I plan on covering that at some time although a lot of the information on those warriors is part myth so it's hard to decipher what is fact and fiction
Thank you , kind sir .Anyone know what the Gae Bolg was , or how it was used in battle ? What did it look like and was it a particularly Irish weapon ? I can only imagine that it was a type of barbed discus . Throwing things must have played a large part in most cultures , both to hunt and defend .
@@olanneeson3990 no idea and it's a mythical item with a ton of conjecture around it. It's unfortunate more information was not written as to what it was but sadly we may never know.
One thing I have always been curious on while researching into Irish history (be it in the martial aspect or everyday clothing/life) is more details of Irish history during the high middle ages leading up to the Renaissance. Whenever you look up Irish history, it either tells you of the ancient Celts, Viking raids, or the period during the Renaissance. The more I research on that topic, the more questions it raises.
The main reasons for that period in between lacking any real information is mainly down to the norman conquest and the subsequent Bruce invasion. Which also conincided with one of the worst famines in Ireland during the medieval period. By the time we reach the renaissance period much of the information we have is from foreign sources eg the picture in the thumbnail. I often wonder how much was simply destroyed or lost or perhaps written in Irish and simply sitting somewhere.
Please look into the McGrogan Papers, it used to be something that only kin had, but can now be found online. But it’s the story of two brothers Grogan who’d gotten captured and imprisoned by the British until they killed their guard & hightailed their arse’s up to Scotland which is when the Mc was added to the Grogan name and not for the normal reason, they were on the lamb and had to be incognito in each & every way possible!!! Welp the brothers, now McGrogan found their way across “the pond” and we’re pretty much scattered throughout northern New England basically Maine and Boston areas, but are predominantly thickly spread across Pennsylvania mostly in the Pittsburgh area and Northern panhandle of West Virginia. But the story itself is a good read and we McGrogan’s are kickin it as well as possible these days. Now what I found absolutely amazing was how the Irish warriors didn’t wear shoes and that in itself is just intriguing being that I’m married into the family and my fathers side comes from the mountains of West Virginia and as a societal dig we’d get mocked for running around shoeless, which anyone w/worth their heritage of an Irish bloodline could never be so shallow to take those kinds of people seriously, we’ve always been taught to take that mentality w/a grain of salt & have your way when the time presents itself. So glad I found your channel & can’t wait to catch up on vids I missed & see all new ones to come!!! And thank you 🙏🏻 so very much for putting our ancestral history out here into the interzones!!! Heck I had to teach myself the local history of my own area after I got done in school, so sad & how it appears the EU thinks nobody’s noticed them importing as many Eastern European’s & Albanians that equals the same # of natural Irish with that lame excuse about pensions. Alrighty I’m done & sorry about the mini biography but I’m old school and can’t break my 🖊 & 📄 style of writing, can’t change a tigers stripes as my grandparents used to say
Your channel is something i've hoped to see for a long time as a hema-ist interested in their irish heritage. Quick linguistic question. Is the term Kern, in its original form related to the Scottish Cateran? Cheers! Keep it up.
@@stuffguru I am genuinely honoured to hear you say that I was not sure if htis channel would be in any way popular but I have been amazed by the positive reception. Please feel free to share the videos.
The Icelandic horse is basically what all horses in North / Western Europe looked like a thousand years ago. But this breed became extinct in the rest of Europe after the importation of foreign breeds. Irish archeologists have measured the skeleton remains of horses from Viking Dublin and rural Ireland, here is the measurements, quote from "the horse in early Ireland by Finbar McCormick - "The average horse shoulder height in Viking Dublin is 129.6 cm compared with 130.7 cm in rural Ireland." This was the average height of a horse in Western and Northern Europe a thousand years ago. The original purpose of this horse was transport. They had to be hardy, surefooted, brave, intelligent and travel long distances over rough ground. A practical little trail horse that was very comfortable to ride. As you know, the topography in much of Ireland at that time was very wild. These horses were the all terrain vehicle of that time. And they are still used for this purpose in Iceland. This is the only breed in the world with five gaits. They are probably the oldest breed in the world because the Icelanders banned the importation of other horses about one thousand years ago. This horse breed is like a genetic time capsule.
That's a tough question to answer though Irish soldiers at the time ranged in ages some were professionals who would be older and some were essentially militias for local lords so could be of all ages.
