Laudabiliter was a
papal bullA Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a pope. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end to authenticate it....
ostensibly issued in 1155 by
Adrian IVPope Adrian IV , born Nicholas Breakspear or Breakspeare, was Pope from 1154 to 1159.Adrian IV is the only Englishman who has occupied the papal chair...
to give the Angevin
King Henry IIHenry II, called Curtmantle ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France...
of
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
the right to assume control over
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
. It was under this document that the kings of England, from
Henry IIHenry II, called Curtmantle ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France...
(1171) until
Henry VIIIHenry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lord of Ireland and claimant to the Kingdom of France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII.Henry VIII was a significant figure in the history of the English monarchy...
(1541), derived the title
Lord of IrelandThe Lordship of Ireland was a lordship existing in Ireland during the Middle Ages, it was created in the wake of the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169—71 and existed until 1541 when it was succeeded by the Kingdom of Ireland. It was governed from the Pale by the Parliament of Ireland and was a...
. (Later Henry VIII was the first English king to style himself
King of Ireland.) Whether the document was genuine or not,
Edmund CurtisEdmund Curtis , was born in Lancashire to Irish parents. He worked in a rubber factory until he was 15 when he continued with his education...
said, is one of "the great questions of history". Regardless of its original authenticity it was recognised by following Popes as being real.
Papal bull
A
bullA Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a pope. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end to authenticate it....
is a
PapalThe pope is the Bishop of Rome and, as such, is leader of the worldwide Catholic Church...
letter that takes its name from the
bubble-Physical bubbles:* Liquid bubble, a globule of one substance encased in another, usually air in a liquid* Soap bubble, a bubble formed by soapy water* Antibubble, a droplet of liquid surrounded by a thin film of gas-Arts and literature:...
-shaped,
leadLead is a main-group element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal, also considered to be one of the heavy metals. Lead has a bluish-white color when freshly cut, but tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed to air...
en seal which it bears. The letters written in the
twelfth centuryAs a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century is the period from 1101 to 1200 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian/Common Era. In the history of European culture, this period is considered part of the High Middle Ages and is sometimes called the Age of the...
relating to
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
were probably never sealed with any seal according to
Laurence GinnellLaurence Ginnell was an Irish nationalist politician, lawyer and Member of Parliament of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as member of the Irish Parliamentary Party for Westmeath North at the 1906 UK general election, from 1910 he sat as an Independent...
, and are, therefore, not correctly called
bulls. In the twelfth century, he says, they were called
privilegia or privileges. However, the name
bull has latterly become so well recognised as referring to Papal letters of the kind that it has become their common name regardless of whether the original document carried a leaden seal or not.
The original
bullaBulla , is a type of seal. It comes in two forms: metal and clay.-Clay bullae:The original bulla was a lump of clay molded around a cord and stamped with a seal...
was a lump of clay molded around a cord and stamped with a seal. When dry, the container cannot be violated without visible damage to the bulla, thereby ensuring the contents remain tamper-proof until they reach their destination. Stephen J. McCormick, in his preface to
The Pope and Ireland, notes that it is was well known that the
forgeryForgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents , with the intent to deceive. The similar crime of fraud is the crime of deceiving another, including through the use of objects obtained through forgery...
of both Papal and other documents was fairly common in the twelfth century. Citing
Professor JungmannBernard Jungmann was a German Catholic dogmatic theologian and ecclesiastical historian.-Biography:He was born at Münster in Westphalia on 1 March, 1833; died at Leuven , 12 January, 1895...
, who in the appendix to his
Dissertationes Historiœ Ecclesiasticœ, in the fifth volume says, "it is well known from history that everywhere towards the close of the twelfth century there were forged or corrupted Papal Letters or Diplomas. That such was the case
frequently in England is inferred from the Letters of John Sarisbiensis and of others."
As with many Church documents, the original
Laudabiliter is no longer in existence.
The Bull Laudabiliter
In 1155, it is said, Pope Adrian IV granted the bull
Laudabiliter, which commissioned King Henry II of England to invade Ireland to reform its Church and people, only three years after the Synod of Kells. The bull derives its title from the Latin word
laudabiliter (meaning
laudably or
in a praiseworthy manner), which is the opening word in bull, the usual manner in which bulls are named. The grant of Ireland by Adrian is popularly but erroneously styled "the Bull Laudabiliter," according to J. H. Round. It has been so long spoken of as a
bull, he says, that one hardly knows how to describe it. He suggests that as long as it is realized that it was only a commendatory letter no mistake can arise.
The proximity of Ireland to
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
according to
John LingardDr. John Lingard was an English Catholic priest, born in St Thomas Street in Central Winchester to recusant parents and the author of The History Of England, From the First Invasion by the Romans to the Accession of Henry VIII, an 8-volume work published in 1819...
, and the "inferiority of the natives in the art of war," had suggested the idea of conquest to both William the Conqueror and
Henry IHenry I was the fourth son of William I the Conqueror. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
. However, to justify the invasion of a "free and unoffending" people by Henry II, Lingard says, Henry had "discovered" that the civilization of the people and reform of their clergy were needed and the could be used as reason for invasion. As every Christian island was claimed as the property of the
Holy SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic...
, Henry did not wish to make the attempt without the advice and consent of the Pope. Therefore a few months after his coronation Lingard writes,
John of SalisburyJohn of Salisbury , also known as Johannes Parvus, was an English author, educationalist, diplomat and bishop of Chartres, and was born at Salisbury.- Biography :...
, a learned monk, was dispatched to solicit the support of
Pope Adrian IVPope Adrian IV , born Nicholas Breakspear or Breakspeare, was Pope from 1154 to 1159.Adrian IV is the only Englishman who has occupied the papal chair...
(coincidentally the only Englishman to be pope). John was to assure Adrian that Henry's principal object was to provide instruction to an ignorant people, to remove vice from the Lord's vineyard and to extend to Ireland the payment of
Peter's PencePeter's Pence# An ancient payment made more or less voluntarily to Rome, begun under the Saxons in England and seen also in other countries. Formally discontinued in England at the Reformation....
. The pontiff, according to Lingard, "must have smiled at the hypocrisy of this address" but expressed his satisfaction and agreed to the kings request, reminding him to always keep in mind the conditions on which that assent had been granted.
It was at a royal council at
WinchesterWinchester is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. It lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of the River Itchen...
that Curtis said talk of carrying out this invasion had been had, but that Henry's mother, the
Empress MatildaEmpress Matilda, also known as Matilda of England or Maude was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry...
, had protested against it. In Ireland however, nothing seems to have been known of it, and no provision had been made against English aggression. J. Duncan Mackie, in his
Pope Adrian IV. The Lothian Essay 1907 gives the date as September 29, 1155 for this meenting for conquering Ireland and giving it to Henry's brother William.
Laurence GinnellLaurence Ginnell was an Irish nationalist politician, lawyer and Member of Parliament of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as member of the Irish Parliamentary Party for Westmeath North at the 1906 UK general election, from 1910 he sat as an Independent...
cites the Very Rev. Dr. Malone as saying of
Laudabiliter: "there does not appear to be in the domain of history a better authenticated fact than the privilege of Adrian IV to Henry II." However, Cardinal Gasquet writes that historians of this time were ignorant of the existence of
Laudabiliter. He says that during the residence of the pontifical Court at
AvignonAvignon is a commune in the Vaucluse department in south-eastern France with an estimated mid-2004 population of 89,300 in the city itself and a population of 290,466 in the metropolitan area at the 1999 census.The city is well known for its Palais des Papes , where several popes...
two
Lives of Pope Adrian IV were written. One was composed in 1331 and the second in 1356. In neither is there any mention of this important act of the Pope, although the authors find a place for many less important documents.
Evidence for the bull
That an actual bull was sent is doubted by many and its authenticity has been questioned, though without success. Some writers call it a pure forgery, others a touched-up version of a genuine document. Others believe in its authenticity. The question now may be purely an academic one.
John of SalisburyJohn of Salisbury , also known as Johannes Parvus, was an English author, educationalist, diplomat and bishop of Chartres, and was born at Salisbury.- Biography :...
, Secretary to the
Archbishop of CanterburyAlso see Leaders of ChristianityThe Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, the see that churches must be in communion with in order to be...
, relates having been the envoy from Henry to Adrian, in 1155, to ask for a grant of Ireland. The bull was also reported in the works of
Giraldus CambrensisGerald of Wales , also known as Gerallt Gymro in Welsh or Giraldus Cambrensis in Latin, archdeacon of Brecon, was a medieval clergyman and chronicler of his times...
, and his contemporary Radulfus de Diceto, Dean of London, and those of Roger de Wendover and Mathew Paris. It was also referred to in the Bulls of Adrian's successor,
Pope Alexander IIIPope Alexander III , born Rolando of Siena, was Pope from 1159 to 1181. He is noted in history for laying the foundation stone for the Notre Dame de Paris.-Church career:...
. There was recorded a public reading of the Bulls of Adrian and Alexander, at a meeting of Bishops in
WaterfordWaterford is the primary city of the South East region of Ireland. Founded in 914 AD by the Vikings, it is country's oldest city and its fifth largest. The city is situated at the head of Waterford Harbour...
in 1175. After the liberation of
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
from
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
at
BannockburnBannockbum is a village immediately south of the city of Stirling in Scotland. It is named after the Bannock Burn, a burn running through the village before flowing into the River Forth.-History:...
, the Bull of Adrian was
pre fixed to the remonstrance, which the Irish presented to
Pope John XXIIPope John XXII , born Jacques Duèze , was pope from 1316 to 1334. He was the second Pope of the Avignon Papacy , elected by a conclave in Lyon assembled by Philip V of France...
, against the English and a copy was sent back by the Pope to Edward II of England.
Caesar BaroniusVenerable Cesare Baronio was an Italian Cardinal and ecclesiastical historian....
