Conn of the Hundred Battles
Encyclopedia
Conn Cétchathach son of Fedlimid Rechtmar
, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland
, and the ancestor of the Connachta
, and, through his descendant Niall Noígiallach
, the Uí Néill
dynasties, which dominated Ireland in the early middle ages, and their descendants, including Scottish clan
s such as the Clan Donald
.
says that five roads to Tara
, which had never been seen before, were discovered on the night of Conn's birth. According to the Lebor Gabála Érenn
, he took power after killing his predecessor Cathair Mór
. In other sources his predecessor is Dáire Doimthech
. The Lia Fáil
, the coronation stone at Tara
which was said to roar when the rightful king stood on it, roared under Conn for the first time since Cúchulainn
split it with his sword when it failed to roar for Lugaid Riab nDerg
. In the saga Baile in Scáil ("The Phantom's Ecstatic Vision"), Conn treads on the stone by accident while walking the ramparts of Tara, implying that the stone had been lost and half-buried since Cúchulainn's time. A druid
explains the meaning of the stone, and says the number of cries the stone made is the number of kings who will follow Conn, but he is not the man to name them. A magical mist arises, and a horseman approaches who throws three spears towards Conn, then asks him and the druid to follow him to his house, which stands on a plain by a golden tree. They enter, and are welcomed by a woman in a gold crown. First they see a silver vat, bound with gold hoops, full of red ale, and a golden cup and serving spoon. Then they see a phantom, a tall beautiful man, on a throne, who introduces himself as Lugh
. The woman is the sovereignty
of Ireland, and she serves Conn a meal consisting of an ox's rib 24 feet (7.3 m) long, and a boar's rib. When she serves drinks, she asks "To whom shall this cup be given?", and Lugh recites a poem which tells Conn how many years he will reign, and the names of the kings who will follow him. Then they enter Lugh's shadow, and the house disappears, but the cup and serving spoon remain. An earlier text, Baile Chuinn Cétchathaigh (The Ecstatic Vision of Conn of the Hundred Battles") gives a poetic list of kings, many of which are recognisable from the traditional List of High Kings of Ireland, but without narrative context.
, king of Munster
.
According to the medieval text Cath Maige Leana ("the battle of Mag Leana"), Mug Nuadat's father, Mug Neit son of Deirgtine, had expelled the kings of Munster, Conaire Coem and Mac Niad mac Lugdach. The two kings fled to Conn, and married his daughters, Saraid and Sadb respectively. Mug Neit made war on Conn, but was defeated and killed after two battles in County Offaly
. Mug Nuadat led his father's forces in retreat through Munster, fighting Conn to a standstill before escaping by sea to Beare Island, and thence to Spain
. Conn restored Conaire and Mac Niad to their kingdoms and withdrew.
Nine years later, Mug Nuadat, who had married the daughter of the king of Spain, landed with an army near Bantry Bay
and forced Conaire and Mac Niad to submit to his overlordship. With the kings of Ulster and Leinster, he marched north to Mag nAi and forced Conn to make a treaty with him, diving Ireland between them: Conn controlling the north, or Leth Cuinn
("Conn's half"), and Mug Nuadat the south, or Leth Moga ("Mug's half"), with the border lying between Galway
in the west and Dublin in the east.
After fifteen years of peace Mug Nuadat broke the treaty and declared war, along with the kings of Ulster and Leinster. He led his army to Mag Leana, near Tullamore
, County Offaly. Conn retreated to Connacht, gathered his forces, and retook Meath
from the king of Ulster. He then marched south to Mag Leana and destroyed Mug Nuadat's army in a surprise night attack on his camp. Mug Nuadat was killed in the fighting, and Conn became king of all of Ireland.
Geoffrey Keating tells the story differently. In his account Mug Nuadat obtains an army from the king of Leinster and expels the kings of Munster, here Lugaid Allathach, Dáire Dornmhor and Aonghus. Aonghus flees to Conn, who gives him an army with which to reclaim his kingdom, but Mug Nuadat defeats this and a further nine attempts by Conn to drive him out of Munster, forcing Conn to divide Ireland with him. When hostilities break out again, Conn and Mug Nuadat's armies gather for battle at Mag Leana, but Conn kills Mug Nuadat in his bed in an early morning attack.
