Blathmac mac Áedo Sláine
Encyclopedia
Blathmac was a son of Áed Sláine
. According to the Irish annals
he was High King of Ireland
.
Blathmac's father Áed Sláine was a son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill
, the apical ancestor of the southern branches of the Uí Néill
kindred which dominated Ireland
from the late 6th century until the rise of Brian Bóruma in the late 10th century. The descendants of Áed Sláine were known as the Síl nÁedo Sláine
. With the possible exception of Óengus mac Colmáin
, all Uí Néill kings descended from Diarmait mac Cerbaill belonged to the Síl nÁedo Sláine until the death of Cináed mac Írgalaig
in 728. The Síl nÁedo Sláine were Kings of Brega
and the Hill of Tara
, where High Kings were inaugurated, lay within their lands. Other groups descended from the sons of Diarmait included Clann Cholmáin
, or more precisely Clann Cholmáin Már, descended from Colmán Már, which replaced the Síl nÁedo Sláine as the dominant group of the southern Uí Néill from the middle of the 8th century, and the less important Caílle Follamain or Clann Cholmáin Bicc, descended from Colmán Beg.
Áed Sláine himself is said to have been High King jointly with Colmán Rímid
of the northern Cenél nEógain
branch of the Uí Néill, following the death of Áed mac Ainmuirech
. Áed Sláine died circa
604, a death said to have been prophesied by Saint Columba
. Áed's sons are said to have included Blathmac, Diarmait
(died 665), Congal (died 634), Ailill (died 634) and Dúnchad (died 659).
, in 635. That same year Diarmait defeated Clann Cholmáin Bicc in battle at Cúil Caeláin where Óengus mac Colmáin's son Máel Umai was killed. Blathmac is not mentioned in these reports.
At this time the High Kingship of Ireland may have been disputed between Domnall mac Áedo
of the northern Cenél Conaill
branch of the Uí Néill and the cruithne king Congal Cáech
. In this complicate contest Blathmac and Diarmait were allied with Domnall. They fought alongside him at the Battle of Mag Rath where Congal was killed. Some branches of the Uí Néill fought against Domnall, among them Conall mac Suibni's son Airmedach who died there.
were apparently uncertain as to the succession following the death of Domnall mac Áedo in 642. The Annals of Ulster state:
According to the late 7th century Baile Chuind Chétchathaig, a list of High Kings composed in the reign of Blathmac's nephew Fínsnechta Fledach
, son of Dúnchad, Domnall mac Áedo was succeeded by Blathmac and Diarmait. The Baile Chuind omits several kings, including Áed Sláine, some of which may be copying errors, but others are apparently deliberate. It is a work of dynastic propaganda, its purpose to demonstrate that the Síl nÁedo Sláine should by right be High Kings of Ireland. For these reasons, although it is the most nearly contemporary witness, it is not necessarily to be trusted.
Of the two or four kings, Diarmait was the most active according to the record which survives in the Irish annals. Relatively little is reported of Blathmac. The deaths of three of his sons are recorded during his lifetime. The death of Eochaid in 660 is reported without explanation, but the notice of the killing of Dúnchad and Conall in 651 is accompanied by some gnomic verses. These appear to associate the killings with one Máelodrán, a Leinster
man. A variant on these events appears in the Orgguin Trí Mac Díarmata mic Cerbaill (The Slaying of the Three Sons of Díarmait mac Cerbaill), perhaps composed in the Old Irish language
period. This makes Dúnchad and Conall, and also Máelodor, sons of Diarmait mac Cerbaill and their killer the Dál Messin Corb hero Máelodrán mac Dímma Chróin. Diarmait's sons flee from Máelodrán and hide in a mill where they are crushed.
A plague arrived in Ireland in 664, called the buide Chonaill. The annals record that Blathmac and Diarmait both died of the disease the following year. The king lists have them followed by Blathmac's son Sechnassach
, possibly ruling jointly with another son of Blathmac, Cenn Fáelad
.
