From Life of St. Laurence O’Toole, Archbishop of Dublin (1128-1180), by M. L’Abbé Legris, English Translation, Dublin: Catholic Truth Society of Ireland, 1914; pp. 40-52.
Life of . . . .
St. Laurence O’Toole
Archbishop of Dublin (1128-1180)
by
M. L’Abbé Legris
English Translation
CHAPTER VI
THE INVASION — SIEGE AND FALL OF DUBLIN (1170-1171)
To Laurence, solicitous for the temporal, as well as the spiritual, welfare of his people, the future seemed very ominous. Whilst, owing to the continual quarrelling of the chieftains amongst themselves, Ireland’s strength was becoming exhausted by intestine strife, on the other side of the Channel a great kingdom was being formed. The English King, alert, enterprising, and astute, not content with the fair French provinces which were his, was watching an opportunity to descend upon Ireland. More than once the Archbishop had warned his people of this, but his prophetic words were unheeded. And now, inspired by hereditary hatred of Dermot’s family, the Danes were joining the league formed to crush the King of Leinster.
Soon the people were forced to recognise how farseeing had been the Archbishop. Scarcely had the Anglo-Normans, Dermot’s new allies, set foot on Irish soil, than to satisfy his old animosity, he led them to the walls of Dublin.1
To those less perspicacious than St. Laurence, this 41 seemed but the beginning of one of those frequent quarrels which on the smallest pretext broke out among the petty kings of Ireland. At a time already distant (1152), whilst O’Rourke, the King of the Breffni, was absent on some foray, his wife, Devorgilla, had been carried off by Dermot, the King of Leinster, to his stronghold of Ferns. The following year, aided by Gordelvach O’Connor, King of all Ireland, O’Rourke invaded Dermot’s kingdom, defeating him in an engagement. A few years later, another was elected in the place of Gordelvach, to fill the office of Ard-Righ, or supreme King of Ireland. The newly-elected monarch took sides with Dermot, and joined him in ravaging O’Rourke’s small principality. In 1161 Gordelvach O’Connor’s son, Roderick, was elected Ard-Righ, and he, in turn, espoused O’Rourke’s cause, being joined by the King of Meath and the chieftains of some of the clans in the east.
Formidable as was this confederation of kings, each with some insult or some defeat to avenge, yet the King of Leinster need not have feared it, if only he could have relied upon the fidelity of the tribes subject to his authority. But the ill-treatment received from him during the course of his already long rein had exasperated these tribes. Seeing their ruler in such a critical position, driven to bay by his adversaries, they, too, were filled with the desire to avenge their wrongs, and so made common cause with the enemy.
Dermot’s resistance was but short-lived. Without allies, and having but a small army at his command, he could not long hold out against the combined forces of his enemies. He fled, and going on board a vessel, crossed over to England. But, although vanquished and a fugitive, he did not give up the struggle. He quitted Ireland, his heart bursting with hatred, his mind filled with schemes of vengeance. The assistance 42 refused him by his vassals he would seek from the King of England.
Henry II. had been for some time absent in France. Having celebrated the festival of Christmas at Poitiers, he went to Rouen about the beginning of Lent.2 Here it was that his meeting with Dermot took place. Having set before him the extremities to which he was reduced by the coalition of his enemies, the King of Leinster declared himself the vassal of the English King, took the oath of fealty, and rendered him homage. In return, he received the following letter, addressed to all the subjects of the King of England: “Know ye that we have received to our favour Dermot, Prince of Leinster. Whosoever of our subjects shall render him assistance in regaining his principality, shall have our favour and consent.”
On his return to England, Dermot remained for some time at Bristol, where he was within easy reach of Ireland. During his stay there, he caused Henry’s letter to be published repeatedly; he also took counsel with the military men who frequented that port. England did not lack military adventurers, idle and penniless, who asked nothing better than to seize the possessions of others and to deal again for fortune with the point of their sword. Amongst these was Richard Strongbow, who lent a willing ear to Dermot’s proposals.
