ICELAND. 
their invader, and to fubmit before he appeared on the 
coaft. 
Henry, having completed the preparations necefiary for 
his expedition, embarked at Milford with feveral of his 
barons, 400 knights, and about 4000 foldiers, on-board a 
fleet of 240 fail. He landed at Waterford on the fealt of 
St. Luke in October 1172, with a pro felled defign not to 
conquer, but to take poffe.Tion of a kingdom already his 
own, as being granted him by the pope. Moll of the 
Irilh indeed Teemed to be of the fame opinion, and there¬ 
fore fubmitted without the leaft refiftance. Strongbow 
fet them an example, by making a formal furrendcr of 
Waterford, and doing homage to the king for the terri¬ 
tory of Leinfter. Fitz-Stephen was delivered up, with 
many accufations of tyranny and injuftice. He was at 
fifft fent to prifon ; but foon purchafed his liberty, by 
furrendering Wexford, and doing homage for the relt of 
his poffeffions to the king. The prince of Defmond was 
the firll Iriffi chieftain who fubmitted. On the very day 
after the king’s arrival, he attended his court, refigned 
the city of Cork, did him homage, and ftipulated to pay 
a tribute for the reft of his territory. An Englilh go¬ 
vernor and garrifon were immediately appointed to take 
poffeffion of his capital; and the kingdifplayed his power 
and magnificence by marching to Liimore, where he 
chofe a fituation and gave the neteffary orders for build¬ 
ing a fort. The prince of Thomond next fubmitted and 
did homage. He was followed by the princes of Ofiory, 
Decies, and all the inferior chiefs of Munfter. 
The king, after having provided for the fecurity of all 
his newly-acquired territories, and put garrifons into the 
cities of Limeric, Cork, Waterford, and Wexford, pro¬ 
ceeded to take polfefiion of Dublin, which had been fur- 
rendered by Strongbow. The neighbouring lords took 
the opportunity of fubmitting as he advanced. O’Carrol 
of Argial, 3 chieftain of great confequence, repaired to 
his camp, and engaged to become his tributary ; and 
even.O’Ruarc, whom Roderic had made lord of a confi- 
derable part of Meath, voluntarily fubmitted to the new 
fovereign. 
Roderic, though furprifed at the defeftion of fo many 
of his allies, ftill determined to maintain his own dignity, 
and at lealt preferve Jris province of Connaught, feeing 
he could no longer call himfelf monarch of the whole 
illand. With this defign he entrenched himfelf on the 
banks of the Shannon ; and now, when difencumbered 
from a crowd of faithlefs and difcontented followers, he 
appears to have afted with a fpirit and dignity becoming 
his ftation. Hugh de Lacy and William Fitz-Andelm 
were commiflioned by the kiftg to reduce him ; but Ro¬ 
deric was too Itrong to be attacked with any probability 
of fuccefs by a detachment from the Englilh army ; and 
he at lealt affefted to believe, that his fituation was not 
yet fo totally defperate as to reduce him to the necelfity 
of refigning his dignity and authority, wkile his own ter¬ 
ritory remained inviolate, and the brave and powerful 
chiefs of Ullter ftill kept retired in their own diftrifts with¬ 
out any thoughts of fubmilfion. 
