The Book of the Dun Cow

I'm not referencing the novel based on the "Nun's Priest's Tale" from The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer written by Walter Wangerin. I'm talking about Lebor na hUidre (Middle Irish: "Book of the Dun Cow") which is MS 23 E25 in the Royal Irish Academy. To be fair, it isn't about the legendary Dun Cow; it is called by that title because the tradition says it was made from the hide of the Dun Cow (or simply of a dun cow).

Lebor na hUidre is the oldest manuscript in existence that is written entirely in the Irish language. It contains some of the earliest versions we have of Irish legends such as the Táin Bó Cuailnge. The manuscript is much damaged, with only 67 leaves remaining, many of which are difficult to read. Many of the 38 items in it are incomplete. Some of the complete texts are:

• The Eulogy of Columba
• The Vision of Adomnán
• The Expulsion of the Déisi
• Cúchulainn's Phantom Chariot (a tale about St. Patrick)
• The prophesy of Art mac Cuinn and his faith (the 2nd century Art Mac Cuinn foresees Christianity)
• The adventure of Connla the Beautiful, son of Conn of the Hundred Battles
• The conception of Cúchulainn
• The story of Mongán
• The Cause of the Vision of Mongán
• The places where the heads of the heroes of Ulster are
• ...and others added later by a second scribe
• (Incomplete works outnumber completed ones)

An early 20th century Irish scholar, R.I.Best, determined that there were three different sets of handwriting in the Lebor. He labels them A, M, and H. He claimed that A and M were contemporaries; H is so-called because he added homilies. Best helped date the manuscript by identifying M with a real person who was killed by Vikings in 1106. How he was able to do that will be the subject for tomorrow.

In the meantime, you can listen to the Lebor na hUidre here.

Tanistry and Authority

Congal Cáech was a king of the Irish province of Ulaid (on the north east coast) in the early 7th century. Cáech means  "squinting" or "half blind." He was so-called because he was stung in the eye by a bee, and according to the Bechbretha this made him ineligible for the position of High King of Tara. His clan demanded that the eye of the beekeeper's son (he was the son of the High King Domnall mac Áedo) be put out to even the score.

This is one of the few hints we get about early Irish kingship eligibility: that the High King must be without blemish.How one could be eligible for kingship seems to follow the system of tanistry. The Tanist is the second-in-command or second-in-line after a ruler, and not necessarily a descendant. Historically, the males of the clan would choose their next leader from among all the righdamhna ("kingly material"), which could include sons of the departed ruler.

This method persisted in Ireland until the early 17th century when English common law replaced it. In Ireland today, the echo of tanistry can be heard in the title of the deputy prime minister, Tánaiste.

The illustration shows the numerous kingdoms of Ireland, with each having its own king, although often neighboring kingdoms banded together for protection from larger alliances. Political marriages between kingdoms also contributed to descendants with legitimate claims to multiple kingdoms, which could help them unite under one ruler.

Irish kings had a different set of responsibilities than other European kings. For one, they did not have the authority to create laws. The laws were worked out by the Brehons, the judges/arbitrators who wrote tracts on what was right and proper for a working society. The kings' job was to support the law, not make it up. During times of emergency a king could create a law, but this was seen as only temporary.

The king was never above the law. He was not always directly subjected to restitution, however: a designated underling would have to suffer the consequences, and would then be compensated monetarily by the king. The king could lose his status, however, if he engaged in "non-kingly" activities such as being seen doing the work of a commoner, acting cowardly in battle, or traveling without a proper retinue.

Although limited in power when it came to the law, kings could collaborate with the church in developing laws. Adomnán of Iona produced a set of laws, the Cáin Adomnáin ("Law of Innocents"), which has the names of several kings attached to it showing heir involvement and support.

The Cáin Adomnáin has been called Europe's first human rights treaty, and is worth taking a closer look...next time.

Early Irish Marriage Law

Early Irish Brehon Law, so-called because it was administered by Brehons (from Old Irish breithem ("judge"), was more interested in proper conduct for social concord rather than punishment for wrongdoing. It was a progressive system that recognized equality in many ways for women not found in other parts of Europe until centuries later.

The approach to marriage was very flexible—something that alarmed the Roman Church very much, which is why they encouraged the Anglo-Norman Invasion in the late 12th century. Several forms of union were recognized as legitimate between a man and a woman.

There were three types of marriage based on property: whether the husband, or the wife, or both equally brought assets to the marriage. Wives could keep control of their property; it did not become their husband's property. A woman could also help to keep property in the family by marrying a cousin, a level of consanguinity that the Roman Church really didn't like to see.

Polygamy (but not polyandry) was also a legitimate form of marriage. The first/principal wife had some interesting advantage in a polygamous family: not only could she simply divorce the husband if she did not like his choice of an additional wife, but she had a three-day period on the arrival of a new wife when she was allowed to beat the new woman (so long as she did not leave a mark, of course!), and the new wife was allowed to scratch back and pull hair.

A man could also have concubines, whose status in the household was much lower than any wives—but it was still a legal status. Marriages in Brehon Law did not require church involvement (although no doubt when Richard de Clare married Diarmait's daughter Aoife he used a Roman ceremony, as in the illustration above, a detail of "The Marriage of Strongbow and Aoife" by Daniel Maclise, c.1854).

Women could even initiate divorce for several reasons:

• Husband too fat for sex.
• Husband hit her hard enough to leave a mark.
• Husband boasted about their sex life in public.

