Lord Chancellors during Henry VIII's reign.

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CHAPTER XI.

Lord Chancellors Of Ireland During The Reign Of King Henry VIII. **

Previously to the reign of King Henry VIII, the English laws had been limited in operation and partial in execution throughout Ireland. Their influence rarely extended beyond the pale, and they were not always observed even there; while only a few Irish families were considered entitled to the benefits they were supposed to confer. We shall find a considerable change speedily taking place. Chiefs of clans were induced by Henry to become subjects of the English Crown; to attend Parliament; to give up the Brehon code for the laws and Constitution of England, while the title of Lord of Ireland, heretofore borne by him and his ancestors, was exchanged for the more royal title of King. The Superior Courts and the Court of Chancery began to assume more extended jurisdiction, and the common law of England was generally resorted to, instead of the ancient laws of Erin.

Archbishop Fitz Simon having relinquished the Seals in 1498, the King conferred them on William Rokeby, who had a high reputation for learning, piety, and wisdom.

The new Lord Chancellor was descended from an ancient and honourable house, which most probably derived its name from Rokeby in Yorkshire. The practice of individuals taking names from their birth-place was quite common in former times. The family had considerable success in gaining good places in Ireland, for we find the Lord Chancellor’s brother, Sir Richard Rokeby, filled the office of Lord Treasurer.

William, born in Yorkshire, [Wood’s Athena Oxoniensis, vol. ii. p. 713.] was early designed for a religious life, and the rudiments of his education are stated to have been acquired at Rotherham, where he was a diligent student. Here he became a good classical scholar, and already gave promise of a distinguished career, by his steady and persevering industry. When sufficiently master of Latin and Greek, William Rokeby was removed to a house for the reception of canonists in Aldgate, London, and he gladly availed himself of a well-stored library which existed in that studious retreat. His familiarity with advanced classic authors enabled him to make a distinguished university career. He graduated at Oxford, became a Doctor of Common Law, and, in 1487, while yet young, he was presented by the monks of Lewes to the rectory of Sandal, near Doncaster. This spot became for many years his constant residence, and to his last hour he appears to have been greatly attached to it. Although the fortunes of a varied career compelled him to reside far from his beloved Sandal, this was the spot to which, at the close of his life, his cherished local recollections turned, and here he resolved, when the living spirit ceased to animate his body, his remains should rest.

After a lapse of ten years from his first preferment, in 1487, he was advanced to the vicarage of Halifax, thence to the bishopric of Meath and high dignity of Lord Chancellor of Ireland. [Pat, 1498, 1 Hen, VII.] The duties of the Court of Chancery were then beginning to acquire considerable importance in a judicial point of view, and were well discharged by Dr. Rokeby.

On the death of Archbishop Fitz Simon, in 1511, the Pope, Julius II., severed the tie which bound Dr. Rokeby to Meath, and he was appointed successor to Fitz Simon in the Archbishopric of Dublin. King Henry VIII., who succeeded his father, on April 22, 1509, retained the Chancellor in that office, [1509. 1 Hen. VIII.] which was vacated by the demise of the Sovereign. He was well suited to his position, and acted the part of arbitrator as well as judge. His wisdom and moderation brought about the settlement of disputes of long standing between successive Archbishops of Dublin and the Dean and Chapter of St. Patrick’s. [Mason’s St. Patrick, p. 143.] He seemed in every respect, by learning and legal knowledge, well fitted for the Court of Chancery; and as the chief object of Judges at this period, in England as well as in Ireland, was to enforce penal laws for revenue purposes, [Lord Campbell’s Lives of the Chancellors in England, vol. i. p. 425.] his Court was largely sought, as his decisions were consonant to the dictates of conscience.

