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Grattan Flood - A History of Irish Music, Volume 1, Issue 1, Page 61

Grattan Flood - A History of Irish Music, Volume 1, Issue 1, Page 61
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periodical Publisher
Browne and Nolan Ltd, Dublin 1913
periodical Editor
[none]
periodical Title
Grattan Flood - A History of Irish Music
volume Number
1
issue Content
hISTORY OP IRISH MUSIC.IRISH MUSIC IN THE SiXTEENTH CENTURY. 107period. Galilei, whose Dialogue on Ancient and Mode nMusic was published at Florence, in 1589, thuswrites I 11 The bagpipe is much used by the Irish.To its sound, this unconquered, fierce and warlike peoplemarch their armies, and encourage each other to deedsof valour. With it also they accompany their dead tothe grave, making such mournful sounds [ caoines] as toinvite, nay almost force, the bystanders to weep.Niall mor ONeill, Lord of Upper Clannaboy, who diedApril II, 1512, is described by the Four Masters as amanwell skilled in the sciences, history, poetry, and music.Gerald, Earl of Kildare was paid honorarium of six beevesyearly by MacWards, Ulster rhymers, forprotectingthem.!fl 1518, we find Dermot OCoffey, rhymer, as tenantof thIs Earl, holding a carucate of land in Ballysallagh,in Machairecuircne, barony of Kilkenny West, Co.Westmeath. All readers of Irish history are familiarwith the dramatic incident which happened on June11th, 1534, when OKeenan (some authors call himNelan), harper to Silken Thomas, struck up an Irishsong in praise of his lord, at St. Marys Abbey, Dublin,with the result that the impetuous Geraldine threw downhis sword of state, and went into rebellion.The first enactment against Irish bards and minstrels,in this century, was, on the recommendation of anAnglo-Irish noble, Patrick Finglass, Chief Baron of thExchequer, about the year 1524, who in his Breviatdproposed as follows : That noe Irish minstrallsrymers, ne bardes, be messengers to desire any goodeof any man dwelling within the English Pale, uporpain of forfeiture of all their goods, and their bodiesto be imprisoned at the Kings will. This recommendation was ostensibly acted on, but the magnates ofthe Pale, following the example of the Earls ofKildare, Desmond, and Orinonde, defied all suchlegislation, and retained each an Irish harper. Underdate of 1533, the Annals o/ Ulster chronicle the deathof OSullivan Beare, who is described as exceedinglybountiful to bards, ollamhs, pilgrims, and learned men.Five years later, the same Annals have a similar entryin connection with the death of Hugh ODonn 1l.In 1533, there was issued a proclamation in Englandto suppress foolish books, ballads, rhymes, and otherlewd treatises in the English tongue. Evidently,Robert Cowley, Collector of Customs in Ireland, was ofopinion that seditious ballads in the Ir sh languageshould be also suppressed, and, accordingly, in 1537,he wrote to Secretary Cromwell that harpers, rhymers,Irish chroniclers, bards, and issliallyn commonly gowith praises [ elegies) to gentlemen in the English Pale,praising in rhymes, otherwise called daises [ o I1cA], theirextortions, robberies, and abuses, as valiantness, whichrejoiceth them in that their evil doing, etc.Polydore Vergil (Virgilius) in his History o/England (published in 1534) writes thus of our Irishminstrels :Cujus Musicae peritissimi sunt: canuntenim turn voce lain fidibus eleganter, sed vehementiquodam impetu, SIC ut mirabile sit, in tanta vocislinguaeque atque digitorurn velocit ate, posse artisnumeros servari, id quod 1111 ad unguem faciunt. *Inasmuch as the people of the Pale adhered toIrish customs as well as music and language, astatute was passed, in 1537, by the obsequious Irish* Angliae Slist. lib, xiii,
issue Number
1
page Number
61
periodical Author
Grattan Flood, Wm. H.
issue Publication Date
1913-01-01T00:00:00
allowedRoles
anonymous,guest,friend,member

Grattan Flood - A History of Irish Music

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