The Gaelic approach to male-female unions was clearly quite different. Rulers' authority and their succession was also quite different, but that's for tomorrow.

Early Irish Law

Early Irish law was called Brehon Law, a system of civil (not criminal) rules, some of which survived until the 17th century when they were replaced with British laws.

It was called Brehon Law because it was administered by Brehons (from Old Irish breithem ("judge"), successors to Celtic Druids who acted as arbitrators in disputes, and questions of compensation and conduct.

Brehon Law recognized equality between sexes and concern for the environment. It was progressive in that it promoted restitution rather than punishment after wrongdoing. Even homicide and bodily harm were recompensed according to an established scale of value, similar to the Anglo-Saxon wergild. Payments were made to the family, not to a civil court. Capital punishment was not part of Brehon Law, unlike many other legal systems before and since, and revenge and retaliation were strongly discouraged.

The clan was the most important social unit, and the property inhabited by that clan was treated as communal when it came to resources such as bee hives, fruit trees, and water mills. The seventh-century Coibnes wisci thairidne ("The Kinship of Conducted Water") discusses the importance of water and why it belongs to all.* Land itself was rarely sold; the highest-ranking lord "rented out" not the land but the right to graze cattle on it.

The manuscripts in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin (sample shown above) offer an extensive look at this early legal system. This particular illustration is part of a discussion of Bechbretha ("bee judgments"). Honeybees were an important part of the economy: people needed honey, and monasteries needed large amounts of beeswax. Bees were protected; bee possession was sacrosanct; but if you came across a swarm of bees (a mass clinging together on a branch, waiting for the secret apian signal to fly and find a new home), you could claim it for your own and remove it for your use.

The Anglo-Norman Invasion in the 1170s started to replace Brehon Law with English Law, but Brehon Law saw a revival in the 1300s as intermarriage between the Anglo-Norman lords and Irish led to Irish-oriented noble families.

Women in marriage had more agency than in Roman Catholic countries at the time, and I'll go into marriage and divorce tomorrow.

*Even in the 20th century, James Joyce has Leopold Bloom ask "How can you own water really?" in Ulysses.

Henry's Invasion of Ireland

The first mass arrival of Normans in Ireland was actually by invitation of Diarmait Mac Murchada, King of Leinster until he was deposed by the High King of Ireland, Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair. Diarmait got military aid from Richard de Clare, the 2nd Earl of Pembroke, with King Henry's permission. In exchange, Pembroke would receive Diarmait's eldest daughter's (Aoife) hand in marriage.

Offering allegiance to Henry for the support, Diarmait led Pembroke's Anglo-Norman forces around to some of the neighboring kingdoms, subduing them within weeks. That was not to be the end of it, however.

Pembroke continued to bring military forces, seizing Dublin and Waterford in 1170. With Diarmait's death in May 1171, Pembroke (by virtue of his marriage to Aoife) declared himself Lord of Leinster. This was too much for the Irish, who planned a counteroffensive, besieging Dublin and attacking the Norman-controlled Waterford and Wexford. The Normans were too strong and entrenched, however.

Five months after Diamait's death, Henry himself landed with a large army to assert control over the Irish and the Anglo-Normans, lest they tried to be too independent. He declared any of the Norman-controlled towns as crown lands and gave Pembroke Leinster as a fiefdom. Many Irish kings submitted, probably hoping to prevent further conquest, but Henry gave Meath to Hugh de Lacey, and William FitzAldhelm got Wexford.

Henry also arranged the Synod of Cashel to reform the Irish Church. Henry had the blessing of the Roman Catholic Church. The Church (especially the Archbishops of Canterbury) wanted to make sure the Irish Church was conforming properly: they had not fully adopted the Gregorian Reforms. Pope Adrian IV in a 1155 papal bull, Laudabiliter, seemed to give Henry encouragement to conquer Ireland in order to bring them to Roman rule:

That Ireland, and indeed all islands on which Christ, the sun of justice, has shed His rays, and which have received the teaching of the Christian faith, belong to the jurisdiction of blessed St. Peter and the holy Roman church is a fact beyond doubt, and one which your nobility recognises.

(Then again, Adrian IV was the only English pope, so he may have had a particular tendency to favor what he considered English causes. Curiously, Laudabiliter is frequently cited and quoted since the 13th century, but no original exists.)

This was the start of eight centuries of English/British unwelcome involvement in Ireland. It was bound to happen anyway, but curious that it was initiated by invitation. Let's go back a little further and see what Diarmait Mac Murchada, King of Leinster, was all about.

William FitzAldhelm, Governor of Ireland

The illustration is a 19th century portrayal of King Henry II of England in Waterford, greeting the Irish delegates whom he intended to place under his rule. Of course he could not be everywhere and preferred to stay in England, so he gave the administration of Ireland over to Anglo-Norman nobles. One of these was William FitzAldhelm (or FitzAdelm, or FitzAudelin, or FitzAldelm).

His family had come over with William the Conqueror in 1066. When Henry II's 1171 attack on Ireland proved successful, Henry sent FitzAldhelm and Hugh de Lacey to receive the allegiance of the King of Connaught, Rory. FitzAldhelm was put in charge of the city of Wexford, but when the Lord of Leinster, "Strongbow" (Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke), died in 1176, FitzAldhelm was made Henry's deputy over the whole of Ireland and ward to the earl's daughter Isabel (one of the wealthiest heiresses in Wales and Ireland).

