The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an
ethnolinguistic group
An ethnolinguistic group (or ethno-linguistic group) is a group that is unified by both a common ethnicity and language. Most ethnic groups share a first language. However, "ethnolinguistic" is often used to emphasise that language is a major ...
native to
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
,
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 ...
and the
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = " O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europ ...
in the
British Isles.
They are associated with the
Gaelic languages
The Goidelic or Gaelic languages ( ga, teangacha Gaelacha; gd, cànanan Goidhealach; gv, çhengaghyn Gaelgagh) form one of the two groups of Insular Celtic languages, the other being the Brittonic languages.
Goidelic languages historicall ...
: a branch of the
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages (usually , but sometimes ) are a group of related languages descended from Proto-Celtic. They form a branch of the Indo-European language family. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward ...
comprising
Irish,
Manx and
Scottish Gaelic.
Gaelic language and culture originated in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
, extending to
Dál Riata in western
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 ...
. In antiquity, the Gaels
traded with the Roman Empire and also
raided Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...
. In the Middle Ages, Gaelic culture became dominant throughout the rest of
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 ...
and the
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = " O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europ ...
. There was also some Gaelic settlement
in Wales, as well as cultural influence through
Celtic Christianity. In the
Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...
, small numbers of
Vikings raided and settled in Gaelic lands, becoming the
Norse-Gaels. In the 9th century, Dál Riata and
Pictland merged to form the Gaelic
Kingdom of Alba. Meanwhile,
Gaelic Ireland was made up of
several kingdoms, with a
High King often claiming lordship over them.
In the 12th century,
Anglo-Normans conquered parts of Ireland, while parts of Scotland
became Normanized. However, Gaelic culture remained strong throughout Ireland, the
Scottish Highlands and
Galloway. In the early 17th century, the last Gaelic kingdoms in Ireland fell under
English control.
James VI and I sought to subdue the Gaels and wipe out their culture; first in the Scottish Highlands via repressive laws such as the
Statutes of Iona
The Statutes of Iona, passed in Scotland in 1609, required that Highland Scottish clan chiefs send their heirs to Lowland Scotland to be educated in English-speaking Protestant schools. As a result, some clans, such as the MacDonalds of Sleat a ...
, and then in Ireland by
colonizing Gaelic land with English-speaking Protestant settlers. In the following centuries Gaelic language was suppressed and mostly supplanted by English. However, it continues to be the main language in Ireland's ''
Gaeltacht'' and Scotland's
Outer Hebrides. The modern descendants of the Gaels have spread throughout the rest of the British Isles, the
Americas and
Australasia.
Traditional Gaelic society is organised into
clans, each with its own territory and king (or chief), elected through
tanistry. The Irish were previously
pagans Pagans may refer to:
* Paganism, a group of pre-Christian religions practiced in the Roman Empire
* Modern Paganism, a group of contemporary religious practices
* Order of the Vine, a druidic faction in the ''Thief'' video game series
* Pagan's M ...
who had
many gods,
venerated the ancestors and believed in an
Otherworld. Their four yearly festivals –
Samhain,
Imbolc,
Beltane and
Lughnasa
Lughnasadh or Lughnasa ( , ) is a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season. Historically, it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. In Modern Irish it is called , in gd, Lùnastal, and in gv, ...
– continued to be celebrated into modern times. The Gaels have a strong
oral tradition, traditionally maintained by
shanachies.
Inscription in the
ogham alphabet began in the 4th century. The Gaels' conversion to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
accompanied the introduction of writing in the Roman alphabet.
Irish mythology
Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later Early Irish ...
and
Brehon law were preserved and recorded by medieval Irish monasteries. Gaelic monasteries were renowned centres of learning and played a key role in developing
Insular art; Gaelic missionaries and scholars were
highly influential in western Europe. In the Middle Ages, most Gaels lived in
roundhouses and
ringforts. The Gaels had their own style of dress, which became the
belted plaid and
kilt. They also have distinctive
music, dance,
festivals, and
sports. Gaelic culture continues to be a major component of
Irish,
Scottish and
Manx culture.
Ethnonyms
Throughout the centuries, Gaels and Gaelic-speakers have been known by a number of names. The most consistent of these have been ''Gael'', ''
Irish'' and ''
Scots''. In
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
, the Gaels were called ''
Scoti'', but this later came to mean only the Gaels of
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 ...
. Other terms, such as ''
Milesian'', are not as often used.
An
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...
name for the Gaels was ''
Vestmenn {{unreferenced, date=August 2016
Vestmenn (''Westmen'' in English) was the Old Norse word for the Gaels of Ireland and Britain, especially Ireland and Scotland. Vestmannaeyjar in Iceland and Vestmanna in the Faroe Islands take their names from it. ...
'' (meaning "Westmen", due to inhabiting the Western fringes of Europe). Informally, archetypal forenames such as ''
Tadhg'' or ''
Dòmhnall
Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...
'' are sometimes used for Gaels.
''Gael''
The word "Gaelic" is first recorded in print in the
English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...
in the 1770s,
replacing the earlier word ''Gathelik'' which is attested as far back as 1596.
''Gael'', defined as a "member of the Gaelic race", is first attested in print in 1810. In English, the more antiquarian term ''Goidels'' came to be used by some due to
Edward Lhuyd's work on the relationship between
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages (usually , but sometimes ) are a group of related languages descended from Proto-Celtic. They form a branch of the Indo-European language family. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward ...
. This term was further popularised in academia by
John Rhys
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Seco ...
; the first Professor of Celtic at
Oxford University; due to his work ''Celtic Britain'' (1882).
These names all come from the
Old Irish word ''Goídel/Gaídel''. In
early modern Irish
Early Modern Irish ( ga, Gaeilge Chlasaiceach, , Classical Irish) represented a transition between Middle Irish and Modern Irish. Its literary form, Classical Gaelic, was used in Ireland and Scotland from the 13th to the 18th century.
External ...
, it was spelled ''Gaoidheal'' (singular) and ''Gaoidheil/Gaoidhil'' (plural). In modern Irish, it is spelled ''Gael'' (singular) and ''Gaeil'' (plural). According to scholar
John T. Koch
John T. Koch is an American academic, historian and linguist who specializes in Celtic studies, especially prehistory and the early Middle Ages. He is the editor of the five-volume ''Celtic Culture. A Historical Encyclopedia'' (2006, ABC Clio). He ...
, the Old Irish form of the name was borrowed from an
Archaic Welsh form ''Guoidel'', meaning "forest people", "wild men" or, later, "warriors". ''Guoidel'' is recorded as a personal name in the ''
Book of Llandaff''. The root of the name is cognate at the
Proto-Celtic level with Old Irish ''fíad'' 'wild', and ''Féni'', derived ultimately from
Proto-Indo-European *''weidh-n-jo-''. This latter word is the origin of ''
Fianna'' and ''
Fenian''.
In medieval Ireland, the
bardic poets who were the cultural intelligentsia of the nation, limited the use of ''Gaoidheal'' specifically to those who claimed genealogical descent from the mythical
Goídel Glas.
Even the
Gaelicised Normans
The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...
who were born in Ireland, spoke Irish and sponsored Gaelic bardic poetry, such as
Gearóid Iarla, were referred to as ''Gall'' ("foreigner") by
Gofraidh Fionn Ó Dálaigh, then
Chief Ollam of Ireland.
''Irish''
A common name, passed down to the modern day, is "
Irish"; this existed in the English language during the 11th century in the form of ''Irisce'', which derived from the stem of
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...
