CHAPTER XII.--VOL. I., p. 287.

"_Riding the Franchises._"

Extract from Harris's "_History of the City of Dublin_," (now become a very scarce work,) chap. VI. p. 114:--

"We shall have little here to do but barely to transcribe the several forms used by the citizens in riding their franchises at different periods, as the same has been transmitted to posterity either by authentic records or ancient manuscripts, whose evidence is not to be controverted at this day; more especially as the reader will readily perceive, by comparing each form, how little variance there has been therein from the beginning to the present times, except in the names of places, which yet are but few. It would indeed be a difficult task for the citizens to have at any time stretched their rights beyond the just limits within the city or suburbs, as they were surrounded on most parts by vigilant neighbours, namely, the ecclesiastics of St. Mary's Abbey, Kilmainham, Thomas-court, and St. Sepulchre's, or the liberties of the Archbishop of Dublin, who were upon all occasions ready to procure papal anathemas and censures against those who offended them in less momentous matters than the loss of their lands. Several of the instruments we shall have occasion to cite are written in Latin; but to show our fidelity, we shall transcribe them verbatim, and for the sake of the English reader, translate them literally into our own language.

"The earliest instrument that occurs is one of John Earl of Morton, and Lord of Ireland, dated at London, the 14th day of May, in the third year of the reign of his brother, King Richard I. (A. D. 1192,) which refers to a former charter of local franchises, granted by King Henry II., now lost. The charter of King John is to be seen in the black book of the Archbishops of Dublin, called "_Alan's Register_," being collected by Archbishop Alan, in the reign of Henry VIII., and as it containeth other liberties besides their metes and bounds, we shall here give only so much thereof as is pertinent to the subject before the reader:--

"'CHARTA JOHANNIS,

"'Domini Hiberniæ, de metis et franchesiis civitatis Dublin, et de libertatibus concessis.

"'Johannes dominus Hiberniæ, Comes Morton, omnibus hominibus et amicis suis, Francis et Anglis, Hiberniensibus et Wallensibis, præsentibus et futuris salutem.

"'Sciatis nos dedisse et concessisse, et hâc mêa chartâ confirmasse civibus meis de Dublin, tam extra muros, quam infra muros manentibus, usque admetas villæ quod habeant metas suas sicut probatæ fuerant per sacramentum bonorum virorum de civitate istâ per præceptum regis Henrici, patris mei; scilicet, ex parte orientale de Dublin, et australi parte, pasturam quæ ducit usque ad portam ecclesiæ sancti Keivini, et sic per viam usque ad Kylmerckargan, et sic per divisam terræ de Donenobroogi usque ad Doder, et de Doder usque ad mare scilicet at Clarade juxta mare, et de Clarade usque ad Ramynelan. Et in occidentale parte de Dublin ab ecclesia S. Patricii per Wallam usque ad Farnan-Clenegimethe et deinde usque ad divisam terræ de Kylmainam et ultra aquam de Kylmainam juxta Aven-Liffey usque ad vada de Kilmastan et ultra aquam de Aven-Liffey versus boream per Cnocknogannoc et deinde usque ad horrea S. Trinitatis, et de horreis illis usque ad furcas, et sic per divisam inter Clonlic et Crynan usque ad Tolecan et deinde usque ad ecclesiam sanctæ Mariæ de Ostmanby. Hæc etiam eis concessi, salvis tenuris et terrâ omni eorum, qui terras et tenures habent, et chartam meam inde extra muros usque ad prædictas metas; et quod non possit civitas de terris illis, sicut de aliis disponere, sed faciant communes consuetudines civitatis, sicut alii cives. De illis autem dico hoc, qui chartam meam habuerunt de aliquibus terris infra easdem metas extra muros antequam civitati prædictas libertates, et hanc chartam concesserim.'

TRANSLATION.

"The Charter of JOHN, Lord of Ireland, concerning the bounds and franchises of the City of Dublin, and of the liberties granted thereto.

