Muirchertach mac Muiredaig
Encyclopedia
Muirchertach mac Muiredaig (died c. 534), called Mac Ercae, Muirchertach Macc Ercae and Muirchertach mac Ercae, was said to be High King of Ireland
. The Irish annals
contain little reliable information on his life, and the surviving record shows signs of retrospective modification. The Aided Muirchertaig Meic Erca takes as its theme the supernatural death of Muirchertach.
According to the genealogies
Muirchertach belonged to the Uí Néill
and was the son of Muiredach
, son of Eógan, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages
; hence Muirchertach mac Muiredaig. His mother, "clearly legendary" according to Thomas Charles-Edwards
, was said to be Erc, daughter of "Lodarn, king of Alba". From the matronym comes his alternative name, Muirechertach Macc Ercae. However, Mac Ercae was a common enough first male first name. The annalistic entries for Muirchertach span fifty years, from 482 to his death in 534, using various names, including Mac Ercae, so that it is more than likely that two or more persons have been confused in the annals.
The first mentions of Muirchertach in the Annals of Ulster
, in 482 and 483, associate him, under the name Muirchertach Macc Ercae, with the defeat and killing of Ailill Molt
at the battle of Ochae, somewhere in the Irish midlands. One entry names Lugaid mac Lóegairi as his ally there, the other names Fergus Crook-mouth, father of Diarmait mac Cerbaill
. In 485 are mentioned the battle of Grainert, perhaps near Castledermot
, where Coirpre mac Néill
, "or Mac Ercae… as other state", defeated the Leinster king Finnchad mac Garrchon. In 490 or 491, Óengus mac Nad Froích
is said to have been killed at the battle of Cell Losnaid, and the second entry reports that "Mac Ercae was the victor". Muirchertach Mac Ercae is said to have won the battle of Inne Mór against the Leinstermen in 498. Many of the entries from the 480s and 490s appear to have been modified, to give Muirchertach the credit for victories won by Coirpre mac Néill
and perhaps by Coirpre's son Eochu.
The obituary of Lugaid mac Lóegairi appears in 512, and in the following year the annalist reports the beginning of the reign of Muirchertach Mac Ercae. The next report is in 520, duplicated in 523, stating that Muirchertach was among the victors at the battle of Dethna. Another battle follow in 528, again repeated some years later, in 533, with more detail. Muirchertach's death is reported in 534, with obvious supernatural overtones: "The drowning of Muirchertach Mac Erca i.e. Muirchertach son of Muiredach son of Eógan son of Niall Naígiallach in a vat full of wine on the hilltop of Cleitech above Bóinn." Muirchertach was said to be followed as High King by Túathal Máelgarb
. Muirchertach's descendants in time took the name Cenél maic Ercae and were the dominant branch of the Cenél nEógan by the middle of the 8th century.
The 12th-century Middle Irish
tale Aided Muirchertaig Meic Erca is an account of the supernatural death of Muirchertach. Here Muirchertach dies in the House of Clettach, drowned in a vat of wine, burned by fire, and crushed by a falling roof beam, near Brú na Bóinne
, beguiled by the illusions of the otherworldly maiden Sín into believing that he is being attacked by Túathal Máelgarb.
High King of Ireland
The High Kings of Ireland were sometimes historical and sometimes legendary figures who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over the whole of Ireland. Medieval and early modern Irish literature portrays an almost unbroken sequence of High Kings, ruling from Tara over a hierarchy of...
. The Irish annals
Irish annals
A number of Irish annals were compiled up to and shortly after the end of Gaelic Ireland in the 17th century.Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days...
contain little reliable information on his life, and the surviving record shows signs of retrospective modification. The Aided Muirchertaig Meic Erca takes as its theme the supernatural death of Muirchertach.
According to the genealogies
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
Muirchertach belonged to the Uí Néill
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....
and was the son of Muiredach
Muiredach mac Eógain
Muiredach mac Eógain was a King of Ailech and head of the Cenél nEógain branch of the northern Uí Néill. He was the son of the founder of this dynasty Eógan mac Néill ....
, son of Eógan, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages
Niall of the Nine Hostages
Niall Noígíallach , or in English, Niall of the Nine Hostages, son of Eochaid Mugmedón, was an Irish king, the eponymous ancestor of the Uí Néill kindred who dominated Ireland from the 6th century to the 10th century...
; hence Muirchertach mac Muiredaig. His mother, "clearly legendary" according to Thomas Charles-Edwards
Thomas Charles-Edwards
Thomas Mowbray Charles-Edwards FRHistS FLSW FBA is an academic at Oxford University. He holds the post of Jesus Professor of Celtic and is a Professorial Fellow at Jesus College....