's work, the
Annales Ecclesiastici, under Adrian IV. contains a copy of this grant of Ireland in full, or,
excodice Vaticano, diploma datum ad Henricum, Anglorum, Regem. A copy of the Bull was contained in the
Bidlarium Romanum, as printed in
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
in 1739.
The Very Rev. Thomas N. Burke O.P., in his
English Misrule in Ireland: A Course of Lectures in Reply to J. A Froude, puts forward a number of additional arguments against both the Bull of Adrian and the letters of his successor, Pope Alexander III. The Rev Burke questions the date on the 'Laudabiliter', in addition to the terms contained in it and how it was obtained, questioning also the date in which it was first produced by Henry and why.
In addition to
Laudabiliter and the letters Alexander a number of authors have examined the character of Giraldus Cambrenis and the account of John of Salisbury, in addition to challenging each other. McCormick's
The Pope and Ireland is very much a challenge to
James G. Maguire'sJames George Maguire was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from California.Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Maguire moved with his parents to California in April 1854. He attended the public schools of Watsonville in Santa Cruz County and the private academy of Joseph K....
Ireland and the Pope: A Brief History of Papal Intrigue Against Irish Liberty from Adrian IV. to Leo XIII. While
Cambrensis Eversus by Dr. John Lynch is in response to the works of Giraldus Cambrensis. Goddard Henry Orpen responde to both Oliver Joseph Thatcher and J. H. Round in support of Giraldus Cambrensis while citing Miss Norgate in the
English Historical Review, vol. viii.
Each of these points have been challenged by a number of authors including, Laurence Ginnell, Stephen J. McCormick, Cardinal Gasquet, in addition to Oliver Joseph Thatcher. Goddard Henry Orpen notes that as early as 1615
Laudabiliter was denounced as a forgery by Stephen White, to be followed by John Lynch (Cambrensis Eversus) in 1662 and later still by Abbé Mac Geoghegan. The are also a number of other writers, he notes which include Catholic historians such as Dr. Lingard and Dr. Lanigan, who have defended the authenticity of the
Laudabiliter, and that English writers generally have accepted it as genuine.
It was only in the year 1872 that the first indictment of the evidence upon which the Bull had been accepted as genuine, was drawn up by Dr. Moran, and published in the pages of the
Irish Ecclesiastical Record. To the arguments against the grant in that article, the editor of the
Analecta Juris Pontificii added fresh and according to Cardinal Gasquet "
almost conclusive evidence of the forgery."
Divided significance
Ginnell has written that those who accept that
Laudabiliter as authentic can be equally divided on their significance. Some he says use them with the special object of exposing the Papacy’s venality, corruption, and “ingratitude towards mankind in general, and towards faithful Ireland in particular” while others use them as proof that no Pope ever erred in political matters, and suggest that Ireland has always been the object of the “Pope's special paternal care.”
On the Pope's infallibility, another argument, again assuming the authenticity of
Laudabiliter, is that it would be tantamount to the Pope having made a shockingly bad choice of an instrument in Henry II for reducing Ireland to law and order. He suggests this objection is at best feeble, seeing what the character of
Henry IIHenry II, called Curtmantle ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France...
was, and that the English "
in the seven hundred years that, have elapsed since that time have failed to accomplish the task assigned them." Ginnell suggests that it would not have constituted a greater Papal mistake than when conferring the title of
Defender of the Faith on Henry VIII. That the subsequent use of this title by English Sovereigns illustrates he says, how willing they are "
to cling to any honour or advantage derived from the Catholic Church," even when they have ceased to belong to it.
In the seventeenth century the authenticity of the
Laudabiliter and Alexander III letters were recognised in Ireland by
James UssherJames Ussher was Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625–1656...
, Protestant Archbishop of Armagh,
Peter LombardPeter Lombard or Petrus Lombardus; was a scholastic theologian and bishop and author of Four Books of Sentences, which became the standard textbook of theology, for which he is also known as Magister Sententiarum.-Biography:Peter Lombard was born in Lumellogno , to a poor...
, Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and
David RotheDavid Rothe , was a Roman Catholic Bishop of Ossory, central Ireland.-Life:He was born at Kilkenny, of a distinguished family. Having studied at the Irish College, Douai, and at the University of Salamanca, where he graduated doctor in civil and canon law, he was ordained in 1600, and proceeded to...
,
Bishop of OssoryThe Bishop of Ossory is the leader of the Diocese of Ossory in south central Ireland. Since the English Reformation there have been different bishops for the Roman Catholic Diocese and the Church of Ireland Diocese of Ossory and Cashel. The diocesan territory corresponds with the Kingdom of Ossory...
. In the nineteenth century the authenticity of the letters were recognised by the ecclesiastical historian, Dr. Lanigan, the Editors of the
Macarice Excidium, and
Cambrensis Eversus, in addition to the Very Rev. Sylvester Malone, D.D.,
Vicar GeneralA vicar general is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ordinary executive power over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular...
of
KillaloeKillaloe is a large village in east County Clare, Ireland, situated in the midwest of Ireland. The village is on the south end of Lough Derg, while the settlement spreads across the River Shannon, with the County Tipperary side known as Ballina...
