Page:The Celtic Review volume 3.djvu/162

Rh hundred, of three hundred, until he rested at the thunder-feat of five hundred, because he felt that in this his first set-to and grappling with the hosts of the four provinces of Erinn, a number such as this must fall by his hand. With such impulse did he drive forward his chariot, that the ruts made by the wheels as he passed along might have served for earth-works or lines of defence, so high were the stones and earth flung up on either side. For he was resolved that on that day the men of Erinn should not escape him; therefore he charged round them in a circle, on either hand piling up a fence of the bodies of his enemy. Thrice in this wise he made a circuit of the host, and he laid them, three lying upon three, all along his path.’ Allowing for the poetical enlargements with which the Irish story-teller thought fit to adorn his tale, this description does tally exceedingly closely with the account of the Roman writers; and we can imagine with what terrific force a whole body of such armed chariots would have borne down upon the terrified enemy. It is not often that the Roman authorities allow that their own soldiers gave way to fear, but they never mention the armed chariot without a confession of the terror that it inspired in their ranks. The brandishing of the weapons over the head, and the terrific war-whoops that preceded an onset, are also frequently commented upon.

A battle was, in ancient Ireland, a long series of single combats, between heroes as evenly matched as possible; and while these combats were proceeding the whole host on either side drew up to watch the combatants, cheering them on or shouting cries of derision when the warriors engaged showed fine sword or javelin play, or otherwise. Thus a battle might be lengthened out for many days without any general engagement, but it usually ended by a general mêlée, when the chief combatants had fallen or the fight could not be decided by single encounters. This method of fighting is that described, not only in the romances, but in such historical tales as the Battle of Moira. The weapons used were, as is remarked by classical writers, broad blunt swords, javelins, and spears.