''Iras'', "inhabitant of Ireland", from
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...
''irar''.
The ultimate origin of this word is thought to be the Old Irish ''
Ériu'', which is from
Old Celtic
Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly reconstructed through the comparative method. Proto-Celtic ...
''*Iveriu'', likely associated with the Proto-Indo-European term ''*pi-wer-'' meaning "fertile".
Ériu is mentioned as a goddess in the ''
Lebor Gabála Érenn'' as a daughter of
Ernmas of the
Tuatha Dé Danann. Along with her sisters
Banba and
Fódla, she is said to have made a deal with the Milesians to name the island after her.
The
ancient Greeks, in particular
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
in his second century ''
Geographia'', possibly based on earlier sources, located a group known as the
Iverni ( el, Ιουερνοι) in the south-west of Ireland.
This group has been associated with the
Érainn of Irish tradition by
T. F. O'Rahilly and others.
The Érainn, claiming descent from a Milesian eponymous ancestor named
Ailill Érann
The Iverni (, ') were a people of early Ireland first mentioned in Ptolemy's 2nd century '' Geography'' as living in the extreme south-west of the island. He also locates a "city" called Ivernis (, ') in their territory, and observes that this ...
, were the hegemonic power in Ireland before the rise of the descendants of
Conn of the Hundred Battles and
Mug Nuadat. The Érainn included peoples such as the
Corcu Loígde and Dál Riata.
Ancient Roman writers, such as
Caesar,
Pliny and
Tacitus, derived from ''Ivernia'' the name ''
Hibernia''.
Thus the name "Hibernian" also comes from this root, although the Romans tended to call the isle ''
Scotia'', and the Gaels ''Scoti''. Within Ireland itself, the term ''Éireannach'' (Irish), only gained its modern political significance as a primary denominator from the 17th century onwards, as in the works of
Geoffrey Keating, where a Catholic alliance between the native ''Gaoidheal'' and ''
Seanghaill'' ("old foreigners", of Norman descent) was proposed against the ''Nuaghail'' or ''Sacsanach'' (the ascendant Protestant
New English settlers).
''Scots''
The
Scots Gaels
The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languag ...
derive from the kingdom of
Dál Riata, which included parts of western Scotland and northern Ireland. It has various explanations of its origins, including a
foundation myth of an invasion from Ireland and a more recent archaeological and linguistic analysis that points to a pre-existing maritime province united by the sea and isolated from the rest of Scotland by the
Scottish Highlands or ''Druim Alban''.
The genetical exchange includes passage of the M222 genotype within Scotland.
From the 5th to 10th centuries, early Scotland was home not only to the Gaels of Dál Riata but also the
Picts, the
Britons,
Angles and lastly the
Vikings. The Romans began to use the term ''
Scoti'' to describe the Gaels in Latin from the 4th century onward.
At the time, the Gaels were raiding the west coast of Britain, and they took part in the
Great Conspiracy; it is thus conjectured that the term means "raider, pirate". Although the Dál Riata settled in Argyll in the 6th century, the term "Scots" did not just apply to them, but to Gaels in general. Examples can be taken from
Johannes Scotus Eriugena and other figures from
Hiberno-Latin culture and the ''
Schottenkloster
The Hiberno-Scottish mission was a series of expeditions in the 6th and 7th centuries by Gaelic missionaries originating from Ireland that spread Celtic Christianity in Scotland, Wales, England and Merovingian France. Celtic Christianity spr ...
'' founded by Irish Gaels in Germanic lands.
The Gaels of northern Britain referred to themselves as ''
Albannaich
The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languag ...
'' in their own tongue and their realm as the
Kingdom of Alba (founded as a successor kingdom to Dál Riata and Pictland). Germanic groups tended to refer to the Gaels as ''Scottas''
and so when Anglo-Saxon influence grew at court with
Duncan II, the Latin ''Rex Scottorum'' began to be used and the realm was known as Scotland; this process and cultural shift was put into full effect under
David I, who let the Normans come to power and furthered the Lowland-Highland divide. Germanic-speakers in Scotland spoke a language called ''
Inglis'', which they started to call ''Scottis'' (
Scots) in the 16th century, while they in turn began to refer to Scottish Gaelic as ''Erse'' (meaning "Irish").
Population
Kinship groups
In traditional Gaelic society, a patrilineal kinship group is referred to as a ''
clann''
or, in Ireland, a ''fine.''
Both in technical use signify a dynastic grouping descended from a common ancestor, much larger than a personal family, which may also consist of various kindreds and
septs
A sept is a division of a family, especially of a Scottish or Irish family. The term is used in both Scotland and Ireland, where it may be translated as ''sliocht'', meaning "progeny" or "seed", which may indicate the descendants of a person (f ...
. (''Fine'' is not to be confused with the term ''
fian'', a 'band of roving men whose principal occupations were hunting and war, also a troop of professional fighting-men under a leader; in wider sense a company, number of persons; a warrior (late and rare)'
).
Using the Munster-based
Eóganachta as an example, members of this ''clann'' claim patrilineal descent from
Éogan Mór. It is further divided into major kindreds, such as the
Eóganacht Chaisil,
Glendamnach,
Áine, Locha Léin and Raithlind. These kindreds themselves contain septs that have passed down as
Irish Gaelic surnames, for example the Eóganacht Chaisil includes O'Callaghan, MacCarthy, O'Sullivan and others.
The Irish Gaels can be grouped into the following major historical groups;
Connachta (including
Uí Néill,
Clan Colla
The Three Collas ( Modern Irish: Trí Cholla) were, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, the fourth-century sons of Eochaid Doimlén, son of Cairbre Lifechair. Their names were: Cairell Colla Uais; Muiredach Colla Fo Chrí ( ...
,
Uí Maine, etc.),
Dál gCais,
Eóganachta,
Érainn (including
Dál Riata,
Dál Fiatach, etc.),
Laigin
The Laigin, modern spelling Laighin (), were a Gaelic population group of early Ireland. They gave their name to the Kingdom of Leinster, which in the medieval era was known in Irish as ''Cóiced Laigen'', meaning "Fifth/province of the Leinsterm ...
and
Ulaid (including
Dál nAraidi). In the Highlands, the various Gaelic-originated clans tended to claim descent from one of the Irish groups, particularly those from
Ulster. The
Dál Riata (i.e. – MacGregor, MacDuff, MacLaren, etc.) claimed descent from
Síl Conairi, for instance. Some arrivals in the High Middle Ages (i.e. – MacNeill, Buchanan, Munro, etc.) claimed to be of the Uí Néill. As part of their self-justification; taking over power from the
Norse-Gael MacLeod in the Hebrides; the
MacDonalds claimed to be from Clan Colla.
For the Irish Gaels, their culture did not survive the conquests and colonisations by the English between 1534 and 1692 (see
History of Ireland (1536–1691),
Tudor conquest of Ireland,
Plantations of Ireland,
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland,
Williamite War in Ireland. As a result of the
Gaelic revival, there has been renewed interest in
Irish genealogy; the
Irish Government
The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.
The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The gover ...
recognised Gaelic
Chiefs of the Name since the 1940s. The ''
Finte na hÉireann
Clans of Ireland ( Irish: ''Finte na hÉireann'') is an independent organisation established in 1989 with the purpose of creating and maintaining a register of Irish clans. The patron of the organisation is Michael D. Higgins, President of Ir ...
