Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1873-02-13
(coSrrxuEp PROM LAST WEEK
IRELAND AND POPE ADRIAN ".

| ihELdNO AMI fOfE ADhkaN Nv
There II. however. another Bull OF AL
exander ILL.,. preserved by Giraldus Cam
brensis which 10 supposed 10 have beer
granted at the request Of King Henry IN
4 1l72. and 10 conhrma,ory Of the gift and
invesiiture made by Pope Adrian il Mr.
O'Callaehan holds that this Bull OF Alex
ander III. sets at rest for ever all doub
rs to the genrineness Of the grant made
by Adrian IV.10. ID .fl
The question st once suggests itself. ID
this Bull of Alsaandee III. TO be itself
admitted rs genuine and authentic II
its own authority be doubtful. surely i,
cannot suffice to prop up the to,terius
cause Of Adrian's Bull. Now. its style il
entirely different from that Of the three
authentic letters Of which We haze jus,
spoken. Quite in opposition to these let.
ters "the only authority alleged in it for
Hcnry's right to ireland is the Bull oi
Adrian" as DR. L1nigan allows IL The
genuine letters arc dated from Tusculum,
where. rs we know from other sources,
Alexander actually resided in 1l72 On
The other hand. this confirmatory Bull,
though supposed 10 have been obtained in
1l72. is dated from Rome, thus clearly
bc,raying the hand Of the impostor. Such
was the disturbed condition Of Rome a,
that period that it was impossible for His
Holiness 20 reside there and hence we
6nd him sometimes holding his court in
Tusculum. at other times in Segni. Anag-
nj. or Ferrara. 1t was only when these
disturbances were quclled that Alexander
Ill. was able. in l17s. to return in tri-
umph to his capitalize
But there is still another reason why we
must doubt of the authority Of this con-
firmatory Bull. The researches of Rev
Mr. Dimock have proved what Usher Ion 2
ago remarked. that this Bull OF Alexander
originally formed part of the work Of Gi.
radius Camhrcnsis. 13 although later copy
lists. and the first editors. including the
learned Camden, recognizing its spuri-
business. excluded it from Giraldus's text
The matter is now at rest, for the ancient
MSS clearly prove tha, i, originally form
cd part of the /" Expugnatio Hibernica. "
Thanks. however. to the zeal aud indus
try Of Mr.. Brewer. we are at present ac-
qnain.ed with another work Of Giraldus.
written at n later period than his His,ori-
cal Tracts on Ireland. II il entitled "De
Prircipis Instructions. and was edited in
1916 for the "Anglia Christiana" Socic-
iy Naw.- s.. -.t-;- trvatis--G G;-~i5ue reEss.
TO the Bull Of Alexander ILL.,. of which
we treat. but lie rrc6xes the following re-
markablc words IA Some assert or i'm
acinc that this Bull was obtained from the
Pope; hut others deny that il was ever
obtained from the Pon,i.f." ''Sicut n qui-
busdam impcrtratum asseritur aut con-
6ngitur; ab aliis ausem unquam imper-
,ratum fuisse negatur" Surely these
words should suffice TO convince the most
sccp,ical that the fact of the Bull Of AL
exander being reci,ed By Giraldus in his
"Expugnaiio Hibernica" is very unsat.
isfactory ground on which to rest the argn-
ment for its genuincness.
As regards the Synod of Water
ford in 1175. and the statement that the
Bulls Of Adrian and Alexander were pub
lished therein for the first time, all these
matters rest on the very doubtful author
ity of Giraldus Cambrensis. We have no
record in Irish annals that any general
meeting Of the Irish Bishops vas held in
Waterford in 1175. The circumstances
Of the country rendered suci, Synod i'm
possible; for war and disscpsions ragged
throughout the length and breadth Of our
-
that the frs. bishhp was appointed by
King Henry to the See of Waterford, as
Ware informs us; and, perhaps, VIC would
not err were we to suppose that the Syr'd
so pompoasly set forth by Giraldus vas
convention Of the Anglo Noru~.n clergy
Of Waterford under their newly appointed
prelate, all Of whom would. no doubt. joy
fully accept the otIicia. docnments presen-
ted in the name Of the king BY Nicholas
Of Walllngford.
Leland supposes that this Synod of Wa
terford was not held till 11T7. The dis
turbed state Of the kingdom, however,
rendered Synod equally impossible in
that year, and oil our ancient authorities
utterly ignore such Synod.
SIN the demonstrates addressed by
the Irish princes aud pespie 60 john
XIII. about the year 1915. repeated
mention is made Of the Bull Of Adrian
But then il Is only cited there rs con-
elusive argument al hoaiirsm against the
English traducers Of our nation ''lest the
titter and vcnomcus calumnics Of the Eng
lish. aud their unjust and unfounded at
tacks upon ns aud all whh support our
rights. may in any degree infaenec the
,nind Of your Holiness" The Bull of
Adrian ". was pnblishcd by the English.
and &c. forth by them rs the eharter-deed
of their rule in ireland. yet they violated
in a most Hsyrsnt manner all the eondi-
,ions Of that Papai grant The Irish
princes and people in self-defense had
now made over the sovereignty of the is
land to Edward de Bruce. brS,her Of The
Scottish King they s,,le him their adop
ted monarch, aud they pray the Pope q
give formal sanction Of their proceed
ings. Thus. threng hca, the whole Re
menssranee the Ball Of Adrian is used q
. telling argument sgainss the injustice Q
The invaders. and as = precedent whiel
Joha XXlI. Aairhs justly folssw in sane
ticAiAs the transfer Of the lrish crown
Eds ard Bruce. Bot IN all this the BIZ
toriaa win 6nd no grounds for asser,in
the gensincne<s Of The supposed Balls I
Adrian or Alexander. We wi!l Just no
see tha, at this very time the Irish peop
universally regarded these Bqlls as sp,
! rious inven,ices Of their English en-