The Gaelic World at War

It has long been customary for historians to dismiss medieval Irish and Scottish soldiers as outmoded and poorly equipped. From the time of the Statutes of Kilkenny down to the death of Henry VIII, The Gaelic World at War challenges those assumptions head-on by examining the methods of military organisation, training, armament, and tactics followed by late medieval Irish leaders.

Gaelic military leaders were not as isolated from the European mainstream as has often been believed. Irish and Scottish soldiers may have been better trained, selected, and equipped than previously thought. Gaelic armies embraced many of the trends occurring in Western Europe. Rather than being backward and isolated, Gaelic armies recognised that the world was changing around them and that they needed to keep pace with those changes.

Drawing on a broad range of sources, The Gaelic World at War will appeal to reenactors, model-makers, and scholars, providing a fresh perspective on the soldiers of late medieval Ireland.

"The Gaelic World at War: Soldiers & Soldiering in Ireland 1366–1547 by Fergus Cannan Braniff is one of those books that quietly fills a significant and unrealised gap until one begins turning the pages. The Gaelic World at War takes us into late medieval Ireland at ground level, away from the familiar Anglo-Norman castles and Tudor policy papers, and instead plants us firmly among the kerns, gallowglasses, horse boys and war leaders whoactually did the fighting....In short this a serious book that does not take itself too seriously, and all the better for it. One I will be reaching for again as the whole subject matter is a fascinating dive into soldiering in Ireland between 1366 and 1547." carryingsonupthedale Blog