1014, the "Annales Buelliani" have the battle of Clontarf ;'° and, the English
translation
follows the original, with some interesting comments to elucidate the account.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v4
Maol-
mordha had already engaged in his confederacy, not alone the Irish, but the foreigners. The Scandinavians of Dublin, and those living abroad, were next invited to unite a vast force, destined to oppose Bryan and Maelseach-
lainn. « But, time was required for the maturing of this expedition. While awaiting their arrival, the King of Leinster collected a body of his provincials, with the Danes, and penetrating into Meath, he reached Termon-Feichin, also called the Fabhar of Fechin. Captives and cattle were seized at this place. 94 The King of Leinster then retreated, destroying the country, and carrying off an immense booty. ss In his distress, ^L-^lachy addressed an ap- peal, to the chief and now recognised monarch of Ireland. He complained,
' Now Anglice, pronounced MulhoIIand, but without the prefix of O'. There were several distinct families of this name, in Ire-
«» In the Co^atjIi 5Ae-o1ieL Tie Saltaibli, chap. Ixxxiv. , pp. 148, 153, we find Alb. i- n. ich, or the Scotchman, substituted,
9" Lorcan himself is named, as haN-ing been killed, in the work just quoted.
9= In commemoration of the defeat at
Draighuen, a quatrain was composed, and it is thus rendered into English :—
"Not well on Monday on the expedi- tion did Meathmen go to overrun ;
The foreigners, it was heard were joyful of the ioumey at the Draieh- nen. "
land. See Rev. William Reeves'
"
Ecclesi-
astical Antiquities of Down, Connor and
Dromore," pp. 37010375.
^' Or Little Delvm, now the barony of
Fore, or Demifore, in the north-west of the county of Me. ith.
*3 He is called Cernach, in the Co5^T)h jAe'ohel ne 5Al. l<sibh, chap. Ixxxiy, pp. 148, 149.
'< Sometimes found written Lijii, or Line.
85 Also called Ua Leuchan.
i
^His death is noiiced, in the Cojd-oh jAeohel ne SAlUibh, /Wi/,,-pp. 148, 149.
93 See Dr. Sylvester O'Halloran's " Gene- *? See Dr. O'Doiiovan's '( Annals of the ral History of Ireland," vol. ii. , Book xi
Four Masters," vol. ii. , pp. 766 to 769. ^The Rev. James Wills incorrectly inter- prets it, "the mountain ^f Dirds," in his "Lives of Illustrious and Distinguished
chap, viii. , p. 259.
94 See theCogioh rAcDhelUe 5<j,lUibh,
chap. Ixxxv. , pp. 148, 149.
9S See Dr. Sylvester 0'Hallor. -in's " Gene-
Inshmen," vol. i. , part i. , Second Period, ral History of Ireland," vol. ii. , Book xi. ,
206.
P- I
»9 The translated r. inals of Ulster have it spelled Draynan.
chap, viii. , p. 250.
96 See the cb5At)h Jaexihel ne 5^1-
U,bh, chap. Ixxxv. , pp. 148, 149.
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 391
that his territory had been plundered, and that his sons had been killed. He
earnestly prayed, that the foreigners and the Laighin, with the Breifni, the Cairbri, and the Cinel-Eoghain, should not be allowed to direct all their forces
against himself, without being afforded any succour. '* It is said, that he proceeded in person to the palace at Kincora, or to Ball Boirumhe,'? for that purpose ; and, he represented the danger to which he was exposed, from the hostility of his formidable neighbours. '^ To this application, however,
a refusal was returned, although promises of assistance were probably made. " The King of Meath was thus left to defend his possessions, by such means
as his own narrow resources '°° The supplied.
of that refusal
well be doubted ;'°' but, it is probable, that Bryan could not readily engage, at
the time, to support the depressed state of Malachy.
The defeat of Maelseachlainn was attended with other consequences, as
a triumph thus obtained emboldened the victors to follow up their successes. It soon required a movement on the part of Bryan, to restrain the Leinstermen and Danes. '"' These of Dublin combined with the Irish of Wicklow, and both parties soon assumed a menacing attitude. It was now necessary to check their progress, and Bryan was ready to move his forces, to those points threatened by the confederates. The Ossorians appear to have combined, likewise, against him. Accordingly, the monarch summoned his chiefs, and now led his army towards Leinster. The Irish forces wasted the lands of Ossory,ontheirlineofmarch. DunnchadhMacGiollaPatraic'°3seemsto have been its king, at this time, and hostile to the Ard Righ. The men of Munster and of Connaught were chiefly those engaged on the expedition. ,His army was led by Brian, towards Ath-an-chairthinn,"* and he there en- camped. '°5 He laid siege to the foreigners, as the Annals state, for three months ; but, probably, not at this particular place, as they held no strong- holdsthen,intheinteriorofmidlandErinn. Brian,withtheforcesunderhis command,""encampedatSliabhMairge,"°7todefendMunster. Theposi- tion was admirably chosen as a strategic and commanding post. While his enemies to be encountered lay in the plains before him, those he had kept in check were behind, in the plains of Ossory ; nor could it be safe to advance, while Thomond and Desmond were exposed to a possible attack. A depre- dation, by Murchadh, eldest son of Brian, in Leinster, is recorded in our Annals; and,thiswasprobablydirectedfromSlieveMargytowardstheeast, while the monarch's forces were still in observation. When the covering army deemed it safe to march from its mountain cantonments, their tents were struck, and the Irish forces moved onwards, in a northerly direction, and towards thechiefstrongholdoftheScandinavians. Activelyengagedinthisexcur- sion,butapart,wasthetrustyandbraveMorough. WhileBryanremained
" See Dr. Sylvester O'Halloran's "Gene- ral History of Ireland," vol. ii. , Book xi. , chap, viii. , p. 260.
a. d. 996, by Donovan, son of Imar, King of Waterford, and by Domhnal, son of Faelan,
** See Thomas Moore's "
prince of the Deisi.