'' (Clans of Ireland) was founded in 1989 to gather together clan associations; individual clan associations operate throughout the world and produce journals for their septs. The Highland clans held out until the 18th century
Jacobite risings. During the Victorian-era, symbolic tartans, crests and badges were retroactively applied to clans. Clan associations built up over time and ''
Na Fineachan Gàidhealach'' (The Highland Clans) was founded in 2013.
Human genetics
At the turn of the 21st century, the principles of
human genetics and
genetic genealogy were applied to the study of populations of
Irish origin. The two other peoples who recorded higher than 85% for R1b in a 2009 study published in the scientific journal,
PLOS Biology, were the
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
and the
Basques.
The development of in-depth studies of DNA sequences known as
STRs and
SNPs have allowed geneticists to associate subclades with specific Gaelic kindred groupings (and their surnames), vindicating significant elements of
Gaelic genealogy
Irish genealogy is the study of individuals and/or families who originated on the island of Ireland.
Origins
Genealogy was cultivated since at least the start of the early Irish historic era. Upon inauguration, Bards and poets are believed ...
, as found in works such as the ''
Leabhar na nGenealach''. Examples can be taken from the
Uí Néill (i.e. – O'Neill, O'Donnell, Gallagher, etc.), who are associated with R-M222 and the
Dál gCais (i.e. – O'Brien, McMahon, Kennedy, etc.) who are associated with R-L226. With regard to Gaelic genetic genealogy studies, these developments in subclades have aided people in finding their original clan group in the case of a
non-paternity event, with
Family Tree DNA having the largest such database at present.
In 2016, a study analyzing
ancient DNA found
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
remains from
Rathlin Island in Ireland to be most genetically similar to the modern indigenous populations of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and to a lesser degree that of England. The majority of the genomes of the
insular Celts would therefore have emerged by 4,000 years ago. It was also suggested that the arrival of
proto-Celtic language, possibly ancestral to
Gaelic languages
The Goidelic or Gaelic languages ( ga, teangacha Gaelacha; gd, cànanan Goidhealach; gv, çhengaghyn Gaelgagh) form one of the two groups of Insular Celtic languages, the other being the Brittonic languages.
Goidelic languages historicall ...
, may have occurred around this time.
[Neolithic and Bronze Age migration to Ireland and establishment of the insular Atlantic genome]
"Three Bronze Age individuals from Rathlin Island (2026–1534 cal BC), including one high coverage (10.5×) genome, showed substantial Steppe genetic heritage indicating that the European population upheavals of the third millennium manifested all of the way from southern Siberia to the western ocean. This turnover invites the possibility of accompanying introduction of Indo-European, perhaps early Celtic, language. Irish Bronze Age haplotypic similarity is strongest within modern Irish, Scottish, and Welsh populations, and several important genetic variants that today show maximal or very high frequencies in Ireland appear at this horizon. These include those coding for lactase persistence, blue eye color, Y chromosome R1b haplotypes, and the hemochromatosis C282Y allele; to our knowledge, the first detection of a known Mendelian disease variant in prehistory. These findings together suggest the establishment of central attributes of the Irish genome 4,000 y ago." Several genetic traits found at maximum or very high frequencies in the modern populations of Gaelic ancestry were also observed in the Bronze Age period. These traits include a hereditary disease known as
HFE hereditary haemochromatosis,
Y-DNA Haplogroup R-M269,
lactase persistence and
blue eyes.
Another trait very common in Gaelic populations is
red hair, with 10% of Irish and at least 13% of Scots having red hair, much larger numbers being carriers of variants of the
MC1R gene, and which is possibly related to an adaptation to the cloudy conditions of the regional climate.
Demographics
In countries where Gaels live, census records documenting population statistics exist. The following chart shows the number of speakers of a
Gaelic language
The Goidelic or Gaelic languages ( ga, teangacha Gaelacha; gd, cànanan Goidhealach; gv, çhengaghyn Gaelgagh) form one of the two groups of Insular Celtic languages, the other being the Brittonic languages.
Goidelic languages historicall ...
(either "Gaeilge," also known as Irish, "Gàidhlig," known as Scottish Gaelic, or "Gaelg," known as Manx). The question of
ethnic identity is slightly more complex, but included below are those who identify as ethnic
Irish,
Manx or
Scottish. It should be taken into account that not all are of Gaelic descent, especially in the case of Scotland, due to the nature of the
Lowlands. It also depends on the self-reported response of the individual and so is a rough guide rather than an exact science.
The two comparatively "major" Gaelic nations in the modern era are Ireland (which in the 2002 census had 185,838 people who spoke Irish "daily" and 1,570,894 who were "able" to speak it) and Scotland (58,552 fluent "Gaelic speakers" and 92,400 with "some Gaelic language ability" in the 2001 census). Communities where the languages still are spoken natively are restricted largely to the west coast of each country and especially the
Hebrides
The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebri ...
islands in Scotland. However, a large proportion of the Gaelic-speaking population now lives in the cities of
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
and
Edinburgh in Scotland, and
Donegal Donegal may refer to:
County Donegal, Ireland
* County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster
* Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland
* Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...
,
Galway,
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
and
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
in Ireland. There are about 2,000 Scottish Gaelic speakers in Canada (
Canadian Gaelic
Canadian Gaelic or Cape Breton Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig Chanada, or ), often known in Canadian English simply as Gaelic, is a collective term for the dialects of Scottish Gaelic spoken in Atlantic Canada.
Scottish Gaels were settled in Nova Scot ...
dialect), although many are elderly and concentrated in
Nova Scotia and more specifically
Cape Breton Island. According to the U.S. Census in 2000,
there are more than 25,000 Irish-speakers in the United States, with the majority found in urban areas with large Irish-American communities such as
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, New York City and Chicago.
Diaspora
As the Western Roman Empire began to collapse, the Irish (along with the Anglo-Saxons) were one of the peoples able to take advantage in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...
from the 4th century onwards. The proto-Eóganachta
Uí Liatháin and the
Déisi Muman of
Dyfed both established colonies in today's
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
. Further to the north, the Érainn's Dál Riata colonised
Argyll (eventually founding
Alba
''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kin ...
) and there was a significant Gaelic influence in
Northumbria and the
MacAngus clan arose to the Pictish kingship by the 8th century. Gaelic
Christian missionaries were also active across the
Frankish Empire. With the coming of the
Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...
and their slave markets, Irish were also dispersed in this way across the realms under Viking control; as a legacy, in genetic studies,
Icelanders exhibit high levels of Gaelic-derived
mDNA.
Since the fall of Gaelic polities, the Gaels have made their way across parts of the world, successively under the auspices of the
Spanish Empire,
French Empire, and the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
. Their main destinations were Iberia, France, the West Indies, North America (what is today the United States and Canada) and
Oceania (Australia and New Zealand). There has also been a mass "internal migration" within Ireland and Britain from the 19th century, with Irish and Scots migrating to the English-speaking industrial cities of
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
,
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
,
Liverpool,
Manchester,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
,
Cardiff,
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...
,
Edinburgh and others. Many underwent a linguistic "Anglicisation" and eventually merged with Anglo populations.
In a more narrow interpretation of the term ''Gaelic diaspora'', it could be interpreted as referring to the
Gaelic-speaking minority among the
Irish,
Scottish, and
Manx diaspora. However, the use of the term "diaspora" in relation to the Gaelic languages (i.e., in a narrowly linguistic rather than a more broadly cultural context) is arguably not appropriate, as it may suggest that Gaelic speakers and people interested in Gaelic necessarily have Gaelic ancestry, or that people with such ancestry naturally have an interest or fluency in their ancestral language. Research shows that this assumption is inaccurate.
