EARLY HISTORY

Historical sources.

On account of its isolated position we might expect to find Ireland in

possession of a highly developed system of legends bearing on the

origins of its inhabitants. Ireland remained outside the pale of the

ancient Roman world, and a state of society which was peculiarly

favourable to the preservation of national folk-lore survived in the

island until the 16th century. The jealousy with which the hereditary

antiquaries guarded the tribal genealogies naturally leads us to hope

that the records which have come down to us may shed some light on the

difficult problems connected with the early inhabitants of these islands

and the west of Europe. Although innumerable histories of Ireland have

appeared in print since the publication of Roderick O'Flaherty's

_Ogygia_ (London, 1677), the authors have in almost every case been

content to reproduce the legendary accounts without bringing any serious

criticism to bear on the sources. This is partly to be explained by the

fact that the serious study of Irish philology only dates from 1853 and

much of the most important material has not yet appeared in print. In

the middle of the 19th century O'Donovan and O'Curry collected a vast

amount of undigested information about the early history of the island,

but as yet J. B. Bury in his monograph on St Patrick is the only trained

historian who has ever adequately dealt with any of the problems

connected with ancient Ireland. Hence it is evident that our knowledge

of the subject must remain extremely unsatisfactory until the chief

sources have been properly sifted by competent scholars. A beginning has

been made by Sir John Rhys in his "Studies in Early Irish History"

(_Proceedings of the British Academy_, vol. i.), and by John MacNeill in

a suggestive series of papers contributed to the _New Ireland Review_

(March 1906-Feb. 1907). Much might reasonably be expected from the

sciences of archaeology and anthropology. But although Ireland is as

rich as, or even richer in monuments of the past than, most countries in

Europe, comparatively little has been done owing in large measure to the

lack of systematic investigation.

It may be as well to specify some of the more important sources at the

outset. Of the classical writers who notice Ireland Ptolemy is the only

one who gives us any very definite information. The legendary origins

first appear in Nennius and in a number of poems by such writers as

Maelmura (d. 884), Cinaed Uah Artacain (d. 975), Eochaid Ua Flainn (d.

984), Flann Mainistrech (d. 1056) and Gilla Coemgin (d. 1072). They are

also embodied in the _Leabhar Gabhala_ or _Book of Invasions_, the

earliest copy of which is contained in the _Book of Leinster_, a

12th-century MS., Geoffrey Keating's _History_, Dugald MacFirbis's

_Genealogies_ and various collections of annals such as those by the

Four Masters. Of prime importance for the earlier period are the stories

known collectively as the Ulster cycle, among which the lengthy epic the

_Tain Bo Cualnge_ takes first place. Amongst the numerous chronicles the

_Annals of Ulster_, which commence with the year 441, are by far the

most trustworthy. The _Book of Rights_ is another compilation which

gives valuable information with regard to the relations of the various

kingdoms to one another. Finally, there are the extensive collections of

genealogies preserved in Rawlinson B 502, the _Books of Leinster_ and

_Ballymote_.

_Earliest Inhabitants._--There is as yet no certain evidence to show

that Ireland was inhabited during the palaeolithic period. But there are

abundant traces of man in the neolithic state of culture (see Sir W. R.

W. Wilde's _Catalogue_ of the antiquities in the Museum of the Royal

Irish Academy). The use of bronze was perhaps introduced about 1450 B.C.

The craniological evidence is unfortunately at present insufficient to

show whether the introduction of metal coincided with any particular

invasion either from Britain or the European continent. At any rate it

was not until well on in the Bronze Age, perhaps about 600 or 500 B.C.,

that the Goidels, the first invaders speaking a Celtic language, set

foot in Ireland. The newcomers probably overran the whole island,

subduing but not exterminating the older race with which they doubtless

intermarried freely, as pre-Celtic types are frequent among the

populations of Connaught and Munster at the present day. What the

language was that was spoken by the neolithic aborigines is a question

which will probably never be settled. The division into provinces or

"fifths" (Ulster, Leinster, Connaught, E. Munster and W. Munster)

appears to be older than the historical period, and may be due to the

Goidels. Between 300 B.C. and 150 B.C. various Belgic and other

Brythonic tribes established themselves in Britain bringing with them

the knowledge of how to work in iron. Probably much about the same time

certain Belgic tribes effected settlements in the S.E. of Ireland. Some

time must have elapsed before any Brythonic people undertook to defy the

powerful Goidelic states, as the supremacy of the Brythonic kingdom of

Tara does not seem to have been acknowledged before the 4th century of

our era. The early Belgic settlers constituted perhaps in the main

trading states which acted as intermediaries of commerce between Ireland

and Gaul.[1] In addition to these Brythonic colonies a number of Pictish

tribes, who doubtless came over from Scotland, conquered for themselves

parts of Antrim and Down where they maintained their independence till

late in the historical period. Picts are also represented as having

settled in the county of Roscommon; but we have at present no means of

ascertaining when this invasion took place.

_Classical Writers._--Greek and Roman writers seem to have possessed

very little definite information about the island, though much of what

they relate corresponds to the state of society disclosed in the older

epics. Strabo held the inhabitants to be mere savages, addicted to

cannibalism and having no marriage ties. Solinus speaks of the luxurious

pastures, but the natives he terms an inhospitable and warlike nation.

The conquerors among them having first drunk the blood of their enemies,

afterwards besmear their faces therewith; they regard right and wrong

alike. Whenever a woman brings forth a male child, she puts his first

food on the sword of her husband, and lightly introduces the first

_auspicium_ of nourishment into his little mouth with the point of the

sword. Pomponius Mela speaks of the climate as unfit for ripening grain,

but he, too, notices the luxuriance of the grass. However, it is not

until we reach Ptolemy that we feel we are treading on firm ground. His

description is of supreme importance for the study of early Irish

ethnography. Ptolemy gives the names of sixteen peoples in Ireland,

several of which can be identified. As we should expect from our

knowledge of later Irish history scarcely any towns are mentioned. In

the S.E., probably in Co. Wicklow, we find the Manapii--evidently a

colony from N.E. Gaul. North of them, perhaps in Kildare, a similar

people, the Cauci, are located. In Waterford and Wexford are placed the

Brigantes, who also occur in Yorkshire. The territory to the west of the

Brigantes is occupied by a people called by Ptolemy the Iverni. Their

capital he gives as Ivernis, and in the extreme S.W. of the island he

marks the mouth of the river Iernos, by which the top of Dingle Bay

called Castlemaine Harbour is perhaps intended. The Iverni must have

been a nation of considerable importance, as they play a prominent part

in the historical period, where they are known as the Ernai or Eraind of

Munster. It would seem that the Iverni were the first native tribe with

whom foreign traders came in contact, as it is from them that the Latin

name for the whole island is derived. The earliest form was probably

_Iveriyo_ or _Iveriyu_, genitive _Iveryonos_, from which come Lat.

_Iverio_, _Hiverio_ (Antonine Itinerary), _Hiberio_ (Confession of St

Patrick), Old Irish _Eriu_, _Heriu_, gen. _Herenn_ with regular loss of

intervocalic v, _Welsh Iwerddon_ (from the oblique cases). West of the

Iverni in Co. Kerry Ptolemy mentions the Vellabori, and going in a

northerly direction following the coast we find the Gangani, Autini

(Autiri), Nagnatae (Magnatae). Erdini (cf. the name Lough Erne),

Vennicnii, Rhobogdii, Darini and Eblanii, none of whom can be identified

with certainty. In south Ulster Ptolemy locates a people called the

Voluntii who seem to correspond to the Ulidians of a later period (Ir.

_Ulaid_, in Irish Lat. _Uloti_). About Queen's county or Tipperary are

situated the Usdiae, whose name is compared with the later Ossory (Ir.

_Os-raige_). Lastly, in the north of Wexford we find the Coriondi who

occur in Irish texts near the Boyne (Mid. Ir. _Coraind_). It would seem

as if Ptolemy's description of Ireland answered in some measure to the

state of affairs which we find obtaining in the older Ulster epic

cycle.[2] Both are probably anterior to the foundation of a central

state at Tara.

_Legendary Origins._--We can unfortunately derive no further assistance

from external sources and must therefore examine the native traditions.

From the 9th century onwards we find accounts of various races who had

colonized the island. These stories naturally become amplified as times

goes on, and in what we may regard as the classical or standard versions

to be found in Keating, the Four Masters, Dugald MacFirbis and

elsewhere, no fewer than five successive invasions are enumerated. The

first colony is represented as having arrived in Ireland in A.M. 2520,

under the leadership of an individual named Partholan who hailed from

Middle Greece. His company landed in Kenmare Bay and settled in what is

now Co. Dublin. After occupying the island for 300 years they were all

carried off by a plague and were buried at Tallaght (Ir. _Tamlacht_,

"plague-grave"), at which place a number of ancient remains (probably

belonging, however, to the Viking period) have come to light. In A.M.

2850 a warrior from Scythia called Nemed reached Ireland with 900

fighting men. Nemed's people are represented as having to struggle for

their existence with a race of sea-pirates known as the Fomorians. The

latter's stronghold was Tory Island, where they had a mighty fortress.

After undergoing great hardship the Nemedians succeeded in destroying

the fortress and in slaying the enemies' leaders, but the Fomorians

received reinforcements from Africa. A second battle was fought in which

both parties were nearly exterminated. Of the Nemedians only thirty

warriors escaped, among them being three descendants of Nemed, who made

their way each to a different country (A.M. 3066). One of them, Simon

Brec, proceeded to Greece, where his posterity multiplied to such an

extent that the Greeks grew afraid and reduced them to slavery. In time

their position became so intolerable that they resolved to escape, and

they arrived in Ireland A.M. 3266. This third body of invaders is known

collectively as Firbolgs, and is ethnologically and historically very

important. They are stated to have had five leaders, all brothers, each

of whom occupied one of the provinces or "fifths." We find them landing

in different places. One party, the Fir Galeoin, landed at Inber Slangi,

the mouth of the Slaney, and occupied much of Leinster. Another, the Fir

Domnand, settled in Mayo where their name survives in Irrus Domnand, the

ancient name for the district of Erris. A third band, the Firbolg

proper, took possession of Munster. Many authorities such as Keating and

MacFirbis admit that descendants of the Firbolgs were still to be found

in parts of Ireland in their own day, though they are characterized as

"tattling, guileful, tale-bearing, noisy, contemptible, mean, wretched,

unsteady, harsh and inhospitable." The Firbolgs had scarcely established

themselves in the island when a fresh set of invaders appeared on the

scene. These were the Tuatha De Danann ("tribes of the god Danu"), who

according to the story were also descended from Nemed. They came

originally from Greece and were highly skilled in necromancy. Having to

flee from Greece on account of a Syrian invasion they proceeded to

Scandinavia. Under Nuadu Airgetlaim they moved to Scotland, and finally

arrived in Ireland (A.M. 3303), bringing with them in addition to the

celebrated Lia Fail ("stone of destiny") which they set up at Tara, the

cauldron of the Dagda and the sword and spear of Lugaid Lamfada.

Eochaid, son of Erc, king of the Firbolgs, having declined to surrender

the sovereignty of Ireland, a great battle was fought on the plain of

Moytura near Cong (Co. Mayo), the site of a prehistoric cemetery. In

this contest the Firbolgs were overthrown with great slaughter, and the

remnants of the race according to Keating and other writers took refuge

in Arran, Islay, Rathlin and the Hebrides, where they dwelt until driven

out by Picts. Twenty-seven years later the Tuatha De had to defend

themselves against the Fomorians, who were almost annihilated at the

battle of north Moytura near Sligo. The Tuatha De then enjoyed

undisturbed possession of Ireland until the arrival of the Milesians in

A.M. 3500.

All the early writers dwell with great fondness on the origin and

adventures of this race. The Milesians came primarily from Scythia and

after sojourning for some time in Egypt, Crete and in Scythia again,

they finally arrived in Spain. In the line of mythical ancestors which

extends without interruption up to Noah, the names of Fenius Farsaid,

Goedel Glas, Eber Scot and Breogan constantly recur in Irish story. At

length eight sons of Miled (Lat. _Milesius_) set forth to conquer

Ireland. The spells of the Tuatha De accounted for most of their number.

