Crimthann mac Fidaig
Encyclopedia
Crimthann Mór, son of Fidach (ˈkriːvən ˈmɔər mæk ˈfiːaɪ), also written Crimthand Mór, was a semi-mythological king of Munster
and High King of Ireland of the 4th century. He gained territory in Britain
and Gaul
, but died poisoned by his sister Mongfind
. It is possible that he was also recognized as king of Scotland
or Alba
. As his Gaelic
name means fox
, Crimthand Mór mac Fidaig becomes Great Fox, son of Woodsman (Fidach) in English
. This Crimthann is to be distinguished from two previous High Kings of Ireland of the same name
, two Kings of Leinster
, and another King of Munster, among others. Importantly, he is included in the Baile Chuinn Chétchathaig
(summary), and is thus the last High King of Ireland from Munster until Brian Bóruma, over six hundred years later.
In addition to having his reign described by Geoffrey Keating
and mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters
, Crimthand Mór mac Fidaig also plays a major role in many stories belonging to the Cycles of the Kings. In these he is typically succeeded by Niall of the Nine Hostages
as High King of Ireland and by Conall Corc
as King of Munster, while his sister Mongfind, the first wife of Eochaid Mugmedón
, becomes the ancestor of the Three Connachta
. Thus this otherwise obscure kindred is central in the mythologies of most of the great medieval Irish dynasties.
According to Geoffrey Keating, Fidheang, daughter of an unnamed king of Connacht
, was the wife of Crimthand Mór. She is not mentioned in other sources.
, Crimthand Mór mac Fidaig built a great fortress in Cornwall
known as Dind Traduí or Dinn Tradui (Dun Tredui/e, fortress of the three ramparts). There appears to be little doubt that it existed, and British
archaeologists and linguists have attempted to identify it with a number of sites in Cornwall and in Wales
as well, for example Din Draithou, which is phonetically similar. Din Draithou is widely thought to be the modern Dunster
, or the nearby Iron Age hillfort Bat's Castle
. It may also be associated with Dind map Letháin, a colonial fortress constructed by the related Uí Liatháin
, earlier form Létháin, kingdom of Munster, who are known to have been active in Britain for centuries. They may have retreated to South Wales or Cornwall after being expelled from North Wales by Cunedda
, as mentioned in the Historia Brittonum.
In a 1926 paper, Eoin MacNeill
discusses the movements of the Uí Liatháin at considerable length, arguing their leadership in the South Irish conquests and founding of the later dynasty of Brycheiniog
, the Welsh genealogies matching Uí Liatháin dynasts in the Irish genealogies. He argues any possible settlement of the Déisi
in Wales would have been subordinate until the ousting of the Uí Liatháin by the sons of Cunedda. The founder of Brycheiniog, Brychan
, is in all probability the early Uí Liatháin dynast Macc Brocc, while the name Braccan also occurs early in the pedigrees of the Uí Fidgenti
and Uí Dedaid, close kindred of the Uí Liatháin. MacNeill further associates this with the sovereignty in Ireland and conquests in Britain of their cousin germane, the monarch Crimthann mac Fidaig.
Crimthand Mór mac Fidaig and the early Uí Liatháin may have belonged to the historical Attacotti
(circa 368). Note the correspondence of dates.
(Cearba, Cearb) in most sources (e.g. Rawlinson B 502), also an ancestor of the Uí Liatháin and Uí Fidgenti
, the brother and sister are sometimes regarded as belonging to an early branch of the Eóganachta
which later became peripheral or went extinct, although it is more likely that all descendants of Dáire Cerbba belong to a distinct people, possibly the Dáirine
, which may be hinted at in an obsure Old Irish poem by Flann mac Lonáin
, although in the Banshenchus Mongfind is called "Mongfind of the Érnai" (Érainn), a people in any case related to the Dáirine. It should be noted that a passage in Rawlinson B 502 declares that Dáire Cerbba was born in Mag Breg (Brega), Mide, much of which probably remained Érainn or Dáirine territory at the time of his supposed floruit. Later political genealogies may remove this generation in order to make the monarch appear closer to the historical Eóganachta, his natural kindred having mostly fallen into obscurity. Byrne reproduces one of these (2001), and does not give his source, probably Laud 610, in which the father of Crimthand Mór is a certain Láre Fidach, son of Ailill Flann Bec
. Possibly this is a mistake, or an attempt by the Eóganachta literati, well known for their political fables, to more closely associate the brother and sister with the new Munster dynasty. Mongfind is simply called the daughter of Dáire (Cerbba?), not of Fidach, in the Book of Lismore
, and there Dáire's father is called Findchad, while Crimthand Mór is not mentioned at all.
