The Battle of Clontarf
Above: Battle of Clontarf
Since the battle of Gleninama, the Danes had kept quiet because the king’s strong hand held them down. .Rut it was a forced submission; and they only waited for an opportunity to attempt the overthrow of King Brian. The confederacy that led to the battle of Clontarf was originated, however, not by the Danes, but by Mailmora king of Leinster.
On one occasion while Mailmora was on a visit at Brian’s palace of Kmcora,* a bitter altercation arose at a game of chess between him and Murrogh, Brian’s eldest son ; so that he left the palace in anger and made his way to Ins own kingdom of Leinster, determined to revolt. And he and his people sent messengers to O’Neill king of Ulster, to O’Ruarc prince of Brefney (the present Co. Leitrim), and to the chiefs of Carbury in Kildare, all of whom promised their aid.
The confederates began by attacking Malachi’s kingdom of Meath, as he was now one of Brian’s adherents. He defended himself successfully for some time, but he was at last defeated at Drinan near Swords by Mailmora and Sitric with the united armies of Danes and Leinstermcn, leaving 200 of his men, including his own son Flann, dead on the field. After this, Malachi, finding himself unable to defend his kingdom against so many enemies, sent messengers to Brian to demand protection.
Moved by the representations of the king of Meath, and alarmed at the menacing movements of the Danes and Leinstermen, Brian and his son Murrogh marched north by two different routes, ravaging the Leinster and Danish territories; and in September, 1013, encamped at Kilmainham, intending to take Dublin by blockade. But the attempt was unsuccessful, for the Danish garrison kept within walls and the Irish army ran short of provisions; so that the king was forced to raise the siege at Christmas, and return home to Kincora.
Mailmora and the Danish leaders now began actively at the work of mustering forces for the final struggle; and Gormlaith, who was among her own people-having been discarded by Brian-was no less active than her relatives. Her son Sitric of the Silken Beard, acting under her directions, engaged Sigurd earl of the Orkneys, as well as Broder and Amiaff of the Isle of Man, the two earls of all the north of England, who promised to be in Dublin on Palm Sun- day, the day fixed on for the meeting of all the confederates. Broder had once been a Christian, but now worshipped heathen fiends: ” he had a coat of mail on which no steel would bite ” ; he was both tall and strong, and his black locks were so long that he tucked them under his belt. These two vikings, Broder and Amiaff, who had a great fleet with 2,000 ” Dan- markians ” are described as ” the chiefs of ships and outlaws and Danars of all the west of Europe, having no reverence for God or for man, for church or for sanctuary.”
There came also 1,000 men covered with coats of mail from head to foot: a very formidable phalanx seeing that the Irish fought as usual in tunics. Envoys were despatched in other directions also; and Norse auxili- aries sailed towards Dublin from Scotland, from the Isles of Shetland, from the Hebrides, from France and Germany, and from the shores of Scandinavia.
