12.39. Three sorts of people which came and serued in Ireland. Chap. 39.

Three sorts of people which came and serued in Ireland. Chap. 39.

THere were three sundrie sorts of serui|tors which serued in the realme of Ireland, (1) Normans, Englishmen, and the Cam|brians, which were the first conquerors of the land: the first were in most credit and estimati|on, the second were next, but the last were not ac|counted nor regarded of. The Normans were verie fine in their apparell, and delicate in their diets, they The Nor|mans fine in their apparell and delicat in their [...]t. could not féed but vpon deinties, neither could their meat digest without wine at each meale; yet would they not serue in the marches, or anie remote place a|gainst the enimie, neither would they lie in garrison to kéepe anie remote castell or fort, but would be still about their lords side to serue and gard his person; they would be where they might be full and haue plentie, they could talke and brag, sweare and stare, and standing in their owne reputation, disdaine all others. They receiued great interteinement and were liberallie rewarded, and left no meanes vn|sought how they might rule the rost, beare the sway, and be aduanced vnto high estate and honour. In these things they were the first and formost, but to serue in hosting, to incounter with the enimie, to de|fend the publike state, & to follow anie martiall af|faires, they were the last and furthest off. And for asmuch as those noble and worthie seruitors, by whose seruice, trauels and industrie, the said land was first entred into and conquered, were thus had in contempt, disdaine, and suspicion, and onelie the new comes called to counsell, and they onelie credi|ted and honored: it came to passe that in all their dooings they had small successe, & by whole and little their credit decaied, and nothing came to effect or perfection which they tooke in hand.

(1) This king, besides England and Scotland, had in his rule and gouernement the duchie of Nor|mandie, and the earledomes of Gascoine, Guien, Anion, & Poitiers, beside the losse of that which came to him by the right of his wife. And albeit he tru|sted the Englishmen well inough, yet being borne on the other side of the seas, he was more affectio|nated to the people of those prouinces there subiect vnto him: for of them he chose both them which were of his councell in peaceable gouernment, as also his seruitors in martiall affaires. And albeit he had of euerie of these prouinces some, yet bicause Nor|mandie was the chiefest, and he duke thereof, they went all vnder the name of Normans, and so called Normans.

12.40. How or by what manner the land of Ireland is throughlie to be conquered. Chap. 40.

How or by what manner the land of Ireland is throughlie to be conquered. Chap. 40.

IT is an old saieng, that euerie man in his owne art is best of credit & most to be be|léeued: [...] [...]o in this matter they are speciallie to be credited, who haue béene the chiefest trauellers and seruitors in and about the first reco|uerie EEBO page image 56 of this land, doo know and can best discouer the natures, manners, and conditions of these people and nation: for as the matter speciallie toucheth them, so none can doo it better than they. For whie, by reason of their continuall warres with them being their most mortall enimies, none can better saie than they how they are either to be conquered or vanquished. And here by the waie happie had Wales bin, I meane that Wales which the English people doo inhabit, if the king therof in gouerning the same or when he incountred with his enimies had vsed this deuise & policie. But to the matter. These Nor|mans although they were verie good souldiers and well appointed, yet the manner of the warres in France far differeth from that which is vsed in Ire|land Great ods betwéene the warres in France and Ireland or Wales. and Wales; for the soile & countrie in France is plaine, open, & champaine; but in these parts it is rough, rockie, full of hils, woods, & bogs. In France they weare complet harnesse, and are armed at all points, not onelie for their honor, but especiallie for their defense and safeties; but to these men the same are combersome & a great hinderance. In France they kéepe standing fields & trie the battels, but these men are light horssemen & range alwaies at large. In France they kéepe their prisoners and put them to ransomes, but these chop off their heads and put them to the sword. And therefore when the battell is to be waged in the plaine, open, & champaine coun|trie, it behoueth all men to be armed, some in com|plet harnesse, some in iackes, some in Almaine ri|uets, & some in brigandines & shirts of maile, accor|ding to their places of seruice. So on the contrarie, where the fight & triall is in narow streicts, rockie places, & where it is full of woods & bogs, & in which footmen are to serue and not horssemen, there light armor and slender harnesse will best serue. To fight therefore in such places and against such men, as be but naked and vnarmed men, and whome at the first push and aduenture, either the victorie must be had or lost, light and easie armor is best and conuenient. And againe these people are verie nimble & quicke of bodie, and light of foot, and for their safetie and ad|uantage they séeke waies through streicts and bogs, and therefore it is not for anie man laden with much armor to follow and pursue them. Moreouer, the Frenchmen and Normans most commonlie are horssemen, and doo serue on horssebacke, & these men haue their sadles so great and déepe, that they can|not at ease leape vp and downe; and being on foot by reason of their armor, they cannot serue nor trauell. And you shall further vnderstand, that in all the ser|uices and hostings, both in Ireland & in Wales, the Welsh seruitors, and especiallie such as doo dwell in the marches, by reason of their continuall wars, they are verie valiant, bold, and of great experien|ces, they can endure anie paines and trauels, they are vsed to watchings and wardings, they can abide hunger and thirst, and know how to take aduantage of their enimie; and their seruice by horse is such, that they are readie to take aduantage of the field, be|ing quicke & readie to take and leape to the horsse, as also to leaue the same, & to folow the enimie at their best aduantage, whether it be on horsse or on foot. And such kind of seruitors and souldiers were they, which first gaue the aduenture and first preuailed in Ire|land: and by such also in the end must the same be fullie conquered, that when the battell is to be fought & waged in the plaine and champaine countrie, and against such as be throughlie armed and appointed for the same, it is reason that the aduerse part be like|wise armed and appointed. But when the [...]atter is to be waged in stéepe places, rough fields, [...]kie hils, or in marish and boggie grounds, and against such as be quicke of foot, and doo séeke others to tops of hils, or to bogs, and woods: then men of the like exercise, and hauing light armour, are to be allowed. And in the Irish wars this one thing is to be considered, that you doo in euerie wing ioine your bowmen with your footmen and horssemen, that by them they may be defended from the Kerns, The Kernes vsage in ba [...]|tell. whose nature and conditions are to run in and out, and with their darts are woont shrewdlie to annoie their enimies, who by the bowmen are to be kept off. And moreouer, that the hither part of the land lieng on the east side, or part of the Shenin which diuideth the thrée other parts from this, and this being th [...] fourth part must be well fortified with castels and forts: but as for Connagh & Thomond, which lie in the further side of the Shenin, and all those parties (sauing the citie of Limerike which must needs be recouered and kept in the English gouernement) must for a time be borne withall, and by little and little by fortifieng of the frontiers in méet places be gotten and recouered, and so by little and little to grow in vpon them as occasion shall serue.

