DOCSLIB.ORG

\376\377\000C\000O\000V\000E\000R\000 \000P\000A\000G\000E\000 \000-\000 \000H\000O\000L\000Y\000 \000B\000O\000D\000Y\000 \000W

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
\376\377\000C\000O\000V\000E\000R\000 \000P\000A\000G\000E\000 \000-\000 \000H\000O\000L\000Y\000 \000B\000O\000D\000Y\000 \000W Holy Body, Wholly Other: Sanctity and Society in the Lives of Irish Saints By Máire Niamh Johnson A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Centre for Medieval Studies University of Toronto © Copyright by Máire Niamh Johnson 2010 Library and Archives Bibliothèque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l’édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-67705-6 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-67705-6 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L’auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l’Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, électronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L’auteur conserve la propriété du droit d’auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author’s permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformément à la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privée, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont été enlevés de thesis. cette thèse. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n’y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. Holy Body, Wholly Other: Sanctity and Society in the Lives of Irish Saints By Máire Johnson Centre for Medieval Studies University of Toronto 2010 ABSTRACT “Holy Body, Wholly Other: Sanctity and Society in the Lives of Irish Saints” focuses on the ways in which Ireland’s hagiographers portrayed holy otherness in the Lives of their subjects, using the Latin vitae, the vernacular bethada and the Lives containing both languages that survive from the 600s through the end of the fourteenth century. This study considers three broad themes, namely the transition of a sanctified essence into a holy body and the resulting alteration of an otherwise mortal form into a wholly other, the saintly prosecution of vengeance against those who wrong the body Christian and the enactment of hagiographical healing to bring the community of the faithful back to full integrity. These themes are analyzed within the social and cultural context of medieval Ireland, and are particularly compared with the biblical, apocryphal, heroic and legal writings of the Irish Middle Ages. Depictions of male and female saints are also compared and contrasted, as are the shifts in such depictions that occur between Latin and Irish narratives. Throughout the Lives the language of the laws of church and society inform the saint’s portrait, firmly situating these holy men and women within the sphere of medieval Ireland. Elements of Irish sanctity are drawn from vernacular heroic saga, but the ii predominant influence upon the Lives of Ireland’s sanctified is a powerful combination of apocryphal and canonical scriptures, demonstrating that Irish holiness can only have emanated from heaven. This combination, moreover, differs between male and female saints and between Latin and Irish Lives; holy men are modeled very strongly upon both Old and New Testament figures, while lady saints are painted more in the hues of imitatio Christi. Further, Latin vitae follow patterns capable of speaking to both Irish and non-Irish audiences alike, while vernacular Lives observe models that needed to appeal only to the Irish themselves. iii Table of Contents Abstract . ii Table of contents . iv Abbreviations . viii CHAPTER ONE: Introduction . 1 In the beginning . 1 The question of Christian sanctity and sainthood . 2 Holiness in Christian theology . 2 Modern scholars and sanctity . 6 The hagiographical saint . 12 Sanctity and sainthood in Ireland . 16 The Irish hagiographical hero . 22 The nature of the primary sources . 31 The Latin evidence: vitae in Ireland . 33 Lives of the saints in Irish: the bethada . 40 The holy other in Ireland’s hagiography . 