Adrian IV grants Ireland to Henry II

1154

By the bull Laudabiliter, the first English pope - Nicholas Breakspear - reportedly granted the lordship of Ireland to Henry II for the purpose of reforming the Irish church. The bull's authenticity has been debated for centuries, but the English kings cited it when they needed justification. Whether genuine or forged, the document provided the legal fig leaf for Anglo-Norman intervention in Ireland that would shape the island's history for eight hundred years.