Shearman's " Loca
See Rev. John F.
land," vol. ii. , chap. xxi. , pp. 105, 106. "
p. 365.
'"< Dr. O'Donovan renders Ath-na-
Chairthinn : i. t. , Ford of the Rock, the situation of which is unknown, as he states.
'"S It is Latinized " Vadum Officinoe fer-
'" See John D'Alton's History of the County of Dublin," pp. 604, 605.
'°°
See the Annals of Inisfallen, at A. D.
History
of Ire-
Patriciana,"
No. xii. ,
1013.
'" ""
See Rev. James Wills' "Lives of rarias, in Rev. Dr. Conor's Rerum Hiber- lUustrious and Distinguished Irishmen," nicarum Scriptores," tomus iv. Annales
vol. i. , part i. , Second Period, p. 206.
Ultonienses, p. 302.
"* Or of the to the province, according
Ulster Annals.
"' Now that district, comprised in the
"" See Thomas Moore's "
of Ire-
'"' His father, Gilba Patraic, was slain
History land," vol. ii. , chap, xxi. , p. 106.
prudence
may
392 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
in observation, his warlike son was sent to create a diversion, in the heart of the Wicklow mountains. That duty was readily undertaken by Morough,
'°3 and
The foreign settlers inlreland had theprudence, activity, and address, which enabled them to multiply their attacks, and to put in motion the ever-ready and restless turbulence of their neighbours, in whatever direction their own policyrequired. '" Totheirintrigues,wemayprobablyascribemanyofthe localdisturbances,whichaffectedthekingdom. Maelseachlainnhadplanned
an expedition against the foreigners ; but, while he was engaged with the Northmen of Dublin, tlie King of Tyrone invaded the southern Hy-Niall. '"
An army was led by Flaithbheartach, lord of Aileach, to Maighen-Attaed,'" by the son of Ceananuus. Maelseachlainn left the Iiill undisputed to him,
and because, most probably, his muster of force was insufficient, to cope witli the King of Tyrone. No partial effort, or merely predatory descent, how-
ever, could avail the Danes for succeeding, against Bryan's growing power. Their extensively increasing possessions in cities and towns gave great in- fluence to the foreigners. It was necessary for them to adopt, far more ordered and energetic measures, to carry out their ambitious schemes of conquest, and to effect their own security, as they had already suffered so many defeats. The designs of Bryan, and liis vigorous strokes in oft-repeated expeditions, were then better understood, by the foreign colonists, than can be known,"3 at the present time.
CHAPTER VIII.
LAST CAMPAIGN OF BRYAN—CHRONOLOGY AND ACCOUNTS OF IT REMAINING—THE KING OF LEINSTER AND THE DUBLIN OSTMEN SEND EMISSARIES FOR DISTANT REINFORCEMENTS—BRYAN BOROIMHA MUSTERS HIS FORCES—HE MARCHES INTO LEINSTER, AND HE ARRIVES AT DUBLIN—CONCENTRATION OF THE LEINSTER AND SCANDINAVIAN ARMIES—POSITION OF THE MONARCH, ON THE PLAIN OF MAGH-N-ELTA.
Now, the whole power of the North was to be arrayed, for a vast and closing Struggle with the Monarch of Ireland, who found so many of his own country- men desirous to rebel against his authority, and to overturn his rule. This, however, required no ordinary exertion. Accordingly, a great expedition was in course of preparation. It was destined to arouse that energetic
who carried
then a considerable city, belonging to Maelmordha. Then, Leinster was plundered by the Munster chief, so far as Atli-cliath, whither he moved, to effectapreconcertedjunctionwithhisfather. OnMurrough'slineofmarch, he devasted the country from Gleann-da-locha as far as Cill-Maighneann. '°9 During this time, he kept up communications with the main army, commanded by Bryan. The whole invaded province suffered terribly, from the relentless assaults of Murrough, who carried off great spoils and innumerable prisoners, to the green of Ath-Cliath.
plunder, devastation,
slaughter,
so far as
Glendalough,
barony of Slievemargy, Queen's County. Tlie translated Ulster Annals term it Moun- taine Marci.
'" See Charles O'Conor's " Dissertations on the History of Ireland," sect, xviii. , p. 248.
See Walter Harris' " and An- History
'"This means "Attaedh's little
This might be Anglicized Moynalty ; but, the name is apparently obsolete, at pre- sent.
"3 See Rev. Jimcs Wills' " Lives of Illus-
trious and Distinguished Irishmen," vol. i. , part i. , Second Period, p. 206.
'-^
tiquities of the City of Dublin, from the Earliest Accounts," chap, ix. , p. 193.
plain. "
"^ Now Kilmainham. near Dublin.
"See Rev. James Wills' "Lives of Ilhis-
trious and Distinguished Irishmen," vol. i. , part i. , Second Period, p. 206.
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 393
effort of national defence, which culminated victoriously for Bryan Boromha, on the field of Clontarf,' where his glorious and heroic career on earth closed.
