Invictvs | Brian Girard | Historical miniatures

Dark Age Irish Arrayed Irish armies were not known for great tactical sophistication. Although they were adept at raiding and ambush, in open battle Irish armies usually formed up in a solid block and made a ferocious headlong charge into the enemy (often fueled by alcohol). Such tactics were a double-edged sword—enemy formations could be overwhelmed and broken, but if an opponent managed to repel the initial charge, the relative lack of armor and discipline among the Irish could lead to disaster.	Brian Boru Brian Boru is one of Ireland's greatest folk heroes. Brian arose to become the regional king of Munster, launched a crusade against the heathen Vikings, and outmaneuvered several rivals to become the High King of Ireland. He received the submission of most of the kings of Ireland (Irish and Ostmen), and was planning to found a lineal dynasty to fully unite the Irish, but he and his eldest son and heir, Murchad (the redhead seen here on the left), were both slain at the Battle of Clontarf (1014).	Irish Retinues Irish kings and clan chiefs and their retinue warriors were heavily influenced by Viking arms, armor, and tactics during this period. The first Vikings to come to Ireland were pagans, however, and despite the fact that the Irish lords were often willing to hire Viking mercenaries and make alliances with Viking nobles, the Irish ultimately sought to convert and assimilate those Northmen that settled in Ireland (called Ostmen). In this they were largely successful.
Do or Die The majority of Irish tribesmen formed a kind of militia called a warband (ceithern). Although their tactical stance was identical to that of the retinues of the elites, they were generally much more lightly equipped. However, battleaxes in particular became very popular among Irish warriors—due to the fact that they could better defeat Viking armor—and Irish warbands often fought with reckless abandon that could lead to both spectacular victories and equally spectacular defeats.	What's in a Name? I discuss this in greater detail in the essay, but suffice it to say here that the original term for the fabric we today refer to as plaid was breacan, and tartans were not developed until the nineteenth century (in Scotland). Nevertheless, breacan cloth patterns were popular among the Celtic peoples, and I found painting them in 15mm particularly challenging. In this and the next picture are several examples of breacan cloaks.	What's in a Name? My approach to painting the breacan patterns was to try to be subtle in the colors, with just enough complexity in the pattern to make it recognizable as a breacan/plaid. Despite the fact that tartans were not developed until much later, I used the traditional tartans of various Irish provinces to identify the various warbands in these armies as belonging to specific regional kingdoms (an anachronism, but a fun one).
The Pipes Are Calling The lowest-ranking fighters in the warband usually fought as skirmishers—armed with bows, slings, staff-slings, and throwing spears, and using hit-and-run tactics. These fighters were known as gasrada (young warriors), due to the fact that this was the segment of the warband where young men traditionally cut their teeth as warriors, although by this time period the majority of gasrada would have been older, but socially low-ranking, men.	Outrageous Slings and Arrows For unknown reasons, the Irish did not often use bows in warfare prior to the arrival of the Normans. Although some skirmishers probably used bows (previous picture), most used thrown javelins, slings, and staff-slings (all seen here). Slings often get short-shrift in modern discussions of military history, but modern weapons testing has confirmed historical accounts that such weapons could be quite effective.	Foreign Irish (Gallgoidel) The inhabitants of western Scotland and northwestern England were descended from Irish settlers that conquered these regions from the Picts and Britons during the sixth, seventh, and eighth centuries CE. They themselves were then conquered by the Vikings, and by the time they began to hire themselves out as mercenaries, their equipment and tactics combined the best elements of the military systems of the Irish, Picts, Britons, and Northmen.
Foreign Irish (Gallgoidel) Although gallgoidel warriors fought as infantrymen, much of their equipment was heavily influenced by that of the Normans that came to rule England (1066-1216 CE). This included double- or triple-layer mail hauberks, sometimes supplemented (or replaced) with a quilted leather jacket, acorn helmets with a nasal guard, mail or padded leather coif, and long kite shields (seen here). The primary weapon of most gallgoidel warriors was a two-handed sword or battleaxe (previous picture).	Warrior Monks Celtic Christianity predominated in Ireland until the Norman conquest, after which the practices of Irish Christians were gradually brought into line with those of the Roman Catholic Church. One of the things that scandalized the Church was the willingness of Irish monks to sometimes fight alongside the tribal warbands, and competing monastic houses were even known to fight battles between them.	My Hobby is a Horse Cavalry was rare in Irish armies during this period, warhorses usually being very high-prestige items that only great lords could afford. Nevertheless, Ireland had an endemic breed of horses called hobb or hobby that were usually used for transportation or as draft animals, and there were some powerful Irish lords that chose to equip small squads of cavalrymen as their retinue.
My Hobby is a Light Horse Sometimes the mounted contingent equipped by an Irish lord fought as mounted skirmishers—similar to infantry skirmishers, they used hit-and-run tactics, or used their mobility to try to outflank enemy formations.	Let Slip the Dogs of War Most Irish lords kept a pack of hunting hounds and war dogs, ancestors of the modern Irish wolfhound. They would not have been much use against a shield wall, but when used in combination with skirmishers, they were very effective against enemy skirmishers, and they were of course also great at pursuing broken and fleeing enemy troops.	A Breed Apart There were bands of clan-less men—including escaped slaves, fugitives from the law, and mixed-blood bastards—that lived in the wilds of Ireland and sometimes banded together as bandits. These were also sometimes hired as mercenaries (two famous groups were the Sons of Death and Sons of Malediction). Their rough lifestyle, tendency to imitate Norse berserkers, and nothing-to-lose attitude made them much feared (Irish werewolf legends are believed to in part be linked to the behavior of such men).

