Tethbae (; also spelled ''Tethba'', often anglicised ''Teffia'') was a
confederation
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
of
túath
''Túath'' (plural ''túatha'') is the Old Irish term for the basic political and jurisdictional unit of Gaelic Ireland. ''Túath'' can refer to both a geographical territory as well the people who lived in that territory.
Social structure
In ...
a in central Ireland in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. It was divided into two distinct kingdoms, north Tethba, ruled by the Cenél Coirpri, and south Tethba, ruled by the Cenél Maini. It covered parts of
County Westmeath
"Noble above nobility"
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state, Country
, subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland
, subdivision_type1 = Provinces o ...
and much of
County Longford
County Longford ( gle, Contae an Longfoirt) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 46,6 ...
, counties which today are the far north-west part of the
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of
Leinster
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...
. In some cases Tethbae may refer to south Tethbae only.
Two Tethbae
In
Early Christian
Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish d ...
times, Tethba lay within the lands of the southern
Uí Néill
The Uí Néill (Irish pronunciation: ; meaning "descendants of Niall") are Irish dynasties who claim descent from Niall Noígíallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages), a historical King of Tara who died c. 405. They are generally divided into the ...
and the ruling dynasties of both kingdoms were reckoned members of the Uí Néill kindred in medieval
genealogies
Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinsh ...
. North Tethba—''Tethbae Thúaiscirt''—was centred on
Granard
Granard () is a town in the north of County Longford, Ireland, and has a traceable history going back to AD 236. It is situated just south of the boundary between the watersheds of the Shannon and the Erne, at the point where the N55 nationa ...
, while south Tethba—''Tethbae Deiscirt''—lay around
Ardagh.
The division of Tethbae into northern and southern regions was attested in the 7th century. It was not only a political and dynastic division. The chief churches of the two-halves belonged to different church confederations. North Tethbae's principal church at Granard was associated with
Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...
from the earliest written records. Bishop
Tirechán's
hagiography
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...
refers to "the two Tethbae" and claims that Patrick established bishops at both Granard and Ardagh. But although Granard is included among the network of Patrician churches, Ardagh is not. The key figure in Ardagh tradition was its founder,
Bishop Mél, according to Patrician accounts a nephew of Patrick. Ardagh, by the time of Tirechán and the earliest records, was a part of the confederation of churches which took
Brigit of Kildare
Saint Brigid of Kildare or Brigid of Ireland ( ga, Naomh Bríd; la, Brigida; 525) is the patroness saint (or 'mother saint') of Ireland, and one of its three national saints along with Patrick and Columba. According to medieval Irish hagiogra ...
as chief patron and looked mainly to the church at
Kildare
Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...
for leadership.
Cenél Coirpri
Medieval Irish traditions presented the lands of the Uí Néill as conquests by
Niall of the Nine Hostages
Niall ''Noígíallach'' (; Old Irish "having nine hostages"), or Niall of the Nine Hostages, was a legendary, semi-historical Irish king who was the ancestor of the Uí Néill dynasties that dominated Ireland from the 6th to the 10th centuries. ...
and his sons. Niall's son
Coirpre was the
eponym
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
ous ancestor of Cenél Coirpri. Along with
Fiachu, he may have led the earliest Uí Néill conquests in the midlands.
North Tethbae, ''Cenél Coirpri Mór'', was one of three kingdoms named for Coirpre mac Néill. To the north-west of Tethbae, on the shore of
Donegal Bay
Donegal Bay (''Bá Dhún na nGall'' in Irish) is an inlet (or bay) in the northwest of Ireland. Three counties – Donegal to the north and west, Leitrim and Sligo to the south – have shorelines on the bay, which is bounded on the w ...
, was the kingdom of ''
Cenél Coirpi Dromma Clíab''. To the south-east, in
County Kildare
County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...
, around
Carbury, itself named for Coirpre, was a third branch of Cenél Coirpi but this was not established until much later. This alignment of territories, together with the evidence of the
Irish annals
A number of Irish annals, of which the earliest was the Chronicle of Ireland, were compiled up to and shortly after the end of the 17th century. Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days. Over t ...
, which include a series of entries crediting Coirpre with the conquest of the midlands, suggests that the kingdom of Coirpre once extended over 100 miles across Ireland.
Apart from Coirpre himself and his grandson
Túathal Máelgarb
Túathal mac Cormaic (died 544), called Túathal Máelgarb, (''Túathal'': "ruler of the people") was said to be a grandson of Coirpre mac Néill. He was High King of Ireland. In the earliest accounts he appears to have been regarded as the man wh ...
, no king of Cenél Coirpri is included in later lists of High Kings of Ireland. Later kings of Cenél Coirpri are mentioned in the ''
Annals of Ulster
The ''Annals of Ulster'' ( ga, Annála Uladh) are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, ...
'' and other Irish annals with some frequency, although usually only to report their deaths. Most kings are simply called "king of Cenél Coirpri", although Conaing (died 752) is specifically called "king of Coirpri of Tethbae". An entry in 799 reporting the deaths of two kings of Coirpri, Murchad ua Cathail and Dub Innrecht mac Artgaile, shows that the kingship could be shared. In addition to the usual annalistic reports,
Óengus Bronbachall
In Irish mythology, Aengus or Óengus is one of the Tuatha Dé Danann and probably originally a god associated with youth, love,Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopedia of the Irish folk tradition''. Prentice-Hall Press, ...
