Wars of the Irish Kings (26 page)

So having obtained from Henry permission of a sort—for it was given ironically rather than in earnest—after the end of the winter, about the kalends of May [1170], he sent on into Ireland in advance of himself a young man of his own retinue, by name Raymond [leGros], with ten knights and seventy archers. He was a vigorous and sturdy youth, well trained in the use of arms, nephew to both FitzStephen and Maurice by their oldest brother. Putting in to a rock which is called Dundunnolf, about four miles from Waterford and to the south of Wexford, they constructed a somewhat flimsy fortification of branches and sods. But when rumour immediately spread the news of their arrival, the citizens of Waterford, and Máelsechlainn Ua Fáeláin with them, viewed with mistrust the presence of foreigners close by. On taking council together they considered that they must oppose this venture right at the start, and with one accord decided to take up arms against them. So they crossed the river Suir, which divides Desmond from Leinster close by the city walls on the east side, and bravely approached the ditches of the English camp, about three thousand men drawn up in three companies for the assault.

But since it is virtually impossible for valour to be covered up and concealed,
for the fires of courage to be quenched, or the spark of virtue to be suppressed and confined, Raymond with his men—conspicuous for their gallantry, though few in number—went out to meet them and engaged them in a most unequal contest. But because such a small force, though an excellent one, could not withstand such large numbers on level ground, they turned back to their camp. In their haste to enter it, they allowed the enemy, who were pursuing them from behind, inside the doors, which had not been completely hung up on their hinges. But when Raymond saw that he and his men were in a difficult position, or rather in the direst straits, he turned bravely to face the enemy, and in the very doorway transfixed with his sword the first to enter. With a loud shout, with this one blow and valiant rally he called his own men back to resume the defence and excited a fearful panic among the enemy. So, since the fortunes of war are always uncertain, those who had seemed to be vanquished suddenly became the victors and pursued the enemy, who had turned back in flight and were now scattered all over the plains, with such a massive slaughter that they killed five hundred and more there and then. And when they stayed their hands that were worn out by striking, countless others were hurled over the high cliffs into the sea. In this action a knight, William Ferrand, distinguished himself by his amazing bravery. He was physically in poor shape, but very stout hearted, for he wished, so it seems, to anticipate by an untimely but glorious death the malign disease of leprosy with which he was threatened.

It was here that the pride of Waterford took a tumble. Here the whole power of the city faded away. This event began the overthrow of a noble city. From it the English derived hope and comfort, their enemies fear and despair. For hitherto it had been unheard of in those parts for such a small force to cause such immense slaughter. But the victors, acting on bad advice, misused their good fortune by displaying deplorable and inhuman brutality. For when their victory was complete, they held seventy of the more important and influential citizens as prisoners in fetters within their camp. They could have received the city itself or a vast sum of money as ransom for these men. However … the citizens were condemned to die, their limbs were broken, and they were consigned to the cliff overlooking the sea.

Meanwhile, having made the necessary preparations for such an important venture, earl Richard passed through the coastal regions of south Wales on his way to St. David’s, and collected together the pick of the fighting men
in those parts. When everything needful for a naval expedition on such a scale had been procured and made ready, he embarked at Milford Haven, a following wind filled his sails, and he put in at Waterford with two hundred knights and about a thousand others around the kalends of September, in fact on St, Bartholomew’s eve [actually August 23, 1170].

The seal of Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare, alias Strongbow.

Then was fulfilled the saying of Merlin of Celidon: “A torch will precede the fiery pyre, and just as the spark calls forth the torch, so will the torch call forth the pyre.” Likewise too the prophecy of Moling of Ireland: “A great one will come, forerunner of one yet greater. He will trample on the heads of both Desmond and Leinster, and, with forces excellently well-armed, will widen the paths that have already been prepared for him.”

On the following day, when rumour had spread the news of this event, Raymond, greatly rejoicing, went to meet the earl with forty knights. On the morning after the feast, a Tuesday, they joined forces to carry forward to the assault of the city those battle standards which were already menacing its walls. They were twice vigorously repulsed by the citizens and the survivors of the slaughter at Dundunnolf. Then Raymond, who with general assent had now been made leader and commander of the whole army, and put in charge of military operations, noticed a small building which hung down from the town wall on the outside by a beam. He eagerly urged all his men to attack on all sides, and quickly sent in armed men to cut down the aforesaid beam. When it had been cut down, the building immediately collapsed, and with it a considerable part of the wall. The invaders eagerly effected an entry, rushed into the city and won a most bloody victory, large numbers of the citizens being slaughtered in the streets. The two Sitrics were taken in Raghnall’s tower and put to the sword. Raghnall and MáelSechlainn Ua Fáeláin were likewise captured there, but their lives were spared through the intervention of Diarmait, who at that juncture had arrived with Maurice and FitzStephen. A garrison was assigned to the city, and there too Diarmait’s daughter Eva was lawfully wed to the earl. Her father bestowed her on him, and also confirmed the treaty between them. Then all joined forces and turned their standards towards Dublin.

