GLOSSARY & PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

Most English-speaking readers of this gallery will likely have great difficulty negotiating the labyrinth of the Irish language—I felt it important to use the native terms as much as possible in order to preserve authenticity and to serve linguistic accuracy (since meaning is all-too-often lost in translation). However, a basic pronunciation guide for Middle Irish terms seemed like a good idea. In order to avoid the esoteric nuances of linguistics, the following pronunciation guide to words used in this text will be phonetic (i.e., words spelled as they sound), and I will not even attempt to lay down any kind of word-construction rules for the Irish language. Words are listed alphabetically, followed by their phonetic pronunciation in parentheses, and a brief definition.

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aile (eye-luh); "palisade"; Many Irish forts of the period had an outer wall made by digging a perimeter ditch (díog), using the

   displaced soil to create a compacted-soil berm (clai) inside the ditch, and topping the berm with a wooden palisade.

aire (eye-ruh); "freeman"; The second and largest of the three main social classes of the Irish under the traditional

   laws (fénechas). An aire was a man possessing an independent legal status, and an owner of property. During this period,

   there were at least three recognized grades of freemen—bruig ("landowner"), bóaire ("cattleman"), and ócaire (young freeman).

   Plural; aire

airech (eye-rock); "concubine"; Irish law recognized several grades of marriage arrangement, and until the Normans imposed their

   strict form of Roman Catholicism on the Irish, polygamy was sometimes practiced, particularly by powerful clan chiefs or kings.

   A concubine was a woman who entered into marriage with a man whose social status was much higher than her own, or a woman

   of non-Irish ethnicity that married an Irishman. Usually only very powerful Irish clan chiefs or kings had a concubine or

   concubines—the first wife (cétmuinter) was usually one that had been married for political or social connections with a family of

   equal social rank, while concubinage was usually for political or social connections with a family of lesser rank. Concubines were

   different from sex slaves (cumal), and had a higher status (e.g., their children were equal heirs to the children of the first wife).

   Plural; airechta

aithech (eye-hukh); "rent-payer"; A type of base client (dóerchéle)—someone that rented farmland or pasture from another because

   he did not own land of his own. Plural; aithechta

alaile cathracha (awl-ill-uh kah-rukh-uh); "monastic colony"; Referred to the land and buildings owned by a Christian community of

   monks. Basically, a geographic delineation. The actual group of monks that inhabited the colony were generally called the

   familia (Latin, "family").

amsach (awm-sakh); "mercenary"; A fighter that served for pay. Plural; amsachta

angclú (awn-glew); "champion"; The man that would accept challenges to individual combat on behalf of his king and often served

   as his close bodyguard, adviser, and trusted lieutenant. Usually not a mercenary, but a bondsman (bachlach).

ap (ahp); "abbot"; The highest ranking member of a Christian monastic community (familia).

ardrí (ord-ree); "high king"; Often used both for the highest-ranking king of a regional kingdom (coícid), and for the High King of

   Ireland (Ardrí Éireann).

Ardrí Éireann (ord-ree ay-run); "High King of Ireland"; Originally a title held by the priest-kings of Tara—a hill in modern County

   Meath that was one of the most sacred places in the pagan religion of ancient Ireland. However, most of the priest-kings of Tara

   are mythological figures (some are gods), and it wasn't until the fifth century BCE that the high kings are historically attested. At

   that time, the Uí Néill clann dominated the high kingship, although it is obvious from historical records that the Uí Néill high kings

   had little power outside Meath. By the ninth century CE, a series of powerful Uí Néill high kings tried to extend their hegemony

   throughout Ireland, but they were challenged by a number of other royal clans—the Dalcassians of Munster, the Kinsella of

   Leinster, and the Uí Briúin of Connacht—and no high king ultimately held the title unopposed. They also ultimately failed to unite

   the Irish in opposition to foreign invaders.

armati (ar-mah-tee); Latin, “sergeants.” A class of warrior slightly below knight in early feudal parlance.

arra (ar-ruh); "oath-friend"; Men of equal rank bound by oaths of allegiance. Plural; arrachta

atgeirr (at-geer); Old Norse, halberd or pole-axe. Exact form of this weapon is unknown because Norse sources do not describe it in

   detail and no artifact corresponding to this weapon has been uncovered. Period sources do seem to indicate, however, that it was

   distinct from a two-handed battleaxe. May have been the precursor to the later, and much better attested, swordstaff (svärdstav).