Unfortunately for FitzAldhelm, Henry was working out how to use his sons to control his Angevin Empire. His youngest, John, was soon to be a teenager, and Henry named John the Prince of Ireland a mere year after FitzAldhelm's rule over the island, leaving FitzAldhelm Wexford and Leinster. As it turns out, however, FitzAldhelm was once again put in charge of Ireland in 1181 as Henry's dapifer ("steward").

Around that time he founded the monastery of St. Thomas theMartyr at Dublin, a monastery of Dromore, and the Abbey of Athassel in Tipperary.

Gerald of Wales gives us a description of FitzAldhelm: 

This FitzAdelm was large and corpulent, both in stature and shape, but of a reasonable height. He was a pleasant and courtly man; but whatever honours he paid to any one were always mingled with guile. There was no end of his craftiness - there was poison in the honey, and a snake in the grass. To outward appearance he was liberal and courteous, but within there was more aloes than honey.

He died in 1204/5 and was buried at the Abbey of Athassel.

How did all this come about? The taking of Ireland, I mean; it wasn't just a matter of Henry saying "Here I am; bow down." Tomorrow we'll take a look at what the Anglo-Norman Invasion of Ireland involved, and what the pope and the Irish Church thought of it.

Prince John in Ireland

Prince John (24 December 1166 - 19 October 1216) had been made Lord of Ireland by his father, Henry II, in the 1177 Council of Oxford. He took a tour of Ireland in the second half of 1185 as a first step to creating a Kingdom of Ireland as part of the Angevin Empire. 

John may have had reason to be bitter from the start. His father had sought the pope's blessing to declare John King of Ireland, but Popes Alexander III followed by Lucius III were not in agreement, so John went as "Lord" instead of his hoped-for title "King." He arrived in Waterford with 300 knights and numerous soldiers and archers in April 1185, which of course caused anxiety among the Irish who saw an army rather than a diplomatic mission.

We have Gerald of Wales to thank for details*: his Topographia Hibernica tells how John was greeted by several Gaelic Irish leaders whose long beards made John and his men first laugh and then abuse the Irish by yanking their beards. On his tour through Ireland, he promised land grants to his retainers, further angering the locals.

His supposed goal of setting up administrative structures to maintain Anglo-Norman rule was a failure. He alienated the Irish, he ran out of money to pay his men (and lost some through desertion as well as in battles against Irish forces), and he had little or no skill as an administrator. His opposition in Ireland was not all Irish, either. Hugh de Lacey was an Anglo-Norman baron who had been made Lord of Meath by Henry years earlier. John complained to Henry that de Lacey prevented John from collecting tributes from the Irish leaders. This may well be true: Lacey had established a firm presence, and John's ham-handed approach to Ireland was disrupting a comfortable, pre-existing arrangement.

The Lord of Meath was not to remain a problem for John, however: he was killed a year later by an Irishman, Giolla Gan Mathiar Ó Maidhaigh. John was immediately sent back on hearing the news to take possession of de Lacey's lands.

It is unlikely that the Anglo-Norman plan to take over Ireland would ever be considered a positive event, but John's feckless attitude on his first tour certainly was not beneficial. Of course, there was already an Anglo-Norman presence (Hugh de Lacey, for example). In fact, there was already an Anglo-Norman "Lord" of Ireland, appointed by Henry years earlier but replaced by John at the Council of Oxford. His name was William FitzAldhelm, who was actually sitting at the Council of Oxford when Henry announced John's appointment to replace William. I'll tell you about him tomorrow.

*The illustration is from a copy of the Topographia: it shows the killing of a white mare that is then made into a stew in which the new king bathes before his courtiers eat the stew. (I wouldn't make this up.)

Funny Ireland

The Topography of Ireland by Gerald of Wales seems to have been designed to paint the Irish as an ungovernable, crude people in need of conquering, but it is also a collection of fanciful stories of what Gerald "saw" there, but of course were tales told to him by the Hibernians.

"I am aware that I shall describe some things that will seem to the reader to be either impossible or ridiculous.  But I protest solemnly that I have put down nothing in this book the truth of which I have not found out either by the testimony of my own eyes, or that of reliable men found worthy of credence and coming from the districts in which the events took place."

One of his tales about flora and fauna includes the explanation of the barnacle goose.

Another is of the bearded woman (see illustration):

Duvenald, king of Limerick, had a woman with a beard down to her navel, and also, a crest like a colt of a year old, which reached from the top of her neck down her backbone, and was covered with hair. The woman, thus remarkable for two monstrous deformities, was ... in other respects had the parts of a woman; and she constantly attended the court, an object of ridicule as well as of wonder. The fact of her spine being covered with hair, neither determined her gender to be male or female; and in wearing a long beard she followed the customs of her country, though it was unnatural in her. [Chapter 20]

He also tells the story—and this may have the ring of truth—of an island that appears and disappears:

One calm day, a large mass of earth rose to the surface of the sea, where no land had ever been seen before, to the great amazement of the islanders who observed it. Some of them said that it was a whale, or other immense sea-monster; others remarking that it continued motionless, said, "No, it is land". In order therefore to reduce their doubts to certainty, some picked young men of the island determined to approach near the spot in a boat. When however, they came so near to it that they thought they should go on shore, the island sank in the water and entirely vanished from sight. The next day it re-appeared, and again mocked the same youths with the like delusion. At length, upon their rowing towards it on the third day, they followed the advice of an older man and let fly an arrow, barbed with red-hot steel, against the island; and then landing, found it stationary and habitable. [Chapter XII]

The beginning of the story makes one think it will turn into another anecdote of Fastitocalon, but the tales of St. Brendan make me think it is possible that the seafaring Hibernians sailed far enough westward and northward to see a volcanic eruption forming an island, as the 20th century saw the new island of Surtsey form off the southern coast of Iceland.