Strongbow’s ancestors, sprung from a branch of the family of the Counts of Eu, had settled in England after the Conquest, and with the aid of a small body of troops, natives of Brabant, England, and Normandy, had become masters of Pembrokeshire on the borders of Wales.3 One of them, a skilful archer, was nick-named by his comrades, Strongbow, and the name thus bestowed became hereditary in the family.
43Prodigal of his wealth and fond of splendour, Richard, Earl of Pembroke, had ruined himself by his lavish expenditure, his vast estates being insufficient to satisfy his creditors; an expedition to Ireland, whilst taking him out of reach of their pursuit, would doubtless afford him also an opportunity of retrieving his fortunes. Thus, the agreement was concluded. In the following spring, Strongbow would cross to Ireland and assist Dermot to regain his kingdom. On his part, Dermot promised to give him his eldest daughter in marriage, with right of succession to the kingship of Leinster.
Whilst at Bristol, the fugitive King met with other adventurers, of Norman origin also, who had little save their sword and their bravery to offer in his service; of the number were Robert FitzStephen, who had only just been released from prison, and was eager to seek his fortune in a strange land; his kinsman, Maurice FitzGerald; Hervé [Fitzmaurice], Strongbow’s uncle, and even more penniless than himself. To these Dermot promised that he would deliver into their hands Wexford, which was the nearest port to Bristol, and two neighbouring tracts of land. Like Richard, on their part, they promised to go to his aid in the following spring.
These negotiations occupied several months. Summer was already far advanced. Dermot could endure exile no longer. Returning secretly to Ireland, he reached Ferns, where the priest of the place accorded him a friendly reception. Here he remained throughout the winter. The spring of 1168 found Strongbow unprepared. Without funds as he was, he had yet to form a small army, to collect and equip men-at-arms; this done, it still remained to obtain permission from Henry II., without which he could undertake nothing.
Meanwhile, Robert, Maurice, and Hervé had fulfilled their promise. In the beginning of summer they chartered three vessels, crossed to Ireland, and landed at 44 Baginbun Head, in Bannow Bay, south coast of Wexford, where they were joined by Dermot with a small band of his adherents. Combining their forces, they then marched on Wexford. Alert, resolute, fertile in expedients, these Anglo-Normans, in their coats of mail, worn over splendid armour, and mounted on great chargers, also cased in steel, soon manifested their superiority. At sight of them, the inhabitants of Wexford, who had gone out to meet their assailants, seized with panic, took refuge behind their walls. After one day’s siege, the town surrendered. Faithful to his promise, Dermot bestowed it with its environs upon Maurice. To Hervé he gave the land lying along the coast between Wexford and Waterford.
The news of the fall of Wexford and its occupation by the Anglo-Norman troops created profound sensation throughout Ireland. Everywhere men cursed the traitor who had brought these strangers to their land, and all realised the urgent necessity of compelling him to break with them. A national assembly was convened at Athboy by Roderick O’Connor to which came the leaders of the nation, both lay and spiritual, amongst the latter the Archbishops of Armagh, Dublin, and Tuam. At this assembly, Roderick was confirmed in his supreme sovereignty over all Ireland, and it was resolved to raise an army to drive the foreigner from their shores and to crush the traitor.
The united forces of the nation assembled in Hy-Kinshela, in Leinster. The few natives who, in the beginning, had rallied round Dermot, now abandoned him. His Anglo-Norman allies who numbered but four or five hundred were too few to offer resistance to the whole of Ireland in arms. Nothing remained but to take refuge in a dense wood near Ferns, and there entrenched in a strongly-fortified camp await the coming of the enemy. In such circumstances, 45 Dermot found himself driven to treat with Roderick, who, certainly, seems to have dealt with him very leniently, judging by the conditions he imposed. Dermot was to send away his dangerous allies, and this done, his kingdom of Leinster should be restored to him; meanwhile, he should give up his son as hostage for his fidelity.
