Culann, Celtic Warrior Monk

By Duncan MacDonald

Exciting historical novel set in 7th century Ireland and Northern Britain. Life, love and loss of larger than life characters who lived in these troubled times. We follow the adventures of a gallant Irish warrior, an intrepid Irish Princess and a daring young Pict. Their predicaments as well as the plight of many others were influenced by plagues and battles as a backdrop to looming events that took place prior to and after the Synod of Whitby in 664.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Duncan MacDonald
• Release date: May 30, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476487793

Duncan MacDonald

Duncan is an Australian currently living in Jakarta, Indonesia. He is married to Shinta Dewi Sanawiya, muse, mate, motivator and President Director of the business he founded in 1993, dMAC Group in Asia, now PT Daya MACro Dinamika.Duncan has had a passion for history since childhood. He travelled alone to Turkey in 1975 to visit ANZAC Cove, scene of Australia and New Zealand’s entry to World War I. He then worked for 5 years in London, enabling him to research the Roman Empire’s occupation of Britain and question the Arthurian legends. He has published his illustrated historical e-novels set in Ireland and Britain in the 1st-7th centuries on Smashwords. Search for 'Culann - Celtic Warrior Monk'.Duncan has also published an illustrated account of his private pilgrimage to 'Anzac Cove and Lone Pine in 1975' - Search for 'Anzac'Those interested in obtaining the latest historical information on the Battle of Waterloo, (detailing who actually defeated Napoleon) can download Duncan's illustrated version in dMAC Digest Vol 4 No 6 'Waterloo'. Also the Jakarta Journals, tracing Indonesian history over the past 2,000 years, up to granting of Independence in December 1949.Any one of Duncan's 12 'dMAC Digest Health & History' magazines, or 5 illustrated historical novels can be downloaded at Smashwords.'Britannia Bulletin #1 and #2' are the latest illustrated historical novel published by Duncan. Set in the 1st & 2nd century CE we follow the adventures of a Roman Legionary in Europe & Britain. He records the lives of the early Roman Emperors and Governors of Britannia, their initial rise to power and occasional fall from grace. Major battles are dealt with in detail.

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List of Characters

AEbbe <#> Abbess of Kirk Hill (St Abbs), sister of King Oswy [615 - 683]

Alhfrith <#> - Son of King Oswy

Art - cattle herder - Irish hero means ‘bear’

Bec - Monk at St Ninian’s

Breuse - Leader of Fianna, raised Culann

Bryan - Monk at Iona

Ciniod of Fortriu - Pict Chieftain - Fergus father

Colmán <#> - Abbot of Lindisfarne [605 - 676]

Culann - Fianna and warrior monk

Cumméne <#> - Abbot of Iona [d 669]

Daire - Monk at Iona – scribe

Danan of Alba - Chieftain of Pict Alba - brother of Sirona - River Tay

Decca - Head sister of Jura

Eamon - Monk at Iona – scribe

Eanflaed <#> princess from Kent, married King Oswy [b 626 - d after 685]

Ecne - Abbot of Jura - means poetry, wisdom, inspiration

Eogan mac Cairill - Irish King and enemy of Sigmall

Fea - Daughter of King Sigmall

Fergus mac Ciniod - Pict of Fortriu - Firth of Moray

Flann - Fianna accompanied Culann to Derry - means ‘red blood’

Gille Dhu - Pict Chieftain, Lasair’s uncle

Galen of Pergamon <#> Greek physician [129 - 199/217 (disputed)]

Giona - Irish King, potential father-in-law of Fea

Harbondia - Abbess of St Brigid’s of Kildare

Hilda <#> - Abbess of Whitby [614 - 680]

Hesus - Monk at Jura, left-handed, speaks Greek

Father Jowan - Abbot at Lios mór

Kerhanagh - unprincipled Irish Chieftain

Lasair - Pict heroine - means ‘flame’