History
Origins
In their own
national epic contained within medieval works such as the ''
Lebor Gabála Érenn'', the Gaels trace the origin of their people to an eponymous ancestor named
Goídel Glas. He is described as a
Scythian prince (the grandson of
Fénius Farsaid
Fénius Farsaid (also Phoeniusa, Phenius, Féinius; Farsa, Farsaidh, many variant spellings) is a legendary king of Scythia who appears in different versions of Irish mythology. He was the son of Boath, a son of Magog. Other sources describe his ...
), who is credited with creating the
Gaelic languages
The Goidelic or Gaelic languages ( ga, teangacha Gaelacha; gd, cànanan Goidhealach; gv, çhengaghyn Gaelgagh) form one of the two groups of Insular Celtic languages, the other being the Brittonic languages.
Goidelic languages historicall ...
. Goídel's mother is called
Scota, described as an Egyptian princess. The Gaels are depicted as wandering from place to place for hundreds of years; they spend time in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
,
Crete,
Scythia, the
Caspian Sea and
Getulia, before arriving in
Iberia, where their king,
Breogán, is said to have founded
Galicia.
The Gaels are then said to have sailed to Ireland via Galicia in the form of the
Milesians, sons of
Míl Espáine.
The Gaels fight a battle of sorcery with the
Tuatha Dé Danann, the gods, who inhabited Ireland at the time.
Ériu, a goddess of the land, promises the Gaels that Ireland shall be theirs so long as they pay tribute to her. They agree, and their bard
Amergin recites an incantation known as the ''Song of Amergin''. The two groups agree to divide Ireland between them: the Gaels take the world above, while the Tuath Dé take the world below (i.e. the
Otherworld).
Ancient
According to the ''
Annals of the Four Masters'', the early branches of the Milesian Gaels were the
Heremonians, the
Heberians
Éber Finn (modern spelling: Éibhear Fionn), son of Míl Espáine, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland and one of the founders of the Milesian lineage, to which medieval genealogists traced ...
and the
Irians
In the ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'', a medieval Irish Christian pseudo-history, the Milesians () are the final race to settle in Ireland. They represent the Irish people. The Milesians are Gaels who sail to Ireland from Iberia (Hispania) after spen ...
, descended from the three brothers
Érimón,
Éber Finn and
Ír respectively. Another group were the Ithians, descended from
Íth (an uncle of Milesius) who were located in South Leinster (associated with the
Brigantes) but they later became extinct. The Four Masters date the start of Milesian rule from 1700 BCE. Initially, the Heremonians dominated the
High Kingship of Ireland from their stronghold of
Mide, the Heberians were given
Munster and the Irians were given
Ulster. At this early point of the Milesian-era, the non-Gaelic
Fir Domnann held
Leinster and the
Fir Ol nEchmacht
Fir Ol nEchmacht was the name of a group or race of people living in pre-historic Ireland. The name may be translated as "men (') of the race/people (', possibly '?) of '" (' being the given name of the people). Some scholars believe they are conne ...
held what was later known as
Connacht
Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and ...
(possibly remnants of the
Fir Bolg).
During the
Iron Age there was heightened activity at a number of important royal ceremonial sites, including
Tara,
Dún Ailinne,
Rathcroghan and
Emain Macha. Each was associated with a Gaelic tribe. The most important was Tara, where the High King (also known as the
King of Tara) was inaugurated on the ''
Lia Fáil'' (Stone of Destiny), which stands to this day. According to the Annals, this era also saw, during the 7th century BCE, a branch of the Heremonians known as the
Laigin
The Laigin, modern spelling Laighin (), were a Gaelic population group of early Ireland. They gave their name to the Kingdom of Leinster, which in the medieval era was known in Irish as ''Cóiced Laigen'', meaning "Fifth/province of the Leinsterm ...
, descending from
Úgaine Mór's son
Lóegaire Lorc
Lóegaire Lorc, son of Úgaine Mor, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. The '' Lebor Gabála Érenn'' says he succeeded directly after his father was murdered by Bodbchad, although Geoffrey K ...
, displacing the Fir Bolg remnants in Leinster. This was also a critical period for the
Ulaid (earlier known as the Irians) as their kinsman
Rudraige Mór took over the High Kingship in the 3rd century BCE; his offspring would be the subject of the
Ulster Cycle of heroic tradition, including the epic ''
Táin Bó Cúailnge''. This includes the struggle between
Conchobar mac Nessa and
Fergus mac Róich.
After regaining power, the Heremonians, in the form of
Fíachu Finnolach
Fiacha Finnolach, son of Feradach Finnfechtnach, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He took power after killing his predecessor, Fíatach Finn. He ruled for fifteen, seventeen, or twenty-se ...
were overthrown in a 1st-century AD provincial coup. His son,
Túathal Techtmar was exiled to
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...
before returning to claim Tara. Based on the accounts of
Tacitus, some modern historians associate him with an "Irish prince" said to have been entertained by
Agricola, Governor of Britain and speculate at Roman sponsorship. His grandson,
Conn Cétchathach, is the ancestor of the
Connachta who would dominate the Irish Middle Ages. They gained control of what would now be named Connacht. Their close relatives the
Érainn (both groups descend from
Óengus Tuirmech Temrach
Óengus Tuirmech Temrach, son of Eochaid Ailtlethan, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He came to power after killing his predecessor, and his father's killer, Fergus Fortamail. His sons incl ...
) and the Ulaid would later lose out to them in Ulster, as the descendants of the
Three Collas
The Three Collas (Modern Irish: Trí Cholla) were, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, the fourth-century sons of Eochaid Doimlén, son of Cairbre Lifechair. Their names were: Cairell Colla Uais; Muiredach Colla Fo Chrí ( ...
in
Airgíalla and
Niall Noígíallach
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. ...
in
Ailech extended their hegemony.
The Gaels emerged into the clear historical record during the classical era, with
ogham inscriptions and quite detailed references in
Greco-Roman ethnography (most notably by
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
). The
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
conquered most of Britain in the 1st century, but did not conquer Ireland or the far north of Britain. The Gaels had
relations with the Roman world, mostly through trade. Roman jewellery and coins have been found at several Irish royal sites, for example.
Gaels, known to the Romans as ''
Scoti'', also carried out raids on
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...
, together with the
Picts. These raids increased in the 4th century, as
Roman rule in Britain began to collapse.
This era was also marked by a Gaelic presence in Britain; in what is today Wales, the
Déisi founded the
Kingdom of Dyfed and the
Uí Liatháin founded
Brycheiniog. There was also some Irish settlement in
Cornwall.
To the north, the
Dál Riata are held to have established a territory in
Argyll and the
Hebrides
The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebri ...
.
Medieval
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
reached Ireland during the 5th century, most famously through a
Romano-British slave
Patrick,
but also through Gaels such as
Declán,
Finnian and the
Twelve Apostles of Ireland
The Twelve Apostles of Ireland (also known as Twelve Apostles of Erin, ir, Dhá Aspal Déag na hÉireann) were twelve early Irish monastic saints of the sixth century who studied under St Finnian (d. 549) at his famous monastic school Clona ...
. The abbot and the monk eventually took over certain cultural roles of the ''
aos dána'' (not least the roles of ''
druí
A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...
'' and ''
seanchaí'') as the oral culture of the Gaels was transmitted to script by the arrival of literacy. Thus
Christianity in Ireland during this early time retained elements of
Gaelic culture.
