited  him  if  his 
relation  was  vidkorious ;  and  therefore  came  to  the 
parliament  j  was  the  foremoft  in  urging  vigorous 
meafures,  and  made  his  hofpitality  the  inftrument 
of  his  patriotifm. 

The  next  year^  i327»  prefents  us  with  relations 
of  broils  among  the  nobility.  Lord  Arnold  Poer, 
lord  Maurice  Fitz  Thomas  and  Idrd  Maurice  Butler, 
with,  armed  forces,  plundered  and  wafted  each 
rthers  lands.  The  earl  of  Ktldare,  then  lord  juftice, 
^nd  others  of  the  king's  council,  at  a  parliament  ir 
Kilkenny,  appointed  a  day  for  all  parties  to  anfwer 
thefe  outrages.  Butler  and  Fitz  Thomas  demanded 
the  k]ng*s  charter  of  peace,  and  the  council  took 
until  the  month  of  Eafter  to  confider  of  it. 

The  following  year  <e>)  gives  a  firightful  pidlure 
of  the  effedts  of  fuperftition  and  ecclefiaftical 
tyranny.  Take  the  nanation  in  the  words  of  the 
author :  "  Richard  Ledrede,  biftiop  of  Offory, 
cited  dame  Alice  Ketyll  to  anfwer  for  her  heretical 
'opinbns,  and  forced  her  to  appear  in  perfon  before 
4fim ;  and  being  examined  for  forcery,  it  was  found, 
that  (he  had  ufed  it.  Among  other  inftances  this 
^as  difcovered,  that  a  certain  fpirit  (Daemon  In- 
cubus) called  Robin  Artyflba,  lay  with  her,  and 
that  (he  offered  nine  red  cocks  at  a  certain  ftone 
-bridge  where  four  highways  met^  alfo,  that  fhe 

fwept 

^  (0  fCambdcn  fays  it  was  ia  1323,  but  Pryimc  in  t^z%.  -^ 


37t3  THE   ANTIQJUlTlEg   OF 

fwcpt  the  ftreers  of  Kilkentiy  with  betfoms,  betweeti 
complin  and  corfewj  and  in  fwefeping  the  filth 
towards  the  houfc  of  William  Utlaw  her  fon^  (he ' 
was  heftrd  to  Wi(h  by  way  of  conjuring — ^Let  all  iht 
wealth  of  Kilkenny  flow  to  this  boufe." 

•'  The  accomplices  of  this  Alice,  itt  th^  wretcbed 
pt^£&ceBy  were  Penel  of  Meth,  and  Bafilia  the 
flaugHter  of  this  PeneL  Alice  was  found  gmlty; 
and  fined  by  the  bilhop,  and  forced  to  abjure  her 
forcery  and  witchcraft ;  but  being  again  ccHivifled 
df  thfe  fame  pradiccs,  (he  made  hfer  efcape  witii  the 
faid  Bafilia ;  but  Penel  was  burnt  at  Kilfcenayt  ^ui4 
lat  her  death  declared,  that  William  abovc&id  de- 
fetved  death  as  well  as  flie,  and  that  for  a  year 
and  a  day  he  wore  the  devil*s  girdle  aljout  his  bare 
body." 

"  Hereupon  the  faid  bilhop  ordered  William  to 
be  Apprehended  ^nd  impt^ned  in  the  caftle  of  Kil- 
kenny f<5r  eight  or  ninfe  weeks  j  and  gave  orders, 
that  two  men  fhoi>ld  attend  him,  but  ftat  Ihey 
Ihould  not  eit  or  drink  with  him,  and  that  they 
ihould  not  fpeak  to  hhn  abo^  onci  a  day.  At 
length  he  was  fet  at  liberty  by  the  help  of  the  hftd 
Arnold  Poer,  fetiefchal  of  the  county  of  Kilkenny ; 
and  he  gave  a  great  fum  of  money  to  the  feid 
Arnold  to  imprifott  the  bifhop;  accordin^y  he 
kept  the  bifliop  in  prifon  about  three  months." 

"  Among  the  goods  of  ARce,  they  found  a 
wafer  (hoftia)  with  the  devil's  name  upon  it^  and  a 
certain  box  of  ointment,  With  which  flie  dfed  to 
daub  a  certain  piece  of  Wood,  called  k  cowltree, 
after  which  (he  and  her  accomplices  rid  upon  it 
round  the  worid,  without  hiut  or  hindrance.   Thcfe 

things 


HUISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  5r» 

4hings  being  notorious,  Alice  was  cite^d  again  to 
appear  at  Dublin  before  the  dean  of  St.  Patrick^ 
having  forac  hopes  of  favour  given  her.  5he  made 
'her  appearance  and  demanded  a  day  to  aafwcr, 
having  given  fuiicient  bail  as  v^as  thought;  but 
fhe  appeared  not,  for  by  theadTicc  of  ber  fonand 
•others  unknown,  (he  hid  herfelf  in  a  certain  village 
until  tb^  wind  would  fervc  for  England,  and  llhen 
flic  failed  over  t  but  it  is  not  known  whither  the 
went." 

.  "  WiUiam  Utlaw  being  found  on  the  trial  and 
-CQflfeflton  of  Penel  (who  was  condemned  to  be 
burnt)  to  havei>ecn  ocm(entpr.g  to  his  modier  in  her 
Sorcery  and  witchcraft,  the  biftiop  caufed  him  to  be 
arretted  by  tlie  king's  writ,  and  put  in  prifon  j  yet 
he  was  fet  at  liberty  again  by  t!he  interceffion  of  the 
lords,  upon  coiidmon,  that  he  (hould  trover  St. 
Mary's  diurch  m  Kalfcenny  wi(h  lead,  and  do  oth^r 
aits  of  charity  within  a  certain  day ;  and  that  if  he 
-did  not  perform  them  punftuatly,  he  (hould  be  m 
idle  fame  date  as  wlien  firit  taken  by  the  king's 
wtit.**  Further  particulars  may  be  feen  in  Ware's 
^fe  of  bilhop  Ledred. 

A.  D.  ig29.  (p)  The  lord  Thomas  Botiller 
marched  fit>m  Kilkeany  with  a  great  army  into  tiie 
country  of  (y)  Ardnorwith ;  where  he  fought  with 
the  brd  Thomas  and  William  Mageoghagan,  and 
ivas  4here  ikilled,  to  the  great  lofs  of  Ireland,  and 
ij^iA  him  Ae  k>rd  John  dc  Ledewich,  Roger  and 
Thomas  Ledewich. 

In 


tf^)  Cambden's  Anaals. 

(f)  Ardo^rcher  io  the  county  of  VVcflmeaih. 


L 


3JS        .     THE  ANTIQJJITIIS  OF 

In  1330,  Roger  Utlaw,  prior  of  Kilmainhai^, 
and  lieutenant  of  the  kingdom  under  Darcy,  held 
'a  parliament  in  Kilkenny/ in  which  were  prcfeni 
Alexander  archhiftiop  of  Dublin,  James  earl  of 
Ormond,  Walter  Berniingham  and  Walter  de 
Burgo.  An  army  was  collefted,  and  it  matched 
to  drive  Bricn  O  Brien  oiit  of  Urfcuffs  near  Cafhel. 
This  O  5rien  was  chieftain  of  Thomond,  and  was 
appointed  leader  of  a  violent  iDfurredtion  of  the 
natives  at  this  time.    "^ '     \ 

*  Anthony  Lucy  (r)  in  1331,  appointed  a  jxurlia- 

meht  to  meet  at  Dublin  on  the  Uta*s  of  St.  John 

*       '      .      ' 

the  baptift.  Many  of  the  principal  nobiUty  abfented 
>i  ^  themfelves;  a  practice  but  joo  common.  The 
paucity  of  members  obliged  Lucy  to  adjourn  to 
•Kilkenny.  In  the  interini,  Lycy  had  either  threat- 
ened the  abfentees  oh  the  fcore  of  thdr  allegiance, 
or  had  abfolutely  taken  fome  fleps  to  vindicate  his 
own  and  his  matter's  authority  ;•  for  we  find  that 
the  lord  Thomas  Fitz  Maurice  and  the  earl  of  Kil- 
dare  appeared,  and  fubmitted  to  ther  king's  grace 
and  mercy  J  they  Syeje  pardoned,  but  the  laft 
was  obliged  to  fwear  on  the  holy  eyahgelifis  and 
the  rejics  of  the  faintg  to  obferye  his  allegiance  and 
to  keep  the  peace.  Defhiond,  Mandeville,  Walter 
de  Burgo  and  his  brothler,  Williani  and  Walter 
)Serniingham  were  feized>  and  William  Berming;- 
ham  executed  for  fecretly  favouring  the  Iri(h  rebels. 
'  The  city,  iit  1 334,  had  certain  {s)  tolls  granted 
it,  for  pavage,  for  feven  years. 

*  The  annals  of  Ireland,  under  the  year  134*1 
inform  uis  of  the  precarious  ftate  of  the  kingdom, 

ana 

c 
.  •  ( 

ir)  Coz>  pag.  III.  {s)  Appendix  III. 


IRISHTOWN  ANDKILKENKY.  g7j 

»nd  the  danger  of  its  being  diflevcred  from  Eng* 
land.  (/)  The  king  revoked  all  thofe  gifts  and 
grants  that  by  him  or  his  father  had  been  conferred^ 
by  any  means,  upon  any  perfons  whatfocver  ia 
Ireland,  were  they  liberties,  lands  or  ^ther  goods. 
For  which  revoca]?ion  great  difcontent  and  difplea- 
fure  aroie  in  the  land  of  Ireland,  which  was  at  the 
point  to  be  loft  for  ever  out  of  the  king  of  England's 
hands.  Hereupon,  by  thj?  king's  council,  there 
^iras  ordained  a  general  parliament  in  the  month  of 
Oftober ;  before  which  time  there  never  was  knowa 
fo  notable  a  divifion  between  thofe  that  were  Eng- 
lifli  by  birth  and  Engtifli  by  blood. 

The  mayors  of  the  king's  cities  in  the  feme  land, 
together  with  all  the  better  fort  of  the  noWlity  and 
gentry,  with  one  confent,  upon  mature  deliberwioa 
and  council  had,  among  other  their  conclufions,  de- 
creed and.  appointed  a  common  parliament  at  Kil- 
kenny in  November,  to  the  utility  and  profit  of  both 
the  king  and  the  lan4>  ^^hout  alking  any  council  v 
at  all  of  Sir  John  Morris,  the  lord  juftice,  or  the 
king's  officers  aforefkid  in  that  behalf ;  neither  the 
lord  juftice  or  the  king's  minifters  in  any  wife 
prefucQed  to  poine  to  the  fame  parliament  in  Kil- 
kenny. 

The  elders  therefore  of  the  land,  together  with 
the  antients  and  mayors  of  the  cities  agreed  and 
ordained,  as  touching  folemn  ambafiadors  to  bp 
fent  With  all  fpeeS  to  the  king  of  England,  and  to 
complain  of  his  minil^ers  in  Ireland,  as  touching 
their  unequal  and  unjuft  regiment  of  the  fame  ^ 
'  and 

(;)  Prjnnc  on  the  4th  inftitytc.  '    , 


07*  THE  ANTIQJLTITIES   OF 

and  ihaH  from  theocefortfa  they  neither  could,  nor 
ivould  endure  the  resitn  of  Ireland  to  be  raled  by 
his  mimfters,  9B  it  had  wont  to  be ;  and  particularly 
they  made  complaint  of  the  aforefiud  miniiters  by 
way  of  thbfe  queiffiotis. 

ImprittMs^  how  a  land  fiiii  of  wans  codd  be 
governed  by  Urn  dwt  was  unlkillfiil  in  war  f 

Setoadly,  how  a  itUmiter  or  officer  of  the  king 
Should  iin.a  ibort  tim^  ^ow  to  fo  much  wealth  ? 

Thirdly,,  how  it  came  to  pa&^  that  the  king 
wa8  never  the  richer  for  Ireland  ? 
,.    The  title  of  thefe  petkioais,  with  the  king's  an- 
fwers,  appears  thus  in  a  clofe  roll  of  the  1 6  Edw.  lil : 

^'  L^  petidons  quenfeunt  feurent  batliez  a  nodre 
feigneurle roy de  France ^  Dengleterre,  par freie 
Johan  Larch,  priour  del  hofpital  feint  Joban  de 
Jerufalem  en  Irlande,  et  Mobs*  Thomas  Wogaa 
envciezau  roy  en  meflage,  par  ksppehtz,  conntes^ 
barons  et  la  commune  de  la  terre  Dirlaunde^  ove 
autres  articles  queur  le  roy  par  lavifement  de  fom 
confeil  ad  ordeine.  Qie  les  petidons  feorent 
<iiHgealRient  examinez  et  r^iponduz  parleconfei 
ide  roy»  ct  les  rdfponfes  efcriptes  feveralteent  apres 
<:hercun  petition.  £t  puis  le  toy  oyz  et  etendutz 
les  dites  peticions  et  refponfcs  fi  facorda,  et  com- 
>nanda  que  ies  dites  refponfes  ove  les  dites  articles 
fcttemt  tenus  et  meintenuz  en  touz  poin£z  liir  lea 
^inesxontenuz  en  ycdies." 

The  pctitioncars  coraplaiaed  of  the  mal-admini- 
ibmtion  of  the  governors  «od  other  officers ;  but  the 
cafpittl  grievance  was  the  refumption  of  thdr  lands. 
The  king's  anfwers  were  mild  and  fatisfaftory,  and 
a  ftorm,  that  portended  the  convulfion  and  difunion 

of 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENKY.  ifs 

of  the  kingdom,  b\tv  over,  without  Any  material 
injiify  but  tht  alarm  it  created. 

(«)  At  a  parliament  held  iti  Kilkenny  in  1 347, 
it  vrae  agreed  to  grant  a  fubfidy  for  ths  Irilh  vrara, 
of  Iwo  (hillingi  for  every  cirrUcue  isF  land,  and 
of  two  IbillingE  in  the  poiuid  to  be  paid  by  vrtty 
perfon  whoik  fortune  tttnountcd  to  fix  pounds, 
^w)  Ridph  Kelly,  archbiflMp  of  Cafhd,  concaving 
Une  to  be  an  inft-iAgcmcat 'df  the  imaiuRtticB  of  the 
<:horch,  fummoned  hU  fuifragans  and  clergy  to 
sneet  it  Tippettut  *°  deliberate  on  this  new  law } 
whet)  they  dectwcd  it  unlawful  as  to  x\iem  i  that 
*rcry  beneficed  dei^man  futHnitting  to  H,  and 
contributing  t«  the  fiAfidy,  fiiould  be  rendcretl 
incapable  of  promotion  wittnn  ^e  province.  This 
Bit  did  not  go  unnoticed  •,  an  Information,  at  the 
Am  of  the  king,  was  exhibited  J^mft  the  arch- 
HAi^,  nid  Ir  was  ikialdled  in  the  futn  ^  a  thouftad 
pounds. 

In  («)  i349t  ^  osumy  of  Ktltefttiy  rtHTed 
twelve  hoffes  and  meh,  bcAh  com^etdy  covetvd 
with  wail,  tliefe  wei*  heairy  teferttiy>  at  twelve 
pence  a  day :  fiaty  hobeUcrs,  an  light  tidrie,  at  fiwu- 
pehoe  a  day  t  and  two  hundred  iftfefttt-y  at  three 
f^rtMngs  a  day,  amounting  in  the  whole  to  tw^ 
hundifed  and  feventy-two  -nSen.  For  ftpport  < 
thefe  a  fubfidy  was  granted  and  levied. 

In  1356,  Sir  Thomas  Rokcby  (y),  lordjuffic* 

convened  a  parliament  to  Kilkenny,  wherein  nwt 

,     go* 

(u)  LeUnd,  vol.  I.  pag.  jio- 
(to)  W»re'.  Bifhop^  P»g- 478- 
(.r)  Cox.  p»g.  114. 
(j)  AppcodJi  IV. 


^  THE  ANTIQJJITIES   OF 

good  laws  paflfed  for  fettling  the  internal  govern^ 
ment  of  the  kingdom,  and  reclaiming  the  degene- 
rate Englifh.  And  in  1 367,  the  celebrated  flatute 
of  Kilkenny  was  enaded  by  a  parliament  ia  Aat 
city,  held  before  Lionel  dukis  c^  Clarence.  Tins 
affembly  was  the  moft  fplendid  and  numerous  that 
ever  before  met  here  on  fuch  an  occafion.  (z)  Be- 
fides  domeflic  r^ulations,  the  principal  obJe£t  of 
this  famous  law  was,  to  prevent  the  Englifh  from 
degenerating  into  Irifti ;  and  therefore  every  inter- 
courfe  between  them  was  interdided ;  the  Brehoa 
'  -law ,  was  forbidden,  and  that  of  England  alone 
allowed.  It  is  remarkable,  that  this  ftatute  an- 
nexes the  higheft  (^i)  penalties  to  the  adoption  of 
the  Irilh  apparel,  wtuch  certainly  was  an  inferiour 
ipecies  of  criminality,  and  could  arife  only  from  an 
inordinate  prediledion  of  the  EngliQi  in  favour  of 
their  own  drefs,  which  is  thus  defcribed :  "  (jb)  The 
commons  were  befotted  in  excels  of  apparel,  in 
wide  (urcoats  reaching  to  their  loins ;  fome  in  a 
garment  reaching  to  their  heels,  clofe  before  and 
ilrulting  out  on  the  fides,  fo  that  on  the  back  they 
make  men  feem  women,  and  this  they  call  by  a 
jidiculous  name,  gown ;  their  hoods  are  little,  tied 
^nder  the  chin,  and  buttoned  like  the  women's  i 
^their  lirriplpes'  reach  to  their  heels,  all  jagged  ;  they 

have 

R 

(z)  Leland  fupra  gives  a  fumraar^  of  this  ftatute,  to 
,wktch  we  refer  the  reader. 

{a)  The  bifhops  of  Dublin,  Cafhel,  Tuam,  Lifmore* 
Wa'ierford,  Oflbry,  Killaloe,  Leighiin  and  Clojne  were 
prefent,  and  fulminated  anathemas  againft  the  tranfgreflbrs 
jof  this  law. 

(^)  The  author  of  Eufogium  apud  Cambden's  remains, 
pag.  20.  See  this  extrad  explained  in  8tr;utt's  Antiquities, 
yol  2.  ^ag.  14,  &c. 


*  « 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY. 

have  another  weed  of  filk  which  they  call  a  paltock ; 
their  hofe  are  pied,  or  of  two  colours  or  more,  with 
latdiets,  which  they  call  harlots,  and  tie  to  their 
paltocks  without  any  breeches ;  their  girdles  are  of 
gold  and  (liver,  fome  worth  twenty  marks ;  their 
fliocs  and  pattens  are  fnouted  and  pecked  more 
than  a  finger  long,  crooking  upwards,  which  they 
call  crackowes,  refembling  the  devil's  claws,  which 
are  foftericd  to  the  knees  with  chains  of  gold  and 
filver." 

Thus  gaudily  attired,  we  need  not  wonder  if 
the  Englifh  beheld  the  Irifli  mantles,  iheir  trowfers', 
glibbs,  crommeals,  their  barreds  and  br(^cs,  not 
only  with  contempt  but  abliorrcncej  but  when 
they  confidered  the  fourteen  yards  of  yellow  linen, 
worn  by  the  natives,  by  way  of  fhirts  and  fmocka, 
they  execrated  fuch  anti-cbriitian  cuftoms,  and 
concaved  it  impoffible  for  a  fingle  good  quality  to 
fubfift  under  fuch  clothing. 

A.  D.  1 365.  By  (c)  a  deed  dated  the  40  Edw.  Tih 
Adam  Cantwdl  grants  to  Robert  le  Marchal  and 
Ifabella  Cantwell  his  wife,  all  his  meffuages,  rertts 
and  tenements  in  his  holdings  in  Irefton  (IriJhtown), 
in  the  Green  near  Kilkenny.  The  witneffea  are, 
Thomas  Lynan,  provoft  of  Irifhtown,  and  others. 

At  a  parliament  held  in  (rf)  Kilkenny  in  1370,  a 
fubfidy  of  three  tiioufand  pounds  was  granted  for 
the  Irifh  war^  and  in  a  fubfequent  fcffion  two 
thoufand  more.  On  the  fourth  of  May,  1374.  (<■),  fM, 
Sir  William  Windfor^  lord  lieutenant,  was  fworn  1 1  j 
inlft' .  • 

(r)  King's  Collea.  pag.  212: 

(J)  Clauf.  47  Edw.  111.  memb.  3^, 

(*)  Cox,  paj,  13,1. 


178  THE  ANTtCtUItlES  OP 

iftto  the  government,  in  Kilkenny.  He  undertook 
the  charge  of  the  tdngdom.fQr  the  annual  fum  of 
j^.  1 1 2 1 5  6s.  %d.  and  obtained  art  order  from  the 
Idng  and  council,  that  abfeotees  (hould  repair  home^ 
or  find  fi^cient  men  in  their  room  to  defend  Umr 
^(Utes. 

The  next  parliament  in  KiUcenny  was  in  the 
year  1 376,  for  th^  purpofe  of  granling  the  kii^  a 
fubfidy  for  his  for^n  wars  \  but  this  not  provii^ 
effeftualf  writs  were  iflued  in  the  49th  and  501b  of 
Edw.  IIL  for  ieoding  repreff^tattv^  to  England, 
from  each  county  and  town.  That  to  the  county 
rf  Kilkenny  is  thus ;  (f)  ♦*  Confiwtile  h^tvc  dirir 
^tur  fen^fcallo  libertatis  Kilkenni#  et  vi^ecoo^itt 
crooeae  ibidem,  fub  eadem  datd.  Tenor  retonn 
brevia  prasdiAi  fequitur  in  hsee  verba :  Alex^er 
cpifcopus  OlToiienfifi,  et  Ga|&idus  Forilal,  elcdi 
funt  per  fenefcallum  lib^tatia  Kilkennis  et  vice* 
comitem  croceae  ibidem,  ac  magnates  et  communes 
cjufdem  comitati^/'  But  this  return  being  of  one 
ecclefiafticai  perfon,  contrary  to  the  kiiig^s  orders, 
and  the  county  giving  no  powers  to  aflent  tp  a 
fubfidy,  or  the  impofition  of  taxes,  a  new  writ  waa 
lent,  and  William  Cotterell  of  Kenlis  or  Kelts  was 
joined  whh  Forftal.  Here  the  fenefchal  of  the 
county  and  the  (heriflf  of  the  crofe  or  church-lands 
nfade  the  return  \  who  thefe  officers  were  will  heft 
appear  from  the  words  of  Sir  John  Davis.  ^^  Tbefe 
abfolute  palatines  (fpeaking  of  the  nobility)  who 
^had  whole  counties,  made  barons  and  knights,  did 
exercife  high  juftice  in  all  points  within  their  territo- 
ries ^  eredted  courts  for  criminal  and  civil  caufes 

and 

(/)  LeUnd,  vol.  i.  appendix. 


IKISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  579 

and  for  their  owa  rcvenucst  in  the  fame  form  as 
the  king's  courts  were  eftabliibed  in  Dublin }  mgdei 
their  own  juc^es,  fenefchals^  (heriffs,  coroners  and 
efcheators.  So  the  king's  writ  did  not  run  in  thofe 
counties,  but  only  in  the  church-lands  belonging, 
to  the  fame,  which  were  called  the  Croft,  whereia 
the  king  made  a  (herifF-,  and  fo  ia  each  of  thefe 
counties  palatines  there  were  two  (henfifs^  one  (^ 
the  Liberty  and  another  of  the  Croft.** 

Let  us  now  attend  the  writ  to  the  city :  ^^  Con^ 
fimile  breve  diri^tur  fuperiori  et  praepofito  villas  de 
Kilkenny,  £ec.  And  the  return  was ;  Robertas 
Flode  et  Johannes  Ledred  ele£ti  funt  per  fuperiorem,, 
praepofitum  et  burgenfes  villas  Kilkennis,  ad  tranf- 
iretandum  vecfus  dominum  regem  in  Anglia,  Scc.*^ 

Here  the  writ  expreftly  mentions  the  officers  q| 
tile  corporation  to  be  the  ibveieign  and  provoft. 
The  powers  of  each  were  antiently  diftiat^;  the: 

fir ^  (S)  ^^  i^g^9  ^^  ^  1^  reibrt,  of  matters 
within  bis  jurisdiAion ;  he  defended  the  rights  of 
the  city  and  its  inhabitants,  and  executed  othei; 
official  ads.  The  provofi  was  an  inferior  judge  ^ 
he  infpedted  the  markets  and  farmed  the  tolls. 
Kilkenny,  in  this  record  is  called  villa,  a  towa^ 
at  this  time,  1376,  there  were  but  four  cities  ia 
Ireland,  Dublin,  Waterford,  Cork  and  Limerick  ^ 
and  five  towns,  Drogheda,  Kilkenny,  Rofs,  Wex- 
ford and  Youghall ;  nor  doth  it  appear  from  thia 
document,  that  the  reprefentatives  exceeded  one 
hundred,  which,,  confidering  the  narrownefs  of  the 

pale,  were  £ufiicient  for  the  £nglilh  colonics. 

The 

Q)  Du  Cange,  voce  prscpofiiuc. 


SS(S  tHE  AMTIQJJitlES  OF 

The  year  before^  that  is  in  1375,  {k)  letters^ 
patent  ifiued,  granting  to  the  corporation,  for  the 
fpace  of  feven  years,  very  cdnfiderablc  tolTs,  for 
the  repairs  of  the  walls,  bridges  atid  pavements* 
belonging  to  it ;  they  were  drawn  iTp  in  Kilkenny,' 
as  the  date  of  them  proves  ;  and  as  they  feem  to' 
include  the  whole  trade  of  the  city  a^  this  fime,  it 
rhay  be  pleafing  to  the  inquifitive  t6  take  notice  of 
a  few  curious  particulars.  We  (hall  afrange  them* 
uoder  the  following  helads : 

MEASURES   AND  WEIGMTa 

The  Cranocus,  or  (/)  Cronnog  in  Irifli,  was  g* 
bafket  or  hamper  for  holding  corn,  lined  with  the 
Ikin  of  a  beaft,  and  fuppofed  to  hold  the  produce 
of  feveriteen  (heaves  of  corn,  and  to  be  equal  to  a 
Brillol  barrel.  This  was  a  renfinant  of  remote' 
ages,  and  an  effort  of  unpolilhed  fociety  towards  a 
juft  determinatioti  of  tKeir  rights.  A  ftandard  for* 
raeafuring  different  kinds  of  grain,  and  thereby 
cttimating  their  value  in  permutation,  would  natu- 
rally be  among  the  firft  contrivances  of  mankind, 
and  a  bafket  of  twigs  lined  with  a*  (kin  was  the 
moft  obvious  and  ready  expedient  for  this  purpofc. 
Such  is  the  attachmeitr  of  mde  people  to'  their' 
antient  cuftoms  and  manners,  that  it  is'  after  a  long 
lapfe  of  years  they  can  be  induced  to  lay  themf 
afide,  and  adopt  thofe  that  are  more  convenient 
and  ufeful.  From  what  is  now  faid,  we  are  not 
to  conclude,  that  the  citizens  of  Kilkenny  were  in 
a  more  uncivilized  ft  ate  thart  their  contemporaries  v 

they 

W  Appendix  V.  («)•  Ward's  Antiq.  p|ig*  a^j: 


IKISHTOWN  AND  KILKEInINY.  "       $9% 

4hey  were  equal  to  any  of  them  in  the  luxuries  of 
diving  and  drefs. 

The  dolltim,  chane  and  lagena  were  uncertain 
tneafureS)  and  the  weights  ufed  were  pounds  and 
ilones. 

Summagium,  or  fagmegium,  or  fauma  (J)  feems 
to  have  been  a  car  or  cart  load,  and  in  this  record 
is  contradiitingui(hed  from  onus,  which  was  an 
horfe  load . 

GRAIN. 

.Moft  fpecies  are  enumerated,  as  wheat,  malt, 
corcyr,  coire  or  oats^  and  iymal^  -femalum,  feagol 
or  rye. 

MEAT,  FISH,  &c. 

Good  living  and  an  attention  to  perfonal  orna- 
ments were  the  prevailing  pailions  of  this  reign. 
</)  A  law  was  made  to  prohibit  fervants  from 
•eating  flefh  meat  and  fifh  but  once  a  day  ^  nor  was 
any  man,  under  one  hundred  pounds  a  year^ 
to  wear  gold,  filvcr  or  filk  in  his  clothes.  In  a 
place  abounding  with  all  the  luxuries  and  fuper- 
fluities  of  life,  and  unawed  by  fumptuary  reftric- 
lions,  the  inhabitants  of  Kilkenny,  no  doubt,  in- 
dulged themfelves  to  the  utmoft  of  their  defires. 
Accordingly  the  tolls  on  iheep,  goats,  pigs  and 
bacon  are  low;  and  thofe  on  herrings,  fea-Hfh, 
ialmon  and  lampreys  but  a  farthing.  Leek  feed 
and  onions  are  rated  as  articles  of  confiderable  coit- 

VoL.  IL  D  d  ,  furaption ; 

(k)  Du  Caoge  in  ? oce.  Kennet's  pftrochial  Aniiquitlcty 
glofiar/. 

(0  i7  £dw.  III.  Engliib  ftatutc. 


$U  THE   ANTIQUITIES  OF 

fempt'ioa  I  the  Narman  families  bad  not  forgotten 
'  the  porredla,  porree,  or  leek  foup  of  their  country- 
Rien,  nor  did  tbey  want  fpccies,  or  fpices  to  itupfove 
It.  Noplace  in  Europe  affords  accooimodalions 
for  the  table  fuperiour  to  Kilkenny  at  this  day. 
Wooden  dUhee  and  plates  are  mentioned  ^  it  is 
extraordinary  if  any  others  were  ufed  that  they 
were  not  {etdown.  A  toll  was  paid  on  ore  and 
copper;  the  former  mu{t  have  been  pewter,  and  botk 
were^  not  improbably ,  for  making  domeitic  utenfik 

HOUSES 

In  Kilkenny  bebnging  to  people  of  better  faftuon 
were  (hingled  and  clap-boarded,  as  is  now  the 
cafe  in  America  and  the  Weft- Indies ;  both  forts 
of  covering  sat  fp^ified.  The  vindows  were 
fitted  up  with  coloured  or  wUte  gla& ;  the  glafi 
was  in  finall  panes,  as  they  are  here  eftimated  by 
the  hundred ;  ftaioing  glais  was  an  art  long  kaown 
and  pra£tiiedy  as  was  giaw3g  with  (tn)  lead ;  with 
-  this  glafs  bi(hop  Ledred,  about  iixty  years  be&it| 
adorned  the  eafl  window  of  the  cath^al,  as  will 
be  hereafter  noticed. ,  The  common  people  ufed 
ru(h  candles,  but  others  had  lamps,,  as  the  oil  for 
them  is  here  mentioned,  (n)  Tapiftry  or  chaluns 
adorned  their  rooms. 

DRESS, 

As  we  before  obferved,  wias  ftudioufly  cultivated 
in  thoie  times,    h  here  confilk  of  various  articles. 

The 

(«r)  Feneftras-«*^riiiiul  plumbo  ac  vitro  compadliB  tabula 
ferroque  comiezts  inchmt.  Leo.  Oftions.  lib.  3.  cap.  a7> 
He  writ  about  1115. 

(if)  Du  Cajige  in  voce. 


IRISttTOWN  AND  KILKENNY:  j»| 

Th^  g^ntiy  had  their  Engtifb,  or  foreign  linentf.. 
The  quantity  fufficient  for  an  Irifli  (hirt  or  fmeick^ 
by  the  reccHrai^  wa&  twenty  ells^  or  twenty  five; 
yaxds  i  this  fettas  incredibie,  and  yet  ae  fa4t  ig 
Vetter  aicertoiaed,  Fynes  Moryic^^sf),  w^io^^nl, 
in  1588,  fays :  ^^  Their  Airts  m  aw  me^erj^ 
before  the.  IbA  rebeUion,  were  made  of  ibmcrtwcaty 
or  thirty  ells,  folded  in  wrinkles,  and  Goloui^d-with 
fafFron,**  To  the  fame  purpofe  (j>)  Canipioa: 
**  Linen  (hirts  the  rich  do  wear  for  wantonnefs  and 
bravery,  with  wide  hanging  fleeves  plaited  •,  thirty- 
yards  are  little  enough  for  one  of  them  :*  and  the 
28  Hen.  VIII.  forbids^  ftbove  feVen  yards  of  cloth 
to  be  in  any  fhirt  or  fmock. 

There  ts  a  warni^  difpute  m  the.  rod  book  (q)  of 
KTilkenny^  in  the  6  Hen.  VII.  between  the  gloverf 
and  (hoemakers^  about  the  rig^t  of  raaking  girdles 
and  all  manner  of  girdles  v  which  is  at  once  a  colla* 
teral  ppoof  of  the  loofe  garments  worn  in  this  age, 
and  how  profitable  in<:on{ec|iience  was  the  empby^o 
roent  here  contended  for.  The  dch  had  alfa  their 
whole  clothe  extremely  fine,  that  had  paifed  the 
ainage ;  for  £b  pannum  iiUegnim  dc  Afi(a  may  be 
interpreted ;  al(b  their  cIoUi  of  gold^  their  bodkins 
or  tiflTues^  their  filks^  and  taffates. 

Very  few  wouid  exped  to  find,  even  in  this 
century^  fuoh  mercery  in  an  Irifh  town,  it  being 
more  fuited  to  fome  regal  city  or  the  imperial  refi^- 
dence.  We  are  not  to  forget,  that  tlie  firequcnt 
^oncourfe  of  the  nobility  to  this  place,  befides  tho 
tafte  of  the  times^  wae  the  obvious  caufe  for  intro- 

Dd  2  ducing 


t 


(0)  Itinerary,  fol.  p.  i8o.  (rf  Hift.  pag.  i8. 

(^)  Apud  La&Q's  MSS. 


384  THE  ANTlQjLJITIES   OF 

4ucing  thefe  commcxjiti^cs,  The  pGorer  fort  had 
their  lri(h  fiuffs,  called  falewyche  and  wyrfled^  their 
canvas  lii^en^  their  phallaogs  and  mantles  -,  felt  caps 
^e  alio  mentioned.  This  d^l  would  have  beeii 
ittller,  and  the  reader  (hould  have  been  prefented 
vdtli  a  tranflation  of  the  record  itfel^  were  there 
not  fome  articles  which  the  writer  did  not  under- 
ftandy  nor  Were  they  to  be  found  in  any  fjicSSforf 
fie  had  an  opportunity  of  corifulting. 


SECT.      HL 


IN  1365,  Liotiel  duke  of  Clarence  landed  m 
Irelaiid.  During  his  government  a  parliament  was 
^eld  at  Kilkenny,  where  the  antient  Brehon  laws 
^re  faid  to  have  been  annvdled  (r). 

\ye  have  remarked,  that  about  1 390^  the  earl 
of  Ornaond  pufchafed  the  caftle  of  Kilkenny  frorn 
the  heirs  of  Earl  Marflial,  firom  which  time  he 
modly  refided  in  it.  In  the  reign  of  Richard  IL 
being  lord  juftice,  he  and  the  council  made  in 
Kilkenny  an  order  for  the  repair  and  ward  of  calces 
by  their  o>yners  j  the  ncglcft  of  which  was.aniong 
the  other  reafoas  that  iriduced  the  Irifli '  to  rcvol^ 
and  brought  many  inconveniencies  and  dangers  or| 
the  Englifh. 

In  1 399>  king  Richard  made  an  expedition  into 
Ireland  ;  he  was  attended  by  a  powerful  army,  and 
g  riumcrons  body  of  the  Britifh  nobility.     He 

landec) 

(r)  Coile^anea^  yol.  a.  pag.  49. 


J 


iRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  3«i 

landed  at  Waterford^  and  marched  to  Kilkenny, 
where  he  halted  for  fourteen  days« 

^^  In  the  yere  1400,  fays  Stanihurfi,  Robert 
Talbot,  a  wortbie  gentleman  inclofed  with  walls 
the  better  part  of  the  towne,  by  which  it  was 
greatly  fortified."  This  (hort  notice^  with  the  year 
c^  Ms  death  1415  (s\  is  all  that  k  handed  down  of 
this  eminent  bene&dtor  to  the  city ;  neither  his 
motives  for  fuch  an  expenfive  undertaking,  nof 
the  particular  inducements  for  fo  well-judged  a 
liberality  are  hinted  at.  The  following  remarks 
may  perhaps  tend  to  elucidate  this  tranfadtion. 

Petronilla^  lifter  of  James  the  feeond  earl  of 

Ormond,   in  1340  married  Gilbert  Talbot,  an^ 

eeftbr  to  the  earl  of  Shrewibury.    This  Gilbert  and 

laa  ion  Richard  remarkably  fignalized  themfelves 

in  the  wars  of  £dward  III.    (/)  Richard  feeing  how 

open  and  defenoelefs  Kilkenny  waa  on  ev^ry  fide^ 

and  willing  to  (how  his  refpe£t  for  his  uncle,  who 

a  few  years  before  had  purchafed  it,  and  the  more 

to  attach  the  townfmen  to  the  family,  furrounded 

the  eity  with  a  ftrong  wall,    (u)  It  began  at  the 

earl's  pld  ftables,  not  far  from  tbd  cafile  gate,  and 

maldng  si  femiei/cular  fweep,   or  nearly  fb,  ran 

acrofs  the  end  of  Coal  market,  and  took  in  the 

t^rancifcan  abbey  ;   the  Nore  fecured  it  to  the 

northward,  fo  that  tbe  new  town  was  quite  in^ 

dofed. 

Tbomaa 

(s)  A.  D.  1415.  Obiil  Rob.  Talbot  nobiliy,  qni  fubttibias 
Kilkenniac  muro  circunidedit.   £x  Rot.  turr.  BermiDgham. 

(0  He  is  Called  Richa/d  by  Efurke,  Hibern.  Doit^inic. 
pag.  205,  and  not  Robert  as  bj  Stanihtirft.  Cambden  faHa 
into  tbc  fame  miftake. 

(m)  Carte,  fspra.  The  wall  may  be  accaraitcly  traced  ia 
tbe  plan. 


$«5  Ytt£  ANTKiUITIES  OF 

Thomas  ^earl  €f  Lancdfter  in  140S,  tfter  ttm 
feaft  of  St.  Hilary,  fammoMd  a  (w)  patiiaraeMt 
to  Kilkenny,  iti  order  to  bave  a  tf^^c  ^nted. 

<x)  A:  D.  1419.'  T^he  crtizens  weve  <grMI^ 
tolls  for- mirage,  pavage,  &c.  *• 

In  1 420,  the  clergy  of  (y)O(Coty  -paid  t  fvibfidy 
<yf  z/.  o^.  11^.  and  the  4:omifni>nii ,  of  4(Iilkeniiy 
18/.  5s.  lid.  * 

During  the  .unhappy  feuds-  hetm^en  theiiMife 
jf^f  Yotk  (ind  Lacicaller,  thei^^nrond  finni^ii^feMtt 
'Very  fevetely  ;  in  14^62,  anteal^l  isif  kMs  h0.fife:^mfi 
executed  for  being  a  York^  and  'Kitkeimy  /1M^ 
^oitly  after  taken  and  pliinddred  by  Defsiond 
•who  efpoufed  the  other  party. 
•  Tirlagh  O  Brien  X^O,  'lord  of  IDhdRiond  tiid^  in 
-1499,  great  contefts  whH  Sif  Piers  Butter  4bwk 
preys  and  the  bounds  of  4ands,  *iAich  ^aiCfSdrdhig^o 
4he<:uflom  of  Ifae  tknes  ended  4n^  a  battJe*  Tfie 
inhabitants  ef  Kilkenny  itiarched  4d\tt  \ii  aid  of  "die 
Sutters,  but  they  were  di^fh^ed  and  th^r  fovereigft 
fflaift.  ..   .     ;    •    v.: 

Ware  tinder  the  year  1 518,  weittions  a  tiiavofi  df 
Kilkenny,  who  be  wa€  we  baVe  mrt  difcoveM^^ 
4he  great  palatines  granted  this  •and  jnferiour  4i^ 
uitiee,  but  they  were  barely  nominal,  conferring 
»one  of  the  privileges  of  the  peerage. 

(a)  A.  D.  iSS^y  the  lord  dewrty^rey  came  tb 
Kilkenny,   and  the  next  day  the  parliament  fitt 
.  there ;  from  thence  it  adjourned  to  Caftiell. 

Piers 

(au)  Anoals,  fupra.  Appendix  VI.  wh^rc  libeny  »  gU^wed 
the  citizens  to  trade  with|the  rebjrls. 
(x)  Appendix 'VII. 

(z)  Cox,  pag.  195. 
(a)  Cox,  pag.  247. 


IRtSHTOWN  AND  KILI^EKNY.         -s'T 

PiiisfS  or  VtttVj  dart  of  OrtTHXid,  wbo  died  the 
twenty-fiatth  of  Augtfll  1539,  mdrriccl  Margaret 
¥'tU  Gerald,  daughter  of  the  ead  of  Kikiace^  a  kdy 
of  moli  aoiiabk  qualities-^  this  nobte  and  exceUcnt 
pair  endcai^oured  to  enrich  Kitkenny  by  mtroducing 
manufadaree  into  it.  For  this  p^rpofe,  they 
brought  out  of  Ftanderd  and  the  neighbouring 
proirincesy  ai;tificer89  whom  they  employed  and 
csicouraged  at  Kilkenny  (i)^  iti  working  tapeftry, 
diaper, tvukey  carpets, cuftiions,  ^cfomeof which, 
fer  many  years,  remained  in  the  femily  ;  nor  is  ?t 
ii^prdbabb,  btit  that  the  tapefiry  at  prefent  in  tlife 
cffft)e  may  b^  the  work  of  thofe  Flemings.  If  the 
fiory  of  Decius  is  theirs,  we  muA  ooneeive  very 
higjhfy  of  their  inge^iucy,  tafte  and  exeeutton. 
Sua  the  pmaB  were  |do  un^ttlled,  and  the  nation 
not  civilized  enough  to  give  encouragement  to  the 
degant  arta  and  worka  o^.  ftncy. 

(r)  This  c^v\j  every  y^r  for  the  laft  knight  in 
Lcri^Y  »tvnsd  to  a  chamber  in  St.  Canice's  church- 
yard^ called  (d)  Ps^radife,  and  there  devote  himfelf 
to  prayer  and  aUnfgiving,  and  returned  to  his  own 
houfe  on  Bailer  eve.  Me  was  not  aihamed  of  the 
duties  of  religion  ;  he  was  confcious  that  from  the 
practice  of  them  new  fplendour  was  derived  to  his 

family  and  high  rank: 

A.D. 

(i)  CvtCp.  fupra.  W^re  fayi,  ihc  carl  hy.h\i^  coun^cf^'* 
advice  hired  apd  placed  the  polvmiiary,  Sind  other  flcilful 
•rtiiktr*  in  Kilkenny.  AnnaU  15J9.  Polymita,  yeftis  njohii 
variifque  coloribus  Blis  et  liciis  contexta  et  varifgfiU.  Pa 
Cangc  in  voce. 

(fj  Carte,  fupra. 

(//)  Atrium  ante  ccclefiani,  quod  nos,  Romana  qopOie- 
tudine,  (^aradifum  dicimus.  Leo.  Marfic.  lib.  j.  cap.  a6. 
apud  Lindenbrog.  Cod.  leg.  aniiq.  et  Du  Cange  in  voce. 


Sn  THE  ANTIQJJITIES   OF 

A.D*  1540.  Sir  William  Brereton,  marflialof 
Ireland,  died  at  Kilkenny,  aa  Coir  tells  us. 

In  1552  (e)y  John  Bale,  ihe  celebrated  catalogue 
writer,  was  bifltiop  of  Oflbry  •,  be  xompofed  man j 
religious  dramatk  pieces  ^  two  of  whichr  a  tragedy 
called  God^s  promifes,  and  a  comedy,  intttled  die 
preaching  of  John  Baptift,.  were  adted  by  youi^ 
men  at  the  Market  crefs  in  Kilkenny,  on  a  Sunday* 

Baron  Finglas,  reporting  the  fiate  of  Ireland  in 
his  bceviate,  at  this  time,  bears  honourable  teffi- 
mony  of  the  cultivated  manners  of  the  county  of 
Kilkenny  :  ^^  The  counties  of  Kilkienny  and  Tippe- 
.  rary,  fays  he,  wear  the  Engliih  habit,  and  keep  the 
Englifti  order  and  rule,  and  the  king's  laws  were 
obeyed  here  within  thefe  fifty-one  years  %  and  there 
dwelled  di^vers  knights,  eiquires  and  gentlemen^ 
who  ufe  the  JEnglifb  habit." 

The  Butlers  and  Defmonds,.  o&nded  at  fome 
proceedings  of  the  deputy,  S'u-  Henry  Sydney  flew 
to  arms  in  15^8^  and  committed  many  outrages. 
Sir  Peter  Carew  was  fent  to  oppofe  them^  which 
he  did  with  fuccels,  and  poffefled  himielf  of  KiK 
kenny*  Fitzmaurice,  brother  to  Definond,  invefted 
the  town,  but  the  fpirited  condudt  of  the  garriibn 
and  citizens  foon  obl'^ed  him^  to  withdraw ;  how- 
ever (f)j  in  refentment  he  plundered  the  (mailer 
tpwns  and  villages,  and  particularly  robbed  old 
Fulco  Quiverford  (Comerford)  of  Callan  of  zooo/. 
m  money,  plate,  hou&old  fluff,  corn  and  cattle ; 
Qiiiverford  had  been  fervant  ta  three  earls  of 
Ormonde 

Rory 

(e)  Biographia  Britaonica,  Article  Bale. 
ffJ  Cox,  pag.  334. 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  3«^ 

R<M7  Qgc  OMore,  in  15^6,  made  his  fub- 
miffion  in  the  cburdi  of  Kilkenny,  before  the  lord 
deputy  and  the  earl  of  Ormond. 

The  following  year  the  lord  deputy  (g}  held  a 
ieffions  in  Kilkenny,  when  feveral  perfons,  both  of 
the  city  aad  county,  were  difcovered  to  be  abettor*' 
of  Rory  Oge,  but  the  poprifh  juries  could  oot  be 
induced  to  find  the  bills  of  indidtment,  althougk 
the  parties  confeffed  the  fadt  v  they  were  therefore 
l>ound  in  recognizance  to  appear  in  the  cafile 
chamber  in  Dublin,  to  anfwer  the  contempt. 

Sr  William  Drmy,  lord  prcfidcnt  of  Munfter,r 
came  to  the  c^eputy  at  Kilkenny,  and  complained, 
that  Defmond  kept  together  an  unruly  rabble^  and 
bdog  fent  for,  refufed  to  attend  the  prefidenl. 
Defmond,  being  cited  before  the  deputy,  imme- 
diately appeared,  and  excufed  his  not  waiting  on 
the  prefident,  becaufe  he  was  his  inveterate  enemy. 
Thirty-iix  criminals  were  executed  in  Kilkeimy 
this  year.  % 

In  1579,  Sir  William  Pelham,  Icwrd  jufticc,  made 
las  pR)greis  towards  Munfter,  and  coming  to  Kih 
kenny  he  thei:^  kept  feifions,  a^d  ordered  Edmond 
Mac  Nial  (A),  an  arcb-traytor  and  other  malefadois 
to  be  executed-,  after  which  be  reconciled  the  carl  of 
Ormond  and  the  lord  of  Upper  OiTory,  each  giving 
bonds  for  the  reftitution  of  preys. 

Fynes  Moryibn,  writing  about  the  year  1588^, 
iays;  **  Kilkenny,  giving  name  to  a  county,  is  a 
pleafant  town,  the  chief  of  the  towns  within  land^ 
memorable  for  the  civility  of  the  in|iabitants»  for 

the 

ii)  Cox,  pag.  351. 

(A)  Ware's  Aoaiils.  Coz,  pag-  360* 


190  THE  ANTIQUlYtEff  0^-. 

fbe  hufbamknants  labour  afid  tfce  pl^&nt  (/>  on 
chards.**  Cambden,  in  the  okl  edition  of -i  5901 
repeats  part  of  tWs  account:  "^  Munkipmm  eft 
nkidun],  ekgans,  copiofum,  H  inter  mediterranea 
Imijus  infda^  iacile  primum.  '  DVyidk^H'  fn  oppklufn 
Hibernicum  et  Anglkwn.*  What  he  feys  of*  its 
name  from  6t.  Carjice,  of  the-  Enelifh  town  being 
<onfti  ufted*  by  Ralph,  the  thtrd  eari  of  €3iefter, 
and  its  caftt^f  by  the  Butkfsv  are^  as'  we  have 
iben,  aflertkxiswi^put  preef  and  contradidlfed  t^ 
hiftory.  >  , 

Quden  EKaabetb,  in  the  Axtccntft  year  of  her 
rdgn;  A.  D.  1575,  granted  a  charter  to  KSBccnny, 
^bich  as  it  aod  <hat  of  her  fucceffor*  king  Jannes  are 
in  the  hands  of  «nany  perfot^,  I  (haH  but  touch  on. 

By  tki^  ^  ftite  of  the  corporation  fa,  • 

TPhC  SoVfcRfelCN^  BtJR^ESSESandCoMMCNAt-Ty. 

•All  their  aetient  privileges  ^re^  confirmed. 
.  They  nitty  have  a  meifchatit  gild^^        other  gjids. 

The  burgeffes  are  permitted  to.  difpofe  of  thcSr 
tenements  or  a;ktn  Iheir  fitmtion. 
-    The  foveri^n  took  cognizance  6f  breaches  of 
«Aie  peace,  ahd  tbe  (*)  provbft  prefided  in  Ae 
iiandred  court,^  ahd  tried  dvrl  aftions.^ 

To  draw  a  (Wdrd,  or  flteki,  (cultellum)  in  a 
Ijoarr^l,  was  puni(hab4e  by  tbe  fine  of  hstlf  a  mark. 

There  was  to  be  ^  piUory  (eolliftrigfum)  and 
tumbrel,  for  the  puntfliment  of  offenders. 

The  burgefles  were  exempted  from  milkary 
•duty,  and  free- from cuftoms  throughout  the  Queen's 
dominions,  as  the  burgeffes  of  <}loccficr  were. 

Thofe 

(f)  The  account  of  the  citj's  cftatQ,  in  4628,  fall/  cjm- 
nrms  this  fa£t. 

{^)  This  will  cxplaihpage  ai,  before. 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKSKNY.  ^ 

Thofe  who  fii^eFe^  ^ir  tenemmts  to  go  to 
^decay  in4h6  ^own^-  orom  to  b^  diilraiiied  until  they 
rebuilt  or  repaired  them. 

■  A  ckik  was  to  iM  chdfen  fi-om  the  buk^gefles ; 
hewcafftaTecei^»ex)f  ibe  tecxi  cf  Kilkdfiny  twenty 
(hillings,  and  of  the  town  ten  Shillings* .  The 
laudable  and  faithful  fervice;$  pf  CheciftiEeRfi,  and 
thofe  lately  performed  are  mentiomsdidis  juft  leafons 
for  particular  favours.  This  aliodeB  to  doeir  con- 
duct under  Sir  Peter  Carew  it|  1568. 

They  were  to  have  a  common  fed,  and  the 
fovereign  to  be  a  juftice  of  peace,  ooioner  and 
elcheator  in  the  town^  m  die  fiune  aiafde  manner 
as  the  (bvereign  of  RoiTpoi^  «cir  New  JRicift^ 

A.  D.  1594,  on  St.  Georgpe's  4lay^  thete  was 
a  great  cavalcade  in  Kilkepny^  whrathe  lords 
rode  in  their  places,  as  Cox  infprms  ok       > 

A.  D.  1660.  The.  earl  of  Prmond  forced  the 
great  rebel  Redmond  Burk  spd  liifi  fiotbwers  into 
the  river  Nore,  where  feyieoty  of  ihem  were 
drowned,  and  particularl]^  John  Burk..  Redmond 
tiras  fgm  After  token  aoil  tteoited  </)  at  Kilkenny. 

Mr.  Nichol9i&  J,^il^;|oii .  was  appointed  hy  the 
.^ty  Hidir  ngwt  to  ^94iett:ar;new  cfaartnrin  Dublin, 

The  charter  of  James  I.  was  made  in  .i&sp* 

if  f  e^iM9  tlKit  KUk^any  1¥as  ^1  fitoatied  to  repel 

^  li\Q\  f^lielfi,  fin4  i^f^  perfonafid  emiasnt  for* 

vices  i;R  {his  ntCpe^^,  mi  ^r^fiwe  he  xrce^tes  it  'a 

CITY  by  th^  ftik  pf  the 

Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  CoMMoiffCbuNQiL^lBcc. 

The 

(/)  Cox,*pag.  433,  ♦  LafFan'f  MSS. 


