No More Learning

*' The foUowin;:, according to another
version, is the opening verse : "Vitt er erpinn
—
Each a
gasping
warrior's head.
Fyrit valfalli Riss reidi sky Rienir blodi
Nu er fyr geirum Grar uppkominn Vefr verpiodar Perer vinur fulla, Raudum vefti Randversk bla. "
Burnt we have translated into Njal,"
" Shafts for shuttles, dipt in gore.
Shoot the trembling cords along. Sword, that once a monarch bore, Keep the tissue close and strong.
" Mista, black terrific maid,
Sangrida and Hilda, see, Joy the wayward work to aid : 'Tis the woof of victory,
"Eretheruddysunbeset.
Pikes must shiver, javelins sing. Blade with clattering buckler meet
Hauberk crash and helmet rmg.
—Rev.
Johnstone's " Celto-Scandic*,' p. 124.
James
«'« In George Webbe Dasent's "Story of
tnglish "TheWoofofWar. " Seevol. ii. , chap,
" thecrimsonwebof (Weave
dvi. , pp. 338 to 341.
*'' See " Puems " of Thomas
war).
Ode viii. , p. 79.
*"Th—is is one version of the
opening
verse :
"
Ampla constituta sunt Strajjis anteludia
Vela texori jugi. Sanguinem nubes pluit. Pila nunc pnesagiens Leucophcea toUitur
Tela militantium
Haecce complices replent Qvam rubro subtemine Lividoque, prselii. "
\ —Rev.
CeJto-Scandicae," &c. , p. 124.
"
Pent within its bleak
Soon their ample sway shall stretch
O'er the plenty of the plain.
Low the dauntless Earl is laid.
Gored with many a g. iping wound, Fate demands a nobler head ;
Soon a king shall bite the ground,
James Johnstone's
Antiquitates
domain.
*" See cap. clviii. , pp. 606 to 620.
*"ThePuet,ThomasGray. Thisproduc- tion, known as "The Fatal Sisters," appears among his Poem? , with the Latin version, from which it h. is been translated, forming an Appendix. See vol. i. . Ode viii , pp. 75 to 8 V The following is the English version of Gray : —
" Now the storm begin? to lower, (Haste, the loom of hell prepare),
"
— :
;
Antiquitates
vol. Gray, i. ,
Let us go, and let us fly,
Wliere our Iriends the conflict share,
Where they triumph, where they die.
" As the paths of fate we tread,
Wadiiig through this ensanguined field,
Gondula, and Geira, spread
O'er the youthful king your shield,
" We the reins to
Ours to kill, and ours to spare :
Spite of danger he shall live, (Weave the crimson web of war),
" They whom once the desert-beach
" Long his loss shall Eirin weep, Ne'er again his likeness see ;
Long her strains in sorrow steep Strains of immortality !
slaughter give.
448 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
ever, this version is by no means literal. A like event to what befel Daurrud happened, it is stated, to Brand Gneisti's son, in the Faroe Isles. <°3
The body of tlie glorious monarch Bryan was found on the field ofClontarf,'«'4 when victory had unmistakably declared for the Irish. ^^s There, too, num- bers of the wounded were discovered to be still living; and for these, sledges and biers were made, to carry them with less pain, from that place of slaugh- ter. '*"' Among those mortally wounded was their brave leader Prince Mur- chadh, who, after the battle, made a confession of his sins, and received the
Holy Sacrament. +^7 He lived on, however, to the next morning. This was a
happy consummation of his glorious life, and one well becoming a religious prince, whose career in arms was a brilliant one, such as the ambitious might envy, but whose bed of earthly victory was hallowed with a still brighter pros- pect of never-fading glory. After the battle was over,*^^ the Irish took King Bryan's body and laid it out. The king's head, we are told, had grown fast to the trunk. 1^9
The deceased hero immediately took his place in history, national and
foreign,'i3° after the sanguinary encounter at Clontarf, which m compliment to him has been designated," Brian's battle,"'*^' even as called in the Sagas. Such
a sore defeat prevented any general northern combination, for the subsequent invasion of Ireland ; since gloom and mourning spread over almost every
homestead throughout Scandinavia, while many an adventurous colonist, who joined in the Irish expedition, never returned to relate the story of that signal disaster. 432 The sanguinary character and duration of this great battle were such, as to render it unusual in those times. 433 The day after, on Holy Saturday, the surviving Irish returned to visit the scene of that dreadful con- test, and they buried there every one of their slain, whom they were able to recognise. ''3* As well in the Danish and Northmen Sagas, as in the chroni-
" Horror covers all the heath, Clouds of carnage blot ;he sun.
