Read Online 1014: Brian Boru & the Battle for Ireland by Morgan Llywelyn - Free Book Online
Authors: Morgan Llywelyn
Ads: Link
hundreds of warriors in addition to housing Brian’s growing family and entertaining an endless procession of guests.
Although Brian would make many alterations in Kincora over the years, seeking to improve it as his own stature grew, one of its fittings was unvarying. Tradition dictated that a royal candle of enormous size with a great bushy wick must always be kept burning at night in the presence of a king. A special iron candle holder as straight as a spear was designed for this purpose. The young man whose job was to light the king-candle every night and extinguish it with the coming of dawn was an honoured member of the royal entourage. He was the king’s personal attendant, and at all times wore a bag belted to his waist containing flints and a steel for striking fire.
Tradition also required that a king have a poet. Brian’s was a man called Mac Liag, for whom Brian built a home on a little island in nearby Lough Derg. The island is still there. With its memories.
Brian had never been outside of Ireland. At the time he built Kincora he had not even seen the stronghold of the current Árd Rí, so he was free to build his residence limited only by the bounds of his imagination. The annalists claim that Brian personally designed two separate passages connecting the banqueting hall with the kitchens,one passage to be used by servants carrying the food in, and the other for removing the empty serving dishes. The exact seating arrangements in the banqueting hall were carefully drawn on a large chart to make sure there were no lapses in protocol. Kings and princes, poets and judges each had their special place of honour.
By this period there is no further mention of Mor, or even of Achra, in the annals, although the children they had borne to Brian were with him at Kincora. Achra’s son Domnall would die there of an illness in 1009 or 1010, but Mor’s Murrough would be with Brian for the rest of his life. All that Brian Boru knew or achieved would be Murrough’s inheritance.
Amongst the traditions Brian chose to overthrow was that of tanistry, by which a king’s successor was elected from amongst suitable members of the royal family. Brian Boru left nothing to chance. He was determined that Murrough would be his successor, heir not only to his power but to his every thought and idea. The best of Brian would go into the son who was most like him. As a grown man, Murrough may have resented his father’s continuing efforts to educate him, but it was necessary. Someday he would be grateful.
Kincora is long gone but Béal Boru is still there, defying time. The remains of the ancient ringfort are twokilometres north of the present village of Killaloe. One may still observe sections of stone wall smothered in ivy, fittingly crowned by trees. In Brian’s time Béal Boru was the location of a major ford on the Shannon, Ireland’s largest river, which divided east from west. Roughly translated, Béal Boru means ‘The Mouth (or Gateway) of the Cattle Tribute’. A sizeable percentage of the cattle travelling longitudinally across Ireland would cross the river at this point. It would be hard to overestimate the ford’s importance to a cattle-based economy. Control of the ford from their nearby stronghold probably gave Brian ’s Dalcassian ancestors their original power.
If it is possible to deduce a man’s character from his actions, by now we have an idea of Brian Boru. But what of his opposite number, his sometime ally and frequent opponent, Malachy Mór? Malachy had been born in 948, seven years after Brian, with every expectation of a rich and satisfying life. His parents were of the princely class and he had the unqualified support of the powerful Uí Néill. All he had to do was behave as a high king should, following traditions laid down for centuries.
Like Brian, Malachy Mór kept a scribe at his elbow throughout his career, commemorating his victories and praising his hospitality. We have only one surviving
Although Brian would make many alterations in Kincora over the years, seeking to improve it as his own stature grew, one of its fittings was unvarying. Tradition dictated that a royal candle of enormous size with a great bushy wick must always be kept burning at night in the presence of a king. A special iron candle holder as straight as a spear was designed for this purpose. The young man whose job was to light the king-candle every night and extinguish it with the coming of dawn was an honoured member of the royal entourage. He was the king’s personal attendant, and at all times wore a bag belted to his waist containing flints and a steel for striking fire.
Tradition also required that a king have a poet. Brian’s was a man called Mac Liag, for whom Brian built a home on a little island in nearby Lough Derg. The island is still there. With its memories.
Brian had never been outside of Ireland. At the time he built Kincora he had not even seen the stronghold of the current Árd Rí, so he was free to build his residence limited only by the bounds of his imagination. The annalists claim that Brian personally designed two separate passages connecting the banqueting hall with the kitchens,one passage to be used by servants carrying the food in, and the other for removing the empty serving dishes. The exact seating arrangements in the banqueting hall were carefully drawn on a large chart to make sure there were no lapses in protocol. Kings and princes, poets and judges each had their special place of honour.
By this period there is no further mention of Mor, or even of Achra, in the annals, although the children they had borne to Brian were with him at Kincora. Achra’s son Domnall would die there of an illness in 1009 or 1010, but Mor’s Murrough would be with Brian for the rest of his life. All that Brian Boru knew or achieved would be Murrough’s inheritance.
Amongst the traditions Brian chose to overthrow was that of tanistry, by which a king’s successor was elected from amongst suitable members of the royal family. Brian Boru left nothing to chance. He was determined that Murrough would be his successor, heir not only to his power but to his every thought and idea. The best of Brian would go into the son who was most like him. As a grown man, Murrough may have resented his father’s continuing efforts to educate him, but it was necessary. Someday he would be grateful.
Kincora is long gone but Béal Boru is still there, defying time. The remains of the ancient ringfort are twokilometres north of the present village of Killaloe. One may still observe sections of stone wall smothered in ivy, fittingly crowned by trees. In Brian’s time Béal Boru was the location of a major ford on the Shannon, Ireland’s largest river, which divided east from west. Roughly translated, Béal Boru means ‘The Mouth (or Gateway) of the Cattle Tribute’. A sizeable percentage of the cattle travelling longitudinally across Ireland would cross the river at this point. It would be hard to overestimate the ford’s importance to a cattle-based economy. Control of the ford from their nearby stronghold probably gave Brian ’s Dalcassian ancestors their original power.
If it is possible to deduce a man’s character from his actions, by now we have an idea of Brian Boru. But what of his opposite number, his sometime ally and frequent opponent, Malachy Mór? Malachy had been born in 948, seven years after Brian, with every expectation of a rich and satisfying life. His parents were of the princely class and he had the unqualified support of the powerful Uí Néill. All he had to do was behave as a high king should, following traditions laid down for centuries.
Like Brian, Malachy Mór kept a scribe at his elbow throughout his career, commemorating his victories and praising his hospitality. We have only one surviving
Similar Books
![Touched by Lightning [Dreams of You] (Romantic Suspense)](https://fs.dianahicksbooks.com/593236/thumbs/152x264/touched-by-lightning-dreams-of-you-romantic-suspense.jpg)
