The Red Branch Warriors

In c.200 BC The Irish Annals recorded the childhood exploits of King Lowry Loingseach. Lowry, said to be mute, only uttered his first words after being hit with a stick during a hurley match. It is not known what he said but it is believed to be unrepeatable. During this period, the game of hurley was so important in Ireland that it even featured prominently in the folklore of the rural peoples. It was believed that the leprechauns played the game under moonlit skies on the surface of lakes, with some even playing their matches under water.

Around c.100 BC, Cuchulain, an Ulster warrior, leader of The Red Branch Warriors and son of the Celtic Sun God Lugh and a human mother Dechtire, gained youthful fame on account of his hurling abilities. In one legendary incident, he single-handedly defeated one hundred and fifty warriors in a hurling match on the Field at Armagh. Angered by their defeat, the men attacked Cuchulain, but he fought back killing fifty men with his bare hands before the others fled the field. Considered the greatest warrior of ancient Ulster, Cuchulain was known for his uncontrollable temper and physical deformities, such as having seven fingers on each hand and seven toes on each foot. He was said to go insane with uncontrollable rage and, during times of insanity, was reported as having seven pupils in each eye. On one occasion, he had reportedly carried the ball on the blade of his hurley stick a distance of nine miles in a repetitious motion of throwing the ball into the air and catching it on his blade before it could drop to the ground.

Cuchulain was the nephew of King Conchobar. At the age of seventeen, Cuchulain singularly defeated the forces of Maeve, warrior Queen of Connacht, when she tried and failed, in an attempt to capture Ulster. Tales of all kinds are told about him. At the age of twenty-seven Cuchulain, finally met his match when he was killed in an ambush. His attackers are said to have severed his head using the great warrior's own hurley stick.

Hurley continued to be popular in Ireland but, according to the Irish texts, The Dun Cow c.1100 AD, and The Book of Leinster c.1160 AD, it was not until the 3rd century AD that the Irish had their next great hurley warrior. Fionn MacCumhail, popularly known as Finn MacCool, was the mythical leader of the fighting band Fianna Eireann. MacCool is said to be a descendant of the god Nuada, former king of the Tuatha De Danaan. MacCumhail's most notable hurley accomplishment occurred when he defeated fifty men by scoring the decisive goal in a match at Tara. His reward for his deed was a kiss from King Cormac MacArt's daughter - the woman he was to subsequently marry.

Even in the religious records of ancient Ireland one finds mention of hurley. Such is the example and story of the visit of Saint Colmcille to Tara. In the 5th Century Tara was reputed to have been a powerful and sacred place of gods and an entrance to the other world. During his time there, a Connacht prince used a hurley to kill a young boy. Although Saint Colmcille attempted to intervene, the prince was summarily executed on the spot, for such was the anger of those who had witnessed this savage act.

It was at this time, St. Patrick arrived in Ireland (c.432 AD) on a mission to convert the island tribes to Christianity. Although only partly successful, Patrick did however succeed in laying the foundations of the Christian faith allowing for future Christian clerics to continue his efforts. By the 6th Century primitive Christianity and Druidism co-existed throughout Ireland and other regions of the British Isles. During this period an amalgamation of the Sun God and Christian religions occurred across Ireland, Britain and Western Europe. This merging of religions would in turn lead to the creation of modern Christianity. Among the Druid or Sun God worshipping symbols borrowed by the Christians was the Ankh or ancient Cross. In addition, the scepter or staff carried by Druid high priests and long symbolic of the religion of the snake was adopted by high ranking Christian clergy becoming the Bishops Staff or Crosier. The amber beads on a necklace, referred to by the ancients as Hesiod's Tears and carried by Druid believers as a symbol of early creation and rebirth, became the Christian Rosary. Marriages performed by the Church continued to allow for the bride and the groom to exchange rings - symbols of the serpent coiled around the heavens. Even the symbol of God, long recorded by the Druids and other ancients in the form of three straight rods, became the cornerstone of the triangular symbolism behind the Christian concept of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost - an ironic and deliberate attempt to equate the trio as a tree of life.

