KEN
pation. At his death in 1825, the title devolved upon his brother John, a dis- tinguished general, who succeeded Aber- crombie in the command of the British army in Egypt ; he sat in the Irish Parlia- ment in 1800, and voted for the Union, and was created Baron Hutchinson, with a pension of ^2,000 per annum. He died in 1832.] The present Earl of Donoughmore (1877) is fourth in line of descent from the founder of the family. S4 146 154 33=>
Henry II., King of England, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, was born at Mantes in 1133, and succeeded King Ste- phen in 1 1 54. He early harboured designs for the conquest of Ireland. In 11 56 he obtained a grant of the island from Pope Adrian IV., confirmed by Adrian's successor, Alexander III. Unable imme- diately to undertake the enterprise, he laid by the bulls until opportunity should arise. In I i68DermotMacMurrough came before him in Aquitaine, "represented the malice of his neighbours, and the treachery of his pretended friends, and the rebellion of his subjects, In proper and lively expressions; he suggested that kings were then most like gods when they exercised themselves in succouring the distressed, and that the fame of King Henry's magnificence and generosity had induced him to that address for his Majesty's protection and assist- ance." '7° The King, unable to respond to this appeal immediately, gave Dermot a patent, declaring he had taken him into his protection, grace, and favour, and as- suring all who were willing to aid him of " our favour and licence in that behalf." Dermot's return to Ireland, and its inva- sion by FitzStephen, Strongbow, and other lords, will be found related under their several names. The success of the Anglo- Norman arms in all parts of the island rendered Henry desirous to assert his supre- macy as soon as possible, and in the autumn of 1 171 h'^ collected a fleet of some 400 vessels at Milford Haven. He himself, having gathered an army of horse and foot, numbering about 500 knights and 4,000 soldiers, came to the same place to meet his ships, and with his army embarked on 1 8th October 339* or i6th November 3" 1 171, and on the next day landed at Crook, near Waterford. To meet the ex- penses of the expedition, a special feudal exaction known as scutage was levied out of knights' fees in the counties of England. The returns of the stores got together for the expedition, as given in Mr. Sweetman's Calendar of Dooicments relating to Ireland, 1 1 7 1 - 1 2 5 1 , are very interesting. They com- prise hogs, wheat, oats, beans, cheese, and other provisions ; the lure of ships ; pay of 248
HEN
masters, seamen, and artificers ; payments for horses and their passage ; supplies of axes, hand-miUs, wooden towers, bridges, spades, pick-axes, naUs. There are some curious payments on his own account — garments for 1 63 cottagers in his service in Ireland, robes for MurtoughMacMurrough and burgesses of Wexford, £10 14s. iid. ; expenses of eight ships to carryover twenty knights and five attendants " who went with Adam the Archbishop into Ireland." We are also given abstracts of letters from Pope Alexander III., admonishing the Archbishops of Ireland to aid the King in governing it, and exhorting the kings and princes to persevere in their fealty to Henry. The King was attended in the expedition by Strongbow, WiUiam FitzAdelm (De Burgh), Humphrey de Bohun, Hugh de Lacy, Robert FitzBarnard, and many other lords. To impede the entrance of the fleet, the Irish had stretched three massive iron chains across Waterford harbour. A landing having been effected, however, Reginald MacGillemory and his adhe- rents were seized and hanged, and all the Norse and native inhabitants of Waterford were expelled, except Gerald MacGillemory and his people, who allied themselves to the Anglo-Normans. From Waterford Henry proceeded to Lismore, where he ordered the erection of a castle. He then return- ed to Waterford, and marched through Leinster to Dublin — many of the chief- tains giving in their adhesion on the way, while Roderic O'Conor and the more distant ones boldly held out against them. Henry's gorgeous pavilions, hung with tapestry, were pitched on Hoggin (now College) green, and there he held court during the ensuing Christmas. His cour- tesy and tact conciliated all comers. The Irish chiefs were astonished at the magni- ficent entertainments given by him, and the splendour of the dress and armour of his barons and troops. There were jousts and tournaments in the Norman fashion, mimes and music, and their fame spread far and wide. Mr. Supple writes : " King Henry presided at his feast in great ma- jesty, and in his royal robes. This monarch, gifted with great natural abilities, and with an amount of learning wonderful in a lay- man of his time, is described, now in his thirty-eighth year, by a contemporary, as a man courteous, cheerful, and eloquent ; of the middle size, with a high complexion, his head large and round, his eyes fiery and stern, his voice tremulous, his neck short ; broad-breasted, strong-armed, but big-bel- lied — though to keep down this deformity he was very abstemious and exercised over much — often from daybreak until night.
