Captain Cuellar's Adventures in Connaught & Ulster A.D. 1588.: To Which Is Added an Introduction and Complete Translation of Captain Cuellar's Narrative of the Spanish Armada and His Adventures in IrelandAllingham, Hugh
History
Captain Cuellar's Adventures in Connaught & Ulster A.D. 1588.: To Which Is Added an Introduction and Complete Translation of Captain Cuellar's Narrative of the Spanish Armada and His Adventures in Ireland
Allingham, Hugh
Armada, 1588
Amongst the valuable documents which have been collected and printed by
Captain Duro, that having for its title "Letter of One who was with the
Armada for England, and an Account of the Expedition," is of most lively
interest to us, seeing that it presents a graphic picture of the North
and North-West of Ireland in 1588, drawn by one who was an actual
eye-witness of what he describes.
Before proceeding, it may be well to observe that these adventures have
already been dealt with by several writers. The _Nineteenth Century_,
September, 1885, contained a valuable and interesting paper, entitled
"An Episode of the Armada," by the Earl of Ducie. In _Longman's
Magazine_ [September, October, and November, 1891] appeared "The Spanish
Story of the Armada," by J. A. Froude; and in the Proceedings, Royal
Irish Academy, 1893, Professor J. P. O'Reilly contributed a paper,
entitled "Remarks on Certain Passages in Captain Cuellar's Narrative."
The present paper has been written with the desire to identify some of
the places visited by Cuellar while in Connaught and Ulster. His
references to these places are, as might have been expected from a
foreigner, in many instances obscure; and in order to correctly trace
his wanderings, and identify the spots he visited, an intimate
acquaintance with the local topography of the district is essential.
Sometimes the clue afforded by his narrative is so slender, that anyone
unfamiliar with the localities intended might easily miss the meaning,
and be led to an entirely wrong conclusion. The present writer has had
the valuable assistance of R. Crawford, C.E., late Professor of
Engineering, T.C.D., an accomplished Spanish scholar--not merely a
translator--who possesses a practical acquaintance with the idioms of the
language. By this knowledge, Mr. Crawford has been able to elucidate
many obscure passages in the Spanish book, which would otherwise have
proved stumbling-blocks in the way of a proper understanding of the
author's meaning. Mr. Crawford has made a literal translation of the
whole of Cuellar's letter, which forms the second part of this book. A
careful perusal of Mr. Crawford's introductory remarks, and of his
translation, will well repay the reader, and is, in fact, needful for
the proper understanding of the subject-matter of these pages.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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