Below a possible and simplified pedigree for Crimthann mac Fidaig, based on Rawlinson B 502:
Mug Nuadat
|
|
Ailill Aulomm
|
|
Eógan Mór
|
|
Fiachu Muillethan
|
|
Ailill Flann Bec
|
|____________________________ ???
| |
| |
Lugaid
Dáire Cerbba
| |
| |__________________________
| | |
| | |
| Fidach Uí Fidgenti
& Uí Liatháin
| |
| |__________________________
| | |
| | |
| Crimthann mac Fidaig Mongfind
= Eochaid Mugmedón
= Cairenn
| | |
| | |
Conall Corc
Connachta
Niall Noígiallach
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...
and High King of Ireland of the 4th century. He gained territory in Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
, but died poisoned by his sister Mongfind
Mongfind
Queen Mongfind was the wife, of apparent Munster origins, of the legendary Irish High King Eochaid Mugmedón and mother of his eldest three sons, Brion, Ailill and Fiachrae, ancestors of the historical Connachta, through whom she is an ancestor of many Irish and European nobility today...
. It is possible that he was also recognized as king of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland 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...
or Alba
Alba
Alba is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is cognate to Alba in Irish and Nalbin in Manx, the two other Goidelic Insular Celtic languages, as well as similar words in the Brythonic Insular Celtic languages of Cornish and Welsh also meaning Scotland.- Etymology :The term first appears in...
. As his Gaelic
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
name means fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
, Crimthand Mór mac Fidaig becomes Great Fox, son of Woodsman (Fidach) in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. This Crimthann is to be distinguished from two previous High Kings of Ireland of the same name
Crimthann
Crimthann or Cremthann may refer to:*Crimthann mac Fidaig, legendary High King of Ireland of the 4th century AD*Crimthann Nia Náir, legendary High King of Ireland of the 1st century AD...
, two Kings of Leinster
Kings of Leinster
The following is a provisional list of the kings of Leinster who ruled the Irish kingdom of Leinster up to 1632 with the death of Domhnall Spainnach MacMurrough-Kavanagh, the last legitimately inaugurated head of the MacMurrough Kavanagh royal line...
, and another King of Munster, among others. Importantly, he is included in the Baile Chuinn Chétchathaig
Baile Chuinn Chétchathaig
Baile Chuind Chétchathaig is an Old Irish list of Kings of Tara or High Kings of Ireland which survives in two 16th century manuscripts, 23 N 10 and Egerton 88. It is the earliest such king-list known, probably dating from around 700 AD...
(summary), and is thus the last High King of Ireland from Munster until Brian Bóruma, over six hundred years later.
In addition to having his reign described by Geoffrey Keating
Geoffrey Keating
Seathrún Céitinn, known in English as Geoffrey Keating, was a 17th century Irish Roman Catholic priest, poet and historian. He was born in County Tipperary c. 1569, and died c. 1644...
and mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters
Annals 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...
, Crimthand Mór mac Fidaig also plays a major role in many stories belonging to the Cycles of the Kings. In these he is typically succeeded by Niall of the Nine Hostages
Niall of the Nine Hostages
Niall Noígíallach , or in English, Niall of the Nine Hostages, son of Eochaid Mugmedón, was an Irish king, the eponymous ancestor of the Uí Néill kindred who dominated Ireland from the 6th century to the 10th century...
as High King of Ireland and by Conall Corc
Conall Corc
Corc mac Luigthig, also called Conall Corc, Corc of Cashel, and Corc mac Láire, is the hero of Irish language tales which form part of the origin legend of the Eóganachta, a group of kindreds which traced their descent from Conall Corc and took their name from his ancestor Éogan Mór. The early...
as King of Munster, while his sister Mongfind, the first wife of Eochaid Mugmedón
Eochaid Mugmedon
-Biography:According to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, Eochaid was a High King of Ireland, best known as the father of Niall of the Nine Hostages and ancestor of the Uí Néill and Connachta dynasties...
, becomes the ancestor of the Three Connachta
Connachta
The Connachta are a group of medieval Irish dynasties who claimed descent from the legendary High King Conn Cétchathach...
. Thus this otherwise obscure kindred is central in the mythologies of most of the great medieval Irish dynasties.