Now Diarmait knew that the citizens of Dublin had called almost all the inhabitants of Ireland to help in its defence and had blocked with armed men all the approach routes round the city, which were wooded and narrow of access. Consequently, being not unmindful of his father’s downfall, he avoided the well wooded terrain and, coming by way of the flanking slopes of the hills of Glendalough, he brought his army intact right up to the city walls. He hated the citizens of Dublin more than all the other inhabitants of Ireland, not without good reason. For in the middle of a large building, where it was their custom to sit as if before the
rostra
in the
forum
, they had buried his father, whom they had killed, along with a dog, thus adding insult to injury. Envoys were despatched and there was, first of all, a discussion of peace terms. This was mainly the result of mediation by Laurence of blessed memory, who was at that time the archbishop of Dublin. But while this was taking place, Raymond from one side and from the other that courageous knight Miles de Cogan, together with the young men who were eager for battle and plunder, made an enthusiastic assault on the walls, were immediately victorious, and valiantly overran the city, with considerable slaughter of the inhabitants. But the greater part of them, led by Askulv, went on board ship, taking their most precious belongings, and sailed off to the northern isles ….

The earl spent some days making arrangements about the government of the city and left Miles de Cogan there as governor. Then at the urging of Mac Murchada who, in a spirit of revenge, called to mind ancient feuds, they overran and devastated the territories of Ua Ruairc king of Meath. When the whole of Meath had been ravaged by frequent raids, slaughter and burnings, Ruaidrí king of Connacht, seeing that it was very much his affair “when a neighbour’s wall is ablaze,” sent messages to Diarmait couched in the following terms: “Contrary to the conditions of our treaty you have invited into this island a large number of foreigners. Yet we put up with this with a good grace while you confined yourself within your province of Leinster. But now, since you are unmindful of your oath and without feelings of pity for the hostage you have given, and have arrogantly trespassed beyond the stipulated limits and your ancestral boundaries, you must either restrain the forays of your foreign troops for the future, or else we will send you without fail the severed head of your son.” Diarmait gave a haughty response to this, and added besides that he would not be deflected from his purpose until he had brought under his control Connacht, which belonged to him by ancestral right, together
with the kingship of all Ireland. Ruaidrí thereupon became enraged and condemned to death the son whom Diarmait had given him as a hostage.

After all these events had taken place, the clergy of the whole of Ireland was called together at Armagh, and there was a lengthy debate concerning the arrival of the foreigners in the island. In the end the general consensus of opinion settled upon this as the reason: that because of the sins of their own people, and in particular because it had formerly been their habit to purchase Englishmen indiscriminately from merchants as well as from robbers and pirates, and to make slaves of them, this disaster had befallen them by the stern judgement of the divine vengeance, to the end that they in turn should now be enslaved by that same race. For the English, in the days when the government of England remained fully in their hands, used to put their children up for sale—a vicious practice in which the whole race had a part—and would sell their own sons and relations into Ireland rather than endure any want or hunger. So there are good grounds for believing that, just as formerly those who sold the slaves, so now also those who bought them, have, by committing such a monstrous crime, deserved the yoke of slavery. The aforesaid council therefore decided and publicly decreed by common consent that throughout the island Englishmen should be freed from the bonds of slavery and restored to their former freedom ….

… [Commanded by Raymond, the earl’s troops] began to build up their resources again by taking vast quantities of booty, and to re-equip themselves most handsomely with arms and horses. From there they advanced on Lismore. Having plundered and ravaged the city and the territory belonging to it, they brought immense quantities of booty back to Waterford by the coastal route. With this they loaded thirteen ships, some of which had come with them from Waterford, while others they had found in the harbour of Lismore. When they had been waiting there for a west wind for some time, suddenly from the direction of Cork, which lies sixteen miles to the West, thirty-two ships packed with warriors sailed up to attack them.

So a naval battle began, with one side attacking fiercely with stones and axes, while the others put up a vigorous resistance with arrows and metal bolts, of which they had a plentiful supply. At last the men of Cork were beaten, and their leader Gilbert MacTurger was killed by a sturdy youth, by name Philip of Wales. Then Adam of Hereford, who in that place and on that occasion was in command of the picked force of fighting men, added to the number of his ships and sailed victorious to Waterford with his cargo of arms and plunder. Raymond, who chanced to have heard of this encounter, hastened to the area by the coast road, having with him twenty knights and sixty archers. He immediately dislodged Diarmait prince of Desmond from Lismore, where he had gone with a large army to support the men of Cork, and brought back to Waterford with him four thousand head of cattle.

[About this same time, the Irish of those parts made off with booty from the plain of Waterford and went a little way into the woods, and there, at the very edge of the woods, lay concealed in an ambush. The alarm was raised in the city and the garrison sallied out. Meiler was in the forefront, hasty and courageous as ever, and pursued the robbers right into the woodland thickets, with only one mounted companion. But when Meiler himself was about to turn back, the impetuous youth spurring his horse rushed forward, and penetrated right into the interior of the wood. Immediately the said youth was struck down by many blows and hacked to pieces by axes before Meiler’s very eyes. While Meiler was trying in vain to come to his aid—one man against a thousand—and was making an onslaught on the enemy, he was hemmed in by them and seized by the arms on all sides. However this courageous man drew his sword and opened up a way of escape for himself by force of arms, vigorously lopping off here a hand, there an arm, and robbing yet another of his head and shoulders. Although he had three Irish axes stuck in his horse, and two in his shield, he nevertheless returned to the plain unharmed, and rejoined his men.] …