The gallowglass or galloglass – from (plural), gallóglach (singular) – were an elite class of mercenary

Mercenary

A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...

 warrior

Warrior

A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...

 who came from Norse-Gaelic

Norse-Gaels

The Norse–Gaels were a people who dominated much of the Irish Sea region, including the Isle of Man, and western Scotland for a part of the Middle Ages; they were of Gaelic and Scandinavian origin and as a whole exhibited a great deal of Gaelic and Norse cultural syncretism...

 clans in the Hebrides

Hebrides

The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive...

 and Highlands

Scottish Highlands

The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...

 of Scotland

Scotland in the High Middle Ages

The High Middle Ages of Scotland encompass Scotland in the era between the death of Domnall II in 900 AD and the death of king Alexander III in 1286...

 between the mid 13th century and late 16th century. As Scots

Scottish people

The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...

, they were Gaels

Gaels

The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....

 and shared a common origin and heritage with the Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

, but as they had intermarried with the 10th century Norse

Norsemen

Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...

 settlers of western Scotland, the Irish called them Gall Gaeil ("foreign Gaels").

They were the mainstay of Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 and Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 warfare before the advent of gunpowder

Gunpowder

Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...

, and depended upon seasonal service with Irish chieftains. A military leader would often choose a gallowglass to serve as his personal aide and bodyguard because, as a foreigner, the gallowglass would be less subject to local feuds and influences.

Names

The term "gallowglass" or "galloglass" is an anglicisation

Anglicisation

Anglicisation, or anglicization , is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, more generally, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character.The term most often refers to...

 of the Irish

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

, gallóglaigh (lit., "foreign young warrior"), incorporating the Celtic word Óglach, which is derived from oac, the Old Irish for "youth" combined with Old Irish lóeg, Proto-Celtic *lāygo, meaning “calf” but later becoming a word for a hero. Encarta

Encarta

Microsoft Encarta was a digital multimedia encyclopedia published by Microsoft Corporation from 1993 to 2009. , the complete English version, Encarta Premium, consisted of more than 62,000 articles, numerous photos and illustrations, music clips, videos, interactive contents, timelines, maps and...

 specifies the plural of gallowglass to be "gallowglasses", but this article assumes that the singular and plural terms are both "gallowglass", as the English term is derived from an Irish plural. Shakespeare uses the form "gallowglasses" in the play Macbeth

Macbeth

The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...

.

History

The first record of gallowglass service under the Irish was in 1259, when Aedh Ó Conchobair, King of Connacht, received a dowry of 160 Scottish warriors from the daughter of the King of the Hebrides. They were organised into groups known as a "Corrughadh", which consisted of about 100 men. In return for military service, gallowglass contingents were given land and settled in Irish lordships, where they were entitled to receive supplies from the local population.

By 1512, there were reported to be fifty-nine groups throughout the country under the control of the Irish nobility. Though initially they were mercenaries, over time they settled and their ranks became filled with native Irish men.

They were noted for wielding the massive two-handed sparth axe (a custom noted by Geraldus Cambrensis to have derived from their Norse heritage) and broadsword or claymore

Claymore

The term claymore refers to the Scottish variant of the late medieval longsword, two-handed swords with a cross hilt, of which the guards were in use during the 15th and 16th centuries.-Terminology:...

 ("claidheamh mór"). For armour, the gallowglass wore mail

Mail

Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...

 shirts over padded jackets and iron helmets; he was usually accompanied by two boys (like a knight's squire

Squire

The English word squire is a shortened version of the word Esquire, from the Old French , itself derived from the Late Latin , in medieval or Old English a scutifer. The Classical Latin equivalent was , "arms bearer"...

s), one of whom carried his throwing spear

Javelin

A Javelin is a light spear intended for throwing. It is commonly known from the modern athletic discipline, the Javelin throw.Javelin may also refer to:-Aviation:* ATG Javelin, an American-Israeli civil jet aircraft, under development...

s while the other carried his provisions.

Shakespeare mentions gallowglass in his play Macbeth

Macbeth

The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...

, although along with other aspects of the play it is an anachronism, as the historical Macbeth

Macbeth of Scotland

Mac Bethad mac Findlaích was King of the Scots from 1040 until his death...

