Pagans,theIrishdistinguishedbetweentwoinvadingnations; theNorwe-
'°*—the more formidable horde— known as or
gians
" fair-headed
being Fingaills, "white,"
"' The teiTn JopmgLdi-A, translated "
"azure, is sometimes applied to them ; it is probable, because of their armour presenting the colour a greenish blue.
'°*—the more formidable horde— known as or
gians
" fair-headed
being Fingaills, "white,"
"' The teiTn JopmgLdi-A, translated "
"azure, is sometimes applied to them ; it is probable, because of their armour presenting the colour a greenish blue.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v4
, annis
in the learned work of Professor Rudolph "
Magnusen,
Jotuns Giants. "
—
"
'°
According to the Dogmas of the Asa-
Faith :
'•
In the beginning of time there
were two worlds : in the south was Muspell,
light and flaming ; over it rules Surtur, who
sits at its boundaries with his flaming sword; in the North was Nififheim, cold and dark, with the fountain Hevergclmir in its midst, where the Dragon Niohbgg dwells. Between these worlds was Ginungagap—tlie Yawning Chasm—still as the windless air. From Hevergelmir flowed forth ice-cold venom- streams. The rime from these streams met in Ginunga-gap with Muspell's sparks ; then the rime-drops were quickened by the power of the heat, and the Joiun Ymir came into being, —who of himself produced a race of evil
or Mountain The Religion of the Northmen," by Rudolph Keyser, Part First, chap, i. ,
p. 89.
*^ Much curious information, on the Gen-
tile religion of the Northmen, will be found,
Keyser, Nordmasndenes Religions-forfat- ning i Hedendom-men," pubUshed at Chris- tiana, in Norway. It has been translated
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 301
and rites. The Northmen divinities have been conceived as sensual and human- like, with temples and sacrifices, sorcery and divination, predominating. ^3
How remotely derived these practices may ha. ve been can only be gleaned, from a study of the old Norse Saga and Edda literature of Iceland. In the
time of Ponipey the Great,^* Sigga, a chief of the Asa, or Asiatics, is said to have retreated before him through Russia ; and, he had resolved on returning, with a still greater force, to oppose the Roman legions. He is said to have been a Scythian prince, and to have been a priest of Odin ; while he assumed the direction of religious services, as also of the civil government, in tho—se
The Icelandic Chronicles — this priest conquered. ^s represent
countries he
who seems to have been confounded with his God Odin^° as a master of eloquence and of magic, the inventor of the Runic characters, an introducer of poetry among the Scandinavians, a great warrior, and, in course of time, a deified hero. He passed through Saxony and Franconia, and finally into Denmark. HewasleaderofthosepeopleknownasGoths,andsupposedto have been of Asiatic origin, owing to the affinity of their language with the Sanscrit and Persian. He is said to have given Denmark, as also Sweden, and Norway, a new dynasty of rulers ;*' finally, he retired into Sweden and died there, while the people, in times subsequent, built temples and instituted sacrifices to his honour.
On the southern and western shores of the Baltic, likewise, the Goths had formed their settlements. Allured by a love of adventure, and through the hope of plunder, vast numbers of their warriors began to swarm, into the more soutliern Roman provinces, so early as the third cen- tury. But, in the age succeeding, under their celebrated leader, Fritigern, they inflicted great losses on the Roman legions, especially in that memorable victory, obtained by them, at Hadrianople. ** The Gotliic people of the North had thus carried the fame of tlieir warlike and ferocious hordes, into the central and southern countries of Europe ;'' and, they had become very formidabletotheRomans,duringthedecliningstateoftheEmpire. While such events were transpiring by land, their fellow-countrymen in Scandinavia had covered the northern seas with vessels, which were soon destined to rear hardyseamen,forotheradventuresandtoseekdifferentlands. Themagnificent oak and pine forestsofScandinaviaaflforded great facilities, for fittingout powerful
into English, by Barclay Pennock, and pub- lished, at New York, 1854, 8vo.
*< The actions of this celebrated hero are setforth, very fully, in "The Roman History:
i. , chap. x. ,p. 377. Edition of William Smith, LL. D. London, 1862, 8vo.
'' The reader is referred, for further details,
"
to . S. A. Dunham's
with Notes Historical, Geographical, and Sweden and Norway," vol. i. , Book i. .
Critical," done into English, from the ori- ginal French of the Rev. Fathers Catrou and Rouille, vols, v. , vi. , Books liv. to Ixvi.
chap, i. , ii. , iii.
" See Edw. ird Gibbon's " History of the
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," •5 Such is the account given of him, by vol. iii. , chap, xxvi. , pp. , 324 to 338. Edi-
Snorro Sturlesson, and by his commentator, Torfaeus.
" "Notwithstanding the mysterious ob-
scurity of the Edcia, we can easily distinguish
two persons confounded under tlie name of
Odin,—theGodofwar,andthegreatlegis-
lator of Scandinavia. The latter, the per Russiam, Poloiiiam, Hinigariam, Ita- Mahomet of the North, instituted a religion
adopted to the climate and to the people. Numerous tribes, on either side of tlie Bal- tic, were subdued by the invincible valour of Odin, by his persuasive eloquence, and by
liam, Burgundiam, Hispaniani," &c. Ex MSS. Codicibus Lingvoe velerisScandicae, in hodiernam Svceciam atque Latinam trans-
the fame wh—ich he acquired of a most skilful "
magician. " Gibbon's History of the De- cline and Fall of the Roman Empire," vol.
tion of William Smith, LL. U.
*« See that very rare and curious work,
"Wilkina Saga, &c. , sive Historia Wil- kineiisium, Tlieodorici Veronensis, ac Ni-
contiiiens Regum alque He- roumquorundamGothicorum Res gestas,
flungorum
;
lata, opera Johannis Peringskiold. Stock- holmis, a. d. M. dcc. XV. , fol.
9° The>e are said to have been used, by
Harold Haifager, and by Olaf, Kings of Nor- way.
History of Denmark,
302 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
fleets ; while its peninsular situation, with the many harbours around its coasts, gave them numberless i)laces for secure anchorage. At first, light
smacks were employed, for coasting and fishing purposes; but, soon, thecap- tainsandmariners entertained ambitious projects, while extending their voyages, and, by degrees, skilled operatives were enabled to build vessels of greater size
The Northmen used and large
called "
banks of rovvers. 9'
and
and "
Those vessels were intended for war expeditions. Although exaggerated by
the style and language, in the Saga of King Olaf, one of its descriptive pas- sages may furnish an idea, regarding their size. s= Those vessels, in which the Norse embarked, were doubtless of considerable tonnage -p and each of them contained, probably, not less than one hundred seamen and warriors. ''* Chaunting the rude and heroic songs of their fathers, those hardy and dauntless adventurers plied alternately at the oars, or were engaged in hoisting, shifting,
capacity. serpents,"^''
long ships, thirty-four
dragons,"
Danes and other Northern Nations, with a translation of the Edda," &c. This work, thus translated from the French, w. as pub- lished, in London, a. d. 1770. A new edi- tion of it, revised and enlarged, has ajipeared in a popular form, for Bolm's Antiquarian Library, London, 1847, 8vo.