The dates given for this last celebrated campaign of the Irish Monarch
have been confused and varied, in accounts which have come down to our
times. By some writers, the period has been considerably antedated. Thus, while a missing leaf,' containing probably what relates to the Battle of Clon- tarf, is not published, in Rev. Dr. Charles O'Conor's edition of Tigernach's Annals ;3 the " Annales Inisfalenses," Bodleian copy, place this last war of Bryan,attheyear996. • However,muchmorediffusely,andattheyear1014, does the Dublin copy of these Annals give a very detailed account regarding the celebrated battle of Clontarf,' and differing altogether in text, from the Oxford Codex. The year 1012 is the date, given for this great engagement, in the " Chronicum Scotorum. "* The Four Masters have the year 1013, for that event. ? About the end of the year 1013, or the be- ginning of 1014, has been assigned, likewise, for the opening of Bryan's last campaign. * A Welsh calculation places this date for the battle of Clontarf to 1013 ;9 but, it was really fought on the following year, as all the best authori- ties are now agreed. At a. d.
1014, the "Annales Buelliani" have the battle of Clontarf ;'° and, the English translation follows the original, with some interesting comments to elucidate the account. " This same year, also, the Annals of Loch C6" open with a narrative of that celebrated engagement. '3 The Njals-Saga ' adopts the latter date for the campaign, and battle, with which it concluded. The Annals of Ulster place the event, at 1013, or loi4;'5 and, the corrected chronology of Marianus Scottus, who lived not very long after the time, has it at the latter year. '* All our most reliable modern historical authorities are agreed, on the same date.
Less difficult is it, however, to settle the chronology, than to place, in suitable order and statement, the incidents of this campaign. All those causes which moved the hosts engaged on either side, and which immediately brought on that decisive b. ittle, can hardly be analyzed, at the present
"time. "' According to the Danish writer, Torfaeus,'* Kormlod,"' a woman of
Chapter vin. — " Now a
Barony of Coolock, and defined on the "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps, for the County of Dublin," sheets 15, 18, 19. Clon- tarf Town and sheds are marked, on sheet
; the divisions of its townland, into Eat and West, are shown on sheets 18, 19.
• See Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hibcmica-
rum . Scriptores," tomus ii. Annales Tiger- naci, p. 271.
i \ hiatus is to be found in
leian copy, viz. , from A. D. 1003 to A. D. 1018.
• See ibid. , p. 54.
5 See the Irish text, wi. h the Latin trans- lation, ibiil. , pp. 601070.
Rev. Williams ab John
19
See John D' Alton's History of Ire-
' Edited by William M. Hennessy. pp. 250 to 253.
See
parish,
in the
Ithel, M. A. ,
at
p.
this,
the Bod-
land and Annals of Boyle," vol. ii. , pp. 165
10178.
"The -dnnoil-A tochAC^, or the Annals
of Loch Ce, a Chronicle of Irish Affairs from
A. D. to a. d edited witli transla- 1014 1590.
tion, by'VV'dliamM. Ilennessy, M. R. I. A. M See vol. i. , pp. 2 to 13.
'< See cap. clvii. , clvii. , pp. 599 to 623. '5 See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hiber-
nicarum Scriptores," tomus iv. , pp. 303 to
306.
''. See Pertz's "Monumenta Germanic
' See dnniLAnioghachcdeipeanti. An-
nals of the Kingdom of Irelan i, by the Four
Masters, &c. , edited with a translation and
copious notes, by John O'Donovan, LL. D. , "Historic. il Memoirs of the O'Briens. "
vol. ii. , pp. 772 to 781.
' See Walter Harris' "
Medieval Part, chap, iii. , pp. 26 to 37.
and Anti- quities of the City of Dublin," chap, ix. ,
" In his
of the
at
p. 194.
' See " Annales Cambri3e,"edited by the
x. , p. 33.
' Called Gormlaith, by the Irish.
" She is said, to have been the greatest
History
History
22.
'° . See pars, ii. , pp. 15 to 17, in Rev. Dr.
Charles O'Conor's " Rerum HIberiiicarum
Scriptores," tomus ii. ""
Historici," tomus v. Mariani Scotti Chroni-
con, p. 555.
' See, on this suljject, John O'Donoghue's
Orkneys, Copenha,'en, 1697, fol.
chap,
394 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
very depraved morals,'" and repudiated by her former husband,'' Bryan Boroimha,wasmainlytheinstigatorofthiswar. SitricoftheSilkenBeard, andKingofDublin,washerson,byanotherhusband. " Aswehavealready premised, the accounts, even of great public events, at this period, and which have come down to us, exceed the sober truth of history, by the introduction of improbable occurences and easily ascertainable fictions. Various are the narratives, furnished in records of the times succeeding this period, and given by our Irish historians, to account for the war now impending. However, so widely do they differ in statement, and so improbable are many of the cir- cumstances introduced, that i: is nearly impossible to reduce them into relia- ble shape. VTet, have we to regard the story of those distant transactions, as not wholly irreconcileable with facts, that are disguised under turgid descrip- tion, and the mannerism of the bards, chroniclers, skaalds and saga-men, in the Irish and Norse traditions of the time. But, as various statements are extant, both on the Irish and the Norse side -p these have been subjected to a close examination—especially the earlier ones—and with a view to elicit themostconsistentandreliableversion. ThatancientTract,relatingtothe Wars of the Gaedhill with the Gaill, comes foremost in importance, as a remote account, and it has been relied on, discounting much that seems to be ima- ginative, yet not wholly incredible. An ancient Irish Manuscript, intituled Cath Chluana Tarbh, contains another description, especially of the cele- brated battle ;'• and, the substance of this statement has been published, already, by the celebrated Gaelic scholar, John O'Donovan. '' A more recent account endeavours to investigate the exact site, on which the great closing battle had been fought. '* Some of the Sagas, or northern stories, are full of detailed description, in reference to the Norse expedition, its origin, progress andresults. Thus,theNials-sagagivesacuriousrelationofthosecircumstances, connected with this great war,'' and, as we may suppose, agreeing with the Northman accounts. '^ Again, the story of Burnt Njal, or Life in Iceland, at the end of the tenth century,'^ contains most interesting illustrative details, 3° relating to the same subject. We are informed, that the NialsSaga has always and justly been placed before all of its class, as peculiar in matter, style, and spirit. 3'
beauty of the day, and to have set off her '? Especially in cap. civ. , clvi. , civii. ,
personal attractions by ornaments, which clviii. , pp. 589 to 623.
were not the products of her own skill and
industry.
