DUBLIN
High Medieval Expansion
The immediate outcome of the Anglo-Norman
takeover of Dublin in 1170 to 1172 was that Dublin
acquired a foreign overlord, the king of England, who
granted it to the merchants of Bristol in southwestern
England. For two decades Dublin was in their charge,
and redevelopment was rapid. Examples are the con-
struction of the first castle, probably earthwork, in the
southeastern angle of the existing walls; the rebuilding
of the western gate as Newgate; and the rerouting of
the Poddle in artificial channels along both sides of
Patrick Street. Not far away, St. Patrick’s was rebuilt
as a collegiate church and training center for priests,
dedicated on the saint’s feast day in 1192. A few weeks
later, an independent charter of urban liberties was
granted by John, lord of Ireland, after which Dublin
developed into a normally loyal, English-orientated
city. Its royal status was reinforced by the construction
of a powerful, courtyard type of stone castle in the
second and third decades of the thirteenth century.
Another vast undertaking was a second transformation
of St. Patrick’s, this time as a cathedral dedicated in
- Thus Dublin came to contain both the biggest
royal castle and the biggest church in medieval Ireland.
Most dramatic of all, however, was a large-scale program
of land reclamation from the Liffey. Starting in the last
years of the twelfth century, a series of wooden revet-
ments were constructed, behind which various mate-
rials were deposited. Around 1260 a stone quay wall
was built at Wood Quay, while access to this new
land was gained by means of openings in the old
Hiberno-Norse wall.
The principal opening was probably King’s Gate,
in Winetavern Street, just inside which stood the guild
hall of the merchants of Dublin. In an upper room of
this building the city council held regular meetings
and court sessions, reflecting the close linkage
between wealth acquired through trade and the polit-
ical power so characteristic of medieval cities. From
1229 onward the council met under the presidency
of a mayor—a rare and much sought-after privilege
in this period. The city’s main commercial axis
extended from Newgate to the pillory southeast of
Christ Church Cathedral, and thence northward to the
river via Fishamble Street. Part of this street align-
ment had the expressive name of Bothe Street (mod-
ern Christchurch Place), reflecting the practice of
erecting booths as market stalls in the roadway itself.
Other market spaces were to be found in the suburbs,
for by the end of the thirteenth century about three-
quarters of the city’s population were living outside
the defensive walls. Indeed, suburbs of different types
extended in all directions. Besides the second cathedral,
these populous districts contained parish churches and
all but one of the city’s religious houses. There were
also a number of public spaces, the largest of which
were St. Stephen’s Green on the south side and
Oxmantown Green on the north. Immediately outside
the western city wall and ditch lay Fair Green, the
venue for international fairs held each summer and
lasting for a fortnight. In association with the monks
of St. Thomas’s Abbey, an elaborate fresh water sup-
ply system had been installed by 1245, the main
aqueduct following the course of the street markets
as far as the pillory. Thus, by the end of the thirteenth
century the Anglo-Norman city had far outstripped
the Hiberno-Norse town in physical size and in insti-
tutional sophistication.Late Medieval Crises and StagnationThe history of Dublin in the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries is typical of that of countless European cities
and towns: a succession of crises followed by eco-
nomic stagnation, yet accompanied by the preservation
and even elaboration of municipal life. The first disas-
ter of this period was an accidental fire (a common
hazard, in practice) in the northern suburb of Oxman-
town in 1304, when part of St. Mary’s Abbey was burnt
as well. Much more serious, however, was the delib-
erate firing of the western suburb on the mayor’s
instructions in 1317, in order to deprive the threatening
Scottish army, led by Edward and Robert Bruce, of
cover for a protracted siege. The fires may have got
out of control, for St. Patrick’s Cathedral was damaged
and other buildings were destroyed. So extensive was
the devastation that the citizens sought, and received,
financial compensation from the English government.
Best known among the disasters, of course, is the plague
pandemic (commonly called the Black Death) that
reached Dublin in 1348. The late-thirteenth century
population of the city has been estimated at 11,000
(some scholars favor a higher figure), so by analogy
with other cities of comparable size, it may have fallen
to around 6,000 by the end of the century. Another
problem seems to have been caused by natural silting
of the Liffey; merchants are said to have been avoiding
the city directly, preferring to land their goods at
Dalkey in particular. A concealed reason for this prac-
tice may have been a desire to evade customs pay-
ments, for the English crown reacted by obliging traders
using the out-ports to pay duty at the same rate as at
Dublin itself.
The walled enclosure survived the 1317 crisis
intact, but its maintenance would have become a mas-
sive burden on the citizens, whose numbers and
resources were reduced after the initial outbreak of
plague. Indications of the ruinous nature of sections