9» We refer the reader to the poet Long- fellow's "Tales of a Wayside Inn," where
whole of an old Viking vessel, with its stem turned towards the sea, was laid bare, with
while some of them carried
9' The Danish and Norwegian Kings, who
invaded England and Ireland, during the
ninth and tenth centuries, had frequently
fleets of 200 to 300 ships. In the tenth cen-
tury, Aulaf, or Olave, the Danish King of
Dublin, and his allies, entered ihe Humber,
with a fleet of 615 ships, according to Tur-
ner's account of the battle of Brunanburgh,
in Northumberland. About that period,
also, Harold, King of Denmark, and Hacon,
a Norwegian Viknig, had a fleet of 700 ships.
Originally tlieir vessels were twelve-oared
boats, or small galleys. See the learned
Frencliman, Mallet's "Northern Antiquities;
or, a Description of the Manners, Cus- been interred. While sinking a well, the toms, Religion, and Laws of the Ancient
the building of the Long Serpent of King was still divided, among those wild chiefs
Olaf is introduced ; and, there occurs the following allusion to his ship-builder, Thor- berg Skafting : —
" Near him lay the Dragon stranded. Built of old by Kaud the Strong,
And King Olaf had commanded HeshouldbuildanotlierDragon,
Twice as large and long.
" Seventy ells and four extended On the grass the vessels keel;
High above it gilt and splendid, Rose the figure-head ferocious,
With its crest of steel.
"Then they launched her from the tressels,
In the shipyard by the sea ; She was grandest of all vessels. Never sliip was built in Norway
Half so fine as she !
and sea-kings. See M. njor W. G. Wood-
" The Long Serpent was she christened, 'iMid the roar of cheer on cheer !
Martin's
"
History of Sligo, County and
They who to the Saga listened Heard the name of Thorberg Skaf-
ting
For a hundred year ! "
'3 A discovery has been made, in the 1880, which serves to throw much light on the estimate here made. On the sea-shore, near Christiana, in Norway, and not far from Sanileford, was a tumulus, known to the people as King's Hill. Under this ac- cording to tradition, a mighty warrior had
year
twenty of its ribs remaining in their places. Between stem and stern, it measured 77 feet,
II inches, in length, while it was l5 feet, 6 inches, in breadth amid-ships. Judging by
its proportions, this g. alley must hive drawn nearly six feet of water. The northern anti- quaries have fixed the date of its entomb- ment, at about A. D. 800, wlien Scandinavia
Town, from the earliest Ages to the close of
the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, with illustra-
tions from Original Drawings and Plans,"
Book ii. , chap, iv. , p. 145. Dublin : 1882,
8vo.
'•I Describingthatparticularship,towhich allusion lias been made in a previous note,
the writer ailds: "Amid-ships reposed the Viking, surrounded by remains of men,
horses, dogs, cooking utensils, drinldng-cups, &c. , so that, like Eoghan Bel, when the great father should call him, the chief might start, fully equipped, from the tomb ; but more than a tiiousand years have rolled along since his galley "walked the waters like a thing of life," and still he awaits liis call.
in the hulls, or hold, were small boats and a quantity of oars. Tlie hundred bucklers which hung on the gunwale of the disen- tombed vessel represented one hundred fight- ing men. There must have been mariners
Along the free-board were ranged a hundred shields;
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 303
or furling the sails, while measuring the bearing and. distance, by sunlight or starlight, wliich separated them, (rem the shores of their own country, and from tliose of the nations, they were about to invade. Bent on their piratical enterprises, the crews sought in more distant lands, and with ruthless deter- mination, those means of subsistence, which their fatherland withheld from them. 95
Among the Danes, Icelanders, Swedes, and Norwegians, from time imme- morial, Ireland had been celebrated for its excellent soil, for its charming situation, for its mild climate, for its fertility and beauty. An ancientNorthern writer ^ acknowledges this, and, in terms of high praise; although, as he remarks, no vines grow there. According to some authorities, the foreigners from the north landed in Ireland—probably as peaceful immigrants—at rather an early date ;97 but, we cannot well be satisfied, regarding authorities given for such accounts. 9* The coasts of Scotland and of England lay nearer to them, and these were first invaded. '9 The Saxon Chronicle notices their arrival, at a. d. 787,'°° and again, in 793, when a great naval armament attacked the Island of Lindisfarne,"'' where they killed several of the monks, and made others captives, demolishing their holy places, and carrying off all the treasures of their church. '°^ Next year, the Western Isles of Scotland, and the northern
shoresofEngland,wereinvaded. '°3 Thenwerethechurchandmonasteryat lona plundered by those Gentiles, who laid waste the Islands about it ; and
soon, supported by coming adventurers, their fleets were directed towards the shores of Ireland. The invaders landed on the Island of Reachrann,'°'t sup-
posed to be the present Lambay,'°5 where they broke and plundered the shrines, and set fire to the place. Besides the general term of Gentiles and
also to look after the sails ; indeed, to man
such a ship a large crew was required. No wonder, therefore, that a fleet of these galleys should strike terror along any coast off which they hovered. "—Ibid. , pp. 145,
146.
»s J . Harris Stone's
Tyrone, at th^ time of the Attacot insurrec- tion. See Haverty's "History of Ireland, Ancient and Modem," chap, v. , p. 32, note.
" It is said, that the conquests of Charle- magne over the Saxons, and their dispersion into Scandinavia, led them to originate or take
'' The Mirror of
Viking Ship. " Konge>peil,"
composer Kings, compiled,
or about
part France.
in the invasions of Britain and of
ing is the opening stanza
See Simeon of in Durham,
Historia
"
:
Danced the stream, laught the skies, sang the trees merrily,
Regum. "
Whitely
the berry lay ;
"
of the "
the year 12CO.
'' The third century of the Christian era
has l)een named, for the descent of King Sigir and his sons, to aid Eoghan More, who had fled to Spain, when he had been de- prived of his Munster Kingdom, by Conn of the Hundred Baltics. This theme has
vianKingdomofDublin,"Booki. , chap,i. , pp. 5 to 10.
'""Then, three ships came from Hseretha-
laixle, interpreted Norway, and they landed on the coa. it of Dorsetshire.
"" Before this time, dreadful prodigies,
he mountain beamed,
Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hiber-
i
South o'er the sparkling sea ran the breeze cheerily.
Wafting from Norway Clann Sigir the Bold I"
gentibus. "
—" The Saga of King Sigir and his sons,"
p. 306.
9' It is said, there were Norwegians in
"
Masters," vol. i. , pp. 396, 397, and n. (i).
in
Norway,
See Charles " . Scandina- Haliday's
horrible lightning. s, and dragons in the air, furnished the ground-work for a spirited affrighted the nauon of tlie Angles. See
an Irish
son, M. R. I. A. , writing under the signature
of Krionnah, in "The Harp," a Monthly Magazine, edited by M. J. M 'Cann, and pub-
lished in Dublin, a. d. — The follow- 8vo.
ballad, by
Jioet,
Dr.
1869.
George Siger-
brightly
" The to Anglo-Saxon Chronicle," according
the several original Autlioritics, Edited with a Tran. sl. ition, by Benjamin Thorpe, vol, i. ,
London, 1861,
p. loi, and vol. ii. , p. 48. '°'
"
'°3 At A. D. 794, the Annals of Ulster re-
"
'°* According to the Annals of Clonmac- noise, a. d. 792, but the true year is 795. This was an ancient name for the present Island of Kathlin, olT the norlh-coast of Antrim County.