12.41. How the Irish people being vanqui|shed are to be gouerned. Chap. 41.

How the Irish people being vanqui|shed are to be gouerned. Chap. 41.

AS there be means and policies to be v|sed in conquering this people, who are now more light in their bodies than inconstant in mind: so when they are vanquished, they must in an order be ruled and gouerned. First and princi|pallie therefore it is to be considered, that whosoeuer shall be gouernor ouer them, that he be wise, con|stant, discreet, and a staied man; that in time of peace, and when they are contented to liue vnder law and in obedience, they maie be gouerned by law, directed by right, and ruled by iustice; as also to be stout and va|liant, readie and able with force seuerelie to punish all such as (contrarie to their dutie and allegiance) shall either rebell and breake out, or otherwise liue in disordered maner. Moreouer, when anie haue doone amisse, and contrarie to dutie haue rebelled, and doo yet afterwards knowledge their fostie, and yeelding themselues haue obteined pardon; that in no wise you doo afterwards euill intreat them, neither yet laie their former faults to their charges, neither cast them in the teeth of their follies: but hauing taken such assurance of them as you maie, to intreat them with all courtesies and gentlenesse, that by such good means they maie the better be induced and incoura|ged to kéepe themselues within their dutie, for loue of their good gouernement which they sée: and yet be afraid to doo euill for feare of punishment, which they are to receiue for their euill and lewd dooings. And if they will not thus order and gouerne them, but confound their dooings, being flacke to punish the e|uill, and quicke to oppresse the good and obedient, to flatter them in their rebellions and outrages, and to spoile them in peace; to fauor them in their treasons and treacheries, and to oppresse them when they liue in loialtie, as we haue seene manie so to haue doone: surelie these men so disorderedlie confounding all things, they in the end shall be confounded them|selues. And bicause harms foreséene do least annoie & hurt, let them which be wise looke well, that in time of peace they doo prepare for the warres. For after the Al [...]ion daies and calme seas doo follow stormes and tempests: and therefore, when they haue vacant times and leisure, let them build and fortifie castels, cut downe and open the passes, and doo all such other things as the nature of warres requireth to be pre|uented. For this people being vncerteine, crastie, and subtill, vnder colour of peace, are woont alwaies to be [...]dieng and deuising of [...]. And also bi|cause EEBO page image 59 it is good to be wise by another mans harme, & warie by other mens examples. For nothing dooth better teach a man than examples, and the paterns of things doone afore time. Let not them forget what [...]o better [...]ers than [...]ples. became of these woorthie men, Miles of Cogan, Rafe Fitzstephans, Hugh de Lacie, Roger Powre, and others, who when they thought of least danger they were in most perill: and when they thought themselues in most safetie, they were intrapped and destroied. For as we haue said in our Topographie; this people is a craftie and a subtile people, and more to be feared when it is peace, than when it is open warres: for their peace indéed is but enimitie, their policies but craft, their friendships but coloured, and therefore the more to be doubted and feared. And by experience the same in some part hath béene prooued: and therfore, as Euodius saith, Let the fall and ruine of things past be forewarnings of things to come.

And bicause herein a man can not be too wise nor warie, it were good that an order were taken (as it is in Sicilia) that none of them should weare anie weapon at all, no not so much as a staffe in their hands to walke by. For euen with that weapon, though it be but slender, they will (if they can) take the aduantage, and bewreake their malice and can| [...]ered stomachs. Finallie, forsomuch as the kings of England haue a iust title, and a full right to the land of Ireland in sundrie and diuerse respects; and con|sidering also that the same is chieflie mainteined by the intercourse and traffike of merchandizes out of England; and without the same cannot releeue and helpe it selfe; it were verie expedient that for the ac|knowledging of the one, and for the inioieng of the other, as also for the supporting of the continuall charges of the king of England there yearelie be|stowed: that there he a yearelie tribute paied and an|swered vnto the kings of England, either in monie, or in such commodities as that land breedeth, aswell for the continuance of the title in memorie, as also for the auoiding of manie inconueniences. And be|cause time weareth awaie, and men doo dailie perish and die, that this order for the perpetuall honour of the king and of his realme, and the memoriall of this conquest, the same be ingrossed and registred in a publike instrument to indure for euer. And thus ha|uing spoken what we know, and witnessed what we haue séene, we doo here end this historie, leauing vn|to others of better knowledge and learning, to con|tinue the same as to them shall be thought most néed|full and conuenient.