But this peace, which was concluded in the course of the year 1169, was destined to be of short duration. Dermot had no intention of fulfilling the required conditions. It may well be questioned if he had the power to fulfil them. His new allies, now established in Wexford and along the coast, were quite determined to remain. Robert FitzStephen was building himself a castle on a rock near Wexford. Rather than give it up, he was prepared to desert the King of Leinster. Already these strangers were levying contributions on the surrounding country, and were extending their reconnoitring as far as the very walls of Dublin. It was very much to be doubted whether Dermot could any longer rely on the loyalty of his tribes. Besides, encouraged by the money received from the Normans, he may have been devising schemes which, whilst gratifying his desire for revenge, would, at the same time, extend his power far beyond the confines of Leinster.
He spent the winter in efforts to increase the number of his auxiliaries, and also sent messages to the Earl of Pembroke, urging upon him the fulfilment of his engagements. “The swallows have come and gone,” wrote Dermot to his dilatory ally, “but no wind has blown you hither. I have regained Leinster. If you come in time with a strong force, we shall be able to unite to it the other kingdoms.”
Impressed by the rapid success of his compatriots, Strongbow hesitated no longer. Approaching Henry, he begged permission to try his fortune in a foreign land. 46 The King, apparently, gave his consent. But his ironical, equivocal answer permitted of his revoking the permission if so appeared good to him.
On the 23rd August, 1170, Richard Strongbow, with 1,200 men, landed near Waterford. Hastening to the assistance of his allies, Dermot was already on the spot to receive him. Marching on Waterford they took the city, and there the marriage of Dermot’s daughter, Eva, to Strongbow, was celebrated. Then, without delay, the allied forces set out for Dublin. This movement had been anticipated. All the roads leading to Dublin were lined by the Irish forces who held every position of advantage, being posted especially in wood and thicket. The superior tactics of the enemy, however, rendered these measures of no avail. Advancing along the coast, they crossed the wooded mountains of Wicklow, passed through Glendalough, and arrived under the walls of Dublin without drawing sword, to the consternation of the inhabitants, unprepared for their coming. Great was the panic in the city when Dermot and his allies were seen pitching their tents around the ramparts. Thrown into disorder, the inhabitants, instead of preparing to defend their city, thought rather of seeking safety in flight. In the general confusion, the Archbishop, alone, took steps to avert the threatened danger, and, at once, sought the enemy’s camp. Strongbow, having married his niece, Eva, St. Laurence might reasonably expect a favourable hearing, and it may well be that he hoped to induce both Dermot and Strongbow to treat his people with clemency, that thus the surrender of the city might be effected without bloodshed. But Strongbow’s lieutenants, impatient for the opportunity to pillage, whilst the leaders were engaged in negotiations with the Archbishop, rushed the assault, and succeeded in scaling the ramparts. Dispersing through the city, they ruthlessly slaughtered the inhabitants. 47 The wealthiest of the citizens, led by King Hasculf, had already gone on board some ships in the river, taking with them everything of value which, in their hurried flight, they could collect; they even tried, it is said, to carry away the famous Cross of Dublin, but it remained so immovably fixed in the ground that no human force would have availed for its removal.
Returning in all haste to the city, Laurence had the grief of seeing his people massacred before his eyes. Wholly regardless of the soldiers’ threats and brutality, he fearlessly tried to defend their lives and to save their property. When the slaughter ceased, he went through the streets, ministering to the dying, and seeing that the dead received Christian burial.
The Archbishop, equally with all the other members of the O’Toole family, was the object of Dermot’s fierce hatred; consequently, not alone his patrimonial possessions, but also the property of his church were first devastated and then confiscated. But, undeterred, he continued to champion bravely the rights of his clergy. In the conqueror’s train were grasping clerics ready to fill the places of the vanquished. To these Laurence offered determined resistance. He obtained, not without great difficulty, as may be imagined, permission for his own clergy to retain their benefices. He also succeeded in obtaining the restitution of all the books and sacred vessels stolen from the churches.
There was one other enemy upon whom Dermot longed to be revenged: O’Rourke, King of Breffni, who had urged the Irish princes to league together against him.4 Scarcely had Dublin been taken when he induced Strongbow to accompany him on an expedition into the neighbouring kingdom of Meath, which they laid 48 desolate. After this exploit, Dermot retired to his stronghold at Ferns, where he spent the winter, and where he died in the following spring, loaded with the maledictions of all Ireland.5 But, in any case, his rôle was played out. Masters of all the towns along the coast facing England, the invaders could very well do without him, and henceforth would require no assistance in fighting for their own interests. Their rapid success in the beginning had inspired them with confidence for the future.
