Geoffrey Keating (c. 1570-1650), a priest born in Tipperary and educated in Europe, is usually thought of as the first modern Irish historian. He wrote his history of Ireland from the mythic invasions (which he accepted more or less at face value) to the Norman invasion (brought on, he thought, by the sinful ways of the Irish) in Irish rather than Latin. Although his most enthusiastic admirers call him the Herodotus of Ireland, Keating is read by students today more for the clarity of his Irish than for historical fact.
These three selections from his history include a possibly mythic tale of two second-century kings who divided up Ireland between themselves, an account of the last battle fought by a tenth-century king of Munster, and a brief commentary of the Battle of Mag Rath, the battle from which Sweeney was said to flee after he went mad.
There might have been mythical elements in the division of Ireland between Conn (or Conan) of the Hundred Battles and Logan Mor (Owen the Great), between Ulster and Munster, but that line stretching from present-day Dublin to Galway was fought over for centuries to come, and for centuries the kings of Munster were chosen from the Eoganacht clan, who claimed to be descendants of the great Owen.
The account of the last battle of King Cormac has a couple of curious moments. One comes when Cormac, urged on by a priest but knowing that he will lose the battle and his life, decides to go to war. Just before the fight begins, one of his officers complains that the “the ecclesiastics” should fight their own battles. In a history written largely by monks and priests, this is a rare flicker of criticism.
The other moment, after the battle, is the scene involving what was proposed to be done with Cormac’s severed head. A nineteenth-century editor of the text was so shocked that he added a footnote to his edition saying that he had never before encountered a custom so “horribly distorted and heathenish” and suggesting that if such a thing did occur it must have had its origins in the East, presumably with the Mongol hordes. It is also worth noting the many parallels made with the final hours of Cormac—who was an abbot as well as a king—with the Last Supper and crucifixion of Christ.
In his brief comments on the Battle of Mag Rath in County Down in 637, Keating does not discuss tactics or even show much interest in the outcome. Instead, he writes about flags and insignia. Heraldry had not been of much interest until the Tudor years, when complex coats of arms came into fashion. Writing soon after the death of Elizabeth, Keating shows that even in the seventh century the Irish could field relatively modern-looking armies.
CONN OF THE HUNDRED BATTLES
125 A.D.: Conn Ked-Cathach [of the Hundred Battles] held the sovereignty of Ireland for twenty years, until, being taken unawares, he was treacherously slain, by the contrivance of Tibradi Tirech, king of Ulster. Fifty warriors, disguised as women, had been sent by Tibradi, for the purpose of assassinating him; and Emhain Macha was the place whence they set out upon that treacherous design.
This was that Conn from whom Mogh Nuadath, having vanquished him in ten battles, wrestled the one half of Ireland.
The contest between these kings originated in the following manner: The Ernaans had gained supremacy in Munster over the race of Eber Finn; so that three chieftains of that tribe now held the sovereignty of all Munster between them. Their names were Lugaidh Ellathach, Dari Dornmar, and Aengus. But, when Mogh Nuadath saw that the supremacy of his native principality had been thus usurped by the race of Erimhòn, he proceeded to Leinster, where he had been fostered by Dari Barrach, and there he procured from his foster-father a numerous auxiliary force, wherewith to recover the kingdom of Munster, which was his birth-right. He then began by marching into Ui Liathain [in County Cork], in the south of Munster, where that Aengus, above mentioned, had established his sway. Him Mogh Nuadath vanquished and expelled from that country, so that he was forced to betake himself straightway to supplicate assistance from Conn, who gave him five catha (battalions or legions), that is, fifteen thousand fighting men. With these Aengus marched upon the territory of Liathan, and there, upon the height of Ard-Nemidh, he was met by Mogh Nuadath, who routed him a second time with great slaughter of his followers. After this victory, Mogh Nuadath expelled from Munster all of the Ernanns that refused to do him homage. From these events, a great war broke out between Conn and the Munster prince, in which the former was defeated in ten battles, such as the battle of Brosnach, the battle of Sampait, the battle of Grian, the battle of Ath-luain, the battle of Magh-Atha-Crioch, where Fiacaidh Righ-fada, son of Feidlimidh Rectmar, was slain, the battle of Asal, the battle of Uisnech, &c. This war then lasted ever until Mogh Nuadath had forced Conn to yield up one-half of Ireland to himself. All of Ireland that lies south of Ath-cliath and Galimh (i.e. Dublin and Galway) was ceded to Mogh; and the name which that half got was Leth-Mogha, i.e. Mogh’s Half, from Eogan, who was called Mogh. The north half was called Leth-Cuinn, or Conn’s Half.