However, after two battles the newcomers succeeded in overcoming the

older race; and two brothers, Eber Find and Eremon, divided the island

between them, Eber Find taking east and west Munster, whilst Eremon

received Leinster and Connaught. Lugaid, son of the brother of Miled,

took possession of south-west Munster. At the same time Ulster was left

to Eber son of Ir son of Miled. The old historians agree that Ireland

was ruled by a succession of Milesian monarchs until the reign of

Roderick O'Connor, the last native king. The Tuatha De are represented

as retiring into the _sid_ or fairy mounds. Eber Find and Eremon did not

remain long in agreement. The historians place the beginnings of the

antithesis between north and south at the very commencement of the

Milesian domination. A battle was fought between the two brothers in

which Eber Find lost his life. In the reign of Eremon the Picts are

stated to have arrived in Ireland, coming from Scythia. It will have

been observed that Scythia had a peculiar attraction for medieval Irish

chroniclers on account of its resemblance to the name Scotti, Scots. The

Picts first settled in Leinster; but the main body were forced to remove

to Scotland, only a few remaining behind in Meath. Among the numerous

mythical kings placed by the annalists between Eremon and the Christian

era we may mention Tigernmas (A.M. 3581), Ollam Fodla (A.M. 3922) who

established the meeting of Tara, Cimbaeth (c. 305 B.C.) the reputed

founder of Emain Macha, Ugaine Mor, Labraid Loingsech, and Eochaid

Feidlech, who built Rath Cruachan for his celebrated daughter, Medb

queen of Connaught. During the 1st century of our era we hear of the

rising of the _aithech-tuatha_, i.e. subject or plebeian tribes, or in

other words the Firbolgs, who paid _daer_- or base rent to the

Milesians. From a resemblance in the name which is probably fortuitous

these tribes have been identified with the Attecotti of Roman writers.

Under Cairbre Cinnchait ("cathead") the oppressed peoples succeeded in

wresting the sovereignty from the Milesians, whose princes and nobles

were almost exterminated (A.D. 90). The line of Eremon was, however,

restored on the accession of Tuathal Techtmar ("the legitimate"), who

reigned A.D. 130-160. This ruler took measures to consolidate the power

of the _ardri_ (supreme king). He constructed a number of fortresses on

the great central plain and carved out the kingdom of Meath to serve as

his mensal land. The new kingdom was composed of the present counties of

Meath, Westmeath and Longford together with portions of Monaghan, Cavan,

King's Co. and Kildare. He was also the first to levy the famous

Leinster tribute, the _boroma_, in consequence of an insult offered to

him by one of the kings of that province. This tribute, which was only

remitted in the 7th century at the instance of St Moling, must have been

the source of constant war and oppression. A grandson of Tuathal's, the

famous Conn Cetchathach ("the hundred-fighter"), whose death is placed

in the year 177 after a reign of about twenty years, was constantly at

war with the Munster ruler Eogan Mor, also called Mog Nuadat, of the

race of Eber Find. Eogan had subdued the Ernai and the Corco Laigde

(descendants of Lugaid son of Ith) in Munster, and even the supreme king

was obliged to share the island with him. Hence the well-known names

Leth Cuinn or "Conn's half" (north Ireland), and Leth Moga or "Mug's

half" (south Ireland). The boundary line ran from the Bay of Galway to

Dublin along the great ridge of gravel known as Eiscir Riada which

stretches across Ireland. Mog Nuadat had a son Ailill Aulom who plays a

prominent part in the Irish sagas and genealogies, and his sons Eogan,

Cian and Cormac Cas, all became the ancestors of well-known families.

Conn's grandson, Cormac son of Art, is represented as having reigned in

great splendour (254-266) and as having been a great patron of learning.

It was during this reign that the sept of the Desi were expelled from

Meath. They settled in Munster where their name still survives in the

barony of Decies (Co. Waterford). A curious passage in Cormac's

_Glossary_ connects one of the leaders of this sept, Cairpre Musc, with

the settlements of the Irish in south Wales which may have taken place

as early as the 3rd century. Of greater consequence was the invasion of

Ulster by the three Collas, cousins of the ardri Muredach. The

stronghold of Emain Macha was destroyed and the Ulstermen were driven

across the Newry River into Dalriada, which was inhabited by Picts.

The old inhabitants of Ulster are usually termed Ulidians to distinguish

them from the Milesian peoples who overran the province. With the advent

of Niall Noigiallach ("N. of the nine hostages" reigned 379-405) son of

Eochaid Muigmedoin (358-366) we are treading safer ground. It was about

this time that the Milesian kingdom of Tara was firmly established. Nor

was Niall's activity confined to Ireland alone. Irish sources represent

him as constantly engaged in marauding expeditions oversea, and it was

doubtless on one of these that St Patrick was taken captive. These

movements coincide with the inroads of the Picts and Scots recorded by

Roman writers. It is probably from this period that the Irish colonies

in south Wales, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall date. And the earliest

migrations from Ulster to Argyll may also have taken place about this

time. Literary evidence of the colonization of south Wales is preserved

both in Welsh and Irish sources, and some idea of the extent of Irish

oversea activity may be gathered from the distribution of the Ogam

inscriptions in Wales, south-west England and the Isle of Man.

_Criticism of the Legendary Origins._--It is only in recent years that

the Irish legendary origins have been subjected to serious criticism.

The fondly cherished theory which attributes Milesian descent to the

bulk of the native population has at length been assailed. MacNeill

asserts that in MacFirbis's genealogies the majority of the tribes in

early Ireland do not trace their descent to Eremon and Eber Find; they

are rather the descendants of the subject races, one of which figures in

the list of conquests under the name of Firbolg. The stories of the

Fomorians were doubtless suggested in part by the Viking invasions, but

the origin of the Partholan legend has not been discovered. The Tuatha

De do not appear in any of the earliest quasi-historical documents, nor

in Nennius, and they scarcely correspond to any particular race. It

seems more probable that a special invasion was assigned to them by

later writers in order to explain the presence of mythical personages

going by their name in the heroic cycles, as they were found

inconvenient by the monkish historians. In the early centuries of our

era Ireland would therefore have been occupied by the Firbolgs and

kindred races and the Milesians. According to MacNeill the Firbolg

tribal names are formed with the suffix -_raige_, e.g. _Ciarraige_,

Kerry, _Osraige_, Ossory, or with the obscure words _Corcu_ and _mocu_

(_maccu_), e.g. _Corco Duibne_, Corkaguiney, _Corco Mruad_, Corcomroe,

_Macu Loegdae_, _Macu Teimne_. In the case of _corcu_ and _mocu_ the

name which follows is frequently the name of an eponymous ancestor. The

Milesians on the other hand named themselves after an historical

ancestor employing terms such as _ui_, "descendants," _cland_,

"children," _dal_, "division," _cinel_, "kindred," or _sil_, "seed." In

this connexion it may be noted that practically all the Milesian

pedigrees converge on three ancestors in the 2nd century--Conn

Cetchathach king of Tara, Cathair Mor of Leinster, and Ailill Aulom of

Munster,--whilst in scarcely any of them are mythological personages

absent when we go farther back than A.D. 300. Special genealogies were

framed to link up other races, e.g. the Eraind and Corcu Loegdi of

Munster and the Ulidians with the Milesians of Tara.

The peculiar characteristic of the Milesian conquest is the

establishment of a central monarchy at Tara. No trace of such a state of

affairs is to be found in the Ulster epic. In the _Tain Bo Cualnge_ we

find Ireland divided into fifths, each ruled over by its own king. These

divisions were: Ulster with Emain Macha as capital, Connaught with

Cruachu as residence, north Munster from Slieve Bloom to north Kerry,

south Munster from south Kerry to Waterford, and Leinster consisting of

the two kingdoms of Tara and Ailinn. Moreover, the kings of Tara

mentioned in the Ulster cycle do not figure in any list of Milesian

kings. It would appear then that the central kingdom of Tara was an

innovation subsequent to the state of society described in the oldest

sagas and the political position reflected in Ptolemy's account. It was

probably due to an invasion undertaken by Brythons[3] from Britain, but

it is impossible to assign a precise date for their arrival. Until the

end of the 3rd century the Milesian power must have been confined to the

valley of the Boyne and the district around Tara. At the beginning of

the 4th century the three Collas founded the kingdom of Oriel

(comprising the present counties of Armagh, Monaghan, north Louth, south

Fermanagh) and drove the Ulidians into the eastern part of the province.

Brian and Fiachra, sons of Eochaid Muigmedoin, conquered for themselves

the country of the Ui Briuin (Roscommon, Leitrim, Cavan) and Tir

Fiachrach, the territory of the Firbolg tribe the Fir Domnann in the

valley of the Moy (Co. Mayo). Somewhat later south Connaught was

similarly wrested from the older race and colonized by descendants of

Brian and Fiachra, later known as Ui Fiachrach Aidni and Ui Briuin

Seola. The north of Ulster is stated to have been conquered and

colonized by Conall and Eogan, sons of Niall Noigiallach. The former

gave his name to the western portion, Tir Conaill (Co. Donegal), whilst

Inishowen was called Tir Eogain after Eogan. The name Tir Eogain later

became associated with south Ulster where it survives in the county name

Tyrone. The whole kingdom of the north is commonly designated the

kingdom of Ailech, from the ancient stronghold near Derry which the sons

of Niall probably took over from the earlier inhabitants. At the end of

the 5th century Maine, a relative of the king of Tara, was apportioned a

tract of Firbolg territory to the west of the Suck in Connaught, which

formed the nucleus of a powerful state known as Hy Maine (in English

commonly called the "O'Kelly's country"). Thus practically the whole of

the north and west gradually came under the sway of the Milesian rulers.

Nevertheless one portion retained its independence. This was Ulidia,

consisting of Dalriada, Dal Fiatach, Dal Araide, including the present

counties of Antrim and Down. The bulk of the population here was

probably Pictish; but the Dal Fiatach, representing the old Ulidians or

ancient population of Ulster, maintained themselves until the 8th

century when they were subdued by their Pictish neighbours. The

relationship of Munster and Leinster to the Tara dynasty is not so easy

to define. The small kingdom of Ossory remained independent until a very

late period. As for Leinster none of the Brythonic peoples mentioned by

Ptolemy left traces of their name, although it is possible that the

ruling family may have been derived from them. It would seem that the

Fir Galeoin who play such a prominent part in the _Tain_ had been

crushed before authentic history begins. The king of Leinster was for

centuries the most determined opponent of the _ardri_, an antithesis

which is embodied in the story of the _boroma_ tribute. When we turn to

Munster we find that Cashel was the seat of power in historical times.

Now Cashel (a loanword from Lat. _castellum_) was not founded Until the

beginning of the 5th century by Core son of Lugaid. The legendary

account attributes the subjugation of the various peoples inhabiting

Munster to Mog Nuadat, and the pedigrees are invariably traced up to his

son Ailill Aulom. Rhys adopts the view that the race of Eber Find was

not Milesian but a branch of the Ernai, and this theory has much in its

favour. The allegiance of the rulers of Munster to Niall and his

descendants can at the best of times only have been nominal.

In this way we get a number of over-kingdoms acknowledging only the

supremacy of the Tara dynasty. These were (1) Munster with Cashel as

centre, (2) Connaught, (3) Ailech, (4) Oriel, (5) Ulidia, (6) Meath, (7)

Leinster, (8) Ossory. Some of these states might be split up into

various parts at certain periods, each part becoming for the time-being

an over-kingdom. For instance, Ailech might be resolved into Tir Conaill

and Tir Eogain according to political conditions. Hence the number of

over-kingdoms is given variously in different documents. The supremacy

was vested in the descendants of Niall Noigiallach without interruption

until 1002; but as Niall's descendants were represented by four reigning

families, the high-kingship passed from one branch to another.

Nevertheless after the middle of the 8th century the title of _ardri_

(high-king) was only held by the Cinel Eogain (northern Hy Neill) and

the rulers of Meath (southern Hy Neill), as the kingdom of Oriel had

dropped into insignificance. The supremacy of the _ardri_ was more often

than not purely nominal. This must have been particularly the case in

Leth Moga.

_Religion in Early Ireland._--Our knowledge of the beliefs of the pagan

Irish is very slight. The oldest texts belonging to the heroic cycle are

not preserved in any MS. before 1100, and though the sagas were

certainly committed to writing several centuries before that date, it is

evident that the monkish transcribers have toned down or omitted

features that savoured too strongly of paganism. Supernatural beings

play an important part in the _Tain Bo Cualgne_, _Cuchulinn's Sickbed_,

the _Wooing of Emer_ and similar stories, but the relations between

ordinary mortals and such divine or semi-divine personages is not easy

to establish. It seems unlikely that the ancient Irish had a highly

developed pantheon. On the other hand there are abundant traces of

animistic worship, which have survived in wells, often associated with a

sacred tree (Ir. _bile_), bullans, pillar stones, weapons. There are

also traces of the worship of the elements, prominent among which are

sun and fire. The belief in earth spirits or fairies (Ir. _aes side_,

_sid_) forms perhaps the most striking feature of Irish belief. The

sagas teem with references to the inhabitants of the fairy mounds, who

play such an important part in the mind of the peasantry of our own

time. These supernatural beings are sometimes represented as immortal,

but often they fall victims to the prowess of mortals. Numerous cases of

marriage between fairies and mortals are recorded. The Tuatha De Danann

is used as a collective name for the _aes side_. The representatives of

this race in the _Tain Bo Cualgne_ play a somewhat similar part to the

gods of the ancient Greeks in the _Iliad_, though they are of necessity

of a much more shadowy nature. Prominent among them were Manannan mac

Lir, who is connected with the sea and the Isle of Man, and the Dagda,

the father of a numerous progeny. One of them, Bodb Derg, resided near

Portumna on the shore of Lough Derg, whilst another, Angus Mac-in-og,

dwelt at the Brug of the Boyne, the well-known tumulus at New Grange.