Sisters, weave the web of cleatli ; Sisters, cease ; tlit work is done.
" Hail the task, and hail the hands !
*'3 Thus closed the glorious career of a sovereign, whose "hand was bent on war, but whose heart was for the peace of Erin. " Richard Ryan's "Biographia Hibernica," vol. ii. , p. 116.
*"" See Coga'oh Saeroheb Tie 5Alt4ibli, chap, cxix. , pp. 210, 211.
*'' According to the Dublin copy of the Annals of Innisfallen, in Kev. Dr. ©'Conor's "Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus ii. , p. 66.
*" See "Nials-Saga," cap. clviii. , p.
"
Songs of joy . ^nd triumph sing 1 Joy to the victorious bands ;
Triumph to the younger king.
Mortal, thou that hear'st the tale, Learn the tenor of our song.
Scotland through each winding vale Far and wide the notes prolong.
" Sisters, hence with spurs of speed : Eachhenhundering falchion wield ;
Each bestride her sable steed, Hurry, hurry to the field ! "
of Burnt Njal," vol. ii. , chap, clvi,, p. 338. "" See Thomas D'Arcy M'Gee's "Popu- lar History of Ireland," vol. i. . Book ii. ,
chap, vi. , p. 102.
*3' See "Vita Nialis," where it is desig-
nated, at cap. clviii. , Pugna Brianina, pp.
623.
"Round Sitric'skeel Ne'er wave shall whiten mote—nor
<" WebbeDasent's " See George
of
601 to "'
Story Burnt Njal," vol. ii. ,chap. clvi. , p. 342.
*'*
Her monar—c—h slain
the —
Anrud's sail
the wise
Swell to the
—"
breeze. "
,
Boroimhe has fallen
laughing
pride OfErin's sons
!
—
Clontarf,"
ii. ,
p. 35. "
"—SadErinweeps
the great, good,
I
fallen is the
Her sword
is cast
Re- rum Hiliernicarum Scriptores," tomus ii. ,
Annales Ininfalenses, p. 66.
•3'See Coga-oh JaeoheL -Re 5Al. U(ilbli,
chap, cxix. , pp. 210, 211.
*35 Ademai of St. Cibard, a monk of An-
away.
Dimmed is her shield, and bowed to
earth her crest !
The fairest star of chivalry is set 1"
—"Clontarf,"a Poem, Book ii. , p. 36.
604.
^"^ See George Webbe Dasent's
" Story
a Poem, Book
*» See Rev. Dr. Charles O'Conor's
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 449
cle of the Isles ; and in those of England, Scotland, Wales, and of the Conti- nent, this great defeat of the foreigners was recorded. One chronicler, •35 and a contemporaryjO* rnakes the battle of Clontarf last for three whole days ; however, this statemen^ does not agree with other and more authentic ac- counts, for, it was confined to a decisive engagement of several hours' duration, yet ending on the day it commenced. It is even said, that then and there, all the Northmen were killed. «7 Moreover, we find added, that crowds of their women and children were drowned in the sea. 'tss
TheageofBryanBoroimhahasbeenvariouslyestimated; accordingtosome accounts, he had reached his eighty-eighth +39 year, while others again make him only seventy-three •<° years old, at the time of his death. He is said to have reigned thirty-eight years, as king over Munster, and to have been twelve years, in the chief sovereignty ofErinn. +'t' Like Leonidas-'-'^ and Epaminondas,'^*^ he fell, combating in his country's cause, and grasping victory even in death. ^t* On the fall of Bryan, his bard Mac Liag composed a celebrated Elegy, which has been rendered into English verse, by one of our celebrated Irish poets. 't'ts Another elegiac composition, with Irish text and English transla- tion,''** known as Kincora, or Mac Liag's Lament, the original being assigned to A. D. 1015, has been published. <^7 Two other admirable pieces, with Irish texts, and having the English headings, Mac Liag mournfully remembers Bryan and his Nobles,**' and Mac Liag in exile remembers Brian,<<9 ha—ve been rendered into English, by Rev. William Hamilton Drummond, D. D. an Irish poet, and distinguished for his varied talents.