, grandson of Túathal, is mentioned in
Adomnán
Adomnán or Adamnán of Iona (, la, Adamnanus, Adomnanus; 624 – 704), also known as Eunan ( ; from ), was an abbot of Iona Abbey ( 679–704), hagiographer, statesman, canon jurist, and saint. He was the author of the ''Life of Co ...
's ''Life of Saint
Columba
Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is toda ...
''.
At least in earlier historical times, Cenél Coirpri may have been of sufficient importance to attract the attention of largely hostile writers. Tirechán's life of Patrick states that Coirpre was cursed by the saint, at the
hill of Tara
The Hill of Tara ( ga, Teamhair or ) is a hill and ancient ceremonial and burial site near Skryne in County Meath, Ireland. Tradition identifies the hill as the inauguration place and seat of the High Kings of Ireland; it also appears in Iri ...
, that none of his descendants would be High King. Túathal Máelgarb is portrayed in a poor light by later writers dealing with the life of
Diarmait mac Cerbaill
Diarmait mac Cerbaill (died ) was King of Tara or High King of Ireland. According to traditions, he was the last High King to follow the pagan rituals of inauguration, the ''ban-feis'' or marriage to goddess of the land.
While many later stor ...
, his perhaps-kinsman whose descendants,
Clann Cholmáin
Clann Cholmáin is the dynasty descended from Colmán Már mac Diarmato, son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Part of the Southern Uí Néill — they were the kings of Mide (Meath) — they traced their descent to Niall Noígiallach and his s ...
and the
Síl nÁedo Sláine
Síl nÁedo Sláine () are the descendants of Áed Sláine (Áed mac Diarmato), son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Part of the Southern Uí Néill—they were the kings of Brega—they claimed descent from Niall Noígiallach and his son Conall ...
, replaced the kindreds of Coirpre and Fiachu as rulers of the midlands.
In the 11th century, north Tethbae was largely absorbed by the expanding
kingdom of Bréifne
Kingdom commonly refers to:
* A monarchy ruled by a king or queen
* Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy
Kingdom may also refer to:
Arts and media Television
* ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
, ruled by the Ua Ruairc branch of the Connachta kindred of
Uí Briúin
The Uí Briúin were a royal dynasty of Connacht. Their eponymous apical ancestor was Brión, son of Eochaid Mugmedon and Mongfind, and an elder half brother of Niall of the Nine Hostages. They formed part of the Connachta, along with the U ...
, and its clients the Conmaicne Réin.
Cenél Maini
While Coirpe mac Néill is a major figure in the annals and appears in Tirechán's hagiography,
Maine son of Niall is not mentioned by Tirechán, nor is there any record of his conquests. It may be possible, and is perhaps even probable, that descent from Niall of the Nine Hostages through an otherwise poorly attested line of descent is a genealogical fiction designed to strengthen Uí Néill control of the midlands. The Cenél Maini probably originated as part of a much larger
Uí Maine
U or u, is the twenty-first and sixth-to-last letter and fifth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''u'' (pro ...
kingdom extending from the eastern part of modern
County Galway
"Righteousness and Justice"
, anthem = ()
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg
, map_caption = Location in Ireland
, area_footnotes =
, area_total_km2 = ...
through
County Roscommon
"Steadfast Irish heart"
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Ireland
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Connacht
, subdi ...
, across the
River Shannon
The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland.
The Shan ...
, and into County Longford.
Although officially incorporated into the Uí Néill, no king of Cenél Maini was ever reckoned a High King of Ireland. The ''
Vita tripartita Sancti Patricii
The ''Vita tripartita Sancti Patricii'' (''The Tripartite Life of Saint Patrick'') is a bilingual Life of Patrick, written partly in Irish and in parts in Latin. It is a hagiography focusing on Patrick. The text is difficult to date. Kathleen Mul ...
'' does, however, say that the kings of Cenél Maini had a privileged place in choosing and inaugurating High Kings, much like the
Airgíalla
Airgíalla (Modern Irish: Oirialla, English: Oriel, Latin: ''Ergallia'') was a medieval Irish over-kingdom and the collective name for the confederation of tribes that formed it. The confederation consisted of nine minor kingdoms, all independe ...
, another group believed to have been associated with the Connachta, of which the Uí Néill were only the leading group, by genealogical fictions.
[Charles-Edwards, ''Early Christian Ireland'', pp. 34–35, 96 & 548–549.]
The Cenél Maini are still represented today among the
Irish nobility
The Irish nobility could be described as including persons who do, or historically did, fall into one or more of the following categories of nobility:
* Gaelic nobility of Ireland descendants in the male line of at least one historical grade o ...
and
Chiefs of the Name
The Chief of the Name, or in older English usage Captain of his Nation, is the recognised head of a family or clan (''fine'' in Irish and Scottish Gaelic). The term has sometimes been used as a title in Ireland and Scotland.
In Ireland
In Eliza ...
by the O'Kearney or Ó Catharnaigh family, the head of whom is traditionally styled The Fox.
References and notes
Notes
Citations
References
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{{refend
Connachta
History of County Longford
History of County Westmeath
Kingdoms of medieval Ireland