Brian Boru (Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig in Middle Irish) is often considered to have been the last great High King of Ireland. Born Brian mac Cenneidigh around the year 941 AD, he was the youngest of the twelve sons of Kennedy, chief of Thomond and king of northern Munster. Having survived all of his older brothers (save one who had joined the Church), Brian became king of Munster in 976 at the age of 35.
Brian’s ambitions quickly became apparent as he worked to solidify his rule over Munster and to extend his kingdom to include Leinster and Connacht, which inevitably made the High King of Ireland, Máel Schnaill (Malachy the Great), his sworn enemy. After years of inconclusive armed disputes, in 997 or 998 the two men agreed to a treaty in which Brian would be the sole ruler of the southern half of Ireland and Malachy of the northern half. However, in 1002, Malachy ceded his throne to Brian (the Annals do not say why), thus making his rival High King of Ireland. Brian, who had no intention of being king in name only, spent the next decade subduing the ever-troublesome Province of Ulster, as well as any regional rulers who refused to submit to him. By 1005, he was described not as the Ard Rí (High King) but as the Imperator Scottorum (Emperor of the Gaels).
Brian took his royal seat at Kincora, as had his father before him. He is said to have meted out impartial justice according to Brehon law; built forts, roads, and churches; founded schools and imported books from abroad; and encouraged the resurrection of neglected bardic schools. He also made alliances with the Danes in Dublin through marriage: his daughter, Sláine, was married to their king, Sigtrygg, while Brian himself married Sigtrygg’s mother, an Irishwoman named Gormlaith. Gormlaith, unfortunately, amused herself by stirring up trouble between her Irish and Danish relatives, which ultimately culminated in the Battle of Clontarf in 1014.
As both sides amassed their troops near Clontarf, a few miles north of Dublin, the 73-year-old Brian was advised to remain in a guarded tent and to allow his son and heir, Murchadh, to lead his people into battle. The Danes attacked on 23 April, Good Friday, a holy day on which the Christian Brian had no desire to fight. Nevertheless, he personally addressed his troops and sent them to war. Though the Danes were better armed, Irish valor and persistence won the day. Despite their victory, the Irish lost their Emperor, who was reportedly slain while kneeling before an open psalm-book. Brian Boru and his son, reputed to have killed over 100 men during the battle, were allegedly interred within Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh.
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