Gaelic Ireland

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Éire Ireland 8th Century–1607 →   → Arms attributed to the Kings of Ireland in 12801 Capital Hill of Tara (ceremonial) Language(s) Old Irish, Middle Irish Government Monarchy High King (Ard Rí) List of High Kings History  - Established 8th Century  - Norman invasion 1 May 1169  - Flight of the Earls September 1607 1 The Wijnbergen Roll dating from c.1280 attribute these arms to the King of Ireland ("le Roi d'Irlande"). Rev. J. F. M. French in The Arms of Ireland speculated c.1900 that a yellow lion on a green field symbol may predate the Norman Lordship.

Gaelic Ireland was the Gaelic political order that existed in Ireland prior to the Norman invasion. It existed alongside the subsequent Lordship of Ireland throughout most of the country, until the establishment of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was often ruled as an elective monarchy, with a High King (Ard Rí) nominated from among the rulers of the patchwork of Irish kingdoms. However, those who became High Kings often did so by force or other means.

Contents 1 Political structure 1.1 Clans 2 Society 2.1 Agriculture and settlements 2.2 Warfare 2.3 Clothing 2.4 Social structure 3 Norman invasion 3.1 Gaelic resurgence 4 End of the Gaelic order 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Political structure

The Gaelic order in Ireland, rather than a single unified kingdom in the feudal sense, was comprised of a patchwork of kingdoms, which grew and shrank with the relative powers of their rulers. Since the 8th century these were nominally subservient to the rule of a High King; however, it was not until the eleventh century, with the high kingship of Brian Boru, that the office of the high king began to resemble a "national" king in a sense similar to that in continental Europe. This process has been steadily moving with the title of high kingship passing between a small number of compact families (O Brien of Munster, MacLochlainn of the North, O Connor of Connacht) who intermarried and competed against each other on a national basis. On the eve of the Anglo-Norman incursion of 1169, the agglomeration-cum-consolidation process was complete and the provincial kingdoms divided and transformed into fiefdoms.

[edit] Clans

Ireland at this time was a tribal society, and was divided into common ancestry groups known as clans (from the Gaelic word clann meaning offspring). Each clan was a large group of related people, theoretically an extended family, supposedly descended from one progenitor and all owing allegiance to the patriarchal or matriarchal clan chief. Clans included those who were related by blood but also those who were adopted and fostered into the clan, as well as those who joined the clan for strategic reasons (such as safety or combining of resources).

The power of clans fluctuated, and endemic warfare between clans was a constant affair. Once-powerful clans could in time decline in stature and be amalgamated into once-smaller ones. How this "merger" would be dealt with would be a matter of negotiation. Ireland was divided into five different tribal provinces, each with its ritual center (a ringfort often used as a capital and meeting place). These were:

• Cúige Mumhan in the south, with its capital at Cashel
• Cúige Laighin in the east, with its capital at Dun Ailinne
• Cúige Uladh in the north, with its capital at Emain Macha
• Cúige Chonnacht in the west, with its capital at Cruachan
• Mide in the east-central area, with its capital at Tara

These gave rise to the modern provinces of Munster, Leinster, Ulster and Connacht, and also the counties of Meath and Westmeath.

Lineage was based on the practice of tanistry whereby a relative was elected prior to the death of a ruler as his successor (tanaiste), and was not based on primogeniture. To be eligible for election, a man had to be at least a great-grandson of a former chief or king, and this group of electable cousins was known as a "derbfine". The clan system formed the basis of polity. Often, these are thought of as based on kinship; in fact, as Nicholls describes, these would be better thought of as akin to the modern-day corporation. Clans took many shapes and sizes. Their ruling structure, whether ruled by a single lord or a council, changed according to needs and the qualities of their membership.

[edit] Society

[edit] Agriculture and settlements

Money was non-existent in Gaelic society at this time; instead, livestock and fishing was the main currency and the main source of sustenance. Horticulture was practiced, and crops such as wheat, barley and oats were the most common. Gaels typically lived in small villages, hamlets and ringforts which rarely contained more than 10 to 12 dwellings. These settlements were built close to water supplies and on easily defendable sites such as hills. They tended to be defended by ditches, moats, stone fortification walls and/or earthen ramparts with timber palisades. Some also lived in fortified lake-dwellings known as crannógs. Houses were typically circular with conical thatched roofs and wattle and daub walls.

[edit] Warfare

As shown by contemporary sources and Irish literature, clan warfare was commonplace in Gaelic lands. Young Gaelic males organised themselves into small, semi-independent warrior bands called Fianna, which engaged in constant training, hunting and raiding during the warmer months. Stories of the Fianna can be found in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology.