3^  THE  ANTIQJJITIES  O^ 

The  Mayor  to  be  chofisn  yearly,  on  the  Moruhjr 
after  the  feaft  of  St.  John  the  baptift  5  and  Thomas 
Ley  to  be  firft  Mayor. 
The  Aldermen  not  to  exceed  eighteen,  and 
Robert  Rothe,  aftervrard^  Sir  Robert  Rothe, 
Arthur  Shee, 
Richard  Raggett 
Elias  Shee, 
Thomas  Archer, 
Patrick  Ardicr, 
Luke  Shee, 

Edward  Rodie,  ^ 

John  Rothe  Fitz  EHeroe^ 
Nidiolas  Langton,  -  •  •..  --'^  j 

Edward  Shee, 
Walter  Lawlefs^ 
Thomas  Ley, 
'  David  R<>the^ 
Walter  Archer, 
Michael  Cowley, 
Thomas  Shee,  and 

William  Shee  to  be  the  firft  Aldermen,  mi 
Robert  Rothe  to  be  Recorder. 
The  burgeffes  and  commons  of  Klkenny  to  be 
accounted  as  citizens,  and  to  admit  others  to  thek 
freedom. 

Two  citizens  to  be  iheriffs,  Waltet  Ryan  aitd 
Thomas  Pembrock,  the  firft )  thefe  to  be  annually 
chofen,  the  monday  next  after  Midfummer ;  thdr 
eledtion  to  be  certified  into  the  Exchec^uer,  and 
they  to  hold  courts. 

Four  or  five  ferjeants  are  allowed,  and  a  fword 
permitted  to  be  borne  before  the  mayor. 

The 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  $^$ 

'  The  mayor  and  recorder  may  have  deputies, 
who  are  to  be  jufiices  of  the  peace,  and  clerks  of 
4he  market. 

Half  die  forfeitures  of  treafons  and  felonies  is 
given  to  the  city  v  tfaey  were  allowed  three  fairs 
annually,  and  tluree  markets  weekly. 

The  gild  permitted  to  be  eftablilhed  in  Kilkenny 
receives  fbme  illuilration  from  Mr.  Laffan*s  papers, 
from  whence  we  (hall  extract  fome  curious  particu- 
lars ;  previouily  obferving,  that  gilds  or  fraternities 
were  very  early  efiabli(hed  in  corporate  towns  for 
the  advantage  of  the  citizens.  They  were  to  pur- 
chafe  jevery  foreign  commo<£ty  from  the  maker 
and  importer  at  an  under  rate,  and  their  own  they 
were  to  fdl  at  the  higheft  prices.  Each  perfon  was 
confined  to  Us  own  trade,  and  heavy  penalties 
were  annexed  to  the  violation  of  thefe  rules.  The 
red  and  gild  boo^  wherever  extant,  are  full  of 
thefe  impolitic  reftrifkions;  a  few  inflances  may 
fuffice  z 

i«  Whoever  (hall  buy  goods  for  foreign  merchants, 
•   or  employ  foreigners*  money  for  little  or  no  gain, 

(hall  be  fined  5/.  currency,  toties  quoties. 

2.  No  firange  merchant  to  open  any  ware  in  any 
houfe  within  the  franchifes,  under  pain  of  405. 

3.  No  inhabitant  or  freeman  to  receive  any  money 
beforehand,  to  buy  hides,  fells,  frize  mantles, 
or  wool,  under  the  penalty  of  3/. 

4.  A  pewterer  of  Briftol  permitted,  on  paying 
five  (hilUngs,  to  fdl  his  pewter '  to  freemen  of 
Kilkenny,  he  having  made  the  gild  the  firll 
offer. 

5.  The  fame  to  a  glafs-bottle  man. 

^  Thefe 


J94  THE  ANTIQlU^^ITIES  OP 

Thefe  and  hufnberlefc  other  exanifyhs  (heir  us, 
^hat  Mrrow  views  meit  tfken  entertained  of  trafte» 
and  how  imperfedly  the  principles  of  it  Ivece  mr 
def^Dod.  Were  the  DobteftzbriBrsconfiitiBd  to  their 
native  ftreams^  and  precluded,  fi^om  admixmre  wiA 
other  waters,  ^t  (faonld  be  depcivted  of  all  the 
ufefut  dnd  oKriiHiei^tal  ady^mtages  attendant  on 
iueh  G0RJiifl)£tiGki9k  la  IHit  matmeir  si  ftee  and  <££»• 
cumbered  <SQii9tfnerce  carries  With  it  weaMr  tkbeoevcr 
it  flows,  bu^  ddggpd-  wtlfa  tgfylvQklBSf.  is  of  litde 
importance. 

Befides  th^  foregoing^  the  ^  gBd  of  metdaairis 
had  mo^peli^ed  the  piovidiog  for  fiwevals^  as 
appears  by  the  report  oi  Jdm  Gerwn,  of  the  ci^ 
of  Kilkenny >  ddernaafi ;  Jdhn  Arcfadeldii'  fcDtor, 
and  James  Roane  of  the  faid  city,  nlerdistms,  aad 
freemen  of  the  nniercNttifc^gHdv  appdnted  to  regih 
hte  the  future  difpo&l  elf  the  wa±  tapecs^  black 
hangingsi  and  hearfe  do^  bebtigingto  £nd  gttd. 

1.  They  find  that  in  former  times  when  the  ^M 
wanted  wax,  two  of  the  U)dy;vividre  niaminated  fay 
the  haU  to  afiefi  on  the  members,  as  ecpially  as 
they  couid,  wliat  fums  were  neceflfary;  two  cd- 
lectons  were  impowei^ed  to  difiraki'  defimifiers^  the 
money,  when  levied,  was  kid  out  in  the  pnrcliafe 
of  wax  for  the  ufe  of  the  ^Id. 

2.  One  ot  two  of  the  gili  were  affigned  to  be 
keeper  or  keepers  of  the  tapetsi,  war,  candkf&rks, 
heiaffe  cloth  and  hangingpE^ ;  thefe  were  not  ta  be 
given  out  without  the  coftftnt  of  the  mjafier,  or 
three  0^  fotur  memb^trs  of  the  gild. 

3-  That 

{m)  Apud  LaflFan's  MSS. 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  395 

3.  That  at  the  funecal  of  every  alderman,  or 
raalfer  of^tl^egiki,  thpre  was  fpent  ufually  thrco 
pounds  I  the  fame  when  any  akiermaa's  or  mailer's 
wife  died;  or  eveiy  fireman,  two  pounds  tea 
(hiUing^ ;  what  was  expeQdc4  over  and  above  was 
to  be  returned  in  wax,  and  payment  far  making^ 
the  tapers. 

4.  Whoever  gpt  the  tapers,  hearfe  doth,  candle* 
Sticks  or  hangings  were  to  leave  fufficient  pledges 
until  they  were  redored,  and  payment  miade  for 
the  tapers,  and  for  the  overplus  wax  condimed* 

5.  From  fuch  as  were  not  free  of  the  gUd^  the 
keepers  were  to  receive  fatisfadtion  fix  tapers,  Sic^ 
as  in  their  difcretion  they  thought  fit ;  a  regular 
account  was  to  be  kept ;  the  leceipts  to  be  ftated 
thrice  annually,  and  three  pounds  per  centum  to 
be  deduded  for  making  faid  tapers* 

From  thefe  particulars  we  may  conclude,  that 
funeral  obfequies  were  performed  moftly  in  the 
night,  it  was  certainly  the  practice  of  the  early  (n) 
Chriftians  to  prepare  entertainments  before  the  in* 
terment  of  the  deceafed,,  and  to  conduct  the  corpie 
to  the  grave  with  wax  tapers  i  it  is  ilill  retained  in 
Roman  Catholic  countries. 

BulUbeating  was  a  favourite  >  amufement  with 
our  anceftors.  By  the  (0)  red  hcxk  of  Kilkenny 
we  are  informed,  that  in  that  city  was  a  Lord  op 
Bull- RING.    There  are  ftatutes  for  leffening  the 

expences 

(»)  Tranflata  eft  cpifcopomnn  manibus,  et  cervicem  fereiro 
fubjicentibusy  cum  stlii  pontiHce^  lanipadea  cereofque  pr^s- 
ferrent.  Hrerdn.  epift.  ad.Euftacb.  For  feafts  on  ihofc  occa- 
fions,  fte  Auguftin.  de  hitur.  ct  avar.  cap.  6.  Ainbros.  de 
jejun.  cap.  17.  They  carried  tapers  in  tbe  day  ;  iiioles  ce- 
reoriHn,  K)ie  ftil^enre,  acceadi.  Hicron.  advers.  Vigilant. 

(p)  Laffan's  MSS. 


S^  THE  ANTIQJUITIES  OF 

.  expcacesof  his  banquet,  and  an  order  for  John 
Fitz  Lewis  to  pay  thirteen  pounds  on  being  dif- 
charged  from  this  oiHce.  He  was  afterwards  called 
the  mayor  of  bull-ring.  The  diredtion  of  this  fport 
.  Was,  in  moft  confiderable  towns,  committed  to  the 
care  of  fome  reputable  batchelor,  who  was  abie  to 
contribute  to  the  expences  attendant  on  it;  the 
^U  tmKilkenny  fupplied  the  reft ;  a  certain  fum 
was  allowed  for  his  banquet,  and  he  had  his  (heriffs ; 
his  eledtion  was  annual  by  the  citizens^  and  during 
his  office  he  was  Guardian  of  the  batchelors,  and 
en  their  marriage  was  entertained  by  them,  fo  that 
he  paifed  his  time  in  feflivity  and  good  diear.  As 
commerce  and  manufactures  increafed,  this  aiiiufe- 
ment  was  difcontinued ;  time  became  too  valuable 
to  be  wafted  on  fuch  paftimes,  and  after  the  revo- 
*lution,  they  ceafed  every  where. 

In  i6oi,  Kilkenny  (p)  was  the  refidence  of  the 
lord  prefident  Mountjoy.  On  {q)  the  acceffion  of 
the  elder  James,  the  Roman  catholics  rofc  every 
where,  and  endeavoured  to  ftiake  off  thofe  cocrdvc 
laws  with  which  parliament  had  thought  proper  to 
(hackle  them  (r).  In  1603,  the  religious  of  dns 
communion  were  not  lefs  precipitate  and  violent  in 
Kilkenny  than  their  brethren  in  other  places.  Ed- 
mond  Raughter,  a  Dominican,  headed  a  fe(£tion 
in  that  city  j  broke  open  the  Black  Abbey,  whidi 

had 

f/^)  Cox,  pag.  442. 

(q)  Secuto  veluci  interregnoper  mortem  EUzabethac,  cum 
nondum  fatis  confkaret  dc  fucceUoris  mente  <]uoad  reli^ioDcoi^ 
nonnullx  ciyltates  et  oppida,  quad  poftlimioio,  vendicaoc 
ecclefias  ufui  catholico.  £t  in  his  Canicopolitani  monafteriuui 
ordinis  Praedicatorum  e  tribunali  reftituuot  in  facrariuai* 
Quo  eorum  fa6to,  ordines  regni  ofFenduntur,  eofque  perfc^ 
qiiuntur.    Analcd.  dc  reb.  Hib.  pag.  537. 

ir)  Cox.  pag.  17. 


mtfihtowN  aKd  Kilkenny.      .$97 

*liad  &r  fome  time  been  otpd  as  a  court-houl^; 
}3ulled  down  the  Keats,  eretfted  aa  altar^  forced 
the  keys  of  his  houfc  froln  one  Mr.  Bifliop^  >^ho 
lived  in  part  of  the  abbey,  and  gave  poffeflion  of 
the  whole  to  the  friars  j  though  by  a^fl  of  parliament 
it  was  turned  to  a  lay-fee,  and  by  legal  convey* 
ances  became  the  property  of  other  men  ;  but  thofe 
difturbapc^s  were  foon  qiidled  by  the  aftivity  of 
lord  Mountjoy,  who  writ  the  following  letter  to  the 
chipf  raagiftrate  of  Kilkenny.  It  is  prefer ved  in 
Fynes  Moryfon. 

**  To  the  Sovereign  of  Kilkenny." 

"  After  my  hearty  commendations  5  I  fiave  re* 
ccivcd  your  letters  of  the  25lh  and  26th  of  this  . 
month,  and  am  glad  to  underiiand  thereby,  that 
you  are  fonrtewhat  conforrtiable  to  my.  directions  j 
being  willing  to  have  caufe  to  interpret  your  adtions 
to  the  beft.  But  though  I  mean  not  to  fearch  int6 
your  confciences,  yet  i  muft  needs  take  knowledge 
of  the  publick  breach  of  his  majefty's  laws ;  and 
whereas  you  let  me  underiiand,  that  the  inhabitants 
arc  wilMng  to  withdraw  themfelves  for  their  fpiritual 
cxercife  to  privity,  contented  only  with  the  ufe  of  the 
Minors(the  Francifcan)  abbey :  That  being  a  publick 
place,  I  cannot  but  take  notice  thereof,  and  marvel 
how  you  dare  prefume  to  difpofe  at  your  pleafure  of 
the  abbey,  or  any  thing  belonging  to  his  majefty  ; 
and  therefore  again  charge  you  upon  your  allegiance 
to  forbear  any  publick  exercife  of  that  religion,  pro- 
hibited by  the  laws  of  this  realm;  and  fully  to 
reform  thefe  diforders,  according  to  my  diredlions, 
upon  your  extreme  peril. 

From  Dublin,  this  27  th  of  April,  i6o3.'* 

Vol- II.  Ec  The 


'B$l  THE  ANTIQJJITIES   OF 

The  (s)  Rent  charge  of  theantient  common  revcnod 
of  the  city  of  Kilkenny  by  the'  year. 

A.  D.  i6a8. 

/.    s.   (L 
Mr.  Richard  Lawlefs,  for  the  room  over 

the  High  Town  gate,,  three  (hillings 

Irifti  -  -  -030 

The  caftle  over  the  Freren  (Friars)  gate    018 
Edmond  Archer,  for  the  vault  over  Kil- 

berry  tower  -  -  008 

Robert  Archer,  for  the  roonis  over  St. 

James's  gate  -  -  0134 

Mr.  David  Roth,   for  the  rooms  over 
*  Walkin's  gfite  -  0.08 

Mr.  Richard  Roth  for  the  rooms  over  St. 

Patrick's  gate  -  -  o  10    0 

Mr.  William  Shee,  for  the  caftle  near 

Caftle  gate  -  -  068 

James  Brinn,  for  the  rooms  over  the  Eaft 
I  gate  of  St.  John's  -  004 

Mr.  Michael  Archer,  for  two  bayes  near 

the  faid  Eaft  gate  -  -050 

Edmond  Loghnan's  affigns  for  two  bayes 

there  -  -  050 

Walter  Cantwell,   affignee  to  Stephen 

Daniel,  for  four  bayes  -  o  10     o 

John  Shee,  for  four  bayes  -  o  10     a 

Walter  Ryan's  affigns,  for  two-  bayes 

there  -  -  030 

The 


(j)  Laifan's  MSS.  This  curious  document  will  point  ost 
tlie  extent  of  the  city  at  this  time«  and  iheHtuation  of  oiajij 
buildings  now  no  more. 


IRlSHtOWN  AND  KILKENNY. 

The  incroachment  upon  the  town  ditch  at  St.  John's, 
and  the  rent  due  for  the  fame. 

Robert  Courfcy*s  affigns,  for  an  in- 
croachment upon  the  town  ditch  in  his 
garden  -  -  o    a     o 

Walter  Leix,  for  ditto  -  008 

Mr.  Michael  Cowley,  for  a  houfe,  late 
Edmond  Daniel's  -  -        o  1 1     o 

Waher  Lei  jc,  for  a  flip  over  the  water  near 
his  houfe  -  -  050 

The  heirs  of  Edmond  Grace,  for  a  houfe 
in  St.  John's  ftreet  -  *.  190 

Robert  Langton's  affigns,  for  a  houfe  14    o 

Michael  Archer,  for  the  rooms  over  St* 

John's  caftle  -  -  050 

Patrick  Shee,   for  the  roonis  over  St- 

John's  flip  -  -  004 

Peter  Roth  Fitz  John,  for  a  houfe  and 
garden  near  the  great  orchard  in  the 
Eaft  fide  thereof  -  020 

Mr.  Patrick  Archer,  for  the  kill-houfe  and 

garden  by  the  Caflle  gate  -         020 

Peirce  Archer,  for  the  corner  houfe  at 

Caftle  ftreet  -  -  040 

The  faid  Peirce  for  the  next  houfe  to. the 

fame  -  -  -  120 

Henry  Arclier  for  a  houfe  at  Crocker's 

crofs  -  -  040 

Mic.  Archer,  affignee  to  John  Brenan, 
for  four  cooples,  parcel  of  David  Pern- 
brockVfarm  in  Walkin  ftreet        -       o  17     o 
Eeale  Barkly,  for  a  mefluage  north  fide 

Walkin  llreet  -.080 

a 

Ee  2  Patrick 


40<^  THE   ANTIQjLJITIES   OF 

/.    s.   i. 

Patrick Sychap, his  ailigns, for  four  cooples  o  lo  S 
John  Dcneagh,  his  affigns,  for  a  cooplc  028 
William  Fit?  Thomas,  his  affigns,  for  two 

cooples  -  -  088 

Tho.  St.  Leger,  affignee  to  Walter  Rag- 
get,  for  four  cooples  -  017a 
Kate  Fitzharries  affigns,  fo?  two  cooples    088 
Richard  Roth,  for  two  cooples        -        08$ 
Thomas  Archer*s  affigns,  for  a  mefluage 

in  Walkin  ftreet  -  -  i     o    o 

WaherCantwell,  for  GeofFry  Roth's  houfe  o  12    o 

William  Kelly,   for  a  (hop  under  the 

Tholfel  -  •  O  10    o 

John  Hacket,  for  a  ftone  houfe  at  die 

entry  of  St.  James's  ftreet  -  P  *  3    4 

Edward  Cleer,  for  a  meiTuage  at  the 

Arkwell  -  -  008 

Peter  iSie^  for  the  corner  (hop  -  006 
James  Shee's  affigns,  for  the  flip  at  John 

Barry'is  new  houfe  -  002 

Thomas  Archer's  affigns,  for  land  at  the 

north  end  of  the  old  Tholfel  -  o  o  5 
]kichard  Roth,  for  the  rooms  over  the 

flip  in  his  houfe  -  -  o     i     o 

Williani  Shee,  for  his  houfe  m  Low  lane  013  o 
Richard  Brophy'is  affigns,  for  a  meflTuage 

near  )enkin*s  mill  -  068 

tTo  the  matter  and  company  of  Ihoc- 

makers,  for  licence  for  tanning  ^34 

Patrick  Archer,^  for  half  the  tythes  of 

Querryboy  -  -  014 

Thomas  Archer,  for  half  the  tythes  of 

Qaerr^boy  -  .  014 

Richard 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  4^K 

I.  s.  d. 
RichardTroy,fora  garden  near  the  Green  026 
iThomas  Archer's  affigns,  for  the  Standart 

Garden  -  -  014 

Walter  Shee,  for  Downing's  Inch  ^    3     o 

Michael  Marfhall,  for  a  garden  at  the  Lakfe  o  z  <S 
James  Atchcr,  for  a  garden  at  Mill  ttreet  o  r  o 
John  Byrn*8  affigns,  for  an  acre  of  land  02  ^ 
Patndk  Synnott,  for  Gibb's  Inch  ♦   o     10 

John  Roth  V\u  Edvi^ard,  for  jour  acr^ 

of  land  near  Loughboy  -  0170 

Thomas  Ley's  aftigns,  for  the  North  caflle 
.^  at  the  Magdalens  «-  o  14    o 

Thomas  Archer*6  affigng,  for  the  next 
.'  houfe  to  the  (aid  calUe  -  o  1 1    o 

Edward  Roth's  affigns,  for  a  houfe  next 

the  fame,  a  parcel  of  the  town  ditch, 

and  an  acre  of  land  *  086 

Johii  Culien,  for  a  houfe  and  acre  of  land, 

rent  free  dufing  hi$  life 
Ed  mend  Tehan,  for  the  next  houfe  040 

Edward  Langton*6  afligns,   for  a  void 

place  near  the  Poor-houfe  -  020 

Adam  Shee's  allignf,  for  a  void  room 
.   n^ar  the  Poor-houfe  -  050 

Thomas  Ley*s  affigns,  for  a  houfe  and 

land  near  the  fame  •  050 

Walter  Cleer  and  James  Cleer*s  children, 

for  a  houfe  and  land  -  0160 

J^avld  Mery,  for  a  mefluage  and  land  in 

the  Magdalens  -  -  0134 

J'atrick  Morres,  for  a  mefluage  and  land 

where.  Patrick  Lannon  dwelt        -         104 
Juucas  Slice's  affigns,  for  the  next  mefluage  o  16    o 

Edwaid 


'4^\  THE   ANT  I. QJJI  TIES   OF 

/.     S.      ds 

jpldward  Shee's  affigns,  for  a  ineffuage 

next  the  Port,  and  for  land  -  o  i.i  8 
.  ]Lucas  Sbee's  afligns,  fqr  the  Black  cafile 

of  the  Magdalens  r  0184 

^dward  Shee's  aiTigns,  for  the  next  £irm, 

fofm^rly  Seix's  -  080 

iGillopatrick  3ycban,  for  the  next  houfe 

and  land  7  -  o  i^     q 

Nicholas  Langton,  for  the  next  f^rm  and 

land  -  •  Q  IQ    Q 

Patrick  GormeU's  affigns^  for  a  nieiTuage 

and  land  -  -  Q  10    o 

Patrick  Fitz  James's  afligns,  for  Patrick 

M^ry  and  William  Reardon's  roefluage  o  7  J 
Edward  L^ngton's  aifigns^  for  tw^o  acres 

of  the  Magdalen's  land  -         .  O     3     o 

Nicholas  Langton,  for  Ann  WaUh'-s  mef- 

fuage  .p  •  Q     S     o 

V       Patrick  Synnot,  for  the  (hop  under  the 

Oldjholfel  -  -  Q  10    o 

Afligns  of  Patrick  Murphy  and  John 

Archer,  for  licence  for  tanning  068 

Richard  Roth,  for  licence  for  tanning  014 
James  Sjiee,  for  licence  for  tanning  014 

Jafper  Shee's  afligns,  for  a  garden  near     . 

the  houfe  -  -  o     i?     0 

The  bailiff,  receiver  of  the  revenues 
belonging  to  St.  John's  Abbey, 
his  charge. 

James  Langton's  heirs,  for  a  meffuage 
•    near  St.  John's  bridge  -  o  16    o 

Heirs 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  40^ 

L   s.    d. 
Heirs  of  Walter  Daaiel^  for  the  next 

houfe  and  garden  -  0160 

James  Shee,  for  the  next  houfe  and  garden  o  i6    o 
Executors  of  Pat.  Fitz  James,  for  the  next 

houfe  and  garden  -  -         0134 

Walter  Shee;  for  two  meffuages  and  two 

gardens  there  -     .  -  ^     5    4 

Tho.  Shee  Fitz  Edmond,  for  next  houfe 

and  garden  at  Tomyn  hill  -    .      o  10    o 

John  Helen,  for  a  houfe  jiext  the  hofpital, 

and  garden  of  the  common,  without 

St.  John's  gate  -  -  168 

Edmond  Ryan,  for  the  prior's  chambers  020 
Peirce  Roth  Fitz  Edward,  for  the  vault, 

the  great  kitchen  and  garden        -       068 
Nicholas  Aftekin,  for  two  chambers  in  the 
;  clpyfl^r  of  St.  John's,  and  an  orchard 

near  the  cloy fter  -  -  100 

Nicholas  Wall's  affigns,  for  Sir.  David's  , 

orchard  -  -         .      o  18    o 

William  Shee,  for  a  houfe  in  John  ftreet, 

formerly  David  Kearney's  -         2  10    o 

Walter  Cleer,  for  the  cart  gate,  caftle, 

and  out  ftall  in  St.  John's  cloyfter         o     20 
Pat.  Fitz  James's  affigns,  for  two  mef-  ' 

fuages  next  the  hofpital  -  000 

George  Langton's  affigns,  for  the  bake- 

houfe  at  St.  John's  and  the  Prior's 

fires  -  .-020 

The  laid  affigns,  for  the  chapter-houfe 

withiQ  the  cloyfter  -  -         070 

The 


404  TH£A>4TIQJJITIES0P 

Th^  rooms  from  the  entry  of  St.  John's  Abbey 
towards  the  quter  St.  John's  gate. 

h    s.  iL 
Tohn  Hpertj  for  the  gomer  (hop  near  the 

entry,  and  four  other  cooples  -  0  lo  o 
Wat  Cantwell,  aflignee  to  Stephen  Da- 
niel, for  four  bayes  therts  -  o  lO  o 
Edmond  Laghn^n,  for  two  bayes  there  o  5  q 
Walter  Ryan,  aflignee,  for  two  baye$  there  Q  3  6 
Michael  Archer,  for  three  cooples  o  5  q 
Wat.  Cantwell,  for  a  houfe,  turret  and 
clofe  in  St.  John's  ftrcet            •            013  4 

The  fouth  fide  of  the  Abbey. 

Afligns  of  James  Bime,  for  a  houle  an({ 

garden  r  -  1^8 

pdmoi^d  Ryan,  for  a  houfe  *         ^^54 

NicholasAltekin,  forhishoufehiStJohn^  o  10 
Afligns  of  Patrick  Fitz  James,  fear  a  mef- 

iuage  -  -  o  if    o 

Simon  Seix,  for  a  mefluage  and  garden  016  o 
Thomas  Shee,  aflignee  of  Sir  Richard 

Shee,  for  a  houfe  in  St.  Johi>  ftrcet        zoo 

Houfes  in  the  High  Town. 

Thomas  Ley's  afligns,  for  9  houfe  near 

the  Old  tholfel  •  -  o    6     Q 

TThomas  St.  Lcger-s  executors,   for  his 

houfe  •  -  o  la     Q 

James  Axdi^r  Filz  Martin,  for  his  lioufe  070 
Edmond  Ryan,  for  the  Prior's  orchard  160 
George  Shee,  for  the  vpper  orchard        ^  '4    o 

The 


JRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  j^f 

7'he, gardens  beginning  at  St.  Midiael's  g^te,  and 
thqice  to  Tonoiya'a  biU  roi^ld  tQ  St  John's  gate. 

/.  s.  d. 
Robert  Shee,  for  the  clover  houfe  snd 

garden                 -                -                O    6  9 

Walter  Cleer,  for  the  great  croft  o  1 3  9 
Pat.  Morchan*s  afHgns,  for  a  garden  north 

of  the  fetne  -  -  040 

Oeoffry  Roth's  aflSghs,  for  a  garden  p  1  (5  a 
Edm.  Ryan,  for  a  garden  at  Tomyn  hill  040 

Pat.  Morchan*s  affigils,  for  two  gardens  0  4  o 
John  Seix,  for  the  corner  garden  in  the 

S.  W.  end  of  St.  John's  gate        -        O    6  9 

(Seorge  Comerford's  afligns,  for  the  corner  O  x  Q 
Kic.  Aftekin,  for  a  garden  called  Syrman's 

ha^es              -                  -             o  |6  6 

The  quarter  Sd^th  the  way  lidding 
from  St.  John's  gate  to  the  Green. 

Nicholas  Loghnan's  afligns,  for  a  garden  Q  2  I 
Owner  Mc.  Donaghoe's  affigns,  for  a 

garden  -  -  068 

Patrick  MQry,63rDavid  Kearney's  garden  020 
John  Roth  Fitz  John,  for  a  garden  038 

From  the  Magdalen's  to  St.  John's  gate. 

'^ho.  Ley's  afligns,  for  the  Magdaleq's 

mills  *  •  600 

iUch.  Langton,  for  a  garden  befide  the 

nrills  -  -  o    3    o 

The  infirmary  garden,  being  ly.  4^. 
allowed  by  the  corporation  to  the  hof- 
pital,  Richard  Troy  tenant        -        080 
•*        *  Pat 


3fo6  THE  ANTIQJJITIES  OF 

/.  J.  d. 
Pat.  Morchan'saiSgDs,  for  the  next  garden  028 
Edmond  Archer,  for  three  ^dens  in  the 

High  hayes  -  -  o  13     o 

Said  Edmond,  for  Sinnett's  church  yard, 

garden  and  croft  -  -         060 

Henry  Shec's  J^fligns,  for  two  gardens  090 
£dv(rard  Cleer,  for  a  garden  at  die  Black 

mill  -  -  040 

Walter  Daniel,  for  a  garden  -048 

lliphard  Lawlefs,  for  the  fweet  pond  o  4.  o 
Chriftopher  Shee,  for  the  Prior's  meadow  080 
^Arru  Archer,  for  the  third  pert  of  the 

'  demefne  of  St.  John  -  200 

Robert  Cleer,  for  a  quarter  of  faiddemefnc  100 
Wlliam  Shee,  for  a  third  of  the  demefnes  200 
Geo.  Langton's  affigns,  for  the  Prior's 

wood,    Roa(hferian,    Bannaghcarragh 

and  the  cherry  croft  -  1120 

James  Kivan,  for  the  parfon's  manfe  land 

of  Comer  «-  -  ^  '3     4 

Michael  Cowley,  for  his  tlrirA  part  of 

Brownftown  -  -  300 

Michael  Ragget,:for  two  acres  of  land 

at  Ardlkreddan  -  -  080 

Mr.  David  Roth,  for  three  parts  of  Drake- 
land  '     0-  -  900 
John  Roth  Fitz  Edward,  for  the  fourth 

part  of  Drakeland  -  300 

David  Roth,  for  the  round  meadow  040 

Richard  Cieer,    for  a  meadow  befides 

Robert's  hill  -  -  028 

Simon  Whyte'saffigns,-  for  the  lands  of 

Tromer,  county  Wexford  -         o  14.    o 

Walter 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  40^ 

/.     s.   d. 

Walter  Talbot,  for  the  lands  of  Brittas, 
Polring  alias  Mdnng,  PaUygarum, 
and  five,  acfes  in  Bally fampTon  14  ^6    8 

Nicholas  Roth's  affigns,  for  a  mefluage 

iaRofe  -  -  014 

James  Fitzbariiesy  foi:  the  p^rfonage  o( 

?U){s.  -        -  -  J20    o    o 

Marcus  Shee^  for  land  in  Cattereli's  boly  409 

Patrick  Murphy,  for  the  parfon*s  part  pf   . 

MoycuUy  -  r  400 

Thomas  Garrett,  for  the  parfon's  part  of 
the  manfe  land  of  Skirk  -  0130 

John  Dooly  and  Robert  Murphy,  for  the 
manfe  land  of  Jerpdnt  r  2134 

George  St.  Leger,  for  the  parfon's  part 
of  the  manfe  land  of  Tabbrit        -      1300 

Edward  Langton's  affigns,  for  the  Levy- 
apre  -  -  i    o    o 

Robert  Hacket,  &r  a  garden  near  St. 

•.   John^s  gate     -       -  -  016 

Gburfey 's  :hdrs,  for  the  houfe  next  the  end 

of  St.  John's  bridge  -  -     o    4    Q 

John  Balkorville,  for  the  parfonage  of 

Sfcirk,  except  manfe  land  •        2234 

David  Roth,  for  Rathleigh  -  168 

John  Kivan,  for  the  manfe  land  of  Dun- 
fart  -  r  068 

John  Seix,  for  the  parfonage  of  Jenkins- 
town  -  -  3     ^    ' 

Richard  Langton^  for  a  part  of  the  de- 
mefnes  t  '  o  16    p 

The 


468*  THE  ANTIQJLJITIES  OF 

The  charge  of  the  Fryer-bailifF  for  Michaelmas 
1633,  and  Ealter  1^34,  Robert  Shce,  Efij; 
mayor,  Edmond  Mclreyne,  batltff,  beginning 
at  the  Black  freren  gate^  and  about  the  prednd 
of  the  Black  fryari^. 

h    5.    JL 

Patrick  Murphjr,  for  the  orchard  ntar  the 
Black  freren  gate  -  -        068 

He*ry  Mayjftwaiing,  for  tfje  room  in  the 
north  ilde  6f  the  Bla<k  freren  fteeple, 
and  tjie  upper  rooms  of  the  fteefrie       ^34 

Ditto,  for  the  boufe  called  the  king*b 
chamber,  the  cloyfter,  the  ktll^KHife, 
Sir  Richard  CantwelPg  dhamber^  8rc.    j(    4    4 

Pitto;  for  the  room  near  the  chop-houfe    030 

£dward  Clinton's  aifigns  to  Mr.  Lutatf 
Shee,  for  an  orchard  witKn  the  Freren, 
and  a  meiTm^  and  g^dea  in  the  old 

•     Freren  ftreet  -  -  o  1 7    O 

Ditto,  aflignee  to  Annd  Walfii,  fi>r  a  honfe 
and  ^rden  in  the  Freren  ftreet      *      O  1 3    m 

Pat.  Dowfy,  for  a  meffoagCy  gcorden  and 

orchard  near  the  wall  •  o  1  a     o 

Richard  Roth,  four  bayes  of  a  houfe,  eaii 
fide  of  Freren  ftreet  -  o  16    o 

Peter  Roth,  for  the  kill-fcoafc  and  garden 
near  the  choir  -  -*  o  16    8 

Ed^yard  Clinton,  for  the  two  next  houfes  080 

The  inner  Freren  ftreet. 
John  Loghftan,  for  Ws  houfe.  -         I     i     O 

John  Loghnan,  for  the'  houfe  next  the 

*>"dge  -  .  o  10    o 

James  Dobbin,  for  Ks  houfe         *        o    5    o 

Peter 


IRJSHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.         .4<|j| 

/.  s.  d. 
Peter  Roth^  for  a  room  in  Freren  firect 

and  moiety  of  the  garden  at  ^lack 

freren  gate  -  -  o  \q    o 

Edmond  Treny,  for  a  houfe^  Inner  Freren 

ftreet  -  -  080 

Oliver  Roth,  for  half  an  orchard  and  half 

a  mefluage  there  -  -        o  13    o 

Robert  Roth,  for  the  iame  -  Q  1 3    o 

Patrick  GafTney,  for  half  a  mefHiage 

S.  fide  of  Freren  fireet  -  100 

Peter  Roth,  for  a  houfe  and  garden  there  o  13'  o 
Mic.  Power,  for  a  houfe  on  the  north  fide  o  14  o 
John  Hpen  Fltz  Robert,  for  a  houfe  and 

garden  next  to  Troy's  g^te  -  q  10  o 
Redmond  Savadge,  for  the  comer  houfe 

before  Troy's  gate  -  080 

William  Kelly,  for  a  houfe  fouth  fide  100 
Robert  Murphy,  for  two  mefluagps  next 

the  fame  -  -  100 

Pat.  Gaffney,  &r  a  houfe  and  garden  near 

the  High  Town  gate  -  o  13    o 

Within  the  High  Town  gate. 

Walter  Shee,  for  the  houfe  next  the  High 

Town  gate  on  the  weft  fide  -  080 
Richard  Lawle(s,  his  houfe  -  060 

Jenkin  Roth,  for  a  houfe  in  a  lane  leading 

to  the  Gray  Friars  -  074 

Patrick  GafFney,  for  a  mefluage  054 

Peter  Roth,  for  a  void  room  in  the  Gray 

Freren  park  -  -  0134 

Richard  Roth,  for  a  chamber  and  void 

room  in  the  cloifter  there  -  i    o    o 

Peter 


^to  THE   ANtlQJJitlES  OI? 

/.    s.    JL 

Peter  Roth,  for  the  kill-houfe  and  mef- 

fuage  next  the  choir  -  o  1 6     o 

Patrick"  Murphy,  for  a  houfe  in  the  Gray 

Freren  park  *  -  t     z     % 

Patrick  Murphy,  for  a  ftone  houfe  near 

the  Freren  gate  -  o  1 7     4 

Robert  Archer,  for  the  rooms  over  the 
^    chapter  houfe,  fteeple  and  body  of  the 

abbey  there  -  -  034 

Margaret  Murphy,  for  the  Gray  Freren 

park  -  -  I     <2>     o 

"ttenry  Archer,  for  a  houfe  and  orchard 

W.  St.  Francis's  wall  -  100 

Richard  Savadge,  his  houfe.  -         030 

George  Shee,  his  houfe  -  0184 

.Thomas  Ley,  for  the  houfe  and  flipnear 

the  New  Quay  -  -        068 

Robert  Archer,  for  a  houfe  and  garden  N 

of  St.  James's  ftVeet  -  0120 

Thomas  Shee  Fitz  Michael,  for  a  houfe 

at  the  Market  Crofs  -  068 

David  Roth,  for  two  houfes  near  our 

Lady's  churchyard  iViIe  -  018 

Joan  Power,  for  a  houfe  and  garden  in 

Bowce'slane  -  -  068 

William  Archer,  for  a  houfe  at  Crocker's 

crofs,  weft  of  Patrick  ftreet         -.060 
Heirs  of  Lettice  Wal(h,  for  a  houfe  E.  fide 

of  Patrick  ftreet  -  -  060 

Richard  Fitz  Nicholas,  for  a  meffuage      o  10     o 
Thomas  Ragget,  for  a  meffuage  there      080 

Gardens 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  4i3| 

Gardens  and  Outlands. 

George  Shee,  for  a  parcel  of  land  called 

Biihop's  lane  -  *  080 

Said  Shee,  for  a  garden  called  Hay  hill  040 
Peter  Roth,  for  the  Gray  Freren  Inches  213  o 
Peter  Roth  Fitz  Edward,  for  gardens  near 

Black  Freren  gate  -  068 

Said  Roth,  for  two  or  three  gardens  o    7    q 

Henry  Maynwaring,   for  a  garden  at 

.Killberry  tower  -  -  0160 

Sir  Cyprian   Horsfall,   for  a  parcel  of 

meadow  near  St.  Canice's*  well  060 

Edmond  Grace*s  ailigns,  for  a  garden, 

comer  St.  Roch's  churchyard  068 

RobertMurphy,  affigneeto  ThomasGeat, 

for  a  garden  -  -  010 

Peter  Roth,  affignee  to  William  Roth, 

foi' a  garden  -        *        -  068 

Daniel  Martin,  affignee  to  Clement  Shee^ 

for  a  garden  -  -040 

Phillip  Roth,  for  a  garden  there  -  068 
^Walter  Ryan's  affigns,  for  three  acres  of 

furze  at  the  Booths  -  070 

John  Hoyne,  for  two  acres  of  land  and 

two  acres  of  meadow  at  KildriiTe  046 

Richard  Roth,  for  a  meadow  at  Couiri(h  016 
John  Shee,   for  Farren-brock,  Chepple 

and  Lifnaftinfy  -  -  1368 

Robert  Shee,  for  the  moiety  of  Ardragh    i     o    o 

Henry  Archer,  for  the  moiety         -         100 

James  Shortal,  for  Ballynolan         -         o  10    o 

Robert  Shee,  for  two  acres  of  meadow 

at  Aldernwood  -  -  010 

James 


^ijt  ttlE  ANTlOjIItlES  dP 

/.    s.    I 

Jam^  Ailekin,  for  two  acres  of  meadow 
at  Coolboycan  *  -040 

Richard  Roth^  fbr  an  acre  of  wood  and 

certain  lartde  at.Keatingftowa  o    o  10 

The  rent  iffuing  ovit  of  Boothltown  01*     4 

Nicholas  Aftckin,  for  a  meadow  at  Coolis- 
hill  -  -  054 


••-M*i 


SECT.      IV. 

IN  i6i5>,  ttibop  Wbeekr  prefei^tcd  a  flfltc  of 
the  biihpprick  of  OfTory  to  the  king,  in  wluch  he 
fets  forth)  that  the  m$inor  suid  k>rd(lup  of  Kilkenny 
was  be&re  and  at  the  conqueft  bebo^ng  to  the 
biihops  of  Oflbry,  with  Wge  Ubeities  both  of 
freedoms  and  other  privileges  thereunto  belongings 
all  which  in  the  ficknefs  of  the  late  bi(hop  were  by 
a  new  charter  granted  unto  Kilkenny  (whereby  h 
was  incorporated  a  city)  united  and  made  of  the 
county  of  the  (aid  city,  to  the  great  prejudice  of  tbe 
prefent  and  future  bifhops  (^)* 

In  1 636,  the  lord  deputy  Wcntworth^  afterwards 
earl  of  Strafford^  vifited  Kilkenny^  when  (b)  tlie 
mayor  of  the  city  thus  addreffed  him : 

"  Right  noble  Lord, 
The  general  applaufe  of  heaven,  the  joyfol  ac- 
clamations of  Ireland,  and  pleafant  paftimes  of  tlie 

muhitudes 

(a)  Ware's  MSS.  vol.  75.  (h)  LaflFan'3  MSS. 


The  total  of  the  City's  annual  revenue  a^.aj  I   17  11    , 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  413 

multitudes  of  Kilkenny,  the  true  anticnt  feat  of 
£ngli(h  warriors,  loyal  always  to  thdr  kings  and 
crowns,  fuit  with  the  dignity  of  you  her  renowned 
viceroy,  lord  Thomas  Went  worth.  Be  pleaftd 
then  afliidft  your  tritimphs,  .to  vouchfafe  her  and 
me  leave  to  feed  our  unfatisficd  eyes  with  the 
longed-for  afpedt  of  Ireland's  parent^  proteAor  and 
reliever ;  to  run  this  day  upon  fome  of  the  pleafmg 
cflfefts  of  your  government^  with  admiration  of 
thofe  natural  and  intelleftual  parts  of  yours,  which 
like  fo  many  ftars  in  conjunction,  with  the  glorious 
fun  of  England,  fit  inftniments  and  fortunate 
organs!  to  illuminate  with  their  influences  the 
Ixcath  of  a  faithful  people. 

Witncfe  your  witdom,  prompt  to  overflip  no 
way,  no  tneans  to  reform  the  abufes,  root  out  the 
vices  and  remove  the  annoyances;  witnefs  your 
induftry,  watchful  not  only  of  the  common,  but 
of  the  private  welfare  of  each  deferving  fubjeft. 
His  majefty  beftowing  you  on  us  as  a  good,  necef- 
fery  for  all ;  and  arming  your  defigns  with  fuch 
means,  as  beft  conduce  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
eftates  in  ftcurity,  againft  all  wrongful  intruders. 
The  king  of  kings  intruding  into  your  hands,  for 
our  behoof,  the  heart  and  bounty  of  the  great 
Charles,  to  increafe  more  the  flouriftiing  ftate  of 
this  kingdom,  in  ftrength,  wealth  and  civility. 

Thefe  were  the  fcope  of  fo  many  wholefome 
laws  and  ftatutcs,  voted  in  the  laft  parliament ;  of 
fo  many  provifions  of  ftate,  regulating  the  difor- 
ders  rf  human  fociety,  daily  iffuing  from  your 
Solomon-like  prefcience ;  in  which  and  by  which, 
'wc,  in  this  your  garden  of  Ireland,  fmell  the  gracious 

Vol.  11.  Ff  flowers 


4H  THE   ANTIQjLritlES   OP 

flowers  of  your  government,  enjoy  the  felicity  rf 
your  plantations,  and  feed  our  hearts  with  the 
fatiety  of  prcfent,  and  hope  of  future  improve- 
ment V  fo  that  no  place,  no  degree,  no  fex  over  all 
this  plcafant  paradife,  but  is  partaker  of  your  com- 
fortable influence ;  even  thofe  choaked  up  in  the 
midll  of  the  darketi  prifons,  acknowledge  the  dm- 
(hine  of  your  provident  care,  and  receiving  new 
life  and  relief  from  your  hands,  cry  out— Long 
live  our  life,  our  relief,  noble  Wentworth! — 

The  widows  and  orphans  oppreffed  find  you  a 
propitious  patron ;  the  nobility,  a  mirrour  of  honour 
and  worth;  the  warlike^  a  town  of  arms,  and 
flower  of  martial  difcipline  ;  the  ecclefiaftical  dig« 
nitaries,  their  reformer,  their  advancer;  and  aU 
acknowledge  you  to  be  the  true  receptacle  of  virtue, 
and  other  the  beft  attributes  of  perfedlion. 
:  To  abbreviate  my  difcourfe,  left  oSenfive  to 
your  much  honoured  ears,,  deign  me  the  favour, 
that  while  the  fufTrages  of  fo  many  proviixcses  and 
cities )  the  acclamations  of  the,  common  peoplej 
the  general  applaufe  of  Ireland,  and  approbation 
of  your  gracious  leige  and  fovereign  fo  concentric 
meet  with  the  celebration  of  thofe  your  matchlds 
endowments,  I  may,  right  honourable,  revolve 
into  our  firft.  principles  of  your  honour  and  worthy 
and  rifing  on  the  wings  of  adorned  eloquence,  to 
force  to  the  mount  and  zenith  of  your  beft  merits, 
to  flutter  after  you  with  the  beft  wifhes  of  all  my 
citizens,  by  redoubling  in  your  prefence  and  abfence 
the  oracle  of  God,  my.  king  and  country,  that  we 
have  juft  caufe,  and  that  we  muft  honour 

THOMAS  wentworth;' 

But 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  415 

But  little  worth  recording  happened  in  Kilkenny 
until  that  memorable  aera  in  the  annals  of  Ireland, 
the  breaking  ont  of  the  Grand  Rebellion  in  164 1. 
The  eaufcs  leading  to  this  dire  event,  and  the  tianf- 
a£tions  confcquent  thereon,  have  been  minutely 
detailed  by  many  writers.  In  1641,  and  for  a  few 
years  fucceeding,  this  eity  was  ahernately  the  feat  of 
bulineis  and  tumult  j  in  1 64 1 ,  lord  Mountgarrct  (c) 
with  the  mayor  and  aldermen  flood  by,  with  three 
hundred  citizens  armed,  while  every  proteftant  was 
plundered  \  and  in  164a,  the  Confederate  Catholics, 
as  they  ftyled  themfelvcs,  met  in  Kilkenny^ 

It  was  abfolutely  (d)  necelfary,  that  the  rebels 
fbould  have  the  form  of  art  authority  eftablilhed 
among  them,  to  make  the  orders  of  fuperiours: 
obeyed,  and  prevent  that  confufion  and  thofe  mif- 
chiefs  which  always  attend  competitions  for  power, 
and  uncertainty  in  the  right  to  command ;  this  was 
done  in  the  general  aflembly  of  deputies  from  all 
the  |>rovinces  in  the  kingdom,  which  met  the  24th 
of  0£tober  1642  at  Kilkenny. 

The  firft  aft,  after  their  meeting,  was  to  proteft, 
that  they  did  not  mean  that  aflembly  to  be  a  par- 
liament ;  confefling,  that  the  calling,  proroguing 
and  diiTolving  that  great  body  was  an  infeparable 
incident  to  the  crown,  upon  which  they  would  not 
encroach :  but  it  was  only  a  meeting  to  confult  of 
an  order  for  their  own  affairs,  until  his  majefty's 
wifdom  had  fettled  the  prefent  troubles.  They 
formed  it,  however,  according  to  ilie  plan  of  a 
parliament,  confifting  of  two  houfes ;  in  the  one 
of  which  fat  the  eftatc  fpiritual,  compofed  of  bilhops 

F  f  2  and 

(c)  Cox,  pag.  73.  (</)  Carte,  fupra. 


4i6  THE   ANTrOJJITIES  OF 

9 

and  prelates,  together  with  the  temporal  lords,  and 
in  the  other  the  deputies  of  the  counties  and  towni| 
as  the  eltate  of  the  commons,  by  themfelvcs. 

The  meeting  was  at  the  houfe  of  Mr.  Robert 
Shee,  fon  of  Sir  Richard  Shee,  now  Mr.  LangfoRfs 
in  Coal  market ;  the  lords,  prelates  and  comnioDfi 
all  in  one  room ;  Mr.  Patrick  Darcy,  bare-headed 
upon  a  ftoo!,  reprefenting  all  or  fome  of  the  judges 
and  mafters  of  chancery  that  ufed  to  fit  in  parlia- 
ment  upon  wool-facks ;  Mr.  Nicholas  Plunbt 
reprcfented  the  fpeaker  of  the  houfe  of  commoosi 
and  both  lords  and  commons  addreflfed  their  (peedi 
to  him ;  the  lords  had  an  upper  room,  which  ferved 
them  as  a  place  of  recefs,  for  private  confultation, 
and  when  they  had  taken  their  refolutions,  the  fame 
were  delivered  to  the  commons  by  Mr.  Darcy. 

The  clergy,  who  were  not  qualified  by  tbdr 
titular  fees  or  abbies  to  fit  in  the  houfe  of  brds,  ract 
in  an  houfe  called  the  convocation,  where  it  wis 
reported  among  the  laity,  that  they  only  handled 
matters  of  ty  the  and  fettling  church  poflTeffions ;  in 
which  points  fo  little  deference  was  paid  to  thdr 
debates,  and  their  proceedings  were  treated  with  ib 
much  contempt  by  the  lay-impropriators  and  gen- 
tlemen, that  the  provincial  of  the  Auguftins  was 
hiffed  out  of  the  houfe,  for  threatenrag  to  wipe  off 
the  diift  from  his  feet  and  thofe  of  his  friars,  and  to 
bend  his  courfe  beyond  the  feas,  if  the  pofleflioos 
of  his  order  were  not  reftored. 

For  the  rule  of  their  government  they  profeffcd 
to  receive  Magna  Charta,  and  the  common  and 
ftatute  law  of  England,  in  all.  points,  not  contrary 
to  the  Roman  Catholic  religion,  or  inconfittent  with 

the 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  4»? 

the  liberty  of  Ireland.  Several  judicatories  were 
cftablifhed  for  the  admlniftration  of  jutticc,  and  the 
riegulation  of  all  affairs;  each  county  h^d  its  council, 
confiding  of  one  or  two  deputies  out  of  each 
barony,  and  where  there  was  no  barony,  of  twelve 
perfons  chofen  by  the  county  in  general,  with 
^powers  to  decide  all  niatters  cognizable  by  juftices 
c^f  the  peace,  pleas  of  the  crown,  fuits  for  debts 
;and  perfonal  adtions,  and  to  reftore  pofleilions 
fifurped  fince  the  war;  to  name  all  the  county 
,o(6cerd,  except  the  high-flieriff,  who  was  to  be 
chofen  by  the  fuprenie  council  out  rf  three,  which 
rthe  council  of  the  county  were  to  recommend. 
From  thefe  lay  an  appeal  to  the  provincial  councils, 
which  confifted  of  two  deputies  out  of  each  county, 
and  were  to  meet  four  times  a  year,  or  oftener,  if 
there  was  occafion,  to  cjcamine  the  judgments  of 
the  county  councils,  to  decide  all  fuits  like  judges 
of  aflize,  to  eftabliflh  recent  pofledions,  but  not  to 
meddle  with  other  fuits  about  lands,  e^.cept  in  cafes 
of  dower. 

From  thefe  there  lay  a  further  appeal  to  the 

fupreme  council  of  twenty-four  perfons,  chofen  by 

the  general  aflemWyt  of  which  twelve  were  to  be 

,<?onftamly  reftdent  in  Kilkenny,  :or  wherever  elfe 

fthey  (hould  judge  it  to  be  moft  expedient,  with 

fcqual  yoioes,  but  two-tWrds  to  conclude  the  reft ; 

,0Cyer  fewer  tban^nine  to. fit  in  council,  and  (even 

ito .concur  m  tb^  fanone  opinion  ^  out  of  thefe  twenty* 

four  a  prefident  was  to  be  named  by  the  aflfembly, 

jgLXid  was  to  be  always  one  of  the  twelve  refident, 

and  in  cafe  of  death",  ficknefs  or  abfence,  the  other 

refidents, 


4i8  THE   ANTIQUITIES    OF 

refidents,  out  of  the  twenty  four,  were  to  chufe  t 
prefident. 

The  council  was  veiled  with  power  over  aD 
generals,  military  officers  and  civil  magifirates,  who 
were  to  obey  their  orders,  and  fend  duly  an  account 
of  their  aftions  and  proceedings ;  to  determine  all 
matters  left  undecided  by  ihe  general  aflerobly, 
their  afts  to  be  of  force  until  refcinded  by  the  next 
affembly  :  to  command  and  punifh  all  commandos 
of  forces,  magiftrates  and  all  others,  of  what  rank 
and  condition  foever ;  to  hear  and  judge  all  capit2l 
and  criminal  caufes  (except  titles  to  lands)  and  to 
do  all  kind  of  afts  for  promoting  the  comnaoo 
caufe  of  the  confederacy^  and  the  good  of  tbt 
kingdom,  and  relating  to  the  fupport  and  maIlag^ 
nient  of  the  war. 

