Then in the rest of the country there were some ninety chiefs, of whom about sixty represented ancient septs and the remainder degenerate Normans, all claiming independence and preying sometimes on one another and sometimes on their unfortunate followers.  Not infrequently also a tribe was divided against itself, and a civil war was raging between the two factions.  And one result of the Ersefication of the Norman barons was that, in addition to the regular feudal dues, they demanded every kind of Celtic tribute from the occupiers of the land.  In fact, how the wretched tenants managed to support life at all seems a mystery.  Whatever law there may at one time have been was now long extinct; and as King Henry himself pointed out, if the natives were to have any sort of law at all, the only possible law was the law of England.

At this time also a new factor came into the already complicated problem—­the Reformation.  Henry VIII never was a Protestant, in the sense of adopting the doctrines which are now usually called Protestant; but he had renounced the authority of the Pope.  In 1535 Pope Paul III passed sentence upon him, consigning his kingdoms to whoever might invade them, and commanding his nobles to take up arms against him.  Both the Emperor and the King of France saw their opportunity, as Robert Bruce had done centuries before.  They commenced a correspondence with the Irish chiefs with the object of bringing about an invasion of Ireland.  Thereupon King Henry resolved to take the only course that seemed to him possible—­to make the conquest of Ireland a reality and to enforce law and order in that distracted land.  His letters, which are still extant, show the care with which he thought out the matter, and his earnest desire for the welfare of the people of both races; a perusal of them would astonish those who regard him merely as a savage sensualist.  Strange to say, in their Irish policy, the character of Henry VIII shows itself at the best, and that of Elizabeth at its worst.  When Henry had with difficulty succeeded in crushing the Geraldine rebellion and a series of others which broke out soon after, he got the Irish Parliament to pass an Act conferring on him the title of king; he was solemnly proclaimed as such, and his title was confirmed by the almost unanimous consent of the Irish princes.

This was important in more ways than one:  it was universally recognized that the word “king” meant much more than “lord”; and it gave him a title independent of the Pope’s donation.

It is one of the ironies of history that the renunciation of the Papal authority and the submission to the king’s supremacy was far more rapid and general in Ireland than it was in England.  For not only did all the lay chiefs readily yield their adhesion, but only two of the bishops refused to take the oath of supremacy.  Rebellions such as that of Fitzgerald had no connection with religion; it was not until years afterwards when