Senchus fer n-Alban
Encyclopedia
The Senchus Fer n-Alban is an Old Irish
medieval text, believed to have been compiled in the 10th century. It may have been derived from earlier documents of the 7th century which are presumed to have been written in Latin. It provides genealogies
for kings of Dál Riata
and a census
of the kingdoms which comprised Dál Riata.
The Senchus exists in a number of manuscripts, of which the most important belonged to Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh
and then to Edward Lhuyd
. This, Ms. H.2.7 held by Trinity College Dublin, was compiled in the 14th century by Lúcás Ó Dalláin
, probably working with Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin
(died 1372), the chief poet and historian of the Uí Maine. This manuscript was once thought to have formed part of the Book of Uí Maine, but this is no longer considered plausible. Other examples are found in the Book of Ballymote
(1384x1406), the Book of Lecan (before 1418), and in Mac Fhirbhisigh's 17th century genealogical compilations.
The Senchus is a relatively short document, around 70 or 80 lines of type depending on the variant used. To it is appended the Genelaig Albanensium which contains genealogies of Máel Coluim mac Cináeda and Causantín mac Cuilén, kings of Alba
, and of Ainbcellach mac Ferchair
and other Dál Riata kings.
Most versions of the Senchus follow the late myth of the Dál Riata origins by beginning with Eochaid Muinremar and sons of Erc, Fergus Mór
among them. Mac Fhirbhisigh's own version of the Senchus begins with the earlier myth, tracing Dál Riata to the Síl Conairi
and Cairpre Riata (Rígfhota), son of Conaire Mór
and/or Conaire Cóem, who may be the Reuda of Bede
's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum
. The Genelaig Albanensium, and the similar genealogies in the Rawlinson B 502 manuscript, make Cairpre Riata an ancestor in the tenth or fifteenth generation of Fergus Mór mac Eirc.
The historical value of the Senchus rests largely in its later sections, which include historical kings of Dál Riata — myth may end and history begin in the reign of Conall mac Comgaill
in the middle of the 6th century. The last king who can be identified in the genealogies contained in the Senchus proper is Conall Crandomna
, who died around 660.
The Senchus lists the divisions of Dál Riata—the Cenél nGabráin, the Cenél Loairn, and the Cenél nÓengusa
—and their obligations for military service, apparently at a time when the Cenél Comgaill remained part of the Cenél nGabráin. These divisions need not be of great antiquity, and the lists provided are not without problems. The Senchus lists no kindreds or military obligations for the Irish lands, if any, which may have formed part of Dál Riata. One curious feature of the Senchus is the presence of Airgíalla
in the lands of the Cenél Loairn. It is not apparent whether these represent settlers from Ireland, or simply people to whom the label "additional clients" was applied.
Old Irish language
Old Irish is the name given to the oldest form of the Goidelic languages for which extensive written texts are extant. It was used from the 6th to the 10th centuries, by which time it had developed into Middle Irish....
medieval text, believed to have been compiled in the 10th century. It may have been derived from earlier documents of the 7th century which are presumed to have been written in Latin. It provides 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...
for kings of Dál Riata
Dál Riata
Dál Riata was a Gaelic overkingdom on the western coast of Scotland with some territory on the northeast coast of Ireland...
and a census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of the kingdoms which comprised Dál Riata.
The Senchus exists in a number of manuscripts, of which the most important belonged to Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh
Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh
Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh, also known as Dubhaltach Óg mac Giolla Íosa Mór mac Dubhaltach Mór Mac Fhirbhisigh, Duald Mac Firbis, Dudly Ferbisie, and Dualdus Firbissius was an Irish scribe, translator, historian and genealogist...
and then to Edward Lhuyd
Edward Lhuyd
Edward Lhuyd was a Welsh naturalist, botanist, linguist, geographer and antiquary. He is also known by the Latinized form of his name, Eduardus Luidius....
. This, Ms. H.2.7 held by Trinity College Dublin, was compiled in the 14th century by Lúcás Ó Dalláin
Lúcás Ó Dalláin
Lúcás Ó Dalláin, Irish historian, fl. 14th-century.Lúcás Ó Dalláin is credited with compiling a 14th-century version of Senchus Fer n-Alban, originally compiled in the 10th-century. Now referred to as Ms...
, probably working with Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin
Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin
Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin was an Irish Gaelic poet.-Background:Ó Dubhagáinn was among the first notable members of the bardic family Baile Uí Dhubhagáin , near Loughrea, County Galway...
(died 1372), the chief poet and historian of the Uí Maine. This manuscript was once thought to have formed part of the Book of Uí Maine, but this is no longer considered plausible. Other examples are found in the Book of Ballymote
Book of Ballymote
The Book of Ballymote , named for the parish of Ballymote, County Sligo, was written in 1390 or 1391....
(1384x1406), the Book of Lecan (before 1418), and in Mac Fhirbhisigh's 17th century genealogical compilations.
The Senchus is a relatively short document, around 70 or 80 lines of type depending on the variant used. To it is appended the Genelaig Albanensium which contains genealogies of Máel Coluim mac Cináeda and Causantín mac Cuilén, kings of Alba
Alba
Alba is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is cognate to Alba in Irish and Nalbin in Manx, the two other Goidelic Insular Celtic languages, as well as similar words in the Brythonic Insular Celtic languages of Cornish and Welsh also meaning Scotland.- Etymology :The term first appears in...
, and of Ainbcellach mac Ferchair
Ainbcellach mac Ferchair
Ainbcellach mac Ferchair was king of the Cenél Loairn of Dál Riata, and perhaps of all Dál Riata, from 697 until 698, when he was deposed and exiled to Ireland....
and other Dál Riata kings.
