Post by Loegaire mac Niell on May 6, 2016 10:43:51 GMT
Of the hundreds of High Kings of Ireland, Niall Noígíallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages) stands out from all the others, not least because he is generally believed to have been a real person. Although many of his recorded exploits are legendary, the domination of the Uí Neill kinships in Ireland up until the Norman conquest imply that he was an incredibly powerful individual, even at a time when the High-Kingship is considered to be a purely legendary construct. He is linked with many raids on Britain and possibly even Gaul. It is also possible that he, or his sons, presided over the exodus of Northern Gaels to Pictland, where they formed the Kingdom of Dal Riada.
The origins of his name are unknown. It is clear he held nine high-ranking hostages. Possibly a way of securing control over the nine kingdoms of Ireland, some sources even claim he had hostages from the Britons, Saxons, Picts and Gauls, though this is unlikely. The most reasonable explanation is that his hostages all came from the powerful Kingdom of the Airgialla (literally translates to ‘Kingdom of Hostages’). This way he would double the size of his army and be able to force the loyalty of other kings through military might.
The Legend
Niall was the youngest son of Eochaid Mugmedon, the High King of Ireland and a direct descendent of Conn of the Hundred Battles – the first Ulaid High-King. Eachaid had two wives. The first was the sister of the King of Munster, called Mongfind, who bore him five sons. The second wife was a Briton Princess named Cairenn (Carina). Whilst pregnant, Cairenn was forced to do manual labour by Mongfind who hoped to force a miscarriage. Cairenn was fetching water from a nearby stream when she went into labour and birthed a son. Young and fearful of reprisals from her rival Queen, she left the baby by the stream to face the elements. Fortunately, the child was found by a poet named Torna and raised as his own. He named the child Niall.
At fourteen years of age, Niall returned to Tara, the ancient High Seat of Kings. He rescued his mother from manual labour, and sought an audience with Eochaid. Mongfind, distraught that there was a child not of her blood, demanded that Eochaid name an heir, hoping it to be one of her sons. Eochaid tasked a druid with this pursuit. The druid challenged the six boys to various tasks, testing their strength, wisdom, humility and seamanship. Niall excelled in all four tasks. In the final and most important challenge, the sons of Eochaid were sent to fetch water from a well. Whilst there they were met by an old hag who demanded a kiss in return for water. Four of the boys refused. Fíachre offered her a peck on the cheek, not enough to satisfy her. Niall was the only one who kissed her properly, upon which she revealed herself to be a beautiful woman named Alexi. Alexi named Niall to be the heir to the Seat of Tara and prophesised that twenty-six of his descendants would also wear the crown. Fíachre was told he too would play an important part in the coming wars, and was told two of his own descendants would be High Kings.
Eochaid accepted the prophecy and named Niall his heir. Mongfind was not satisfied, and she left Tara with the four sons who refused to kiss the hag. In the ensuing war, all four boys were killed, as was Eochaid. Only Niall and Fíachre survived. Mongfind was captured and attempted to poison Niall in a last ditch attempt to get revenge. Niall was too clever and forced her to take a drink first. Obviously, she died, and Niall finally cemented himself as High-King of Ireland.
The Characters
Of course it would be impractical to include all of Niall’s hostages and sons (he had eight, supposedly) in the game. Thus, I have streamlined it somewhat by ignoring most of the hostages and his children. The dates of Niall’s life are fuzzy, and I’ve taken quite a few liberties – especially in the inclusion of Patrick – but historians generally believe both men were active in Ireland in the first half of the 5th century.
The origins of his name are unknown. It is clear he held nine high-ranking hostages. Possibly a way of securing control over the nine kingdoms of Ireland, some sources even claim he had hostages from the Britons, Saxons, Picts and Gauls, though this is unlikely. The most reasonable explanation is that his hostages all came from the powerful Kingdom of the Airgialla (literally translates to ‘Kingdom of Hostages’). This way he would double the size of his army and be able to force the loyalty of other kings through military might.
The Legend
Niall was the youngest son of Eochaid Mugmedon, the High King of Ireland and a direct descendent of Conn of the Hundred Battles – the first Ulaid High-King. Eachaid had two wives. The first was the sister of the King of Munster, called Mongfind, who bore him five sons. The second wife was a Briton Princess named Cairenn (Carina). Whilst pregnant, Cairenn was forced to do manual labour by Mongfind who hoped to force a miscarriage. Cairenn was fetching water from a nearby stream when she went into labour and birthed a son. Young and fearful of reprisals from her rival Queen, she left the baby by the stream to face the elements. Fortunately, the child was found by a poet named Torna and raised as his own. He named the child Niall.
At fourteen years of age, Niall returned to Tara, the ancient High Seat of Kings. He rescued his mother from manual labour, and sought an audience with Eochaid. Mongfind, distraught that there was a child not of her blood, demanded that Eochaid name an heir, hoping it to be one of her sons. Eochaid tasked a druid with this pursuit. The druid challenged the six boys to various tasks, testing their strength, wisdom, humility and seamanship. Niall excelled in all four tasks. In the final and most important challenge, the sons of Eochaid were sent to fetch water from a well. Whilst there they were met by an old hag who demanded a kiss in return for water. Four of the boys refused. Fíachre offered her a peck on the cheek, not enough to satisfy her. Niall was the only one who kissed her properly, upon which she revealed herself to be a beautiful woman named Alexi. Alexi named Niall to be the heir to the Seat of Tara and prophesised that twenty-six of his descendants would also wear the crown. Fíachre was told he too would play an important part in the coming wars, and was told two of his own descendants would be High Kings.
Eochaid accepted the prophecy and named Niall his heir. Mongfind was not satisfied, and she left Tara with the four sons who refused to kiss the hag. In the ensuing war, all four boys were killed, as was Eochaid. Only Niall and Fíachre survived. Mongfind was captured and attempted to poison Niall in a last ditch attempt to get revenge. Niall was too clever and forced her to take a drink first. Obviously, she died, and Niall finally cemented himself as High-King of Ireland.
The Characters
Of course it would be impractical to include all of Niall’s hostages and sons (he had eight, supposedly) in the game. Thus, I have streamlined it somewhat by ignoring most of the hostages and his children. The dates of Niall’s life are fuzzy, and I’ve taken quite a few liberties – especially in the inclusion of Patrick – but historians generally believe both men were active in Ireland in the first half of the 5th century.
- Niall, High King of Ireland (main character).
- Fíachrae, Niall’s half-brother and loyal lieutenant.
- Eógan mac Néill, one of Niall’s sons.
- Pátraic, one of Niall’s former slaves, a well-educated Briton Christian priest and linguist.
- Ailill, King of the Airgialla and Niall’s highest ranked hostage.
- Malgarb, a druid from the House of Knowledge, one of the four druidic houses in Ireland.