DARK AGE IRISH

(795 - 1297 CE)

Goídel (Old Irish, "Forest-people")

The figures in this gallery represent the army of Brian mac Cennétig ("son of Kennedy"), known as Brian Bóruma ("Tribute-taker") or Brian Boru (Anglicized), over-king (ruirí) of Munster/Mhumhain (978-1014 CE) and High King of Ireland (Ardrí Éireann) (1002-1014 CE). However, these figures would be appropriate to use for any army of the Irish (Goídil) during the Dark Ages (795-1297 CE). This period of Irish history is in part defined by the relationship of the Irish to a wave of Viking invaders and settlers, called gall ("foreigners"), geinti ("heathens"), or Ostmen ("East-men") by the Irish. While earlier generations of Irish had raided Britain and colonized parts of it (mainly western Scotland and parts of Northumberland, Wales, and Cornwall), earning them the Latin epithet, scoti ("raiders"), Ireland remained an isolated place. The Vikings, however, built a number of settlements in Ireland (originally raiding outposts) that formed the nuclei of Ireland's first ports and substantial towns—Dyflin (Dublin) (ca. 841-1169 CE), Vikingaló (Wicklow) (ca. 850-1014 CE), Veigsfjörthr (Waterford) (ca. 860-1170 CE), Hlemrekr (Limerick) (ca. 845-977 CE), and Keyser (Cork) (ca. 846-1173 CE). As these communities were assimilated into the Irish socio-political landscape, the inhabitants of the island were able to tap into the vast Scandinavian raiding and trading networks throughout Europe.

