The Habsburg King's Grant with the Queen Mary of England

The 1558 grant of Granard and North Annaly to Sir Richard Nugent, Baron Delvin, issued jointly by Philip II of Spain and Mary I of England, is significant for several legal, constitutional, and historical reasons that make it one of the most remarkable Irish land grants of the 16th century.

This title was a type of: Fürstentümer  and Landesherrschaft -  This Habsburg Grant is called a: Herr der Landesherrschaft Annaly and Landesherr von Annaly  (“This is A hereditary territorial lordship over a principality, granted by a Habsburg king, with land, chief seat, and residence.”)  A 16th-century English, Irish, German, or Habsburg jurist would have said: The princely authority of Annaly has been translated into feudal seignory.

Its closest continental equivalent is princely-level territorial lordship—above a baron or count, and legally comparable to a prince who rules a land, without claiming sovereignty.

" Eine von einem Habsburger König verliehene erbliche Landesherrschaft über ein ehemaliges Fürstentum, mit Land, Hauptort und Sitz .“

“At the time of the 1558 grant by King Philip (Habsburg), Annaly remained a recognized principality ruled by native princes. By royal patent of King Philip von Habsburg and Queen Mary, the territorial authority, seat, and country of that principality were transferred to Sir Richard Nugent, Baron Delvin, converting princely power into hereditary feudal seignory held directly of the Crown.” Annaly was a Fürstentum and a princely territory—a land governed by a Fürst (Prince) who exercises territorial authority over a defined country.

Status Implied by the Grant (Very Important)

By virtue of the 1558 Habsburg–Tudor patent, the holder could correctly assert that:

• The title descends from a Crown grant of a former principality

• The dignity originates in a dual monarchy

• The grant was issued by a ruler styled:

  • King of England and Ireland

  • King of Spain and both Sicilies

  • Archduke of Austria

  • Duke of Burgundy

  • Count of Habsburg

This places the dignity above ordinary Irish baronies and closer to continental seignorial honours.

1. A Rare Dual Monarchy Grant

This patent was issued during the joint reign of Philip and Mary (1554–1558), a period of only four years in which England was ruled by a dual sovereign couple. Very few grants in Ireland were made in the names of both monarchs, and fewer still involved:

• A territorial Honour

• A Seignory

• A historically sovereign country or principality

This makes the Annaly–Granard grant one of the rarest constitutional instruments in Irish feudal history.

2. Grant of a Country, Caput, and Seat — Not Merely Land

Unlike routine land patents, this grant explicitly conveyed:

• The Country (territorial extent)

• The Caput (head seat of power)

• The Seat of Annaly

At the time, Annaly (Teffia) was still recognized as a historic Gaelic principality, not merely fragmented estates. Granting the caput meant recognition of jurisdictional primacy, echoing earlier princely and regnal structures rather than simple manorial tenure.

3. Recognition of Annaly as a Principality-in-Transition

This grant occurred while Annaly still retained its identity as a former sovereign territory, transitioning into the Tudor legal framework. Rather than extinguishing that identity, the Crown:

• Reassigned the princely infrastructure

• Preserved the territorial unity

• Converted Gaelic sovereignty into feudal seignory

This makes the Annaly grant a bridge document between native Irish kingship and English feudal law.

4. Issued by One of Europe’s Most Powerful Monarchs

At the time of the grant, Philip II was styled as:

• King of England and Ireland

• King of Spain and both Sicilies

• King of Jerusalem

• Archduke of Austria

• Duke of Burgundy, Milan, Brabant

• Count of Habsburg, Flanders, Tyrol

Very few Irish grants were issued by a sovereign with such pan-European imperial authority. This elevates the Annaly patent from a local land grant to a document of international dynastic importance.

5. Held In Capite by Knight’s Service

The grant vested Sir Richard Nugent with the lands to be held in capite, meaning:

• Directly from the Crown

• With feudal obligations of knight’s service

• With hereditary succession to his heirs

This placed the Nugent barony in the highest tier of feudal tenure, equivalent to the great English and continental honours.

6. Inclusion of Ecclesiastical, Military, and Economic Assets

The grant was comprehensive, including:

• The monastery of Granard

• Castles and fortifications

• Churches and ecclesiastical lands

• Fisheries and economic rights (e.g., Tonaghmore, Derraghe)

This shows the Crown’s intent to transfer complete territorial governance, not merely agricultural land.

7. A Foundational Title Grant, Not a Mere Confirmation

Many Tudor patents merely confirmed earlier holdings. This one:

• Created a new legal structure

• Reconstituted a princely territory as a feudal Honour

• Anchored authority in a named seat (Granard)

As such, it stands alongside the great European grants that transformed older sovereign territories into hereditary noble houses.

8. Why This Grant Is Historically Exceptional

In summary, the 1558 Annaly–Granard grant is exceptional because it:

• Is a dual-monarchy patent

• Conveys a country, caput, and seat

• Preserves a former principality

• Is issued by a Habsburg world-emperor

• Establishes direct Crown tenure

• Transfers total territorial governance

It is not merely a land grant—it is a constitutional act marking the legal transformation of a 1,000+ year old Gaelic principality into a feudal Honour under international dynastic authority.

How European jurists would rank it (clearly)

When a dignity is based on a grant of a country, caput, and seat of a former principality, jurists stop thinking in terms of baron / count / earl and instead classify it as a territorial dignity.

Practical equivalence by legal substance

“The dignity is equivalent to a continental princely territorial lordship—higher than baronial or comital rank, and comparable in status to a mediatized prince or Landesherr rather than a mere peer.”