Gerald had a more kindly attitude toward his homeland of Wales, and that will be our next topic.

The Topography of Ireland

This title is a joke, since Gerald of Wales' Topographia Hibernica ("Topography of Ireland") was mostly history.* It did include a map, seen here. To properly orient the map, you need to see it rotated 90° clockwise; the largest mass is England with Scotland at the top, the middle-sized mass is Ireland, and the small oval is Iceland.

Gerald visited Ireland twice between 1183 and 1186. Although his Welsh heritage put him at odds politically with the Norman kings of England, starting with Henry II, he was open to serving them in other matters. His trips to Ireland were official, serving the royal family as advisor. He used the experience to write two works on Ireland, the second being the Expugnatio Hibernica ("Conquest of Ireland"), the story of Henry's military campaign there. Both works were revised several times during Gerald's lifetime.

He did not travel extensively in Ireland, spending most of his time in Waterford and Cork during the time of the Topographia. Part one of this three-part work is about topography: landscaper, as well as flora and fauna. He is certainly describing things he has not witnessed personally, since he describes the Island of Inishglora, where corpses do not rot, and where you can find generations of people all in a state of perpetual "freshness."

However untrustworthy his descriptions of Ireland may be, the work served an English political purpose by painting a picture of the Irish as primitive and in "need" of governance:

The Irish are a rude people, subsisting on the produce of their cattle only, and living themselves like beasts – a people that has not yet departed from the primitive habits of pastoral life. In the common course of things, mankind progresses from the forest to the field, from the field to the town and to the social conditions of citizens; but this nation, holding agricultural labour in contempt, and little coveting the wealth of towns, as well as being exceedingly averse to civil institutions – lead the same life their fathers did in the woods and open pastures, neither willing to abandon their old habits or learn anything new. They, therefore, only make patches of tillage; their pastures are short of herbage; cultivation is very rare and there is scarcely any land sown. This want of tilled fields arises from the neglect of those who should cultivate them; for theirs are large tracts which are naturally fertile and productive.

Very few sorts of fruit-trees are found in this country, a defect arising not from the nature of the soil, but from want of industry of planting them;

There are also veins of various kinds of metals ramifying in the bowels of the earth, which, from the same idle habits, are not worked and turned to account. Even gold, which the people require in large quantities and still covet in a way that speaks [to] their Spanish origin, is brought here by the merchants who traverse the ocean for the purposes of commerce. They neither employ themselves in the manufacture of flax or wool or in any kind of trade or mechanical art; but abandoning themselves to idleness, and immersed, in sloth, their greatest delight is to be exempt from toil, their richest possession, the enjoyment of liberty.

The Topographia was considered justification for England's treatment of the Irish for centuries.

Before moving on, next time we'll look at some of the more colorful reports he made of Ireland.

*You can see the manuscript online at the National Library of Ireland here.

Gerald of Wales

Gerald of Wales (Giraldus Cambrensis, c.1146 - 1223) was a priest and a writer of history. That could be the introduction for many of the folk mentioned in this blog. Gerald was a bit different, however, in that he was the offspring of very prominent nobility and was employed by royalty for much of his life.

He was of both Norman and Welsh descent, a child of the conquerors and the conquered. Educated at the Benedictine house at Gloucester, he was employed by Becket's successor, Richard of Dover, and trusted to manage affairs in Wales such as abuses of consanguinity laws and Welsh church finances. After revealing the existence of a mistress of the archdeacon of Brecon, Gerald was appointed to replace him. The position had a small estate at Llanddew, allowing Gerald to collect tithes of wool and cheese.

His lifelong goal was to become Bishop of St. Davids in Pembrokeshire, Wales. When his uncle (then Bishop of St. David's) died in 1176, the chapter nominated Gerald. King Henry II rejected Gerald's appointment; he may have thought Gerald would be too independent—Wales was hoping to split from the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury—and Henry had just got over the troubles he had as a result of Becket's martyrdom. Henry appointed a loyal Norman retainer, Peter de Leia. Gerald was also cousin to Rhys ap Gruffydd, a Welsh lord who was understandably hostile to Norman rule. Peter de Leia's relationship with Gruffydd was less than amiable, and Henry liked it that way.

Gerald's historical account includes this (possible) statement from Henry:

It is neither necessary nor expedient for king or archbishop that a man of great honesty or vigor should become Bishop of St. Davids, for fear that the Crown and Canterbury should suffer thereby. Such an appointment would only give strength to the Welsh and increase their pride.

Gerald consoled himself by leaving the country. He spent a year at the University of Paris, studying and teaching canon law and philosophy. In 1180, back in England and continuing to study theology, Bishop Peter de Leia offered him a minor position in the Bishop's household, which he at first accepted but shortly gave up.

Where he becomes of greater interest to modern scholars is in 1184 when he was asked by King Henry to mediate between the Crown and Rhys ap Gruffydd. After, he was sent with Prince John to Ireland, which led to his first important writing: Topographia Hibernica ("Topography of Ireland," although it was mostly history). Not long after he wrote Expugnatio Hibernica ("Conquest of Ireland"), the story of Henry's military campaign there. Both works were revised several times during Gerald's lifetime. 

