Colmán Rímid602 CE
Entries clustered around AD 602 in the Annals of Ulster, Annals of Tigernach, and Annals of Inisfallen record several battles, killings, and deaths, but they do so with different wording, ordering, and cross-references. The Ulster text places the battle of Echros and the battle of Sliab Cua under AD 602, while Tigernach and Inisfallen distribute related notices across different annal years. Tigernach also preserves a sequence of killings involving Colmán Rímid, Aed Sláine, and Aed Rón. Inisfallen compresses these events into later annal entries and adds explicit cross-references to earlier notices.
Dateline
Ulster Record
In the Annals of Ulster, the material placed under U603.0 begins with the printed heading AD 602 and then gives several notices for that annal year. U603.1 records the repose of Finntan moccu Echdach, U603.2 places the battle of Echros in Muiresc between Cenél Cairpri and Uí Fhiachrach Muirsce, and U603.4 notes the rest of Sinell, bishop of Mag Bili. U603.5 then gives the battle of Sliab Cua in Mumu. [2]
The same annal sequence also places U602.1 to U602.5 under the printed heading AD 601, showing that the Ulster text separates the battle of Slemain, the battle of Cúil Caíl, the death of Uatu son of Aed, and the battle of Echros from the notices under AD 602. U602.2 names Colmán Rímid as victor at Slemain, while U602.3 states that Fiachna son of Demán took flight at Cúil Caíl and that Fiachna son of Báetán was victor. [2]
Tigernach Record
The Annals of Tigernach place Annal T602 under the heading K. ii. and then record a series of deaths and killings. T602.1 describes the killing of Colmán Rímid by Lochan Dilmana, a man of his race. T602.2 follows with the murder of Aod Sláine by Conall son of Suibne on the shore of Lough Sewdy, and T602.3 adds the murder of Aod Rón, king of Offaly, together with Aod the Yellow, king of Uí Maine and Teffia, by the same Conall in the same day. [1]
The same Tigernach notice continues with T602.4, the death of Conall Cú son of Aodh, and T602.5, the birth of Cú cen Máthair, king of Munster. T602.6 and T602.7 then add memorial notices for Colmán son of Lénín and Laisrén of Min Drochaid. The sequence is compact and consecutive in the manuscript order, without any inserted battle notices in this annal unit. [1]
Inisfallen Record
In the Annals of Inisfallen, the notices are distributed differently. AI605.1 places the repose of Comgall of Bennchor under the cross-reference [AU 602]. AI605.2 gives the battle of Cúil Caíl, and AI605.3 the battle of Slemain gained by Colmán Rímid, with Conall escaping; both carry the cross-reference [AU 601, 602]. AI605.4 then records the battle of Echros with the cross-reference [AU 602, 603]. [3]
A later Inisfallen notice, AI607.1, gathers the slaying of Aed Sláine, Aed Rón, and Aed Buide together and adds a verse notice beginning with the phrase translated in the edition. AI607.2 then states that the son of Colmán Rímid and Conchenn his mother died, with the cross-reference [AU 604]. The sequence shows that Inisfallen often compresses related events into single later annal entries rather than reproducing the Ulster placement line by line. [3]
Crossed Dating
The three texts do not arrange the same material in the same place. Ulster puts the battle of Echros and the battle of Sliab Cua under the heading AD 602 in U603.2 and U603.5. Tigernach places a battle of Echross under Annal T602 and then, in T603.2, gives the battle of Slabra. Inisfallen, by contrast, links the battle of Cúil Caíl, the battle of Slemain, and the battle of Echros to cross-references rather than to a single year heading in the same way. [2] [1] [3]
The entries also differ in which named people they emphasise. Ulster’s AD 602 sequence names Finntan moccu Echdach and Sinell, bishop of Mag Bili, while Tigernach’s T602 sequence centres on Colmán Rímid, Aod Sláine, and Aod Rón. Inisfallen’s AI605 and AI607 sequences bring those battle and death notices together with explicit references to the Ulster framework. These are direct textual differences, not harmonized versions of one another. [2] [1] [3]
Named Figures
Several notices in these annals focus on named rulers and clerics rather than on long narrative. Tigernach records the killing of Colmán Rímid, the murder of Aod Sláine, and the murder of Aod Rón in T602. Ulster records the death of Uatu son of Aed in U602.4 and the death of Colum Cille in U601.4, while Inisfallen lists the repose of Comgall of Bennchor and the repose of bishop Sinell with cross-references to earlier annals. [1] [2] [3]
The notices also preserve relationships in brief form. Tigernach identifies Lochan Dilmana as Colmán Rímid’s own kin, Conall son of Suibne as the killer of Aod Sláine, and Aod Gustan and Baethgal Bile as those who killed Aod Rón. Ulster names Conall son of Suibne in the slaying of Aed Sláine, and Inisfallen identifies Brandub son of Eochu as king of Laigin when it records his slaying in another later entry. The annals preserve these identifications without extending them into explanation. [1] [2] [3]
Source Pattern
Across the three annals, the shared subject matter for the cluster around 602 is battle, killing, and death notices. The Ulster text is the most explicit about printed headings, giving AD 602 under U603.0 and then listing events in separate numbered items. Tigernach marks Annal T602 with K. ii. and gives consecutive notices, while Inisfallen uses AI605, AI607, and related cross-references to connect the same broad set of notices to earlier annal years. [2] [1] [3]
The surviving entries cited here do not allow a single unified sequence to be imposed on all three books. Instead, they show parallel records that sometimes align in subject, sometimes differ in placement, and sometimes preserve the same event under different wording. For that reason, the safest description of Ireland in 602 is a set of annal notices, not one continuous narrative event. [1] [2] [3]
Source References
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