=' This ignominy she deeply resented.
" He wasOlaf Kuaran.
'3 However curious and interesting the
subject matter of these Sagas may be, and
however specific their details, we must con-
fess our ignorance, regarding the exact Friderici Suhmii et Legati Arna-Magnseani. amount of credence to be given, in reference
to their Irish historic allusions.
'*See in "The Dubhu Penny Journal,"
vol. i. , No. 17, that article headed "The lished at Edinburgh, A. D. 1S61, in two vols.
Battle of Clontarf," pp. 133 to 136.
's He tells us, however, that the Annals of Innisfallen and of Ulsterhave been followed,
in many details, especially, when giving the list of chieftains, who fell in that engagement. '' See "Journal of the Royal Historical and
Archseological Association of Ireland," vol. V. Fourth series. No. 40. On the site of the Battle of Clontarf, by Thomas O'Gor- man, pp. 169 to 182.
8vo.
'" See the Introduction, ibid. , vol. i. , pp.
clxxxix. to cxcviii. Also vol. ii. , cap. cliii. ,
cliv. , civ. , clvi. , pp. 322 to 343.
3" See Dr. Gudbrand Viglusson's "Stur-
lunga Saga, including the Islendinga Saga of Lawman Sturla Tliordson and other
works," edited with Prologomena, Appen- dices, Tables, Indicesand Maps, vol. i. Prolo-
gomena, sect. 8, p. xlii. Oxford, 1878, 8vo.
"^ "
See Nials-Saga," Historia Niali et
Filiorum, Latine reddita, cum adjecta
Chronologia, variis Textus Islandici Lec-
tionibus, earumque crisi, nee non Glossario .
et Indice Rerum et Locorum. Accessere
specimina scriptur. -e Codicum Membraneo- rum tabulis seneis incisa. Sumptibus Petri
Havnia. ', anno MDCCCIX. , 410.
"' It has been translated from Njals Saga,
by George WebbeDasent, D. C. L. , and pub-
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 395
At this period, the Leinstermen and the whole Scanian race acted in con-
cert ; and, soon it was apparent, that their ambitious designs must lead to a
formidable struggle for supremacy, and against the authority of the Irish monarch. The Northmen deemed it necessary, to collect a powerful arma- ment, and they adopted those means, which were required to insure the suc- cess of their arms. The King of Leinster approved of their measures and engagements ; while he prepared his own forces, to second the efforts of tlieir gathering host. For this great expedition, the Danes collected their rein- forcements, from all parts of Europe. 3^ Having been parted from Brian, her former husband, Gormflaith, or Kormlada,33 sent her son Sitric, or Sigtrygg, to induce the Norsemen to attack the monarch of Ireland, at Clontarf. S'* She was the fairest of all women, and, adds the Saga very enigmatically, the best giftedinever}'thingthatwasnotinherownpower; but,itwasthetalkof men, that she did all things ill, over which she had any power. 35 Her hus- band's name was Olafrattle, and her son Sigtrygg went from Ireland, arriving in the Orkney Islands, while Earl Sigurd was keeping his Yule festival there, in 1013. Earl Gilli, Sigurd's brother-in-law,3* out of tlie Southern Isles, was with him, at that time. King Sigtrygg sat there on a high seat, in the middle,
and on either side of the king was placed one of the Earls. 37 The whole hall was filled with art audience, to hear a story on Yule Day itself, from GunnarLambi'sson,whosatonastool; but,beforehehadended,oneKari drew a sword, and cut off his head. 3^ The northern Sagas have mistaken the relationship of both Sigtrygg and Brian ; and, after those accounts, Thomas Gray, the Poet, strangely states, that Sictryg, "with the silken beard,"39 was
- father-in-law to Bryan, King of Dublin, with whom he was making war. <° When Sigtrygg first moved this subject to Sigurd, the latter was very reluc- tant to engage in the contest, and all his men endeavoured to dissuade him from it. However, he demanded Sigtrygg's mother's hand for his alliance, and to be King of Ireland, if he slew Bryan. To this arrangement, the Danish King of Dublin gave his assent. Then Sigtrygg fared south to Ireland, and told his mother Kornilada what lie had promised Earl Sigurd, and the under- standing given, that he accepted such conditions. She showed herself well pleased at that arrangement ; but, she said a greater force must be gathered. She informed him, that two vikings and brothers lay off the west coast of Man ; one of these was Ospak, and the other was Broder, men of great hardi- hood. She said, moreover, that these must be induced, at any price, to sustain his quarrel. Again, King Sigtrygg sets out on his errand, and finds both of these vikings lying outside, and in ships, off the Isle of Man. Broder refused the proposal, until King Sigtrygg promised him the kingdom and his motlier. Finally, the condition was agreed to, and the secret was to have been kept in such a manner, that Earl Sigurd should know nothing about it. Then, the
'' See S. A. Dunham's ' '
mark, Sweden and Norway," vol. i.