44 CHAPTER TWO: From essence to identity. 49 Saintly origins . 49 Genesis: a saint conceived . 50 Conception foretold . 50 The importance of lineage . 53 Legitimacy versus bastardy . 58 Conception from sterile parents . 63 Immaculate conception? . 65 Gestation dreams . 68 Gestational asceticism . 71 The future eminence of the saint foretold . 73 The birth of the holy other . 77 Time and place of nativity . 77 Pangs or no pangs? . 84 iv The sanctified form . 87 The beauty of the holy body . 88 Sanctity and schooling the saint . 91 The rejection or transformation of the unclean . 94 Sanctity and severe asceticism . .97 At day’s end: the saint’s death . 103 Conclusion: the essence of embodiment . 108 CHAPTER THREE: Punishment and penance . 110 The question of vengeful holiness . 110 The representation of saintly vengeance . 115 Prayer vengeance . 115 Prayer with fasting and vigil . 116 Outright malediction . 120 Negative or maledictory prophecy . 121 Passive retaliatory judgment . 123 Textual models of vengeful sanctity . 124 The Irish saint as Moses . 124 Aaron, the Irish saint and the corollary of Abraham . 128 Elijah, Elisha and saintly retaliation . 130 The importance of the Psalter in hagiographical vengeance . 133 The apostolic exempla of Thomas and Andrew . 136 The importance of Peter . 139 Imitatio Christi in the Lives of Irish saints . 142 The place of Mary, mother of Christ . 148 Hagiographical vengeance and heroic saga . 151 Male and female vengeful holiness . 155 Lives lacking retribution . 160 Vengeance, the law, sanctity and society . 161 Verbal assault and the power of speech . 163 Bodily assault, homicide and the issue of protection . 168 Denial of hospitality . 175 v Property disputes . 177 Conclusion: vengeance and the essence of Irish sanctity . 182 CHAPTER FOUR: From exile to enlightenment . 185 The exile of illness . 185 Biblical healings . 186 Sensory deprivation reversed . 186 Sickness cleansed . 191 From disability to ability . 202 The assurance of a new generation . 205 A dearth of demons? Exorcism and insanity in the Lives . 210 Remedies for specific sins . 215 Lust . 215 Gluttony . ..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Antiphonary of Bangor and Its Musical Implications
    The Antiphonary of Bangor and its Musical Implications by Helen Patterson A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Music University of Toronto © Copyright by Helen Patterson 2013 The Antiphonary of Bangor and its Musical Implications Helen Patterson Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Music University of Toronto 2013 Abstract This dissertation examines the hymns of the Antiphonary of Bangor (AB) (Antiphonarium Benchorense, Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana C. 5 inf.) and considers its musical implications in medieval Ireland. Neither an antiphonary in the true sense, with chants and verses for the Office, nor a book with the complete texts for the liturgy, the AB is a unique Irish manuscript. Dated from the late seventh-century, the AB is a collection of Latin hymns, prayers and texts attributed to the monastic community of Bangor in Northern Ireland. Given the scarcity of information pertaining to music in early Ireland, the AB is invaluable for its literary insights. Studied by liturgical, medieval, and Celtic scholars, and acknowledged as one of the few surviving sources of the Irish church, the manuscript reflects the influence of the wider Christian world. The hymns in particular show that this form of poetical expression was significant in early Christian Ireland and have made a contribution to the corpus of Latin literature. Prompted by an earlier hypothesis that the AB was a type of choirbook, the chapters move from these texts to consider the monastery of Bangor and the cultural context from which the manuscript emerges. As the Irish peregrini are known to have had an impact on the continent, and the AB was recovered in ii Bobbio, Italy, it is important to recognize the hymns not only in terms of monastic development, but what they reveal about music.
