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Chapter Three, Part Three: The "Second Heroic Period"
Chapter Three, Part Three: The "Second Heroic Period", 800-880
As the 9th century dawned on the New World, it dawned on a new age of continual struggle for supremacy between the Companies as the temporal authority of the Bishop of Tairngire continued to decline. Though this age would not be as celebrated in Irish literature as the first Heroic Period, it was, in this author's opinion, more influential on the development of the New World than the first. Had circumstances been slightly different at the close of the chaotic 7th Century, then the trials of the Streachailt might have caused a general abandonment of the Insula and the only-then being explored coast of the mainland. While such speculation is merely an exercise in "what ifs", it serves to illustrate the almost exclusively cultural impact of the First Heroic Period.
The Second Heroic Period, the term applied in this work to the years between 800 and 880 A.D., mark the lowest point of influence of the Bishop of Tairngire. Though still the nominal ruler of all the lands in the New World, whether on the Insula or on Terra Ursus, he lacked the ability to project his power. The three Bishops of this period, Eidigean, Robartach, and Muirchu, also lacked the motivation to change the situation. Eidigean had come over from Thule [1] in the 780s or 790s, and was of a decidedly contemplative temperament. Robartach and Muirchu were of a similar style, resulting in a Bishopric focused on scriptural work. While undoubtedly resulting in some of very important pieces of historical significance (such as the lovingly illuminated "Tairngire Psalter", the best example of this period), it did result in generations of Company men living under the impression that there was no higher authority then their Company Chief.
On the mainland, then, the Companies were free to pursue their feuds against each other. It is during this period that we see a sharp uptick in the number of formalized battles between Companies, as well as the almost universal raiding. This reason for this uptick is not fully known; similar rates of raiding and murder were seen in the half-century preceding this period, yet there is very little record of formal battles in this period. The most likely reason to this author is that the Companies were now secure in their individual patrimonies, having survived winters and seen births on the shores of Terra Ursus. This made them more willing to pursue any and all avenues to protect their territories and those that held loyalty to their banner.
Over time, formalized combat also began to take on a more violent meaning. While always bloody, many of the formal battles of the First Heroic Period had surprisingly few deaths. The combatant groups were smaller, and often the Companies were so concerned about preventing a total loss of the Fanaithe on their payroll that they would withdraw or end combat quickly. The Second Generation Companies now had a full footing on Terra Ursus; additionally, this settlement encouraged higher rates (though arguably less intense) of robbery and raiding than that undertaken in the First Heroic Age. By 880, formalized combat was seen as the climax of a conflict, where one would seek to destroy as many young men of the opposing Company as possible in order to protect one's own Company from further raids.
Of course, with this in mind, it is worth noting that the number of formal combats went down during the latter part of this period in review after hitting a spike in 860, likely due to the increased stakes. Not all Companies were blindly led by their passions, calling for blood at the smallest slight. Companies were now more willing to resort to fine payment, arbitration, or simply maintenance of the raiding status quo to avoid the invocation of the now intensely violent formal combat. It is also worth noting that in the latter part of this period, those Companies that got involved in formal combat bled themselves out so much that their land became easy pickings for other Companies to take over. Life in Terra Ursus was much more peaceful, relatively, at the end of this period, likely simply due to burnout and worry over the total loss of one's fighting men.
Despite the violence of the period, it was no total anarchy like that portrayed by later historians. Though raiding was commonplace, so was trading; commercial ties between Companies may have also contributed to the eventual decline in formalized combat. A few trading hubs developed at this time, the two most notable being Cósta Dhearg and Rineen [2] on Nuadu's Isle [3]. Furs remained a fairly important item, though the Companies increasingly moved away from the fur trade in favor of other economic pursuits, most revolving around fishing and agriculture with some limited mining. This reflected a more internal turn of the Companies, as they focused less on making money in the overseas trade, and more on their own internal economies and the general economy of Terra Ursus.
Instead, the transoceanic trade became dominated by outside groups that came in to hunt and trap. These "later Fanaithe" lacked the cultural impact of their earlier brothers in the 6th and 7th Centuries, often more focused on securing their goods than engaging in some sort of grand adventure (though, to be fair, it did take an adventurous spirit to make the trip across the Atlantic, especially as the seas became more and more plagued by Ostmen). These later Fanaithe bands were also notable for their diversity. While the traditional Fanaithe Companies were almost exclusively Irish (with a few exceptions), these later bands had Britons, Picts, and one or two Anglo-Saxons in their midst. They remained majority Irish, but their composition was reflective of an increasing outside interest in securing the wealth of the West.
