Everything about Diarmait Mac Cerbaill totally explained
Diarmait mac Cerbaill (died c. 565) was
King of Tara or
High King of Ireland. According to traditions, he was the last High King to follow the
pagan rituals of inauguration, the
ban-feis or marriage to goddess of the land.
While many later stories were attached to Diarmait, he was a historical ruler and his descendants were of great significance in Medieval Ireland.
Sources
Ireland in the 6th century
Rise of the
Uí Néill.
Grandsons of Neill, tribe of Conn
According to later writings, Diarmait was the son of Fergus Cerrbél, son of
Conall Cremthainne, son of
Niall of the Nine Hostages. As a great-grandson of Niall, he and his descendants were counted among the Uí Néill. The Uí Néill as such, the name means "grandsons of Niall", can only have existed in the time of Niall's grandsons, but its common usage may be later yet as an earlier term
moccu Chuinn is attested as late as the time of Saint
Columba (died
c. 597), a great-grandson of Niall's son
Conall Gulban. This, incorporating the
Primitive Irish language gentilic or
demonym moccu—the masculine term, the feminine is
dercu—indicates membership of the tribe of Conn, presumed to benamed for
Conn of the Hundred Battles, a legendary figure, or perhaps an euhemerised divinity, claimed as the ancester of the
Connachta.
Moccu was later often misread or misunderstood by later writers, for whom gentilic names were alien and
parentelic ones familiar, as a compound of
mac and
ua—son of the grandson of someone—an error likely to have resulted in many later genealogical confusions as members of the same tribe were turned into
cognatic blood relatives.
As for the reality,
Byrne says: "Diarmait's immediate origins are obscure and may arouse some suspicion." He notes that Adomnán calls Diarmait
filius Cerbulis, son of Cerball, and not son of Fergus as the genealogies would have it. The same applies to other hagiographical materials, which again have Diarmait as the son of an otherwise unknown Cerball. Also likely to raise suspicion that Diarmait's genealogy is a later fiction, is the fact that unlike the majority of the Uí Néill, who traced their descent from, and were named for, sons of Niall, Diarmait's descendants were named for his sons."
Diarmait was defeated at the battle of Cúl Dreimne (near Ben Bulben in modern
County Sligo) in 560 or 561. This was the "Battle of the Books", supposedly the result of Diarmait's judgement in a dispute between
Columba and
Finnian of Moville. Columba, it's said, had secretly copied a book beloning to Finnian, and the matter of ownership of the copy had come to be settled by Diarmait, who adjudged in Finnian's favour, reportedly saying "[t]o every cow its calf and to every book its copy." Columba sought support from his kinsmen among the
Cenél Conaill and the
Cenél nEógain of the northern Uí Néill who went to war with Diarmait. This is a late tradition, and annalistic accounts claim that the battle was fought over Diarmait's killing of Diarmait of Curnán, son of
Áed mac Echach (d.575), the
King of Connacht who was under Columba's protection.
Following this defeat, Diarmait lost the battle of Cúil Uinsen to Áed mac Brénainn, king of Tethbae in
Leinster. Diarmait played no part in the great Uí Néill victory of Móin Daire Lothair in 563. He was killed in 565, at Ráith Bec in Mag Line (Moylinny, near
Larne) in
Ulster by
Áed Dub mac Suibni, king of the
cruithne.
According to the later Irish historians, Diarmait was followed as King of Tara by Domnall Ilchegalch and Forguss, sons of Muirchertach mac Ercae, of the Cenél nEógain. More contemporary sources suggest that the Kingship of Tara all but disappeared in the years following Diarmait's death, and that it wasn't until the time of
Domnall mac Áedo, or perhaps of
Fiachnae mac Báetáin, that there was a High King of Ireland again.
Saints and Druids
Adomnán of Iona, writing less than 150 years after Diarmait's death, describes him as "ordained by God's will as king of all Ireland." Given that the annals say that Diarmait celebrated the Feast of Tara, the pagan inauguration ceremony, Adomnán's words represent his view of kingship rather than the reality of Diarmait's life. Most traditions portray Diarmait as in conflict with saints and holy men, notably
Columba. A later poet has Diarmait say "Woe to him that contends with the clergy of the churches".
Aided Diarmata
Supernatural features in Diarmait's reign are not limited to prose and verse works or to lives of saints. Even the
Irish annals include a reference to
druid fences being created at the battle of Cúl Dreimne. The main subject for later writers and poets wasn't Diarmait's life, but his death.
Diarmait was told by
Bec mac Dé that Áed Dub, Diarmait's foster-son, would be his killer. Accordingly, Diarmait banished Áed Dub.
Saint Ruadán gave the prophecy that Diarmait would be killed by the roof-beam of his hall at Tara. Diarmait had the beam cast into the sea. Diarmait then asked his druids to find the manner of his death, and they foretold that he'd die of slaughter, drowning and burning, and that the signs of his death would be a shirt grown from a single seed of flax and a mantle of wool from a single sheep, ale brewed from one seed of corn, and bacon from a sow which had never farrowed. On a circuit of Ireland, Diarmait comes to the hall of Banbán at Ráith Bec, and there the fate of which he was warned comes to pass. The roof beam of Tara has been recovered from the sea by Banbán and set in his hall, the shirt and mantle and ale and bacon are duly produced for Diarmait. Diarmait goes to leave Banbán's hall, but Áed Dub, waiting at the door, strikes him down and sets fire to the hall. Diarmait crawls into an ale vat to escape the flames and is duly killed by the falling roof beam. Thus, all the prophecies are fulfilled.
Like tales are told of Muirchertach mac Ercae and Adomnán records that Columba prophesied a similar death, by wounding, falling and drowning, for Áed Dub.
Descendants
Further Information
Get more info on 'Diarmait Mac Cerbaill'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://diarmait_mac_cerbaill.totallyexplained.com">Diarmait mac Cerbaill Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
