No More Learning

Historians, who have written an account of this action, relate, that this naval
fight, between the Irish and the Danes, was the most dreadful and terrible of
anythathappeneduponthosecoasts. formanyages. Theofficerseminentlydis-
tinguished themselves, on both sides, nor were the seamen vvanting in their duty;
so that the slaughter was surprisingly great, no less than complete dominion for
the Scandinavians, or liberty for Ireland, being the contested prize for complete
victory on either scale. The army of Munster stood upon the shore, in sight
of the engagement. The soldiers were almost beside themselves with ex-
citement, as mere spectators, while they ran up and down the shore, with fury
and distraction, because it was out of their power to assist their seafaring
countrymen. Theseengagedwithgreatdisadvantage,sothattheresultre- mained doubtful, for some time ; for, the Danes had all their land forces on
board, and yet these were not a match for the Irish seamen, who behaved with wonderful conduct and bravery. These would have entirely destroyed the Danish fleet, had not some of the enemy escaped in their light galleys,
»'' See Dr. Sylvester O'Halloran's "Gene- ral History of Ireland," vol. ii. , Book xi. , chap, iii. , p. 221.
'^» See Antliony Marmion's " Ancient and
Modern History of the Maritime Ports of
Ireland,"Dundalk,pp. 276,277.
'*> See "The History of Dundalk and its
Environs," by John D'Alton, Esq. , and R.
J. O'Flanagan, Esq. , M. R. I. A. , chap, ii. , p. 16.
's' See Dr. Sylvester O'Halloran's "Gene- ral History of Irelaml," vol. ii. , Book xi. , chap,iii. ,p. 220. Thiswholeaccountisnot attested, in our Iiish Annals.
Vol. IV. —No. 6.
x
322 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
which were chased eagerly by the victorious Irish, but they could not overtake the fugitive cruisers. Having cleared the coast of those foreigners, the Irish vessels made to the shore, wliere they found their land army. These soldiers received them with open arms, and with joyful acclamations. 's^ Especially, they were transported with delight, at the sight of their king, who had obtained his liberty, owing to this victory. Nor was Ceallachan, kept under constant apprehension of death, so long as he was in the custody of the enemy, less pleased with his deliverance ; for, Sitric was a cruel tyrant, having a savage and unmercifuldisposition. HehadnoregardforthemajestyoftheMunsterking, nor did he respect the law of nations, by which his person was deemed sacred and inviolable; and, therefore, tliat potentate retained a grateful sense of theloyaltyshownbyhispeople. Heapplaudedthebraveryofhissea-forces,who had actually procured his freedom, and the fidelity of his land army, who had discovered so great an affection towards his person, and zeal for his safety, as to pursue the Danes. If these would have accepted of a battle, the subjects of King Cealleachan were ready to expose their lives in his service. He ordered provisions for his fleet, and when he had given instructions for the care of the wounded, he put himself at the head of his army, and by long marches, he arrived in Munster. There he resumed the management of affairs, and fixed himself in the government of that province. But, he met with opposition on his line of march, that was near being attended with fatal consequences; for, Mortough Mac Flann, King of Leinster, attempted to obstruct his passage, and to hinder him from conducting his troops through that province. ^53 That prince was of a mean and servile disposition ; he consulted more the interests of the Danes, tlian the prosi)erity of his native country ; upon their account, he determined to take revenge upon the army of Munster, and to vindicate the cause of those foreigners, against that of the brave Irish. He resolved on cutting off their retreat, by harassing them during their marches. To achieve this purpose, he summoned all the forces, under his command, he resolved to lay ambushes in the way of Ceallaclian, and to fall upon him, when most unprovided for defence. But, the King of Munster had timely intelhgence, regarding the treachery of this degenerate prince, whohadrenounced the love of his country, and who wanted to bring it under a foreign yoke. He prepared to receive the Leinster prince; and, he was greatly incensed, at the baseness of that attempt. Ceallachan commanded his men to give no quarter, but to make examples of those perfidious Irishmen, who had no title to mercy, and who were not to be treated as open and honourable enemies. To raise their indignation the more, he declared, that the Danes, being of another country, were to be used as the laws of nations direct ; but, the ene- mies they were to encounter had forfeited the common and established riglits of mankind, and, therefore, they were to be hunted down as robbers and beasts of prey, and not a man of them was to be spared. These severe in- junctions, and the resolution of Ceallachan, were carried by deserters, to the King of Leinster. Dreading the resentnient of the Momonians, now flushed with victory, he desisted from his enterprise, and withdrawing the forces of his province, Mortogh Mac Flann retired to a considerable distance. He left the army of Munster to prosecute the journey homewards, without hinderance or molestation. In the year 95 1 ,'54 Ceallachan and the men of Munster spoiled Sil-Anmchadha^=55 andCluainfearta-Brenainn,asalsotheterritoryofDeal- bhna-Beathra,°=* while the Daimhliag of Gailine was burned by them.