The Dagda's daughter Brigit transmitted many of her attributes to the

Christian saint of the same name (d. 523). The ancient Brigit seems to

have been the patroness of the arts and was probably also the goddess of

fertility. At any rate it is with her that the sacred fire at Kildare

which burnt almost uninterruptedly until the time of the Reformation

was associated; and she was commonly invoked in the Hebrides, and until

quite recently in Donegal, to secure good crops. Well-known fairy queens

are Clidna (south Munster) and Aibell (north Munster). We frequently

hear of three goddesses of war--Ana, Bodb and Macha, also generally

called Morrigu and Badb. They showed themselves in battles hovering over

the heads of the combatants in the form of a carrion crow. The name Bodb

appears on a Gaulish stone as (_Cathu_-)_bodvae_. The _Geniti glinni_

and _demna aeir_ were other fierce spirits who delighted in carnage.

When we come to treat of religious rites and worship, our sources leave

us completely in the dark. We hear in several documents of a great idol

covered with gold and silver named Cromm Cruach, or Cenn Cruaich, which

was surrounded by twelve lesser idols covered with brass or bronze, and

stood on Mag Slecht (the plain of prostrations) near Ballymagauran, Co.

Cavan. In one text the Cromm Cruach is styled the chief idol of Ireland.

According to the story St Patrick overthrew the idol, and one of the

lives of the saint states that the mark of his crosier might still be

seen on the stone. In the _Dindsenchus_ we are told that the worshippers

sacrificed their children to the idol in order to secure corn, honey and

milk in plenty. On the occasion of famine the druids advised that the

son of a sinless married couple should be brought to Ireland to be

killed in front of Tara and his blood mixed with the soil of Tara. We

might naturally expect to find the druids active in the capacity of

priests in Ireland. D'Arbois de Jubainville maintains that in Gaul the

three classes of druids, vates and gutuatri, corresponded more or less

to the pontifices, augurs and flamens of ancient Rome. In ancient Irish

literature the functions of the druids correspond fairly closely to

those of their Gaulish brethren recorded by Caesar and other writers of

antiquity. Had we contemporary accounts of the position of the druid in

Ireland prior to the introduction of Christianity, it may be doubted if

any serious difference would be discovered. In early Irish literature

the druids chiefly appear as magicians and diviners, but they are also

the repositaries of the learning of the time which they transmitted to

the disciples accompanying them (see DRUIDISM). The Druids were believed

to have the power to render a person insane by flinging a magic wisp of

straw in his face, and they were able to raise clouds of mist, or to

bring down showers of fire and blood. They claimed to be able to

foretell the future by watching the clouds, or by means of divining-rods

made of yew. They also resorted to sacrifice. They possessed several

means for rendering a person invisible, and various peculiar and

complicated methods of divination, such as _Imbas forosna_, _tein

laegda_, and _dichetal do chennaib_, are described in early authorities.

Whether or not the Irish druids taught that the soul was immortal is a

question which it is impossible to decide. There is one passage which

seems to support the view that they agreed with the Gaulish druids in

this respect, but it is not safe to deny the possible influence of

Christian teaching in the document in question. The Irish, however,

possessed some more or less definite notions about an abode of

everlasting youth and peace inhabited by fairies. The latter either

dwell in the sid, and this is probably the earlier conception, or in

islands out in the ocean where they live a life of never-ending delight.

These happy abodes were known by various names, as Tir Tairngiri (Land

of Promise), Mag Mell (Plain of Pleasures). Condla Caem son of Conn

Cetchathach was carried in a boat of crystal by a fairy maiden to the

land of youth, and among other mortals who went thither Bran, son of

Febal, and Ossian are the most famous. The doctrine of metempsychosis

seems to have been familiar in early Ireland. Mongan king of Dalriada in

the 7th century is stated to have passed after death into various

shapes--a wolf, a stag, a salmon, a seal, a swan. Fintan, nephew of

Partholan, is also reported to have survived the deluge and to have

lived in various shapes until he was reborn as Tuan mac Cairill in the

6th century. This legend appears to have been worked up, if not

manufactured, by the historians of the 9th to 11th centuries to support

their fictions. It may, however, be mentioned that Giraldus Cambrensis

and the _Speculum Regale_ state in all seriousness that certain of the

inhabitants of Ossory were able at will to assume the form of wolves,

and similar stories are not infrequent in Irish romance.

_Conversion to Christianity._--In the beginning of the 4th century there

was an organized Christian church in Britain; and in view of the

intimate relations existing between Wales and Ireland during that

century it is safe to conclude that there were Christians in Ireland

before the time of St Patrick. Returned colonists from south Wales,

traders and the raids of the Irish in Britain with the consequent influx

of British captives sold into slavery must have introduced the knowledge

of Christianity into the island considerably before A.D. 400. In this

connexion it is interesting to find an Irishman named Fith (also called

Iserninus) associated with St Patrick at Auxerre. Further, the earliest

Latin words introduced into Irish show the influence of British

pronunciation (e.g. O. Ir. _trindoit_ from _trinitat-em_ shows the

Brythonic change of a to o). Irish records preserve the names of three

shadowy pre-Patrician saints who were connected with south-east Ireland,

Declan, Ailbe and Ciaran.

In one source the great heresiarch Pelagius is stated to have been a

Scot. He may have been descended from an Irish family settled in south

Wales. We have also the statement of Prosper of Aquitaine that Palladius

was sent by Pope Celestine as first bishop to the Scots that believe in

Christ. But though we may safely assume that a number of scattered

communities existed in Ireland, and probably not in the south alone, it

is unlikely that there was any organization before the time of St

Patrick. This mission arose out of the visit of St Germanus of Auxerre

to Britain. The British bishops had grown alarmed at the rapid growth of

Pelagianism in Britain and sought the aid of the Gaulish church. A synod

summoned for the occasion commissioned Germanus and Lupus to go to

Britain, which they accordingly did in 429; Pope Celestine, we are told,

had given his sanction to the mission through the deacon Palladius. The

heresy was successfully stamped out in Britain, but distinct traces of

it are to be found some three centuries later in Ireland, and it is to

Irish monks on the European continent that we owe the preservation of

the recently discovered copies of Pelagius's _Commentary_. Palladius's

activity in Britain probably marked him out as the man to undertake the

task of bringing Ireland into touch with Western Christianity. In any

case Prosper and the Irish Annals represent him as arriving in Ireland

in 431 with episcopal rank. His missionary activity unfortunately is

extremely obscure. Tradition associates his name with Co. Wicklow, but

Irish sources state that after a brief sojourn there he proceeded to the

land of the Picts, among whom he was beginning to labour when his career

was cut short by death.

_St Patrick._--At this juncture Germanus of Auxerre decided to

consecrate his pupil Patrick for the purpose of carrying on the work

begun by Palladius. Patrick would possess several qualifications for the

dignity of a missionary bishop to Ireland. Born in Britain about 389, he

had been carried into slavery in Ireland when a youth of sixteen. He

remained with his master for seven years, and must have had ample

opportunity for observing the conditions, and learning the language, of

the people around him; and such knowledge would have been indispensable

to the Christian bishop in view of the peculiar state of Irish society

(see PATRICK, ST). The new bishop landed in Wicklow in 432. Leinster was

probably the province in which Christianity was already most strongly

represented, and Patrick may have entrusted this part of his sphere to

two fellow-workers from Gaul, Auxilius and Iserninus. At any rate he

seems rather to have addressed himself more especially to the task of

founding churches in Meath, Ulster and Connaught. In Ireland the land

nominally belonged to the tribe, but in reality a kind of feudal system

existed. In order to succeed with the body of the tribe it was necessary

to secure the adherence of the chief. The conversion in consequence was

in large measure only apparent; and such pagan superstitions and

practices as did not run directly counter to the new teaching were

tolerated by the saint. Thus, whilst the mass of the people practically

still continued in heathendom, the apostle was enabled to found

churches and schools and educate a priesthood which should provide the

most effective and certain means of conversion. It would be a mistake to

suppose that his success was as rapid or as complete as is generally

assumed. There can be no doubt that he met with great opposition both

from the high-king Loigaire and from the druids. But though Loigaire

refused to desert the faith of his ancestors we are told that a number

of his nearest kinsmen accepted Christianity; and if there be any truth

in the story of the codification of the Brehon Laws we gather that he

realized that the future belonged to the new religion. St Patrick's work

seems to fall under two heads. In the first place he planted the faith

in parts of the north and west which had probably not yet heard the

gospel. He also organized the already existing Christian communities,

and with this in view founded a church at Armagh as his metropolitan see

(444). It is further due to him that Ireland became linked up with Rome

and the Christian countries of the Western church, and that in

consequence Latin was introduced as the language of the church. It seems

probable that St Patrick consecrated a considerable number of bishops

with small but definite dioceses which doubtless coincided in the main

with the territories of the _tuatha_. In any case the ideal of the

apostle from Britain was almost certainly very different from the

monastic system in vogue in Ireland in the 6th and 7th centuries.

_The Early Irish Church._--The church founded by St Patrick was

doubtless in the main identical in doctrine with the churches of Britain

and Gaul and other branches of the Western church; but after the recall

of the Roman legions from Britain the Irish church was shut off from the

Roman world, and it is only natural that there should not have been any

great amount of scruple with regard to orthodox doctrine. This would

explain the survival of the writings of Pelagius in Ireland until the

8th century. Even Columba himself, in his Latin hymn _Altus prosator_,

was suspected by Gregory the Great of favouring Arian doctrines. After

the death of St Patrick there was apparently a relapse into paganism in

many parts of the island. The church itself gradually became grafted on

to the feudal organization, the result of which was the peculiar system

which we find in the 6th and 7th centuries. Wherever Roman law and

municipal institutions had been in force the church was modelled on the

civil society. The bishops governed ecclesiastical districts co-ordinate

with the civil divisions. In Ireland there were no cities and no

municipal institutions; the nation consisted of groups of tribes

connected by kinship, and loosely held together by a feudal system which

we shall examine later. Although St Patrick endeavoured to organize the

Irish church on regular diocesan lines, after his death an approximation

to the lay system was under the circumstances almost inevitable. When a

chief became a Christian and bestowed lands on the church, he at the

same time transferred all his rights as a chief; but these rights still

remained with his sept, albeit subordinate to the uses of the church. At

first all church offices were exclusively confined to members of the

sept. In this new sept there was consequently a twofold succession. The

religious sept or family consisted in the first instance not only of the

ecclesiastical persons to whom the gift was made, but of all the _celi_

or vassals, tenants and slaves, connected with the land bestowed. The

head was the coarb (Ir. _comarba_, "co-heir"), i.e. the inheritor both

of the spiritual and temporal rights and privileges of the founder; he

in his temporal capacity exacted rent and tribute like other chiefs, and

made war not on temporal chiefs only, the spectacle of two coarbs making

war on each other not being unusual. The ecclesiastical colonies that

went forth from a parent family generally remained in subordination to

it, in the same way that the spreading branches of a ruling family

remained in general subordinate to it. The heads of the secondary

families were also called the coarbs of the original founder. Thus there

were coarbs of Columba at Iona, Kells, Derry, Durrow and other places.

The coarb of the chief spiritual foundation was called the high coarb

(ard-chomarba). The coarb might be a bishop or only an abbot, but in

either case all the ecclesiastics in the family were subject to him; in

this way it frequently happened that bishops, though their superior

functions were recognized, were in subjection to abbots who were only

priests, as in the case of St Columba, or even to a woman, as in the

case of St Brigit. This singular association of lay and spiritual powers

was liable to the abuse of allowing the whole succession to fall into

lay hands, as happened to a large extent in later times. The temporal

chief had his steward who superintended the collection of his rents and

tributes; in like manner the coarb of a religious sept had his

_airchinnech_ (Anglo-Irish _erenach_, _herenach_), whose office was

generally, but not necessarily, hereditary. The office embodied in a

certain sense the lay succession in the family.

From the beginning the life of the converts must have been in some

measure coenobitic. Indeed it could hardly have been otherwise in a

pagan and half-savage land. St Patrick himself in his Confession makes

mention of monks in Ireland in connexion with his mission, but the few

glimpses we get of the monastic life of the decades immediately

following his death prove that the earliest type of coenobium differed

considerably from that known at a later period. The coenobium of the end

of the 5th century consisted of an ordinary sept or family whose chief

had become Christian. After making a gift of his lands the chief either

retired, leaving it in the hands of a coarb, or remained as the

religious head himself. The family went on with their usual avocations,

but some of the men and women, and in some cases all, practised

celibacy, and all joined in fasting and prayer. It may be inferred from

native documents that grave disorders were prevalent under this system.