Legend has it that the hero Fionn mac Cumhaill
was born in Conn's time. His father, Cumhall, a warrior in Conn's service, was a suitor of Muirne
, daughter of the druid Tadg mac Nuadat
, but Tadg refused his suit, so Cumhall abducted her. Conn went to war against him, and Cumhall was killed by Goll mac Morna
in the Battle of Cnucha. But Muirne was already pregnant, and Tadg rejected her, ordering her to be burned. She fled to Conn, and Conn put her under the protection of Cumhall's brother-in-law Fiacal mac Conchinn. It was in Fiacal's house that she gave birth to a son, Deimne, who was later renamed Fionn. When he was ten, Fionn came to Tara put himself into Conn's service. He learned that every year at Samhain
, the monster Aillen
would put everyone at Tara to sleep with his music, and burn down the palace with his fiery breath. Fionn killed Aillen, having kept himself awake by pressing the head of his spear to his forehead, and warded off Aillen's flame with his magical cloak, and Conn made him head of the fianna
in place of Goll.
. Connla fell in love with a fairy woman from Mag Mell
, and went with her to her otherworld home in her crystal boat, leaving Art alone. After that Art was known as Óenfer - the "lone" or "solitary".
After Conn's wife Eithne Táebfada, daughter of Cathair Mór, died, another fairy woman, Bé Chuille
, was banished by the Tuatha Dé Danann
to Ireland. She had fallen in love with Art from a distance and sought him out in her currach
, but when she met Conn and learned he was without a wife, agreed to marry him instead, on the condition that Art be banished from Tara for a year. The men of Ireland thought this unjust, and Ireland was barren during that year. The druids discovered that this was Bé Chuille's fault, and declared that the famine could be ended by the sacrifice of the son of a sinless couple in front of Tara. Conn went in search of this boy in Bé Chuille's currach. He landed on a strange island of apple-trees. The queen of the island had a young son, the result of her only sexual union. Conn told her that Ireland would be saved if the boy bathed in the water of Ireland, and she agreed. He took him back to Ireland, but when the druids demanded his death, he, Art and Fionn mac Cumhaill swore to protect him. Just then, a woman driving a cow carrying two bags approached, and the cow was sacrificed instead of the boy. The bags were opened: one contained a bird with one leg, the other a bird with twelve legs. The two birds fought, and the one-legged bird won. The woman said the twelve-legged bird represented the druids, and the one-legged bird the boy, and revealed herself as his mother. She told Conn that the famine would end if he would put Bé Chuille away, but he refused. Bé Chuille was later banished from Tara as the result of a series of challenges she and Art made each other over a game of fidchell
.
. The Lebor Gabála and the Annals say Tipraite defeated him in battle in Túath Amrois. Keating
says Tipraite sent fifty warriors dressed as women from Emain Macha
to kill him at Tara. His son-in-law Conaire Cóem succeeded him as High King, and Conn's son Art would later succeed him. The Lebor Gabála synchronises Conn's reign with that of the Roman emperor
Marcus Aurelius (161-180). The chronology of Geoffrey Keating's Foras Feasa ar Éirinn dates his reign to 116-136, that of the Annals of the Four Masters to 122-157.
Fedlimid Rechtmar
Fedlimid Rechtmar or Rechtaid son of Tuathal Techtmar, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. His mother was Báine, daughter of Scál. He took power after killing his predecessor, and his father's killer, Mal mac Rochride...
, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland
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...
, and the ancestor of the Connachta
Connachta
The Connachta are a group of medieval Irish dynasties who claimed descent from the legendary High King Conn Cétchathach...
, and, through his descendant Niall Noígiallach
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...
, 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....
dynasties, which dominated Ireland in the early middle ages, and their descendants, including Scottish clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
s such as the Clan Donald
Clan Donald
Clan Donald is one of the largest Scottish clans. There are numerous branches to the clan. Several of these have chiefs recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms; these are: Clan Macdonald of Sleat, Clan Macdonald of Clanranald, Clan MacDonell of Glengarry, Clan MacDonald of Keppoch, and Clan...
.
Early life and accession
The Annals of the Four MastersAnnals 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...
says that five roads to 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...
, which had never been seen before, were discovered on the night of Conn's birth. According to the Lebor Gabála Érenn
Lebor Gabála Érenn
Lebor Gabála Érenn is the Middle Irish title of a loose collection of poems and prose narratives recounting the mythical origins and history of the Irish from the creation of the world down to the Middle Ages...
, he took power after killing his predecessor Cathair Mór
Cathair Mor
Cathair Mór , son of Fedlimid Fir Urglais, a descendant of Mug Corb, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He took power after the death of Fedlimid Rechtmar. He is said to have had thirty sons, but only ten of them had children; several medieval...
