Cenn Fáelad mac Aillila
Encyclopedia
Cenn Fáelad mac Ailella (alias Cennfaeladh) (died 679) was an Irish
scholar renowned for having his memory
markedly improve, possibly becoming eidetic, after suffering a head wound in battle.
, being a grandson of King Báetán mac Muirchertaig
(King of Cenél nEógain), a great-great-great-great grandson of Niall Noígiallach, and a first cousin once removed of Aldfrith of Northumbria
via his first cousin, Fina.
His father Ailill mac Báetán was murdered in Templeport
, County Cavan
according to the Annals of Ulster- "U620.1. The slaying in Magh Slécht
in the territory of Connacht of the kindred of Báetán, i.e. of Ailill son of Báetán and of Mael Dúin son of Fergus son of Báetán; and the death of Fiachra son of Ciarán son of Ainmire son of Sétna." According to John Healy, Cenn Fáelad's sister Sabina was the mother of Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
.
) in 636. During the battle he received a life-threatening head wound, and was afterwards carried to the abbey of Tomregan
, County Cavan to be healed in the house of its abbot, Saint Bricín
. That this abbey was situated beside Magh Slécht
where his father had been slain 16 years earlier may not be a coincidence. His family possibly had land there. This house was situated "where the three streets meet between the houses of the three professors. And there were three schools in the place; a school of Latin learning, a school of Irish law and a school of Irish poetry. And everything that he would hear of the recitations of the three schools every day he would have by heart every night."
book."
His verses were all composed in quatrains of numbered syllables with regular rhyme, and moderate use of alliteration, in contrast to a more archaic form that was still practised in the south of Ireland at the time (i.e., Leinster
and Munster
). Most or all of his historical verse relate to his own dynasty, the Cenél nEógain.
This merging of Latin learning, native Irish law and vernacular poetry, in a country which was Pagan only a few generations before, ensured Cenn Fáelad's fame in his own time and beyond.
He was the first poet quoted in the Irish annals
, being referred to as sapiens
, a technical term denoting a head teacher or professor in a monastic school (though not necessarily a monk himself). Later manuscripts of legal and grammatical texts were attributed to him, though the earliest of them seem to date from about fifty years after his death.
Robin Flower
stated "How far these are really his may be a matter of controversy, but there can be little real doubt that the writings by him existed in the period when the vernacular learning was being eagerly cultivated."
A copy of one of the works attributed to him exists in Trinity College, Dublin Ms 1317
, written by the grandfather of Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh
.
Edward O'Reilly
gives a full account of his works in his 'Irish Writers', LXIV sq.; d. anno 678.
contains an obituary with an accompanying commemorative verse by Cenn Faelad:
Maelfothartaigh, son of Suibhne, chief of Cinel Tuirtre, died. Ceannfaeladh said:
as follows- “U679.2 Cenn Faelad son of Ailill son of Baetán, the learned, rested."
|
|___________________________________________________________
| | | | |
| | | | |
Colmán Rímid Máel Umai Forannán Fergus Ailill.
| | | |
| | | |_________________________________
? Hui Forannáin Cenél Forgusa | |
| | |
| Cenn Fáelad mac Aillila Sabina
Fín = Oswiu of Northumbria |
| |
| Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
Aldfrith (Flann Fína)
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
scholar renowned for having his memory
Memory
In psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing memory....
markedly improve, possibly becoming eidetic, after suffering a head wound in battle.
Ancestry
He was a member of the Cenél nEógainCenél 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...
, being a grandson of King Báetán mac Muirchertaig
Báetán mac Muirchertaig
Báetán mac Muirchertaig , also Baetán Bríge, was an Irish king who is included in some lists as a High King of Ireland. He was the son of Muirchertach mac Muiredaig , also considered a high king. He was a member of the Cenél nEógain branch of the northern Uí Néill...
(King of Cenél nEógain), a great-great-great-great grandson of Niall Noígiallach, and a first cousin once removed of Aldfrith of Northumbria
Aldfrith of Northumbria
Aldfrith sometimes Aldfrid, Aldfridus , or Flann Fína mac Ossu , was king of Northumbria from 685 until his death. He is described by early writers such as Bede, Alcuin and Stephen of Ripon as a man of great learning, and some of his works, as well as letters written to him, survive...
via his first cousin, Fina.
