A Smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland

 

CHAPTER III.

Spear.--The Irish battle-spears were used both for thrusting and for casting. They were of various shapes and sizes: but all consisted of a bronze or iron head, fixed on a wooden handle by means of a hollow cro or socket, into which the end of the handle was thrust and kept in place by rivets. The manufacture of spear-heads was carried to great perfection in Ireland at a very early age--long before the Christian era--and many of those preserved in our museums are extremely graceful and beautiful in design and perfect in finish: evidently the work of trained and highly skilled artists. The iron spears were hammered into shape: those of bronze were cast in moulds, and several specimens of these moulds may be seen in the National Museum (see chapter xx., section 3, infra). Both bronze and iron spear-heads are mentioned in our oldest literature.

In the National Museum in Dublin there is a collection of several hundred spear-heads of all shapes and sizes, the greater number of bronze, but some of iron, and some of copper; and every other museum in the country has its own collection. They vary in length from 36 inches down. Some of the Irish names for spear-heads designated special shapes, while others were applied to spears of whatever shape or size.

The words gae, ga, or gai; faga or foga; and sleg (now written sleagh: pron. sla) were sometimes used as terms for a spear or javelin in general. Among the spears of the Firbolgs was one called fiarlann [feerlann], 'curved blade' (fiar, 'curved'; lann, 'a blade'), of which many specimens are to be seen in the National Museum. The fiarlann was rather a short sword than a spear.

In the ancient Irish battle-tales a sharp distinction is made between the spears of the Firbolgs and of the Dedannans respectively: to which O'Curry first drew attention. The Firbolg spears are described as broad and thick, with the top rounded and sharp-edged, and having a thick handle. The spear used by the Dedannans was very different, being long, narrow, and graceful, with a very sharp point. Whether these two colonies are fictitious or not, a large number of spear-heads in the National Museum answer to those descriptions.

FIGS. 15, 16, & 17. Fig. 15, a Firbolg spear-head; fig. 16, a Dedannan one; fig. 17, a Fiarlann. Now in the National Museum, Dublin.

The Irish casting-spear was usually furnished with a loop of string called suanem or suaineamh [soonev] attached to the handle near the middle, and made of silk or flax. The Greeks and Romans had a loop of a similar kind on their spears--called amentum by the Latins: but how exactly the loop was used by Greeks, Romans, or Irish, or what its effect was, is a matter of conjecture. We only know that, like the Roman soldier, the Irish warrior put his forefinger in the loop in the act of casting.

Some of the spears of the heroes of the Red Branch and other great champions are described in the old legends as terrible and mysterious weapons. The spear of Keltar of the Battles, which was called Lón or Luin, twisted and writhed in the hand of the warrior who bore it, striving to make for the victim whose blood was ready for spilling. Some spears were regularly seized with a rage for massacre; and then the bronze head grew red-hot, so that it had to be kept near a caldron of cold water, or, more commonly, of black poisonous liquid, into which it was plunged whenever it blazed up with the murder fit. The Greeks of old had the same notion; and those fearful Irish spears remind us of the spear of Achilles, as mentioned by Homer, which when the infuriated hero flung it at Lycaon, missed the intended victim, and, plunging into the earth, "stood in the ground, hungering for the flesh of men." So also another Greek hero is made to say: "My spear rageth in my hands," with the eagerness to plunge at the Trojans.

Sword.--The Irish were fond of adorning their swords elaborately. Those who could afford it had the hilt ornamented with gold and gems. But the most common practice was to set the hilts round with the teeth of large sea-animals, especially those of the seahorse--a custom also common among the Welsh. This practice was noticed by the Roman geographer Solinus in the third century A.D.:--"Those [of the Irish] who cultivate elegance adorn the hilts of their swords with the teeth of great sea-animals."

The usual term for an ordinary sword was cloidem [cleeve]: and one of the largest size was called cloidem-mor, a name which the Scotch retain to this day in the Anglicised form "claymore," which nearly represents the proper sound. Many warriors practised to use the sword with the left hand as well as with the right, so as to be able to alternate, or to fight with one in each hand as occasion required. Some made it a practice to sleep with their favourite sword lying beside them under the bed-clothes. A short sword or dagger was much in use among the Irish, called a scian [skean], literally a 'knife.'

The blade (lann) was kept in a sheath or scabbard. Sometimes the sheath was made of bronze: and several of these are preserved in museums. The beautiful specimen figured on last page was found in a crannoge.

The battle-axe (tuag or tuagh, pron. tooa) has been in use from prehistoric times in Ireland; as is evident from the fact that numerous axe-heads of stone, as well as of bronze, copper and iron, have been found from time to time, and are to be seen in hundreds in the National Museum and elsewhere. These are now commonly called celts, of which the illustrations on last page will give a good idea.

FIGS. 20 & 21. Two types of metallic celts or early battle-axes. (From Wilde's Catalogue).

In later times the Irish were noted for their fatal dexterity with the battle-axe.