"John, Lord of Ireland, Earl of Morton, to all his subjects and friends, French, English, Irish, and Welch, present and to come, greeting.--Know ye, that I have given and granted, and by this my charter confirmed, to my citizens of Dublin, as well those who inhabit without the walls, as to those who dwell within them, as far as the boundary of the town, that they may have their limits as they were perambulated, by the oaths of the honest men of the city itself, in pursuance of a precept sent to them by King Henry, my father; namely, on the east and south sides of Dublin, by the pasture-grounds which lead as far as the port of St. Keivin's church, and so along the road as far as Kylemerekangan, and from thence, as they are divided from the lands of Donenobroogi,[19] as far as the Doder, and from the Doder to the sea, namely, to Clarade, close to the sea, and from Clarade as far as Ramynelan. And on the west side of Dublin, from St. Patrick's church, through the valley as far as Farnan-Clenegimethe; and from thence, as they are divided from the lands of Kylmainam, near Aven-Liffey, as far as the ford of Kilmastan; and beyond the water of Aven-Liffey, towards the north by Cnocknogannoc; and from thence as far as the Barns of the Holy Trinity; and from those Barns to the gallows; and so as the division runs between Cloulic and Crynan, as far as Tolecan, and afterwards to the church of St. Mary of Ostmanby. These things we have also granted to them, that their tenures and land be secure who have any granted to them in our charter; from thence without the walls, as far as the before-mentioned limits; that the city may not dispose of those lands as of other lands, but that they observe the common customs of the city, as other citizens do. But this we declare of those who have had our charter of certain lands, within the said limits, without the walls, before we had granted the aforesaid liberties and this charter."--_The History of the City of Dublin_, by WALTER HARRIS, 8vo. Dublin, 1766, pp. 118, 119, 120.

[Footnote 19: Donenobroogi--Hodie--Donnybrook. The fame of its fair is well known.]

The franchises of the city of Cork, according to Doctor Smith, in his celebrated _History of Cork_, vol. I. p. 49, were perambulated in "an handsome manner" [he says no more] on October 20, 1714; and the night concluded with fire-works and illuminations in honour of his Majesty King George I., whose coronation was that day celebrated in the city. By an order of the D'oyer Hundred, the Mayor was ordered to ride round the liberties and franchises of the city of Cork every third year.

Mr. Hardiman, in his _History of Galway_, mentions a similar procession at Galway. And something similar occurred in the town of Drogheda; but wholly divested of the splendid pomp and display which shed such a lustre on the Dublin pageant.

The ceremony of riding the franchises in the city of Dublin was one so peculiar and remarkable, that it certainly appeared to the author worthy of being handed down as a curious historical record, no similar ceremony of such pomp, circumstance, and pageantry, was known in Britain. There was, no doubt, something extremely oriental in this splendid pageant, which, if the reader will take the trouble to peruse the Letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montague, from Adrianople, he will find a striking similarity between the spectacle of riding the Dublin franchises and the grand pageant which takes place when the Grand-Signior leads his army in person. The account is as follows:--

"I took the pains of rising at six in the morning to see the ceremony, which did not, however, begin till eight. The Grand-Signior was at the Seraglio window to see the procession, which passed through the principal streets. It was preceded by an _Effendi_, mounted on a camel richly furnished, reading aloud the Alcoran, finely bound, laid upon a cushion. He was surrounded by a parcel of boys in white, singing some verses of it, followed by a man dressed in green boughs, representing a clean husbandman sowing seed. After him several reapers with garlands of ears of corn, as Ceres is pictured, with scythes in their hands, seeming to mow. Then a little machine drawn by oxen, in which was a windmill, and boys employed in grinding corn, followed by another machine drawn by buffaloes, carrying an oven and two more boys, one employed in kneading bread, and another in drawing it out of the oven. These boys threw little cakes on both sides among the crowd, and were followed by the whole company of bakers, marching on foot two by two, in their best clothes, with cakes, loaves, pasties, and pies of all sorts, on their heads; and after them two buffoons, or jack-puddings, with their faces and clothes smeared with meal, who diverted the mob with their antic gestures. In the same manner followed all the companies of trade in the empire; the noble sort, such as jewellers, mercers, &c., finely mounted, and many of the pageants that represent their trades perfectly magnificent; among which that of the furriers made one of the best figures, being a large machine, set round with the skins of ermines, foxes, &c., so well stuffed, that the animals seemed to be alive; and followed by music and dancers," &c. _Works of Lady Wortley Montague_, London, 1805, vol. II. pp. 181, 182.

The Chief Magistrate of Dublin was formerly called Provost, and the Sheriffs were styled Bailiffs, from the year 1308 until the year 1409, when the title of Mayor was given. In the year 1547 the name of Bailiff was changed into that of Sheriff. And in the year 1665 the title of Mayor was elevated to the rank of Lord Mayor, Sir David Bellingham being the first appointed.--See HARRIS'S _History of Dublin_, Appendix, pp. 491 to 506.

"The city of Dublin anciently consisted," says Harris, "of twenty corporations, to which five have been in latter times added.

"An ancient custom prevailed for a long time in the city of Dublin, always against the great festivals of the year, to invite the Lord Deputy, the nobility, and other persons of quality and rank, to an entertainment, in which they first diverted them with stage plays, and then regaled them with a splendid banquet. The several corporations also, upon their patron's days, held themselves obliged to the like observances, which were for a long time very strictly kept up and practised.

