The Contested Isle Ch 7

Chapter 7: The Liberty of Meath

Meath is the fifth and smallest of the provinces of Ireland. Also called the Kingdom of Mide, from the Irish word for “middle,” it has a significance far beyond its small size, and hence is ranked as a province rather than just another kingdom.

Meath was founded in ancient times by Túathal Techtmar, son of a High-King of Ireland. When the four kings of the provinces rebelled against his father, his pregnant mother Eithne (who may be the same as Bóinn, who is also known by that name) fled to Scotland. The king of Ulster became High King, but for two decades a great famine devastated the whole of Ireland, until Túathal returned with an army to retake the throne, fighting many epic battles against the kings of all the four provinces. Once he had conquered the whole of Ireland, he convened a meeting of the kings at the Hill of Tara, where he established laws and created Meath, a new province around Tara. Meath was henceforth to be the sole demesne of the High-Kings of Ireland, the fifth province.

In the late fifth century the ruling Uí Enechglaiss were forced in to exile south to Arklow, where they can still be found, and the Uí Mael Sechlainn took possession of the region, providing several high-kings. The Uí Mael Sechlainn are often known as the Southern Uí Néill. They too have been forced to flee following the arrival of the English. In 1172, the last King of Meath was deposed and the kingdom was granted to Hugh de Lacy, who held the territory until his death in 1186 despite falling from favor with King Henry II. Tighearnán Ua Ruairc, King of Bréifne, disputed the claim but was killed, so Hugh’s son Walter de Lacy eventually took possession of Meath and it is an English possession today.

What is a Liberty? Meath, the kingdom of Leinster and the earldom of Ulster are all Liberties, meaning the administration is run by the English crown through an appointee, who is Walter de Lacy in the case of Meath. De Lacy has the right to collect revenues for the king and administer justice, and he himself is subject to the Justiciar of Ireland. At this time the wool and cereals produced in the Liberties are sufficient to create a surplus for the English crown, but even so the king looks askance at the power of his great nobles in Ireland, and frequently takes hostages for their good conduct from among their sons, and at times orders them to serve in England or France or grants their estates to others, to prevent any growing too powerful. Justice in the Liberties has, since 1217, been in the form of itinerant justices, judges who progress around the country presiding over Assizes based upon English Common Law. Irish who are involved in case must find a translator, and have little hope in the unfamiliar judicial system, while their testimony is rarely considered equal to that of an English witness. Among the Irish traditional Brehon Laws are observed, and the assizes are seen as instruments of oppression and protection of English privilege.

Drogheda-in-Meath

This is an exclusively English settlement and strongly garrisoned. Hugh de Lacy built the new walled town; Walter de Lacy built the stone castle overlooking the town on the hillside to the south. A thriving port, the town stands on both banks of the River Boyne, with Drogheda-in-Airgialla across the river to the north. Ships landing here are subject to inspection for wines by the agents of Theobald Butler, as well as customs and imposts due to Walter de Lacy. Despite this, there is continual traffic in and out of the port from Scandinavia and Iceland as well as the British Isles.

Mellifont Abbey

Standing near Drogheda is Mellifont, the most important Cistercian abbey in Ireland. Founded by Saint Malachy of Armagh in 1140 on land granted by the King of Meath, it is the mother house to the abbeys at Bective and Baltinglass and 23 other Cistercian houses throughout Ireland. Its first abbot, Saint Christian, did much to reform monasticism even outside of the Cistercian Order and worked carefully with the Irish reformers to achieve the introduction of the diocesan system and the decline in power of the paruchia. Ironically the abbot of Mellifont developed influence as great as any comarba of the paruchia system, and in 1154 Donnchadh Ua Maeleachlainn, King of Meath, was excommunicated and exiled; his brother, Diarmaid, was made king in his place at the instigation of the abbot and a synod called at Mellifont.

With one hundred monks and three hundred lay brothers, Mellifont dominates the Cistercians in Ireland, and yet all is not well. In recent years tension has developed between Irish monks and English Cistercians following the invasion, and something darker has occurred. Rumors of corruption and debauchery have reached Citeaux in France, mother house of all Cistercian monasteries, and in 1216 a visitation was sent from that house to restore order in Ireland and ensure the Rule was faithfully observed. On arrival, the gates of the monastery were shut against them, and the monks of Mellifont denied their superiors access.

