Annals of Ulster
Encyclopedia
The Annals of Ulster are annals
Annals
Annals are a concise form of historical representation which record events chronologically, year by year. The Oxford English Dictionary defines annals as "a narrative of events written year by year"...

 of medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. The entries span the years between AD
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....

 431 to AD 1540. The entries up to AD 1489 were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, under his patron Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa
Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa
Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa was the principal compiler of the Annals of Ulster.-References:*Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa and the Annals of Ulster, by Aubrey Gwynn, in Clougher Record, 2/2 pp.230-43 and 2/3 , pp. 370-84. Ed...

 on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne
Lough Erne
Lough Erne, sometimes Loch Erne , is the name of two connected lakes in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The lakes are widened sections of the River Erne. The river begins by flowing north, and then curves west into the Atlantic. The southern lake is further up the river and so is named Upper...

 in the province of Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...

. Later entries (up to AD 1540) were added by others.

Previous annals dating as far back as the 6th century were used as a source for the earlier entries, and later entries were based on recollection and oral history. T.M. Charles-Edwards has claimed that the main source for its records of the first millennium AD is a now-lost Armagh continuation of The Chronicle of Ireland.

The Annals used the Irish language
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

, with some entries in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

. Because the Annals copied its sources verbatim, the annals are useful not just for historians, but also for linguists studying the evolution of the Irish language.

A century later, the Annals of Ulster would become an important source for the authors of the Annals of the Four Masters
Annals of the Four Masters
The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history...

.

The Library
Trinity College Library, Dublin
Trinity College Library Dublin, the centrally-administered library of Trinity College, Dublin, is the largest library in Ireland. As a "copyright library", it has legal deposit rights for material published in the Republic of Ireland; it is also the only Irish library to hold such rights for the...

 of Trinity College Dublin possesses the original manuscript; the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...

 in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

 has a contemporary copy which fills some of the gaps in the original. There are two main modern English translations of the annals — Mac Airt and Mac Niocaill (1983) and MacCarthy (1893).

Content

The entries of the Annals of Ulster follow three main threads: kingdoms, kings, and places.



Kingdoms


The two main kingdoms of Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...

 are the northern Ui Neill
Uí Néill
The Uí Néill are Irish and Scottish dynasties who claim descent from Niall Noigiallach , an historical King of Tara who died about 405....

 clan and the southern Ui Neill clan. The kingdom of Brega
Kings of Brega
-Overview:Brega took its name from Mag Breg, the plain of Brega, in modern County Meath, County Louth and County Dublin, Ireland. They formed part of the Uí Néill kindred, belonging to the Síl nÁedo Sláine branch of the southern Uí Néill. The kingdom of Brega included the Hill of Tara, the site...

 is also mentioned in the Annals and is one of the kingdoms to alternately hold the high seat at Tara
Hill of Tara
The Hill of Tara , located near the River Boyne, is an archaeological complex that runs between Navan and Dunshaughlin in County Meath, Leinster, Ireland...

. Laigin
Laigin
The Laigin, modern spelling Laighin , were a population group of early Ireland who gave their name to the province of Leinster...

 is further to the south and is often mentioned in the Annals as being invaded.



Kings


Several kings are mentioned throughout the Annals of Ulster. The Annals tend to follow the lives of the kings, including important battles, raids, and their eventual death. Between the years of 847 and 879, three different kings are highlighted. For example:
Mael Sechnaill mac Maele Ruanaid, the king of the southern Ui Neill clan from 846-862:
  • 839.6 – First mentioned in the Annals of Ulster having killed Crunnmael son of Fiannamail.
  • 841.2 – Kills Diarmait
  • 843.1 – Mael Sechnaill’s father, Mael Ruanaid, dies
  • 845.7 – Kills his brother Flann
  • 845.8 – Takes Tuirgéis prisoner
  • 846.7 – Suffers heavy losses at hands of Tigernach
  • 847.2 – Begins his reign.
  • 847.3 – Destroys the Island of Loch Muinremor
  • 848.4 – defeats Vikings at Forach
  • 849.12 – conducts siege in Crupat
  • 850.3 – Cinaed, king of Cianacht, with help from foreign forces rebels against Mael Sechnaill
  • 851.2 – kills Cinaed, king of Cianacht
  • 851.5 – attends conference in Ard Macha
  • 854.2 – took hostages from Mumu at Inneóin na nDéise
  • 856.2 – took hostages from Mumu at Caisel
  • 856.3 – battle against the Vikings
  • 858.4 – marched against Mumu, took hostages from them and traveled with them “from Belat Gabráin to Inis Tarbnai off the Irish coast, and from Dún Cermna to Ára Airthir.”
  • 859.3 – attends conference at Ráith Aeda Meic Bric “to make peace and amity between the men of Ireland”
  • 860.1 – leads army into the north, attacked, but hold position
  • 862.5 – Dies and is described as “king of all Ireland”




