The Reform Treatises and Discourse of Early Tudor Ireland, C

The Reform Treatises and Discourse of Early Tudor Ireland, c. 1515‐1541 by Chad T. Marshall BA (Hons., Archaeology, Toronto), MA (History and Classics, Tasmania) School of Humanities Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy University of Tasmania, December, 2018 Declaration of Originality This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for a degree or diploma by the University or any other institution, except by way of background information and duly acknowledged in the thesis, and to the best of my knowledge and belief no material previously published or written by another person except where due acknowledgement is made in the text of the thesis, nor does the thesis contain any material that infringes copyright. Signed: _________________________ Date: 7/12/2018 i Authority of Access This thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying and communication in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. Signed: _________________________ Date: 7/12/2018 ii Acknowledgements This thesis is for my wife, Elizabeth van der Geest, a woman of boundless beauty, talent, and mystery, who continuously demonstrates an inestimable ability to elevate the spirit, of which an equal part is given over to mastery of that other vital craft which serves to refine its expression. I extend particular gratitude to my supervisors: Drs. Gavin Daly and Michael Bennett. They permitted me the scope to explore the arena of Late Medieval and Early Modern Ireland and England, and skilfully trained wide‐ranging interests onto a workable topic and – testifying to their miraculous abilities – a completed thesis. Thanks, too, to Peter Crooks of Trinity College Dublin and David Heffernan of Queen’s University Belfast for early advice. Thanks is perpetually (yet never enough!) due to my Mum, Sandra Arrowsmith, who has constantly and resolutely supported my need to pursue a seemingly endless education. My moulds of mind and temperament, whatever their merits, were struck in the casts of her intellectual forge. I give thanks to my grandmother, Gladys Hanson (1920‐2015), who passed away during the early stages of this thesis. Once more the patroness, she funded and made possible my journey to Trinity College Dublin, the National Archives, and the British Library when the university could not. A Royal Canadian Air Force veteran, and librarian after the war, she will never be forgotten. Thanks is owed, too, to the Australian Commonwealth, whose Australian Postgraduate Award enabled my research to proceed for part of the duration of my thesis, easing the financial burden of pursuing tertiary education at a time when democratic governments across the globe are spurning the important role played by the humanities in fostering the very qualities that underpin their continued existence. Thanks is also due the University of Tasmania itself, but particularly to those working in the Morris Miller Library and Document Delivery, without whom much of this thesis would not have been possible. Thanks also goes out to certain individuals now living in Ottawa and Montreal who facilitated early access to critical manuscript sources; to Scott Green and Dr. Jo Ingram, whose encouragement I am grateful for; to Dr. Keith Miller, my General Practitioner; and to Bryan Lines for teaching me the art of rural living, and keeping me from grabbing the wrong end of the chainsaw. My brothers, Alex Marshall and Kyle Brown, deserve everlasting gratitude for their support and humour; as do my friends: Wayne Billington, Mark Bellefontaine, John Roppa, and Amer Hafeez – also brothers, they have kept me real. Finally, volumes of gratitude go out to my second mother, Lynne Van Hamme, and her son, renowned Canadian microbiologist (who I continue to hope doesn’t mysteriously go missing), Dr. Jonathan Van Hamme, who has been my friend since birth, and who, if I am one end of a donkey, he is the other (yet to be determined). iii Abstract The aim of this thesis is to offer a detailed examination and analysis of reform literature concerning the Lordship of Ireland between 1515 and 1541. It addresses questions relating to the dating, authorship, and content of reform discourse, and explores its implications in order to provide a nuanced assessment of the roles English and Anglo‐Irish officials, as well as the crown, played in influencing and advancing a practical reform agenda for Ireland. Many of the complaints of the authors of the reform discourse revolved around cultural tensions and attempts to dislodge ‘overmighty’ earls who had become de facto governors of the lordship. Their concerns also reflected broader fears about the power wielded by the other great magnates, as well as notable lords and churchmen of Ireland. The rise of Kildare power in particular presented enduring problems, bringing into relief the