    [Show full text]
  • Saint Patrick: Issues of Translation & His Enduring
    SAINT PATRICK: ISSUES OF TRANSLATION & HIS ENDURING PASTORAL MESSAGE A dissertation submitted to the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies Drew University in partial fulfillment of The requirements for the degree, Doctor of Letters Christina Isabella McGrath Drew University Madison, New Jersey May 2021 Copyright © 2021 by Christina Isabella McGrath All Rights Reserved Abstract Saint Patrick: Issues of Translation and His Enduring Pastoral Message Doctor of Letters Dissertation by Christina Isabella McGrath The Caspersen School of Graduate Studies Drew University May 2021 This dissertation attempts to discover the reason(s) for the worldwide interest in Saint Patrick of Ireland by focusing on the numerous translations of his two writings, the Confessio (The Confession of Saint Patrick) and the Epistola (The Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus). By analyzing seven specific twentieth century translations of the saint’s fifth century writings, the reader will discern subtle differences in each end product, leading to a unique message from Patrick. Working with the assertions that every translation is a political act of some kind and that the translator becomes part of the translation, specific passages from the saint’s writings are examined and discussed through the lens of translation theory along with survey responses from accessible translators. After delving into Patrician scholarship, the historical sources presenting Saint Patrick’s letters have been called into question, due to the personal agendas and biases of his seventh century biographers. Over the past 1500 years, both political and religious factions have usurped him for their own agendas. The end result of this exploration led to the discovery of a man who went to the end of his world to preach the Gospel, to convert the Irish to Christianity, and to share the love of his God with the place and people who once enslaved him.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Liturgical Year 2020 of the Celtic Orthodox Church Wednesday 1St
    Liturgical Year 2020 of the Celtic Orthodox Church Wednesday 1st January 2020 Holy Name of Jesus Circumcision of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Basil the Great, Bishop of Caesarea of Palestine, Father of the Church (379) Beoc of Lough Derg, Donegal (5th or 6th c.) Connat, Abbess of St. Brigid’s convent at Kildare, Ireland (590) Ossene of Clonmore, Ireland (6th c.) ♦ Liturgy: Wis 3:10-19 Eph 3:1-7 Lk 6:5-11 Holy Name of Jesus: ♦ Vespers: Ps 8 and 19 ♦ 1st Nocturn: Ps 64 1Tm 2:1-6 Lk 6:16-22 ♦ 3rd Nocturn: Ps 71 and 134 Phil 2:6-11 ♦ Matins: Jn 10:9-16 ♦ Liturgy: Gn 17:1-14 Ps 112 Col 2:8-12 Lk 2:20-21 ♦ Sext: Ps 53 ♦ None: Ps 148 1 Thursday 2 January 2020 Seraphim, priest-monk of Sarov (1833) Adalard, Abbot of Corbie, Founder of New Corbie (827) John of Kronstadt, priest and confessor (1908) Seiriol, Welsh monk and hermit at Anglesey, off the coast of north Wales (early 6th c.) Munchin, monk, Patron of Limerick, Ireland (7th c.) The thousand Lichfield Christians martyred during the reign of Diocletian (c. 333) ♦ Liturgy: Wis 4:1-6 Eph 3:8-13 Lk 8:24-36 Friday 3 January 2020 Genevieve, virgin, Patroness of Paris (502) Blimont, monk of Luxeuil, 3rd Abbot of Leuconay (673) Malachi, prophet (c. 515 BC) Finlugh, Abbot of Derry (6th c.) Fintan, Abbot and Patron Saint of Doon, Limerick, Ireland (6th c.) ♦ Liturgy: Wis 4:7-14a Eph 3:14-21 Lk 6:46-49 Saturday 4 January 2020 70 Disciples of Our Lord Jesus Christ Gregory, Bishop of Langres (540) ♦ Liturgy: Wis 4:14b-20 Eph 4:1-16 Lk 7:1-10 70 Disciples: Lk 10:1-5 2 Sunday 5 January 2020 (Forefeast of the Epiphany) Syncletica, hermit in Egypt (c.
    [Show full text]
  • The Speckled Booklet of the Macegans Page - 2
    The Speckled Booklet of the MacEgans Page - 2 The Speckled Booklet of The Mac Egans No. 1 Edited by Liam Egan & Michael J. S. Egan Transcribed from the original by G.K. & S.P. Egan, Clan Egan Association Australia, August 2000 with the permission of the Editor M.J.S. Egan The Speckled Booklet of the MacEgans Page - 3 DEDICATION To our kinsfolk at home and abroad Cover design by Brother Timothy O'Neill, F.S.C.—Scribe of the Egan Clan Association, Candelabra featured in the Leabhar Breac. The Speckled Booklet of the MacEgans Page - 4 Contents Foreword 1. Our Coats of Arms 2. Our Ancestral Castles 3. Our Scribes, Artists and Poets 4. Our contribution to Religion and Politics 5. Stories of Irish Kinsfolk 6. Stories of our Emigrant Kinsfolk 7. Egans of today 8. Genealogy Corner 9. Miscellaneous 10. Advertisements The Speckled Booklet of the MacEgans Page - 5 FOREWORD One of the most outstanding medieval Irish manuscripts still extant is the Leabhar Breac—the Speckled Book of the MacEgans which was written before 1411. It is now a prized possession of the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin. It will not be considered presumptuous to call this production 'The Speckled Booklet' as it is our tribute to our forbears who left such an imprint on the history of Law and Learning in Ireland. As you will see, the articles appearing in the booklet are of particular interest to people of the names MacEgan, Egan, Eagan and Keegan. Because the MacEgans were a family interested in their family history and genealogy from the earliest times, it is not surprising that the formation of our Clan Association has evoked such interest amongst our kith and kin at home and abroad.
