19

THE DANISH WARS.

WE shall now enter on one of the most calamitous events in the early history of Ireland-the invasion of the Danes. They came from Scandinavia, which comprised Norway, Sweden, and that extensive range west of the gulf of Bothnia, originally possessed by two Asiatic tribes, the Goths and Swedes. From the Goths sprung a colony headed by Dan, from whom they took the name of Danes. Having invaded France, England, and Scotland, they now turned their thoughts to Ireland. They were aided in their predatory and piratical excursions by their king, who participated in the spoil, and received a large share of the booty. They were expert mariners, and unscrupulous marauders; and their cold, sterile, and overpeopled country furnished an inexhaustible supply of bold and warlike adventurers, ready to undertake any enterprise in search of plunder. Their incursions were alike ruinous to all classes; they

burned towns, monasteries, and churches, and wantonly massacred the inoffensive and unarmed inhabitants of the country. Such were the Danes who landed on the coast of Munster in the year seven hundred and ninety-eight, when Airtre was king of that province. He col

lected his forces, and drove them to their ships, with great slaughter. It is said that they left no less than four hundred dead on the field of battle. In a few years after they made a similar descent on the eastern coast, where they spread dismay and terror in every direction. They pillaged the celebrated abbey of Bangor, killed the bishop, massacred the monks, and carried off immense booty. Encouraged by their success, and allured by the prospect of fresh plunder, Turgesius, son of the king of Norway, made a more formidable descent on the northern coast, where he plundered the church of Armagh, destroyed the university, and massacred such of the students as were unable to make their escape. He stationed his ships in Lough Neagh and in the Shannon, and was soon sufficiently established to assume unlimited authority in the country. Hugh VI., then supreme monarch of Ireland, paid little or no attention to the progress he was making, but led his army into

Leinster, to subdue some refractory chieftains, and seemed to emulate the wanton cruelty of the Danes, in devastating the land, and pillaging the unarmed and helpless inhabitants.

His successor, Connor, had to contend against still more serious difficulties. The Danes had more extensive settlements, and augmented their numbers by large reinforcements; they were, however, vigorously assailed by Connor, who gained several victories over them, but so inexhaustible were their resources, and so overwhelming their reinforcements after each defeat, that all his efforts were unavailing, and we are told that he died in the year eight hundred and thirty-three, of grief and vexation, and was succeeded by Nial.

A large fleet now arrived, with considerable reinforcements, under the command of Turgesius, and extensive portions of Ulster, Connaught, and Leinster were devastated by their barbarous incursions. They burned the celebrated cathedral of Cluan Mac Noisk, on the banks of the Shannon, seized Armagh, and expelled the bishop and the students of the university. They now formed settlements in Dublin, Waterford, Cork, and Limerick, and constructed raths throughout the country.

Nial, impressed with the necessity of stemming the progress of his powerful and unscrupulous invaders, collected his forces, and took the field against them; gave them battle at Doire, in Ulster, and again at Tirconnell, and gained complete victories over them; but, unhappily, did not long survive his glorious success. Intending to cross the river at Callan, which had been raised above its ordinary level by a recent flood, he ordered one of his officers to try the ford. In making the attempt he was borne away by the violence of the current, and thrown from his horse. Nial, impelled by a generous anxiety for the safety of his attendant, dashed forward, but on approaching the river, the bank, which was worn away by the stream, yielded beneath his horse's feet, and the heroic Nial was precipitated into the river, and drowned in the presence of his victorious troops.

Malachi I. was the successor of Nial. He was a weak prince, quite unequal to contend against Turgesius, or to overcome the difficulties he had to encounter, and yet he attained, by stratagem, what no power within his reach seemed likely to accomplish. Turgesius was every day gaining additional strength, and

governed with despotic tyranny. He appointed governors, quartered soldiers on the people, imposed an annual tax of an ounce of gold on the head of each family, and in default of payment, cut off their noses; hence it got the name of Airgiod Srone (nose money).

The churches and monasteries were either converted into pagan temples or burned; all social intercourse was forbidden, and the people were even constrained to wear a prescribed form of dress. Such was the tyranny of this barbarian when he considered his authority established, and his power irresistible.

Turgesius, who only acknowledged Malachi as king of Meath, had a magnificent palace in the immediate neighbourhood of the fallen monarch, and having seen and admired his beautiful daughter Melcha, did not hesitate to demand her as a concubine. Malachi, who secretly resolved on revenge, feigned compliance, and promised that she should attend at the palace of Turgesius, accompanied by a suitable train of female attendants, and having selected fifteen young men, on whose courage and determination he could safely rely, sent them to escort Melcha, disguised as females,