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Kern (soldier)
Encyclopedia
A Kern was a Gaelic
soldier, specifically a light infantryman
in Ireland
during the Middle Ages
.
of the Middle Irish word ceithern or ceithrenn meaning a collection of persons, particularly fighting men. An individual member is a ceithernach. The word may derive from a conjectural proto-Celtic word *keternā, ultimately from an Indo-European
root meaning a chain. It was adopted into English as a term for a Gaelic soldier in mediaeval Ireland.
Gallóglaigh as their light infantry forces, where the Gallowglass
filled the need for heavy infantry
. This two-tier "army" structure though should not be taken to reflect earlier Irish armies prior to the Norman
invasions, as there were more locally trained soldiers filling various roles prior to this. The Gallowglass
largely replaced the other forms of infantry though, as more Irish began to train to imitate them, creating Gallowglass of purely Irish origin.
Earlier, the Ceithernn would have consisted of a myriad of militia
-type infantry, and possibly light horse
, likely remembered later in the "horse boys" that accompanied Gallowglass and fought as light cavalry. They would be armed from a dole or by what they owned themselves, and filled out numerous portions of an army, likely forming the vast bulk of most Gaelic forces. In the mid sixteenth century Shane O'Neill
was known to have armed his peasantry and Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, outfitted many of his Ceithernn with contemporary battle dress and weapons and drilled them as a professional force, complete with experienced captains and modern weapons.
Like many Gaels historically, Kerns often found themselves on multiple sides of conflicts; for example, the native Irish forces of the Norman-English in Ireland would have had levies of Kerns in them. As a result they also found themselves fighting upon distant shores in Europe
where they were famous as ferocious light infantrymen. Indeed Desmond Seward is eloquent when he describes the Kerns in France
:
Military equipment and tactics
There is little evidence to suggest that the kern wore armour, though this point is disputed. They may have sported some form of light armour, perhaps nothing more than a leather coat but they almost certainly did not wear chainmail as there is no evidence that the extensive iron-working industry required to facilitate it existed in Ireland at the time. Kerns were light troops who relied on speed and mobility, often utilizing lightning strike tactics as a force-multiplier
to engage much larger formations. In the words of one writer, they were, "lighter and lustier than [English soldiers] in travail and footmanship." The dart
was the weapon of choice for the kern, the bow never achieving popularity in the country. Kerns were of great use in the warfare that revolved around cattle raiding in Ireland at the time. Their role was to herd captured cattle away from the enemy territory and to support heavier troops such as the gallowglass
. When confronted by English style regiments, the kern would follow enemy troops on their march route, firing on them with darts, javelins, and stones from slings. Occasionally, provided the terrain and timing was right, kerns would move in for close combat. If their opponents broke and ran, they could easily be run down by the swift kern; if the enemy soldiers stood firm they would simply retreat into difficult terrain to renew their harassment later. On occasions where they were pursued into the more difficult terrain of bogs or woods, the hunters risked becoming the hunted as the kern could double back and eliminate isolated groups.
:
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....
soldier, specifically a light infantryman
Light infantry
Traditionally light infantry were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. Light infantry was distinct from medium, heavy or line infantry. Heavy infantry were dedicated primarily to fighting in tight...
in Ireland
Gaelic Ireland
Gaelic Ireland is the name given to the period when a Gaelic political order existed in Ireland. The order continued to exist after the arrival of the Anglo-Normans until about 1607 AD...
during 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...
.
Linguistic roots
The word kern is an anglicisationAnglicisation
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 Middle Irish word ceithern or ceithrenn meaning a collection of persons, particularly fighting men. An individual member is a ceithernach. The word may derive from a conjectural proto-Celtic word *keternā, ultimately from an Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
root meaning a chain. It was adopted into English as a term for a Gaelic soldier in mediaeval Ireland.
Military roles
Kerns notably accompanied bands of the mercenaryMercenary
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...
Gallóglaigh as their light infantry forces, where the Gallowglass
Gallowglass
The gallowglass or galloglass – from , gallóglach – were an elite class of mercenary warrior who came from Norse-Gaelic clans in the Hebrides and Highlands of Scotland between the mid 13th century and late 16th century...
filled the need for heavy infantry
Heavy infantry
Heavy infantry refers to heavily armed and armoured ground troops, as opposed to medium or light infantry, in which the warriors are relatively lightly armoured. As modern infantry troops usually define their subgroups differently , 'heavy infantry' almost always is used to describe pre-gunpowder...
. This two-tier "army" structure though should not be taken to reflect earlier Irish armies prior to the Norman
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
invasions, as there were more locally trained soldiers filling various roles prior to this. The Gallowglass
Gallowglass
The gallowglass or galloglass – from , gallóglach – were an elite class of mercenary warrior who came from Norse-Gaelic clans in the Hebrides and Highlands of Scotland between the mid 13th century and late 16th century...
largely replaced the other forms of infantry though, as more Irish began to train to imitate them, creating Gallowglass of purely Irish origin.