During the fierce engagement at Clontarf, that strong detachment, under the command of Donchadh, had been otherwise occupied. After their great victory had been achieved, the men of Munster collected together and en- camped on the green of Ath Cliath,''5° where they remained for two days and twonights,awaitingDonchadh'sarrival. Histroopswerethelastleviesofthe Dalcassians, who brought with them a great spoil from Leinster; for, it seems, that some delay had been necessary, in bringing up all the Irish Monarch's reserves. <5' At length, at the hour of Vespers, and on Easter Sunday night, Donnchadharrived,drivingbeforehimagreatpreyofcattle. 'S^ Thus,having plundered Leinster, he reached Kilmainham, but too late for sharing in the dangers and glory of that memorable day. «s3 There, he met with his brother Teige, and Kian the son of Molloy, with all who survived that battle, both sound and wounded. <s4 Grateful for their kindly services,
gouleme, has such an account. He was born in 988, and he lived to the year 1031. There is a good notice of his Life and Works in "Histoire Liler. iire de la France," tome vii. , sect. I, 2, pp. 300 to 308.
"' See M. le d'Hoeffer's " Nouvelle Bio-
graphie Generale dcpuis les Temps les plus recul^s jusqu' a nous Jours," tome i. , cols.
cum muneribus donavit. " —Ibid.
<" According to tlic writer of Co^atjVi jAetilieL ne JdllAibh, chap, cxvi. , pp. 204, 205. —This authority has been followed, by many if not by most—of our annalists and biographers. See Richard Ryan's "Bio- graphia Hibernica," vol. i. , p. 116.
*"' This is the age assigned to him, in the Annals of Ulster.
276, 277.
" •' "
*", Consertum est ergo praelium per tri-
See Dr. Jeffrey Keating's General History of Ireland," part ii. , p. 482.
"'See an account of him, in George Grote's" History of Greece," vol. iii. , part ii. , chap. xl. . pp. 423to442.
*" For the vaiiuus events of his career, see ibid. , vol. vii. , part ii. , chap. Ixxvii. to Ixxx. , pp. 7210314.
*" See James Stuart's "Historical Me- moirs of the City of Armagh," chap, iii. , p. 123.
^'s gee "Poems" of James Clarence f i
duum incessa—nter, et Normannorum nullus ""
vivus evasit. Ademari Historiarum," HI). iii. The chronology of this battle, in his chronicle, seems to be set down at A. D. 1016. SeePertz's " Monumenta Germanise Histo- rica," tomus iv. , p. 140.
<* " Uxores eorum cum parvulis sese cnnctse in mare precipites suffoc. irunt. Qui vivi capti sunt, feris ad laniandum proiecti sunt. Unum ex captivis rex vivere, quia Christianum captivum fuisse cognovit, et
Vol. IV. —No. 8.
45° LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
and in obedience to his father's dying request, Donagh sent jewels and offer-
ings, to the Gomharb and subordinate clergy of St. Patrick ;<S5 while, in the
fifty-first year of his age, that prince succeeded his father, «' but as we are told, he did not rule over the fourth part of Ireland/'?
According to the provisions of his will. ^s^ the King of Ireland had resolved, that his body should be conveyed to Armagh, after his death. His son Donnchadh religiously fulfilled this bequeathed obligation, and all the other bequests made, and so secured the blessing of his illustrious father. «9 Soon as the monks at Swords heard of the order for interment, theycamedirectlytothecamp. Thefirststageofthismournfulandsolemn procession was northwards from Clontarf, and the clergy of Swords, with
^^>WKVs,\^'k^-
Medieval Archiepiscopal Palace, Monastic remains, and Round Tower, at Swords, County of Dublin.
religious rites and ceremonies, brought the remains of this renowned, heroic and religious monarch, together with those of his son Murchadh, to their abbey,<*° where the coffins were deposited for that night. Here are still to
Mangan. NewYorkedition,1859,8vo. In
O,wherearetheDalcassiansofthe golden swords ?
And where are the warriors Brian led on ?
Where, O Kinkora?
" And where is Murrough, the descend- ant of kings ;
the Irish is the
Anthology," at pp. 382 to 384,
" following,
: intituled " Kinkora " —
" O, where, Kinkora ! is Brian the Great ?
And where is the beauty that once was thine?
O, where are the princes and nobles that sate
At the feast in thy halls, and drank
the red wine
Where, O Kinkora ?
" O, where Kinkora 1 are thy valorous lords?
O, whither, thou Hospitable ! are they gone ?
—f a hundred—
Who set but slight store by jewels
!
and
rings
The defeater o
the dar-
ingly brave
—
Who swam down the torrent and
laughed at its wave ?
Where, O Kinkora ?
" And where is Donagh, King Brian's worthy son ?
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 4SI
be seen, many fine ecclesiastical and mediaeval remains. '**' Thence, the next
morning, the clergy of Daraliag, or Duleek, with similar marks of respect, had the bodies conducted, to the church of St. Kiaran ; and there, too, they were received by the monks, who bore the coffins to their religious establishment.