The Seal, having passed in 1513 to Sir William Compton, was restored to Archbishop Rokeby in 1515, who then held it for many years. In 1518 he convened a provincial synod, which had solely reference to ecclesiastical matters. The canons have been extracted from the red book of the Church of Ossory, and published by Sir Henry Spelman. [Concilia, t. ii. p. 726.] They enjoined due examination of persons from Connaught and Ulster, previous to admission to the priesthood; the payment of tithes, proxies, and burial fees; the discontinuance of tin chalices at the celebration of the Mass; the appraisement of the goods of intestates by two valuators appointed by the Bishop; prohibited the disposal of the property of the Church by laymen without the concurrence of the clergy; and the playing at football by the clergymen under the penalty of 3s. 4d. to the ordinary, and 3s. 4d. to the repair of the parish church. These regulations show the condition of the Irish churches in remote districts, where we may suppose the clergymen not very learned, and where the use of * tin* chalices denotes the poverty of the Church. In the provinces, at far earlier times, there must have existed considerable wealth and taste in Church adornment, as is evidenced in the relics of Celtic art preserved in the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy, therefore we should not have expected a prohibition against tin chalices. Perhaps these humble altar vessels, used for most sacred purposes, were employed in very poor districts, in which the poverty of the parish was unable to procure costlier sacramental plate.

The very high penalty attached to the recreation of football, shows that the taste for ‘muscular christianity’ is of ancient date, and must have been carried to excess to cause its prohibition. I can well understand the necessity of preserving due respect for the minister of the Church by his flock, which must be lessened in the rude shocks of a game of football.

In this year, 1518, the Archbishop confirmed the establishment of a clerical college, founded at Maynooth by Gerald Earl of Kildare, and modelled the rules for its government. [Mason’s St. Patrick, p. 144.]

In 1520, the old family feuds of the houses of Fitz Geralds of Desmond, and Butlers of Ormond, reached such a height that the Chancellor was dispatched by the Lord Deputy and Council to Waterford, ‘for the pacifying of such discords, debates, and variances, as existed between the Earl of Desmond and Sir Piers Butler.’ The dissensions between these powerful nobles materially weakened the English rule in Ireland. Henry VIII. was well aware of this. Writing to his Viceroy on the subject, he says ‘And right comfortable news it should be unto us to hear and understand of a good concord betwixt them, so that they, being so pacified, might, with their puissances, join and attend personally with and upon you, our Lieutenant, for your better assistance in repressing the temerities of our rebellious Irish enemies.’ The fatal policy, too long practised by England in dealing with Ireland, of arraying race against race, and creed against creed, is disclosed in this document. [State Papers, temp. Henry VIII., vol. ii. p. 4.] ‘Now, at the beginning, political practices may do more good than exploit of war, till such time as the strength of the Irish enemy shall be enfeebled and diminished; as well by getting their captains from them, as by putting division among them, so that they join not together.’

The Irish Viceroy at this period was an accomplished English nobleman, Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, Lord Lieutenant in 1520. The following beautifully, written account of his character shows his great qualities: ‘Excellent in arts and arms, a man of learning, a genius, and a hero; of a generous temper, and a refined heart, he united all the gallantry and unbroken spirit of a rude age with the elegance and grace of a polished era. With a splendour of descent, in possession of the highest honours and abundant wealth, he relaxed not his efforts to deserve distinction by his personal worth. Conspicuous in the rough exercises of tilts and tournaments, and commanding armies with skill and bravery in expeditions against the Scots under his father, he found time, when our literature was rude and barbarous, to cultivate his mind with all the exquisite spirit of the models of Greece and Rome; to catch the excellences of the revived muses of Italy, and to produce in his own language compositions which, in simplicity, perspicuity, graceful ornaments, and just and natural thoughts, exhibited a shining contrast to the works of his predecessors, and an example which his successors long attempted in vain to follow.’ [Sir Egerton Brydges.]

This accomplished statesman soon found the Irish Government was beset by difficulties; that as only a small portion of the country submitted to English rule, no general system of action could be effected unless the whole country was brought under subjection, and to effect this the available resources of England were insufficient. By his wise and conciliatory policy he served the English interests well during his short stay. He returned to England in 1521, and Piers Butler became Lord Deputy. [Catechism of Irish History, p. 20.]