"5' See Ferd. Warner's " land," vol. i. , Book ix. , p. 391.
of Ire-
'^-i At A. i>. 949, according to the " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. ii. , pp. 664, 665. Dr. O'Donovan states, the true year to have been 95 1.
°55 Or Race of Anmchadh, the tribe-name
°=^ See Anthony Marmion's " Ancient and Modern History of the < Maritime Ports of Ireland," Dundalk, p. 277.
History
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 3*3
Having settled himself in the command of Munster, Ceallachan began to reflect upon the servitude his subjects had endured, under the oppression of the Danes. Urged on by the treachery of these foreigners, and which, in person, he
had sufficendy experienced, he heroically resolved to fall upon them, in every direction through the province, and to unite his whole forces, in order to expel them from the country. For this purpose, he recruited his troops, and com- pleted his battalions. He first assaulted, with unexpected fury, those Danes that inhabited about Limerick, and, without much opposition, he obtained a signalvictory; greatnumbersoftheenemyhekilled,andhetooktherestwho opposed him prisoners. '57 This success gave new life to the prospects of the Irish; theyplunderedthecountryaboutCashel,wheretheyfoundabodyof five hundred Danes, whom they put to the sword. Sitric, the general of the foreigners, attempted to recover their booty from the victors ; but, he was ob- liged to retire, after many of his soldiers were slain in battle. Neither had the general himself escaped that slaughter, if he had not fled to his shipping, and bythatmeans,Sitricputastoptothepursuit. Afterthisuninterruptedsuccess, Ceallachan marched with his victorious army, to paya visit to Daniel O'Faolan, King of the Deisies, with whom he entered into strict friendship ; and, he admitted that toparch into alliance, by bestowing upon him in marriage his sis- ter, whose name was Gromflath. She was a princess of great beauty, and of ex- emplary virtue. The King of Munster soon afterwards left this world, a. d. 954. '^* Afteratroublesomeandhazardousreign,thisvaliantrulerdescended peaceably to his grave, and witiiout violence. His successor in the throne of that province was Feargna, the son of Ailgeanan, son of Dungala. He en- joyed the government of that country only for two years, his life and reign being ended by treachery. He was murdered, by a set of conspirators, who were his own near relations. '59 Afterwards, Mahon, the son of Ceannedigh,
ascended the throne of Munster, and he reigned for twelve years. "*"
The natives dwelt, intermingled with the new immigrants, even in those districts, conquered by the foreigners, and which were mostly confined to the sea-coasts. '*' The national usages and manners, especially the religious doc- trines and observances of Christianity, must have caused the invaders to enquire about and to contrast the evidences, on which their respective pro- fessions of belief rested. '*" The Irish ecclesiastics were able to explain and
ofa septof theHy-Many of Connaught, now the O'Maddens. Their territory comprised the barony of Longford, county of Galway.
'5' The former name for Gallen, in the
barony ofGarrycastle, King's County. On the
whole subject of Callaghan's romantic story,
see what has been written, in General Val-
lancey's "ColkctineaDeRebus Hibernicis,"
"' St. Ansgar, orAnschaire, who was bom on the 8lh of September, A. D. Soi, at Fouil- loy, of Corbie, near Amiens, in France, is thought to have derived his origin, from one of those Saxon or Swedish families, trans- ported from their own country, by the
Emperor Charlemagne ; and at the age of five or six years, he was instructed in the
doctrines of Christianity. When Harold, King of Jutland, had been driven from his
vol. i. , num. iv. " The Law of Tanistry Illus- "
trated, Kinncdy,pp. 457to468.
'57 See Ferd. Warner's " land," vol. i. . Book ix. , p. 393.
"
of Ire-
tlie sons of of the Godfrey, King
is 954. See pp. 670, 671, and n. (z). /*/</.
'S'See Rev. Dr. JeoffreyKeatiiig's "General
Historyof Irelnnd,"secondbo"k,pp. 454,466.
''"
Autbcrt, accompanied him. Soon they
opened a school at Haddeby, opposite Sles- wick, and they converted a yreat number of
infidels. In 829, Birn, or Biorn, King of Sweilen, had asketl from Louis le Debon- naire missionaries to evangelize his people. Again, St. Ansgar, with other companions, made his way into Sweden, where the faith of Jesus Christ made very considerable pro- gress. Afterwards, St. Ansgar was coose-
See Maurice Lenihan's "Limerick ; its History and Antiquities, Ecclesiastical, Civil, and . Military," chap, i. , p. 9.
