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Anglo-Irish

Page history last edited by PBworks 16 years, 8 months ago

Anglo Irish (IV/21)

 

Author: Mick Hession

 

Proposal: Anglo Irish 1171AD-1318AD

 

Element Scale: 1:100

 

DBM: Cold. Terrain: WW, Rv, BUA, Wd, E, H(G), O, RGo, Rd

DBMM: Cool. Terrain: S, L, Rv, BUA, Wd, WH, O, E, M, SH, BF, SF, Rd

 

Aggression: 3 until 1260AD, then 1

 

C-in-C - Irr Kn(O) 1

Sub-General - Irr Kn(O) 0-1

 

Ally-General – Irr Kn(O) 0-2

Knights and sergeants – Irr Kn(O) 2-8

Downgrade knights and sergeants with lighter equipment to Irr Cv(O) 0-1/4

Foot sergeants – Irr Bd(I) 6-20

Upgrade foot sergeants to mounted infantry 0-12

Archers – Irr Bw(I) 12-20

Upgrade archers to Welsh – Irr Bw(O) any

Mercenary archers and crossbowmen – Reg Bw(O) 0-2

Upgrade Bw to mounted infantry 0-12

Replace mounted Welsh archers with Irr Cv(O) as archerii All/0

Skirmishing archers – Irr Ps(O) 0-2

Irish subject and mercenary warriors – 8-36

• DBM: 1/4 to 1/3 Irr Ps(S), remainder Irr Ax(O)

• DBMM: 1/4 to 1/3 Irr Ps(I), remainder Irr Ax(S)

Irish subject and mercenary archers, staff-slingers and slingers - Irr Ps(O) 0-4

 

Upgrade Irish Ax to mounted infantry 0-1/3

Perriers and Bolt-Shooters – Reg Art(O) 0-1

Cogs – Irr Shp(S) {Bw} 0-2

 

Irish Allies (List: Norse Irish, Bk 3) up to 2 contingents

 

Only from 1177AD to 1266AD:

Manx Viking allies (List: Norse Viking and Leidang, Bk 3) (or Scots Isles and Highlands, Bk 3 – see justifications)

 

Only from 1212AD to 1315AD:

Replace foot sergeants with Scots colonists – Irr Bd(O) *4-6

Replace archers with Scots colonists – Irr Bd(O) *4-6

Replace Cogs with Scots Galleys – Irr Bts(O) {Scots Bd(O)} *All

 

Only from 1290AD:

Replace foot sergeants with Hobilars – all Irr Cv(I) or all Irr Kn(I) 4-8

 

Only before 1300AD:

Ostmen – all Irr Bd(O) or all Irr Bd(I) 0-8

 

List Notes

 

This list covers the armies of the English colony in Ireland from Strongbow's assumption of the title of King of Leinster to the end of Edward Bruce's invasion. An army taken from this list represents a large hosting such as those assembled for battles like Callan, Athenry and Faughart. The Royal expeditions of Henry II and John are covered by the Imperial Angevin list.

 

Initially, armies were made up of relatively small parties of swashbuckling adventurers, many from the Welsh Marches, supplemented by Irish levies and allies. These carved out vast estates that were held of the English King with relatively low knight's fees and settled, at least in the East, by Anglo-Welsh colonists. Scots immigration to Ulster was encouraged to compensate for a lack of English colonists.

 

The senior royal official was known as the Justiciar but as his personal retinue amounted to just 20 men at arms, armies relied on troops supplied by the great magnates supplemented by ill-disciplined town militias and mercenary Irish kern who were notable plunderers.

 

John De Courcy, founder of the Ulster colony, married the daughter of the King of Man and was helped by a Manx fleet in 1205. A Manx allied contingent can therefore include naval elements. The minima marked * apply if any Scots colonists are used. Scots must all be in one command (representing an Ulster contingent) and need not be commanded by Ally-generals. Ostmen, the original Norse inhabitants of the coastal towns, were assimilated during the 13th century. They cannot be used with Scots Colonists or Manx Viking allies.

 

Cv(O) can always dismount, knights as Bd(O) and archerii as Bw(O). Cv (I) Hobilars may always dismount as Ax(X) {DBM} / Pk(F) {DBMM}.

 

Most large armies contained troops supplied by Irish allies. Such allied contingents can contain Galloglaich.