The judicial functions of Lord Chancellor Rokeby were limited, and my materials do not enable me to describe their nature. He was declining in health, and finding the end drawing near as the year 1521 was approaching its close, he prepared for his departure hence. He was resolved each of his English preferments should retain portions of’ his remains. He erected a mortuary chapel at his favourite church of Sandal, which is described as a fabric of singular beauty; the most perfect existing specimen of what the sepulchral chapels of former times used to be. [D’Alton’s Archbishops of Dublin, p. 181.] He directed a stone monument, with an inscription to be placed thereon; also that another mortuary chapel should be built under the inspection of his executors and church-wardens at the south side of the Church at Halifax, and that therein a tomb also be erected over his heart and bowels, on which was to be placed his statue, with a similar inscription to that of Sandal. And as he had obtained an indulgence for the parish of Halifax, and the parishes thereunto adjoining, for eating white meats in Lent; he willed that his executors, at their discretion, should solicit for a renewal of the said licence sub plumbo, the profit thereof to be employed on a priest to sing at Halifax, in his new chapel, as long as may be, by the advice and discretion of his executors, and the church-wardens; and that a doctor of divinity may have ten pounds to be occupied in preaching, &c. An abstract of his will is given in the ‘Athenae Oxonienses.’ He styles himself Archbishop of Dublin, and perpetual Vicar of Halifax; and orders that when dead he should be embowelled, his bowels and heart buried at Halifax, and his body at Sandal. After his death on November 29, 1521, his wishes were carried into effect. [Hunter’s South Yorkshire, vol. i. p. 200.]

The words inscribed on his monument at Sandal were: ‘Ego Wilhielmus Dublin, Archiepiscopus, quondam Rector istius Ecclesiae, credo quod Redemptor meus vivit - qui obiit - cujus animae propitietur Deus. Amen. And at Halifax : ‘Hic jacet Willielmi Rokeby nuper Dublin. Archiepiscopi & Vicarii perpetui istius ecclesiae, qui credo quod Redemptor meus vivit.’ [Athenae Pxon., vol. ii. P. 717.]

Sir Nicholas St. Lawrence, Lord Howth, was appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland, in 1509. History and tradition, lays and legends, combine to give the Lords of Howth an abiding place in the annals of Ireland, The original family name was Tristram, and it is related that when the Anglo-Normans invaded Ireland, Sir Amoricus Tristram, with his brother-in-law and companion-in-arms, Sir John De Courcy, arrived at Howth, A.D. 1177. De Courcy received letters patent from Henry II., entitling him, his heirs or assigns, to’ enjoy in Ireland all the land he could conquer with his sword, reserving to the King homage and fealty.’ According to tradition, while in Normandy, these two knights entered into a solemn compact, in the Church of Notre Dame, at Rouen, to assist each other in acquiring territory in foreign lands, and to share equally whatever wealth they should acquire by conquest. On reaching Howth, De Courcy was unwell, and was obliged to remain on board ship; so Sir Amoricus disembarked with the troops. They were met on landing by a party of the Irish, who resisted their progress at the bridge of Evora, where the mountain stream falls into the sea. The opposing troops fought on the north side of the promontory, nearly opposite the small island of Ireland’s Eye. The battle was long and stoutly maintained on both sides, but went in favour of the invaders; and the King, to reward the valorous knight, allotted him the land of Howth. The tenure was subsequently confirmed by letters patent from King John, which are still extant. [A fac-simile was engraved for the Report of the Commision on Public Records, Ireland, appointed by George III.] After this gallant commencement the two warriors reduced the province of Connaught to subjection; but in 1189, when De Courcy was removed from the Government of Ireland by King Richard I., Sir Amoricus, then in Connaught, being attacked by O’Connor, king of that province, with a large force, while the Norman knight had only two hundred men-at-arms and thirty horse, these latter, seeing the vast disproportion of numbers opposed to them, appeared desirous of seeking safety by flight, Sir Amoricus thus harangued his little army in these heroic words:-