Nothing like this has been known before, and it has sent shockwaves through the monastic communities of Mythic Europe. The event has become known as the “Conspiracy of Mellifont,” and while the abbot Thomas was nominally deposed by the Cistercian general chapter in Citeaux in 1217, he is still in office in Mellifont, backed by the daughterhouses and his monks. The Cistercians are preparing to send a deputation to restore discipline and expel the guilty abbots, and even the papacy may become involved, but a long and dark struggle may be ahead.

Story Seed: The Conspiracy of Mellifont The monks of Mellifont have done something quite incredible — rejecting the authority of their Order. While the reasons may lie in something as prosaic as the tensions between the Irish and English, or even their enjoyment of a sexually and morally lax lifestyle far outside of the strictness demanded by the Cistercian Rule, there may however be darker reasons behind the revolt that may drive stories. The Church, page 94 XXX, gives details on the Cistercian Order and gives one possibility for how they may have been corrupted infernally, though storyguides may choose their own explanation for the events afflicting the Irish Cistercians. One possibility is that the abbey’s granges hold the key to events. The area of the Brú na Bóinne has been divided into granges, monastic farms worked by the monks and lay brothers, and carefully farmed with both sheep and crops. There are nine granges, each equivalent to a manor, built with one eye to defense: farm buildings and barns are built around the perimeter of each grange, and on high spots, many of which include ancient sidhs and ráths. Could the monks working among the ancient barrows and sacred places have stumbled upon some ancient magical secret?

The Brú na Bóinne

The Brú na Bóinne is a great plain of sidhs, stones and dolmens covering nearly two thousand acres on the bend of the River Boyne. The Boyne curves round the site, bordering it to the south, west and east, and the site was until recently untouched, overgrown and largely forgotten. Now the monks of Mellifont have built their granges across the site, with nine substantial farms. The forty sidhs are much more visible, and perhaps the faeries sleeping within stir in their slumbers. Many of the stones and some ancient animal bones and fragments of slate bear curious inscriptions in a completely unknown language. If collected and somehow translated these may well reveal insights into the ancient mysteries once practiced here. (See Ancient Magic for ideas on how such research can be conducted in your game and the resulting discoveries incorporated into Hermetic magic.) The area has a bewilderingly complex array of Magic and Faerie auras that appear to both vary in strength and move around the site, and no Hermetic magus has yet discovered the secret of what causes these fluctuations. The Hibernian magi largely ignore the place, for they know it is dangerous to pry, lest the Tuatha De who sleep here are awakened. The site was built by the Dagdha, and Bóinn is frequently encountered here, but it is the abode of their son Aonghus who won it by a trick from his father. Aonghus is indeed a dangerous entity to meddle with (see Chapter 11.)

The Cistercian granges are sometimes built on top of the sidhs, and the monks labor among the stones tending their fields and flocks. The most impressive sidh, home to Aonghus, lies at the latest Cistercian farm: New Grange.

Story Seed: The Haunting of New Grange Close to the grange lies a massive sidh, a mound coming to be called Newgrange after the farm. The lay brothers who work on the farm have reported all kinds of eerie and terrifying experiences, and have been many times witness to the destructing of the crops by trooping faeries. The Abbey of Mellifont has more serious problems with its revolt against the Cistercian Order and the authority of Citeaux, but now the steward and his family have vanished from the farmhouse (grange) one summer evening, and Abbot Thomas realizes he must seek help immediately. Can the characters save the monks from the wrath of Aonghus and the depredations of trooping faeries?

The Hill of Tara

Of tremendous significance in terms of Irish history and royal authority, the Hill of Tara is a place alive in the imaginations of the Irish, and endlessly retold in their stories. Yet Tara in 1220 slumbers undisturbed; the site itself, while famous throughout the island, lies neglected and overgrown.