most significant impetus for reform described in the discourse. This thesis also recognises the significance of intellectual currents that came to bear on aspirations for reform. Accordingly, from the fifteenth century, it investigates the ideological roots of reform, focussing on the influence of humanism and concomitant ideas of the ‘commonweal’. How those intellectual currents influenced reform writers, how their opinions were further moulded by contemporary events and circumstances, and how these came to bear on the crown and manifested in official policy is also explored. The 1515 treatise, the ‘State of Ireland’, in particular, is examined in depth, providing as it does an important intellectual bridge across the traditional medieval and early modern boundary, defining a standard that would be both complemented and challenged in future treatises and correspondence. The cumulative influence of the discourse on the crown and how it affected Henry VIII’s disposition towards reform in the lordship – intellectually and practically – is also considered in light of his correspondence with those involved in the Dublin administration. Accordingly, this thesis attempts to reconcile Henry VIII’s evolving views of governance in Ireland with some historians’ contention of a humanist‐inspired ‘reforming milieu’ based in the Pale. It will consider whether some Palesmen shrewdly leveraged the language of humanism to ingratiate themselves with the king so that their concerns were more favourably received. The study of early Tudor reform discourse provides important insights into the militaristic and colonialist events of subsequent decades. Indeed, Henry’s moderate approach to governance in Ireland, which gradually took shape after 1515 and culminated in the parliamentary act that made him King of Ireland in 1541 and the conciliatory programme of surrender and regrant, died with him in 1547, having catastrophic repercussions for centuries to come. iv Contents DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY I AUTHORITY OF ACCESS II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS III ABSTRACT IV CONTENTS V ABBREVIATIONS IX PREFACE X INTRODUCTION 1 HISTORIOGRAPHY 4 D.G. White 4 Brendan Bradshaw 5 Fiona Fitzsimons 8 Reform 8 Humanism and the Commonweal 12 Recent Studies 16 Neglect of Reform Literature 20 APPROACH AND SOURCES 23 Sources 26 Chapter Summaries 29 CHAPTER 1 – IRELAND C. 1500 31 INTRODUCTION: POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY AND ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURES 31 PROBLEMS 35 Claims and Legitimacy 35 Gaelic Influence 40 Royal Authority and Magnate Power 47 The Kildare Hegemony 50 POYNINGS’ PARLIAMENT 57 CONCLUSION 62 CHAPTER 2 – THE TREATISES OF 1515 64 INTRODUCTION 64 WILLIAM DARCY’S ‘DECAY OF IRELAND’ (1515) 68 The 1515 Greenwich Meeting 71 v Darcy’s Treatise 75 PATRICK FINGLAS’ 'A BRIEFE NOTE OF THE GETTINGE AND DECAYE OF IRELAND’ (1515) 82 Finglas’ Treatise 85 SOURCES OF CHANGE 92 CONCLUSION 95 CHAPTER 3 – THE 1515 ‘STATE OF IRELAND’ 97 INTRODUCTION 97 A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF THE 1515 ‘STATE OF IRELAND’ 102 PROBLEMS 106 Historical Causes of Decay 106 External Tyranny: extortion, violence, and Gaelic custom 107 Internal Tyranny: corruption, negligence, and coercion 111 English Claims to Title 119 REMEDIES 121 The Commonweal and Reform 124 The Commons 128 Re‐invigorating Local Authority 131 CONCLUSION 135 CHAPTER 4 – THE EARL OF SURREY AND THE KING’S HUMANIST EXPERIMENT, C. 1515‐1522 138 INTRODUCTION 138 CONSTRUCTING A FRAMEWORK FOR REFORM 143 ‘Device how Ireland maybe well kept in obedience’ (c. 1519) 145 ‘Remembrances for Ireland’ (March‐May 1520) 151 SHAPING REFORM 153 The correspondence of Henry and Surrey 154 Why did the reform programme stall? 168 Surrey’s prescription for reform based on conquest 172 CONCLUSION 176 CHAPTER 5 – MAGNATE RULE AND GOVERNMENT BY INDENTURE 179 INTRODUCTION 179 BACKGROUND 180 THE DEPUTYSHIP OF PIERS BUTLER, 1522‐24 181 ‘Articles to be showed unto the King’s most noble Grace...’ (March 1522) 182 Kildare Returns to Ireland 191 vi Debating Magnate Rule 194 Indentures of Butler and Kildare 195 ‘A DISCOURSE OF THE CAUSE OF THE EVELL STATE OF IRELAND’ (1524‐8) 201 Authorship and Dating 203 The Treatise 207 CONCLUSION: 1525‐28 221 CHAPTER 6 – THE PUSH FOR REFORM, 1528‐33 225 INTRODUCTION: THE FIRST STIRRINGS OF REBELLION 225 Richard Nugent, Third Baron Delvin 228 Piers Butler, A Reluctant Deputy 234 A ’Secret Council’ and an English Deputy 238 REFORM IN 1532‐33 245 Robert Cowley’s ‘A complete resume of the state of Ireland’ (c. 1532) 246 Complaints of the Dublin Council 256 CONCLUSION 260 CHAPTER 7 – REFORM DISCOURSE AND REBELLION, 1534 262 INTRODUCTION 262 THE EVE OF REBELLION 264 THE ANONYMOUS ‘CAUSES OF THE MYSORDRE AND DEBATE IN IRLANDE’ (C. 1533‐4) 265 Authorship 265 Causes 268 Remedies 269 THE

Load more