    [Show full text]
  • Religious Studies
    RELIGIOUS STUDIES Religious Studies The Celtic Church in Ireland in the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Centuries Unit AS 5 Content/Specification Section Page The Arrival of Christianity in Ireland 2 Evidence for the presence of Christianity in Ireland before the arrival of St. Patrick 6 Celtic Monasticism 11 Celtic Penitentials 17 Celtic Hagiography 21 Other Aspects of Human Experience Section 25 Glossary 42 RELIGIOUS STUDIES The Arrival of Christianity in Ireland © LindaMarieCaldwell/iStock/iStock/Thinkstock.com Learning Objective – demonstrate knowledge and understanding of, and critically evaluate the background to the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, including: • The political, social and religious background; • The arrival of and the evidence for Christianity in Ireland before Patrick; and • The significance of references to Palladius. This section requires students to explore: 1. The political, social and religious background in Ireland prior to the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. 2. Evidence of the arrival of Christianity in Ireland before Patrick (Pre-Patrician Christianity. 3. References to Palladius and the significance of these references to understanding the background to Christianity in Ireland before Patrick’s arrival. Early Irish society provided a great contrast to the society of the Roman Empire. For example, it had no towns or cities, no central government or no standard currency. Many Scholars have described it as tribal, rural, hierarchical and familiar. The Tuath was the basic political group or unit and was a piece of territory ruled by a King. It is estimated that there were about 150 such Tuath in pre – Christian Ireland. The basic social group was the fine and included all relations in the male line of descent.
    [Show full text]
  • BOOK TWO CHAPTER 1 the LIFE of SAINT PATRICK APOSTLE of IRELAND This Information Is Mostly from the Above Book, Supplemented By
    BOOK TWO CHAPTER 1 THE LIFE OF SAINT PATRICK APOSTLE OF IRELAND This information is mostly from the above book, supplemented by information from various other sources, and it is intended to describe the life of Saint Patrick in his travels throughout Ireland. He is credited with the conversion of Ireland from Paganism to Christianity. The book was: Published by R. WASHBOURNE, 18 Paternoster Row, London Printed April 16, 1870 by J. B. Lauwers, Vic-Gen. Sancta Trinitas Unas Deus These are individual statements and lines of prose which describe these activities which are related to Saint Patrick, and reflect the character and thinking of the Roman Catholic clergy, from whom they have originated. While the book from which they are taken more than likely does not exist any longer except in my own library, I have attempted to copy specific phrases and meanings from it, and only add clarity and continuity to their meanings. It is, by far, foe most complete book that I have found on this subject, and 1 have read many. On Page 5, foe author identifies "the sequestered Island of Eire, the seat of art, science and civilization; and thus predisposing the natives for receiving the truth of the Gospel" Since the illustrious Ollav Fola, (or Eochaidh Ollamh Fodhla, High King of Ireland - 1317 B. C. to 1277 B. C.) who was nearly contemporary with Lycurgus, instituted wholesale laws for limiting the powers of the monarch (of Ireland) and restraining the licentiousness of the subject, the people at large had become more civilized, courteous and polite.
