be "brave and honourable" to fight without it. Armor was usually a simple affair: the poorest might have worn padded coats, the wealthier might have worn boiled leather armor called cuir bouilli, and the wealthiest might have had access to bronze chest plates, padded textile armor or maybe perhaps mail or scale armors (though they did exist in Ireland, they were quite rare). Gallowglass mercenaries of the early 13th century have been depicted as having worn mail tunics and steel burgonet helmets but the overall majority of Gaelic warriors would have been protected only by a small shield. Gaelic shields were usually round, with a spindle shaped boss, though later the regular iron boss models were introduced by the Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and Normans. A few shields were also oval in shape or square, but most of the native shields were small and round, like bucklers, to better enable agility and a quick escape. Customs Clan warfare was an important aspect of life in Gaelic Ireland, especially before the Viking age. When Vikings brought new forms of technology, culture, warfare and settlements to Ireland. Before the Viking Age, there was a heavy importance placed on Gaelic clan wars and ritual combat. Another very important aspect of Gaelic ritual warfare at this time was single combat. In order to settle a dispute or merely to measure one's prowess, it was customary to challenge another individual warrior from the other army to ritual single combat to the death, while being cheered on by the opposing hosts. Champion warfare was an important aspect of Irish mythology, literature and culture, particularly in the Ulster cycle with Cú Chulainn and the Táin Bó Cúailnge, where the hero from Ulster defeats an entire army from Connacht one by one. Such single combats were common before a pitched battle, and for ritual purposes they tended to occur at river fords. The spirit and traditions of single combat would live on and manifest itself in other ways in Modern Gaelic cultures. In Scotland with events like Scottish Wrestling, the Highland Games and Scottish Martial Arts like the dueling of the 18th century. Where the victor was determined by who made the first-cut. However, this was not always observed, and at times the duel would continue to the death. In Ireland, the spirit of ritual combat has also manifested itself as single combat style sporting events and Irish martial arts