- Disambiguation: you may also be looking for Aosdána
Aosdána is an association of people in Ireland who have achieved distinction in the arts. It was created in 1981 on the initiative of a group of writers and with support from the Arts Council of Ireland. Membership, which is by invitation from current members, is limited to 250 individuals;...
or Aes DanaAes Dana may refer to:*Áes dána or Tuatha Dé Danann, a race of people in Irish mythology* Aes Dana , a French trance electronica band* Aes Dana , a French Celtic black metal band...
The
Aois-dàna (Scottish Gaelic), or
Áes Dána (Old Irish) , literally meaning "people of the
artsaRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is most famous for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
"; often translated as
bardIn medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, paid by a monarch to praise the sovereign's activities....
s served as advisers to nobles and chiefs of clans throughout the
ScottishScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
GàidhealtachdThe Gàidhealtachd , sometimes known as A' Ghàidhealtachd , usually refers to the Scottish highlands and islands, and especially the Scottish Gaelic culture of the area. The corresponding Irish word Gaeltacht however refers strictly to an Irish speaking area...
until the late 17th century. Many of them specialised in preserving the
genealogyGenealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
of
familiesFamily denotes a group of people or animals affiliated by a consanguinity, affinity or co-residence...
and recited family trees at the succession of
chieftainThe Chief of the Name is the recognised head of a family or clan . The term is in use as a title in Ireland and Scotland where Celtic traditions still survive.-In Ireland:...
s.
The
Aois-dàna were held in high esteem throughout the
Scottish HighlandsThe Scottish Highlands include the rugged and mountainous regions of Scotland north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east...
. As late as the end of the 17th century, they sat in the
sreath or circle among the nobles and chiefs of families. They took the preference of the
ollamh or doctor in medicine. After the extinction of the
druidA druid was a member of the priestly and learned class active in Gaul, and perhaps in Celtic culture more generally, during the final centuries BCE...
s, they were brought in to preserve the
genealogyGenealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
of families, and to repeat genealogical traditions at the succession of every chieftain. They had great influence over all the powerful men of the time. Their persons, their houses, their villages, were sacred. Whatever they asked was given them; not always, however, out of respect, but from fear of their
satireSatire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods,...
, which frequently followed a denial of their requests. They lost by degrees, through their own insolence and importunity, all the respect their order had so long enjoyed, and consequently all their wonted profits and privileges. The Lord Lyon of Scotland may well have his roots in something parallel.
Martin MartinMartin Martin was a Scottish writer best known for his work A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland . This book is particularly noted for its information on the St. Kilda archipelago. Martin's description of St Kilda, which he visited in 1697, had also been published some years earlier as A...
says of them:
- "They shut their doors and windows for a day’s time, and lay in the dark with a stone upon their belly, and their plaids about their heads and eyes, and thus they pumped their brains for rhetorical encomiums."
Among the ancient
BrythonThe Britons were the Celtic people living in Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
s there were, according to Jones an order of bard called the
Arwyddwardd, i.e. the ensign bard or herald at arms, who employed himself in genealogy, and in blazoning the arms of princes and nobles, as well as altering them according to their dignity or deserts.
The related term,
AosdánaAosdána is an association of people in Ireland who have achieved distinction in the arts. It was created in 1981 on the initiative of a group of writers and with support from the Arts Council of Ireland. Membership, which is by invitation from current members, is limited to 250 individuals;...
is used in Ireland currently for an exclusive group of artists and writers.