 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

The importation of gallowglass into Ireland was a major factor in containing the Anglo-Norman

Anglo-Norman

The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...

 invasion of the 12th century, as their ranks stiffened the resistance of the Irish lordships. Throughout the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 in Ireland, gallowglass troops were maintained by Gaelic Irish and Hiberno-Norman

Hiberno-Norman

The Hiberno-Normans are those Norman lords who settled in Ireland who admitted little if any real fealty to the Anglo-Norman settlers in England, and who soon began to interact and intermarry with the Gaelic nobility of Ireland. The term embraces both their origins as a distinct community with...

 lords alike. Even the English Lord Deputy of Ireland

Lord Deputy of Ireland

The Lord Deputy was the King's representative and head of the Irish executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and later the Kingdom of Ireland...

 usually kept a company of them in his service. (See Also: Norman Ireland

Norman Ireland

The History of Ireland 1169–1536 covers the period from the arrival of the Cambro-Normans to the reign of Henry VIII of England, who made himself King of Ireland. After the Norman invasion of 1171, Ireland was under an alternating level of control from Norman lords and the King of England...

)

In a paper entitled "A Description of the Power of Irishmen", written early in the 16th century, the Irish forces of Leinster

Leinster

Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...

 are numbered at 522 horse, 5 battalions of gallowglass (gallóglaigh) and 1432 kerne

Kern (soldier)

A Kern was a Gaelic soldier, specifically a light infantryman in Ireland during the Middle Ages.-Linguistic roots:The word kern is an anglicisation of the Middle Irish word ceithern or ceithrenn meaning a collection of persons, particularly fighting men. An individual member is a ceithernach...

, and those of the other provinces were in like proportion. Mac Cárthaigh Mór commanded 40 horse, 2 battalions of gallowglass, and 2000 kerne; the Earl of Desmond

Earl of Desmond

The title of Earl of Desmond has been held historically by lords in Ireland, first as a title outside of the peerage system and later as part of the Peerage of Ireland....

 400 horse, 3 battalions of gallowglass, and 3000 kerne, besides a battalion of crossbowmen and gunners, the smaller chieftains supplying each their quota of men.

In the year 1517, "when the reformacion of the countrye was taken in hand," it was reported that the Irish forces in Thomond

Thomond

Thomond The region of Ireland associated with the name Thomond is County Clare, County Limerick and north County Tipperary; effectively most of north Munster. The name is used by a variety of establishments and organisations located in , or associated with the region...

 were 750 horse, 2324 kerne, and 6 "batayles" of gallowglass, the latter including 60 to 80 footmen harnessed with spears; each of these had a man to bear his harness, some of whom themselves carried spears or bows.

Every kerne had a bow, a 'skieve' or quiver, three spears, a sword, and a skene (Irish scian or Scottish Gaelic sgian), each two of them having a lad to carry their weapons. The horsemen had two horses apiece, some three, the second bearing the 'knave' or his attendant.

The 16th century in Ireland saw an escalation in military conflict, caused by the Tudor conquest of Ireland. Gallowglass fighters were joined by native Irish mercenaries called buanadha (literally "quartered men") and by newer Scottish mercenaries known as "redshanks". The flow of mercenaries into Ireland was such a threat to English occupation that Queen Elizabeth I took steps against them in 1571 - around 700 of them were executed after the first of the Desmond Rebellions

Desmond Rebellions

The Desmond Rebellions occurred in 1569-1573 and 1579-1583 in the Irish province of Munster.They were rebellions by the Earl of Desmond – head of the FitzGerald dynasty in Munster – and his followers, the Geraldines and their allies against the threat of the extension of Elizabethan English...

.

In spite of the increased use of firearms in Irish warfare, gallowglass remained an important part of Hugh Ó Neill's forces in the Nine Years War. After the combined Irish defeat at the Battle of Kinsale in 1601, recruitment of gallowglass waned, although Scottish Highland mercenaries continued to come to Ireland until the 1640s (notably Alasdair Mac Colla). The Gallowglass of the Mac Cárthaigh Riabhaigh are recorded as having attacked Mallow

Mallow

Mallow or Mallows may refer to:Nature:* Malvaceae, family of plants; in particular the following genera:** Abelmoschus** Althaea – Marsh mallow** Callirhoe – Poppy mallow** Corchorus – Jews Mallow, Molokia, Mlukhia...

 in County Cork

County Cork

County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

 as late as 1645.

