The ''Senchus fer n-Alban'' (''The History of the men of Scotland'') is an

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...

medieval text believed to have been compiled in the 10th century. It provides

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 kins ...

for kings of

Dál Riata Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaelic kingdom that encompassed the western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel. At its height in the 6th and 7th centuries, it covered what is now ...

and a

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of the kingdoms which comprised Dál Riata.

Description

The ''Senchus'' exists in a number of manuscripts, of which the most important belonged to

Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh (), also known as Dubhaltach Óg mac Giolla Íosa Mór mac Dubhaltach Mór Mac Fhirbhisigh, Duald Mac Firbis, Dudly Ferbisie, and Dualdus Firbissius (fl. 1643 – January 1671) was an Irish scribe, translator, histori ...

and then to

Edward Lhuyd Edward Lhuyd FRS (; occasionally written Llwyd in line with modern Welsh orthography, 1660 – 30 June 1709) was a Welsh naturalist, botanist, linguist, geographer and antiquary. He is also named in a Latinate form as Eduardus Luidius. Life ...

. This, Ms. H.2.7 held by

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, was compiled in the 14th century by Lúcás Ó Dalláin, probably working with

Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin (died 1372 Year 1372 ( MCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * May – Owain Lawgoch makes a second att ...

(died 1372), the chief poet and historian of the Uí Maine. This manuscript was once thought to have formed part of the '' Book of Uí Maine'', but this is no longer considered plausible. Other examples are found in the ''

Book of Ballymote The ''Book of Ballymote'' (, RIA MS 23 P 12, 275 foll.), was written in 1390 or 1391 in or near the town of Ballymote, now in County Sligo, but then in the tuath of Corann. Production and history This book was compiled towards the end of th ...

'' (1384x1406), the ''Book of Lecan'' (before 1418), and in Mac Fhirbhisigh's 17th-century genealogical compilations. It may have been derived from earlier documents of the 7th century which are presumed to have been written in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the 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 power of the ...

. The ''Senchus'' is a relatively short document, around 70 or 80 lines of type depending on the variant used. To it is appended the ''Genelaig Albanensium'' which contains genealogies of Máel Coluim mac Cináeda and Causantín mac Cuilén, kings of

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 Scottish people, Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed i ...

, and of

Ainbcellach mac Ferchair Ainbcellach mac Ferchair was king of the Cenél Loairn of Dál Riata, and perhaps of all Dál Riata, from 697 until 698, when he was deposed and exiled to Ireland. He was a son of Ferchar Fota. He is given the epithet the Good in the ''Duan Alba ...

and other Dál Riata kings. Most versions of the ''Senchus'' follow the late myth of the Dál Riata origins by beginning with Eochaid Muinremar and the sons of Erc,

Fergus Mór Fergus Mór mac Eirc ( gd, Fearghas Mòr Mac Earca; English: ''Fergus the Great'') was a possible king of Dál Riata. He was the son of Erc of Dalriada. While his historicity may be debatable, his posthumous importance as the founder of Scotl ...

among them. Mac Fhirbhisigh's own version of the ''Senchus'' traces Dál Riata to the

Síl Conairi The Síl Conairi (Sil Chonairi, Conaire) or "Seed of Conaire" were those Érainn septs of the legendary Clanna Dedad descended from the monarch Conaire Mór, son of Eterscél Mór, a descendant of Deda mac Sin, namely the Dál Riata, Múscraige ...

and Cairpre Riata (Rígfhota), son of

Conaire Mór Conaire Mór (the great), son of Eterscél, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. His mother was Mess Búachalla, who was either the daughter of Eochu Feidlech and Étaín, or of Eochu Airem and ...

and/or

Conaire Cóem Conaire Cóem ("the beautiful"), son of Mug Láma, son of Coirpre Crou-Chend, son of Coirpre Firmaora, son of Conaire Mór, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, the 111th High King of Ireland. He came to power on the de ...

, who may be the ''Reuda'' of

Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...

's ''

Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' ( la, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict be ...

''. The ''Genelaig Albanensium'', and the similar genealogies in the

Rawlinson B 502 Oxford, Bodleian Library, Rawlinson B 502 is a medieval Irish manuscript which presently resides in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. It ranks as one of the three major surviving Irish manuscripts to have been produced in pre-Norman Ireland, the tw ...

manuscript, make Cairpre Riata an ancestor in the tenth or fifteenth generation of Fergus Mór mac Eirc. The historical value of the ''Senchus'' rests largely in its later sections, which include historical kings of Dál Riata — myth may end and history begin in the reign of

Conall mac Comgaill Conall mac Comgaill was king of Dál Riata from about 558 until 574. He was a son of Comgall mac Domangairt. It is said that he gave Iona to Saint Columba. The Duan Albanach says that he reigned "without dissension", but there is a report of an e ...

in the middle of the 6th century. The last king who can be identified in the genealogies contained in the ''Senchus'' proper is

Conall Crandomna Conall Crandomna was king of Dál Riata (modern western Scotland) from about 650 until 660. The Senchus fer n-Alban makes him a son of Eochaid Buide and thus a member of the Cenél nGabráin. The Duan Albanach has him succeed Ferchar mac Connaid o ...

, who died around 660. The ''Senchus'' lists the divisions of Dál Riata—the

Cenél nGabráin The Cenél nGabráin was a kingroup, presumed to descend from Gabrán mac Domangairt, which dominated the kingship of Dál Riata until the late 7th century and continued to provide kings thereafter. Kings of Alba and of Scotland traced their desc ...

, the

Cenél Loairn The Cenél Loairn, the descendants of Loarn mac Eirc, controlled parts of northern Argyll around the Firth of Lorne, most probably centred in Lorne but perhaps including the islands of Mull and Colonsay, Morvern and Ardnamurchan. The boundary to ...

, and the

Cenél nÓengusa The Cenél nÓengusa were a kin group who ruled the island of Islay, and perhaps nearby Colonsay, off the western coast of Scotland in the early Middle Ages. The Senchus fer n-Alban, a census and genealogy of the kingdom of Dál Riata, lists the ...

—and their obligations for military service, apparently at a time when the

Cenél Comgaill Comgall mac Domangairt was king of Dál Riata in the early 6th century. He was the son of Domangart Réti and grandson of Fergus Mór. The ''Annals of Ulster'' report his death in 538, 542 and 545, the ''Annals of Tigernach'' in 537. Comgall N ...

remained part of the Cenél nGabráin. These divisions need not be of great antiquity, and the lists provided are not without problems. The Senchus lists no kindreds or military obligations for the Irish lands, if any, which may have formed part of Dál Riata. One curious feature of the Senchus is the presence of

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 ...

in the lands of the Cenél Loairn. It is not apparent whether these represent settlers from Ireland, or simply people to whom the label "additional clients" was applied. The ''Senchus'' lists what is believed to be the oldest reference to a naval battle in the British Isles. There is a brief record of an engagement between rival Dalriadan groups in 719.Rodger (1997) p. 5.

Notes

References

* Anderson, Alan Orr, ''Early Sources of Scottish History A.D. 500 to 1286, volume one.'' Reprinted with corrections, Stamford: Paul Watkins, 1990. * Bannerman, John, ''Studies in the History of Dalriada.'' Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press, 1974. * N. A. M. Rodger (1997) ''The Safeguard of the Sea: A Naval History of Britain. Volume One 660-1649''. London: Harper Collins. * Sharpe, Richard, "The thriving of Dalriada" in Simon Taylor (ed.), ''Kings, clerics and chronicles in Scotland 500–1297.'' Dublin: Four Courts, 2000.

Description

See also

Notes

References

Further reading