The Synod of Cashel of 1172, also known as the Second Synod of Cashel,The first being the Synod held at Cashel in 1101 was assembled at Cashel at the request of

Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...

shortly after his arrival in Ireland in October 1171. The Synod sought to regulate some affairs of the Church in Ireland and to condemn some abuses, bringing the Church more into alignment with the

Roman Rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while dist ...

. As such it can be seen as a continuation and part of the Irish church reform of the Twelfth Century, with the first synod of Cashel, the

Synod of Rathbreasail A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word meani ...

and the

Synod of Kells The Synod of Kells (, ) took place in 1152, under the presidency of Giovanni Cardinal Paparoni, and continued the process begun at the Synod of Ráth Breasail (1111) of reforming the Irish church. The sessions were divided between the abbeys o ...

, slowly embracing the

Gregorian Reforms The Gregorian Reforms were a series of reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII and the circle he formed in the papal curia, c. 1050–80, which dealt with the moral integrity and independence of the clergy. The reforms are considered to be nam ...

. The extent to which the Synod set the direction for the relationship between the English and the Irish Church has been the subject of scholarly debate. Stephen J. McCormick described the Synod as one of the most important events of this period of Irish history. The Synod is not mentioned in Irish sources, so historians have had to rely on other sources, Holland (2005) in particular

Giraldus Cambrensis Gerald of Wales ( la, Giraldus Cambrensis; cy, Gerallt Gymro; french: Gerald de Barri; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively. He studied and taugh ...

' (Gerald of Wales) account in ''Expugnatio Hibernicae'' (Conquest of Ireland). In his account of the Synod he lists the "constitutions" of the synods, "verbatim, as they were published". Giraldus, Conquest of Ireland, Chapter XXXIII, p. 36

The meeting of the Synod

Upon his arrival in Ireland, Henry went to Lismore. This was the

see See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

of Gilla Críst Ua Connairche (Christianus), who was native papal legate to Ireland. Henry also visited Cashel and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, and thus had the opportunity to meet the

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

s Donnchad Ua hUallacháin of Cashel and Lawrence O'Toole of Dublin. According to Martin Holland, arrangements for a synod to meet at Cashel soon afterwards were put in place through these contacts. Giraldus lists these three bishops, as well as

Cadla Ua Dubthaig Cadla Ua Dubthaig, second Archbishop of Tuam, 1161–1201. Ua Dubthaig was member of a Connacht ecclesiastical family originally from Lissonuffy in what is now north-east County Roscommon. The family produced a number of abbots and bishops. ' ...

Archbishop of Tuam The Archbishop of Tuam ( ; ga, Ard-Easpag Thuama) is an archbishop which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Catholic Church. Histor ...

named as "Catholicus Tuotuenensis archiepisopi" ( Expugnatio, XXXIV) among the clergy of Ireland attending the synod, "with their suffragans and fellow-bishops, together with the abbots, archdeacons, priors, and deans, and many other Irish prelates". Giraldus, Conquest of Ireland, Chapter XXXIV, pp. 36–37

Gilla Meic Liac mac Diarmata Gilla may refer to: People Irish masculine given name * ( fl. 1072) * (died 1084) * (died 1143) * (died 1153) * (died 1172) * (died 1204) * (died 1224) * (died 1301) * (died 1405), Irish musician * (died 1442), Lord of Iar Connacht a ...

(Gelasius), Archbishop of Armagh and

Primate of Ireland The Primacy of Ireland was historically disputed between the Archbishop of Armagh and the Archbishop of Dublin until finally settled by Pope Innocent VI. ''Primate'' is a title of honour denoting ceremonial precedence in the Church, and in ...

, did not attend. According to McCormick he refused to attend. Giraldus relates that his absence was due to "infirmities and advanced age", and that he afterwards came to Dublin to give his assent "to the royal will in all these matters".

Acts of the Synod

Giraldus lists seven acts or "constitutions" of the Synod, here given in the translation of William Gouan Todd:For a different translation, see The Conquest of Ireland, chapter XIV. For the Latin text see Topographia hibernica, et Expugnatio hibernica. Todd, chapter XII

The seventh act

Giraldus lists these seven acts numbered as ''primo'', ''secundus'', etc. until ''septimus'', as related in Todd's translation above. The last part of the seventh act concerns the relationship between the Anglican and the Irish Church. According to Marie Therese Flanagan, Flanagan (1977), p. 57

some historians have interpreted this as an actual decree of the synod, and have seen in it the origins of a policy of anglicisation of the Irish church pursued by the Angevin kings in Ireland. Thus, the synod of Cashel is often the starting point of any account of episcopal appointments in Ireland after the coming of the Normans and the extension of the electoral procedure of the English church to the Irish church is presumed to derive in principle from this decree.

Flanagan, however, points out that, as it stands in Giraldus' account, this sentence refers only to the liturgical practices of the English church. She also questions whether this part is a part of the decrees of the synod, stating that "it appears to be rather Gerald's own comment on what would be attempted by Irish churchmen. Martin Holland does not include this part in his overview of the enacted decrees, but adds:

It was also decided that in Ireland, all matters relating to religion were to follow the observances of the English church. Some have interpreted this as referring to liturgical practices only; others see it as encompassing more, and therefore being much more fundamental, especially since it is claimed that the Irish bishops swore fealty to Henry at around this time.

References and notes

Notes

References

Bibliography

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External links

English translation of ''Expugnatio Hibernica'', recording the canons of Cashel II (p. 36-37)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Synod Of Cashel Christianity in medieval Ireland 1172 in Ireland 1172 works Norman invasion of Ireland 12th-century papal bulls Cashel Synods of Ireland Cashel, County Tipperary Holy See–Ireland relations