A severer and more exclusive type of monasticism succeeded this

primitive one, but apart from the separation of the sexes the general

character never entirely changed.

Diocesan organization as understood in countries under Roman Law being

unknown, there was not that limitation of the number of bishops which

territorial jurisdiction renders necessary, and consequently the number

of bishops increased beyond all proportions. Thus, St Mochta, abbot of

Louth, and a reputed disciple of St Patrick, is stated to have had no

less than 100 bishops in his monastic family. All the bishops in a

coenobium were subject to the abbot; but besides the bishop in the

monastic families, every _tuath_ or tribe had its own bishop. The church

in Ireland having been evolved out of the monastic nuclei already

described the tribe bishop was an episcopal development of a somewhat

later period. He was an important personage, his status being fixed in

the Brehon laws, from which we learn that his honour price was seven

_cumals_, and that he had the right to be accompanied by the same number

of followers as a petty king. The power of the bishops was considerable,

as they were strong enough to resist the kings with regard to the right

of sanctuary, ever a fertile source of dissension. The _tuath_ bishop in

later centuries corresponded to the diocesan bishop as closely as it was

possible in two systems so different as tribal and municipal government.

When diocesan jurisdiction was introduced into Ireland in the 12th

century the _tuath_ became a diocese. Many of the old dioceses represent

ancient _tuatha_, and even enlarged modern dioceses coincide with the

territories of ancient tribal states. Thus the diocese of Kilmacduagh

was the territory of the Hui Fiachrach Aidne; that of Kilfenora was the

tribe land of Corco-Mruad or Corcomroe. Many deaneries also represent

tribe territories. Thus the deanery of Musgrylin (Co. Cork) was the

ancient Muscraige Mitaine, and no doubt had its tribe bishop in ancient

times. Bishops without dioceses and monastic bishops were not unknown

outside Ireland in the Eastern and Western churches in very early times,

but they had disappeared with rare exceptions in the 6th century when

the Irish reintroduced the monastic bishops and the monastic church into

Britain and the continent.

In the 8th and 9th centuries, when the great emigration of Irish

scholars and ecclesiastics took place, the number of wandering bishops

without dioceses became a reproach to the Irish church; and there can be

no doubt that it led to much inconvenience and abuse, and was subversive

of the stricter discipline that the popes had succeeded in establishing

in the Western church. They were accused of ordaining serfs without the

consent of their lords, consecrating bishops _per saltum_, i.e. of

making men bishops who had not previously received the orders of

priests, and of permitting bishops to be consecrated by a single bishop.

This custom can hardly, however, be a reproach to the Irish church, as

the practice was never held to be invalid; and besides, the Nicene

canons of discipline were perhaps not known in Ireland until

comparatively late times. The isolated position of Ireland, and the

existence of tribal organization in full vigour, explain fully the

anomalies of Irish discipline, many of which were also survivals of the

early Christian practices before the complete organization of the

church.

After the death of St Patrick the bond between the numerous church

families which his authority supplied was greatly relaxed; and the

saint's most formidable opponents, the druids, probably regained much of

their old power. The transition period which follows the loosening of a

people's faith in its old religion and before the authority of the new

is universally accepted is always a time of confusion and relaxation of

morals. Such a period appears to have followed the fervour of St

Patrick's time. To judge from the early literature the marriage-tie

seems to have been regarded very lightly, and there can be little doubt

that pagan marriage customs were practised long after the introduction

of Christianity. The Brehon Laws assume the existence of married as well

as unmarried clergy, and when St Patrick was seeking a bishop for the

men of Leinster he asked for "a man of one wife." Marriage among the

secular clergy went on in Ireland until the 15th century. Like the

Gaulish druids described by Caesar, the poet (_fili_) and the druid

possessed a huge stock of unwritten native lore, probably enshrined in

verse which was learnt by rote by their pupils. The exalted position

occupied by the learned class in ancient Ireland perhaps affords the key

to the wonderful outbursts of scholarly activity in Irish monasteries

from the 6th to the 9th centuries. That some of the _filid_ embraced

Christianity from the outset is evident from the story of Dubthach. As

early as the second half of the 5th century Enda, a royal prince of

Oriel (c. 450-540), after spending some time at Whithorn betook himself

to Aranmore, off the coast of Galway, and founded a school there which

attracted scholars from all over Ireland. The connexion between Ireland

and Wales was strong in the 6th century, and it was from south Wales

that the great reform movement in the Irish monasteries emanated.

Findian of Clonard (c. 470-548) is usually regarded as the institutor of

the type of monastery for which Ireland became so famous during the next

few centuries. He spent some time in Wales, where he came under the

influence of St David, Gildas and Cadoc; and on returning to Ireland he

founded his famous monastery at Clonard (Co. Meath) about 520. Here no

less than 3000 students are said to have received instruction at the

same time. Such a monastery consisted of countless tiny huts of wattles

and clay (or, where stone was plentiful, of beehive cells) built by the

pupils and enclosed by a fosse, or trench, like a permanent military

encampment. The pupils sowed their own corn, fished in the streams, and

milked their own cows. Instruction was probably given in the open air.

Twelve of Findian's disciples became known as the twelve apostles of

Ireland, the monastic schools they founded becoming the greatest centres

of learning and religious instruction not only in Ireland, but in the

whole of the west of Europe. Among the most famous were Moville (Co.

Down), founded by another Findian, c. 540; Clonmacnoise, founded by

Kieran, 541; Derry, founded by Columba, 546; Clonfert, founded by

Brendan, 552; Bangor, founded in 558 by Comgall; Durrow, founded by

Columba, c. 553. The chief reform due to the influence of the British

church[4] seems to have been the introduction of monastic life in the

strict sense of the word, i.e. communities entirely separated from the

laity with complete separation of the sexes.

One almost immediate outcome of the reformation effected by Findian was

that wonderful spirit of missionary enterprise which made the name of

Scot and of Ireland so well known throughout Europe, while at the same

time the Irish were being driven out of their colonies in Wales and

south-west Britain owing to the advance of the Saxon power. In 563

Columba founded the monastery of Hi (Iona), which spread the knowledge

of the Gospel among the Picts of the Scottish mainland. From this same

solitary outpost went forth the illustrious Aidan to plant another Iona

at Lindisfarne, which, "long after the poor parent brotherhood had

fallen to decay, expanded itself into the bishopric of Durham." And

Lightfoot claims for Aidan "the first place in the evangelization of the

English race. Augustine was the apostle of Kent, but Aidan was the

apostle of England." In 590 Columbanus, a native of Leinster (b. 543),

went forth from Bangor, accompanied by twelve companions, to preach the

Gospel on the continent of Europe. Columbanus was the first of the long

stream of famous Irish monks who left their traces in Italy,

Switzerland, Germany and France; amongst them being Gallus or St Gall,

founder of St Gallen, Kilian of Wurzburg, Virgil of Salzburg, Cathald of

Tarentum and numerous others. At the beginning of the 8th century a long

series of missionary establishments extended from the mouths of the

Meuse and Rhine to the Rhone and the Alps, whilst many others founded by

Germans are the offspring of Irish monks. Willibrord, the apostle of the

Frisians, for instance, spent twelve years in Ireland. Other Irishmen

seeking remote places wherein to lead the lives of anchorites, studded

the numerous islands on the west coast of Scotland with their little

buildings. Cormac ua Liathain, a disciple of St Columba, visited the

Orkneys, and when the Northmen first discovered Iceland they found there

books and other traces of the early Irish church. It may be mentioned

that the geographer Dicuil who lived at the court of Charlemagne gives a

description of Iceland which must have been obtained from some one who

had been there. The peculiarities which owing to Ireland's isolation had

survived were brought into prominence when the Irish missionaries came

into contact with Roman ecclesiastics. The chief points of difference

were the calculation of Easter and the form of the tonsure, in addition

to questions of discipline such as the consecration of bishops _per

saltum_ and bishops without dioceses. With regard to tonsure it would

seem that the druids shaved the front part of the head from ear to ear.

St Patrick doubtless introduced the ordinary coronal tonsure, but in the

period following his death the old druidical tonsure was again revived.

In the calculation of Easter the Irish employed the old Roman and Jewish

84-years' cycle which they may have received from St Patrick and which

had once prevailed all over Europe. Shut off from the world, they were

probably ignorant of the new cycle of 532 years which had been adopted

by Rome in 463. This question aroused a controversy which waxed hottest

in England, and as the Irish monks stubbornly adhered to their

traditions they were vehemently attacked by their opponents. As early as

633 the church of the south of Ireland, which had been more in contact

with Gaul, had been won over to the Roman method of computation. The

north and Iona on the other hand refused to give in until Adamnan

induced the north of Ireland to yield in 697, while Iona held out until

716, although by this time the monastery had lost its influence in

Pictland. Owing to these controversies the real work of the early Irish

missionaries in converting the pagans of Britain and central Europe, and

sowing the seeds of culture there, is apt to be overlooked. Thus, when

the Anglo-Saxon, Winfrid, surnamed Boniface, appeared in the kingdom of

the Franks as papal legate in 723, to romanize the existing church of

the time, neither the Franks, the Thuringians, the Alemanni nor the

Bavarians could be considered as pagans. What Irish missionaries and

their foreign pupils had implanted for more than a century quite

independently of Rome, Winfrid organized and established under Roman

authority partly by force of arms.

During the four centuries which elapsed between the arrival of St

Patrick and the establishment of a central state in Dublin by the

Norsemen the history of Ireland is almost a blank as regards

outstanding events. From the time that the Milesians of Tara had come to

be recognized as suzerains of the whole island all political development

ceases. The annals contain nothing save a record of intertribal warfare,

which the high-king was rarely powerful enough to stay. The wonderful

achievements of the Irish monks did not affect the body politic as a

whole, and it may be doubted if there was any distinct advance in

civilization in Ireland from the time of Niall Noigiallach to the

Anglo-Norman invasion. Niall's posterity held the position of _ardri_

uninterruptedly until 1002. Four of his sons, Loigaire, Conall

Crimthand, Fiacc and Maine, settled in Meath and adjoining territories,

and their posterity were called the southern Hy Neill. The other four,

Eogan, Enna Find, Cairpre and Conall Gulban, occupied the northern part

of Ulster. Their descendants were known as the northern Hy Neill.[5] The

descendants of Eogan were the O'Neills and their numerous kindred septs;

the posterity of Conall Gulban were the O'Donnells and their kindred

septs. Niall died in 406 in the English Channel whilst engaged in a

marauding expedition. He was succeeded by his nephew Dathi, son of

Fiachra, son of Eochaid Muigmedoin, who is stated to have been struck by

lightning at the foot of the Alps in 428. Loigaire, son of Niall

(428-463), is identified with the story of St Patrick. According to

tradition it was during his reign that the codification of the _Senchus

Mor_ took place. A well-known story represents him as constantly at war

with the men of Leinster. His successor, Ailill Molt (463-483), son of

Dathi, is remarkable as being the last high-king for 500 years who was

not a direct descendant of Niall.

In 503 a body of colonists under Fergus, son of Erc, moved from Dalriada

to Argyll and effected settlements there. The circumstances which

enabled the Scots to succeed in occupying Kintyre and Islay cannot now

be ascertained. The little kingdom had great difficulty to maintain

itself, and its varying fortunes are very obscure. Neither is it clear

that bodies of Scots had not already migrated to Argyll. Diarmait, son

of Fergus Cerbaill (544-565), of the southern Hy Neill, undoubtedly

professed Christianity though he still clung to many pagan practices,

such as polygamy and the use of druidical incantations in battle. The

annals represent him as getting into trouble with the Church on account

of his violation of the right of sanctuary. At an assembly held at Tara

in 554 Curnan, son of the king of Connaught, slew a nobleman, a crime

punishable with death. The author of the deed fled for sanctuary to St

Columba. But Diarmait pursued him, and disregarding the opposition of

the saint seized Curnan and hanged him. St Columba's kinsmen, the

northern Hy Neill, took up the quarrel, and attacked and defeated the

king at Culdreimne in 561. In this battle Diarmait is stated to have

employed druids to form an _airbe druad_ (fence of protection?) round

his host. A few years later Diarmait seized by force the chief of Hy

Maine, who had slain his herald and had taken refuge with St Ruadan of

Lothra. According to the legend the saint, accompanied by St Brendan of

Birr, followed the king to Tara and solemnly cursed it, from which time

it was deserted. It has been suggested that Tara was abandoned during

the plague of 548-549. Others have surmised that it was abandoned as a

regular place of residence long before this, soon after the northern and

southern branches of the Hy Neill had consolidated their power at Ailech

and in Westmeath. Whatever truth there may be in the legend, it

demonstrates conclusively the absence of a rallying point where the idea

of a central government might have taken root. Aed, son of Ainmire

(572-598) of the northern Hy Neill, figures prominently in the story of

St Columba. It was during his reign that the famous assembly of Drumcet

(near Newtown-limavaddy in Co. Derry) was held. The story goes that the

_filid_ had increased in number to such an extent that they included

one-third of the freemen. There was thus quite an army of impudent

swaggering idlers roaming about the country and quartering themselves

on the chiefs and nobles during the winter and spring, story-telling,

and lampooning those who dared to hesitate to comply with their demands.

