Sliab Cua596 CE
The surviving annals for 596 CE record a small cluster of notices rather than a full narrative. Annals of Ulster place battles, killings, and deaths under its heading for AD 596, while other annals often assign overlapping material to nearby years or preserve alternate wording. Annals of Tigernach, the Annals of the Four Masters, and the Annals of Inisfallen each provide parallel entries that help identify what is securely dated and what is only adjacent context. This summary compares only notices explicitly attached to the year, keeping the wording and placement of each source separate and avoiding any reconstruction beyond the texts themselves.
Dateline
Ulster Record
In the Annals of Ulster, the notice headed U597.0 gives Kalends of January, third feria, seventh of the moon, and AD 596. Under that heading, U597.1 records the killing of Cumascach son of Éd by Brandub son of Eochu in Dún Buchat, U597.2 records the battle of Sliab Cua in the territories of Mumu in which Fiachna son of Baetán was victor, and U597.3 records the death of Tipraite son of Calgach. These are the entries directly attached to the year heading in that source. [1]
The same annal also places a notice immediately before the AD 596 heading and a notice immediately after it. U596.1 names the battle of Ráith in Druad, U596.2 names the battle of Ard Sendaim, U596.3 records the slaying of Aedán's sons Bran and Domangart, and U596.4 records the battle of Corann. These entries are not headed AD 596 in the text shown, so they stand as adjacent context rather than as notices secured under the year itself. [1]
Tigernach Witness
The Annals of Tigernach place under T596.0 the heading K. i., and then record T596.1 as the rest of Baithín, abbot of Iona, in the sixty-sixth year of his age. T596.2 records the battle of Dún Bolg gained by Brandub son of Eochaid with the Leinstermen on the fourth of the Ides of January, where Aodh son of Ainmire, king of Ireland, fell in the nineteenth year of his reign and the sixty-sixth of his age. [2]
This source differs from the Annals of Ulster in presentation while preserving the same broad cluster of material. Where the Ulster text under AD 596 has battles and the slaying of Aedán's sons, Tigernach under its year heading includes Baithín's death, Dún Bolg, and the joint beginning of rule. That comparison is visible from the texts, but no reconciliation is needed because the notices are separated in the manuscripts as printed here. [1] [2]
Masters Account
The Annals of the Four Masters give M596.0 as The Age of Christ, 596, and M596.1 as the second year of Aedh Slaine and of Colman. Within that entry group, M596.2 records the death of St. Sinche of Cluain Leththeangadh on the ninth day of November, and M596.3 records that Suibhne, son of Colman Beg, Lord of Meath, was slain by Aedh Slaine at Bridamh. These notices are explicitly attached to the printed year 596 in that annal. [3]
The same compilation places related material around this year as well. M595.1 gives the first year of Aedh Slaine and Colman in the sovereignty of Ireland, while M597.2 records the sword blows of Bran Dubh in Breagh, M597.4 records the battle of Sleamhain fought by Colman Rimidh against Conall Cu, and M597.5 records the battle of Cuil Cael. Those entries show that the book arranges nearby material across surrounding years, rather than only inside a single annual cluster. [3]
Inisfallen Parallel
The Annals of Inisfallen do not present a separate notice for 596 in the excerpt shown, but they do preserve parallel material marked by cross-reference. AI598.1 records the battle of Ráith in Druad and the battle of Ard Sendaim, with the Uí Fhinn put to flight and the Araid as victors, and it is annotated [AU 596]. This is a direct correspondence in the printed apparatus, not an independent year heading in the excerpt itself. [4]
The same pattern appears in adjacent years. AI597.1 records the repose of Colum Cille on Sunday night on the fifth of the Ides, 9th of June, in the 35th year of his exile and in the 76th of his age, with cross-references [AU 595, 601]. AI596.1 records the slaying of Senchán son of Colmán Mór with [CS 593], and AI596.2 records the birth of Cuimíne the Tall with [AU 592]. These entries show that Inisfallen's excerpted apparatus links notices across years rather than confining them to 596. [4]
Year Limits
Across these annals, the securely dated evidence for 596 is limited to notices that are explicitly printed under a year heading or explicitly cross-referenced to that year. Ulster places the battle cluster under AD 596; Tigernach places Baithín, Dún Bolg, and the start of joint rule under T596; and the Four Masters place Sinche and Suibhne under M596. Inisfallen supplies parallels with [AU 596] rather than a separate standalone year entry in the excerpt shown. [1] [2] [3] [4]
What is not present in these excerpts is also limited. No excerpt here offers a continuous narrative for Ireland in 596, and none of them fills the year with a full sequence of linked events. Instead, each source preserves short notices of battle, slaying, death, or repose, with the wording and placement varying from annal to annal. That variation is observable in the entries themselves, and it does not require further explanation beyond the texts shown. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Comparative Reading
Read together, the notices show overlapping interest in deaths and military action around 596, but they do not line up in identical form. Ulster names Cumascach, Fiachna son of Baetán, and Tipraite; Tigernach names Baithín, Aodh son of Ainmire, and the beginning of rule by Colmán Rimedha and Aodh Sláine; the Four Masters name Sinche and Suibhne. These are separate textual presentations, and the differences are visible in the wording and placement of each notice. [1] [2] [3]
The evidence therefore supports a careful description rather than a single reconstructed event list. For 596, the record consists of brief notices, some certain to the year by heading and some nearby or cross-referenced in parallel annals. The surviving excerpts allow comparison between sources, but they do not justify adding omitted events, motives, or a larger historical interpretation that is not explicit in the texts. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Source References
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