The martial influence of the Vikings was both material and institutional—the Irish acquired and copied Viking arms and armor, they adapted indigenous equipment and tactics, and the need for larger and better-equipped armies accelerated the consolidation of regional kingdoms (cóicid). The chronic balkanization of Ireland into numerous independent and often mutually hostile tribal polities initially made the Irish easy prey for the highly motivated, tightly knit Viking forces (and later, the Normans and English). For most Irish, their first loyalty was to their family (fine) and clan (clann), then to their tribe (túath), then to a regional kingdom called a "fifth" (cóicid)—this last name was derived from the five traditional regional kingdoms (Munster/Mhumhain, Ulster/Ulaid, Meath/Midhe, Connaught/Connacht, and Leinster/Laighin), although at various times during this period there were also breakaway "fifths" that temporarily increased the number of regional kingdoms (e.g., Donegal/Ailech, Oriel/Airgíalla, Cavan/Bréifne, Ossory/Osraige, Desmond/Deasmhumhain, and Thomond/Tuadhmhumhain). There were also traditional tribal coalitions that formed a great tribe (mórtúath), and these could sometimes have member clans or tribes in different regional kingdoms—indeed, several of the breakaway regional kingdoms cited above were based on great tribes. The situation was further complicated by the existence of the office of High King of all Ireland (Ardrí Éireann), a title traditionally held by the Uí Néill clan of Meath, although their authority over the other kings was mostly theoretical. Clan chiefs were known as toísech, tribal kings as rí tuaithe, regional "fifth" kings as rí an cóicid. Theoretically, kings or chiefs lower in rank (fuirí, "under-kings") owed allegiance to higher-ranking kings (ruirí, "over-kings"), but traditional Irish law (fénechas) put a heavy emphasis on individual liberty, and there was virtually no administrative organs of government that tied together kingdoms (it is useful to think of them as tribal confederacies). This tended to make Irish kings at all levels nothing more than a prima inter pares (Latin, "first among equals") who enjoyed greater prestige than his fellow lords (flaith) and little more. Indeed, most Irish kingships were elective, and the title tended to rotate between various royal lineages (síl). During this period, the Southern Uí Néill (O'Neil) clan was alone in having a more-or-less permanent dynastic claim to the kingship of Meath. Munster was originally divided between the Mac Cárthaigh (McCarthy) and Eóganachta (Owen) clans, but the Dál gCais (Dalcassians) overthrew the Owens (ca. 978 CE) and established the Uí Briain (O'Brien) dynasty until 1118 CE, when their rivalry with the McCarthys led to the kingdom splitting into the "fifths" of Thomond (North Munster, ruled by the O'Briens) and Desmond (South Munster, ruled by the McCarthys). The Northern O'Neil and Uí Raghallaigh (O'Reilly) clans generally dominated Ulster, although there were several other clans that occasionally rose to prominence, and Ulster ultimately split into four "fifths"—Ulaid (Dál Fiatach/McDonlevy clan), Oriel (Mac Mathghamhna/McMahon clan), Breifne (Ó Raghallaigh/O'Reilly clan), and Donegal (Northern O'Neill). The Uí Ceinnselaig (Kinsella) and Uí Dúnlainge (O'Dunlaing) clans alternated in the kingship of Leinster, and the Uí Fiachrach (O'Cleary) and Uí Briúin (O'Brion) similarly dominated Connacht. Although the fight against the Vikings sometimes took on the flavor of a crusade led by regional kings and high kings with unprecedented power and influence, and despite the fact that the Ostmen were ultimately conquered and assimilated by the Irish, the Irish remained divided against themselves when the Norman warlord, Richard deClare landed in Leinster with a small force of Norman knights and Welsh infantry (1169 CE). His successful intervention in a conflict between two branches of the O'Dunlaing clan over the kingship of Leinster attracted more Norman adventurers, ultimately leading to the conquest of Ireland by the Normans (1170-1536 CE). The feudalization of most of Ireland by the Normans (ca. 1297 CE) changed the fundamental social bases upon which the military system of the Dark Age Irish rested, and thus brought this phase of Irish military history to a close.