The same pattern is followed for Aed mac Neill, the king of the northern Ui Neill clan. Aed mac Neill appears in the following entries in the Annals of Ulster: 855.3, 856.5, 860.1, 861.1, 862.2, 862.3, 863.2, 864.1, 864.3, 866.4, 868.4, 870.2, 874.4, and finally 879.1

The final entry ends with the entry about his death and includes a poem. It reads “Aed son of Niall, king of Temair, fell asleep on the twelfth of the Kalends of December 20 Nov. at Druim Inasclainn in the territory of Conaille.


1. (Twelve days before the melodious Kalends


Of December—a harsh company—


A wonderful person died to your loss(?),


Aed of Ailech, over-king of the Irish.




2. A generous prudent man of shields


Who brought plenty to landed Temair,


Against iron-tipped spears a buckler


From the forge-fire of the land of the sons of Mil.)”



Just as with the Irish kings, the Annals of Ulster follow the lives of the Viking kings of Dublin. For example, Amlaib Conung
Amlaíb Conung
Amlaíb Conung was a Norse or Norse-Gael leader in Ireland and Scotland in the years after 850. Together with his brothers Ímar and Auisle he appears frequently in the Irish annals....

 (Olaf Konung) is mentioned in the following entries: 853.2, 857.1, 859.2, 863.4, 864.2, 866.1, 867.8, 869.6, 870.6, 871.2, and 875.4

The final entry deviates from the Irish kings and instead tells of the death of Amlaib’s son, Oistín and reads: “Oistín son of Amlaíb, king of the Norsemen, was deceitfully killed by Albann.”



Places


Along with kings and kingdoms, the entries in the Annals of Ulster focus on important places of Ireland such as Armagh, the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland which appears several times throughout the text. Dublin for example, referred to in the text as either Áth Cliath or Duiblinn, is described in the Annals of Ulster with entries ranging from the settlement of Dublin by Vikings (“The heathens still at Duiblinn” in 842.2 and “An encampment of the foreigners of Áth Cliath at Cluain Andobuir” in 845.12) to deaths of notable names (“Carlus son of Conn son of Donnchad was killed in Áth Cliath” in 960.2) to Dublin being ruled by the Irish (“The foreigners returned to Áth Cliath and gave hostages to Brian” in 1000.4).

The town appears 66 different times in the Annals of Ulster and can be found in the following entries:
770.1, 790.2, 841.4, 842.2, 842.7, 845.12, 851.3, 870.2, 871.2 893.4, 895.6, 902.2, 917.4, 919.3, 920.5, 921.5, 921.8, 924.3, 926.6, 927.3, 930.1, 936.2, 938.5, 938.6, 939.1, 942.3, 942.7, 944.3, 945.6, 946.1, 947.1, 950.7, 951.3, 951.7, 956.3, 960.2, 961.1, 978.3, 980.1, 994.6, 995.2, 999.8, 1000.4, 1013.12, 1013.13, 1014.2, 1018.2, 1021.1, 1022.4, 1031.2, 1035.5, 1070.2, 1075.1, 1075.4, 1084.8, 1088.4, 1094.2, 1095.4, 1100.5, 1103.5, 1105.3, 1115.4, 1118.6, 1121.7, 1126.7, and 1128.6

Historical Context of the Annals of Ulster


The Vikings in Ireland

The Annals of Ulster contain a large amount of historical information on the invasions of the Vikings into Ireland and several specific events are mentioned that are paralleled in other Irish works such as the Cogadh Gaedhel re Gallaibh. The Annals of Ulster documents the Viking invasions one year after the common starting event of the Viking Period, the raiding of Lindisfarne in 793, as mentioned by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. The first mentioning of the Vikings is very brief. “794.7 Devastation of all the islands of Britain by heathens,” yet over the course of the annals their attacks become more specific "807.8 The heathens burned Inis Muiredaig and invade Ros Comáin."