According to Geoffrey Keating, Fidheang, daughter of an unnamed king of Connacht
Kings of Connacht
The Kings of Connacht were rulers of the cóiced of Connacht, which lies west of the River Shannon, Ireland. However, the name only became applied to it in the early medieval era, being named after The Connachta.The old name for the province was Cóiced Ol nEchmacht . Ptolemy's map of c. 150 AD...
, was the wife of Crimthand Mór. She is not mentioned in other sources.
Dind Traduí
According to the Sanas CormaicSanas Cormaic
Sanas Cormaic , also known as Cormac's Glossary, is an early Irish glossary containing etymologies and explanations of over 1,400 Irish words, many of which are difficult or outdated. The shortest and earliest version of the work is ascribed to Cormac mac Cuilennáin , king-bishop of Munster...
, Crimthand Mór mac Fidaig built a great fortress in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
known as Dind Traduí or Dinn Tradui (Dun Tredui/e, fortress of the three ramparts). There appears to be little doubt that it existed, and British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
archaeologists and linguists have attempted to identify it with a number of sites in Cornwall and in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
as well, for example Din Draithou, which is phonetically similar. Din Draithou is widely thought to be the modern Dunster
Dunster
Dunster is a village and civil parish in west Somerset, England, situated on the Bristol Channel coast south-southeast of Minehead and northwest of Taunton. The village has a population of 862 .The village has numerous restaurants and three pubs...
, or the nearby Iron Age hillfort Bat's Castle
Bat's Castle
Bats Castle is an Iron Age hill fort at the top of a high hill in the parish of Carhampton south south west of Dunster in Somerset, England.The site was identified in 1983 after some schoolboys found eight silver plated coins dating from 102BC to AD350....
. It may also be associated with Dind map Letháin, a colonial fortress constructed by the related Uí Liatháin
Uí Liatháin
The Uí Liatháin were an early kingdom of Munster in southern Ireland. They belonged the same kindred as the Uí Fidgenti, and the two are considered together in the earliest sources, for example The Expulsion of the Déisi...
, earlier form Létháin, kingdom of Munster, who are known to have been active in Britain for centuries. They may have retreated to South Wales or Cornwall after being expelled from North Wales by Cunedda
Cunedda
Cunedda ap Edern , was an important early Welsh leader, and the progenitor of the royal dynasty of Gwynedd.-Background and life:The name Cunedda derives from the Brythonic word , meaning good hound. His genealogy is traced back to Padarn Beisrudd, which literally translates as Paternus of the...
, as mentioned in the Historia Brittonum.
In a 1926 paper, Eoin MacNeill
Eoin MacNeill
Eoin MacNeill was an Irish scholar, nationalist, revolutionary and politician. MacNeill is regarded as the father of the modern study of early Irish medieval history. He was a co-founder of the Gaelic League, to preserve Irish language and culture, going on to establish the Irish Volunteers...
discusses the movements of the Uí Liatháin at considerable length, arguing their leadership in the South Irish conquests and founding of the later dynasty of Brycheiniog
Brycheiniog
Brycheiniog was a small independent petty kingdom in South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It often acted as a buffer state between England to the east and the powerful south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. It was conquered and pacified by the Normans between 1088 and 1095, though it...
, the Welsh genealogies matching Uí Liatháin dynasts in the Irish genealogies. He argues any possible settlement of the Déisi
Déisi
The Déisi were a class of peoples in ancient and medieval Ireland. The term is Old Irish, and derives from the word déis, meaning "vassal" or "subject"; in its original sense, it designated groups who were vassals or rent-payers to a landowner. Later, it became a proper name for certain septs and...
in Wales would have been subordinate until the ousting of the Uí Liatháin by the sons of Cunedda. The founder of Brycheiniog, Brychan
Brychan
Brychan Brycheiniog was a legendary 5th-century king of Brycheiniog in South Wales.-Life:Celtic hagiography tells us that Brychan was born in Ireland, the son of a Prince Anlach, son of Coronac, and his wife, Marchel, heiress of the Welsh kingdom of Garthmadrun , which the couple later inherited...
, is in all probability the early Uí Liatháin dynast Macc Brocc, while the name Braccan also occurs early in the pedigrees of the Uí Fidgenti
Uí Fidgenti
The Uí Fidgenti or Wood-Sprung People were an early kingdom of northern Munster, situated mostly in modern County Limerick, but extending into County Clare and County Tipperary, and possibly even County Kerry and County Cork, at maximum extents, which varied over time...
and Uí Dedaid, close kindred of the Uí Liatháin. MacNeill further associates this with the sovereignty in Ireland and conquests in Britain of their cousin germane, the monarch Crimthann mac Fidaig.