The primary tactical formations of the Dark Age Irish were the household troops (gíománachta) or retinues (meschuire) of the clan chiefs and kings, and the tribal warbands (ceithearn) that consisted of commoners. The warbands were also divided into two groups—the home guards (clíathaire) and the auxiliaries (gasrad). The household troops of each clan chief and king consisted of his close kin (ciniud), foster sons (daltae), and bondsmen (bachlach). They were generally the best equipped and most experienced troops, as well as the most affected by Viking influence. The home guards were free commoners (aire) who owed military service to a given lord (flaith) on behalf of the clan and/or tribe. Many were veterans (dulchannachta) and took the field with retinues similarly composed to those of the nobles, although their retinues were generally far more modest in both size and quality of equipment. The auxiliaries of the warband, on the other hand, were generally composed of the lowest-ranking members of Irish society, and tended to fight in supporting roles as scouts and skirmishers. They would have been the least well-equipped, most using ranged weapons (thrown war darts, slings and staff-slings, and bows). To these were sometimes added various types of mercenaries (amsach)—Ostmen and other Scandinavians (Lochlannachta), Irish marauders/brigands (díberga), Norse-Irish from Scotland (gallgoídil or gallóglaigh), and (fatefully) Normans (gallglassa) and Welsh (Bretnas). The Irish existed in a state of almost perpetual war against each other, although most indigenous warfare consisted of relatively low-intensity conflicts characterized by raid, ambush, and counter-raid (often aimed at stealing each others' cattle, the primary form of wealth). Even Irish monastic communities were known to raid each other and occasionally fight full-scale battles! Irish warbands were superbly well-adapted to the local terrain, designed to move fast and undetected through forest and fen, hill and dale, to strike at an enemy when and where there was an advantage. This meant traditional Irish warrior kit was generally light, with emphasis laid on agility. Mail, iron helmets (sometimes with cheek pieces), and swords were used, but such equipment was usually limited to clan chiefs and kings and their retinues. Shields were usually small bucklers or oval body-shields, and spears, javelins, and darts were the primary weapons. Under the influence of the Vikings, more and heavier forms of mail were acquired or developed, as were Viking-style large round shields and wider use of helmets. Longer, heavier swords (claideb) were forged in imitation of Viking models, and battleaxes (bíail) began to appear in large numbers (both one- and two-handed). Indeed, in one of those ironic twists with which history is replete, battleaxes seem to have become more popular among Irish warriors than they were among the Viking contingents, probably because they could defeat Viking armor! As with so much else, the lords and their retinues would have been the warriors most affected by these upgrades in equipment, but larger shields and axes, in particular, seem to have been adopted by the home guards. However, Irish warbands generally lacked discipline and armor, and if enemies like the Vikings or Normans managed to keep their cohesion and avoid being swept away by the impetuous charge of Irish troops, they could usually blunt the charge and grind down the Irish army (tinól). Warhorses were a rare high prestige item, mostly limited to kings and clan chiefs (and whichever of their men for whom they chose to provide mounts) that used them primarily for transportation and dismounted to fight on foot, although there are many instances in period texts when Irish lords chose to fight mounted among the majority of their warriors fighting afoot (i.e., no separate deployment), and other instances when small numbers of horsemen (marcachta) were fielded in separate units (i.e., deployment as a distinct sub-group of the army). Their numbers would never have been large, and it is likely that mounted contingents, when they were present at all, would have conformed to a model similar to the later Irish hobelars that served as mercenaries in Hiberno-Norman and English armies (ca. thirteenth-fifteenth centuries CE)—riding the native Irish hobby horse (from which the mercenaries took their name), with each armored cavalryman (doílmhaineach, plural, doílmhainigh) accompanied by up to three unarmored "horseboys" (dailtinedha, singular, dailtín). Note the similarity of the name of the horseboys—dailtinedha—with the name for the foster-sons raised by Irish lords—daltae. Foster-sons were held in high regard in Irish families—being treated as equal to a man's own sons—and therefore these young men were the most likely candidates to be provided with mounts by a given lord, and to have fought alongside him, whether mounted or afoot. The Irish hobelars fought as mounted skirmishers, and there is no evidence that their predecessors in the armies of this period fought any differently.

This army is made up of figures mostly from Khurasan Miniatures, with a few from Splintered Light and Old Glory 15s. The shield transfers and banners are from Little Big Men Studios or are hand-painted.