°5 This was likewise called Reachrann.
cord,
Vaslatio omnium isolarum Britannise
—
nicarum . Scriptores," tomusiv.
See Dr. 6'Donovan's
Annals of the Four
304 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
Pagans,theIrishdistinguishedbetweentwoinvadingnations; theNorwe-
'°*—the more formidable horde— known as or
gians
" fair-headed
being Fingaills, "white,"
"' The teiTn JopmgLdi-A, translated "
"azure, is sometimes applied to them ; it is probable, because of their armour presenting the colour a greenish blue.
"* Hirotlia or Irruaith is the Irish name
for Norw. iy.
'°^ This word is thought to signify Lake-
land, including the /fiJ/v/f, or arms of the sea; and, in Ireland, too, we liave corresponding
"'' See Miss M. F. Cusack's "
applications
of the term Loch, such as Loch
Popular
Foyle, Loch Swilly, &c.
See Coj;A-oh 5<se-oheL Ue 5<),Lt. Aibh.
also called Loclilannach,'°^ or " of Loch- people
strangers,"""?
lann,"'°9 wliile the Danes were known as Dubhgaill, black," or dark-haired strangers," also called Danars. But, in the accounts of their depredations on Ireland, our historians are not always careful, to distinguish between those nations. "" The wealth and resources, presented to their ambition, soon caused the Scandinavian Vikings and emigrants, to turn their attention, towards effecting conquests, in the Emerald Isle ; as it bordered very closely upon their colonies, in England and Scotland, and especially when its ferti- lity contrasted so favourably, with such poor countries as Greenland and those Islands, lying in the North Atlantic Ocean. '"
So early as the close of the eighth century, the invasion of Great Britain
and Ireland, by the Northmen, is chronicled ; but, it was only in tiie century succeeding, that their inroads received repetition and dangerous consistence. To give some idea of their frequency and power, we have only to take a rapid glance, over the Annals and Chronicles of those Islands. In 805, no less than sixty-eight of the lona monks were massacred, by the Northmen. '" After some partial descents on the coasts, towards the close, and about the begin- ning, of the ninth century, the Scandinavians landed in force, on the shores of England. Soon they established there a supremacy over the Saxons, whose ealdormans and thanes were at war among themselves. In the reign of
Egbert,"3 and especially towards its close, their fleets appeared annually around the coasts of England. Everywhere they spread terror, for in addition to plunder, they frequently massacred the people, who dared to resist them. Especially, the Normans and Danes continued to persecute and put to death the clergy, monks and nuns, whose houses were pillaged ; while they held, in scorn and hatred, the religion of the Christians. In 807,"+ the foreigners
landed on Inis Muireadhaigh, now Inishmurry ;"5 the religious establishment there was burned, and they penetrated inland, so far as Roscommon. "* In
812 and 813, the Norwegians invaded Connaught and Munster; where they met with reverses in Umhaill, and in Eoghanacht-Loch-Lein,"7 while they slaughtered many people living in Connemara. "^ In the years 819 "9 and 820,
those
foreigners
'^° made descents for
plunder,
on the eastern and southern
'"'They are called Lochlanns, especially in the older Manuscripts.
"^ From a. d. 802, his ascendency over
other kings of the Saxon Heptarchy began to prevail, and he died in 836. See Sir Harris
Nicholas' "Chronology of History," p. 355.
"* The Annals of the Four Masters have
it, at a. d. 802, recte, 807.
"5 On the west coast of Sligo.
"' See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 412, 413, and n. (. \). Jbid.
History of Ireland," chap, xii. , p. 189. "° "' "
Edited by Rev. James Henthorn Todd, In- troduction, pp. xxx. , xxxi.
See Cliarles Haliday's Scandinavian History of Dublin," Book i. , chap, i. , p. 15.
"' This year, they devastated Howth. See
D'AIton's " of the of John History County
Dublin," p. 131.
"°
According to Dermod O'Connor's Keating, they were White Lochlann, or Nor- wegians. "See General History of Ireland," Second Book, p. 413.
" See J. J. A. Worscie's " Account of the
Danes and in Scotland Norwegians England,
and Ireland. " The Norwegians in Ireland, sect, i. , p. 299.
"* According to the Ulster Annals. See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus iv. , p. 195.
""
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 305
shores of Ireland. Soon they began to devastate the sacred monuments of our island. In 822 and 823, they burned and plundered Bangor, Down, and Moville, in Ulster. The years succeeding are noticed, as being marked with
devastations ; but, in 830, Armagh, which had heretofore escaped plundering by strangers, was sacked thrice, within one month. "'" Before the middle of this cejitury, various places were attacked, in the interior ; while the churches and monasteries were everywhere wrecked and plundersd, by those gentiles. The fierce strangers generally managed to carry away the sacred relics, and manytreasuresofthesanctuary,beforeescapingtotheirvessels. Therecords of Armagh, for many years after that fatality of a first raid, are but an echo of the national history. While this city was regarded, as having an ecclesias- tical supremacy over all other parts of Ireland, contests, regarding the archi- episcopal succession, had created frequent schisms. The kings and chiefs still continued their feuds, even when formidable and powerful combinations had been effected by the foreigners. These found Ultonia distracted by faction, anditsstrengthdivided. Civildiscordhadbeenheightenedbyreligiouscon- tention. During the incumbency of Archbishop Artri, Armagh had suffered greatly to a. d. 832, the date assigned for his death. Diarmaid Ua Tighearnaigh comes next in order. Farannan succeeded, or rather displaced him, in 834. '^^ These two rivals, Farannan and O'Tierney, appear to have disputed archi- episcopal jurisdiction, each exercising the functions of the See, and this hap- pened, during a period of great public calamity and confusion.
The Danes soon re-appeared, and continued their ravages, in different parts of Ireland. Their aggressions now became unintermitting ; often they are -successfully opposed, but frequently they are conquerors. They behaved
withgreatcrueltytothevanquished. Atlength,theseroseupinarms,and beat the invaders back to their ships, whenever time and preparation had been allowed for resistance. Fresh hordes were constantly arriving, and in different quarters. Under their various designations of Fiugallians, Dubh- gallians, Lochlannans, the Northmen threatened to overwhelm Ulster. In the time of the Northmen descents on Ireland, a Danish writer e—stmiates the
of our at between six and se—
ven millions this seems
population Island, ;'^3 tous,however,averyexaggeratedcomputation whilethewoods,bogsand mountains, in the interior, gave the Celts an undoubted advantage over their Gothic invaders. Early in the ninth century, several Northmen crews had infestedthesouthernshoresofIreland; and,itisespeciallymentioned,that
they had taken possession of Cork,"* and of Luimnech, or the Lower Shan- non, whence the neighbouring country was plundered by them, namely, Cor-
cobhaiscinn, Tradraighe, and those lands occupied by the Ui Conaill Gabhra, or descendants of Conall Gabhra. However, in the year 834,^5 the chieftain
and who was named Donnchadh—
Fidhghente assistedbyCennfaeladh,gavebattletothegentiles,atSeannad, orShanid,inthebaronyofLowerCostello,andcountyofLimerick. Here,the foreigners were defeated, yet, they seem to have kept their hold on the place, \yheretheyhadastrongfortification. Theywereinfullforce,atLuimneach, in 843, when they took Forannan, Primate of Armagh, at Cluain-Comharda,"* with his relics and people, to their ships.