FIGS. 22 & 23. To show how metallic celts or axe-heads were fastened on handles. Fig. 23 shows one found in its original handle, as seen in the illustration. It has a loop underneath, which is partly eaten away by rust. Fig. 22 is a conjectural restoration of the fastening of this kind of celt. (From Wilde's Catalogue).

Giraldus mentions that among other weapons they had a heavy axe excellently well wrought and tempered; and he goes on to say:--"They make use of but one hand to the axe when they strike, and extend the thumb along the handle to guide the blow: from which neither the crested helmet can defend the head, nor the iron folds of the armour the rest of the body. From whence it has happened, even in our times, that the whole thigh of a soldier, though cased in well-tempered armour, hath been lopped off by a single blow of the axe."

FIG. 24. Dermot Mac Murrogh, with the narrow battle-axe called "sparra" or "sparth." In a MS. of Giraldus Cambrensis. (From Wilde's Catalogue).

There were two kinds of battle-axes: a broad one, generally used by galloglasses, and a long, narrow one, called a sparra or sparth: examples of both are illustrated in figures 24 and 25. The narrow axe seems to have been the earlier form.

FIG. 25. Two galloglasses depicted on a map of Ireland of 1567: showing the broad battle-axe. One of the two galloglasses in fig. 29 below holds a broad axe.

Armour.--We know from the best authorities that at the time of the invasion--i.e., in the twelfth century--the Irish used no metallic armour. Giraldus says:--"They go to battle without armour, consider- ing it a burden, and deeming it brave and honourable to fight without it."

The Danes wore armour: and it is not unlikely that the Irish may have begun to imitate them before the twelfth century: but, if so, it was only in rare cases. They never took to it till after the twelfth century, and then only in imitation of the English.

But the tales describe another kind of protective covering as worn by Cuculainn, and by others; namely, a primitive corslet made of bull-hide leather stitched with thongs, "for repelling lances and sword-points, and spears, so that they used to fly off from him as if they struck against a stone." Greaves to protect the legs from the knee down were used, and called by the name asán.

Helmet.--That the Irish wore a helmet of some kind in battle is certain: but it is not an easy matter to determine the exact shape and material. It was called cathbharr [caffar], i.e., 'battle-top,' or battle-cap, from cath [cah], 'a battle,' and barr, 'the top.' It was probably made of hard tanned leather, possibly chequered with bars of iron or bronze. The warriors often dyed their helmets in colours: and there was commonly a crest on top.

Shield.--From the earliest period of history and tradition, and doubtless from times beyond the reach of both, the Irish used shields in battle. The most ancient shields were made of wicker-work, covered with hides: they were oval-shaped, often large enough to cover the whole body, and convex on the outside. It was to this primitive shield that the Irish first applied the word sciath [skeé-a], which afterwards came to be the most general name for a shield of whatever size or material. These wicker shields--of various sizes--continued in use in Ulster even so late as the sixteenth century, and in the Highlands of Scotland till 200 years ago.

Shields were ornamented with devices or figures, the design on each being a sort of cognisance of the owner to distinguish him from all others. These designs would appear to have generally consisted of concentric circles, often ornamented with circular rows of projecting studs or bosses, and variously spaced and coloured for different shields. As generally confirming the truth of these accounts, the shields in the Museum have a number of beautifully wrought concentric circles formed either of continuous lines or of rows of studs; as seen in the illustration. Sometimes figures of animals were painted on shields.

Shields were often coloured according to the fancy of the wearer. We read of some as brown, some blood-red; while many were made pure white. This fashion of painting shields in various colours continued in use to the time of Elizabeth.

Hide-covered shields were often whitened with lime or chalk, which was allowed to dry and harden, as soldiers now pipeclay their belts. Hence we often find in the Tales such expressions as the following:--"There was an atmosphere of fire from [the clashing of] sword and spear-edge, and a cloud of white dust from the cailc or lime of the shields."

The shields in most general use were circular, small, and light, of wickerwork, yew, or more rarely of bronze, from 18 to 20 inches in diameter, as we see by numerous figures of armed men on the high crosses and in manuscripts, all of whom are represented with shields of this size and shape. I do not remember seeing one with the large oval shield. Specimens of both yew and bronze shields have been found, and are now preserved in museums. Shields were cleaned up and brightened before battle. Those that required it were newly coloured, or whitened with a fresh coating of chalk or lime: and the metallic ones were burnished--all done by gillies or pages.

The shield, when in use, was held in the left hand by a looped handle or crossbar, or by a strong leather strap, in the centre of the inside, as seen in fig. 27, above. But as an additional precaution it was secured by a long strap, called iris or sciathrach [skiheragh], that went loosely round the neck. When not in use, it was slung over the shoulder by the strap from the neck.

In pagan times it was believed that the shield of a king or of any great commander, when its bearer was dangerously pressed in battle, uttered a loud melancholy moan which was heard all over Ireland, and which the shields of other heroes took up and continued. The shield-moan was further prolonged; for as soon as it was heard, the "Three Waves of Erin" uttered their loud melancholy roar in response. (For the Three Waves, see chap. xxvi., sect. 9.)

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