‘Who will may save his life by flight on horseback, if he can; but, assuredly, my heart will not suffer me to leave those, my poor friends, in their necessity, with whom I would rather die in honour than live in dispraise. But to all those that will stand this day I can say no more than this; as our lives shall together depart, so, shall my soul accompany with yours to the latter day; and in doing this, I give you all my most humble thanks, and this day will live and die in the field, And, my worthy fellows and friends, all bear witness with me the latter day, that to God I render and yield my soul, my service to my natural Prince, my heart to my brother, [Brother-in-law, and in arms.] Sir John Courcy, and his wife; my force, might, pain, and good-will, to my poor friends and fellows here.’ This he spoke kneeling, and kissing the cross of his sword thrust it through his horse, saying, ‘he should never serve against them, with, whom he had so truly and so worthily served afore.’ [Burke’s Peerage, title Howth.]

Then every horseman in his band dismounting, did the same,

And in that company no steed alive was left but twain,

On one there rode De Courcy’s squire who came from Ulster wild,

Upon the other young Oswald sate, Sir Tristram’s only child.

These two were placed on a hill, and alone survived the slaughter of that disastrous day.

The name of St. Lawrence was acquired by a member of this family having gained a victory at Clontarf, which he attributed to the intercession of St. Lawrence, on whose festival the battle was fought. It has since been retained as the surname of the Lords of Howth. This family, for many generations, have zealously maintained what has been called the English interest in Ireland, and held a high position as Lords of the pale.

Nicholas, the sixteenth Baron of Howth, was the eldest son of Robert, the fifteenth Lord, a nobleman of considerable abilities, who filled several offices connected with the Government of Ireland. He had married Joan, second daughter of Edward Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, by whom be had four sons and two daughters. Of these sons Nicholas was the eldest, and had excellent opportunities of acquiring habits of business under his father, who, on February 22, 1407, was intrusted with the responsible office of Chancellor of the Green Wax of the Exchequer. Robert Lord Howth was one of the thirteen distinguished nobles who, in the reign of Edward IV., were elected Knights of the Brotherhood of St. George in Ireland, associated to defend the pale. This institution did not last more than about twenty years, as the taxes requisite for the support of the troops became obnoxious, and the organisation failed in the object for which it was founded. The exploits of Nicholas Lord Howth, as may be supposed, are better known in the military than the legal annals of Ireland. He led the bill-men [Not men who filed Bills in Chancery, but men armed with weapons so called.] on foot at the well-named battle of Knocktough (hill of slaughter), in Connaught, fought on August 19, 1504. This is described by the historian as the most bloody battle that stains the Irish annals. [Annals of Donegal.] Such was the vehemence and obstinacy of it, that at a great distance from the field might be distinctly heard the violent attack of the martial chiefs; the vehement blows of the champions, the desperate charges of the royal heroes, the voice of the nobles running through the ranks, the clamour of the troops when thrown into confusion, The Lord Justice gained the victory, but clearly with great loss. This was rather rough training of Lord Howth as an Equity Judge. His Lordship was appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1509; [Patent, June 11, 1509, 1 Henry VIII.] and as we may take it for granted his decrees were just and satisfactory, dismiss him from further detail. As in the case of so many who held the Irish Seals, the legal inquirer can find no trace of his career. Ex-Chancellor Lord Howth died in 1526, and was succeeded by his eldest son (Christopher), by his first wife, daughter of Lord Killeen.

The Great Seal of Ireland was again intrusted to the care of an ecclesiastic. This time the selection was of Dr. Hugh Inge, who succeeded Archbishop Rokeby in the See of Dublin, and was made Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1527, [Patent 1527. 19 Hen. VIII] for the term of his life. Hugh Inge was a native of England, born at Shepton Mallet, in Somersetshire. His parents were pious Catholics, who gladly observed the growing excellence of their child. From his boyhood he was destined for the Church, and showed even in early youth, great piety in attending the practices of the Roman Catholic religion. He was educated at the famous school of William of Wickham, Winchester, and probably derived much of his capacity for business from the example of this eminent Prelate, who was Lord Chancellor of England. We are to admire him, says his biographer, [Lord Campbell’s Lives of the Lord Chancellors of England, vol. 1. p. 295.] not only for his unrivalled skill in one of the fine arts, but for his extraordinary aptitude in civil business, his equal and benevolent temper, his enlightened munificence, and his devoted love of learning.

