Know the purpose for the creation of Irish titles of nobility between 1541, when Henry VIII of England made himself king of Ireland and during the reign of James I
A discussion of Irish titles of nobility between 1541, when Henry VIII of England made himself king of Ireland, and the reign (1603–25) of James I.
Courtesy of Folger Shakespeare Library; CC-BY-SA 4.0 (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
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Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING] BRENDAN KANE: When we think about aristocratic titles we have to go back to 1541. Because prior to that period you have in Ireland English nobles who happen to live in Ireland, so the Earls of Kildare, Earls of Desmond, so on and so forth. And then you also have Gaelic nobles.
And these people have rather different titles. So if you are a Gaelic noble you're known as the name of your family. So you are the O'Neill or the O'Brien.
So in 1541 when Ireland becomes a kingdom, this is the first revolutionary moment, because Gaelic nobles are then allowed to transfer their traditional titles into English style titles. So we see a number of examples of this. So The O'Neill becomes the Earl of Tyrone. The O'Brien becomes the Earl of Thomond and so on and so forth.
Now when we get to James I, we see an attempt to really recreate the Irish nobility. And there are a number of reasons for this. And it works out in a number of different ways. And one of the reasons for this is that we have to remember how important hierarchy is to this society.
Elizabeth is incredibly stingy with her nobility. So when titles die out she doesn't renew them. She doesn't reward people who've served her well with a new title.
There's a real push to try to get the luster of the nobility brought back. And James I does this and everybody knows this. So when he comes from Scotland there's a problem of integrating the Scottish and the English nobility. But there's also the issue of what to do with the Irish nobility.
So one of things that he does is he attempts to make people happy at court by creating new titles. You have plantation land in Munster, than in Ulster. And the King can actually use that land and attach it to titles, and then give it to the highest bidder.
And his favorite, the Duke of Buckingham, is the one who oversees this market in Irish titles. So you see a creation of basically a new Irish nobility made out of people who are willing to pay the price.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
And these people have rather different titles. So if you are a Gaelic noble you're known as the name of your family. So you are the O'Neill or the O'Brien.
So in 1541 when Ireland becomes a kingdom, this is the first revolutionary moment, because Gaelic nobles are then allowed to transfer their traditional titles into English style titles. So we see a number of examples of this. So The O'Neill becomes the Earl of Tyrone. The O'Brien becomes the Earl of Thomond and so on and so forth.
Now when we get to James I, we see an attempt to really recreate the Irish nobility. And there are a number of reasons for this. And it works out in a number of different ways. And one of the reasons for this is that we have to remember how important hierarchy is to this society.
Elizabeth is incredibly stingy with her nobility. So when titles die out she doesn't renew them. She doesn't reward people who've served her well with a new title.
There's a real push to try to get the luster of the nobility brought back. And James I does this and everybody knows this. So when he comes from Scotland there's a problem of integrating the Scottish and the English nobility. But there's also the issue of what to do with the Irish nobility.
So one of things that he does is he attempts to make people happy at court by creating new titles. You have plantation land in Munster, than in Ulster. And the King can actually use that land and attach it to titles, and then give it to the highest bidder.
And his favorite, the Duke of Buckingham, is the one who oversees this market in Irish titles. So you see a creation of basically a new Irish nobility made out of people who are willing to pay the price.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
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