Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 9.djvu/137

 ii s. ix. FEB. u, i9i4.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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of the King, or, after 1254, of Lord Ed- ward his son; and it was not until c. 1264 that the Lord Edward, in exchange for Kilsheelan and some other manors, made a feoffment of Ulster to Walter de Burgh, who then appears for the first time as Earl of Ulster (Cal. Docs. Irel., ii. 860, 1520, 1548 ; Ann. Loch Ce, 1264). Moreover Avelina, daughter of John Fitz Geoffrey, Walter's wife, was the mother of Richard the " Red Earl," Walter's son and heir (Cal. Docs. Irel., iv. 638), and she survived Walter, as also did Matilda de Lacy, for though I do not know (or think) that she was alive in 1303, as stated in this pedigree, she appears to have been alive in a. r. 6 Ed. I., 1277-8 (Justiciary Roll, p. 434). It is not easy then, as, indeed, MR. RELTON perceives, to see how Walter could have married her.

But MB. RELTON'S communication is mainly concerned with Lesceline de Verdon, the first wife of the younger Hugh de Lacy, and he ends by saying " her parentage still requires elucidation." On this point I have something fresh,, and, I think, decisive, to add. The doubt seems to be whether she was daughter or sister of Thomas de Verdon. For the former supposition Mr. Round is quoted. He refers to the Gormanston Register, p. 1896, which, it is said, contains an " Indentura de maritagis Josceline filie Thome Verdoun et Hugonis Lascy." But I suspect the reference is really to the account of the Register given in the Historical MSS. Commission, App. Fourth Report. For when preparing materials for my ' Ireland under the Normans ' I examined with some care the original Gormanston Register in the Public Record Office, Dublin, and among my notes is one of what seems to be the document referred to (indirectly) by Mr. Round. I have given the general effect" of this document in my history above-mentioned (vol. ii. pp. 121-2). It speaks of Lesceline (not Josce- line) as sister (not daughter) of Thomas de Verdon. The document, which has not yet been published (though an edition of the Register has long been promised), besides being decisive on the position of Lesceline, is so interesting from an historical point of view that I venture to give the whole of my note, which, though not quite a complete transcript of the Latin, omits, I believe, nothing of importance.

Gormanston Register, f. 189 dors.

Agreement between Thomas de Verdoun and

Hugh de Lacy.

Thomas has given to Hugh de Lacy with Lese- lina de Verdone, his sister, totam medietatem terre sue de Hibernia in Erigallo [Uriel or co. Loath]

in leberum [sic] maritagium cum omnibus perti nenciis suis excepto quod idem Thomas de Verdon retinet sibi et heredibus suis integre et impartite castellum de Dondalc [Dundalk] et quinque feoda militum viciniora et propinquiora eidem castello versus mare et versus terram de quacumque parte eidem Thome placuerit et portum que est super aquam de Athlon [Dundalk Harbour?] quantum ad terram suam pertinet. T. autem Verdon dedit prefato Hugoni de Lascy duo feoda militum et dimidium in loco competent! in escambium duorum feodorum militum et dimidii que retinuit in manu sua sibi et heredibus suis sirca [sic] prefatum castellum de Dundalc. Et quicquid prefati Thomas et Hugo de Lacy poteriut conquirere in terra gwerre in partibus suis terre de Ergallo totum inter se dimidiabunt sicut dimidiaverunt inter se terram pacis Thomas has pledged him- self quod tantum faciet versus comitem Johannem pro pecunia danda vel cocunque modo poterit quod domirms Comes maritagium et predictam con- vencionem concedat. T. T. Th'e Alb'e de Crolk [Thome Abbate de Croxden?] Magistro V. de Verdon Roberto deb'e Radulpho.

This agreement must be dated between 1192, when Bertram died, and 1197, if that was the year Thomas died.

I may perhaps help your correspondent on one or two other points. Neither Ratour (Ratoath) nor le Nober (Nobber), both in Meath, formed any part of the De Verdon fief, nor were they obtained from a De Verdon by Hugh de Lacy on his marriage with Lesceline. The documents which indi- cate this in a confused way (Cal. i. 1371-3-4) if correctly abstracted, are faulty. No. 1372 is correct. Both " Rathowtht " and " Mack- ergalinge " (Machaire Gaileng, now Mor- gallion, the barony in which Nobber is situ- ated) were granted by Walter de Lacy to his brother Hugh by a deed to be dated c. 1194 (Gormanston Register, f. 188 dors.). This deed was confirmed by John Dominus Hi- bernie on 4 Dec., 1 1 98 (ibid. ). ' ' Makergalin ' ' had previously been granted by the elder Hugh de Lacy to Gilbert de Nangle or de Angulo (' Song of Dermot,' 3142-3), and it was on his forfeiture that the lands were given to Hugh. This may have been about the time of Hugh's marriage with Lesceline.

I do not know on what authority Hugh's marriage with Emeline de Ridelesford is placed so early as 1212-16. I am inclined to place it much later. Her sister was probably quite recently married to Robert de Mariscis (who was son, not brother, of Geoffrey de Mariscis) when he died in 1240 (see Cal. i. 2970, which is, however, postdated at least a year. ) Anyhow, it is hardly credible that a woman, said to have been born c. 1198, should have been from twenty-six to thirty years the (apparently) childless wife of ( Hugh de Lacy, and then, when she was 45 ( years of age, have married a second time