 

Justifications

 

Dates:

The list starts with the assumption by Strongbow (Richard FitzGilbert, Earl of Striguil and Pembroke) of the kingship of Leinster. This was the first occasion where the English in Ireland acted independently rather than as mercenaries (however theoretical). It ends with the defeat of Edward Bruce's invasion at Faughart. Though victorious, the colony was bankrupted by the effort (Lydon 1987 p.146) and central authority was largely lost outside Leinster (Frame 1996 p.77). 14th/15th Century armies were much smaller, of very different composition and very rarely fought pitched battles so should be covered by a revised Medieval Irish list (which I'm working on).

 

List Scale:

Apart from the initial invasion reliable numbers are hard to find. Maurice ~Fitzgerald led a contingent of 3,000 men to Wales to aid Henry III (Dolley 1972 p.139). The Justiciar had to feed 2,000 satellites in an expedition to Glenmalure in 1275 (IEP p.15), though I assume he would not have been responsible for contingents led by the magnates; against Edward Bruce, the Justiciar's army consisted of 30 "battalions" compared with 20 led by the Earl of Ulster (AC 1315).

 

At a element:men scale of 1:100 (i.e. half normal scale) this list would allow a maximum of 6,000 colonists to be fielded with bigger armies only being possible by including Irish levies and allies. This is consistent with the limited evidence. List minima give less than the recommended 200 AP to reflect Strongbow's initial force in 1171.

 

Climate and Terrain:

DBM Cold, DBMM Cool as mandated by the rules.

 

The presence of the sea, lakes, rivers and gentle hills is clear from a glance at the map. RGo represents areas of bog (BF) and scrub (SF). The Anglo-Irish founded and expanded many urban settlements (O'Brien 1997 p.56), hence BUA. Roads were built to link them (Lydon 1973 p.14) though were unpaved. Apple orchards were planted (Lydon 1973 p.10). Enclosures were rare at this period but haggards are mentioned, Ralph De Cobeleye being granted £20 in compensation for one destroyed by the Earl of Ulster's army during the Bruce Invasion (IEP p.264). Marshes and woods (and wooded gentle hills) should be allowed, but unlike the Norse Irish list are not compulsory as the Anglo-Irish tended to grab the better land and clear it where necessary (Nicholls 2001, p.190). I've left steep hills out as the mountains were essentially left to the natives. The Pale was a later innovation, hence no Boundaries.

 

Aggression:

The English colony was initially much more aggressive than its Irish opponents. The Irish victory at Callan in 1261 halted English expansion in Munster; Aodh O'Neill's coalition of the Ulster Irish in the previous year achieved the same result there despite ending in a bloody defeat at Drumderg. Equilibrium was maintained until the Bruce Invasion threw the colony onto the defensive. Norse Irish have an aggression of 1 unless led by Edward Bruce, so giving the Anglo-Irish an aggression of 3 until 1260 and 1 thereafter would seem right.

 

Generals:

Large armies were usually composed of the Justiciar's army supplemented by the contingents of feuding magnates, as at Ardscull in 1316 where their quarrels cost them the battle despite superior numbers (Lydon 1987 p. 134). Therefore subordinate generals are normally classified as ally-generals. One sub-general is allowed to represent a loyal subordinate, such as Robert De Quency, Constable of Leinster under Strongbow, who was slain while in command of the rearguard in an expedition against the Ui Failge in 1173 (SONG 2814).

 

Knights

Ireland owed the service of about 425 knights to the King of England by his tenants in chief (Frame 1996 p.80). To this can be added those knights who did not owe Royal service – probably as many more (Lydon 2003 p.64). Armati/sergeants would presumably have added at least as many more.

 

Tomb effigies and literary descriptions confirm that Anglo-Irish knights were for the most part armed to contemporary European standards. I therefore classify them as Irr Kn(O). Although the existing list has the use of Kn(O) dying out by 1300, barded horses were in use to the end of this period and beyond – John De Luda served with a squire and two armoured horses in 1305/1306 (IEP p.182), and Barbour describes the Anglo-Irish at Connor as being "on steeds well equipped, some covered wholly in iron and steel" (Brus XIV) and also riding "horses mailed to their feet" (Brus XVI). Mid-14th century sources also suggest Anglo-Irish men-at-arms, but I'll address that evidence in the Medieval Irish proposal.

