Hugh De Lacy, First Earl of Ulster ─ Rising and Falling in Angevin Ireland

Few nobles in the turbulent thirteenth century experienced greater degrees of success and reversal as Hugh II de Lacy. A younger son of the lord of Meath, de Lacy ascended from relatively humble beginnings to join the top stratum of Angevin society, being granted in 1205 the earldom of Ulster by King John. Subsequently, in 1210, having been implicated in rebellion, Hugh was expelled from Ulster by a royal army and banished to a life of crusading against Cathar heretics in southern France. Unusually, after almost two decades on the political periphery and a second revolt against the English crown, de Lacy was restored to the earldom of Ulster in 1227, retaining it to his death, c.1242. This book charts the fascinating rise, fall and restoration of Hugh II de Lacy, exploring themes of power and identity against the background of conquest and colonisation in Ulster and southern France, illustrating the potential rewards and risks for an ambitious adventurer along the Angevin frontier. DANIEL BROWN has taught medieval Irish history at Queen's University, Belfast, and Trinity College, Dublin.