This was the start of both his writing career and his work with several kings. We'll pick up with his map of Ireland—and how his writings were influential right into Tudor times—tomorrow.

The Trial of Alice Kyteler, Part 3

See Parts one and two.

The outcome of the trial was dire for Alice, her maid Petronilla, and her stepson William Outlaw. There were others associated with the household that were also on trial, such as Petronilla's daughter, and other associates who had been accused of consorting with Alice.

While the trial was in progress, however, Alice managed to escape prison. It seems likely that she had help from the Chancellor of Ireland, Roger Outlaw (who was her brother-in-law). So far as anyone knows, she left Ireland and was never heard from again. No records exist that give any clue to her fate.

Petronilla was not so lucky. She was condemned for heresy and burned at the stake.

William Outlaw's fate was more complex. Condemned for heresy, he was served with penance. He was required to hear mass three times each day for an entire year and make donations of food to the poor. Also, he was required to provide lead for part of the roof of St. Canice's Cathedral.

Before the year was up, Bishop Ledrede learned that William had failed to observe his penance. He was imprisoned, and only released after he was made to lie in the mud before the bishop and other clergy and declare his fault. His penance was increased: he was now required to provide even more lead to cover more of the roof of the Cathedral, and to go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land on the first available boat heading that way.

In 1332, a Kilkenny Franciscan records that the bell tower of St. Canice's cathedral collapsed because of the weight of the lead. Bishop Ledrede was not present for this catastrophe, having fled Ireland himself. I'll explain why tomorrow.

The Spanish Come to Ireland

The 9th century Historia Brittonum (History of the Britons) tells of three invasions of Ireland from the Iberian Peninsula. The Partholón die of plague, the Nemedians return to Iberia, but the Milesians stay and become the Irish people. The Milesians are called that because they descend from a miles Hispaniae, sometimes called Miled. The settlers came with 30 ships, each of which held 30 wives.

According to the Lebor Gabála Érenn (The Book of the Taking of Ireland), written by Christians and incorporating Irish mythology, Noah's son Japheth had a descendant who was a Scythian king named Fénius Fairad, who was one of 72 chieftains who built the Tower of Babel. His son wed the daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh. Their son, Goidel Glas, invents the Gaelic language after the confusion in languages caused by Babel.

Goidel's descendants leave Egypt for Scythia, then leave Scythia and wander for 440 years, eventually reaching Iberia/Hispania. One of the settlers, Íth, builds a tower there so tall that he spots the island of Ireland. Íth sails there, meeting three kings/gods of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Íth is killed, his people return to Iberia; then the sons of Íth's brother, Mil, lead an invasion force for revenge.

Landing in Ireland, they meet three queens/goddesses of the Tuatha, one of whom, Ériu, prophecies good fortune for them if they name the Ireland after her (this is where we get the name Eire). The Milesians and the Tuatha meet and agree to a three-day truce, during which the Milesians must take to their ships and wait off shore. The Tuatha create a storm that prevents the ships from landing again, but a Milesian, Amergin, knows a magical verse that calms the storm. The ships return, and the agreement is made with the Tuatha that the Gaels will live above ground, and the Tuatha must live below ground.

Why the link to Iberia/Hispania, Spain? One reason might be the coincidental similarity between the names Iberia/Hiberia and Hibernia, as well as the names Galicia and Gael. Isidore of Seville made many erroneous (but widely believed) concordances based on words and his take on history. Isidore also described Iberia as the "mother[land] of the races" (we don't know why). Historians Orosius and Tacitus thought Ireland was situated between Iberia and Britain, and one modern scholar (read his essay "Did the Irish Come from Spain?" here) sees this as a reason to think that Irish arrivals would have started from Spain. 

In truth, DNA analysis shows close relations between modern Irish and northern Iberians. Hmm.

Regarding Isidore of Seville, whose works were considered the encyclopediae of his time and generations after: he has been mentioned, but has never been the subject of a post. I'll fix that tomorrow.

The Tuatha Dé Danann

The Tuatha Dé Danann, or "the folk of the goddess Danu," are a cornerstone of early Irish literature and mythology. Arriving from the north on dark clouds, they demand half of Ireland from the current inhabitants, the Fir Bolg, who refuse and are slaughtered. The Tuatha, in turn, are defeated years later when the Milesians arrive in Ireland. The result is that Ireland is shared 50-50: the Milesians (ancestors of the Gaels) get the aboveground Ireland, and the Tuatha have to live below the surface, eventually become the sidhe of Irish folklore. They are described as gods and goddesses, kings and queens, druids and bards, warriors and healers, all with supernatural powers. They are also the possessors of the Four Treasures of Ireland.

They are sometimes described as descendants of Nemed; the Nemedians were an earlier group of settlers who were driven out by the Fomorians. Some of the Nemedians fled to Greece, returning years later as the Fir Bolg. Some fled north, and somehow became the Tuatha. Therefore, many of the Irish "Invasions" are groups fighting other groups who were descendants of a common ancestor.

Attempts to determine their origin/meaning linguistically have led to many theories, none of them universally agreed upon. The phrase Tuath Dé meaning "tribe of god(s)" was used by Irish monks to refer to the Israelites. The word tuatha was commonly used for the various kingdoms/tribes under different chieftains. Adding Danann was done by Irish monks recording "history" to distinguish the Israelites from the Tuatha of legend. Tuatha Dé Danann, however, prompts the question "Who was Danu?"

