Kings, Pilgrims and Relics
The events firmly assigned to 1034 come principally from the Annals of Ulster, Annals of Inisfallen, Annals of Tigernach and the later Annals of the Four Masters. These chronicles sometimes disagree over titles, circumstances and even the identities of participants. Their notices are also highly selective. Kings, abbots, scholars, relics and military expeditions appear; ordinary births, marriages, harvests and local exchanges generally do not. A responsible account must therefore distinguish the year’s recorded events from the broader conditions under which most people lived.