In the Middle Ages,
Gaelic Ireland was divided into a hierarchy of territories ruled by a hierarchy of kings or chiefs. The smallest territory was the ''
túath'' (plural: ''túatha''), which was typically the territory of a single kin-group. Several ''túatha'' formed a ''mór túath'' (overkingdom), which was ruled by an overking. Several overkingdoms formed a ''cóiced'' (province), which was ruled by a provincial king. In the early Middle Ages the ''túath'' was the main political unit, but during the following centuries the overkings and provincial kings became ever more powerful. By the 6th century, the division of Ireland into two spheres of influence (
Leath Cuinn and Leath Moga) was largely a reality. In the south, the influence of the
Eóganachta based at
Cashel grew further, to the detriment of Érainn clans such as the
Corcu Loígde and
Clann Conla
Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of t ...
. Through their vassals the
Déisi (descended from
Fiacha Suidhe
Fiacha (earlier Fíachu) is a name borne by numerous figures from Irish history and mythology, including:
* Fiacha Cennfinnán, High King of Ireland in the 16th or 20th century BC
* Fiacha mac Delbaíth, High King in the 14th or 18th century BC
* ...
and later known as the
Dál gCais), Munster was extended north of the
River Shannon, laying the foundations for
Thomond. Aside from their gains in Ulster (excluding the Érainn's
Ulaid), the
Uí Néill's southern branch had also pushed down into
Mide and
Brega. By the 9th century, some of the most powerful kings were being acknowledged as
High King of Ireland.
Some, particularly champions of Christianity, hold the 6th to 9th centuries to be a
Golden Age for the Gaels. This is due to the influence which the Gaels had across
Western Europe as part of their
Christian missionary activities. Similar to the
Desert Fathers, Gaelic monastics were known for their
asceticism.
Some of the most celebrated figures of this time were
Columba,
Aidan
Aidan or Aiden is a modern version of a number of Celtic language names, including the Irish male given name ''Aodhán'', the Scottish Gaelic given name Aodhan and the Welsh name Aeddan. Phonetic variants, such as spelled with an "e" instead o ...
,
Columbanus and others.
Learned in
Greek and
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
during an age of cultural collapse, the Gaelic scholars were able to gain a presence at the court of the
Carolingian Frankish Empire; perhaps the best known example is
Johannes Scotus Eriugena. Aside from their activities abroad,
insular art flourished domestically, with artifacts such as the
Book of Kells and
Tara Brooch surviving.
Clonmacnoise,
Glendalough,
Clonard,
Durrow and
Inis Cathaigh
Inis Cathaigh or Scattery Island is an island in the Shannon Estuary, Ireland, off the coast of Kilrush, County Clare. The island is home to a lighthouse, a ruined monastery associated with Saint Senan, an Irish round tower and the remains of ...
are some of the more prominent Ireland-based monasteries founded during this time.
There is some evidence in early
Icelandic sagas such as the ''
Íslendingabók'' that the Gaels may have visited the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
and
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...
before the
Norse, and that Gaelic monks known as ''
papar
The Papar (; from Latin ''papa'', via Old Irish, meaning "father" or "pope") were, according to early Icelandic sagas, Irish monks who took eremitic residence in parts of what is now Iceland before that island's habitation by the Norsemen ...
'' (meaning father) lived there before being driven out by the incoming Norsemen.
The late 8th century heralded outside involvement in Gaelic affairs, as Norsemen from
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...
, known as the
Vikings, began to raid and pillage settlements. The earliest recorded raids were on
Rathlin
Rathlin Island ( ga, Reachlainn, ; Local Irish dialect: ''Reachraidh'', ; Scots: ''Racherie'') is an island and civil parish off the coast of County Antrim (of which it is part) in Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's northernmost point ...
and
Iona in 795; these hit and run attacks continued for some time until the Norsemen began to settle in the 840s at
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
(setting up a large slave market),
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...
,
Waterford and elsewhere. The Norsemen also took most of the Hebrides and the
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = " O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europ ...
from the Dál Riata clans and established the
Kingdom of the Isles.
The monarchy of
Pictland had kings of Gaelic origin, since the 7th century with
Bruide mac Der-Ilei
Bruide mac Der-Ilei (died 706) was king of the Picts from 697 until 706. He became king when Taran was deposed in 697.
He was the brother of his successor Nechtan. It has been suggested that Bruide's father was Dargart mac Finguine (d. 686) of ...
, around the times of the ''
Cáin Adomnáin''. However, Pictland remained a separate realm from Dál Riata, until the latter gained full hegemony during the reign of
Kenneth MacAlpin from the
House of Alpin, whereby Dál Riata and Pictland were merged to form the
Kingdom of Alba. This meant an acceleration of Gaelicisation in the northern part of Great Britain. The
Battle of Brunanburh in 937 defined the Anglo-Saxon
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.
On ...
as the hegemonic force in Great Britain, over a Gaelic-Viking alliance.
After a spell when the Norsemen were driven from Dublin by Leinsterman
Cerball mac Muirecáin, they returned in the reign of
Niall Glúndub
Niall Glúndub mac Áeda ( Modern Irish: ''Niall Glúndubh mac Aodha'', "Niall Black-Knee, son of Áed"; died 14 September 919) was a 10th-century Irish king of the Cenél nEógain and High King of Ireland. Many Irish kin groups were members of t ...
, heralding a second Viking period. The Dublin Norse—some of them, such as
Uí Ímair king
Ragnall ua Ímair now partly Gaelicised as the
Norse-Gaels—were a serious regional power, with territories across
Northumbria and
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
. At the same time, the Uí Néill branches were involved in an internal power struggle for hegemony between the northern or southern branches.
Donnchad Donn raided
Munster and took
Cellachán Caisil
Cellachán mac Buadacháin (died 954), called Cellachán Caisil, was King of Munster.
Biography
The son of Buadachán mac Lachtnai, he belonged to the Cashel branch of the Eóganachta kindred, the Eóganacht Chaisil. The last of his cognatic ance ...
of the Eóganachta hostage. The destabilisation led to the rise of the Dál gCais and
Brian Bóruma
Brian Boru ( mga, Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig; modern ga, Brian Bóramha; 23 April 1014) was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill and probably ended Viking invasion/domination of Ireland. Bri ...
. Through military might, Brian went about building a Gaelic
Imperium under his High Kingship, even gaining the submission of
Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill. They were involved in a series of battles against the Vikings:
Tara,
Glenmama and
Clontarf. The last of these saw Brian's death in 1014. Brian's campaign is glorified in the ''
Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib'' ("The War of the Gaels with the Foreigners").
The Irish Church became closer to Continental models with the
Synod of Ráth Breasail and the arrival of the
Cistercians. There was also more trade and communication with Normanised Britain and France. Between themselves, the
Ó Briain and the
Ó Conchobhair
Ó, ó ( o- acute) is a letter in the Czech, Emilian-Romagnol, Faroese, Hungarian, Icelandic, Kashubian, Polish, Slovak, and Sorbian languages. This letter also appears in the Afrikaans, Catalan, Dutch, Irish, Nynorsk, Bokmål, Occitan, P ...
attempted to build a national monarchy.
The remainder of the Middle Ages was marked by conflict between Gaels and
Anglo-Normans. The
Norman invasion of Ireland took place in stages during the late 12th century. Norman mercenaries landed in
Leinster in 1169 at the request of
Diarmait Mac Murchada, who sought their help in regaining his throne. By 1171 the Normans had gained control of Leinster, and King
Henry II of England
Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin kin ...
