References and Further Reading
Binchy, D. A.
Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Kingship
. Oxford: Clar-
endon Press, 1970.
Byrne, F. J. “Tribes and Tribalism in Early Ireland.”
Ériu
22
(1971): 129–166.
Charles-Edwards, T. M.
Early Christian Ireland
. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2000, pp. 97–98, 100.
Ó Corráin, D. “Nationality and Kingship in Pre-Norman Ire-
land.” In
Nationality and the Pursuit of National Indepen-
dence
(
Historical Studies 12
) 1–35, edited by T. W. Moody.
Belfast: Blackstaff Press, 1978.
Patterson, N. T.
Cattle-Lords and Clansmen. The Social Struc-
ture of Early Ireland,
2nd ed. Notre Dame, Ind.: University
of Notre Dame Press, 1994.
Scott, B. G. “Tribes and Tribalism
in Early Ireland.”
Ogam
22–25 (1970–1973): 197– 206.
See also
Feudalism; Kings and Kingship;
National Identity; Túatha
TRIM
A market town and liberty (1244–1494) in County
Meath, Trim is situated at a fording point on the River
Boyne that has been important since prehistoric times.
The place name is derived from the Irish
Áth Truim
(ford of the elder tree), first mentioned in an account
of around 700, which was later transcribed into the
Book of Armagh
. Trim’s earliest traditions hint at the
presence of a fifth-century British Christian commu-
nity connected with Lommán, who was subsequently
remembered as the patron of Trim. With the rise of the
Uí Néill to prominence in the sixth century, the older
ruling dynasty, the Uí Lóegaire, was displaced but
managed to hold onto Trim and its immediate environs.
Under increasing pressure in the late seventh and early
eighth centuries the Uí Lóegaire affiliated Trim with
the Armagh
paruchia
, thereby introducing an associ-
ation with St. Patrick. In the eighth and ninth centuries,
the Uí Cholmáin, a branch of the Uí Lóegaire, achieved
significance as ecclesiastics at both Trim and Clonard,
while another member, Rumann mac Colmáin (d. 747)
was a poet of distinction. Little is known of Trim in
the tenth and eleventh centuries. In 1128, the settle-
ment and its churches were burnt, while an Augustin-
ian priory was established by 1150. Despite the paucity
of sources, Trim evidently remained important, other-
wise it would not have been chosen by Hugh de Lacy
in 1172 as the capital of his lordship of Meath.
Immediately after his arrival, de Lacy commenced
the construction of one of the largest and most impres-
sive castles in Ireland. With its distinctive cruciform
plan, the tall keep rose above the surrounding curtain
wall to enclose an area of over two acres. The castle
functioned as the administrative center of the lordship
of Meath and liberty of Trim, which passed by mar-
riage to Geoffrey de Geneville in 1252 and to Roger
Mortimer, first earl of March, in 1308. With the extinc-
tion of the Mortimer male line in 1425, the castle and
liberty passed to Richard Plantagenet, duke of York,
and after his death at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460,
it was absorbed by the crown.
The thirteenth century was a period of urban expan-
sion reflected in the foundation of Newtown Trim, with
its substantial cathedral and hospital, two miles down-
river, as well as a Dominican friary in 1263 and a
Franciscan house at about the same time. The town
was fortified with walls and developed trading connec-
tions along the Boyne, with Drogheda as its port.
Unlike most Irish towns Trim seems to have survived
the vicissitudes of the fourteenth century fairly well,
and it was the setting for twelve meetings of parliament
between 1392 and 1492. Nonetheless, urban decline
commenced in the fifteenth century, when reduced rev-
enues made it difficult for the lordship of Meath to
function. As the lordship suffered so did the town, and
with the declining fortunes and final abolition of the
liberty, the wealth and importance of the town faded.
Trim has never since regained the centrality that it
enjoyed in the Middle Ages.
J
OHN
B
RADLEYReferences and Further Reading
Potterton, Michael. “The Archaeology and History of Medieval
Trim, County Meath.” Ph.D. dissertation, The National Uni-
versity of Ireland, Maynooth, 2003.
See also
Armagh; Geneville, Geoffrey de; Lacy,
Hugh de; Mortimer; Parliament; Patrick; Uí NéillTUARASTAL
Tuarastal
(OI [n]: stipend, retaining fee, wages,
reward, remuneration) was the fee or stipend paid by
an over king to subordinates for their services in his
army. In the Lebor na Cert we find horses, swords,
shields, horns, ships, hounds, rings, bridles, bracelets,
cups, and other types of military or luxury items being
given as
tuarastal. This system of reward was not
found in the Early Medieval period, and in fact the
word
tuarastal
in that period refers to eyewitness tes-
timony. In the Early Medieval period the word used
for surety payment was
Ráth
. There was in this period
no need to remunerate an army, as they were not
expected to remain away from home for any length of
time.
The changing practice of warfare in Ireland in the
post-Viking period brought with it a change in termi-
nology. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries over kings
needed armies that could be sent far from home for
extended periods of time. This need did not fit with
TRIBES