. In other sources his predecessor is Dáire Doimthech
Dáire Doimthech
Dáire Doimthech, alias Dáire Sírchréchtach, son of Sithbolg, was a legendary King of Tara and High King of Ireland, and eponymous ancestor of the proto-historical Dáirine and historical Corcu Loígde of Munster. A son of his was Lugaid Loígde , an ancestor of Lugaid Mac Con...
. The Lia Fáil
Lia Fáil
The Lia Fáil , also known as the Coronation Stone of Tara, is a stone at the Inauguration Mound on the Hill of Tara in County Meath in Ireland, which served as the coronation stone for the High Kings of Ireland. In legend, all of the kings of Ireland were crowned on the stone up to Muirchertach...
, the coronation stone 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...
which was said to roar when the rightful king stood on it, roared under Conn for the first time since Cúchulainn
Cúchulainn
Cú Chulainn or Cúchulainn , and sometimes known in English as Cuhullin , is an Irish mythological hero who appears in the stories of the Ulster Cycle, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore...
split it with his sword when it failed to roar for Lugaid Riab nDerg
Lugaid Riab nDerg
Lugaid Riab nDerg or Réoderg , son of the three findemna, triplet sons of Eochu Feidlech, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland.-Conception:...
. In the saga Baile in Scáil ("The Phantom's Ecstatic Vision"), Conn treads on the stone by accident while walking the ramparts of Tara, implying that the stone had been lost and half-buried since Cúchulainn's time. A druid
Druid
A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....
explains the meaning of the stone, and says the number of cries the stone made is the number of kings who will follow Conn, but he is not the man to name them. A magical mist arises, and a horseman approaches who throws three spears towards Conn, then asks him and the druid to follow him to his house, which stands on a plain by a golden tree. They enter, and are welcomed by a woman in a gold crown. First they see a silver vat, bound with gold hoops, full of red ale, and a golden cup and serving spoon. Then they see a phantom, a tall beautiful man, on a throne, who introduces himself as Lugh
Lugh
Lug or Lugh is an Irish deity represented in mythological texts as a hero and High King of the distant past. He is known by the epithets Lámhfhada , for his skill with a spear or sling, Ildánach , Samhildánach , Lonnbeimnech and Macnia , and by the...
. The woman is the sovereignty
Loathly lady
The loathly lady is a common literary device used in medieval literature, most famously in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Wife of Bath's Tale. The motif was prominent in Celtic mythology and to a lesser extent Germanic mythology, where the lady often represented the sovereignty of the...
of Ireland, and she serves Conn a meal consisting of an ox's rib 24 feet (7.3 m) long, and a boar's rib. When she serves drinks, she asks "To whom shall this cup be given?", and Lugh recites a poem which tells Conn how many years he will reign, and the names of the kings who will follow him. Then they enter Lugh's shadow, and the house disappears, but the cup and serving spoon remain. An earlier text, Baile Chuinn Cétchathaigh (The Ecstatic Vision of Conn of the Hundred Battles") gives a poetic list of kings, many of which are recognisable from the traditional List of High Kings of Ireland, but without narrative context.
Reign
Conn had a long reign - twenty, twenty-five, thirty-five or even fifty years according to different versions of the Lebor Gabála, spending much of it at war with Mug NuadatMug Nuadat
In Irish mythological history Mug Nuadat was a legendary, supposed King of Munster in the 2nd century AD. He was, according to later medieval tradition, a rival of the High King, Conn of the Hundred Battles and for a time after the year 123 was the de facto ruler of the southern half of Ireland...
, king of Munster
Munster
Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. 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 purposes...
.
According to the medieval text Cath Maige Leana ("the battle of Mag Leana"), Mug Nuadat's father, Mug Neit son of Deirgtine, had expelled the kings of Munster, Conaire Coem and Mac Niad mac Lugdach. The two kings fled to Conn, and married his daughters, Saraid and Sadb respectively. Mug Neit made war on Conn, but was defeated and killed after two battles in County Offaly
County Offaly
County Offaly is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe and was formerly known as King's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. Offaly County Council is...
. Mug Nuadat led his father's forces in retreat through Munster, fighting Conn to a standstill before escaping by sea to Beare Island, and thence to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Conn restored Conaire and Mac Niad to their kingdoms and withdrew.