Of course, not all Sun God beliefs were adopted by the Christians. The idea of worshipping the Sun God and paying homage to the Serpent were both concepts rejected outright as falsehoods. And, even though the Tree of Life was utilized to the benefit of Christian symbolism, the idea of a tree as a religious symbol to worship was also rejected. A case in point, the c.726 AD destruction of the Donar Oak, (long believed to be a sacred tree of life) by St. Boniface near German village of Fritzlar, Hesse, was a way for the Church to send a message to all non-Christian believers of the power of Christianity over the Sun God religion. The myth of St. Patrick ridding Ireland of snakes was not so much a miracle of man over nature as it was Christianity over Druidism. The rejection of Druid temples as places of worship were also promoted as these temples were designed as symbols of the ring of the Snake and the stages of the ancient Zodiac. To add to the Churches argument that Christianity was the rightful religion, many of the desecrations of the Sun God symbols of worship and shrines occurred during the time of calamities in order to enhance a belief among the disbelievers of 'God's punishment for praying to a false god'. The fact that Christianity witnessed its greatest regional conversions in Sun God areas during the time of the Plague, when half the population of Western Europe was decimated, is a coincidence that cannot be overemphasized.

Yet, regardless of the Christian attempts to reinterpret religion, and the devastating depopulation of Europe by the Plague, some Druid and Sun God customs thrived. The concept of the cutting of a pine tree (a symbolic tree of life) and displaying it in one's home each December 21st in honor of the winter solstice continued eventually becoming a Christ's Tree today's modern Christmas tree. In addition, colored eggs, long symbols of the ancient Sun God religion and symbolic of a world reborn after the Great Flood became Easter Eggs.

In fact, it can be argued, that many of these changes were designed to mainstream Christianity as it competed for the religious, social, and economic control over the Western European masses. Even though all religious symbolisms associated with hockey were also rejected, the game continued to be played in many forms throughout Western Europe.

In c.851 AD the Danes sacked Canterbury Cathedral on one of their many raids into England. In c.950 AD the church was rebuilt. Among the new stained glass windows were six images depicting the timeline of man. Included in this grouping, was the image of a boy holding a curved hurley stick and ball. It is known as the Puerilitia, or Childhood, and is reflective proof of the impact of the sport among the European peasant classes.

By c.1100 AD, the game had become a common sight throughout the British Isles. In Ireland it was still called hurley. In Wales, it was known as Bandy but in Scotland, having become the favorite pastime of the High King Alexander I, called "the Fierce", the game was known as Shindy or Shinty (now know as Shinny). A name derived from the cry, "Shin t' ye" (shin to you) that was shouted when players collided or hit one another with their sticks.

Shinty has similar origins and connections to hurley. In Scots Gaelic the game is known as Camanachd, whereas the Irish version was called Camanacht (the winter version of hurley). The similarities continue with the prominence of national heroes in the game. Where the Irish proclaim and exult such mighty warriors and players of the game as Cuchulain, the Scots have sagas that boast the heroic deeds and Shinty prowess of their own hero, Conal Gulban. However, unlike in Ireland, the Highland chieftains never resorted to using Shinty as a replacement, or a precursor, to warfare. Shinty was patronized purely for the love of the game.

The English social historian William Fitzstephen, in his c.1175 AD work Description of the Most Noble City of London gave the first written mention of the sport being played in winter when he proclaimed:

Let us come to the Sports and Exercise . . . for the scholars of every school have their ball and bastion in their hands . . . When the great fenne or moore . . . is frozen, many young men play upon the yce, . . . some tye bones to their feete, and under their heels and shoving themselves by little picked staffe, doe slide as swiftly as a birde flieth in the air or an arrow out of a cross-bow. Sometimes two runne together with poles, and hitting one the other eyther one or both doe fall not without hurt. Some break their armes, some their legs, but youth desirous of glorie, in this sort excerciseth itselfe against the time of war.

The sport had become so popular in England by c.1365 AD, that King Edward III, fearing its impact on military discipline, banned its play. He cited the excuse that it took time away from the practice of archery.

Earlier in c.1348 AD, England had been ravaged by the Black Death resulting in the death of half the population. In terms of economics and politics the ramifications would be tremendous. Though the peasantry of England had been subject to a 'tributary' or 'head tax' made payable to the English Nobility, the c.1215 AD Magna Carta has ensured that the exploitation of the peasantry was, in relation to other regions, limited. The Black Death changed this. With fewer peasants to pay tribute, greater pressure fell on those remaining to produce and pay out more. Taxes were increased and enforcement efforts strengthened. With the judicial system devastated by the large loss of legal experts, regional interpretation of laws became the norm. Few cases moved through the judiciary and those which did often took years to adjudicate. Peasant rights were not of priority.