Another reason, also, is given for Eogan’s having succeeded in wresting the half of Ireland from Conn. They say that a great famine, which lasted for seven years, came upon Ireland during the reign of Conn, and that, long before the time of scarcity had arrived, one of the druids of Mogh had forewarned him of the calamity that was impending over the whole nation. Eogan, upon hearing it, determined to make preparation to meet the approaching season of want; and, for that purpose, he made use of venison and fish as his principal articles of immediate consumption as food, while he stored up his corn. Besides this, he expended upon corn all the rents and tributes that he received. He thus succeeded in filling up his granaries. Then, when the season of want had come, numbers of the people of Ireland had come to him from all sides, who submitted themselves to Eogan, and covenanted to pay him rents and tributes, as a compensation for their support during the time the famine lasted.
And, furthermore, according to some historians, it was by Conn of the Hundred Battles, who made an attack upon him before dawn, that Eogan Mor was treacherously slain in his bed, as they were on the point of engaging each other in battle upon the plain of Magh-Léna.
This monarch was called Conn of the Hundred Battles, from the hundreds of battles which he fought against the pentarchs or provincial kings of Ireland.
KING CORMAC’S LAST BATTLE
Cormac, son of Culinan, assumed the sovereignty of Munster about this time [A.D. 896]. And great was the prosperity of Ireland during his reign; for the land became filled with the divine grace, and with worldly prosperity, and with public peace in his days, so that the cattle needed no cowherd, and the flocks no shepherd, as long as he was king. The shrines of the saints were then protected, and many temples and monasteries were built; public schools were established for the purpose of giving instruction in letters, law, and history; many were the tilled fields, numerous were the bees, and plenteous the beehives under his rule; frequent was fasting and prayer, and every other work of piety; many houses of public hospitality were built, and many books written, at his command. And, moreover, whenever he exacted the performance of any good work from others, he was wont to set them the example himself by being the first to practise it, whether it were a deed of alms, or benevolence, or prayer, or attending mass, or any other virtuous deed. It was the good fortune of Ireland during that epoch, that, whilst he was reigning over Munster, the country was abandoned by whatever of the Lochlannaigh [Vikings] had previously infested it for the purposes of plunder.
Upon a certain occasion, when Cormac was staying at Cashel, awaiting the coming of Easter, he sent proclamation to the Eoganacht tribes, requiring of them to send him thither food and treasures for the celebration of that august festival; but they gave him a refusal. Upon hearing this the Dal-g-Cais sent a large supply of food and treasures to the king, so that he felt grateful to them. He again sent word to the clans of the race of Eogan, demanding of them to send him jewels and valuables for the purpose of making presents to strangers, as they had sent him no food. But upon this what the men of the race of Eogan did, was to send him the worst arms and goods that they had then in their possession, and Cormac was very much displeased thereat. The Dal-g-Cais heard this also, whereupon they sent to him the choicest of their weapons and wearing apparel, their jewels and treasures and armor, in order that he might make presents thereof. Thus did Cormac feel again most grateful to that tribe.
When, indeed Cormac, son of Culinan, had spent seven years in peace and happiness as sovereign of Munster, he was instigated by some of his nobles, and more especially by Flathbertach, son of Inmanen, Abbot of Inis Cathaigh, a man of the royal blood, to make a demand of chief-rent from the principality of Leinster, upon the pretext that it formed a portion of Leth Mogha. Thereupon, Cormac convened a general assembly of the men of Munster; and when his nobles had met together thereat, the plan which they adopted, was to march into Leinster for the purpose of levying that chief-rent, in right of the division which had been formerly made between Mogh Nuadath and Conn of the Hundred Battles. Notwithstanding this resolve, it was with great unwillingness that Cormac proceeded upon this expedition, for it had been foreshown to him that he should fall himself therein; but he consented to go upon it nevertheless. Previous to his marching, he made a will, in which he bequeathed certain legacies, which were to be given by Munster to some of the principal churches of Ireland, to wit: An ounce of gold and an ounce of silver, with his accouterments and his steed, to Drum-Abradh, which is called Ard Finnain; a chalice of gold, and a chalice of silver, with a satin vestment, to Lis-mor; a chalice of gold, and a chalice of silver, with four ounces of gold, and five ounces of silver, to Cashel; three ounces of gold and a mass-book, to Imlech Iubair; an ounce of gold and an ounce of silver, to Glenn-da-loch; his wares and clothes, with an ounce of gold and a satin mantle, to Kill-dara; twenty-four ounces of gold and of silver to Ard-Macha; three ounces of gold to Inis Cathaigh; and three ounces of gold and a satin vestment, and his own blessing, to Mungarid.
