Triumph of the Gael: A Hibernian TL
Chapter 1
(15th Century anachronistic depiction of Clontarf)
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“...the Earl came with all his host on Palm Sunday to Dublin, and there too
was come Brodir with all his host.
Brodir tried by sorcery how the fight would go, but the answer ran thus,
that if the fight were on Good Friday King Brian would fall but win the
day; but if they fought before, they would all fall who were against him.
Then Brodir said that they must not fight before the Friday.
On the fifth day of the week a man rode up to Kormlada and her company
on an apple-grey horse, and in his hand he held a halberd; he talked
long with them.
King Brian came with all his host to the Burg, on the Thursday, but Brodir sought to delay battle until the next day.
Brian advanced with his host to the assembled flotilla and forced battle regardless.
Brodir was on one wing of the battle, but King Sigtrygg on the other.
Earl Sigurd was in the mid battle.
King Brian, surrounded by his retinue, took position to the rear and his host was
drawn up in array in front of it.
Wolf the Quarrelsome was on that wing of the battle against which Brodir
stood; but on the other wing, where Sigtrygg stood against them, were
Ospak and his sons.
But in mid battle was Kerthialfad, and before him the banners were
borne.
Now the wings fall on one another, and there was a very hard fight,
Brodir went through the host of the foe, and felled all the foremost
that stood there, but no steel would bite on his mail.
Wolf the Quarrelsome turned then to meet him, and thrust at him thrice
so hard that Brodir fell before him and Brodir at once was no more.
Earl Sigurd had a hard battle against Kerthialfad, and Kerthialfad came
on so fast that he laid low all who were in the front rank, and he broke
the array of Earl Sigurd right up to his banner, and slew the
banner-bearer.
Then he got another man to bear the banner, and there was again a hard
fight.
Kerthialfad smote this man too his death blow at once, and so on one
after the other all who stood near him.
Then Earl Sigurd called on Thorstein the son of Hall of the Side, to
bear the banner, and Thorstein was just about to lift the banner, but
then Asmund the White said--
"Don't bear the banner! for all they who bear it get their death."
'Hrafn the Red!' called out Earl Sigurd, 'bear thou the banner.'
'Bear thine own devil thyself,' answered Hrafn.
Then the Earl said--
'Tis fittest that the beggar should bear the bag;' and with that he
took the banner from the staff and put it under his cloak.
A little after Asmund the White was slain, and then the Earl was pierced
through with a spear.
Ospak had gone through all the battle on his wing, he had been sore
wounded, and lost both his sons ere King Sigtrygg fled before him.
Then flight broke out throughout all the host and they were chased to the ships.
There, the forces of King Sigtrygg were slain to a man, and the foretold prophecy had been seen through.”
— Saga of the Burnt Njal, Chapter CLVI
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"The morning of April 22, 1014 is considered by modern historians to be one of the most important battles of Irish history. It decided the fate of the Island, whether it would stay stuck in the rut of tribalism or develop with the rest of their continental peers. A single sweep of a Danish sword could have sent Ireland spiraling back into factionalism and division. Instead, it didn’t, and just as the prophecy foretold to Brodir in
Njal’s Saga, Brian Boru drove the rebels and foreigners into the sea.
Actual sources of the battle are scant and we primarily rely on the description given in
Njal's Saga, an anonymous Icelandic saga believed to have been composed sometime in the late 13th century. It provides us with some key figures in the battle, the outcome, and some specific heroic deeds performed that cannot otherwise be disproven. For instance, Ulfr Hreda (Wolf the Quarrelsome), the supposed brother of Brian Boru is attributed with slaying the Danish warlord Brodir at some point in the middle of the battle. Overall,
Njal's Saga provides one of the clearest representations of the Battle of Clontarf that we have. There are, of course, multiple other descriptions but these were often written by patrons of the
Ua Briain dynasty and thus are fairly biased and propagandistic.
The battle has often been misportrayed by monks in Ireland; that it was a Norse invasion driven off by Brian and his army. This is simply not true, the primary source Annals of Ulster specifically mentions that the Norse only were involved as the behest of Máel Mórda [1]. Despite its anachronistic retellings, the battle was still very important. The effects of the battle were that Brian was able to crush the rebellious Máel Mórda, seize the Norse stronghold of Dubhlinn, and to consolidate more power over his various unruly
rí tuaithe, ruiri, and rí ruirech [2]. One deeper significance of the battle was whether a higher king, or
Ard Rí, could really subjugate the entire island and be successful in doing so, or would he crumble to internal revolts. The descendants of Brian slowly but surely proved that one could be successful in this endeavor."
Éanna Ceallach, University of Airgíalla
[1] The petty king of Leinster who rebelled against Brian and in the events leading up to Clontarf
[2] Petty King; Overlord of several petty kingdoms; overlord of a province
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Hello everyone! A few days ago I made a
post gauging interest in a timeline like this. There was some interest shone so I decided to start with my first entry. This is what I hope to be as my first continuous timeline. I did a Republican Britain one back in February but life got in the way and I had to stop. Summer is fast approaching so I think I should have much more time on my hands to keep this thing alive and kicking. I hope to update once a week minimum and definitely more so if I am feeling particularly inspired. Thanks for reading!