Lien - Fianna warrior

Medros - cattle herder - obscure Celtic god associated with cattle

Sister Mish - Nun at St Brigid’s who mentored young Fea

Morann - Monk at Iona, later Abbot of Ardslignish

Mullo - Head monk at St Brigit’s scriptorium

Odras - Childhood friend of Fea

Osgar - Leader of Fianna after Breuse

Oswald <#> - King of Northumbria [d 641

Oswy or Oswiu <#> - King of Northumbria [612- 670]

Pamp - Irish bard, also known as;

Pampinus Pronuntio - Bard at Sigmall’s court - see Pamp above

Ruad - Abbot of Abernethy

Sigmall - Irish King - Fea’s father

Sirona - Fergus mother, sister of Danan of Alba

Slane - Blind monk in charge of scriptorium at Jura

Sutugius - Gaullist monk at St Brigid’s

Tamara - Sister at St Brigid’s, young milk maid - means ‘river nymph’

Una - Sister at St Brigid’s. Treated Fea on arrival at St Brigid’s

Vosegus - Pict guide from Danan’s tribe

Wilfred of Rippon <#> -Monk from Lindisfarne, spokesman for Church of Rome [633-709]

<#> Actual historical figure

* * * *

Place Names

Dál Riata - South West Scotland conquered by Scotti from Ireland

Éire - Ireland

Lios mór - Lios mór, means great garden, now called Lismore

Veridis Insula - Green Island, as named by the Picts

Prayers

Vigils – during the early hours, around 4 a.m. while it is still dark;

Lauds – morning prayer, at daybreak;

Terce – mid-morning prayer, around 9 am;

Sext -midday prayer, around noon;

None – mid-afternoon prayer, around 3 pm;

Vespers – evening prayer, ideally at sunset;

Compline - night prayer, which completes the day.

Illustrations

Designed to show how 7th century inhabitants of Ireland and northern Britain dressed, and the type of buildings in which they lived. There were no great stone castles or cathedrals.

All illustrations by Duncan MacDonald (dMAC) unless otherwise stated.

Dates – AD/BC or CE/BCE

Common Era or Current Era (CE) is one of the notation systems for the world’s most widely used calendar era – an alternative to the Dionysian AD or BC system. The Era preceding CE is known as Before the Common Era (BCE), while the Dionysian era lists those eras as AD (anno domini) the year of the Lord and BC before Christ.

The two systems are numerically equivalent, ‘2018 CE’ corresponds to ‘AD 2018’ and

‘300 BCE’ corresponds to ‘300 BC’. Both notations refer to the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar - compiled by Julius Caesar). In 2002, England and Wales introduced the BCE/CE notation system into the official school curriculum, while Australia in 2011 advised school textbooks would replace BC/AD notation with BCE/CE notation.

This book uses BCE/CE.

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Prologue

Hadrian’s Wall was built in 122 CE to mark the Northern border of the Provence of Britannia. It is the longest Roman monument in the world - 117 km (73.5 miles) long.A common misconception is that Hadrian's wall marks the boundary between England and Scotland. This is not the case; Hadrian's wall lies entirely within England.

This image shows the remnants of the Wall. Over the years possibly 90% of the brick shaped stones have been removed. Originally it measured 9.7 ft (3 metres) wide and 16-20 ft ( 5-6 metres) high.

Our saga begins in Ireland and Britain in the 7th century CE.

Britain: The Roman legions which had occupied much of Britain for almost 400 years, but not the northern part, which was inhabited by the Caledonians or Picts, withdrew in 409 CE. The great Roman Empire began to disintegrate.

Once the Roman army left, raids into Britain by the Picts and the Irish increased. To protect themselves the Romanised Britains requested assistance from the Germanic tribes of Angles, Saxons and Jutes.

Ireland: To the west of Britain lay Ireland. Of all the foreigners who settled in Ireland, none left a cultural legacy to rival the Celts. They were brave, intelligent, resourceful and proud. They established a language and way of life that persists today.

The Celts arrive in Ireland very gradually from around 500 BCE. They came from the Iberian Peninsula and the original Bronze age inhabitants were either eliminated or assimilated. Many people in Ireland had been converted to Christianity by Saint Patrick, (the first person in recorded history to speak out against slavery) who died in his seventies, probably in 461 CE.

