Just wondering if will see any Irish or Scottish Gallowglass in kingdom come as there was Gallowglass working all over Europe from the mid 13th century to the late 16th century.this photo was done in the Holy Roman Empire in 1521 by Albrecht Dürer.
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What exactly is Gallowglass?
gallóglaigh. mercenaries.
no. why would there be? it’s kind of like asking, will there be french knights in this game?
because mercenaries weren’t particularly uncommon?
Essentially insular Celtic mercenaries from Ireland/Scotland. Famous for wielding big two handed swords/axes often going bare feet and not wearing pants. Also notorious for the fact that they wore armor outdated by five decades or two centuries at times.
However placing these guys in Bohemia around the turn of the century is stretching it a bit. I know they were employed in the British Isles for a long time but never heard about them being employed in Europe before 1500. So really I think the devs might want some evidence on their being in Bohemia before they consider it.
WHAT?! PHOTO?! Gawd damn, I didnt know that HRE had cameras in 15th century…
Thanks very much for your comment.
Or a payroll with signature.
Those crazy Germans, man.
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Well there is a (Discovery channel endorsed) theory that Shroud of Turin is essentialy a primitive photograph sooooo who knows. 
Actually Dushin is mixing the Irish Gallowglass with the Irish Kern. Its understandable since they worked together a lot. I’ll post much more details in the future on both sides. I’ve done a lot of study one this subject and the internet (especially wikipedia) is actually full of poor or just plain false information.
But since I got a few hours do you want to know just the Gallowglass or all of Irish medieval fighting?
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How about correcting it then?
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Because I don’t really deal with Wikipedia that much. I usually use it for a bases and then find sources from there.
This is what I know about the Gallowglass. I’m going to try to focus on the 14th/15th Century Gallowglass since that’s what this game is about.
Origins
During the mid 13th century clans from Scotland (and some Normans) immigrated into Ireland. They kept to their ways and didn’t held any allegiances to the Irish Lords. They worked as mercenaries and were very useful because they didn’t have to worry about any family relations getting into the way (which was a common problem among Irish nobles). So they called the Gallowglass which directly translates into “Foreign Warrior”. As the years pass more native Irish would join the clans but they still remained independent. They became a staple of Irish warfare as they were their main heavy infantry. This with the light infantry the Kern and the nobles who fought on horseback made up the Irish military. Some clans would stick to one lord or another though. Even Queen Elizabeth I had her own clan of Gallowglass.
Clothing and Looks
Like other Irish they often wore long saffron colored robes and cloaks. Saffron (a yellowish color) is a symbol of wealth to the Irish. They did wear shoes and sometimes leggings which was unlike the Kern. They weren’t made for hit and run and more for holding their ground or pushing/breaking enemy forces. As for styles they sometimes had long hair similar to the Kern but almost always had a mustache. It was very fashionable to have them in Ireland around that time.
Armor
They wore either a chainmail hauberk and/or a gambeson. They often had a mail bishop’s mantle as well. For the head it was always an open face plate helm. Sometimes they would have a nose guard but nothing with a visor or fully close off from the mouth.
Weapons
The primary weapon of a Gallowglass is their axe. It was describe of being about six feet long and about a foot broad head. The head didn’t have any back or top spikes and was relatively simple compared to other war axes. The style was never consistent either. As some would report them to look like a shoemaker’s knife and some say it would look like an axe used in the tower of London.
Now the greatsword (aka Two Hander, Zweihander, etc) there is little evidence that they were ever used by the Gallowglass. Other than Durer drawing there is no other proof that they used them. The Irish two handed sword did exist and some can be seen in the Belfast Museum but if they did use it it was rather rare. There is debates that the sword could have belong to another Scottish mercenaries known as the Redshanks who did use two handed claymores but they weren’t around until the 16th century. But if you want to put it in I don’t wouldn’t mind.
As for a side arm they did carry an Irish style one handed sword with the classic ring pommel. They also would carry a knife called a Scian. A scian is like a scottish dirk but it was longer and more narrow. It had no guard and was usually pretty simple looking. Many Irishmen not just gallowglass used it.
They also never used any projectile weapons despite Durer’s painting shows. They were exclusively in close fighters.
Here is some Gallowglass examples. The one of the left is from the 15th Century
Another Style Helmet they would have used.
Cover of Cannan’s Book
Sources
Cannan, Fergus, and Seán Ó Brógáin. Galloglass 1250-1600: Gaelic Mercenary Warrior. Oxford, UK: Osprey, 2010. Print.
Heath, Ian. The Irish Wars 1485-1603: Oxford, UK: Osprey, 1993. Print.
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