, while writing in the
Dublin ReviewThe Dublin Review was an influential Catholic periodical founded in 1836 by Michael Joseph Quin, Cardinal Wiseman and Daniel O'Connell. Quin had the original idea for the new journal, soon persuading Wiseman to lend his support, and next enlisting O'Connell whose Catholic Emancipation campaign he...
for April, 1884, and in the
Irish Ecclesiastical Record for October, 1891. The latter author according to Ginnell was the most strenuous upholder of all the letters was obliged he says to abandon most of his earlier arguments without securing any new ones. English historians according to Cardinal Gasquet have universally taken the genuineness of the document for granted.
Among the Irish historians who have accepted John of Salisbury's account of 'Laudabiliter' they suggest that Adrian was deceived purposely as to the state of the Ireland at the time Cardinal Gasquet thus giving rise to the necessity of the English interference by the king, and have regarded the "Bull" as a document granted in error as to the real circumstances of the case.
Against their authenticity, Ginnell writes that we must notice the entire absence of written Gaelic recognition against their authenticity. In the seventeenth century he cites
Stephen WhiteStephen White, SJ was a Jesuit author and antiquarian who wrote about the early Irish saints.He was born in Clonmel, Ireland, to a family devoted to religion and education. In 1592, Trinity College, Dublin was founded, and S. White was one of the few students named in the charter...
, S.J., and the author of
Cambrensis Eversus Dr. Lynch while in the nineteenth century he notes Cardinal Moran writing in the
Irish Ecclesiastical Record for November, 1872, and the Rev. W.B. Morris in his book,
Ireland and St. Patrick.
According to
Herbert PaulHerbert Woodfield Paul was an English writer and Liberal MP.Paul was the eldest son of George Woodfield Paul, Vicar of Finedon, and Jessie Philippa Mackworth. He was educated at Eton College and Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he became President of the Oxford Union. He was called to the bar...
, author of
The Life of FroudeJames Anthony Froude was a controversial English historian, novelist, biographer, and editor of Fraser's Magazine...
, the Rev. Burke "
boldly denied that it [the bull]
had ever existed at all" however in
English Misrule in Ireland: A Course of Lectures in Reply to J. A Froude, the Rev. Burke outlines the anomalies of the letter and states that it had been examined by Reimer an acceptable authority amongst English historians. The Rev Burke dose say though that "
there is a lie on the face of it."
Authenticity debate
According to Curtis for the text of the
Laudabiliter we only have
Giraldus CambrensisGerald of Wales , also known as Gerallt Gymro in Welsh or Giraldus Cambrensis in Latin, archdeacon of Brecon, was a medieval clergyman and chronicler of his times...
'
Conquest of Ireland written around 1188, though in it his dating is not accurate, he says he must of had some such "
genuine document before him." He suggests that better evidence for the grant of Ireland can be found in
John of SalisburyJohn of Salisbury , also known as Johannes Parvus, was an English author, educationalist, diplomat and bishop of Chartres, and was born at Salisbury.- Biography :...
's,
Metalogicus, written about 1159.
John of Salisbury
Henry according to Cardinal Gasquet at the beginning of his reign, sent ambassadors to Adrian IV, who was then at the close of his pontificate. This mission was given to three bishops and an abbot he says, they were Rotrodus, Bishop of Evreux, Arnold, Bishop of Lisieux, the Bishop of Mans and Robert of Gorham, Abbot of St. Albans. The date of this mission is the same as that claimed by Salisbury for his visit, 1155. It is most unlikely notes Gasquet that Henry would have sent two different embassies at the same time. If John of Salisbury were with this embassy he says, he could not have played the important part he claims, and would have gone in the capacity of a simple clerical retainer. The biography of Salisbury makes it very improbable he says that he was ever entrusted with such a mission. John of Salisbury he says, left England in 1137, to be educated on Continent, and only returned for a very short time in 1149. He then returned almost immediately to the Continent, where he became occupied in teaching at
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. According to Gasquet it is hard to believe that Henry would have made the choice of sending an unknown and untried man to conduct so important and difficult a piece of diplomacy as negotiating with the Pope about the expedition to Ireland.
Giraldus Cambrensis, according to Thatcher apparently drew a false inference from John of Salisbury's works by saying that John went as the king's ambassador to the pope. Thatcher notes that other historians have since then unthinkingly copied this statement. This inference by Giraldus Cambrensis he says was pointed out by Abbé MacGeoghehan and Scheffer-Boichorst who called attention to the fact that John did not say that he was the king's ambassador, but had gone for the purpose of visiting his friend, the pope.
According to L. F. Rushbrook Williams, Abbot Robert of Gorham evidently saw with the elevation of Adrian IV an opportunity of acquiring privileges for St. Albans with the ostensible object of assisting in the settlement of some royal business which was in progress at the curia. Alfread H Tarleton suggests that some modern historians have stated that John of Salisbury accompanied this mission but this is a mistake, based he says on a confusion of the fact that John had many interviews with the Pope at Beneventum. The mistake may be due to the fact that the King, hearing John intended to visit the Pope, sent messages and letters through him in addition to employing a regular messenger, in the person of Robert the Abbot.