Earlier, the Ceithernn would have consisted of a myriad of militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
-type infantry, and possibly light horse
Light cavalry
Light cavalry refers to lightly armed and lightly armored troops mounted on horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the riders are heavily armored...
, likely remembered later in the "horse boys" that accompanied Gallowglass and fought as light cavalry. They would be armed from a dole or by what they owned themselves, and filled out numerous portions of an army, likely forming the vast bulk of most Gaelic forces. In the mid sixteenth century Shane O'Neill
Shane O'Neill
Seán Ó Néill, anglicised Shane O'Neill , nicknamed 'Seán an díomais', was an Irish king of the O'Neill dynasty of Ulster in the mid 16th century. Shane O'Neill's career was marked by his ambition to be The Ó Néill Mór - Sovereign of the dominant Ó Néill Mór family of Tyrone... and thus head...
was known to have armed his peasantry and Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, outfitted many of his Ceithernn with contemporary battle dress and weapons and drilled them as a professional force, complete with experienced captains and modern weapons.
Like many Gaels historically, Kerns often found themselves on multiple sides of conflicts; for example, the native Irish forces of the Norman-English in Ireland would have had levies of Kerns in them. As a result they also found themselves fighting upon distant shores in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
where they were famous as ferocious light infantrymen. Indeed Desmond Seward is eloquent when he describes the Kerns in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
:
The Prior and many of his men were killed. The kern had made a strong impression by their outlandish dress and their ferocity, riding back from raids with severed heads dangling from their bareback ponies. There were other Irishmen who, led by the Butler family, made a small but effective contribution to the Lancastrian war effort in France. The fourth earl of Ormonde-–Fra’ Thomas was his bastard son-–had been on Clarence’s chevauchee in 1412 and also took part in the siege of Rouen. Two more of his sons, Sir John and Sir James Butler (later the fifth Earl) were to be noted captains under Bedford and Old Talbot in the 1430s and 1440s. Besides a long-haired, moustachioed, saffron cloaked, barefooted ‘tail’ of javelin men and axe- and claymore-wielding gallowglasses, these Anglo-Irish chieftains would have brought more conventionally armed daoine uaisle (gentlemen) recruited from their relations.
Military equipment and tactics
There is little evidence to suggest that the kern wore armour, though this point is disputed. They may have sported some form of light armour, perhaps nothing more than a leather coat but they almost certainly did not wear chainmail as there is no evidence that the extensive iron-working industry required to facilitate it existed in Ireland at the time. Kerns were light troops who relied on speed and mobility, often utilizing lightning strike tactics as a force-multiplier
Force multiplication
Force multiplication, in military usage, refers to an attribute or a combination of attributes which make a given force more effective than that same force would be without it. The expected size increase required to have the same effectiveness without that advantage is the multiplication factor...
to engage much larger formations. In the words of one writer, they were, "lighter and lustier than [English soldiers] in travail and footmanship." The dart
Dart (missile)
Darts are missile weapons, designed to fly such that a sharp, often weighted point will strike first. They can be distinguished from javelins by fletching and a shaft that is shorter and/or more flexible, and from arrows by the fact that they are not of the right length to use with a normal...
was the weapon of choice for the kern, the bow never achieving popularity in the country. Kerns were of great use in the warfare that revolved around cattle raiding in Ireland at the time. Their role was to herd captured cattle away from the enemy territory and to support heavier troops such as the gallowglass
Gallowglass
The gallowglass or galloglass – from , gallóglach – were an elite class of mercenary warrior who came from Norse-Gaelic clans in the Hebrides and Highlands of Scotland between the mid 13th century and late 16th century...
. When confronted by English style regiments, the kern would follow enemy troops on their march route, firing on them with darts, javelins, and stones from slings. Occasionally, provided the terrain and timing was right, kerns would move in for close combat. If their opponents broke and ran, they could easily be run down by the swift kern; if the enemy soldiers stood firm they would simply retreat into difficult terrain to renew their harassment later. On occasions where they were pursued into the more difficult terrain of bogs or woods, the hunters risked becoming the hunted as the kern could double back and eliminate isolated groups.
Kerns in literature
Notably kerns appear in Shakespeare's MacbethMacbeth
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...
:
- The merciless Macdonwald--
- Worthy to be a rebel, for to that
- The multiplying villanies of nature
- Do swarm upon him--from the western isles
- Of kerns and gallowglasses is supplied;
- ...
- Mark, king of Scotland, mark:
- No sooner justice had with valour arm'd
- Compell'd these skipping kerns to trust their heels,
- But the Norweyan lord surveying vantage,
- With furbish'd arms and new supplies of men
- Began a fresh assault.
- ...
- I cannot strike at wretched kerns, whose arms
- Are hired to bear their staves: either thou, Macbeth,
- Or else my sword with an unbatter'd edge
- I sheathe again undeeded.