Book Description

Excerpt from The History of the Lord Chancellors of Ireland: From A. D. 1186 to A. D. 1874 It is now some years since I was first led to investigate the subject of which the following pages treat. In the course of my professional duties a considerable amount of antiquarian research was often necessary; and the study of ancient patents and of other old-world documents naturally led me to inquire into the lives of the men by or through whom they had been executed. Amongst those the Chancellors were ever first in place and were often first in intellect and influence, and to them therefore my attention was most frequently directed. It may be, too, that the natural bent of my mind led me to grope through the dark ways of history - to disinter long-buried memories - to commune with the spirits of the dead, of the "mighty men of old, men of renown," whose policy for good or for evil has moulded the destinies of our country. And there was much in all this very fascinating to the imagination. Amongst the Chancellors were some, the founders of Houses which have long since been famous; while others belonged to the historic races "nobler than the royalty that first ennobled them." Cowled monks and mitred prelates and mail-clad knights from the Hospital help in more ancient times to swell the number; while in later years the Sage, the Philosopher, the Statesman, and the Wit have adorned by their merit the elevated position to which they had attained. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.