Hugh Inge profited by the instruction of Winchester School, and lost no opportunity in fitting himself for his University career. When sufficiently forward in learning he entered Oxford, and devoted much time to study, and qualified himself for the ecclesiastical state. There can be no doubt his career in William of Wickham’s school prepared him well for the University, which owed much to the same munificent Prelate who built St. Mary’s College’. Inge obtained a perpetual Fellowship in New College, Oxford, in 1484, and having gained his degrees with credit., indulged his curiosity to see foreign lands by making a Continental tour.

It is probable he passed some time in Rome, which was much frequented by English ecclesiastics, and the Popes had then a representative at the English Court. On his return to England he was ordained, and the Rev. Hugh Inge commenced climbing the ladder of ecclesiastical preferment. He was successively Prebendary of East Harptree, Sub-Chanter of the Church of Wells, and Warden of Wapulham, in the Diocese of Lincoln. Richard the Abbot and the Monks of Glastonbury presented him with the Wardenship of Duttying, in Somersetshire, and he also obtained that of Weston.

When King Henry VII. sent orators to Rome in 1504, the Rev. Hugh Inge was selected to take the renunciation of all prejudicial clauses, in the Apostolic Bulls for the translation of Cardinal Hadrian to the Sees of Bath and Wells, and the Cardinal’s oath of fealty and allegiance to the King. He did not foresee what changes were at hand, and that in the reign of the young and talented Prince Henry, Duke of York, second son of Henry VII., the relationship between England and Rome would be rudely broken.

In April 1511, this divine while absent on the Continent was dignified by the degree of Doctor of Divinity of Oxford. The following year saw him advanced to the Bishopric of Meath in Ireland. While in the See he acquired the esteem and regard of the natives, who had in their Bishop a kind adviser in their difficulties; he was also on good terms with the nobles of the pale, who consulted him frequently respecting the government of the colony.

The death of Archbishop Rokeby, in 1521, left the Archdiocese of Dublin vacant, whereupon the Bishop of Meath was deemed worthy to be his successor. Inge is mentioned with great approbation in the chronicles of the time as an honest man, and one who, by many good offices, had got a great share of intimacy and familiarity with the Earl of Kildare, and hath put the country into as good a condition as the Irish would suffer him. [Polydore Virgil, Sir James Ware, vol. i. p. 346.] The learned writer by connecting the Earl of Kildare and wild Irish seems covertly to imply cause and consequence.

In 1527, Archbishop Inge was appointed to the important office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland, wherein, says Wood, [Athenae Oxonienses, vol. ii, p. 732.] ‘he was accounted a person of great probity and justice.’ The hearing of causes before the Irish Chancellors was still limited, but the decisions of Archbishop Inge carried great weight. He was well skilled in the Roman civil law, and blessed with good sense, applied the principles of that code so as to gain very great respect as an Equity Judge.

The Earl of Kildare was one of the great nobles who exercised powerful influence over the destinies of Ireland while Dr. Inge was Lord Chancellor. The Earl filled the highest offices in Ireland, was a man of great boldness and ready wit. When Wolsey, in the height of his power and magnificence, accused him of desiring to reign in Ireland, the Earl spiritedly replied, ‘I would, my Lord, that you and I had changed kingdoms but for one month, I would trust to gather up more crumbs in that space than twice the revenues of my poor Earldom. But you are well and warm. I slumber in a hard cabin, while you sleep on a soft bed of down. I serve under the cope of heaven, when you are served under a canopy I drink water, while you drink wine out of golden cups. My courser is trained to the field, where your jennet is taught to amble; when you are graced and belorded, and crouched and kneeled unto, then find I small grace with our Irish borderers except I cut them off by the knees. [Cox, vol. i. p. 219.] Had the Earl of Kildare followed the sage counsels of his friend Archbishop Inge he would have lived a more tranquil life.

