Britannia-the Western Frontier – Part 2

The interaction with the Roman Empire had a marked effect on the Irish and Ireland.  A range of loan words entered the Irish language.  Nearly all of them were military terms related to warfare.  Sections of the Irish elite were establishing themselves in Britannia in association with the Roman military. As part of this process, or, before it, the Irish elite took a keen interest in the Roman Army.

The Iron Age Irish sword had been short, sharp and pointed, optimal for thrusting. It was called a colg.  A new sword with a new name entered the Irish lexicon.  It was longer and made for both stabbing and cutting .  Its name was a loan word claideb from the British word for sword.  The British word was presumably describing Roman swords. The Irish shield was of rectangular shape at the time.  It began to be replaced by a circular shield quite small by Roman standards. 

Taken together this suggests a very mobile slashing and stabbing style of fighting.  The warrior would rely on skill, strength and speed to overcome his opponent.  It is interesting to note that when longer Roman sword blades were exported to Ireland they were modified to meet the Irish preference. The small metal bossed shield could also be used offensively.  This could be done by hitting with the boss and also (as the Scéla note) by striking with the edge.  The rest of the warrior’s equipment consisted of a handful of light javelins (gae) and a spear (sleg).  The latter often had a characteristic  door knob spear butt.  We will look  at the distribution of archeological finds of these spear butts in Britannia in a subsequent post.

The spear butts were hollow and likely the same of those recorded by Cassius Dio among the Caledonians.

“a short spear, with a bronze apple attached to the end of the spear-shaft, so that when it is shaken it may clash and terrify the enemy.”

It is possible for us to imagine an Irish warrior array rattling their spears to create a psychological edge over their foes.  Then, they would swiftly advance under a storm of hurled javelins to stab and cut at close quarters.  Their fighting style must have been aggressive as their equipment and lack of armour* precluded effective static defence.  The nearest Roman comparison might be the units of Lanciarii who were lightly equipped and trained in aggressive tactics.

The proximity of the Empire was also increasing social division in Ireland.  The earliest Ogham stones often proclaim both the name and the tribe of the honorand.  Later this gives way to dynastic proclamations.  The tribes of Ireland were coming under the control of aggressive warrior dynasties who named themselves as sons (Uí) or grandsons (Síl) of their martial pro-generator.  This process was a direct result of the Irish -Roman interaction.  Some of these dynasties would establish themselves in Britannia.

Some scholars think there was a sartorial dimension to the process.  They see the Irish elite as emulating elite Roman dress.  If you like - a case of Níall na Noígíallach where’s your troosers?  In this view the Irish elite now go bare legged in tunics and cloaks.  The rank and file Irish tribesman still wore the traditional outfit.  We can note that some Roman loan words relating to clothing colours enter the Irish language at this time. 

Jim Mallory expended a great deal of scholarly energy in analysing the data contained in the Táin bo Cuailgne.  Alongside much other fascinating information he notes the following cloak colours worn by elite Irishmen:  black, dark grey, dun coloured, green, grey, multi coloured, red, striped, purple and yellow.

Significantly, the Imperial cult of Christianity began to accrue Irish adherents.  After a protracted, if apparently pacific, struggle it came to predominate in Ireland.  The immediate catalyst for this was the missionary activities of the Romano British.  The victory was a long time coming but in the process the leading Druid section of the Irish intellectual elite (Na Fíli) were displaced or converted.  As a consequence today our understanding of the old Celtic religion is extremely fragmentary.  A partial exception to this is Ireland’s pagan warrior cult of the Féinid where we can attempt a minimal reconstruction.

The transformations arising from the Irish-Roman interactions were not unique. On every frontier of the Roman Empire similar processes were at work.  These relationships were regularly interrupted by extreme violence as one side or the other sought to adjust the balance of power.  For the Irish-Roman one the crisis came in 367-8 AD.

* The current consensus is that the Irish in our period didn't use armour.  Scéla references to leather protection are thought to be literary borrowings.  That may be so. Yet, we can note the honorand of the early Welsh poem Trawsganu Kynan led a raid into Irish Dyfed and took as part of the loot, "30 Irish battle coats". Clearly, this was some type of armour.  It was thought valuable, worthy of bardic mention and specifically Irish.  Possibly, the Scéla had it right.