After this, Cormac, having mustered a large host around himself and around Flathbertach, son of Inmanen, marched into the territory of the Leinstermen, and demanded of them to give him hostages and to pay him tribute as King of Munster, upon the grounds that their country (Leinster) formed part of Leth Mogha [Mogh’s Half of Ireland]. Now, when the host of Munster had come together and was all collected into one camp, previous to marching upon the intended expedition, it happened that Flathbertach, son of Inmanen, the abbot of Inis Cathaigh, having mounted upon horseback, rode through the street of the encampment, and that whilst he was thus engaged, his horse fell beneath him into a deep trench. This was esteemed an unlucky omen, and its consequence was that a large portion both of his own people and of the whole army retired from the expedition, having first proposed the adoption of peaceful measures—so unfavorable a prognostic did they deem the sudden fall of the holy abbot when he had mounted his steed.
Then ambassadors arrived from the Leinstermen, and from Kerball, son of Murighen, charged with proposals of peace to king Cormac. These proposals were: first, to have one universal peace maintained throughout Ireland until the following month of May, for it was then the Fortnight of the Harvest, and for that end to place hostages in the hands of Maenach, son of Siadal, abbot of Disert Diarmoda, who was a holy, pious, learned and wise man; and, next, to give a large quantity of jewels and valuables to Cormac himself, and also to Flathbertach, son of Inmanen, as a recompense for having assented to such a peace.
Cormac was most willing to grant their request; whereupon he immediately proceeded to acquaint Flathbertach, that these ambassadors had come to him from the king of Leinster, demanding peace until the ensuing month of May, and offering jewels and valuables to them both from the people of Leinster, provided they would return home in peace to their own country. But when Flathbertach had heard him out, he fell into a violent rage, and he exclaimed, “How easily seen is the weakness of thy mind, and the littleness of thy intellect and thy spirit!” And after this fashion he then addressed much of abusive and contemptuous language to Cormac. The latter replied to him in the following words, “I know full well what will be the result of all this, to wit, a battle shall be fought with the men of Leinster, in which I shall be slain, and in which it is probable that thou shalt meet thy death likewise.”
Having uttered these words, Cormac proceeded, sad and dejected, to his own tent. When he had taken his seat therein, a basket of apples was set before him, which he began to share amongst his attendants, saying, “My dear friends, I shall never more share any apples amongst you, from this hour forth.” “Dear lord,” said his folk, “thou hast cast us into sadness and grief. Why art thou thus wont to prophesy evil for thyself?” “Believe what I now say, friends of my heart,” said Cormac, “for though I am wont to distribute apples amongst you with my own hands, it will be little wonder if somebody else in my stead should share them amongst you henceforth.”
Cormac then gave orders to have a guard placed upon his tent, and the pious and learned Maenach sent for, in order that he might confess his sins to that holy man, and make his testament in his presence. He then received the body of Christ from Maenach, before whom he renounced the world, for he was certain that he should be slain in the impending battle, but he did not wish that his warriors should know this.
But, likewise, numbers of the men of Munster had deserted from that expedition without leave, for they had learned that Flann Sinna, son of Maelsechlainn, monarch of Ireland, was in the encampment of Leinster, accompanied by a numerous force, both of cavalry and infantry. It was then that Maenach, son of Siadal, said, “Good people of Munster, it were wise on your part to take the noble hostages, namely, Kerball, King of Leinster, and the son of the king of Osraide, that are offered to you, and either to keep them yourselves, or to place them in the hands of some devout men until May next.” Thereupon the whole of the men of Munster replied unanimously, that Flathbertach, son of Inmanen, was the man who had forced them to invade Leinster.
When this complaint was ended, the army of Munster marched eastwards over Sliabh Margi, to the Droiched Leithglinni [the Bridge of Leathglen in Carlow]. Here Tibradi, the comarba [ecclesiastical successor of] of St. Albi, took up his station, accompanied by a numerous array of ecclesiastics, and with him were left the camp followers and the baggage horses. Then the men of Munster sounded their trumpets, and gave the signal for forming into line of battle, and marched onward upon Magh Ailbi, where they took up a strong position in front of a wood, and there awaited the enemy.
The army of Munster was drawn up in three equal divisions. Of these, the first was commanded by Flathbertach, son of Inmanen, and Kellach, son of Kerball, King of Osraide. Cormac, son of Culinan, King of Munster, commanded the second division, and Cormac, son of Molta, King of the Desi, was the leader of the third. And the warriors were disheartened by reason of the multitude of their enemies and of the fewness of their own host, for some authors assert that the army of Leinster was four times more numerous than that of Munster.