Some idea of the style of living of the learned professions in early

Ireland may be gathered from the income enjoyed in later times by the

literati of Tir Conaill (Co. Donegal). It has been computed that no less

than L2000 was set aside yearly in this small state for the maintenance

of the class. No wonder, then, that Aed determined to banish them from

Ireland. At the convention of Drumcet the number of _filid_ was greatly

reduced, lands were assigned for their maintenance, the ollams were

required to open schools and to support the inferior bards as teachers.

This reform may have helped to foster the cultivation of the native

literature, and it is possible that we owe to it the preservation of the

Ulster epic. But the Irish were unfortunately incapable of rising above

the saga, consisting of a mixture of prose and verse. Their greatest

achievement in literature dates back to the dawn of history, and we find

no more trace of development in the world of letters than in the

political sphere. The Irishman, in his own language at any rate, seems

incapable of a sustained literary effort, a consequence of which is that

he invents the most intricate measures. Sense is thus too frequently

sacrificed to sound. The influence of the professional literary class

kept the clan spirit alive with their elaborate genealogies, and in

their poems they only pandered to the vanity and vices of their patrons.

That no new ideas came in may be gathered from the fact that the bulk of

Irish literature so far published dates from before 800, though the MSS.

which contain it are much later. Bearing in mind how largely the Finn

cycle is modelled on the older Ulster epic, works of originality

composed between 1000 and 1600 are with one or two exceptions

conspicuously absent.

At the convention of Drumcet the status of the Dalriadic settlement in

Argyll was also regulated. The _ardri_ desired to make the colony an

Irish state tributary to the high-king; but on the special pleading of

St Columba it was allowed to remain independent. Aed lost his life in

endeavouring to exact the _boroma_ tribute from Brandub, king of

Leinster, who defeated him at Dunbolg in 598. After several short reigns

the throne was occupied by Aed's son Domnall (627-641). His predecessor,

Suibne Menn, had been slain by the king of Dalaraide, Congal Claen. The

latter was driven out of the country by Domnall, whereupon Congal

collected an army of foreign adventurers made up of Saxons, Dalriadic

Scots, Britons and Picts to regain his lands and to avenge himself on

the high-king. In a sanguinary encounter at Mag Raith (Moira in Co.

Down), which forms the subject of a celebrated romance, Congal was slain

and the power of the settlement in Kintyre weakened for a considerable

period. A curious feature of Hy Neill rule about this time was joint

kingship. From 563 to 656 there were no less than five such pairs. In

681 St Moling of Ferns prevailed upon the _ardri_ Finnachta (674-690) to

renounce for ever the _boroma_, tribute, which had always been a source

of friction between the supreme king and the ruler of Leinster. This

was, however, unfortunately not the last of the _boroma_. Fergal

(711-722), in trying to enforce it again, was slain in a famous battle

at Allen in Kildare. As a sequel Fergal's son, Aed Allan (734-743),

defeated the men of Leinster with great slaughter at Ballyshannon (Co.

Kildare) in 737. If there was so little cohesion among the various

provinces it is small wonder that Ireland fell such an easy prey to the

Vikings in the next century. In 697 an assembly was held at Tara in

which a law known as _Cain Adamnain_ was passed, at the instance of

Adamnan, prohibiting women from taking part in battle; a decision that

shows how far Ireland with its tribal system lagged behind Teutonic and

Latin countries in civilization. A similar enactment exempting the

clergy, known as _Cain Patraic_, was agreed to in 803. The story goes

that the _ardri_ Aed Oirdnigthe (797-819) made a hostile incursion into

Leinster and forced the primate of Armagh and all his clergy to attend

him. When representations were made to the king as to the impropriety of

his conduct, he referred the matter to his adviser, Fothud, who was also

a cleric. Fothud pronounced that the clergy should be exempted, and

three verses purporting to be his decision are still extant.

_Invasion of the Northmen._--The first incursion of the Northmen took

place in A.D. 795, when they plundered and burnt the church of Rechru,

now Lambay, an island north of Dublin Bay. When this event occurred, the

power of the over-king was a mere shadow. The provincial kingdoms had

split up into more or less independent principalities, almost constantly

at war with each other. The oscillation of the centre of power between

Meath and Tir Eogain, according as the _ardri_ belonged to the southern

or northern Hy Neill, produced corresponding perturbations in the

balance of parties among the minor kings. The army consisted of a number

of tribes, each commanded by its own chief, and acting as so many

independent units without cohesion. The tribesmen owed fealty only to

their chiefs, who in turn owed a kind of conditional allegiance to the

over-king, depending a good deal upon the ability of the latter to

enforce it. A chief might through pique or other causes withdraw his

tribe even on the eve of a battle without such defection being deemed

dishonourable. What the tribe was to the nation or the province, the

_fine_ or sept was to the tribe itself. The head of a sept had a voice

not only in the question of war or peace, for that was determined by the

whole tribe, but in all subsequent operations. However brave the

individual soldiers of such an army might be, the army itself was

unreliable against a well-organized and disciplined enemy. Again, such

tribal forces were only levies gathered together for a few weeks at

most, unprovided with military stores or the means of transport, and

consequently generally unprepared to attack fortifications of any kind,

and liable to melt away as quickly as they were gathered together.

Admirably adapted for a sudden attack, such an army was wholly unfit to

carry on a regular campaign or take advantage of a victory. These

defects of the Irish military system were abundantly shown throughout

the Viking period and also in Anglo-Norman times.

The first invaders were probably Norwegians[6] from Hordaland in search

of plunder and captives. Their attacks were not confined to the

sea-coasts; they were able to ascend the rivers in their ships, and

already in 801 they are found on the upper Shannon. At the outset the

invaders arrived in small bodies, but as these met with considerable

resistance large fleets commanded by powerful Vikings followed. With

such forces it was possible to put fleets of boats on the inland lakes.

Rude earthen or stockaded forts, serving as magazines and places of

retreat, were erected; or in some cases use was made of strongholds

already existing, such as Dun Almain in Kildare, Dunlavin in Wicklow and

Fermoy in Cork. Some of these military posts in course of time became

trading stations or grew into towns. During the first half of the 9th

century attacks were incessant in most parts of the island. In 801 we

find Norwegians on the upper Shannon; in 820 the whole of Ireland was

harried; and five years later we hear of Vikings in Co. Dublin, Meath,

Kildare, Wicklow, Queen's Co., Kilkenny and Tipperary. However, the

invaders do not appear to have acted in concert until 830. About this

time a powerful leader, named Turgeis (Turgesius), accompanied by two

nobles, Saxolb and Domrair (Thorir), arrived with a "royal fleet."

Sailing up the Shannon they built strongholds on Lough Ree and

devastated Connaught and Meath. Eventually Turgeis established himself

in Armagh, whilst his wife Ota settled at Clonmacnoise and profaned the

monastery church with pagan rites. Indeed, the numerous ecclesiastical

establishments appear to have been quite as much the object of the

invaders' fury as the civil authorities. The monastery of Armagh was

rebuilt ten times, and as often destroyed. It was sacked three times in

one month. Turgeis himself is reported to have usurped the abbacy of

Armagh. To escape from the continuous attacks on the monasteries, Irish

monks and scholars fled in large numbers to the continent carrying with

them their precious books. Among them were many of the greatest lights

in the world of letters of the time, such as Sedulius Scottus and

Johannes Scottus Erigena. The figure of Turgeis has given rise to

considerable discussion, as there is no mention of him in Scandinavian

sources. It seems probable that his Norwegian name was Thorgils and he

was possibly related to Godfred, father of Olaf the White, who figures

prominently in Irish history a little later. Turgeis apparently united

the Viking forces, as he is styled the first king of the Norsemen in

Ireland. A permanent sovereignty over the whole of Ireland, such as

Turgeis seems to have aimed at, was then as in later times impossible

because of the state of society. During his lifetime various cities were

founded--the first on Irish soil. Dublin came into existence in 840, and

Waterford and Limerick appear in history about the same time. Although

the Norsemen were constantly engaged in conflict with the Irish, these

cities soon became important commercial centres trading with England,

France and Norway. Turgeis was captured and drowned by the _ardri_

Maelsechlainn in 844, and two years later Domrair was slain. However

cruel and rapacious the Vikings may have been, the work of disorder and

ruin was not all theirs. The condition of the country afforded full

scope for the jealousy, hatred, cupidity and vanity which characterize

the tribal state of political society. For instance, Fedilmid, king of

Munster and archbishop of Cashel, took the opportunity of the

misfortunes of the country to revive the claims of the Munster dynasty

to be kings of Ireland. To enforce this claim he ravaged and plundered a

large part of the country, took hostages from Niall Caille the over-king

(833-845), drove out the _comarba_ of St Patrick, or archbishop of

Armagh, and for a whole year occupied his place as bishop. On his return

he plundered the termon lands of Clonmacnoise "up to the church door,"

an exploit which was repeated the following year. There is no mention of

his having helped to drive out the foreigners.

For some years after the death of Turgeis the Norsemen appear to have

lacked a leader and to have been hard pressed. It was during this period

that Dublin was chosen as the point of concentration for their forces.

In 848 a Danish fleet from the south of England arrived in Dublin Bay.

The Danes are called in Irish _Dubgaill_, or black foreigners, as

distinguished from the _Findgaill_[7] or white foreigners, i.e.

Norwegians. The origin of these terms, as also of the Irish name for

Norway (_Lochlann_), is obscure. At first the Danes and Norwegians

appear to have made common cause, but two years later the new city of

Dublin was stormed by the Danes. In 851 the Dublin Vikings succeeded in

vanquishing the Danes after a three days' battle at Snaim Aignech

(Carlingford Lough), whereupon the defeated party under their leader

Horm took service with Cerball, king of Ossory. Even in the first half

of the 9th century there must have been a great deal of intermarriage

between the invaders and the native population, due in part at any rate

to the number of captive women who were carried off. A mixed race grew

up, recruited by many Irish of pure blood, whom a love of adventure and

a lawless spirit led away. This heterogeneous population was called

_Gallgoidel_ or foreign Irish (whence the modern name Galloway), and

like their northern kinsmen they betook themselves to the sea and

practised piracy. The Christian element in this mixed society soon

lapsed to a large extent, if not entirely, into paganism. The

Scandinavian settlements were almost wholly confined to the seaport

towns, and except Dublin included none of the surrounding territory.

Owing to its position and the character of the country about it,

especially the coast-land to the north of the Liffey which formed a kind

of border-land between the territories of the kings of Meath and

Leinster, a considerable tract passed into the possession of so powerful

a city as Dublin.

The social and political condition of Ireland, and the pastoral

occupation of the inhabitants, were unfavourable to the development of

foreign commerce, and the absence of coined money among them shows that

it did not exist on an extensive scale. The foreign articles of luxury

(dress, ornaments, wine, &c.) required by them were brought to the great

_oenachs_ or fairs held periodically in various parts of the country. A

flourishing commerce, however, soon grew up in the Scandinavian towns;

mints were established, and many foreign traders--Flemings, Italians and

others--settled there. It was through these Scandinavian trading

communities that Ireland came into contact with the rest of Europe in

the 11th and 12th centuries. If evidence were needed it is only

necessary to point to the names of three of the Irish provinces, Ulster,

Leinster, Munster, which are formed from the native names (_Ulaid_,

_Laigin_, _Muma-n_) with the addition of Norse _staethr_; and the very

name by which the island is now generally known is Scandinavian in form

(_Ira-land_, the land of the Irish). The settlers in the Scandinavian

towns early came to be looked upon by the native Irish as so many septs

of a tribe added to the system of petty states forming the Irish

political system. They soon mixed in the domestic quarrels of

neighbouring tribes, at first selling their protection, but afterwards

as vassals, sometimes as allies, like the septs and tribes of the Goidel

among themselves. The latter in turn acted in similar capacities with

the Irish-Norwegian chiefs, Irish tribes often forming part of the

Scandinavian armies in Britain. This intercourse led to frequent

intermarriage between the chiefs and nobility of the two peoples. As an

instance, the case of Cerball, king of Ossory (d. 887), may be cited.

Eyvindr, surnamed Austmaethr, "the east-man,"[8] son of Bjorn, agreed to

defend Cerball's territory on condition of receiving his daughter

Raforta in marriage. Among the children of this marriage were Helgi

Magri, one of the early settlers in Iceland, and Thurida, wife of

Thorstein the Red. Three other daughters of Cerball married

Scandinavians: Gormflaith (Kormloeth) married Grimolf, who settled in

Iceland, Fridgerda married Thorir Hyrna, and Ethne (Edna) married

Hloethver, father of Earl Sigurd Digri who fell at Clontarf. Cerball's

son Domnall (Dufnialr) was the founder of an Icelandic family, whilst

the names Raudi and Baugr occur in the same family. Hence the occurrence

of such essentially Irish names as Konall, Kjaran, Njall, Kormakr,

Brigit, Kaethlin, &c., among Icelanders and Norwegians cannot be a

matter for surprise; nor that a number of Norse words were introduced

into Irish, notably terms connected with trade and the sea.