, with the backing of the Papacy, established the
Lordship of Ireland. The Norman kings of England claimed sovereignty over this territory, leading to centuries of conflict between the Normans and the native Irish. At this time, a literary anti-Gaelic sentiment was born and developed by the likes of
Gerald of Wales as part of a propaganda campaign (with a
Gregorian "reform" gloss) to justify taking Gaelic lands. Scotland also came under Anglo-Norman influence in the 12th century. The
Davidian Revolution saw the Normanisation of Scotland's monarchy, government and church; the founding of
burghs, which became mainly English-speaking; and the royally-sponsored immigration of Norman aristocrats. This Normanisation was mainly limited to the
Scottish Lowlands. In Ireland, the Normans carved out their own semi-independent lordships, but many Gaelic Irish kingdoms remained outside Norman control and
gallowglass warriors were brought in from the Highlands to fight for various Irish kings.
In 1315, a
Scottish army landed in Ireland as part of Scotland's
war against England. It was led by
Edward Bruce
Edward Bruce, Earl of Carrick ( Norman French: ; mga, Edubard a Briuis; Modern Scottish Gaelic: gd, Eideard or ; – 14 October 1318), was a younger brother of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots. He supported his brother in the 1306–1314 s ...
, brother of Scottish king
Robert the Bruce. Despite his own Norman ancestry, Edward urged the Irish to ally with the Scots by invoking a shared Gaelic ancestry and culture, and most of the northern kings acknowledged him as High King of Ireland. However, the campaign ended three years later with Edward's defeat and death in the
Battle of Faughart.
A Gaelic Irish resurgence began in the mid-14th century: English royal control shrank to an area known as
the Pale and, outside this, many Norman lords adopted Gaelic culture, becoming culturally Gaelicised. The English government tried to prevent this through the
Statutes of Kilkenny (1366), which forbade English settlers from adopting Gaelic culture, but the results were mixed and particularly in the West, some Normans became Gaelicised.
Imperial
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Gaels were affected by the policies of the
Tudors and the
Stewarts Stewart's or Stewarts can refer to:
* Stewart's Fountain Classics, brand of soft drink
** Stewart's Restaurants, chain of restaurants where the soft drink was originally sold
* Stewart's wilt, bacterial disease affecting maize
* Stewart's (departme ...
who sought to anglicise the population and bring both Ireland and the Highlands under stronger centralised control,
as part of what would become the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
. In 1542,
Henry VIII of England declared the Lordship of Ireland
a Kingdom and himself King of Ireland. The new English, whose power lay in the Pale of Dublin, then began to
conquer the island. Gaelic kings were encouraged to apply for a
surrender and regrant: to surrender their lands to the king, and then have them regranted as
freeholds. Those who surrendered were also expected to follow English law and customs, speak English, and convert to the Protestant
Anglican Church. Decades of conflict followed in the reign of
Elizabeth I, culminating in the
Nine Years' War (1594–1603). The war ended in defeat for the Irish Gaelic alliance, and brought an end to the independence of the last Irish Gaelic kingdoms.
In 1603, with the
Union of the Crowns, King
James of Scotland also became king of England and Ireland. James saw the Gaels as a barbarous and rebellious people in need of civilising,
and believed that Gaelic culture should be wiped out. Also, while most of Britain had converted to Protestantism, most Gaels had held on to Catholicism. When the leaders of the Irish Gaelic alliance
fled Ireland in 1607, their lands were confiscated. James set about colonising this land with English-speaking Protestant settlers from Britain, in what became known as the
Plantation of Ulster. It was meant to establish a loyal British Protestant colony in Ireland's most rebellious region and to sever Gaelic Ulster's links with Gaelic Scotland.
In Scotland, James attempted to subdue the Gaelic clans and suppress their culture through laws such as the
Statutes of Iona
The Statutes of Iona, passed in Scotland in 1609, required that Highland Scottish clan chiefs send their heirs to Lowland Scotland to be educated in English-speaking Protestant schools. As a result, some clans, such as the MacDonalds of Sleat a ...
.
He also attempted to colonise the
Isle of Lewis with
settlers from the Lowlands.
Since then, the Gaelic language has gradually diminished in most of Ireland and Scotland. The 19th century was the turning point as
The Great Hunger
The Great Famine ( ga, an Gorta Mór ), also known within Ireland as the Great Hunger or simply the Famine and outside Ireland as the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of starvation and disease in Ireland from 1845 to 1852 that constituted a ...
in Ireland, and across the
Irish Sea the
Highland Clearances, caused mass emigration (leading to Anglicisation, but also a large
diaspora). The language was rolled back to the Gaelic strongholds of the
north west of Scotland, the west of Ireland and
Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia.
Modern
The
Gaelic revival also occurred in the 19th century, with organisations such as ''
Conradh na Gaeilge'' and ''
An Comunn Gàidhealach
An Comunn Gàidhealach (; literally "The Gaelic Association"), commonly known as An Comunn, is a Scottish organisation that supports and promotes the Scottish Gaelic language and Scottish Gaelic culture and history at local, national and intern ...
'' attempting to restore the prestige of Gaelic culture and the socio-communal hegemony of the Gaelic languages. Many of the participants in the
Irish Revolution
The revolutionary period in Irish history was the period in the 1910s and early 1920s when Irish nationalist opinion shifted from the Home Rule-supporting Irish Parliamentary Party to the republican Sinn Féin movement. There were several w ...
of 1912–1923 were inspired by these ideals and so when a sovereign state was formed (the
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...
),
post-colonial enthusiasm for the re-
Gaelicisation of Ireland was high and promoted through public education. Results were very mixed however and the ''
Gaeltacht'' where native speakers lived continued to retract. In the 1960s and 70s, pressure from groups such as ''Misneach'' (supported by
Máirtín Ó Cadhain
Máirtín Ó Cadhain (; 1906 – 18 October 1970) was one of the most prominent Irish language writers of the twentieth century. Perhaps best known for his 1949 novel '' Cré na Cille'', Ó Cadhain played a key role in reintroducing literary mo ...
), the ''
Gluaiseacht Chearta Siabhialta na Gaeltachta
Gluaiseacht Cearta Sibhialta na Gaeltachta (English language, English: "The Gaeltacht Civil Rights Movement") or Coiste Cearta Síbialta na Gaeilge (English language, English: Irish Language Civil Rights Committee"), was a pressure group campaig ...
'' and others; particularly in
Connemara; paved the way for the creation of development agencies such as ''
Údarás na Gaeltachta
Údarás na Gaeltachta (; meaning "Gaeltacht Authority"), abbreviated UnaG, is a regional state agency which is responsible for the economic, social and cultural development of Irish-speaking ( Gaeltacht) regions of Ireland. Its stated purpose ...
'' and state media (television and radio) in Irish.
The last
native speaker of Manx died in the 1970s, though use of the Manx language never fully ceased. There is now a resurgent language movement and Manx is once again taught in all schools as a second language and in some as a first language.
Culture
Gaelic society was traditionally made up of kin groups known as clans, each with its own territory and headed by a male chieftain.
Succession
Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence.
Governance and politics
*Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...
to the chieftainship or kingship was through
tanistry. When a man became
chieftain or
king, a relative was elected to be his deputy or 'tanist' (''tánaiste''). When the chieftain or king died, his tanist would automatically succeed him. The tanist had to share the same great-grandfather as his predecessor (i.e. was of the same ''
derbfhine
The derbfine ( ; ga, dearbhfhine , from ''derb'' 'real' + ''fine'' 'group of persons of the same family or kindred', thus literally 'true kin'electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language s.vderbḟine/ref>) was a term for patrilineal groups and po ...
