#4 Historical figure of the week-The Kern and Gallowglass

Now here is a double feature for you since I missed a couple of weeks in the past and These men of valor did fight along side one another.

(Requests are welcome for future historical figures)

 

A Kern was a Gaelic soldier, specifically a light infantryman in Ireland during the Middle Ages. Kerns notably accompanied bands of the mercenary Gallowglass as their light infantry forces, where the Gallowglass filled the need for heavy infantry. This two-tier "army" structure though should not be taken to reflect earlier Irish armies prior to the Norman invasions, as there were more locally trained soldiers filling various roles prior to this. The Gallowglass largely replaced the other forms of infantry though, as more Irish began to train to imitate them, creating Gallowglass of purely Irish origin.There is little evidence to suggest that the kern wore armour, though this point is disputed. They may have sported some form of light armour, perhaps nothing more than a leather coat but they almost certainly did not wear chainmail as there is no evidence that the extensive iron-working industry required to facilitate it existed in Ireland at the time. Kerns were light troops who relied on speed and mobility, often utilizing lightning strike tactics as a force-multiplier to engage much larger formations.The dart was the weapon of choice for the kern, the bow never achieving popularity in the country. Kerns were of great use in the warfare that revolved around cattle raiding in Ireland at the time. Their role was to herd captured cattle away from the enemy territory and to support heavier troops such as the gallowglass. When confronted by English style regiments, the kern would follow enemy troops on their march route, firing on them with darts, javelins, and stones from slings. Occasionally, provided the terrain and timing was right, kerns would move in for close combat. If their opponents broke and ran, they could easily be run down by the swift kern; if the enemy soldiers stood firm they would simply retreat into difficult terrain to renew their harassment later. On occasions where they were pursued into the more difficult terrain of bogs or woods, the hunters risked becoming the hunted as the kern could double back and eliminate isolated groups.

 

The gallowglass were a class of elite mercenary warriors who principally were members of the Norse-Gaelic clans of Scotland between the mid 13th century and late 16th century. As Scots, they were Gaels and shared a common background and language with the Irish, but as they had intermarried with the 10th century Norse settlers of western Scotland, the Irish called them Gall Gaeil "foreign Gaels".Initially they were called over and recruited by the various powerful Irish cheiftans to serve as these "seasonal" mercenaries in the wars of the Irish and the Normans, yet it was mainly in Ulster that they first made their appearance and served. For the native Irish soldiers lacked the heavy body armor, weapons and disciplined professionalism of their Norman adversaries, so in response to such glaring deficiencies as those the proud Irish chieftans had to look to Scotland for the much needed remedy to their desperate situation. Hence the arrival of the much desired Gallowglass. The gallowglass were attractive as a heavy armor trained aristocratic infantry to be relied on as a strong defence for holding a position. Unlike most Irish foot soldiers, who were lower class and less well armored than the typical Irish noble who fought as cavalry. In time there came to be many native Irish gallowglass as the term came to mean a type of warrior rather than an ethnic designation.They were noted for wielding the massive two-handed sparth axe and broadsword or claymore,while also being armed with these razor sharp knives attached to their belts that could be whipped out for much close-quarter stabbing and jabbing---and because the Gallowglass would fight until the death if need be.For armor, the gallowglass wore mail shirts over padded jackets and iron helmets; he was usually accompanied by two boys (like a knight's squires), one of whom carried his throwing spears while the other carried his provisions.Around the middle of the 13th century that the Gallowglass mercenaries started to arrive in Northern Ireland in these succeeding waves and groups, and from that point on all the way through the Middle Ages to the very end of the 1590's they made their terrifying presence and fury felt upon the field of battle as the term Gallowglass eventually became this European by-word meaning "supreme valor and blind savagery", and at the Battle of Monasterneigh in 1579, in the words of the English commander who witnessed their battlefield exploits that day, they "came out to fight as resolutely as the best soldiers in Europe could!" Yet by that point the Gallowglass had become more Irish than Scottish as most of them had been settled in Ireland for generations, thoroughly mixing in with the native populations of whichever area they chose to settle in.

 

Shakespeare mentions the kern and gallowglass in his play Macbeth, although along with other aspects of the play it is an anachronism, as the historical Macbeth lived in the 11th century:

"The merciless Macdonwald,

Worthy to be a rebel, for to that

The multiplying villainies of nature

Do swarm upon him, from the Western isles

Of kerns and gallowglasses is supplied"

Done