"Thomas Fitzgerald, Earl of Kildare, and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the year 1528, was invited to a new play every day in Christmas; Arland Usher being then Mayor, and Francis Herbert and John Squire Bailiffs; wherein the Taylors acted the part of Adam and Eve; the Shoemakers represented the story of Crispin and Crispianus; the Vintners acted Bacchus and his story; the Carpenters that of Joseph and Mary; Vulcan, and what related to him, was acted by the Smiths; and the comedy of Ceres, the goddess of Corn, by the Bakers. Their stage was erected on Hoggin-Green, now called College-Green, and on it the priors of Saint John of Jerusalem, of the blessed Trinity, and of All-Hallows, caused two plays to be acted, the one representing the Passion of our Saviour, and the other the several deaths which the apostles suffered."

It is stated in a manuscript in the library of Trinity College, Dublin, "That in the parliament of 1541, wherein Henry VIII. was declared king of Ireland, there were present the Earls of Ormond and Desmond, the Lord Barry, Mac-Gilla-Phadrig Chieftaine of Ossory, the sons of O'Brien, Mac-Carthy-More, with many Irish lords; and on Corpus Christi Day they rode about the streets with the procession in their parliament robes; and the nine worthies was played, and the Mayor bore the mace before them on horseback. The Sunday following King Henry was proclaimed king of Ireland in Saint Patrick's church; and the next Sunday they had tournaments on horseback, and running at the ring with spears on horseback."

Sir James Ware briefly alludes to these entertainments in the following words: "_Epulas comædias, et certamina ludicra, quæ sequebantur, quid attinet dicere?_" "It is needless," he remarks, "to relate what banquets, comedies, and sports followed."

We now return to Harris's History of the City of Dublin.

"Among other days of solemnity the festival of Saint George was celebrated with high veneration. In the choir-book of the city of Dublin are several entries to that effect:

I.--It was ordered, in maintenance of the pageant of Saint George, that the Mayor of the foregoing year should find the emperor and empress, with their train and followers well apparelled and accoutered; that is to say, the emperor attended with two doctors, and the empress with two knights, and two maidens, richly apparelled, to bear up the train of her gown.

II. _Item._--The Mayor, for the time being, was to find Saint George a horse, and the Wardens to pay 3_s._ 4_d._ for his wages that day. The Bailiffs; for the time being were to find four horses, with men mounted on them well apparelled, to bear the pole-axe, the standard, and the several swords of the emperor, and Saint George.

III. _Item._--The elder Master of the guild was to find a maiden well attired, to load the dragon, and the clerk of the market was to find a golden line for the dragon.

IV. _Item._--The elder Warden to find for Saint George four trumpets; but Saint George himself was to pay their wages.

V. _Item._--The younger Warden was obliged to find the king of Dele and the queen of Dele, as also two knights to lead the queen of Dele, and two maidens to bear the train of her gown, all being entirely clad in black apparel. Moreover, he was to cause Saint George's chapel to be well hung in black, and completely apparelled to every purpose; and was to provide it with cushions, rushes, and other necessaries, for the festivity of that day.

No less was the preparation of pageants for the procession of Corpus Christi Day, on which the Glovers were to represent Adam and Eve, with an angel bearing a sword before them.

The Curriers were to represent Cain and Abel, with an altar, and their offering.

Mariners and Vintners, Noah, and the persons in the Ark, apparelled in the habits of Carpenters and Salmon-takers.

The Weavers personated Abraham and Isaac, with their offering and altar.

The Smiths represented Pharoah with his host.

The Skinners the camel with the children of Israel.

The Goldsmiths were to find the king of Cullen.

The Coopers were to find the Shepherds, with an angel singing _Gloria in excelsis Deo_.

Corpus Christi guild was to find Christ in his passion, with the Marys and Angels.

The Taylors were to find Pilate with his fellowship and his wife, clothed accordingly.

The Barbers, Ann and Caiaphas.

The Fishers, the Apostles.

The Merchants, the Prophets.

And the Butchers, the Tormentors.

These interludes and representations carried with them the appearance of the superstition of the times, which John Bale, Bishop of Ossory, afterwards laboured to reform, by writing, with more sobriety, several comedies and tragedies in the reign of King Edward VI., and, during his banishment, in that of Queen Mary, upon religious subjects. Several of those pieces are yet extant, printed in black letter; and though they show the taste of the age, they would by no means please the present."--_The History of the City of Dublin_, by WALTER HARRIS, ESQ. 8vo. Dublin, 1766, pp. 142, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.