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Pale
Pale, more correctly ‘English Pale’, a term applied to the region around Dublin, asserting its character as a fortified area of English rule. Recent research points to a statute of Poynings's parliament in 1495 for ‘diches to be made aboute the Inglishe pale’ as the term's earliest application to Ireland. (An earlier purported reference in a document of 1446 has been exposed as a Tudor interpolation.) As the English crown moved after 1400 towards a defensive, containing strategy against Gaelic Ireland, the area which was firmly under the Dublin government's control—‘the land of peace’ or ‘maghery’, as opposed to the marches or ‘the land of war’—was increasingly equated with ‘the four obedient shires’ around Dublin. In this lowland region, comprising the medieval counties of Dublin, Meath, Louth, and Kildare which later constituted the English Pale, conditions more closely accorded with contemporary lowland English norms in respect of language, culture, law, social structures, and government than with any other part of the English dominions. For administrative and military reasons the region was increasingly divided into marches and maghery (a transliteration of the Gaelic machaire, meaning ‘a plain’). Yet a march was essentially an open border region defended by castles and peles, whereas a pale denoted a defensive ring of fortifications; and despite earlier proposals for enclosing the four shires, the first systematic attempt to apply this defensive concept to Ireland was apparently the 1495 statute. It was probably inspired by the defensive arrangements at Calais where the first reference to a ‘Pale’ occurs in 1494. Sir Edward Poynings was then deputy lieutenant at Calais, immediately before his appointment as governor of Ireland: probably he or his officials first applied the term to the Dublin region in token of its apparently similar character as an English stronghold. It remained a politically distinct region until the dismantling of the medieval frontier with the Tudor conquest of Ireland.
Steven Ellis |
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"Pale." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Pale." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-Pale.html "Pale." The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O245-Pale.html |
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pale
pale1 / pāl/ • adj. light in color or having little color: choose pale floral patterns for walls. ∎ (of a person's face or complexion) having less color than usual, typically as a result of shock, fear, or ill health: she looked pale and drawn. ∎ fig. feeble and unimpressive: unconvincing rock that came across as a pale imitation of Bruce Springsteen. • v. [intr.] 1. become pale in one's face from shock or fear: I paled at the thought of what she might say. 2. seem less impressive or important: all else pales by comparison | his own problems paled into insignificance compared to the plight of this child. DERIVATIVES: pale·ly adv. pale·ness n. pal·ish adj. pale2 • n. 1. a wooden stake or post used as an upright along with others to form a fence. ∎ fig. a boundary: bring these things back within the pale of decency. ∎ archaic or hist. an area within determined bounds, or subject to a particular jurisdiction. 2. (the Pale) hist. another term for English Pale. ∎ the areas of Russia to which Jewish residence was restricted. 3. Heraldry a broad vertical stripe down the middle of a shield. PHRASES: beyond the pale outside the bounds of acceptable behavior: the language my father used was beyond the pale. in pale Heraldry arranged vertically. per pale Heraldry divided by a vertical line. |
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"pale." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pale." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-pale.html "pale." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-pale.html |
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Pale
Pale in Irish history, that district of indefinite and varying limits around Dublin, in which English law prevailed. The term was first used in the 14th cent. to designate what had previously been called English land. Outlying districts were styled the marches, or border lands. In the time of Henry VIII the Pale extended N from Dublin to Dundalk and c.20 mi (32 km) inland from the coast. It disappeared in the ensuing years as the English control of the whole of Ireland was made effective. There was another English Pale in France, comprising Calais and the surrounding area, until 1558. In Russia the Pale designated those regions in which Jews were allowed to live. The Jewish Pale was established in 1792, when it comprised the areas annexed from Poland in the first partition. The area was extended (partly as a result of further annexations), but even within the Pale the Jewish population was subjected to many restrictions. Most of these were in force until the Russian Revolution of 1917. |
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"Pale." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Pale." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Pale.html "Pale." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Pale.html |
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pale
pale A distinct area of jurisdiction, often originally enclosed by a palisade or ditch. Pales existed in medieval times on the edges of English territory - around Calais (until its loss in 1558), in Scotland (in Tudor times), and, most importantly, as a large part of eastern Ireland (from HENRY II's time until the full conquest of Ireland under ELIZABETH I); the actual extent of the Irish pale depended on the strength of the English government in Dublin. CATHERINE II (the Great) in 1792 made a Jewish pale in the lands she had annexed from Poland: Jews had to remain within this area, which ultimately included all of Russian Poland, Lithuania, Belorussia (now Belarus), and much of the Ukraine.
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"pale." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pale." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-pale.html "pale." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-pale.html |
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pale
pale1 former term for an area within determined bounds, or subject to a particular jurisdiction, as in the Pale, used to designate the English Pale in medieval Ireland, the territory of Calais in northern France when under English jurisdiction, and those areas of Tsarist Russia to which Jewish residence was restricted (known more fully as the Pale of Settlement).
Pale in Middle English, meaning a wooden stake used as an upright along with others to form a fence, comes via Old French from Latin palus ‘stake’. beyond the pale outside the bounds of acceptable behaviour (recorded from the mid 19th century). |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pale." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pale." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-pale.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pale." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-pale.html |
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pale
pale1 pointed stake used in forming a fence; fence of these; limit, boundary XIV; (her.) ordinary consisting of a vertical band XV; territory within determined bounds XVI. — (O)F. pal, var. of pel (mod. pieu) = It. palo :— L. pālus stake, f. IE. *paĝ-, base of pangere fix.
So vb. enclose with pales. XIV. — (O)F. paler; surviving in paling XV. palisade XVI. — F. palissade. |
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T. F. HOAD. "pale." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "pale." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pale.html T. F. HOAD. "pale." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pale.html |
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pale
pale2 of whitish colour XIII; faint, dim XIV. — OF. pal(l)e (mod. pâle) — L. pallidus PALLID.
So vb. XIV. — OF. palir (mod. pâlir). |
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T. F. HOAD. "pale." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "pale." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pale1.html T. F. HOAD. "pale." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pale1.html |
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pale
pale3 light in colour or shade.
pale horse the creature on which Death rides in the vision in Revelation 6:8. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pale." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pale." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-pale2.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pale." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-pale2.html |
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pale
pale A boundary. Originally, a deer-proof fence erected around the perimeter of a park.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "pale." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "pale." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-pale.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "pale." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-pale.html |
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pale
pale A boundary. Originally, a deer-proof fence erected around the perimeter of a park.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "pale." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "pale." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-pale.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "pale." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-pale.html |
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pale
pale2 in heraldry, a broad vertical stripe down the middle of a shield (see paly).
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Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pale." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pale." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-pale1.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pale." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-pale1.html |
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pale
pale •ail, ale, assail, avail, bail, bale, bewail, brail, Braille, chain mail, countervail, curtail, dale, downscale, drail, dwale, entail, exhale, fail, faille, flail, frail, Gael, Gail, gale, Grail, grisaille, hail, hale, impale, jail, kale, mail, male, nail, nonpareil, outsail, pail, pale, quail, rail, sail, sale, sangrail, scale, shale, snail, stale, swale, tail, tale, they'll, trail, upscale, vail, vale, veil, wail, wale, whale, Yale
•Passchendaele • Airedale
•Wensleydale • Clydesdale
•Chippendale • Coverdale • Abigail
•galingale • martingale • nightingale
•farthingale • Windscale • timescale
•blackmail • airmail
•email, female
•Ishmael • voicemail • vermeil
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"pale." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pale." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-pale.html "pale." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-pale.html |
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