Irish annals
Encyclopedia
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. Over time, the obituaries
of priests, abbots and bishops were added, along with that of notable political events.
Non-Irish models include Bede
's Chronica maiora, Marcellinus Comes
's Chronicle of Marcellinus and the Liber pontificalis
.
(d. c. 423).
Many of these annals have been translated and published by either the School of Celtic Studies, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies
, or the Irish Texts Society
. In addition, the text of many are available on the internet at the Corpus of Electronic Texts (CELT Project) hosted by the History Department of University College Cork, National University of Ireland. (See External Links below)
The famous epic political tract Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib also contains a great deal of annalistic material from the Viking Age in Ireland which is to be found in no other surviving sources. Much of this was taken from the same sources ancestral to the Annals of Inisfallen
, which have come down to us both abbreviated and lacunose
.
Gaelic Ireland
Gaelic Ireland is the name given to the period when a Gaelic political order existed in Ireland. The order continued to exist after the arrival of the Anglo-Normans until about 1607 AD...
in the 17th century.
Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology
Chronology
Chronology is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time, such as the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It is also "the determination of the actual temporal sequence of past events".Chronology is part of periodization...
of feast days. Over time, the obituaries
Obituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
of priests, abbots and bishops were added, along with that of notable political events.
Non-Irish models include 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 Chronica maiora, Marcellinus Comes
Marcellinus Comes
Marcellinus Comes was a Latin chronicler of the Eastern Roman Empire. An Illyrian by birth, he spent most of his life at the court of Constantinople, which is the focus of his surviving work.-Works:...
's Chronicle of Marcellinus and the Liber pontificalis
Liber Pontificalis
The Liber Pontificalis is a book of biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the Liber Pontificalis stopped with Pope Adrian II or Pope Stephen V , but it was later supplemented in a different style until Pope Eugene IV and then Pope Pius II...
.
Chronology
The origins of annalistic compilation can be traced to the occasional recording of notes and events in blank spaces between the latercus, i.e. the 84-year Easter table adopted from Gaulish writer Sulpicius SeverusSulpicius Severus
Sulpicius Severus was a Christian writer and native of Aquitania. He is known for his chronicle of sacred history, as well as his biography of Saint Martin of Tours.-Life:...
(d. c. 423).
Extant
Manuscript copies of extant annals include the following:- Annals of BoyleAnnals of BoyleThe Annals of Boyle, also Cottonian Annals, are a chronicle of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years up to 1253. It is considered one of the works that forms The Chronicle of Ireland, although in summary form compared to others....
- Annals of ClonmacnoiseAnnals of ClonmacnoiseThe Annals of Clonmacnoise are an early 17th-century Early Modern English translation of a lost Irish chronicle, which covered events in Ireland from pre-history to A.D. 1408...
- Annals of ConnachtAnnals of ConnachtThe Annals of Connacht, covering the years 1224 to 1544, are drawn from a manuscript compiled in the 15th and 16th centuries by at least three scribes, all believed to be members of the Clan Ó Duibhgeannáin....
- Annals of the Four MastersAnnals of the Four MastersThe Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history...
- Annals of InisfallenAnnals of InisfallenThe Annals of Inisfallen are a chronicle of the medieval history of Ireland. There are more than 2,500 entries spanning the years between AD 433 and AD 1450, but it is believed to have been written between the 12th and 15th centuries...
- Annals of Lough CéAnnals of Lough CéThe Annals of Loch Cé cover events, mainly in Connacht and its neighbouring regions, from 1014 to 1590. It takes its name from Lough Cé in the kingdom of Moylurg - now north County Roscommon - which was the centre of power of the Clan MacDermot...
- Annales de Monte Fernandi, aka Annals of MultyfarnhamMultyfarnhamMultyfarnham or Multyfarnam is a village in County Westmeath, Ireland.-History:The Irish Franciscan friars still maintain a presence in the ancient monastery here which was founded in 1268. During the English conquest of Ireland it was raided six times and twice burnt out by the Crown forces...
- Annals of RoscreaRoscreaRoscrea is a small heritage town in North Tipperary, Ireland. The town has a population of 4,910. Its main industries include meat processing and pharmaceuticals. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Ikerrin...
- Chronicon ScotorumChronicon ScotorumChronicon Scotorum is a medieval Irish chronicle.According to Nollaig Ó Muraíle, it is "a collection of annals belonging to the 'Clonmacnoise group', covering the period from prehistoric times to 1150 but with some gaps, closely related to the 'Annals of Tigernach'...
- Annals of TigernachAnnals of TigernachThe Annals of Tigernach is a chronicle probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin and Old and Middle Irish....
- Annals of UlsterAnnals of UlsterThe 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...
- The Annals of Ireland by Friar John ClynJohn ClynJohn Clyn of the Friars Minor, Kilkenny, was a 14th century Irish monk and chronicler who lived at the time of the Black Death.-Background:...
- Annals of Dudley Loftus
- The Short Annals of Donegal
- Leabhar OirisLeabhar Oiris-Overview:An Leabhar Oiris was created by one, or more, author or authors, who drew on material in the Irish annals relating to the years 976 to 1028. It is believed to have been written in an Irish monastic scriptorium, after 976 and by 1500.-Manuscript sources:...
- Annals of NenaghAnnals of NenaghThe Annals of Nenagh are a set of Irish annals composed in Latin at the Franciscan convent of Nenagh, County Tipperary, founded c. 1254.Its surviving portions covers the years 1336 to 1528, the majority of the brief entries concerning the 14th century...
- Mac Carthaigh's BookMac Carthaigh's BookMac Carthaigh’s Book is a collection of annals of the period AD 1114-1437 inclusive. It was compiled from earlier material by Fínghin Mac Carthaigh Mór an Irish nobleman who was imprisoned for years in London. He was a patron of learning and a scholar in his own right...
- Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib (large parts)
- Fragmentary Annals of IrelandFragmentary Annals of IrelandThe Fragmentary Annals of Ireland are a Middle Irish combination of chronicle from various Irish annals and narrative history. They were compiled in the kingdom of Osraige, probably in the lifetime of Donnchad mac Gilla Pátraic , king of Osraige and of king of Leinster.The Fragmentary Annals were...
(parts) - Dublin Annals of InisfallenDublin Annals of InisfallenThe Dublin Annals of Inisfallen refer to a mid 18th century compilation of medieval Irish annals reworked and augmented with material from later traditions in the form of interpolations, made by John O'Brien, Bishop of Cloyne and the Reverend John Conry...
- The Annals of Ireland by Thady Dowling
- Short Annals of TirconaillShort Annals of TirconaillThe Short Annals of Tirconaill is an Irish annal, with entrys dating from 1241 to 1650, but with numerous gaps, such as 1241 to 1423. Its authors are unknown; Paul Walsh speculated that it had several scribes over the course of some four hundred years, ending in 1650 or the years immediately...
- Short Annals of LeinsterShort Annals of LeinsterThe Short Annals of Leinster, aka Annala Gearr Laigin, is an Irish annal, covering the years 593 to 1607. It was created by a number of unknown scribes, thought to be monks or chroniclers, or both, between c. 1525 to 1625.-References:...
- Annales Hibernie ab anno Christi 1162 usque ad annum 1370, aka Pembridge's Annals
- Annales Hiberniae, aka Grace's Annals
- Memoranda GadelicaMemoranda GadelicaMemoranda Gadelica aka Dublin, Trinity College MS H. 4. 31, is an Irish annal, covering the years 1582 to 1665.-Overview:This annals features notices and obits of the Mac Aonghusa family of Uíbh Eathach Memoranda Gadelica aka Dublin, Trinity College MS H. 4. 31, is an Irish annal, covering the...
- Annla Gearra as Proibhinse Ard MachaAnnla Gearra as Proibhinse Ard MachaAnnla Gearra as Proibhinse Ard Macha, aka The Short Annals of Armagh, aka British Library, Additional MS 30512, compiled c. 1460-75.The Annala Gearra Ard Macha covers events in Irish history from the lifetime of Lóegaire mac Néill Annla Gearra as Proibhinse Ard Macha, aka The Short Annals of...
- A Fragment of Irish AnnalsA Fragment of Irish AnnalsA Fragment of Irish Annals aka Oxford Univsity Collection 103 is an Irish annal, published by Brian Ó Cuív in 1981. The text is believed to date from the years 1467-68 or immediately after. It covers only these two years. It is kept at Oxford University, where it is listed as Oxford Univ. Coll....
Other sources
Others which contain annalistic material include:- Leabhar Bhaile an Mhóta
- Lebor Glinne Dá Loch
- Lebor Leacáin
- Leabhar Uí Dhubhagáin
- Caithréim Chellacháin ChaisilCaithréim Chellacháin ChaisilCaithréim Chellacháin ChaisilDonnchadh Ó Corráin writes that this title "was first given it by Eugene O'Curry in his transcript of the text. It has no title in the earliest copy, that in the Book of Lismore...
- Leabhar na nGenealachLeabhar na nGenealachLeabhar na nGenealach is a massive genealogical collection written mainly in the years 1649 to 1650, at the college-house of St. Nicholas's church, Galway, by Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh. He continued to add material until at least 1666, five years before he was murdered in 1671...
Many of these annals have been translated and published by either the School of Celtic Studies, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies
The 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...
, or the Irish Texts Society
Irish Texts Society
The Irish Texts Society was founded in 1898 to promote the study of Irish literature. The Society publishes annotated editions of texts in Irish with English translations and related commentaries....
. In addition, the text of many are available on the internet at the Corpus of Electronic Texts (CELT Project) hosted by the History Department of University College Cork, National University of Ireland. (See External Links below)
The famous epic political tract Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib also contains a great deal of annalistic material from the Viking Age in Ireland which is to be found in no other surviving sources. Much of this was taken from the same sources ancestral to the Annals of Inisfallen
Annals of Inisfallen
The Annals of Inisfallen are a chronicle of the medieval history of Ireland. There are more than 2,500 entries spanning the years between AD 433 and AD 1450, but it is believed to have been written between the 12th and 15th centuries...
, which have come down to us both abbreviated and lacunose
Lacuna (manuscripts)
A lacunaPlural lacunae. From Latin lacūna , diminutive form of lacus . is a gap in a manuscript, inscription, text, painting, or a musical work...
.
Lost annals
Annals known to have existed but which have been lost include:- Annals of the Island of Saints
- Annals of Maolconary
- Book of CuanuBook of CuanuThe Book of Cuanu is a lost Irish Annal, which referred to events from the fifth to seventh centuries. It is referred to on over a dozen occasions in the Annals of Ulster, its entries been terse accounts of battles or notable deaths....
- Book of Dub-da-leithe
- Book of the Monks
- Leabhar Airis Cloinne Fir Bhisigh
- Leabhar Airisen
- Leabhar Airisen Ghiolla Iosa Mhec Fhirbhisigh
- Synchronisms of Flann Mainstreach
- The Chronicle of Ireland
Modern annals
- Chronology of Irish History to 1976Chronology of Irish History to 1976A Chronology of Irish History to 1976 is volume VIII of "A New History of Ireland", a ten-volume series on all aspects of Irish history and culture, published between 1977 and 2006....
- The Chronicle of Ireland 1992-1996