The obscure contest between the Norwegians and Danes for supremacy in

Dublin appears to have made the former feel the need of a powerful

leader. At any rate, in 851-852 the king of Lochlann (Norway) sent his

son Amlaib (Olaf the White) to assume sovereignty over the Norsemen in

Ireland and to receive tribute and vassals. From this time it is

possible to speak of a Scandinavian kingdom of Dublin, a kingdom which

lasted almost without interruption until the Norman Conquest. The king

of Dublin exercised overlordship over the other Viking communities in

the island, and thus became the most dangerous opponent of the _ardri_,

with whom he was constantly at variance. Amlaib was accompanied by Ivar,

who is stated in one source to have been his brother. Some writers wish

to identify this prince with the famous Ivar Beinlaus, son of Ragnar

Lodbrok. Amlaib was opposed to the _ardri_ Maelsechlainn I. (846-863)

who had overcome Turgeis. This brave ruler gained a number of victories

over the Norsemen, but in true Irish fashion they were never followed

up. Although his successor Aed Finnliath (863-879) gave his daughter in

marriage to Amlaib, no better relations were established. The king of

Dublin was certainly the most commanding figure in Ireland in his day,

and during his lifetime the Viking power was greatly extended. In 870 he

captured the strongholds of Dumbarton and Dunseverick (Co. Antrim). He

disappears from the scene in 873. One source represents him as dying in

Ireland, but the circumstances are quite obscure. Ivar only survived

Olaf two or three years, and it is stated that he died a Christian.

During the ensuing period Dublin was the scene of constant family feuds,

which weakened its power to such an extent that in 901 Dublin and

Waterford were captured by the Irish and were obliged to acknowledge the

supremacy of the high-king. The Irish Annals state that there were no

fresh invasions of the Northmen for about forty years dating from 877.

During this period Ireland enjoyed comparative rest notwithstanding the

intertribal feuds in which the Norse settlers shared, including the

campaigns of Cormac, son of Cuilennan, the scholarly king-bishop of

Cashel.

Towards the end of this interval of repose a certain Sigtrygg, who was

probably a great-grandson of the Ivar mentioned above, addressed himself

to the task of winning back the kingdom of his ancestor. Waterford was

retaken in 914 by Ivar, grandson of Ragnall and Earl Ottir, and Sigtrygg

won a signal victory over the king of Leinster at Cenn Fuait (Co.

Kilkenny?) two years later. Dublin was captured, and the high-king Niall

Glundub (910-919) prepared to oppose the invaders. A battle of prime

importance was gained by Sigtrygg over the _ardri_, who fell fighting

gallantly at Kilmashogue near Dublin in 919. Between 920 and 970 the

Scandinavian power in Ireland reached its zenith. The country was

desolated and plundered by natives and foreigners alike. The lower

Shannon was more thoroughly occupied by the Norsemen, with which fact

the rise of Limerick is associated. Carlow, Kilkenny and the territory

round Lough Neagh were settled, and after the capture of Lough Erne in

932 much of Longford was colonized. The most prominent figures at this

time were Muirchertach "of the leather cloaks," son of Niall Glundub,

Cellachan of Cashel and Amlaib (Olaf) Cuaran. The first-named waged

constant warfare against the foreigners and was the most formidable

opponent the Scandinavians had yet met. In his famous circuit of Ireland

(941) he took all the provincial kings, as well as the king of Dublin,

as hostages, and after keeping them for five months at Ailech he handed

them over to the feeble titular _ardri_, showing that his loyalty was

greater than his ambition. Unlike Muirchertach, Cellachan of Cashel, the

hero of a late romance, was not particular whether he fought for or

against the Norsemen. In 920 Sigtrygg (d. 927) was driven out of Dublin

by his brother Godfred (d. 934) and retired to York, where he became

king of Northumbria. His sons Olaf and Godfred were expelled by

Aethelstan. The former, better known as Amlaib (Olaf) Cuaran, married

the daughter of Constantine, king of Scotland, and fought at Brunanburh

(938). Born about 920, he perhaps became king of York in 941. Expelled

in 944-945 he went to Dublin and drove out his cousin Blakare, son of

Godfred. At the same time he held sway over the kingdom of Man and the

Isles. We find this romantic character constantly engaged on expeditions

in England, Ireland and Scotland. In 956 Congalach, the high-king, was

defeated and slain by the Norse of Dublin. In 973 his son Domnall, in

alliance with Amlaib, defeated the high-king Domnall O'Neill at Cell

Mona (Kilmoon in Co. Meath). This Domnall O'Neill, son of Muirchertach,

son of Niall Glundub, was the first to adopt the name O'Neill (Ir. _ua_,

_o_ = "grandson"). The tanists or heirs of the northern and southern Hy

Neill having died, the throne fell to Maelsechlainn II., of the Cland

Colmain, the last of the Hy Neill who was undisputed king of Ireland.

Maelsechlainn, who succeeded in 980, had already distinguished himself

as king of Meath in war with the Norsemen. In the first year of his

reign as high-king he defeated them in a bloody battle at Tara, in which

Amlaib's son, Ragnall, fell. This victory, won over the combined forces

of the Scandinavians of Dublin, Man and the Isles, compelled Amlaib to

deliver up all his captives and hostages,--among whom were Domnall

Claen, king of Leinster, and several notables--to forgo the tribute

which he had imposed upon the southern Hy Neill and to pay a large

contribution of cattle and money. Amlaib's spirit was so broken by this

defeat that he retired to the monastery of Hi, where he died the same

year.

_The Dalcais Dynasty._--We have already seen that the dominant race in

Munster traced descent from Ailill Aulom. The Cashel dynasty claimed to

descend from his eldest son Eogan, whilst the Dalcassians of Clare

derived their origin from a younger son Cormac Cas. Ailill Aulom is said

to have ordained that the succession to the throne should alternate

between the two lines, as in the case of the Hy Neill. This, however, is

perhaps a fiction of later poets who wished to give lustre to the

ancestry of Brian Boruma, as very few of the Dalcais princes appear in

the list of the kings of Cashel. The Dalcassians play no prominent part

in history until, in the middle of the 10th century, they were ruled by

Kennedy (Cennetig), son of Lorcan, king of Thomond (d. 954), by whom

their power was greatly extended. He left two sons, Mathgamain (Mahon)

and Brian, called Brian Boruma, probably from a village near

Killaloe.[9] About the year 920 a Viking named Tomrair, son of Elgi, had

seized the lower Shannon and established himself in Limerick, from which

point constant incursions were made into all parts of Munster. After a

period of guerrilla warfare in the woods of Thomond, Mathgamain

concluded a truce with the foreigners, in which Brian refused to join.

Thereupon Mathgamain crossed the Shannon and gained possession of the

kingdom of Cashel, as Dunchad, the representative of the older line, had

just died. Receiving the support of several of the native tribes, he

felt himself in a position to attack the settlements of the foreigners

in Munster. This aroused the ruler of Limerick, Ivar, who determined to

carry the war into Thomond. He was supported by Maelmuad, king of

Desmond, and Donoban, king of Hy Fidgeinte, and Hy Cairpri. Their army

was met by Mathgamain at Sulchoit near Tipperary, where the Norsemen

were defeated with great slaughter (968). This decisive victory gave the

Dalcais Limerick, which they sacked and burnt, and Mathgamain then took

hostages of all the chiefs of Munster. Ivar escaped to Britain, but

returned after a year and entrenched himself at Inis Cathaig (Scattery

Island in the lower Shannon). A conspiracy was formed between Ivar and

his son Dubcenn and the two Munster chieftains Donoban and Maelmuad.

Donoban was married to the daughter of a Scandinavian king of Waterford,

and his own daughter was married to Ivar of Waterford.[10] In 976 Inis

Cathaig was attacked and plundered by the Dalcais and the garrison,

including Ivar and Dubcenn, slain. Shortly before this Mathgamain had

been murdered by Donoban, and Brian thus became king of Thomond, whilst

Maelmuad succeeded to Cashel. In 977 Brian made a sudden and rapid

inroad into Donoban's territory, captured his fortress and slew the

prince himself with a vast number of his followers. Maelmuad, the other

conspirator, met with a like fate at Belach Lechta in Barnaderg (near

Ballyorgan). After this battle Brian was acknowledged king of all

Munster (978). After reducing the Desi, who were in alliance with the

Northmen of Waterford and Limerick, in 984 he subdued Ossory and took

hostages from the kings of East and West Leinster. In this manner he

became virtually king of Leth Moga.

This rapid rise of the Dalcassian leader was bound to bring him into

conflict with the _ardri_. Already in 982 Maelsechlainn had invaded

Thomond and uprooted the venerable tree under which the Dalcais rulers

were inaugurated. After the battle of Tara he had placed his

half-brother Gluniarind, son of Amlaib Cuaran, in Dublin. This prince

was murdered in 989 and was succeeded by Sigtrygg Silkiskeggi, son of

Amlaib and Gormflaith, sister of Maelmorda, king of Leinster. In the

same year Maelsechlainn took Dublin and imposed an annual tribute on the

city. During these years there were frequent trials of strength between

the _ardri_ and the king of Munster. In 992 Brian invaded Meath, and

four years later Maelsechlainn defeated Brian in Munster. In 998 Brian

ascended the Shannon with a large force, intending to attack Connaught,

and Maelsechlainn, who received no support from the northern Hy Neill,

came to terms with him. All hostages held by the over-king from the

Northmen and Irish of Leth Moga were to be given up to Brian, which was

a virtual surrender of all his rights over the southern half of Ireland;

while Brian on his part recognized Maelsechlainn as sole king of Leth

Cuinn. In 1000 Leinster revolted against Brian and entered into an

alliance with the king of Dublin. Brian advanced towards the city,

halting at a place called Glen Mama near Dunlavin (Co. Wicklow). He was

attacked by the allied forces, who were repulsed with great slaughter.

Maelmorda, king of Leinster, was taken prisoner, and Sigtrygg fled for

protection to Ailech. The victor gave proof at once that he was not only

a clever general but also a skilful diplomatist. Maelmorda was restored

to his kingdom, Sigtrygg received Brian's daughter in marriage, whilst

Brian took to himself the Dublin king's mother, the notorious

Gormflaith, who had already been divorced by Maelsechlainn. After thus

establishing peace and consolidating his power, Brian returned to his

residence Cenn Corad and matured his plan of obtaining the high-kingship

for himself. When everything was ready he entered Mag Breg with an army

consisting of his own troops, those of Ossory, his South Connaught

vassals and the Norsemen of Munster. The king of Dublin also sent a

small force to his assistance. Maelsechlainn, taken by surprise and

feeling himself unequal to the contest, endeavoured to gain time. An

armistice was concluded, during which he was to decide whether he would

give Brian hostages (i.e. abdicate) or not. He applied to the northern

Hy Neill to come to his assistance, and even offered to abdicate in

favour of the chief of the Cinel Eogain, but the latter refused unless

Maelsechlainn undertook to cede to them half the territory of his own

tribe, the Cland Colmain. The attempt to unite the whole of the

Eremonian against the Eberian race and preserve a dynasty that had ruled

Ireland for 600 years, having failed, Maelsechlainn submitted to Brian,

and without any formal act of cession the latter became _ardri_. During

a reign of twelve years (1002-1014) he is said to have effected much

improvement in the country by the erection and repair of churches and

schools, and the construction of bridges, causeways, roads and

fortresses. We are also told that he administered rigid and impartial

justice and dispensed royal hospitality. As he was liberal to the bards,

they did not forget his merits.

Towards the end of Brian's reign a conspiracy was entered into between

Maelmorda, king of Leinster, and his nephew Sigtrygg of Dublin. The

ultimate cause of this movement was an insult offered by Murchad,

Brian's son, to the king of Leinster, who was egged on by his sister

Gormflaith. Sigtrygg secured promises of assistance from Sigurd, earl of

Orkney, and Brodir of Man. In the spring of 1014 Maelmorda and Sigtrygg

had collected a considerable army in Dublin, consisting of contingents

from all the Scandinavian settlements in the west in addition to

Maelmorda's own Leinster forces, the whole being commanded by Sigurd,

earl of Orkney. This powerful prince, whose mother was a daughter of

Cerball of Ossory (d. 887), appears to have aimed at the supreme command

of all the Scandinavian settlements of the west, and in the course of a

few years conquered the kingdom of the Isles, Sutherland, Ross, Moray

and Argyll. To meet such formidable opponents, Brian, now an old man

unable to lead in person, mustered all the forces of Munster and

Connaught, and was joined by Maelsechlainn in command of the forces of

Meath. The northern Hy Neill and the Ulaid took no part in the struggle.

