SCOTS-IRISH WARRIORS

An extract from The Armies and Enemies of Imperial Rome
by Phil Barker & Ian Heath


104, 105, 106 & 107.      SCOTS-IRISH WARRIORS

Not content with almost incessant warfare between their various petty kingdoms at home, the Scots of Ireland increasingly raided the western coasts of Britain during the 4th century. Permanent settlements were made in Pembrokeshire and later Galloway, the emigrants to the latter finally spreading out to conquer and amalgamate with the Picts in about 850.

104 is a chieftain. He wears a semi-circular cloak with fringed edge, fastened at the shoulder with a large bronze and enamel brooch. Cloak colours mentioned in early Irish poetry include green, dark grey, purple, black, red, red-brown, pied, yellow, dun and many coloured. Under his tunic he wears an unbelted tunic. This would most likely be dyed a light yellow with saffron, this being held to discourage lice, but could also be white or red-brown with a contrasting border or stripes. His hair and beard are uncut and uncombed. He carries his scabbarded sword in his hand. At home, he would normally fight from a chariot with javelins and shield.

105 is a lower ranking member of the warrior aristocracy that had imposed itself on the previous population and was the dominant type among the mixture that went to make up the warband. His hair is fair or reddish. He is armed with javelins, short sword and a small leather shield reinforced with bronze studs and boss. His saffron-dyed tunic has been pulled up through his belt to shorten it. His cloak is rather more likely to be of dark natural wool than dyed, but richer individuals might have one dyed in one of the cloak colours mentioned above. The cloak has small tufts sewn to it at intervals. Such men would provide the chariot warriors at home as well as the bulk of the foot warband. However, it is doubtful if the hide covered Curraghs used for sea raiding had room for many chariots, if any.

106 wears the dress associated with the lower classes, believed to be descended from previous inhabitants of Ireland. His hair is dark. He wears short trews which could be dark natural wool, bleached wool, or striped in bright colours. His only other garment is an open jacket which could be brown or black dark natural wool or dyed red. He has the usual armament of short sword, round parrying shield and javelins.

107 is a variant of 105 carrying the large convex basketwork and leather shield favoured in Ulster. Like the other Irish shields, its leather was sometimes dyed one colour overall, but was never painted with designs.

At this period, the Irish made no use of cavalry or archers. They may possibly have used a few slingers.