The ''Annals of Tigernach'' ( abbr. AT, ga, Annála Tiarnaigh) are

chronicle A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...

s probably originating in

Clonmacnoise Clonmacnoise (Irish: ''Cluain Mhic Nóis'') is a ruined monastery situated in County Offaly in Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone, founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán, a young man from Rathcroghan, County Roscommon. Until the 9th ce ...

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

. The language is a mixture of

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 ...

and Old and

Middle Irish Middle Irish, sometimes called Middle Gaelic ( ga, An Mheán-Ghaeilge, gd, Meadhan-Ghàidhlig), is the Goidelic language which was spoken in Ireland, most of Scotland and the Isle of Man from AD; it is therefore a contemporary of late Old Engl ...

. Many of the pre-historic entries come from the 12th-century MS,

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 ...

.Hughes, ''Early Christian Ireland: Introduction to the Sources'', pp. 99-162. However, the real importance of the chronicle is for the period 489–766, 973–1003 and 1018–1178. These three fragments survive from the 14th-century MS Rawlinson B 488. The coverage of the period 766 to 973 is lost, but is thought to survive in abbreviated form in the '' Chronicon Scottorum'' (abbr. CT). The latter is defective for the period 718 to 804, but as much of its content is derived from the hypothetical '' Chronicle of Ireland'' (itself partly derived from the '' Iona Chronicle''), of which the ''

Annals of Ulster The ''Annals of Ulster'' ( ga, Annála Uladh) are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, ...

'' (abbr. AU) and ''

Annals of Inisfallen Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between ann ...

'' (abbr. AI) are also derived, we have some idea of what the entries contained.

Kathleen Hughes Kathleen Hughes (born Elizabeth Margaret von Gerkan; November 14, 1928) is an American actress. Early life Hughes' uncle, F. Hugh Herbert, was a playwright who authored ''Kiss and Tell'' and ''The Moon Is Blue''. Her desire to act was inspired ...

postulates that AU and AT diverged from the ''Chronicle of Ireland'' sometime before the year 913. The chronicle owes its modern name to

Tigernach Ua Braín Tigernach Ua Braín (died 1088) was abbot of Clonmacnoise and abbot of Roscommon. He was once held to be the author of the ''Annals of Tigernach'', hence its name; this view is no longer sustainable, though the nature and extent of his involvemen ...

(d. 1088),

abbot of Clonmacnoise The Abbot of Clonmacnoise was the monastic head of Clonmacnoise. They also bore the title " Comarba of Saint Ciarán", "successor of Saint Ciarán". The following is a list of abbots: List of abbots to 1539 Notes References *Annette Kehnel, ...

, but this does not mean that he was also its author. A note added to the entry for 1088, the year of his death, in Rawlinson B 488 states that the text was written by Tigernach up to that point. If he was not merely the scribe of the original text copied by the 14th-century scribe, it may mean that he was one of the

annalist Annalists (from Latin ''annus'', year; hence ''annales'', sc. ''libri'', annual records), were a class of writers on Roman history, the period of whose literary activity lasted from the time of the Second Punic War to that of Sulla. They wrote th ...

s responsible for the work.Charles-Edwards, "Ua Braín, Tigernach (''d''. 1088)"

Notes

References

* *

Editions

* *O'Conor, Charles. ''Rerum Hibernicarum scriptores veteres''. 4 vols. Buckingham, 1814-26. Superseded by Stokes' edition
Available from Google Books

Translation

* Mac Niocaill, Gearóid (2010),
The Annals of Tigernach
'. Unpublished electronic file edited by Emer Purcell and

Donnchadh Ó Corráin Donnchadh Ó Corráin (28 February 1942 – 25 October 2017) was an Irish historian and Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at University College Cork. He earned his BA in history and Irish from that institution, graduating in 1964. He was ...

for

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

External links

Digitised images from MS Rawlinson B 488
Early Manuscripts at Oxford University.

Stokes' edition and English translation of the Annals of Tigernach. {{DEFAULTSORT:Annals Of Tigernach Irish chronicles, Tigernach, Annals of 12th-century history books Medieval Ireland Irish manuscripts

Notes

See also

References

Editions

Translation

Further reading

External links