Nine years later, Mug Nuadat, who had married the daughter of the king of Spain, landed with an army near Bantry Bay
Bantry Bay
Bantry Bay is a bay located in County Cork, southwest Ireland. The bay runs approximately from northeast to southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 3-to-4 km wide at the head and wide at the entrance....
and forced Conaire and Mac Niad to submit to his overlordship. With the kings of Ulster and Leinster, he marched north to Mag nAi and forced Conn to make a treaty with him, diving Ireland between them: Conn controlling the north, or Leth Cuinn
Leath Cuinn
Leath Cuinn and Leath Moga refers to a legendary ancient division of Ireland.-Geographical extant:Leath Cuinn was the island north of the Esker Riada...
("Conn's half"), and Mug Nuadat the south, or Leth Moga ("Mug's half"), with the border lying between Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
in the west and Dublin in the east.
After fifteen years of peace Mug Nuadat broke the treaty and declared war, along with the kings of Ulster and Leinster. He led his army to Mag Leana, near Tullamore
Tullamore
Tullamore is a town in County Offaly, in the midlands of Ireland. It is Offaly's county town and the centre of the district.Tullamore is an important commercial and industrial centre in the region. Major international employers in the town include 'Tyco Healthcare' and 'Boston Scientific'. In...
, County Offaly. Conn retreated to Connacht, gathered his forces, and retook Meath
Meath
Meath may refer to:*County Meath, Republic of Ireland**Kingdom of Mide, medieval precursor of the county**Meath , in UK and Irish parliaments**Meath GAA, including the intercounty football and hurling teams**Diocese of Meath...
from the king of Ulster. He then marched south to Mag Leana and destroyed Mug Nuadat's army in a surprise night attack on his camp. Mug Nuadat was killed in the fighting, and Conn became king of all of Ireland.
Geoffrey Keating tells the story differently. In his account Mug Nuadat obtains an army from the king of Leinster and expels the kings of Munster, here Lugaid Allathach, Dáire Dornmhor and Aonghus. Aonghus flees to Conn, who gives him an army with which to reclaim his kingdom, but Mug Nuadat defeats this and a further nine attempts by Conn to drive him out of Munster, forcing Conn to divide Ireland with him. When hostilities break out again, Conn and Mug Nuadat's armies gather for battle at Mag Leana, but Conn kills Mug Nuadat in his bed in an early morning attack.
Legend has it that the hero Fionn mac Cumhaill
Fionn mac Cumhaill
Fionn mac Cumhaill , known in English as Finn McCool, was a mythical hunter-warrior of Irish mythology, occurring also in the mythologies of Scotland and the Isle of Man...
was born in Conn's time. His father, Cumhall, a warrior in Conn's service, was a suitor of Muirne
Muirne
Muirne or Muireann Muncháem was the mother of Fionn mac Cumhail in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology.She had many suitors, but her father, the druid Tadg mac Nuadat, had foreseen that her marriage would lead to the loss of his home on the hill of Almu, so he refused them all. But one of them,...
, daughter of the druid Tadg mac Nuadat
Tadg mac Nuadat
Tadg, son of Nuada, was a druid and the maternal grandfather of Fionn mac Cumhail in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. It is unclear whether his father was the short-lived High King Nuada Necht, the god Nuada Airgetlam of the Tuatha Dé Danann, or another figure of a similar name...
, but Tadg refused his suit, so Cumhall abducted her. Conn went to war against him, and Cumhall was killed by Goll mac Morna
Goll mac Morna
Goll mac Morna was a member of the fianna and an uneasy ally of Fionn mac Cumhail in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. He had killed Fionn's father, Cumhal, and taken over the leadership of the fianna, but when Fionn grew up and proved his worth Goll willingly stepped aside in his favour.His...
in the Battle of Cnucha. But Muirne was already pregnant, and Tadg rejected her, ordering her to be burned. She fled to Conn, and Conn put her under the protection of Cumhall's brother-in-law Fiacal mac Conchinn. It was in Fiacal's house that she gave birth to a son, Deimne, who was later renamed Fionn. When he was ten, Fionn came to Tara put himself into Conn's service. He learned that every year at Samhain
Samhain
Samhain is a Gaelic harvest festival held on October 31–November 1. It was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and was popularised as the "Celtic New Year" from the late 19th century, following Sir John Rhys and Sir James Frazer...
