   #copyright

Áedán mac Gabráin

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: British History 1500 and
before (including Roman Britain); Historical figures

   Satellite image of northern Britain and Ireland showing the approximate
   area of Dál Riata (shaded).
   Enlarge
   Satellite image of northern Britain and Ireland showing the approximate
   area of Dál Riata (shaded).

   Áedán mac Gabráin was king of Dál Riata, a kingdom in modern Argyll,
   Scotland and County Antrim, Ireland, from about 574 onwards. He was a
   contemporary of Columba, and much that is recorded of his life and
   career comes from hagiography such as Adomnán of Iona's Life of Saint
   Columba. The Irish annals record Áedán's campaigns against his
   neighbours, in Ireland and in northern Britain, including expeditions
   to the Orkney Islands, the Isle of Man and to the north-east of
   Scotland. As recorded by Bede, Áedán was decisively defeated by
   Æthelfrith of Bernicia at the battle of Degsastan. Áedán may have been
   deposed or have abicated following this defeat and died in about 608.

Background

   The sources for Áedán's life include Bede's Historia ecclesiastica
   gentis Anglorum; Irish annals, principally the Annals of Ulster and the
   Annals of Tigernach; and Adomnán's Life of Saint Columba. Áedán also
   appears as a character in the early Irish works Gein Branduib maic
   Echach ocus Aedáin maic Gabráin and Compert Mongáin. The Senchus fer
   n-Alban, a census and genealogy of Dál Riata, records his immediate
   descendants.

   Adomnán, the Senchus and the Irish annals state that Áedán was a son of
   Gabrán mac Domangairt (died c. 555–560). A Welsh poem says that Áedán's
   mother was a daughter of Dumnagual Hen of Alt Clut. Áedán's brother
   Eoganán is known from Adomnán and his death is recorded around 597. The
   Senchus fer n-Alban names three other sons of Gabrán, namely Cuildach,
   Domnall and Domangart. Although nothing is known of Cuildach and
   Domangart or their descendants, Adomnán mentions a certain Ioan, son of
   Conall, son of Domnall, "who belonged to the royal lineage of the Cenél
   nGabráin", but this is read as meaning that Ioan was a kinsman of the
   Cenél nGabráin, and his grandfather named Domnall is not thought to be
   the same person as Áedán's brother Domnall.

   In the Rawlinson B. 502 manuscript, dated to c. 1130, is the tale Gein
   Branduib maic Echach ocus Aedáin maic Gabráin (The Birth of Brandub son
   of Eochu and of Aedán son of Gabrán). This tells how Áedán was a son of
   Echu mac Muiredaig of the Uí Cheinnselaig of Leinster, and thus the
   twin brother of Brandub mac Echach (died c. 605–608). Áedán was
   exchanged at birth for one of the twin daughters of Gabrán, born the
   very same night, so that each family might have a son. The Prophecy of
   Berchán also associates Áedán with Leinster. A modern study concludes
   that "[t]here seems to be no basis of fact behind these traditions".

Neighbours

   Áedán was one of the several kings in Dál Riata and the very many in
   northern Britain and Ireland. Dál Riata itself was divided into three
   sub-kingdoms: the Cenél nGabráin, who took their name from Áedán's
   father, who ruled over Kintyre, Cowal and Bute; the Cenél Loairn of
   northern Argyll; and the Cenél nÓengusa of Islay. Within these there
   were smaller divisions or tribes which are named by the Senchus fer
   n-Alban. Details of the Irish part of the kingdom are less clear, but
   it appears to have been ruled by the Cenél nGabráin.

   Looking outward, Dál Riata's neighbours in north Britain were the Picts
   and the Britons. Later in Áedán's reign the kingdom of Bernicia would
   become a significant power in north Britain. In Ireland, Dál Riata
   formed part of Ulster, ruled by Báetán mac Cairill of the Dál Fiatach.
   The other major grouping in Ulster were the disunited tribes of the
   cruithne known as the Dál nAraidi. The major cruithne kings in Áedán's
   reign were Áed Dub mac Suibni and Fiachnae mac Báetáin. Beyond the
   kingdom of Ulster, and generally hostile to it, were the various
   kingdoms and tribes of the Uí Néill and their subject kingdoms and
   tribes. Of the Uí Néill kings, Áed mac Ainmuirech of the Cenél Conaill,
   Columba's first cousin once removed, was the most important to Áedán's
   reign.

Reign

   Footprint used in king-making ceremonies, Dunadd
   Enlarge
   Footprint used in king-making ceremonies, Dunadd

   From the evidence of the annals, Áedán was around forty years old when
   he became king after the death of his uncle Conall mac Comgaill in 574.
   His succession as king may have been contested as Adomnán states that
   Columba had favoured the candidacy of Áedán's brother Eoganán. Adomnán
   records that Áedán was ordained as king by Columba, the first example
   of an ordination known in Britain and Ireland.

   In 574, following Conall's death, the Annals of Ulster and the Annals
   of Tigernach record a battle in Kintyre, at the unidentified Delgu or
   Teloch, but say only that "Dúnchad, son of Conall, son of Comgall, and
   many others of the allies of the sons of Gabrán, fell." In 575, the
   Annals of Ulster report "the great convention of Druim Cett", at
   Mullagh or Daisy Hill near Limavady, with Áed mac Ainmuirech and
   Columba in attendance. Adomnán reports that Áedán was present at the
   meeting. The purpose of the meeting is not entirely certain, but one
   agreement made there concerned the status of Áedán's kingdom. Áedán and
   Áed agreed that while the fleet of Dál Riata would serve the Uí Néill,
   no tribute would be paid, and warriors would only be provided from the
   Dál Riata lands in Ireland.

