The Ormond lordship in County Kilkenny, 1515–1642
The rise and fall of Butler feudal power
David Edwards
‘One of the half-dozen consequential books on Irish history to have been published over the last decade. Where the early modern period is concerned, it is certain to become an inspirational model for future study. All recent scholarly publications (including those of the present author) that impinge on his subject are corrected and modified by Edwards, and there is hardly an episode in the history of Ireland during the 150 years with which this book is concerned that is not cast in a new perspective…For the history of Ireland … Edwards’ Ormond lordship ranks in quality and significance with … Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie’s Les paysans de Languedoc (Paris 1966) for the social history of modern France.’ Peritia
‘By any measure this is a significant book … The Butler lordship is of central importance to the history of early modern Ireland, [but] Dr Edwards’s study … accomplishes a great deal more than merely focusing attention on the development of the Ormond dynasty. As a history of a particular locality his work sets a new benchmark of quality for research. Even more important this is a book which triumphantly demonstrates the manner in which a patient and detailed case study can offer an entirely new perspective on topics which have traditionally been researched on a national level. In particular Dr Edwards’s examination of the manner in which state policy was actually implemented or deflected in Kilkenny offers crucial insights into the whole process of governance in early modern Ireland … An outstanding achievement by a dedicated scholar [it] will undoubtedly take its place as one of the indispensable volumes which all serious students of the early modern period in Ireland must possess’. Irish Historical Studies
‘The book many historians of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries have been waiting for – a thorough, detailed and well-researched analysis of a single Irish lordship in the turbulent years between 1515 and 1642. [It] is equally fascinating because it represents a story that is often ignored – the Irish lord who adapted to the English political regime. Unlike most previous studies, it also continues the story from the sixteenth to the mid-seventeenth century, thus encompassing the era of Stuart centralisation and the Counter-Reformation. It is hard to find fault with this excellent study … the detail is phenomenal … A major contribution to sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Irish history’. History Ireland
‘This marvellous book makes a considerable contribution to our understanding of early modern Irish history … Seventeenth-century historians whose interest in British history ends at Holyhead and Fishguard should read at least the account of the inheritance dispute, in which James I arbitrated in the most partial fashion.’ R.W. Hoyle, in Agricultural History Review
‘[A] mammoth study of the earldom of the Butlers … the five earls that ruled are well portrayed, including their interaction with the local Kilkenny community in terms of social and economic conditions, the politics, the power structure, its change and evolution over two centuries. This is a history on the grand scale’. Books Ireland
‘Scholars of early modern Irish history owe an important debt to author David Edwards. The lecturer at University College Cork, who coedited with Brian Donovan British Sources for Irish History, 1485–1641 (1997), has brought his archival expertise to the study of Ireland’s most powerful dynasty', Jon Crawford, Sixteenth Century Journal.
'This account of the Ormond country and inheritance is unlikely to be bettered …. this is a fine local history which constantly offers new information and insights', Steven G. Ellis, EHR.
