Fiant

A fiant was a writ issued in early modern Ireland by the chief governor to the Court of Chancery mandating the issue of letters patent under the Great Seal of Ireland. The name fiant comes from the opening words of the document, Fiant litterae patentes, Latin for "Let letters patent be made".^[1] Fiants dealt with matters ranging from appointments to high office and important government activities, to grants of pardons to the humblest of the native Irish.

Fiants date from the reign of Henry VIII through that of William and Mary and are of major importance to persons doing Irish genealogical research.^[2]

The original fiants were destroyed in 1922, in a fire at the Four Courts, but the material had been calendared.^[3]

References

Sources

Reports of the Deputy Keeper of Public Records in Ireland

• 7th Rpt (1875) Appendix X: Henry VIII;
• 18th Rpt (1886) Appendix VI, Fiants No's 6793-6797: Henry VIII;
• 8th Rpt (1876) Appendix IX: Edward VI;
• 18th Rpt (1886) Appendix VI, Fiants No's 6798-6807: Edward VI;
• 9th Rpt (1877) Appendix IV: Philip and Mary;
• 18th Rpt (1886) Appendix VI, Fiants No's 6808-6811: Philip and Mary;
• 11th Rpt (1878) Appendix 3, Fiants No's 1-1614: Elizabeth to 1570;
• 12th Rpt (1880) Appendix V, Fiants No's 1615-2935: Elizabeth 1570-76;
• 13th Rpt (1881) Appendix IV, Fiants No's 2936-4253: Elizabeth 1576-83;
• 15th Rpt (1883) Appendix I, Fiants No's 4254-4935: Elizabeth 1583-86;
• 16th Rpt (1884) Appendix II, Fiants No's 4936-5973: Elizabeth 1586-95/6;
• 17th Rpt (1885) Appendix IV, Fiants No's 5974-6564: Elizabeth 1595/6-1601;
• 18th Rpt (1886) Appendix VI, Fiants No's 6565-6811: Elizabeth 1601-03;
• 21st Rpt (1889) Appendix III Elizabeth index A-C
• 22nd Rpt (1890) Appendix IV Elizabeth index D-Z

Citations

1. Séamas Ó Scannláin (15 December 2003). Poets and poetry of the Great Blasket. Mercier Press. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-85635-416-5. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
2. Anthony Adolph (21 January 2010). Collins Tracing Your Irish Family History. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 209–. ISBN 978-0-00-736095-6. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
3. Archivum franciscanum historicum: periodica publicatio trimestris cura pp. Collegii D. Bonaventurae. 77. Ad Claras Aquas prope Florentiam. 1984. p. 117. Retrieved 21 August 2013.