Warriors were sometimes rallied into battle accompanied by blowing horns and warpipes. The objective in clan wars was often the theft of enemy cattle (commonly referred to as a Táin Bó in Gaelic literature) rather than the destruction of a particular clan or its settlements. Guerrilla warfare was the norm, as the geography of Ireland and Scotland at this time consisted mostly of forests, swamps, glens, bogland and river-crossings. Gaelic warfare was centered around the horse and chariot, with cavalry and kern later being introduced. Weapons used were slings, javelins, spears, bows, darts, short swords and axes. Armour was rare as Gaelic warriors considered it cumbersome; instead, most fought semi-naked and carried only a scabbard and a round or oval shield. However, by the 400s, hard leather and even chainmail was worn. It also became common for warriors to wear tight trews, which may have been decorated with the colours or tartan of a particular clan.

Gaelic warriors (and Celtic warriors in general) had a reputation as head hunters. Ancient Romans and Greeks recorded the Celtic custom of decapitating their enemies and publicly displaying the severed heads (for example by hanging them from the necks of horses).^[1] According to Paul Jacobsthal, "Amongst the Celts the human head was venerated above all else, since the head was to the Celt the soul, centre of the emotions, as well as of life itself".^[2]

[edit] Clothing

The common clothing of Gaels consisted of a léine (a knee-length shirt, sometimes dyed with saffron), a brat (a woolen cloak/mantle that may be decorated with tartan or other designs), a belt or brooch, and sometimes trews (a type of tight trousers). Additionally, various types of coats (such as the padded ionar), robes, boots and shoes were worn. There is also evidence of the belted plaid (the precursor to the modern kilt) being worn by the 1500s.^{[dubious – discuss]}

Both men and women grew their hair long and very often braided it. Other hairstyles that may have been popular include the mohawk (as worn by the Irish bog body known as Clonycavan man) and the glib (short all over except for a thick lock of hair towards the front of the head). Gaelic males above a certain age were expected to let their facial hair grow into a beard. It was often seen as dishonourable for a Gaelic man to have no facial hair.

[edit] Social structure

Gaelic society was a caste society, that is, it was divided into inherited role-based classes. There were four general classes, from lowest to highest they were: slaves, peasants, warriors and finally the upper classes, which included chieftains, bards and clergy.

The professional classes included hereditary jurists, physicians, harpers and poets and were exempt from military service to their Lord. Although most families of the professional classes practiced only one profession, some exercised more than one; for example the Magraths of Muster were both poets and historians, while the O Duigenans were both historians and musicians. Most at some time turned their hand to the craft of the poet.^{[citation needed]} The official head of each learned profession within a particular territory was titled the ollave (ollamh), such as ollave in law or ollave in medicine, and was appointed by, and served directly, the lord of the territory.

Of these learned classes, the profession of the poet was by far the most ancient.^{[citation needed]} While the learned families in other professions begin to emerge from the 11th century onwards, the class of the poet (aos dana or filleadha) is an extraordinary survival from pre-Christian Celtic life. While often some of his verses are known as satires (áer), "their purpose was magical harm, not ridicule."^[3] Poets formed a different class from mere bards, who were inferior to them, although a bard would often be in the employ of a poet to act as an assistant.^{[citation needed]} Female bards were not unheard of. The delivery of a poem, be it a eulogy, praise or a curse, would often also require the work of a professional reciter (reacaire), while a harpist provided accompaniment.

[edit] Norman invasion

Since Ireland became Christianized c.500 CE, it had essentially rejected the role of the Papacy in religious matters and paid no tithes to Rome.^{[citation needed]} Pope Adrian IV, the only English pope, had already issued a Papal Bull in 1155 giving Henry II of England authority to invade Ireland as a means of curbing Irish refusal to recognize Roman law. Importantly, for later English monarchs, the Bull, Laudabiliter, maintained papal suzerainty over the island:

“

There is indeed no doubt, as thy Highness doth also acknowledge, that Ireland and all other islands which Christ the Sun of Righteousness has illumined, and which have received the doctrines of the Christian faith, belong to the jurisdiction of St. Peter and of the holy Roman Church.

”

In 1166, after losing the protection of High King Muirchertach MacLochlainn, the King of Leinster, Diarmait Mac Murchada, was forcibly exiled by a confederation of Irish forces under the new High King, Ruaidri mac Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair. Fleeing first to Bristol and then to Normandy, Diarmait obtained permission from Henry II of England to use his subjects to regain his kingdom. By the following year, he had obtained these services and in 1169 the main body of Norman, Welsh and Flemish forces landed in Ireland and quickly retook Leinster and the cities of Waterford and Dublin on behalf of Diarmait. The leader of the Norman force, Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, more commonly known as Strongbow, married Diarmait's daughter, Aoife, and named tánaiste to the Kingdom of Leinster. This caused consternation to Henry II, who feared the establishment of a rival Norman state in Ireland. Accordingly, he resolved to visit Leinster to establish his authority.