"' "
See James Stuart's Historical Me- land, sect, i. , p. 299.
of this latter— tribe,
also head of the Ui-
meirs of the City of Armagh," chap, i. , pp.
'« About 820. See Miss M. F. Cusack's
" ofthe and of History City County Cork,"
99.
loo-
'"See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , "Arch- chap, iv. , p. 55.
bishops of Armagh," p. 45.
'" See J. J. A. Worsae's " Account of the
Danes and Norwegians in England, Scot- landandIreland. " TheJSorw^iansiulie-
'-5 According to the " Chronicum Scoto- rum," edited by William M. Hennessy, M. R. I. A. , p. 141.
"^Thisplacehasnotbeenidentified U
3o6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
One of the most powerful naval expeditions was that conducted by Tur-
geis, or Turgesius, who had forced his way through Connaught and Leinster, andwhonowledhisvictoriousEasterlingsuponArmagh. Asheadvanced, Turgeis waged an unrelenting war against Cliristianity, levelling the churches
to the ground, and treating the clergy with wanton barbarity. This leader assumed the sovereignty of the foreigners, in Ireland ; and, he seems to have occupied, for some time, the whole of Leath-Cuinn, or tlie northern half of Ireland. Three great fleets of foreigners appeared almost simultaneously, andtheirmovementswereprobablyunderhisguidance. "' Intheyear836, a fleet of sixty Norseman ships sailed into the mouth of the Boyne, while a convoyequallynumerousenteredtheLiffey. Bothforceswerecombined,and they spoiled all Magh Liphthe, or the plain of the Liffey, and Magh Breagh, thattractofcountrylyingbetweenDublinandDrogheda. AtInbhear-na- mbarc,"^ they obtained a great and decisive victory, over all the southern Ui- Neills, or the people of Meath. The invaders then took possession of Dublin, for the first time, and here they established a strong garrison. It was proba- bly about the same period, the country northwards had been settled by the P'inngalls ; so that, even at this day, its people are known as Fingallians, and the district is still called Fingal. In 838, the foreigners had a fleet on Lough Neagh, which enabled them to spoil the churches and territories around its shores. Thus, very considerable Scandinavian settlements, in the ninth cen- tury, had been formed throughout Ireland. According to the concurring evi- dence of the Irish and Northman Chronicles, for more than three centuries, the Scandinavians must have exercised very great influence, in the chief ports of Ireland. For a period of thirteen years, or from a. d. 831, or 832, to 845, Turgeis aimed at the establishment of a permanent colony of his countrymen in Ireland, and for the extermination or subjugation of the native kings and chiefs. Hetookcaretoselectplaces,fortheerectionofstrongholds,withthe object of protecting the Northmen. These are said to have built Cahirs or Caers, and Cashels or Castles ; and, likewise to have spread themselves over all Erinn, which was subjugated, for a time. The chief seat of Turgeis' government appears to have been, at Armagh ; while constant reinforcements oftheLochlannacharrivedfromNorway. Theirfierceleaderdesired,like- wise, to root out Christianity from our Island, and to introduce the national heathenism of his own country. The churches and monasteries of Ireland shared in the common calamity; they were stripped of their sacred vessels and ornaments ; afterwards, they were set on fire, by the wicked invaders, without remorse or distinction. '^9 Sometimes, the Irish were obliged to fly, and to seek the remotest mountain districts, when worsted in their isolated struggles with the invaders. During this, supremacy of the Northmen, the clergy throughout the most part of Ireland were compelled to lurk for years, among themountains,woodsandbogs,asalsoindesertsandincaverns. Heavytri- butary exactions were imposed on the people, who were often enslaved, when they could not afford to pay the taxes laid upon them. A series of extraor- dinary oppressions was commenced and long continued, by the Norwegians ; while, their exactions are still remembered, even among the most ignorant people, still tenacious of the past, although their traditions chiefly hold the
"' See CogAt)}! SAetjliel He 54l. l,Aibli, edited by Rev. James Henthoru Todd. In-
troduction, p. xlii.
for the mouth of the River Rath-Inbhir, near Bray. See "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 454 to 457, and n.
""
It has the meaning, the inver or river-
(b). Ibid.
'^ See Rev. Dr.
mouth of the b. irks or — Dr. O'Dono- ships.
ders this van consi—
"Gene-
not
identified as having been the ancient name
of 415. Duffy's
JeofTreyKeating's Ireland," Second Book,
place
yet clearly
ral
History
p.
Edition.
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 307
Danesasresponsible,formostofthosetyrannicalandsavageacts. TheIrish
accounts, however, regarding the Normans and Danes, with their exactions, are rather vague, in many cases, and they seem to have been drawn from
bardic compositions, based merely on popular nimours. These are spiced,
too frequently, with strong national prejudice and'dislike ; therefore, we may
be prepared for much exaggeration. In the year 837, the gentiles gained a
great victory over the Connaughtmen, in which Maelduin, heir apparent to the throne of Connaught, was slain. The following year, a change of abbots
at Armagh is noticed, Diarmaid Ua Tighearnaigh succeeding to Forannan of Rath-mic-Maluis ;'3° while in 839, the foreigners burned Armagh, with its cathedral and oratories. '3' The ecclesiastical possessions seem to have been usurped,byTurgesius. DesiringtoeffecttheconquestofMeathandofCon- naught, he proceeded towards Lough Ree, to take command ofa fleet there stationed. The Norse had launched their ships, even on the Irish lakes. With those vessels they coerced people, dwelling around their shores j'^^ while, up and down the Shannon, Turgesius sailed, plundering all the religious institu- tions, which were on or near its banks. At length, Maelseachlainn '33 took him prisoner, and the King of Meath is said to have effected this object, by a stratagem. The tyrant eagerly desired and had demanded his daughter, while thekingappearedtocomplywiththisdemand. Theplaceappointedforthat interview with her was an island in Loch Uair, now known as Lough Owel ; and, here, it was arranged, that she should be accompanied by fifteen beauti- ful young maidens, as prizes for fifteen of the most favoured Northmen chiefs. When the foreigners, suspecting no plot, had landed there, it was found, that -fifteen avenging young Irishmen, disguised in female apparel, had daggers concealed beneath their dresses, with which they poignarded those assembled chiefs of the Scandinavians, with their king. '34 He was afterwards drowned in Lough Owel, near Mullingar, in 843, the date furnished for this transaction. That tale, however, referring to the immediate cause of his death, has been generally rejected as a romance, by most Irish historians. '35
The exposed position of lona caused the community,—who observed the ruleofSt. Columba,toresolveonerectingtwonewhouses oneatDunkeld, on the mainland of Scotland, and the other at Kells, in Ireland. Kenneth Mac'Alpin, of Scottish descent,'3'5 invaded the Picts in 839, and subjected them to his rule over Scotland, while his enterprise is thought to have been aided by the Scandinavian invaders. '37 His reign lasted, until A. D. 860. He left two sons, Constantin and Aed, besides three daughters, one married to Run, King
of the Britons of Strathclyde, another married to Amlaibh,'38 or Olaf the White, Norwegian King of Dublin,'39 and the third, called Maelmaire,"''"
'^ He seems, afterwards, to have gone into exile.