, the monster Aillen
Aillen
Aillen or Áillen is a being in Irish mythology. Called "the burner", he is a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann who resides in Mag Mell, the underworld. According to The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn, he would burn Tara to the ground every year at Samhain with his fiery breath after lulling all the...
would put everyone at Tara to sleep with his music, and burn down the palace with his fiery breath. Fionn killed Aillen, having kept himself awake by pressing the head of his spear to his forehead, and warded off Aillen's flame with his magical cloak, and Conn made him head of the fianna
Fianna
Fianna were small, semi-independent warrior bands in Irish mythology and Scottish mythology, most notably in the stories of the Fenian Cycle, where they are led by Fionn mac Cumhaill....
in place of Goll.
Family
Conn had two sons, Connla and ArtArt mac Cuinn
Art mac Cuinn , also known as Art Óenfer , was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland....
. Connla fell in love with a fairy woman from Mag Mell
Mag Mell
In Irish mythology, Mag Mell was a mythical realm achievable through death and/or glory...
, and went with her to her otherworld home in her crystal boat, leaving Art alone. After that Art was known as Óenfer - the "lone" or "solitary".
After Conn's wife Eithne Táebfada, daughter of Cathair Mór, died, another fairy woman, Bé Chuille
Bé Chuille
Bé Chuille, also known as Becuille and Bé Chuma, is one of the Tuatha Dé Danann in Irish mythology. In a tale from the Metrical Dindshenchas, she is a good sorceress who joins three other of the Tuatha Dé to defeat the evil Greek witch Carman...
, was banished by the Tuatha Dé Danann
Tuatha Dé Danann
The Tuatha Dé Danann are a race of people in Irish mythology. In the invasions tradition which begins with the Lebor Gabála Érenn, they are the fifth group to settle Ireland, conquering the island from the Fir Bolg....
to Ireland. She had fallen in love with Art from a distance and sought him out in her currach
Currach
A Currach is a type of Irish boat with a wooden frame, over which animal skins or hides were once stretched, though now canvas is more usual. It is sometimes anglicised as "Curragh". The construction and design of the currach is unique to the west coasts of Ireland and Scotland, with variations in...
, but when she met Conn and learned he was without a wife, agreed to marry him instead, on the condition that Art be banished from Tara for a year. The men of Ireland thought this unjust, and Ireland was barren during that year. The druids discovered that this was Bé Chuille's fault, and declared that the famine could be ended by the sacrifice of the son of a sinless couple in front of Tara. Conn went in search of this boy in Bé Chuille's currach. He landed on a strange island of apple-trees. The queen of the island had a young son, the result of her only sexual union. Conn told her that Ireland would be saved if the boy bathed in the water of Ireland, and she agreed. He took him back to Ireland, but when the druids demanded his death, he, Art and Fionn mac Cumhaill swore to protect him. Just then, a woman driving a cow carrying two bags approached, and the cow was sacrificed instead of the boy. The bags were opened: one contained a bird with one leg, the other a bird with twelve legs. The two birds fought, and the one-legged bird won. The woman said the twelve-legged bird represented the druids, and the one-legged bird the boy, and revealed herself as his mother. She told Conn that the famine would end if he would put Bé Chuille away, but he refused. Bé Chuille was later banished from Tara as the result of a series of challenges she and Art made each other over a game of fidchell
Fidchell
Fidchell or gwyddbwyll was an ancient Celtic board game. The name in both Irish and Welsh is a compound translating to "wood sense"; the fact that the compound is identical in both languages demonstrates that the name is of extreme antiquity...
.
Death
Conn was eventually killed by Tipraite Tírech, king of the UlaidUlaid
The Ulaid or Ulaidh were a people of early Ireland who gave their name to the modern province of Ulster...
. The Lebor Gabála and the Annals say Tipraite defeated him in battle in Túath Amrois. Keating
Geoffrey Keating
Seathrún Céitinn, known in English as Geoffrey Keating, was a 17th century Irish Roman Catholic priest, poet and historian. He was born in County Tipperary c. 1569, and died c. 1644...
says Tipraite sent fifty warriors dressed as women from Emain Macha
Emain Macha
]Navan Fort – known in Old Irish as Eṁaın Ṁacha and in Modern Irish as Eamhain Mhacha – is an ancient monument in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. According to Irish legend, it was one of the major power centers of pre-Christian Ireland...
to kill him at Tara. His son-in-law Conaire Cóem succeeded him as High King, and Conn's son Art would later succeed him. The Lebor Gabála synchronises Conn's reign with that of the Roman emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
Marcus Aurelius (161-180). The chronology of Geoffrey Keating's Foras Feasa ar Éirinn dates his reign to 116-136, that of the Annals of the Four Masters to 122-157.