(0  On  the  firft  of  November,  they  appointed 
Lord  Caftlehaven,  Richard  Martin, 

Lord  Gormanftown,  Feigh  O  Flin, 

Dodtor  Fenneil,  Richard  Beling, 

Col.  Dermot  O  Brien,        Adam  Cufack, 
Sir  Lucas  Dillon,  James  Mc  Donel, 

Sir  Phelim  O  Neil,  Patrick  Crelley, 

Thomas  Burke,  Rory  Maguire^ 

Patrick  Darcy,  and  the  lawyers,  a  committee,  wto 
drew  up  the  preceding  form  of  government  ^  and 
on  the  fourth,  the  prelates  enjoined  the  priefls  to 
adminifter  an  oath  of  aflbciation  to  thdr  parifhioncfSi 
and  take  their  fubfcriptions  ;  and  on  the  fburteeoth 
t|iey  named  their  fupreme  council, 

Lore 

(0  Cox,  pag.  ia6. 


IRISHTOWN   AND  KILKENNY.  415 

Lord  Viscount  MoyNxc arret,  Prefidcnt. 
For  Leinller.  For  Connaught. 

Archbilhop  of  Dublin,  Archbifhop  of  Tuam, 

Lord  Vif.  Gormanftown,  Lord  Vifcount  Mayo, 

Lord  Vif.  Mountgarret,  Bilhop  of  Clonfert, 

Nicholas  Plunkct,  Sir  Lucas  Dillon, 

Richard  Beling,  Patrick  Darcy, 

James  Cufack.  Jetfrey  Brown. 

For  Muntler.  For  Ulfter. 

Lord  Vifcount  Roche,        Archbifhop  of  Armagh, 
Sir  Daniel  O  Brien,  Biftiop  of  Down, 

Edmond  Fitzmorres,  Phillip  6  Reilly, 

Podtor  Fennel,  Col.  Mac  Mahon, 

Robert  Lambert,  Ever  Magennis, 

George  Comyn.  Tirlagh  O  Neil, 

They  ufed  a  feal  (/]),  which  is  thus  defcribed  ;  It 
had  a  long  crofs  in  the  center,  on  the  right  fide  of 
it  was  a  crown,  and  on  the  left  an  harp,  with  a 
dove  above  the  crofs,  and  a  flaming  heart  under  it  ^ 
and  round  it  was  this  infcriptiorif 
*♦  Pro  Deo,  pro  Rege  ^t  p^trisi  Hibernia,  unanimis.** 
The  cqndudt  of  the  war  is  no  part  of  our  prefcnt 
concern,  but  we  muft  remark^  that  the  Francifcans, 
Dominicans,  Carmeiitesi  and  Jefuits  now  claimed 
their  antient  poiTeflf^ons,  and  were  generally  re- 
inflated  i  for  oa?  of  the  principal  ohjefts  (k  this 
war  was,  th$  re-eflablifbment  of  thofe  orders,  and 
the  Romifh  hierarchy  -,  that  this  point  was  accom- 
pliihed,  we  learn  from  a  letter  written  by  the  con- 
federates in  1644  to  the  pope;  wherein  among 
other  enumerations  of  their. good  fortune  (g)^  they 

exultingly 


f)  Borlafe's  Irifti  Rebcttlon,  pag.  97.  They  coined  mone^\ 
}  BurkCi  Hibern.  Domioic.  Append,  pag.  876. 


^ 


420  THE   ANTIQUITIES  OF 

exultingly  obferve :  **  Jam  Deus  optimus  aiaximus 
catholico  ritu  palam  colitur ;  dum  cathedrales 
pleraequc  fuis  ^ntiiVibus ;  pajrochiales  parochis ; 
reIigio£3rum  multa  casnobia  propriis  gaudent  alum- 


nis." 


And  in  1 645,  when  the  catholics  had  poflefled 
themfelves  of  almoft  all  the  churches  in  the  king- 
.  dom,  one  of  their  articles  with  the  earl  of  Gla- 
morgan was,  that  they  ihould  retain  the  churches, 
which  they,  de  fefto,  held.  A  printing  prefs  wa& 
iet  up  in  Kilkenny,  at  whidi  all  the  ftatc  papers 
were  printed  :  Dodor  Burke,  in  his  hiftory  of  the 
Dominican  order,  refers  to  many  of  them  ;  and  it 
feems  large  colledtions  of  them  exift  in  the  Irifli 
(eminaries  at  Rome. 

The  kingdom,  after  more  than  three  years  of 
anarchy  and  defolation,  exhibited  a  difmal  ipedacle 
of  religious  tyranny  and  conTufion,  and  gladly 
repofed  itfejf  in  the  arms  of  peace.  Articles  for 
this  purpofe  were  figned  by  the  marquis  of  Ormond 
lind  the  confederates  -,  but  the  happy  profpcA  of 
concord  was  difturbed  by  that  reftlcfs  and  ambitious 
ccclefiaftic,  Rinuccini,  the  pope's  nuncio ;  he  came 
in  a  frigate  of  2  2  guns,  and  landed  in  Kerry  the 
twenty-fecond  of  Oftober  1645,  with  twenty-fix 
Italians  in  his  cortege ;  he  brought  2000  muflcetSt 
4000  bandaleers,  2000.  fwords,  500  pair  of  piftols, 
10,000  pounds  of  gunpowder  j  and  from  anoAer 
frigate  were  landed  fix  defks  and  trunks  of  Spanifh 
gold ;  with  thefe  he  haftened  to  fCilkenny,  and  on 
the  nineteenth  of  November  had  his  audience  in 
the  caftle,  gnd  declared  the  reafons  of  tfis  coming, 
yrhich  were 

I.  To 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  4ZI 

1.  To€tlabli(h.tbe  Roman  ca&oHc  religion. 

2.  To  prefervc  their  liberties,  and 

3.  To  ferve  their  prince  and  fovereign,  which 
laft  he  ^xprefled  with  (A)  fingular  cmphafis,  thus : 

"  Et  fereniflimo  veftro  principi  meipfum  devpyco.'* 
He  faid  high  tnaf^  in  the  cathedral  of  St.  Ca^iice 
on  the  thirtieth  of  November,  being  St.  Andrew's 
day. 

The  nuncio  reprobated  the  peace,  and  was  joined 
.by  many  biflhops,  particularly  by  JDavid  Roth  of 
Off9ry,  who  laid  the  city  and  fuburbs  of  Kilkeni;iy 
under  the  following  interdict. 

"  Whereas  (/)  we  have  in  publick  and  private 
meetings,  at  feveral  times,  declared  to  the  fuprerac 
council  and  others  whom  it  might  concern,  that  it 
was  and  is  unlawful  and  againfi  confcience,  the 
implying  j)erjury  (as  it  hath  been  by  the  fpccial  adt 
of  the  congregation  at  Waterford)  to  both  common- 
wealths, fpiritual  and  tenrvporal,  to  do  or  concur  to 
any  adl  tending  to  the  approbation  or  countenancing 
ihe  publication  of  this  unlawful  and  mifchievous 
jpeace.  To  dangerous  (as  it  is  now  articled)  to  bot^ 
cbmmonwealth^  fpiritual  and  temporal.  An4 
whereas  notwithftanding  our  deciacation,  ye^  the 
declaration  of  the  whole  clergy  of  the  kingdoni  to 
the  contrary,  the  fupreme  council  and  the  com- 
miffionershaveadlually  proceeded  to  the  publican 
lion,  yea  and  forcing  it  upon  the  city,  by  terror 
and  threats,  rather  than  by  any  free  confcnt  or 
defire  of  the  people. 

Wc 

(b)  A  pamphlet  containing  intercepted  tetters,  164s, 
tO'  Borlafc,  pag.  163.  Whoprcfcrvcs  maD7  papers  printed 
in  Kilkenny.  . 


^zz  T  H  E  A  N  T  I  QJJ  I  T  I  E  S  OF 

We  having  duly  confidercd  and  taken  it  to  heart, 
as  it  becometh  us,  how  enormous  this  fa6t  is,  and 
appears  in  catholics,  even  againil  God  himlelf,  and 
what  ^  publick  contempt  of  the  holy  church  it  ap- 
peareth,  bcfidc  the  evil  it  is  likely  to  draw  upon 
this  poor  kingdom ;  after  a  mature  deliberation 
and  confent  of  our  clergy,  in  deteftation  of  this 
heinoi|3  and  fcandalous  difobedience  of  the  fuprerae 
council,  and  others  who  adhered  to  them,  in  matter 
of  confcience  to  the  holy  church,  and  in  haired  oF 
fo  fmful  and  abominable  an  a£t,  do  by  thefe  pre^ 
fents,  according  to  the  prefcription  of  the  feaed 
canons,  pronounce  and  command  henceforth  a 
general  ceifation  of  divine  offices,  throughout  all 
the  city  and  fubiirbs  of  Kilkenny,  in  all  churches, 
monafteries  and  houfes  in  them  whatfoever, 

C3iven  at  our  palace  of  Nqva  Curia, 

Signed, 
1 8th  of  Aug.  1 646.  DAVID  OSSORIEJ^SIS.' 
The  general  afTembly  of  confederate  catholics 
met  in  Kilkenny,  the  tenth  of  January  1647,  and 
took  the  former  oath  of  aflbciation  with  (bme  new 
(:laufes.  We  will  here  give  the  (k)  names  of  the 
reprefentaClvc^  of  the  lords  and  commons. 

Spiritual  Peers. 
Hugh  O  Reiley,  archbilhop  of  Armagh, 
Thonias  Walfl^,  archbilhop  of  Dublin, 
Patrick  Comcrford,   bifhop  of  Waterford  and 

Lifmore, 
John  Burk,  bilhop  of  Clonfert, 
John  O  Mollony,  bifliop  of  Killaloe, 
Richard  Conell,  bifhop  of  Ardfcrt, 

Emcr 

(/-}  Burke,  Hibern^  Dominic,  pag.  884. 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY,  423 

Emer  Matthews,  biihop  of  Ciogher^ 
Nicholas  French,  bifliop  of  Ferns, 
Edmond  O  Dcmpfey,  bifhop  of  Leighlin, 
Edmund  O  Duyer,  bifhop  of  Limerick, 
Arthur  Magennis,  biftiop  of  Down  and  Connor, 

Temporal  Peers. 

Alexander  Mac  Donnel,  e?irl  of  Antrim, 
Chrirtopher  Plunfcet,  earl  of  Fingal, 
Maurice  Roche,  vifcouat  Fermoy, 
Richard  Butler,  vifcount  Mountgarrct, 
Theobald  Dillon,  vifcount  Collellogallen, 
John  Netterville,  vifcount  Nettervilie, 
Donat  Macarthy,  vifcount  Muflcery, 
Pierce  Buller,  vifcount  Ikerrin, 
Lewis  O  Dempfey,  vifcount  Clanmalicr, 
Edward  Butler,  vifcount  Galmoy, 
Francis  Bermingham,  baron  of  Athenry, 
Bryan  Fitzpatrick,  barbn  of  Upper  Offory, 
Oliver  Plunket,  baron  of  Louth, 
William  Burk,  baron  of  Caftle-connel. 

Commons, 

John  Allen  of  Allenftown,  Geoffry  Baron  of  ClonmcH, 

Patrick  Archer  of  Kilkenny,  Gerald  Barry  of  Lifgriffin, 

Walter  Archer  of  Kilkenny,  Peicr  Bath  Filx  Robert,  lata 
dement  A(h  of  Elliflown,  of  Dublin, 

Patrick  Babe  of  Drumikyne,  Peter  Bath  of  Kilkenny,  . 

John  Baggot  of   Baggots-  Robert  B^th  of  Clanturk, 

town,  Robert  Bath,  late  of  Dublin, 

Walter    Bs^nal    of    Dun-  John  Bellew  of  Lisfranny, 

leckny,  Richard  Belling  of  Tyrrels- 
George  Barnwall  of  Kings*         town, 

town,  Chriftopher  Bermingham  of 
Henry  Barnwall  of  Caftle         Corballis, 

Rickard,  Edward     Bermingham    of 
J^m^s  Barnwall,  Curraghton, 

John 


T  HE  A  N  T  I  QUI  T I E  S  OF 


JoIla  Bermin^iani  of  GaU 

way, 
William    BermrDgham    of 

Parfonftown, 
Bryan  Birneof  Ballynacorr, 
Srjao  Biroe  of  Rodine, 
James  Birne  of  Ballyaccide, 
John  Birne  of  Ballyglan, 
Francis  Blake  of  Galway, 
Domintck  Bodkm  qf  Gal- 


way, 


Job»  Brennan  of  Cloyne- 

finloghy 
Hogh  Brin  of  Corrinon^ 
Edward  Browne  of  Gal  way, 
Gcoffry  Browne  of  Gal  way, 
SylvelUf  Browne  of  Dublin, 
Patrick  Bryan  of  Lifmayne, 
John.  Burk  of  Caftle  Caroe, 
Richard  Burk  of  Drum- 

ruift, 
Richard  Burk  ofShillewly, 
Theobald  Burk  of  Buoly- 

burk, 
VKck  Burk  ctf  Olinjk, 
William  Burk  of  PoUards- 

lown, 
Sdniund  BuHer  of  Idough, 
James  Butler  of  Swyneone, 
Jahn  Butler  of  Foulftefs-^ 

town. 
Pierce  Butler  of  Banefeagh, 
<PJerce  Butler  ^of  Barrow* 

mouiit, 
•Pierce  Btitter  of  Cahir, 
Walter  Bmler  of-PauMlown, 
^kHinell  Carve  of  AUobar- 

nayre, 
Arthur  Cheevers  ef  Bally- 

ftftio, 
Peter  Clinton  of  Dollyflown, 


AnthcmyColckw^fffRath- 

clir, 
Edward     ;Comerfbrd      of 

Callan, 
George  Comyrtof  Limerick, 
Andrew  Cowley  Kilkcanny, 
Walter  Cruife  of  Arlonan, 
James  Cufack  of  Kilkenny, 
Patrick  Darcyof  Gal  way, 
BamabasE)empfey  of  Clone- 

hork, 
Nicholas  Dcvereux  of  Bally- 

mager, 
Robert  DevereuK  of  Bally  ♦ 

fiiannon, 
Edmond  Dillon  of  Streaois* 

town, 
Jatocs    Dillon    of  Cbne- 

gaffel, 
John  Dillon  of  Streamdown, 
Lucas  Dillon  of  Loughglin, 
Allen  Donnell  of  Montagh, 
Michael  Dormer  of  Rofs, 
Walter  Dougan  of  Caftfe- 

tOWBf 

Lawrence  Dowdall  of  Ath- 

lumney, 
James  Doyle  of  Carrig, 
Terence    Doyne    of   Kil- 

kenan, 
Patrick  Duffeof  Roffpatrick, 
Richard  Everard  of  Eve- 

rard^s  caftle, 
Stephen  Fallon  of  Athlooe, 
William  Fallon   of  MiU- 

town, 
GeoflFry  Faantng  of  Glean* 

agall, 
Patrick*  Fanning  of  Lime- 

rick, 

^Ger«U 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY. 


4^5 


Gerald  FenneU  oF  Bally- 

griffin, 
Jfohn  Finghfs  of  WaUpels- 

town, 
Chriftopher  FitzgtraU  of 

Coynelunan^ 
Edmoiid'  Fitzgerald  of  Bal- 

lymartyr, 
£dinomi      Fitzgerald      of 

Brounsfordy 
Gerald  If  itzgerald  of  Clon- 

yad, 
Gerald  Fitzgerald   of  Ti- 

mogaey 
Henry  Fitzgerald  of   Ti- 

croghan, 
Luke   Fitzgerald   of    Ti- 

croghafly  v 
Mathew  Fitzgerald  of  Go- 

binftown, 
Maurice  Fitzgerald  of  Al- 

lone» 
Htcholas  Fitzgerald  of  Mar- 

mayne^ 
Pierce  Fitzgerald  of  Bally- 

fhannon, 
Thomas  Fitzgerald  of  Bon- 

neysford) 
Mark  Fitzharrts  of  Clogh- 

inotfdy, 
NicboiasFitzharriaof  Kofs, 
Edmond     Fitzmaurice     of 

Tyoburry, 
Gerald     Fitzmaurice      of 

Goby, 
Florence     Fitzpatrick     of 

LifduDvearneyy 
Philip  Plattifoury  of  Dre- 

manftown, 
Thomas  Fleming  of  Cab« 

ragh, 
Fiagher  Flin  of  BallUagha, 


Chfiftopher  French  of  Grf- 

way, 
Janies  French  of  Galway, 
Mark  Furlong  of  Wexlbr^ 
John  Garvey  of  Lehoo§| 
Charles  Gilmore, 
John  Goold  of  Cork, 
Patrick  Gough  of  Kiimanl- 

hane, 
John  Hadlbr  of  Keppctt, 
John  Haly  of  Limerick, 
Nicholas  Haly  of  Towryne, 
Robert  Hartpole, 
Nicholas  Hay  of  Wexford, 
Charles    Hcncfly    of    Ca- 

tcrgyn, 
ThomasHeynesofFeathard, 
Daniel  Higgins  of  Limerick, 
William  Hoare  of  Coi^, 
William  Hoare  of  Uarrk* 

toWh, 
Chriftopher  Hollywood  of 

Tartane, 
Alexander  Hope  of  BaUy^ 

macfearagh, 
John  Hope  of  Mactinftowflj 
Matthew  Hore    of    Duiv- 

garvan, 
Maurice  Hurley  of  Kilduffe, 
Edmond  Kealy  of  Gowran, 
William  Kealy  of  Gowran^ 
Daniel  Keefe  of  Dromagh, 
Eneas  Kinily  of  Ballyne^ 

carrigy, 
Patrick  Kerwan  of  Galway^ 
John  Lacy  of  BrufF, 
Denis  Lalor  of  Ballywov, 
William  Langlon  of  Kil- 
kenny, 
Martin  Lynch  of  Galway^ 
Nicholas  Lynch  of  Galway^ 
Robuck  Lynch  of  Galway, 

Nicholas 


^z6 


THE  Antiquities  op 


Nicholas  Mac  Alpin  of  Moy, 
Hugh  Mac  Cartan  of  Lor- 

glinc. 
Charles  Mc.  Garthy  Riagh, 
Dermot  McCarthy  of  Cant- 

wyrk, 
Thady  Mac  Garthy  of  Kil- 

fallyway^ 
James  Mac  Donnelj  of  MuflF, 
Charles  Mc  Geoghegan  of 

Dromore, 
Conly   Mc  Geoghegan   of 

Donore, 
Edurard  Mc  Geoghegan  of 

Tyrotorine^ 
Richard  Mc  Geoghegan  of 

Moycalhell) 
Daniel      Macnemara       of 

Dowhe^ 
John  Macnemara  of  Moy^ 

riorfky, 
Arthur  Magennis  of  Bally- 

naferney,  ^ 

Connell  Magennis  of  Lif* 

natiemy, 
Daniel  Magennis  of  Glafca^ 
Ever  Magennis  of  CaAle- 

wellan» 
Hugh  Magennis  of  lllani* 

moyle, 
Anthony  Martin  of  Gal  wayi 
koger  More  of  Ballynakill, 
Roger  Nangle  of  Glynmore, 
Patrick  Netterville  of  Bel- 

gart, 
Richard  Nettervillct 
Pierce  Nugent  of  Bally ne- 

curr, 
Thady  O  Body, 
Tirlogh  O  Boyle  of  Bally- 
more^ 


Connor  O  Bryen  of  Ballj* 

nacody,  - 
Dermot  O  Brytn  of  Dro-» 

more, 
Callaghan  O  Callaghan  .  of 

Cattle  Mc  AuliflF, 
Donat  O  Callaghan  of  Clon- 

meene, 
Daniel     O   Gavanagh     of 

Cloynmulbihi 
Murtagh   O  Cavanagh    of 

Garryhill, 
Daniel  O  Connor  of  Qgel-( 

leane, 
Thady  O  Connor  Roc  of 

Bailynafad, 
Thady  O  Connor  Sligo^ 
Hugh   O  Donnell   of  Rii^ 

malton^ 
Edward  O  Dowde  of  Por- 

terllown, 
Thady  O  Dowde  of  Rof* 

burr» 
Philip  O  Dwyer  of  Dun^ 

drum, 
Daniel  O  Farrell  of  Ennif- 

cortby, 
Fergus  O  Farrell  of  Blean^ 

vohlr, 
Francis  O  Farrell  of  Moate^ 
Thady  O  Hanly  of  Col«- 

raoe, 
James  O  Kearney  of  Bally- 

luflsey, 
Daniel  O  Kelly  of  Colen- 

geere, 
John  O  Kelly  of  Corbeg, 
Patrick  O  Komelty  of  Dun- 

gannon, 
Henry  O  Neil  of  Kilbeg, 
Phelim  O  Neil  of  Morlcy, 

Turlogh 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY. 


427 


Turlogh  O  Neil  of  Ard- 

gonell, 
Francis  O  Ronane  of  Kil- 
kenny, 
Hugh  O  Rourke  of  Coona- 

renea, 
Thomas  O  Ryan  of  Doone, 
Dermot  O  ShaughneflTy  of 

Gort, 
OSullevan-MoreofDowne- 

kyrane, 
Daniel  O  Sullevan  of  Cul- 

magort, 
Nicholas  Plunket  of  Belrath, 
David  Poore  of  Cloncfliore, 
John  Power  of  Kilmacdan, 
Jaraes  Prendergaft  of  Tul- 

lovellane, 
James  Predon  of  Gormans- 

town, 
Robert  Preflon  of  Gormans* 

town, 
Thomas  Prefton, 
Robert  Purcell  of  Curry, 
Charles  Reynolde  of  James- 
town, 
Edward  Rice  of  Dingle, 
David  Roche  of  Glanore, 
John  Roche  of  Caftletown, 
Redmond  Roche  of  Cahir- 

dowgan, 
Hugh  Rochfort  of  Tagonan, 
John  Rochfort  of  Kilbride, 
George    RufTel    of    Rath- 

molin, 
Chriftopher  St.  Lawrence  of 

Crucctown, 

Spiritual  Peers 
Temporal  Peers 
Commons 


Nicholas  Sankey  of  Bally- 

tarkin, 
Edward  Shee  of  Kilkenny, 
Robert  Shee  Fitz  William 

of  Kilkenny, 
.Walter  Shee  of  Trim, 
Bartholemew  Stackpole  of 

Limerick  9 
Richard  Stafford  Fitx  Ri- 
chard of  Wexford, 
Richard  Strange  of  Rocks* 

well  caille^ 
WilliamSutton  of  Ballcroge^ 
Robert    Talbot   of    CalUe 

Talbot, 
Thomas  Tyrrell  of  Kilbride, 
Richard  Wadding  ot  Bally- 

cogly, 
Thomas  Wadding  of  Wa«- 

terford, 
John   Walfli   of   Ballybe- 

chayne, 
John  WaHh  of  Waterford, 
Alexander      Warren       of 

Church  town, 
Edmund   Warren,   late  of 

Dublin, 
William  Warren  of  Cafliel- 

town, 
James  Weldon  of  Newry, 
John  White  of  Clonmell, 
Nicholas  Wogan  of  Rath- 

coffy, 
Francis  Wolverfton  of  New- 
town, 
William  Young  of  Ca(hel, 

II 
14 

226 

Total     251 


Notwith- 


4aA  THE  ANTIQJJfTlES   OF 

Notwithftanding  the  effort  a  of  the  wifer  and 
more  moderate  part,  the  confederates  found  it  imr 
poflible  to  cttablilh  a  permanent  form  of  govern- 
ment ;  diforder  reigned  in  their  councils,  the  people 
caught  die  contagion,  and  every  day  was  marked 
vrith  fome  dangerous  tumuk.  The  friars  took  an 
adlive  part.  In  1 64S,  Paul  King  (/),  a  Franci&an 
and  a  zealous  nuncionifi,  formed  a  party  among 
^e  deluded  inhabitants  of  Kilkenny  to  betray  the 
city  and  the  fuprcrae  council  into  the  hands  of 
Rinuccini  and  O  Neil,  which  however  did  not 
fucceed.  («)  The  next  year  Rednsond  Carrcxi, 
commii&ry  general  of  the  Recoile£ts,  being  at  Kil- 
kenny and  fiding  with  the  loyal  catholics  againft 
the  nuncio  and  his  adherents^  and  endeavouring  to 
remove  one  Brennan  and  other  feditious  friars  from 
the  city,  was  put  in  danger  of  his  life,  had  not  the 
carl  of  Caitlehaven  arrived  with  fome  friends,  in 
the  very  inftant  of  time  to  fave  him.  On  this  (»> 
occafion,  thoufands  of  men  and  women  in  the  duik 
of  the  evenings  being  coUedted  by  feven  or  ei^ 
furious  Francifcans  of  the  nuncio^s  party,  and 
being  worked  up  to  madnefs  by  their  lies,  at- 
tempted to  force  into  St.  Francis's  abbey,  and  to 
murder  Caron,  John  Barnwall  reader  of  cfiviiuty, 
Anthony  Geamon  guardian  of  Dundalk,  James 
Fitzfimon  guardian  of  Multifernan,  Patrick  Plunket 
confeflbr  to  the  poor  Clares  of  AtHlorie,  and  Peter 
Walfli  reader  of  divinity  in  that  convent,  although 
this  Walfli, .  in  1 646,  had  faved'  both  mayor  and 

aldamen 

(/)  Ware's  writers,  pag.  141. 

(m)  Ware  fupra,  pag.  145. 

(19)  Walfh's  bid.  of  the  remonftraoce>  pag.  587. 


IRISHTO.WN  AND  KILKENNY.  429 

aldermen  from  being  hanged,  and  the  city  from 
being  plundered  by  Owen  O  Neil. 

The  parfiament  of  England,  turning  their  atten- 
tion to  the  diftrafted  ftate  of  Ireland,  fent  over,  in 
the  perfon  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  a  lord  lieutenant 
who  was  able  to  corredt  its  diforders. 

On  the  twenty-third  of  March  1 650,  Cromwell 
came  before  Kilkenny,  on  the  fide  of  the  black 
quarry,  and  fent  this  fumtnons  that  evening  (p) : 

*'  Gentlemen, 

My  coming  hither  is  to  endeavour,  if  God 
pleafeth,  the  rcdudlion  of  the  city  of  Kilkenny 
and  your  obedience  to  the  ftate  of  England.  For 
the  unheard  of  maffacre  of  the  innocent  Englilh, 
God  hath  begun  to  judge  you  with  his  fore  plague^ 
fo  will  be  follow  you,  until  he  dcttroy  you,  if  you 
repent 'not.  Your  caufe  hath  been  already  judged 
in  England  upon  them  who  did  abett  your  evils, 
what  may  the  principals  then  expeft  ?  By  this  free 
dealing,  you  fee  I  intice  you  to  a  compliance  v 
you  may  have  terms;  may  lave  your  lives,  libertiea 
and  efiates,  according  ^o  what  will  be  fitting  for 
me  to^grant^  and  you  to  receive.  If  you  chufe  for 
the  worfe,  blame  yourfelves.  In  confidence  of 
the  gracious  bleffings  and  prefence  of  God  with 
bis  owii  cau£b,  which  this  is  by  many  teftimonies^ 
I  iball  hope  for  a  godd  iifue  upon  my  endeavours  ^ 
expeding  a  return  from  you,  I  reft  your  fervant, 

O.  CROMWELL.'^ 
To  the  Governor,  Mayor,  &c, 

Vol.  IL  G  g  To 

CO  Borlafe  IriOi  Rebellion. 


430  THE    ANTIQJJITIES    OF 

To  this  Sir  Walter  Butler  anfwered : 

"  Sir, 
Your  letter  I  have  received,   and   in  anTwer 
thereof,  I  am  <»mTnanded  to  maintain  this  city  for 
his  majefty,  which,  by  the  power  of  God,  I  am 
refolved  to  do,  fo  I  reft.  Sir, 

Your  fervant, 

^  WALTER  BUTLER," 
Kilkenny,  23d  March,  1 650. 

Lord  Caftlehaven  had  appointed  Sir  Walter 
Butler,  governor  of  the  city,  with  two  hundred 
horfe  and  a  thoufand  foot,  but  they  were  Kduced 
by  the  plague  to  three  hundred.  This  drcumflanoe 
^romwell  hints  at.  On  the  24th,  he  furrounded 
the  place,  and  in  the  evemng  atten^pted  to  pofle& 
himfelf  of  Iriflitown,  but  wns  beaten  <^  aad  forced 
to  retire ;  tus  cannon  began  between  five  and  fix 
o'clock  on  the  25th,  to  bather  the  .«nd  cf  the  mar- 
quis of  Ormond*8  ftablea,  between  the  caftle  gite 
and  the  rampart,  and  having  continued  firicig  uotH 
twelve,  he  aflaulted-  the.  fareadbi;  his  mea  weie 
twice  beaten  off,  and  couki  not  be  perfiiaded  to 
make  a  third  attack;  the  breach  was  repaired,. and 
Cromwell  was  on  the  pxint  of  railing  the  fi^e, 
when  the  mayor  and  townfincn  invited  him  to  ftay, 
and  aiTured  him  they  would  receive  him  into  ^ 
city  s  upon  this  he .  appointdd  a  party  to  fet  i^jon 
IriOitown  in  the  evening,  which  was  manned  fay 
fome  of  the  citizens,  the  beft  part  of  the  garriibn 
being  employed  about  the  breach  ^  the  dtizeits 
immediately  deferted  their  pofts,  without  ftriking 
a  ftroke,  and  Cromwell  taking  poflefiionof  the 

cathedral 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  43? 

catbfidral  and  the  other  parts  of  Irifhtown,  lodged 
there  that  night. 

On  the  •27th  he  began  to  break  the  wall  of  the 
Francifcan  abbey,  near  th?.  river  fide,  with  pick- 
axes, to  make  way  fox  hi8  horfe  and  foot  to  enter ; 
that  pqft  being  alfp  guarded  by  townfmen  only» 
tb^y  began  to  forftke  it,  wh^n  the  governor  gave 
orders  to  a  party  of  horfe  to  alight  and  leading 
ibera  on,  beat  otF  the,  ei^err^y,  and  killed  moft  of 
thofe  that  were  near  the.  wall,  and  pi;t  an  end  to 
their  :qfforts  there  ^  ^t  the  fame  tiipe  ar>  attempt  was 
XT^ade  to  burn  the  gate  on  St.  Jolin's  bridge*  b^t 
there  the  ejiemy  were  lik^vrife  repylfed  >vith  the 
lofs  of  ma9y  officers  an^  foldicrs. 

Next  day  Cromwell  was  joined  by  Iretori  with 
j[50ofre(h  men,  and  Sir  Walter  Butler,  confidering 
the  weaknefs  of  the  garrifon,  few  in  number  and 
thgfe  worn  out  for  want  of  reft  by  continual  watch* 
.iqg;  and  hop^Iefa  Qf  relief,  determined  to  execute 
Iprd  Caftlebaven's  orders  j  which  were,  that  if  they 
were  not  telieved  by  ftven  o'clock  the  day  before, 
he  ftiould  ^ot,  ibr  any  punctilio  of  honour,  expofe 
the  townpnen  tp  be  naaffacred,  but  make  as  good 
conditions  -as  he  could,  by  a  timely  furrender.  A. 
parley  was  beaten,  a  ceiTation  agreed  on  ^t. twelve 
o'clock  the  next  day,  when  the  town  and  caftle 
were  xicliv^red  .up  on  the  following  conditipns  ; 

ARTICLES 
Of  agreement  between  the  commifltoners  ap- 
pointed by  his  ex^^U^ncy,  the  lord  Cromwell, 
lord  lieutenant  general  of  Ireland,  for  and  on 
behalf  of  his  excellency  of  the  one  part,  and 
thofe  appointed  comraiflioners  by  tb^  refpeAive 

G  g*  2  governor 


4yi  THE   ANT  IQJLII  TIES    OF 

governor  of  the  city  and  caftle  of  KiUiBony,  of 
the  other  part,  March  28th,  1650. 

■ 

'  I.  That  the  refpeftive  governor  of  the  city  of 
Kilkenny  (hall  deliver  up  to  his  excellency  the  lord 
•  Cromwell,  lord  lieutenant  of  Irehtnd,  for  the  ufe 
of  the  ftate  of  England,  the  (aid  city  and  cafllet 
with  all  arms,  ammunition  and  provifions  of  public 
ftores  therein,  without  embezzlement,  except  what 
k  hereafter  exceptcdj  at  or  before  nine  of  the 
clock  to-morrow 'morning. 

II.  That  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  feid  city  of 
Kilkenny,  and  all  others  therein,  (hall  be  defended 
in  their  perfons,  goods  and  eftates  from  the  violence 
of  the  foldiers ;  and  that  fuch  as  (hall  de(ire  to  re- 
move thence  elfewhere,  (hall  have  liberty  (b  to  do» 
with  their  goods,  within  three  months  after  the  date 
of  thefe  articles. 

III.  That  the  (aid  governor  with  all  the  oflScen 
and  (bidiers  under  his  command  in  the  (aid  dt; 
and  caAfe,  and  all  others^  who  (hall  be  fb  pleafed, 
Ihall  march  away  at,  or  before  nine  of  the  clock 
to-morrow  morning,  with  their  bag  and  baggage : 
the  officers  and  their  attendants  ^ith  their  hories 
and  arms,  not  exceeding  one  hundred  and  fifty 
horfcs  i  and  their  foot  (bldiers  to  march  out  of  the 
town,  two  miles  diftant  with  their  arms,  and  with 
their  drums  beating,  colours  flying,  matches  lighted  ^ 
and  then  and  there  to  deliver  up  the  faid  arms  to 
foch  as  (hall  be  appointed  for  receivirtg  tfiem, 
except  an  hundred  mulkets  and  an  hundred  pikes 
allowed  them  for  their  defence  againft  the  tones, 

IV.  That  the  faid  officers  and  (bldiers  fhall  have 
fiom  his  excellency  a  (afe  conduift^  fix  miles  from 

the 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  43S 

the  city  of  Kilkenny ;  and  from  thence  a  pafe,  to 
be  in  force  for  fix  days,  they  marching  at  leaft 
ten  nules  each  day,  and  doing  no  prejudice,  to 
quarters. 

V.  That  the  city  xX  Kilkenny  (hall  pay  2000/. 
as.  a  gratuity  to  his  excellency's  army:  whereof  a 
1000/.  to  be  paid  on  the  30th  of  this  month,  and 
the  other  on  the  firft  day  of  May,  to  fuch  as  (hall 
be  by  his  excellency  appointed.  That  major 
Comerford  and  Mr.  Edward  Roth  fhall  remain 
faoftages,  under  the  power  of  his  excellency  for 
the  performance  of  faid  articles,  on  the  part  of  the 
faid  city  and  garrifon  of  Kilkenny. 

And  iailly,  for  the  performance  of  all  and  An- 
gular the  faid  articles,  both  parlies  have  hereunto 
interchangeably  put:  their  hands,  the  day  and  year 
above  written. 

O.  Cromwell. 
Edward  Cowly,    John  Comerford, 
Edward  Roth,      David  Turnball. 

Sir  Walter  Butler  and  the  officers  when  they 
marched  out  were  .complimented  by  Cromwell, 
who  faid :  "  That  they  were  gallant  fellows :  that 
he  had  loft  more  men  in  ftorming  that  place,  than 
he  had  in  taking  Drogheda,  and  that  he  fhould 
have  gone  without  it,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
treacher)'  of  the  townfmen." 

Cromwell  appointed  col.  Axtel  Cp)^  governor, 
with  a  confiderable  garrifon.    The  plague  raging* 
in  Dublin,  Ireton,  in  1654,  wintered  in  (y)  Kil- 
kenny i   and  the  next  year,  Fleetwood,  on  his 

arrival 

(p)  Borlafe,  pag.  Z55.  (f)  Borlafe,  pag.  28a. 


434  T  H  E   A  N  T  I QJU  I T  I  E  S   OF 

arrival  (r),  took  up  his  refideiice  in  this  city,  for 
the  fame  reafon. 

On  the  4th  Oftober,  1652,  a  high  commiifioa 
court  was  held  in  Kilkenny  before  juftice  Donclian, 
juilice  Cooke  and  commilfary  Reynolds. 

On  the  reftoration  of  Charles  IL  Kilkenny  rc- 
fumed  and  exercifed  its  chartered  rights^  and  every 
thing  wore  a  tranquil  appearance.  In  1 666^  Eng- 
land being  engaged  in  a  war  with  Hc^land,  that 
were  fixiy-nine  Dutch  ptifoners  fent  to  Rilkcnn)' 
from  (j)  Watcrford  and  other  fea-ports,  for  grctta 
fecurity. 

In  1672,  Nicliolas  (/)  Lc^hnan  petitioned  the 
privy  council  of  Ireland  in  behalf  of  himfelf  and 
other  citi2enfi  of  Kilkenny,  and  dated,  that  in  a 
fmall  aflembly  of  aldermen  and  common-coundl- 
men,  a  refolution  was  made  of  charging  each  pcrlbn 
who  Itood  in  the  market  with  commodities,  three 
halfpence  every  time,  for  murage,  parage,  ta. 
The  petitioner  alledged,  that  the  cuftoms  and  du- 
ties of  the  market,  amounting  to  above  one  hundred 
pounds  per  annum,  were  appropriated  to  thefe  ufcs» 
and  were  fufficient  to  repair  the  ftreets,  walls  and 
bridges.  Eefides,  that  the  corporation  was  endowed 
by  royal  grants,  \yith  tliree  intire  abbies,  with  thdf 
lands  and  livings,  and  feveral  rich  impropriations, 
to  the  value  of  four  or  five  hundred  pounds  yearly» 
but  that  thefe  revenues  were  funk  very  mudi  by 
embezzlement. 

He  therefore  prayed  that  the  dilbefles  taken  in 
purfuance  of  the  above  refolution  may  be  reftorcd. 

Oa 

(r)  Bcrlafe,  pag.  jqz.  (*)  L^HTan's  MSS. 

(/)  Uft>n*$  MSS. 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY. 
Qn  tlus  petitioB,  the  lord  lieuteaant  and  council 
made  this  order : 

"  3d  Jan.  1673. 

We  require  the  mayor  and  aldermen  of  IGlkenny 

within  mentioned,  by  themfelves  or  their  agents 

fufliiciemly  inflrufted  and  authorized,  to  appear  and 

anfwer  the  within  complaint. 

Effex, 

Ja.  Armachanus, 
Mich.  Dublin.  Can. 
Donegall, 
OBryen, 
Tlwmond, 
Herbert, 
Cba.  Meredyth, 
Hen.  Ford." 
-  This  put  an  end  to  this  illegal  imporition. 
King  James  II.  when  he  was  new  chartering  the 
different  corporate  towns  in  the  kingdom,  to  anfwer 
Ws  wretched  views,  did  not  forget  Kilkenny.     TTw 
corporation,    before  the  year  1687,    confifted  of 
feven  companies,  but  by  the  new  charter  they 
were  reduced  to  five.     The  (a)  cxpence  of  this 
charter  was  260/.  but  305/.  were  raifcd.     There 
were  now  to  be  twenty-four  aldermen,  befides  the 
mayor,  two  (herifFs  and  a  cliamberlain  with  thirty- 
fix  burgeflTes,  a  recorder  and  town  clerk,  who  was 
aifo  prothwiotary    and    clerk  of  the  peace  and 
crown. 

Jdtm 


43^ 


THE   ANTIQUITIES   OF 


John  Roth,  Mayor. 
.Aldermen. 

Richard    Vifc.    Mount- 
garret, 

John  Grace,  efq; 

Edward  Roth,  merchant, 

Marmadukc  Shee  Fitz- 
Richard,  efq; 

David  Roth,  efq^ 

Edmond  Shee,  e(q; 

Walter  Lawlefs,  efq; 

James  Bryan,  efq; 

Nicholas  Shee,  efq; 

Thomas  Butler,  gent. 

Henry  Archer,  efq; 

Valentine  Smith,  gent. 

Michael  Roth,  gent. 

John  Hay  dock,  apothe- 
cary, 

Francis  Rowlidge,  gent, 

William  Archer,  merch. 

Thomas  Young,  vintper, 

John  Archdekin,  merch. 

Samuel  Philips,  gent. 

John  Shee,  merch. 

John  Nowlan,  merch. 

James  Rafter,  gent. 

Jofhua  Helfham,  gent. 

Michael  Bryan,  gent. 
Sheriffs. 

Luke  Shee,  merch. 

John  Archdekin,  junior, 
merch. 


Chamberlaik. 
Peter  Archdekin,  merdi. 

BURGESS&S. 

Robert  Knarelhorou^, 

merch. 
Janjes  St.  L^ger,  merch. 
William  Kimherly,  en- 

fign, 

William  Badge,  genL 

Thomas  Cookefey ,  gent. 

Griffith  Williams,    gar- 
dener, 

John  Garnett,  baker, 

John  Murphy,  gent. 

G^ofFry  St.  Leger,  gent. 

Mark  Knarefborough, 
merch. 

William  Shee,  gent. 

John  Ley,  gent. 

Bernard  Shee,  gent. 

Matthew  Roth,  merch. 

Thomas  DufFe,  merch. 

Peter  Archdekin,  merch. 

Peter  Shee,  merch. 

Michael  Forftall,  gent. 

John  Wall,  merch. 

Luke  Cufack,  merch. 

Robert  Roth,  gent. 

John  Donphy,  merch. 

Martin  Smith,  merch. 

Edward  Caddow,  merch. 

Nicholas  Ley,  merch. 

Edw.  Fitzgerald,  merch. 

Nic 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY. 


437 


David  Fanning,  mcrch, 

Robert  Dixon, 
Recorder. 

James  Lawlefs,  Town 
Clerk,  Prothono- 
TARY,  and  Clerk 
of  the  Peace  and 
Crown  (w); 

WithaSwoRD  bearer^ 
aMACE  BEARER, and 

NINE  AtTORNIES. 


Nic.  Langton,  merch. 

Patrick  Caddow,  merch. 

Ifaac  Muktns,  merch. 

Thomafi  Philips,  tanner, 

Peter  Shce  Fitz  Pierce, 
merch. 

James  Archer,  merch. 

Robert  Garret,  gent. 

Marcus  Shec  Fit?  Tho- 
mas, merch. 

George  Birch,  gent. 

A  Rent  Roll  (x)  of  the  revenues  payable  to  the 
corporation  of  I^ilkenny  for  the  year  1688. 

Duke  of  Ormond,  one  year's  chief  rent  40    o 
Alderman  John  Nowlan,  for  the  reftory 

of  Jerpoint  -  -  3Q    o 

Henry  Bradidi,  for  the  reftory  of  Claragh  22  jQ 
Thomas  Lawlefs,  for  the  rcdlory  of  Min- 

kully  r.  -  IQ 

Capt.  St.  George  and  Mr.  Goare,  for  the 

redtory  of  Tubrid  -  15 

Bahhazar  Cramer,   for  the  reftory  of 

Kilmodun  •  "  7 

AiEgns  of  Bartholomew  Connor,  for  the 

redtory  of  Skirk  -  10 

Sir  Henry  Wemys,  for  the  redtory  of 

Danesfort  -  -  15 

Alderman  Burrel's  exeaitors,  for  part  of 

Walldn's  green  t  o 


d. 

Q 
O 

o 


P    o 


Q    Q 


O      Q 


o    o 


10    o 

Aid. 

(ou)  This  lift  was  taken  from  the  patent  rolls  of  the  high 
court  of  Chancery.    Vide  Harris's  life  of  king  Williain, 
app.  page  viii. 
•    <*)  Laffan*s  MSS. 


43t  ^    THE  ANTIQJJITIES  OF 

L    s.    d. 

Aid.  ConncPs  excctrtots,  for  hifl  hokKt^ 

m  Gla.ndoync  -  -  400 

JatHCS  Bryim,  for  the  reftory  of  Jeridns- 

town  -  ^         V       1     o    o 

Sir  William  Evans,  for  the  reAory  of 

St.John^s  -  -  2600 

The  famC)  for  KUderry  meadows  -  o  10  © 
The  fame,  for  chappel  -  20     o    o 

Jonas  Wheeler,  for  Magdalane's  land  15  00 
William  Den,    for  the    third  .  part  of 

Brownftown  -  -25^ 

Sif  William  Evans,  for  Drakeland  ^  900 
C^t  Warden's  executors,  for  Lifnefonchhi  2tr  o  o 
Sir  Richard  Bulkeley,  for  part  of  the 

Dominican  abbey  -  2   io    o 

jofias  Haydocke,  for  Prior's  orchard  i     c    o 

Afllgns  of  Aid.  Connor,  for  his  hold- 
ings in  the  Tholfel  «  400 
Executors  of  Mr.  Tobin,  for  his  pent- 

boufe  -  -  150 

Affigns  of  Cath.  Evans,  for  her  holding 

in  llie  Francifcan  abbey  -  200 

Francis  Bradifli,  for  part  of  the  Domi- 
nican lands  -        -        -  I     o    o 
Afligns  of  Aid.  Connor,  for  his  holding 

in  St.  John's  -  -  700 

Aid,  Rowlidge,  (ex  part  of  St.  John"* 

demefnes  -  -  2  15    o 

Luke  Dormer,  for  the  redtory  of  New 

Ro(s.  -  -  14    o    o 

Duke  of  Ormond,  for  lands  in  St.  John's  1  o  o 
Affigns  of  Mr.  Hogg,  for  Artsgregane  012  o 
William  Jones,  for  Watergate        -        o  10    o 

Mr. 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  459 

A  s.  d. 
Mr.  Barry,  for  his  five  foote  in  the  ftreet  05  o 
Affigns  of  Mr.  Synnot,  for  part  of  the 

Dominican  demefne  -  o  15    o 

Myles  Goodin,  for  the  Black  abbey  gate- 

houfe  -  -  0,50 

Alderman  Philips,-  for  his  holding  'm  St. 

John's  -  -  100 

Afligns  of  Aid.  Connor,  for  an  incroach- 

ment  in  the  ttreet  -  050 

Mr.  Toovey's  penthoufe        ,      -  •         .  P  .  5    ® 
Samuel  Booth,  for  part  of  St.  James's 

green  -  .  -  1   10    o 

Afligns  of  Aid.  Goodin,  for  part  of  the 

man  fe  lands  of  Minkully  -  126 

Patrick  Murphy,  for  land  near  Troy's 

gate  -  -  .  o  13    4 

Charles  WooUey,  for  his  holding  o  lo    o 

Alderman  Connel,  for  lands  in  Green 

ftreet  -  -  150 

William  Jackfon,  for  a  wafte  in  St 

Kyran's  well  -  -  o  lO    o 

Richard  Nun,  for  the  lands  of  Bally- 
"     garvey  -  -  500 

•  Alderman  Cookfey,  for  his  leafe  in  St. 

James's  ftreet  -  -  0100 

Mr.  Tozier,  for  St.  John's  gate  and  his 

incroachment  in  High  ftreet         -        ^90^ 
Archdeacoii  Dryfdall,  for  his  holding  in  # 

James's  ftreet  -  -  i     q    o 

James  Dowdall,  for  a  wafte  in  Walkin 

ftreet  -  -  o    a    6 

Nicholas  White,  for  the  lands  of  Thromer, 

CO.  Wexford  -  -  p  10    ©  ' 

Mr. 


440  T  H  E  A  N  T  I  QJJ  I  T  I  E  S  OF 

/.     s.    a, 

Mr.  Badge,  for  a  wafte  in  St.  John's  o  i  o 
Alderman  Helftiam,  for  his  holdings  q  1 3  4 
Peter  Grace  and  William  Grace,   for 

twoftalls  -  -        '      2     o     o 

Edward  Duberly,  for  the  fixth  ftall  100 

James  Murphy  and  Thomas  Brchon,  for 

the  feventh  and  eighth  flails  -  200 
For  other  flails  -  .700 

The  total  of  the  City's  annual  revenue  £.$13   ^^     ? 

In  1 689  a  (y)  militia  was  forme4  in  JCilk^^ny, 
The  mayor,  John  Archdekin,  Captain, 

-  -  Lieutenant. 

Serjeants.  Corporals. 

Nicholas  CraniflDorough,    Edward  Fitzgerald^ 
-  •  John  Lee,  Michael  Langton, 

Thomas  Mayher,  .         .  Patrick  Condon. 
Patrick  Hickey, 
With  one  hundred  and  twenty  one  private  men. 

(z)  The  fubfidies  levied  off  the  inhabitants  were 
very  confiderable.  The  number  of  houfes  now  in 
the  city  and  fuburbs  according  to  the  collc6kor*s 
return : 

In  St.  Mary '5  parifli  241 

In  St.  John's  .         -  94 

In  St.  Patrick's  -  2Q 

In  St.  Canice'5         •  152 

507 
Allowing  eight  perfons  to  an  houfe,  there  were 
Ihen  but  4056  fouls  in  Kilkenny.    By  the  hearth- 
books 

.  OJ  Laffan's  MSS.  fs)  Laffan's  MSS. 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY. 

books  of  1777,  an  inten'al  of  but  eighty-eight 
years,  it  appears  there  were  then  2274  houfes^ 
which  eftimating  as  before,  makes  18,192  fouls,  or 
an  increafe  of  14,1 36  perfons.  Such  are  the  happy 
effefts  of  domeftic  peace,  the  regular  adminiftra- 
tbn  ;of  juftice,  and  the  eftabliftiment  of  trade  and 
manufadures. 

This  year,  1689  {a}y  the  corporation  petitioned 
king  James,  that  by  his  proclamation  having 
ordered  coals  to  be  fold  at  nine  pence  per  barrel, 
lieutenant  Walffi  and*  James  Mergh  in  difobediencc 
thereof,  being  overfeers  of  Idough  colliery,  pre- 
vented coals  from  coming  to  the  city,  and  thereby 
enhanced  their  price,  although- the  city  was  obliged 
to  find  fewd  for  colonel  Thomas  Butler's  regiment 
rf  foot  and  two  troops  of  lord  Galmoy's  horfe,  and 
thercfbrc  prayed  redrefs. 

•  From  Mr.  Laffan's  coUeftion  of  MSS.  we  learn, 
fliat  John  Archdefcin  was  eletfted  mayor  of  Kilkenny 
by  fhe  popilh  party  in  1689,  but  was  difplaced 
ttte '  feventeenth  of  July  1 690,  after  the  glorious 
▼idtory  at  the  Boyne.  He  petitioned  the  corpora- 
ttori  for  his  year's  falary,  which  was  1 00/.  and  that 
for  nine  months  and  twenty-four  days,  he  had 
received  but  75/.  i8j.  6d.  Among  his  dilburfe- 
ments  the  following  are  remarkable. 

I.    s,    d: 

For  fait  to  tire  miJitia  of  Dublin,  by  con- 

fent  of  an  affemb!y  at  the  Old  tholfel    030. 

For  candles  to  ford  Tyrconnel  and  the 
French  general  after  the  route  of  the 
Ooyne  -  •  08a 

Paid 


44  * 


{a)  Laffan's  MSS. 


44»  THE   ANTIQJUITIES   OF 

L     s.   JL 

Paid  Patrick  Mc.  Moran  for  fhoeing  coL 
Sheldon's  horfes,  he  helping  to  keep 
the  city  frpn?  plunder  after  the  route     050 
For  iron  for  ftioeing  lord  TyrconiJicl's 

horfes     '  -  ^  i    14     O 

Paid  men  and  women  for  carrying  corn 
.  to  the  mill ;  for  w-ant  of  horfes,  to  get 
fomc  grow^.  to  make  bread  far  the 
running  army  after  the  route  -  9  3  o 
Paid  N  icholas  Murphy  /or  feyen  ^f caffe9 
of  mutton,,  given  to  the  guar^?,  that 
came  iwith  lord  Tyrcoanel        ,  -  i  .  ^     * 

For  iron  delivered  to  Thomas  Bs^rry,  for 
^  mending  the  iojcks  of  the  city  gate, 

after  the  rgu^e  pf  the  Bpyue  -  1160 
He  alfo  charges  the  board  of  ordip^nce  25  14  3 
for  mounting,  ^ven  iron  fakers, .  th^  dianfieier  of 
each  three  inches  and  a  half,  their  length  frotp  4be 
baie  ring  to  the  mu|zle  feven  feet  and  a  balf| 
three  were  mounted  on  field  carriages,  and  four 
on  truckles  ^  four  were  placed  on  the  half  cnopo^ 
of  the  city  walls,  and  Uiree  a^out  the  caiUe  of 
Kilkenny.     ... 

1690.  In  July  king  James's  army  on  quittirig 
the  town  extorted  a  good  fum  4^1  money  from  the 
inhabitants,  to  preferve  the  town  frcn  plunder. 
On  the  nineteenth  of  the  fame  month,  king  .William 
was  fplendidly  entertained  by  the  duke  at  his 
caftle,  which  had  been  preferved  by  count  Lauzun 
from  being  pillaged  {b). 


July 


{h)  Harris's  life  of  king  William,  pgg.  281. 


IRI6HT0WN  AND  KILKENNY.  443 

July  24,  1690,  the  if)  following  juftices  of  the 
peace  were  appointed  to  receive  their  arms  and 
fubmiflion  from  fuch  as  fubmitted  to  his  majefiy^ts 
declaratbn,  in  the  city  and  county  of  Kilkenny4 

Sheriff,  for  tfie  time  beings 

Richard  Coote,  E(q; 

Sir  Henry  Wemys,  Knight. 

