Scorners of Death: Fighting Skills of the Medieval Gaelic Warrior

Scorners of Death: Fighting Skills of the Medieval Gaelic WarriorDescribed as very great scorners of death by the English writer Edmund Spenser, the Gaelic warriors of medieval Ireland and Scotland included aristocratic mounted skirmishers as well as the guerrilla fighters known as kerns or caterans, and the ferocious galloglass and redshank mercenaries armed with battle axes and two handed swords. One of the first works to focus on the weapons and fighting skills of the medieval Gaelic warrior, Scorners of Death

Described as Òvery great scorners of deathÓ by the English writer Edmund Spenser, the Gaelic warriors of medieval Ireland and Scotland included aristocratic mounted skirmishers as well as the guerrilla fighters known as kerns or caterans, and the ferocious galloglass and redshank mercenaries armed with battle-axes and two-handed swords.

One of the first works to focus on the weapons and fighting skills of the medieval Gaelic warrior, Scorners of Death offers instruction in the use of the medieval Gaelic sword, sword and buckler, two-handed sword and battle-axe (including both the Lochaber axe and the sparth axe of Ireland), as well as a detailed discussion of the warriors who used these weapons and the strategic context in which they fought.

These techniques will be useful for reenactors portraying the Scottish highland or Irish warriors of the Middle Ages, especially in the time period between 1300 and 1600, as well as HEMA practitioners.