Crimthand Mór mac Fidaig and the early Uí Liatháin may have belonged to the historical Attacotti
Attacotti
Attacotti refers to a people who despoiled Roman Britain between 364 and 368, along with Scotti, Picts, Saxons, Roman military deserters, and the indigenous Britons themselves. The marauders were defeated by Count Theodosius in 368...
(circa 368). Note the correspondence of dates.
Ancestry
As grandchildren of Dáire CerbbaDáire Cerbba
Dáire Cerbba was an Irish dynast of uncertain origins, named in many early and late sources as the grandfather of the semi-mythological Mongfind and Crimthann mac Fidaig, and the most frequently named early ancestor of the historical Uí Liatháin and Uí Fidgenti...
(Cearba, Cearb) in most sources (e.g. Rawlinson B 502), also an ancestor of the Uí Liatháin and Uí Fidgenti
Uí Fidgenti
The Uí Fidgenti or Wood-Sprung People were an early kingdom of northern Munster, situated mostly in modern County Limerick, but extending into County Clare and County Tipperary, and possibly even County Kerry and County Cork, at maximum extents, which varied over time...
, the brother and sister are sometimes regarded as belonging to an early branch of the Eóganachta
Eóganachta
The Eóganachta or Eoghanachta were an Irish dynasty centred around Cashel which dominated southern Ireland from the 6/7th to the 10th centuries, and following that, in a restricted form, the Kingdom of Desmond, and its offshoot Carbery, well into the 16th century...
which later became peripheral or went extinct, although it is more likely that all descendants of Dáire Cerbba belong to a distinct people, possibly the Dáirine
Dáirine
The Dáirine , later known dynastically as the Corcu Loígde, were the proto-historical rulers of Munster before the rise of the Eóganachta in the 7th century AD. They appear to have derived from the Darini of Ptolemy and to have been related to the Ulaid and Dál Riata of Ulster and Scotland...
, which may be hinted at in an obsure Old Irish poem by Flann mac Lonáin
Flann mac Lonáin
-Background and career:Flann mac Lonáin was a famed and at times controversial poet. He was the Chief Ollam of Ireland He seems to have being born in the east Clare/west Tipperary region...
, although in the Banshenchus Mongfind is called "Mongfind of the Érnai" (Érainn), a people in any case related to the Dáirine. It should be noted that a passage in Rawlinson B 502 declares that Dáire Cerbba was born in Mag Breg (Brega), Mide, much of which probably remained Érainn or Dáirine territory at the time of his supposed floruit. Later political genealogies may remove this generation in order to make the monarch appear closer to the historical Eóganachta, his natural kindred having mostly fallen into obscurity. Byrne reproduces one of these (2001), and does not give his source, probably Laud 610, in which the father of Crimthand Mór is a certain Láre Fidach, son of Ailill Flann Bec
Ailill Flann Bec
Ailill Flann Bec, son of Fiachu Muillethan, was an Irish dynast belonging to the Deirgtine, the proto-historical ancestors of the historical Eóganachta dynasties of Munster. He was the father of Luigthech, also known as Lugaid, and thus the grandfather of Conall Corc...
. Possibly this is a mistake, or an attempt by the Eóganachta literati, well known for their political fables, to more closely associate the brother and sister with the new Munster dynasty. Mongfind is simply called the daughter of Dáire (Cerbba?), not of Fidach, in the Book of Lismore
Book of Lismore
The Book of Lismore is a Medieval Irish manuscript.-Overview:The Book of Lismore is an Irish vellum manuscript, compiled in early 15th century, Lismore, Ireland. Its original name was Leabhar Mhic Cárthaigh Riabhaigh...
, and there Dáire's father is called Findchad, while Crimthand Mór is not mentioned at all.