One notable later Fanaithe, who has been mentioned once before in this chapter already, was a young Briton man named Owain. Owain was the third son of Cadog, a powerful Brittonic monarch whose realm dominated much of North-Western Britain. With many brothers ahead of him, Owain had little to do with his time besides train for the coming showdown with the Anglo-Saxon King of Bernicia, Hussa, a young and ambitious ruler who coveted Cadog's realm. However, endless training did not please Owain overmuch; he had an adventurers soul, and so in 876, at the age of 17, he sailed away from home (without his father's permission) and made for the New World.
He trapped and hunted for a season, and made preparations to leave with his Company. He was apparently impressed with what he had seen, and was taken in by the beauty and wealth of the land. His rank made the Bishop of Tairngire, at the tim Muirchu, invite him to winter at Brendan's, rather than in Peace Town with his Company. Owain agreed, and spent a rather tedious winter listening to Muirchu ramble on about the intrinsic beauty found within the 117th Psalm. He did, however, find a kindred spirit in a monk named Columb. Columb was fed up with the way that the Bishopric was being run; he would complain to Owain about how the Companies refused to heed the authority of the Bishop, and that the Bishop refrained from trying to enforce that same authority. Owain commiserated with him, and encouraged him to speak out.
Owain left in the spring of 878, with the seed of an idea planted in his head. It would sprout two years later, in the midst of a war that his people were losing.
[1]- The Christian name for Askraland during the early Medieval Period. Thule was Irish in character, and originally home to a few monastic settlements until its importance along the route to the New World saw new towns be established by enterprising traders. Ottraland was termed "Ultima Thule", and, while also a stop (or at times just a landmark) on the circuitous route to the Insula, was home only to some temporary outposts by very brave (or stupid) Irishmen. Thule in the 9th Century was beginning to suffer from raids from the Ostmen, the first waves of what would ultimately cause the end of Irish Thule and the beginning of Ostish Askraland. (Authors Note: Askraland can be roughly rendered as Ashland in English, and Ottraland as "dread" land)
[2]- OTL Port-Menier
[3]- OTL Anticosti Island
As the 9th century dawned on the New World, it dawned on a new age of continual struggle for supremacy between the Companies as the temporal authority of the Bishop of Tairngire continued to decline. Though this age would not be as celebrated in Irish literature as the first Heroic Period, it was, in this author's opinion, more influential on the development of the New World than the first. Had circumstances been slightly different at the close of the chaotic 7th Century, then the trials of the Streachailt might have caused a general abandonment of the Insula and the only-then being explored coast of the mainland. While such speculation is merely an exercise in "what ifs", it serves to illustrate the almost exclusively cultural impact of the First Heroic Period.
The Second Heroic Period, the term applied in this work to the years between 800 and 880 A.D., mark the lowest point of influence of the Bishop of Tairngire. Though still the nominal ruler of all the lands in the New World, whether on the Insula or on Terra Ursus, he lacked the ability to project his power. The three Bishops of this period, Eidigean, Robartach, and Muirchu, also lacked the motivation to change the situation. Eidigean had come over from Thule [1] in the 780s or 790s, and was of a decidedly contemplative temperament. Robartach and Muirchu were of a similar style, resulting in a Bishopric focused on scriptural work. While undoubtedly resulting in some of very important pieces of historical significance (such as the lovingly illuminated "Tairngire Psalter", the best example of this period), it did result in generations of Company men living under the impression that there was no higher authority then their Company Chief.
On the mainland, then, the Companies were free to pursue their feuds against each other. It is during this period that we see a sharp uptick in the number of formalized battles between Companies, as well as the almost universal raiding. This reason for this uptick is not fully known; similar rates of raiding and murder were seen in the half-century preceding this period, yet there is very little record of formal battles in this period. The most likely reason to this author is that the Companies were now secure in their individual patrimonies, having survived winters and seen births on the shores of Terra Ursus. This made them more willing to pursue any and all avenues to protect their territories and those that held loyalty to their banner.