@@lusolad I got a full set made from them for a very reasonable price. They will customise any work you need done with a good turn around time so I would reccomend them for sure.
Some were many were from western Scotland and the Isle of Man. Though with time they settled in Ireland and the term just came to refer to this type of heavy infantry.
@@MickGlennon by this stage while a lot of the ruling class in England did still speak French or have ties to France they were distinctly different to their noman ancestors.
@@ramblingkern Only trying to help Nathan. But, using the term "British" will/may upset the Scots and Welsh. I'm sure folks can understand the term "English" well enough. anyway, keep up the good work.
@@cooldaddy2877 vast majority of Welsh are proud to and do identify as British and see themselves as true brits unlike Anglos who are more recent arrivals. Scotland it’s more like 50/50 who do and don’t. It was actually the Scots that established the kingdom of Great Britain. Scottish history isn’t just braveheart.
It would be a good idea for you to cover the rites of passage for a Fenian warrior in Ancient Ireland.
I plan on covering that at some time although a lot of the information on those warriors is part myth so it's hard to decipher what is fact and fiction
Nice job! Don’t know why you showed up in my suggestions. May be my ancestors seeking my understanding. Glad you did.
Glad you are enjoying the content.
Fantastic content! Thanks again!
Thank you for the support.
Love this Nathan! Thanks so much
Thank you for the support Andy.
Good timing! I just got interested in Irish warfare via the Durer image. An informative video, thank you
I am glad you like the content the Durer image is a controversial one but a lot of fun and interesting topics and videos to come
Really nice introduction to the Kern. Love looking at the sources whilst you're talking through the details. Looking forward to the weapons video
Thank you mate I plan on going into all of their arms and clothing as well as some work on testing them out too.
Thank you , kind sir .Anyone know what the Gae Bolg was , or how it was used in battle ? What did it look like and was it a particularly Irish weapon ? I can only imagine that it was a type of barbed discus . Throwing things must have played a large part in most cultures , both to hunt and defend .
@@olanneeson3990 no idea and it's a mythical item with a ton of conjecture around it. It's unfortunate more information was not written as to what it was but sadly we may never know.
One thing I have always been curious on while researching into Irish history (be it in the martial aspect or everyday clothing/life) is more details of Irish history during the high middle ages leading up to the Renaissance.
Whenever you look up Irish history, it either tells you of the ancient Celts, Viking raids, or the period during the Renaissance. The more I research on that topic, the more questions it raises.
The main reasons for that period in between lacking any real information is mainly down to the norman conquest and the subsequent Bruce invasion. Which also conincided with one of the worst famines in Ireland during the medieval period. By the time we reach the renaissance period much of the information we have is from foreign sources eg the picture in the thumbnail. I often wonder how much was simply destroyed or lost or perhaps written in Irish and simply sitting somewhere.
Great to hear stuff about Kerns.You always hear about the Gallowglass but little on them.Cheers mate.
Please look into the McGrogan Papers, it used to be something that only kin had, but can now be found online. But it’s the story of two brothers Grogan who’d gotten captured and imprisoned by the British until they killed their guard & hightailed their arse’s up to Scotland which is when the Mc was added to the Grogan name and not for the normal reason, they were on the lamb and had to be incognito in each & every way possible!!! Welp the brothers, now McGrogan found their way across “the pond” and we’re pretty much scattered throughout northern New England basically Maine and Boston areas, but are predominantly thickly spread across Pennsylvania mostly in the Pittsburgh area and Northern panhandle of West Virginia. But the story itself is a good read and we McGrogan’s are kickin it as well as possible these days. Now what I found absolutely amazing was how the Irish warriors didn’t wear shoes and that in itself is just intriguing being that I’m married into the family and my fathers side comes from the mountains of West Virginia and as a societal dig we’d get mocked for running around shoeless, which anyone w/worth their heritage of an Irish bloodline could never be so shallow to take those kinds of people seriously, we’ve always been taught to take that mentality w/a grain of salt & have your way when the time presents itself. So glad I found your channel & can’t wait to catch up on vids I missed & see all new ones to come!!! And thank you 🙏🏻 so very much for putting our ancestral history out here into the interzones!!! Heck I had to teach myself the local history of my own area after I got done in school, so sad & how it appears the EU thinks nobody’s noticed them importing as many Eastern European’s & Albanians that equals the same # of natural Irish with that lame excuse about pensions. Alrighty I’m done & sorry about the mini biography but I’m old school and can’t break my 🖊 & 📄 style of writing, can’t change a tigers stripes as my grandparents used to say
Very interesting, a lot of information. Well done!
