Muiredach Tirech

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The hill of Tara, from which traditionally the High Kings of Ireland ruled.

Muiredach Tirech († 356 AD (AFM) or 343 AD (FFE)) was a legendary High King of Ireland , who according to the Annals of the Four Masters (AFM) from 326 to 356, or according to the Foras feasa ar Éirinn (FFE; "Knowledge Base about Ireland", usually called "History of Ireland" for short) is said to have ruled from 310 to 343 by Tara from Ireland. He was remembered primarily as the father of Eochaid Mugmedón ("Eochaid master of the slaves") and as the grandfather of Niall Noigiallach ("Niall of the nine hostages"), who, according to tradition, was from 368 to 395 (FFE) or from 376 to 404 (AFB) is said to have ruled as the High King of Ireland and the eponymous progenitor of the most important dynasty of Ireland, the Uí Néill ( Irish for "the descendants of Niall", anglicized O'Neills), which - a northern and a southern part-kingdom and regularly ruled as the high kings of Ireland, so Ireland dominated until the tenth century.

origin

Plan of Tara, the early medieval residence of the legendary Kings of Tara and the High Kings of Ireland, according to Wakeman

According to Irish tradition, Muiredach Tirech was descended from the prehistoric and rather legendary Irish high king Conn Cétchathach ("Conn of the Hundred Battles"), who was the traditional seat of the Irish high kings in Tara from 122 to 157 (AFM) and from 116 to 136 AD . Chr. (FFE) is said to have ruled.

Muiredach's father Fíacha Sroiptine (also written Fiacha Sraibtine) had his additional name after the place Dun Sraibhtine, where he was raised as a foster son in his youth. According to tradition, he was the High King of Ireland, and ruled from 285 to 322 according to the annals of the four masters and from 273 to 306 according to Geoffrey Keating .

He had achieved the crown by hiring his predecessor Fothad Cairpthech ("Fothard the Chariot Fighter"), the son of Lugaid mac Con, with the help of Fianna - a group of independent warriors typical of the legendary Ireland of the time who hired themselves out as mercenaries - defeated in the battle of Ollarba. He himself fell in a battle against his nephews, the "Three Collas".

Statue of Saint Helena in St. Peter's Church in Rome, according to Irish tradition the aunt of King Muiredach Tirach

According to the traditional chronicles, Muiredach's mother was Aeoifa, a daughter of the British King Coel Hen ("Coel the Old") of Colchester . Her sisters would have been Oriuna, the wife of Marcus Aurelius Carausius - a Roman general who ruled as anti-emperor from 287 to 296 in Britain and northern Gaul - and Helena , the wife of the Roman emperor Constantius Chlorus (Augustus from 305 to 306) .

Muiredach Tirech would have been a nephew of Saint Helena and a first cousin of her son, Emperor Constantine the Great Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. Although this traditional identification with the Empress Helena occurs in the "British Chronicles" and in the 12th century in the "Historia Anglorum" (History of the English) by the English historian Henry of Huntington (* around 1088, † around 1157), mentioned and by Geoffrey von Monmouth († 1154) in his work " Historia Regum Britanniae " (History of the Kings of Britain), it probably has no historical basis.

Even so, there are no fewer than 25 fountains in the UK dedicated to Saint Helena, who is also the patron saint of the parish church of Abingdon-on-Thames (built around 1100) and the city of Colchester .

Life

Early years

Nothing is known about the youth of Muiredach Tirech mac Fiacha. He probably grew up at his father's court in Tara, where he was trained for the succession to the throne.

Details about his later life can be found in the work Foras feasa ar Éirinn (History of Ireland) by Geoffrey Keating .

According to the Lebor Gabála Érenn , the “Book of the Conquest of Ireland”, which was probably created in the 9th century, he served his father as a general since the king himself was not allowed to go into battle.

Fight against the three collas

One day when Muiredach and his troops made an incursion into the Kingdom of Munster , his cousins, the three sons of his uncle Eochaid Doimlén, Colla Uais, Colla Fo Chri and Colla Menn, called the "Three Collas", attacked his father King Fiacha. Before the battle, he asked a druid about the outcome of the battle, who prophesied that the victor would be the real loser, as none of his descendants would ever wear the crown of Ireland.

The battle of Dubhchomar took place at Crioch Rois in the plain of Brega (now north of Dublin in County Meath ). King Fiacha fell in battle, knowing that his death would secure the crown of Ireland for his descendants. After the victory of the Three Collas, the eldest of the three brothers, Colla Uais, usurped the throne and, according to the Chronicle of the Four Masters, ruled from 323 to 327 as High King of Ireland.

High King of Ireland

However, Muiredach finally succeeded in 327 (AFM) to drive out the Drei Collas and to take over the crown himself and then ruled from 310 to 343 according to AFM.

