1014: Brian Boru & the Battle for Ireland Read Free

semi-autonomous provinces: Ulster (Uladh in Irish) in the north; Leinster (Laighin) in the east; Connacht (Connachta) in the west; Munster (Mumhan) in the south; and in the centre, Meath (Mídhe), theroyal province. These were ruled by provincial kings to whom the petty kings in their territory owed tribute. The provincial kings, in turn, owed tribute to an overlord known as the Árd Rí, or high king, whose traditional seat was at Tara in Meath. Tara today is a long grassy ridge often occupied by grazing sheep. From its elevation on a clear day one can see mountains in each of the other four provinces, a kingly view indeed.
    In no stage of Irish history had the term ‘high king’ implied monarchy. No high king governed all of Ireland . The Árd Rí reigned but did not rule. His subjects were the provincial kings who owed him tribute and courted his patronage to support their individual power. This arrangement likewise controlled the downward dispersion of property through petty kings and clan chieftains. Below the nobles were the freemen, and on the lowest rung of the ladder, the slaves, most of whom were captives taken in war. Slavery was not a permanent condition. A slave could buy his or her freedom , and many did.
    The office of king, of whatever rank, was elective. In the case of the provincial kings and the high king it was restricted to the princely class, which included anyone whose great-grandfather had been a king. Male members of this class were obliged to undergo a very specifictraining, both mental and physical. The eldest son of a king did not automatically inherit his father’s role. So long as there was an eligible member of his family who had the support of the other tribes, that person might accede to the kingship if he was of the age, strength, and character to suit the office. Thus the method of choosing a king was not fully one of merit, nor fully elective, nor fully hereditary, but a combination of all three. In the case of the Árd Rí, the family from which he came was of paramount importance. For centuries the high king was elected from either the northern or southern branches of the Uí Néill, the family with the longest history of high kingship.
    Until one man changed that.
    The Gael developed a highly stratified society conforming to an elaborate system known as Brehon law. Brehons were judges, members of the intellectual class that included teachers, healers, and bards. Bards were highly revered – a poet was considered the equal of a prince, a gifted satirist could topple a king. Brehons, as interpreters of the law, were concerned with every aspect of tribal life, from governing the election of kings to writing statutes concerning beekeeping.
    Under Brehon law women had a degree of equality with men. Whether single or married they couldinherit property and conduct its usage. The importance of women’s work was shown by the value assigned to their implements: a needle used in embroidery was valued at an ounce of silver, or part ownership of a yearling heifer. In case of divorce, which was common in early Ireland, a woman’s dowry might be returned to her. Polygamy was accepted if all parties consented, although in certain circumstances, such as incest, adultery was punishable by death. There was no such thing as illegitimacy: any act which resulted in a child was considered a marriage. There were no orphans. If a child’s parents were dead, he or she was fostered by other members of the tribe.
    Because the pre-Christian Gael had no written language , their history was painstakingly memorised by their bards over a period as long as twenty years. Poetry in its primitive form was a chant of pure emotion, speaking directly to the spirit. Captured in poetry like a fly in amber, Ireland’s history and genealogies were transmitted from one generation to the next virtually intact.
    In the sixth century, Christianity arrived in Ireland together with its concomitant literacy. The new faith was