"' See J. J. A. Wor-. ae's " Account of the
Danes and Norwegians in England, Scot- land, and Ireland. " The Norwegians in Ire- land, sect, i. , p. 297.
History
St. . tts, by
Normans^ he took refuge at the Court of the
'5* See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. ii. , the date for his death
is 952 ; but, the editor states, the true year hissiates,St. Ansgar,wiih another missionary,
Emperor Louis leUebuniiaire, where he was baptized. About the year 826, returning to
324 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
illustate the differences, between a pure form of worship, and the gross errors of the northerns. The better influences of Divine Grace gradually prevailed.
It is generally thought that, in the ninth and especially in the tenth century, theDanesofDublinhadalreadyembracedtheChristiantenets;^*3 but,their
countrymen, who settled in Cork, Waterford, and Limerick, remained, for a long time, obstinate pagans. =''« However, during the tenth and eleventh cen- turies, the work of conversion proceeded. "^' Before the close of the latter age, nearly all the Scandinavian settlers throughout Ireland were in communion with the true Cliurch. Notwithstanding the partial conversion of the Danes to
Christianity, in some places throughout Ireland, still were they considered enemies by the natives. However, we find nothing more common, in our
Annals, than the occasional alliances, for mutually interested motives, and, usually, for purposes of local protection, among the Lochlanns and the Irish. '^*
Sometimes, the Scandinavians fought against each other; and, as we may sup-
pose, because differences of policy or personal jealousy urged them, under
special provocation and peculiar circumstances.
Towards the close of the ninth century, Harald Harfagr, King of Norway,
had expelled many of his Princes, Dukes, Earls, and rebellious subjects, from his dominions ; and, taking to their vessels, a great number of those exiles, infested the coasts of Scandinavia, or landed on the Shetland and Orkney Islands, which they colonized. '^' When his power had been completely re- stored, in Norway, that king sailed with a large fleet to the Orkneys, which he
took possession of, and on returning to his kingdom, as a compensation for the loss of a son, killed in one of his battles, the Islands were bestowed on
Rognwald, Earl of Maeri. He, in time, made them over to his brother
Sigurd ; and, their king gave him the title, Jarl of the Orkneys. "*' Afterwards, he invaded the northern mainland of Scotland, and he conquered those opposing him, so that he added Caithness —and Sutherland to his dominions. T—he Inchigall Hebrides, or Western Islands called Sudreys by the foreigners
as also the Orkneyinga, or Northern Islands, served as permanent strong- holds, for the Northmen and for their ships. The Norwegians had also sub- dued the Isle of Man. Thus, they severed all connexion, between the Irish, Albans, Angles, and Britons. "*? After the death of Earl Sigurd, his son Gut- horm succeeded in the Orkneys •^^° but, he only reigned one winter, and he
'** See Rev. M. J. Brenan's " Ecclesiasti- cal History of Ireland," Eleventh century, chap, i. , p. 200.
crated Archbishop of Hamburg, with juris-
diction over Denmark, Sweden, Norway,
Finland, Greenland, Holland, Iceland and
Fionie, with tlie adjoining countries. He -*•> "Tlie year 948 has generally been as-
also became Bishop of Bremen. In Den- mark and Sweden—of which countries he is
signed as that of the conversion of the Danes
as the —he built many Apostle
to Christianity. "—Miss M. F. Cusack's
regarded
churches, and had them provided with excel-
" of Ireland," xiii. , Popular History chap,
p. 204.
"'See Haverty's "History of Ireland,"
chap, xiv. , p. 134.
''"'See "Northern Antiquities: or a
Description of the Manners, Customs, Reli- gion and Laws of the Ancient Danes," &c. Translated from L'Introduction a I'liistoire de Uannernarc, &c. , Par Mons. Mallet, vol. i. ,
lent pastors. His evangelical labours were
brought to a close, on the 3rd ofcFebruary, "
A. D. 865. See Les Petiis BoUandistes
Viesdes Saints," tome ii. , iii% Jourde Fev-
rier, pp. 230 to 236.
^^ According to what we conceive to be a
very incorrect statement, taken from the Black Book of Christ Church Caihe iial, the
chap, x. , p. 215. Edmburgh, 1S09, 8vo.