Skipping over the initial consonant, scholars leap to Anu, called "mother of the Irish gods" by the 10th century king (and bishop) of Munster, Cormac Mac Cuilennáin. Others point to Danu, a goddess of Hindu mythology, and wonder if this shared name is "simply" an Indo-European parallel.

Danu may be a blend of the goddess Anann and the word dán, "skill" or "craft": maybe the magical powers attributed to the Tuatha in history come from their introductions of smithing, weaving, tanning, brewing, etc. After all, the Tuatha are sometimes referred to as Eladan, "children of art."

Some seeking to explain the name look to proto-Celtic don meaning "earth," which compares to the Old Irish doman, "earth." A 7th century bishop and biographer of St. Patrick, Tírechán, describes the sidhe as dei terreni, "earthly gods."

Whatever their origin, their stories are foundational to Irish mythology. It is one of their goddesses, Ériu, whose name is the origin of the modern name Éire. Eventually, however, medieval historians had to eliminate them from the scene to explain their absence, and the Milesians were the instrument of their elimination.

Who were the Milesians, the ancestors of the Gaels? They were a little more grounded in history—a little—and we'll look at their "Spanish" origin tomorrow.

The Six Invasions of Ireland

The Lebor Gabála Érenn or the Book of the Taking of Ireland, also known as The Book of Invasions, is a compilation of Christian and Irish myths in poetry and prose, telling the history of Ireland. Starting with the Biblical Flood and ending in the Middle Ages, it describes six invasions or colonizations of Ireland.

The first wave is led by Cessair, a daughter of Noah, who sails westward on a journey that ends in Ireland with 50 women and only three men. Each of the men takes 16 wives, but when two of the men perish leaving only Fintan Mac Bóchra, he flees from the "responsibility" and is turned into a hawk. This hawk lives 5,500 years, advising the kings of Ireland until the 5th century and the time of Finn Mac Cumhaill.

Three centuries after Cessair, another descendant of Noah named Partholón arrives in Ireland with followers. Ireland is wild, with only one open plain and three lakes. They clear more plains, and more lakes appear from the ground. They go about introducing cattle, farming, brewing, etc. They encounter the Fomorians (pictured above in a 1912 painting by John Duncan), monstrous and hostile supernatural beings, and defeat them. Partholón's people, however, numbering 5000 men and 4000 women, all die from a plague within a week. Ireland is left uninhabited, until...

A Scythian named Nemed leads a group of settlers to Ireland. They suffer from plague as well, and also encounter the Fomorians. Losing to the Fomorians, Nemed's people must give two-thirds of their children and wheat and milk to their enemies each Samhain. The Nemedians eventually rise up against the Fomorians, but only 30 survive and are scattered, some going east to become the ancestors of all Britons, some going to Greece, some going north.

The fourth "invasion" is 200 years later, when the descendants of the Nemedians who went to Greece return. This is around the time of the Israelite's Exodus from Egypt. They are called the Fir Bolg, the "men of bags," because while in Greece they were enslaved and made to haul bags of soil and clay. They divide Ireland into five areas ruled by five chieftains.

(An oddly-specific) 37 years later, the fifth wave arrives on dark clouds of fog. They are the Tuatha Dé Danann, bringing the Four Treasures of Ireland (one of which is the Stone of Destiny). They may be descended from the Nemedians who went north. They possess powerful magic, and they demand half of Ireland from the Fir Bolg, who refuse and are slaughtered.

Finally, the Milesians arrive. Their battle with the Tuatha results in an agreement to share the island 50-50: the Milesians get the part above ground, and Tuatha live below the surface. The Milesians are the ancestors of the Gaels. The Tuatha become the Otherworld inhabitants who occasionally encounter humans and exhibit magical powers.

Although humans become the chief peoples of Ireland, the Tuatha part of the story explains the presence of supernatural elements, such as the Four Treasures. What exactly were the Four Treasures and their significance? For that you'll have to come back tomorrow.

The Book of Leinster

Between 1151 and 1224 CE a manuscript was compiled, probably in what is now Terryglass in County Tipperary, by the abbot of a Terryglass monastery and his followers. The abbot, Áed Ua Crimthainn, actually signed one of the pages, stating that he "wrote this book and collected it from many books." Originally called Lebar na Núachongbhála, the "Book of Oughaval," it is now referred to as the Book of Leinster. Oughaval, now called "Oak Vale," was a 6th century monastery founded by a student of St. Columba. The Book of Leinster was there for many years.

Its second name is because it is believed that it was commissioned by a king of Leinster, Diarmait Mac Murchada (d. 1171), and then passed from him to a few others, getting "lost" until it surfaced at Oughaval in the 14th century. An Irish language scholar in the 19th century gave it its present name because of the associations of its contents with Leinster.

It contains 187 13" by 9" leaves. Internal evidence suggests that 45 leaves are missing. It is one of our most important sources of genealogy, mythology, and Irish literature. It contains the most complete version of of Táin Bó Cuailnge, "The Cattle Raid of Cooley."