Gasquet suggests that there is almost conclusively evedience, that while a request of the nature described by Salisbury was made about this time to the Pope, Salisbury was not the envoy sent to make it. John of Salisbury, he notes, claims in
Metalogicus to have been the ambassador for Henry II and obtained
Laudabiliter for him and gives the year 1155 as the date when it was granted. However when Salisbury finished his work called
Polycraticus, written before
Metalogicus he dedicated it to Thomas, afterwards St. Thomas a Becket, then Chancellor of England, who at this time was with Henry at the
siege of ToulouseThere have been several sieges known as the Siege of Toulouse, among them:*Siege of Toulouse during the Albigensian Crusade*Siege of Toulouse during the Albigensian Crusade*Siege of Toulouse during the Albigensian Crusade...
. This was in 1159; and in that year, Salisbury was presented to Henry apparently for the first time, by St. Thomas. From this fact Cardinal Gasquet concludes, Salisbury had to have been up to this time unknown to the king, and that it is most unlikely therefore that four years before this Henry had entrusted him with so private and confidential a mission to Rome.
Metalogicus and Polycraticus
According to the Very Rev. Thomas N. Burke O.P., when news of Pope Adrian's election had arrived in England, John of Salisbury was sent by Henry to congratulate him, and get this letter [
Laudabiliter] in a "
hugger-mugger way," from the Pope. The
Laudabiliter, according to the Rev. Burke, has been examined by a better authority than his own and by one "
who has brought to bear upon it all the acumen of his great knowledge." The date according to Reimer, he says "
the most acceptable authority amongst English historians," was 1154. However Pope Adrian was elected on the 3d of December, 1154 and the Rev. Burke suggests that it must having taken at least a month in those days before news of the election would have arrived in England, and at least another before John of Salisbury arrived in Rome making his arrival there around March 1155. The date being found inconvenient Reimer under who’s authority is uncertain, changed the date to 1155.
The date that
Metalogicus was written is fixed according to the author himself according to Stephen J. McCormick pointing to the fact that John of Salisbury immediately before he tells us that the news of Pope Adrian's death had reached him his own patron,
TheobaldTheobald was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1139 to 1161. He was a Norman by birth, but his exact birth date is unknown. King Stephen of England chose him to be Archbishop of Canterbury in 1138. The dispute of the primacy over the Welsh hierarchy was ended in his reign when Pope Eugene III decided...
,
Archbishop of CanterburyAlso see Leaders of ChristianityThe Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, the see that churches must be in communion with in order to be...
though still living, was "weighed down by many infirmities." Pope Adrian died in 1159 he says and the death of Archbishop,
Theobald of BecTheobald was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1139 to 1161. He was a Norman by birth, but his exact birth date is unknown. King Stephen of England chose him to be Archbishop of Canterbury in 1138. The dispute of the primacy over the Welsh hierarchy was ended in his reign when Pope Eugene III decided...
occurred in 1161. However Gile and other editors of John of Salisbury's works, without a dissentient voice, according to McCormick refer the
Metalogicus to the year 1159, a view shared by Curtis.
The testimony of John of Salisbury, who, in his
Metalogicus (lib. iv., cap. 42.) writes, that being in an official capacity at the
Papal CourtThe Pontifical Household or Papal Household, called until 1968 the Papal Court . consists of dignitaries who assist the Pope in carrying out particular ceremonies either of religious or civil character....
, in 1155, Pope Adrian IV., then granted the investure of Ireland Henry II. of England. However John of Salisbury also kept a diary which was later published which is entitled
Polycraticus and had a detailed account of the various incidents of his embassy to Pope Adrian, yet in it he makes no mention of the Bull, or of the gold ring and its fine emerald, mentioned in
Metalogicus or of the grant of Ireland, all of which would have been so important for his narrative in
Metalogicus. If Adrian granted this Bull to Henry at the solicitation of John of Salisbury in 1155 there is but one explanation for the silence in
Polycraticus, according to McCormick and that this secrecy was required by the English monarch. If this were the case, he says how then can we be asked to admit as genuine this passage of the
Metalogicus, if John still continuing to discharge offices of the highest trust in the Court, would proclaim to the world as early as the year 1159, that Pope Adrian had made this formal grant of Ireland to his royal master.
J. Duncan Mackie writes that those who desire to do away altogether with
Laudabiliter, find in the last chapter of the sixth book of the
Metalogicus, an account of the transaction between John and Pope Adrian and in this passage is an almost insurmountable difficulty. It become necessary he says to assume that it is an interpolation, and this can only be done "in the face of all probability." In the first place, he says the
Metalogicus was only finished in 1159, and there is still extant a manuscript of date earlier than 1200, in which there is no sign that the chapter was a late insertion.