mordha had already engaged in his confederacy, not alone the Irish, but the foreigners. The Scandinavians of Dublin, and those living abroad, were next invited to unite a vast force, destined to oppose Bryan and Maelseach-
lainn. « But, time was required for the maturing of this expedition. While awaiting their arrival, the King of Leinster collected a body of his provincials, with the Danes, and penetrating into Meath, he reached Termon-Feichin, also called the Fabhar of Fechin. Captives and cattle were seized at this place. 94 The King of Leinster then retreated, destroying the country, and carrying off an immense booty. ss In his distress, ^L-^lachy addressed an ap- peal, to the chief and now recognised monarch of Ireland. He complained,
' Now Anglice, pronounced MulhoIIand, but without the prefix of O'. There were several distinct families of this name, in Ire-
«» In the Co^atjIi 5Ae-o1ieL Tie Saltaibli, chap. Ixxxiv. , pp. 148, 153, we find Alb. i- n. ich, or the Scotchman, substituted,
9" Lorcan himself is named, as haN-ing been killed, in the work just quoted.
9= In commemoration of the defeat at
Draighuen, a quatrain was composed, and it is thus rendered into English :—
"Not well on Monday on the expedi- tion did Meathmen go to overrun ;
The foreigners, it was heard were joyful of the ioumey at the Draieh- nen. "
land. See Rev. William Reeves'
"
Ecclesi-
astical Antiquities of Down, Connor and
Dromore," pp. 37010375.
^' Or Little Delvm, now the barony of
Fore, or Demifore, in the north-west of the county of Me. ith.
*3 He is called Cernach, in the Co5^T)h jAe'ohel ne 5Al. l<sibh, chap. Ixxxiy, pp. 148, 149.
'< Sometimes found written Lijii, or Line.
85 Also called Ua Leuchan.
i
^His death is noiiced, in the Cojd-oh jAeohel ne SAlUibh, /Wi/,,-pp. 148, 149.
93 See Dr. Sylvester O'Halloran's " Gene- *? See Dr. O'Doiiovan's '( Annals of the ral History of Ireland," vol. ii. , Book xi
Four Masters," vol. ii. , pp. 766 to 769. ^The Rev. James Wills incorrectly inter- prets it, "the mountain ^f Dirds," in his "Lives of Illustrious and Distinguished
chap, viii. , p. 259.
94 See theCogioh rAcDhelUe 5<j,lUibh,
chap. Ixxxv. , pp. 148, 149.
9S See Dr. Sylvester 0'Hallor. -in's " Gene-
Inshmen," vol. i. , part i. , Second Period, ral History of Ireland," vol. ii. , Book xi. ,
206.
P- I
»9 The translated r. inals of Ulster have it spelled Draynan.
chap, viii. , p. 250.
96 See the cb5At)h Jaexihel ne 5^1-
U,bh, chap. Ixxxv. , pp. 148, 149.
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 391
that his territory had been plundered, and that his sons had been killed. He
earnestly prayed, that the foreigners and the Laighin, with the Breifni, the Cairbri, and the Cinel-Eoghain, should not be allowed to direct all their forces
against himself, without being afforded any succour. '* It is said, that he proceeded in person to the palace at Kincora, or to Ball Boirumhe,'? for that purpose ; and, he represented the danger to which he was exposed, from the hostility of his formidable neighbours. '^ To this application, however,
a refusal was returned, although promises of assistance were probably made. " The King of Meath was thus left to defend his possessions, by such means
as his own narrow resources '°° The supplied.
of that refusal
well be doubted ;'°' but, it is probable, that Bryan could not readily engage, at
the time, to support the depressed state of Malachy.
The defeat of Maelseachlainn was attended with other consequences, as
a triumph thus obtained emboldened the victors to follow up their successes. It soon required a movement on the part of Bryan, to restrain the Leinstermen and Danes. '"' These of Dublin combined with the Irish of Wicklow, and both parties soon assumed a menacing attitude. It was now necessary to check their progress, and Bryan was ready to move his forces, to those points threatened by the confederates. The Ossorians appear to have combined, likewise, against him. Accordingly, the monarch summoned his chiefs, and now led his army towards Leinster. The Irish forces wasted the lands of Ossory,ontheirlineofmarch. DunnchadhMacGiollaPatraic'°3seemsto have been its king, at this time, and hostile to the Ard Righ. The men of Munster and of Connaught were chiefly those engaged on the expedition. ,His army was led by Brian, towards Ath-an-chairthinn,"* and he there en- camped. '°5 He laid siege to the foreigners, as the Annals state, for three months ; but, probably, not at this particular place, as they held no strong- holdsthen,intheinteriorofmidlandErinn. Brian,withtheforcesunderhis command,""encampedatSliabhMairge,"°7todefendMunster. Theposi- tion was admirably chosen as a strategic and commanding post. While his enemies to be encountered lay in the plains before him, those he had kept in check were behind, in the plains of Ossory ; nor could it be safe to advance, while Thomond and Desmond were exposed to a possible attack. A depre- dation, by Murchadh, eldest son of Brian, in Leinster, is recorded in our Annals; and,thiswasprobablydirectedfromSlieveMargytowardstheeast, while the monarch's forces were still in observation. When the covering army deemed it safe to march from its mountain cantonments, their tents were struck, and the Irish forces moved onwards, in a northerly direction, and towards thechiefstrongholdoftheScandinavians. Activelyengagedinthisexcur- sion,butapart,wasthetrustyandbraveMorough. WhileBryanremained
" See Dr. Sylvester O'Halloran's "Gene- ral History of Ireland," vol. ii. , Book xi. , chap, viii. , p. 260.
a. d. 996, by Donovan, son of Imar, King of Waterford, and by Domhnal, son of Faelan,
** See Thomas Moore's "
prince of the Deisi.