For editors and creators of Middle Irish language
literature, the reign of Blathmac and Diarmait was imagined as a Golden Age. Works set in this period include the Cath Cairnd Chonaill and the Scéla Cano meic Gartnáin
.
Áed Sláine
Áed mac Diarmato , called Áed Sláine , was the son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Legendary stories exist of Áed's birth. Saint Columba is said to have prophesied his death...
. According to the Irish annals
Irish annals
A number of Irish annals were compiled up to and shortly after the end of Gaelic Ireland in the 17th century.Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days...
he was High King of Ireland
High King of Ireland
The High Kings of Ireland were sometimes historical and sometimes legendary figures who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over the whole of Ireland. Medieval and early modern Irish literature portrays an almost unbroken sequence of High Kings, ruling from Tara over a hierarchy of...
.
Sons of Áed Sláine
Blathmac's father Áed Sláine was a son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill
Diarmait mac Cerbaill
Diarmait mac Cerbaill was King of Tara or High King of Ireland. According to traditions, he was the last High King to follow the pagan rituals of inauguration, the ban-feis or marriage to goddess of the land....
, the apical ancestor of the southern branches of the Uí Néill
Uí Néill
The Uí Néill are Irish and Scottish dynasties who claim descent from Niall Noigiallach , an historical King of Tara who died about 405....
kindred which dominated Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
from the late 6th century until the rise of Brian Bóruma in the late 10th century. The descendants of Áed Sláine were known as the Síl nÁedo Sláine
Síl nÁedo Sláine
Síl nÁedo Sláine is the name of the descendants of Áed Sláine , son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Part of the Southern Uí Néill—they were the kings of Brega—they claimed descent from Niall Noígiallach and his son Conall Cremthainne....
. With the possible exception of Óengus mac Colmáin
Óengus mac Colmáin
Óengus mac Colmáin Bec was an Irish king. He was the King of Uisnech in Mide from 618 to 621.He belonged to the southern Uí Néill. According to the genealogies, he was a son of Colmán Bec , son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill...
, all Uí Néill kings descended from Diarmait mac Cerbaill belonged to the Síl nÁedo Sláine until the death of Cináed mac Írgalaig
Cináed mac Írgalaig
Cináed mac Írgalaig or Cináed Cáech, "the one-eyed", was an Irish King of Brega who was High King of Ireland.-Background:Cináed was the son of Írgalach mac Conaing , a previous King of Brega...
in 728. The Síl nÁedo Sláine were Kings of Brega
Kings of Brega
-Overview:Brega took its name from Mag Breg, the plain of Brega, in modern County Meath, County Louth and County Dublin, Ireland. They formed part of the Uí Néill kindred, belonging to the Síl nÁedo Sláine branch of the southern Uí Néill. The kingdom of Brega included the Hill of Tara, the site...
and the Hill of Tara
Hill of Tara
The Hill of Tara , located near the River Boyne, is an archaeological complex that runs between Navan and Dunshaughlin in County Meath, Leinster, Ireland...
, where High Kings were inaugurated, lay within their lands. Other groups descended from the sons of Diarmait included Clann Cholmáin
Clann Cholmáin
Clann Cholmáin is the name of the dynasty descended from Colmán Mór , son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Part of the Southern Uí Néill — they were the kings of Mide — they traced their descent to Niall Noígiallach and his son Conall Cremthainne.Related dynasties descended through Conall...
, or more precisely Clann Cholmáin Már, descended from Colmán Már, which replaced the Síl nÁedo Sláine as the dominant group of the southern Uí Néill from the middle of the 8th century, and the less important Caílle Follamain or Clann Cholmáin Bicc, descended from Colmán Beg.
