Fiachna’s Victory590 CE
The annals preserved in the retrieved excerpts do not present a single uniform record for 590 CE. Some notices are placed under headings explicitly marked 590, while others appear under adjacent annal years whose printed headings correspond to 589 or 591. Within the notices that can be read directly, the year includes battle reports, a death notice for Feidlimid son of Tigernach, and an eclipse or dark morning. Other sources for the same calendar year supply parallel but not identical entries, including a battle in Mag Ochtair, a battle in Eadan Mor, and a death notice for Seanchan son of Colman Mor. The excerpts also preserve variant wording across the annals.
Dateline
Year Headings
Around 590, the annals preserve the notices under their own internal year labels rather than in a single shared chronology. In the Annals of Ulster, U590.0 is printed beneath the heading AD 589, and U591.0 appears beneath AD 590. Tigernach, the Four Masters, and Chronicon Scotorum likewise keep their own year blocks, so the notices for this period must be read within each work’s sequence and heading system, not as one uniform modern dating scheme. [1] [2] [3] [5]
The Annals of Inisfallen excerpt places several notices in sequence under AI590 and AI591. AI590.1 records great snow, and AI590.2 records the battle of Mag Óchtair [gained] over Mumu. AI591.1 then gives great drought this year. The excerpt preserves those notices side by side in the order of the annal, but it does not provide any further statement linking them into a continuous narrative or explaining a broader pattern. [4]
Battle Notices
Battle notices are preserved in more than one annal, but each text keeps its own wording. The Four Masters record the battle of Eadan Mor as won by Fiachna, son of Baedan, son of Cairell, son of Muireadhach Muindearg, over Gerthidhe, son of Ronan, lord of Cianachta. Tigernach records the battle of Eudunn Mór, where Gerthide, son of Rónán, king of Cianacht, fell and Fiachna son of Baetán was victor. The excerpts do not explicitly identify these as the same notice. [3] [2]
Ulster places two battle notices in the U590 block: U590.2 says the battle of Lethreid was won by Aedán son of Gabrán, and U590.3 says the battle of Mag Ochtair was won by Brandub son of Eochu over the Uí Néill. Inisfallen also places a battle of Mag Óchtair under AI590.2. The wording and placement differ from work to work, so the notices should remain separate rather than merged into one statement. [1] [4]
Deaths Recorded
Death notices remain tied to their own annal placements. In the Annals of Ulster, U590.1 records the death of Feidlimid son of Tigernach, king of Mumu. Tigernach places a similar notice at T588.1 for Feidhlimidh son of Tighernach, king of Munster. The Four Masters excerpt, however, gives a different death notice at M591.2 for Aedh Cerr, son of Colman, son of Cairbre, king of Leinster, and that entry should not be combined with Feidlimid’s death. [1] [2] [3]
Other death notices appear close to this cluster of years, but they belong to separate annal entries. Tigernach records Aodh son of Fogarthach, king of Connacht, at T589.2. The Four Masters place Aedh Cerr, son of Colman, son of Cairbre, king of Leinster, at M591.2. These are distinct notices in distinct annals and years, and the excerpts do not provide grounds for folding them into one 590 entry. [2] [3]
Weather Notices
The weather notices are also distributed across separate annals and year labels. Ulster records a very hot and dry summer at U589.3, then an eclipse of the sun, described as a dark morning, at U591.1 under the heading AD 590. Chronicon Scotorum also has an eclipse notice at CS591. The excerpts show similar wording, but they do not align the notices under one shared year heading or explain them as a single sequence. [1] [5]
Inisfallen places two weather notices in adjacent annal blocks. AI590.1 gives great snow, and AI591.1 gives great drought this year. The excerpt presents them in sequence, but only as separate annal entries. It does not supply any explanation of a broader weather cycle, so the notices should be read as individual records within the annal’s own ordering. [4]
Parallel Texts
The battle is attested in parallel annal forms, but each text preserves its own wording. The Four Masters record the battle of Eadan Mor, saying that Fiachna son of Baedan, son of Cairell, son of Muireadhach Muindearg gained it over Gerthidhe son of Ronan, lord of Cianachta. Tigernach records the battle of Eudunn Mór, where Gerthide son of Rónán fell and Fiachna son of Baetán was victor. The excerpts do not merge these into a single narrative form. [3] [2]
The parallel notices also differ in placement and wording. Ulster records Feidlimid son of Tigernach, king of Mumu, at U590.1, while Inisfallen places the corresponding notice at AI593.1 and calls him king of Caisel. Ulster’s battle notice says Mag Ochtair was won by Brandub son of Eochu over the Uí Néill, whereas Inisfallen gives AI590.2 as the battle of Mag Óchtair [gained] over Mumu. The excerpts keep these entries separate. [1] [4]
Source Limits
Within the retrieved passages, the early 590s are not a blank stretch. They contain battle notices, death notices, and weather notices, but the material is spread across different annals and different year labels. The excerpts therefore require reconstruction from overlapping entries, each read in its own place, rather than from any single combined narrative that gathers all these notices together. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
The excerpts support overlap in the early 590s, but they keep individual notices distinct. They place the death of Feidlimid son of Tigernach in U590.1, CS590, and AI593.1; the battle of Mag Ochtair in U590.3 and AI590.2; and an eclipse or dark morning in U591.1 and CS591. Those entries remain separate in the texts, and the excerpts do not justify adding the battle of Eadan or Eudunn Mór to source 5. [1] [4] [5]
Source References
Hover over a number to see the source. Select it to open the source.