bachlach (bokh-lokh); "bondsman"; Although of the unfree class (dóer), these were basically indentured servants that could occupy

   positions of responsibility and authority in a household (líontí), like steward, champion, bodyguard, etc. Plural; bachlachta

bard (bord); "poet"; A man of the highest class (nemed) in Irish society specialized in a combination of story-telling, oral history, and

   genealogy. During the period covered by his gallery, bards were of a lower social grade (dóernemed) than their counterparts, the filí

   (sóernemed), but by the end of the Middle Ages the two grades had merged. Plural; barda

bíail (bee-eye-ul); "battleaxe"; A purpose-built weapon, distinct from a wood axe in that it is designed specifically for combat.

birín (ber-een); A throwing "dart" or throwing spear.

björnserkr (bee-orn-sir-ker); Old Norse, “bear-shirted man," often Anglicized as "berserker." A class of Scandinavian pagan warriors

   known for their almost psychopathic lust for battle, frenzied fighting style, and cultic beliefs in invincibility conferred by their

   patron-god, Thor. The name derives from the wearing of a bear pelt. Those wearing a wolf pelt called úlfhéönar (ull-fay-ner).

bóaire (bo-eye-ruh); "cattleman"; The middle grade of the class of freemen (aire). Someone that owned an inheritable right to

   pasture-land and the herds that grazed on it.

boga (bow-guh); "bow"; The Irish generally used a long simple or self bow (i.e., a bow made from a single piece of wood).

bogatóir (bow-guh-tor); "bowman" or "archer"; Irish bowmen of this period would have fought exclusively as skirmishers.

bondi (bawn-dee); Norse word for a free farmer and non-noble warrior.

botach (but-ukh); "serf"; A term that really didn't come into widespread use until after the Normans feudalized Ireland.

    Plural; botachta

bratt (brawt); a cloak or "mantle."

breccán (brak-own); A "multi-colored" weave of cloth. Originally referred to cloth that had striped, checkered, or complex

   interwoven patterns. By the sixteenth century, the complex interwoven patterns began to be called plaid or tartan. The earliest

   surviving example of a plaid or tartan dates to the third century CE (the Falkirk Tartan), but written Greek and Roman

   accounts confirm that striped, checked, and plaid/tartan patterns were common among the Celtic peoples as far back as the eighth

   century BCE. For the Dark Age Irish, tunics were always of solid colors, sometimes with decorated trim, while stripes, checks, and

   plaid/tartan patterns were usually reserved for trousers and cloaks. Early plaids/tartans (i.e., those still called breccán) were likely

   very simple and not brightly colored (unlike modern plaids/tartans), although the number of colors a person was allowed to wear

   under Irish law reflected social status, and it is believed adding colored stripes into the weave of the breccán design in order to

   display rank had by the sixth century CE (in Ireland and Scotland) led to more complex patterns and brighter colors that would

   look more familiar to modern students as a plaid/tartan. No formal system existed to associate plaids/tartans with clann affiliation

   until the nineteenth century, although regional norms likely led to informal associations between style and the clann or tribal

   territory in which cloth was produced.

breidox (brade-axe); Old Norse, a “broad axe.”

breitheamh (breh-hev); “judge”; A member of the highest class of Irish society (nemed) learned in traditional Irish law (fénechas).

   Often Anglicized as "brehon."

Bretnas (bret-nuss); “Britons”; A reference to the Romanized Celtic inhabitants of Britain. During the period covered by this gallery,

   it referred to the Welsh, Cornish, and Cumbrian inhabitants of Britain.

bróc (broke) or bróg (bro-guh); "shoes"

bruig (broy-ig); "landowner"; The highest grade of the class of freemen (aire). Someone that owned an hereditary estate that

   included both farmland and pastures. Plural; brugai

búannacht (boo-wahn-akht); A "billeted" soldier. Very general term that did not come into widespread use until the fourteenth

   century. Does not apply to any soldiers during this period of Irish history. Plural; búannachta

búatis (boo-wah-tiss); "boots"

cairde (kord-eh); A "pact," treaty, alliance, or formal agreement.

caisel (kah-shel); A "stone-walled" fort.

camlinne (kam-lin-uh); "standard"; A flag used as a heraldic device. Also called meirge (mare-guh).

cathach (ka-hokh); A "reliquary" containing a holy object (e.g., the bones of a saint) carried into battle as a talisman.

