1555 Hurtado de Mendoza, Marquess of Canete, came to Peru as viceroy, and charged Fernandez to write a history of the troubles in which he had just taken part. He then began his history of Peru, and later, when he had returned to Spain, upon the suggestion of Sandoval, President of the Council of the Indies, Fernandez
of St. Mullins (Teach Molinij), County Carlow. The
ancient monastery of Ferns included a nuniljer of cells,
or oratories, and the cathedral was built in the Irish
style. At present the remains of the abbey (rcfounded
for Austin Canons, in 1160, by Dermot MacMurrough)
include a round tower, about seventy-five feet high,
enlarged the scope of his work, and added to it a first in two stories, the lower of which is quadrangular, and
part, dealing with the movements of Pizarro and his the upper polygonal. Close by is the Holy Well of St.
followers. The whole work
was published under the
title " Primera y segunda
parte de la Historia del
Peru" (Seville, 1571). Hav-
ing taken part in many of
the events, and known the
men who figured in most of
the scenes which he de-
scribes, Ferndndez may be
regarded as an historian
whose testimony is worth
consideration. Garcilasode
la Vega, the Peruvian, who
quotes long passages from
Ferndndez, fiercely attacks
his story and accuses him of
partiality and of animosity
against certain personages.
Whatever the reason may
have been, however, pos-
RuiNS OK Selskar (St. Sepulchre) Priory, Wexford
Mogue.
Ferns was raided by the Scandinavians in 834, 8.36, 839, 842, 917, 920, 928, and 930, and was burned in 937. St. Peter's Church, Ferns, dates from about the year 1060, and is of the Hiberno- Roraanesque style, having been built by Bishop O'Ly- nam, who died in 1062. The bishops were indifferently styled as of Ferns, Hy Kin- sellagh, or Wexford; thus, Maeleoin O'Donegan (il. 1125) is called "Bishop of Wexford", while Bishop O'Cathan (d. 1135) is named "Archbishop of Hy Kinsel- lagh". This was by reason of the fact that the bound-
sibly because of the truth of the story, the fact is, aries of the diocese are coextensive with the territory
that the Council of the Indies prohibited the printing of Hy Kinsellagh, on which account Ferns includes
and sale of the book in the provinces imder its juris- County Wexford with small portions of Wicklow and
diction. A perusal of the book conveys the impres- Carlow. Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster,
sion that Fernandez was a man of sound judgment, burned the city of Ferns in 1160, "for fear that the
who set down the facts only after a thorough inves- Connacht men would destroy his castle and his house",
ligation. The reproaches of the Inca historian may, and, three years later, he brought over a pioneer force
therefore, be regarded as without foundation. of Welshmen. He died in 1171, and, at his own re-
PREscoTT,His(orao/<Aec<mgu€5i o/Peru(Philadelphia, 1882). quest, was buried "near the shrines of St. Maedhog
Ventura Fuentes. and St. Moling". The same year Henry II of Eng- land landed in Ireland, where he remained for six
Ferns, Dioce.se of (Fernensis), in the province of months. Leinster (Ireland), suffragan of Dublin. It was Ailbe O'Molloy, a Cistercian, who ruled from 1185 to
founded by St. Aedan
whose name is popu-
larly known as Mo-
aedhog, or " My dear
little Aedh", in 598.
Subsequently, St.
Aedan was given a
quasi-supremacy
over the other bishops
of Leinster, with the
title of Ard-Escop,
or chief bishop, on
which account he and
some of his successors
have been regarded
as having archiepis-
copal powers. The
old annalists style
the see Fearna-mor-
Maedhog, that is,
" the great plain of
the alder-trees of St.
Moedhog". Even yet
Moedhog (Mogue)
Ruins of Ferns Abbey
1222, was the last
Irish bishop in the
pre-Reformation his-
tory of Ferns. He
attended the Fourth
(ieneral Council of
Lateran (1215) and,
on his return, formed
a cathedral chapter.
His successor, Bishop
St. John, was granted
by Henry III (6 July,
1226) a weekly mar-
ket at Ferns and an
annual fair, also a
weekly market at
Enniscorthy. This
bishop (S April, 1227)
assigned the manor
of Enniscorthy to
Pliilip de Prender-
gast, who built a cas-
tle, still in excellent
preservation. In ex-
the Irish endearing form of Aedan — is a familiar change, he acquired six plough-lands forever for
Christian name in the diocese, while it is also perpetu- the See of Ferns. He held a synod at Selskar (St.
ated in Tubbermogue, Bovlavogue, Cromogue, Island Sepulchre) Priory, Wexford (8 September, 1240).
Mogue, etc. The bell and shrine of St. Aedan (Breacc The appointment of a dean was confirmed by Clement
Maedoig) are to be seen in the National Museum, IV (23 August, 1265). Bishop St. John rebuilt the
Dublin. Many of his successors find a place in Irish cathedral of Ferns, which from recent discoveries
martyrologies, including St. Mochua, St. Moling seems to have been ISO feet in length, with a crypt,
and St. Cillene. Of these the most famous is St. A fine stone statue of St. .\edan, evidently early Nor-
Moling, who died 13 May, 697. His book-shrine is man work, is still preserved. In 1346 the castle of
among the greatest art treasures of Ireland, and his Ferns was made a royal appanage, and constables were
"weir" is still visited, but he is best known as patron appointed by the Crown, but it was recovered by Art