"• See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp.
in the learned work of Professor Rudolph "
Magnusen,
Jotuns Giants. "
—
"
'°
According to the Dogmas of the Asa-
Faith :
'•
In the beginning of time there
were two worlds : in the south was Muspell,
light and flaming ; over it rules Surtur, who
sits at its boundaries with his flaming sword; in the North was Nififheim, cold and dark, with the fountain Hevergclmir in its midst, where the Dragon Niohbgg dwells. Between these worlds was Ginungagap—tlie Yawning Chasm—still as the windless air. From Hevergelmir flowed forth ice-cold venom- streams. The rime from these streams met in Ginunga-gap with Muspell's sparks ; then the rime-drops were quickened by the power of the heat, and the Joiun Ymir came into being, —who of himself produced a race of evil
or Mountain The Religion of the Northmen," by Rudolph Keyser, Part First, chap, i. ,
p. 89.
*^ Much curious information, on the Gen-
tile religion of the Northmen, will be found,
Keyser, Nordmasndenes Religions-forfat- ning i Hedendom-men," pubUshed at Chris- tiana, in Norway. It has been translated
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 301
and rites. The Northmen divinities have been conceived as sensual and human- like, with temples and sacrifices, sorcery and divination, predominating. ^3
How remotely derived these practices may ha. ve been can only be gleaned, from a study of the old Norse Saga and Edda literature of Iceland. In the
time of Ponipey the Great,^* Sigga, a chief of the Asa, or Asiatics, is said to have retreated before him through Russia ; and, he had resolved on returning, with a still greater force, to oppose the Roman legions. He is said to have been a Scythian prince, and to have been a priest of Odin ; while he assumed the direction of religious services, as also of the civil government, in tho—se
The Icelandic Chronicles — this priest conquered. ^s represent
countries he
who seems to have been confounded with his God Odin^° as a master of eloquence and of magic, the inventor of the Runic characters, an introducer of poetry among the Scandinavians, a great warrior, and, in course of time, a deified hero. He passed through Saxony and Franconia, and finally into Denmark. HewasleaderofthosepeopleknownasGoths,andsupposedto have been of Asiatic origin, owing to the affinity of their language with the Sanscrit and Persian. He is said to have given Denmark, as also Sweden, and Norway, a new dynasty of rulers ;*' finally, he retired into Sweden and died there, while the people, in times subsequent, built temples and instituted sacrifices to his honour.
On the southern and western shores of the Baltic, likewise, the Goths had formed their settlements. Allured by a love of adventure, and through the hope of plunder, vast numbers of their warriors began to swarm, into the more soutliern Roman provinces, so early as the third cen- tury. But, in the age succeeding, under their celebrated leader, Fritigern, they inflicted great losses on the Roman legions, especially in that memorable victory, obtained by them, at Hadrianople. ** The Gotliic people of the North had thus carried the fame of tlieir warlike and ferocious hordes, into the central and southern countries of Europe ;'' and, they had become very formidabletotheRomans,duringthedecliningstateoftheEmpire. While such events were transpiring by land, their fellow-countrymen in Scandinavia had covered the northern seas with vessels, which were soon destined to rear hardyseamen,forotheradventuresandtoseekdifferentlands. Themagnificent oak and pine forestsofScandinaviaaflforded great facilities, for fittingout powerful
into English, by Barclay Pennock, and pub- lished, at New York, 1854, 8vo.
*< The actions of this celebrated hero are setforth, very fully, in "The Roman History:
i. , chap. x. ,p. 377. Edition of William Smith, LL. D. London, 1862, 8vo.
'' The reader is referred, for further details,
"
to . S. A. Dunham's
with Notes Historical, Geographical, and Sweden and Norway," vol. i. , Book i. .
Critical," done into English, from the ori- ginal French of the Rev. Fathers Catrou and Rouille, vols, v. , vi. , Books liv. to Ixvi.
chap, i. , ii. , iii.
" See Edw. ird Gibbon's " History of the
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," •5 Such is the account given of him, by vol. iii. , chap, xxvi. , pp. , 324 to 338. Edi-
Snorro Sturlesson, and by his commentator, Torfaeus.
" "Notwithstanding the mysterious ob-
scurity of the Edcia, we can easily distinguish
two persons confounded under tlie name of
Odin,—theGodofwar,andthegreatlegis-
lator of Scandinavia. The latter, the per Russiam, Poloiiiam, Hinigariam, Ita- Mahomet of the North, instituted a religion
adopted to the climate and to the people. Numerous tribes, on either side of tlie Bal- tic, were subdued by the invincible valour of Odin, by his persuasive eloquence, and by
liam, Burgundiam, Hispaniani," &c. Ex MSS. Codicibus Lingvoe velerisScandicae, in hodiernam Svceciam atque Latinam trans-
the fame wh—ich he acquired of a most skilful "
magician. " Gibbon's History of the De- cline and Fall of the Roman Empire," vol.
tion of William Smith, LL. U.
*« See that very rare and curious work,
"Wilkina Saga, &c. , sive Historia Wil- kineiisium, Tlieodorici Veronensis, ac Ni-
contiiiens Regum alque He- roumquorundamGothicorum Res gestas,
flungorum
;
lata, opera Johannis Peringskiold. Stock- holmis, a. d. M. dcc. XV. , fol.
9° The>e are said to have been used, by
Harold Haifager, and by Olaf, Kings of Nor- way.
History of Denmark,
302 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
fleets ; while its peninsular situation, with the many harbours around its coasts, gave them numberless i)laces for secure anchorage. At first, light
smacks were employed, for coasting and fishing purposes; but, soon, thecap- tainsandmariners entertained ambitious projects, while extending their voyages, and, by degrees, skilled operatives were enabled to build vessels of greater size
The Northmen used and large
called "
banks of rovvers. 9'
and
and "
Those vessels were intended for war expeditions. Although exaggerated by
the style and language, in the Saga of King Olaf, one of its descriptive pas- sages may furnish an idea, regarding their size. s= Those vessels, in which the Norse embarked, were doubtless of considerable tonnage -p and each of them contained, probably, not less than one hundred seamen and warriors. ''* Chaunting the rude and heroic songs of their fathers, those hardy and dauntless adventurers plied alternately at the oars, or were engaged in hoisting, shifting,
capacity. serpents,"^''
long ships, thirty-four
dragons,"
Danes and other Northern Nations, with a translation of the Edda," &c. This work, thus translated from the French, w. as pub- lished, in London, a. d. 1770. A new edi- tion of it, revised and enlarged, has ajipeared in a popular form, for Bolm's Antiquarian Library, London, 1847, 8vo.
9» We refer the reader to the poet Long- fellow's "Tales of a Wayside Inn," where
whole of an old Viking vessel, with its stem turned towards the sea, was laid bare, with
while some of them carried
9' The Danish and Norwegian Kings, who
invaded England and Ireland, during the
ninth and tenth centuries, had frequently
fleets of 200 to 300 ships. In the tenth cen-
tury, Aulaf, or Olave, the Danish King of
Dublin, and his allies, entered ihe Humber,
with a fleet of 615 ships, according to Tur-
ner's account of the battle of Brunanburgh,
in Northumberland. About that period,
also, Harold, King of Denmark, and Hacon,
a Norwegian Viknig, had a fleet of 700 ships.
