English army defeated
Having rested for a time, Prince Lionel began the march which was to conquer the land, but again an English army, strong, well armed and victualled, was outmatched and defeated by the Irish. Disaster after disaster followed the prince, who could do nothing right. Edward, when he heard the news, was alarmed and astounded. The first thing he did was to create the prince Duke of Clarence. His second step was more practical, and consisted in raising another army, while he increased his son's allowance from 6s. 8d. a day to 13s. 4d. Victory, however, was denied the prince, and though he returned to Ireland with increased forces in 1364, 1365, and 1366, he failed to improve upon his previous attempts. In 1362 his wife had died, leaving an only child in the person of Phillipa.
The Statute of Kilkenny
Prince Lionel's term of office is chiefly remarkable because it witnessed the creation of the famous, or infamous, Statute of Kilkenny. At a special Parliament held in Kilkenny in 1367, the viceroy endeavoured to gain by legislation that which he and his soldiers had lost in a dozen battles. It was therefore decreed that no English settler could marry into an Irish family; the selling of horses, armour, or victuals in peace or war was declared treason; English was the only language to be spoken; the English style of horsemanship was to be adopted; and no subject of the king's could be known except by an English name, and the education of the Irish was forbidden, no colleges or seminaries being permitted to receive them. There were also special clauses dealing with ecclesiastics, who were ordered to expel any Irish amongst them. The use of the English tongue was enjoined strictly, and if anyone offended the profits of his benefice were to be seized by his superior. The English colonists were likewise warned against admitting itinerant musicians into their houses, for these men were regarded as spies, and therefore dangerous. The custom of calling the English by birth 'English Hobbes,' or clowns, was forbidden, as well as the nickname of 'Irish dogs' bestowed upon the English by blood. The Government could not afford the luxury of schisms amongst its friends. The common people were ordered not to play hurlings and quoitings, 'which had caused evils and maims,' but to accustom themselves 'to draw bows and cast lances and other gentleman-like sports whereby the Irish enemies might be better checked.' Constables of castles were forbidden to take more than 5d. per day from any prisoner for maintenance, and torture was vetoed. Not the least important enactment of the Statute of Kilkenny was the 'one war one peace' declaration. This meant that in the event of a rebellion or uprising all those who did not side with the viceroy were to be regarded as the open enemies of the King of England. Neutrality could not be acknowledged.
When this laborious and comprehensive statute had been drawn up the viceroy requested the Archbishops of Dublin, Cashel, and Tuam, and the Bishops of Lismore and Waterford, Killaloe, Leighlin, and Cloyne to pronounce sentence of excommunication against all those who might by 'rebellion of heart' resist the Statute of Kilkenny.
This was Lionel's last act as viceroy, and he retired, being succeeded by Gerald, fourth Earl of Desmond, known as 'The Poet' by reason of his writings. He was popular, witty, and just, and for two years he ruled the English colony. In 1369, however, Sir William de Windsor, who had been one of the leaders of Prince Lionel's army, was appointed viceroy, and given an annuity of £1,000 until lands producing an equal amount could be settled on him. De Windsor's time was occupied chiefly in repelling attacks on the city of Dublin by the border Irish, but he performed an heroic action by marching to the South of Ireland and rescuing the preceding viceroy, whose poetical temperament and mild manner had not saved him from the hostility of the Irish. In 1371 De Windsor retired for over two years. The appointment of a successor caused Edward great trouble. He was averse to sending a pauper, because that would entail a diminution in the royal receipts from Ireland, while the wealthy men about his court would not accept the post at any price. Ireland to them was a savage country; a stay there tantamount to punishment and exile. There was no prospect of military glory, for they knew that many of the gallant victors of France, Flanders, and Scotland had left their reputations behind them on many a lost battlefield in Ireland. Edward thought that he could compel anybody he chose to go to Ireland, and he selected Sir Richard de Pembridge, who held several very profitable offices under the English Crown. Naturally Pembridge declined the post, and Edward retorted by depriving him of his offices. Pembridge, however, appealed to the Council and to Parliament, and it was decided that it was not the king's prerogative to order anybody to leave the country. Magna Charta distinctly stated that exile from England was the punishment for felony or treason, and that Parliament alone had the power to expel a subject.
The 'Lady of the Sun'
Prior to the return of Sir William de Windsor, the government was undertaken for various short periods by Maurice Fitz-Thomas, Earl of Kildare, Dean de Colton, of St. Patrick's, who secured the post by undertaking to repel the O'Briens at his own expense, and William de Taney, an ecclesiastic. De Windsor came back in April, 1374, having come to an agreement with his royal master, whereby he was allowed 500 marks from the Exchequer and the sum of £11,213 6s. 8d. In return for the money he guaranteed to maintain 200 men-at-arms and 40 archers. De Windsor's object was obviously to make as much money as he could out of the unfortunate country, which was already sending annually the enormous sum for the period of £10,000. The viceroy came to regard all surplus moneys above that sum to be his perquisites, and his efforts to increase taxation and enrich himself were so unscrupulous and cynical that reports and complaints soon reached Edward. The king immediately appointed Sir Nicholas de Dagworth to proceed to Ireland, and investigate the charges against De Windsor. But the enemies of the viceroy reckoned without the famous Alice Perrers. She was the aged king's favourite, and was clever and unscrupulous, a woman of humble birth who had risen high without the aid of a pretty face. In love with Sir William de Windsor, she remained faithful to him during his absence in Ireland, and although surrounded by his enemies, the 'Lady of the Sun,' as Edward styled her, outwitted them all, her greatest achievement being the prevention of Dagworth's departure for Ireland. Subsequently she married De Windsor, but as she belongs more to the history of England than Ireland her career cannot be treated here.
In 1376 De Windsor was ordered to come to Westminster, and confer with the king on the state of his Irish dominions, but this was merely a pretext to deprive him of his post, and he never returned. Maurice Fitz-Thomas, Earl of Kildare, once more acted as deputy for a short time, and then James le Botiller, Earl of Ormonde, carried on the government from 1376 to 1378. Ormonde retired dissatisfied, and the colony was governed by two members of the Council, Alexander de Balscot and John de Bromwich, until in 1380 the king sent over Edmund de Mortimer, Earl of March and Ulster, husband of Phillipa, daughter of Lionel, Duke of Clarence, and therefore owner of vast estates and commander of an army of his own. On his appointment the colonists petitioned the king to compel De Mortimer to live in Dublin and protect his property. The petitioners were successful, and the viceroy, instead of appointing a deputy and sharing the profits, graciously agreed to govern Ireland in person for a period of three years at a salary of 2,000 marks. In princely splendour he entered the country, and immediately inaugurated a campaign against the rebellious south. Death, however, claimed him on December 26, 1381, and he died at Cork in a Dominican Abbey, being only thirty years of age.
The vacancy thus created was offered in turn to the Earls of Desmond and Ormonde, but they declined on the ground that if they were in Dublin they could not protect their own territories. Dean de Colton, therefore, was appointed pending the pleasure of the king, who, when he heard of De Mortimer's death, at once nominated the deceased viceroy's son Roger to the post. Roger de Mortimer was only eleven, but the viceroyalty was intended as a monetary compensation for the death of his father, and the commission appointing him stated that he was to receive all the profits of the office as well as a salary of 2,000 marks. Furthermore, as soon as he attained his majority he could retire from the post. In pursuance of this convenient plan the boy's uncle, Sir Thomas de Mortimer, was chosen as his deputy.