Aedh Reign577 CE
The year 577 CE is marked in the Irish annals by a small cluster of notices rather than a single dominating event. The Annals of Ulster place the year under AD 576 and include the battle of Teloch, the beginning of Tiberius Constantinus’s reign, the repose of Brénainn of Cluain Ferta, a killing by the Uí Briúin, and a notice on the first expedition of the Ulaid to Man. The Annals of Tigernach and the Annals of the Four Masters preserve overlapping but not identical accounts. Their variations show how the same year could be arranged differently.
Dateline
Year Dating
The surviving notices for this period must be read through each annal’s own dating scheme. In the Annals of Ulster, the group that includes the 577 material is headed U577.0 with Kalends of January, sixth feria, twenty-sixth of the moon, followed by AD 576 before the entries themselves. The same source later places a different cluster under U578.0 with AD 577. These headings show that the printed AD label and the annal identifier are not interchangeable. [1]
The Annals of Tigernach and the Annals of the Four Masters both place this material under Annal T577 and Annal M577, but they format the headings differently. Tigernach gives Annal T577 with K. ui and brief entries, while the Four Masters gives Annal M577 with The Age of Christ, 577 and The tenth year of Aedh. These are the forms preserved in the texts; they do not by themselves require the notices to be reduced to a single uniform chronology. [2] [3]
Ulster Witness
In the Annals of Ulster, U577 begins with the battle of Teloch, a notice on the reign of Tiberius Constantinus, and the repose of Brénainn of Cluain Ferta. It then records the killing of Aed son of Eochu Tirmcharna by the Uí Briúin, and the first expedition of the Ulaid to Man(?). The source also adds an alternative line, saying that Fergus son of Néilline may instead be the person killed in this position. [1]
The same Ulster entry set contains a further alternative for the killing notice, and the wording leaves the man named in doubt. It says that Aenu, abbot of Cluain Moccu Nóis, Íte of Cluain Credail, and Gildas died. Those deaths are attached to the same annal item, but the excerpt does not make them part of the securely dated 577 cluster alone; they are part of the form in which the notice survives in this compilation. [1]
Tigernach Account
The Annals of Tigernach attach a shorter set of notices to Annal T577. They record the repose of bishop Uinnian moccu Fiatach, the death of Benedict the Roman after four years, one month, and 29 days, the death of Cairpre son of Crimthain king of Munster, and the succession of Feargus Scandal. The sequence differs from Ulster’s arrangement, but it clearly belongs to the year-label T577 in this annal. [2]
Tigernach places the battle of Druim mac Earca in the next annal, T578, where Aodh son of Ainmire is the victor and Colgo son of Domhnall son of Muircheartach falls. It also places the death of Cennfhaeladh king of the Picts there. Because these notices sit under T578 rather than T577, they should not be moved back into the 577 dossier even though they are close in sequence. [2]
Masters Record
The Four Masters also preserve material under the year 577, and their list is more explicit about named deaths. M577 records the death of St. Ethchen, bishop of Cluain Foda Baetain Abha, on 11 February; St. Caireach Deargain of Cluain Boireann on 9 February; and Feidhlimidh Finn, abbot of Ard Macha. These are the only notices in the excerpted 577 cluster from this source, and the text gives no battle entry there. [3]
The Four Masters separately place the battle of Druim Mic Earca in 579, where Aedh son of Ainmire wins over the Cinel Eogain and Colga son of Domhnall son of Muircheartach is slain. Because that battle is dated to 579 in this compilation, it should be treated as a separate notice, not as a 577 event. The source’s internal dating differs from Tigernach’s placement. [3]
Shared Patterns
Across these compilations, the year-cluster associated with 577 contains deaths of clerics, a battle notice, and notices involving kingship or succession. The Annals of Ulster include the battle of Teloch, a reign beginning, and a killing with an alternative identification; Tigernach lists the death of a bishop, Benedict’s burial detail, and the death and succession of a Munster king; the Four Masters list clerical deaths under the same year-label. The sources therefore overlap in type but not in exact content. [1] [2] [3]
The evidence also shows that the same event-name can recur with different placements. Druim mac Earca appears in Tigernach under T578 and in the Four Masters under 579, while the Ulster excerpt places the battle of Teloch in U577 and repeats it again under the previous year’s continuation. Those differences are visible in the texts themselves and should be noted without forcing a single reconciled chronology. [1] [2] [3]
Contextual Limits
The retrieved excerpts do not offer a full annal for every Irish region in 577, and they should not be treated as complete coverage of the year. They do, however, provide enough material to identify what each compilation actually places near that year-label: deaths of churchmen, one or more battles, and notices of royal succession or killing. The safest conclusion is limited to what the texts explicitly record. [1] [2] [3]
CELT describes annal texts as divided into years and single entries within a year, with headings marked separately from annual divisions. In the Annals of Tigernach, the 577 entry begins “Annal T577. T577.0 K. ui.”; in the Four Masters, the 577 entry begins “Annal M577. M577.0 The Age of Christ, 577.” [4] [2] [3]
Source References
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