'') and he was elected by freemen who also shared the same great-grandfather. Gaelic law is known as the ''Fénechas'' or
Brehon law. The Gaels have always had a strong
oral tradition, maintained by
shanachies. In the ancient and medieval era, most Gaels lived in
roundhouses and
ringforts. The Gaels had their own style of dress, which became the modern
belted plaid and
kilt in Scotland. They also have their own extensive
Gaelic literature
Gaelic literature ( ga, Litríocht na Gaeilge; gd, Litreachas na Gàidhlig) is literature in the vernacular Gaelic languages of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.
Gaelic literature is recognised as the third oldest literature tradition of E ...
, style of
music and dances (
Irish dancing and
Highland dancing
Highland dance or Highland dancing ( gd, dannsa Gàidhealach) is a style of competitive dancing developed in the Scottish Highlands in the 19th and 20th centuries, in the context of competitions at public events such as the Highland games. It ...
), social gatherings (
Feis and
Ceilidh), and their own sports (
Gaelic games and
Highland games).
Language
Emergence
The
Gaelic languages
The Goidelic or Gaelic languages ( ga, teangacha Gaelacha; gd, cànanan Goidhealach; gv, çhengaghyn Gaelgagh) form one of the two groups of Insular Celtic languages, the other being the Brittonic languages.
Goidelic languages historicall ...
are part of the
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages (usually , but sometimes ) are a group of related languages descended from Proto-Celtic. They form a branch of the Indo-European language family. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward ...
and fall under the wider
Indo-European language family. There are two main historical theories concerning the origin and development of the Gaelic languages from a
Proto-Celtic root: the North Atlantic-based
Insular Celtic hypothesis posits that Goidelic and
Brythonic languages have a more recent common ancestor than
Continental Celtic languages
The Continental Celtic languages are the now-extinct group of the Celtic languages that were spoken on the continent of Europe and in central Anatolia, as distinguished from the Insular Celtic languages of the British Isles and Brittany. ''Conti ...
, while the Q-Celtic and
P-Celtic hypothesis posits that Goidelic is more closely related to the
Celtiberian language, while Brythonic is closer to the
Gaulish language.
Estimates of the emergence of proto-Gaelic in Ireland vary widely from the introduction of agriculture 7000–6000 BC to around the first few centuries BC. Little can be said with certainty, as the language now known as
Old Irish—ancestral to modern
Irish,
Scottish Gaelic and
Manx—only began to be properly recorded with the
Christianisation of Ireland
Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...
in the 4th century, after the introduction of the
Roman script. Primitive Irish does appear in a specialised written form, using a unique script known as
Ogham. The oldest examples of Ogham have survived in the form of memorial inscriptions or short
epitaphs on pillar-like stone monuments (see
Mac Cairthinn mac Coelboth
Mac Cairthinn mac Coelboth (?-446?-530?) was an Uí Enechglaiss King of Leinster.
Background
Mac Cairthinn is one of the very earliest verifiable Irish kings. Though not listed in any extant Irish genealogies, the Annals of Innisfallen record ...
). Ogham stones are found throughout Ireland and neighbouring parts of Britain. This form of written Primitive Irish is thought to have been in use as early as 1000 BC. The script frequently encodes a name or description of the owner and surrounding region, and it is possible that the inscribed stones may have represented territorial claims.
Contemporary
The Gaelic languages have been in steep decline since the beginning of the 19th century, when they were majority languages of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands; today they are
endangered language
An endangered language or moribund language is a language that is at risk of disappearing as its speakers die out or shift to speaking other languages. Language loss occurs when the language has no more native speakers and becomes a "dead lang ...
s. As far back as the
Statutes of Kilkenny in 1366, the English government had dissuaded use of Gaelic for political reasons. The
Statutes of Iona
The Statutes of Iona, passed in Scotland in 1609, required that Highland Scottish clan chiefs send their heirs to Lowland Scotland to be educated in English-speaking Protestant schools. As a result, some clans, such as the MacDonalds of Sleat a ...
in 1609 and the
SSPCK in the Highlands (for most of its history) are also notable examples. As the old Gaelic aristocracy were displaced or assimilated, the language lost its prestige and became primarily a peasant language, rather than one of education and government. The spread of the
English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...
has resulted in a vast majority of people of Gaelic ancestry being unable to speak a Goidelic language.
During the 19th century, a number of ''Gaeilgeoir'' organisations were founded to promote a broad cultural and linguistic revival. ''
Conradh na Gaeilge'' ( en, the Gaelic League) was set up in 1893 and had its origins in
Charles Owen O'Conor
Charles Owen O'Conor, O'Conor Don PC ( ga, Cathal Eóghan Ó Conchubhair Donn; 7 May 1838 – 30 June 1906),John P. McCarthyIreland: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present p. 379 was an Irish politician
Life
The eldest son of De ...
's Gaelic Union, itself a derivative of the
Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language. Similar Highland Gaelic groups existed, such as ''
An Comunn Gàidhealach
An Comunn Gàidhealach (; literally "The Gaelic Association"), commonly known as An Comunn, is a Scottish organisation that supports and promotes the Scottish Gaelic language and Scottish Gaelic culture and history at local, national and intern ...
''. At this time, Irish Gaelic was widely spoken along the Western seaboard (and a few other enclaves) and the Gaelic League began defining it as the "''
Gaeltacht''", idealised as the core of true Irish-Ireland, rather than the Anglo-dominated Dublin. Although the Gaelic League itself aimed to be apolitical, this ideal was attractive to militant republicans such as the
Irish Republican Brotherhood, who formulated and led the Irish Revolution at the turn of the 20th century; a key leader,
Pádraig Pearse, imagined an Ireland "Not merely Free but Gaelic as well – Not merely Gaelic but Free as well." Scottish Gaelic did not undergo as extensive of a politicisation at this juncture, as nationalists there tended to focus on the Lowland mythos of
William Wallace rather than the ''
Gàidhealtachd''.
During the 1950s, the independent Irish state developed ''
An Caighdeán Oifigiúil
(, "The Official Standard"), often shortened to , is the variety of the Irish language that is used as the standard or state norm for the spelling and grammar of the language and is used in official publications and taught in most schools in th ...
'' as a national standard for the Irish language (using elements from local dialects but leaning towards
Connacht Irish), with a simplified spelling. Until 1973, school children had to pass Modern Irish to achieve a
Leaving Cert and studying the subject remains obligatory. There are also where children are taught exclusively through the medium of Irish. In the ''Gaeltacht'' itself, the language has continued to be in crisis under the pressure of globalism, but there are institutions such as ''
Údarás na Gaeltachta
Údarás na Gaeltachta (; meaning "Gaeltacht Authority"), abbreviated UnaG, is a regional state agency which is responsible for the economic, social and cultural development of Irish-speaking ( Gaeltacht) regions of Ireland. Its stated purpose ...
'' and a
Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media ( ga, An tAire Turasóireachta, Cultúir, Ealaíon, Gaeltachta, Spóirt agus Meán) is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Tourism, Cultu ...