 

Giraldus calls on his experience of the Welsh border to recommend the use of lighter equipment in Irish conditions (EH II:38 12-29). It's not clear to what extent this advice was followed (I will note for the record that Andrew Fisher suggests "not at all"), and in pitched battle it is likely that knights would wear full armour. However I propose allowing a maximum of 2 elements to be fielded to represent milites stripping down for picket duty and for use as scouts. The presence of mounted scouts is attested by Barbour: "{The Scots} made an ambush in a hollow place, and in a short time they saw a company of {English} scouts come riding from the city" (Brus XIV). I do appreciate that the scouts in question may have been hobilars at this date. Giraldus' recommendation that such lightly equipped men should not use a high-cantled saddle (sellisque recurvis) in order to dismount suggests that (a) knights with "normal" equipment should not have a dismount option and (b) lighter knights should be treated as Cv (O) rather than Kn(F), as the lack of a high cantle would presumably reduce the effectiveness of a charge with the lance (and conveniently would allow them to employ the scouting stratagem in DBMM).

 

Colonist Foot

Both foot sergeants and archers are attested by Giraldus and the Song. Many of these were from South Wales, which doesn't necessarily mean they were Welsh (O'Brien 1997 p.55 and note 88). Both javelins (SONG 2346) and short axes (AFM1311) are attested, and discussions with Andrew Fisher have come to the consensus that Bd is the most appropriate classification, as that would encompass javelins used in conjunction with swords and axes. One slight change is that I'm proposing a mounted infantry option for Welsh mounted archers as I'm not certain the evidence supports classification of archerii as Cv (O).

 

I would allow quite a high proportion of colonist foot to be mounted – men worth £3 6s 8d were expected to bring a horse to the muster, the equivalent threshold in England being £15 (Frame 1996 p.80). By the later 13th century some of these evolved into a specific "Hobilar" troop type. The first reference to the term within the Irish Exchequer payments dates to 1294 (IEP p.125). Their tactical role in open battle is unclear. They may have acted as poor quality cavalry, often dismounting to fight, as per the traditional view. Alternatively, their role may have been as supplementary (though badly equipped) men at arms (which Andrew points out is more in keeping with their behaviour in English armies). Either option is therefore allowed.

 

The skirmishing archers come from Barbour: "Sir Richard of Clare sent active yeomen who could shoot well to skirmish on foot with the rearguard. Now, two of the men sent out skirmished at the woodside and shot arrows among the Scots." (Brus XVI). I've limited the number allowed to just 2 elements as skirmishing is a specialist skill that should be granted sparingly in the absence of strong evidence.

 

Anglo-Irish troops were considered ill-disciplined, being noted plunderers of friend and foe alike (Lydon 1987 p.142). One contemporary equated their rapacity to the Scots "except for homicides" (Lydon 1992 p.94). Some were mercenaries (Simms 1996 p.108) but being billeted on the civilian population probably wouldn't count as permanently embodied, hence warranting regular status. However, mercenary crossbowmen (in very small numbers) and Welsh archers were hired to supplement castle garrisons and were probably of better quality. They would presumably have served in field armies operating locally. The largest such body I have found was of 200 Welshmen (IEP p.114). In 1317, Edward II hired 1,000 Genoese under Antonio De Passagno to serve in Ireland. De Passagno was paid although there is no record that the Genoese actually arrived (Lydon 1992 p.90).

 

Irish Mercenaries and Levies

The Anglo-Irish invasion dispossessed many native landowners but some were accommodated within the Feudal settlement (O'Byrne 2003 p.26). I assume they would have been expected to provide troops on that basis. I haven't distinguished nobles from commoners as most of the former were dead or gone. Most Irish troops were mercenary kern (Simms 1996 p.105) – the Annals of Inisfallen refer to the "speckled kern" of Milo De Cogan, for example (AI1206). The classification of these is consistent with my Norse Irish proposal on the wiki.

 

There is no record of Galloglaich being used by the Anglo-Irish in this period.

 

Irish Allies

From earliest times Irish chieftains formed alliances with Anglo-Irish lords. These are treated as foreign allies as on at least two occasions they threatened to change sides, as at the battle of Dublin in 1171 (SONG 2280-2314) and in EH II:13, where an Irish ally tells Meiler FitzHenry "We always support the victors and attack only the vanquished. So you may rely on us, but only if you are winning." On that occasion, as on many others, there were two Irish allied contingents present.

 

Ostmen

The original inhabitants of the Norse towns were expelled to the suburbs (such as that still called Oxmantown in Dublin) and many retained their estates in the surrounding countryside. They kept a separate identity intermediate between English and Irish (O'Byrne 2003 p.25). As late as 1283 Wexford (one of the smaller Ostmen towns) had 40 wealthy Ostmen eligible for a cattle-tax (Orpen p.284). Over time most were assimilated to the English, though those of the Dublin mountains adopted native Irish customs, including that of pillaging the neighbouring colonists (O'Byrne 2003 p.68).