Originally tlieir vessels were twelve-oared
boats, or small galleys. See the learned
Frencliman, Mallet's "Northern Antiquities;
or, a Description of the Manners, Cus- been interred. While sinking a well, the toms, Religion, and Laws of the Ancient
the building of the Long Serpent of King was still divided, among those wild chiefs
Olaf is introduced ; and, there occurs the following allusion to his ship-builder, Thor- berg Skafting : —
" Near him lay the Dragon stranded. Built of old by Kaud the Strong,
And King Olaf had commanded HeshouldbuildanotlierDragon,
Twice as large and long.
" Seventy ells and four extended On the grass the vessels keel;
High above it gilt and splendid, Rose the figure-head ferocious,
With its crest of steel.
"Then they launched her from the tressels,
In the shipyard by the sea ; She was grandest of all vessels. Never sliip was built in Norway
Half so fine as she !
and sea-kings. See M. njor W. G. Wood-
" The Long Serpent was she christened, 'iMid the roar of cheer on cheer !
Martin's
"
History of Sligo, County and
They who to the Saga listened Heard the name of Thorberg Skaf-
ting
For a hundred year ! "
'3 A discovery has been made, in the 1880, which serves to throw much light on the estimate here made. On the sea-shore, near Christiana, in Norway, and not far from Sanileford, was a tumulus, known to the people as King's Hill. Under this ac- cording to tradition, a mighty warrior had
year
twenty of its ribs remaining in their places. Between stem and stern, it measured 77 feet,
II inches, in length, while it was l5 feet, 6 inches, in breadth amid-ships. Judging by
its proportions, this g. alley must hive drawn nearly six feet of water. The northern anti- quaries have fixed the date of its entomb- ment, at about A. D. 800, wlien Scandinavia
Town, from the earliest Ages to the close of
the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, with illustra-
tions from Original Drawings and Plans,"
Book ii. , chap, iv. , p. 145. Dublin : 1882,
8vo.
'•I Describingthatparticularship,towhich allusion lias been made in a previous note,
the writer ailds: "Amid-ships reposed the Viking, surrounded by remains of men,
horses, dogs, cooking utensils, drinldng-cups, &c. , so that, like Eoghan Bel, when the great father should call him, the chief might start, fully equipped, from the tomb ; but more than a tiiousand years have rolled along since his galley "walked the waters like a thing of life," and still he awaits liis call.
in the hulls, or hold, were small boats and a quantity of oars. Tlie hundred bucklers which hung on the gunwale of the disen- tombed vessel represented one hundred fight- ing men. There must have been mariners
Along the free-board were ranged a hundred shields;
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 303
or furling the sails, while measuring the bearing and. distance, by sunlight or starlight, wliich separated them, (rem the shores of their own country, and from tliose of the nations, they were about to invade. Bent on their piratical enterprises, the crews sought in more distant lands, and with ruthless deter- mination, those means of subsistence, which their fatherland withheld from them. 95
Among the Danes, Icelanders, Swedes, and Norwegians, from time imme- morial, Ireland had been celebrated for its excellent soil, for its charming situation, for its mild climate, for its fertility and beauty. An ancientNorthern writer ^ acknowledges this, and, in terms of high praise; although, as he remarks, no vines grow there. According to some authorities, the foreigners from the north landed in Ireland—probably as peaceful immigrants—at rather an early date ;97 but, we cannot well be satisfied, regarding authorities given for such accounts. 9* The coasts of Scotland and of England lay nearer to them, and these were first invaded. '9 The Saxon Chronicle notices their arrival, at a. d. 787,'°° and again, in 793, when a great naval armament attacked the Island of Lindisfarne,"'' where they killed several of the monks, and made others captives, demolishing their holy places, and carrying off all the treasures of their church. '°^ Next year, the Western Isles of Scotland, and the northern
shoresofEngland,wereinvaded. '°3 Thenwerethechurchandmonasteryat lona plundered by those Gentiles, who laid waste the Islands about it ; and
soon, supported by coming adventurers, their fleets were directed towards the shores of Ireland. The invaders landed on the Island of Reachrann,'°'t sup-
posed to be the present Lambay,'°5 where they broke and plundered the shrines, and set fire to the place. Besides the general term of Gentiles and
also to look after the sails ; indeed, to man
such a ship a large crew was required. No wonder, therefore, that a fleet of these galleys should strike terror along any coast off which they hovered. "—Ibid. , pp. 145,
146.
»s J . Harris Stone's
Tyrone, at th^ time of the Attacot insurrec- tion. See Haverty's "History of Ireland, Ancient and Modem," chap, v. , p. 32, note.
" It is said, that the conquests of Charle- magne over the Saxons, and their dispersion into Scandinavia, led them to originate or take
'' The Mirror of
Viking Ship. " Konge>peil,"
composer Kings, compiled,
or about
part France.
in the invasions of Britain and of
ing is the opening stanza
See Simeon of in Durham,
Historia
"
:
Danced the stream, laught the skies, sang the trees merrily,
Regum. "
Whitely
the berry lay ;
"
of the "
the year 12CO.
'' The third century of the Christian era
has l)een named, for the descent of King Sigir and his sons, to aid Eoghan More, who had fled to Spain, when he had been de- prived of his Munster Kingdom, by Conn of the Hundred Baltics. This theme has
vianKingdomofDublin,"Booki. , chap,i. , pp. 5 to 10.
'""Then, three ships came from Hseretha-
laixle, interpreted Norway, and they landed on the coa. it of Dorsetshire.
"" Before this time, dreadful prodigies,
he mountain beamed,
Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hiber-
i
South o'er the sparkling sea ran the breeze cheerily.
Wafting from Norway Clann Sigir the Bold I"
gentibus. "
—" The Saga of King Sigir and his sons,"
p. 306.
9' It is said, there were Norwegians in
"
Masters," vol. i. , pp. 396, 397, and n. (i).
in
Norway,
See Charles " . Scandina- Haliday's
horrible lightning. s, and dragons in the air, furnished the ground-work for a spirited affrighted the nauon of tlie Angles. See
an Irish
son, M. R. I. A. , writing under the signature
of Krionnah, in "The Harp," a Monthly Magazine, edited by M. J. M 'Cann, and pub-
lished in Dublin, a. d. — The follow- 8vo.
ballad, by
Jioet,
Dr.
1869.
George Siger-
brightly
" The to Anglo-Saxon Chronicle," according
the several original Autlioritics, Edited with a Tran. sl. ition, by Benjamin Thorpe, vol, i. ,
London, 1861,
p. loi, and vol. ii. , p. 48. '°'
"
'°3 At A. D. 794, the Annals of Ulster re-
"
'°* According to the Annals of Clonmac- noise, a. d. 792, but the true year is 795. This was an ancient name for the present Island of Kathlin, olT the norlh-coast of Antrim County.
°5 This was likewise called Reachrann.
cord,
Vaslatio omnium isolarum Britannise
—
nicarum . Scriptores," tomusiv.