Giraldus Cambrensis
John of Salisbury, speaking of the existence of
Laudabiliter in the last chapter of the
Metalogicus does not give its text and it was at least thirty years after Adrian's death that the
Laudabiliter itself first appeared in the
Expugnatio Hibernica of Giraldus Cambrensis or Gerald Barry as he is often called. Oliver Joseph Thatcher suggests that the trustworthiness of Giraldus, to whom he says we owe
Laudabiliter preservation, has nothing to do with the question of its genuineness, and should be left out of the discussion. While
Thomas MooreThomas Moore was an Irish poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer, now best remembered for the lyrics of The Minstrel Boy and the The Last Rose of Summer.-Biography:...
says the character of the man himself ought to be taken into account, noting that we should consider whether a taste for the morally monstrous may not also have inspired his pen.
On the authority of Giraldus, Frederick J Furnivall citing James F. Dimock who comments in his preface of Giraldus works says "
recent Irish scholars have quietly received Giraldus for what he is worth, as an impetuous, strongly biassed writer, whose statements have generally more or less of truth in them, but with much unfair one-sidedness." Dimock also notes that some late Irish writers, reacting to the criticism of Giraldus seemed to him to put more faith in Giraldus's history than it really deserves. While Dimock who edited
Qiraldi Cambrensis Opera says that
De Expugnatione Hiberniae is, in great measure, rather "
a poetical fiction than a prosaic truthful history."
John J. Clancy, whose work,
Ireland: As She Is, As She Has Been, and as She Ought to Be, and cited by McCormick writes that Gerald was commissioned by Henry II. to paint the Irish as a lawless, graceless, god less crew; so that Gerald promptly reported that "
their chief characteristics were treachery, thirst for blood, unbridled licentiousness, and inveterate detestation of order and rule" Commenting on Gerald who wrote these words Clancy notes that it has been said that "
he never spoke the truth, unless by accident." Thomas Mooney writes that Gerald Barry, commonly called Giraldus Cambrensis stands conspicuous as the historian and traducer of Ireland, and it was on such an authority the majority of subsequent English writers have deprived Ireland of her two thousand years of literature and glory.
Giraldus, Tarleton notes gives the text of
Laudabiliter in no less than three of his works, in addition to
Expugnatio. It is also included in
De rebus a se gestis and
De Instructione Priucipis however the texts he says do not always agree but that in the main they are identical. Giraldus, Cardinal Gasquet says devoted the rest of his life to writing the
Expugnatio Hibernica, and published three editions. The first was published about 1188, and the last, which was dedicated to King John, in 1209. In
Expugnatio Giraldus declared that truth was not his only object, but that he took up his pen to glorify Henry II.
According to Cardinal Gasquet every subsequent English chronicler who mentions
Laudabiliter has simply accepted it on Giraldus's authority.
On the question of the date when
Laudabiliter was first made known, most of those who deny it's authenticity believe that it was first made known about 1180 according to Ginnell. Citing Dr. Kelly a strong supporter to its authenticity he suggests that the only authority for holding that it was made known in Ireland as early as 1175 is that of Giraldus Cambrensis.
The date the Bull was produced
It was, according to the Rev. Burke, in the year 1174 that King Henry produced
Laudabiliter which he said he got from Pope Adrian IV. permitting him to go to Ireland. The Rev. Burke asks, if he had Laudabiliter, when he came to Ireland, why did he not produce it, as this was his only warrant for coming to Ireland? For twenty years, according to McCormick that is from 1155 to 1175, there was no mention of the gift of Adrian. Henry did not refer to it when authorizing his vassals to join
Dermot MacMurroughDiarmait or Diarmaid Mac Murchadha , anglicized as Dermot MacMurrough , was a King of Leinster in Ireland. Ousted as King of Leinster in 1166, he sought military assistance from King Henry II of England to retake his kingdom...
in 1167, or when he himself set out for Ireland to receive the homage of the Irish princes and not even after he assumed his new title and accomplished the purpose of his expedition.
Curtis however while accepting that it is true that the
Laudabiliter was not published by Henry when in Ireland, that can be explained by his being alienated from Rome over the murder of
Thomas BecketThomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to his death. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
, in addition to the Empress Matilda, having protested against this invasion of Ireland. The date Rev. Burke writes, that was on
Laudabiliter was 1154, therefore it was consequently twenty years old. During this twenty year period nobody ever heard of this
Laudabiliter except Henry, and it was said that Henry kept this a secret, because his mother, the Empress Matilda, did not want Henry to act on it.
The
Synod of CashelThe Synod of Cashel of 1172, was one of the most important events of this period of Irish history. This conference is historically known as the Synod of Cashel and it was here the clergy and people of Ireland were called upon to receive Henry II of England as their king...
in 1172 McCormick notes was the first Episcopal assembly after Henry’s arrival in Ireland. The
Papal LegateA Papal Legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the Pope to Foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
was present and had Adrian’s Bull exist it should necessarily have engaged the attention of the assembled Fathers. However "
not a whisper" as to Adrian's grant he says was to be heard at that Council. Even the learned editor of
Cambrensis Eversus Rev. Dr. Kelly while asserting the genuineness of Adrian s Bull, admits "
there is not any, even the slightest authority, for asserting that its existence was known in Ireland before the year 1172, or for three years later."
