Pulling beards

In April 1185 Henry II sent his youngest son, John, to put Ireland in order after the death of Richard ‘Strongbow’ de Clare.

King John

Henry’s initial plan, in 1177, was to make his nine-year old son King of Ireland. He was persuaded to stick with the title ‘Lord of Ireland’ instead, and almost a decade later sent John, now seventeen, to prove his mettle. The prince was accompanied by the famous half-Welsh, half-Norman chronicler, Gerald of Wales.

John did extremely badly. According to Gerald, John and his companions mocked the outlandish dress of Irish lords, and even pulled their beards. True or not, the story probably reflects John’s arrogance and total lack of respect for the Irish. After losing most of his soldiers, through battle or desertion, he limped back home after eight months, throwing all the blame on others.

Gerald of Wales

However, John would return. In 1210, now King of England, he landed in Ireland to deal with a major revolt among the Anglo-Irish barons. He crushed it with impressive efficiency, helped by the Irish kings who came flocking to his banner: this time, it seems, John refrained from tweaking beards.

John is saddled with the reputation of being one of the worst kings England ever had to endure. In 1211, after his victorious campaign in Ireland, that was far from apparent to contemporaries. An English chronicler was moved to declare:

“At this time there was no longer any rival in power to the King of England in Ireland, Scotland or Wales; which was not something one could have said about any of his ancestors.”