His father Ailill mac Báetán was murdered in Templeport
Templeport
Templeport civil parish is situated in the Barony of Tullyhaw, County Cavan, Republic of Ireland. The chief towns in the parish are Bawnboy and Ballymagauran...
, County Cavan
County Cavan
County Cavan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Cavan. Cavan County Council is the local authority for the county...
according to the Annals of Ulster- "U620.1. The slaying in Magh Slécht
Magh Slécht
Magh Slécht is the name of an historic plain in Ireland. It comprises an area of about three square miles situated in the south-eastern part of the Parish of Templeport, Barony of Tullyhaw and County of Cavan. It is bounded on the north by Templeport Lough, on the east by Slieve Rushen mountain,...
in the territory of Connacht of the kindred of Báetán, i.e. of Ailill son of Báetán and of Mael Dúin son of Fergus son of Báetán; and the death of Fiachra son of Ciarán son of Ainmire son of Sétna." According to John Healy, Cenn Fáelad's sister Sabina was the mother of Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
Saint Cuthbert was an Anglo-Saxon monk, bishop and hermit associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Northumbria, at that time including, in modern terms, northern England as well as south-eastern Scotland as far as the Firth of Forth...
.
Cath Magh Rath
Cenn Fáelad fought at the crucial battle of Magh Rath (Moira, County DownMoira, County Down
Moira is a village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is in the northwest of the county, near the borders with counties Antrim and Armagh. The M1 motorway and Dublin–Belfast railway line are nearby. The settlement has existed since time immemorial...
) in 636. During the battle he received a life-threatening head wound, and was afterwards carried to the abbey of Tomregan
Tomregan
Tomregan civil parish straddles the international border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The chief town of the parish is Ballyconnell, County Cavan. Most of Tomregan's constituent townlands are situate in County Cavan, with the remainder in County Fermanagh...
, County Cavan to be healed in the house of its abbot, Saint Bricín
Bricín
Bricín , Irish Abbot of Tuaim Dreccon, c.590 - 650.-Túaim Dreccon:The history of Bricín centres around the abbey of Tuaim Drecconin, in Breifne , which flourished in the 7th century A.D.Tomregan got its name in pre-Christian times from the burial mound of Dreacon, a pagan chieftain ruling the...
. That this abbey was situated beside Magh Slécht
Magh Slécht
Magh Slécht is the name of an historic plain in Ireland. It comprises an area of about three square miles situated in the south-eastern part of the Parish of Templeport, Barony of Tullyhaw and County of Cavan. It is bounded on the north by Templeport Lough, on the east by Slieve Rushen mountain,...
where his father had been slain 16 years earlier may not be a coincidence. His family possibly had land there. This house was situated "where the three streets meet between the houses of the three professors. And there were three schools in the place; a school of Latin learning, a school of Irish law and a school of Irish poetry. And everything that he would hear of the recitations of the three schools every day he would have by heart every night."
The Scholar
Tradition states that as a result of a head wound, Cenn Fáelad's "brain of forgetting was knocked out of him." The effect of this trauma led him to create "a pattern of poetry to these matters and he wrote them on slates and tablets and set them in a vellumVellum
Vellum is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on, to produce single pages, scrolls, codices or books. It is generally smooth and durable, although there are great variations depending on preparation, the quality of the skin and the type of animal used...
book."
His verses were all composed in quatrains of numbered syllables with regular rhyme, and moderate use of alliteration, in contrast to a more archaic form that was still practised in the south of Ireland at the time (i.e., 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...
and Munster
Munster
Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...
). Most or all of his historical verse relate to his own dynasty, the Cenél nEógain.
This merging of Latin learning, native Irish law and vernacular poetry, in a country which was Pagan only a few generations before, ensured Cenn Fáelad's fame in his own time and beyond.
He was the first poet quoted in 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...
, being referred to as sapiens
Wisdom
Wisdom is a deep understanding and realization of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to apply perceptions, judgements and actions in keeping with this understanding. It often requires control of one's emotional reactions so that universal principles, reason and...
, a technical term denoting a head teacher or professor in a monastic school (though not necessarily a monk himself). Later manuscripts of legal and grammatical texts were attributed to him, though the earliest of them seem to date from about fifty years after his death.