See Dr. 6'Donovan's
Annals of the Four
304 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
Pagans,theIrishdistinguishedbetweentwoinvadingnations; theNorwe-
'°*—the more formidable horde— known as or
gians
" fair-headed
being Fingaills, "white,"
"' The teiTn JopmgLdi-A, translated "
"azure, is sometimes applied to them ; it is probable, because of their armour presenting the colour a greenish blue.
"* Hirotlia or Irruaith is the Irish name
for Norw. iy.
'°^ This word is thought to signify Lake-
land, including the /fiJ/v/f, or arms of the sea; and, in Ireland, too, we liave corresponding
"'' See Miss M. F. Cusack's "
applications
of the term Loch, such as Loch
Popular
Foyle, Loch Swilly, &c.
See Coj;A-oh 5<se-oheL Ue 5<),Lt. Aibh.
also called Loclilannach,'°^ or " of Loch- people
strangers,"""?
lann,"'°9 wliile the Danes were known as Dubhgaill, black," or dark-haired strangers," also called Danars. But, in the accounts of their depredations on Ireland, our historians are not always careful, to distinguish between those nations. "" The wealth and resources, presented to their ambition, soon caused the Scandinavian Vikings and emigrants, to turn their attention, towards effecting conquests, in the Emerald Isle ; as it bordered very closely upon their colonies, in England and Scotland, and especially when its ferti- lity contrasted so favourably, with such poor countries as Greenland and those Islands, lying in the North Atlantic Ocean. '"
So early as the close of the eighth century, the invasion of Great Britain
and Ireland, by the Northmen, is chronicled ; but, it was only in tiie century succeeding, that their inroads received repetition and dangerous consistence. To give some idea of their frequency and power, we have only to take a rapid glance, over the Annals and Chronicles of those Islands. In 805, no less than sixty-eight of the lona monks were massacred, by the Northmen. '" After some partial descents on the coasts, towards the close, and about the begin- ning, of the ninth century, the Scandinavians landed in force, on the shores of England. Soon they established there a supremacy over the Saxons, whose ealdormans and thanes were at war among themselves. In the reign of
Egbert,"3 and especially towards its close, their fleets appeared annually around the coasts of England. Everywhere they spread terror, for in addition to plunder, they frequently massacred the people, who dared to resist them. Especially, the Normans and Danes continued to persecute and put to death the clergy, monks and nuns, whose houses were pillaged ; while they held, in scorn and hatred, the religion of the Christians. In 807,"+ the foreigners
landed on Inis Muireadhaigh, now Inishmurry ;"5 the religious establishment there was burned, and they penetrated inland, so far as Roscommon. "* In
812 and 813, the Norwegians invaded Connaught and Munster; where they met with reverses in Umhaill, and in Eoghanacht-Loch-Lein,"7 while they slaughtered many people living in Connemara. "^ In the years 819 "9 and 820,
those
foreigners
'^° made descents for
plunder,
on the eastern and southern
'"'They are called Lochlanns, especially in the older Manuscripts.
"^ From a. d. 802, his ascendency over
other kings of the Saxon Heptarchy began to prevail, and he died in 836. See Sir Harris
Nicholas' "Chronology of History," p. 355.
"* The Annals of the Four Masters have
it, at a. d. 802, recte, 807.
"5 On the west coast of Sligo.
"' See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 412, 413, and n. (. \). Jbid.
History of Ireland," chap, xii. , p. 189. "° "' "
Edited by Rev. James Henthorn Todd, In- troduction, pp. xxx. , xxxi.
See Cliarles Haliday's Scandinavian History of Dublin," Book i. , chap, i. , p. 15.
"' This year, they devastated Howth. See
D'AIton's " of the of John History County
Dublin," p. 131.
"°
According to Dermod O'Connor's Keating, they were White Lochlann, or Nor- wegians. "See General History of Ireland," Second Book, p. 413.
" See J. J. A. Worscie's " Account of the
Danes and in Scotland Norwegians England,
and Ireland. " The Norwegians in Ireland, sect, i. , p. 299.
"* According to the Ulster Annals. See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus iv. , p. 195.
""
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 305
shores of Ireland. Soon they began to devastate the sacred monuments of our island. In 822 and 823, they burned and plundered Bangor, Down, and Moville, in Ulster. The years succeeding are noticed, as being marked with
devastations ; but, in 830, Armagh, which had heretofore escaped plundering by strangers, was sacked thrice, within one month. "'" Before the middle of this cejitury, various places were attacked, in the interior ; while the churches and monasteries were everywhere wrecked and plundersd, by those gentiles. The fierce strangers generally managed to carry away the sacred relics, and manytreasuresofthesanctuary,beforeescapingtotheirvessels. Therecords of Armagh, for many years after that fatality of a first raid, are but an echo of the national history. While this city was regarded, as having an ecclesias- tical supremacy over all other parts of Ireland, contests, regarding the archi- episcopal succession, had created frequent schisms. The kings and chiefs still continued their feuds, even when formidable and powerful combinations had been effected by the foreigners. These found Ultonia distracted by faction, anditsstrengthdivided. Civildiscordhadbeenheightenedbyreligiouscon- tention. During the incumbency of Archbishop Artri, Armagh had suffered greatly to a. d. 832, the date assigned for his death. Diarmaid Ua Tighearnaigh comes next in order. Farannan succeeded, or rather displaced him, in 834. '^^ These two rivals, Farannan and O'Tierney, appear to have disputed archi- episcopal jurisdiction, each exercising the functions of the See, and this hap- pened, during a period of great public calamity and confusion.
The Danes soon re-appeared, and continued their ravages, in different parts of Ireland. Their aggressions now became unintermitting ; often they are -successfully opposed, but frequently they are conquerors. They behaved
withgreatcrueltytothevanquished. Atlength,theseroseupinarms,and beat the invaders back to their ships, whenever time and preparation had been allowed for resistance. Fresh hordes were constantly arriving, and in different quarters. Under their various designations of Fiugallians, Dubh- gallians, Lochlannans, the Northmen threatened to overwhelm Ulster. In the time of the Northmen descents on Ireland, a Danish writer e—stmiates the
of our at between six and se—
ven millions this seems
population Island, ;'^3 tous,however,averyexaggeratedcomputation whilethewoods,bogsand mountains, in the interior, gave the Celts an undoubted advantage over their Gothic invaders. Early in the ninth century, several Northmen crews had infestedthesouthernshoresofIreland; and,itisespeciallymentioned,that
they had taken possession of Cork,"* and of Luimnech, or the Lower Shan- non, whence the neighbouring country was plundered by them, namely, Cor-
cobhaiscinn, Tradraighe, and those lands occupied by the Ui Conaill Gabhra, or descendants of Conall Gabhra. However, in the year 834,^5 the chieftain
and who was named Donnchadh—
Fidhghente assistedbyCennfaeladh,gavebattletothegentiles,atSeannad, orShanid,inthebaronyofLowerCostello,andcountyofLimerick. Here,the foreigners were defeated, yet, they seem to have kept their hold on the place, \yheretheyhadastrongfortification. Theywereinfullforce,atLuimneach, in 843, when they took Forannan, Primate of Armagh, at Cluain-Comharda,"* with his relics and people, to their ships.