Sir  William  Evans,  Knight:   . 

Balthazar  Cramer, 

Samuel  Booth, 

John  Baxter^ 

Agmond.  Cufie,. 

Chriftopher.'Hewctfon,  ECqcs. 
Monfieur  Motraye,  an  ingenious  foreigner,  who 
piub&(hed  his  travels  at  the  Hague  in  17  30,  and 
a  ihort  time  before  vifited  Kilkenny,  gives  the 
following  candid  and  tundfome  account  of  the 
city,  and  of  thofe  particulars  that .  engaged  his 
attention  {J).  ^  Kilkenny,  a  large  t^wn  aad  capital 
of  the^  ^unty  of  the  farjic  n^me,  i$  one  of  the 
be$  built  in  the  province  of  Leinller )  its  ltreet$ 
are  jxived  with  marble^  of  which  they  have  many 
quarries  in  the  neighbourhood.  The  churcbef 
are  in  the  Gothic  (Hie  of  building)  the  cathe- 
dral is  the  handfomeft  and  is  fituated  on  a  fmall 
height,  near  it  is  a  lofty  [round]  tower;  there 
are  fcvcral  towers  of  that  kind  in  Ireland,  they 
are  very  ancient,  and  are  fuppofed  to  be  the 
wprk  of  the  Danes;,!  did  not  meet  any  of  them 
in  England,  though  the  Danes  were  in  pofleflion 
of  that   kingdom   alfo;  it  is  not  agreed  on  to 

[  what 

•  •  • 

(c)  Harrif's  life  of  king  William.     App.  pag.  Ixt. 
id):  See  pag.  472,  &c.  of  the  edition  in  French. 


444  THE  ANTIQJJITIES   OF  . 

.  I 

what  ufe  they  were  dellined  $  .fome  think  they 
were  watch  towers  to  obfervc  the  enemy^  others 
that  they  were  belfries,  becaufe  they  arc  raoftly 
found  near  the  ancient  churches ;  fbme  I  was 
told  are  above  a  hundred  feet  high  and  of  only  ten 
or  twelve  feet  diameter,  the  walls  are  but  three 
feet  thick ;  no  flairs  remain  within  thefe  towers, 
nor  any  traces  to  (how  that  they  evef  had  any  i  a 
ladder  is  requifite  to  reach  the  entrance,  which  is 
about  ten  or  twelve  feet  from  the  ground.  At 
Clondalkin,  four  miles  from  Dublin, ,  1  faw  a  tower 
very  like  this,  it  is  eighty-four  feet  high,  and  more 
than  two  hundred  paces  diflant  from  the  churcL 
At  Swords,  fix  miles  from  Dublin,  is  one  feventy- 
^  two  feet  in  height  ending  in  a  point.  At  fi>roe 
diflance  from  the  cathedral  of  Kilkenny  are  conii- 
derable  ruins  of  a  monaftery,  nbw  converted  into 
a  barrack,  and  the  church  into  a  flable ;  the  fleeple 
of  it  is  pretty  entire. 

This  town  was  noted  for  having  in  it  feveral 
religious  houfes.  According  to  hiftory,  no  Idng- 
dom  more  abounded  in  tHem  thai}  Ireland,  in 
proportion  to  its  extent ;  the  greateft  number  were 
of  regular  canons  of  ^St.  Auguftin,  they  alone 
ha.d  more  houfes  than  all  the  other  orders  put 
together,  they  poffeffed  moft  of  the  chapters  of 
the  cathedrals;  one  of  the  great  prerogatives  of 
that  order  was,  that  two  of  their  abbots  and  dght 
of  their  priors  fat  in  parliament,  as  peers  of  the 
irealm. 

The  market-place  of  the  Crofs,  fo  called  from 

.  '      a  marble  crofs  which  is  ftill  ftanding  in  the  center 

of  it,  is  a  long  and  broad  fireet,  adorned  with 

many 


»  :\ 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KltKENNY.        .  44^ 

inany  gocxi  houfes,  in  this  ftreet  the  tholfel  is- 
i"emarkablc,  though  frnaU  H  is  very  neat ;  the  crofs 
.  is  lofty,  ratfed  on  a  round  {e)  pecfcital  with  fix  (f) 
Heps,  th^  arnj5  of  it  arc  broken  pff,  bi^t  tlie  fhaft  19 
itdornjed  with  gogd  figure^  ip  r^liaf,  arijt  weJl  prff^- 
ierved. 

The  priqucip^l  ornanDient  of  th?  Xow^  is  th? 
d^ifce  of  Ormo/ld'$  palace,  i^  wa$  a  ^>'uilc}ing  pf  bip 
^ncellbrs  i  ibme  jemain^  of  the  .anttent  <:ai{le  ftilj[ 
appear^  which  Ibpw  that  it  was  one  of  the  ftrorigeft 
of  its  time  j  tl^  date  rebuilt  i^  m^grtificently  ixi 
.  the  modern  ftik  a  little  befon?  his  retreat,  byt  lb/? 
^feftde  was  riot  fiailTied,  iK)r  does  it  appear  that  It: 
^er  will,  being  now  fp  ;ieg|e<5ted  ih-^x  ^  fair|' 
^mes  in  every  where  j  it  is  inhabited  only  by  tl)?  . 
gardener  ;a{)d  bis  f^^iaaijy,  who  ba>rdly  tat^  gare  pf 
|)is  owa  apartn^eai ;  and  a$  to  the  gi^rden^^  I^^Pf 
^p  only  what  ijs  ufipfut,  fvich  as  t|i^  fx^it  tr^e^ 
y^igietables,  &q.  )^  evieo  ft<flfer$  the  grf f;  to  grow 
In  fo0ie  parts^  tlioiigh  for  np  pfber  Vijfe  t>ui^  thf 
gra^zing  of  cattle. 

This  paUcje  is  h/eauttfuUy  CriM^ti^  011  ^n  ^eHiif- 
Aenjce,  at  the  6?ot  ojT  wbi^h  r»^nS  t.^f  N^tfre,  'afticf 
having  waihed  the  piark  dnd  tjijs  town  ;  tb^s  riv^ 
iruii^  berre  w^lb  r^ipidity  oyer  i^rid  wd  granrel,  pnrf 
jfcs  fo  cliear,  tli^t  it  is  on^  of  ite  three  thing?  of  whiqlii 
h  is  faid  K'lkenny  boafts;  water  without  pi^id^ 
mr  without  fog  and  fire  without  frnoke ;  in  fa<5t; 
the  air  is  p\ire  and  clear,  and  Ac  coals'  whichf 
arjc  iraifed  ;n  the  n'^glit^ourbood  flSV^r  fwote?/' 

(^)  Square.  J77  F«rc. 


'44«  THE    ANTIQJLTITIES    01? 

The  MARKET  CROSS. 

The  frequency  of  robbery  and  theft  in  remote 
.  and  uncivilized  ages,  induced  the  neceffity  of  fell- 
'  ing  commodities  in  public  fairs  and  markets,  and 
producing  vouchers  for  them.  Market-croffes  were 
invented  to  expedite  bufineft,  and  they  anfwered  a 
fpiritual  and  civil  purpofe.  The  clergy  in  their 
proceffions  always  flopped  where  they  were,  and 
laid  mats :  they  were  adorned  with  fculptures  of 
angels  and  holy  men,  and  thereby  attradcd  the 
notice  and  devotion  of  the  multitude.  Thus  (anc- 
lified,  they  alfo  ferved  a  civil  ufe,  by  the  feUcr 
looking  on  them  and  fwearing,  that  what  he  was 
difpofing  of  was  either  honeftly  come  by,  or  good 
in  its  kind,  and  this  fupplied  the  place  of  a  voucher. 
So  general  was  this  praftice,  that  no  oath  is  b 
common  among  the  Irifh,  as  fweaiing  by  the  crdk 

The  market  crofs  of  Kilkenny  continued  an  onu- 
iment  to  the  city  until  the  year  177 1,  when  it  was 
taken  down,  but  a  drawing  was  made  of  it  about 
ten  years  before,  which  is  now  in  the  coUeiftion  of 
the  rev.  Mr.  Archdall ;  we  here  give  an  engraving 
of  it,  the  date  mccc  appears  on  it,  and  alfo  that 
it  had  five  fteps.  Motraye  fays,  tlie  arms  were 
broken,  but  the  (haft  remained,  adorned  wiih 
beautiful  figures. 

CASTLE   of  KILKENNY 

Is  now  in  a  better  ftate  than  when  viewed  bv 
Motray*.  The  entrance  into  it  is  from  the  parade, 
and  leads  to  the  back  of  the  houfe,  the  front  facing 
the  river.    In  the  court-yard  are  the  foundations 

of 


IftlSHTOWN. AND  KILKENNY.  A4t 

of  the  buildings  mentioned  by  Motraye,  and  oppo- 
fite  the  door  of  thc^houfe,  is  a  clock  placed  in  an 
old  tower. 

On  entering  the  houfe,  we  turn  on  the  left  hand 
into  the  dining  parlour  j  it  is  ill-proportioned,  as  are 
all  the  other  rooms ;  convenience  and  elegance  are 
confulted  in  none  of  them.  That  the  duke  of 
Ormonddid  not  build  the  whole,  the  different 
additions  and  improvements  demonftrate.  It  is 
impoffible  to  conceive  fo  meanly  of  his  grace*s 
talk  and  judgment,  as  to  imagine  he  could  adopt 
fuch  irregularities  and  ^ifproportions  in  any  plan 
offered  to  him,  much  l^fs  would  he  have  negledtcd 
fuitabl?  bed  chambers,  which  are  abfolutely  not  to 
be  found  here.  To  compenfate  for  thefe  defedts, 
the  curious  vifitant  may  contemplate  many  por- 
traits of  the  various  branches  of  this  truly  antient 
and  noble  family.  Led  by  an  ignorant  Ciceroni 
and  unfurnifhed  with  a  catalogue,  the  reader  muft 
pardon  whatever  errors  he  may  find  in  the  follow- 
ing detail  of  the  pictures. 

Dining  Parlour^ 

Earl  of  Arran,  by  Sir  Peter  Lely. 
Earl  of  Offory,  father  of  lord  Arran. 
Emilia  de  Naffati,  countefs  of  Offory. 
Dutchefs  of  Richmond,  by  Sir  Godfrey  Kneller. 
Two  beauties  of  the  court  of  king  Charles  II. 
Dutchefs  of  Devonrtiire,  daughter  to  the  firlt  duke 

of  Ormond. 
Countefs  of  Chefterfield,  her  fitter. 
Dutchefs  of  Beaufort  and  Somerfet. 
Two  young  children  of  the  family. 

Hb  2  Brsak« 


44$  THE  AMTIQJLJiriES  OF 

Breakfast  or  Tapistrv  Rpom. 

From  the  ^k  asd  irregular  figuce  of  this  roooi^ 
it  appears  to  have  been  one  of  the  old  towet s : 
und  we  dtfcover  the  thicknefe  cf  the  walls,  whkii  is 
very  great.  The  tairiflr>\  admirablj  executed,  con- 
tadQ6  ibe  hiftory  of  Decius^  the  colours  freih  and 
lively.    In  thia  room  ure 

Th^  firft  duke  of  Ormond,  a  full  length. 

The  fecond  dutches  of  Ormonde 
Ov^er  the  chimney 

A  (bepi)erd  and  tii;o  iambs. 
A  faandibinfe  gla&  IvrfUte  and  ^k  mimidings  and 
i^  adorii  this  room. 

The  Alcove  or  Presence  Cha  mber. 

Tl;us  room  is  alijb  hung  with  tapefiry^  repre^Qting 
the  four  &aionS|  but  inferior  in  defign  asid  €S9- 
:^ution  to  the  foregoing.    The  paintings  i^re 

The  Ml  duke  of  Ormond* 

Lady  Thuriea. 

Herodias  with  the  head  of  St,  Johp  in  a  ^h%r^. 

A  madona  and  child^  from  Corregio,  by  C^Io 
.  Dolci. 

Lord  Arran, 

Royal  family,  by  Vandyke. 

Charles  lid^s  /queen,  by  the  fajne. 

A  portrait. unknoW'Q-. 
A  landfcape. 

In  this  chamber  is  a  eheft  finely  jap^oaed,  Sb^ 
to  be  the  duke  of  Ormond's  travelling  ehcft ;  and 
a  pier  glafs,  and  under  i^  a  table  inlaid  njitjh  vfuriatas 
marbles. 

Sall 


IRISHTOWN  ftNt)  KILKENNY.  ^4^ 

Ball  Room  tOr  Gallery, 

This  gallery  is  of  great  length,  but  unfinifhed, 
>iior  does  proper  care  ieem  to  be  taken  of  the 
"Valuable  works  it  contains,    in  it.^re  tb^ 

Head  of  lord  Strafford. 

King  Charles  I.  and  his^ueei^ 

King  Charles  IL 

King  James  tl. 

C^een  Mar^. 

Queen  Anne. 

Firft  duke  of  Orftioi^« 

Earl  of  Ofibry,  his  fon« 

Dutcheft  of  Kenty  all  whole  lengthsi. 

Admiral  Jenkin,  in  black. 

Lord  Clanricarde. 

Mary  Magdalen,  almoft  naked.* 

Fourteen  portrdts  unknown. 

Six  battle-pieces,  reprefenting  the  engagements 
in  the  Dutch  wdr,  in  wMcb  lord  Offbry  was 
prefertf. 

Mrs.  Btjtleil's  Drsssikg  Room 
3s  fmall,  but  handfomely  fitted  up.    There  are 
«  japanned  cabinet^  and  a  commode  of  oUve  inlaid 
4Uid  divided  at  top  with  lines  of  hoUy»    The  paiat^ 
ings  are, 

Ceres  and  Autnmnvs. 

Twp  of  the  beauties  of  king  Charles's  court. 

Two  flower  pieces. 

Lail  dutchefs  of  Ormond. 

Lady  Amelia  Butler. 
A  very  fmall  clofet  called,   a  boudeur,   with  a 
Jlibrary  in  it. 

Lady 


'^^  THE  ANTIQJJITIES  OF 

•  * 

Lady  Anne  Butler's  Drbssing  Room, 
fe  a  fmall  oiftagon,  in  one  of  the  towers.     Here 
are  fome  miniature  paintings,  particularly  one  of 
the  earl  of  Wandesford,  lady  Anne's  fadier,  and 
his  counieft. 

A  fmall  chamber  organ/ 

Two  Chinefe  mandarins,  &c. 

We  'pafi  through  a  long  corridore  to  the  bed 
chambers,  which  are  -but  indifferent. 

Lady  Anne's  Bed  Chamber 
Is  hung  with  tapeftry,  made  by  nuns ;  the  figures 
are  Chinefe  and  grotefque,   the  bed  civtains  the 
fame,  but  neither  figures  pr  colours  good. 

The  Chapel. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Butler  continue  Roman  catholics, 
and  have  this  fmall  room  for  a  chapel.  The  altar 
is  of  wood,  and  in  the  center  is  a  (lone  covered 
"^ith  coarfe  canvas,  and  called  the  holy  ilon^ ;  it  is 
an  oblong  of  about  eight  inches  by  four,  with  aa 
infcription  in  old  Gothig  letters,  of  fome  text.  At 
firft  fight  it  was  judged  a  reliqije,'  but  on  fartlicr 
confideration,  it  was  found,  thaf  by  the  firft  canon 
made  by  (g)  archbilhop  Corny n  in  1186,  k  is 
ordered,  ''  that  altars  be  made  of  ftone ;  and  if  a 
ftone  of  fufRcient  fize  cannot  be  got,  then  a  iquare, 
intire  and  polifhed  one  be  fixed  in  the  middle  of 
the  altar,  where  Chrifl's  body  is  confecrated  ;  of  a 
compafs  broad  enough  to  contain  five  croflTes,  and 
to  bear  the  foot  of  the  largclt  chalice."  This  fuf- 
ficiently  explains  the  reafon  of  the  fipne  being 
inlaid  in  the  altar. 

•  Th«t 

(i)  Ware's  Bljhops,  pog.  316. 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  I^S^ 

There  is  a  tabernacle  for  the  elements,  with  a 
tnadona  over  it ;  and  in  an  inner  rcx^m,  aconfeifioa 
obair. 

Evidence  Chamber 

Contains  a  great  number  of  family  papers.  Mr, 
Carte,  while  he  was  employied  in  compiling  the  life 
q(  the  great  duke  of  Ormond,  had  an  order  from 
the  earl  of  Arran,  to  examine  and  take  away  whatr 
ever  papers  were  ufeful  to  him ;  and  accordingly 
he  feleded  a  great  many,  and  brought  them  on-r 
three  Irifli  cars — as  he  expreffes  it,  to  Dublin, 
Mr.  Butler  informed  the  writer,  that  they  were 
fent  back,  and  lepofited  in  this  chamber*  Mr,. 
Carte  moreover  raeations  a  number  of  flewardsj 
accounts ;  thefe  if  carefully  examined  might  give 
us  as  good  a  view  of  antient  manners,  as  the  earl 
of  Northumberland's  hpufliold  book,  communicated 
to  the  public  by  dean  Percy;  but  from  the  fmall 
number  that  the  dean  printed,  he  muft  be  equally 
curious  and  fortunate  that  caij  obtain  a  copy  of  it. 
It  would  be  worthy  the  noble  pofleflbr  to  have 
thofe  antient  documents  arranged,  titled,  and  their 
contents  expreflcd :  ^valuable  materials  might  be* 
found  to  illullrate  the  hiilory  of  the  kingdom,  in 
which  the  houfe  of  Ormond  bore  fo  illultrious  a 
part,  and  in  particular  of  the  city  and  county  of 
Kilkenny. 

The  front  of  the  houfe  lies  nearly  S.  W.  looking 
towards  St,  Jphn's  bridge.  Before  the  front  is  a 
lawn  edged  with  flowers  and  (hnibs:  this  lawn 
With  its  wall  forms  a  rampart  next  the  river :  nt 
ibc  foot  of  this  wall,  a  walk  of  about  eight  feet  in 

breadth 


THE  A^JTIQJUITIJES   OF 

breadth  has  bedn  uken  off  fhe  river ;  H  is  called 
the  mall^  and  here  the  itlti^ens  reerealte  themfelves^ 
while  the  Nore  roll^  by  :  a  river  Jhu5  recorded  m 
Spenfer's  Faery  Qyeen  (A). 

**  Thcxiext  theftubburne  Neure,  whofe  waters  grey. 
By  fidr  Kilkenny  and  Rofponte  bord.*' 

Sir  James  Ware  mentions  bifbop  CatitwdT^ 
reWildtng  th(i  great  bridge  of  Kilkenny^  tbrown 
down  by  ^  inundation  ibout  the  year  1447  ^  it 
alfo  appears  that  St.  John's  bridge  fell  down  by  a 
jgreat  ilood  in  the  year  1564.    See  page  357. 

On  iSunday  the  fecond  of  October  1763,  abottt 
(gigbt  o'<tlock  in  the  morning^  a  moft  unufual  flood 
iind  inundation  poured  down  upon  the  city  and 
e<5uAty  of  Kilkenny,  from  twenty-four  hours  of 
incefTant  rain/  Green's  bridge  near  the  cathe* 
drdl  fell,  but  no  life  was  loft.    On  St.  Jdbn's  bridge 
dbove  an  hundred  perfons  were  ftandmg ;  but  it 
toeing  reported,  that  a  cabbin  was  fiiiling  down  the 
^ver  without  finking^  'mdft  of  them  hafiened  to 
lt>ehold  the  fight ;  fourteen  men  and  women  how- 
ever Unfortunately  remained,  the  bridge  fell,  and 
itfiey  were  inftanjly  fwallowed  up  in  the  torrent. 
For  two  days  there  was  no  communication  betweta 
the  people  on  each  fide  the  river ;  boats  cotild  not 
ply  :  in  moll  low  fituations  the  water  rofe  to  clerea 
and  in  fome  to  fifteen  feet  in  height. 

From  bilhop  Pococke's  papers,  in  the  cpHbnpal 
palace,  the  loiles  fuftained  are  thus  diSmated  : 


St 


(^}  6.  4.  cant.  zi.  ft.  4}. 


IRISHTOWK  ANJb  KILICENNY.  m 

Bt*  John's  bridge                ,••  2785    5  6 

jpf eta's  brid|pe            -            -  tS%B     B  o 

j^enncf'fi  bridge           ^            -  'P59    4  ^ 

Tlx>auil\own  bridge             ^  r  ^^  16  o 

CafUccomer  brid|g;e        -           «  }^^9    t  ^ 

Ennifteagtie             «             -  4^$    9  ^ 

10584  la  i 

][a  the  city,  loiTes '       •           -  4p^    o  (^ 

By  poor  jonder  40J.  ^5^9  Q 

pi  St  Canice^  lofTes               •  430  la  4 

Poor  as  before  .       -  41  12  4 

£.tisSt  14  4 

^or  St.  John's  and  Green's  bridges,  /.      s.  d. 

the  parliannient  granted         -  54  ^  7    ^  o 

iBy  a  tax  on  the  county  -.  4567  q  o 
^arl  of  Northumberland,  lord  lieu- 

teiiant,  gave  -  -  200  o  o 
Polledtions   in   the    neig;hbouring 

churches              -              -  273    O  o 


** 


jf.  10857     O     6 

—  -  .  i_  _ 

St.  John's  bridge  has  been  fince  rebuilt  with 
.three  tight  elegant  arches^  as  has  atfo  Green's  bridge 
with  equal  beauty  and  deganCe. 


SECT.      V. 

ABOUT  the  year  1^33,  Hugh  Mapiltdn,  whofe 
fte  was  then  at  Aghaboe  in  Upper  Offory,  began 
tlie  foundation  of  the  cathedral  church  in  Kilkenny. 

Such 


454  THE  ANTIQJJ.ITIES  OF 

jSuch  is  the  account  in  the  annals  at  the  end  of  Ware,' 
However,  this  writer  ia  his  account  of  the  bilhops 
of  Oflbry^  mentions  (but  as  a  report,  of  wfaidi, 
it  is  to  be  fuppofed,  be  could  procure  no  evkteoce) 
that  Felix  O  DuUany  or  I>elan7  laid  the  foundation 
of  the  cathedral  in  1 1 80.  It  is  very  extraordinary^ 
if  the  church  was  at  all  begun  by  Dullany,  no 
progrefs  Aould  be  made  in  it  for  fevcnty-cight 
years  after.  On  the  other  hand,  we  cannot  con- 
liftently  with  truth  and  biftory  place  the  rudiments 
of  the  church  fo  late  as  Mapilton,  becaufe  there 
are  indifputable  proofs  of  there  being  biihops  of 
this  fee  during  the  above  interval. 

So  that  the  fadl  is  probably  this: — ^Dullany 
erefted  an  oratory  near  the  round  tower  as  the 
foundation  of  an  epifcopal  church :  Hugh  Rufiis 
purfued  the  fame  idea  with  more  vigour,  being  an 
EngliJh  monk,  and  elefted  perhaps  through  the 
intereft  of  the  earl  of  Pembroke ;  and  MapUtoQ 
and  St.  Leger  might  have  perfected  thefe  begin- 
nings. There  are  fomc.  diftinguiftiing  marks  in 
tiie  ftyle  of  this  building,  that  feem  to  countenance 
the  preceding  conjectures.  St.  Leger  died  towards 
il}e  end  of  Edward  I's  reign,  when  the  charaifler 
(/)  of  ecclefiaftical  architefture  was,  th«  immoderate 
length  of  the  eaftern  and  wefterq  windows,  taking" 
up  the  breadth  of  the  nave  and  rifing  as  high  as 
tlie  vaulting,  and  thefe  ornamented  with  coloured 
glafs.  The  windows  of  our  cathedral  are  in  this 
flyle,  but  at  prefent  (hortened ;  however  the  eye 
quickly  difcovers  and  traces  the  barbarous  change. 
A  large  pile  like  this,  and  where  every  exertion 

was 
(0  Bentbam's  Antiquities  of  EI7. 


IRJSHTOVVN  AND  KILKENNY.  455 

M^as  clogged  with  innumerable  difficulties  amid  ths 
turbulence  of  conqued  and  infurredtion,  could  not 
foon  be  completed.  We  have  no  memorials  of  its 
progrefs,  and  are  therefore  left  to  form  an  opinion 
from  circumftances. 

Bi(hop  Ledred,  in  1318,  fitted  up  the  windows^ 
and  particularly  the  eaftern  one  in  fo  elegant  a 
ipanner,  and  adorned  with  fuch  elegant  workman* 
ftiip,  as  left  it  without  a  rival  in  the  kingdom. 
This  will  appear  by  no  means  exaggeiated,  when 
we  are  {k)  informed,  that  Rinuccini,  who  came 
from  the  natal  foil  of  the  fine  arts,  was  fq  much 
ftruck  with  its  beauty,  that  he  offered  the  large 
fum  of  700/.  for  it,  and  efteemed  it  to  be  no  mean 
ornament  for  Rome  itfelf,  whither  he  defigned  to 
fend  it.     Bpt  neither  the  high  rank  of  the  (/)  prince 
of  Firmo,  nor  the  plenitude  of  power  with  wbicl^ 
he  was  in  veiled,  nor  the  dittreffes  of  the  times, 
could  prevail  on  the  titular  prelate,  David  Roth, 
or  the  chapter  to  comply  with  the  nuncio's  wiflies* 
The  eaftern  window  contained  the  hiftory  of  Chrift 
from  his  birth  to  his  afcenfion.    The  other  windows 
V/ere  enriched  with  feveral  emblems.     In  1650, 

th;s 

(k)  Ware's  bifliop«  of  Oflbrjr. 

(/)  Johannes  Baprifta  Rinuccini,  was  9 rob bi (hop  and  prince 
of  Finno  in  Jtaly.  The  hiftory  of  his  Irilh  le^aiion,  replete 
with  interefting  particulars,  is  at  prefent  in  MS,  in  the 
library  of  the  marquis  Rinuccini,  at  Florence,  from  which 
Rurke  hath  extradled  ojuch  refpedling  the  iranfadlions  of  the 
confederate  catholics  at  Kilkenny.  Suppleni.  Hib.  Doroiu. 
pafs.  Sif  Thomas  Coke,  carl  of  Leicefter,  brought  a  iranl- 
cript  of  this  valuable  manufcripl  from  Florence,  which  was 
in  his  elegant  library  at  liolkham  in  Norfolk.  See  an  inquiry 
Joto  the  ftare  which  king  Charles  I.  had  in  the  tranfadlon* 
of  the  earl  of  Glamorgan.  London  1756.  8vo.  wrote  by 
Thomas  Birch,  D.  D.    Preface,  page  4. 


45^  THE  A^yrI(lulTlES  OF 

this  cxquifiw  pece'of  art   was  demolilhcd  with 

ether  curious  monuments  of  former  times.    What 

^ragmtots  remained  were  carefully  coHeSed  by 

bi(hop  Pdcocke,  and  placed  in  two  ovals  over  the 

weftern  door. 

(m)  The  fabrick  is  conftruflted  in  the  Gothic 

fafte,  and  iii  the  form  of  a  crols.    The  length 

from  caft  to  weft,  in  the  clear,  is  2z6  feet,  and 

<he  breadth  of  the  crols  from  north  fo  fouth  is  UJ, 

being  perhaps  the  largeft  church  in  the  Idngdom, 

except  St.  Patrick's  and  Chrift  church,  Dublin,  and 

in  the  beauty  of  its  nave  it  excells  both.    It  has 

fwo  lateral  and  a  center  aile,  which  yield  an  ad- 

jThirable  profped.     The  Roof  of  the  nave  is  fup* 

ported  by  five  pillars  and  a  pilaffer  of  black  maxbit 

<:>n  each  fide,  upon  which  are  formed  five  Bcat 

jdrches.    Each  lateral  aile  is  enlightened  by  fouJ 

windows  below,  and  the  center  aife  by  five  above j 

^hey  are  in  the  (hape  of  quaterfoils.     The  ficepk 

^s  low  but  broad,  taking  up  the  fpace  of  thirty- fcvcft 

feet  5  it  is  fupported  by  four  maffy  columns  of  black 

marble,  and  its  floor  refts  on  a  great  number  of 

fpringers,  arifing  from  the  columns ;  they  fpread 

over  the  vaulting,  and  are  each  divided  into  a  fraall 

moulding  like  beads.     The  pillars  in  this  dimdi 

i^cre  about  fixty  or  feventy  years  fincc  vrfntcned  by 

dn  abfurd  and  ignorant  oeconomiil.    There  are 

four  entrances :  one  at  the  weft  end,  two  in  the 

nave  oppofite  each  other,  and  one  at  the  end  of  tf)^ 

north  tranfept.     The  feats  of  the  choir  and  gallery 

are  of  oak,   ^arnifhed,  the  whole  plain  but  r^ 

markably  neat.     Tlie  compafs-ceil'mg  is  adorned 

with 

(w)  Ware's  bifliops,  fupra. 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  45^ 

wUh  firet-work,  %ad  has  many  mcxliiUonSy  and  u| 
the  pentcr  a  groupe  of  foli^c,  fcftwns  and  che^ 
rubuns  ^  nor  is  it  4eAitut^  of  ^n  .e4eg90t  fet  of 
orgHD^.  Ax  the  e^d  of  the  Jfouth  fi^n^t  and 
fronting  the  north  door,  is  a  very  n«t  cwfiftory 
court,  erefted  by  biJhop  Pococfcea  to  the  »ftof 
^hich  ijs  the  chapter  houfe,  it  is  n«at  and  lightfomci 
over  the  chimney  is  th^  foJlowi^g  ickgant  mA 
rx^c^  ki&riptioi) : 

HANC 

BA5ILICAM 

,    VETUSTATE 

tABASCfiNTEM 

IlESTITUERUNT 

ORNARUNT 

OSSORIEN5ES 

ANNO 

UDCCL^llL 

In  <be  iMnb  ttmkf^  »  St.  Mary's  chapel :  faesr 

*idr  parochial  viear  erf*  St.  Canice  formedy  oflBdated* 

Ntfir  tbia  chapel  waa  wctbcr  apanoient,  whcvaa 

matt  iieaped  many  Aone  moaoments :  tutie  wore 

jrefixed  in  die  naye  and  the  la;teral  aiks  by  the  care 

of  bifhop  Pococke,  who  to  bis  other  excelleat  quov 

fificatioRB  added  that  of  a  learned  lomiqaary.    On 

ibe  oulfide,    roxand  the  church,   runs  a  cegulv 

iiattlement,  aa^d  ajt  the  weft  end  are  two  iiviaU  ipires. 

The  towers  and  turrete  (e),  iays  Mr.  Beafthamy 

hisikt  by  the  Normans  in  liie  fiffft  eea^ury  after  thek 

arrival,  were  covered  with  placfomno,  with  battle^ 

meats  or  plain  parapet  walls.     One  oi  th«  earlieft 

(n)  ^uprar  pag*  40; 


4^Jf  tHE  Al^tlQUlTlES'Ol' 

fplres,  that  of  old  St.  Pauls,  was  finiflied  in  the 
year  1222,  with  timber  and  covered  with  lead. 

The  tower  of  St.  Canice's  is  notfinifhed  :  it  has 
no  fpire,  thougii  fufficiently  flrong  to  bear  one; 
and  it  continues  in  much  the  fanie  ftate  it  was  left 
in  at  its  firft  ercftion. 

We  (hall  now  mention  fueh  bifhops  as  were 
beaefadtors  to  the  cathedral. 

Bifhop  Ledred,  let  his  condu^Sl  be  what  it  may 
in  other  matters,  zealoufly  promoted  the  intereft  of 
his  church.  His  predeceffors  lived  remote  from 
the  cathedral,  which  at  the  fame  time  that  it  was 
improper,  was  the  caufe  of  many  eicefles  anKM^ 
the  numerous  clergy  attached  to  it :  4ie  therefore 
refolved  to  build  an  epifcopal  hduCc.  King  Ed- 
ward III.  granted  him  (p)  the  fite  of  three  churches, 
St.  Nicholas,  St.  James  and  St.  Bridget,  near  the 
cathedral^  on  paying  twenty  (hillings  for  this  pur- 
pofe  i  he  alfo  ufed  the  ftones  and  materials  in  thoiL 
To  appeafe  thefe  tutelar  faints,  and  to  atone  for 
his  facrilege,  he  founded  an  altar  in  his  palace  and 
dedicated  it  to  them.  He  alfo  granted  to  the  dean 
and  chapter  of  St.  Canice  the  church  of  Drumdelgy, 
alias  Thornback. 

£i(hop  Snell  beflowed  on  his  church  (bme  rich 
prefents,  as  gloves,  pontifical  fandais,  a  iilken 
caphin,  interwoven  with  gold  fpots,  and  a  mitre 
adorned  with  precious  ftones.  Such  donations 
were  then  highly  meritorious,  and  the  (p)  virtues 
of  them  efteemed  very  great. 

Bifhop  Barry,  in  1428,  built  a  targe  cafUe  and 
hall  at  his  manor  of  Bi(hop's  lough.    He  endowed 

the 

(0)  Ware,  fupra. 

O;  Duran^i.  Ration.  Divin.  Offic,  Lib.  3. 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.    '       45!^ 

the  vicars  of  the  common  hall  near  St.  Canice  with 
four  marks  of  filver,  chief  rent,  out  of  the  lands 
of  Marlhall's  in  the  parilh  of  St,  MauL 

Eifhop  Baron,  in  1527,  rebuilt  and  repaired  the 
bifliop's  manor  houfe,  at  Newcourt,  and  gave  the 
vicars  choral  all  the  tythes  and  oblations  of  the 
Black  or  Dominican  abbey,  then  lately  diffolved,  a 
paftoral  HafT  of  filver,  and  a  marble  table  for  the 
altar. 

Bifhop  Hacket  built  the  arch  of  the  belfry  of 
fquared  marble. 

BiOiop  Williams,  a  prelate  of  diftinguiflied  piety 
and  fufferings,  expended  1400/.  in  repairing  the 
cathedral.  The  bells  being  carried  away  in  the 
rebellion,  be  put  up  one  that  cofi  him  144/.  He 
Isud  out  on  the  chancel  300/.  and  on  the  belfry  40/. 

In  1675,  bifhop  Parry  gave  a  ring  of  bells,  fix 
in  number,  weighing  feventy  hundred,  two  quar- 
ters and  five  pounds ;  they  coft  246/.  i^s.  loi. ; 
befides  he  gave  1  o/.  to  buy  plate. 

KHiop  Otway  railed  in  the  communion  table, 
and  covered  it  with  a  rich  cloth.  On  the  twenty- 
fourth  of  July,  1684,  he  prefented  to  the  dean 
and  chapter  363  ounces  of  plate  gilt,  for  which  he 
j)aid  116/.  1 3 J.  4^.  It  formerly  belonged  to 
Chrift  church,  Dublin. 

Dodtor  Pooley,  deanofOflbry,  and  after  bifhop 
.of  Raphoe,  gave  120/.  towards  raifing  the  fteeple, 
.and  to  repair  the  towers.    He  alfo  beftovved  a  large 
filver  gilt  bafon,  weighing  fixty-one  ounces. 

But  this  cathedral  owes  its  prcfervation  to  bifhop 
Pococke.  When  he  came  to  the  fee  of  Offory  the 
church  was  in  the  moft  ruinous  con4itit>n,  being 

totally 


I  % 


460  THE  ANTlQUfTJEg  OF    • 

totally  iKgteded  l^  b'«  pr^pccfforf .  It*  gaUeciie^ 
were  deoaying :  its  roof  tumbliog  down :  its  qociiii- 
ments  brokea  and  fcattered  about ;  and  a  for 
years  rouft  have  bebck}  this  yeperabte  fabric  with* 
icarccly  one  ftpn^  upon  feotb«^.  With  Aat  Urto 
of  rdigjioa  wd  decepcy,  vrbidi  ftrongiy  marked 
.hi$  cbarai^)  h^  ;seak)i}Gy  ^  .aboi^t  its  j<epani£km  : 
be  warioly  foliptied  fi^bferiptV^^ :  purcbflfed  every 
neceffary  material  at  the  beft  rate  ;  in  peiibn  fiipet- 
intended  the  wprJm>en,  and  tb^t  oHm  firom  four 
o*clock  in  the  morning :  beautified  and  idor oed  it 
tbr^Higboul;,  ^pd  left  4  tDeRorki  of  bus  piety  emd 
r^ard.fiM:  bis  (epifogii^al  oboreb,  which  the  city  of 
Kilkenny  i^r^d  tb^  dioc^  pf  Oflory  ^x\l  gaUdbaOf 
«erne(nbef.-«^Qt«t  (be  mmec  of  the  ijifafi:nbei$ 
lUi^  01)  a  mairble  tablet  jo  ^$  sonb  triii&pt ;  fte  0 
cQpy  of  it  toHUQdiatei^  n^  ^  a^opuni  of  die 
ropHumeits. 

ThQ  epifodpial  refideQce  ivhich  iidyiaiits  ihe 
dral  being  originaliy  very  fqsdll,  wsi  BS^eh  a 

pro^d  t>y  bJA^p  Jaha  P^iyi.-  at  tiic  rxpisiias  of 

Th^  bithopa  Vff^  and  HiartSoji^  foithcf  ioi- 
prov^  thf^  pal^kce  ^  but  f>iftfip  £fi$  c^ade  it  a  nuidU 
more  iQpo(iQiodi(>w  babiiatioii,  by  the  adcfioon  of 
four  apartments  and  a  nobl^  ^bir-cafe,  expeodinif 

iHx  it  jn  biitijiitogs  #Qd  cfAifr  iaiproT^sncttts  1956^ 
ibpugb  bis  focoe0pr  y/i^  eb^ieged  only  with  Ihe  fuoi 
of  ;[4PQ/.  ^  In  tb0  fiudy^  ov«r  the  ehiooiiey-faiecey 
are  the  arn^  pf  pricgiate  Bmkts,  \m  patron. 

Biihpp  Podgfoa  v^ry  ja^dably  be^  the  pDafiice 
of  cbtj^Qg  ai^  io&rtfif^  the  cbpiffifters*  itt  the 
biihop'p  wpweet 

MONU- 


] 


iRlSHtOWdf  AND  I$lLRtMl4Y.  4St 

Monuments  and  inscriptions 

IN  THE  CATHEDRAL. 

6»  the  foilth  fide  cf  the  high  altar. 

D.      O.      M. 

Sacrum. 

jtiluftriilimiii    ae    nobiliflimus   domlnus  ^icarduS 

Butler, 
Vicccomes  de  Motintgarret,  bafro  de  Kells,  &C; 
1^^  anti(}tiii)ifnid  pr'rm^risfe  in  Hibernia 
nobtfitatrs  firmiliis  oriundus ;  utpote 
Petri  Btrtfer,  Ormoniat  eft  Offoriae  cx)mitls,  ac 
Margaretaef  Frtar  Gerald  filiae  comitis  de  Kil- 
daria,  pronepos. 

Vir  religione  in  Deum,  pietafe  in  pa- 
ttiahi,  fidcfitate  in  f^gem,  pace  belbque  con- 
fpiouus,  de  regc,  regnb  et  eccJefia  dei,  pro  qui- 
bus  foTtiter  periculofrs  et  maxtme  turbatis 
teraporfbris  ftetit,  optiriic  mcrittfs :  felicis 
ac  faecnndafe  prolis  parens :  fibi,  majoribusr 
ac  pofteris  hoc  momimentirnt  pie  pofuit,* 
memoriani  fui  mmqtiaW  iipx6rituram  reJiquit. 
{q)  Obi!!iHe  .  .  .  Afl»K>  t6  .  .- 
I>efan£i:e  ac  rioblKflfrmaft  vicecoWitunfi  de 
Moimtgarret  famiRaef  bene  precafe,   vifator  \ 


irt<*i 


Oii  thi  right  tf  the  dm  going  into  $he  chmceL 

fetercd  to  the  memory  of  Richard  PocJOcke,  L.L.D. 

Who  from  the  archdeaconry  of  Dublin 

Was  j*6moted  to  this  fee  mocclvi 

And  tranflated  to  th^  of  Mcath  w6cclxv 

Inhere  ht  died  Sept.  1 5th  in  the  fame  year. 

VoL.IL  li  He 

{q)  He  died  hi  1651.    Lodge,  v.  2.  pug.  261. 


4tSa  THE    ANTIQJJITIE5    OF 

He  difcharged  every  duty  of  the  paftoral  and  epil- 

copal  office 

With  prudence,  vigUance,  and  fidelity ; 

Adorning  his  ftation 

With  unfhaken  integrity  of  heart  and  purity  of 

conduft; 
Attentive  to  the  intereft  of  reli^on. 
He  caufed  feveral  parochial  churches  to  be  rebuilt, 

Within  this  diocefs* 
He  promoted  and  liberally  contributed  to  the  repair 
And  embelliftiment  of  this  cathedral  churdi, 
Then  unhappily  falling  into  decay. 
A  zealous  encourag.cr  of  every  Bfeful  publick  wok 
Efpecially  the  linen  manufadkure. 
He  bequeathed  a  very  confiderable  I^cy, 
To  the  governors  of  the  incorporated  fociety, 
For  promoting  the  united  interefts  of  iaduftry  and 

charity, 
Within  this  borough  of  St.  Canice  *. 

X}n  the  left  of  the  door  going  into  the  chancel 

Sub  hoc  raarmore 
^lauditur  Anna  Cox  quod  mortale  fuit,  Jacob! 
O  Brien,  filii  comitis  nuperi  de  Inchequin,  fife- 
qua  Michaell  Cox,  epifcopo  Offorienfi,  anno  i745» 
matrimonio  junda,  codcm  anno,  aetatis  fua  23» 
fatall  puerperto  abrcpta  eft,  prius  enixa  Bm» 
.Quantae  jacSura !  quantillum  Solamen !  Ilia  ncmpc 
tarn  corporis  quam  animi  dotibus  a  natura  ditata 
dignaque  iifdem  dilciplina  libcralitcr  inftituta,  non 
minus  ianfte  quam  eleganter  vitam  exegit. 

^*  Bidiop  Pocockc  is  buried  at  Ardbraccan  in  the  cow.? 
of  Meath. 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  4^5 

Ingens  defiderium  parcntibus,  cognatis,  amicis ; 
infandu  mcEconjugi  mrorem,  fmgitlifque  fingularum 
virtututn  exemplar  opimum,  rcliquit,  Contera- 
plare,  le6tor,  humanae  fa:licitatis  caducam  fortem, 
et  adverfus  inopinos  et  mUerrimos  cafus  (nuUabi 
prseclarius  monendus)  antmum  bene  munitum  et 
cre<5lum  para. 

This  elegant  monument  is  of  white  marble^ 
from  which  rifes  a  (haft,  on  which  is  the  arms  of 
the  deceafed.  Piety,  a  whole  length,  holds  a  book 
in  one  hand,  and  reclines  her  head  on  the  other, 
which  leafis  on  an  urn*  The  whole  is  well  con- 
ceived and  executed  by  Scheemaker. 

Hie  jacent 
Adam  Cottrcl,  Jacob*.  Cottrel,  RicardS  Lawle« 

ct  Walter'.  Lawles  cu  ej\  uxore.  Letitia  Courcy, 
quoda  burges*.  ville  Kilkenie  ac  doni  de  Talbot's 
inche.  QL  Walter',  obiit  z  die  mes'.  decbr'.  a*,  d^ 
1 550,  quoru  aiab'  ppciet.  De'.  ae. 

Hie  jacet  Ricard'  Lawles,  fill*  et  hacres  didli 
Walteri,  q*  obiit  6  die  mes»  0£tob.  a**  dni  1 506. 

Hie  jacet  Jacobus  Lawles,  frater  et  haeres  Ricardi 

Lawles,  filii  et  hsredis  Walteri  Lawles,  qui  obiit 

ultimo  die  julii  A.  D.  1562.  cuj'  aie'ppiciet.  Deiis. 

ct  Adam  Lawles  qui  obiit  20  die  Ot\,  1 600,  et 

Laetilia  Shec  uxor  ejus,  quae  obiit  5  die  Oft.  i5]6. 

Credo  q*^  red?  me'  vivit,   et  1  noviffi^ 

die  de  tifa  furreftur'.  fu,  et  1  carne  meo 

videbo  Deu,  falvatorem  meum,  que  vifur* 

fum  ego  ipfe,  et  non  alius,  et  ocuU  mei 

Tpefturi  fut. 

li   2  HlG 


4H  THE  ANTIQJTITIES   OF 

Hie  jacct 
Patricius  Kerin,  quod^  ville  Kilkenie  burgefis,  tpr 
bbiit  5  die  mefis  Feb.  1581.  Et  Joanna  Nowkn 
uxor  ej*  quae  obiit  5  die  raenfis  Dec*,  1 575. 

Hie  jacet 
PetTUs  Graunt^— canonieus,    Oxoniae  alumnus"  ct 
vicari*  de    Balletarfne,    q^  obiit  die    23**   menfis 
Februarii  a**  d'  1509.  Cuj*  ajae  piciet  Deus.  Amen. 


Hie  jacet 
Jacob'  Sentteger  de  Ballefennon,  q*  obiit  primo  die 
Feb.  1597,  et  Egidia  Tobcn  ej'  uxor,  q  obiit  2* 
die,  menfis  Novembris  1570..  Et  Patricius  Sent- 
leger,  fili"  fecudus  eorum,  qui  obiit  2 1  die  menfis 
F?b.  1607,  ct  Margaret  Shee  ej'  uxor  quae  oUit .  • 
die.  menfis.  ..... 


I.H.  S.  _ 

Hie  jaeSt  Thomas  Power,  qui  obiit  anno  dni  i5i9> 
€t  Margeria  Pynfon  uxor  ejus,  et  Johannes  Power, 
iilius  et  h^res  difti  Thoraae,  cii  fua  uxore  Joanna 
Sa>vadge,  q*  obierunt  A.  D.  1550.  Ricardus 
Power,  ej.  Johais  filius  et  heres,  quondam  bur- 
g^enfis  yille  Hibernice  Kilkertie,  qui  Ricardus  olait 

*  27  die  menfis  Maii,  A.  D.  1583.  Et  Ifabella  Roth, 

•  uxor  iilius,  que  obiit .  .  .  die  .  .  .  menfis  .  . .  • 
annpdomini  15 

Herelyeth 
ThQ  body  of  pap..  Robert;  Barton,   late  of  the- 
Honourable  col.  Henry  Harrifon's  regiment,  who 
departed  this  life  the  5th  day  of  November,  1723* 
in  the  6^  year  of  his  ag«. 

Hie 


IRlSHTOWtsr  AND  K:ILKENNY.  46"^ 

Hie  fepiiltus  eft 
StahdifiuS  Hartftonge,  Armiger,  filiufe  riatii  tertius 
JStandifti  Hartftonge,  baroneiti,  et  Scaccatii  rfegrs 
^baronis.     In  agro  Norfolcienfi  ariundus,  qui  in  hac 
^ivitate  recordatori^,  et  in  palatinalu  Tipparerienli 
.  -cuftodis  rotulorum  muheribusdiu  et  praeclare  func- 
tus, obrtt  pritno  calendarufn  Junii,  ^nn6  MdCCIV. 
CharilTimo  fratri  pofuit  Jdhanftds  ep1fcdf)it6  Oiro- 
Ti^fifis,  felicem  et  ipfe  refurredioaehi  fub  h6t  olirh 
ttifLiMott  ctpc(Xixtx\rti$.  , 


•*«MAJMi^lk 


'Htt-efyeth 
'TJie  bod^  of  Mr.  Rictiifd  DnigMy  ^6  dipaifted 

this  life  April  4th,  1708. 

■■    ■  ■         ■     .,    ■ 

Hit  facet 

Thomas  Otway,   Offoricnfls  epifcopusy  qui  obik 

fexto  die  Martii  169^-^,  etftti^  fuae  77. 

He  lies  near  the:  #eft  door. 

Here  lyeth 
The  body  of  Charl<»  Sandford  of  Sajidfordfcourt, 
^fi^u&re,  who  departed  thk  life  the  4t'h  of  I^.- 1:701 . 

Hicjacet 
Johannes  Maroh,  quodam  civi^atis  Kilkennias  bum 
gefis,  q*  obiit  23  die  Deobri*  f6oi.    Et  Margareu 
Riane  uxor  ejus»  qiSc'  obiit  ^  die  Jan'"*  1609. 


^Mirf«i*^M^ 


Qui  clari  fuerant  filii,  fpefque  alma  parcntum 
Bourcheri  Carolus^  Fredericu^ut  Philipus. 
OSk  intHDsrtura  ftrnul  i^&ili^  nunc  comnntt!  in^iia, 
^orte  puer  juvenis,  virque  fenexque  cadit.- 

Quorum  alter  obiit  rj  die  Scptembris,  1574- 

Alter  viii  die  Martii,  a°  1587. 

Hl€ 


'^-"nmrn 


466  THE  ANTIQJJITJES  OF 

Hie  jacet  Edmudus  Purfell 
Capitancus  turbariSiU.  co^tis  Ormonic,  q^  obiit 
4  die  Novebris,  ano  Donl,  1 509.    pt  Etlena  Gm 
VUK>r  ejus  a®  dni  (5QO4 


■  *■!' 


Hie  jacet 
^agr.  Johcs  Coughlandc,  quoda  caneellarius  06* 
cecllcj  q*  obiit  19*  die  mefis  Martii,  a^  dni  1508. 
fro  cujus  anima  cuilibet  dlcenu  Pater  et  A^ 
ccduntur  a  vc^erando  patre,  P^vid^  epifcopo  Offo- 
ricnfi,  40  dies  Tn^ulg. 

Quiiquis  eris  qui  tranfieris,  fta,  perlege^  pbra ; 
Swm  quod  eris,  foer^mque  quqd  c$,  pro  me,  prccor 
ora. 

t ....  1 566,  et  Letitia  Walchc  uxor  ej*  q  obiit . . . 
die  •  • .  m^fis  . . .  a«.  d^  1560. 


■  —  »  w 


«  •  •  •  .  ace 
Rofiae  Ruu,  aniraae  propicietur  Ds. 

■  II       I  ■    ■  ■  11  ■■  Mil       I     _  H 

Hcrelyeth 
The  body  of  the  Rev.  Henry  Des  Mynicr%  A.M. 
prebendary  of  Killamory,  &c.  who  departed  this 
life  the  28th  day  of  November,  ia  the  year  of  W 
Lord  1759,  aged  68  years. 

Herelyeth 
The  body  of  Richard  Longe,  who  departed  tbii 
life  the  1 8th  of  April  i  ^90, 

E4inond  Brcnan,  Robert  Rinighan,  Edward  Rinig 
Jian,  1615. 


*  I 


Hi 


lUlfiHTOW-N  AND  KILKENNY^  4^ 

Hic  jacct 
Dons  Willrtis  -CarleH  quoda  archidiacon'.  Mid*,  et 
reftor  de  Yochil,  ac  ccclefiar.  Dubl.  Cafs*.  Ofs,  Pern*. 

Clon*.  et  Corkag*.    canonicus cujUs  aie 

ppicietur  Dcus.  Amcp. 


>i<  Hie  jacet     -     .     - 
Helena,  filia  Edvardi,  ctyus  ais  propicictur  Deus 
in  vitam  aeternam.  Amen.  •  • 


I  « 


•  .  •  .  here  lies 
John  Sprice,  burgcs,  qui  obiit  die  ....  and  his 
wife  Joane  Kencde,  quae  obiit  .  .  .  die 


•*»i 


Hie  jacet 
Petrus  Butteler,  Comes  Ornjonie  et  Ofe*,  q*  obiit 

26  die  Augufti,  A.  D.  1539-    Et  Margareta  Fitzr 

gerald,  eomitiiTa,  uxor  ej'  q'obiit  9  (£e  Augufii. 

Hie  jacet 
Corpus  Thomae  Hill,   hujus  ceclefiae  decani,   et 
S.  S.  theologix  apud  Cantabrigienfes  dofltoris.  Obii}: 
pimo  die  Nov.  1673. 

^  Hic  jacet 
Dns,   Simon   Dunyng,    quonda   precentor  iftius 
eccle.  qui  obiit  In  fefto  beatse  Maris  Magdalene^ 

ARo  dnim  1434. 


Here  lycth  William  O  Dowly. 