 

Ostmen formed a distinct contingent under the command of two English knights in an expedition to Osraige (EH II:2), where 400 were killed when their camp was overrun in a night attack. That is the only explicit reference I can find to them serving, but the fact that they maintained a separate identity suggests they were available at later dates.

 

Classification as Bd(O) recognises that they were well-armoured (EH I:21), as Bd(I) recognises their occasional lack of enthusiasm (SONG 1034).

 

Naval

Joint land and sea expeditions were mounted, such as the attack on the Ui Maille (AFM 1235) and the colony was responsible for keeping the peace in at least the Southern Isles (Duffy 1991 p.49). Cogs are mentioned in the exchequer payments (IEP p.162).

 

Giraldus describes a naval battle between Ostmen and English where he highlights shipboard English archery: "So a naval battle began, with {the Ostmen} attacking fiercely with stones and axes, while {the English} put up a vigorous resistance with arrows and metal bolts, of which they had a plentiful supply" (EH I:32).

 

Scots and Manx

King John granted land on the North Ulster coast to the Earls of Galloway and Atholl in the period 1212-1214 (Walsh 1996 p.7), though obstruction by Anglo-Irish magnates meant that these grants may not have been taken up until a generation later (Duffy 2004 p.43). Scots were seen as a useful buttress to the Ulster colony, where English colonists were insufficiently numerous (which is why I have them replacing rather than supplementing other colonist foot). Official encouragement for Scots immigration ceased mid-century probably through concern about Islemen support for the Ui Neill (Duffy 1991 p.57). I've treated the Scots as Islemen since they originated on the Western seaboard. Since they were only available to Ulster they should all belong to the command representing the Ulster contingent.

 

Hugh Biset, whose family was among the most prominent of the Scots colonists, was commissioned to "harass the King's Scotch enemies by sea" in 1298. There were suspicions about his loyalty at that time, and he joined Edward Bruce in 1315 (Lydon 1963 p.77). I assume his vessels were similar to those of the Islemen, and crewed by Scots rather than English colonists. His flotilla operated independently so replaces rather than supplements other naval elements.

 

John De Courcy married Affreca, daughter of Gofraid of Man and King John granted Ragnall, Gofraid's successor, the anchorage of Carlingford Lough. De Courcy was aided against the Justiciar Walter De Lacy by a Manx fleet: "In the year 1205, John de Courcy, recovering his strength, collected a large force, and was accompanied by Reginald {Ragnall}, King of the Isles, with nearly one hundred ships, to Ulster. Putting into the port called Strangford, they laid siege, but carelessly, to the fort of Rath. Walter do Lacy came upon them with a large army, and totally routed them; and after that time John do Courcy never recovered his possessions" (CM1205). Relations with Man remained friendly until it was ceded to the Scots, but I can't find any further instances of military co-operation (Duffy 1991 p.64).

 

I have classified the Manx as Vikings as per the current lists. However, the more I read about them the more I suspect that we should be treating them as Islemen – the Hebridean dynasty of Somerled seems to have slugged it out with the Manx dynasty of Gofraid Crovan for most of the 12th century to establish who could be called King of the Isles, and I'm not sure the evidence supports any significant difference between the two domains. I'm a lot more familiar with the Irish sources and freely acknowledge that they contain an element of "all those foreigners look alike to me" but the Manx and Scots sources I've read don't seem to present a very different perspective on the whole.

 

Artillery

Artillery was available for use in sieges: the island fortress of Loch Ce was captured in 1235 through the use of perriers that were temporarily mounted on boats: "a fleet of ships with galleries and perriers" (AC 1235 and Orpen p.373 – the fortress actually surrendered when the English deployed fireships against it!) and large crossbows are mentioned as being repaired in royal castles (IEP p.14). There is no mention of its use in the field, but as the 1235 expedition shows it was available.