"' "
See James Stuart's Historical Me- land, sect, i. , p. 299.
of this latter— tribe,
also head of the Ui-
meirs of the City of Armagh," chap, i. , pp.
'« About 820. See Miss M. F. Cusack's
" ofthe and of History City County Cork,"
99.
loo-
'"See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , "Arch- chap, iv. , p. 55.
bishops of Armagh," p. 45.
'" See J. J. A. Worsae's " Account of the
Danes and Norwegians in England, Scot- landandIreland. " TheJSorw^iansiulie-
'-5 According to the " Chronicum Scoto- rum," edited by William M. Hennessy, M. R. I. A. , p. 141.
"^Thisplacehasnotbeenidentified U
3o6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 23.
One of the most powerful naval expeditions was that conducted by Tur-
geis, or Turgesius, who had forced his way through Connaught and Leinster, andwhonowledhisvictoriousEasterlingsuponArmagh. Asheadvanced, Turgeis waged an unrelenting war against Cliristianity, levelling the churches
to the ground, and treating the clergy with wanton barbarity. This leader assumed the sovereignty of the foreigners, in Ireland ; and, he seems to have occupied, for some time, the whole of Leath-Cuinn, or tlie northern half of Ireland. Three great fleets of foreigners appeared almost simultaneously, andtheirmovementswereprobablyunderhisguidance. "' Intheyear836, a fleet of sixty Norseman ships sailed into the mouth of the Boyne, while a convoyequallynumerousenteredtheLiffey. Bothforceswerecombined,and they spoiled all Magh Liphthe, or the plain of the Liffey, and Magh Breagh, thattractofcountrylyingbetweenDublinandDrogheda. AtInbhear-na- mbarc,"^ they obtained a great and decisive victory, over all the southern Ui- Neills, or the people of Meath. The invaders then took possession of Dublin, for the first time, and here they established a strong garrison. It was proba- bly about the same period, the country northwards had been settled by the P'inngalls ; so that, even at this day, its people are known as Fingallians, and the district is still called Fingal. In 838, the foreigners had a fleet on Lough Neagh, which enabled them to spoil the churches and territories around its shores. Thus, very considerable Scandinavian settlements, in the ninth cen- tury, had been formed throughout Ireland. According to the concurring evi- dence of the Irish and Northman Chronicles, for more than three centuries, the Scandinavians must have exercised very great influence, in the chief ports of Ireland. For a period of thirteen years, or from a. d. 831, or 832, to 845, Turgeis aimed at the establishment of a permanent colony of his countrymen in Ireland, and for the extermination or subjugation of the native kings and chiefs. Hetookcaretoselectplaces,fortheerectionofstrongholds,withthe object of protecting the Northmen. These are said to have built Cahirs or Caers, and Cashels or Castles ; and, likewise to have spread themselves over all Erinn, which was subjugated, for a time. The chief seat of Turgeis' government appears to have been, at Armagh ; while constant reinforcements oftheLochlannacharrivedfromNorway. Theirfierceleaderdesired,like- wise, to root out Christianity from our Island, and to introduce the national heathenism of his own country. The churches and monasteries of Ireland shared in the common calamity; they were stripped of their sacred vessels and ornaments ; afterwards, they were set on fire, by the wicked invaders, without remorse or distinction. '^9 Sometimes, the Irish were obliged to fly, and to seek the remotest mountain districts, when worsted in their isolated struggles with the invaders. During this, supremacy of the Northmen, the clergy throughout the most part of Ireland were compelled to lurk for years, among themountains,woodsandbogs,asalsoindesertsandincaverns. Heavytri- butary exactions were imposed on the people, who were often enslaved, when they could not afford to pay the taxes laid upon them. A series of extraor- dinary oppressions was commenced and long continued, by the Norwegians ; while, their exactions are still remembered, even among the most ignorant people, still tenacious of the past, although their traditions chiefly hold the
"' See CogAt)}! SAetjliel He 54l. l,Aibli, edited by Rev. James Henthoru Todd. In-
troduction, p. xlii.
for the mouth of the River Rath-Inbhir, near Bray. See "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 454 to 457, and n.
""
It has the meaning, the inver or river-
(b). Ibid.
'^ See Rev. Dr.
mouth of the b. irks or — Dr. O'Dono- ships.
ders this van consi—
"Gene-
not
identified as having been the ancient name
of 415. Duffy's
JeofTreyKeating's Ireland," Second Book,
place
yet clearly
ral
History
p.
Edition.
April 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 307
Danesasresponsible,formostofthosetyrannicalandsavageacts. TheIrish
accounts, however, regarding the Normans and Danes, with their exactions, are rather vague, in many cases, and they seem to have been drawn from
bardic compositions, based merely on popular nimours. These are spiced,
too frequently, with strong national prejudice and'dislike ; therefore, we may
be prepared for much exaggeration. In the year 837, the gentiles gained a
great victory over the Connaughtmen, in which Maelduin, heir apparent to the throne of Connaught, was slain. The following year, a change of abbots
at Armagh is noticed, Diarmaid Ua Tighearnaigh succeeding to Forannan of Rath-mic-Maluis ;'3° while in 839, the foreigners burned Armagh, with its cathedral and oratories. '3' The ecclesiastical possessions seem to have been usurped,byTurgesius. DesiringtoeffecttheconquestofMeathandofCon- naught, he proceeded towards Lough Ree, to take command ofa fleet there stationed. The Norse had launched their ships, even on the Irish lakes. With those vessels they coerced people, dwelling around their shores j'^^ while, up and down the Shannon, Turgesius sailed, plundering all the religious institu- tions, which were on or near its banks. At length, Maelseachlainn '33 took him prisoner, and the King of Meath is said to have effected this object, by a stratagem. The tyrant eagerly desired and had demanded his daughter, while thekingappearedtocomplywiththisdemand. Theplaceappointedforthat interview with her was an island in Loch Uair, now known as Lough Owel ; and, here, it was arranged, that she should be accompanied by fifteen beauti- ful young maidens, as prizes for fifteen of the most favoured Northmen chiefs. When the foreigners, suspecting no plot, had landed there, it was found, that -fifteen avenging young Irishmen, disguised in female apparel, had daggers concealed beneath their dresses, with which they poignarded those assembled chiefs of the Scandinavians, with their king. '34 He was afterwards drowned in Lough Owel, near Mullingar, in 843, the date furnished for this transaction. That tale, however, referring to the immediate cause of his death, has been generally rejected as a romance, by most Irish historians. '35
The exposed position of lona caused the community,—who observed the ruleofSt. Columba,toresolveonerectingtwonewhouses oneatDunkeld, on the mainland of Scotland, and the other at Kells, in Ireland. Kenneth Mac'Alpin, of Scottish descent,'3'5 invaded the Picts in 839, and subjected them to his rule over Scotland, while his enterprise is thought to have been aided by the Scandinavian invaders. '37 His reign lasted, until A. D. 860. He left two sons, Constantin and Aed, besides three daughters, one married to Run, King
of the Britons of Strathclyde, another married to Amlaibh,'38 or Olaf the White, Norwegian King of Dublin,'39 and the third, called Maelmaire,"''"
'^ He seems, afterwards, to have gone into exile.
"• See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp.