Hic  jacet 
Thomas  Pembroek,  quoda.  burges  villa  Kilkennie 
q*  obiit  lodie  Septcmhris  A.  D.  •  .  • 
•  •  .  .  brock  fill*,  didli  Thome,  qui  obiit  14  die 

o£tobris  a.  d.  ]5^i, 

.•  ck 


^  THE   ANTIQUITIES   O^ 

.  .  .  .  ck  filius  didi  David  qna  cum 
....  a  Ragget  et  Catharma  Archer. 
•  4  .  •  omasobiit  25  januarua6i6 
^*  .  •  .  unus  primorum  vicecomimni 


•  .  4  •  unice  Alicia  Ragget  q  ahiit  2 1 

•  ...  85  Katlwrina  Arcb^r  olnij; 

,  ...  us  Alius  didti  Thome  Pembrock 

;.  •  .  .  Joanna  Ra^ct  UKor  <ii£ti 

■.         I      Mil  I  ■         IIJ  I       I         tl.ll     ■< 

D.    O.    M. 

Revdus  Jacobus  Shee,  Gulielmi  fenatoris  in  faac 
Kilkennienfi  civitate,  bene,  prudenter  et  felidter 
idefundii,  ter  prxtoris  officio,  filius.  Divini  cultus 
et  animarum  zelo^  reliquifque  guas  verum  Da 
facerdot^em  decent^  virtutibus  oonfpicuus.  Prae- 
t>endarius  de  Tafcof&a,  yicarius  dc  Claragh,  ecclefias 
cathedralis  Sti  Oinici  provides  procurator  et  vicar 
riorum  communis  aula?  induftrius  prpvifor:  inter 
alia  pietatis  opera,  monumentum  hoc  fibi,  fuoque 
germano  fratri  R.  D.  Joanni  Shee,  praebendario  de 
Mayne,  parochiae  Sti  Joannis  evangeliftac  Kilkenniae 
vicario,  fieri  fecit. 

Obiit  D.  Jacpbus  die  Z9  menfo  Apriiis  anno  Dnj 
1648.  Obiit  etiam  D.  Joannes  die  , , .  menfis  , . , 
anno  Dni 

^ternam  illls  requiem,  ecclefia^  Dei  paceni, 

Et  tranquillitatcm  precare,  viator ! 

Una  parens  faufta  fratrcs  quos  protulit  alvo, 

Una  facerdotea  continet  urna  duos. 


Hie 


.  * 


IRISHTOWM  AND  KILKENNY.  46, 

facob'  SchortaU  dns  de  Balylarkan  et  de  Balykif 
q*  bic  tuba  fieri  fecit  a**.  drrT  1507.  ct  Katharina 
Whytc  uxor  cfj^.  q®,  u.  ct  paretum  albs  cuilibet 

diccti  oraoe  dnic"*.  et  fal2  agS  'ccdfit.  80  dies  Tdulg. 

Hicjacct 
Hone(i;us  «c  difcretus  vir  donrintis  Nicbolau^ 
Motyng  quoodam  cancelkrius  iftius  ecclefia  et 
redlor  de  Kilderienfi,  qui  obiit  13  (iie  nienfi$ 
februarii  1563.  Cujus  animae  propitietur  Deus, 
Amen  JtGis. 


9^ 


Hie  jacet 
iGulielm\  Donoghpu  qooda  bqrgSs  ville  de  Iri(h- 
towne  jiixta  KilkenS.  q^  obiit  1 3  die  novebris  a**.  6K 
1597,  Et  Cath^rina  Moni  ej*.  uxor,  q^obirt . 


»— ^"f^i  im  <  I     ■!■ 


Hie  jacet 
Illuftris.  et  nobilis.  Da.  Ellana  Butler,  nobiliffTmi 
DI  Petri  Butler,  Orsaoniae  comitis  filia,   et  uxor 
quda  pia  clariflimi  Domini  Donaldi  O  Brien,  Tu- 
'inundi»  comitis,  q  dbSk  %  die  Julii,  1597. 

*<  I  I »   .  I       i  n 

j>.  a  M. 

PaUiciu^  Muipliy*  cxvis*  fenator,  ct  quondam  praetor 
JCilkeqieftfe :  vii;  p^udcn?*.  probus,  pms :  paupernnj 
.et;  pupiUoKum  merito  p^r^ns.;  n:K)rtalitatLS  dum 
•  VkV^ret  qy^o^or.  Sibir  charifiiniae  uxori  fuae,  Ana- 
iUtisc  Fhela%  matrons  IciSiffimae  et  optima :  nur 
iHQrolk  necnon  orudita^  prplis  matri :  filio  ac  haeredi 
fuo  Ricardo  Murphy,  omnibus  multum  charo,  vice- 
comitis  muncre  Kilkeniae,  fumma  cum  laude  fundo, 

abatis 


47P  THE  ANTIQJLJITIES  OF 

isetatls  flore  prasrepto :  ^us  uxori  Eli&  Rothe, 
liberis  zt  pofteris  moumentum  hoc  pofuit.  Obit 
Patridus  3  die  menfis  Martii  1648.  Anafiatiafick 
Februariiy  1646^  Ricardus  8  die  Junii,  164A. 
£lUa  .....  die  menfis  ,.,.,. 

Exaltans  humiles  Deus»  hie  extolle  fepultos, 
Qgi  fiierant  humiles  Temper  amore  tui. 
Qgi  reqmem,  vitam»  iblamen,  dona,  fidtitcm 
Pauperibu3  dederant:  his  miferere^  Deus,  Amen! 

Epitaphium. 
Junxit  amor  vivsysj  yno  mora jangit  amantes 
Marmore,  non  moritur  qui  bene  vixit  amoTf 
Chrifii  verus,  amor,  poft  mortem  vivit  et  addir, 
^temae  vitas  gaudia  connubii. 

Requiefcant  in  pace 
Joannes  Mucphy ;  filius  prj^^Sd  Rlcaidi,  16  Nov. 
A.  D.  1690.  Maria  Tobin  uxor  Joannis  17  ]^ 
1690-1.  Biarnabas  Murphy  filius  Joannis,  ti 
Junii  1741.  Maria  Shce,  ejus  uxor  obiit  3  Nov. 
1737. 


11       I    I  i<ii  ■ 


D.    O.    M. 

Ad  pietatis  et  mortalit^ti^  memoriam  clariflimus«^ 
nobiliiTimus  dominus  D.  Edmund  us  BlandivHIe, 
cques  auratus,  D.  de  Blanchvillftownc,  Kilmo^^ 
mucke,  &c.  ac  nobiiiffima  D.  Elizabetha  Builfli, 
uxor  pientiffima,  perilluftri  domino  GiraldoBUncb- 
vilie  filio  chariflimo  primogenitd,  viro  optitiK),  iflJ" 
malura  morte  praerepto,  fiH,  liberis  poftcriiFK 
fuis  monumentum  hoc  erexerunt,  menfe  Augufli> 
1647.  Giraldus  obiit  21  Feb.  1646.  EdmimdiB 
ft..  Eli^abetha 

Rcquicfcfflf 


I^ISHTPWN  AND  1C:ILKEMNY,  471 

Requiefcaot  in  pace.    Amen. 
Epitaphium. 
Qui  p^tri  in  terns  fuccedere  debuit  haeres, 
la  tumulo  huic  haeres  cogitur  elTe  pater. 
Eftorieds  primus,  moriens  poftremus  et  idem  eft^ 
Ortu  pofterior,  interituque  prior. 
Mors  hacc  mira  facit,  mutat  quadrata  rotundts, 
Mpr^  fe^a  quae !  quantum !  fic  rapit  ante  pattern, 
Et  gnatum  virtute  fenem,  juvenemque  diebus 
Gnatum  Blanchveliae  fpem  columemque  domiis^ 
Sed  quoniam  fera  mors,  vitaoi  fine  labe  caducam 
Abllulit,  aetemum  dat  diadema  Deus. 

Edmud'  Butler  c^* .  ,  .  die  mes  Tulii,  Ao.  Dni.  .  •  • 
4g»  uxor  q^obiit  lo 

Will*  Vale  quoda    ,     .    ,    ecclcfiae,  qui  obiit  21 
jJiem?  .    ,    ,    .    .    1571. 

Hie  jacet 
Jacob"  Purcell,  filius  Philippi  de  Foukerath,  cf 
pbiit  II  die  mefis  o£i-.  a"?.  d!«  1552.    £t  Joanna 
Shortals  uxor  ej\  que  obiit   •    .   die  .     .     .  me% 
fi.^.  d'.  15.    .     ♦    •    Quor*  aiab*.  ppicietur  Deus. 

Am5.  Jefu. 

Letatus  fum  in  tns  quas  dida  funt  mihi,  in  donpium 
Domini  ibimua. 

Credo  q^  red^ptor  meus  vivit,  ct  I  noviffimo  die 
de  terra  furredlur^  fu,  ct  1  came  niea  videbo  deii, 
falvatore  meu,  que  vifurus  fii  ego  ipfe  et  no  ali%  et 
pcculi  mei  Hpedturi  fut..  Sufccpit  dcu  Ifrael  pueruni 
fuum  recordatus  mifericordiae  fuse. 


mm»^ 


m 


47«  THE  ANTICLUITIES  OF 

ttic  jslcdt 
Corpus  Dianae  WdOdkfe,  qu*  obiit  13  die  Jan, 
A".  D*.  1604. 


■4ai  ■  *     "'if 


D.    O.    M. 

Et 
Memori^  Davidis  epifcdpi  OSbActtfi^y  qui 
hanc   ecddiacti   cartiedralem    Sto  Canico 
facram  •*  priltitio  dccori  reftltttit,  h±Tt&m 
cxrrtdc  vapfliana."   Anno  Drti  164^. 

Ortu&cun^ta  ftios  repetuftt,  matremquc  reqinruftt; 

Et  redit  ad  nihilum  quod  fuit  ^tttt  mhiK 

This  monument  is  near  the  conilftottal  court; 
and  was  defaced  through  the  ill-judged  zeal  of 
bifliop  Parry,  for  fome  words  in  the  infcription 
jefleding  on  proteftantiftn  ;.  the  words  are  betweeft 
inverted  commas,  and  fupplied  from  tradition. 

The  monument  y&  of  black  marble ;  a  iedgo-, 
^nfifting  of  a  cavetto  and  ovolo  with  their  liils^ 
fervci  for  the  bafe  of  the  -whole ;  upon  v^hidi  is  a 
frieze  adorned  with  foliage-  At  each  eftd  is  •a 
plain  field,  defigned  fof  C€»ta  of  arms,  biit  they 
^are  left  btank,-  Over  each  tad  of  the  frieac  fprii^ 
a  butment,  upon  which  flood  originally  two  Coldoifis 
of  the  Corinthiaa  order,  bat>  paw  taken'  away,  and 
the  entablature  is  at  prefent  fupportedl  by  two 
piaWv  pitaftera,  whicb  Ikodr  betend  the  06kiian& 
iBetween  tbefe  ptlafters  are  two  itnpofts^  oa  whidi 
an  arch  reUs  in  forr^  of  >  gate,  or  &t  niche,  and 
that  which  reprefents  tbd  gale  is  te  tables  upoa 
which  is  the  infcription. 

Over  the  corner  of-  the  left  impoft  is  cut  the 
^^ies  of  St.  Ki^r^n^  witl^  a  tnitre  on  his  bead,  a 

jcro^ier 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY,  4^^ 

crozier  in  his  hand  an4  his  name  underneath.  He 
IS  the  principal  patroti  of  the  dioccfe  of  Oflbry^ 
and  its  firtt  Wfhop,  accoi^ding  to  the  legends  The 
pilaftetfs  fupport  an  eDtaUaturq,  compofed  of  an 
architrave,  frieze  and  cornice  :  the  frieze  is  adorned 
with  rofes.  Over  the  entablature  is  another  table* 
on  which  is  cut  the  reprefentatiou  of  ow  Saviour 
on  the  crofs,  and  on  each  fide  a  woman  .Weeping^r 
From  each  fide  of  tlus  table  iprings  a  fcroU,  which 
rcfts  upon  the  extremities  of  the  entablature,  and 
over  the  taUe  is  a  large  ovolo,  which  ferves  for  a 
coniicQ  to  it :  on  each  fide  of  the  ovolo  is  a  Uoelt 
QT  cub^>  adorned  with  flowers ;  between  winch  is 
another  tabic  archwifc,  and  upon  this  is  fixed  the 
paternal  coat  of  arms  of  the  Roths,  being  a  ilag 
trippant  gules,  leaning  againft  a  tree  vert.  Over 
this  coat  hangs  a-  canopy  with  firings  pendant^ 
terminating  with  fringed  knots.  Upon  the  top  of 
Ihe  arch  ftands  a  fraall  pedeftal,  which  crowns  the  ' 
whc^e  nwnument,  upon  the  dye  of  which  is— 
h  H.  S.  The  arms  and  images  (hew  the  remains 
of  gilding  and  painting,  and  the  whole  was  exe- 
cuted with  uncommon  abilities  by  an  Italian  ecclo* 
fiaftic,  as  tradition  reports. 


m  t        >  I    I  p« 


ki  piam 
Mcmoriam  Johannis  Bufhop  quondam  regiiiri, 
hujus  diaecefeos,  avi  fuj^  et  Edvardi  Bulhopi,  pra&- 
bendarii  de  Killamery,  patrls  fcri,  in  hac  ecclcfia 
calhedrali  fibi  fuifq  •,  pofteria  hoc  poCuit  Walierua 
Bu(hop,  12  Juuii^  1 677- 

Bic  jacet 
Nob^^  df.  Edmund'  Butler,  vicecomes  de  Mount- 
garret,  q»  obiit  20  die  Dee^  1571. 


E_ 


474  THE  ANTICLUITIES   OF 

Reverendus  Sfepbanus  Vaughan^  hujus  eccIeG^e 
thefaurarius,  in  ^ro  Avonenfi  natus,  Oxoniac  edu- 
aatus,  vitam  banc  tranfitortam  Kilkenbe  finivit, 
%%^  Aprilis  171 1,  ac  gloriofem  cxpedtans  refiirrcc- 
tionem,  fubtus  jacct  tumulatus. 

Alicia  Vaughan  al*  Lloyd,  uxor  ejus  dnriffitxn 
pofuit. 

Here  iyeth 
The  body  of  Mrs.  Frances  Foulkcs,  alias  Whit^ 
daughter  to  Gryffilh  White  of  Henllaa  in  Pctn- 
brockefhire,  eiquire^  who  beingf^  twice  maixkd, 
iirfi  to  major  Francis  Bolton,  afterwards  to  Bar- 
tholomew  Foulkes,  efi);  died  the  X5th  day  of 
November  1685,  in  the  year  of  her  age  52. 

Here  Iyeth 
The  body  of  Mrs.  Mary  Stoughton,  wife  to  Mri 
Anthony  Stoughton  of  the  city  of  Dublin,  gentle- 
man, and  daughter  to  the  right  woHhipfui  Henry 
Maynwaringe,  of  the  city  of  Kilkenny,  efi]uire, 
and  one  of  the  mailers  of  his  majefiy's  high  couit 
of  Chancery  in  Ireland ;  who  died  in  childbed  of 
her  third  child,  named  Henry,  the  3d  day  of 
January,  i  ^lii^  and  are  both  here  intombed  toge^ 
thcf. 

Epitaph. 
A  vertuous  mother  and  her  new-born  fon, 
■  Farted  here  meet,  and  end  where  they  begun. 
She  from  her  bearing  bed,  he  from  the  womb, 
Exchanged  their  living  graves  for  this  dead  tomb. 
.  This  pile  and  epitaph  fecm  vainly  fpent, 
Goodnels  rears  her  a  furer  monument. 

No 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  475 

No  curious  hand  can  cut,  no  laboring  head 
Bring  more  to  pratfe  her  than  the  life  (he  led. 
Bemoan  that  readeft,  and  live  well  as  (he^ 
So  (hall  thou  want  nor  tomb  nor  elogy. 

Mole  fub  hac  tegitur,  lector,  digniilima  conjux^ 

Dans  proli  vitam^  perdidit  ip(a  fuam. 

Quam  (i  forma^  favor  popufi^  ilirps,  res  fatis  ampla. 

Si  pudor,  ingenium,  fi  juvenile  decus. 

Si  quid  in  humanis  quanquam  fervaret  in  cvum^ 

Mortis  ab  incurfu,  ibfpes  et  ilia  foret. 

Parte  tamen  meliore  (hi  famaque  fuperftes^ 

Qua  licet  sterno  nomine  viva  viget. 

Venetabili  viro 
Gulielpio  Johnfon,  decano  ecclefise  Sti  Canid, 
a  vo  materno  fuo  et  patri  fuo  Thoms  Wale,  ejufdem 
eccle(iae  thefaurarb,  necnon  fibi  fuifque  pofteris^ 
monument  um  hoc  pofuit  Robertus  Wale,  thefau* 
rarius.    0£l.  14,  A.  D.  1624. 

Quae  pigra  cadavera  pridem 

Tumulis  putrefadta  jacebant, 

Volucres  rapicntur  in  auras, 

Animas  comitata  priorcs. 

Hinc  maxima  cura  fepulchris 

Impenditur,  hinc  refbtutos 
•  Honor  ultimus  accepit  artus, 

Et  fiineris  ambitus  ornat. 

Sint  ut  fua  proemia  laudi ; 

Jonfoni  gloria  fplendet 

Omnem  vulgata  per  orbem  -, 

Candore  nitentia  claro. 

Practendere  Kntea,  mos  eft 

Afperfa  myrrha  Sabteo, 

Corpus 


47^  tHE  ANtlQJUritlES   OF 

Corpus  medtcamine  feryat 
Q^dnam  tibi  ikca  cavs^  ? 
Quid  pukhra  volant  monunaetita  ? 
Resy  Cpxst^  nifi  credimr  Wlit 
Non  morlua  fed  daia  QxaaoQ^ 
Jam  fex  lufira  fqbinde 
Prudens,  gravi^^  integer  ^vd 
Divina  volumina  pandit. 
Oulielmus  JobnfbOy  decaoua  cccieto  ca^iedsiSt 
Sti  Canici  Kilkeniae,  qui  Wigornii  natusy  CaoUH 
brigis  educatus,  obiit  KAlkcniae . « .  die  idw^CXiobRf 
1681. 

Hie  pietate  parens  daudl  cbssdunttbr  in  urna, 
Chriflicolab,  ChriAi  inutiere^  forte  pares: 
Sorte  pari  fic  morte  mori  cooeeifit  JduUf 
AS^ffBKxXjfit  poki  vivere  focte  part. 


tm 


Hicjaoessi 
Anton*  Bouc  et  Mana  Gald 


Hie  jacet 
Gulielmus  Kyvane,  Robert!  filiuSj  quotidaai  dm- 
tatis  Kilkeniae,  vFr  difcretus,  qui  iibi^  chartffidiab 
iixori  fuae  Elizabethae  Bray,  liberis  ac  pofteris  hoc 
inonumentum  fieri  fecit.  16^4.7.  Obiit  Gulielmus 
4  .  .  .  Obiit  etiam  uxor  ejus  Elizabctha  .  .  • 
die  menfis  ....   anno 


.    .     .  nie  burg?,  q'.  obiit  ...  die  mfc*.    :  : 

ct  Elina    .    .     •   uxor  ej*.  q.  oMit  30  dfe  mefis 
marcii  1579 

ouli  quod,  mercator  burgfsnfis  vifie 

Hibemicanc  Klkenie  q^  obiit  8  die  .    .    , 

ffl    !■■■    ■        I  1^1 

In 


In  obitttc* 
tVobak  ac  modeftn  timodkini  muliefls  Mir§«fetM 
Woltt,  oaloris  Jdhannb  Ndmoy  y  Kelly^  feocdrofi 
CoM€hlknfis,  obiit  a^  Maii^  a"*,  d*.  1 6^3. 
IpHus  maritt  fuuebre  hexalticon. 
Grata  Deo*  delcdb  tord,  dlleifta  marito^ 
Moribus  et  vita  hie  cirfta,  fcpulta  jacet 
IlHus  iTigintum  mgenunm,  pictafqae  fidefcjue 
Dona  flicre  fuo  dos  fatis  ampla  viro. 
Quanquam  jure  (bo  fua  corpora  t^rra*  repofcatj 
*f  ariti  vix  digna  eft  hofpite  terra  tartlctx^ 

>i<  Hie  facet 
Johes  Talbot,  cuj*  aS  ppicet  ^G£ 


1      Vi,Ai 


Hicjacct 
Gcorgi*  Savadgc  fiTi*'  Georgii  Savadge,   q'*  villc 
Kilkenie  burges*  qui  obiit  a'',  d'.  1^00.    Hie  jacet 
Margareta  Savadge. 

Eloquio  clarus,  virtute  fideque  Jacobus, 
Coelum  mente  RaBrfaiis,  hoc  tiabet  ofla  folum. 

Jaco'bus-  Clams, 
ftdtoriofarius  et  reddr  ecclcfie  D.  Johannis^  diaScefr* 
Oflforlertlis  .  .  .  ,  .  Vir  b9nu$  et  bcnignu% 
vcrecundus  vifu,  moribus  modeftus,  eloquio  diicortis^ 
a  pucro  in  virtutijjus  cxercitus,  Dep  devotus,  ho- 
minibus  amabili%  et  omnibus  bonorum  operuot 
e^ccmpKs  prseolaru9.    Obiit  anno  1643,  14  Nov. 

fub  anroram  cum  ma^lmo  piorum  hominUni  ludu. 

♦ » 

Hicjaccnr 
Johannes  Gras,  miles  ac  baro  de  Courtiftown,  et 
Onorina  Bttfnacb  hsI'  ej*  a*'.  d»;  156^,  dte-mfet  .  .  . 

Vol..  II.  ■    *  K  k  HIc 


47«  THE   ANTIQJJITIES   OP 

Hic  jacet 
Reverend'  pater  Nlcbolaus  WaUhe,  quondam  Ofsf 
-     Jcpufi^  qui  obiitdie  mcs*  Dec.  17,  A**.  D*.   1585. 
He  is  interred  on  the  (buth  fide  of  the  great  aUe. 

Turris  fortis  mihi  Deus. 
Spiritus  amborum  coeli  verfatur  in  aula» 
Infra  nunc  quorum  corpora  terra  capit : 

Hic  jacet 

Gulielmus  Kelly,  Quondam  civitatis  Kilkeniae  bur- 

genfis,  qui  obiit  27  menfis  Maii,  anno  dom.  1644. 

Et  uxor  ejus  chara  Margareta  Phelan,  quae  obtit 

2  die  Oft*,  anno  dom.  1635. 

MifereSmini  mei,  miferemini  mei^  laltem 
V08  amici,  quia  manus  Domini  tefigit 
rtie.    Job.  19. 

>}<  Hic  jacet 
Petrus  Bolgcr,  qui  obiit  8  die  feptcbr*  1601,  et 
uxor  ej*  Joanna  WaKhe,  quae  obiit  29  die  Janoarii 
1608. 


Hic  jacet 
Ricardus  Clovan  quondam  burgenfis  viile  Kalkenie, 
qui  obiit  i"".  die  Jan.  1609,  et  Elena  Rothe,  ejfs 
uxor  que  obiit   •     .    •    . 


ii* 


Hic  jacet 
Gulielmus  Hollechan  de  civitate  Kilkenie  burgenfis 
qui  obiif  i  die  Januarii  1609.   Et  Morona  Madicr 
ejus  uxor  que  obiit   .     ,    .     . 

Hic  jacet 
Dns  Johes  de  Karlell  quondam  c&ncellaiius  <   •  • 
Dublin  ac  ecclefiarum  Fern  ....  canonicos. 

Hic 


tRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  47i» 

Hie  jacet  4 

kichardus  Deane,  nuper  epifcopus  Oflbrienfis,  qui 
bbiit   20  die  menfis  Feb.  anno  domino    1612. 
He  lies  near  the  bi(hop*s  throne. 

Hulc  monutnento . 
Subtus  adjacet  quod  venerabiliiim  hujus  ecdefue 
decani  ac  capituU  beneficio  reliquiis  fui  fuorumque 
inhumandis  conditorium  habet  NicHolaua  Corrnickc 
Kilkennienfis,  A.  D.  1723. 

Beatam  iliis  refutreAionem^  ledtor,  apprecare. 

11*'      "'  * 

Hie  jacet  . 
Thomas  Karrone,  q*  obiit  26  die  riies*  Julii  i5iCJ| 

cuju*.  alii  propidetur  Deus.    Amen. 

■  .        '  ■  '  -      ■ 

Hie  jacet 

Dionyfius  Kely,  cu  uxore  ej*  Morinaj  a^.  di.  i5li* 

■f      , 

Hie  jacet 
Thomas  &iyadge^  quod""  burgenfis   .    •    •    •    ^ 

Nieholaa  Schee  •  i  *  uxor  ejus  q  obiit  .   •  i  die. 
menfis  a^  d\  15  .  .  . 

Ricardus  CantwelL         ^ 


•    .    •   CaniciKilkenis  qui  obiit  26  die  mes' Sepi 

V.  d\  1512  cuj*,  ale  propicietur  Deus. 

»  I         ^  — - 

Hie  requiefeit 
^  £litebctfia  Barlow,  Jonafi  Wheeler  Oflbrienfis  ^pif- 
copi  filia,  Radulphi  Barlow,  arehidiaconi  Midtnfia 
conjux,  que  ex  puerperio  obiit  3  Decembris. 


mmm 


K  k  2  Hie 


4»o  THE  ANTIQJLJITIES   OF 

Hie  jacet 
Dons  Johannes  Cantwell,  quc^  prentpc  iflSua  ecdie, 
q*  obiit  1 8  die  m5s%  novSbxis  a',  d^   1531.    Cuf. 
ate  ppicictur  De*.  amen. 

_    _  Hkj^crt 

Dm  Johe^  Nleiew  the&urajri*.  ifti'.  eccle.  ^.  dtikt . . . 
•  h^  ^  Ofe*.  oibu^  dicetib^.  dioi  Sea  et  fUuto 
^agl'tco  i>  a^  pdi€ti  pretoris  tocies  q^  cics  ^ccffit  40 

dies  idulgetie. 


i***ia 


.   .  HicjacctDonal^BrinetMargarctaSccrlock. 


i«*ii««i 


Pray 
For  John  BreAin,  carpenter,  who  dy^h  tlio  8th 
day  of  8ber  1646,  and  brs  wife  Anne  ny  Glaolow, 
dead  the 


•  • 


Omnibs  orave  dica  cu  talutaoe  Aglica  p  aiafas 

re^edi  patris.  Ds vid  Dtt  gri  ep  (^.  ac  min  Thne 

Myobel  utrh^^  jiUEia  baecahrii  off  .  .  . 
Cafs**.  CGclcfiar.  Canic^;  q'.  h'.  jpcef 
Hakked^bTges  viU«  Kilkenie^  Aoetibs  tode  q*dei 
400  dies  Idulgeiisc  *tcd5t% 

Hie  jacft  N^cholaus  Hakked  hsg'^.  villc  KUkoue 
fill*,  ct  heres  p&ti  Thome  Hakked  q*.  obiit  •  .  de 
mes*.  .  .  anno  1500^  ^  ,  , 

£t  Margat^la  Axchec  uxor,  tjuijdc.  Ni^hobi  ^  ci^ 
Z^  die  aprilis  a^.  D'.  is^S.  q*ro  '«J^  £prqpkkP* 


TTic 


JRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  4li 

T%e  fi>rc|going  infci^ionB  trs  taken  fir^nr  a 
MSS.  drawn  up  for  the  uTe  of  bUhop  Pococke,  hf 
^hti  O  P^laa  "in  1763  \  k  is  now  in  the  epilcqpal 
palace,  being  beftowed  by  the  Rey.  Mervyn 
Archdall,  Tester  of  Attar^gh  and  Agharaey^  to 
bilhop  Newcome,  fer  the  uTe  of  the  bi/hopa  of 
Offiftry  in  fiiceefiion. 

We  mutt  not  omit  the  monument  of  Thomal^ 
earl  of  Ormond  and  Oflbry,  formerly  in  the  cathe* 
dral,  bat  deftroyed  by  the  uferpers,  of  ^hich  Mr. 
Walpole  gives  the  following  note  from  Vert ue^MBS. 

^*  In  Jufie  i6t4,  I  bargained  with  Sir  Walter 
Butler  for  to  make  a  tomb  for  the  earl  of  OrmbnA, 
and  to  fet  it  up  in  Ireland ;  for  the  which  I  had  well 
paid  mft  1  OOl  iti  hand,  and  300/.  mof e  when  the 
work  was  fet  up  at  Kilkenny/'  Extract  from  the 
paiichet-booic  of  Nioholaa  Stone,  ftatu^ry  (z). 

Jl  monument  lately  ereRed — 

.  Here  lie  interred^  the  remains  of  the  Rev.  t>o^6r 

Robert  Moflfom, 
Of  the  univerfity    of  Trinity  college,    Dublin. 
Formerly    fenior   fellow,    and   divinity  profeflbr. 
Afterwards  for  the  fpa^  of  46  years,  of  this  cathe- 
dral, refident  dean.    A  pattern  of  true  piety,  and  a 
friend  to  all  mankiad.    He  died  a  faithful  fcrvant  of 
Chrift,  on  the  8th  day  of  Feb.  O.  S.  1 747,  agei  %o. 
Here  alfo  lia  the  remains  of  bis  fon 
Thomas  Moffom,  efq. 
Qf  the  city   of  Kilkenny,   alderman.    He  died 
univerfally  acluiowlcdged  a  Ready  friend  and  good 
rnan;  on  the  i^th  day  of  Aug.  1,77,  aged  56 
years.     This  monument  is  eredled  by  his  executrix 

wcording  to  his  diredions. 

Bilhop 

(z)  Anecdotes  of  paioting*  vol.  2.  pag.  26. 


4M  THE   ANTIQJLJITIES  OF 

Bifliop  Horsfall  is  buried  in  the  church,  with  a 
monumental  fbne  laid  flat  on  the^bor. 

Bifliop  Williams  is  interred  on  the  Ibuth  fide  of 
(he  chancel. 

Bifliop  Mapilton  near  St.  Mary^s  chapel. 

Btfliop  St.  Leger  near  Mapilton. 

Bifliop  Ledred  on  the  north  fide  of  th^  Ug^ 
,  tlt^r. 
.    Biihop  Hacket  before  the  altar. 

Bifliop  O  (iedian  in  a  chapel  at  the  welt  end  of 
the  cathedral. 

Bifliop  Gafney  in  ^  chapel  on  the  porth  fide  of 
the  choir. 

On  a  nuf^bh  tablet  m  the  tmth  tramfepi. 

Benefkftors 
For  adorning  the  cathedral  of  St.  Canice,  1 756. 

Dr.  Pococl^e,  biflipp  J.  Alcock,  prcb.  10 

of  Oflbry  109  Earl  of  CMTory  20 

t)e^n  and  Chapter  of  Earl  of  Wandcsford   it 

St.  Cai^ice  25%  Lord  Vifcoqnt Mount- 

John  Lewis,  dean       30        garret  20 

Dr.  Dawfpn,  chantor  1 5  Lord  VifcountCbarle- 
R.  Cocking,  chan-  mount  14 

cellor  10  Lord  Vifc.  Aflibrook  20 

j.  Stannard,  trcafurir  10  Friendly  Brothers, 
R.  Stewart,  preb.       lo        Kilkenny  lo 

W.  Connel,  prcb.       19  Sir  William  Evans 
Dr.  Sandford,  preb.    1 5        Morre^,  Bt.  10 

Wm.Cockburn,  preb.  20  Eland  Moflbm,  cftj;     to 

f^.  Watts,  preb.         19  Thomas  Waite,  cfiji  lO 


IRI8HT0WN  AND  KILKENNY. 


4«3 


Clergy  of  the  Djocefe. 

GtuncM* 

M.  Vefey,  A.M.  lO 
Ralph  Hawtrcy, A.M.  lo 

J.  Price,  A.  M.  ip 
Mcrvyn  ArchdgU, 

A.  M.  2Q 

Arthur  Webb,  A.M.  lo 

J.  MJUca,  A.  M.  5 

John  Waring,  A«  M.  lO 

W.  Watts,  A.  M.  9 

W.  AuiVm,  L.L.B.  5 

T.  Collier,  A.  M.  5 

R.  L)oyd  5 

H.Candler,  A»M.  10 

C.  Jackfon,  A.  M.  10 
R.  Connel,  L.  L.  R.  3 

D.  CufFe^  A.  M.  5 
Dr.  Fell  5 
T.. Pack,  A.M.  5 
P.  Sone,  A.  M.  5 
J.  Vefey,  A.  M,  5 
T.  Qindler,  A.  B,  10 


Gainiit. 

Patrick  Wemys,  elq^  10 
J.  Agar,erqi  Gowran  10 
Hercules  Langrilhe, 

ciq,  5 

T*  A.  efq;  14 

G.  Bifhopp,  eftji  5 

Rq.  VicarS|  eiq;  2 

C.  Doyle,  cfq;  5 
Redmond  Morres^efq^  5 

Tho.  Tenifon,  efijj  5 

Mrs.  Archbold  5 

Mrs.  Popocke,  feji.  10 

Mrs.  Pococke,  jun.  5 

Edw.  Brereton,  efq;  5 
Dr.  Macaulay^  vicar 

general  5 

R.  Dawfbn,  e%  10 

Dr.  FJewetfon  10 

^,  MolTpm .  10 

Antony  Blunt,  efq;  10 

N.  Marten,  A.  M.  20 

T.  Burton,  A.  M.  20 

Hugh  Waring,  cfq;  5 


The  names  of  the  bilhops  of  Offory,  with  the  dates 

of  their  fucpefl|on. 


1  pdnald  OFogarty  fucceede4 

2  JFelix  O  DuUany 

3  Hugh  Rufus 

4  Peter  Mancfin 

5  William  of  Kilkenny 

6  Walter  de  Bracljcll         ^ 


A.D. 

1178 

I202 
IZ18 

12*9 
1232 

7  Gcffrjr 


4l4  THE  ANTJOPITIES  Q1P 

^  A.D. 

7  Gcffiry  of  Turrill^  *  -      '   1^44 

8  Hugh  4e  Mapilton  -        1251 

9  Hugh  3d.               ,  -  1257 

10  Geffry  ISt  Lcger  t           1260 

1 1  Roger  df  ^Vcxford  -         1 287 

12  Mchacl  of  Exeter  -         1289 
^  3  William  Fite  John  r        1 302 

14  Ridiard  Lcdred  -            131* 

15  John  of  Tatenale  -          1360 

16  Alexander  Battcot  -      *  1371 

1 7  Richard  Northalia  -         1 386 

1 8  Thomas  PcvercU  •          1 397 

19  John  Griffin  -              1398 

20  John  Waltam  -             1399 

21  Roger  of  Appleby  r        14OQ 

22  JohnYoIcan  -             1 404 

23  Thomas  Snell  *             1405 
^4  Patrick  Raggcc^  -            1417 

25  Dennis  ODea  -           1421 

26  Thomas  Barry  •             1428 
a  7  David  Hacket  -             1466 

28  John  O  Median    .  -            1479 

29  Oliver  Cant wMl  -           -1488 

30  Milo  BarQn         •:    .        -        1527 

31  John  Bala         r  -         1552 

32  Jphri  Thonery        -  -        1553 
3^  Chriftopher  Gafney  -         1565 

34  Nicholas  Walfh  -            1577 

35  John  Horsfail        -  •        15^6 

36  Richard  Deanc  -            1609 

37  Jonas  Wheeler  -             161 3 

38  Griffith  Williama  '-          1641 


39  ]^ 


JRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  4!^ 

A.D. 

39  John  P^rry         -  -       / 1672 

40  Benjamin  Parry  *  1677 

41  Micb»cl  Ward        -        -        1678 
4Z  Thoroa^Otway  •  1679 

43  John  Hartftqjige  -  i^9S  ^ 

44  ^ur  Thomw  Vcfcy,  Barf.  J714 

45  Edward  Tcnmfoij  r  1731 

46  Charles  Eftc        -  r  1735 

47  Anthoijy  Dojq3ing         r  1741 

48  Michael  Qox       -         r  1 743 

49  Edward  Maurice  -  1754 

50  Richard  Pocog^e  •  j  756 

51  Charles  Dogdfon  r  1765 

52  WilliarD  Newpomc         -  1775 

53  Jghn  Hotham        -         -  *775 
For  the  honour  of  the  fee  of  Oflfory  we  muft 

obfervc,  that  twoof  it3  bifliops  were  lords  jufticea  ^ 
lour  lords  chancellors ;  three  lord  treafurers  1  two 
trandated  to  archbifhopricks ;  one  an  ambaflgdoc  j 
and  one  chancellor  of  the  exchequer. 


SECT,     'VJ. 

THE  chapter  of  St.  Canice  i^  coiUpored  of 
twelve  mefnl>erfr:  the  dean,  chantor,  chancellor, 
treafurer,  archdeacon,  |ind  the*  prebendaries  of 
Blackrath,  Aghmr,  Mayne,  Killamery,  Tafcoffin, 
|CilmaTiagh  and  Cloiieamary ;  one  mcnety  of  Ti(- 
coffin  belongs  to  liit  c^iantcr,  the  other  to  the 
archdeacon^  by  a  dafeiitive  fentence  of  archbtfhop 
Margetfon,  the  19th  day  of  Nov.  1662. 

The 


4^  THE  ANTIQJLJITIES  OF 

The  (a)  dean  for  the  time  being,  was  antiently 
lord  of  the  manor  of  the  glebe,  which  coniained 
all  the  inhabitants  round  the  cathedral ;  and  before 
1640,  had  a  fenefchal  who  held  courts  leet  and 
courts  baron.  The  deanery  is  at  the  S.  E,  fide  of 
the  cathedraL  Dean  Hill,  about  1671,  expiended 
1 60/i  upon  it  J  but  it  becoming  quite  ruinotis,  Ac 
prefent  dean  (Mr.  Lewis)  rebi^ik  it  and  made  it  a 
neat  and  commodious  habitation,  with  a  handfome 
garden  adjoining.  In  the  boufe  is  a  half  length  of 
the  bcaiftiful  unfortunate  Mary,  with  this  infcrip- 
tion:  ♦'  Maria  Scotorum  regina  aetaUs  fuse,  18. 
Johannes  Medina,  cqucs,  pinxit.*^ 

A  head  of  cardinal  Wolfey. 

The  chantor  had  a  manfe  houfe  aqd  ^rden, 
ruined  in  the  wars,  on  the  fouth  fide  of  the  cathe- 
dral, mearing  on  the  ea(l  \;?ith  ;he  dean's  garden 
.  and  houfe. 

The  chancellor  had  formerly  an  houfe  in  Iriih- 
tow'n,  buitt  on  his  orchard.  The  orchard  mears 
on  the  W.  with  the  ftreet  leading  to  Troy's  gate ; 
on  the  E.  with  the  Norc ;  on  the  N.  with  the  lands 
of  the  vicar's  choral,  and  on  the  S.  with  the  lands 
of  Tafcoffin  and  the  river  Br^gagh,  runmng  by  the 
city  walk  A  ftone  tan-houfe  by  the  Nore  fide 
belonged  to  the  chancellor,  and  James  Toovcy, 
malfter,  pofleffcd  p?rt  of  the  prch^xl,  ruined  k 
the  wars. 

The  treafurer'a  manfe  houfe  mears  on  the  W. 
ynih  the  river  Nore,  on  the  S.  with  the  iricais 
choral's  houfe,  and  the  chancellor's  tan-houie  (for- 
jnerly  Murphy's  now  Webb's)  on  the  E.  with  the 

ftreet 

(«)  From  bi/hop  Qtwaj's  fifiution  book,  MS.   io    the 

palace,  dated  1672. 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  487 

fireet  leading  from  the  Butts  to  Troy's  gate,  on 
the  N.  with  the  houfe  that  was  aldermaa  Connei*s. 
.  The  archdeacon's  manie  houfe  is  S.  of  St.  CanicQt 
together  with  a  fmall  garden  S.  of  the  houfe, 
ruinous.  The  archdeacon  vifits  the  diocefe  froni 
the  30th  Sept.  to  the  3d  Feb. 

The  houfe  of  the  prebendary  of  Killamery  is  now 
converted  into  an  alms-houfe,  on  the  W,  of  the 
cathedral,  adjoining  to  the  antient  fchool-boufe  of 
fhe  diocefe  i  the  garden  to  it  llill  belongs  to  tl^c 
prebendary. 

-  The  manfe  houfe  of  the  prebendary  of  Tafeoffifi 
meare4  op  ^e  E,  with  the  chancellor's  orchard^  on 
the  W.  with  IJling-ftreet,  on  the  N.  with  the  chan- 
cellor's orchard,  and  on  the  $.  with  the  vicar's 
houfp. 

The  dearj  and  (jx  of  the  chapter  n?ake  a  quorum. 
Thus  hf  from  bidiop  Otway's  vifitation  book. 
To  this  valuable  document  we  are  alfo  indebted 
for  the  following  accpuijt  of  the 

VICARS  CHORAL. 
They  are  a  very  antient  corporation,  by  the 
iiyle  of  the  vicars  choral  and  perpetuals  of  the 
common  hall,  near  the  cathedral.  They  were 
liberally  endowed  by  bilhop  St.  Leger,  who  gave 
them  his  manfe  and  lodging,  the  redory  of  Kil- 
caflii,  and  a  revepi^  de  manubrinnio  or  manu- 
brennio,  which. feems  to  be  a  portion  of  ground 
com,  and  one  mark  annually,  payable  by  the 
.  abbot  of  Doufke,  out  of  the  lands  oif  Scomberioway 
or  Strornkerlavin.  The  manfe  aqd  lodging  here 
mentioned  were  the  common  hall  at^d  dependant 
buildings,  and  the  palace  and  place  pf  itfidence 


4ttl  THE  ANTIQMUfTfES  OF 

of  the  biibops  of  OfTory  before  the  pslaces  of 
Aghonr  aftd  Dorog^  were  ere£^d»  fiilhop  Hftckct 
bcAow^d  on  them  the  ^phorch  of  Balljrfaur,  and 
bitbop  Cantwell  that  of  St.  MmU  and  bifliop 
Theticry  aj:^nte4  foiir  choirhiers. 

In  i  540,  John  AUeq  (i)  lord  ChatioeBor,  Geofige 
Bfowne  aicbbiihop  of  Dublin^  and  William  Bra* 
ba^on  Ireafurcr  of  IrelafKi>  were  nocnhu^ed  by 
Hen.  Vill.  commiifioncrs  for  ecdefiaftical  caufea 
ihcoQgbout  the  kingdom.  Some  differences  having 
ariien  between  dean  Cleere  and  the  vicars^  the  cociit 
miffioners  vifited  the  hojufe,  when  its  andent  coliilH 
tiition  and  rules  were  reviewed,  and  (bnte  new 
legciiations  etUblifhed.  From  a  perufai  of  the 
record  we  may  obferve,  th%t  the  inftkution  waa 
originally  monadic,  or  favoured  very  much  of  it. 
Thewr  different  cells  or  apartments  -,  their  commoa 
ittlU  their  reading  after  meals;  their  filence  at 
tMhcr  timea  5  their  not  fuffcring  any  man  or  maid 
fcrvant  in  the  college ;  their  attending  eadi  other^ 
with  no  liati^ioQ  of  n^itrimony  or  femilies,  are 
fifong  proofs  of  monkilh  difciplit^ ;  nor  did  Heary  % 
CooTuniflioners  make  alterations  in  thefe  pArticidara  ^ 
they  are  retained  in  the  antient  fiatuies  of  our  uni- 
verfity  anc|  other  collegiate  bodies,  as  faeft  calcu- 
lated for  femir^aries  of  learning. 

Before  the  rehellioq  of  i^^f,  the  corpomtion  of 
vicars  confiited  of  the  dean'%  chantor's,  chancellor^ 
and  trcafiirer's  vicara,  and  the  archdeacon's  and 
pre\)endaries  of  Aghour,  Mayne  and  Blacknith'ls 
Viipendiaries,  and  four  choiriilers  ^  two  of  the  latter 

were 

(i)  MS.  Otwaj,  fuj>ra.  Appendix  VIII. 


1R13HT0WN  ANt>  KILKENNY,  4% 

Vrere  ftipendiartea  of  the  dean  and  chapter,  at\d 
two  were  maintamed  by  the  houfe. 

On  a  vacancy  of  a  ftal!  in  the  common-haH,  the 
dignitaries  and  prebendaries  made  their  prefehtatioa 
to  the  dean  of  a  perfon  for  the  place.  He  was 
examitied  by  the  dean  as  to  his  Kfe  and  morals, 
by  the  chantor  as  to  his  (kill  in  linging,  and  by  the 
chancellor  as  td  his  learning  ^  and  being  approved 
of,  he  was  inftituted  by  the  dean  or  fub-dean  as 
vicar  choral.  None  were  vicars  of  the  hall  before 
they  were  priefts,  though  they  adtually  lived  in 
the  hall  and  were  maintained  by  the  houfe.  On  a 
vacancy,  the  fenior  choirifter  was  prefented  by  the 
patron  of  the  Hall,  and  was  thereupon  made  and 
called,  liipMidiafy  of  fuch  a  Hall,  until  fit  to  be 
ordained pncfi^  and  then  he  was  inftalled  vicar: 
but  during  his  being  ftipendtaiy «  he  had  as  large  a 
ftipend  as  any  of  the  vicars ;  fi>.  that  the  difference 
between  a  vicaf  and  ftipendiary  was  this  j  the  vicar 
was  a  piieft'  and  was  beneficed  in  tlie  diocefe  at 
large,  but  the  ftipendiary  was  a  layman,  and  had  a 
fupport  from  the  houfe. 

By  the  aniient  fbundation,  the  dean,  bilhop  and 
archbifhop/  for  juft  caufes,  might  remove  a  vicar. 
The  vicars  were  to  attend  the  choir,  and  fcrre  the 
csflffces  of  the  houfe  alternately.  The  occonomift 
waa  to  be  chofen  by  the  vicars,  and  to  ftate  tes 
accounts  to  them  weekly,  and  to  the  dean  twice 
a  year.  The  church  of  Kilkefy  was  annesed  to 
the  trcafurerlhip  of  the  houfe.  Whatever  Ais  parifh 
might  have  formerly  produced,  we  (c)  are  told 
'  biftiop  Tennifcn  left  40/.  per  annum  tooneWRchad 

Stephcnfbn, 

(c)  Ware's  Bifhopf,  pag.  433. 


Befidca  the  foregoing,  tliey  had  65  2  o  ex- 
perided  by  their  purveyor  for  their  table  ;  and 
they  kept  for  their  own  ufe,  the  tythe  corn  of  the 
parifh  of  St.  Canice,  which  amounted  to  297 
barrels.  From  this  (late  of  their  revenue,  with 
their  other  endowments^  we  may  judge  how  well 
able  they  were  to  keep  hofpitality  ^  but  the  eniising 
troubles  deprived  them  of  their  income,  and  left 
but  a  fcanty  fupport  for  three  vicars.  In  1677, 
the  duke  of  Ormond  took  from  them  the  town  and 
lands  of  Park,  as  part  of  his  forty-nine  arrears  i 
and  which  in  1 679,  were  worth  40/.  per  annum^ 
His  grace  alfo  withheld  the  chiefries  of  many 
houfes  in  and  about  Kaikenny,  their  property  1 
and  in  the  town  of  Callan,  they  had  houfes  worth 
6L  •js.  a  yean  Biihop  Parry  paOfed  patents  for  the 
lands  of  Racanigan  and  St.  Maul's^  part  of  their 

eilate. 


49c*  tHE.  A^IXrOjUlTlES   OF 

Stephenfoni  a  deacon,  during  his  life,  to  catheclze 
the  children  of  papifls  in  that  parilh,  it  bdng  a 
wild  and  mountainous  part  of  the  diocefe  of  Oflbry . 
In  163d,  the  vicars  and  Aipendiaries  had  the 
following  fums  divided  among  them,  as  tlieir 
annual  (lipends. 

Dean's  vicat        ^  *        i     ^     Zi 

Chantofs  •  -.        3     6     7J 

Chancellor's  -  340 

Treafiirer's         -  -          I    %    ^ 

Archdeacoil's  ftipcndiary  33     7f- 

Prebendary's  of  Blackrath         2i  18     o 

— of  Aghour     -     ^     6     6f 

ofMayne     -303 

^4  17     4i 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY-  4^ 

eflatCy  and  worth  annually  8/.  referving  to  them 
only  fifteen  fhillings.    . 

The  LIBRARY 

Is  fituatcd  at  the  N.  W.  end  of  thd  chdrchyard. 
The  following  account  of  it,  and  of  bifliop  Williams's 
alms  houfe  is  extra&ed  from  a  memorial  of  the 
dean  and  chapter  of  St.  Canice,  prefented  to  Dn 
King,  archbifhop  of  Dublin,  and  Dr.  Hartfionge^ 
bilhop  of  Offory,  31ft  May  171a,  and  is  in  MS. 
in  the  palace. 

••  We  the  dean  and  chapter,  being  appointed 
by  your  lordfliip*s  order  and  the  confent  of  the 
rev.  Mr.  W.  to  infpcdt  the  cafe  of  the  widows 
alms-houfe,  founded  by  bifliop  Williams,  asalfo 
the  cafe  of  the  library  founded  by  bifliop  Otway, 
and  to  receive  and  examine  the  furviving  executoh 
accounts,  and  to  report  what  was  neceifary  to  be 
done  to  preferve  thefe  charities  and  benefactions, 
from  being  intirely  funk  and  defeated,  do  reprefent 
the  following  date  of  fadts. 

Bifliop  Williams,  by  his  will,  left  the  lands  of 
Fcrmoy,  then  fet  to  col.  Wheeler  for  40/.  per  ann. 
for  the  maintenance  of  eight  poor  widows  in  an 
alms-houfe  that  he  had  bmlt  in  his  life  time.  He 
made  Mr.  W.  and  archdeacon  Dryfdale  his  execu* 
tors,  who  fold  faid  land  to  Jonah  Wheeler  of 
Grenan,  E(q;  for  400/.  which  is  now  worth  lOoZ. 
per  ann.  though  they  had,  in  our  o[Mnion,  no 
power  fo  to  do.  The  faid  4CX)/.  is  fo  far  from  being 
fecured,  that  there  is  great  hazard  of  its  being  loii 
Mr.  W.  endeavours  to  clear  himfelf  by  faying, 
that  Mr.  Dryfdale  fold  the  land  without  his  know- 
ledge, *and  that  bifliop  Williams  promifed  Col. 

Oliver 


4#  t^g  Aj^tlQUlTtES  OP 

ORvcr  Wfceder ,  fether  of  JbfiA,  oft  the  paynMt 
of  400/.  to  make  over  the  fee  fimpte  of  tfed  eftite 
to  him.  To  tfcis  we  anfWef  ^  that  Mr.  W.  cannot 
l^  ^4itorani  qf  the  tmAi^fiiian^  uojniHjr  aiibrlb^d  as 
the  Cole  qA  of  Mr.  Dr][fckie»  a»Mr.  W.  has  doof. 
of  iHe  ipoocy  ia  his  bands  i  md  if  the  bifhop  ce&-  * 
fidered  kioifelf  aft  under  obligalbR  lo  col.  Wheeler, 
he  never  vrould  have  made  an,  ablblute  devife  ta 
the  poor  widows, 

Bifhop  Otway,  by  his  will,  made  Dr.  Ryder 
biihop  of  Killaloe,  and  faid  Mr.  W.  his  executors, 
and  kft  all  hi^  efi^dlis,  except  ^7/.  in  legacies,  u 
be  difpofed  of  to  diaritabie  ufes^  and  particularly 
ipakes  this  bcqueil  mid  devifc : — ^'  Item,  I  gpve 
txvy  books  and  200A  in  money,  and  more  if  need* 
Jul,,  for  the  beginning  a  library  for  the  cathedcal 
church  of  St.  C^anice,^  for  the  uie  o^  the  dcrgy 
about  it  i   defiring  the  dean  and  chapter  of  St 

.  Canice  to  grant  for  that  ufe,  the  upper  fiory  of  tfai 
old  fchool-houfe,  joining  the  ahns-boufe  throug^oo^ 
ibr  t()e  flooring;  of  wliich  with  (iibfiaiiti^  tirabcr 
iod  boards  i  roofing  and  dating  it  ^  for  d^ka  and 
(belvey  and  chains  for  every  particular  book ;  fisT 

.  windows^  window  (huts,  doors  and  chimney  to 
b^  built  in  it,.  I  appoint  lOo/.  owing  me  by  bill  by 
AgniPAd.  Cufie  of  Caftleinpb^  Efq;  as  likewilc 
pfL  lOf.  of  Spani(h.  and  other  fordgn  gold,  be  it 
loor^  or.  le{a,  now  la  the  hands  of  George  ThomtDa» 
ai  by  U&  aptes  now^  in  my  cullody  appeareth.  And 
if  the  two  laid  fums  (hall  not  be  fufficient  ta  the 
aforelaid  purpofes^  that:  the  eitecutox  (hall  take  to 
JUV^  of  the.  caili  in  his  hands»  as  (ball  fiiiilh  it. 
TlvsX  would,  have  doM  as  (bon  as  poflibla  after 

nay 


iHlSritOWN  ANEi  KILKENNY.  453 

hiy  deceafe.  Iteni,  I  will  that  the  funi  of  100/. 
be  laid  out  to  purchafe  lo/.  a  year  in  houfes  or 
lands ;  5/.  thereof  (hall  be  for  the  library-keeperj 
^hom  I  would  have  to  be  one  of  tile  vicars  of  St. 
Canice  (but  always  chofen  by  the  prefcnt  bifliop) 
and  the  other  5/.  to  be  laid  out  in  coals  for  weekly 
fires  to  be  made  in  the  library  to  preferve  the 
books." 

