Field games were generally held on the greens of a
fort or enclosure. Early Law Tracts describe penalties
for injuries to participants and damage to structures
while playing on public greens. Evidence from saga
tales suggests that assemblies and fairs were the most
common settings for field games, often with spectators
present. Field games were clearly violent affairs and
injuries were common. Descriptions of both injuries
and penalties are common. Field games are also com-
monly described as an appropriate means of settling
quarrels and disputes, in many cases ending in injury
or death.
Apart from field sports, board games were also a
common pursuit. Archaeological evidence for board
games generally belongs to one of two contexts, pre-
Christian settlements and Viking Age settlements of
the tenth to twelfth centuries. The best known sur-
viving evidence is the Ballinderry game board, a
well-preserved wooden board roughly 25 cm square.
Forty-nine holes are bored into the main panel in a
7 by 7 arrangement. Several games have been sug-
gested for the board though none is certain. Boards
are often described in the literature as intricately
carved and adorned with precious gems. Clearly valu-
able personal possessions, they are described as gifts,
tributes, and spoils of war.
Three specific board games are mentioned in the
early literature,
fidchell
,
brandub
, and
buanbach
.
Fidchell
survives in Modern Irish as the word for chess. Chess,
however, did not reach Ireland until at least the twelfth
century, perhaps not until the thirteenth. As references
to
fidchell
appear as early as the eighth century,
fid-
chell
predates chess’s introduction to Ireland and is
clearly a separate game. A similar misinterpretation
occurs with
brandub
, consistently translated “back-
gammon.” Little is known of the board game
brandub
and references to it are most often found in association
with
fidchell
. It is likely the games were played on
the same board.
Fidchell
, literally “wood sense,” is cognate to the
Welsh board game
gwyddbwyll
and likely represents
the same game or family of games.
Fidchell
is by far
the best attested of Ireland’s early board games. In
references from the saga-literature play at the
fidchell
board often lasts several games, particularly when a
stake is involved. Unfortunately, little is known of the
strategy and arrangement of the early board games.
Occasional hints concerning the physical layout and
the movements of pieces are found for
fidchell
,
describing it as a chase-game whereby a principal
piece is surrounded by defenders. This allows a tenta-
tive understanding, though one which is far from com-
plete
.
Comparisons to the contemporary games of “fox
and geese” and variants of Scandinavian
tafl
(table)
games have been suggested.
Skill at
fidchell
and other board games is directly
associated with military skill. The games and their
playing pieces are frequently used as metaphors for
battles and soldiers. Kings and heroes are frequently
described playing
fidchell.
The saga hero Cú Chulainn
and his charioteer Láeg are keen players. Queens are
occasional participants, though their participation is
generally related to reveal their military skill. Children
are also portrayed as eager and well-trained players.
An early Law Tract lists instruction in the playing of
fidchell
and
brandub
as two skills which must be
taught to a foster-son. The
fidchellach
, or “
fidchell- player,” is a common figure of the early literature. He
was an on-call opponent for kings and lords, and in
one text is described as the “household pet.”
Apart from board games, dice games, and other games
of chance were played in early Ireland. Dice of various
shapes and sizes are found in Iron Age and pre-Christian
contexts, generally in burials. Dice in later contexts, par-
ticularly Viking settlements, are occasionally found in
burials but also and more generally in living areas.
The early literature provides little specific informa-
tion or background to gaming and gambling. “Bone-
players” are mentioned in an early poem concerning
the annual fair at Carman, and “bone-games” appear
in a list of boys’ feats in a late saga tale. Dice are often
found in archaeological sites alongside gaming-pieces,
gaming-counters, glass and stone beads, and so forth.
Several burials, usually of young males having met
violent ends, include scattered dice and glass or bone
gaming counters, suggesting the fate of crooked or
perhaps unlucky participants.
Dice and games of chance were likely common
pastimes, played from an early age. Literary accounts
also describe the casting of lots, or
crannchor
(literally
“wood-throw”). Beyond simple gaming and gambling,
legal and hereditary issues were often solved through
the casting of lots. Gaming and gambling seem to have
become increasingly popular in late-medieval Ireland,
with several games and gaming pieces introduced by
the English.
A
NGELA
G
LEASON
References and Further Reading
Binchy, D. A., (ed.). “
Mellbretha.
”
Celtica
8 (1968): 144–154.
Kelly, Fergus.
A Guide to Early Irish law. Dublin: Dublin Insti-
tute for Advanced Studies, 1988.
Edwards, Nancy.
The Archaeology of Early Medieval Ireland
.
London: Batsford, 1990.
O’Sullivan, Aidan. “Warriors, Legends and Heroes: The
Archaeology of Hurling.”
Archaeology Ireland
12, no. 3
(Autumn 1998): 32–34.
See also
Children; Entertainment; Law Tracts;
Ulster CycleGAMES