Risteárd de Tiúit

origins of heraldry in Norman culture, a distinguishing feature of Norman coat of arms is their simplicity

Risteárd de Tiúit (aka Richard Tuite) (died 1210) was a member of Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke's Irish invasion force, and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. As the famous Song of Diarmaid and the Earl makes clear, De Tiúit was granted land in the western part of Meath (present-day Westmeath and Longford) under the authority of Hugh de Lacy in Trim:

Introduction

He built one of the largest Motte and Bailey settlements in Ireland in Granard in 1199. His death, while Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, is recorded in Athlone by the Annals of the Four Masters under the year 1210 and his remains lie today in Abbeylara's Cistercian abbey.

Descendants

Risteárd de Tiúit had two sons who survived him, Risteárd 'Dubh' de Tiúit, the eldest son and heir to the title and lands, and Muiris. Lodge's Peerage says that it was this Risteárd, Risteárd Dubh, who established the monastery at Granard about 1210 and at this time Risteárd Dubh already held the manors of Kilalton and Demar, and was enfeoffed in that of Kilstir in Meath. Muiris became Lord of Jordanstown and had four sons who survived him, Tomás (Thomas), Piaras, Matthew and Ruairí (Roger). [ Lodge, Peerage of Ireland, Volume 3, 1789, pages 25-28]

De Tiúit is also the ancestor of those who bear the de Tiúit/ Tuite surname. He is variously recorded as Tiúit, Diúit and Tuit. Numerous placenames in Meath (Tuiterath), Cavan ("Droim Thiúit"/ Drumyouth), Westmeath (Tuitestown in Fore; Tuitestown in Moyashel and Magheradernon, and Ballysallagh Tuite), Kilkenny ("Baile an Tiúigh Thoir"/ Tuitestown and "Baile an Tiúigh Beag"/ Tuitestown Little) and elsewhere are named after him and his descendants. There are two claimed sources for the Tuite surname. The first is derived from the old Norwegian words for two and one. "Tu ete" .In Viking times disputes were often settled by a duel. The preferred method for measuring strength was to connect the combatants at the waist with a large belt, give them each a knife and let them fight to the finish. One can imagine a large group of Vikings shouting "two-one" at two angry Vikings. (Two men start - one man survives) These sort of duels were often over a woman or livestock. Obviously the "Tuete" klan had an ancestor who appeared in these duels frequently and survived whereby the name "tuete" stuck. Even today the Norwegians and Swedish pronounce the letter "e" in the same way as English speaking people pronounce the letter "i". There is a famous statue in the "Bältespännaren parken" (the belt stretchers park) in the city of Gothenburgh in Sweden. Another suggested source is that the surname is from the Eure department of Normandy where the word "Tuit" indicates a clearing in a wooded area and is clearly the local development of the old Scandinavian placename, Thveit, brought by the Normans (Men of the North) when they settled in Normandy. Even this source could be connected to the Tuete duels as these would presumably have been fought in a clearing.

ee also

*Hiberno-Norman
*Norman Ireland
* [http://celt.ucc.ie/index.html Annals of the Four Masters]
* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlkik/ihm/irename2.htm Cambro-Norman Surnames of Ireland]
*Chief Justice of Ireland
* [http://scripts.ireland.com/ancestor/surname/index.cfm?Surname=Tuite&fuseaction=Go. Tuite Surname Distribution Today]

La Chanson Dermot e le Conte

"De huge de laci vus conterai,

Cum il feffa ses baruns,

Cheualers, serianz e garsunz.

Chastelknoc tut premer donat

A huge tŷrel, kil tant amat;

E chastel brec, solum lescrit,

A barun willame le petit,

Macherueran alter si

E la tere de rathkeuni;

Le cantref pus de hadhnorkur

A meiler, qui ert de grant valur,

Donad huge de laci

Al bon meiler le fiz herui;

A gilbert de nangle en fin

Donat tut makerigalin;

A iocelin donat le nouan

E la tere de ardbrechan:

Li vn ert fiz, li alter pere,

Solum le dit de la mere;

A richard tuit ensement

Donad riche feffement..."

[This extract from Maurice Regan's "La Chanson Dermot e le Conte" or 'The Song of Diarmaid and the Earl', written circa 1225AD and the most famous literary introduction to the Norman invasion translates thus: 'Of Hugh de Lacy I shall tell you, How he enfeoffed his barons, Knights, sergeants and retainers Castleknock in the first place he gave To Hugh Tyrrell, whom he loved so much; And the Castle Brack, according to the writing, To baron William le Petit, Magheradernon likewise And the land of Rathkenny; The cantred of Ardnorcher then To Meiler, who was of great worth, Gave Hugh de Lacy- To the good Meiler Fitz Henry; To Gilbert de Nangle, moreover, He gave the whole of Morgallion; To jocelin he gave the Navan, And the land of Ardbraccan, (The one was son, the other father, according to the statement of the mother); To Richard Tuite likewise He gave a rich fief....' ["The Song of Dermot and the Earl: An old French Poem about the coming of the Normans to Ireland" (From the Carew Manuscript No 596 in the Archiepiscopal Library at Lambeth Palace)Edited with a literal translation by Goddard Henry Orpen (Clarendon Press, 1892, reprinted 1994)] ]

References

Bibliography

*"Colonial Ireland 1169-1369", Frame, Robin
*"The Deeds of the Normans in Ireland" (ed. Mullally), Dublin, 2002 ISBN 1851826432