The Uí Mael Sechlainn termed themselves the Kings of Tara, at least until the kingdom was taken by de Lacy in 1172, but it was a ceremonial title. While Tara was of great importance in the past, in the sixth century Saint Ruadán cursed King Diarmait with a prophecy that he would die in his own hall here, after Diarmait took several men from sanctuary in Ruadán’s church. Diarmait’s hall duly caught fire and a beam fell and killed him exactly as the saint had predicted. From that time it was said no hall could be raised at Tara, owing to the power of the saint’s curse. Here faeries play out the ancient stories, such as that of Áillen mac Midgna burning the hall and Fionn mac Cumhaill driving him off, but mortals rarely choose to visit the place now. Rarely, but not never, for every seven years Tara is home to the Tribunal of Hibernia, where Hermetic magi mingle with representatives of the Coill Tri and powerful magical and faerie beings.

The Hill of Tara is a wide and shallow mound encircled by a ditch, the remains of an ancient ring fort. The hill is surrounded by several smaller ráths and other ancient and magical features. It is a highly magical place with a level 6 Magic aura over the whole complex with the exception of a mound called the Mound of Hostages. This belongs to the Tuatha De and has a Faerie aura of level 7. As per the rules on page 15 XXX of Realms of Power: Magic, the aura is aligned with a Respectful aspect, providing a Respectful +2 Personality Trait to those present. Every Samhain when the sacred fires were once kindled here the auras increase by 2.

The greatest of the Kings of Tara was Cormac mac Airt. Cormac ruled here centuries ago, and Fionn mac Cumhail often served him. His reign was a time of great prosperity, and many of the earthworks on the hill are remains of the great halls and monuments of his time.

The Legend of King Conaire Tara was the palace of King Conaire, born of a mysterious man who came to his mother in the form of a bird. As a result Conaire had a geas that he could never harm a bird. When the time came for the bull feast at Tara, where the King would be elected by laying with a bull, Conaire set off in his chariot but was pursued by great birds. He raced ahead of them, until his horse was exhausted, whereupon the birds turned in to men and reminded him of his geas. They set him several more such magical restrictions and told him he must proceed naked to Tara where he would become King. On arrival he was hailed as fulfilling an omen seen by the chief druid, of a naked man riding in to Tara, and made king. His reign was prosperous, but he came to break several of the geassa lad upon him by the mysterious shapechangers. He was betrayed and killed in a terrible fight by three brothers he had sent into exile.

The Hill of Tlachtga

This ráth holds the sleeping daughter of Mug Ruith, the faerie druidess Tlachtga. Mug Ruith still visits from time to time in his fabulous flying machine, and his daughter sometimes leaves her sidh to converse with mortals who stray on to the hill.

Her story is tragic. When her father was learning magics from Simon Magus she was his research assistant in the creation of his magical flying device. One night she was raped by Simon and fled home to Ireland, causing her father’s break with the Magus before he was killed by Saint Paul. It was here that Tlachtga gave birth to triplets — Doirb, Cumma, and Muach, the offspring of that crime — before entering the hill and withdrawing from the world.

She is remembered at Samhain, when the druids lit sacred fires upon the hill, and this was one of the royal sites of Meath. A great ráth guards the hilltop, and in 1168, Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair mustered a huge gathering here, but Tlachtga did not emerge on that occasion. In 1171, it was Tighearnán Ua Ruairc, King of Bréifne who came here to a parley with the English under Hugh de Lacy. De Lacy had been granted Meath, a claim Tighearnán hotly disputed. Under a flag of truce the two approached and began discussions, when a fight suddenly broke out and de Lacy’s interpreter was cut down. De Lacy fled; his men speared and killed Tighearnán as he tried to mount his horse in what may well have been a conspiracy to assassinate him. Despite all of this, Tlachtga did not wake.

Tailten

Tailtu was a Spanish princess who married the last Fir Bolg High-King, Eochaid mac Eirc. Eochaid mac Eirc built his capital here, but it was destroyed after he was killed fighting the Tuatha Dé Danann invasion, and nothing remains of it, though it remains an important site for the Uí Néill. Tailtu was captured by Tuatha Dé Danann, and became foster mother of Lugh. She then cleared the plains of Ireland of forests to allow for the growing of crops, but the effort killed her, and she was buried here on Lammas, 1st August, amidst great mourning.