Among many meritorious acts of the Chancellor, I have to relate his expending a very considerable sum of money in repairing the Archiepiscopal palace of St. Sepulchre, which had been suffered to become dilapidated. He caused competent architects to examine it, and with a munificence worthy of Wolsey, completed the work. He appears to have been desirous of identifying the restoration with his name, as we find his shield of arms placed over the door at the entrance from the library.

After presiding over the High Court of Chancery for a year, his health broke down, and the physicians could afford no aid. His death occurred in Dublin, on August 8, 1528, and his remains were interred in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. His death is stated to have been caused by Sudor Anglicus, and his was the first case which occurred in those countries. [D’Alton’s Archbishops of Dublin, p. 184.]

The important office of Master in Chancery in Ireland cannot be traced further back than the year 1532, when Cormac Rothe was appointed. [The grant is as follows:- ‘Know ye that we of our special grace in the assent of our beloved cousin, Gerald Earl of Kildare, Deputy, and of our right trusty and faithful cousin, Henry Duke of Richmond and Somerset (issuing from our race), our locum tenens of our land and kingdom of Ireland: have given and granted to our beloved Cormac Bothe, Archdeacon of Armagh, the office of one of the Masters in Chancery of our land of Ireland, and him, the said Cormac, in the aforesaid office we constitute: to have and to hold so long as it shall please us and our said Deputy. Receiving into that office yearly the fees of the same office due and accountable. In witness whereof, &c., at Dublin.’ - Translated from the Latin Roll, Rolls Patent, 24 & 25 Hen. VIII. - Beasley’s Synopsis, p. 2.] The original duties of the Masters in Chancery consisted in comparing those records and writs that emanated from the Chancery, and examining the State and official documents, which, at this period when knowledge was very limited, and all legal records and pleadings were either in Latin or Norman-French, required considerable ability. Mr. Beasley, in his Synopsis, very fairly considers these officials were called Magisters Cancellariae, Masters in Chancery, from their superior knowledge over all other clerks that were under them, and Cursitors were forbidden by statute [18 Edw. III] to exhibit any writ to the Great Seal before they showed it to the Lord Chancellor, or to one of the Masters in Chancery that commanded them to make it out.

In Ireland, the Masters were occasionally included in the Commission to hear causes. [Ware’s Antiq. Vol. ii. P. 116.] They became Judicial officers during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and of her immediate successor, when the practice of referring to one of the Masters appears to have existed. [Corporation of Gowran v. Edmund Blashfield. Upon motion of the Attorney-General, of counsel with the defendant, for inasmuch as nothing was done upon the referment made of this cause, by the consent of both parties, to Mr. Henry Manwaring, one of the Masters of this Court, and Mr. P. Archer, of’ Kilkenny: therefore it is ordered that both parties shall be ready to attend the said referees upon Wednesday in Whitsun week next, without further delays, and to that end, that the plaintiff and defendant do agree upon their meetings on the lands in controversy. Monday, 8th May, 1620.’ - Extracted from the Register Book, High Court of Chancery, E. Dowdall, Registrar.] In recent times the office was of the greatest importance - a judicial station requiring an Equity lawyer of eminence, and imposing great labour. The duties of the Master were various - to enquire and report upon all cases referred to him under orders by the Lord Chancellor, to audit the annual accounts of guardians, receivers, committees of idiots and lunatics, to tax costs, execute deeds of conveyance to purchasers under decrees, make leases to tenants under the Court of Chancery, grant fiats for the enrolment of deeds and powers of attorney, approve of purchases of stock and other securities; to sit in the absence of the Lord Chancellor if required, with one of the Judges, to hear causes; to undertake the guardianship of minors and lunatics. The salary was three thousand pounds per annum. This judicial appointment has recently been abolished by the New Chancery Ireland Act. [30 & 31 Vict. c. 44, sec. 27, abolishes the office of Master in Ordinary of the Court of Chancery in Ireland, except the office of Receiver Master. The existing Masters to continue in the discharge of their duties until released. One of the Masters has recently been released by the hand of death

• an excellent lawyer, a conscientious judge, a humane and amiable man - the Right Honourable Edward Litton.]

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