, as well as media outlets such as ''
TG4'' and ''
RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta'' to support it. The last native Manx Gaelic speaker died in 1974, although there are ongoing attempts at revival. While the ''Gàidhealtachd'' has retracted in the Highlands, Scottish Gaelic has enjoyed renewed support with the
Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005, establishing the ''
Bòrd na Gàidhlig'' under the devolved
Scottish Government. This has seen the growth of
Gaelic medium education. There are also media outlets such as ''
BBC Alba'' and ''
BBC Radio nan Gàidheal
BBC Radio nan Gàidheal is a Scottish Gaelic language radio station owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. The station was launched in 1985 and broadcasts Gaelic-language programming with the simulcast of BBC Radio Scotland.
...
'', although these have been criticised for excessive use of English and pandering to an English-speaking audience.
Religion
Pre-Christian
The traditional, or "
pagan", worldview of the pre-Christian Gaels of Ireland is typically described as
animistic
Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, h ...
,
polytheistic,
ancestor venerating and focused on the
hero cult of archetypal Gaelic warriors such as
Cú Chulainn
Cú Chulainn ( ), called the Hound of Ulster ( Irish: ''Cú Uladh''), is a warrior hero and demigod in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore. He is believed to be an incarnation of the Irish god Lugh ...
and
Fionn mac Cumhaill. The four seasonal festivals celebrated in the
Gaelic calendar
The Irish calendar is the Gregorian calendar as it is in use in Ireland, but also incorporating Irish cultural festivals and views of the division of the seasons, presumably inherited from earlier Celtic calendar traditions.
For example, the ...
, still observed to this day, are
Imbolc,
Beltane,
Lughnasadh and
Samhain. While the general worldview of the Gaelic tradition has been recovered, a major issue for academic scholars is that Gaelic
culture was oral prior to the coming of Christianity and monks were the first to record the beliefs of this rival worldview as a
"mythology". Unlike other religions, there is no overall "
holy book
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pract ...
" systematically setting out exact rules to follow, but various works, such as the ''
Lebor Gabála Érenn'', ''
Dindsenchas'', ''
Táin Bó Cúailnge'' and ''
Acallam na Senórach'', represent the metaphysical orientation of ''Gaelachas''.
The main gods held in high regard were the
Tuatha Dé Danann, the superhuman beings said to have ruled Ireland before the coming of the Milesians, known in later times as the ''
aes sídhe
AES may refer to:
Businesses and organizations Companies
* AES Corporation, an American electricity company
* AES Data, former owner of Daisy Systems Holland
* AES Eletropaulo, a former Brazilian electricity company
* AES Andes, formerly AES Gene ...
''. Among the gods were male and female deities such as
The Dagda,
Lugh,
Nuada,
The Morrígan,
Aengus
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, ...
,
Brigid and
Áine, as well as many others. Some of them were associated with specific social functions, seasonal events and personal archetypal qualities. Some physical locations of importance in Ireland related to these stories include the
Brú na Bóinne
(; 'Palace of the Boyne' or more properly 'Valley of the Boyne') or Boyne valley tombs, is an area in County Meath, Ireland, located in a bend of the River Boyne. It contains one of the world's most important prehistoric landscapes dating from ...
,
Hill of Tara and
Hill of Uisneach. Although the ''sídhe'' were held to intervene in worldly affairs sometimes, particularly battles and issues of sovereignty, the gods were held to reside in
the Otherworld, also known as ''
Mag Mell
In Irish mythology, Mag Mell (modern spelling: Magh Meall, meaning "delightful plain") is one of the names for the Celtic Otherworld, a mythical realm achievable through death and/or glory. Unlike the underworld in some mythologies, Mag Mell w ...
'' (Plain of Joy) or ''
Tír na nÓg'' (Land of the Young). This realm was variously held to be located on a set of islands or underground. The Gaels believed that certain heroic persons could gain access to this spiritual realm, as recounted in the various ''
echtra'' (adventure) and ''
immram'' (voyage) tales.
Christianity
The Gaels underwent
Christianisation during the 5th century and that religion, ''de facto'', remains the predominant one to this day, although
irreligion is fast rising. At first the
Christian Church had difficulty infiltrating Gaelic life: Ireland had never been part of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
and was a decentralised tribal society, making patron-based mass conversion problematic.
It gradually penetrated through the remnants of
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...
and is especially associated with the activities of
Patrick, a
Briton who had been a slave in Ireland.
He tried to explain its doctrines by using elements of native folk tradition, so Gaelic culture itself was not completely cast aside and to some extent local Christianity was Gaelicised.
The last High King inaugurated in the pagan style was
Diarmait mac Cerbaill. The 6th–9th centuries are generally held to be the height of
Gaelic Christianity
Celtic Christianity ( kw, Kristoneth; cy, Cristnogaeth; gd, Crìosdaidheachd; gv, Credjue Creestee/Creestiaght; ga, Críostaíocht/Críostúlacht; br, Kristeniezh; gl, Cristianismo celta) is a form of Christianity that was common, or hel ...
, with numerous saints, scholars and works of devotional art.
This balance began to unravel during the 12th century with the polemics of
Bernard of Clairvaux, who attacked various Gaelic customs (including
polygamy and hereditary clergy) as "pagan". The
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
of the time, fresh from its split with the
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
, was becoming more centralised and uniform throughout Europe with the
Gregorian Reform and military reliance on Germanic peoples at the fringes of
Latin Christendom, particularly the warlike Normans. As part of this, the Catholic Church actively participated in the Norman conquest of Gaelic Ireland, with the issuing of ''
Laudabiliter
''Laudabiliter'' was a bull issued in 1155 by Pope Adrian IV, the only Englishman to have served in that office. Existence of the bull has been disputed by scholars over the centuries; no copy is extant but scholars cite the many references to ...
'' (claiming to gift the
King of England the title "
Lord of Ireland") and in Scotland
strongly encouraged king David who
Normanised that country. Even within orders such as the
Franciscans
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
, ethnic tensions between Norman and Gael continued throughout the later Middle Ages, as well as competition for ecclesiastic posts.
During the 16th century, with the emergence of
Protestantism
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
and
Tridentine Catholicism, a distinct Christian
sectarianism made its way into Gaelic life, with societal effects carrying on down to this day. The Tudor state used the
Anglican Church to bolster their power and enticed native elites into the project, without making much initial effort to convert the Irish Gaelic masses; meanwhile, the mass of Gaeldom (as well as the "
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...
") became
staunchly Catholic. Due to the geopolitical rivalry between Protestant Britain and Catholic France and Spain, the Catholic religion and its mostly Gaelic followers in Ireland were persecuted for a long time. In the Scottish Highlands too, the Gaels were generally slow to accept the Scottish Reformation. Efforts at persuading Highlanders in general of the value of this primarily Lowland movement were hampered by the complicated politics of the Highlands, with religious rivalries and clan antagonism becoming entwined (a prominent example was the intense rivalry, even hatred, between the generally
Presbyterian Campbells and the generally
Catholic MacDonalds), but most Highlanders later converted to
Presbyterianism in the 19th century during the breakdown of the clan system. In a few remote areas, however, Catholicism was kept alive and even rejuvenated to some extent by Irish Franciscan missionaries, but in most of the Highlands it was replaced by Presbyterianism.
The adoption of the
Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900) in the Highlands following the
Disruption of 1843 was a reassertion of Gaelic identity in opposition to forces of improvement and clearance.
Notes
References
Bibliography
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External links
Foras na Gaeilgenbsp;– Irish agency promoting the language
nbsp;– Scottish agency promoting the language
Culture Vanninnbsp;– Manx agency promoting the language
The Columba Projectnbsp;– Pan-Gaelic cultural initiative
Gaelic Society Collectionat
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
(c. 700 items collected by the Gaelic Society of London)
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