![]() The Fairie Queen author also discussed the habit of Irishmen to wear very long cloaks that doubled as sleeping bags or tents during times of rest. Sir Edmund Spenser's A View of the Present State of Ireland, written in 1596, claims that Irishmen wore their thick hair long in an effort to help protect their heads in battle. Irish warriors also created slings and other projectile apparatuses to fling their throwing stones further distance with significantly more power. Carved to fit the thrower's particular and imbued with mystical power, Irish throwing stones were still being used, with accuracy, in the 19th century. ![]() The English and other groups roundly ridiculed the Irish, comparing their attack to small boys throwing rocks, but these throwing stones were no mere pebbles. And while they may have carried similar weapons, every country had their own and approach to combat.Īncient Irish fighters used carefully hewn stones as weapons, throwing them with apparently expert precision at enemy combatants at surprisingly far distances. Geneticists found that there appears to be little difference in the DNA of the Irish and the Brits, although similar genetic make-up does not preclude a vast history of distrust, hatred, and war. The Irish may have loved their use of stones, sticks, and swords, but they were not necessarily particular to their culture. In Ireland, fighters routinely adorned their swords and other weapons with jewels and gold, although the vogue in ancient times was to festoon one's sword with the teeth of large sea animals, known colloquially as claideb d ét or 'sword of teeth.' The use of weapons in Ancient Ireland and in historic Europe in general, advanced and changed as warfare evolved. Joyce notes that the ancient Irish used broadswords, much like their neighbors, although the English would claim to be the ones who invented the broadsword. In his book, A Social History of Ancient Ireland, historian P.W. ![]() As rulers changed, politics evolved that continued to reduce Irish autonomy on a grand political scale, yet, as is so often the case when comparing history on a micro rather than a macro level, individual Irishmen and women asserted their individuality not in their politics, but in their fighting.Īncient Irish warriors used a great deal of weapons, including swords, spears, and sticks, which were in common use by all their neighbors. Henry VIII named himself King of Ireland in 1541, and less than one hundred years later, under the reign of his daughter, Elizabeth 1, the country was ripped apart through harsh penal laws and the persecution of Catholics. ![]() In the 12th century, the Normans invaded Ireland, beginning the reign of the English in Ireland. ![]()
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