cathbarr (kah-bar); "helmet"

ceithearn (kay-her-un); "warband"; General levy of tribal troops. The men that served in the tribal levy were known as ceithernachta

   (singular, ceithernach), although the term is often Anglicized as "kern." There were generally two distinct components of any

   warband—the home guards (clíathaire) and the auxiliaries (gasrad).

cenél (cheen-eel); "race"; Usually used to denote an ethnic group.

cétmuinter (keet-moonter); "head of household"; The first wife of an Irishman. As the name implies, when it came to the affairs of the

   household (líontí), the first wife had primacy over the husband.

chéle (kheel-uh); "client"; There were two types of clients under traditional Irish law (fénechas)—dóerchéle ("base clients") and

   sóerchéle ("favored clients"). Base clients were from the unfree/base class (dóer) and were basically legal dependants, and favored

   clients were of the free classes (nemed and aire) and had entered into a contractual arrangement with another member of the free

   classes.

cimbid (kim-bid); "captive"; Someone captured on a raid that was held to ransom. Also called giall.

ciniud (kin-yood); "kin"

clai (klee); " berm"; Many Irish forts of the period had an outer wall made by digging a perimeter ditch (díog), using the displaced

   soil to create a compacted-soil berm inside the ditch, and topping the berm with a wooden palisade (aile).

claidbech (klah-bekh); "swordsman"; A soldier armed with a sword. Plural; claidbechta (klade-bekh-tuh)

claidbíne (klah-been-ah), claidbéne (klah-bane-uh), or claideb (klah-deb); Types of swords. Claidbíne or claidbéne were likely

   short swords or long fighting knives, while claideb seems to have been reserved for the Viking-inspired Irish longsword.

claidheamh mór (kly-ev moor); Two-handed “great sword” developed from earlier claideb models. Often used by galloglaigh.

clan/clann (klan); “descendants”; An agnatic (i.e., traced through the male line) kin-group that traced their ancestry to a common

   remote ancestor, usually a legendary figure of great repute. Sometimes used synonymously with síl ("seed"), although síl was most

   often used in reference to a dynastic line.

cléchtach (klay-takh); Braided or plaited hair.

clériech (klay-rekh); "scholar"; Usually Christian priests or monks tasked with teaching letters to the children of a patron and writing

   down family histories, traditional stories and mythological cycles, and other documents.

clíathaire (klee-hah-ruh); "home guards"; Term used to describe the core group of fighters in a warband (ceithearn). These were the

   free clients (sóerchéle) of clan chiefs and kings that owed military service to their lord (flaith). Plural; clíathaire

cloch (klokh); "sling-stone"

coícid (ky-kid); literally, “fifth”; Originally Ireland had five regional kingdoms that each consisted of a coalition of tribes (tuatha).

   By the beginning of the period covered by this list, however, there were seven coícid. By the end of the Middle Ages, there were

   only four. This illustrates the fluidity of the Irish political system. Within each coícid, a similar process of evolution occurred as

   various clans, tribes, and great tribes rose and fell, changed allegiances, etc.

compánach (koom-pah-nukh); literally, “oath-friend”; An ally. Usually men that had sworn oaths of amity to each other that included

   military support, and therefore they fought primarily for honor (enech). Plural; compánachta

corrughadh (kuh-roo-eye); A unit of approximately 100 galloglaigh, plus two gasrad per galloglaigh. The galloglaigh were heavily

   armed (often with two-handed swords and axes) and armored, although shieldless, while the gasrad were lightly equipped, carried a

   small shield, and were armed with polearms (usually spear or lochaber axe). The gasrad fought in support of the gallglaigh.

crannóg (kran-oh-guh); An artificial island used as a fort or refuge.

cranntábhall (crown-towal); "staff-sling"; A leather thong attached to the end of a stick used to hurl stones at high velocity. Used both

   in hunting and in warfare.

crechríg (kray-reeg); "royal plundering"; An expedition led by a king that could have socio-political aims but invariably included

   plundering an opponent's territory and populace. Usually on a much larger scale than the raiding (indred) carried out almost

   continuously (often annually) by the warbands (ceithearn).