 

Primary sources

 

- AC: The Annals of Connacht. Available on-line at [www.ucc.ie.celt]

- AFM: The Annals of The Four Masters. Available on-line at [www.ucc.ie.celt]

- AI: The Annals of Inisfallen. Available on-line at [www.ucc.ie.celt]

- CM: The Chronicle of Man. Available on-line at [www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/manxsoc/msvol22]

- Brus: The History of Robert The Bruce, King of Scots, John Barbour. Translated by George Eyre-Todd in Robert the Bruce's Irish Wars, edited by Sean Duffy. Tempus Publishing Ltd. 2002. ISBN 0-7524-1974-9

- EH: Expugnation Hibernica, Giraldus Cambrensis. Translated and edited by A.B. Scott and F.X. Martin, Royal Irish Academy 1978 ISBN 0 901714-11- 9 An on-line version is available at [www.yorku.ca/inpar] in the Medieval Irish section

- SONG: The Deeds of the Normans in Ireland (La Geste des Engleis en Yrlande/The Song of Dermot and the Earl). Edited by Evelyn Mulally, Four Courts Press 2002 ISBN 1-85182-643-2. The untranslated text is available on-line at [www.ucc.ie.celt]

- IEP: Irish Exchequer Payments. Translated and edited by Philomena Connolly, Irish Manuscripts Commission, 1998. ISBN 1-874280185

 

Secondary sources

 

- Dolley, Michael: Anglo-Norman Ireland, The Gill History of Ireland Vol. 3. Gill and MacMillan 1972 ISBN 7171-0560-X

- Duffy, Sean:

o The Bruce Invasion of Ireland: a Revised Itinerary and Chronology (2002), in Robert the Bruce's Irish Wars, edited by Sean Duffy. Tempus Publishing Ltd. 2002. ISBN 0-7524-1974-9

o The Bruce Brothers and the Irish Sea World 1306-1329 (1991), in Robert the Bruce's Irish Wars, edited by Sean Duffy. Tempus

Publishing Ltd. 2002. ISBN 0-7524-1974-9

o The Lords of Galloway, earls of Carrick and the Bissetts of the Glens: Scottish settlement in thirteenth century Ulster, in Regions and Rulers in Ireland 1100-1650. Edited by David Edwards, Four Courts Press 2004. ISBN 1-85182-742-0

- Frame, Robin: The defence of the English Lordship 1250-1450, in A Military History of Ireland. Edited by Thomas Bartlett and Keith Jeffery, Cambridge University Press 1996 ISBN 0-521-62989-6

- Fisher, Andrew: Recruitment and Supply in mid-Angevin Armies. Slingshot 240-249.

- Lydon, James:

o Ireland in the later Middle Ages, The Gill History of Ireland Vol. 6. Gill and MacMillan 1973 ISBN 7171-0563-6s en (1973)

o The Bruce Invasion of Ireland: an examination of some problems (1963), in Robert the Bruce's Irish Wars, edited by Sean Duffy. Tempus Publishing Ltd. 2002. ISBN 0-7524-1974-9

o The Impact of the Bruce Invasion 1315-1327 (1987), in Robert the Bruce's Irish Wars, edited by Sean Duffy. Tempus Publishing Ltd. 2002. ISBN 0-7524-1974-9

o The Lordship of Ireland in the Middle Ages. Four Courts Press 2003. ISBN 1-85182-737-4

o The Scottish Soldier Abroad: the Bruce Invasion and the Galloglas (1992), in Robert the Bruce's Irish Wars, edited by Sean Duffy. Tempus Publishing Ltd. 2002. ISBN 0-7524-1974-9

- Nicholls, Kenneth: Woodland Cover in pre-Modern Ireland, in Gaelic Ireland c.1250-c.1650: Land Lordship & Settlement. Edited by Patrick J. Duffy, David Edwards & Elizabeth FitzPatrick. Four Courts Press 2001 ISBN 1-85182-800-1

- O'Brien, A.F.: The Impact of the Anglo-Normans on Munster. The Barryscourt Trust 1997. ISBN 0946641-838

- O'Byrne, Emmett: War, Politics and the Irish of Leinster 1156-1606. Four Courts Press 2003 ISBN 1-85182-690-4

- Orpen, Goddard Henry: Ireland under the Normans, 1913-1920. Edited by Sean Duffy, Four Courts Press, 2005 ISBN 1-85182-715-3

- Simms, Katharine:

o Gaelic Warfare in the Middle Ages, in A Military History of Ireland. Edited by Thomas Bartlett and Keith Jeffery, Cambridge University Press 1996 ISBN 0-521-62989-6

o From Kings to Warlords, Studies in Celtic History VII, The Boydell Press 1987 ISBN 0-85115-784-X

- Walsh, Paul V: Warfare in Feudal Scotland, 1100-1300. Slingshot 187

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