Year Witness610 CE

Dateline

Year Evidence

Under the label CS610, Chronicon Scotorum records the death of Áed son of Colgu, king of Ind Airther, while on pilgrimage at Cluain moccu Nóis. The same entry records the death of Sillán moccu Minn, abbot of Bennchor, and of Aedán, described as the anchorite. It also names Mael Umai son of Baetán among the dead. The entry opens with the words “Kalends fifth feria” and includes a short verse in the notice concerning Áed. These are the named deaths and accompanying details presented within that chronicle entry. ^[2]

The same annalistic sequence also records a disturbance in Bairche. In Tigernach it stands under T609 as the army of Ulaid being struck with a terrible stroke, while the Annals of Ulster place the parallel notice under their AD 610 sequence, where the army of the Ulaid was struck by terrible thunder in Bairche. The witnesses preserve the event itself, but their headings do not give one identical year placement for it. ^{[1] [3]}

Royal Death

Aed Uairidneach, son of Domnall and king of Temair, is named in the royal death notice under Tigernach’s T610 heading. Annals of Tigernach place his death under T610, while Annals of Ulster place the same death under the year heading AD 611 in their internal sequence. The two witnesses agree on the identity and death notice, but their year labels do not align in the same way. That difference must be kept distinct from the event itself. ^{[1] [3]}

The passages give no cause of death, burial place, or succession account. They do not expand the notice into a political narrative, and they do not connect Aed Uairidneach’s death to the other deaths in the year. What they do securely preserve is a named king’s death in the annal sequence, together with the fact that one chronicle’s year-numbering places it differently from another. ^{[1] [3]}

Battle Notice

Tigernach places the battle of Odba under T610.2, while Chronicon Scotorum places it under CS612. These are different chronological headings. Annals of Tigernach say it was fought by Aongus son of Colmán and that Conall Laegh Breagh son of Aed Sláine fell there. Chronicon Scotorum gives the same battle with Aengus son of Colmán as victor and Conall Laeg Breg son of Aed Sláine as the fallen man. The agreement is in the event and the named casualty, not in spelling. ^{[1] [2]}

The battle of Odba is also preserved, but the witnesses attach it to different year headings. Tigernach places it under T610, the Chronicon Scotorum under CS612, and the Annals of Ulster under U612.2 in their AD 611 sequence. All three notice Aengus son of Colmán and the death of Conall Laeg Breg son of Aed Sláine, yet the chronology remains explicit because the annalistic placements are not identical. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Church Deaths

The ecclesiastical deaths of Sillán and Aedán also appear in more than one annal, but not under a single uniform year heading. Tigernach places the deaths of Sillán son of Cumaine, abbot of Bennchor, and Aedán the anchorite under T608.2, while the Annals of Ulster record Sillán moccu Minn, Aedán anchorite of Bennchor, and Mael Umai son of Baetán under U610.2. Chronicon Scotorum gives the same pair of deaths with its own wording. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Other church notices in this sequence are brief and remain tied to their own annal headings. In Annals of Ulster, Senach from Cluain Uaingrighe, abbot of Ard Macha, is recorded under U610.3, in the entry headed AD 609. Finntan of Aentrab appears later, under the internal headings U613 and CS613; the Ulster heading also explicitly prints AD 612, as a repose notice for the abbot of Bennchor. These entries preserve deaths and rests, with place names where given, but no wider narrative. ^{[3] [2]}

Regional Strikes

A notice of violence against the army of the Ulaid in Bairche belongs in the same annalistic cluster, but the witnesses do not assign it to one shared year. Tigernach places the entry under T609.1, saying an army of Ulaid in Bairche was struck with a terrible stroke, whereas the Annals of Ulster place the parallel wording under U611.1, where the army of the Ulaid was struck by terrible thunder in Bairche. The event is the same, but the headings differ. ^{[1] [3]}

A separate notice in Annals of Ulster records the death of Aed son of Colgu, king of Ind Airthir. Chronicon Scotorum expands that entry by adding that he died on pilgrimage in Cluain moccu Nóis and by preserving the accompanying verse. Annals of Tigernach should not be folded into the same identification: in its T610 heading it names Aod Uairidhnach son of Domnall, king of Tara, rather than Aed son of Colgu. ^{[3] [2] [1]}

Limited Record

Taken together, the surviving excerpts show several notices in adjacent annalistic headings rather than a single secure 610 grouping. Tigernach places some entries under T609 and T610, the Annals of Ulster distribute related notices across U610 and U611, and Chronicon Scotorum uses CS610 and CS612 for comparable material. The overlap confirms particular deaths and battles, but the differing year headings prevent a blanket statement that all of them belong to one year. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

These entries therefore cannot all be assigned securely to 610 CE. Tigernach records Aod Uairidhnach’s death under T610.1, whereas Chronicon Scotorum places Aed Uairidneach’s death under CS612 and Ulster places Aed Allán’s death under U612.1, headed AD 611. The Bairche notice is different again: Ulster prints AD 610 above U611.1, while Tigernach records its parallel under T609.1. Retaining those individual labels distinguishes the printed dates from an assumed common chronology. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Source References

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^{[1] [2] [3]}

1. ^[1] Part 7 of The Annals of Tigernach
2. ^[2] Chronicon Scotorum
3. ^[3] The Annals of Ulster