The seizure of Dublin had been effected so quickly that the Irish army, becoming demoralised, disbanded without any attempt having been made to discuss the situation or to come to some determination. But the Irish had by no means resigned themselves to defeat. They spent the winter in active preparations to retake Dublin and to drive the strangers out of the country.
The Bishops regarded this invasion as a divine punishment on the people for not having set free, according to the resolution passed at Armagh in 1158, all the English held in bondage, numbers of whom, since then, had been sold to pirates. It was now decided, at a national council held in the same city, that all those English still remaining in slavery should be at once set free.
Laurence, more than all others, contributed to the skilful organisation of the forces preparing to resist the enemy. Not yet would he despair of country regaining her independence. But, at the same time, he had seen these strangers at close quarters, and he could not but be struck by their bravery, the determination of their attack, and the admirable understanding existing between them by means of which, whilst all acted together in perfect harmony in obedience to the orders of one supreme commander, yet, at the same time, when there was a question of profiting by some opportunity 49 afforded by the enemy, they found themselves individually free to assume the initiative. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, if such soldiers were superior to the Irish troops, badly armed, badly disciplined, exhausting all their enthusiasm in the first wild onslaught, and unable, even in the presence of the enemy, to restrain their inclination to disagree. Nevertheless, the Archbishop devoted all his efforts to organising resistance. He visited the princes, he, everywhere, preached the necessity for harmony, pointing to that small band of adventurers settled in his own city of Dublin, ever on the alert for opportunities to pillage and ready to spread themselves throughout the whole island. His words took effect. The princes united their forces, and in the beginning of spring a large army was to march on Dublin.6 The Danish chief, Hasculf, to whom they appealed, promised to bring to their assistance a fleet of Norwegian vessels with which to close the entrance to the river, and thus cut off all communication between the besieged and England.
But, unknown to the Irish, by the King of England’s order all such communication had already ceased. Although replying to Earl Pembroke’s request with apparent irony, in reality Henry was not uninterested in the issue of the undertaking. Quite the reverse. From France, he followed attentively the vicissitudes of this struggle, quite determined to interfere when he judged the opportune moment had come. Quite unconsciously Strongbow was carrying out a project conceived by the King long before Dermot had appealed to the latter. Soon after his accession, in the beginning of 1155, Henry had obtained from Pope Adrian IV., an 50 Englishman, and only just elected Pontiff, a Bull investing him with the sovereignty of all Ireland, and he only awaited a favourable opportunity to proclaim his investiture. And now the opportunity presented itself for him to add Ireland to his dominions, without the loss of one man or even of a crown-piece. Thus it was that he permitted the adventurers to carry out their undertaking boldly, quite prepared, in the event of their being forced by defeat to return to England, to disown them. But when he saw the favourable turn which their fortunes had taken in Ireland, he interfered with cruel suddenness, asserting his royal rights over the whole of the conquered territory, and enjoining upon the conquerors, as well as the conquered, submission to his supreme authority. Before the close of the year 1170, Henry, who was then in Aquitaine,7 caused to be proclaimed throughout his kingdom, an edict forbidding his subjects to export anything whatsoever to Ireland, and enjoining upon those amongst them who happened to be in that country to quit it before the approaching Easter, under penalty of confiscation of their property, and of being condemned to exile. Strongbow hastened to send as his envoy to Henry, one of his companions named Raymond. “It was with your authority,” he was to say to the King, “that the Earl of Pembroke went to Ireland to assist your loyal subject, Dermot. He places all the possessions that he has acquired under your supreme authority.” Henry intended to exact far more. Continually putting off his reply, he kept Raymond all the winter following the Court in its movements from 51 place to place. When, at last, in the spring, Raymond returned to Dublin he was not in a position to give his companions any information regarding the King’s intentions. He found the city invested by an army estimated as numbering sixty thousand men.8 In response to the appeal of the Archbishop, nearly all the tribes of Leinster and of the east had joined its ranks. Hasculf, upon whom the Irish relied for the closing of the port, delaying to come, the King of Ireland and the Archbishop appealed for assistance to the King of the Isle of Man,9 who responded by hastening to Dublin with thirty vessels. The Anglo-Normans now found themselves hemmed in on all sides, with only their own small force to oppose this armed multitude. The situation may be summed up thus: on one side, the besieged afraid, on account of the fewness of their numbers, to risk giving battle; on the other, the besiegers, rendered cautious by their recent defeats, preferring to reduce the enemy by famine.