Tailten Fair is held here every year to commemorate Tailtu and the original games held between the Fir Bolg and Tuatha Dé Danann before they resorted to battle. It is a joyous and ribald occasion as well as one of the few great markets of Ireland. Wrestling, horse racing, exotic trade goods, and luxuries can be found here every Lammas, and Tailten Marriages, temporary marriages that lasted for a year and a day, were contracted here, until the English and the Irish Church reformers declared them illegal just a few years ago to great popular disgust. The site has a Magic aura of 3 during the day, and a Faerie aura of 3 at night, an unusual condition.

Kells

Not to be confused with Kells in Leinster, this town was briefly the center of a short-lived diocese, but is best known for the monastery founded by Saint Columba, with its church founded by Saint Patrick. The town has grown up around the abbey in typical Irish style. It is ruled by the abbot, who is comarba Columcille, that is, head of the paruchia of Saint Columba. Ironically it was here that the power of the comarba was broken by the synod of Kells that began here in 1152, though swiftly transferring to Mellifont, as it reformed the Irish church on a diocesan rather than a monastic basis.

The monastery contains two famous books. One is the scathach of the Ó Domhnaill clan, a fine ancient psalter, carried by them in to battle and placed here for safe keeping by a scion of that Donegal clan. The other is the famous Book of Kells.

The Book of Kells The Book of Kells is believed by some to have been written by Saint Columba, but Gerald of Wales was correct when he said it was written by an angel in Heaven. The book is a beautifully illuminated copy of the Gospels, written in Latin in Irish miniscule, and a book any magus would treasure if he could possess it. It is, however, closely guarded after a theft in the 11th century. The Book of Kells is a Quality 9 summa with a Level of 5 in Theology and 3 in Dominion Lore if studied, and may have other secrets.

Bective Abbey

This is a strong Cistercian house overlooking the River Boyne. Hugh de Lacy is buried here. The monks of Bective are more hospitable to travelers than many Cistercian houses. It is a daughter house of Mellifont Abbey and is currently involved in the Conspiracy of Mellifont, supporting their mother house against the Cistercian Order.

Trim

This is home to the Cenél Lóegairi tuath. An ancient church here was founded by Saint Patrick, and twice burned (in 1008 and 1127) by enemies of those seeking sanctuary within. Despite these atrocities the church of St. Lommán was rebuilt, together with an Augustinian abbey dedicated to Saint Mary by Saint Malachy in 1140.

The town is best known for its castle, the largest stone castle in Ireland; it was built by Walter de Lacy as a center for the administration of Meath. A massive fortification built upon a hill, it replaced the earlier ringwork castle built by his father and destroyed by the Irish. Walter de Lacy can frequently be found here, together with his retinue, and it was the site of an unusual event recently: the story of the Three Sisters of Trim.

Delvin

A stone castle was built here by Hugh de Lacy, and granted to his brother-in-law Sir Gilbert Nugent who took the title 1st Baron Delvin. Sir Gilbert’s son Richard, known as Richard de Capella (“Richard of the horses”) now holds the title of 2nd Baron, and as his name suggests he is known for his love of horse breeding. A fine horse market occurs here annually, and Richard sponsors horse races open to any person with a fine horse, with generous prizes of even finer horses or, for exceptional horsemen, a place at his court and perhaps knighthood.

Clonmacnoise

Situated on the east bank of the River Shannon, Clonmacnoise is one of the most famous ancient monastic sites in Ireland, on the border of Connacht and Meath. The stone cathedral was built in 909 by the high-king, and the last High-King of Ireland, Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, was buried here in 1198. The community which grew up around the abbey has many other fine churches, however. Temple Melaghlin was built in 1200 by the southern Uí Néill (the Uí Mael Sechlainn), who had settled follow the usurpation of the crown of Meath by Hugh de Lacy in 1172, and remains the church of the royal dynasty. They also built the small church by the Shannon, a Romanesque structure with a fine bell tower which houses one of the ancient sacred bells of Ireland and Temple Connor. The nearby Nun’s Church was endowed in 1160 by Derbforgaill, wife of Tighearnán Mór Ua Ruairc, whose abduction by Diarmait gave her the nickname “Helen of Ireland.” The final church ringing the cathedral is the oldest, the burial place of St. Ciaran, and pilgrims may visit his tomb here, and then offer prayers in each of the churches as has become the custom.