Henry landed with in 1171, proclaiming Waterford and Dublin as Royal Cities. Adrian's successor, Pope Alexander III, ratified the grant of Ireland to Henry in 1172. The 1175 Treaty of Windsor between Henry and Ruaidhrí maintained Ruaidhrí as High King of Ireland but and codified Henry's control of Leinster, Meath and Waterford. However, with Diarmuid and Strongbow dead, Henry back in England, and Ruaidhrí unable to curb his vassals, the high kingship rapidly lost control of the country. Henry, in 1185, awarded his Ireland to his younger son, John, with the title Dominus Hiberniae, "Lord of Ireland". This kept the newly created title and the Kingdom of England personally and legally separate. However, when John unexpectedly succeeded his brother as King of England in 1199, the Lordship of Ireland fell back into personal union with the Kingdom of England.

[edit] Gaelic resurgence

By 1261, the weakening of the Anglo-Norman Lordship had become manifest following a string of military defeats. In the chaotic situation, local Irish lords won back large amounts of land. The invasion by Edward Bruce in 1315-18 at a time of famine weakened the Norman economy. The Black Death arrived in Ireland in 1348. Because most of the English and Norman inhabitants of Ireland lived in towns and villages, the plague hit them far harder than it did the native Irish, who lived in more dispersed rural settlements. After it had passed, Gaelic Irish language and customs came to dominate the country again. The English-controlled area shrank back to the Pale, a fortified area around Dublin. Outside the Pale, the Hiberno-Norman lords intermarried with Gaelic noble families, adopted the Irish language and customs and sided with the Gaelic Irish in political and military conflicts against the Lordship. They became known as the Old English, and in the words of a contemporary English commentator, were "more Irish than the Irish themselves."

The authorities in the Pale worried about the "Gaelicisation" of Norman Ireland, and passed the Statutes of Kilkenny in 1366 banning those of English descent from speaking the Irish language, wearing Irish clothes or inter-marrying with the Irish. The government in Dublin had little real authority. By the end of the fifteenth century, central English authority in Ireland had all but disappeared. England's attentions were diverted by the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) and then by the Wars of the Roses (1450-85). Around the country, local Gaelic and Gaelicised lords expanded their powers at the expense of the English government in Dublin.

[edit] End of the Gaelic order

From 1536, Henry VIII of England decided to re-conquer Ireland and bring it under crown English control. The Fitzgerald dynasty of Kildare, who had become the effective rulers of the Lordship of Ireland in the 15th century, had become unreliable allies and Henry resolved to bring Ireland under English government control so the island would not become a base for future rebellions or foreign invasions of England. To involve the Gaelic chiefs and allow them to retain their lands under English law the policy of surrender and regrant was applied.

In 1541, Henry upgraded Ireland from a lordship to a full kingdom, partly in response to changing relationships with the papacy, which still had suzerainty over Ireland, following Henry's break with the church. Henry was proclaimed King of Ireland at a meeting of the Irish Parliament that year. This was the first meeting of the Irish Parliament to be attended by the Gaelic Irish chieftains as well as the Hiberno-Norman aristocracy.

With the technical institutions of government in place, the next step was to extend the control of the Kingdom of Ireland over all of its claimed territory. This took nearly a century, with various English administrations in the process either negotiating or fighting with the independent Irish and Old English lords. The re-conquest was completed during the reigns of Elizabeth and James I, after several bloody conflicts.

The flight into exile in 1607 of Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone and Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell following their defeat at the Battle of Kinsale in 1601 and the suppression of their rebellion in Ulster in 1603 is seen as the watershed of Gaelic Ireland. It marked the destruction of Ireland's ancient Gaelic aristocracy following the Tudor re-conquest and cleared the way for the Plantation of Ulster. After this point, the English authorities in Dublin established real control over Ireland for the first time, bringing a centralised government to the entire island, and successfully disarmed the native lordships.

[edit] See also

• For information about the ethno-linguistic group that inhabited Ireland throughout this period, see Gaels
• For information about the society of the Gaels and their expansions, see Scoti
• For information about their languages, see Irish Gaelic and Gaelic languages

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The Public Sector, III: Police, Law, and the Courts (see law and justice in gaelic Irish society), by Murray Rothbard

v • d • e Irish states since 1171 Ireland (1937 onward)  · United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1922† onward) Medieval period Gaelic Ireland (until 1607) · Lordship of Ireland (1171–1541) Modern period Kingdom of Ireland (1541–1801) · United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922†) Twentieth century Irish Free State (1922–37) Notable declared states Republic of Connaught (1798) · Irish Republic (1919–22) · Munster Republic (1922) See also Confederate Ireland (1642–53) · Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland (1649–60) · Northern Ireland (1921–72) · Southern Ireland (1921–22) †Date marks the secession of the majority of Ireland from the United Kingdom rather than the creation of a new state. Official name was changed in 1927.