In c.1381 AD tensions came to a head with the outbreak of Wat Tyler's Rebellion. Tyler, a roofer and farmer in County Kent, had been out in his field working on the day a local tax commissioner arrived at his home to collect the annual head tax. A dispute erupted between Tyler's wife and the man over the age of Tyler's daughter. The tax collector claimed the girl was fifteen and was thus eligible for taxation. The mother claimed otherwise. In an effort to prove the girl's age the man forced the young girl to disrobe in order to examine the girl's breasts and genitalia. He then proceeded to rape the young child. Hearing the screams of his wife and daughter, Tyler ran in from the field and killed the attacker by smashing in the man's skull with a hammer. As word of Tyler's actions spread, local farmers rallied to Tyler's side. Determined to resist any attempt at taxation, or prosecution by authorities, the peasantry organized themselves into a makeshift fighting force. Tyler and two priests from neighboring Essex county, John Ball and Jack Straw, were elected military leaders and a mob of disgruntled poor farmers and villagers assembling in force at Black-Heath, Kent, set out west towards the inland city of London.

The events that would transpire would go down in history as the "hurling time" a reference to the fact that among the assortment of weapons carried by the peasants were hurley sticks. It would be the first time in history that hockey sticks would be used as a weapon of warfare. By the time Tyler and his followers had reached London they numbered over 100,000. Along the way the group seized Canterbury Cathedral, killed the Archbishop of Canterbury, burned dozens of homes of noblemen and destroyed the Savoy Palace. In addition, they raided the notorious prisons of Fleet and Newgate freeing all the prisoners. Not satisfied with these successes they attacked and captured the Tower of London and sent a demand for an immediate audience with the 14-year old boy-king Richard II. Following a quickly arranged meeting with the King, in which Richard II agreed in principle to all of the demands presented, including the immediate abolishment of serfdom, Tyler and his followers retreated back to the Tower of London where they set about preparing additional demands for presentation. The next day, the two groups met at Smithfield, where Tyler, Ball, and Straw presented the King with new conditions. During the meeting, and on the orders of King Richard II, the Mayor of London attacked Tyler stabbing him in the throat and stomach. Tyler died a short time later. Ball and Straw were also killed. In the case of Jack Straw, his head was cut off and placed on the end of a horsemen's lancet and was subsequently paraded through London before being hung by a rope from London Bridge. In the weeks that would follow, King Richard II would order the execution of 1500 peasant leaders. All reforms promised would also be revoked.

In c.1385 AD the Cathedral of Gloucester was completed. Among the images placed in the cathedral's stain glass windows was a depiction of a man swinging a hurley stick at a ball. Again the symbolism is unique given the date of its creation and the fact that two of the three main leaders of the Wat Tyler Rebellion were priests. Taken into context with the events of c.1381 AD, the stain glass image serves not only as a subtle reminder and tribute to the "hurling time" but also as a form of social and political commentary.

In c.1388 AD, as the repression of the peasant classes continued in England, Richard II ordered the burning of all hurley sticks throughout the country. Those caught in possession of such items faced severe punishment and extension fines. Those found guilty of allowing the game to be played on their lands faced fines of twenty pounds and three years imprisonment. The move, believed by some to be an effort to limit the sport's popularity, was instead an effort to eliminate as many potential weapons in the hands of the peasantry as possible and avoid another peasant revolt. It was only after the invention of firearms that this punitive law would be revoked.

In c.1399 AD, at the age of 32, and following his marriage three years earlier to the 7 year old Isabella of Valois the daughter of Charles VI of France, Richard II was murdered becoming the first victim of the War of the Roses.

Today, at the Copenhagen Museum one can find a large silver flagon used for holding wine or other liquors. The flagon is believed to be of French origin and has been dated to the late 14th Century. The image on the flagon is quite revealing. It shows a headless man swinging a hurley stick. It is highly probable that this ceremonial flagon was part of the silverware at the wedding of King Richard II and Isabella of Valois as it appears to symbolize the death of Jack Straw. Of course we will never know if this is in fact the case. In his work Richard II, William Shakespeare sums up the life of the boy-king with the words: "Heaven hath a hand in these events." More appropriate words have seldom been spoken.

The Wat Tyler Rebellion is not the only reference to ancient hockey being played in England during the thirteen hundreds. The English writer Thomas Rymer, in his c.1740 AD work Foedera Conventiones, Litterae Et Cujuscunque Generis Acta Publica Inter Reges Angliae Et Alios Quosuis Imperatores, Reges, Pontifices, Principes Vel Communitates Ab Ingressu Gulielmi I In Angliam A.D 1066. Ad Nostra Usque Tempora. Volume 4, records a game played by the peasantry in c.1363 AD utilizing a "crooked stick or curved club or playing mallet with which a small wooden ball is propelled forward."