The Christian monasteries that sprang up in Ireland became centers of learning. It is to the monks inhabiting those monastic scriptoriums [Scriptoriums: from Latin scriptus, ‘to write’] who copied thousands of texts, we owe much of our knowledge of the ancient Greek, Roman and Middle Eastern world.

During the 5th to the 6th centuries the Celtic Church in Ireland had limited contact with the Roman Church in Europe. It was either not aware, or chose to ignore, major changes in Christian doctrine put into effect by Rome.

For example; calculating the date of celebrating Easter was changed twice by Rome. But the Celtic Church still celebrated that most significant event in the Christian calendar as stipulated by Saint Stephen and their own Saint Columba of Iona.

In the 4th century a powerful Irish tribe called the Scotti [ Scotti is Latin for Scots. The country Scotland is named after them although they originated in Ireland ] from the north of Ireland, invaded what is now the west coast of Scotland. The kingdom was known as Dál Riata. [ Dál is old Irish for ‘a piece of ‘ (as in a piece of land) while Riata is likely to be a personal name ] They continually fought the Caledonians or Picts, unsuccessfully, up until the 9th century. The Picts after losing their King fighting the Vikings, were finally defeated in 840 CE by the King of Dal Riata, Kenneth mac Alpin, who was married to a Pictish princess.

Celtic Ireland in the 7th century comprised many kingdoms, large and small. There were no cities or towns, only small villages, hamlets and isolated farms. It would be left to the Vikings to establish early townships on Ireland's east coast. One of the first being located on the river Linn called Dublin in 795 CE.

These seventh century Irish kingdoms were agrarian [ Agrarian: from Latin agar meaning field. In Ireland crops were mainly cereals, emmer wheat & barley ] or farming communities, growing crops, tending sheep, cattle and pigs. The measure of wealth was cattle. Sheep were grown for their wool and perhaps their milk, not to eat. [ evidenced by the old age at which they were butchered ]

The Celts had a warrior culture and all those small farmers possessed weapons to protect their farm and livestock from the endless endemic raiding. Most also had an allegiance to their local Chieftain or King, who could call on their support if a large raid was planned against their neighbours.

The local king or chieftain retained a select group of warriors, their numbers in direct relation to the wealth of the King. In times of need he could also call on the services of the Fianna, provided they were not aligned to his adversary.

On a social scale the warrior nobility was equal to the bards, druids and craftsmen (the smiths). By this time the druids’ previous supremacy was surpassed by Christian monks.

Although it was a male dominated society, Celtic women, played a more prominent role than their sisters in Rome or Greece - particularly in the Celtic Church.

Life expectancy was short. Males died in their twenties, thirties and early forties. Females died in late teens or early twenties, due mainly to the perils of pregnancy and childbirth.

Ireland in the 7th century had a population of between 500,000 and one million people. That number fluctuated according to the effects of plague and famine.

How then did one of Europe's most savage warrior-people create a new kingdom using spiritual methods?

Pugnacious, boastful Irishmen, in their own green land and on a strange coast (Britain), armed with nothing but cross in hand? But such an image would be, to say the least, hasty.

Irish monks were not necessarily gentle friars. They too could fight when need arose.

* * * *

The Venerable Bede

Much of our knowledge relating to this period comes from the writings of the monk Bede (673-735). At the age of seven, Bede was offered by his family to the monastery of Wearmouth,[1] Northumbria. He spent the rest of his life as a monk, first at Wearmouth then later at Jarrow, five miles away.

Using the monastery library, Bede became; ‘the most learned man in Western Europe’.[2] Scholar, teacher and prolific writer of biblical and other works including The Ecclesiastical History of the English People. He has been described as the ’Father of English History’.[3]

[1] Wearmouth: modern Monkwearmouth in county Durham

[2] as quoted by Dom David Knowles (1896–1974)

[3] The Age of Bede, translated by J.F. Webb, Penguin Books, London, 1965

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* * * * *

Chapter 1 - In the Beginning 645 CE

Culann with his father - The Smith

Culann had no memory of his mother. His father told him when asked, that his mother died giving birth to his sister.

