Artuir mac Áedáin or Artúr mac Áedán was son of

Áedán mac Gabráin Áedán mac Gabráin (; ), also written as Aedan, was a king of Dál Riata from 574 until c. 609 AD. The kingdom of Dál Riata was situated in modern Argyll and Bute, Scotland, and parts of County Antrim, Ireland. Genealogies record that Áe ...

and a prince of

Dál Riata Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaels, Gaelic Monarchy, kingdom that encompassed the Inner Hebrides, western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North ...

in the 6th century. Artuir was probably a war leader fighting

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples in what is now Scotland north of the Firth of Forth, in the Scotland in the early Middle Ages, Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and details of their culture can be gleaned from early medieval texts and Pic ...

at the northern and eastern borders of the kingdom. He and his brother Eochaid Find were killed at the battle of ''Miathi'' around 580–596 AD.

History

Artuir is mentioned in three medieval sources: in Adomnan's '' Life of St. Columba'', written c. 700; in the genealogical section of ''The History of the Men of Scotland'', originally compiled in the seventh century; and his death is also mentioned in the ''

Annals of Tigernach The ''Annals of Tigernach'' (Abbreviation, abbr. AT, ) are chronicles probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin language, Latin and Old Irish, Old and Middle Irish. Many of the pre-historic entries come f ...

'', which date from around 1088. His name, ''Artuir'', derived from ''

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

'', is Brittonic, probably related to a Welsh mother. Maithgemma, daughter of Aedan, was said to be the niece of a Brittonic king. Aedan also had two grandsons and a great-grandson with Brittonic names.Bannerman, John. 1974. ''Studies in the History of Dalriada''. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press. The ''Life of St.

Columba Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey ...

'' mentions Artuir in a chapter between Aedan and Columba, where the saint predicts that Aedan's younger son,

Eochaid Buide Eochaid Buide was king of Dál Riata from around 608 until 629. "Buide" refers to the colour yellow, as in the colour of his hair. He was a younger son of Áedán mac Gabráin and became his father's chosen heir upon the death of his elder broth ...

, will succeed instead of Aedan's chosen sons. Columba then predicts the deaths of Artuir, Eochaid Find, and Domangart while fighting their father's battles. Adomnan adds " Artuir and Echoid Find were slain a little while later, in the battle of ''Miathi'' mentioned above. Domangart was killed in a rout of battle in England", illustrating the fulfillment of Columba's prophecy. In the previous chapter, Adomnan portrayed Columba praying for Aedan's victory over the ''Miathi'', indicating that the battle occurred before Columba's death in 596–597.

References

{{Reflist

External links

* Adamnan: Life of St. Columb

* Senchus Fer n-Alban. ''The History of the Men of Scotland'

7th-century Scottish people Medieval Gaels Sub-Roman Britain Historical figures as candidates of King Arthur