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Gaelic warfare
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Gaelic warfare
Gaelic warfare was the type of warfare practiced by the Gaelic peoples (the Irish, Scottish, and Manx) in the pre-modern period.
Irish warfare was for centuries centered on the Ceithearn, or Kern in English (and so pronounced in Gaelic), light skirmishing infantry who harried the enemy with missiles before charging. John Dymmok, serving under Elizabeth I's lord-lieutenant of Ireland, described the kerns as:
"... A kind of footman, slightly armed with a sword, a target (round shield) of wood, or a bow and sheaf of arrows with barbed heads, or else three darts, which they cast with a wonderful facility and nearness..."
For centuries, the backbone of any Gaelic Irish army was these lightly armed foot soldiers. Ceithearn were usually armed with a spear (gae) or sword (claideamh), long dagger (scian), bow (bogha) and a set of javelins, or darts (gá-ín).
The use of armoured infantry in Gaelic Ireland from the 9th century on came as a counter to the mail-clad Vikings. The arrival of the heavily armoured Norse-Gaelic mercenary Gallowglasses in the early 13th century, was in response to the Norman invasion of Ireland and the Anglo-Normans use of heavily armoured Men-at-arms and Knights.
These adaptations and developments brought regular use of other weapons such as lances, poleaxes like the dane axe, lochaber axe, sparth axe and swords like the arming sword and two-handed swords similar to the Scottish Claymore. Many of the medieval swords found in Ireland today are unlikely to be of native manufacture given many of the pommels and cross-guard decoration is not of Gaelic origin.
By the time of Brian Bóruma and Máel Sechnaill, Irish kings were taking large armies on campaign over long distances and using naval forces in tandem with land forces. From the 11th century on, kings maintained small permanent fighting forces known as lucht tighe "troops of the household", who were often given houses and land on the king's mensal land. These were well-trained and equipped professional soldiers made up of infantry and cavalry.
Aside from Hobelars, who were highly mobile, lightly armoured, cavalry skirmishers and archers, used primarily for scouting and ambushes, the main Gaelic cavalry was usually made up of a king or chieftain and his clan. They usually rode without saddles but wore armour and iron helmets and wielded swords, skenes and long spears or lances. A fully outfitted medieval Irish army would have included light infantry, heavy infantry and mixed cavalry.
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Gaelic warfare
Gaelic warfare was the type of warfare practiced by the Gaelic peoples (the Irish, Scottish, and Manx) in the pre-modern period.
Irish warfare was for centuries centered on the Ceithearn, or Kern in English (and so pronounced in Gaelic), light skirmishing infantry who harried the enemy with missiles before charging. John Dymmok, serving under Elizabeth I's lord-lieutenant of Ireland, described the kerns as:
"... A kind of footman, slightly armed with a sword, a target (round shield) of wood, or a bow and sheaf of arrows with barbed heads, or else three darts, which they cast with a wonderful facility and nearness..."
For centuries, the backbone of any Gaelic Irish army was these lightly armed foot soldiers. Ceithearn were usually armed with a spear (gae) or sword (claideamh), long dagger (scian), bow (bogha) and a set of javelins, or darts (gá-ín).
The use of armoured infantry in Gaelic Ireland from the 9th century on came as a counter to the mail-clad Vikings. The arrival of the heavily armoured Norse-Gaelic mercenary Gallowglasses in the early 13th century, was in response to the Norman invasion of Ireland and the Anglo-Normans use of heavily armoured Men-at-arms and Knights.
These adaptations and developments brought regular use of other weapons such as lances, poleaxes like the dane axe, lochaber axe, sparth axe and swords like the arming sword and two-handed swords similar to the Scottish Claymore. Many of the medieval swords found in Ireland today are unlikely to be of native manufacture given many of the pommels and cross-guard decoration is not of Gaelic origin.
By the time of Brian Bóruma and Máel Sechnaill, Irish kings were taking large armies on campaign over long distances and using naval forces in tandem with land forces. From the 11th century on, kings maintained small permanent fighting forces known as lucht tighe "troops of the household", who were often given houses and land on the king's mensal land. These were well-trained and equipped professional soldiers made up of infantry and cavalry.
Aside from Hobelars, who were highly mobile, lightly armoured, cavalry skirmishers and archers, used primarily for scouting and ambushes, the main Gaelic cavalry was usually made up of a king or chieftain and his clan. They usually rode without saddles but wore armour and iron helmets and wielded swords, skenes and long spears or lances. A fully outfitted medieval Irish army would have included light infantry, heavy infantry and mixed cavalry.
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