    [Show full text]
  • Bilingualism in the Cambrai Homily
    Bilingualism in the Cambrai Homily Gwendolyne Knight* The Cambrai Homily (Cambrai, Bibliothèque municipale, MS 679 [s. viii2] ff. 37rb–38rb) is a short prose homily found between two chapters of the Collectio canonum Hibernensis; as the Homily is incomplete, it has been suggested that it was copied from a stray leaf inserted into the exemplar of the Collectio. The Homily itself is estimated to date to the seventh or first half of the eighth century. More salient for the purpose of this anthology, however, is the fact that the Homily code-switches between Latin and Old Irish. Some claim that this text provides us with the earliest record of continuous Irish prose; as such it has long been an important source for early Irish linguistics, as well as evidence for sermons in the seventh-century Irish Church. Nevertheless, the aspects of code-switching between Old Irish and Latin in the Cambrai Homily remain underexplored. This article provides an assessment of existing perspectives on the relationship between Latin and Old Irish in this homily, and offers a fresh interpretation of the code-switching that takes place. Keywords: Medieval homily, code-switching, translation studies, Old Irish, Latin, Cambrai Introduction The manuscript preserved in Cambrai, Bibliothèque municipale, MS 679 (formerly 619) is a partial transmission of the Collectio canonum Hibernensis, containing 38 of 65-69 books of scriptural and patristic extracts, as well as canon law, and Irish synodal and penitential de- crees. It was copied for Alberic, bishop of Cambrai and Arras (763-790), in the second half of the 8th century.
    [Show full text]
  • Lenition of the Conjugated Prepositions in Irish and Welsh
    Lenition of the Conjugated Prepositions in Irish and Welsh Sanne Jongeleen 3765105 25-07-2016 RMA Ancient, Medieval and Renaissance Studies Supervised by prof. dr. Peter Schrijver Plagiarism Statement I hereby declare that I have committed neither fraud nor plagiarism prior, during or after the process that has resulted in this thesis. 25-07-2016, Sanne Jongeleen 2 Table of Contents Table of Contents .................................................................................................. 3 Abbreviations ....................................................................................................... 4 0. Introduction ...................................................................................................... 6 1. Research Questions ........................................................................................... 8 2. Theoretical background ...................................................................................... 9 3. Methodology ................................................................................................... 14 4. Selected Corpus .............................................................................................. 18 4.1 Irish .......................................................................................................... 18 4.2 Welsh ........................................................................................................ 20 5. Selected Prepositions ......................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • ML 4080 the Seal Woman in Its Irish and International Context
    Mar Gur Dream Sí Iad Atá Ag Mairiúint Fén Bhfarraige: ML 4080 the Seal Woman in Its Irish and International Context The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Darwin, Gregory R. 2019. Mar Gur Dream Sí Iad Atá Ag Mairiúint Fén Bhfarraige: ML 4080 the Seal Woman in Its Irish and International Context. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:42029623 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Mar gur dream Sí iad atá ag mairiúint fén bhfarraige: ML 4080 The Seal Woman in its Irish and International Context A dissertation presented by Gregory Dar!in to The Department of Celti# Literatures and Languages in partial fulfillment of the re%$irements for the degree of octor of Philosophy in the subje#t of Celti# Languages and Literatures (arvard University Cambridge+ Massa#husetts April 2019 / 2019 Gregory Darwin All rights reserved iii issertation Advisor: Professor Joseph Falaky Nagy Gregory Dar!in Mar gur dream Sí iad atá ag mairiúint fén bhfarraige: ML 4080 The Seal Woman in its Irish and International Context4 Abstract This dissertation is a study of the migratory supernatural legend ML 4080 “The Mermaid Legend” The story is first attested at the end of the eighteenth century+ and hundreds of versions of the legend have been colle#ted throughout the nineteenth and t!entieth centuries in Ireland, S#otland, the Isle of Man, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Norway, S!eden, and Denmark.