Robin Flower
Robin Flower
Robin Ernest William Flower was an English poet and scholar, a Celticist, Anglo-Saxonist and translator from the Irish language. He is commonly known in Ireland as "Bláithín" . He married Ida Mary Streeter.-Life:...
stated "How far these are really his may be a matter of controversy, but there can be little real doubt that the writings by him existed in the period when the vernacular learning was being eagerly cultivated."
A copy of one of the works attributed to him exists in Trinity College, Dublin Ms 1317
Trinity College, Dublin Ms 1317
Trinity College, Dublin MS 1317 [H.2.15B] is an autograph manuscript by Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh .The most succinct description of the manuscript is by Irish historian, William O'Sullivan:...
, written by the grandfather of Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh
Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh
Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh, also known as Dubhaltach Óg mac Giolla Íosa Mór mac Dubhaltach Mór Mac Fhirbhisigh, Duald Mac Firbis, Dudly Ferbisie, and Dualdus Firbissius was an Irish scribe, translator, historian and genealogist...
.
Edward O'Reilly
Edward O'Reilly
Edward O'Reilly was an Irish scholar in the first half of the 19th century.His grandfather was Eoghan O'Reilly of Corstown, County Meath. Edward's father moved to Harold's Cross, Dublin, where he practised as an apothecary. Edward was born on 6 December 1765...
gives a full account of his works in his 'Irish Writers', LXIV sq.; d. anno 678.
A commemorative verse
Sub anno 668, the Annals of the Four MastersAnnals of the Four Masters
The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history...
contains an obituary with an accompanying commemorative verse by Cenn Faelad:
Maelfothartaigh, son of Suibhne, chief of Cinel Tuirtre, died. Ceannfaeladh said:
- Not dearer/ is one king to me than another/Since Maelfothartaigh/ was borne in his couch to Doire.
Verses on Cath Moin Mor Doire Lothair
- Sharp weapons were strewn, men were strewn
- in Moin Mor Doire Lothair,
- Because of a partition not just;
- the seven kings of the Cruithni, with Aedh Breac, were in the slaughter.
- The battle of all the Cruithne was fought,
- and Elne was burned.
- The battle of Gabbra Liffe was fought,
- and the battle of Cul Dreimhne.
- They bore away hostages after conflict,
- thence westwards towards Cnuas Nuach,
- Fearghus, Domhnall, Ainmire,
- and Nainnidh, son of Duach.
- The two sons of Mac Earca
- returned to the same battle,
- And the king, Ainmire,
- returned into the possessions of his father Seadna.
Obituary
His obituary is given in 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...
as follows- “U679.2 Cenn Faelad son of Ailill son of Baetán, the learned, rested."
- in the Annals of InisfallenAnnals of InisfallenThe Annals of Inisfallen are a chronicle of the medieval history of Ireland. There are more than 2,500 entries spanning the years between AD 433 and AD 1450, but it is believed to have been written between the 12th and 15th centuries...
as follows- "AI678.1 Kl. Death of Cenn Faelad the learned."
- in the Chronicon ScotorumChronicon ScotorumChronicon Scotorum is a medieval Irish chronicle.According to Nollaig Ó Muraíle, it is "a collection of annals belonging to the 'Clonmacnoise group', covering the period from prehistoric times to 1150 but with some gaps, closely related to the 'Annals of Tigernach'...
as follows- “Annal CS679 Kalends. Cenn Faelad, the learned, rested."
- in the Annals of the Four MastersAnnals of the Four MastersThe Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history...
as follows- “M677.4 Ceannfaeladh, son of Oilioll, a paragon in wisdom, died."
- in the Annals of TigernachAnnals of TigernachThe Annals of Tigernach is a chronicle probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin and Old and Middle Irish....
as follows- “T679.2 Cend Faeladh sapiens pausat."
Family tree
Báetán mac Muirchertaig|
|___________________________________________________________
| | | | |
| | | | |
Colmán Rímid Máel Umai Forannán Fergus Ailill.
| | | |
| | | |_________________________________
? Hui Forannáin Cenél Forgusa | |
| | |
| Cenn Fáelad mac Aillila Sabina
Fín = Oswiu of Northumbria |
| |
| Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
Aldfrith (Flann Fína)