Rediscovering medieval Ireland: Irish chancery rolls and the historian
Robin Frame
This paper, which marks the launching of a major new digital resource, considers value, and also some pitfalls, chancery other royal records as source for historian later medieval Ireland. Despite losses over centuries, remaining record material is rich, like history fourteenthand early fifteenth-century Ireland itselfhas been too little studied. In common with other, more glamorous, sources, government need to be approached awareness their conventions purposes. The paper suggests ways in rolls might illuminate themes such Ireland's place 'English empire', reach modulations crown within Ireland, relations between English-style public authority Gaelic polity. Introduction May 2012 first product historical undertaking recovery reassembling, so far possible, lost Irish coincided melancholy anniversary.1 Exactly 90 years before, Public Record Office Four Courts, was under occupation by anti-Treaty forces; it destroyed on 30 June 1922.2 Apart from charred fragments, only escape fire-storm were three or four that had recently use, search room rather than store, together two others escaped official custody past, repurchased 1968. * Author's e-mail: r.f.frame@durham.ac.uk doi: 10.3318/PRIAC.2013.1 13.09 1 revised version lecture given at Trinity College Dublin 10 mark 'Calendar letters, c. 1244-1509' (www.tcd.ie/chancery, accessed 5 February 2013): hereafter cited 'CIRCLE'. For what follows, see Philomena Connolly, Medieval sources (Maynooth Research Guides Local History, 4, Dublin, 2002), 9-18; full description project its context Peter Crooks, 'Reconstructing past: case rolls', N.M. Dawson F.M. Larkin (ed.), Lawyers, law history: legal society discourses papers, 2006-2011 (Dublin, forthcoming). I am indebted Dr Crooks letting me read this advance publication, helpful comments draft present text. Proceedings Royal Academy Vol. 113C, 193-217 © 2013 content downloaded 207.46.13.73 Tue, 09 Aug 2016 04:30:17 UTC All use subject http://about.jstor.org/terms
Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy