Giraldus Cambrensis to King Henry II
"It hath pleased your excellency, most invincible king of England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and count of Anjou, to dispatch me from your court in attendance on John, your…
From: 1188 C.E. To: 1188 C.E.
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"Sylvester Giraldus Cambrensis to the Illustrious King of England, Henry II," from The Topography of Ireland by Giraldus Cambrensis, c. 1188, translated by Thomas Wright.
It hath pleased your excellency, most invincible king of England, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and count of Anjou, to dispatch me from your court in attendance on John, your beloved son, to Ireland. Coming there not as a fugitive, but in some sort as a scout whose office it is to explore the country, I soon found occasion to remark many things which are quite different to what is found in other countries, and, being quite strange, are for their novelty much to be wondered at.
I, therefore, began to make diligent inquiries respecting the site and nature of the country, the origin of the race, their customs, how often, by whom, and in what manner, the island had been subjugated and conquered; and what new and secret works, contrary to her ordinary rules, nature had stored up in these western and extreme borders of the earth. For beyond these confines neither land exists, nor is there any habitable spot either for men or animals; but throughout the entire horizon, in boundless space, Ocean only sweeps around, and rolls its waves in unknown and unfathomable channels.
I might, indeed, have presented for your highness's acceptance, as others have done, some little offerings of native gold, or falcons or hawks, with which the island abounds. But I thought it of little importance to offer to a mighty prince things which are easily procured, and are perishable in their nature, but rather preferred to send to your highness what cannot be lost, and thus, through you, instruct posterity by means which no lapse of time can destroy.
Giraldus Cambrensis and Thomas Wright, The Historical Works of Giraldus Cambrensis: Containing the Topography of Ireland, and the History of the Conquest of Ireland (London: H.G. Bohn, 1863), 9-10.
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