"  We  find  that  the  executors  built  the  library  as  it 
now  ftands,  with  an  upper  and  lower  ftory,  whereas 
they  were  obliged   to  build  only  an  upper  ftory  : 
but  having  a  dilcretionary  power  in  difpofing  of  ihs 
bilhop'S  efFedls  to  publick  benefadlions,   and  pious 
ufes,  they  found  it  Convenient  fo  to  do  i    in  order 
that  the  Idwer  ftdiy  (hould  be  a  convenient  habita- 
tion fbr  the  library-keeper,  and  a  chamber  for  the 
preaching  dignitaries  and  prebendaries  to  lodge  in; 
in  the  week  of  their  attendance  In  the  cathedral : 
nor  can  Mr.  W.  apply  the  reft  of  the  biftiop's  ejEFefts^ 
as  he  gives  oiit  he  v^ill,  to  his  private  ufe,  as  be  is 
but  under  executor,  and  can  reap  no  benefit  but 
by  his  legacy  of  50/. 

**  We  obferve  further,  that  Mr.  W.  hath  not  yet 
chaihcd  the  books,  nor  made  the  purchafe  of  10/ 
nor  hath  he  paid  the  library  •keeper,  who  was  at  great 
expences,  as  appears  by  the  following  award : — 

^*  Whereas  there  did  arife  feveral  controVcrlies 
ilnd  difFeiertces  between  the  rev.  Gyles  Clarke  and 
the  rcV.  Mr.  W.  on  NVhich  there  is  a  fiiit  now  de- 
pending in  the  chariccry  of  her  majefty's  court  of 
exchequer  commenced  by  faid  Clarke  againft  faid 
W.  as  furviving  elcecutbr  of  the  late  biftjop  of 
Offory.  And  whereas  by  mutual  confent  of  both 
Vol.  II.  L 1  parties, 


491  THE    ANTIQJJITIES    OF 

parties^  aU  tbe  matters  and  claims  in  difpiAe  m 
referred  to  the  final  arbitremcnt  of  Ridiard  Connd 
of  the  city  of  Kilkenny,  Efq;  on  behalf  of  Clark^ 
and  to  Richard  Uniacke  of  the  fan>e,  Rtc^  oa 
behalf  of  W.  and  that  John  Waring  ihould  b« 
umpire.  Said  Connel  and  Uniacke  not  agreeii^ 
now  I  John  Waring  as  umpire,  do  order  (aid  W, 
by  the  firft  of  Feb.  next,  to  pay  faid  Clarke  the 
funi  of  45/.  for  nine  years  falary  due,  from  the 
26ih  of  July  1694.  I  do  further  order  the  iaid 
W.  to  pay  the  faid  Clarke  the  fum  of  30/.  for  fix 
years  coals.  I  do  order  the  faicJ  W.  to  p>ay  the 
(aid  Clarke  the  fum  of  10/.  annually,  the  firft  pay- 
ment to  be  made  the  26th  of  July,  1703^  and  I 
do  order  100/.  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  Jc^ 
lord  bifhop  of  Oflbry,  in  trult,  to  purchafe  lot 
per  annum. 

"  Mr.  W.  denied  complying,  becaufe  the  umpi- 
rage was  not  made  according  to  the  niceties  of  lav. 
The  dean  and  chapter  fet  forth,  that  at  the  trieoniil 
vifitation,  17  July  1706,  he  promifedthe  archbUbop 
to  account  on  oath,  which  however  he  did  not." 

What  further  was  done,  the  writer,  at  prefent, 
knows  not.  The  room  is  handfome,  and  ihe  books 
are  in  preflfes  and  on  (helves,  and  under  it  is  a  com. 
fortable  dwelling  for  the  librarian. 
.  Birtiop  Maurice,  by  his  will,  dated  the  6th  Jan. 
1 756,  makes  the  following  bequefis  :— 

"  I  leave  my  printed  books  to  the  library 
founded  by  bifhop  Otway,  at  Kilkenny ;  all  Uut 
are  now  ai  Dunmore,  as  well  as  tbofe  that  are  now 
at  Kilkenny,  together  with  ten  double  cafes  of  ooe 
form,  made  of  Danzick  oak,  now  in  ,niy  lihtar} 

at 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  455 

at  Dunmore.  Provided  a  fair  catalogue  be  made 
of  the  books,  and  fecurity  given  by  the  librarian  to 
^C^cjbibit  them  once  every  year,  or  oftner  if  occafion, 
to  two  perfons  appointed  by  the  bifhpp,  in  bis  own 
jprcjTence  if  convenient.  Provided  likevvife,  that  an 
oath  be  taken  by  the  l*brarian,  not  to  embezzle, 
deface  or  lend  any  book  out  of  the  library,  but  to 
give  due  attendance  to  fuch  clergymen  and  gentle- 
ipen  as  may  be  diipofed  to  read  there,  from  fix 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  to  the  tolling  of  the  bell 
for  rnorniqg  prayers  at  the  cathedral  of  St.  Canice, 
Kilkenny. 

**  And  for  his  attendance  and  care  of  thofc 

bqofcs,  I  bequeath  to  the  librarian  and  his  fucceffbrs, 

appointed  ^y  the  bilhop,  20/.  a  year  to  be  paid  out 

of  my  (Cftate  at  Millowji  in  the  county  of  Kilkenny. 

And  if  it  (hall  happen  that  this  legacy  Ihall  be 

found  not  to  anfwcr  the  purpofe  intended,  I  im- 

power  the  bifliop  of  Oflbry  for  the  time  being,  with 

the  confent  of  the  dean  and  chapter  of  St.  Canice, 

to  fell  the  books,  and  apply  their  price  together 

with  .the  faid  (alary  of  the  librarian  towards  raifing 

or  sidoraiijig  the  imperfedl  fteeple  of  their  cathedral. 

And  whcpreas  a  knowledge  andpradtice  of  books  \^ 

Ticqqifite  .to  r^nge  tbem  To  as  they  may  be  readily 

foundf  I  defirc  ray  good  friend,  doctor  Lawfon, 

iesyor  fellow  ,and  fii:ft  librarian  of  Trinity  college 

.near  ©ithlin^  to  lend  his  hand,  to  tranfport,  lodge 

and  .place  tl^em  to  advantage :  for  which  trouble 

I  bequeath  to  him  the  filver  candleflick,  now  in 

mv  ftudy,  and  20/.  to  buy  him  a  mourning  ring.** 

Xbey  were  aqcgfdingly  placed  in  the  library  :  but 

LI  a  ihe;r 


496  THE   ANTIQjaiTIES    OF 

their  utility  is  very  little,  if  any,  as  there  is  m 
catalogue  at  prefent. 

The  following  reflections  on  the  origin  of  puMc 
and  diocefan  libraries  may,  perhaps,  amufc  the 
reader,  after  the  foregoing  tedious  details:  they 
are  conneded  with  the  fubjedl  now  under  con- 
fideration,  and  have  therefore  fomc  Gbim  to  the 
reader's  indulgence. 

Tlie  refinennent  of  nianners;  the  progrcft  of 
Kteratare,  artd  the  moftintereftingcircumftancesin 
the  rife  and  fall  of  empires  are  intimately  united 
with  an  inquiry  into  the  antiquity  and  ufe  of  pubfid 
libraries.  Scarcely  liad  a.iiation  emerged  from 
barbaiifm  and  joined  rn  civil  fociety,  but  letters 
became  neceflary.  The  rudiments  of  pofitivc  la^ 
were  to  be  colleded ;  alliances  with  neighbouring 
powers  to  be  afcertained,  and  the  experience,  tk 
improvements  and  tranfadions  of  every  year  to 
be  recorded.  In  colledlions  of  national  archives 
are  to  be  traced  the  earlieft  veftigcs  of  publid 
libraries. 

The  failpturcd  rock  and  rude  fong  fcrved  tie 
erratic  inhabitants  of  the  forett  to  keep  alive  tfe 
remcrabcance  of  their  atchievements  i  tourgethcffl 
to  heroic  deeds  and  animate  them  in  the  conffid- 
to  define  the  lirtiits  of  their  property,  and  t!ic 
extent  of  their  conquelts.  But,  in  more  cultivated 
periods,  tradition  was  found  a  precarious  arbiter  of 
human  affairs :  authentic  documents  were  to  te 
recurred  to :  publick  treaties  were  to  be  produced, 
and  war  or  peace  awaited  their  evidence. 

If  learning  had  not  been  of  divine  origin,  it  was 

confecrated  by  the  hands  that  firft  poliftied  airf 

improved 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  497 

improved  it.     The  facerdotal  order  (d)  among  ihe 

Jews,  the  Chaldeans  and  Egyptians  devoted  their 

time  to  its  cultivation,  it  was  the  employment  of 

their  lives.   Precluded  by  publick  munificence  from 

every  attention  to  fecular  concerns,  it  was  then 

their  indifpenfable  duty  :  their  labours  abundantly 

recompenced  their  fellow-citizens,  and  did  honour 

to themfelves.  'The  Babylonians  erefted  the  nobleft 

monument  the  world  ever  faw,  in  a  {e)  body  of 

celeflial  obfervations  far  700  years.     With  fuch 

matured  geniufTes,  and  with  fuch  aftonifliing  per- 

fcverance,  to  what  perfedtion  muft  they  not  have 

brought  every  other  fcience  •,  and  what  admirable 

treafuics  of  eallern  wifdom  maft  not  their  libraries 

have  contained  ?  Thefe  are  the  ages  called  fabulous 

and  heroic : — heroic  they  certainly  were,   if  the 

nobleft  produdtions  of  the  *  human  underftanding 

merit  that  epithet :  and  they  are  no  farther  fabulous, 

than  being  involved  in  the  dark  veil  of  antiquity, 

and  (f)  rendered  contemptible   by  the  abortive 

fuperfetations  of  numerous  Greek  fciolifts.     It  wa$ 

at  the  period  of  their  greateft  glory  and  empire 

that  thofe  exertions  of  genius  and  of  induftry  arc 

recorded. 

"  (g)  When  the  arts  and  iciences,  fays  an  ele- 
gant writer,  con^e  to  perfedtion  in  any  ftkte,  firora 
that  moment  they  naturally,  or  rather  neceflarily 
dfecline."    At  this  moment  of  perfcdlion,  publick 

libraries 

(//)  Jofeph.  contra  ^pion.  Malach.  cHap.  2.  7.  Deut.  31. 
z6'  z  Mace.  ii.  13. 

(*)  Plin.  lib.  7.  cap.  $6. 

{/J  See  ihe  learned  Bryant's  aoalyfis  of  antieni  cnjrtho- 
logy,  paff. 

fgj  Hume's  EfTays,  fol.  i.  p-  $>• 


498  THE    A  N  T 1  CLU  t  T I E  S    O  F 

Kbraiies  were  eftablirtied  in  Egypt,  in  Greece  eA 
Rome.  The  obfcrvaiion  i6,  perhaps,  nevir^  the 
fa£t  16  (ndifptitable  and  the  detail  carious. 

Read  the  account  of  the  fepulchfe  of  Ofmandyas, 
king  of  fegypt,  which  for  defign,  magnificence  and 
execution,  required,  in  the  ojjinion  of  an  exceiient 
(A)  judge,  the  combined  efforts  of  hurtian  ingenuity: 
and  yet  its  principal  ornament  was  the  &cred  library 
contiguous  to  it.  We  may  eflimate  the  progic^ 
of  the  Egyptians  in  literature  as  well  as  in  media*' 
nics  and  the  fine  arts,  from  the  infcription  on  Aa 
library,  which  was  (/) 

y    ■'  ■■  >Ft;y  ?j  I  (troiiov  — 

^ Medicatdrium  animae 

From  (k)  thence  Thales,  Pythagoras,  Plato  and 
Herodotus  derived  thofe  richftreams  which  fertilized 
and  highly  improved  Grecian  philofophy  and  Gre- 
cian hiftory. 

Pififtratus,  riotwithftanding  the  dark  (hade  thrown 
over  his  chdrafter  by  turbulent  demagogue^  and 
prejudiced  writers,  was  an  amiable  and  acown- 
plifhed  (/)  prince.     His  love  of  learning  was  coa- 

(picuousi 

[b)  It  ^%i  an  ftftonidiing  building,  As  defcribed  hj  Di> 
dorus  Siculus,  lib.  i.  and  required  more  ex  ten  five  a.bii:ti:st9 
tompiete  than  the  pyra<fiids.  Si  paulo  penirios  confident 
favi  Kirch er«  aulim  fandd  aifirmare,  hofce  fuanoi  togeaii 
homines,  uri  nihil  eos  humanarum  fcientiarum  latnit,  ka 
earuoi  ope  bunianis  quoque  operibus  majora  ^faedttifTe,  ma 
y^l  in  una  tabri^a  efformanda  oaines  anes  et  fcieaiias  pb^i- 
fam  et  matheniaticam  confpirafle  videam.  In  Turr.  BabcL 
jib.  a.  fee.  3.  cap.  3. 

(1)  D'odor.  Sic.  fupra.  St.  Bafil  alludes  to  this,  when  Ik 
fa js  : — Tif  »^?f*^o»  it/^Icw*  t«  Vt^^^nifuvn  fayiiny.  And  Pb* 
{eippn  ;-— Yfvxif  W^et  MprfXimr  r^  ^^^o^tfifrm* 

(k)  Lg^tant.  dc  lapient.  ver.  Jib.  4.  cap.  2. 

(/)  So  I  call  him  mftead  pf  tjranti  his  ufatl  ftdditioB. 
Gatakeri  Cmp.  pag.  8. 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  499 

ipicucnis,  m  colleftmg  Homer's  poems  and  ercdting 
the  firil  publkk  library  in  (m)  Greece.  Soloiv,  his 
kinfman,  had  perfected  the  Athenian  legiflation : 
the  city  of  Athens  was  extenfive  a^id  beautiful, 
^nd  the  ftrength  of  the  fiate  fo  eonfidefaWer  as 
enabled  it,  in  a  few  years  after,  to  cope  witli  the 
unired  force  of  the  Perfian  empHre. 

The  tafte  for  collefting  books  was  not  confined 
to  Athens  alone  ;  it  was  extended  over  Greece,  as 
we  learn  from  («)  Athenaeus;  who  mentions  the 
libraries  of  Polycrates  the  Samian  ;  Nicocrates  the 
Cyprian ;  Euclides  the  Athenian  ^  Euripides  the 
poet,  and  Ariftotle  ihe  philofopher.  Like  the  bee 
tliat  reits  upon  and  examines  every  flower,  but 
extrafts  thofe  fwects  alone  that  are  proper  for 
honey,  fo  is  the  man  in  fearch  of  erudition  amid  a 
number  of  books  :  this  comparifon  of  Ifocrates 
very  fully  conveys  an  idea  of  the  multiplicity  of 
books  in  Athens  at  this  time,  and  is  the  finctt  eulo- 
gitim  on  their  admirers. 

Attalus  and  Ptolemy  Philadelphus  founded  their 
libraries  at  Pergamus  and  Alexandria  in  the  moil 
flourlfhing  fituation  of  their  affairs.  It  was  not 
^  imtU  after  the  conqueft  of  Macedon  by  Emilias 
PauluSy  and  the  Pontic  expedition  of  Lucullus^ 
that  thofe  conquerors,  worthy  the  virtuous  days  of 
the  republick,  eilabliflied  colledtions  of  books  at 
Rome.  As  yet  there  was  no  publlck  library  in  that 
capital :  Auguftus  completed  one  in  imitation  of 

the 

(m)  Aul.  Gell.  No^.  Attic,  lib.  6.  cap.  17. 

(/t)  Deipnoinph.  lib    i. 

(a)  '0<vi(  yo^rif  fAt^rmf  i^w/xiv,  &c.  a  mod  beautiful  Hmiif , 
comparing  (be  afliduity  ana  leleftion  of  a  nian  of  learning,  to 
the  lame  qualities  in  the  bee.  Oiac.  ad  Demonic,  iub  tinem. 


5op  THE   ANTIQUITIES   OF 

the  Egyptian.  Ovid  tells  us^  that  below  was  4 
portico,  in  which  was  the  temple  of  Juno :  and 
above  it  the  books  were  depofited,  and  contiguous 
to  it  was  the  theatre  pf  Marcellus. 

We  now  fee,  if  any  thing  can  mark  decifivdj 
the  |iouri(bing  eras  of  antient  empires,  it  is  the 
eredion  of  publick  libraries.  In  the  infency  of 
learning,  books  were  few.  in  Greece,  the  fubjcQs 
pf  poetry,  oratory  and  the  abftradted  fcienccs  were 
monopolized  by  Homer,  Sophocles,  Demofthcncs, 
Euclid  and  Arifiotje  (p),  Defpairirig  to  equal 
them,  fubfequent  writers  cqntented  theriifclvcs  with 
reducing  that  into  an  art,  which  before  had  been 
the  offspring  pf  genius  ^nd  pf  nature.  New  com- 
pofitions  appeared,  which  depended  on  penetraiioD, 
pn  induftry,  much  reading,  mature  refledion  and 
pradtical  obfervations :  each  a  fruitful  (burce  for 
multiplying  books  and  fprrii(hing  libraries.  By 
this  time  the  t^ftp  of  the  nation .  was  fixed ;  its 
mapners  polifhed  j  its  civilization  perfedl,  and  its 
power  at  the  height.  At  this  period  Vitmvius  (j) 
direds  publick  libraries  to  be  built,  a^  contributing 
to  national  fplendour  and  magnificence :  but  the; 
ferved  other  impprtant  purpofes;  they  arrcfted 
learning  in  hs  flight,  and  ftemmed  the  incroacfaing 
torrents  of  ignorance  and  barbarifm. 

From  the  faint  gliipmerings  of  hiftory  we  find 
they  had  this  effe£t  in  Chaldea  and  Egypt :  for 

tbqfe 

(p)  Among  other  fine  obfcrvation^  of  Vellelus  Patercnloi 
this  is  16  opr  purpoTc  :  *'  El  ut  primo  ad  c6Dre()opncio$,  qa^ 
'  pnores  ducimus,  accendimur :  ita,  ubi  atic  prieteriri,  avt 
j^quari  eos  pcife  defperavimus*  (ludiuoi  cuoi  fpe  feoefcit ;  tt 
quod  afTequi  non  poted,  fequi  deiinit,  et»  vel  occiipat«a| 
relinquens  maieriam,  quxrit  noTam."  Lib.  i. 
(f)  Lib.  6.  c^p.  1^. 


IRiSHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  591 

thofe  nations,  even  when  Grecian  literature  was  at 
its  fummity  preferved  the  reputation  of  their  former 
wifdom.  The  fame  is  obfervabic  of  Greece,  whid} 
notwithfianding  its  being  defpoiled  of  its  libraries  by 
^he  Romans,  could  not  be  totally  deprived  of 
books*,  they  were  too  numerous  to  fuffer  the 
people  to  fall  into  grofe  ignorance.  A  general 
diffufion  of  learriing  gave  them  a  fuperiority  over 
their  conquerors  and  m^de  them  in  their  moft 
deprefled  ftate  their  equals  in  fcieqce.  (r)  Ireland 
exhibited  the  fame  flriking  fadl:  the  Danifh  tyranny  i 
pf  200  years  was  not  able  to  eKtinguifli  learning  iji 
that  ifland,  the  multiplicity  of  literary  compofitions 
prevented  it.  So  that  an  Englilh  writer  fays  of  his 
father  whh  great  truth : 

Exemplo  patrum,  commotus  amore  legendt 
Ivit  ad  Hibernos,  ibphia  mirabili  claros. 
Nurtured  from  youth  in  learning's  mazy  (lore 
He  fought,  for  wifdqm  fam'd,  Hibernians  (hore. 

The  Roman  genius  did  not  produce  books  with 
the  rapidity  of  the  Grecian  j  nofr  do  we  read  of 
libraries  in  their  colonies  and  fettlements;  they 
were  moftly  (s)  confined  to  the  capital:  fo  that 
when  the  inundations  of  barbarians  overturned  the 
empire,  and  Rome  was  taken  and  her  libraries 
jdeftroyed,  learning,  almoft  inftantly,  became  ex- 

Jina. 

It  was  before  obfcrved,  that  the  moft  facred 
places  were  the  repofitojies  of  hodks.    Thus  Mofcs, 

when 

(0  As  yf\\\  be  fecn  in  ibe  hidcry  of  the  church  of  Ireland 
jn  ihc  clcvcnlh'ccniur)',  hy  the  editor  of  this  Number. 

(0  P/  the  conftitutioDs  of  Valeniinian  and  TbeodpGus  it 
js  very  plain,  that  Rome  was  the  chief  univcrfuy  of  thtf 
empire.  Cod.  Theodoiu  Lb.  14.  lit.  19.  I  1.  A.  P.  379, 


Syz  THE   ANTIOUITIE&OF 

v?licn  the  book  of  the  law  was  perfefted,  ordered 
ft  to  be  placed  by  the  fide  of  the  ark  of  the  cove- 
nant :  and  Judas  Maccabeus,  imitating  the  er- 
ample  of  Nehemiah,  buitt  a  library  in  the  temple, 
ftnd  coUefted  there  the  books  of  the  prophets  and 
ihe  epiftks  of  the  Kings.  The  Chriffians  followed 
fiidi  patterns.  In  the  third  century,  Alexander 
biftiop  of  Jcrufalem  founded  a  library  in  that  city: 
it  was  for  the  ufe  of  the  clergy  :  out  of  this  library 
feys  {t)  Ettfebius,  we  ourfetveshave  gathered  matter 
for  the  fwbjed  now  in  hand  -,  this  is,  for  his  cccle- 
ftaftical  hiftory.  And  St.  Auguftin  bequeaAed  tts 
colleftion  of  books  to  his  church  of  Hippo. 

Such  then  is  the  origin  of  Diocefan  libraries : 
an  inlVitution,  which,  if  properly  conduced,  would 
prefervc  to  the  clergy  that  pre-eminence  in  litera- 
ture, by  which,  in  all  ages  they  have  claimed 
rcfpeft,.and  frequently  admiration.  Ignorance  in 
the  fecred  order  is  a  fure  prognoftic  of  the  decay 
of  religion  and;  the  corruption  of  morality.  **  My 
.{u)  people  are  deflroyed  for  lack  of  knowledge : 
becaufe  tliou  bafl  rejeded  knowledge,  I  will  alio 
rejeft  thee,  that  thou  (halt  be  no  prieft  to  me. 
The  (w)  prieft's  lips  fliould  keep  knowledge,  and 

flic  people  fhould  feefc  the  kw  at  hi^  mouth.*' 

Waat 

(/)  Hifl.  Ecc.  lib.  6.  cap.  20.  Pamphilus  founded  a 
Kbr«i7  ifr  ibe  chuFch  of  Csefarca  In'Palcftuic  j  coilc^ed  all 
tlie  eccltfiadical  writers,  and  Hanicribed  with  his  own  hard 
the  works  ofOrigcn  :  it  was  there  Jerom  found  his  ezegefis 
pn  thre  twelve  pr<  phtts.  De  Scriptor.  cap.  7 J.  This  was 
in  294.  Cavil  hifl.  littr^.r.  pa^.  76.  See  more  in  Buigbam's 
antiquities  of  rbc  Chriftian  church.  Book  8.  chap.  7. 

(//)  Hofca,  iv.  6. 

(*iu)  Malathi»  ii.  7.  The  Levliical  priefthood  was  bound 
to  indrud  the  people  in  the  iaw,   Deut.  zxziii.  10.  Levii.  x. 

11. 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  50^ 

Want  of  books  is  a  fore  evH,  not  only  to  ftudtous 
fticn,  but  it  damps  the!  warmth  of  the  beft  difpofed 
and  mod  eager  after  information.  A  flender  fup- 
port  and  remote  fettlcment  too  frequently  induce  a 
languor,  fatal  to  a  profcffion,  which  requires  every 
aid.  Thofe  pious  and  good  men  who  have  formed 
Dioceian  libraries  did  all  in  their  (x)  power  to  ob-^ 
viate  thofe  complaints.  Yet  the  following  catalogue 
evinces  how  little  has  been  done  in  this  way,  and, 
from  the  principle  before  laid  down,  demonftratca 
how  far  removed  we  are  from  perfedion  in  the  arta 
and  fciences. 

In  1 692  Bifliop  Otway  founded  a  library  at  St. 
Canice,  Kilkenny. 

1698  Archbilhop   Marfh    at   St.   Sepulchres, 
Dublin. 

1 720  Biftiop  Browne  at  Cork. 

1726  Archbifhop  King  at  Derry* 

1737  Biihop  Poller  at  Raphoe^ 

And  our  prefeht  excellent  and  publtck-fptrited 
primate,  has  formed  a  noble  foundation  at  Ar->> 
magh. 

If  there  are  more,  they  have  not  come  to  die 
writer's  knowledge.  The  anecdotes  of  the  Oflbriari 
iibtary  will  warn  us  to  avoid  a  cajxtal  error  in  fuch 
efiablt{hments^  tbdt  cf  making  them  poflhumous 

works. 

II,  and  the  cities  of  the  Lcvitcs  were  college!  difperfed 
among   ihe^  tribes.     Suilingfleet's   Eccies.  cafes,    pag.  77. 
,  edit.  8vo. 

(x)  Godwin  fpeafcine  of  archhifhop Matthew,  whocrefled 
ft  piiblick  library  at  Briftol,  fays :— ••  Opus,  hercle,  egregium, 
quodque  pltires  otinam  imiterencur,  cum,  pne  libroruin  in* 
opia,  plurimi  tenuioris  fortis  iiiiniftri  tanquam  falcibus  deili* 
Tuti,  a  fegete  Dominica  demetenda  faepeoumero  derineaiiiur.*' 
De  PrapfuU  Angl.  pag.  90*  edit.  ida. 


594  THE  ANTIQJJITIES   OF 

workg.  When  ihey  are  not  begun  and  finifhed  in 
the  founder's  life  time,  their  defign  is  fruftrated,  and 
this  difappointfltient  is  attended  with  fraud,  perjury 
^nd  injulVice.  Archbifliop  Marfli  and  the  prcfent 
primate  have  cfFedually  prevented  fuch  confe- 
qucnccs,  by  regulating  whilft  living  every  matter 
relative  to  their  noble  foundations,  and  confirming 
it  by  parliamentary  fandtion. 

The  appointment  of  a  peribn  to  the  office  of 
librarian  is  often  not  well  confidered.  In  the 
antient  Roman  church  he  was  called  (y)  chancellor, 
and  his  (z)  itation  was  moft  hnportant  and  rcfpcft- 
^ble.  On  the  eredlion  of  cathedrals  he  was  the 
firft  or  fecond  dignitary  of  the  chapter :  examined 
the  candidates  for  orders :  took  care  of  the  library, 
the  fervice  books,  and  did  all  the  literary  bufineis 
of  his  body.  The  llatutes  of  the  churches  of  Litch- 
field and  London,  in  the  {a)  monafticon,  are  full 
to  thofe  points.  We  may  afcend  to  much  earlier 
times,  and  mention  men  of  thehlgheftaccomplifti- 
nients,  who  were  librarians :  {b)  as  Demetriu$ 
Phalercus,  Callimachus,  ApoUonius  and  Varro, 
An  ignorant  librarian  is  a  contradiction  in  terms : 
he  fbould  be  a  perfon  of  abilities,  who  could  dired 
the  younger  clergy  in  their  ftudies,  and  aflift  poffibly 
the  more  mature  :  he  would  be  beloved  as  a  parent 
an^  reverenced  as  a  mailer :  the  timidity  of  infant 

genius 

(y)  T)u  Cange,  in  voce. 
'  {z)  Uc  vix  vci  bonum  jadicetur»  qqod  RomanI  cancelltrii 

prius  nun  fueric  e;iaaiina(um  judicio,  ihoderatuni  coofilio* 
lludio  roboratuni  tt  cor.firinatum  ajutorio.  St.  Bcraardi 
ipift.  313. 

(tf)  Ttxji.  3.  pag.  z\.  339. 

lb)  Hotiin^er.  Bibhoih.  quodrlpari.  pag.  79, 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  50^ 

genius  would  receive  countenance  and  aid  from 
him,  and  the  moll  poliftied  produftions  wotild  be 
improved  by  his  perufal. 

It  would  exceed  the  limits  of  this  little  cxcuriion 
to  be  more  minute :  the  creating  a  fund  by  a  fmall 
annual  fubfcription  for  purchafmg  books :  the  Iend*< 
ing  books  under  certain  regulations,  and  the  exciting 
emulation  among  the  clergy,  are  objeds  very  dc- 
fcrving  of  notice. 

We  fliall  now  proceed  with  a  lift  of  the  deans  of 
St.  Canice,  and  the  dates  of  their  fucceilion. 

DEANS.  A.D. 

1  Henry  Pembroke 

2  Roger  dc  Wexford 

3  Adam  Trillock 

4  Thomas  Archer 

5  John  Strange 

6  Edmund  Comerford 

7  James  Cleerc 

8  Thomas  Lancaller  (c) 

9  William  Johnfon 

10  David  Cleere 

1 1  Richard  Deane 
I  z  John  Tod 

1 3  Abfalom  Gcthinge 

14  Jcnkin  Mayos 

15  Barnabas  Boulger 

16  Edward  Warren 

1 7  Thomas  Ledfhame 

1 8  Daniel  Neylan,  D.  D. 

1 9  Jofeph  Teate 


»245 

1269 

»347 

1469 

i47i 

1502 

1504 

^550 

>559 

158a 

1603 

i6io 

1616 

1620 

1630 

1661 

1666  , 

1667 

zo  Thomas 

(e)  He  held  ibU  tieanery  with  the  fee  of  Kildare. 


^o6  THE   ANTIQUITIES   OF 

ao  Thomas  Hiil         -  •        1676 

ZM  Benjamin  Parry            *  1673 

22  John  Pooley         -  -         1675 

23  Robert  Moifom,  D.  D.  i7aj 

24  Robert  Watts,  D.  p.  -       1747 

25  John  Lewi$y  A.  M. 

ROUND    TOWER. 

There  is  a  beautifui  one  and  of  great  height 
ftanding  at  the  fouth  fide  of  the  cathedral.  Wc 
have  profcfledly  treated  of  thofe  cvrious  ftrudiuocs 
in  the  fixth  number  of  this  Colledtanea,  to  wHdi 
we  beg  leave  to  refei;  the  reader. 

SCHOOL    HOUSE. 

•'  In  the  wefte  of  the  church-yard  of  late  (d)^ 
(ays  Stanihurft,  have  been  founded  a  grammar- 
fchoole  by  the  right  honorable  Pefirce  or  Peter 
Butler,  erle  of  Ormond  and  Offorie,  and  by  his 
wife  the  counteflfe  of  Ormond,  the  tady  Marguet 
Fitz  Gerald,  fifter  to  Gerald  Fitz  Gerald^  the  crlc 
of  Krldare  that  laft  was. 

Out 

(//)  Apud  Hollingftied,  fupra.  In  another  work  he  fafs: 
Extat  in  hoc  oppido  Tchoia  exrrvfla  opibus  clariflimi,  yiri, 
,  Petri  Butleri,  Orniondise  et  Ofibrix  comitis,  «t  uxoris  ejus 
quae  Nfar^rita  Giralda  vocabatur.  Fxmina  full  fpe^aiifiiint ; 
non  modo  fumma  geneiis  nobilltatc,  i^^ipp^e  comitis  Kiidaroe 
fi)in»  fed  rcruni  eiiam  prudencia  fupra  roQlr^brem  capium, 
prsedita.  Hie  ludum  aperuic  noftra  actate,  P«t4?us-Wbiiiis, 
cujus  io  lotam  renipublicani  fumnm  conftanl  ^werita.  Ex 
itiius  eiiaiii  fchola,  tanquam  ex  equo  Troico,  hooiines  lite- 
ratilTiini  reipubllcac  in  lucem  j)rodicr^nt.  Quos  jego  hie 
Whitecs,  «.iuos  Qiicnierfordos,  quos  Walftieos,  quos  Wa« 
cfingos,  .quos  Doruicros,  quos  Sheihos,  quos  Garveos«  qttos 
BufitTos,  quos  Archeros,  quos  Sirongos,  quos  Lumbardos, 
r?[ccl:entes  ingenio  ei  do^iina  viros,  commemorare  po- 
tuifTem  $  qui  prioiis  temporihus  a!tatis  in  ejus  difciplinam  fe 
tradiderani.  Stanihurft.  de  reb.  in  Hib.  ge&is,  pag.  aj. 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY,  s^ 

Out  of  which  fchoolc  have  fprouted  fuch  proper 
impes,  through  the  painfull  diligence  and  iabour- 
fome  induftrie-  of  that  famous  lettered  man,  Mr* 
Peter  White,  fometime  fellow  of  Oriel  college  i« 
Oxford,  and  (choolemafter  in  Kilkennie  (as  gene- 
rallie  the  whole  weale  publicke  of  keland,  and 
efpeciallie  the  fouthern  parts  of  that  iiland,  are 
greatly  thereby  furthered). 

This  gentleman^s  method  of  training  up  youth 
was  rare  and  fingular  \  framing  the  eduqation  ^- 
cording  to  the  fcholar's  veine :  if  he  found  him  frec» 
he  would  bridle  him  ^like  a  wife  Ifocrates  from  liis 
booke  i  if  he  perceived  him  him  to  be  dull,  be 
would  fpur  him  forward ;  if  he  underftood  he  was 
the  worfe  for  beating,  he  would  win  him  with 
rewards.  Finallie,  by  interlafmg  ftudie  with  re- 
creation, forrow  with  mirth,  pain  with  pleafure, 
fowernefle  with  fweetnelfe,  roughnefTe  with  raild- 
neffe,  he  had  fo  good  fucceffe  in  fchooling  his 
pupils,  as  in  good  foolh,  I  may  boldlie  bide  by  it, 
that  in  the  realme  of  Ireland  was  no  grammar 
ibhool  (b  good,  in  England,  I  am  aflured,  none 
better.  And  becaufe  it  was  my  happie  hap  (God 
and  my  parents  be  thanked)  to  have  been  one  of 
his  crue,  I  take  it  to  fiande  with  my  dutie,  fith  I 
may  not  Itretch  mine  abilitie  in  requiting  his  good 
turns,  yet  to  manifeft  my  good  will  in  remembering 
his  pains.  And  certes,  I  will  acknowledge  myfelf 
fo  much  bound,  and  beholden  to  him  and  his,  as 
for  his  fake  I  reverence  the  meaneft  ftone  cemented 
in  the  walls  of  that  famous  fchoolc." 

In  1 670,  Dr.  Edward  Jones,  afterwards  bifliop 

of  Cloyne,    was  mafter  of  this  fchool  ^    as   was 

^  Dr. 


Soi  tkE   AMTICidltiES   OF 

Dr.  Henry  Ryder  in  1680,  who  was  promoted  td 
the  fee  of  Killaloe. 

The  i8ih  of  March,  1684,  the  duke  of  Ormbnd 
granted  a  new  charter  to  the  college  in  Kilkenny, 
of  a  certain  houfe  in  John's  ftreet,  with  the  adjaccrit 
park,  for  a;  fchool-houfc :  and  the  reftories  and 
tythes  of  Donoghmofre,'  KeHs,  Wollen grange,  Jer- 
point  and  Kilmocar,  in  the  county  of  Kilkenny; 
and  the  pari(hcs  of  Bruor  and  Templemorc,  and 
Religmurry  in  the  county  of  Tipf)crary.  Tbcfe 
w^re  given  in  truft  to  Richard  Coote,  Elq*,  and 
Sir  Henry  Wemyes,  lent,  to  pay  the  maftcr  140/. 
per  annum.  The  following  are  the  ftatutes  from 
the  original  record  in  the  college. 

'*  Statutes,  orders  and  conftitatidns  made,  ap- 
pointed and  ordained  by  the  right  noble  James 
duke,  marquis  and  earl  of  Ormond,  earl  of  OflforJ 
and  Brecknock,  baron  of  Arklow  and  Lanthony, 
lord  of  the  lordlhip  and  liberties  of  Tipperary, 
chancellor  of  the  univerfities  of  Oxford  and  Dublin, 
chief  butler  of  Ireland,  lord  lieutenant  general  and 
general  governor  of  Ireland,  lord  lieutenant  of  tbe 
counties  of  Somerfet,  the  cities  of  Bath,  Briftol 
and  Wells,  one  of  thci  lords  of  his  majcfty'5  mofl 
honourable  privy  council  of  his  iiiajefty's  kingdoms 
of  ,£ngland,  Scotland  and  Ireland,  fteward  of  his 
majeily's  houfehold,  and  Weftminfter^  and  knight 
of  the  mod  noble  order  of  the  garter,  founder  rf 
the  grammar  fchool  at  Kilkenny  in  th6  kingdom  of 
Ireland,  for  the  due  government,  managing  and 
improvement  of  the  faid  fchool ;  March  the  i8tb, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  1684. 

lfnprimi% 


larSHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  5<^ 

ImpraniSy  it  i^  oonfiifated  and  ordained,  tliat 
there  ihall  be  for  ever  a  mafter  refident,  who  fliall 
be  at  ieaft  a  mafter  of  aits  here  in  Ireland,  or  of 
«ie  of  the  imiverfitieg  in  England :  alfo  of  good 
fife  and  reputation,  well  Ikilled  in  humanity  and 
grammar  learning;  loyal  and  orthodox ;  who  (hall 
take  the  oath  of  sjllegiancc  and  fiipremacy,  and 
conform  to  the  doctrine  and  difcipline  of  the  church 
JsB  Ireland,  as.  it  is  by  law^,  now  eftablifticd ;  and 
liuA  Edward  Hmton,  dodtor  ia  divinity,  be  hereby 
coafim^  in  the  place  and  office  of  maAer  of  the 
find  icbool. 

IL  That  the  mafier  Ifaali  be  nominated  and 
cfaoTen  by  the  duke  of  Ormond,  his  grace,  patron 
and  governor,  and  the  heirs  male  of  his  body  that 
Aatl  fiieceiTively  be  dukes  of  Ormond,  patrons 
and  governors  of  the  faid  fchooi,  within  the  fpace 
of  three  nnoHtbs  next  after  every  vacancy :  who  by 
writing  undi^r  the  hand  and  feal  of  the  refpe^ive 
governor,  being  reconnmiended  to  the  victors,  and 
6y  them  examined  and  approved,  as  able  and  fuf- 
ficient  both  for  religion,  learning  and  manners; 
upen  certificate  of'  iuch  examination  and  approba* 
tton  of  tfce  vii5k)r&  to  the  governor  (hown,  the  faid 
peribn  (b  approved,  fliall'by  a  deed  under  the  hand 
andfeal  of  the  governor  be  fettled- and  confirmed 
as  mafter  of  the  faid  fchooll  But  if  the*  governor 
flialf  negled  to  nominate  according  to  the  time 
prefixed,  or  (ball  chilfe  fuch  as-  are  not  qualified 
fuitably  to  thcfe  ftatutess  that  then  it  (hall  be  lawfnl 
for  the  vifitors,  after  notice  firlt  given  to  the  go- 
vemor,  and  no  redve&  within  three  months  after 
fuch  notice,  to  elett  and  prefcnt  pro  ilia  vice,  any 
Vol..  II.  M  m  oth^r 


Sio  THE   ANTIQJUITIES    OF 

other  perfoiit  whom  in  their  coniciences,  ihcy  floB 
judge  to  be  well  qualified  for  the  place.  And  db 
that  upon  failure  of  iflue  male  of  the  body  of  dK 
faid  James  duke  of  Ormond,  the  provofl,  felloM 
and  fcholars  of  Trinity  college  Dublin^  and  tber 
fucceflbrs  (hall  from  thenceforth  for  ever  afterwanb 
be  patrons  and  governors  of  the  faid  i<^ooL 

IIL  That  the  mafter  fhall  conftantly  inhabit  and 
reiide  at  the  houfe  belonging  to  the  (aid  £chool,  »d 
in  perfon  attend  the  duties  of.  his  place :  which  ce 
to  inftruft  the  fcholars  in  reli^on,  virtue  and  learn- 
ing :  in  the  Latin,  Greek  and  Hebrew  languages; 
as  alfo  in  oratory  and  poetry ;  according  to  the  befl 
method  which  he  and  the  viiitors  (hall  judge  mofi 
effeAual  to  promote  knowledge  and  learning :  and 
that  being  in  health  he  (hall  never  be  abfent  he 
above  thirty  fchool  days  in  one  whole  ycar^  vrUdi 
Ihall  begin  on  the  25th  of  March  ^  nor  above  a 
fortnight  at  any  one  time,  unlefi  upon  eoiergencies 
th^  vifitors  (hall  give  him  leave,  being  firft  latis6ed, 
that  his  place  (hall  be  well  and  fufEciently  difchargpd 
in  his  abfence. 

IV.  That  there  (hall  always  be  an  u(her  belong- 
ing to  the  (aid  fchool,  to  be  nominated,  cfao(en  aad 
removed  by  the  mafter :  who  (hall  have  lus  Jki, 
lodging  and  maintenance  in  the  fchdoi-booic^  st 
his  allowance.  A  (ingle  man  well-fldlled  a 
grammar  learning,  of  good  credit  for  parts  aad 
manners,  a  batchelor  of  arts  at  the  leaft  in  one  of 
the  univerfities  of  England  or  Ireland :  and  he  (baO 
conftantly  attend  and  affift  in-  the  duties  of  ihc 
fchool,  in  fuch  manner  and  method,  as  the  maficr 
ftiall  appoint. 

V-  Th: 


rmshToWN  and  Kilkenny*     '  s^v 

Vi  That  neither  fnaftef  nor  ulher  (hall  take  upon 
ifaem  any  other  charge^  ofiice  or  employment^ 
which  the  vifitors  fhail  judge  inconfiftent  with,  or 
prejudicial  to  the  due  managing  and  improvement^ 
of  the  faid  fchool :  but  (hall  conftantly  attend  and 
difcharge  their  rcfpcdive  duties,  and  never  be  both 
of  them  out  of  the  fchool  at  fchool  times. 

'VI.  That  the  fcholars  to  be  admitted  into  tha 
fiud  fchool  (hall  be  plainly  and  decently  habited. 
And  fuch  as  (hall  have  Brft  read  their  accidence, 
and  arc  fit  to  enter  upon  grammar  learping ;  and 
(hall  *  fubmit  to  the  order,  method  and  correction  , 
of  the  faid  fehool. 

VIL  That  the  children  of  all  filch  as  ate  attend- 
ing in  the  ferviee  of  the  duke  of  Ormond,  (hall  at 
ill  times  be  admitted  to  the  privileges  and  benefits 
of  faid  fchool  gratis. 

Villi  That  if  any  wcU-difpofed  perfons  (hall  out 
of  charity  pay  for  the  tabling  of  fuch  ingenious 
and  orderly  lads,  as  (hall  by  the  vifitors  be  recom- 
mended to  the  mafter,  as  bbje6ls  of  charity,  he 
(hall  admits  and  as  they  continue  modell  and  diU^ 
gent,  teach  them  gratis^ 

IX.  That  if  his  grace,  the  duke,  or  otheif  pious 
betiefadors  (hall  hereafter  make  any  grants  or 
allowances  for  the  maintenance  of  any  number  6f 
fcholars,  they  (hall  be  taught  and  entered  afterwards 
in  Trinity  college,  Dublin j  if  they  prove  fit.  The 
mailer  (hall  then  be  exprefsly  obliged  to  teach  thofe- 
tinder  the  name  of  Ormond  fcholars,  according  to 
his  bell  (kill  and  induftry,  gratis. 

X.  That  it  (hall  be  lawful  for  the  maftcr  to 
demand  and  receive  of  all  other  fcholars  according 

Mm  2  to 


lis  ,THE  AKTIQJJITIES   OF 

to  the  r^.te^  s^nd  u(age^  of  Xh^  moil  reoiailQiUe 
fchools  in  Dubrui9  for  boarding  and  £cfaoolisg, 
thofe  childr^  excepted^  whofe  parents  are,  or  it 
the  time  of  ih^ir  birth  werp  inhabitants  of  the  ^ 

■^  pf  Kilkenny,  or  in  the  liberties  thereof  &  who  flul 
pay  but  half  price. 

XL  Thjat  if  the  mafter  know3  any  of  the  fidboho 

.  to  be  uodef  any  inifeiCtious  or  oSenfive  difibafe  or 
diftemper :  or  that  any  infeflioufi  difeafe  be  in  the 
houfe  where  they  table,  he  (hall,  for  fecurity  of  Ik 
reft,  di^harge  fucfa  from  fchool  till  the  danger  be 
over. 

XII.  That  every  ftubborn  and  refnuStory  kd, 
Vrho  (hall  re^jfe  to  fuhrtiit  to  the  ocders  and  cor- 
rcdlion  of  t^ie  faid  (chppl,  (hall  by  the  mafter  be 

.  forthwith,  difmiflfed  from^tjip  fakjl  (ijiool,  not  to  be 
re-admitted  without  due  fubinigion  tq  exempfauy 
pupi(hment :  and  qpoa  hi9  fi^CQa4  offence  cf  the 
iame  kind,  tp  be  difcharged  and  expelial  for  evo^. 
An<i  in  this  number  are  reckoned  fuch  aa  Ihall  oftr 
tp  jk^ut  out  the  rQafter  or  ufher :  but  the  mafier  floB 
give,  ^en^  leave  tp  biwk  up  eight  dajrs  befcie 
Chri.ftmas,  and  three  days  befof e  Eafter  aiv)  Wlgt- 


Xljfl:  TIjat  the.  ipa(tj5r  (ball  m^^  dilisnt  in- 
quiry u^fipi  fucl>  as  (haJl  k^^K  Wt,  d^oe  or  aay 
vi;ay  ^^^k  the  defks,  forms^  w^ll^  and.vfindawscf 
t)ie  fchool^  Qr  any  parts  pf  the  hpu(e»  or  trees  ia 
thef  meadow,  and  (hall  alv^ays  infli^  opefi  and  ex- 
emplary puni(hment  on  all  fuch  oflfeaders, 

XIV.  That  from  the  beginning  of  Nlarch  la  ibe 
middle  of  September,  the  fchq)ars  (hall  be  and  con- 
tinue in  fchool  from  ii^  of  thc^clock  ii)  tl^c  moyming 

tiiJ 


titt  el^eh  i  ind  alt  the  reft  of  thd  yeiP  fifom  fiven^ 
oi*  as  iBon  as  the  gatte  of  fhe  city  aife  bpin :  and  iti 
the  afternoon  from  orte  to  five :  the  afterhooiis  of 
thlirfdays  and  faturdays  excepted,  whtch  ihall  be 
always  allowed  for  recreation  :  and  that  the  mafter 
Ihall  grant  ftb  pfey-diys;  ijtcept  to  fach  id  Ihall 
pay  down  ten  (hiliings  into  the  tnaider's  hands,  to 
Be  by  hira  immediately  difpofcd  of  to  the  moft 
indigent  and  defervihg  lads  of  his  fchool. 

XV.  That  the  niafter  (hall  take  fpecial  care  of 
the  fch&Iars  of  his  own  family,  to  ihilrufk  them 
bv  hiis  good  example  at  all  times;  as  well  sui  by 
oecaiional  diredlions :  iaind  (hall  have  the  prayers 
0^  the  church  of  England  and  Ireland  read  to 
them  bbth  morning  and  evening  in  ibme  con* 
Veiiieht  place  of  thfe  hou(fe :  and  in  the  fchool,  the 
prayers  feen  and  approved  by  the  loM  bifhop  of 
Oflbry^  iteiU  conftantly  and  duly  be  ufed  in  the 
{kht  ihdnner  and  form,  as  they  are  at  the  date  of 
thefe  prefents. 

XVI.  That  from  the  beginning  of  March  to  the 
middle  of  September,  all  the  fcholafs  (hall  be  in 
the  icboot  upon  fundays,  by  eight  in  the  morning, 
to  be  ttiftrui^ed  in  the  church  catecihirm;  and 
itfterwaittls  (hall  ait^  the  ma^  and  afhef  to  the 
cbtirdi,  in  comely  atid  decent  mannfer.  And  from 
^  middle  of  September  to  iVlarch,  they  (hall  ftay 
at  fchbol  until  haif  an  hour  paft  eleven  upon 
fiEiurdays,  that  they  may  be  taught  the;  fame 
c^ecfasfm. 

XVII.  That  Edward  Hinton,  matter  of  the  (aid 
fchdolt  ^nd  the  mafler  for  the  time  being,  (hall 
inhstbit,  pd(re&  and  enjoy  to  hiA  own  proper  ufe     ^   . 

and 


^14  THE   ANTIQJJITIES  OF 

find  emolunieot,  the  fGhooUhoafe,  with  the  coorti 
outhoufes  and  gardens  the|:eimto  belongiag  *,  as 
alfo  the  meadow  adjoining,  comn^oniy  called  Ae 
pigcon-houfe  meadow :  proyicjed  the  fcholars  be 
allowed  at  Jeifure  times  to  take  thdr  recreatioa 
therein  ^  and  th^t  the  trees,  ir}  the  faid  meadow,  be 
carefully  preferved  and  imprpved. 

XVIII.  TM  the  matter  fhall  prpyide  a  la^  ' 
regiller,  wherein  the  i^ames,  qualities  ^nd  ages  of 
all  fuch  children  as  (hall,  from  time  to  time,  be 
admitted  iqtp  the  fyxd  fchpoli  (h^U  be  re^ftercd 
and  entered ;  ^s  alfp*  the  time  of  their  departuR'^ 
what  clafs  they  were  in,  and  to  what  pl^ce  of  em- 
ploy men  t  they  go.  pkewife  a  c$italogue  of  all 
fuch  goods,  liandards  and  utenfils,  as  do  or  ihaS 
belong  to  the  faid  fchpol-l^oufe,  piit-boufes,  gaidcil 
and  meadow, 

XIX.  That  the  mfifter  (hall  receive  for  h^  UixtJ 
the  fum  of  140/.  per  annuni,  of  good  and  lawfiii 
money  of  and  in  England,  by  even  and  equil 
portions;  oncjnoiety  pf  it  at  the  25tb  of  Marcfa» 
and  the  other  September  the  apth,  or  witfaia  a 
fortnight  after  egch  of  thpfe  feafia  i  to  be  paid  caor 
itantly  in  the  fcboo^-houfb,  ^^ithput  any  4daJcatioc> 
put  of  tythes  fettled  by  the  (^d  duke  for  paymeat 
thereof:  except  bis  grape  or  Us  heirs  flmll  fettk 
fome  particular  lands  for  the  payment  of  the  fiU 
falary,  and  which  (hall  be  of  %  fu)l  valup  to  di^ 
charge  it  yearly.  Aqd  upon  the  mailer's  dettdi,  or 
removal,  his  falafry  pro  rata  fliall  become  due  to 
him  tp  be  paid  till  tliat  very  day. 

XX.  That  the  mailer  fhall  keep  and  maintm 
(he  fchool^houfe,  fchool  and  out-oSices  in  confine 

good 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  SH 

good  and  fuffident  rtpsLir :  nor  (hall  it  be  lawful  to 
make  any  alterations  therein  without  the  approbation 
of  the  vUitors. 