, was said to be Erc, daughter of "Lodarn, king of Alba". From the matronym comes his alternative name, Muirechertach Macc Ercae. However, Mac Ercae was a common enough first male first name. The annalistic entries for Muirchertach span fifty years, from 482 to his death in 534, using various names, including Mac Ercae, so that it is more than likely that two or more persons have been confused in the annals.
The first mentions of Muirchertach in the Annals of Ulster
Annals of Ulster
The Annals of Ulster are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years between AD 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 on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne in the...
, in 482 and 483, associate him, under the name Muirchertach Macc Ercae, with the defeat and killing of Ailill Molt
Ailill Molt
Ailill mac Nath Í , called Ailill Molt, is included in most lists of the High Kings of Ireland and is also called King of Connacht. His cognomen, molt, means "ram" but its origin is unknown....
at the battle of Ochae, somewhere in the Irish midlands. One entry names Lugaid mac Lóegairi as his ally there, the other names Fergus Crook-mouth, father of Diarmait mac Cerbaill
Diarmait mac Cerbaill
Diarmait mac Cerbaill was King of Tara or High King of Ireland. According to traditions, he was the last High King to follow the pagan rituals of inauguration, the ban-feis or marriage to goddess of the land....
. In 485 are mentioned the battle of Grainert, perhaps near Castledermot
Castledermot
Castledermot is an inland village in the south-east of Ireland in County Kildare, about from Dublin, and from the town of Carlow. The N9 road from Dublin to Waterford passes through the village but completion of a bypass is due during 2010.-Demographics:...
, where Coirpre mac Néill
Coirpre mac Néill
Coirpre mac Néill . , also Cairbre or Cairpre, was said to be a son of Niall of the Nine Hostages. Coirpre was perhaps the leader of the conquests that established the southern Uí Néill in the midlands of Ireland. The record of the Irish annals suggests that Coirpre's successes were reattributed to...
, "or Mac Ercae… as other state", defeated the Leinster king Finnchad mac Garrchon. In 490 or 491, Óengus mac Nad Froích
Óengus mac Nad Froích
Óengus mac Nad Froích was an Eoganachta and the first Christian king of Munster. He was the son of Nad Froich mac Cuirc by Faochan, a British lady...
is said to have been killed at the battle of Cell Losnaid, and the second entry reports that "Mac Ercae was the victor". Muirchertach Mac Ercae is said to have won the battle of Inne Mór against the Leinstermen in 498. Many of the entries from the 480s and 490s appear to have been modified, to give Muirchertach the credit for victories won by Coirpre mac Néill
Coirpre mac Néill
Coirpre mac Néill . , also Cairbre or Cairpre, was said to be a son of Niall of the Nine Hostages. Coirpre was perhaps the leader of the conquests that established the southern Uí Néill in the midlands of Ireland. The record of the Irish annals suggests that Coirpre's successes were reattributed to...
and perhaps by Coirpre's son Eochu.
The obituary of Lugaid mac Lóegairi appears in 512, and in the following year the annalist reports the beginning of the reign of Muirchertach Mac Ercae. The next report is in 520, duplicated in 523, stating that Muirchertach was among the victors at the battle of Dethna. Another battle follow in 528, again repeated some years later, in 533, with more detail. Muirchertach's death is reported in 534, with obvious supernatural overtones: "The drowning of Muirchertach Mac Erca i.e. Muirchertach son of Muiredach son of Eógan son of Niall Naígiallach in a vat full of wine on the hilltop of Cleitech above Bóinn." Muirchertach was said to be followed as High King by Túathal Máelgarb
Tuathal Maelgarb
Túathal mac Cormaic , called Túathal Máelgarb, was said to be a grandson of Coirpre mac Néill. He was High King of Ireland. In the earliest accounts he appears to have been regarded as the man who completed the conquest of what would later be Brega for the descendants of Niall of the Nine...
. Muirchertach's descendants in time took the name Cenél maic Ercae and were the dominant branch of the Cenél nEógan by the middle of the 8th century.
The 12th-century Middle Irish
Middle Irish language
Middle Irish is the name given by historical philologists to the Goidelic language spoken in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man from the 10th to 12th centuries; it is therefore a contemporary of late Old English and early Middle English...
tale Aided Muirchertaig Meic Erca is an account of the supernatural death of Muirchertach. Here Muirchertach dies in the House of Clettach, drowned in a vat of wine, burned by fire, and crushed by a falling roof beam, near Brú na Bóinne
Brú na Bóinne
is a World Heritage Site in County Meath, Ireland and is the largest and one of the most important prehistoric megalithic sites in Europe.-The site:...
, beguiled by the illusions of the otherworldly maiden Sín into believing that he is being attacked by Túathal Máelgarb.