The Three Collas were exiled to Scotland , where their mother Ailech, a daughter of King Udhaire, lived. The three brothers knew about the Druid's prophecy and therefore wanted to secure the Crown of Ireland for their descendants - even at the cost of their lives. So they moved to Ireland with a small troop of warriors, which their mother had put at their disposal, and tried to provoke King Muiredach by mocking and insulting them so that he would kill them in anger, in order to give their descendants the crown of Ireland to back up.

But Muiredach also knew the prophecy and therefore avoided the fight, even though they had killed his father, and took her into his service.

After a few years, Muiredach decided that his cousins, the Three Collas, should have their own empire and sent them out with an army to fight the kings of Ulster . They fought seven battles in a week at Achadh Leithdeirig and finally killed Fergus Foga, King of Ulster, in the seventh battle. They then conquered Emain Macha , the legendary capital of the Kingdom of Ulster, and burned it down so thoroughly that the city was subsequently abandoned. Then they took over large parts of the territory of the Kingdom of Ulster and founded the Kingdom of Airgíalla (Anglicised Oriel ), which played a role for a thousand years and was ruled by their descendants, which split into numerous sub-lines.

Death and succession

Muiredach Tirech died after thirty years of reign when he was killed at Portrigh by Cealbhadh mac Crunn, the King of the Ulaid (of Ulster). According to Geoffrey Keating (FFE), this took place in 343. He was followed as High King of Ireland by Cáelbad mac Cronn who ruled for only one year from 343 to 344 (FFE) or from 356 to 357 (AFM).

Marriage and offspring

According to the Irish Chronicles, he was married to Muirenn, a daughter of Fiachrae.

Son:

  • Eochaid Mugmedón , High King of Ireland from 357 to 365 (AFM) or from 344 to 351 (FFE), ∞ I. Mongfind (fair hair), a sister of Crimthann mac Fidaig, King of Munster, ∞ II. (Marriage or relationship) Cairenn Chasdub (Cairenn the Black Curly)

Grandchildren (among others):

  • Niall Noigiallach (Niall of the nine hostages), progenitor of the O'Neills dynasty ( Irish for "descendants of Niall") which dominated Ireland until the tenth century.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The dating of the legendary Irish kings is based on two sources, the Annals of the Four Masters ( Annals of the Four Masters ) (AFM), or on the Foras ar Éirinn Feasa (Irish history) (FFE) by Geoffrey Keating († 1644)
  2. ^ Francis J. Byrne "Irish Kings and High-Kings" Appendix II Genealogical Tables, Plate 1 Connachta and Uí Néill
  3. ↑ History of Ireland Foras feasa ar Éirinn , Chapter 47 XLVII, page 357 by Geoffrey Keating [1]
  4. ↑ Annals of the Four Masters [2]
  5. ↑ David Hughes, "British Chronicles" Volume 1, page 123 [3]
  6. ↑ David Hughes, op.cit, p. 122
  7. ^ Henry of Huntingdon, Historia Anglorum , Book I , ch. 37.
  8. ↑ See Wikipedia in English, article Helena (Empress)
  9. ↑ Geoffrey Keating Foras feasa ar Éirinn 1st volume, chapter 47 [4]
  10. ^ RA Stewart MacAlister (ed. & Trans.), Lebor Gabála ÉrennPart V, Irish Texts Society, 1956, p. 345-347
  11. ↑ Annals of the four masters 322.1 for the year 322
  12. ↑ Foras feasa ar Éirinn, page 124 [5]
  13. ↑ Annals of the four Masters 327.2 to the year 327
  14. ↑ Annals of the four masters M331.2 for the year 331
  15. ↑ Annals of the Four Masters (AFM) M356.1 for the year 356

swell

literature

  • Francis J. Byrne: Irish Kings and High-Kings. Four Courts Press, Dublin 1973/2001, ISBN 1-85182-552-5
  • John Morris: The Age OF Arthur; A History of the British Isles from 350 to 650. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London 1973/1989, ISBN 0-297-17601-3
  • Charles-Edwards, TM (2000): Early Christian Ireland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-36395-0
  • Daniel P. McCarthy: The Chronology of the Irish Annals.
  • TF O'Rahilly: Early Irish History and Mythology. 1946
  • Daniel P. McCarthy: The Chronology of the Irish Annals

See also

predecessor Office successor
Colla Uais Hochkönig von Ireland
319-342 (FFE) or 326-356 (AFM); 344-351 		Cáelbad
personal data
SURNAME Muiredach Tirech
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Muiredach Tirech mac Fiacha; Muiredach mac Fiacha
BRIEF DESCRIPTION High King of Ireland
DATE OF BIRTH 4th century
DATE OF DEATH 343 or 356