Where is my sister? asked five-year-old Culann. His father looked up from the red-hot slab of iron that he was fashioning into a sword.

You ask too many questions Boy. Your sister died with your mother. He lowered his blonde bearded head and continued hammering the glowing point of the hot iron.

Culann knew his father well enough not to ask any more questions, just now. His father was a Metal-smith, shortened to Smith, a special craftsman who worked with a forge designed to allow compressed air (through a bellows) to superheat the inside, making possible the melting of metals. The forge is also known as a smithy. While a Blacksmith worked with iron and steel, a Metal-smith referred to craftsmen who practice their craft in different metals including gold, copper and silver, plus enamelling, to make jewellery.

Culann's father naturally was called ‘Smith’. He had a fine reputation in Eire (Ireland) also working with iron, making swords, axes and spears as well as fine jewellery. Smiths were highly regarded in the Celtic community.

No doubt Culann would have grown up to become a Smith, but fate intervened to drastically change the course of his life. Culann had clear memories of his father; a large man with a fantastic blonde beard and big white teeth - noticeable when he laughed. The Smith had made his son a tiny child's sword; his most prized possession along with his toy wooden horse.

Culann's father always called him Boy. If he had another name he was not aware of it.

The Smith did not stay in any one location long. He moved from one king's great hall to another. The more important the local chief or King, the more he was likely to spend on gifts such as swords and jewellery. The more gifts and feasts, the more warriors wished to join his entourage. The more warriors, the more important the King, and so on.

In the year 645 CE the Smith moved to the court of the King of Meath, located in the land of the Southern Uí Néills in central Ireland.

Unfortunately, it was a very wet year with much flooding. Crops yields were down and many people had nothing spare to barter except for basic goods. There was not much demand for his high-quality swords and fine jewellery.

A courier came to the Smith one day with a request. An outlying Chieftain called Kerhanagh, had just returned from a successful raid, with much plunder. The Smith was asked to come with his stock of swords and jewellery. He was promised the Chieftain wanted to buy the Smith's entire collection.

In great anticipation the Smith, with his son, set out on horse and cart laden with his wares. They passed through the great forest of Meath, and stopped overnight. Their selected campsite was run by one of the leaders of the Fianna, a famous warrior named Breuse. The Fianna, a very effective fighting force standing on the outskirts of society were well regarded. Admission was based on skill and strength, rather than noble-blood or wealth.

The previous summer the Smith had sold several swords to Breuse. The Fianna leader was very pleased to see the Smith again, and particularly his young son, of whom he had taken a great liking.

He is the liveliest young lad I have ever seen, said Breuse. If I ever have a son. I would like him to be just like your young boy. But he is better off with you, Master Smith. We live a rough life here in the forest. The Smith had agreed.

Next day the Smith pushed on to his appointment with Chieftain Kerhanagh. They met in Kerhanagh’s Great Hall, which was not all that great. It was gloomy inside, still reeking of stale food and vomit from previous bouts of feasting.

Culann remembered his father gathering an armful of swords, and entering the hall. He instructed Culann to stay in the wagon.

I need you to guard this cart Boy, he said with a mock severity. Young Culann took his task seriously. The five-year-old stood on the driver's seat, toy sword in hand, ready to cut down any criminal.

His father seemed to be gone a long time, but time is difficult for a small boy to measure. At some stage he was aware of raised voices coming from the hall. He held his sword tighter and waited anxiously.

Suddenly his father was dragged through the entrance of the great hall, and thrown heavily to the ground. He was immediately surrounded by a dozen warriors who spilled out of the hall, all wielding swords or spears. Their Chieftain, Kerhanagh, even bigger than Culann's father, strode out. Bending down he grabbed the Smith by his blonde beard, hauling him roughly to his feet. Holding a sword at his father's throat, Kerhanagh yelled words Culann would never forget.

If I want your second-rate swords as a gift, Smith, you'll give them to me. Or I'll have your head decorate my doorway.

For an awful moment nothing happened. Then the Smith turned his head, looked straight at Culann and, silently mouthed the word go! He simultaneously flicked the flank of the horse harnessed to the cart with a small knife that magically appeared in his hand.