Shearman's " Loca
See Rev. John F.
land," vol. ii. , chap. xxi. , pp. 105, 106. "
p. 365.
'"< Dr. O'Donovan renders Ath-na-
Chairthinn : i. t. , Ford of the Rock, the situation of which is unknown, as he states.
'"S It is Latinized " Vadum Officinoe fer-
'" See John D'Alton's History of the County of Dublin," pp. 604, 605.
'°°
See the Annals of Inisfallen, at A. D.
History
of Ire-
Patriciana,"
No. xii. ,
1013.
'" ""
See Rev. James Wills' "Lives of rarias, in Rev. Dr. Conor's Rerum Hiber- lUustrious and Distinguished Irishmen," nicarum Scriptores," tomus iv. Annales
vol. i. , part i. , Second Period, p. 206.
Ultonienses, p. 302.
"* Or of the to the province, according
Ulster Annals.
"' Now that district, comprised in the
"" See Thomas Moore's "
of Ire-
'"' His father, Gilba Patraic, was slain
History land," vol. ii. , chap, xxi. , p. 106.
prudence
may
392 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
in observation, his warlike son was sent to create a diversion, in the heart of the Wicklow mountains. That duty was readily undertaken by Morough,
'°3 and
The foreign settlers inlreland had theprudence, activity, and address, which enabled them to multiply their attacks, and to put in motion the ever-ready and restless turbulence of their neighbours, in whatever direction their own policyrequired. '" Totheirintrigues,wemayprobablyascribemanyofthe localdisturbances,whichaffectedthekingdom. Maelseachlainnhadplanned
an expedition against the foreigners ; but, while he was engaged with the Northmen of Dublin, tlie King of Tyrone invaded the southern Hy-Niall. '"
An army was led by Flaithbheartach, lord of Aileach, to Maighen-Attaed,'" by the son of Ceananuus. Maelseachlainn left the Iiill undisputed to him,
and because, most probably, his muster of force was insufficient, to cope witli the King of Tyrone. No partial effort, or merely predatory descent, how-
ever, could avail the Danes for succeeding, against Bryan's growing power. Their extensively increasing possessions in cities and towns gave great in- fluence to the foreigners. It was necessary for them to adopt, far more ordered and energetic measures, to carry out their ambitious schemes of conquest, and to effect their own security, as they had already suffered so many defeats. The designs of Bryan, and liis vigorous strokes in oft-repeated expeditions, were then better understood, by the foreign colonists, than can be known,"3 at the present time.
CHAPTER VIII.
LAST CAMPAIGN OF BRYAN—CHRONOLOGY AND ACCOUNTS OF IT REMAINING—THE KING OF LEINSTER AND THE DUBLIN OSTMEN SEND EMISSARIES FOR DISTANT REINFORCEMENTS—BRYAN BOROIMHA MUSTERS HIS FORCES—HE MARCHES INTO LEINSTER, AND HE ARRIVES AT DUBLIN—CONCENTRATION OF THE LEINSTER AND SCANDINAVIAN ARMIES—POSITION OF THE MONARCH, ON THE PLAIN OF MAGH-N-ELTA.
Now, the whole power of the North was to be arrayed, for a vast and closing Struggle with the Monarch of Ireland, who found so many of his own country- men desirous to rebel against his authority, and to overturn his rule. This, however, required no ordinary exertion. Accordingly, a great expedition was in course of preparation. It was destined to arouse that energetic
who carried
then a considerable city, belonging to Maelmordha. Then, Leinster was plundered by the Munster chief, so far as Atli-cliath, whither he moved, to effectapreconcertedjunctionwithhisfather. OnMurrough'slineofmarch, he devasted the country from Gleann-da-locha as far as Cill-Maighneann. '°9 During this time, he kept up communications with the main army, commanded by Bryan. The whole invaded province suffered terribly, from the relentless assaults of Murrough, who carried off great spoils and innumerable prisoners, to the green of Ath-Cliath.
plunder, devastation,
slaughter,
so far as
Glendalough,
barony of Slievemargy, Queen's County. Tlie translated Ulster Annals term it Moun- taine Marci.
'" See Charles O'Conor's " Dissertations on the History of Ireland," sect, xviii. , p. 248.
See Walter Harris' " and An- History
'"This means "Attaedh's little
This might be Anglicized Moynalty ; but, the name is apparently obsolete, at pre- sent.
"3 See Rev. Jimcs Wills' " Lives of Illus-
trious and Distinguished Irishmen," vol. i. , part i. , Second Period, p. 206.
'-^
tiquities of the City of Dublin, from the Earliest Accounts," chap, ix. , p. 193.
plain. "
"^ Now Kilmainham. near Dublin.
"See Rev. James Wills' "Lives of Ilhis-
trious and Distinguished Irishmen," vol. i. , part i. , Second Period, p. 206.
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 393
effort of national defence, which culminated victoriously for Bryan Boromha, on the field of Clontarf,' where his glorious and heroic career on earth closed.