Two months passed away in this manner — the besieged seeing their stock of provisions each day diminishing; the besiegers wrapped in false security, awaiting from day to day the surrender of the city.
At last the Anglo-Normans took counsel together. “We have none,” they said amongst themselves, “upon whom we can rely, save ourselves. The English are as 52 hostile to us as are the Irish. Far better for us to die, sword in hand, than to perish here of famine.” They decided, therefore, to make a sudden sally upon the besiegers, and at the very beginning to single out for attack the commander-in-chief, Roderick O’Connor.
Next morning they divided their small force into three bodies, and, rushing upon the Irish, struck right and left, spreading terror and confusion all around them. Just at that moment Roderick was in his bath. The suddenness of the attack caused him to lose presence of mind, and he could neither regain self-control nor rally his troops, already in flight. The Irish army was completely routed.10 Until night, the Anglo-Normans, sword in hand, pursued the fugitives. When they desisted from their pursuit and retraced their steps, they found in the camp of the enemy enough provisions to last them for a year.
Shortly afterwards Hasculf appeared before Dublin, with sixty ships and a small band of Norwegians. As soon as they landed they marched towards Dublin. On the road they encountered the Irish forces in full flight, pursued by the victors; uncertain as to the issue of the conflict they fled to their ships, but were followed by the Normans and slaughtered in great numbers. Hasculf, as he was stepping on board, was seized and taken to Dublin, where he was beheaded in the market-place.
1 “Prae omnibus namque Hiberniae civibus istos non immerito magis habebat exosos.” — Giraldus Cambrensis, Expugnatio Hibernica, l. I. c. xvii.
2 Robert de Torigni, Chronique, ann. 1167.
3 Monasticon Anglicanum, t. 1, p. 724.
4 “Cum comes per aliquot dies de statu urbis disposuisset, ibidem Milone Coganensi custode relicto.” — Giraldus Cambrensis, Expugnatio Hibernica, l. I. c. xvii.
5 Apud Fernas, circa Kalendas Maii, ibid., l. I. c. xx.
6 “Cum infinita totius fere Hiberniae principes multitudine Dubliniam obsidione cinxerunt: Laurentio Dublinensi antistite zelo suae gentis, ut ferebatur, hoc procurante.” — Giraldus Cambrensis, ibid., l. I. c. xxi.
7 According to Robert de Thorigni, from September, 1170, to August, 1171, Henry visited the following places: Roc-Amadour, where he went in pilgrimage about the end of September, 1170; Bur, near Bayeux, where he spent Christmas; Ponterson, which he visited in February and again in May; Argentan in July, here he prepared to go to Ireland, and here also he received Strongbow’s envoy. In the beginning of August he landed in England, where he was met by Strongbow.
8 In this I am following Regan. Giraldus Cambrensis and the Four Masters record the investment of the city as taking place after the defeat of Hasculf’s Norwegians, that is about the middle of May. Between this date and that of the meeting between Henry and Strongbow in the beginning of August the interval is too short to admit of the occurrence of all these events: a two months’ siege, Strongbow’s expedition to the south of Leinster, and Hervé’s mission to the King in July. Strongbow who had led the attack on the Irish army was not in Dublin when Hasculf arrived to assist in besieging the city.
9 “Missis quoque litteris, tam archipraesulis quam Rotherici Connactensis, Gottredum Mainiae principem ad potum urbis maritimum obsidendum invitant.” — Giraldus Cambrensis, ibid., l. I. c. xxii.
10 “Dispersis igitur et statim disparentibus exercitibus, tam australi scilicet archipraesulis. . . .” — Giraldus Cambrensis, ibid., l. I. c. xxiv.