Críostaíochtan (kree-oh-stee-oh-tawn); "Christian poorman"; A general term for Christian clergy. A reference to the fact that

   Christian clergymen gave up all worldly goods and owned nothing for themselves (technically, even their personal accoutrements

   belonged to the Church, not to the individual).

cris (kriss); "belt"

cú (koo); "hound"; The general Irish term for all dogs. Hunting/war-dogs were called árcú (or-koo).

cúannart (koo-un-art); "pack of hounds"; Most Irish chiefs and kings maintained a pack of hunting dogs (ancestors of the Irish

   wolfhound), although these were sometimes used in war as well. The human pack-master that trained the hounds and managed them

   on the hunt or in battle was known as the arcúgad (or-koo-gad). The term, cúannart, was sometimes used colloquially to refer to a

   band of warriors.

cuirce (ker-kuh); "crested"; A crested hairstyle similar to the modern mohawk.

cúlán (koo-lawn); Peculiar hairstyle and Celtic monastic tonsure wherein the front half of the head was shaved, ear-to-ear, and the

   back half was left long.

culpatach (kul-puh-takh); A cape-like attachment to a tunic that could be pulled over the head like a hood.

dál (doll); "court"; In the medieval sense of a king's court—an assembly where a chief or king dispensed justice, bestowed gifts, and

   conferred with counselors.

dalta (dahl-tuh); "foster son"; Irish nobles often cemented an alliance or friendship by entrusting a son or sons to be raised in the

   household of an ally or friend. These foster-children were considered members of the family and (unsurprisingly) developed strong

   bonds of affection and loyalty toward their foster-family. Foster sons old enough to fight often did so among the household troops

   (meschuire) of their foster-father. Plural, daltae (dahl-tay).

dercaid (der-ky-ud); "lookout" or "sentry"

díberga (dee-bare-guh); "marauders"; Usually used in reference to small, semi-independent warrior bands of men that lived apart

   from clann or tribe in the wilderness. They usually lived by banditry, although they were also sometimes hired as

   mercenaries (amsachta). Usually had a nefarious reputation. Irish werewolf legends are believed to have originated with the

   wearing of wolf pelts by díberga who consciously imitated Viking berserkers.

díog (dee-ug); "ditch"; Many Irish forts of the period had an outer wall made by digging a perimeter ditch, using the displaced soil to

   create a compacted-soil berm (clai) inside the ditch, and topping the berm with a wooden palisade (aile).

dóer (door); "base" or "unfree"; The lowest class of Irish society. Included tenants (fuidir), serfs (botachta), bondsmen (bachlachta),

   and slaves (mug).

dóerchéle (door-kheel-uh); "base-clients"; Clients that were of the base/unfree class. Basically, legal dependants.

dulchannach (dull-khuh-nokh); "veteran"; Plural; dulchannachta

dún (doon); "fort"; There were three types of fort—stone-walled (caisel), timber-palisaded (rath), and either of these built on an

   artificial island (crannóg). Forts usually served as the seat of a chief or king, and the resident population was usually small,

   although forts were often a place of refuge for a tribal population being attacked by superior forces. If a king's hegemony extended 

   over several tribes, the fort that served as his seat was known as the prímdún (preem-doon) or “primary fort.”

éludach (ay-luh-dokh); "fugitive"

easpag (ass-pug); A "bishop" of the Christian church.

éirge (eye-guh); "rising out"; Usually used to mean "raising a rebellion," less often used to mean forming a host or

   army (see slógad/slúagad).

enech (en-ek); "honor"

familia (fam-ee-lee-uh); Latin for “family.” Often used by Medieval monks to refer to the members of their monastic community.

félag (fay-log); Old Norse, “fellowship.” Basically a Viking warband.

fenamna (fen-um-nuh); A type of field fortification, usually in wooded terrain, created by interweaving osiers and withes (flexible

   branches) to create a fenced perimeter. Often used to guard marching camps.

fénechas (feen-uh-khas); “laws of free men”; The traditional Irish law code.

feósach (foe-sock); "bearded"

fían (fee-en); A roving band of warriors. Originally, the term was synonymous with díberga, but by the eighth century CE, díberga

   had come to have a pejorative connotation, while fían was most often associated with the warrior band of the legendary Irish hero,

   Fionn mac Cumhaill (Anglicized as Finn MacCool). In this context, fían was sometimes used to indicate a band of warriors that had

   gained some renown. The warriors of the fían were called fiannachta (fee-en-nokh-tuh). The term, féni (fane-ee), was derived from

   fían, meaning "free men," but in a general sense that was distinct from the technical legal category of the freemen (aire).

filí (fill-ee); "poet"; Originally referred to particularly skilled bards who rose from base (dóer) to favored (sóer) rank in the

   privileged class (nemed). However, by the end of the Middle Ages, all poets began to be called bards.