"
with my grief !
Left me, Kinkora !
And where are the chiefs mth whom Brian went forth,
The never vanquished sons of Erin the brave.
The great King of Onaght, renowned for his worth,
And the hosts of Baskinn from the western wave ?
Where, O Kinkora ?
And where Conaing, the beautiful chief?
To give me at the banquet, the first
bright cup !
Ah ! why did he heap on me honour
like this?
Why, O Kincora ?
"IamMac-Liag,andmyhomeis on the Lake :
Thither often, to that palace whose beauty is fled,
Came Brian, to ask me, and I went for his sake,
O, my grief ! that I should live, and Brian be dead !
Dead, O Kinkora !
*" This poem has been translated, by John D'Alton.
+" See James Hardiman's " Irish Mins- trelsy, or Bardic Remains of Ireland, with English Poetical Translations," vol. ii. , pp. 196 to 201. London, 1831, 8vo.
+•* See ibid. , pp. 202 to 207.
*« See ibid. , pp. 208 to 211.
*5° This notice seems to confirm Richard
Stanihurst's account, that the Danes were not settled on the north side of the city, until
"theyeare 1095," when they built "Ost- mantowne, that is, the towne of the Ost-
And Kian and Core ? Alas they are
gone—
They have left me this night alone
" O where is Duvlann of the swift-footed steeds ?
And where is Kian, who was son of MoUoy ?
And where is King Lonergan, the fame of whose deeds
In the red battle-field no time can destroy ?
Where, O Kinkora ?
" And where is that of
youth majestic
mannes. "—
"
"
"
height.
The faith-keeping Prince of the
Scots? Evenhe.
As wide as his fame was, as great was
his might.
Was tributary, O Kinkora, to thee.
Thee, O Kinkora !
They are gone those heroes of royal birth.
Who plundered no churches, and broke no trust ;
'Tis weary for me to be living on earth
When they, O Kinkora, lie low in the dust !
Low, O Kinkora!
O, never again will Princes appear, To rival the Dalcassians of the
cleaving swords ;
I can never dream of meeting afar or
anear,
In the east or the west, such heroes
and lords !
Never, Kinkora I
O, dear are the images my memory calls up
perfect Description of Ireland," &c. , chap, iii. , p. 26.
Of Brian Boru would miss
!
—how he never
Holinshed's "Chroni- cles of England, Scotland, and Ireland," vol. vi. " treatise containing a plain and
Raphaell
«
Old Ireland," set to music, thereis one called "The Return from Fingal ;" while, this is supposed by some, to have been the march played or sung by the troops of Brian Boromha, and in celebration of the victory obtained at Clontarf. Published by Boosey and Co. , London, 1883.
<5» Twenty-eight oxen were slaughtered on the green of Ath-Cliath, after his arrival. We
are told, moreover, that the foreigners who
were in Ath Cliath threatened to come out
to give battle to Donnchadh, and to such of
the Dal Cais as were alive there, because it
was great pain to them to have their cows
killed in their presence. And a message
came from the son of Amhlaibh, telling
them to take an ox for every twenty, and to
leave all the other oxen behind, except that
number. Donnchadh said, "We have not
been hitherto in the pay of the son of Imar,
nor shall we be so in future ; for, it appears
to us, that our hostility to each other is now
greater than ever. " Such of the oxen as
were yet alive were then slaughtered, in sight
of the of Ath Cliath but, the foreigners ;
foreigners declined battle, owing to their fear
In Dr. Villiers Stanford's of "Songs
45* LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
Here, the clergy of Lughmagh, or Louth, received the corpses, and attended forthepurposeoftheirremovaltothatmonastery. ^*' TheArchbishopof Armagh, with many seniors of his church,<^3 had already set out from the Primatial See, to manifest his singular respect for the glorious monarch, who desired his remains to rest in St. Patrick's city until the day of the general Resurrection. With his suffragans and clergy, the Archbishop received the body at Louth. Thence, it was conveyed, with great solemnity, to their cathe- dral, where the highest honours were paid to King Bryan's memory. The accounts are so universal, and confirming this statement, that it seems surprising any popular misconception could have arisen, regarding his interment at Kil- laloe. *** Fortwelvedaysandasmanynights,^*3thebodywaswatchedbythe clergy. During the whole of this time, there was a continuance of sacrifices, of watchings, of prayers and of devotions. ^'* The remains were interred, with great funeral pomp and ceremony, at the north side of the altar, set up in the greatchurchofArmagh. Amonumentofhewnmarblecoveredthem;*^'
of Donnchadh and of the Dal Cais. See C0540I1 5<seT)Viel. He S^lUMbli, chap. cxix. , pp. 210, 211.