The dates given for this last celebrated campaign of the Irish Monarch
have been confused and varied, in accounts which have come down to our
times. By some writers, the period has been considerably antedated. Thus, while a missing leaf,' containing probably what relates to the Battle of Clon- tarf, is not published, in Rev. Dr. Charles O'Conor's edition of Tigernach's Annals ;3 the " Annales Inisfalenses," Bodleian copy, place this last war of Bryan,attheyear996. • However,muchmorediffusely,andattheyear1014, does the Dublin copy of these Annals give a very detailed account regarding the celebrated battle of Clontarf,' and differing altogether in text, from the Oxford Codex. The year 1012 is the date, given for this great engagement, in the " Chronicum Scotorum. "* The Four Masters have the year 1013, for that event. ? About the end of the year 1013, or the be- ginning of 1014, has been assigned, likewise, for the opening of Bryan's last campaign. * A Welsh calculation places this date for the battle of Clontarf to 1013 ;9 but, it was really fought on the following year, as all the best authori- ties are now agreed. At a. d.
1014, the "Annales Buelliani" have the battle of Clontarf ;'° and, the English translation follows the original, with some interesting comments to elucidate the account. " This same year, also, the Annals of Loch C6" open with a narrative of that celebrated engagement. '3 The Njals-Saga ' adopts the latter date for the campaign, and battle, with which it concluded. The Annals of Ulster place the event, at 1013, or loi4;'5 and, the corrected chronology of Marianus Scottus, who lived not very long after the time, has it at the latter year. '* All our most reliable modern historical authorities are agreed, on the same date.
Less difficult is it, however, to settle the chronology, than to place, in suitable order and statement, the incidents of this campaign. All those causes which moved the hosts engaged on either side, and which immediately brought on that decisive b. ittle, can hardly be analyzed, at the present
"time. "' According to the Danish writer, Torfaeus,'* Kormlod,"' a woman of
Chapter vin. — " Now a
Barony of Coolock, and defined on the "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps, for the County of Dublin," sheets 15, 18, 19. Clon- tarf Town and sheds are marked, on sheet
; the divisions of its townland, into Eat and West, are shown on sheets 18, 19.
• See Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hibcmica-
rum . Scriptores," tomus ii. Annales Tiger- naci, p. 271.
i \ hiatus is to be found in
leian copy, viz. , from A. D. 1003 to A. D. 1018.
• See ibid. , p. 54.
5 See the Irish text, wi. h the Latin trans- lation, ibiil. , pp. 601070.
Rev. Williams ab John
19
See John D' Alton's History of Ire-
' Edited by William M. Hennessy. pp. 250 to 253.
See
parish,
in the
Ithel, M. A. ,
at
p.
this,
the Bod-
land and Annals of Boyle," vol. ii. , pp. 165
10178.
"The -dnnoil-A tochAC^, or the Annals
of Loch Ce, a Chronicle of Irish Affairs from
A. D. to a. d edited witli transla- 1014 1590.
tion, by'VV'dliamM. Ilennessy, M. R. I. A. M See vol. i. , pp. 2 to 13.
'< See cap. clvii. , clvii. , pp. 599 to 623. '5 See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hiber-
nicarum Scriptores," tomus iv. , pp. 303 to
306.
''. See Pertz's "Monumenta Germanic
' See dnniLAnioghachcdeipeanti. An-
nals of the Kingdom of Irelan i, by the Four
Masters, &c. , edited with a translation and
copious notes, by John O'Donovan, LL. D. , "Historic. il Memoirs of the O'Briens. "
vol. ii. , pp. 772 to 781.
' See Walter Harris' "
Medieval Part, chap, iii. , pp. 26 to 37.
and Anti- quities of the City of Dublin," chap, ix. ,
" In his
of the
at
p. 194.
' See " Annales Cambri3e,"edited by the
x. , p. 33.
' Called Gormlaith, by the Irish.
" She is said, to have been the greatest
History
History
22.
'° . See pars, ii. , pp. 15 to 17, in Rev. Dr.
Charles O'Conor's " Rerum HIberiiicarum
Scriptores," tomus ii. ""
Historici," tomus v. Mariani Scotti Chroni-
con, p. 555.
' See, on this suljject, John O'Donoghue's
Orkneys, Copenha,'en, 1697, fol.
chap,
394 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
very depraved morals,'" and repudiated by her former husband,'' Bryan Boroimha,wasmainlytheinstigatorofthiswar. SitricoftheSilkenBeard, andKingofDublin,washerson,byanotherhusband. " Aswehavealready premised, the accounts, even of great public events, at this period, and which have come down to us, exceed the sober truth of history, by the introduction of improbable occurences and easily ascertainable fictions. Various are the narratives, furnished in records of the times succeeding this period, and given by our Irish historians, to account for the war now impending. However, so widely do they differ in statement, and so improbable are many of the cir- cumstances introduced, that i: is nearly impossible to reduce them into relia- ble shape. VTet, have we to regard the story of those distant transactions, as not wholly irreconcileable with facts, that are disguised under turgid descrip- tion, and the mannerism of the bards, chroniclers, skaalds and saga-men, in the Irish and Norse traditions of the time. But, as various statements are extant, both on the Irish and the Norse side -p these have been subjected to a close examination—especially the earlier ones—and with a view to elicit themostconsistentandreliableversion. ThatancientTract,relatingtothe Wars of the Gaedhill with the Gaill, comes foremost in importance, as a remote account, and it has been relied on, discounting much that seems to be ima- ginative, yet not wholly incredible. An ancient Irish Manuscript, intituled Cath Chluana Tarbh, contains another description, especially of the cele- brated battle ;'• and, the substance of this statement has been published, already, by the celebrated Gaelic scholar, John O'Donovan. '' A more recent account endeavours to investigate the exact site, on which the great closing battle had been fought. '* Some of the Sagas, or northern stories, are full of detailed description, in reference to the Norse expedition, its origin, progress andresults. Thus,theNials-sagagivesacuriousrelationofthosecircumstances, connected with this great war,'' and, as we may suppose, agreeing with the Northman accounts. '^ Again, the story of Burnt Njal, or Life in Iceland, at the end of the tenth century,'^ contains most interesting illustrative details, 3° relating to the same subject. We are informed, that the NialsSaga has always and justly been placed before all of its class, as peculiar in matter, style, and spirit. 3'
beauty of the day, and to have set off her '? Especially in cap. civ. , clvi. , civii. ,
personal attractions by ornaments, which clviii. , pp. 589 to 623.
were not the products of her own skill and
industry.
