Lawlor — A Charter of Cristin, Bishop of Louth. 33 



force about June, 1190, when the fleet set sail, 1 or at latest in July, when the 

 king came to Marseilles, and found a multitude of pilgrims who had been 

 waiting for him so long that they had spent all their money. 2 It is impro- 

 bable that he was in Ireland after the first half of 1189. 



As a result of these considerations I take it to be certain that Verdun 

 had left Ireland for the last time not later than November, 1189, and that he 

 was in England in the summer of 1188 ; while Pipard was in England for the 

 latter part of 1189. There is little likelihood that both of them were in 

 Ireland after the early months of 1188. Thus we get a terminus ante quern 

 for the date of the instrument of which they and Gilbert, Prior of Duleek, 

 were witnesses. And we may affirm with confidence that the last-named 

 was Prior as early as the autumn of 1188, with high probability that he was 

 already in office in the preceding spring. Somewhat earlier must be placed 

 the end of the rule of his predecessor Eemigius. The date of our Charter 

 therefore lies between 1187 and 1189, and probably not after the beginning 

 of 1188. 



It would be strange if a deed belonging to so early a period, and capable of 

 being dated within a couple of years, did not yield some results of value. For 

 the period from 1185 to 1200, an accomplished historian tells us, " is one for 

 which contemporary authorities are almost altogether lacking." 3 I proceed 

 to indicate some points on which it seems to throw welcome light. 



In the first place, we glean some information about the grantor, Bishop 

 Gillacrist. Hitherto the exact form of the name which he assumed in official 

 documents has been a matter of conjecture. We have only known, as already 

 remarked, that it began with the letter 0. It now appears that it was 

 Cristinus, and not Christianus, as has often been taken for granted. 4 Our 

 document also supplies us with the name of a Prior of Duleek, earlier than 

 any heretofore known. Archdall records only one before 1283 — the Prior 

 Gilbert mentioned above — and he is not fully informed about his date. 5 "We 

 now know that Gilbert's predecessor was Eemigius. We learn also that the 

 name of the Prior of St. Mary's, Louth, in 1188 was Thomas. Archdall 

 records no Prior of that house earlier than 1276. 6 



But those are matters of minor detail. It is more important to observe 

 that some information is supplied concerning the constitution of the bishopric 



1 "Benedict of Peterborough," R.S., ii, 111. " Ibid., 112. 



3 G. H. Orpen in the Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, vol. xxxviii, 

 p. 241 f. 



4 E.g. by Ware, Works, vol. i, p. ]81. 



5 Monasticon Hibemicum, p. 537. 

 c Ibid., p. 471 f. 



