318 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



is the more remarkable inasmuch as the two deeds are concerned with different 

 districts and different religious houses. It is explicable by proximity of date, 

 on the supposition that the three witnesses just named were retainers of the 

 Pipards, of whom Vernon was a sub-feudatory. Now, Vernon's charter has 

 also two witnesses in common with Donat's — Simon de Clinton and Matthew 

 de Fulsiage. 



I have discovered no mention of Fulsiage except in the three deeds here 

 referred to. Simon de Clinton appears also as a witness in a group of three 

 deeds— all grants of Ealph de Uepentini (one of our witnesses), and of nearly 

 the same date. 1 I am inclined to think they may belong to the years 

 1194-1196; but they may be as late as 1213. 2 I have not found Clinton's 

 name elsewhere. 



1 The Charters numbered 12, 13, 14 in Gilbert's Charlularies of St. Mary's Abbey, 

 vol. i, pp. 37-39. The ten witnesses of no. 14 and the eight of no. 13 are found in 

 nearly the same order among the thirteen of no. 12. No. 14, however, is somewhat 

 later than no. 12 ; for in the latter a witness named Radulfus is simply "clericus de 

 villa Macgarm " ; in no. 14 he has become " Magister Radulfus.'' He is probably the same 

 as "Magister Radulfus canouicus S. Patricii Dublin " in a confirmation charter of Peter 

 de Repentini (ib., p. 41), identified by Gilbert with Ralph de Norwich, who is said to 

 have been Canon of St. Patrick's in 1227, and who was still Canon in 1256 (A. Theiner, 

 Vetera Monumenta Hibernorum ct Scotorum, 71f.). It is more probable that he was 

 Ralph de Bristol, who was already a prebendary when lie was appointed Treasurer in 

 1218. He became Bishop of Kildare in 1223, and died in 1231. 



2 No. 14 appears to have been confirmed by Eugenius, Archbishop of Armagh, in the 

 Synod at Drogheda in 1215 (Gilbert, op. cit., i, 150, 155). But the grant must have been 

 at least two or three years earlier, since one of the witnesses is William Petit, who died 

 in 1213 {ib. ii, 312). It is not improbable, in fact, that the confirmation was sought from 

 the Archbishop when he succeeded in getting temporary possession of the district south 

 of Carlingford Lough, and may have been given many years after the original grant. All 

 the charters in the group have two witnesses in common with Vernon's charter mentioned 

 above (i'.>., i, 55); but the substitution in all of them of Galfridus de Hadeshore for 

 Ricardus de Hadeshore, who witnessed both Vernon's charter and Cristin's charter of 

 1188, points to a slightly later date. A clue is perhaps given by the fact that in 

 nos. 12, 13, William Petit takes precedence of Roger Pipard, Repentini's superior lord, 

 while in no. 14 the order is reversed. This is explained if Petit was justiciar when he 

 witnessed nos. 12, 13, but had ceased to hold office when he witnessed no. 14. Now, 

 Harris states {Ware's Works, vol. ii, Antiquities, p. 102), on what authority I do not know, 

 that he was justiciar in 1191. That he was joint justiciar with Peter Pipard appears from 

 a document (Gilbert, op. cit., i, 143) which, because it is witnessed by John Bishop of 

 Lei"hlin, Mr. Orpen (Ireland under the Normans, i, 16 ; ii, 114) would date as late as 

 1198. There is, however, some reason to believe that there was a John Bishop of 

 Lei«hlin c. U92, and no reason to assume that there was not. Hence, this document 

 may quite well be placed as early as 1192, though it can easily be shown that it is not 

 earlier. Further, there is independent evidence that Petit's colleague, Peter Pipard, was 

 justiciar in 1194, when he was disgraced (Annals in T.C.D. MS. E. 3. 20, p. 135). And 

 finally, Hamo de Valognes was justiciar from 1196 (Orpen. op. cit., ii, 113). These facts 

 hang well together, and they tend to show that Valognes succeeded Petit as justiciar in 

 1196. If no. 14 belongs to that year, it may be concluded that apart from our Charter 

 all the known documents in which Simon de Clinton is mentioned are prior to 1200. 