The manuscript contains many different types of document. The illustration above is from one part called Dindshenchas, "place-name lore," and begins with the words Temuir, unde nominatur, "Tara, whence is it named." Speaking of Latin: Latin was moving into Ireland because of ecclesiastical involvement, and replacing Irish as a scholarly language. That may be the reason why the Book includes Lebor Gabála Érenn, literally the "Book of Invasions" (considered the Irish "Book of Genesis" and a history of the world),  in which we are told that Irish was created after the confusion of languages caused by the incident of the Tower of Babel. Because it was created later, it avoids the "shortcomings and confusion" of other languages and is therefore special.

The Lebor Gabála Érenn tells of six times that Ireland was invaded, which is a great topic for tomorrow.

Prophetic Death

Prophetic death is a staple of mythology and legend. One classic trope is the "threefold death" in which a prophecy claims three different manners of a person's death, all of which somehow come true.

One example is a Welsh legend of Merlin, who is asked to prophesy a boy's death; he says the boy will fall from a rock. The boy is then dressed in different clothing and brought before Merlin and asked about the manner of his death; Merlin says he will hang. The boy is then disguised as a girl and brought again; Merlin prophesies drowning. Later, while on a hunt, the boy slips from a rock, is caught on a tree and suspended upside-down, with his head in a lake, where he drowns.

Diarmait Mac Cerbaill was a real historical figure, and yet we are told he suffered the threefold death of legends. According to the Life of Columba by Adomnán of Iona, he is told by an Irish seer that his foster-son, Áed Dub ("Black Áed"), will kill him; Diarmait banishes Áed Dub. Then, St. Ruadán prophesies that he would be killed by the roof beam of his hall at Tara; Diarmait has the roof beam removed and thrown into the sea.

With those dangers removed, Diarmait continues his quest to avoid death by asking druids how he will die. They predict a threefold death, "by iron, water, and fire." This would mean slain with a weapon, drowning, and burning. Further, they are him that there will be signs of his impending death: a shirt grown from a flax seed, a woolen mantle made from a single sheep, ale brewed from a single grain of corn, bacon from a sow that has never farrowed.

Diarmait, satisfied that his death by anything other than old age is unlikely, visits the hall of Banbán, where he is shown a shirt, a mantle, and bacon that satisfy the conditions of his imminent death. He decides to immediately leave the hall, but Áed Dub is waiting at the door, stabs him and sets fire to the hall. Prevented from leaving the burning hall, Diarmait climbs into a vat of ale to survive the heat. The burning hall collapses, and the roof beam, which Banbán had found in the sea and used to build his hall, falls and crushes Diarmait.

It is curious to have a prophetic and threefold death attributed to an actual person. The Annals of Tigernach, in the entry for 563, merely states "Diarmaid son of Cearbhall was killed in Ráth Bec in Magh Line by Aodh Dubh son of Suibne Araidhe, king of Ulster, and his head was taken to Cluain and his body was buried in Connere."

Adomnán, for his own reasons, was clearly embellishing. Perhaps his knowledge that Diarmait was dabbling in Christianity was the emphasis, since legend says that Áed Dub suffered a similar threefold death, which Adomnán attributes to divine justice after killing Diarmait. Adomnán would have been drawing from several sources for his Life of St. Columba, including the saga Aided Diarmata ("Death of Diarmait").

One more look at Diarmait, the king who bridged the pagan and Christian eras in Irish kingship, before we move on to something else. This next look will be from the angle of St. Ruadán.

Diarmait mac Cerbaill

There were two significant designations for kings in Ireland. Of the several different kingdoms on the Emerald Isle, only one of them had possession of the sacred site the Hilo Tara, on which stood the Lia Fáil, the "Stone of Destiny," brought to Ireland by the Tuatha dé Danann, that would cry out when the true king stepped on it. Whether the Stone ever was heard to cry out is moot: possessing the Hill let you declare yourself King of Tara after engaging in a sacred pagan initiation rite.

The other designation was High King of Ireland, or King of All Ireland. This designation was not rooted in Irish mythology: it denoted someone powerful enough that other kingdoms recognized his political and military superiority. There was no spiritual or religious aspect to this title.

Diarmait Mac Cerbaill was the last known king in Ireland to go through the pagan ritual of marriage to the goddess of the land, and so was King of Tara. Annals declare him a great-grandson of the semi-historical Niall of the Nine Hostages. His father's name was Fergus, but rather than be named "Ferguson," his surname is given as Cerbaill from his father's nickname Cerrbél, "crooked mouth."

During his lifetime, he was also declared High King of Ireland, from 544 to 565. His reign was not stellar. In a dispute between St. Columba and Finnian of Movilla, he took the wrong side and was defeated at the Battle of Cúl Dreimhne, the famous "Battle of the Books" over the copyright of the Cathach. It was not the only battle he lost.

Despite his initiation as King of Tara, and references to "druid fences" being used during the Battle of Cúl Dreimhne, he was the first High King in Ireland to embrace (or at least dabble in) Christianity. Adomnán of Iona wrote that Diarmait was "ordained by God's will as king of all Ireland." Adomnán was writing 150 years later, but it is not the only evidence that Diarmait might have begun forging a healthy relationship with Christianity. He supported St. Finnian of Movilla. The stone pictured above is believed to be Diarmait and St. Ciaran, carved into the Cross of the Scriptures at Clonmacnoise, planting a stake together. There is a quotation attributed to him that suggests respect for the power of Christianity: "Woe to him that contends with the clergy of the churches." Also, curiously, two of his sons are called Colmán, a specifically Christian name based on the 6th century Irish missionary, St. Columbanus. (Irish royals were known to give the same name to more than one son—relying on nicknames later to distinguish them?—until the 16th century.)

