Gillebríghde Albanach ( fl. 1200–1230) was a medieval Scottish

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and

crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...

r. He took part, along with his fellow-Gael

Muireadhach Albanach Muiredach (Old Irish), Muireadhach or Muireach, anglicized variously to Murdoch, Murtagh, Murray, Murdac, Mordacq and other forms, is a Goidelic name (meaning "chieftain") popular in Scotland and Ireland in the Middle Ages: * Muiredach Bolgrach, m ...

, in the

Fifth Crusade The Fifth Crusade (1217–1221) was a campaign in a series of Crusades by Western Europeans to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering Egypt, ruled by the powerful Ayyubid sultanate, led by al-Adil, brother of Sala ...

, reaching

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

in 1218 or 1219, and following the main Crusader army via southern

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

Damietta Damietta ( arz, دمياط ' ; cop, ⲧⲁⲙⲓⲁϯ, Tamiati) is a port city and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt, a former bishopric and present multiple Catholic titular see. It is located at the Damietta branch, an easter ...

; He may have been on crusade until 1224 or after. When not crusading, Gillebrìghde spent much, if not most, of this life working as a poet in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. His

panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of grc, ...

poems are all dedicated to

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

patrons. We know he was Scottish, however, because of references to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

describing it as "duthchas damh", my dúthchas ("native place", "heritage", "birthright", etc.) and "dom thír", my country. About seven of his poems survive, five panegyric poems, and two crusading poems.The details of the availability of all these poems (both panegyric and crusader) in print can be found in MacLeod, ''op. cit.'', p. 87, n. 109.

Panegyrics

The surviving panegyrics were written for two Irish patrons,

Donnchadh Cairbreach Ó Briain Donnchadh Cairbreach Ó Briain was King of Thomond from 1198 to his death in 1242. He founded Moor Abbey, (Galbally, Tipperary) early in the 13th century before it was re-founded in 1471 and established by the first Franciscan pontiff under the ...

(d. 1242),

King of Thomond The kings of Thomond ( ga, Rí Tuamhain) ruled from the establishment of Thomond during the High Middle Ages, until the Early modern period. Thomond represented the legacy of Brian Bóruma and the High Kings of Ireland of his line who could no ...

; and Cathal Croibhdhearg Ó Conchubhair (d. 1224),

King of Connaught The Kings of Connacht were rulers of the ''cóiced'' (variously translated as portion, fifth, province) of Connacht, which lies west of the River Shannon, Ireland. However, the name only became applied to it in the early medieval era, being name ...

. * "Aisling ad-chonnarc ó chianaibh" ("A vision I saw some time ago") - Written for Donnchadh Cairbreach Ó Briain. * "Fada Dhamh druim re hÉirinn" ("Long am I with my back towards Ireland") - Written for Cathal Croibhdhearg Ó Conchubhair. * "Sgían mo charad ar mo chliú" ("My friend's knife at my left side") - Written for Donnchadh Cairbreach Ó Briain. * "Tabhraid chugam cruit mo ríogh" ("Bring me my king's harp") - Written for Donnchadh Cairbreach Ó Briain. * "Tháining an Craobhdhearg go Cruachan" ("The Red Hand has come to Cruachan") - Written for Cathal Croibhdhearg Ó Conchubhair.

Crusading poems

* "A ghilli gabhus an stiúir" ("O Lad who takes the helm") - * "A Mhuireadhaigh, meil do sgín ("Muireadhach, sharpen your knife")

Notes

References

* Clancy, Thomas Owen (ed.), ''The Triumph Tree: Scotland's Earliest Poetry, 550–1350'', (Edinburgh, 1998),pp. 247–57, 262-68 * MacLeod, Wilson, ''Divided Gaels: Gaelic Cultural Identities in Scotland and Ireland, c. 1200-1650'', (Oxford, 2004) * MacQuarrie, Alan, ''Scotland and the Crusades'', (Edinburgh, 1997) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gillebrighde Albanach 12th-century births 13th-century deaths Christians of the Fifth Crusade Medieval Gaels from Scotland Scottish literature 13th-century Scottish people 13th-century Scottish poets Scottish knights