XXI.  That  Thofns^s,  lord  bifhop  of  Oflbry, 
Ntociflus,  lord  bifhop  of  Leighltn  and  Ferns,  and 
Robert  Huntingdon^  D.  D.  provoft  of  Trinity 
colkge^  Dublin^  while  they  live  in  this  kingdom  ; 
Md  the  biflidps  of  CXfory^  Leighlin  and  Perns,  and 
the  provoft  of  the  college  for  the  time  being,  be 
nominated  and  appointed  vifitors  of  the  faid  fchool : 
and  that  they,  or  the  majority  of  them  (for  it  is  the 
greater  number  of  them  fliU  that  is  meant  by  the 
vifitors)  (hall  yearly  at,  or  upon  the  Jaft  thurfday 
10  Junctor  oftener  if  they  Ihall  fee  occaiion,  pub- 
lickly  vifit  (aid  fchool,  between  the  hours  of  eight 
and  twelve  ini the  morning:  where  and  when  they 
flmU  firft  cauffe  the  flatuteg  to  be  read,*  audibly  and 
difliri£tly  by  one  of  the.  fchoUrs ;  and  afterwards 
proceed  to  examine  the  proficiency  of  the  fcholars, 
and  bfquire  after  any  breach  of  the  ftatutes,  and 
after  the  behaviour  of  the  mafter-,  the  fufficiency 
and  mahners  of  the  uiher;  the  aifthors  that  are 
rfad4  ithe  methods,  uiages  and  cirflcms  of  the 
fchooi  i  iztid  if  they  (halt  judge  any  alterations  or 
axneqdmetits  requifite  in  any  of  thefe,  they  (hall 
e3cp0e&  it  ttf  the  matter  under  their  hands  and  feals ; 
who!  by  virtue  of  thefe  lUtutes  is  readily  to  comply 
iMHnh.dicir  advice,  for  the  better  inipcovement  of 
tfee  fittd  fi:hodl.  And  when  there  fhali  be  founda* 
turn  fcbolars,  they  Ihall  by  the  vifitors  be  diofeti, 
ai;dcrdiag:to  their  hierita  for  the  univerfity.  / 

XXIL  That  on  tiie  faid  vifitation  day  after 
d^txtr.f.  wbiph  the  mafter  is  to  provide  (bberly  and 

decently  I 


5*6  THE  ANT1QJJITIE«    OF 

decently.  Mid  tbwirds  it  ihafl  hsrc  freely  gbea 
hint  a  f^t  btick  ycfttif^  out  of  his  grace's  next  puk: 
the  vifitors  then  prefcnt,  (hall  take  a  ^ctr  of  the 
fchool-lioufe  and  out^houfe;s,  the  garden^  meadow 
and  trees  thereni  ^  atid  if  they  find  oecsfion,  (liaB 
fpecify  In  writing  all  thofe  repairs  aad  dmendiHefttSi 
with  the  manner  how,  and  the  Vune  vfhsa  Aey 
judge  thefn  expediei>t  to  be  niada  if  the  mailer 
Ihall  be  negligent  herein,  the  viikors  fliali  6gtvSj 
the  Tame  to  the  governor  of  the  (aid  kbooU  «!» 
forthwUh  fhati  order  tliofe  diings  to  be  done  bf 
£^le  workmen,  and  that  they  /be  paid  out  cf  the 
falary  next  due  to  the  maAen 

XXIIL  That  if  it  (ha^l  appear  to  the  iwfitars, 
th^t  the  uiher  is  infuffic^cnt  dr  ibandaloua,  and  fi>  is 
fi^iified  to  the  niafter  under  ihox  hands  and  feabi 
if  tbe  madkc  Qkali  retiife  to  i;enek>ve  Ac  iaid  uflier, 
and  chuft  ainsDiher  Aati^babiy  f)ualified;  or  if  the 
i-p^iler.  (hall  negiedt  fuch  ahsratidns  xBui  waacoi- 
mmt^  as  the  viTitors  ihftU;  have  jiidged  fit  to  be 
m^^i  dther  in  the  manneifs  06  hioijfelf  or  his  iifheTf 
thr  authorsr  to  be  re^d, .  or iihe  method^  cufinms  or 
n)^nagenient  of  the  fatd  Bboql';  or  if  the  mafier 
(hould  forbear  to  difiphaijge  .'himfetf  or  his  oifaer 
from  rqch  oflicea  or  eooploymentQ,  as  the  'vifitxsa 
havejiidged  inconfi(lei7t:Qr.prepidtd8lto  the  dsfi 
nianagement  of  the  fabd  fchdol :  or  fiialt  alter  their 
houfe  without  their  con&nt  |  the  viiHors  (hall,  under 
their  hands  and  feals,  adsroniih  tbs  m^fler  a  fecond 
time  of  hig  faid  negted;^ :  irid  \f  for  the  fpace  of 
three  months  after  fuch  (ecx>n4  admonrtion  tbe 
niafter  (hall  be  convidked,  either  by  notoriety  of 
f$£iy  or  t)ie  te%noq.y  of  t\rq  ^  the  nioft  credible 

witnefles 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  517 

vltticflea  of  fuph  obftmal^  neg^d^^  Opoa  informal 
^  thereof  by  the  vifiiorc,  UDcter  tfaetr  hands  and 
Ms  g^ven  to  the  patnxi  or  governor^  be  (bail 
escpell  and  remove  the  fiiid  mailer  firom  ail  dutiea 
$nd  beoefits  of  the  £ud  Cchool^  fchool^Jioule,  &Ct 
and  fhall  nominate  and  cbufe  another  in  his  ftetd^ 
wcof^ing  to  the  qualifications  aforefind*  ' 

X^IV.  That  if  any  doubt  or  obje<Etion  (ball 
bftppen  concerning  the  true  purport,  intent  and 
nMan)ng  of  thefe  ftatutes,  or  any  thing  in  tliem 
contained,  fuch  interpretation  aa  the:  vifttors  flialt 
<gree  in,  and  fignify  uoder  their  hands  and  feals^ 
(bUl  be  binding  and  dedfiye  to  aU  |>arliea  con- 
cerned* 

* 

Laftly,  in  tefiimoriy  that  all  and  fingiular  the 
^bove  (lafutes,  orders  and  confiitutiODs  were  ratH 
fi^,  eftablilbed  and  confinned  to  fdrnmenqd  audi 
be  in  force  from  tt»  2.5th  day  of  Maircb  in  the  year 
of  our  Lordv  1685,  the  £|td  Jamesi  duke  of  Qr« 
jnond  the  founder  of  the  faid  fghool,  has  this  prefent 
1 8th  of  March,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  1694, 
her$t<>  M  his  hand  ^^nd  feat  at  his  mqefty's  cafUer  of 
©ubBn.'* 

But;  this  foundation  foon  wtot  to  decay  for  the 
feafo^  contained  in  the  fc^bwing  account  of  the 
tell^  of  Kjikenny,  eittradted  from  Mr.  Harris*i 
(f>  Iffe  of  king  William^ 

**  King  James,  after  his  arrival  in  Dublin,  pro* 
(ecuted  bis  fcherae  (the  eilablifhmtnt  of  popery) 
to  a  fuller  eifed.  An.  inibmce  of  vrtncbmay  be 
givqn  in  his  proceedings  in  relation  to  the  pUUick 
fchool  of  JOlkenny^  founded  and  endowed  by  the 

piety 

W  Pag-  »33- 


^x8  THE  ANTIQUtTrES  OF 

pkty  of  thte  firflr  duke  of  Ormcnil;  who  fettled 
there  a  pfoteftant  fchoolraaftcr,  Dr.  Edward  KRnton, 
a  learned  and  confcientidus  Eugltfhman,  who  eft- 
ciated  in  it  with  great  induftry  and  fucccfs ;  wttch 
1  mention  with  gratitude,  becaufe  to  him  I  am 
indebted  for'rfi^  early  educatidli. 

^*  As  the^apprehenfions  6f  Tytctonnel's  fcvcrc  g^- 
wrnmeht  bad  drivel  ntim'bttps  of  proteftants  out 
of  the  Wttgdom,  fo  Dr:  Hintbn,  among  the  reft, 
fled  for  fafety  to  his  native  country.  King  James 
laid  hold  of  the*  opportunity  to  pervert  that  fchool 
from  its  primitive  ihltitution.  The  grandfon  and 
heir  of  the  founder  had  wriy  joined  Idng  William, 
and  was  attainted  in  the  parliament  held  this  year 
in  Dublin,  aod^  oonfcquently  the  eftate  among 
others,  out  of  which  the  revenues  of  this  (cbool 
HTued,  was  declared  forfeitedi  The  fchbolmafttr 
was  gone,  and  though  not  mentioned  in  the  a£i  of 
attainder,  yet  one  fcratcb  of  the  attomey^genendls 
(Nangle)  pen  fupplied  that  c)efe£t|  and  la  the 
charter  dectared  hi  m  attA^fttecf* 

^  King  Jam^  therefore  by  a  charter  dated  the  2  ift 
of  February,  1689,  upon  the  ruins  of  this  &bool 
erected  and  endowed  a  royal  college :  confiding  of 
a  redor  v  eight  profellbrs  and  two  fpholars  ki  die 
name  <^  more ;  to  be  called  the  ibyal  college  of 
St.  Canice,  Kilkenny,  pf  the  foundation  of  king 
Jan^es.        ^ ' 

^^  It  appearahy  the  charter,  that  William  Datoo, 
D.  D.  and  others  in  conjunction  with  him,  had  for 
ieveral  years,  taught  fchool  in  the  city  of  Kilkenny, 
with  great  -  diligence ;  for  it  was  the  ^licy  of 
Tyrconnel  to  ercdt  fchools  pf  Jefqits,  as  was  done 
_  through 


iRiSHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  519 

t))rough  England^  in  oppofiUon  to  th^  proteftant 
legal  fchoolrB^lier^,  whom  by  affro|ite.aQ4  Ul-utage^ 
and  under  tlie  couotenan^  of  ^  cruel  admini- 
ftration,  they  fooa  drave  away.  And  this  was  the 
caufe  of  Dr.  Hintpn's  abdication,  whidi  king 
Janiec  now  jiaid  hold  op  to  ere^  his  royal  college  * 
2fid  it  waa  done  as  the.  faid  charter  aliedges^  at  the 
petitioq  of  th^  faid  Datoo  %nd  his  fellow  labourers; 
of  the  ^tholip  hittkop  of  Oflory,  and  all  the  clergy 
of  tfaat  diocefe,  as  well  as  of  the  mayor»  aldermen 
and  burgeffes  iof  the  iaid  city.  After  Dr.  Hipton 
was  driven  awjayy  Tyrconnel  converted  th^  fchool* 
houfe  into,  dn  hofpital ;  and  fo  it  continued  qntil  the 
new  foundation/* 

This  account  given  by  Mr.  Harris  is  very  well 
illufirated  by  Mr.  Lagan's  valuable  papers.  .  One 
of  them  contains :  t^  Articles  conclus  du  oonfenter 
mmt  unanime  des  regents  des  ecoles  de  Kilkenny, 
fous  le  protection  de  rillullriffime  et  rcyerendiflinift 

r^veique  d'Oflory  V  andfigned 

Edvardus  Tonnery,.  philofophiae  profeflbr* 

Jacobus  Cleary^  ihetorices  profefTor. 

Guilielmus  Felap,  lit.  human.  profefTor* 

Fran  Barnwall,  tertii  ordinis  profelfor. 

Johannes  Meagher^  quartae  claflis  praleflfor. 
The  patholic  bifhop  of  Oflbry,  at  this  time,  was 
doClcr  James  Phelan,    who  ^ave  the  following 
rules  to  this  college 

*♦  Rules  to  be  ob&rved  by  the  profeflbrs  of  my 
lord  biihop  of  Oflbry's  collqge,  in  Kilkenny :  given 

by  his  lordfhip. 

The  teachers  of  colleges  are  to  know^  that  piety 
is  the  chief  thing  they,  ought  tp  teach :  and  all  other. 

things 


5w>  tHfi  Ai^tKLliitrfis  o^ 

things  thdt  ari  tai>ght  M^  liotlfing  hat  ibeiUts  M 
attain  tti^t  e»d :  ami  thetdbrd  piety  k  to  bi&  tiiugiit 
l>y  WDj^d  alid  Sample  on  atl  ocd^ons  lA  general, 
"  and  partieutiirly  in  xht  foltoWihg  ^itercifts. 

L  The  t'efActera  are  to  gef  n^  half  an  hour,  at 
k^  befof e  the  boarders  i  ind  (pind  at  leaft  half 
an  h^ar  in  mental  pr^yei'  t^fheir  in  the  room 
vhere  tht  boardets  cojim  fb  VocbA  prayer  ^  and  to 
remain  \htr6  limil  the  bbairddirs  come^  that  tli^ 
may  fee  fo  gobd  an  ^xim|}le  to  imitate,  "ttis 
beitig  very  eafy  and  ben^£^ial  to  ohe  oug^  Vb 
feke^o  it,  or  be  cold  or  negligent  t6  appear  vnih 
thd  reft^  if  he  were  not  very  fick.  And  to  be 
notably  remifs  in  this  exercife  is  a  fault  M^heieof  the 
ok^dinary  «  to  l>e  informed.  When  the  boarders 
cqme,  tbofe  that  fa^ve  liot  xht  breyialry  to  fiy, 
cxifjai  to  fay  the  prayers  With  the  fdiobus^  and 
l^ve  them  gbod  example^  by  often  g^nng  to  con^ 
feffion  and  communion.  Thb  itaentai  prayer  may 
be  omitted  the  play-days^  ind  diadc  to  homr  later 
on  holy  (by  s  and  fundays. 

IL  The  teathers  are  to  ftew  all  exa€tne(s  and 
regularity  in  their  e^^erci&i  v  g<^ng  exadlly  U>  thdr 
ieveral  fchoola  at  the  i&mis  moment ;  and  aUb  pre- 
ctfely  toother  ftom  fchool :  to  be  gentle  ahd  cour- 
teous to  the  fehokrs  ^  efpedially  when  they  prc^ofe 
any  ditfieultie3 :  but  they  are  to  keep  always  thd^ 
diltance ;  never  ihewing  4ny  weakneis,  lig^nelS| 
padfiodi  fcvtrrllity^  or  anj/  mctviiity  that  the  fchokus 
may  take  notice  o£  Xo  iScti  gravity  before  them, 
more  than  if  the  teachers  were  apart :  for  there 
tbey  niay  g^ve  themfelves  full  lafitiide :  but  never 
to  make  ^  fdiolars  their  conotadep  by  (amiliaarity 

that 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  s» 

that  denotes  equality  and  makes  felbws :  as  laqgh* 
ing,  cbattingt  fdaying  together,  and  fuch  other 
ftiKuHaritics  wherein  tiff  Scholars  may  dilcover  any 
V^katfs  in  the  mafiers,  or  diminifli  their  cft^em 
for  them :  no  man  being  fitter  to  teach  and  perfiiade 
than  he  who  is  well  pofieifed  of  his  auditors  €fi»em« 
Ili  Tho^  that  preiide  at  the  fcholars  fiudies,  aie 
to  be  odrefiil  and  exa<ft  (herein,  y^ft  the  (cholacs 
Ihould  k>(e  their  time.  U  any  of  the  makers  be 
obUged  to  abfent  himfelf  M^hen  his  tux^n  is  to  be 
prcfent,  he  muft  pray  fome  other  teacher  to  ^pfif 
his  place :  for  no  teacher  ought  to  pretend  to  be 
exempt,  upon  the  account  of  having  much  to  lludy^ 
from  what  is  common  to  all  the  teachers :  whereas 
there  is  none  but  may  take .  that  pretext ;  and  if 
the  fcfaolars  be  n^le^ed  but  one  hour  a  ds^,  it 
will  give  them  an  occalion  of  idkn^fs,  and  taking 
of  liberty. 

|V.  As  for  the  teachers  conversion,  it  ought  to 

be  very  firatemal  and  lovely  i  Qonfulting  and  ad- 

vifing one  another:  and  though  we  think  fit,  that 

for  the. equality  of  the  p^iQS  and  endeavouisof  the 

teachers,  the  profit  alfa  ought  to  be  equally  partici* 

pated;  y^t  we  think  it  moft  expedient  that  the 

youngei;  teachers  Ihould  be  very  fubmifTive  to  tfie 

^Ider  ones,  e^ecialty  to  the  Prefer,  who  r^cefenta 

qm  perfon  these  in  the  curate's  ajbfen^ :  for  it  wese 

iiery  impnident,   tliat  every  teacher  .(^^d  be 

mafter  of  every  thing,  and  no  order  or  fuborcUna- 

tton  observed  contrary  tp  the  repeated:  culiom  in 

all  colleges  in  the  world,  where  there  are  feveral 

degrees  of  dignity,  or  at  leaft,  one  that  rules  all 

thj  reft.     Neither  ought  the  Prefea  to  be  over 

imperious 


52i  THE  ANTiCiUITlES   Of 

imperious:  to  thd  teachers,  but  advife  fraternaS} 
with  them^  and  ftiive  to  pleaie  them,  as  far  as 
reafon  and  the  common  good  foffer  h.  To  be 
impartial  in  any  competitbn  or  difference  that  any 
arife  among  the  teachers  themfelve^  or  amoi^ 
them  and  the  fcholars :  and  to  accommodate  vidi- 
out  noife  all  thofe  little  debates,  with  prudence  and 
juftice :  (driving  always  publickly  to  turn  the  blaode 
on  the  fcholars ;  but  blaming  with  authority,  and 
advifing  privately  any  of  the  teachers  that  may  do 
amiffl^ 

Neither  ought  any  teacher  to  take  it  ill,  or  pre^ 
t^nd,  or  give  out  that  he  will  not  fuffer  fuch  repii- 
mands  upon  account  of  all  the  teachers  being  cxfd 
for  matter  of  g^n :  for  that  is  another  ni^cr. 
Nay,  it  ia  not  to  beexpedted  but.  there  may  be 
ibme  teachers,  who  in  procefs  of  time,  tiioog^  oot 
now,  that  may  defer  ve  not  only  to  be  kept  in  fub- 
miifion^  but  alfo  to  be  turned. out  for  bti^oos 
humours^  cabals,  or  extravagant  fcandaloua  ways; 
which  may  bring  more  prejudice  to  the  place,  tbaa 
their  prefence  can  bring  profit.  And  the  Prefefi's 
confcience,  as  alfo  the  other  members,  who  tender 
God*8  fervice  and  the  good  of  the  college,  are  l^ 
iponfible  before  God  for  fuch  diforders,  if  tbey 
firive  not  to  hinder  them  by  their  own  authorial 
or  if  need  be,  by  giving  us  timely  notice.  So  every 
one  ought  to  be  watchful  on  all  occaiions  of  th 
fcholars,  fervants  and  houfehold  affairs,  &c  when 
they  fee  any  thing  ^ife,  or  that  may  be  reformed, 
to  give  notice  thereof  to  him,  whofe  charge  it  is  to 
look  after  it/ 

But 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  jtj 

But  the  gbrious  vidory  of  the  Boyoe  di4)erfed 
thofe  vain  conceits  and  reinftated  crery  thing* 

By  the  attainder  of  the  duke  of  Ormonde  the  24th 
of  June  i7J5»  the  right  of  prefem^on  to  the 
icbool  lapfed  to  die  provoft  and  felbvvs  of  Trinity 
college,  Did>lin ;  and  is  fiill  vefted  in  them.  The 
iinaflera  fince  the  charter  were, 

Edward  Uinton,  D.  D.  in  1 684. 

Dodor  Andrews.    He  refigned  in  December, 

Edward  Lewis,  A.M.  appointed  in  1715^  - 

Thomas  Hewetfon,  L.L^D.  1743. 

Richard  Pack,  A. M.  1 7 76. 

JohnEUifon,  D.D.  1781.. 

The  folbwing  eminent  men.  were  educated  in 
this  fchool ;  as  appears  from  the  regiftry. 

1685.  Richard  Baldwin,  provoft  of  Trinity 
college,  Dublin. 

f  $874  Richard  Coote,  afterwards  brd  baron  of 
Colooa^y,  the  duke  of  Ormond's  truftee  for  the 
i^hool. 

1699.  Thomas  Prior,  the  celebrated  patriot 

1 7cx>.  George  Berkeley,  the  no  lefs  celebrated 
and  excellent  biftiop  of  Cloyne. 
,  1704.  Walter  Harris,  a  learned  antiquary. 

1704.  Michael  Cox^  archbiftiop  of  C^^^U* 

1 709.  Earl  of  Inchiquin. 

1743.  Lord  vifcbunt  do  Vefci. 

•1745.  Right  hon.  John  Beresford. 

1748.  Sir  Robert  Staples,  Bart. 

1752.  Hugh  Carleton,  Efq;  foUcitor  general. 
Befides  a  great  number  of  the  nobility  and  gentry. 
This  fchool  has  had  a  fucceflfion  of  eminent  mailers ; 

has. 


haspcodaood  men  of  great,  iearaingy  aod  is^Uy 
dieemcd  the  fifft  febool  Sot'  the  educatioa  of  youth 
10  this  lungdom. 

]^  a  return  of  the  ichoolrtiafter,  Mr.  Lewisi 
November  the  16th,  1716^  the  tyiheiafipiopdalwl 
ta  the  fi:bool  vmt  let  and  pcodu^cd  as  follows : 

Parifhes  of  Bn|or  and  Templcmore  &t 
to  Kb.  John  Garden  for  *  76    o    0 

Farifhes  of  Kelis,  Donoghmore  and  KiU 
moca^,  CO4  Kalkeitay>  to JVAr.  Ridnsdi 
Power  for  --  .  «*  yz    o    o 

Parifh  of  Kells  to  Ml.  Patncfc  W^Mk, 
Mr.  William  Belcher,  Toby  Den, 
James  Archdeki(ii»  Anhur  .  Itiani, 
Thomas  Dyer  and  Wilfiam^  Tudker, 
for  ^  -  2$     o    6 

Farifh  of  Donoghmore  to  Toby  PAWcell, 
for  -  •  17  10    o 

PanA  of  Kilmocar  to  Mark  RtkHnns,  foe  tS  xa    o 
In  Mar(h*s  library,  Dublin,  was  a  book  of  poeios, 

intitied  Sacri  Lufiu^  by  thb  young  gernkmea  of  the 

college-  of  Kilkenny ;  but  not-  now  to  be  found 

there.     In  the  feme  library  were,  **  GonJStutions 

made  m  a  provincial  meeting  at  Kilkenny,  A.  D. 

1 6i  4.**    This  MS;  alfo  is  ftblen  from  ite  place. 

HOSPITALS.: 

We  are  told  by  Mr.  Carte^  thsit  the  carl  of 
-Ormond  who  died  the  22d  Nov.  1614,  by  Eis  laft 
will  appointed  an  hofpital  to  be  built  by  Sir  NicboUs 
Walflii  in  a  wafte  place  near  the  old  tholfel  of  Kil- 
kenny^  to  be  endowed  out  of  the  profits  of  his 


iRlSttTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  ^H 

firrms  and  the  leafts  of  fpirttiiaities  from  th€  crown, 
vddcd  by  z  deed  doted  tlie  1 64h  Jan.  1613^  to  ftid 
WaUb  and  other  fcoflees ;  and  d^jfefked  that  Walter 
Battler,  or  other  perfon  ftcoccdir^  to  the«aridom, 
Hiould  pj^ocure  it  to  be  incorporated  by  tlie  nanre 
of  '  The  hofpital  of  our  bidfed  StivioUr  of  Kil- 
kenny/ and  that  his  faid  nephew  (tiould  give  to 
iflid  corporation  the  impropriate  re&ory  of  Dfomin*- 
berrain,  in  the  county  of  Tlpperaty^  being  pmrtel 
of  the  dMbtved  naonaftery  of  Kells  in  the  county 
of  KiHienny,  and  the  imfiropnation  of  thte  reAory 
of  Gfonyn,  alias  Bewly,  with  the  advbwfon  of  the 
church. 

Thia  Walter  BiHler,  as  Mr.  L^gc  in^  his  peerage 
informa  ua«  wfta  the  1 1  th  eari  of  Orincmd,  he  pro*  * 

cured  the  charter  with  a  licence  of  mdrfimin-^  xkted 
the  1 6th  May,  1631^  by  the  name  of  The  nwfler, 
brethren  and  |iftera^ofoui"raott  holy  .Saviour,  Jefua 
Chrift.  This  hofpital  is  in  Coal  Market^  and  fup- 
ported  fay  the  family  who  firib  foundsd  ih 

SHEE's  HOSPITAL. 

W^  are  obBged  to  Mr,  Laffatf s  ptfprfft  for  thft 
following  accfount  of-  thfe  hofpitaU 

Sir  Richard  Shee,  km,  a-feout  1 6t^,  foMnAdd  arid 
endowed  an  hbfpital  in  the  cVty,  called  JdftiS's 
ho^taiK  Twelve  pdor  petfons,  iim\q  and  fimkle,- 
were  fupported  in  it,  and  had  eachtH^futii  of  40^. 
annually  p^d  to  them.  Sir  I^iehftrd  hadprdvld^i 
fha«  in  cafe  the  allocated  reVeftufe  ^Va*  by  arty 
rflcanS' flopped,  then  an  equivalent  w6s  to  bi'dii^ 
burfdd  from  his  eftate. 

Vol.  IL  Na  In 


5r 


.•» 


• 


5^6  THE  A  NT  I QJU  I  TIES   OF 

In  1685,  the  poor  of  this  hofpital  petitiono! 
.  Dr.  James  Phclan,  titular  bifhop  of  Offory,  tOvia" 
quire  inlo  the  naaUpradices  of  Mr.  Edmund  Shee, 
who  afTumed  tlie  mafter(hip  of  this  hofpital,  and 
whom  they  reprefcated  as  paying  but  7A  1 25.  to 
the  community,  detaimng  and  converting  the  re- 
mainder to  hfts  own  ufe  y  befides  keeping  four  of 
the  chambers  vacant,  and  this  for  fome  years, 
whereby  he  defrauded  the  charity  of  above  200/. 
They  ftate,  that  fo  far  from  the  revenue  failing, 
they  could  get  25/.  per  ana.  paid  for  it,  and  city- 
fccurity.  The  bifliop  wrote  to  the  mailer,  warned 
him  of  the  horrible  fin  of  cheating  the  poor,  but 
fecommendcd  at  the  fame  lime  a  fcinfwoman  of  his 
to  a  place  in  the  hofpital.  The  mailer  returned  an 
anfwer,  which  is  here  given,  and  is  curious  for  the 
reaibning  and  particulars  it  contains. 

**  Kilkenny,  8th  June,  1 685. 
**  Rev.  Lord, 

*'  I  received  yours  of  this  inilaat,  and  am  very 

fory  that  I  cannot  comply  with  your  lordfliip's 

requill  this  tyme;  as  concerning  your  kinfwoman; 

for  I  doe  affure  you  the  howfe  is  full,  and  noe 

place  vaquent :  and  as  for  Fra.  Theobald  Arclier, 

ihere  is  noe  place  fi;om  him,  but  a- chamber  that 

belongs  to  the  matter,  where  no  pintion  beloogS) 

and  which  I  have  turned  to  other  ufes,  which  is 

ufefuU  to  the  howfe.     And  if  there  beene  annjf 

complaynt  made  of  me  unto  your  lordftiip,  it  is 

more  tlian  I  defcrve,  for  I  doe  alfure  you^  I  have 

piayd  them  all,  in  generall,  though  I  am  not  as 

yet  repaid.     It  is  true,  there  was  one  of  them  that 

dyed  lately  "before  her   pention  was.  dew,  and 

bequeatcd 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  s%J 

bequeated/it  to  her  dougter,  and  as  1  humbly  cofi- 
ceave,  it  is  neythcr  contionable  nor  equitable,  that 
anny  boddie^  who  depends  uppon  the  charitie  of 
pious  ufes,  fliout  have  the  power  to  reft  it  ta 
worldly  ufes,  and  this  I  leave  to  anny  religious 
order  to  judge  of,  that  •your  lordfhip  thinks  fit ; 
and  aTfor  my  fowls  favetie  I  prefer  it  before  all  the 
trefieurs  in  the  world,  and  doe  hope  I  fhall  take  a^ 
great  care  towards  my  fowle,  as  any  of  my  prede- 
ceflbrs  ever  did.  This  being  all,  I  reft  your  lord- 
(hip's  faithful!  and  obedient  fervant, 

EDMOND  SHEE." 
This  hofpital  is  in  Rofe  Inn  Street. 

There  is  an  hofpital  in  St.  Ganice's  church-yard, 
adjoining  the  library,  for  a  few  poor  indigent 
perfons. 

Biftiop  Vefey  maintained  a  charity  fchool  in  the 
city,  for  forty  poor  children^  until  he  found  it  did 
not  anfwer  his  wiflies,  as  Mr.  Harris  in  his  editiont 
ef  Ware's  bilhops  informs  us.    , 

The  charter  fchool  without  the  city  is  endowed 
by  the  corporation  of  Kilkenny  wiih  twenty  acres 
of  land,  plantation  meafure  ;  together  with  the 
feftorial  ty thes  thereof ;  and  a  rent  charge  of  thirty 
pounds  for  ever.  It  contains  forty  boys.  Some 
fmall  donations  have  been  made  to  it. 


S    E    C    T.      VII. 

« 

AUGUSTlNlAN  ABBEY. 

THE  oldeft  monaftic  foundation  in  Kilkenny  is 
the  priory,  hofpital  or  abbey  of  St.  John  the  cvan- 

Nn  2  g^lift^ 


528  THE    ANTIQ^UITIE8   OP 

gelifl,  whofe  charter,  in  the  Momfiicon,  is  dfttecB 
A.  D.  1 220.  It  recites,  that  William  Mvfhall  the 
elder,  earl  of  Pembroke,  for  the  fakation  of  Ins  (bad 
:ind  thoie  of  his  predqceflford  and  fuccdTors,  gives  to 
God  and  Str  John,  a  piece  of  ground  at  the  head 
of  the  fmall  bridge  of  Kilkienny,  between  the  fmall 
ftream*  of  water  and  the  road  that  leads  to  Lougb- 
mederan.  From  this  fituatioa  we  may  cooclude^ 
tfut  the  monks  defigncd  to  eredk  their  buU^og 
nearer  tlie  bridge  thaa  it  now  is :  the  frface  was 
infulated  by  thp  i^ream  before  mentiooed,  as  the 
ground  at  the  back  of  the  King's  Arms  is  at  tUs 
day,  and  which  feems  a  remnant  ofjdu$  antient 
aquedudV,  as  it  is  called; 

The  earl  grants  them  the  parifh  beyond  the 
bridge  to  the  eaft,  and  bordering  on  the  bn<^;e^ 
which  was  St.  Mads ;  and  the  ecclefiafiical  revenue 
cf  his  land  of  Dunfert ;  this  i»  now  called  Danes- 
fort,  but  improperly,  for  the  name  Dontert  or 
Dunfert,  appears  in  very  antient  records.  He 
beftows  on  them  the  tenths  of  his  mills,  fifheries, 
orchards  and  doveccftes  in  Kilkenny,  and  aUb  land 
at  the  head  of  the  greater  bridge,  where  they  for- 
merly began  their  convent.  He  gives  the  rents  of 
his  burgage-tencments  in  the  new  town,  the  cimrch 
of  the  new  town,  wliich  muft  be  St.  Mary's,  and 
that  of  Hagaman,  and  the  intire  benefice  of  the 
old  town,  in  tenths,  "oblations  and  obventiona. 
Do  not^  thefe  words  clearly  imply  A  ftrong  doubl 
of  the  catlicdral  not  having  as  yet  made  any  con- 
fiderable  progrefs  from  its  foundation,  or  if  it  had, 
that  its  chaptier,  revenues  and  jurifdiiStion  were  not 
fettled  ?  the  grant  of  toiius  benefi<;ii  voteris  viflae^ 

admits 


i 


miSHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  5^9 

'ttdnrhs  of  no  qualification,  it  is  dccifive  in  its  import. 
Had  there  been  a  cathedral  in  Iriihtown  endowed 
with  antient  revenues,  he  never  would  have  wrefted 
-them  from  it  for  his  new  priory.  Tlie  words  alfe 
militate  ftrongly  againil  the  claim  of  Hugh  Rufus, 
as  if  he  was  lord  paramount  of  Irif^town,  whefi 
the  contrary  is  here  evident  Bilbop  Fitjr  Jcdm 
appropriated  to  them  the  church  of  Clara^i,  rtf- 
iefving  an  annual  penfion  of  twenty  fhiUings  to  the 
vicars  choral. 

.In  1645,  when,  the  monadic  ordets  were  every 
•where  repairing  their  lioiifes,  the  Aiiguttinmns,  to 
whofla  this  abbey  originaUy  bebhged,  ertdeavoured 
to  poiitfs  themfelves  of  it  \  but  tlie  Jefuits  inter- 
pofed  a  claim^  and  it  was  confirnitd  to  tlicm  by 
Rinuccini,  the  nuncio.  From  a  MS.  of  Mr.  Laffan 
we  have  this  tran&dtion  autbent'fcated. 

"  Whereas  we  the  mayor,  aldermen  and  bur- 
geffesx)f  the  city  of  Kilkenny  Imye  of  late  granted 
our  certificate  to  the  rev*  fathers  the  Jefuits,  con- 
iirming  unto  them,  as  mtich  as  in  us,  and  as  law 
permits,  a  certain  grtot  or  donation  pafled  unto 
them  in  the  year  1645,  of  the  monaftcry  of  St. 
John  the  evangelift  in  th^  city,  by  the  rev.  father 
Thomas  Roth,  prior  in  commendam  thereof;  and 
litving  fmce  confidered  the  manifeft  inconveniendes 
the  (aid  city,  and  the  fevcral  tenants  deriving  under 
a  late  leafe  from  our  predeceffors  are  like  to  lie 
under,  have  for  that  rea&n  entered  into  a  further 
fcrutiny  of  the  faid  Jefuits'  title,  and  we  find,  that 
they  can  produce  nether  grant,  leafe  or  any  thing 
like  fi-om  us  or  out  predecefTors  of  the  faid  mo- 
mfteiy,   either  in   1641,   or  fince^   but  the  faid 

grant 


53P  THE   ANTIQJJITIES    OF 

grant  from  the  faid  father  Roth,  cohfirmed  by  th« 
pope's  nuncio,  then  refiding  in  this  city. 

"  We  therefore  confidering  the  invalidity  of  the 
&id  grant,  fo  ai^  to  diveft  us  of  our  right,  and  the 
obligatioq  on  us  to  maintain  the  leafe  made  by  our 
predeceflbrs,  do  hereby  revoke  and  annul  the  faid 
certificate,  until  the  faid  Jefuits  do  produce  a  legal 
title  from  us  or  our  predcceffors :  on  fight  whereof 
we  will  freely  and  unanimoufly  Join  in  a  further 
grant  thereof  to  them,  ftiil  referving  the  chapel  and 
garden  of  the  poor  CapucWns,  which  they  have 
improved  on  the  meaneft  and  craggieft  fpot  about 
this  city,  to  our  admiration  and  edification.  Befides 
which  fpot,  we  humbly  conceive,  that  there  arc 
fufficient  room  and  apartments  for  the  Jefuits. 
In  witnefs  that  this  is  our  lafl  refolution 
and  pleafure,  we  have  hereunto  fub- 
fcribed  our  names  this  i8lh  day 
of  March,  1689.'^ 
From  this  document  we  find,  that  the  Jefuits  liad 
prevailed  on  Roth  to  furrender  the  abb,ey  to  them : 
that  the  city,  though  they  had  made  leafcs  of  it, 
yet  divefted  themfelves  of  their  right,  and  that  in 
'  1645,  the  nuncio  conficmed  thefe  illegal  proceed- 

ings. On  his  return  to  Italy,  he  wrote  to  the  general 
pf  the  Jefuits,  and  moft  unclerically  mentions  this 
a£t  of  injuftice  done  through  prediledion  of  the 
order. 

"  (a)  Si  contenti  voflra  paternita  revercndiflima, 
che  jo  fi  aflecuri  di  non  aver  mai  veduto,  e  forfe 
lion  letto  una  fimile  novita,  la  quale  accrefe  la  fua 
forfa  dal  faperfi  per  tulto  il  regno,  che  jo  nd 

medefimo 

(a)  Hibern.  Dominic,  fupra.  App.  915. 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  53! 

Tncdefimo  punto  per  fervire  alia  compagnia  avcvo 
termintito  racquifto  della  chiefa  abbaziale  di  S. 
Giovanni  di  Kilkemiia  per  quei  padri,  noh  oltanli 
tutte  leoppofizioni  dci  canonici  regohri." — (Jf}  None 
need  wonder,  fays  Walfh,  to  fee  among  ihofe  ap- 
provers of  the  nancio,  the  whole  college,  or  pro- 
fefled  hoiife  of  the  Jefuits  then  at  Kilkenny.  The 
members  of  this  fociety  refident  in  the  city,  were 

(r)  Henry  Plunket,  William  St.  Leger, 

Robert  Bath,  WlUam  DiUon, 

Chriftophcr  Maurice,        Jolin  Ufher. 

Whereas  ihe  Auguftiniaris  in  the  kingdom,  ac- 
cording to  this  author,  did  not  exceed  fixty  or 
eighty  :  the  Jefiiits  were  more  numerous ;  being 
bufy,  enterprizing  and  of  great  influence. 

In  1432,  {dy  John  Fleming,  bifliopof  Leighlin, 
.was  canon  of  St.  John's,  and  in  1500,  (e)  James 
5hortal  was  prior  of  it.  The  annals  of  it  are  fre- 
quently mentioned,  and  were  in  the  Chandois  (f) 
colledion.  The  codex  Kilkennienfis  fo  frequently 
cited  by  Colgan,  and  reprobated  by  Bollandus^ 
was  the  produdfion  of  this  raonaftcry. 

Great  part  of  this  abbey  was  demoHflied  to 

-make  room  for  a  foot  barrack ;  however  its  ruins 

xieciare  its  former  (plendour.    For  about  fifty  four 

feet  of  the  fouth  fide  of  the  choir  it  feems  to  be 

trtnipft  one  window.     The  caftern  window  is  abottt 

V       fixteen  feet  wide  and  forty  high ;  it  is  divided  by 

delicate  ftone  mullions.  The  following  monumental 

infcriptions  ftill.  remaia  amid  the  ruins. . 

D.  Michael. 

(*)  Supra.  Pref.  pag.  45.  (r)  Wallh,  pag.  a. 

l<i)  Ware's  Bifliops,  pag.  495.     {e)  Ware,  lupra, pag.  41  J. 

(/)  Nicolfoii'a  UiOsL  Hilt  Library,  pag.  36.  8vo. 


» 


« 


^32  THE  ANTIQUITIES  OF 

X>.  Michael  Cowley 
beqarcba  et  jvirifconfyltysf,  d^e.  ^t  >ixor  ^us  D. 
^no^u^  i(oth»  hie  requiefcitQt  in  a^i;iuun»  ut 
iQperamus^  hinc  j^equiem  uans&Ken4&  ubi  quod  cor- 
4:uptibUe  eft  iacprrupVion.Qin  in^uet ;  ute^ue^moru; 
J5iWi4it  kgi ;  m^rqvie  mprtuuis  cQmmmw  Coivit 
4ebitupi  fif^ura^.  Hapc  viverc  oibi  fj^fiit  ^€ir«>  .  • . 
i^e  mpR^^  «...  coelo  itle  c^e^pit  \|ivef€  anep  •  •  . . . 

£pitaphiu[n 
Hie  virtute  animi  et  generofo  fiemmato  qlaru% 
Couleum  triftis  qoas  capit  urna  tegit. 
Fallor,  coeleftesi  melior  pars  incoUt  arcee, 
'iioc  t^^ntum  cineres  (iebile  marmor  babet. 
;Hic  potuit  juris  difcordes  (plvcce  nodos^ 
Sed  nequiit  durap  folverc  jura  ne(:ifi^ 
O  homo  vive  Deo  coijoqtfe  eperaro,  fi^tiis» 
Sola  ofiaoet  virtus,  ciaetera  ^lortis  eruat* 
Qijpd  alii,  lc(^or,  tibi  mortoQ  objfeqiiiiKn, 

Re<juiefl?  pr^cjwe  et  yate. 


p.  Johwma  Furecll 

Abb.  Ece quiobitt 

lie  Ue8  Eccumbeot  at  full  lengthy  in  ^  habit  of 
a  tej^^Ur  canon,  with  a  tmie  im  bl^  hcsd.;  tke 

whole  t$  of  bUck  marble. 

Clofc  by  i5  anotlK^r  figure,  one  of  the  ftmc 
&ni)lj  aa  tli^  >yord  Furccll  fhews  ^  be  l^in  arcomir; 
a.  bf it  counts  over  ^^$  (boulder,  ffQiri  wlitdi  cfepnds 
^  fword.  T{jp  frame  of  tbis  rnqnuroeiit  ia  orna- 
lOeodbed  with  baflb.  relievos  of  Chrift  and  his  apoftles^ 
each  with  their  different  emblcnis. 

Hie 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  533 

Ificjacct 

Edvardus  Langton,  hujua  civltatis  major  et  buigenr 
ii4»  et  Superior  villa&Kilkeniuoc^  9t  Selena  Archer, 
^us  ttxor^  qui  obierunt  g^  die  Maii^  <57^  et 
jiich^rdus  Langton. 


^m^ 


Memento 
Homo  quod  pufio  es,  et  in  pufionem  revertem^ 
Neale  CuUen^  ollizen  of  IGlkenny,  built  this  monuf 
ment  for  }m  dearly  beloved  wife  £U>£b  Langion, 
deceafed^  the  4th  of  October  1646,  his  father 
John  Cutlen,  his  mother  Ellen  Seiic»  temielf  m4 
family.  • 

My  virtue  death  feems  to  ovcrfway 
My  virtue's  fruit  by  deed  will  nc*ere  decay. 

There  are  a  few  other  monuments  bec^e,  but  all 
(if&ccd  aod  iUegil^ie. 

DOMINICAN  ABBEY, 

Otherwifc  called  the  Black  abbey,  from  the 
colour  of  the  garqnents  worn  by  the  monks  of  this 
order,  was  founded  in  Irifhtown,  by  William 
f»rl  Marflial  the  younger,  about  1^25,  and  dedi- 
cated to  the  blcffed  Trinity.  Bifhop  Hugh  a 
Dominican,  and  who  died  in  1259,  made  many 
donations  to  the  monatteryi  among  others,  he 
bellowed  on  it  St,  Canice's  wel]  and  an  aquedufk, 
and  releafed  a  chief  rent  arifmg  from  two  mefTuages 
in  Frier-llreet  ^  and  was  interred  in  the  high  church 
pear  the  altar, 

Bi(hop  Cantwell  was  alfo  of  this  order ;  and  on 
l^promotioiibe  ilill  >rore  the  habit^  agreeable  to  the 

(Iccrec 


534  THE  ANTIQJJITIES  OF 

decree  of  the  8th  Conftantinopolitan  (g)  conncil, 
and  was  buried  in  this  abbey. 

The  fite  of  this  monaftcry  was  granted  at  the 
reformation  to  the  corporation  of  the  city.  Part  of 
the  building  was  made  a  (hire-houfe,  as  is  mentioned 
in  the  charter  of  the  elder  James.  Some  chapters  of 
the  order  were  held  here  in  1 643,  when  the  whole 
was  repaired.  It  had  a  (A)  houfe  for  novices,  fituated 
to.  the  north-weft,  on  the  river  Nore,  about  two 
miles  above  the  city,  and  called  now  Thc^nback. 

The  windows  and  arches  are  rather  fup^rioor  to 
Xhofe  of  St.  John"^ ;  the  various  mouldings  that 
adorn  them,  are  beautiful  fpecimens  of  the  Gothic 
tafte,  and  for  elegance  and  lightnefs  nothing  caa^ 
exceed  its  two  towers. 

It  muft  occur  to  every  one,  that  this  is  a  very 
indiflferent  account  of  this  foundation.  Dr,  Burke^ 
a  learned  Dominican,  and  titular  bifhop  of  Oflbry, 
and  for  many  years  refident  in  Kilkenny,  and  who 
>yas  particularly  intereftcd  in  the  inquiry,  declares, 
that  except  the  few  foregoing  notices,  (/)  he  could 
procure  nothing  more  frpm  printed  books,  MSS. 
monuments,  or  the  information  of  the  member^ 
after  the  utmoft  diligence  and  application.  This 
ingenuous  confeflion  atonqe  deteds  the  impoCtiom 
of  writers,  wlio  have  obtruded  on  the  world,  as 
jnehioiials  carried  out  of  Ireland  in  tinges  of  con- 
'fiifion,    the.  lives  of  faints,    and  other  hillorical 

coUe^tbns ; 

•  •  * 

(g)  Prseterea  monacbi  qui  vita  et  doArina  ut  cpifcopi 
-crcentur  nieruerint,  non  mutent  habitus  velhfque  rationeni 
,4>b  novam  dignitatein.    Caranzs  Sumin.  Concil.  pag.  767, 

(l>)  H'xbQrn.  Dominic,  pag.  ao6. 

{i)  Supra,  pag,  ao6. 


o 


I 

5 


> 

B 


s 

B 
2 


7 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  535 

/coUcdlions ;  when,  in  rcanty,  they  are  the  genuine 
manufadture  of  ihe  fcminary  clergy  of  Douay, 
iGhent,  Lovaia  and  other  places ;  and  if  we  may 
form  an  opinion  of  th^m  from  BoUandus,  they 
are  of  po  greater  ellimation  than  the  dreams  of 
Annius  of  Viterbo,  apd  fimilar  impoftors. 

The  Dominicans  ia  1437,  obtained  two  parts  of 
Ihetythesof  (*)  Motbil,  as  appears  by  the  record. 

FRANCISCAN    ABBEY. 

We  have  every  reafon  to  place  the  foundation  of 
this  abbey,  previous  to  the  year  1230.  *>  For  in 
the  chore  of  the  friers-preachers,  fays  Stanihurft, 
William  Marlhal,  carl  pf  Pembroke,  was  buried, 
who  departed  this  life  in  the  yere  1231.  Richard, 
brother  to  William,  to  whom  the  inheritance  de- 
fcended,  within  three  yeres  after  deceafed  at  Kil* 
kennie,  beinge  wounded  to  death  in  a  field  in  the 
heath  of  Kildare,  in  the  year  1234,  the  twelfc  of 
April,  and  was  intoomed  with  his  brother,  accord- 
-  ^ng  to  the  bid  epitaph  heere  mentioned  :— - 

Hie  comes  eft  pofitus,  Ricardus  vulnere  foffus : 

Cujus  fub  fofla  Kilkenia  continet  offa." 

Hanraer  (k)  fays,  he  was  killed  by  the  O  Connors, 
and  buried  in  the  Black  abbey.  He  adds,  that  l^is 
tomb  with  thefe  of  eighteen  knights  ii^.at  came  over 
at  the  conqueft,  were  at  the  fuppreffion  of  the  mo- 
jiaftery,  defaced,  and  by  the  inhabitants  turned  to 
their  private  ufes,  making  fwine-troughs  of  fome  ^ 
fo  that  there  remained  but  one,  on  which  the  pic- 
ture of  a  knight  was  pourtrayed,  bearing  a  (hield 
about  his  neck,  with  the  Cantwell's  arms  infculpted: 

this 

[k)  Appendix  K. 


^S6  THE  ANTIQjaiTIfiS  OF 

Ihtffl  the  pe6pte  CBWRyMr  m  Currj  {l\  or  the  Kiugjk 
Ml  the  Cum^ 
Jobfi  Cl]^mi  of  tiU&  cohveiiti  writes 
ftoil  ificamatum  lApTis  de  virgine  nattun 
An&is  KiiUemA  tribttt  trig^ntii  dueertlfc. 
In  priiM  menfii  Aprilb^  Kilikriebfiis 
i  Pugm  die  ftbbati  fittt  in  triflltift  hSA^ 

Acddennt  iiallapagiitt  comiti  mafifisiHo. 
Speedy  fpeaidng  of  this  traniadtion,  infbnns  as, 
^^  his  body  wa3  buried  in  Kilkenny,  (whkfa  plea- 
iiintly  fttaated  towiie  our  foveraigne  king  Jiroo 
ereAed  into  a  city)  wHere  bimfelf  in  Us  life  hid 
iq>pointed.  Some  fina^l  tokens  of  thta  ^neat  name 
wre  yet  ( i£i  I )  reiteining.  For  hi  (he  eaft  window 
of  the  abbey  church  o^  St  John  the  Baptift,  and  in 
the  abbey  of  St.  Domrnii^  the  antient  anboiKS 
ci  Marelhai,  lord  of  Ktlkenny,  are  yet  extant- 
Luke  Wadding  (faews(/yr),  that  Matt.  Pan  and 
Du  Ghefne  (»)  agree  in  making  hin^  to  have  been 
interred  m  the  FratK^ifcain  abto^. 

This  motkB&Ktj  ibon  grew  to  codfidenibte,  im 
in  the  year  1067,  a  provincial  chapter  was  hdd 
there,  as  Clynn  infbraia  us.  In  1321  the  great 
altar  was  confecrated  ^  it  was  a  marble  u&le  of 
prodigions  lenjgth  and  braidth. 

In  1 53 1,  Nicholas  Wdifcd,  biihop  of  Water- 
fbrd^  cdnfecrated  the  new  cemetery  without  the 
church,  on  a  friday,  being  the  fcafi  of  St.  C»fii. 

la 

(/;  Properly,  Kidire  In  Curracli,  cqucs  in  Ptaho,  memaiog 
eati  Ricbard  wfa<»  WH  fi&lti  ^  the  ciimigli,  or  pkiii. 

{«)  Annaies  Minorum,  ad  ann.  1234,   pag,  470,  47l# 
In)  Pag.  403.  Du  Chcfnc  Hift.  d  Anglct.  pag.  543. 


IRI&HTOWN.  AND  KILKENNY.  sst 

In  I547f  on  the  firfi.  Ainday  in  Adv^nt^  afira- 
ternity  or  gild  wm  initit«ittd  for  building  a  bdfry 
and  r^iring  the  church*  In  the  (acne  year  on 
Palm  fundayt  be»ng  the  annunciatm  of  the  Vifgin 
Mary^.  IfabeUa  Pakner  waa  bmied  in  tine:  ocarmak^ 
Sha  luid  rehmlt  the  forepart  of  the  choir.    Thus 

The  mgm^y  and  its ,  offices  wene  of  great  ex-t 
%onX%  reaplmg  from  the  ibieet  and  city  walls  to  the 
fiver.  The  windows  and  towers  are  in&riour  .to 
90^.  ?9rt  ia  made  a  borie  barrack.  Near  the 
nMrg^n.ef  the  river  and  within  theprecinf^aof  ikfi; 
abbeyjs A fptingofpure  limpid  water^  cslied.St; 
Fifancia'  we(j,  aiyl  was  hen^fow  famous,  for  roira*? 
cuk>us  cures ;  it  i3  inebofed^  ^  ftiU  prefecvea.foisia 
d^rce  pf  credit.  About  a  mile  fipom  the  town  was 
i^grmge  belonging  to  the  fathers:  kt  Waddiog^a 
tinne  it  wM  in  the  poOeflliPii  of  John,  fen  of  Sir 
Ri$:bard  Shee.  A  ceittwy  before,.on  tbeXupprefiioii 
9f  reljg^ifs  ho»(e^  ^.ewpcKd^n  pwdiafeel.£n>ia 

the  crown  tlas  abbey  and  ita  desacfiMs. 

ST.   MARY'S   CHURCH. 

In  the  charter  to  St»  John's  priory,  this  church 
feems  to  be  deferihed  by  The  church  in  the  new 
town.  We  have  fcen  under  the  year  1 3^8,  that 
William  Utlaw  was  fentenced  to  cover  its  roof  with 
lead.  And  in  Clynn's  annals  is  the  folloi;^ng 
xiotice.  •♦  A,  D.  1 343^  A  new  betfry  was  eredted 
for  the  church  of  St.  Mary,  Kilfccnny.*^  The  fcl* 
lowing  claufe  in  queen  Elizabeth's  charter  to  the 
city,  relates  to  the  provifion  of  wax  K^ts  for  the 
cliurch  and  the  image  of  the  Virgin  Mary. 

i*  Item, 


SS9  THE   ANTIQJJITIES    OF 

"  Item,  quia  divtrfa  tenemcntk  in  ilia  vilk  di 
Kilkenny  ab  antiquo  tempore  onerentur,  tam  illu- 
roinare  coram  imagine  virginis  gloriofae  Marine  vilte 
prasdifbe,  quam  ad  emendandam  ecclefiam  pne* 
didtam  -,  procuratores  feu  clientes  ad  redditus  iUos^ 
et  jura  ievanda  fi  negligentes  fuerint,  qiKxi  fe- 
vientes  vel  burgenfes^  villas  namiare  poflint  pro 
redditus  et  jura  praedifta,  fine  caliimpnia.** 

The  old  church  was  much  larger  than  the  preieof 
one,  which  is  contracted  on  the  antient  fite.  It  is 
in  the  form  of  a  crofs,  neat  and  elegant ;  with  t 
good  organ.  In  1689,  Marcus  {0)  Stafford,  clerk, 
^nd  one  of  the  vicars  choral  of  Chrift  cbordi 
Dublin,  made  oath  before  a  magifbrate,  that  he 
was  credibly  informed,  and  did,  from  a  knowlec^ 
of  the  fa£t  for  eighteen  years  before^  believe,  tbt 
the  curacy  of  St.  Mary's  was  in  the  prefentatioa  of 
the  mayor  and  citizens  of  Kilkenny.  The  motives 
for  this  aifadavit  we  are  not  told,  or  the  fiep^s  takea 
in  confequence*  At  prdent  the  church  is  in  the 
patronage  of  the  bi(hop» 

The  following  are  the  mofl  remarkable  momt^ 
ments. 

Spiculurti  mortis. 

Ortus  ad  interitum  ere£tis  progreffibus,  urgiet 
Mortalefique  rapit  mortis  vis  nefcia  vinci, 
Nefcia  confilio,  voto,  vel  voce  moveri. 
Imperii,  elpquii,  rationis,  acuminis,  artia 
£t  fophiae  tranfcendit  opem,  eredtoque  lacerto 
Spicula  contorquet  gravis  inclementia  lethi. 
Cujus  ad  imperium  quicquid  fpirabile  mundl 
Machina  complexu  fovet,'expirare  necelTe  eft. 

