Book I - The Rise of the Ua Toms, Chapter 3
Chapter 3 - Artúr's Reign
For 14 years, Artúr's hold of Dublin was that of peace. He raised his children in safety, for no wars were fought, no riots, no disturbances at all. That changed in 1080. Now an old man, Artúr seemed to shake from his contentment. He was pressured that for the sake of stability to remove from Dublin the Brehon law of partible inheritance. This was a shock to the Irish nobility, for their law had been in place since time immemorial. While those in Dublin proper were so prosperous they were content to continue such peace - the major landowners, the city of Dublin itself, as well as the Church acceded to this change. For now on, Dublin would be passed down to the oldest son. Artúr did not want to see his children fight and split over the scraps of his lands after he died. Yet Artúr was just and did not want his two youngest sons to go without land. There was not enough land in his small demesne to provide for them the lifestyle he saw adequate. For this, he would have to dispossess others of their lands.
1080 was a year of war for Ireland. The Scots, through their Norse-Gael vassals in The Isles, made their first inroads into Ulster. The Sithgri were overthrown and a ruler appointed from among the ranks of the Scottish. In this year, Artúr was able to fabricate a reason to take to the lands of the Ua Máel-Sechlainn. What precisely that was is lost to history, but over an arduous two year campaign he captured the strongholds of the decendents of the last High King. The war seems to have tired Artúr as his sons were not yet of age to help lead his forces He had to rely on onerous Norse Gael mercenaries who were hard to control. Yet he achieved his goals. His oldest son, Dabid was poised to take possession of his patrimony. The other two sons would eventually become bishops. This is ironic since Artúr was known to be dismissive of the church. He had in fact increased the amount of levies and taxes that the Church would pay. The appointment of his sons to the cloth seems to have ensured that they would pay up.
It is at this point that Dabid mac Artúr should be spoken of. While we will cover his later exploits in more detail, his early life suffers from the lack of documentation characteristic of this era. What we do know is that he was already enthusiastic, stricly moral, proud, and by all means a remarkable youth. As the Scots continued their inroad into Ulster, Artúr may or may not have seen the need for a more united Irish people. After paying a large sum of gold, mostly spoils from the conquest of the Ua Máel-Sechlainn, Artúr had Dabid betrothed to the granddaughter of Rí of Munster, Murchad the Cruel. Artúr would have another son before dying in his bed in Novemeber of 1084.
Now Dabid mac Artúr was ruler of all the lands of Mide. While his father was never able to force the former nobles of the Ua Máel-Sechlainn lands to proclaim him Rí Mide, Dabid will purse that as his first political goal.
Chapter 3 - Artúr's Reign
For 14 years, Artúr's hold of Dublin was that of peace. He raised his children in safety, for no wars were fought, no riots, no disturbances at all. That changed in 1080. Now an old man, Artúr seemed to shake from his contentment. He was pressured that for the sake of stability to remove from Dublin the Brehon law of partible inheritance. This was a shock to the Irish nobility, for their law had been in place since time immemorial. While those in Dublin proper were so prosperous they were content to continue such peace - the major landowners, the city of Dublin itself, as well as the Church acceded to this change. For now on, Dublin would be passed down to the oldest son. Artúr did not want to see his children fight and split over the scraps of his lands after he died. Yet Artúr was just and did not want his two youngest sons to go without land. There was not enough land in his small demesne to provide for them the lifestyle he saw adequate. For this, he would have to dispossess others of their lands.
1080 was a year of war for Ireland. The Scots, through their Norse-Gael vassals in The Isles, made their first inroads into Ulster. The Sithgri were overthrown and a ruler appointed from among the ranks of the Scottish. In this year, Artúr was able to fabricate a reason to take to the lands of the Ua Máel-Sechlainn. What precisely that was is lost to history, but over an arduous two year campaign he captured the strongholds of the decendents of the last High King. The war seems to have tired Artúr as his sons were not yet of age to help lead his forces He had to rely on onerous Norse Gael mercenaries who were hard to control. Yet he achieved his goals. His oldest son, Dabid was poised to take possession of his patrimony. The other two sons would eventually become bishops. This is ironic since Artúr was known to be dismissive of the church. He had in fact increased the amount of levies and taxes that the Church would pay. The appointment of his sons to the cloth seems to have ensured that they would pay up.
It is at this point that Dabid mac Artúr should be spoken of. While we will cover his later exploits in more detail, his early life suffers from the lack of documentation characteristic of this era. What we do know is that he was already enthusiastic, stricly moral, proud, and by all means a remarkable youth. As the Scots continued their inroad into Ulster, Artúr may or may not have seen the need for a more united Irish people. After paying a large sum of gold, mostly spoils from the conquest of the Ua Máel-Sechlainn, Artúr had Dabid betrothed to the granddaughter of Rí of Munster, Murchad the Cruel. Artúr would have another son before dying in his bed in Novemeber of 1084.
Now Dabid mac Artúr was ruler of all the lands of Mide. While his father was never able to force the former nobles of the Ua Máel-Sechlainn lands to proclaim him Rí Mide, Dabid will purse that as his first political goal.