Áed Sláine himself is said to have been High King jointly with Colmán Rímid
Colmán Rímid
Colmán Rímid was an Irish king who is included in some lists as a High King of Ireland. Colmán was the son of Báetán mac Muirchertaig , also considered to be a high king, and belonged to the Cenél nEógain branch of the northern Uí Néill...
of the northern Cenél nEógain
Cenél nEógain
Cenél nEóġain is the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Eógan mac Néill , son of Niall Noígiallach who founded the kingdom of Tír Eoghain in the 5th century...
branch of the Uí Néill, following the death of Áed mac Ainmuirech
Áed mac Ainmuirech
Áed mac Ainmuirech was high-king of the Northern Uí Néill. He belonged to the Cenél Conaill and was a distant cousin of Columba of Iona. He was the son of Ainmuire mac Sétnai , a previous possible high king....
. Áed Sláine died circa
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
604, a death said to have been prophesied by Saint Columba
Columba
Saint Columba —also known as Colum Cille , Colm Cille , Calum Cille and Kolban or Kolbjørn —was a Gaelic Irish missionary monk who propagated Christianity among the Picts during the Early Medieval Period...
. Áed's sons are said to have included Blathmac, Diarmait
Diarmait mac Áedo Sláine
Diarmait was a son of Áed Sláine. According to the Irish annals he was High King of Ireland.-Sons of Áed Sláine:Diarmait's father Áed Sláine was a son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill, the apical ancestor of the southern branches of the Uí Néill kindred which dominated Ireland from the late 6th century...
(died 665), Congal (died 634), Ailill (died 634) and Dúnchad (died 659).
Domnall mac Áedo and Congal Cáech
Blathmac was one of the younger sons of Áed Sláine. According to king lists, the kingship of Brega was held by Congal and then by Ailill, both killed by Congal mac Suibni of Clann Cholmáin in 634, who had also killed Áed Sláine in 604. After this Blathmac and Diarmait were jointly kings of Brega. Diarmait killed Congal mac Suibni "in the house of Nad-Fraích's son" according to the Annals of UlsterAnnals of Ulster
The Annals of Ulster are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years between AD 431 to AD 1540. The entries up to AD 1489 were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, under his patron Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne in the...
, in 635. That same year Diarmait defeated Clann Cholmáin Bicc in battle at Cúil Caeláin where Óengus mac Colmáin's son Máel Umai was killed. Blathmac is not mentioned in these reports.
At this time the High Kingship of Ireland may have been disputed between Domnall mac Áedo
Domnall mac Áedo
Domnall mac Áedo , also known as Domnall II, was a son of Áed mac Ainmuirech. Domnall was High King of Ireland from 628 until his death. He belonged to the Cenél Conaill kindred of the northern Uí Néill....
of the northern Cenél Conaill
Cenél Conaill
The Cenél Conaill is the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Conall Gulban, son of Niall Noígiallach defined by oral and recorded history. They were also known in Scotland as the Kindred of Saint Columba....
branch of the Uí Néill and the cruithne king Congal Cáech
Congal Cáech
Congal Cáech was a king of the Cruithne of Dál nAraidi, in modern Ulster, from around 626 to 637. He was king of Ulster from 627-637 and, according to some sources, High King of Ireland.-Sources:...
. In this complicate contest Blathmac and Diarmait were allied with Domnall. They fought alongside him at the Battle of Mag Rath where Congal was killed. Some branches of the Uí Néill fought against Domnall, among them Conall mac Suibni's son Airmedach who died there.
High King
The compilers of the various Irish annalsIrish annals
A number of Irish annals were compiled up to and shortly after the end of Gaelic Ireland in the 17th century.Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days...
were apparently uncertain as to the succession following the death of Domnall mac Áedo in 642. The Annals of Ulster state:
Here it is uncertain who reigned after Domnall. Some historiographers state that four kings, i.e. CellachCellach mac Máele CobaCellach mac Máele Coba was an Irish king and is said to have been High King of Ireland.Cellach was the son of Máel Coba mac Áedo and belonged to the Cenél Conaill branch of the northern Uí Néill...