The end of his life, however, was decidedly non-Christian; rather, it involves a mythical "threefold death" based in prophecy that seems impossible at first but comes true in a logical manner. It's complicated enough that I think I'll save it until tomorrow. See you then.

High King of Ireland

There are two titles given to kings of Ireland: King of Tara, and High King of Ireland. These are not the same thing. "High King" was first used in the 9th century, although it was sometimes applied retroactively and anachronistically to figures of legend; "King of Tara" was first used in the 6th century, although retroactively applied to previous kings as well as legendary figures.

The Kingship of Tara is by far the older of the two, and does not necessarily denote ruling all of Ireland. It is associated with the Hill of Tara, a site that has been important since Neolithic times, with several Neolithic features including a passage tomb dated to 3200BCE, and a standing stone called the "Stone of Destiny" (brought to Ireland by the Tuatha dé Danann).

Possessing the Hill of Tara by conquering whichever tribe held it was a necessary step to claim this special kingship. In the 3rd century, the Laigin seized it from the Érainn; Niall of the Nine Hostages took it from the Laigin in the 5th century, after which it was possessed by the Ui Néill clan. 

The Hill of Tara is also associated with the title "High King." It is considered the place from which the High King rules, thanks to its legendary status. The High King of Ireland was also known as the "King of all Ireland," because unlike the King of Tara, the High King was one who united all the various kingdoms under one rule. Actually, "united" is probably too strong a word. The High King received tribute from the smaller kings, but did not directly rule their kingdoms. (With the rise of political and financial power in cities such as Dublin, Limerick, and Waterford, possessing those became more important after the 11th century.)

The King of Tara was a sacred title, and he "married the land" by having a marriage or a sexual relationship with a "sovereignty goddess" (a term found only in Celtic studies), Maeve. Gerald of Wales wrote that the would-be king sexually embraced a white mare, which was then slaughtered for a feast. Which brings us to Diarmait mac Cerbaill.

Diarmait mac Cerbaill is considered the last King of Tara to be part of the pagan ritual. Diarmait, however, also turned towards Christianity during his reign. I'll go into this dichotomy next time.

The Cathach

The oldest extant manuscript in Ireland is the Cathach. The Cathach is a psalter, a copy of the Book of Psalms from the Bible (actually, Psalm 30:13 to 105:13). Traditionally, it is associated with St. Columba, and is also called The Cathach of St. Columba. It is dated to the second half of the 6th century, which places it in his lifetime (Columba died 597).

There is a legend that it was made in one night, copied from an original in Movilla Abbey. Supposedly, Abbot Finnian of Movilla objected to Columba making and taking a copy, and the conflict led to a terrible battle. during which 3000 men were killed. This is sometimes referred to as the first war over copyright.

This is unlikely; it is, however, associated with battle for another reason. The O'Donnell clan possessed it, and as a holy book it was considered to give protection in times of battle. Safe in its cumdach (a reliquary specifically made for a book, pictured above), it was carried by a holy man or monk three times around the waiting army prior to battle, and a rallying cry of "An Cathach!" ("The Battler!") would go up from the troops.

The cumdach was made for it. It consists of a wooden box that has been re-decorated a few times. It has bronze and gilt-silver plates, and settings for glass and crystal "gems." Completed in  Kells in the second half of the 11th century, it was added to in the late 1300s with a Crucifixion scene, and then again in the 16th and 18th centuries. The cumdach is in the National Museum of Ireland. The Cathach itself is preserved and studied in the Royal Irish Academy.

What was the likelihood that a battle would be fought over copyright? Hard to say, especially since copyright as we think of it in modern times is a fairly new idea. Or is it? Let's talk about that next time.

Battle of Cúl Dreimhne

The Battle of Cúl Dreimhne likely took place in 560CE (estimates vary). Although there are different accounts of the reason for the battle, the most popular is that it was fought over a copy of the Cathach ("The Battler").

The Cathach is a psalter, a collection of the Psalms from the Bible. The original was at Movilla Abbey, in the possession of Saint Finnian of Movilla. A visiting Columba made a copy of it miraculously in a single night, in order to have his own, but Finnian objected to this.

The question arose: was the copy owned by Finnian because he possessed the original, or by Columba because he made it? The High King of Ireland, King Diarmait Mac Cerbaill, famously proclaimed "To every cow belongs her calf, therefore to every book belongs its copy." Then (according to this version of the story), Columba raised an army to fight for his right to keep the copy. It is far likelier that the battle was a dynastic conflict because of the way Diarmait had assumed the kingship after his predecessor's death.

Another theory for the start of the battle is the violation of the rules of sanctuary when a man under Columba's protection was forcibly taken and executed, whereupon Columba raised an army against Diarmait. Columba was exiled for his actions and required to create as many souls for Christ as had been killed in the battle (3000). There is no evidence that his missionary work after that time was the result of exile rather than a desire to spread Christianity.

But as to the battle itself: it was in northwest Ireland in what is now County Sligo. You can visit the site of the "Cooldrumman Battlefield" at the foot of Ben Bulben. Modern scholars point out that the earliest references to the battle do not mention a book at all.

Was the Cathach so important that a battle could arise over it losing its uniqueness and its place on Movilla Abbey. To answer that, we need to take a closer look at the Cathach itself, and that's what we'll do next.