findchaide bratt (fin-jade brawt); “shaggy mantle”; A special type of cloak with a thickly fulled nap that resembled fur.

fine (fin-uh); "family"; A sub-unit of a clann ("descedants"). Those that shared a common descent from a grandfather were known as

   gelfine, and those that shared common descent from a great-grandfather were known as derbfine. The land collectively owned by a

   fine was known as a fintiu.

fisithi (fi-shee); "physician"; A professional class of men that studied medicine (herbalism), leechcraft, and surgery.

flaith (flah); "lord"; An honorific usually accorded a patron by his clients or a king by his subjects. Also known as tigern.

fráech (fray-eck); Disheveled or unkempt hair. Literally, "wild."

fúathroc (foo-wuh-rook); "girdle" or "apron"; A piece of armor that usually consisted of a kidney belt combined with a flap that

   covered the groin and extended down to the knees. Usually made of leather and sometimes metal-studded, although the flap could

   be of wool.

fuidir (foo-der); "tenant"; Someone that rents property from another. Although technically of the unfree class (dóer), and thus legally

   dependant on their property-owner, they were more like sharecroppers than serfs.

fuirí (foo-ree); "sub-king" that owed allegiance to an over-king (ruirí).

gae (gay), gaán (gah-on), gae bólga (gay bull-guh); types of spears.

gaithlenach (gay-lan-okh); "spearman"; Plural; gaithlenachta

gall (gawl); "foreigner"

gallglassa (gawl-gloss-uh); "grey-foreigner"; Normans. Possibly a reference to the amount of armor worn by most Norman knights.

gallgoídil (gawl-gee-dil); "foreign-Irish"; Originally used to refer to anyone that had mixed Irish-Scandinavian blood. However,

   by the thirteenth century the term was used exclusively in reference to the Hiberno-Norse population of western Scotland and the

   Hebrides Islands.

gallóglaigh (gawl-ah-glay); “young-foreign-warrior”; Originally used to denote gallgoídil mercenaries, although many of those that

   served Irish kings settled in Ireland and established their own clann (e.g., the MacSweeneys, O'Donnells, MacDonnells, and

   MacCabes).

gasrad (goss-rod); "young warrior"; Originally used to denote any young warrior, although by the eighth century the term was used to

   refer to any warrior (of whatever age) that fought in an auxiliary capacity in a warband—usually bowmen (bogatóir), slingers

   (táibleóir), and spearmen (gaithlenachta) that fought as skirmishers. Later still, the term was applied to the unarmored squires of

   the gallóglaigh, although the English referred to them as "kerns."

geinti (gain-teh); “heathens”; Often used to refer to pagan Scandinavians.

gíománach (gee-oh-mon-ukh); "armed retainers"; Essentially, the household troops of an Irish lord (flaith). A unit of household troops

   was called a meschuire. Roughly the equivalent of Scandinavian housecarls. Plural; gíománachta

Goídil (gee-dil); Middle Irish word for “Irish.” Literally means “Forest-people,” a reference to the ubiquity of forest-land in Ireland

   until the great forest clearances of the Normans and English, both to open up more agricultural land and to deny native rebels with a

   place to hide.

grád (grod); Social "rank."

gráscar (grass-kur); “rabble”; Often a reference to the poorly trained and equipped feudal levies of the Hiberno-Norman fiefdoms.

huskarls or huscarls (hoos-karls); Old Norse, “house-men.” Close order main battle infantry units that served as the personal

   bodyguards of a Scandinavian king, jarl (yar-ul), or chieftain and as the core of his army. Sometimes supplemented by bondi.

inar (inner); "jacket"; Reference to a jacket worn over a tunic (léine) that marked the wearer as a warrior. In some cases, it also seems

   to have served as a kind of light armor. The most common form of the jacket was long-sleeved, although the trunk usually only

   came down to just below the chest. It was either left open in front, or it was closed by buttons. Could be made of leather or wool.

   Leather inar could have intricate designs carved and/or painted on the surfaces, and at least some leather inar may have had

   segmented arm plates that extended down the arm. Later inar worn by gallóglaigh are sometimes pictured with overlapping strips

   that hang down to the waist from the bottom of the trunk (like Greco-Roman pteruges), covering the abdomen. Some inar were

   worn over mail as an added layer of protection.

indred (in-dred); "raid"
iust (yoost); "oath"