Thank you for the kind words
@@ramblingkern You are worth it, and I but tell the truth.
Thanks
Your channel is something i've hoped to see for a long time as a hema-ist interested in their irish heritage. Quick linguistic question. Is the term Kern, in its original form related to the Scottish Cateran? Cheers! Keep it up.
Lmao! Should've waited til the end, question answered. 😅
@@stuffguru I am genuinely honoured to hear you say that I was not sure if htis channel would be in any way popular but I have been amazed by the positive reception. Please feel free to share the videos.
@@ramblingkern i gladly share them. You probably won't find a hungrier fan base for Irish History than us in the diaspora. 😂
@@stuffguru fingers crossed I know that there is a few of you out there 🤣
The Icelandic horse is basically what all horses in North / Western Europe looked like a thousand years ago. But this breed became extinct in the rest of Europe after the importation of foreign breeds. Irish archeologists have measured the skeleton remains of horses from Viking Dublin and rural Ireland, here is the measurements, quote from "the horse in early Ireland by Finbar McCormick - "The average horse shoulder height in Viking Dublin is 129.6 cm compared with 130.7 cm in rural Ireland." This was the average height of a horse in Western and Northern Europe a thousand years ago.
The original purpose of this horse was transport. They had to be hardy, surefooted, brave, intelligent and travel long distances over rough ground. A practical little trail horse that was very comfortable to ride.
As you know, the topography in much of Ireland at that time was very wild. These horses were the all terrain vehicle of that time. And they are still used for this purpose in Iceland. This is the only breed in the world with five gaits. They are probably the oldest breed in the world because the Icelanders banned the importation of other horses about one thousand years ago. This horse breed is like a genetic time capsule.
@@Slievenamon yes they are a fascinating animal for sure
Great content, shame about the audio quality
I have been working to improve it as the channel has progressed.
@@ramblingkern I'm very much looking forward to watching the rest of your content. Too few people going into this aspect of Irish history.
What was the name of that book
Which book are you referring to?
Could you do a video of the kerns load out of weapons
Yes it is coming I plan on doing the weapons individually as well as an overview but it takes time to source them all etc.
How old was your average kern? Was it primarily a younger man's role? Were there middle aged warriors as well?
That's a tough question to answer though Irish soldiers at the time ranged in ages some were professionals who would be older and some were essentially militias for local lords so could be of all ages.
@@ramblingkern in another vide0 you are wearing a leine. Did you make that?
@@lusolad no that was made by spes medieval market I have another style being made by a friend as well.
@@ramblingkern is the medieval market worth buying? I think they sell an ionar as well?
@@lusolad I got a full set made from them for a very reasonable price. They will customise any work you need done with a good turn around time so I would reccomend them for sure.
Where are all the swords now! Did they rott or are just under the earth?
Mostly destroyed, lost or rusted away. There are a few surviving examples but only a handful.
The gallowglass are Irish... 17:29
Some were many were from western Scotland and the Isle of Man. Though with time they settled in Ireland and the term just came to refer to this type of heavy infantry.
Why are you calling them british, they were normans
@@MickGlennon by this stage while a lot of the ruling class in England did still speak French or have ties to France they were distinctly different to their noman ancestors.
A brigand
@@craigmason9893 a bit more than that haha.
In 1399 there was no such thing as British...that was a much later invention.
I have used modern terms in many of my videos so that people can understand what I am referring too.
@@ramblingkern Only trying to help Nathan. But, using the term "British" will/may upset the Scots and Welsh. I'm sure folks can understand the term "English" well enough. anyway, keep up the good work.
@@cooldaddy2877 vast majority of Welsh are proud to and do identify as British and see themselves as true brits unlike Anglos who are more recent arrivals. Scotland it’s more like 50/50 who do and don’t. It was actually the Scots that established the kingdom of Great Britain. Scottish history isn’t just braveheart.
@@TheM41a ? Braveheart isnt history actually.