Most versions of the Senchus follow the late myth of the Dál Riata origins by beginning with Eochaid Muinremar and sons of Erc, Fergus Mór
Fergus Mór
Fergus Mór mac Eirc was a legendary king of Dál Riata. He was the son of Erc.While his historicity may be debatable, his posthumous importance as the founder of Scotland in the national myth of Medieval and Renaissance Scotland is not in doubt...
among them. Mac Fhirbhisigh's own version of the Senchus begins with the earlier myth, tracing Dál Riata to the Síl Conairi
Síl Conairi
The Síl Conairi or "Seed of Conaire" were those Érainn septs of the legendary Clanna Dedad descended from the monarch Conaire Mór, son of Eterscél Mór, a descendant of Deda mac Sin, namely the Dál Riata, Múscraige, Corcu Duibne, and Corcu Baiscinn.The Dál Riata, presumably settling in far...
and Cairpre Riata (Rígfhota), son of Conaire Mór
Conaire Mor
Conaire Mór , son of Eterscél, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. His mother was Mess Búachalla, who was either the daughter of Eochu Feidlech and Étaín, or of Eochu Airem and his daughter by Étaín...
and/or Conaire Cóem, who may be the Reuda of Bede
Bede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum
Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum
The Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum is a work in Latin by Bede on the history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict between Roman and Celtic Christianity.It is considered to be one of the most important original references on...
. The Genelaig Albanensium, and the similar genealogies in the Rawlinson B 502 manuscript, make Cairpre Riata an ancestor in the tenth or fifteenth generation of Fergus Mór mac Eirc.
The historical value of the Senchus rests largely in its later sections, which include historical kings of Dál Riata — myth may end and history begin in the reign of Conall mac Comgaill
Conall mac Comgaill
Conall mac Comgaill was king of Dál Riata from about 558 until 574.He was a son of Comgall mac Domangairt. It is said that he gave Iona to Saint Columba. The Duan Albanach says that he reigned "without dissension", but there is a report of an expedition by Conall and Colmán Bec mac Diarmato of the...
in the middle of the 6th century. The last king who can be identified in the genealogies contained in the Senchus proper is Conall Crandomna
Conall Crandomna
Conall Crandomna was king of Dál Riata from about 650 until 660.The Senchus fer n-Alban makes him a son of Eochaid Buide and thus a member of the Cenél nGabráin. The Duan Albanach has him succeed Ferchar mac Connaid of the Cenél Comgaill, which had not yet separated from the Cenél nGabráin...
, who died around 660.
The Senchus lists the divisions of Dál Riata—the Cenél nGabráin, the Cenél Loairn, and the Cenél nÓengusa
Cenél nÓengusa
The Cenél nÓengusa were a kin group who ruled the island of Islay, and perhaps nearby Colonsay, off the western coast of Scotland in the early Middle Ages....
—and their obligations for military service, apparently at a time when the Cenél Comgaill remained part of the Cenél nGabráin. These divisions need not be of great antiquity, and the lists provided are not without problems. The Senchus lists no kindreds or military obligations for the Irish lands, if any, which may have formed part of Dál Riata. One curious feature of the Senchus is the presence of Airgíalla
Airgíalla
Airgíalla or Airgialla was the name of an Irish federation and Irish kingdom which first formed around the 7th century...
in the lands of the Cenél Loairn. It is not apparent whether these represent settlers from Ireland, or simply people to whom the label "additional clients" was applied.
Further reading
- Lucius Gwynn, "De Síl Chonairi Móir", in ÉriuÉriu (journal)Ériu is an academic journal of Irish language studies. It was launched in 1904 as the journal of the School of Irish Learning in Dublin. When the School was incorporated into the Royal Irish Academy in 1926, the Academy continued publication of the journal, in the same format and with the same title...
6 (1912): 130-43. Summary by Dan M. Wiley - Michael A. O'Brien (ed.) with intro. by John V. Kelleher, Corpus genealogiarum Hiberniae. DIASDublin Institute for Advanced StudiesThe Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies Dublin, Ireland was established in 1940 by the Taoiseach of the time, Éamon de Valera under the . The Institute consists of 3 schools: The , the and the . The directors of these schools are currently Professor Werner Nahm, Professor Luke Drury and...
. 1976. / partial digital edition: Donnchadh Ó CorráinDonnchadh Ó CorráinDonnchadh Ó Corráin is an Irish historian and Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at University College Cork. He is an early Irish and mediaeval historian and has published on the Viking Wars, Ireland in the pre-Hiberno-Norman period and the origin of Irish language names.-Works:Ó Corráin's...
(ed.), Genealogies from Rawlinson B 502. University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts. 1997. - Donnchadh Ó CorráinDonnchadh Ó CorráinDonnchadh Ó Corráin is an Irish historian and Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at University College Cork. He is an early Irish and mediaeval historian and has published on the Viking Wars, Ireland in the pre-Hiberno-Norman period and the origin of Irish language names.-Works:Ó Corráin's...
(ed.), Genealogies (H.2.7) (still unpublished) - T. F. O'RahillyT. F. O'RahillyThomas Francis O'Rahilly was an Irish scholar of the Celtic languages, particularly in the fields of Historical linguistics and Irish dialects. He was a member of the Royal Irish Academy.-Biography:He was born in Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland...
, Early Irish History and Mythology. Dublin Institute for Advanced StudiesDublin Institute for Advanced StudiesThe Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies Dublin, Ireland was established in 1940 by the Taoiseach of the time, Éamon de Valera under the . The Institute consists of 3 schools: The , the and the . The directors of these schools are currently Professor Werner Nahm, Professor Luke Drury and...
. 1946.