A 16th century account of hierarchies among the Gaelic Irish
Knockadalteen/Cnoc an Dailtín ‘the hill of the dalteen [fosterling, impudent young man, cadet]’
(see logainm.ie #45183)
Date: 11/01/2025
Last week we saw a vivid description of gamblers taken from an account of the hierarchy of Gaelic Irish (military) society in the late 16th century by the (admittedly very biased) historian Stanihurst. We might expect such an account to begin with the bodach ‘peasant’ (eDIL s.v. botach) ‘churl, lout’ (see FGB s.v. bodach; see also Dinneen), but the lowest grade is stated to have been the dalteen, an anglicized form of dailtín often explained as meaning a ‘fosterling; impudent or quarrelsome young men’ (eDIL s.v. dailtín). Dailtín is a diminutive of dalta, a word which not only means ‘foster-child’ but also ‘pupil, student, pet, fondling’ and in a military sense ‘cadet’ (see FGB s.v. *dalta*). In the context of a hierarchy of troops it could refer to a type of young military cadet at the beginning of his military training — whence his extremely low status, described by Stanihurst as even lower than grooms or horseboys. In third place in this hierarchy comes the kern, a ‘light-armed soldier; foot soldier’ (FGB s.v. ceithearnach), followed by the gallowglass, a ‘heavily-armed foot-soldier’ (FGB s.v. gallóglach), a term originally confined to mercenaries from Gaelic Scotland. (Note that gallowglass, the odd anglicization of the word gallóglach, is the result of the addition of the English plural marker to anglicized *gallogla(gh).) Fifth place in this hierarchy is ascribed to horsemen, said to be “the chiefest next the Lord and Captain”. As such, these were doubtless the sons of the very highest in Gaelic society. It is notable that they are followed by the tale-tellers [file ‘poet’] and the lawyers, affirming the exceedingly high status of professional learned classes within native Irish society (they certainly would not have been doing any of the fighting themselves).
The term dailtín appears only rarely in townland names, and where it does occur it tends to qualify the term cnoc ‘hill’ or cnocán ‘hillock’. For example, in Co. Sligo we have two townlands names Cnoc an Dailtín ‘the hill of the fosterling; the hill of the impudent or quarrelsome young man; the hill of the cadet’, one of which was anglicized as Knockadalteen (logainm.ie #45183), and the other – near Riverstown – renamed as Mount Town (logainm.ie #44588). Mount Town is no more than a late English creation which replaced anglicized Knockdaltin. The same Irish name, Cnoc an Dailtín, lies behind anglicized Knockadalteen (logainm.ie #42886) in Co. Roscommon. We also have the minor name Knockanadalteen/Cnocán an Dailtín ‘the hillock of the fosterling; the hillock of the impudent or quarrelsome young man; the hillock of the cadet’ (logainm.ie #1415157) in Co. Limerick, again referring to elevated ground.
P.W. Joyce follows John O’Donovan in his explanation of Knockadalteen/Cnoc an Dailtín as meaning ‘hill of the horseboy’ (The origin and history of Irish names of places III, p. 436). In light of the 16th century description of the dailtín as a lackey of the grooms or horseboys, however, it may be more appropriate to intepret this Irish placename as ‘the hill of the fosterling’, ‘the hill of the impudent or quarrelsome young man’ or ‘the hill of the cadet’.
They obserue diuerse degrées, according to which each man is regarded. The basest sort among them are little yoong wags, called Daltins [dailtín ‘fosterling; impudent or quarrelsome young man’; see eDIL s.v. dailtín]; these are lackies, and are seruiceable to the groomes or horsseboies, who are a degrée aboue the Daltins. Of the third degrée is the Kerne, who is an ordinarie souldior, vsing for weapon his sword and target, and sometimes his péece, being commonlie so good markemen as they will come within a score of a great castell. Kerne signifieth (as noble men of deepe iudgement informed me) a shower of hell [false etymology based on analysis of ceithearn as cith ‘shower’ + ifreann ‘hell’], because they are taken for no better than for rakehels, or the diuels blacke gard, by reason of the stinking sturre they kéepe, wheresoeuer they be. The fourth degrée is a galloglasse, vsing a kind of pollar for his weapon. These men are commonlie weieward rather by profession than by nature, grim of countenance, tall of stature, big of lim, burlie of bodie, well and stronglie timbered, chieflie féeding on béefe, porke & butter. The fifth degrée is to be an horsseman, which is the chiefest next the lord and capteine. These horssemen, when they haue no staie of their owne, gad & range from house to house like arrant knights of the round table, and they neuer dismount vntill they ride into the hall, and as farre as the table…
(Cf. also Calendar of the Patent and Close Rolls of Chancery in Ireland, Vol. 1, ed. James Morrin (Dublin, 1861) p. 298 note a).
(Conchubhar Ó Crualaoich & Aindí Mac Giolla Chomhghaill)