Britannia-the Western Frontier

You are looking at a map of Ogham stones found in Britain and Ireland.  Ogham as you may know is an alphabet of linear strokes made either side or across a vertical line.  It was invented by the Irish learned classes in the 4^th century AD. This was a departure for them. They had eschewed writing to keep their knowledge secret as it provided them with a lucrative livelihood.   

The Druids of Ireland were dominant among this learned class  .  For reasons we will explore they, seemingly suddenly, found it expedient to invent and promote a written Irish vernacular expressly for monumental use.  This is fortunate for us because it enables us to identify areas of Roman Britain with populations of high- status Irish men.

Looking at the above map we can conclude that their must have been a connection between the Ogham stones of Ireland and the Ogham stones in Britannia. We can observe that Ireland was outside of the Empire. So, some sort of arrangement had been facilitated that enabled the erection of the Ogham stones in Britannia.  There were other contacts too as this map of Roman finds in Ireland illustrates.

We can see that their is some overlap of clustering on both of the maps above is  We can also recall that in Britannia the practice of monumental inscription was largely confined to the Roman army. 

It seems then, that the Irish had decided to add a Roman military practice to their own cultural repertoire.  To reinforce that connection the Stones in Britannia were often bilingual, the Irish being paralleled with Latin.  The intended audience for these monumental statements then were other literate Irish men and literate Romans and Britons.  The overlying message was straightforward it said we are high status-we are like the Roman military.  Individually the stones name the honorand and some of them also give him a Roman military title.

Above we see what is thought to be the location of the various British tribes before the Roman Conquest. These British polities fell to the Roman army in a protracted series of campaigns.  Post conquest they received a variety of terms of settlement some did better than others.  There were two universals; a section of the native aristocracy always survived to administer tribute and extractions and land was confiscated on a grand scale.

Now we can look at a map showing us British tribal polities (Civates) Roman military veteran settlements (Colonia) small towns and the distribution of villas large and small.  It does not show the extensive Imperial estates because we are still unable to locate them with certainty.  Nor do we see the mass of Roman military installations with their appropriated land resources.  We can examine them later as need be.

If we look at the Antonine Itinerary above we can begin to recap what we have learned.  Below the Wall the furthest east we find the Irish is in the town of Calleva in the territory of the Atrebates. That one is apparently securely dated to around 400 AD. We should note the second easterly stone found at Wroxeter, once the Roman city of Viroconium Cornoviorum (The Civates of the Cornovii).  It’s dated to A.D. 460-75.  The Irish inscription reads CVNORIX MACVS MAQVI COLINE. The National Museum gives us the translation “Hound-king, son of the tribe of Holly”.  Professor KH Jackson thought CVNORIX to possibly have been an Irish foederatus settled at Wroxeter. 

The furthest south-west we find them is in the territory of the Dumnonii north and west of the town of Isca.

We can see the heaviest concentrations of evidence of the Irish are in what is now Wales.  The territories of the Silures and the Demetae in the south host 35 Ogham standing stones indicating a strong Irish presence.  In the north among the Ordovices we also see clusters of evidence for Irish residents.  With the exception of Calleva all of the areas below the Wall with evidence of high status Irish populations are in the military zone of Roman Britain.

Clearly, something was happening.  Large groups of high status Irishmen in Britannia sought to culturally associate themselves with the Roman military. They had gone to the trouble of inventing a written vernacular as part of the process.  When these Irishmen erect monuments they inscribe them in emulation of the practice of the Roman army.  To further strengthen the association the Irish inscriptions are often repeated in Latin.  Where the honarand of the monument had a Roman title it was used. 

The Irish were settling in the military zone of Roman Britain directly administered by elements of the Roman Army.  That they are tangibly demonstrating their affiliation with the Roman army precludes the idea that Rome opposed their presence. They seem to have been there with Roman encouragement and to have appreciated it.  Yet, we can note, the Irish monuments promoted an Irish identity alongside a Roman affiliation.  Seemingly they had not come to become Romans. If anything the inscribed stones proclaim an intended equality of status.

How this came about and what it led to is the subject of my next post in this series.

*  The very useful maps above seem based on Mattingly's excellent treatment of Roman Britain "An Imperial Possession".