The horse reared in fright, knocking Culann backward into the cart, stunning him, and galloped out of the camp. Instruments and equipment went flying as it bounced over the rutted track leading back the way they had come. Culann sat up shaking his head and holding on for dear life. He looked back at the developing drama.

The Smith turned and deliberately spat in Kerhanagh’s face. The Chieftain, shaking with rage, his red face splattered with spittle, still holding the Smith by his beard, spitefully sliced Culann's father's throat. Blood spurted in great gusts over both men.

The five-year-old, shocked at what he had witnessed, could only hang on to the side of the cart until the horse, winded at last, slowed to a trot, then a walk and finally stopped and began grazing, deep in the forest.

Night came.

* * * *

Culann was holding his toy sword with both hands to ward off the

Goblins & Demons that prey on young boys in the night forest

Breuse through his contacts in Kerhanagh's camp, heard about the Smith's death that very afternoon. He immediately sent his followers out to search for the cart carrying Culann. They found it well after midnight. The small boy was still standing, wide eyed with fright. His toy sword held high to ward off all the goblins and demons that prey on young boys in the night forest.

Just before daybreak Culann was brought to Breuse. Wrapping his huge arms around the lad in a big bear hug the Fianna Chieftain spoke with his deep soft voice to calm the boy who was still shivering in shock.

There, there, lad, I won't let anyone hurt you. You are safe with me. Culann clung to the big man as Breuse gently stroked his head for some time. Breuse then held him at arm's length and looked him straight in the eye.

Well now, we have to give you a name. What did your father call you?

B . . B . . Boy.

Hmmm . . , mused Breuse half smiling, we'll have to do better than that. He paused for a few moments thinking hard.

"I know. Your father once told me you were born near that huge circle of mountains in Northern Ireland called the Ring of Gullion. We'll name you after the famous Fairy King and Irish hero who lived there - Culann. We'll call you Culann."

What then should I call you Sir? asked Culann.

Why, you should call me Breuse, just like everybody else, smiled Breuse.

The rock-hard Fianna leader then carried the young boy to a stream nearby. He knelt on the bank and with one hand scooped water and splashed it on Culann's head.

You are hereby known as Culann, a great warrior and defender of the downtrodden.

The Celts regarded fresh water as sacred and its use in naming rights stretched back into the dim past. The other warriors, who had all gathered around, smiled and applauded.

So it came to pass that Breuse, a rough, uneducated Fianna, but a fine leader of men, raised the son of the slain Smith, as his own.

There were no women in the Fianna camps.

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* * * * *

1.1 The Fianna

Breuse watched his ward Culann with a father’s pride.

Culann could hold his own against Fianna twice his age.

The Fianna was seen as a means of social advancement for youths wishing to improve their potential fighting expertise. Their raw talent was shaped to produce skilful warriors through an exhausting training program lasting years. Only the best succeeded. The Fianna comprised mainly young men who were not in service to any of the great lords.

It included some bandits who thought it better to belong to a larger group than try to survive on their own; also some sons of nobles, sent to hone their fighting skills. Membership was subject to rigorous tests, and many failed. Those who gained admittance to this effective fighting force, were in demand from Kings, Warlords and Chieftains, who hired their collective services from time to time. Payment was usually by apportionment of plunder, so there was great incentive to win battles.

Culann entered the Fianna world at the age of five. Most other novice males were at least in their early to late teens. By the time he was seven summers old, whether because of the prolonged vigorous exercise or the plentiful food, particularly meat, Culann began growing. By the time he was twelve summers old, he was as tall or taller than those lads five or eight years older. As such, he was treated as an equal by those young men. This meant he mentally reached manhood much earlier. The disadvantage however was his childhood, so crucial in developing into a well-balanced adult, was limited or non-existent.

Culann had to try much harder just to keep up with his peers. Many nights he lay on his sleeping skin, body aching, silently wiping tears in the dark, vowing not to let those older boys outdo him again.

Breuse closely watched his young adopted son. Initially with concern as the boy was pitted day after day against much older youths, deliberately not interfering. He judged young Culann