Images of Gallowglass fighting as mercenaries in European mainland armies were sketched by Dürer in 1521 and later by French and Dutch artists. Gallowglass served in the forces of King Gustav Adolphus of Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 in his invasion of Livonia

Livonia

Livonia is a historic region along the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida...

 during the Thirty Years War.

Legacy

Though the Gallowglass were abolished as military units, their Clan names endure to this day - often concentrated in areas where their ancestors were settled in the service of Irish lordships. The 6 oldest and most famous Gallowglass clans in Ireland along with their places of origin in Argyll, Scotland were:

• Mac Cába (McCabe
  McCabe (surname)
  The surnames McCabe and MacCabe are Irish and Scottish surnames. They are Anglicisations of the Gaelic Mac Cába, a patronymic name meaning "son of Cába". The nickname or personal name Cába is of uncertain origin. The surname can be written in modern Scottish Gaelic as MacCàba and MacCaibe...
  
  ) from Arran
• Mac Domhnaill (MacDonald / McDonnell) from Kintyre and Islay
• Mac Dubhghaill (MacDougall / McDowell) from Lorne
• Mac Ruairí (MacRory) from Bute
• Mac Síthigh (MacSheehy / Sheehy) from Kintyre
• MacSuibhne
  Clan Sweeney
  Clan Sweeney is an Irish clan of Scottish origin. The clan did not permanently settle in Ireland before the beginning of the 14th century, when they became Gallowglass soldiers for the O'Donnell dynasty of Tyrconnell...
  
   (MacSweeney / Sweeney) from Knapdale
• Mac Aodha (McCoy) from Kintyre

The town of Milford, County Donegal

Milford, County Donegal

Milford or Millford, historically called Ballynagalloglagh , is a small town and townland in County Donegal, Ireland. The population at the 2006 census was 829.-History and name:...

, retains in its Irish name, Baile na nGallóglach, a memory of a fight between the English and the MacSuibhnes.

See also

• Celtic warfare
  Celtic warfare
  The history of Celtic warfare spans from c. 10th century BC up to the first few centuries AD and it concerns the distinct styles of warfare of the peoples known as Celts. It concerns the armed conflicts of the Celtic tribes and their kingdoms...
  
  
• Gaelic warfare
  Gaelic warfare
  -Weaponry:Gaels employed a variety of weapons in combat including javelins , harpoons , darts , slings, spears and swords. Javelins and harpoons were used by the wealthiest among them, while less wealthy fighters used slings and darts, although ranged combat was generally disdained in Celtic...
  
  
• Norman Ireland
  Norman Ireland
  The History of Ireland 1169–1536 covers the period from the arrival of the Cambro-Normans to the reign of Henry VIII of England, who made himself King of Ireland. After the Norman invasion of 1171, Ireland was under an alternating level of control from Norman lords and the King of England...
  
  
• Warfare of Scotland in the High Middle Ages
  Warfare of Scotland in the High Middle Ages
  The Scottish army of the High Middle Ages for the purposes of this article pertains to the fighting men and military systems that existed in Scotland between the death of Domnall II in 900, and the death of Alexander III in 1286, which fell before and indirectly led to the military conflict known...
  
  
• Kern (soldier)
  Kern (soldier)
  A Kern was a Gaelic soldier, specifically a light infantryman in Ireland during the Middle Ages.-Linguistic roots:The word kern is an anglicisation of the Middle Irish word ceithern or ceithrenn meaning a collection of persons, particularly fighting men. An individual member is a ceithernach...
  
  

Sources

• G.A. Hayes McCoy, Irish Battles, Appletree Press, Belfast 1990
• Colm Lennon, Sixteenth Century Ireland - the Incomplete Conquest, Gill & MacMillan, Dublin 1994.