Danes built
"
fotmces sive volts," on its site,
'"''
" SeeF. WilliamRoberisons Scotland
belore the arrival of St. Pairick, in Ireland ;
while the Apostle is said, to have celebrated
Mass in one of these, afterwariis called
under her Farly Kings," vol. i. , chap, ii. , p. 45.
"^ See William F. Skene's "Celtic Scot- land : a History of Ancient Alban," vol. i. ,
"
Fornix sive Volta S. Patricii. " See John
T. Gdbert's " of the of Dub- History City
lin," vol. i. , Appendix No. iii. , p. 416.
Book
"'° Some curious illustrations of antiqui-
i. , chap, vii. , p. 345.
April 23-] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 325
died childless. Then Earl Rognwald sent his son Hallad, to govern the Ork- neys; however, he soon got tired of this rule, and resigned it to his
brother . Einar, who, from about the year 893 to about 936, was
regarded as the Jarl. ^? ' His son Thorfinn was called the "Skull-
cleaver," and he married Grelauga, daughter of Dungadr, or Duncan, the Jarl of Caithness, who brought that district, under the dominion of the Norwegian EarlsofOrkney. Still,theKingsofAlbanassertedtherighttosovereignty over it, as one of the dependencies, belonging to their Scottish kingdom. By his wife, Thorfinn had five sons, and three of these were successively Earls over the Orkneys. '^? ^ Havard, the eldest son, came first in order ; but, he was slain,byhiswife. NextfollowedLiotr,thesecondbrother. Hehadanother brother, Skuli, who went to Scotland, and he obtained a right to the earldom ofCaithness,fromtheKingoftheScots. Thisprovokedacontest,however, betweenthebrothers; Skuli,beingsupportedbytheScottishKing,andbya Scottish earl, called Magbiodr, was defeated and slain, in a battle, which gave Caithness to Earl Liotr. Another desperate battle ensued, between himself and the Scots, at Skidamyre, in Caithness, where he was again vic- torious, although he was left mortally wounded, on the field. His only sur- viving brother, Hlodver, next obtained the Earldom, but he died of sickness ; and, he was buried, at Hofn, in Caithness. He left a son Sigurd, who suc- ceeded him, about the year 980, an Earl of great renown, an able and a powerful warrior, who not only maintained Caithness against the Scots, but who was capable of fitting out war expeditions every summer, directed against the Sudrey or Western Islands, or against the shores of Scotland or of Ire-
land. '"
The Isle of Man—said to have derived i—ts name from an ancient mariner-
king from Ireland, called Manahan Mac Lir was at first under tlie dominion of the Scots or Irish,'? * according to Orosius. By Aidan, it was annexed to the kingdom of the Scots; in a. d. 610, it was wrested from their domination, by Edwin, King of Northumbria ; but, in the tenth century, it seems to have fallen under the rule of the Scandinavians,'? 5 and to have become tributary to the King of Norway. ''* Afterwards, the Island appears to have been vested, in the kings or lords of the Isles, who were of Northman descent. '"
During the reign of the great Emperor Charlemagne, the Normans, Danes and Saxons had already invaded the land*,. belonging to that renowned monarch. ''' After his death, their inroads were still more frequent and formidable. Under the leadership of Rollo, or Rolf,'" in the year 911, the Scandinavians effected
"^s See the account in Charles Haliday's
"Scandinavian Kingdom of Dublin," Second Book, chap. i. Dublin and the Isle of Man, pp. 82 to 94.
''' See S. Uaining's "Historical Sketch of the Isle of Man, with an account of the Druidic. il iempjes, Curiosities," &c. , with plates, published i[i 1824, l2nio.
"" See . in interesting account of the Isle
tics there will be found, in Joseph Anderson's "
lately published work, Scotland in Pagan
Times,"Lectureiv. Edinburgh,1803,8vo. "'
°'' See William F. Skene's Celtic Scot- '
land : a History of Ancient Alban, vol. i. ,
Book i. , chap, vii. , pp. 344, 345, and
n. (Jl).
^' See E. William Robertson's "Scotland
under her Early Kings," vol. i. , chap, iv. , p. 82,
"
''J . See the Orkneyinga Saga, and Olaf tionary of England," viSi. id. , pp. 225 to
Collectanea ' de Rebus Al! )anicis," pp. 330 to 333.
Tryg<^Vasonnr Saga. Also,
236.
^* For its history, see Rev. James John- stone's " Chronicle o( Man and of the Isles," in "Antiquitatcs Celto-NormnnicK. " The language of the Island of Man, usually called the . Manks tongue, b a dialect of the ancient Gaelic
"''See L. P. Anquetil's "Histoire de "
"
of Man, in Lewis'
Topographical Die-
France, DeuxiemeRaceditedesCarlovin-
giens, sect. i. , p. 65.