, Conall CóelConall CóelConall mac Máele Coba, called Conall Cóel, was an Irish king and is said to have been High King of Ireland.-Biography:Conall was the son of Máel Coba mac Áedo and belonged to the Cenél Conaill branch of the northern Uí Néill...
, and two sons of Aed Sláine son of Diarmait son of Fergus Cerrbél son of Conall of Cremthann son of Niall Noígiallach, namely Diarmait and Blathmac, reigned in mingled rule.
According to the late 7th century Baile Chuind Chétchathaig, a list of High Kings composed in the reign of Blathmac's nephew Fínsnechta Fledach
Fínsnechta Fledach
Fínsnechta Fledach mac Dúnchada was High King of Ireland. Fínsnechta belonged to the southern Síl nÁedo Sláine sept of the Uí Néill and was King of Brega, in modern County Meath, Ireland. He was a grandson of Áed Sláine. His father Dúnchad had died in 659...
, son of Dúnchad, Domnall mac Áedo was succeeded by Blathmac and Diarmait. The Baile Chuind omits several kings, including Áed Sláine, some of which may be copying errors, but others are apparently deliberate. It is a work of dynastic propaganda, its purpose to demonstrate that the Síl nÁedo Sláine should by right be High Kings of Ireland. For these reasons, although it is the most nearly contemporary witness, it is not necessarily to be trusted.
Of the two or four kings, Diarmait was the most active according to the record which survives in the Irish annals. Relatively little is reported of Blathmac. The deaths of three of his sons are recorded during his lifetime. The death of Eochaid in 660 is reported without explanation, but the notice of the killing of Dúnchad and Conall in 651 is accompanied by some gnomic verses. These appear to associate the killings with one Máelodrán, a Leinster
Leinster
Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...
man. A variant on these events appears in the Orgguin Trí Mac Díarmata mic Cerbaill (The Slaying of the Three Sons of Díarmait mac Cerbaill), perhaps composed in the Old Irish language
Old Irish language
Old Irish is the name given to the oldest form of the Goidelic languages for which extensive written texts are extant. It was used from the 6th to the 10th centuries, by which time it had developed into Middle Irish....
period. This makes Dúnchad and Conall, and also Máelodor, sons of Diarmait mac Cerbaill and their killer the Dál Messin Corb hero Máelodrán mac Dímma Chróin. Diarmait's sons flee from Máelodrán and hide in a mill where they are crushed.
A plague arrived in Ireland in 664, called the buide Chonaill. The annals record that Blathmac and Diarmait both died of the disease the following year. The king lists have them followed by Blathmac's son Sechnassach
Sechnassach
Sechnassach mac Blathmaic followed his father Blathmac mac Áedo Sláine and uncle Diarmait mac Áedo Sláine as High King of Ireland and King of Brega...
, possibly ruling jointly with another son of Blathmac, Cenn Fáelad
Cenn Fáelad
Cenn Fáelad mac Blathmaic followed his father Blathmac mac Áedo Sláine and his brother Sechnassach as High King of Ireland and king of Brega...
.
Descendants and posterity
Blathmac's five recorded sons have already been mentioned: Sechnassach and Cenn Fáelad who survived him and Dúnchad, Conall and Eochaid, who pre-deceased him. None of Blathmac's later descendants were major figures.For editors and creators of Middle Irish language
Middle Irish language
Middle Irish is the name given by historical philologists to the Goidelic language spoken in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man from the 10th to 12th centuries; it is therefore a contemporary of late Old English and early Middle English...
literature, the reign of Blathmac and Diarmait was imagined as a Golden Age. Works set in this period include the Cath Cairnd Chonaill and the Scéla Cano meic Gartnáin
Scéla Cano meic Gartnáin
The Scéla Cano meic Gartnáin is an Old Irish prose tale of the ninth century or later. It forms part of the Cycles of the Kings.It deals with the exile and return of Cano mac Gartnáin in sixth century Scotland...
.