    [Show full text]
  • The Sweat of Christians Is the Seed of Martyrdom: a Paradigm for Modern Orthodox Christian Witness
    International Journal of Orthodox Theology 6:2 (2015) 99 urn:nbn:de:0276-2015-2068 Dylan Pahman The Sweat of Christians is the Seed of Martyrdom: A Paradigm for Modern Orthodox Christian Witness Abstract This paper examines the connection between asceticism and martyrdom from a practical, historical, and theoretical point of view. It is argued that from the very beginning, Christians practiced asceticism, and that this practice was an essential preparation for martyrdom. Martyrdom, in turn, served as an inspiration for asceticism. Thus, while red martyrdom can be seen as the culmination of Christian asceticism, Dylan Pahman is a all Christian asceticism ought to be research fellow at the Acton Institute for the seen as martyric, witnessing to the Study of Religion & Liberty kingdom of God and the cross of where he serves as Christ. As such, it is argued that other managing editor of the forms of asceticism can also be Journal of Markets & understood through the martyric lens, Morality 100 Dylan Pahman such as exile from one’s homeland—as was the case with many ancient Celts—and marriage. No matter where or in what circumstances Orthodox Christians live, then, they ought to embrace a martyric way of life through their asceticism. In the end, I conclude by briefly noting the martyric character of the Eucharist, which forms the center of the sacramental and liturgical life of the Church, thus reinforcing the thesis that martyrdom should be seen as the universal character of the Christian life and commending it is a still-vibrant paradigm for modern Orthodox Christian witness.
    [Show full text]
  • Patrick and Celtic Christianity: Did You Know?
    Issue 60: How the Irish Were Saved Patrick and Celtic Christianity: Did You Know? Things Celtic are the rage today, whether it's Celtic spirituality, Celtic music, or Celtic history. A September 1998 search on Amazon.com, an online bookstore, turned up 1,200 books that have something to do with the word Celtic. A search of "Jesus Christ" on Yahoo.com revealed only 896 web sites, but a search of "Celtic" turned up nearly a thousand (976). The first Europeans The original Celts were tribes that emerged from central Europe about 1000 B.C. and spread over much of Europe by 300 B.C. They shared a common language and, in large degree, a common culture—but not a common name. They were called Keltoi or Galatians by the Greeks and Gauls or the Galli by the Romans, who thought of them as a brutal, militaristic people. Maybe that's because Rome, and Julius Caesar in particular, spent a lot of money and men repelling their incessant attacks (recorded in one of the most famous Latin works, Caesar's commentary on the Gallic Wars). When the Romans finally proved victorious, the Celts retreated to what was then considered the edge of civilization: areas we now call England, Scotland, and Ireland. "You foolish Celts!" The Celts who defeated Greek armies in Asia Minor liked what they saw and settled down in an area that became Galatia. It is possible that some of the converts the apostle Paul scolds in his letter ("You foolish Galatians!") were descendants of Celts. Peaceable kingdom The Celts of Ireland were the first major people group to be evangelized successfully without violence.
    [Show full text]
  • Carnal Love and Priestly Ordination on Sixth-Century Tiree
    The Innes Review vol. 51 no. 2 (Autumn 2000) 95-108 Michael Meckler Carnal love and priestly ordination on sixth-century Tiree Aed the Black was a king of the Ulstermen—the Ulaid—during the last quarter of the sixth century. From entries in the Annals of Ulster,1 Aed's reign has been calculated to have run from the year 581 until his death in 588. Aed's fame in Irish tradition stemmed not from any of his actions as king of the Ulaid. His notoriety rested on a deed committed a decade and a half before he ascended to the kingship. Aed the Black murdered the most important political leader of sixth-century Ireland, Diarmait mac Cerbaill. For two decades Diarmait reigned as the high-king of the Ui Neill kindred. The Ui Neill high-king held the ceremonial site of Tara, and with it a primacy of prestige over the kings of the four traditional 'Fifths' of Ireland: Leinster, Ulster, Munster and Connacht.2 During Diarmait's long reign (dated from 544 to 565 based on information in AU), Ireland truly emerged into the historical record. Important monasteries were founded, contacts with Europe were strengthened, and the ancient gathering called the Feast of Tara was celebrated for the final reported time.3 Only one event is known concerning Aed the Black between his murder of Diarmait mac Cerbaill and his elevation as king of the - Subsequent references to medieval Irish annals will use the following abbreviations: AU: The Annals of Ulster (to A.D. 1131), ed. S.
    [Show full text]