Clonmacnoise is a bustling town, but a place of peace and sanctity despite the schemes of the Uí Mael Sechlainn to reclaim the throne of Meath. The whole town unusually has a high Dominion aura of 3, higher in the cemetery and near the three great stone crosses which stand in the streets. Above the town on the hillside the English have built a small stone keep.

The Crosses of Clonmacnoise

One of the three high Celtic crosses which stand thirteen to fifteen foot tall in Clonmacnoise, the North Cross, is unusual in that the stone shaft bears an ancient pagan image of Cernunnos, a Celtic fertility god. The stone’s original aura may reassert itself if it is moved from Clonmacnoise, but doing so would arouse the ire of the whole countryside against the thieves. The other two great crosses, the South Cross and the Cross of the Scriptures both have carvings of conventional Biblical scenes, but are of exquisite craftsmanship.

The Faerie Stone

Another curiosity of Clonmacnoise are several large boulders of yellow sandstone. One of them bears inscriptions in the same odd symbols as found at the Brú na Bóinne, and the marks of a pair of human feet left in the rock. It is said locally to be the entrance to faerie fort, and is also known as the Horseman’s Stone after a legend that a horseman in golden armor rides out and across the countryside on Midsummer night, the Feast of John the Baptist. The rider has not been seen for centuries, however, possibly because the priests of Clonamcnoise hold a procession to the rock and a blessing on that day. Twenty years ago Josiane of Merinita, a maga of the Normandy Tribunal, used Terram magics to shrink the rock and attempted to steal it for study in her laboratory. She hastened away with it securely loaded on a mule, but in the morning the rock was gone, and on returning to Clonmacnoise she found it just where she had first seen it. Perhaps wisely she did not make a second attempt.

The Hill of Uisneach

The Hill of Uisneach (OOSH-nakh) marks the mystical center of Ireland, and is the point where all five provinces — Ulster, Meath, Leinster, Munster, and Connacht — meet at the Ail na Míreann, the Stone of Division. The stone forms an Arcane Connection to the five provinces, if anyone were audacious enough to attempt a spell that effects a whole province. It also provides a x3 Sympathetic Magic modifier. Here the druids lit a great fire at Bealtaine, which could be seen as far as Tara, marking the beginning of the festival across Ireland. It was here also that the Milesians met Ériu, Banba, and Fódla, and Ériu’s name was given to the island. Saint Brigid took her vows to become a nun here, and those to become a bishop. Many of the Tuatha Dé Danann sleep beneath the many sidh on the site. Many of the stones that form Stonehenge were stolen from the site by the druid Merlin, and to this day the site has a powerful Magic aura of 5.

The stone is a traditional place for swearing oaths and making treaties that govern the whole Tribunal, and the potent aura led to the founding of a covenant here in the early days of the Order in Hibernia, but it vanished one summer’s eve without a trace, and now the only records of its existence are fragmentary, even its name forgotten. Folk stories speak of a powerful magician who sought to rule all others in Ireland, but who broke a geas and was for his hubris taken by the Good Folk. The truth remains obscure. It seems likely that one day another covenant will rise upon the site.

The Eiscir Riada An eiscir, Anglicized as esker, is an embankment of sand and gravel that runs sometimes for several miles above the flat plains and watery bogs of central Ireland. Some say they were roads built by the Fomórach, Fir Bolg, or Tuatha Dé Danann, whereas others believe they were dragons turned to dirt when Saint Patrick expelled the serpents from Ireland. Whatever their cause, their elevation of up to fifty feet above the surrounding marshy terrain has led to their use as highways since ancient times. The most famous is the Eiscir Riada, with the Great Highway (An tSlí Mhór) running along the top from Durrow Abbey to Clonmacnoise. The Eiscir Riada is the diving line between Conn’s Half to the north and Mogha’s Half to the south.

Attribution

Based on the material for Ars Magica, ©1993-2024, licensed by Trident, Inc. d/b/a Atlas Games®, under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license 4.0 ("CC-BY-SA 4.0). Ars Magica Open License Logo ©2024 Trident, Inc. The Ars Magica Open License Logo, Ars Magica, and Mythic Europe are trademarks of Trident, Inc., and are used with permission. Order of Hermes, Tremere, Doissetep, and Grimgroth are trademarks of Paradox Interactive AB and are used with permission.