Since very little records exist detailing Spenser’s activities in this year, most speculate that Spenser resided quietly at Kilcolman, likely working on his writing and increasing his holding of land while remaining aware of the turmoil that…
Burgh, the Lord Deputy, dies of typhus and a few weeks later Sir John Norris (President of Munster) dies and is replaced in the presidency by his brother and Spenser’s neighbor, Thomas. “These events left English rule in a vacuum, placing ‘civil and…
“Estimates indicate that by 1598 there were only 3,000 English settlers instead of the 8,000 planned, and that the English lived as isolated farmers in an overwhelmingly hostile environment, ‘vulnerable to an uprising of the native population.’”…
Spenser granted permission to postpone term arrearages of rent due on Buttevant Abbey, a property he had obtained for his son, Peregrine. (Judson, 195; Hadfield, 363-64)
A Viewentered in the Stationers’ Register, and the Warden of the Company left a note explaining that the contents of the manuscript would need approval from an authority before publication due to its sensitive information about Ireland and…
Ulster rebellion begins due to the expiration of “a series of truces between [earl of] Tyrone and the Lord Justices and Ormond.” (Judson, 196; Hadfield, 379)
Ulster rebellion led by Tyrone during Nine Years War spreads south into Munster. Kilcolman burned. Legend has it that Spenser lost a child in the fire. Spenser likely takes refuge in town of Cork. (Judson, 198-199)
A letter from Sir Thomas Norris, James Goold, and George Thornton to the Privy Council mentions Irish forces marching on Arlo, meaning Spenser’s estate is threatened. Hadfield mentions that “this intelligence had been ignored by the Dublin…
