1 R E L A M M
' C H A P T E R HI.
G l V I L G £ O G R -
—Language.^Literature.—Education,-—Uijiluenftiies.—
^Edifices.—Inland! Navigation.— Mimufdjlffifes'^dnd
Manners and Cufioms.-
-- Cities and ‘Towns.-
Ii j Commerce.-.
Manners O PEN S ER the poet, imhis-vieW o f the.ftateU3f Ireland, h a s ^ |f cV e d
Customs feveral curious p a r t i c u l a r s n a t i o - i a y l manners irtlt-he
' reign o f Elizabeth. As that work, though, fa n ^ jto e ih b y fan,,Iuftrious
' name,,is little read, two fpecimeh&^w&vhe transcribed, one.c^M’o h n -
ing what were then termed the Irifli borle-boys; arid ithc.’/tlrdrAgfiling
fome account o f the bards. A fte r^ fifo tb in g the/fayage^n^anfiers of
the Gallqw^glafles or in fan try ' and 'the Kernes o r jpred^tory cavalry,
that venerable writer thus ,procehjdsV r\.
“ And now n e x t‘after the Irifli kerns, methinksjlre Irifli fho/ft’-Jioys
would come well in ord e r; the ufe o f w hich thougfifmcpcTGtv (as, t « c s
now,be) do enforce, yet* in the thS^fUgh reformation *df that^r^Im
they fliould b e cut off. For the,' cafife" wiry ’If ljy are now5 to be permitted,
1» want-of e o n v e n f e n f f o f ’dc^gmg?'hftfavellersfion 'BOTTe-
back, and o f oftlersto tend their horfeS by the Way, ,’ But-whin ,things
fliall be reduced to a better pafs, this needeth fpecialty^lS ^ e r e formed,,
For o u t o f th e frie o f thefe rake-hell horfe-bo^sp i fgt6’w i h g |^ sin
knavery and villany, are their kern continually fttpjplied a>tfd‘ maintained.
For having been once brought up; an idle horfe-boy, he will
n e v e r' a fte r fall to labour, but is only mkctif fit for the' hafterarnffind
thefe alfo (the which is one foul o.verfighr.) are for the moll -part bred
up amongft the Englilhmen; ■ of whom learning to ■ flioot - in Kpece,
and being made acquainted with all the trades of' the Englilh, they
are afterwards-when they become kern, made more fit to.'cut their
throats. Next to this there is another much like, but much more
I ) lewd
lewd and i f t o n e f t , and that is o f jtfeir C a r™ , which is a kind of
people that wander up and down to gentlemen’s houfes, livmg only
ttpon cards and dice, the which though they h „ e little or nothing of
thetr own, jtet Will they. p l,7 f0r mtlch mon ey ; which if they t i n ,
they wafte moft h.ghtly; and ifth e y lo f e they pay as fletaderly, b d
make jecompence wtth o tM e a ltb or an o th e r, .whofc only hurt is not
that they themfelwes are idle lolfels, lant that through gaming they I
draw otheiy to like lewdnefs and idlenefs. And to tbefemay be added
another fort of lake loofe fellows, which do pafs np and down amongft
gentlemen, by the name of jefters, but are (indeed) notable rogues
and partakers not only of many Healths, by felting forth other men’s
goods to be ftolen, but alfo privy to many traiterous praaices, and
common carriers o f news.”
% ■ " deliinea';inS | e diffolUte life-of an Irifli chieftain, SpenYer thus
fin'd-any.to^M fehitp,, and t o , g 4 him en-’ |
R i t h m c r s c ^ t f p r d i t i reward o r
S S h I i ™ » ! » * ^ e rnw a ^ tf e .^ im p f tin fo iem , and half mad
deeds. - 9 B 3 £ B
B R i B k M f o r them .to ^ i TC* goodly 3 |
Pram! ^ ? ^ t t h e r e u n t o , borrowed even from tfefpraifes Swhich are
m As ;°f a -moft W m S m , and B S
,U. a^ ’ ^ hlch had ilved all his life time of /polls and robberies one of
their Bardes in his praife will fay, that he was none of the idle milk
f°PS th a tw a s brought up by-the fire fide, but that moft of his days he
M B S valiant euterprifes; that he did never eat ^
had1WOf H Wlth ^ is fw o rd ; that he lay not all night Hugging
' 1 f u n d e r his mantle, butufed commonly'to keep o t L s L k l c ?
S d/ end their llves> and did light- His candle a t the flames o f t h f ?
houfes tq lead him in th e darkneft; 'that the day was his night ’ , T mm ****** abcJfe 1 1 ; niT f 7 | e,‘ Game,he t0° k per forCe the fPoil other men’s
M d,lef ’I lamentation to their lovers; that his mufic was not
W * j M l ^ ^ t theories o fp eo p l,, and
- a rm o u r;