<53 In John O'Donoghue's lately pub- lished " Historical Memoirs of the O'Briens,"
to the age of Bryan.
457 See Periz's " Monumenta Germania:
Historica," lomus v. , p. 555.
45* See James Stuart's "Historical Memoirs
of the City of Armagh," chap, iii. , p. 123. 459 See Co5AT)h Jaeohel Ue SallAibh, the O'Briens during sixteen centuries, and chap, cxiii. , cxviii. , pp. 200 to 203, 2X0,
the reader will find detailed, the history of specially of the descendants of Brian 211.
Boroimhe ; the grant of tlie royal palace of
Cashel to the Church, by Mortogh O'Brien,
and the erection of Cormac's chapel thereon.
The relations of the O'Briens with the great
Norman families settled in Ireland, after the
advent of II. , and their to Henry struggle
f^ See Rev. Dr. Paul O'Brien's " Disser- tations on the National Customs, and State Laws of the Ancient Irish," part ii. , chap, i. , p. 534, in General Vallancey's "Collecta- nea de Rebus Hibernicis," vol. i.
4*' The annexed illustration an represents
ancient castle, in the foreground, and for-
merly used as a palace, by the Archbishops of Dublin ; in the middle distance are por- tions of the modern town ; while, in the far distance are the mediaeval belfry-tower of the monastery, and an ancient Round Tower. This drawing, taken on the spot, by William F. Wakeman, has been transferred by him to the wood, which was engraved by Mrs. Millard.
4" See Rev. James Wills' " Lives of lUus-
trious and Distinguished Irishmen," vol. i. Second Period, p. 212.
4'3
4*4 However,inJonathanFisher's"Scenery oflreland," at plate xi. , illustiating Killaloe on the River Shannon, it is stated, A. D. 1792, that near the cathedral were some remains of the mausoleum of Brien Boru.
4'5 According to a Manuscript, quoted by Dr. Sylvester O'Halloran, in his " General History of Ireland," vol. ii. . Book xi. ,chap. viii. , p. 296.
4^* See James Stuart's " Historical Me- moirs of the City of Armagh," chap, iii. , p. 123.
4°? See Rev. Dr. O'Brien's " Dissertations on the National Custons, and State Laws of the Ancient Irish," part ii. , chap, i. , p.
maintain the independency of their territory of Thomond, are also related. After the settlement of the Anglo-Noimans, the abor- tive attempt to comljine the forces of the Irish princes at the Congress of Caeluise, attended by Teige O'Brien, Brian O'Neill, and others, for the expulsion of the invaders, will be found highly interesting, as the first attempt to shake off the yoke of the foreign-
ers. The divisions of the O'Briens— whom invited Edward Bruce to Munster, while the other, the ancestor of the present head of the family, was appointed to com—- mand the army prepared to expel him occupy considerable space. The relations subsisting between the O'Briens and the Desmond Fitzgeralds ; the alliances between the former and the De Burghs ; and the ex- action of "black rent" by the O'Briens from the English settlers protected by them, disclose a most curious state of society. The origin of the antagonism between the houses of Kildareand ofOrmond, and the share of the O'Briens in these quarrels, are fully de- tailed.
«4 See Rev. James Wills' " Lives of Illus- trious and Distinguished Irishmen," vol. i. . Second Period, pp. 213, 214.
455 See James Stuart's " Historical Me- moirs of the City of Armagh, chap, iii. ,
p. 123. 45' This
"
related in the " Chronicon " of Marianus Scottus, may give us some clue
General Vallancey's
fact,
in
Rebus Hibernicis," vol. i.
Collectanea de
^one of
See James Stuart's "Historical Me- moirs of the City of Armagh," chap, iii. , p. 123.
534,
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 4S3
but, this has long since disappeared, or it cannot at present be recognised. The body of Morough <^^ was removed, likewise, from the field of Clontarf to Armagh, as stated by the ancient writer. t's Besides, it is said, the bodies of his son Turlough and of Conning, the son of Donnchuan, were interred in another tomb, at the south side of the same church. -t? '' Another account has it, that the head of Conang, and that of Faelan, prince of the Desies, were taken away,'*'" while the bodies were left behind, possibly because these could not be identified. This course can only be accounted for on the supposition, that after these chiefs had fallen in battle, their slayers or others had decapitated them,aswasthebarbarouscustomofvanqaishers,atthatperiod. Thirtybodies of those nobles, who had been slain at Clontarf, were carried away by the clans- men to their territorial churches, wherever these were situated over Erinn. *?