Over time, formalized combat also began to take on a more violent meaning. While always bloody, many of the formal battles of the First Heroic Period had surprisingly few deaths. The combatant groups were smaller, and often the Companies were so concerned about preventing a total loss of the Fanaithe on their payroll that they would withdraw or end combat quickly. The Second Generation Companies now had a full footing on Terra Ursus; additionally, this settlement encouraged higher rates (though arguably less intense) of robbery and raiding than that undertaken in the First Heroic Age. By 880, formalized combat was seen as the climax of a conflict, where one would seek to destroy as many young men of the opposing Company as possible in order to protect one's own Company from further raids.
Of course, with this in mind, it is worth noting that the number of formal combats went down during the latter part of this period in review after hitting a spike in 860, likely due to the increased stakes. Not all Companies were blindly led by their passions, calling for blood at the smallest slight. Companies were now more willing to resort to fine payment, arbitration, or simply maintenance of the raiding status quo to avoid the invocation of the now intensely violent formal combat. It is also worth noting that in the latter part of this period, those Companies that got involved in formal combat bled themselves out so much that their land became easy pickings for other Companies to take over. Life in Terra Ursus was much more peaceful, relatively, at the end of this period, likely simply due to burnout and worry over the total loss of one's fighting men.
Despite the violence of the period, it was no total anarchy like that portrayed by later historians. Though raiding was commonplace, so was trading; commercial ties between Companies may have also contributed to the eventual decline in formalized combat. A few trading hubs developed at this time, the two most notable being Cósta Dhearg and Rineen [2] on Nuadu's Isle [3]. Furs remained a fairly important item, though the Companies increasingly moved away from the fur trade in favor of other economic pursuits, most revolving around fishing and agriculture with some limited mining. This reflected a more internal turn of the Companies, as they focused less on making money in the overseas trade, and more on their own internal economies and the general economy of Terra Ursus.
Instead, the transoceanic trade became dominated by outside groups that came in to hunt and trap. These "later Fanaithe" lacked the cultural impact of their earlier brothers in the 6th and 7th Centuries, often more focused on securing their goods than engaging in some sort of grand adventure (though, to be fair, it did take an adventurous spirit to make the trip across the Atlantic, especially as the seas became more and more plagued by Ostmen). These later Fanaithe bands were also notable for their diversity. While the traditional Fanaithe Companies were almost exclusively Irish (with a few exceptions), these later bands had Britons, Picts, and one or two Anglo-Saxons in their midst. They remained majority Irish, but their composition was reflective of an increasing outside interest in securing the wealth of the West.
One notable later Fanaithe, who has been mentioned once before in this chapter already, was a young Briton man named Owain. Owain was the third son of Cadog, a powerful Brittonic monarch whose realm dominated much of North-Western Britain. With many brothers ahead of him, Owain had little to do with his time besides train for the coming showdown with the Anglo-Saxon King of Bernicia, Hussa, a young and ambitious ruler who coveted Cadog's realm. However, endless training did not please Owain overmuch; he had an adventurers soul, and so in 876, at the age of 17, he sailed away from home (without his father's permission) and made for the New World.
He trapped and hunted for a season, and made preparations to leave with his Company. He was apparently impressed with what he had seen, and was taken in by the beauty and wealth of the land. His rank made the Bishop of Tairngire, at the tim Muirchu, invite him to winter at Brendan's, rather than in Peace Town with his Company. Owain agreed, and spent a rather tedious winter listening to Muirchu ramble on about the intrinsic beauty found within the 117th Psalm. He did, however, find a kindred spirit in a monk named Columb. Columb was fed up with the way that the Bishopric was being run; he would complain to Owain about how the Companies refused to heed the authority of the Bishop, and that the Bishop refrained from trying to enforce that same authority. Owain commiserated with him, and encouraged him to speak out.
Owain left in the spring of 878, with the seed of an idea planted in his head. It would sprout two years later, in the midst of a war that his people were losing.
[1]- The Christian name for Askraland during the early Medieval Period. Thule was Irish in character, and originally home to a few monastic settlements until its importance along the route to the New World saw new towns be established by enterprising traders. Ottraland was termed "Ultima Thule", and, while also a stop (or at times just a landmark) on the circuitous route to the Insula, was home only to some temporary outposts by very brave (or stupid) Irishmen. Thule in the 9th Century was beginning to suffer from raids from the Ostmen, the first waves of what would ultimately cause the end of Irish Thule and the beginning of Ostish Askraland. (Authors Note: Askraland can be roughly rendered as Ashland in English, and Ottraland as "dread" land)
[2]- OTL Port-Menier
[3]- OTL Anticosti Island
- Rognvald
- Word Count: 1.4k