Speculiaa 

(0)  Apud  UfFan's  MSS. 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  539 

Speculum  mortalium. 
Sifte  gradum,  qui  tranrgrcderis,  cordate  viator ; 
Inque  fepulchrali  hoc  (peculo  drcumfpice  clari 
Ora  viri,  genio  ingenioque,  et  moribus  orbi 
Brittonico  lumen ;  cujus  facundia  vocis 
Kt  facundia  gravi  fenfu,  cenfuque  facultas : 
Non  contemnenda  pictas,  doftrina  favorque : 
Magnus'tum  mentifque  vigor,  dum  vita  vigeret. 
Nunc  tenet  orbatum  cultu  brevi  urna  cadaver. 


Johannes  Nafhus 
Humanae  firagilitatis  confcius,  chariifims  uxori, 
Eleonorae  Rothae  ct  iiberis,  adhuc  vivens  pofuit. 
A.  X.  16(7.  Quibus  ut  aeternam-  requiem  preceris, 
tum  finis  memor  enixe  rogat,  Obiit  horicftus  hie 
ct  cordatus  civis,  3 1  die  Mail  menfis,  falutis  hu- 
manae.  A.  1643/ 

Jacobus  Archdeacon 
Mercator,  et  hujus  urbis  Kilkennienfis  burgenfisj 
hoc  fibi  et  uxori  Catharinae  Woodloke,  ct  pofteiis 
fuis  vivus  raonumentum  pofuit.    Fato  celTit  illci 

....  obiit  haec  ....  die  mcnfis 

Epitapliium.  > 

Haec  mihi,  qua  condar,  feralis  conditur  urna ; 
Et  tibi  quern  parili  forte  fepulchra  manent. 
Quisquis  cs,  extindkos  vermis  praedabitur  artus ; 
Et  quae  me  primum  te  quoque  fata  premcnt. 
Ut  rcdle  vivas  mortis  memor  efto ;  fepulius 

-ffiternum  ut  poflis  vivere :  difce  mori.  1636. 

.■^■^^^■■— "^^~»  •"."^^■"" 

Hie  jacet 
Johannes  Rothus,  Petri  filius,  civis  practorius  civi- 

tatis  Kilkeniae,  qui  facellum  hoc  cum  monumcnto 

fepulchrali 


54<^  tMB  AKTIQJJIT1ES    OF 

fepulchrali  pro  (^i  \x%oie  libefi^vre  ac  pofteris  fits 
fieri  feciU  ^vuia  fiilutts  i6f&.  Jpfevero  ncm  ttm 
obiit  qiMPl  a}Mit,  3  (  c&e,  menfis  Januarii,  A.  D. 
1620.  bfecnon  Eofo  Arcbeira  chariifiina  «rius  oonj^ 
quae  vicellit  magb.  qoam  dccdEt,  die  mcofis  8*. 
anno  Donsu  16  ...  . 

Qg^uixie  aAunnbtis  propntietiir  DeuL 

Syi:nbolum.  ialutis. 
Ortus  quaeque  fuos  redolent  4uumantia  primos. 
£t  redit  in  cinerera  q<iiod  :&nt  ante  cinis. 
McnsTuperaa  nutic  avet  opes  •  .  .  imas 
Meoape  £11  menxttem  ^fviSbHos  tirna.fainL 
Aftt^ediviTB  oUtn  qiiandaurnarefbderit  oflk 
JundlA  ftuiauS)  Dous  O  £uiit»  ut^iin  petaab 

ST.  MML  OR  MAULA. 

The  church  .dedicated  to  this  latnt  is  of  gretf 
antiqiHty^  aodi  poiotfid  out  in.  St.  Jphnli  chnfEr^  as 
fyiog  on  cbe  ctA-  fide  of  du  river.  It  is  a  fufiidBol 
i^logy*  for  introdDcing  iegendsry  namtiMis.iii 
accounts  of.  antient  foundations .  to  Iky^  that  &- 
quently  none  others  are  to  be  found ;  this  is  the 
cafe  atpreTent 

'  The  fex  of  this  faint  is  doubtful :  if  it  was  dedi* 
catod  to  S€.;M»V  we  are  (f)  told  he  was  nephew 
and  diCeipis  of  St.  Patncfc,  and  by  him  placai  ovec 
the  fee  of  Ardagb  in  456^  wheoe  he  prcfided  ibr 
more  than,  thirty  years  and  died  the  5th  of 
February,  487.  The  profeflcd  writers  of  the  fives 
of  iaints  ftretch  the  beiicf  of  the  credulous  very 

far, 

(rt  Ware's  Bifliops. 


IRISHTOWN  AND  itlLKENflY.  54^ 

far,  when  they  rtlatc  with  fuch  minute  ejtaftnefi 
nhauthenticated  events.  The  following  tale  de- 
ferves  as  little  credit. 

*'  (q)  About  the  fame  time  that  St.  Kcnnic's' 
church  was  bijilt,  a  church  was  eredted  over  againft 
the  town,  upon  the  eaft  fide  of  the  Nore,  in  honour 
of  St.  Maula,  the  mother  of  St,  Kenny,  whofe 
memory  is  continued  in  Kilkenny  by  her  plague 
that  fell  upon  them  thus :  There  was  a  j^lagu'e  in 
the  towne,  and  fuch  as  died  thereof,  being  bound 
with  wythes  upon  tlic  bcere,*  were  buried  in  St. 
Maula's  clniroh-y ard ;  after  that  the  infection  ceafed, 
women  arid  makls  went  tnither  to  dance,  and  in- 
fiead  of  naptdns  aitd  handkerchiefs'  to  keep  thent 
together  in  flietr  round,  it  is  fafd,  fhey  took  thofe 
Wythes  to  ferve  thcrr  purpbfe, 

"  It  is  generally  conceived  th^  Maufa  vjras  angry 
for  profaning  her  church-yard,  and  with  the  wythes ' 
infedied  the  dancer^  fo,  that  fhortly  after  man, 
woriiari  atid  cfiiM  died  in  Kilkenny." — We  here  fee 
a  natural  efFeft  fuf>erftitioufly  and ignorantly  afcribecf 
to  another  caufe. 

EMINBNt    MEN. 

i^ilkenny  hilh  pfoduted  fome  eminent  men, 
natives  of  it. 

Wllfiam  de  Kilkenny 
Was  archdeacon  (r)  of  Coventry  and  t"he  king's 
thaihceflor.     tie  was  elefted  by  the  convent  off 
Ely,  biflioji  of  that  fee,  in   1 254.     See  more  in 
Bent  ham's  antiq'^'itieS  of  tTiat  church*. 

Vol.  H.  O  o  Srmoit 

(f)  Hanmer*^  chronicle. 

(r)  M.  Fan's,  pag.  7C9    Matt.  Weftiu. 


I 


542  THE  ANTICLUiriES   Of 

Simon  de  Kilkenny 
Was  canon  (i)  •  of  Ktldare,  and  appointed  to  tba!' 
fee  in  ^258. 

William  of  Kilkenny, 
But  called  (/)  William  of  Jerpoint,  for  being  » 
monk  of  the  Ciftertian  abbey  there,    was  made 
bifhop  of  Cork  in  1 266. 

Cleere, 

I  fuppofe  James  Cleere  before  mentioned,  pro- 
ceeded mafler  of  arts  in  Oxford,  was  after  made 
srpoftolic  jHothonotary  and  dean  of  St.  Canice. 

Stanihurft  fupplies  us  witH  the  following  lift : 

Robert  Joife,  a  good  humanift.  There  hath  bcca 
a  Roth,  vicar  of  St.  John's,  prettily  learned. 

Elias  ShethorShea,  fometimes  fcholar  of  Oxford, 
a  gentleman  of  pailing  good  wit,  a  pleafmg  con- 
ceited companion,  full  of  mirth  without  gall  He 
wrote  in  Englifli  divers  fonnets. 

Michael  Sheth,  was  mailer  of  arts. 

John  Thonery^ 
Batchelor  of  divinity,  was,  in  1553,  advanced  by 
queen  Mary  to  the  fee  of  Offory.    He  impovcrilhcd 
Us  church  by  alienating  to  Sir  Richard  Shee  the 
lordlhips  of  Bifliops-court  and  Freinllon. 

William  Daniel 
Was  one  of  the  three  fir  ft  fcholars  of  Trinity  college, 
Dublin,  under  queen  Elizabeth's  charter.     He  wasj 
confccrated  archbifhop  of  Tuam  in  1609,  ov< 
which  he  prefided   19  years;   he  tranflated  tbc| 
common  prayer  and  new  teftament  into  IriOi. 

Sebaftiaal 

W  Ware's  Bifliops,  pag.  38 5.      (/)  Ware  fupra,  pag.  555. 


IRISHTOWN  AND  KILKENNY.  543 

Sebaftian  Shortall, 
Otherwife  called  Stephen  Shortall,  became  a  Cifter- 
tian  monk  in  the  monaftery  of  Nucale  in  Gallicia, 
in  Spain  :  he  was  a  man  of  ibme  learning,  and 
died  titular  abbot  of  Beftive  in  the  county  of  Meatb 
in  1639. 

Earl  of  Offory. 
An  account  of  him  may  be  ktn  in  the  Biographta 
Britannica. . 

David  Rolh 
Was  titular  bifhop  of  Oflbry ;  a  man  of  great  eru- 
dition, and  well  {killed  in  our  national  antiquities^ 
as  primate   Ufher  tefiifies  in  his  primordia  Ecc« 
Britann. 

William  Salenger, 
Or  St.  Leger,  entered  the  fociety  of  Jefuits  at 
Tournay  in  i6zi.  We  find  him  in  Kilkenny 
during  the  rebellion,  but  he  was  not  fuperiour  of 
that  order,  as  (u)  Harris  aflerts.  Sotwel  fays  he  was 
redor  collegii  Kilkenniae,  this  was,  the  fchool  in  the 
church-yard.  On  the  fettlement  of  the  kingdom  he 
retired  to  Spain  and  was  made  principal  of  the  Iri(h 
college  at  CompoRella,  where  he  died  in  1665. 

Richard  Archdekin 
Was  of  the  fame  order,  and  entered  the  fociety  at 
Mechlin,   in   164a.     He  taught  phibfophy  and 
^ivinity  at  Louvain,  and  died  at  Antwerp  in  1690. 

The  writer  cannot  conclude  this  work  without 
cxprefling  his  warmeft  acknowledgements  to  the 
rev.  Mr.  Archdall  for  his  friendly  aid  in  the  courfe 
of  it  J   a  perfeft  knowledge  of  the  antiquities  of 

O  o  2  this 

(w)  Writers,  pag.  144. 


544  THE   ANTIQJJITIES,    &c. 

this  country,  joined  to  a  liberality  of  fentiment^ 
which  ever  diftinguiflies  the  polifhed  fcholar,  ena- 
bled him  to  make  many  valuable  communications. 
To  Mr.  James  LafFan  of  Kilkenny  he  is  indebted 
for  the  perufal  of  a  great  number  of  curious  MSS. 
without  which  the  foregoing  pages  had  been  very 
defeftive.    * 


•w 


\ 


appendix; 


APPENDIX 


OF   ORIGINAL  RECORDS. 


^A^^L^  ^.S  ^^^^k  ^^L  ^k  ^^^ 

No.  I.    Page  S55. 

m 

Prioratus  five  hofpital.  Sli.  Johannis  cvang.  dc 
Kilkenn.  fundat.  circa  ann.  1220. 

WILL.  Marefchallus^  comes  Pembrochiae,  &c. 
concefli  B.  Johanni  evang.  locum  qucndam 
ad  caput  parvi  poniis  de  Kilken.  fc.  inter  dudluna 
minoris  aquae  et  viam  quae  ducit  ad  Loghmadharan 
ab  horreis  meis,  et  16  acras  de  terra  libera  ex  eadem 
parte  aquae  illius,  cum  pertinentiis,  ad  conftruendum 
ibidem  domum^  religionis,  ia  honorem  Dei  et  Sti. 
Johannis,  et  ad  fuftentationem  pauperum  et  indi* 
gentium.  Concefli  etiam,  totam  parochiam  ultra 
pontem  de  Kilkenn.  verfus  orientem  et  adjacentem 
eidem  ponto  cum  pertinentiiSy  abfque  omni  retine- 
raento.  Etiam  beneficium  ecclefiaAicum  totlus 
terrs  meae  de  Donfert,  quantum  fc.  inde  ad  pa- 
tronum  pertinet;  et  beneficium  ecclefiafticum  totius 
terrae  me  de  Loghmadheran  eodem  modo  cum  om- 
nibus pertinentiis,  tam  in  dectmis,  quam  oblatio- 
nibus  et  obventionibus.  Et  omnes«decimas  loolen-t 
dinorum,  pifcariarum^  pomarioruni,  et  cotumbario* 
rum  meorum  de  Kilkenn. 

Volo  etiam  et  concedo,  quod  praedi^Sli  fratres 
de&rviant  capella  caftri  mei  dc  Kilkenn.  et  inde 

babeant 


546  APPENDIX. 

habeant  omnes  obvenliones  et  oblaiiones  fi  ego 
abfens  fuero  vci  haeredes  mei;  fia  aiuem,  tunc 
domtnici  capellani  mei  oblatioaes  ex  ea  provenientca 
percipient. 

CoQceffi  etiam  locum  quendam  ad  caput  magnt 
pontisy  ubi  primitus  domus  eorum  inchoata  fiiit, 
reddendo  de  eodem  loco  mihi  et  bsredibus  meis 
annuatim  tres  folidos  pro  omnibus  fervitiis*  Et 
quod  habeant  et  poffideant  pacifice  omnes  redditus 
burgagiorum  quae  eis  ii^  villa  de  Kilkenn.  data  fue- 
runt  et  danda,  falvo  feryitio  meo,  et  falvis  omnibus 
quas  juris  mei  funt.  Praeterea  conceffi  ecclefiam 
de  Haghamon  et  ecclefiam  de  Nova  villa,  et  totum 
beneficium  Veteris  villas  cum  omnibus  pertincntiis 
ad  eafdem  ecclefias  fpedantibus.  Prsterea.  dec|- 
mas  molendinorumm^rum  et  fenorum  meorum  in 
parochii^  praediftarum  ecclefiarum. 

Infupcr,  triginta  marcas  argenti  de  decima  red- 
ditus mei  aflifi  in  Hibemia  perdpiendas  in  per* 
petuum  ad  fcaccarium  meum  de  Kilkennia.  £t 
praeter  haec,  unara  carrucatam  terras  cum  pertincn- 
tiis, viz.  illam  quam  Thomas  Drake  confuevit 
tenere  juxta  Kilkenniarn,  quietatna  ab  omnibus 
fcrvitils,  &c. 

Monaflicon  Anglic,  vol,  2-  pag.  1042. 


No.  II.    Page  S5S'. 

Re*  fuperiori  et  praepofito  et  communitati  villae 
de  Kilkenny,  falutem.  Monflravit  nobis  vcnerabilis 
pater,   Alexander  cpifcopus  Oflbrienfxs,  ut  cum 


APPENDIX.  547 

ripfe  omnia  temporalia  fua  tcneat  de  nobis  in  capite,; 

apfeque.quoddam  mercatum  in -villa  fua  del  Irifh- 

ton  juxta  Kilkeniam^  quae  eft  parccUa  diftorum 

.temporalium,  viz.  die  Mercurii  fingulis  feptimani?, 

obtineat.    Et  licet  idem  epifcopus  ct  praedeceirorefi 

fui  nuper  •epifcopi  loci  praedidki,  mercatum  fiium 

praedidtum,  ut  praediftum  eft,  et  libertaiem  fuam 

infra  Croceam  cpifcopatAs  praedidli,  libere  el  abfque 

cuftumis  aliquibiis  pro  muragio  diftae  villae  de  Kil* 

Jccnnia,  de  rebus  venalibus  ad  diftum  mercatum* 

vel  infra  libertatem  prsediftam  venientibus,  abfqiie 

.aflenfti  et  voluntate  praedidli  epifcopi  et  praedeceC- 

forum  .fiioriim  foivcndis  a  tempore  fundationis  ec- 

clefiae  ipfius  epifcopi  Sti.  Canici  de  Kilkennia  habere 

.confueverunt.     Vos  tamen  quafdam  literas  nollras 

patentee  ad  certas  cuftomas  pro  muragio  diftae 

-villae  de' Kilkennia,  -de  rebus  venalibus  ad  eandem 

villanri  de  Kilkennia  et  infra  Croc^m  praedidam 

venientibus,  percipiendas  abfque  confenfu  five  no- 

iitia  di^i  epifcopi  impetraftis,  et  cuftumas  hujus- 

modi  de  rebus  venalibus  ad  di£tum  mercatum  et 

infra  libertatem  ipfius  epifcopi  praedi6lam  venienti- 

hus  praetextu  di£tarum  literarum  noftrarum  minus 

jufte  percepilVis,  et  indies  percipere  non  dcfiftis,  in 

ipfius  epifcopi  ac  Qcclefiae  fuae  praediclae  grave  prae» 

judicium^  didtique  mercati  ac  libcrtaiis  fuae  prai'- 

^didlae  pcrturbatbnem  et  retraftionem  manifeftas, ' 

ut  dicitur ;  fuper  quo  nobis  fupplicavit  fibi  reme- 

dium  adhibere  ^  et  quia  per  quend^m  inquifitioneni 

x:oram  fratre  Willielmo  Tany,  priore  holpitalis  Stk 

Johannis  Jerufalem  in  Hibernia,  canccllario  noilro, 

^bidem  c^pt^m^  et  in  cancellarium  noilram  Hi* 

bernlae 

i 


54?  APPENDIX. 

bemise  rcmanentem  ell  compertum,  quod  dift» 
villa  del  Irilhton  eft  parcella  didtoriun  temporalium: 
cj  quod  idem  epifcopps  et  prqedecefforps  fui  prae- 
difti  mercatum  praediftum  una  cum  libertate  pr«- 
difta  in  forma  praedida  habere  confueyerunt.  No- 
Icntes  proinde,  quod  pra^fatg  epifcopo  in  ea  parte 
praetextu  didtarunj  literarum  nollrarum  aliqualltur 
praejudicetur,  yobis  et  cuilibet  veftrum  mandamus, 
quod  prqptextu  didtarum  noftrarum  literarum  de 
di(fla  villa  del  Irifhton,  rnercatu  aijt  libertate  prsBr 
didis,  vel  de  cuftumis  aliquibus  pro  munigio  di&st 
villae  de  KilK^nnia  de  rebus  venalibus  addidhim 
mercatum,  vel  ir>fra  libertatem  praedidam  venicn- 
t'lbus,  abfque  aflenfu  et  voluntate  ipfius  epifcopi  de 
cetero  c^piendis.  Vps  autem  ajiquem  veftruna 
nullatcnus  intromitt^tis  fub  periculo  incumbente. 

Tefte  J^cobo  de  Botiller,  comite  de  Ormond 
julViciario  noflp  apud  Dublin  28  die  Januarii,  anno 
regni  nortri  51. 

Rot,  cancejl.  Hiber.  51.  Edw.  III.  1376, 
No.  76  in  dorfo. 


No.  III.    Page  372. 

Praepofitus,  ballivi  et  probi  homines  villae  de 
Kilkennia  habent  pavagium  ad  villam  fuam  pavien- 
dam  per  feptem  annos  fub  data,  apud  Dublin,  25 
die  Novembris,  anno  8  Edw.  III.  1334. 

Ex  rotul.  turr.  Bermingh.  pat.  8  E.  IIL 

p.  I.  No.  106. 

> 

ic-..  .  _    


APPENDIX,  149 


No.  ly.    Page  375. 

ilex  omnibus  ad  quQs,'8tc.  falutem.  Cum  com- 
munitas  comitati^s  noftri  de  Kilkennia  nobis  in  Tub- 
iidium  guerrae  -noftrae  filper  Hibernfcos  partium 
Lageniap  h<^.es  poftros,  P51  adjutorb,  cxpugnandos, 
fua  fpontanea  voluntate  nobis  conceflcrint  duodeci/n 
homines  ad  irma,  cum  tot  equis  coopertis,  quolibet 
,eorum  capiente  per  diem  duodecim  denarios ;  et 
fexaginta  hobelarios, .  quolibet  eorum  capiente  per 
diem,  quatuor  dqiarios ;  ft  d.upentes  pedites,  quo- 
libet eorum  capiente  pe^  diem  tres  obolos,  vadiis 
ipTius  communitatis  fuftineri  per  quoddam  certum 
tempus  in  corpitiva  julliciarii  noftri  Hiberniae,  di£ta 
guerra  durante,  moraturos,  prout  inter  ipfos jufliciar 
rmm  et  communitatum  erat  concordatum.  Aflig- 
navimus  diledos  nobis  Wiilielmum  Lye  et  Thomam 
Moygne  i^  cantredas  de  Ofgellan  et  Ognentoy : 
Ricardum  Foreftal/st  Walterum  Sillame  in  cantreda 
de  SylercWjr ;  Ad^mum  Tonibrige,  Gilbertum 
Synnichc  et  Jphannem  Herberd  in  cantredis  do 
Odoch  etGalmoy,  ^d  didum  fubfidium  conjundim 
et  divifim  afli^endum,  levandum  et  colligendum  i 
et  dilefto  .confanguineo  nofiro  Jacobo  de  Botiller^ 
comitt  de  Qrmond,  ft  hominibus  quos  idem  comes 
r&tineat  in  guerra  praedifta  (dum  tamen  ad  nu« 
merum  hominum  ad  arma,  hobelariorum  et  pedi* 
tupi  prasdidtorum  attingat  eofdem  holies  guerrando) 
per  indenturam  inter  eos,  modo  debito  conficien- 
dam,  liberandum.  ]£(  idee  vobis. mandamus,  quod 
i'tfciem  Willielmo,  Thomse,  Ricaido^  Waltero, 
Adae,  Gilber^p  et  Johanni)  tanquam  afieflbribus 

ct 


S5<^ 


appendix: 

ct  coUe£toribus  fvbfidii  praedidti,  pareatis  et  in- 
tendalis,  Damus  autem  afleiToribus  et  coUedb- 
ribus  prsediais,  tenore  prsefentium  in  mandatiSy 
quod  circa  piisemifla  cum  omni  feftinatione  et  d£- 
gentia  &dmt  et  exequantur  informa  praedi<5ta. 
In  cujusy  &C.  telle  Aln^arico.Juiticiario  apud 
Triflledermot,  26^  die  Novcm. 

Per  ipfum  jufficiariipi  et  concilium. 
Ex  rot.  Turr.  Bcrnj.  pat  ;is  Edw.  III.  No.  53, 


No.  V.    Page  3.80. 

{Lex  dileftts  iibi  fuperiori  et  communitatl  yills 
de  Kilkennia,  &c.  falutem.  Sciatis  quod  nos  ibr- 
tificationem  et  reparationcm  viite  veftrae,  vdiris 
exigent! bus  roeritis,  affeduofede&leranteS)  de  gratia 
xioftra  fpeciali  conjceifimus,  et  licentiam  dedimiK 
vobis^  in  auxiliym  murorum,  paviamenti  et  pontis 
ejufdem  vills  emendandorum  et  reparaadonun, 
quod  vos  et  pofteri  veftri  per  vofmet  aut  deputandos 
la  vobis  capere  poilitis,  et  habere  a  decinio  ^ 
I)ecembns  jam  proxime  fututo,  ufique  ad  finem 
feptem  axinorqrn  extunp^  proxime  (ecpientum 
plenaric  complendorum,  de  rebus  venalibus  ad  ean- 
dem  villam  vcnientil?us^  feu  de  eadem  cau(a  ve- 
niendi  tranflentibus,  five  per  eandem  viilam  per 
luiam  lucam  circumquaque^  tarn  in  Crocea  quam 
in  libertate  ibidem  venientibus,  confuetudines  fub- 
fciiptas. 

Vir  do.  cpiolibet  cranoco  cujufcunque  gpncrb, 
^ladiy  brafei^  fikinaD  etfalis  venali,  unum  obolum. 
J}fi^  quolibet  cranocQ  waicjc  Yenal|  d\|os  denartos. 

De 


A    P    P    E    N    p    I    X.  S5l 

De  quoUbet  crancxx)  de  cq^cyr  ct  fymal  venali, 
unum  denarium^    De  quolibet  cranocQ  tanni  ve- 
nali,  unum  quadrantern.    De  duodecim  cranocis 
quorurncunque  carborum  venalibus,  unum .  dena* 
num.     De  duodecioi  crapocis   calcic  venalibus^ 
unum  oboluxn.     De  quolibet   eqi(o,    vel  equat 
hobino,  bov/e  vel  v^icca  venali,  unum  denarium, 
De  decern  ovibus,  capris  vel  porcis  venalibus,  unum 
denarium.    De  quihque  venalibus  baconibus  unum 
iobolum.    De  duodecim  velleribus  lanitis  venalibus, 
unum  obolum,    De  quolibet  corio  equi  vel  equae^ 
hobini,  bovis  vel  vaccae,  frifco,  falito  vel  tannato 
venali,  unum  quadrantem.    De  qualibet  centena 
pallium  agnorum,  capriolorum,  leporum,  vulpium^ 
catarorum  ct  Iquirrellorum  venali,  unum  obolum. 
De  qualibet  centena  peUium  omhiunr  llhetarum. 
caprarum,  ^eporum^.biflanun,  damorum  vel  da- 
inarum  venali,  unum  denarium.  De  qualibet  mola 
molendini  venali,  unum  dei^arium.    iDe  duabii^ 
•  molis  manualibus  venalibus,  imum  quadrantem. 
De  quolibet  magno  facco  lanae  venali,  quatuor 
denarios.     De  qualibet  ma(a  allecis  venali,  ununi 
quadrantem.    De  vi^inti  groffis  pifcilnis  venalibus^ 
unum  obolum.  De  quolibet  fummagio  aequi  pifci unji    . 
venali,  unum  denarium.  De  quolibet  onere  [xfciutn. 
maris  venali,    unum    quadrantem.    De    qentunj 
anguillis  groflis  aquae  dulcls  venalibus,  unum  dena- 
rium.    De  quolibet  falmone  venali,  unum  quad- 
rantem.    De  qualibet   lampreda   venali,    ununf 
quadrantem.    De  quolibet  dolio  vini  et  cinerunj 
venali,  quatuor  denarios.    De  quolibet  fummagiq 
mellis  venali,  unum  denarium.     De  quoliljet  fum- 
magio ctnerum  venali,  unum  denarium.    De  quo- 
libet fummagio  pannorum  venalium,  unujm  obolum. 

De 


5S%  APPENDIX. 

De  quolibet  panno  integro  de  afEfHi  venalip  unom 
denarium.  De  viginti  ulnis  panni  Hibernid^  (ak- 
wyche  et  wyrftede,  venalibus,  unum  obdum. 
•  De  viginti  uhiis  linei  tell  Anglid  vcl  tranCnariiBi 
venalibus,  unum  obolum.  De.  vl^nti  ulnis  de 
canenis  venallibus,  unum  quadrantcm.  De  decern 
capellis  de  feltro  venalibus,  Unum  obolum.  Dc 
quolibet  tapeto  vel  chalon  venali,  unum  quad- 
rantem*  De  quolibet  panno  aureo  venali,  unum 
denarium.  De  quolibet  panno  de  ferico  vel  teo- 
dildno  venali,  unum  obolum.  De  quolibet  cajxte 
findonis  venali,  unum  obolum.  De  quolibet  &1- 
finga  Hibemica  venali,  unum  quadrantem.  De 
«luolibet  fummagio  pannorum,  vel  aliarucn  renim 
venalium^  unum  obolum.  De  qualibet  benda  faii 
venali,  uriuni  obolum.,  De  centum  gaddis  afceii 
venanbus,  unum  obolum,  De  centum  libris  dc 
pice,  vel  rofino  venalibus,  unum  obolum.  Dc 
centum  Jibris  feminis  porri  venaFibus,  unum  doa- 
rium.  De  duabus  milliaribus  ceparum  venalibus, 
unam  quadrantem.  De  o^o  chane  Talis  venalibusi 
iinum  quadrantem.  De  centum  parvis  bordts  re- 
rialibus  unum  quadrantem.  De  centum  roagi^ 
bordis  venalibus,  unum  denarium.  De  quolibet 
milliari  fcindularum  groflarum  venali,  unum  dena- 
rium. De  quolibet  milliari  fdndularum  minutarom 
unum  obolum.  De  quolibet  milliari  clavorum 
venalium,  unum  obolum,  De  quolibet  centeni 
ferrorum  adequos,  et  clutorum  ad  care£tas  venal, 
linum  obolum.  De  qualibet  nova  dfta,  vel  arclave- 
nali,  unum  quadrantem.  De  quolibet  milliari  dit 
corum  et  platellorum  ligneorum  venali  unum  qua- 
drantem. De  qualibet  duodena  de  cordwane, 
eorneys,  et  bafyne  venali,  unum  obolum.    Dc 

qualibet 


APPENDIX.      «  ssi 

• 

qualibet  ccntcna  oris  et  cupri  vcnali,  duos  denarios. 
Dc  qualibet  centena  de  fcalpyn  et  pifcis  auri  venali, 
unum  dcnarium.     De  decern  petris  cannabi  et  lini 
venalibus^   unum  denarium.     De  decern  lagenis 
olei  lampadarum  venalibus,  unum  obolum.    De 
qualibet  centena  de  vitro  colorato  venali,  unum 
denarium.    De  qualibet  centena   de   vitro   albo 
venali,  unum  obolum.    De  duabus  foKdatis  cujas- 
cunque  generis  ipecierum  venalibus,  unum  obolum. 
De  qualibet  centena  de  amcro  de  pondere  venati, 
unum  denarium.     De   qualibet   duodena  panni 
Anglici  vel  tfanfmarini  venali,  unum  denarium.    Et 
de  quolibet  mcrcimonio  valoris  duorum  folidorum^ 
unde  hie  non  fit  mentio  venali  unum  quadrantem.. 
Et  ideo  vobis  mandamus,  quod  confuetudines 
prxdiftes  de  rebus  venalibus  praedi£tis,  in  forma 
prasdid^a  capiatis  et  hftbeatis,  ufque  ad  finem  ter- 
mini pra^idti ;  completo  autem  termino  ilio,  con>- 
fuetudines  praediflae  pemtus  cefient  et  delcantur. 
Ita  Temper,  quod  denarii  inde  provenientes  circa 
muragium^  pavagium  et  pontagium  villae  praedii^ae 
ct  non  alibi,  fideliter  expendantur.    Volumus  enim 
quod  in  fine  cujuslibet  annt,  durante  termino  prae- 
dii^o,  computus  inde  coram  venerabili  patre  epis- 
copo  Offorienfi,  qui  pro  tcnjpore  fiiit  et  Roberto 
de  la  Ffireigne  milite,  vel  altero  eorum,  et  non  ad 
icaccarium  noilrum  Hiberniae^  de  anno  in'  annum 
fideliter  per  vos  reddatun 

In  cujus,  &c.  tefte  Williekno  Tanny,  Guberna- 

tore«  apud  Kilkenniam,  primo  die  JuUi,  anno 

regni  49. 

Per  pethioncm  de  concilio. 
Ex  rot.  turr.  Berm.  pat.  49  Edw.  IIJ.  Na  1 25,  intua 
A.D.  1375. 


554  A    P    P    E    N    D    I    Xf. 


No.  VL    Page  386. 

Kctf  &c.  omnibus  ad  quos,  &c.  falutera.  Sup- 
plicarant  nobis  fuperior,  praepofitus  ct  commaoitas 
villae  dc  Kiikennia^  ut  cum  villa  praedidla  in  maichos 
fuerit  afFefTa,  et  diverfk  Hibernicis  inimicis  noftri^ 
ac  aliis  rtbellibus,  malefadtoribus^  fdombus  et  r/^ 
lagatis  Lagenis,  Momoniac  et  Conactse  undiqae 
circumvallata  :  idcmque  fuperior,  praepofitus  d 
communitas  non  habeant  unde  veaire  valeant  fecure 
omnimodo  exemptione  et  venditione  viftualium,  et 
aliarum  par  varum  rerum  et  mercandizanim  fbaium, 
•quae  praefalis  inimicis  et  rebellibus  ad  CTitandum 
eorum  malitiam  necelTario  vendere  et  dare  opx- 
tebit ;  et  adhuc  indies,  vt  compeliantibus  aut  alias 
di^  villa  foret  per  didos  inimico?  et  rebelles  {jpo- 
liata,  deilrudla  et  omnino  defdata  et  relxdta,  quod 
abfit.  Velimus,  prsemiiSs  coniideratis,  et  quod 
eadem  villa  major  extat  relevamen  et  confortanicfl 
quorumcunque  miniftrdhim,  fokiariorum  et  aliorum 
fidelium  noftrorum,  per  terram  noftram  Hibcn^ 
laborantium,  quod  ipii  vidtualia  et  mercaudiias 
cum  diftis  inimicis  et  rebellibus,  tempore  pads  d 
trugarum,  emere,  vendere  et  mercandizare  tim 
infra  villam  praedi£him  quam  extra  in  partitns 
vicinis,  abfque  impetitione  nolbra  haoredum  fca 
miniilrorum  nofirorum  quorumcunque,  licentiam 
gratiofe  concedere. 

Nos  de  avifamento  et  aflenfu  charifllnu  filii  noftri, 
Thomas  dc  Lancaftre  fenefchalli  Anglis,  locum 
noftrum  tenentis  in  terra  noftra  Hibernian  ic 
aliorum  de  concilio  noftro  prauniifa  advertantitHD, 

dc 


APPENDIX.  SS5 

de  gratia  nofira  fpeciali  conceflim,us  et  licenttatrt 
dediiAus  prsefato  fuperiori,  prspofito  et  commu- 
nitati,  quod  ipfi  et  eornm  quilibet  de  caetero,  uique 
ad  finem  trium  annorum  ex  ni^nc  proxime  fequen* 
tium,  plenarie  complendorum,  omnimoda  hujus* 
modi  vifkualia  et  mercandizas  fuas  (equis  et  arma- 
turis  duntaxat  exceptis)  tarn  tempore  pacis  quam 
trugarum,  diebus  mercati,  tarn  in  villa  praedidVa 
quam  in  aliis  villis  Anglicis  mercatoriis  comitatilis 
Kilkenniae,  eidem  vicinis,  didtis  inimicis  et  rebellibus 
nollris  vendere ;  et  de  eis  emere  et  cum  eis  mer- 
candizare,  abfque  impetitione  aut  occafione  noftri> 
aut  minifirorum  noArorum  quorumcun^e^  aliquo 
ftatuto,  five  ordinatione  inde  in  contrarium  fastis 
non  obflantibus. 

Ita  femper,  quod  hujuTmodi  vidlualia  et  mercan- 
dizae  in  foris  di£tarum  villarum,  et  diebus  foralibus 
et  non  alibi,  emantur  et  vendantun 

In  cujus  veiy  bcc.  telle  praefato  locum  noftrum 
tenente,  apud  Trym^  20<^  die  Feb.  anno 
regni  nofiri  quarto. 

Per  petittonem,  &c. 
Ex  rot.  turr.  Bcrm.  pat,  4  Hen.  IV.  No.  laS^  intufl^ 

A.  D.  1402, 

No.Vn.    Page  386. 

Rex  omnibus  ad  quos,  &:c.  &lutem.  Sciatis  quod 
nos  confiderantes  grandes  cuftus,  quod  diledii  ligei 
noftri  fuperior  et  communes  vills  de  Kilkennisv 
habent  et  fuftinent,  necnon  robcrias^  cxtortiones- 
et  oppreffioncs,  quae  iis  per  Hibernlcos  inimicos  et 
Anglicos  rebelles  noftros  (w£\»  exiftunt  ^  ac  etian^ 

alia 


55S  A    P    P    E    N    D    I    X. 

alia  onera  jmpofita,  qux  di6U  villa  et  patria  circuG> 
quaque  foldariis  npfbris  ibidem,  que  extendunt  ad 
dueentas  marcas  quolibet  qiiaterno  aniA  m  reOften^ 
tiam  fuperblae  et  rnalitiam  didorum  inimicoruin  et 
rebellium  dc  die  in  diem  fupportant :  et  quod  diSj 
villa  auxilium  et  confortatnen  com^tatus  Kilkenniz*, 
et  aliorum  ligeorum  noftrorum  di<ftae  villae  reparan- 
tiurii  in  omnibus  agendis  fuis  cootm  eofiiemKf 
bemicos  et  rebdles  exiftat :  Ob  quod  prsfati  fuf»- 
rior  et  communes  in  tantum  depauperati  font,  quod 
non  poffiht  reparare  vel  eraendare  defeftus  rou- 
romm,  pontium  et  pavimentorum  diftx  villa 
abfque  relevamine  noftro  ;•  qi>i wero  mures,  pontes 
et  paviamenta  pro  majori  parte  proftemftntur,  et 
pro  defedtu  culluum,  in  periculum  cadeodi  ad 
terram  exiftunt. 

Nos  de  gratia  noftra  fpeciali,  de  aflenfu  venei«^ 
bills  in  Chrifto  patris  Richardi  arcfaieplfcopi  DubiiOf 
deputati,  diledi  et  fidelis  noflri  Johannis  Talbot  de 
Holomlhire  Chi valer,  locum  noftrum  tencntis  lens 
noitracf  Hiberniae,  et  concilii  tK)ilrif  in  eadem  tenSf 
in  falvationenii  dift^  villae  et  patrias  drcumquaquc, 
dedimus  et  conceflimus  eidem  fuperiori  et  commiH 
nibus,  certas  cuftumas  de  quibufcunque  meraui(fi& 
vcnalibus  ad  didlam  villam  veniemibus,  fccunduri 
formam  et  efFeftumXiterarum  pateniiuta  cteriftw 
domini  et  patris  noftri,  Hcnrici  quatti  nuper  rcjs 
Anglian  eis  data>  viceflimi  o<fUvi  Januarii,  aww 
regni  ejufdem  patris  noftri  iccundo,  ut  dicitur, 
ftjdtarum:  Habendum  et  percipiendum  cuftumas 
pradidlas  hucufque  ad  fifiem  %\  annorum  plenaric 
cjomplendorum, 

•  Volefitci 


APPENDIX-  s$f 

Volent<^  infuper,  quod  x:ompottis  inde  coram 
tnobis  et  hasredibus  nollris  et  ontniftris,  duobus  bur* 
.genfibus  ejufdem  villas,  per  fv^periorem  et  coni'- 
fflunes  ejufdem  villse,  pro  tempore  exiftentes,  acF 
:1loc  fingulis  annis  digendis,  et  non  coram  nobi^ 
ieu  hasredibus  iioltris,  aut  miaiftris  quiburcunqne* 
de  anno  in  annum  iideliter  xeddatur.     Provifo 
femper^^uodtcuftomx  prsdiAse  circa  rbparationem^ 
.et  emendationem  murorum,   pontium  et  pavia- 
jnemortjm  pra;didtorum  cxpendantur^  et  compteto" 
termino  prasdido  pemtus  ipfe  ceffeat  et  deieantur. 
In  cujus,  Stc.  tefte  pF$£&to  deputato  apud 
Trym,  20^  die  Septcmbris. 

Per  petitioncm.  See. 
£x  rot.  turr.  Berm.  pat.  7  Hen.  V.  No.  la,  intus. 

A.  D.  141^. 


No.Vni    Page  489. 

Johannes  Allea  armigei,  cancellarius  domini 
regis  terrae  fuas  Hibemias,  Georgius,  miferatione' 
^ivina  Dublin,  archiepifcopus,  Hiberniae  primas,  et 
"Will.  Brabalbn  Ann,  fub-the(aurariu$  fupremi  do- 
mmi  regis  in  t^ra  fua  Hybernia  prasdi^a  (et  ejuA 
•dem  invi^tiflSmi  in  Chrifio  priacipis  et  domini  noftri 
dom.  Henrici  8vi,  Dei  gratia,  Ang.  et  Franci» 
regis,  fidd  defenlbris  et  domini  Hyberniar,  et 
fupremi  capitis  ecclefiarum  Anglicanarum  et  Hiber^ 
nicarum  poil  Deum  in  terns)  commiflarii  et  legati 
^pedales  et  generales  in  ecclefiafticis  caufis  et  fua^ 
ccclefi^  juxiididtione,  per  totam  Hibcrniam  legitime 
conftituti  et  deputati. 

VouU.  Pp  Univerfi^ 


455  APPENDIX, 

Univerfis  et  iingulis  Chriiti  fidelibus  ad  quonim 
potitiatn  pr^ntcs  literap  pcrvenerint,  et  illi  vd 
illisy  qu£  feu  potius  infra  fcriptum  tangit,  (eu  tan* 
gere  potuit  quomodoUbct  in  futuruniy  ialutecn  in 
domino  iempitemo,  atqNie  prsfeptibus  fidem  ad^ 
bibeamus  indubiam. 

Cupientes  finem  irqponi  ne  plus  uHira  modom 
graventur  laboribus  et  expenlis;  praefertim  nunc 
de  juribus  ecclefiaflicis  aut  ecclefialVicarum  per- 
ibnarum  ft^tu,  aut  etian^  ecclefiaftica  jiiri{di£U<xie 
icontenditur :  de  quibus  diutius  ab(que  animanim 
ct  rcrum  periculo  et  jadtura  decertari  noii  potcft ; 
ea  propter  in  caufa,  et  quaeftione  aliquamdiu  veo- 
tilata,  inter  difpretum  virum  dom.  Jacobum  Cleere, 
dec.  ecc.  Off.  et  vicarios  perpetuos  et  chorales  cooh 
munis  aulas  coUegii  cathedralis  ecclefias  Sti  Canid^ 
villas  Kilkenn.  et  praefertim  propter  eorundem  vica- 
porum  de  et  fuper  jurisdidione  decani,  et  fiata 
vicariorum  ipforuiiiy  auditis  ,allegationibus  Juris  et 
fafti  (faltem  quibus  uti  valebant  in  Hac  parte)  confi 
fit  nobis  lites  minuere  et  a  laboribus  relevare  fub- 
jeflos,  tam  de  confenfu  praedidti  in  Chrifto  patris 
dom.  Mlonis  epif.  Offor.  quam  fubjedonim,  *  duxi- 
jxius  ftatuere  et  ordinare  in  hunc,  qui  fequltur, 
modum,  perpetuis  futuris  temporibus  duraturum. 

Imprimis,  quod  vacantc  ftallo,  aliquis  vicarius 
choralis,  cujus  nominatio  ad  aliquem  de  dignatori- 
bus  et  prasbcndariis  diftas  ecclefiae  cathed.  de  jure 
feu  confuetudine  fpedtat,  prasfentatur  decano  exa* 
minandiim,  fl  moribus  et  boneftate  approbatus 
fiierlt,  ipfum  commendabit  prascentori,  de  fua  peritia 
\n  cantu,  et  cancellario  de  fua  literatura  exami- 
fiandum ;  ouibus  omnibus  fufficienter  imbutus  ad* 

mittew 


A    P    P    fi    fl    t)    1    X.  5^ 

fiuttetUf  per  dec^num,  in  vicarium  choralem,  juxfa 
mcxlum  in  antiqua  fundatione,  traditum.  Eo 
femper  falvo,  quod  pcrpctui  vicarii  communis  aulas? 
Icgittmas  exceptiones  coram  decano  op{x>nant,  quas 
fi  viderit  ▼erifimiies,  admittet,  eifqiie  difFcrat^ 
quantum  dc  jure  poterit  et  dcbebit.  Et  cafu  quo 
hujusmodi  exceptiones  coram  decano  per  dolum 
vel  excogitatam  maliciam  opponuntur  (ipfis  fpretis 
et  negatis)  nominatus  et  prasfentatus,  fi  habifis 
iQotibus,  cantu  et  Iheratura,  ut  praenHttitur,  ex- 
pcrtus  fuerit,  nihilominus  admittiltur. 

Item,  quod  decanus,  epifcopus  vel  archiepUcopusr 
juxta  formam  prasnominatam,  culpis,  deledtis^ 
criminibus  praenominatorum  vicariorum  expofcen- 
tibus,  ipfos  aut  ipforum  quemlibet,  (trina  monitione  ' 

prsvia)  removere  vakant,  aut  ipfos,  aut  fpforumi 
quemlibet  cenfura  eccleC  compefcere,  fimaluerint^. 
ut  in  antiqua  fundatione. 

Item,  quilibet  vicariorum  debet  fervire  choro,  et 
fe  non  abfentare  abfque  licentia  decant,  feu  ejus 
vicarii,  fine  rationabili  caufa;  et  debet  modum  et 
formam  legendi  quotidie  in  mcnfarti,  bibliam,  aiit 
alias  facras  literas  fervare,  ut  confuetuda  inokvit  in 
ipfo  colkgio. 

Item,  quod  didi  vicarii  chorales  in  aula  foveant 
hofpifalitalem  quotidk :  et  in  menfam  aut  filentiuml 
teneant,  aut  finita  kftione,  laudabile  et  boneftum 
colloquiuni  habcraiit.  Et  fimili  niodo  fikntiuni 
feneant,  aut  contemplalioni  vacant  in  dormitorio,, 
ab  hora  oftava  in  node  ufque  horam  quintam  in 
mane.  Et  quilibet  eorum  dorrrlire  debet  in  didVa 
dormitorio,  nifi  ex  rationabili  caufa  de  licentia  de- 
cani feu  ejus  vicarii  habuerit  alibi  dormiendiy  (i 

Pp  a  -  fucrit 


|«>  A    P    f    E    N    t)    f    X 

fami  prope  didtum  cdlegium,  per  flatium  mm 
milliaris. 

Item,  quod  didtorum  vicarrornm  quiiiBet,  excepta 
decani  vicario,  debet  gerere  omnia  offida  didr 
domus  fticceilive  ^  ita  tamen  quod  uno  eodemque 
teirikpore  non  fit  nifi  unus  ofBciarius  omnimn  et  (irh 
gulorum  offidorum,  et  ille  non  inducat  vel  coo- 
ducat  fervum,  andllam  vel  muUerem^.  fine  Hcesti^ 
yicarii  decani  et  ejus  confratrum^ 

Item,  quod  eorum  aliquis  fit  perfonaliter  pav^ 
chialis  ut  inolevit. 

item,  quod  ifte  procurator  five  offidarius  domos 
^ligiatuf  de  communi  confenfu  et  aflenfii  ipbnm 
I  i^cariorum,  et  quod  fit  unus  illorum  vi<:aiionm 

pra^idse  communis  aulas,  et  quod  qqolibet  aooo 
ab  illifi  vicariis  eligatur,  et  ob  negligentiam  tplcnia, 
potefias  ipTum  eligendi  devolvatur  ad  decaoua, 
cum  afliftentia  Taltem  fenior urn  de  capitulo. 

^tem,  quodnullus  eligatur  nifi  unus  vicariwum 
praedi^o  officio,  etquod  ifte  procurator  five  offida- 
rius teneatur  reddere  rationem  feu  computum  ipfe 
vicariis  fingulis  bebdomadis,  et  decano  bis  in-anna 

Item,  quod  fi  aliquis  didtorum  vicariorum  in  fw> 
minifterio  feu  diyino  officio  ad  quod,  de  fundatioftc 
tenetar,  negligens  etculpabilis  repertus  fuerit,  pR> 
parva  offenfa  mul<^atur  in  quatuor  denariis,  e^& 
tunc  monitus  fecundo  deliqyerit  in  &  denariis,  d 
tertio  monitus  fi  denuo  deliquerit  in  iz  deaartf: 
medietatem  muldorum  hujul'modi  ad  uius  decaiH, 
«i  aliam  medietatem  in  communem  utilitatem  ditu 
coUegii  converti  volumus. 

Item,  ordinamus,  quod  fundatio  et  alia  fcripta 
ct  munimenta  d\&x  coUegji  conicirvonda  una  cuov 

eoruadeo^ 


A    P   J    B    Pr    D    1    X  £«t 

eorandem  (igiilo  communi,  ponentur  et  cuftodrentur 
fatva  et  fecur^.infira  diAum  coU^tum  di£t£  ecc. 
cathed.  in  una  cifla'five  fcrinio  (ah  tribus  fens,  et  una 
ckms  ejufdem  ciflib  vel  fermii  refa»utedt  ftfe  cuftodia 
decani  vicani,  iriia  in  cuftodiib  vtcarii  pratoentoris,' 
<t  tertia  in  cu(k>d»a  vic^rii  canccildcil  diifhe  ecc.  et 
4i£ka  ci|ta  live  i^riKuum  ntun^udn}  ajiomtur  nifi  der 
confenTur  <t  airefira  di^rum  vioadorum  et  partis 
jnsyoris  ca^eror»m  viciinorum*  £t  quod  htlla  par» 
.r^dkmim  conced^w  ^Ucui  peribnae  oltca  quhqoe 
a^nps^  nifi  ad  hoe  a^epeficrit  aflenfus  decatn. 

£jt  tndsrea  pttswiSm  non  ob&rntibua^  ek  oertifi 
vatio^feHlvbus  eai^fia  nos  moveodbus^  et  prmfertim 
pro^utititate  ^<%i  colle^  volumus  quod  ^fioholftlls 
Biyi^ondi^^  ew^^faw.  pvo  termino  tmnn  biuuh 
ifOm  fequentiym  tt\t  taiKj^am  (»x)curalQr  )iit  &per- 
vi^r  et  provyhi  db5tt  collegia  ita  quodreddk  compu* 
turn  di^6  vicartsde  fiii  adouriiftratioQe  fefnei  quafi- 
.bet  feptiRMn%  et  dieoatio  bi»  in  amio,  ut  fiipm 
.di^um  eit.  ' 

Ordinamua  ia^iper,  ^ood  fruAus»  reddltu»  et  pro* 
▼entus  ecc.  de  Kilkefy  f emaneant  fmgutis  anttia  ad 
the&uraj^ium  duSli  colieg^i^  et  reparatiofies  Aiifi'- 
dorum  e^ufiJem,  aliaqpe  cofnmuma  otiera  pto  utili- 
tate  coiiegu  Aipportanda  de  sumo  in  cyfta  feu  fcrioia 
pcxdido  ^  ita  quod  aulla  pars  pecuniae  exinde 
proreniens  dilbiboatur,  nifi  de  confenfu  decani 
vicarii,  et  msyoris  partis  vicariorum  ejuldem  coU^i 
pro  tempore  exiftentium. 

In  quorum  onEmtum  et  fingidorum  prarniifTorum 

fidem  et  teilimonium  figillum  quo  uUmur  ad  cau- 

iaa  ecc.  praefentibas  duximus  appoiimdufn.  Datutti 

Kilkenniae  8""  die  Aprilis  (&£ti  dom..i^9  triceffimo 

primo.    A.  D.  1540. 

No» 


56a  ft.   P   P   E   N   D    I   X, 

,  .  ?^o.  IX.    Page  5^5. 

Rex  omnibus  ad  quos,  £cc.  (aiutem.    Supptkal- 

'  runt  nobis'  ditedtt  nobis  prior  et  conventus  fiatrma 

praBdicatorunxKilkennise,  ut  cum  ipfi  continuofirrt 

oratorcs  pro  ftatu  noftro^  et  pro  anirtabus  nobilium 

progenitcjrum  noftrorum,  quondam  regum  Angliac, 

&c.    Et  fcipfoS  hon  poffunt  ftrftinere  ex  deemofy- 

:  njs  vtllsKilkennia^  neque  coniitatus  Kilkennis,  eo 

quod  didus  comitatus  eft  tam  per  rebeiles  noftros 

:  quara  Hibeniicos  iriimicos  deftruftus  et  devaftato. 

Volumus,  prxmiffiis  confideratis,  eo  praetexta 
cum  eis  agere  gratiefe,  nos  fupplicationi  fus  pn^ 
di£t£  annuentes,  de  aiTenfu  veneratNlis  in  Ouiflo 
-patrts,  Ricatdi  archjepifo^Di  Dubiin.  juftidarii  noibi 
terrse  noftrx  HibcrniaB,  et  confilii  noftri  in  cadcm 
terra  hoftra*  per  manucaptionem  Johannis  Nau)^ 
-  de  Trym  et  Thomae  Clopham  de  Navane,  concdfr 
mus  iifdem  priori  et  conventui,  duas  partes,  om- 
nium decimarum,  obiationum,  commoditatura,  ct 
'  *proficuDrum  quorumcunquc  rcftoriae  ecclefiae  * 
Mothil  in  coftiltatu  praedifto,  in  manibus  noflrii 
certis  de  caufis,  exiftentes.  Habendum  et  tenendum 
didlas  duas  partes,  quandiu  in  manibus  noftris  pi«- 
diftis  contigeriht  remanere.  Reddendo  inck  per 
annum  ad  (caccarium  noftrum  Hibemiapftodcna- 
rios  ad  fefta  Sti.  Nfichaeiis  et  Fafchas  per  aequale 
portiones. 

In  cujus,  &c.  tefte  prarfato  jufficiario  noftro 
apud  Dublin  25*  die  Julii. 
Ex  turr.  Berm.  pat   15  Hen.  VL  No.  11.  ifl^s. 

A.  D.  1437, 

END  OF  THE  SECOND  VOLUME. 


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