Historical Research
Historian Dr Margaret Murphy summarises her ongoing research on medieval sites along the route of the M3.
Introduction:
A number of sites along the M3 have shown evidence of occupation during the period from the late twelfth to the fifteenth century. During this period Meath was comprehensively settled by the Anglo-Normans and, with the exception of the area immediately around Dublin, was more fully occupied by the colonists than any other rural area in Ireland. It is possible to trace and explore aspects of this colonisation in a variety of different documentary and cartographic source materials ranging from the chronicles of the late twelfth century to the surveys of the post-Cromwellian period. The principal aims of the medieval historical research currently being undertaken are to locate material relating to the ownership, occupation and exploitation of specific sites, to provide information relating to settlement in the wider and regional contexts of the sites and to identify ways in which the archaeological and historical analysis of these sites may contribute to an improved understanding of current research questions.
The period 1170-1250 was of crucial significance in Co Meath. During this period a new land-holding elite established itself in the area and moulded a settlement landscape based around the dual needs of military support and commercially-based agriculture. This process saw the evolution and consolidation of a network of territorial and administrative boundaries delimiting the area of baronies, parishes, manors and townlands. This was significantly influenced both by existing borders and settlement patterns and by the continuance of Gaelic settlement in many areas. The process also included the foundation and development of a number of nucleated settlements, some with associated urban functions, many of which survive as towns and villages to the present day. Once again, many of these sites were centres of importance before the arrival of the Anglo-Normans.
The medieval sites along the M3 were connected in a variety of ways into this settlement matrix by ties which were political, economic and social. Information relating to their size, function and morphology allows them to be assigned to one of a number of settlement strata which combined to form the medieval settlement hierarchy of the area. By identifying the occupants of the area or formulating a plausible ownership profile, historical research can help to fit the site into this settlement hierarchy.
Reconstructing the chain of ownership
From the 1170s the area under study formed part of the lordship or liberty of Meath, a territorial unit comprising the present counties of Meath, Westmeath and parts of Longford and Offaly. In 1172 this lordship was granted by King Henry II of England to Hugh de Lacy, a major baron with holdings concentrated in the border counties between England and Wales. De Lacy set up his chief castle and administrative headquarters at Trim. Following the partition of this large patrimony in 1244 the study area remained part of the Liberty of Trim and for the remainder of the medieval period the apex of the ownership hierarchy was occupied by a succession of lords of Trim interspersed with varying periods of direct royal control.
Only a proportion of the lordship was directly occupied and controlled by the de Lacy family themselves. Within our study area, only Ratoath and Kells were retained by them as personal or demesne holdings. The rest of the land was granted out by Hugh de Lacy to the barons and chief vassals who had accompanied him to Ireland in a process which has been called sub-infeudation. This process is described in one of the contemporary sources for the invasion and settlement of Ireland by the Anglo-Normans, a chronicle, formally known as The Song of Dermot and the Earl and more recently entitled The Deeds of the Normans in Ireland.
Dunboyne, which contained the medieval site at Castlefarm was granted to William le Petit; Skreen in which are located the sites of Garretstown, and Trevet, was granted to Adam de Feipo and Jocelin de Nangle obtained possession of Navan which includes the sites of Boyerstown 1 and Phoenixtown 2. These barons in their turn subdivided their holdings into smaller units using lands to reward their followers and ensuring their eternal salvation by endowing the church in return for masses and prayers. The patchwork of landholders which emerged can be partially reconstructed by combining evidence from a variety of different sources. Records of lands granted to the church can frequently be found in surviving registers and cartularies of religious houses, while grants to lay individuals occur in a variety of estate and central government collections.
Manorial Organisation
Within the barony, the primary unit of landholding was the manor which frequently occupied the same area as the medieval parish of the same name. Territorially, manors were comprised of a number of different but interacting settlement components. The townlands in which several of the medieval sites on the M3 are located can be identified as components of manors – for example, Castlefarm was positioned close to and in all probability, formed part of, the manorial demesne of Dunboyne; Roestown was situated on the periphery of the manor of Dunshaughlin; Phoenixtown was the holding of a free tenant of the manor of Martry (Lower Navan).
A variety of documents allow such connections to be made, but among the most important is the medieval extent. The purpose of these documents was to inform interested parties about the value and make-up of individual manors and several survive for those parts of Meath relevant to the present research. For example, the extent for the manor of Martry reveals that in 1323 David and Adam Begge held a carucate of land (in the region of 260 statute acres) in Fennokstown (Phoenixtown) from the lord of the manor of Martry.
Extents, along with other manorial documents, contain information relating to land use on manors and indicate the presence of resources such as mills and kilns. There is evidence for the overwhelming importance of arable cultivation in Meath throughout the medieval period with oats and wheat being the most significant crops. The sources also show that in parts of Meath a type of open field agriculture was practiced with tenant holdings organised in separate strips located in different fields. Alongside the ownership profile, these practices had an impact on the location and morphology of different settlement types.
Medieval Rural Settlement - the wider context
The question of how manors were organised and developed socially and spatially is seen as one of the core issues for investigation with the field of medieval rural settlement studies. The medieval sites which are being excavated along the M3 have the potential to reveal to us something of the way in which the manorial system operated and in particular may add to our understanding of low-status sites, continuity of occupation from pre- and post- invasion, and undefended house clusters.