McCormick says that it is extremely difficult, in any hypothesis, to explain in a satisfactory way this silence, nor is it easy to understand how a fact so important, to the interests of Ireland could remain so many years concealed including from those in the Irish Church. Throughout this period he says, Ireland numbered among its Bishops one who held the important office of Legate of the
Holy SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic...
, and that the Church had had constant intercourse with England and the continent through St.
St Laurence O'Toole Lorcán Ua Tuathail, also known as St Laurence O'Toole, was born at Castledermot, Kildare, Ireland, in 1128, and died at Eu, Normandy, France, on November 14, 1180; he was canonized in 1225 by Pope Honorius III.-Early life:...
and a hundred other distinguished Prelates, who enjoyed in the fullest manner the confidence of Rome.
Four letters of Pope Alexander III
On the conclusion of the
Synod of CashelThe Synod of Cashel of 1172, was one of the most important events of this period of Irish history. This conference is historically known as the Synod of Cashel and it was here the clergy and people of Ireland were called upon to receive Henry II of England as their king...
according to Edmund Curtis, Henry sent envoys to Pope Alexander III asking for a papal privilege for Ireland. Alexander from Tusculum then published three letters on the Irish question. The three letters according to Oliver Joseph Thatcher are numbered 12,162, 12,163, and 12,164 in the
Regesta of Jaffé-Loewenfeld, and printed in Migne,
Patrologia Latina, Vol, CC, cols. 883 ff. They all have the same date, September 20, and it is certain he says that they were written in 1172. Cardinal Gasquet writes that they were first published in 1728 by Hearne in the
Liber Niger Scaccarii the
Black-Book of the Exchequer and are addressed to the Irish Bishops, to the English king, and to the Irish princes. While they all have the same date of the 20 September, and are written from
TusculumTusculum is the classical Roman name of a major ancient Alban Hills city, in the Latium region of Italy.-Location:The ruins of Tusculum are situated on the Tuscolo hill, on the north edge of the outer crater ring of the Alban volcano...
, he suggest that they are attributed to the year 1170.
In the letter to Henry, according to Thatcher, Alexander beseeches Henry to preserve whatever rights St. Peter already actually exercises in Ireland, and expressing confidence that Henry will be willing to acknowledge his duty. In this letter Thatcher notes, there is no mention of Adrian IV., or any document issued by him, and there is nothing that can possibly be interpreted as a reference to
Laudabiliter. Thatcher notes that in none of these letters do we find any reference to Adrian IV. or to any of his letters.
On the letters of Alexander III, Cardinal Gasquet cites the editor of the
Analecta who notes that they completely ignore the existence of
Laudabiliter. The letters he says recognize no title or claim of Henry to dominion except "the power of the monarch, and the submission of the chiefs." They do mention the Pope's rights over all islands, and ask Henry to preserve these rights. This proves he says that the grant of Adrian was unknown in Rome as completely as it was in England and Ireland. Such a deduction is confirmed he says by the action later of
Pope John XXIIPope John XXII , born Jacques Duèze , was pope from 1316 to 1334. He was the second Pope of the Avignon Papacy , elected by a conclave in Lyon assembled by Philip V of France...
with the Ambassadors of Edward II at the beginning of the fourteenth century. Although the author of the article in the
Analecta does not agree with Dr. Moran as to the authentic character of these documents, he admits that they, at least, form some very powerful arguments against the genuineness of Pope Adrian's grant.
Citing Mathew of Westminster, Rev. Burke notes that "
Henry obliged every man in England, from the boy of twelve years up to the old man, to renounce their allegiance to the true Pope, and go over to an anti-Pope" and asks was it likely then, that Alexander would give Henry a letter to settle ecclesiastical matters in Ireland? Rev. Burke citing Alexander who wrote to Henry, notes that instead of referring to a document giving him permission to settle Church matters in Ireland Alexander said;
However Curtis in his
History of Ireland suggests that Henry was at this time in May 1172 reconciled with the Papacy. The Rev. Burke notes that Alexander's letter carried the date 1172 and asked was is it likely that a Pope would have given a letter to Henry, who he knew well, asking Henry to take care of the Church and put everything in order? The Rev. Burke then asks "
is this the man that Alexander would send to Ireland to settle affairs, and make the Irish good children of the Pope?" Responding again to Mr. Froude, who then said that "
the Irish never loved the Pope till the NormansThe Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. They descended from Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of mostly Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
taught them" The Rev. Burke notes that until "
the accursed Normans came to Ireland," the
Papal LegateA Papal Legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the Pope to Foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
could always come and go as he pleased and that no Irish king obstructed him and that no Irishman's hand was ever raised against a Bishop, "
much less against the Papal Legate." However the very first Legate that came to Ireland, after the Norman Invasion, the Rev. Burke writes that in passing through England, Henry "
took him by the throat, and imposed upon him an oath that, when he went to Ireland, he would not do anything that would be against the interest of the King". It was unheard of that a Bishop, Archbishop, or Cardinal should be persecuted, the Rev. Burke says until the Anglo-Normans brought with them "
their accursed feudal system, and concentration of power in the hands of the king..."
