Medieval Ireland. An Encyclopedia

(sharon) #1

subsequent English kings, accustomed as he was to
regional diversity within his many lordships through
which he traveled constantly.
M. T. FLANAGAN


References and Further Reading


Duffy, Seán. Ireland in the Middle Ages. London: Macmillan,
1997.
Flanagan, Marie Therese. Irish Society, Anglo-Norman settlers,
Angevin Kingship: Interactions in Ireland in the Late Twelfth
Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989. (Reprint,
1998.)


See alsoAnglo-Irish Relations; Anglo-Norman
Invasion; Church Reform, Twelfth Century;
Feudalism; Kings and Kingships; Lordship of
Ireland; Mac Murchada; Papacy; Uí Chennselaig


HENRY OF LONDON (d. 1228)
Henry of London, archbishop of Dublin (1212–1228)
and Chief Governor of Ireland, was born in London,
one of five sons of Bartholomew Blund, alderman of
that city. He is sometimes called magisterin the
records, which suggests he had some university edu-
cation, but it is not known where he earned this title.
His early patron was Hugh de Nonant, bishop of
Coventry, a trusted ally of Count, later King, John.
Following his patron’s example, Henry also attached
himself to the count’s retinue; once John became king,
his successful career in the royal administration began.
Henry was typical of the royal curialeswho operated
in a variety of capacities in Angevin governmental
structure. He served in the judiciary, and as an official
of the chamber; he supervised both the transport of the
royal treasure and the organization of household sup-
plies. He also undertook a number of diplomatic mis-
sions, including, significantly, at least two visits to
Ireland. Henry proved his loyalty to the king by
remaining steadfastly by his side from 1208 to 1214,
when England and Wales lay under papal interdict. He
was rewarded with an impressive collection of bene-
fices, prebends, and titles, but two attempts on the part
of King John to have his faithful clerk appointed to an
English bishopric were unsuccessful. In 1212, how-
ever, he was appointed, apparently unopposed, to the
archbishopric of Dublin when it fell vacant on the
death of John Cumin.
From the start of his episcopate it was clear that
Henry was expected to perform a dual role in Ireland,
and this was underlined in 1213 by his appointment
as justiciar. He held the office of justiciar from 1213
to 1215 with considerable success in both military and
diplomatic spheres. He played a major role in the
rebuilding of Dublin castle as well as supervising the


construction of several other castles in strategic parts
of the colony. He appears to have ensured the loyalty
of the English barons in Ireland to King John during
the crisis faced by that monarch in England and fit-
tingly, was present at Runnymede in June 1215, where
he was one of the chief witnesses to the Magna Carta.
Henry was relieved of the office of justiciar in 1215
as he was about to embark for Rome to attend the
Fourth Lateran Council. He returned to Dublin in 1217
as papal legate and in this capacity presided over a
general synod of Irish clergy. His appointment as papal
legate was terminated abruptly in 1220, when he was
associated with the discriminatory policy that sought
to exclude Irish clerks from holding ecclesiastical
offices. During this period he also became engaged in
a number of disputes with both royal and municipal
officials around the exercise of his jurisidictional rights
in the Dublin area.
The conflicts were not serious enough to place the
loyalty of the archbishop in doubt, and in 1221 he was
again appointed justiciar of Ireland. This second term
of office coincided with the rebellion of Hugh de Lacy,
from whom Henry was forced to purchase a truce when
he threatened Dublin in 1224. Soon after this he was
replaced in office by William Marshall II, whereupon
he crossed over to England and spent some time there
and on the Continent. After his return to Ireland in
1226, his last recorded administrative duty was to
examine Marshall’s account as justiciar.
It has been said of Henry that he was more noted
for his administrative expertise than his pastoral care
and that his more overt spiritual actions frequently
masked thinly disguised political aims. While attend-
ing the Lateran Council in 1216, he succeeded in
obtaining papal confirmation for the unification of the
diocese of Glendalough to Dublin and, with the estab-
lishment of the archiepiscopal manor of Castlekevin
on lands previously held by that diocese, an important
base was secured from which to subdue the Irish of
Wicklow. Furthermore, the concern the archbishop
expressed to the pope in 1215 for the religious in his
diocese, who lived in scattered cells without proper
discipline and guidance, was used as justification for
the granting of the Irish Abbey of St. Saviour’s of
Glendalough to All Hallows Priory in Dublin. In com-
pleting the work of his predecessor Cumin by raising
St. Patrick’s to cathedral status and instituting the
offices of dean, chancellor, treasurer, and precentor, he
insured the means of rewarding those ecclesiastical
civil servants so important to the administration.
The precise nature of the archbishop’s association
with the 1217 mandate excluding Irish clerks from
episcopal offices is the subject of debate. Some have
seen him as the principal architect of this policy, while
others point to evidence of his willingness to work with

HENRY II

Free download pdf