The Irish standard., 1905-09-02
"Expugnatio Hibernica!" If "


BY competent critics this work is
not taken as serious history, but
rather as poetic and flattering &C.
count of the glories of Henry and
England. The official catalog of those
works published by authority of the
Master of the Rolls, describing this
work, says, 1T may be regarded rath-
err as great epic than sober relation
of facts occurring in his own days."
With the exception of few partisan
and anti-Irish zealists, the genera.
consensus of opinion is that the "Ex-
pugnatio" cannot be relied upon as
truthful and unbiased history of the
times, and yet this work has been TAX
en- as the guide and authority for most
of the writings upon the history of
ireland in the days of Henry, and as
sufficient authority for the authentic
city of the Bull of Adrian!
1t is fact of peculiar significance
that Peter de Blois, who was secretary
to Henry II, is silent upon this most
important matter, though in his chron-
icles of the events of Henry's reign, he
narrates particulars of matters of very
minor importance.
Again, those writer's and annalists
who were the most directly interested
III this affair, the Irish scribes. bishops,
and historians, make no mention of
the Bull of Adrian, which, if it was
extant in 1155, was most assuredly a
matter of the gravest national import
ance, and the subject of discussion in
every assembly and council in Ireland.
The fact is that the Irish were at
first ignorant of the existence of the
document, and when aware of it, they
at all times repudiated it's authentic
city, and in their many memorials to
the Holy See, they claimed that the
English justified their oppression and
criminal proceedings upon the author
ity of Spurious Pontifical Grants. On
account of the continual resistance to
the establishment of the English rule
in Ireland, the Lords Justices, and
royal council of Ireland-the Dublin
castle of the day-presented in 1925
memorial to Pope John XXI, in
which many misdemeanors were
charged against the Irish. One of
these was, Moreover they (the Irish)
assert that the King of England, I'M
der false pretenses and by false Bulls
obtained the dominion over Ireland,
and this opinion is commonly held
by them"
There is just one little bit of inter-
nal evidence to show that the Bull is a
forgery, and this is that according to
the ordinary formula it is Dated from
Rome"
But John of SALISBURY narrates that
on his arrival in Italy to visit Adrian
he found the Papal court established
at Beneventum, and it was here that
he presented the congratulations of
Henry, and here that he remained
during the three months of his visit.
For shortly after the election of Adri-
an, Arnold of Brescia melted reovlt,
and the Pope was obliged to quit
Rome. Hence the very fact of the
Bull being dated from there stamps it
as forgery
Very many eminent scholars have
devoted considerable attention to the
Bull of Adrian, with the result that
they either pronounced it spurious or
insisted that there were grave and
suspicious circumstances surrounding
it's history. In addition to many serv-
ices rendered to the cause of Irish
history, patriotism and Irish national
advancement, His Eminence Cardinal
Moran has by his learned researches
succeeded in completely setting aside
any claim to the authenticity of Adri.
ans Bull. His Eminence's profound
knowledge of Irish history, and his &C.
cess to the original manuscripts, etc.,
in the Vatican and other libraries,
have enabled him to produce evidence
in proof of the forgery. These facts
are collected in an article in the
Irish Ecclesiastical Record" of No.
vember, 1872, and two exhaustive ar
ticles in the Australian Catholic Rec
ord" of April and July, 1897.
But quite apart from these historical
evidences, we have the peculiar and
suspicious fact that the Bull, which
was supposed to be granted in 1855,
was not promulgated till 1175, sixteen
years after the death of Adrian!
When Henry set out for Ireland on
his conquest" he did not use the
authority of the Bull to secure him
the homage of the Irish princes. When
he had finished his work and assumed
the title of king of Ireland, he still
said nothing about the existence of the
Bull.
The first council of bishops held
after Henry's coming to Ireland was
that of Cashel, in 1172, at which the
Papal Legate attended. Here, If any.
where, was the proper place and time
for even belated publication of the
Bull; yet the Records are absolutely
silent as to even a suspicion of its
existence.