According to Curtis, the Pope sent another privilege which was published by papal envoys after at the Synod of Waterford which he said conferred on Henry the dominion over the Irish people. Whatever we may think of the so-called Bull of Adrian, says Curtis, there can be no doubt that the letters and privilege of Alexander conferred the lordship of Ireland upon Henry II. Herbert Paul says that
James Anthony FroudeJames Anthony Froude was a controversial English historian, novelist, biographer, and editor of Fraser's Magazine...
also maintained that the existence of
Laudabiliter were proved by this later letter. However the Rev. Burke said that he preferred to believe that it was a forgery. He based this view he said on the authority of Dr. Lynch, author of "
Cambrensis Eversus," in addition to the Abbé McGeoghegan, and Dr. Moran,
Bishop of OssoryThe Bishop of Ossory is the leader of the Diocese of Ossory in south central Ireland. Since the English Reformation there have been different bishops for the Roman Catholic Diocese and the Church of Ireland Diocese of Ossory and Cashel. The diocesan territory corresponds with the Kingdom of Ossory...
that this letter of Alexander's was a forgery.
Papal copy of 'Laudabiliter'
Froude also said there was a copy of
Laudabiliter in the archives at Rome and how would the Rev. Burke "
get over that"? The Rev Burke in response pointed out that the copy had no date at all on it and that
Caesar BaroniusVenerable Cesare Baronio was an Italian Cardinal and ecclesiastical historian....
, the historian, along with the learned Dr. Mansuerius declare that a rescript or document "
that has no date, the day it was executed, the seal and the year, is invalid" and was therefore "
just so much paper". The result of this being "
that even if Adrian gave it, it was worth nothing." The Rev Burke continued that the "
learned authorities tell us that the existence of a document in the archives does not prove the authenticity of that document" and that it "
may be kept there as a mere record." However Curtis in his
A History of Ireland from Earliest Times to 1922 states that there is no original or copy of
Laudabiliter in the papal archieves. While accepting that there is no copy of
Laudabiliter in the papal archieves Mackie suggests that this proves nothing, for there is at Rome no document dealing with the affairs of Ireland before the year 1215.
Papal letter of 1311 and the Irish Kings' Remonstrance of 1317
However within a century-and-a-half, Norman misrule in Ireland became so apparent that
Laudabiliter was to be invoked again, this time in aid of the rights of the Gaelic Irish clans.
Pope Clement VPope Clement V , born Raymond Bertrand de Got , was Pope from 1305 to his death...
had written to
Edward II of EnglandEdward II, called Edward of Carnarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. He was the seventh Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...
in 1311 reminding him of the responsibility that
Laudabiliter put upon him to execute government in Ireland for the welfare of the Irish. He warned Edward II that:
In 1317, during the Bruce invasion, some of the remaining
GaelicGaelic Ireland is the name given to the period when a Gaelic political order existed in Ireland. For much of this period, the island was dominated by many different clann territories and kingdoms...
kings, following decades of English rule, tried to have the bull recast or replaced, as a basis for a new kingship for Ireland, with Edward Bruce as their preferred candidate. Led by Domnall mac Brian Ó Néill, King of Tír Eógain, they issued a Remonstrance to the next Pope,
John XXIIPope John XXII , born Jacques Duèze , was pope from 1316 to 1334. He was the second Pope of the Avignon Papacy , elected by a conclave in Lyon assembled by Philip V of France...
, requesting that
Laudabiliter should be revoked, but this was refused.
Clearly the kings believed that
Laudabiliter was the ultimate legal basis for their continuing problems at that time. In the meantime they had misremembered the year of Becket's death (1170, not 1155), but painfully recalled the date of
Laudabiliter. In its date, style and contents the Remonstrance argues against the attempts to negate the bull centuries later. It is also clear from these documents that Clement V wanted Edward II to promote a more tolerant administration in Ireland, but without going so far as to revoke the bull of 1155. Given that he was a Pope during the controversial
Avignon PapacyThe Avignon Papacy, also known as the "Babylonian Captivity", was the period from 1305 to 1378 during which seven Popes resided in Avignon . The period was one of conflict and controversy during which French Kings held considerable sway over the Papacy and rulers across Europe felt sidelined by the...
, John XXII was not in a position to alienate the support of kings such as Edward II.
External links
- "Pope Adrians's bull Laudabiliter and note upon it" from Eleanor Hull, 1931, A History of Ireland, Volume One, Appendix I
- Lyttleton, Life of Henry II., vol. v p. 371: text of Laudabiliter asa reprinted in Ernest F. Henderson, Select Historical Documents of the Middle Ages (London : George Bell and Sons) 1896 with Henderson's note: "That a papal bull was dispatched to England about this time and concerning this matter is certain. That this was the actual bull sent is doubted by many".