By the 13th century, a form of early hockey, using wooden golf-like sticks and a ball, called Het Kolven, was being played on the frozen ponds and rivers of Holland. At the same time, the game called Hurley on Ice or the French equivalent Jeu de Mail was being played on the ponds and rivers of Luxembourg, Belgium and France. During this period, however, only the Dutch would develop skating to a higher form with the invention of iron-blade wooden skates. By the 1500's, these skates were increasing in use, as more and more of the Dutch peasantry turned away from locally made ox bone skates to manufactured iron blades. It would be the iron blades that would allow the Dutch to skate faster and to cover more distances. Ironically, this achievement would not only serve as an aid to travel and leisure during winter, but also would help the Dutch wage war.

In c.1572 AD, a group of Dutch pirates, known as the Sea Beggars, would become victims of Dutch technology when they would be attacked by local peasants on skates after the pirates had their ships frozen in the ice. Before they took to sea, these Dutch pirates were originally known as the Wild Beggars. Starting in the early 1550's, they had gained a reputation for robbing and plundering Catholic churches and monasteries on land, often cutting off the noses and ears of priests and monks who were unfortunate enough to cross their path. By the late 1560's, during the start of the 80-Year War (c.1568 AD to c.1648 AD), these murderers and thieves were given ships and organized into sea raiding parties by William of Orange for the purpose of preying on the Spanish Navy. Unruly and treacherous, these pirates were non-discriminating, finding great success in disrupting Spanish shipping lanes while also attacking vessels of almost any nation including those of local fishermen from peasant villages and towns along the Dutch shoreline.

In February of c.1572 AD, three pirate ships under the control of Captains Willem Blois van Treslong, Jelte Eelsma and Pieter Simonsz Meyns became stuck in the ice off the small island of Wieringen, a predominant Catholic area near the village of Oosterland. With no imminent escape in sight, the pirates began to walk across the ice, pillaging the local villages. After almost a month of raids, the poor victimized locals organized a large group of farmers and threatened to attack the ships, if the pirates continued their plundering.

Trapped on the ice and vulnerable to attack, Blois van Treslong, a veteran military naval officer, tried to negotiate a settlement with the locals. In his arrogance, his colleague, Meyns, refused, daring the farmers to attack. In the night, a group of Wieringen farmers, armed with clubs, skated quickly and silently out towards the boats. Unseen or heard, they attacked the ships, successfully boarding the vessels and beating to death seventeen pirates, including Captain Meyns. The farmers forced Treslong to swear to not exact revenge for this act, and in doing so the captain offered his sword to the people as a token of his friendship. Treslong, still trapped by the ice, and no longer wishing to remain vulnerable to further attack, asked the farmers if they could aid him and his surviving crew in freeing the stricken ships from the ice. Using skates and ropes, the local peasantry helped the ships break free and reach open sea. Treslongs sword still hangs today in the Catholic Church of Oosterland, in Wieringen Holland.

Though visual evidence of early hockey exists in scattered form throughout much of the European medieval and renaissance periods, it is not until the mid-1500's that a large body of visual imagery emerges, thanks in part to the efforts of the Dutch painter Peter Brueghel. Brueghel was hockey's first true sports artist and documentarian. He painted the ancient games and the lower classes who played them. Though fewer than two hundred of his works survive today, of those that do, at least twenty depict participation in sports. No fewer than ten display images of Het Kolven on ice. Brueghel has, for the most part, been the subject of scorn or simply ignored by the art world because the subjects he painted reflected the story of the poor and the games of the common people. As a result, most sports historians are unaware of his contribution to the history of hockey. He saw hockey and recorded it for posterity. His art is a virtual timeline on hockey history linking the ancient game to the contemporary claims of modern hockey origins. His are the eyes of the past, his canvass the ultimate record of ancient hockey roots. His work is proof, through artistry and the visual historic record, that the so-called modern game had existed for centuries.

Among the more famous paintings and images of Kolven include Pieter Brueghel's c.1565 AD paintings Winter Landscape and Skaters and Hunters in the Snow. In addition, other artists such as Frans Huys' Ice Skating in Front of St. George's Gate, Antwerp c.1558 AD, Elias van de Veldes' Amusement on the Frozen Moat, c.1618 AD; David Vinckeboons' Annual Market, and Hendrick Avercamp's A Scene on the Ice, c.1625 AD further provides visuals depicting primitive ice hockey.