The Vikings are called several different names throughout the annals: foreigners, dark or fair-foreigners, heathens, Norsemen, Norse-Irish and Danes. It is often unclear if these titles attribute nationalities or certain alliances as they are used intermixed throughout.

The annals mention the foreigners’ beginnings in Ireland as one of plunder and slave taking. According to the annals, the Norsemen took many slaves in their raids. "821.3 Étar was plundered by the heathens, and they carried off a great number of women into captivity." However, eventually the establish a permanent base in Áth Cliath or Dublin by 841. In "841.4 There was a naval camp at Linn Duachaill from which the peoples and churches of Tethba were plundered. There was a naval camp at Duiblinn from which the Laigin and the Uí Néill were plundered, both states and churches, as far as Sliab Bladma."

Although the Vikings are portrayed as heathens, the annals describes strife between the Irish against each other and oftentimes the foreigners are depicted as allies to various Irish factions. The depiction of warfare involving the "heathens" is not one sided. In the annals they are often allied with the Irish against other Irish. Some Irishmen are even accused of doing the same sort of raiding as the Viking invaders. In "847.3 Mael Sechnaill destroyed the Island of Loch Muinremor, overcoming there a large band of wicked men of Luigni and Gailenga, who had been plundering the territories in the manner of the heathens."

Several famous battles and characters involving the Vikings can be found within the Annals of Ulster. Battle of Brunanburh
Battle of Brunanburh
The Battle of Brunanburh was an English victory in 937 by the army of Æthelstan, King of England, and his brother Edmund over the combined armies of Olaf III Guthfrithson, the Norse-Gael King of Dublin, Constantine II, King of Scots, and Owen I, King of Strathclyde...

 937.6, The Battle of Tara 980.1 and the Battle of Clontarf
Battle of Clontarf
The Battle of Clontarf took place on 23 April 1014 between the forces of Brian Boru and the forces led by the King of Leinster, Máel Mórda mac Murchada: composed mainly of his own men, Viking mercenaries from Dublin and the Orkney Islands led by his cousin Sigtrygg, as well as the one rebellious...

 1014.1 are all described in brief detail. Some Viking individuals of note mentioned in the annals with parallels in other historical sources are the foreign chieftain Turgeis, beginning in 845, Ímar and Amlaíb, the later progenitors of the Uí Ímair
Uí Ímair
The Uí Ímair , or Dynasty of Ivar, were an enormous royal and imperial Norse dynasty who ruled Northern England, the Irish Sea region and Kingdom of Dublin, and the western coast of Scotland, including the Hebrides, from the mid 9th century, losing control of the first in the mid 10th, but the rest...

 , rulers of Áth Cliath or Dublin
. Irish historical figures included within the text are Mael Sechnaill, Muirchertach
Muirchertach
Muirchertach is an Irish language male given name meaning "mariner". Muirchertach was borne by several figures from legend and history, including:...

 son of Niall and Brian Boru
Brian Boru
Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig, , , was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill. Building on the achievements of his father, Cennétig mac Lorcain, and especially his elder brother, Mathgamain, Brian first made himself King of Munster, then subjugated...


.

Editions

  • Mac Airt, Seán and Gearóid Mac Niocaill (eds and trs.). The Annals of Ulster (to AD 1131). DIAS, Dublin, 1983. Available from CELT: edition in vol. 1 (AD 431-1131), pp. 38–578, which excludes the pre-Patrician sections (Irish World Chronicle), pp. 2–36.
  • Mac Carthy, B. (ed. and tr.). Annala Uladh: Annals of Ulster otherwise Annala Senait, Annals of Senat: a chronicle of Irish affairs from A.D. 431 to A.D. 1540. 4 vols. Dublin, 1895. Available from the Internet Archive: vol. 1 (AD 431–1056), vol. 2 (AD 1057–1378) and vol. 3 (AD 1379–1588). Available from CELT, with notes of warning:

Further reading

  • Byrne, Francis John. "Chiasmus and hyperbaton in the Annals of Ulster." In Ogma: essays in Celtic studies in honour of Próinséas Ní Chatháin, ed. Michael Richter and Jean-Michel Picard. Dublin, 2002. 54–64.
  • Dumville, David N. "Latin and Irish in the Annals of Ulster, AD 431–1050." In Ireland in early medieval Europe: studies in memory of Kathleen Hughes, ed. Dorothy Whitelock, Rosamond McKitterick and David N. Dumville. Cambridge, 1982. 320–41.
  • Dumville, David N. "On editing and translating medieval Irish chronicles: The Annals of Ulster." Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies 10 (1985): 67–86.
  • Evans, N. (2010) 'The Present and the Past in Medieval Irish Chronicles', Woodbridge & Rochester, Boydell & Brewer.
  • Gwynn, Aubrey. "Cathal mac Maghnusa and the Annals of Ulster." Clogher Rec 2 (1958–9): 230–43, 370–84. Revised version in Aubrey Gwynn, Cathal Óg mac Maghnusa and the Annals of Ulster, ed. Nollaig Ó Muraíle. Enniskillen, 1998.
  • Hughes, Kathleen. Early Christian Ireland. Introduction to the sources. London and Ithaca NY, 1972. 99–159.
  • Hull, Vernam. "The Middle Irish preterite passive plural in the Annals of Ulster." Language 28 (1952): 107–8.
  • Jaski, Bart. "Additional notes to the Annals of Ulster." Ériu 48 (1997): 103–52.
  • MacDonald, A.D.S. "Notes on monastic archaeology and the Annals of Ulster, 650–1050." In Irish antiquity: essays and studies presented to Professor M. J. O'Kelly, ed. Donnchadh Ó Corráin. Cork, 1981. 304–19.
  • MacDonald, A.D.S. "Notes on terminology in the Annals of Ulster, 650–1050." Peritia
    Peritia
    Peritia: Journal of the Medieval Academy of Ireland is an annual Irish academic journal "devoted to Irish and Insular medieval studies as seen in the context of the European middle ages and the heritage from antiquity, and to European medieval studies generally." The editors are Donnchadh Ó Corráin...

    1 (1982): 329–33.
  • Mac Niocaill, Gearóid. "Annála Uladh agus Annála Locha Cé, 1014–1220." Galvia 6 (1959): 18–25.
  • Mac Niocaill, Gearóid. The medieval Irish annals. Dublin, 1975.
  • Mc Carthy, Daniel P. "The original compilation of the Annals of Ulster." Studia Celtica
    Studia Celtica
    Studia Celtica is an annual journal published in Wales containing scholarly articles on linguistic topics, mainly in English but with some Welsh and German; it also contains book reviews and obituaries. The journal is published by the University of Wales Press on behalf of the University of Wales...

    38 (2004): 77-84.
  • Mc Carthy, Daniel P. "The chronological apparatus of the Annals of Ulster AD 82-1029." Peritia 16 (2002): 256-83.
  • Mc Carthy, Daniel P. "The chronological apparatus of the Annals of Ulster AD 431-1131." Peritia 8 (1994): 46–79.
  • Mc Carthy, Daniel P. "The chronology of the Irish annals." Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy C 98 (1998): 203–55.
  • Mc Carthy, Daniel P. Irish chronicles and their chronology. Website.
  • Meckler, Michael. "The Annals of Ulster and the date of the meeting of Druim Cett." Peritia 11 (1997): 44–52.
  • Ó Máille, Tomás. The language of the Annals of Ulster. Manchester, 1910. PDF available from the Internet Archive.
  • Ó Muraíle, Nollaig. Aubrey Gwynn, Cathal Óg mac Maghnusa and the Annals of Ulster. Enniskillen, 1998.
  • Ó Muraíle, Nollaig. "Cathal Mac Maghnusa: his time, life and legacy." Clogher Rec 16.2 (1998): 45–64.
  • Smyth, Alfred P. "The Húi Néill and the Leinstermen in the Annals of Ulster, 431–516 A.D." Études Celtiques
    Études Celtiques
    Études Celtiques is a French academic journal of Celtic Studies, based in Paris.It started life under the name Revue Celtique, which was founded in 1870 by Henri Gaidoz. Between 1870 and 1934, as many as 52 volumes were published under the editorial supervision of Celtic scholars such as Henri...

    14 (1974): 121–43.

External links

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