Below a possible and simplified pedigree for Crimthann mac Fidaig, based on Rawlinson B 502:
Mug Nuadat
Mug Nuadat
In Irish mythological history Mug Nuadat was a legendary, supposed King of Munster in the 2nd century AD. He was, according to later medieval tradition, a rival of the High King, Conn of the Hundred Battles and for a time after the year 123 was the de facto ruler of the southern half of Ireland...
|
|
Ailill Aulomm
|
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Eógan Mór
|
|
Fiachu Muillethan
Fiachu Muillethan
Fiachu Muillethan or Fiachu Fer Da Liach , son of Éogan Mór, was a legendary king belonging to the Deirgtine, the proto-historical ancestors of the Eóganachta dynasties of Munster...
|
|
Ailill Flann Bec
Ailill Flann Bec
Ailill Flann Bec, son of Fiachu Muillethan, was an Irish dynast belonging to the Deirgtine, the proto-historical ancestors of the historical Eóganachta dynasties of Munster. He was the father of Luigthech, also known as Lugaid, and thus the grandfather of Conall Corc...
|
|____________________________ ???
| |
| |
Lugaid
Lugaid
Lugaid is a popular medieval Irish name, thought to be derived from the god Lug. It is borne by a number of figures from Irish history and mythology, including:High Kings of Ireland...
Dáire Cerbba
Dáire Cerbba
Dáire Cerbba was an Irish dynast of uncertain origins, named in many early and late sources as the grandfather of the semi-mythological Mongfind and Crimthann mac Fidaig, and the most frequently named early ancestor of the historical Uí Liatháin and Uí Fidgenti...
| |
| |__________________________
| | |
| | |
| Fidach Uí Fidgenti
Uí Fidgenti
The Uí Fidgenti or Wood-Sprung People were an early kingdom of northern Munster, situated mostly in modern County Limerick, but extending into County Clare and County Tipperary, and possibly even County Kerry and County Cork, at maximum extents, which varied over time...
& Uí Liatháin
Uí Liatháin
The Uí Liatháin were an early kingdom of Munster in southern Ireland. They belonged the same kindred as the Uí Fidgenti, and the two are considered together in the earliest sources, for example The Expulsion of the Déisi...
| |
| |__________________________
| | |
| | |
| Crimthann mac Fidaig Mongfind
Mongfind
Queen Mongfind was the wife, of apparent Munster origins, of the legendary Irish High King Eochaid Mugmedón and mother of his eldest three sons, Brion, Ailill and Fiachrae, ancestors of the historical Connachta, through whom she is an ancestor of many Irish and European nobility today...
= Eochaid Mugmedón
Eochaid Mugmedon
-Biography:According to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, Eochaid was a High King of Ireland, best known as the father of Niall of the Nine Hostages and ancestor of the Uí Néill and Connachta dynasties...
= Cairenn
Cairenn
Cairenn Chasdub; Caireann was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, the daughter of Sachell Balb, king of the Saxons, the second wife of the Irish High King Eochaid Mugmedón, and the mother of Niall of the Nine Hostages.When she was pregnant with Niall, Eochaid's first wife...
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Conall Corc
Conall Corc
Corc mac Luigthig, also called Conall Corc, Corc of Cashel, and Corc mac Láire, is the hero of Irish language tales which form part of the origin legend of the Eóganachta, a group of kindreds which traced their descent from Conall Corc and took their name from his ancestor Éogan Mór. The early...
Connachta
Connachta
The Connachta are a group of medieval Irish dynasties who claimed descent from the legendary High King Conn Cétchathach...
Niall Noígiallach
See also
- Irish nobilityIrish nobilityThis article concerns the Gaelic nobility of Ireland from ancient to modern times. It only partly overlaps with Chiefs of the Name because it excludes Scotland and other discussion...
- Kingdoms of Ireland
- List of Celtic tribes
- O'Rahilly's historical modelO'Rahilly's historical modelO'Rahilly's historical model is a theory of Irish prehistory put forward by Celtic scholar T. F. O'Rahilly in 1946. It was based on his study of the influences on the Irish language and a critical analysis of Irish mythology....
- IverniIverniThe Iverni were a people of early Ireland first mentioned in Ptolemy's 2nd century Geography as living in the extreme south-west of the island. He also locates a "city" called Ivernis in their territory, and observes that this settlement has the same name as the island as a whole, Ivernia...
- AttacottiAttacottiAttacotti refers to a people who despoiled Roman Britain between 364 and 368, along with Scotti, Picts, Saxons, Roman military deserters, and the indigenous Britons themselves. The marauders were defeated by Count Theodosius in 368...
- ScotiScotiScoti or Scotti was the generic name used by the Romans to describe those who sailed from Ireland to conduct raids on Roman Britain. It was thus synonymous with the modern term Gaels...
- Petty kingdomPetty kingdomA petty kingdom is one of a number of small kingdoms, described as minor or "petty" by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it...
- Túathal Techtmar