Knights of St. George

John O’Hart

Irish Pedigrees; or the Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation

1892 (5th Edition)

In the reign of Edward the Fourth, the Knights or Brotherhood of St George (so called from their captain or chief commander being elected annually on St. George’s day) was instituted for the defence of the English Pale; and their force consisted of two hundred armed men, namely, 120 archers on horseback, with forty other horsemen, and forty pages. This fraternity of men-at-arms was, according to Sir John Davies and others, instituted A.D. 1475, and consisted of thirteen of the most noble and worthy persons in the four counties (Dublin, Louth, Meath, and Kildare) which, in general, constituted the Pale; but, after continuing for about twenty years, it was, A.D. 1495, suppressed in the reign of Henry the Seventh: the taxes levied for its support becoming obnoxious; and this military society not having accomplished the objects of its institution.

SEARCH IRISH PEDIGREES »

Featured Books

An American widow’s account of her travels in Ireland in 1844–45 on the eve of the Great Famine:

Ireland’s Welcome to the Stranger

Sailing from New York, she set out to determine the condition of the Irish poor and discover why so many were emigrating to her home country.

Mrs Nicholson’s recollections of her tour among the peasantry are still revealing and gripping today.

The author returned to Ireland in 1847–49 to help with famine relief and recorded those experiences in the rather harrowing: Annals of the Famine in Ireland.

See more of our books »

The Ocean Plague: or, A Voyage to Quebec in an Irish Emigrant Vessel is based upon the diary of Robert Whyte who, in 1847, crossed the Atlantic from Dublin to Quebec in an Irish emigrant ship. His account of the journey provides invaluable eyewitness testimony to the trauma and tragedy that many emigrants had to face en route to their new lives in Canada and America. The book is also available in Kindle.

The Irish in America by John F. Maguire provides a substantial and invaluable account of the extreme difficulties faced by pioneer Irish immigrants in North America during the 19th Century. The book is also available in Kindle.

The Scotch-Irish in America tells the story of how the hardy breed of men and women, who in America came to be known as the ‘Scotch-Irish’, was forged in the north of Ireland during the seventeenth century. It relates the circumstances under which the great exodus to the New World began, the trials and tribulations faced by these tough American pioneers and the enduring influence they came to exert on the politics, education and religion of the country.

Show fewer titles