Woeful, indeed, was the tumult and clamor of that battle; for there rose the death cry of the men of Munster as they fell, and the shouting of the Leinstermen, exulting in the slaughter of their foes. There were two reasons why the fight went so suddenly against the Munstermen. The first was, because Keilichar, a relative of Kennghegan, a former king of Munster [who had been killed by his own people], jumped hastily upon his steed, and as soon as he found himself mounted, cried out, “Flee, O Free Clans of Munster, flee from this terrible conflict, and let the ecclesiastics fight it out themselves, since they would accept no other condition but that of battle from the people of Leinster.” Having thus spoken, he quitted the field of strife, followed by many of the combatants.
The other reason why the men of Munster were routed was because Kellach, son of Kerball, king of Osraide, when he perceived the carnage that was made amongst his people, jumped likewise with haste upon his steed, and thence addressed his host in these words, “Mount your steeds,” said he, “and banish these men who stand up against you.” But though he used this language, he did not mean to encourage them to drive off their enemies by fighting, but he thus let them know that it was time for themselves to run away. The result of these two causes was that the ranks of the men of Munster were broken, and they were put to sudden and general rout. Alas! great indeed was the carnage that then spread over Magh-n-Ailbi. Neither layman nor ecclesiastic found quarter therein; both were slaughtered indiscriminately, and if any man of either class happened to be spared, he owed his life not to the mercy but to the cupidity of the vanquishers, covetous of his ransom.
Hereupon Cormac rushed toward the van of the first division, but his horse fell beneath into a ditch, and he was himself dashed upon the ground. Some of his people who were running away from the battle saw him in this position, and they came at once to his relief and replaced him upon his steed. It was there that Cormac met one of his own pupils, a free-born man named Aedh, who was distinguished for his proficiency in wisdom, laws, and history, and in the knowledge of the Latin tongue. To him the royal prelate addressed these words: “Dear son, do not follow me; but betake thyself hence, as well thou mayest, and remember that I had said that I should myself be slain in this battle.” Cormac then rode forward, and full of the blood of horses and of men was the way before him. But the slipperiness of that field of carnage soon caused the feet of his horse to glide from under him, and he reared and fell backwards, crushing his rider beneath him. The neck and back of Cormac were broken in that fall, and he died saying, “Into thy hands, O Lord, I commit my spirit!” Then, some wicked folk came up and pierced his body with their javelins and cut off his head.
When the conflict was over, certain folk came into the presence of Flann Sinna, to whom they had brought the head of Cormac, son of Culinan; and they addressed that monarch: “Life and health to thee, O mighty and victorious king! We have brought thee hither the head of Cormac, king of Munster. Take it then, and press it beneath thy thighs; for it has been a custom amongst the kings that have gone before thee, whenever they had slain another king in battle, to cut off his head and to press it beneath their thighs.” However, they were disappointed in their expectations; for the sovereign not only returned them no thanks for their present, but he condemned them in severe terms for the evil deed they had committed. And he both said that it was a sad and cruel act, to have cut off the head of that holy bishop, and declared that he would never exult over it. He then took the consecrated head of the pious bishop into his hands and kissed it, and turned round three times therewith. After this, the head was carried with honor to where the body lay.
THE BATTLE OF MAGH RATH
It was Domnall, son of Aedh, son of Anmiri, king of Ireland, that won the battle of Magh Rath, wherein fell Congal Claen, who had been ten years king of Ulidia. And it may be easily learned from the history that is called the Battle of Magh Rath, that the military array in which the Gaelic armies were wont to be drawn up, for the purpose of engaging in the conflict of battle, was exact and well ordered. For it is there read, that the whole host was wont to be placed under the command of one captain-in-chief, and that, under him, each division of his force obeyed its own proper captain; and besides, that every captain of these bore upon his standard his peculiar device or ensign, so that each distinct body of men could be easily distinguished from all others by those shannachies [devices], whose duty it was to attend upon the nobles when about to contend in battle, and that those shannachies might thus have a full view of the achievements of the combatants, so as to be able to give a true account of their particular deeds of valor. It was for such purpose that Domnall, son of Aedh, king of Ireland, was attended by his own shannachie, when he was about to engage in this battle of Magh Rath. And when he was marching against Congal, and when the hosts were in view of each other, we find Domnall, whilst the armies were yet on the opposite banks of a river, making inquiries of his shannachie about each particular one of the standards in the host of his enemy, and the device thereupon; and the shannachie explained them to him, as we read in the duan [epic poem] which begins with this line, “How bravely Congal’s host comes on,” in which occurs the following verse upon the standard of the king of Uladh himself:
“A yellow lion upon green satin,
The standard of the Craebh-Ruadh,
As borne by noble Concobar,
Is now by Congal borne aloft.”
It was, indeed, long before this time, that the Gaels (that is, the descendants of Gaedal), had adopted the custom of bearing distinctive devices upon their standards, after the example of the Children of Israel, who had already practised this usage in Egypt, and when the children of Israel were marching through the Red Sea, with Moses for their captain-in-chief.