   The reason for this agreement is presumed to have been the threat of
   Áedán and to Áed by Báetán mac Cairill. Báetán is said to have forced
   the king of Dál Riata to pay homage to him at Rosnaree on Islandmagee,
   and this is thought to have followed Áedán's alliance with the Cenél
   Conaill. Ulster sources say that Báetán levied tribute from Scotland,
   and Dál Riata is presumed to be meant, and he is known to have
   campaigned on the Isle of Man. Following Báetán's death in 581, the
   Ulstermen abandoned the Isle of Man, perhaps driven out by Áedán who is
   recorded as fighting there in 583. Somewhat earlier, around 580, Áedán
   had raided Orkney, which had been subject to Bridei son of Maelchon,
   King of the Picts, at an earlier date.

   Áedán's campaigns on the Isle of Man have sometimes been confused with
   the battle against the Miathi mentioned by Adomnán. The Miathi appear
   to have been the Maeatae, a tribe in the area of the upper river Forth.
   This campaign was successful, but Áedán's sons Artúr and Eochaid Find
   were killed in battle according to Adomnán. This battle may have taken
   place around 590 and be recorded as the battle of Leithreid or
   Leithrig.

   The Prophecy of Berchán says of Áedán: "Thirteen years (one after
   another) [he will fight against] the Pictish host (fair the diadem)."
   The only recorded battle between Áedán and the Picts appears to that
   fought in Circinn, in 599 or after, where Áedán was defeated. The
   annals mention the deaths of his sons here, but this is thought to be
   an error.

   A number of Welsh traditions point to warfare between Áedán and
   Rhydderch Hael of Alt Clut, the British kingdom later known as
   Strathclyde. Adomnán mentions Rhydderch sending a monk named Luigbe to
   Iona to speak with Columba "for he wanted to learn whether he would be
   slaughtered by his enemies or not". A Welsh triad names Áedán's
   plundering of Alt Clut as one of the "three unrestrained plunderings of
   Britain", and the poem Peiryan Vaban tells of a battle between Áedán
   and Rhydderch.

Degsastan and after

   Degsastan appears not to have been the first battle between Áedán and
   the Bernicians. The death of his son Domangart in the land of the
   Saxons is mentioned by Adomnán, and it is presumed that Bran died in
   the same otherwise unrecorded battle.

   Of the roots of this conflict, Bede tells us only that Áedán was
   alarmed by Æthelfrith's advance. Wherever the battle of Degsastan was
   fought, Bede saw it as lying within Northumbria. The battle was a
   decisive victory for Æthelfrith and Bede says, carefully, that "[f]rom
   that day until the present, no king of the Irish in Britain has dared
   to do battle with the English." Although victorious, Æthelfrith
   suffered losses as Bede tells us his brother Theobald was killed with
   all his following. Theobald is called Eanfrith in Irish sources, who
   name his killer as Máel Umai mac Báetáin of the Cenél nEógain. The
   Irish poem Compert Mongáin says that the king of Ulster, Fiachnae mac
   Báetáin of the Dál nAraidi, aided Áedán against the Saxons, perhaps at
   Degsastan. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle mentions that Hering, son of King
   Hussa of Bernicia, was present, apparently fighting with Áedán.

   After the defeat of Degsastan the annals report nothing of Áedán until
   his death six years after the battle, perhaps on 17 April 608, the date
   coming from the Martyrology of Tallaght, composed around 800. The
   Annals of Tigernach give his age as 74. The Prophecy of Berchán, as
   well as placing his death in Kintyre, says "[h]e will not be king at
   the time of his death", while the 12th century Acta Sancti Lasriani
   claims that he was expelled from the kingship, but this is uncertain.
   John of Fordun, writing in the 14th century, believed that Áedán had
   been buried at Kilkerran in Kintyre, but this is again uncertain.

Áedán's legacy

   Áedán was succeeded by his son Eochaid Buide. Adomnán gives an account
   of how Columba had foreseen this, and that Eochaid's older brothers
   would predecease their father. Áedán's other sons are named by the
   Senchus fer n-Alban as Eochaid Find, Tuathal, Bran, Baithéne, Conaing
   and Gartnait. Adomnán also names Artúr, who the Senchus calls a son of
   Conaing, and Domangart, who is not included in the Senchus. It is
   suggested that Domangart too may have been a grandson rather than a son
   of Áedán, most likely a son of Conaing. The main line of Cenél nGabráin
   kings were the descendants of Eochaid Buide through his son Domnall
   Brecc, but the descendants of Conaing successfully contested for the
   throne throughout the 7th century and into the 8th.

   It has been suggested that Gartnait son of Áedán could be the same
   person as Gartnait son of Domelch, king of the Picts, whose death is
   reported in about 601, but this rests on the idea of Pictish matriliny,
   which has been criticised. Even less certainly, it has been argued that
   Gartnait's successor in the Pictish king-lists, Nechtan, was his
   grandson and thus Áedán's great-grandson.

   Of Áedán's daughters, only one can be plausibly named. This is
   Maithgemm, or Gemma, who married a prince named Cairell of the Dál
   Fiatach. The names of Áedán's wives are not known, but one was said to
   be British and another may have been a Pictish princess named Domelch,
   if indeed the Gartnait son of Domelch and Gartnait son of Áedán are one
   and the same.
   Retrieved from "
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%81ed%C3%A1n_mac_Gabr%C3%A1in"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