=' This ignominy she deeply resented.
" He wasOlaf Kuaran.
'3 However curious and interesting the
subject matter of these Sagas may be, and
however specific their details, we must con-
fess our ignorance, regarding the exact Friderici Suhmii et Legati Arna-Magnseani. amount of credence to be given, in reference
to their Irish historic allusions.
'*See in "The Dubhu Penny Journal,"
vol. i. , No. 17, that article headed "The lished at Edinburgh, A. D. 1S61, in two vols.
Battle of Clontarf," pp. 133 to 136.
's He tells us, however, that the Annals of Innisfallen and of Ulsterhave been followed,
in many details, especially, when giving the list of chieftains, who fell in that engagement. '' See "Journal of the Royal Historical and
Archseological Association of Ireland," vol. V. Fourth series. No. 40. On the site of the Battle of Clontarf, by Thomas O'Gor- man, pp. 169 to 182.
8vo.
'" See the Introduction, ibid. , vol. i. , pp.
clxxxix. to cxcviii. Also vol. ii. , cap. cliii. ,
cliv. , civ. , clvi. , pp. 322 to 343.
3" See Dr. Gudbrand Viglusson's "Stur-
lunga Saga, including the Islendinga Saga of Lawman Sturla Tliordson and other
works," edited with Prologomena, Appen- dices, Tables, Indicesand Maps, vol. i. Prolo-
gomena, sect. 8, p. xlii. Oxford, 1878, 8vo.
"^ "
See Nials-Saga," Historia Niali et
Filiorum, Latine reddita, cum adjecta
Chronologia, variis Textus Islandici Lec-
tionibus, earumque crisi, nee non Glossario .
et Indice Rerum et Locorum. Accessere
specimina scriptur. -e Codicum Membraneo- rum tabulis seneis incisa. Sumptibus Petri
Havnia. ', anno MDCCCIX. , 410.
"' It has been translated from Njals Saga,
by George WebbeDasent, D. C. L. , and pub-
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 395
At this period, the Leinstermen and the whole Scanian race acted in con-
cert ; and, soon it was apparent, that their ambitious designs must lead to a
formidable struggle for supremacy, and against the authority of the Irish monarch. The Northmen deemed it necessary, to collect a powerful arma- ment, and they adopted those means, which were required to insure the suc- cess of their arms. The King of Leinster approved of their measures and engagements ; while he prepared his own forces, to second the efforts of tlieir gathering host. For this great expedition, the Danes collected their rein- forcements, from all parts of Europe. 3^ Having been parted from Brian, her former husband, Gormflaith, or Kormlada,33 sent her son Sitric, or Sigtrygg, to induce the Norsemen to attack the monarch of Ireland, at Clontarf. S'* She was the fairest of all women, and, adds the Saga very enigmatically, the best giftedinever}'thingthatwasnotinherownpower; but,itwasthetalkof men, that she did all things ill, over which she had any power. 35 Her hus- band's name was Olafrattle, and her son Sigtrygg went from Ireland, arriving in the Orkney Islands, while Earl Sigurd was keeping his Yule festival there, in 1013. Earl Gilli, Sigurd's brother-in-law,3* out of tlie Southern Isles, was with him, at that time. King Sigtrygg sat there on a high seat, in the middle,
and on either side of the king was placed one of the Earls. 37 The whole hall was filled with art audience, to hear a story on Yule Day itself, from GunnarLambi'sson,whosatonastool; but,beforehehadended,oneKari drew a sword, and cut off his head. 3^ The northern Sagas have mistaken the relationship of both Sigtrygg and Brian ; and, after those accounts, Thomas Gray, the Poet, strangely states, that Sictryg, "with the silken beard,"39 was
- father-in-law to Bryan, King of Dublin, with whom he was making war. <° When Sigtrygg first moved this subject to Sigurd, the latter was very reluc- tant to engage in the contest, and all his men endeavoured to dissuade him from it. However, he demanded Sigtrygg's mother's hand for his alliance, and to be King of Ireland, if he slew Bryan. To this arrangement, the Danish King of Dublin gave his assent. Then Sigtrygg fared south to Ireland, and told his mother Kornilada what lie had promised Earl Sigurd, and the under- standing given, that he accepted such conditions. She showed herself well pleased at that arrangement ; but, she said a greater force must be gathered. She informed him, that two vikings and brothers lay off the west coast of Man ; one of these was Ospak, and the other was Broder, men of great hardi- hood. She said, moreover, that these must be induced, at any price, to sustain his quarrel. Again, King Sigtrygg sets out on his errand, and finds both of these vikings lying outside, and in ships, off the Isle of Man. Broder refused the proposal, until King Sigtrygg promised him the kingdom and his motlier. Finally, the condition was agreed to, and the secret was to have been kept in such a manner, that Earl Sigurd should know nothing about it. Then, the
'' See S. A. Dunham's ' '
mark, Sweden and Norway," vol. i.