'" In the *' Annnlesde Monte Fernandi,"
edited by Aquila Smith, we have the entry at
"
traverunt,"p. 4. See the IrisUArchaological
A. D. 877 :
Bollo et sui Normanniam pene-
3a6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23
a descent upon the northern coast of France. '"^" A large tract of country was ceded to them, by Charles the Simple, in 912. There they gave name to Normandy, and they succeeded, in eslablisliing a kingdom, where they
were very powerful, in after ages. ^^' Owing to geographical position, they were afterwards known by the name of Nordmans, or Northmen, relatively to the countries they invaded. ^**' In search of further conquests, the Normans proceeded to Spain, =^3 to Italy, '^* and to Sicily. ''^s They spread terror, where- everthey went, owing to their indomitable courage, remorseless ferocity, and insatiablerapacityasinvaders; sothat,itmightbesaid,theywereeverywhere in the ascendant, throughout the northern and western parts of Europe, during the tenth century.
After the death »** of Eadred, King of England, his nephews, Edwy =^' and Edgar,='^^ sons to Edmund, ruled in succession, and their reigns were tolerablyfreefromNorthmanattemptsuponEngland. Duringthereignsof Edgar's two sons, Edward, the Martyr, ''^^ and Ethelred 1 1. ,^5° internal dissen- sionsanddisordersprevailed. Takingadvantageofthesetroubles,theNorthman armamentsweredirectedagainstEngland. Twonewandpowerfulinvaders appeared, in 994 ; these were Sweyn, King of Denmark, and Olaf, King of Norway. Sweyn, or Swend, had murdered his father, and thus he seized upon the crown of Denmark, after this parricidal act. Twice was he expelled, by Eric, King of Sweden ; but, twice he recovered possession of his kingdom. Olaf, the son of Tryggva, was a celebrated Vi-king pirate, who had repeatedly visited and plundered the coasts of Ireland,=9' of Britain, and of Normandy. Having embraced Cliristianity, he sailed to the Orkneys, and there lie sub- dued and converted the natives. Afterwards, he steered for Norway, where the chiefs of that country had deposed Hacon the Bad; and, then Olaf was unexpectedly hailed as their king, on his arrival. Sweyn and Olaf formed a
confederacy; when, with ninety-four ships, they entered the River Thames, and attacked London, but they were repulsed, with considerable loss. ^9' How-
Society's Tracts relating to Ireland, vol. ii.
"
Book ii. , chap, i. , pp. 171, 172.
280
Yox a very interesting account of this
hero and his exploits, the reader m. iy con-
sult Edward A. Freeman's "History of the
Norman Conquest of England," vol. i. , chap,
its Causes and its Results. " vol. i. , chap, ii,, See Sharon Turner's History of sect. 5, pp. 65 to 68.
iv. , sect. 2, pp. 182 to 202.
^' "
England, from the Norman Conquest, to the Accession of Edward the First," vol. i. ,
chap, i. , p. II. London, 1S14, 4to.
"^' and tlie writers of his Sigebert,
"' His term of rule was from A. D. 975 to
978. See Rev. John Lingard's "History of England," vol. i. , chaji. v. , pp. 231 to 233.
usually called all the nortliern nations of the
Scandian peninsula, by the title Nort- April 23rd, ioi6.
manni. See Bavdrand's " Novum Lexicon
Geographicum," &c. , tomus i. , p. 526.
""^ Mallet gives an account, about a strong force of Scandinavian rovers having
Bohn's edition.
°'-' Their arrival in Italy is assigned to A. D.
"
I016. See Edward Giblion's
the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," vol. vii. , chap. Ivi. , p. I02. William Smith's edition.
°*s Xhe Normans arrived in 1038.
Sicily,
A. D.
lin,"
vol.
i. , chap,
p. 48.
-*'
In A. D. 955. See JohnSpeed's "History
ofGreat l! ritaine,"Bookvii. ,ch. ap. xl. , p. 385. '*' He reigned, from A. D, 955 to 958. See
Pictorial History of England," vol. i. ,
""^
His reign is computed, from A. D. 958
to 975. See Edward A. Freeman's " His-
tory of the Norman Conquest of F^ngland,
°*° He in the midst of age, nded,
°9' His conversion to Christianity took place, it is thought, after bis visit to Ireland. His Church of St. Olaf, corruptly styled St. TuUock, stood formerly in St. Tullock's
Lane, the lower part of P'ishamble-street, " Northern Antiquities," p. 173, note.