Brian advanced into the plain of Fingall, north of Dublin, where a

council of war was held. The longest account of the battle that followed

occurs in a source very partial to Brian and the deeds of Munstermen, in

which Maelsechlainn is accused of treachery, and of holding his troops

in reserve. The battle, generally known as the battle of Clontarf,

though the chief fighting took place close to Dublin, about the small

river Tolka, was fought on Good Friday 1014. After a stout and

protracted resistance the Norse forces were routed. Maelsechlainn with

his Meathmen came down on the fugitives as they tried to cross the

bridge leading to Dublin or to reach their ships. On both sides the

slaughter was terrible, and most of the leaders lost their lives. Brian

himself perished along with his son Murchad and Maelmorda. This great

struggle finally disposed of the possibility of Scandinavian supremacy

in Ireland, but in spite of this it can only be regarded as a national

misfortune. The power of the kingdom of Dublin had been already broken

by the defeat of Amlaib Cuaran at Tara in 980, and the main result of

the battle of Clontarf was to weaken the central power and to throw the

whole island into a state of anarchy. Although beaten on the field of

battle the Norsemen still retained possession of their fortified cities,

and gradually they assumed the position of native tribes. The Dalcassian

forces had been so much weakened by the great struggle that

Maelsechlainn was again recognized as king of Ireland. However, the

effects of Brian's revolution were permanent; the prescriptive rights of

the Hy Neill were disputed, and from the battle of Clontarf until the

coming of the Normans the history of Ireland consisted of a struggle for

ascendancy between the O'Brians of Munster, the O'Neills of Ulster and

the O'Connors of Connaught.

_From the Battle of Clontarf to the Anglo-Norman Invasion._--The death

of Maelsechlainn in 1022 afforded an opportunity for an able and

ambitious man to subdue Ireland, establish a strong central government,

break up the tribal system and further the gradual fusion of factions

into a homogeneous nation. Such a man did not arise; those who

afterwards claimed to be _ardri_ lacked the qualities of founders of

strong dynasties, and are termed by the annalists "kings with

opposition." Brian was survived by two sons, Tadg and Donnchad, the

elder of whom was slain in 1023. Donnchad (d. 1064) was certainly the

most distinguished figure in Ireland in his day. He subdued more than

half of Ireland, and almost reached the position once held by his

father. His strongest opponent was his son-in-law Diarmait Mael-na-mBo,

king of Leinster, who was also the foster-father of his brother Tadg's

son, Tordelbach (Turlough) O'Brian. On the death of Diarmait in 1072

Tordelbach (d. 1086) reigned supreme in Leth Moga; Meath and Connaught

also submitted to him, but he failed to secure the allegiance of the

northern Hy Neill. He was succeeded by his son Muirchertach (d. 1119),

who spent most of his life contending against his formidable opponent

Domnall O'Lochlainn, king of Tir Eogain (d. 1121). The struggle for the

sovereignty between these two rivals continued, with intervals of truce

negotiated by the clergy, without any decisive advantage on either side.

In 1102 Magnus Barefoot made his third and last expedition to the west

with the express design of conquering Ireland. Muirchertach opposed him

with a large force, and a conference was arranged at which a son of

Magnus was betrothed to Biadmuin, daughter of the Irish prince. He was

also mixed up in English affairs, and as a rule maintained cordial

relations with Henry I. After the death of Domnall O'Lochlainn there was

an interregnum of about fifteen years with no _ardri_, until Tordelbach

(Turlough) O'Connor, king of Connaught, resolved to reduce the other

provinces. Munster and Meath were repeatedly ravaged, and in 1151 he

crushed Tordelbach (Turlough) O'Brian, king of Thomond, at Moanmor.

O'Connor's most stubborn opponent was Muirchertach O'Lochlainn, with

whom he wrestled for supremacy until the day of his death (1156).

Tordelbach, who enjoyed a great reputation even after his death, was

remembered as having thrown bridges over the Shannon, and as a patron of

the arts. However, war was so constant in Ireland at this time that

under the year 1145 the Four Masters describe the island as a "trembling

sod." Tordelbach was succeeded by his son Ruadri (Roderick, q.v.), who

after some resistance had to acknowledge Muirchertach O'Lochlainn's

supremacy. The latter, however, was slain in 1166 in consequence of

having wantonly blinded the king of Dal Araide. Ruadri O'Connor, now

without a serious rival, was inaugurated with great pomp at Dublin.

Diarmait MacMurchada (Dermod MacMurrough), great-grandson of Diarmait

Mael-na-mBo, as king of Leinster was by descent and position much mixed

up with foreigners, and generally in a state of latent if not open

hostility to the high-kings of the Hy Neill and Dalcais dynasties. He

was a tyrant and a bad character. In 1152 Tigernan O'Rourke, prince of

Breifne, had been dispossessed of his territory by Tordelbach O'Connor,

aided by Diarmait, and the latter is accused also of carrying off

Derbforgaill, wife of O'Rourke. On learning that O'Rourke was leading an

army against him with the support of Ruadri, he burnt his castle of

Ferns and went to Henry II. to seek assistance. The momentous

consequences of this step belong to the next section, and it now

remains for us to state the condition of the church and society in the

century preceding the Anglo-Norman invasion.

Although the Irish Church conformed to Roman usage in the matter of

Easter celebration and tonsure in the 7th century, the bond between

Ireland and Rome was only slight until several centuries later. Whatever

co-ordination may have existed in the church of the 8th century was

doubtless destroyed during the troubled period of the Viking invasions.

It is probable that St Patrick established Armagh as a metropolitan see,

but the history of the primacy, which during a long period can only have

been a shadow, is involved in obscurity. Its supremacy was undoubtedly

recognized by Brian Boruma in 1004, when he laid 20 oz. of gold upon the

high altar. In the 11th century a competitor arose in the see of Dublin.

The Norse rulers were bound to come under the influence of Christianity

at an early date. For instance, Amlaib Cuaran was formally converted in

England in 942 and was baptized by Wulfhelm of Canterbury. The

antithesis between the king of Dublin and the _ardri_ seems to have had

the effect of linking the Dublin Christian community rather with

Canterbury than Armagh. King Sigtrygg founded the bishopric of Dublin in

1035, and the early bishops of Dublin, Waterford and Limerick were all

consecrated by the English primate. As Lanfranc and Anselm were both

anxious to extend their jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland, the

submission of Dublin opened the way for Norman and Roman influences. At

the beginning of the 12th century Gilbert, bishop of Limerick and papal

legate, succeeded in winning over Celsus, bishop of Armagh (d. 1129), to

the reform movement. Celsus belonged to a family which had held the see

for 200 years; he was grandson of a previous primate and is said to have

been himself a married man. Yet he became, in the skilful hands of

Gilbert and Maelmaedoc O'Morgair, the instrument of overthrowing the

hereditary succession to the primatial see. In 1118 the important synod

of Rathbressil was held, at which Ireland was divided into dioceses,

this being the first formal attempt at getting rid of that anarchical

state of church government which had hitherto prevailed. The work begun

under Celsus was completed by his successor Maelmaedoc (Malachy). At a

national synod held about 1134 Maelmaedoc, in his capacity as bishop of

Armagh, was solemnly elected to the primacy; and armed with full power

of church and state he was able to overcome all opposition. Under his

successor Gelasius, Cardinal Paparo was despatched as supreme papal

legate. At the synod of Kells (1152) there was established that diocesan

system which has ever since continued without material alteration.

Armagh was constituted the seat of the primacy, and Cashel, Tuam and

Dublin were raised to the rank of archbishoprics. It was also ordained

that tithes should be levied for the support of the clergy.

_Social Conditions._--In the middle ages there were considerable forests

in Ireland encompassing broad expanses of upland pastures and marshy

meadows. It is traditionally stated that fences first came into general

use in the 7th century. There were no cities or large towns before the

arrival of the Norsemen; no stone bridges spanned the rivers; stepping

stones or hurdle bridges at the fords or shallows offered the only mode

of crossing the broadest streams, and connecting the unpaved roads or

bridle paths which crossed the country over hill and dale from the

principal _duns_. The forests abounded in game, the red deer and wild

boar were common, whilst wolves ravaged the flocks. Scattered over the

country were numerous small hamlets, composed mainly of wicker cabins,

among which were some which might be called houses; other hamlets were

composed of huts of the rudest kind. Here and there were large villages

that had grown up about groups of houses surrounded by an earthen mound

or rampart; similar groups enclosed in this manner were also to be found

without any annexed hamlet. Sometimes there were two or three

circumvallations or even more, and where water was plentiful the ditch

between was flooded. The simple rampart enclosed a space called

_lis_[11] which contained the agricultural buildings and the groups of

houses of the owners. The enclosed houses belonged to the free men

(_aire_, pl. _airig_). The size of the houses and of the enclosing mound

and ditch marked the wealth and rank of the _aire_. If his wealth

consisted of chattels only, he was a _bo-aire_ (cow-_aire_). When he

possessed ancestral land he was a _flaith_ or lord, and was entitled to

let his lands for grazing, to have a hamlet in which lived labourers and

to keep slaves. The larger fort with several ramparts was a _dun_, where

the _ri_ (chieftain) lived and kept his hostages if he had subreguli.

The houses of all classes were of wood, chiefly wattles and wicker-work

plastered with clay. In shape they were most frequently cylindrical,

having conical roofs thatched with rushes or straw. The oratories were

of the same form and material, but the larger churches and kingly

banqueting halls were rectangular and made of sawn boards. Bede,

speaking of a church built by Finan at Lindisfarne, says, "nevertheless,

after the manner of the Scots, he made it not of stone but of hewn oak

and covered it with reeds." When St Maelmaedoc in the first half of the

12th century thought of building a stone oratory at Bangor it was deemed

a novelty by the people, who exclaimed, "we are Scotti not Galli." Long

before this, however, stone churches had been built in other parts of

Ireland, and many round towers. In some of the stone-forts of the

south-west (Ir. _cathir_) the houses within the rampart were made of

stone in the form of a beehive, and similar cloghans, as they are

called, are found in the western isles of Scotland.

Here and there in the neighbourhood of the hamlets were patches of corn

grown upon allotments which were gavelled, or redistributed, every two

or three years. Around the _duns_ and _raths_, where the corn land was

the fixed property of the lord, the cultivation was better. Oats was the

chief corn crop, but wheat, barley and rye were also grown. Much

attention was paid to bee-keeping and market-gardening, which had

probably been introduced by the church. The only industrial plants were

flax and the dye-plants, chief among which were woad and rud, roid (a

kind of bed-straw?). Portions of the pasture lands were reserved as

meadows; the tilled land was manured. There are native names for the

plough, so it may be assumed that some form of that implement, worked by

oxen, yoked together with a simple straight yoke, was in use in early

times. Wheeled carts were also known; the wheels were often probably

only solid disks, though spoked wheels were used for chariots. Droves of

swine under the charge of swineherds wandered through the forests; some

belonged to the _ri_, others to lords (_flaith_) and others again to

village communities. The house-fed pig was then as now an important

object of domestic economy, and its flesh was much prized. Indeed, fresh

pork was one of the inducements held out to visitors to the Irish

Elysium. Horned cattle constituted the chief wealth of the country, and

were the standard for estimating the worth of anything, for the Irish

had no coined money and carried on all commerce by barter. The unit of

value was called a _set_, a word denoting a jewel or precious object of

any kind. The normal _set_ was an average milch-cow. Gold, silver,

bronze, tin, clothes and all other kinds of property were estimated in

_sets_. Three _sets_ were equal to a _cumal_ (female slave). Sheep were

kept everywhere for their flesh and their wool, and goats were numerous.

Horses were extensively employed for riding, working in the fields and

carrying loads. Irish horsemen rode without saddle or stirrups. So

important a place did bee-culture hold in the rural economy of the

ancient Irish that a lengthy section is devoted to the subject in the

Brehon Laws. The honey was used both in cooking and for making mead, as

well as for eating.

The ancient Irish were in the main a pastoral people. When they had sown

their corn, they drove their herds and flocks to the mountains, where

such existed, and spent the summer there, returning in autumn to reap

their corn and take up their abode in their more sheltered winter

residences. This custom of "booleying" (Ir. _buaile_, "shieling") is not

originally Irish, according to some writers, but was borrowed from the

Scandinavians. Where the tribe had land on the sea-coast they also

appear to have migrated thither in summer. The chase in the summer

occupied the freemen, not only as a source of enjoyment but also as a

matter of necessity, for wolves were very numerous. For this purpose

they bred dogs of great swiftness, strength and sagacity, which were

much admired by the Romans.

