ABSTRACT
Ireland had been conquered by the Normans in the twelfth century and a feudal rul-ing class had been imposed. The Kings of England claimed to be lords of Ireland but ruled little of it. The area which was ruled by the English – the Pale – was little more than a stretch of coast extending 50 miles north from Dublin. Anglo-Irish families, such as FitzGeralds (Geraldines) and Butlers, had become as Irish as the Irish them-selves. Ireland in Tudor times was made up of the Pale under English rule (stretching from Dundalk to Dublin and beyond) and four provinces, each under the control of tribal chiefs. As Map 1 indicates, the extent of the Pale was increased under Mary (by the inclusion of King's County and Queen's County) and under Elizabeth (see Chapter 18: Maps). The term ‘Geraldine’ is applied to the followers of both Kildare and Desmond.