Henry, in the mean time, attempted to attach the Irilh 
lords to his intereft by elegant and magnificent entertain¬ 
ments, fuch as to them appeared quite aftonilhing. Some 
hiftorians pretend that he eftablilhed the Englilh laws in 
all thofe parts which had fubmitted to his jurifdiftion ; 
but this mull appear extremely improbable, when we con- 
fider how tenacious a rude and barbarous people are of 
their ancient laws and cuftoms. The Irilh lords had been 
accuftomed to do homage to a fuperior; and they had 
made no fubmilfion to Henry which they had not formerly 
done to Roderic, and probably thought their fubmilfion 
to the king of England more honourable than that to 
'their Irilh monarchs ; and it cannot be fuppofed, that a 
wife and politic monarch, as Henry undoubtedly was, 
fhould form at once fuch an extravagant fcheme as alter¬ 
ing the laws of a great number of communities, none of 
which he had fubdued by force of arms. By his tra^ifac- 
€91 
tions both with the natives and adventurers, however, 
Henry had attained the abfolute dominion of feveral ma¬ 
ritime cities and their dependencies; fo that he had both 
a confiderable number of real fubjefts, and a large extent 
of territory, in the illand. To thefe fubjefts indeed 
Henry granted the Englilh laws ; and gave the city of 
Dublin by charter to the inhabitants of Briftol, to be held 
of him and his heirs, with the fame liberties and free 
cuftoms which they enjoyed at Briftol, and throughout 
all his land. By another charter, executed foon after, he 
confirmed to his bnrgefles of Dublin all manner of rights 
and immunities throughout his whole land of England, 
Normandy, Wales, and Ireland, wherever they and their 
effedis Ihould be, to be fully and honourably enjoyed by 
them as his free and faithful fubjefts. As it was not 
eafy to induce his Englilh fubjefts immediately to fettle 
in thefe maritime towns, he permitted the Oilmen to take 
polfeflion of Waterford; and to them he granted a parti¬ 
cular right of denization, by which they were inverted with 
the rights and privileges of free fubjefts, and for the fu¬ 
ture to be governed by the laws of his realm. For the 
better execution of thefe new laws, the king alfo made a 
divifion of the diftrifts now fubjecl to him into Ihires or 
counties ; which counties afterwards enlarged, according 
to the extenfion of the Englilh fettlements and the cir- 
cumltances of the country, formed what was denominated 
the Englijh Pale. Sheriffs were appointed both for the 
counties and cities, with itinerant judges, and other 
minifters of juftice, and ■officers of Hate, and every appen¬ 
dage of Englilh government and law. To complete the 
whole fyftem, a chief governor, or reprefentative of the 
king, was appointed. His bufinefs was to exercife the 
royal authority, or fuch parts of it as might be committed 
to him in the king’s abfence; and, as the Hate of Ireland, 
and the apprehenfions of war or infurreftions, made it 
neceffary to guard againll fudden accidents, it was pro¬ 
vided, that, in cafe of the death of any chief governor, 
the chancellor, treafurer, chief-juftiCe, and chief-baron, 
keeper of the rolls, and king’s ferjeant at law, Ihould be 
empowered, with confent of the nobles of the land, to 
cleft a fucceffor, who was to exercife the full power and 
authority of this office, until the royal pleafure Ihould be 
further known. 
But, while Henry was thus regulating the government 
of his new dominions, he received the unwelcome news, 
that two cardinals, Albert and Theodine, delegated by 
the pope, had arrived in Normandy, to make inquilition 
into the death of Becket; that, having waited the king’s 
arrival until their patience was exhaulted, they now fum- 
moned him to appear without delay, as he would avert 
the dreadful fentence of excommunication, and preferve 
his dominions from a general interdift. Such denuncia¬ 
tions were of too great confequence to admit of his longer 
ftay in Ireland 5 he therefore ordered his forces and the 
officers of his houfehold to embark without delay, referv- 
ing three ffiips for the conveyance of himfelf and his im¬ 
mediate attendants. Having therefore but a ftiort time 
to fecure his Iriffi interefts, he addrefl'ed himfelf to the 
original Engiifh adventurers, and by grants and promifes 
laboured to detach them from Strongbow, and to bind 
them firmly to himfelf. To make amends for what he 
had taken from Fitz-Stephen, he granted him a confider¬ 
able diftrift in the neighbourhood of Dublin, to be held 
by knight’s fervice; at the fame time entrufting the ma¬ 
ritime towns to his own immediate dependants. Water¬ 
ford was committed to Humphrey de Bohun, Robert 
Fitz-Bernard, and Hugh de Gundeville, with a train of 
twenty knights. In Wexford were ftationed William 
Fitz-Andelm, Philip of Haftings, and Philip de Braofa, 
with a like number of attendants. Hugh de Lacy had a 
grant of all the territory of Meath, where there was no 
fortified place, and where of confequence no particular 
reservation was necefiary, to be held of the king and his 
heirs, by the fervice of fifty knights, in as full a manner 
as it had been enjoyed by any of the Iriffi princes. He 