The residences within enclosing ramparts did not consist of one house

with several apartments, but every room was a separate house. Thus the

buildings forming the residence of a well-to-do farmer of the _bo-aire_

class as described in the Laws, consisted of a living-house in which he

slept and took his meals, a cooking-house, a kiln for drying corn, a

barn, a byre for calves, a sheep-fold and a pigsty. In the better

classes the women had a separate house known as _grianan_ (sun-chamber).

The round houses were constructed in the following manner. The wall was

formed of long stout poles placed in a circle close to one another, with

their ends fixed firmly in the ground. The spaces between were closed in

with rods (usually hazel) firmly interwoven. The poles were peeled and

polished smooth. The whole surface of the wicker-work was plastered on

the outside and made brilliantly white with lime, or occasionally

striped in various colours, leaving the white poles exposed to view.

There was no chimney; the fire was made in the centre of the house and

the smoke escaped through a hole in the roof, or through the door as in

Hebridean houses of the present day. Near the fire, fixed in a kind of

holder, was a candle of tallow or raw beeswax. Around the wall in the

houses of the wealthy were arranged the bedsteads, or rather

compartments, with testers and fronts, sometimes made of carved yew. At

the foot of each compartment, and projecting into the main room, there

was a low fixed seat, often stuffed with some soft material, for use

during the day. Besides these there were on the floor of the main

apartment a number of detached movable couches or seats, all low, with

one or more low tables of some sort. In the halls of the kings the

position of each person's bed and seat, and the portion of meat which he

was entitled to receive from the distributor, were regulated according

to a rigid rule of precedence. Each person who had a seat in the king's

house had his shield suspended over him. Every king had hostages for the

fealty of his vassals; they sat unarmed in the hall, and those who had

become forfeited by a breach of treaty or allegiance were placed along

the wall in fetters. There were places in the king's hall for the judge,

the poet, the harper, the various craftsmen, the juggler and the fool.

The king had his bodyguard of four men always around him; these were

commonly men whom he had saved from execution or redeemed from slavery.

Among the miscellaneous body of attendants about the house of a king or

noble were many Saxon slaves, in whom there was a regular trade until it

was abolished by the action of the church in 1171. The slaves slept on

the ground in the kitchen or in cabins outside the fort.

The children of the upper classes in Ireland, both boys and girls, were

not reared at home but were sent elsewhere to be fostered. It was usual

for a chief to send his child to one of his own sub-chiefs, but the

parents often chose a chief of their own rank. For instance, the _ollam

fili_, or chief poet, who ranked in some respects with a tribe-king,

sent his sons to be fostered by the king of his own territory. Fosterage

might be undertaken out of affection or for payment. In the latter case

the fee varied according to rank, and there are numerous laws extant

fixing the cost and regulating the food and dress of the child according

to his position. Sometimes a chief acted as foster-father to a large

number of children. The cost of the fosterage of boys seems to have been

borne by the mother's property, that of the daughters by the father's.

The ties created by fosterage were nearly as close and as binding on

children as those of blood.

There is ample evidence that great laxity prevailed with regard to the

marriage tie even after the introduction of Christianity, as marrying

within the forbidden degrees and repudiation continued to be very

frequent in spite of the efforts of the church. Marriage by purchase was

universal, and the wealth of the contracting parties constituted the

primary element of a legitimate union. The bride and bridegroom should

be provided with a joint fortune proportionate to their rank. When they

were of equal rank, and the family of each contributed an equal share

to the marriage portion, the marriage was legal in the full sense and

the wife was a wife of equal rank. The church endeavoured to make the

wife of a first marriage the only true wife; but concubinage was known

as an Irish institution until long after the Anglo-Norman invasion, and

it is recognized in the Laws. If a concubine had sons her position did

not differ materially in some respects from that of a chief wife. As the

tie of the sept was blood, all the acknowledged children of a man,

whether legitimate or illegitimate, belonged equally to his sept. Even

adulterine bastardy was no bar to a man becoming chief of his tribe, as

in the case of Hugh O'Neill, earl of Tyrone. (See O'NEILL.)

The food of the Irish was very simple, consisting in the main of oaten

cakes, cheese, curds, milk, butter, and the flesh of domestic animals

both fresh and salted. The better classes were acquainted with wheaten

bread also. The food of the inhabitants of the Land of Promise consisted

of fresh pork, new milk and ale. Fish, especially salmon, and game

should of course be added to the list. The chief drinks were ale and

mead.

The dress of the upper classes was similar to that of a Scottish

Highlander before it degenerated into the present conventional garb of a

highland regiment. Next the skin came a shirt (_leine_) of fine texture

often richly embroidered. Over this was a tightly fitting tunic (_inar_,

_lend_) reaching below the hips with a girdle at the waist. In the case

of women the _inar_ fell to the feet. Over the left shoulder and

fastened with a brooch hung the loose cloak (_brat_), to which the

Scottish plaid corresponds. The kilt seems to have been commonly worn,

especially by soldiers, whose legs were usually bare, but we also hear

of tight-fitting trousers extending below the ankles. The feet were

either entirely naked or encased in shoes of raw hide fastened with

thongs. Sandals and shoes of bronze are mentioned in Irish literature,

and quite a number are to be seen in museums. A loose flowing garment,

intermediate between the _brat_ and _lend_, usually of linen dyed

saffron, was commonly worn in outdoor life, and was still used in the

Hebrides about 1700. A modified form of this over-tunic with loose

sleeves and made of frieze formed probably the general covering of the

peasantry. Among the upper classes the garments were very costly and

variously coloured. It would seem that the number of colours in the

dress indicated the rank of the wearer. The hair was generally worn long

by men as well as women, and ringlets were greatly admired. Women

braided their hair into tresses, which they confined with a pin. The

beard was also worn long. Like all ancient and semi-barbarous people,

the Irish were fond of ornaments. Indeed the profusion of articles of

gold which have been found is remarkable; in the Dublin Museum may be

seen bracelets, armlets, finger-rings, torques, crescents, gorgets,

necklets, fibulae and diadems, all of solid gold and most exquisite

workmanship.

The principal weapons of the Irish soldiers were a lance, a sword and a

shield; though prior to the Anglo-Norman invasion they had adopted the

battle-axe from the Scandinavians. The shields were of two kinds. One

was the _sciath_, oval or oblong in shape, made of wicker-work covered

with hide, and often large enough to cover the whole body. This was

doubtless the form introduced by the Brythonic invaders. But round

shields, smaller in size, were also commonly employed. These were made

of bronze backed with wood, or of yew covered with hide. This latter

type scarcely goes back to the round shield of the Bronze age. Armour

and helmets were not generally employed at the time of the Anglo-Norman

invasion.

In the Brehon Laws the land belongs in theory to the tribe, but this did

not by any means correspond to the state of affairs. We find that the

power of the petty king has made a very considerable advance, and that

all the elements of feudalism are present, save that there was no

central authority strong enough to organize the whole of Irish society

on a feudal basis. The _tuath_ or territory of a _ri_ (represented

roughly by a modern barony) was divided among the septs. The lands of a

sept consisted of the estates in severally of the lords (_flathi_), and

of the _ferand duthaig_, or common lands of the sept. The dwellers on

each of these kinds of land differed materially from each other. On the

former lived a motley population of slaves, horse-boys, and mercenaries

composed of broken men of other clans, many of whom were fugitives from

justice, possessing no rights either in the sept or tribe and entirely

dependent on the bounty of the lord, and consequently living about his

fortified residence. The poorer servile classes or cottiers,

wood-cutters, swine-herds, &c., who had a right of domicile (acquired

after three generations), lived here and there in small hamlets on the

mountains and poorer lands of the estate. The good lands were let to a

class of tenants called _fuidirs_, of whom there were several kinds,

some grazing the land with their own cattle, others receiving both land

and cattle from the lord. _Fuidirs_ had no rights in the sept; some were

true serfs, others tenants-at-will; they lived in scattered homesteads

like the farmers of the present time. The lord was responsible before

the law for the acts of all the servile classes on his estates, both

new-comers and _senchleithe_, i.e. descendants of _fuidirs_, slaves,

&c., whose families had lived on the estate during the time of three

lords. He paid their blood-fines and received compensation for their

slaughter, maiming or plunder. The _fuidirs_ were the chief source of a

lord's wealth, and he was consequently always anxious to increase them.

The freemen were divided into freemen pure and simple, freemen

possessing a quantity of stock, and nobles (_flathi_) having vassals.

Wealth consisted in cattle. Those possessed of large herds of kine lent

out stock under various conditions. In the case of a chief such an offer

could not be refused. In return, a certain customary tribute was paid.

Such a transaction might be of two kinds. By the one the freemen took

_saer_-stock and retained his status. But if he accepted _daer_-stock he

at once descended to the rank of a vassal. In this way it was possible

for the chief to extend his power enormously. Rent was commonly paid in

kind. As a consequence of this, in place of receiving the farm produce

at his own home the chief or noble reserved to himself the right of

quartering himself and a certain number of followers in the house of his

vassal, a practice which must have been ruinous to the small farmers.

Freemen who possessed twenty-one cows and upwards were called _airig_

(sing, _aire_), or, as we should say, had the franchise, and might

fulfil the functions of bail, witness, &c. As the chief sought to extend

his power in the _tuath_, he also endeavoured to aggrandize his position

at the expense of other _tuatha_ by compelling them to pay tribute to

him. Such an aggregate of _tuatha_ acknowledging one _ri_ was termed a

_morthuath_. The ruler of a _morthuath_ paid tribute to the provincial

king, who in his turn acknowledged at any rate in theory the

overlordship of the _ardri_.

The privileges and tributes of the provincial kings are preserved in a

remarkable 10th century document, the _Book of Rights_. The rules of

succession were extraordinarily complicated. Theoretically the members

of a sept claimed common descent from the same ancestor, and the land

belonged to the freemen. The chief and nobles, however, from various

causes had come to occupy much of the territory as private property: the

remainder consisted of tribe-land and commons-land. The portions of the

tribe-land were not occupied for a fixed term, as the land of the sept

was liable to gavelkind or redistribution from time to time. In some

cases, however, land which belonged originally to a _flaith_ was owned

by a family; and after a number of generations such property presented a

great similarity to the gavelled land. A remarkable development of

family ownership was the _geilfine_ system, under which four groups of

persons, all nearly related to each other, held four adjacent tracts of

land as a sort of common property, subject to regulations now very

difficult to understand.[12] The king's mensal land, as also that of the

tanist or successor to the royal office appointed during the king's

lifetime, was not divided up but passed on in its entirety to the next

individual elected to the position. When the family of an _aire_

remained in possession of his estate in a corporate capacity, they

formed a "joint and undivided family," the head of which was an aire,

and thus kept up the rank of the family. Three or four poor members of a

sept might combine their property and agree to form a "joint family,"

one of whom as the head would be an _aire_. In consequence of this

organization the homesteads of airig commonly included several families,

those of his brothers, sons, &c. (see BREHON LAWS).

The ancient Irish never got beyond very primitive notions of justice.

Retaliation for murder and other injuries was a common method of

redress, although the church had endeavoured to introduce various

reforms. Hence we find in the Brehon Laws a highly complicated system of

compensatory payment; but there was no authority except public opinion

to enforce the payment of the fines determined by the brehon in cases

submitted to him.

There were many kinds of popular assemblies in ancient Ireland. The sept

had its special meeting summoned by its chief for purposes such as the

assessment of blood-fines due from the sept, and the distribution of

those due to it. At larger gatherings the question of peace and war

would be deliberated. But the most important of all such assemblies was

the fair (_oenach_), which was summoned by a king, those summoned by the

kings of provinces having the character of national assemblies. The most

famous places of meeting were Tara, Telltown and Carman. The _oenach_

had many objects. The laws were publicly promulgated or rehearsed; there

were councils to deal with disputes and matters of local interest;

popular sports such as horse-racing, running and wrestling were held;

poems and tales were recited, and prizes were awarded to the best

performers of every _dan_ or art; while at the same time foreign traders

came with their wares, which they exchanged for native produce, chiefly

skins, wool and frieze. At some of these assemblies match-making played

a prominent part. Tradition connects the better known of these fairs

with pagan rites performed round the tombs of the heroes of the race;

thus the assembly of Telltown was stated to have been instituted by

Lugaid Lamfada. Crimes committed at an _oenach_ could not be commuted by

payment of fines. Women and men assembled for deliberation in separate

_airechta_ or gatherings, and no man durst enter the women's _airecht_

under pain of death.

The noble professions almost invariably ran in families, so that members

of the same household devoted themselves for generations to one

particular science or art, such as poetry, history, medicine, law. The

heads of the various professions in the _tuath_ received the title of

_ollam_. It was the rule for them to have paying apprentices living with

them. The literary _ollam_ or _fili_ was a person of great distinction.

He was provided with mensal land for the support of himself and his

scholars, and he was further entitled to free quarters for himself and

his retinue. The harper, the metal-worker (_cerd_), and the smith were

also provided with mensal land, in return for which they gave to the

chief their skill and the product of their labour as customary tribute

(_bestigi_).