Scandinavian history in the Viking age - Department of Anglo-Saxon ...
Scandinavian history in the Viking age - Department of Anglo-Saxon ...
Scandinavian history in the Viking age - Department of Anglo-Saxon ...
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<strong>Scand<strong>in</strong>avian</strong> History <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Vik<strong>in</strong>g Age<br />
Annals<br />
The annals <strong>of</strong> Ireland, most <strong>of</strong> which are preserved <strong>in</strong> manuscripts no older than <strong>the</strong> late mediaeval<br />
period, are <strong>the</strong> most comprehensive source; for guidance with<strong>in</strong> this tricky body <strong>of</strong> material, see:<br />
[B130] G. Mac Niocaill, The medieval Irish annals, Medieval Irish <strong>history</strong> series 3 (1975) [UL<br />
Uc.7.6398]; K. Grabowski and D. Dumville, Chronicles and annals <strong>of</strong> mediaeval Ireland and Wales: <strong>the</strong><br />
Clonmacnoise-group texts, Studies <strong>in</strong> Celtic <strong>history</strong> 4 (1984) [UL 541:12.c.95.57]; cf. also (B122), ch. 4:<br />
‘The annals’<br />
Ireland<br />
For <strong>the</strong> early Vik<strong>in</strong>g <strong>age</strong> at least most <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> various recensions <strong>of</strong> annals are closely <strong>in</strong>terrelated, and<br />
seem to betray <strong>the</strong> existence <strong>of</strong> an earlier ur-chronicle, <strong>of</strong>ten called <strong>the</strong> ‘Chronicle <strong>of</strong> Ireland’.<br />
[B131] Ulster. Text and transl.: W.M. Hennessy and B. Mac Carthy, Annala Uladh: annals <strong>of</strong> Ulster,<br />
o<strong>the</strong>rwise, Annala Senait: annals <strong>of</strong> Senat; a chronicle <strong>of</strong> Irish affairs A.D. 431-1131, 1155-1541, 4 vols<br />
(1887-1901) [UL OP.11.24-27]; S. Mac Airt and G. Mac Niocaill, The annals <strong>of</strong> Ulster (to A.D. 1131)<br />
(1983) [UL 488:3.c.95.35] (lacks discussion or <strong>in</strong>dex)<br />
[B132] Clonmacnoise. These annals only survive <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> form <strong>of</strong> an English translation made <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> early<br />
seventeenth century. Text: D. Murphy, The annals <strong>of</strong> Clonmacnoise, be<strong>in</strong>g annals <strong>of</strong> Ireland from <strong>the</strong><br />
earliest period to A.D. 1408, translated <strong>in</strong>to English A.D. 1627 by Conell M<strong>age</strong>oghagan (1896; repr.<br />
1993) [UL S488:01.b.1.10; repr. 1994.8.1078]<br />
[B133] Tigernach. Text and transl.: W. Stokes, ‘The annals <strong>of</strong> Tigernach: <strong>the</strong> fourth fragment, A.D. 973-<br />
A.D. 1088’, Revue Celtique 17 (1896), 337-420, repr. along with o<strong>the</strong>r fragments as The annals <strong>of</strong><br />
Tigernach (1993), 229-312 [UL 9001.d.4768-69]<br />
[B134] Chronicon Scotorum. Text and transl.: W.M. Hennessy, Chronicon Scotorum: a chronicle <strong>of</strong><br />
Irish affairs, RS 46 (1866) [UL R542.30.46]<br />
[B135] Inisfallen. Text and transl.: S. Mac Airt, The annals <strong>of</strong> Inisfallen (MS. Rawl<strong>in</strong>son B.503) (1951)<br />
[UL 733:3.c.95.2]<br />
A large amount <strong>of</strong> material is preserved <strong>in</strong> various compilations from <strong>the</strong> early modern period that seem<br />
to have been based on older sources, some <strong>of</strong> which are now lost.<br />
[B136] The work <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Four masters is among <strong>the</strong> most comprehensive, put toge<strong>the</strong>r <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> 1630s by<br />
four clerics from Donegal. Text and transl.: J. O’Donovan, Annala rioghachta Eireann: annals <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
k<strong>in</strong>gdom <strong>of</strong> Ireland, by <strong>the</strong> Four Masters, from <strong>the</strong> earliest period to <strong>the</strong> year 1616, 7 vols, 2nd edn<br />
(1856) [UL Acton.b.25.223-29]<br />
[B137] The seventeenth-century scholar Duald Mac Firbis left a number <strong>of</strong> useful texts, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g some<br />
fragments <strong>of</strong> annals copied from older documents which provide some <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g observations on early<br />
Norwegian and Orcadian <strong>history</strong> <strong>in</strong> particular. Text and transl.: J. O’Donovan, Annals <strong>of</strong> Ireland: three<br />
fragments copied from ancient sources by Dubhaltach mac Firbisigh (1860) [UL S488:01.c.1.19]; J.N.<br />
Radner, Fragmentary annals <strong>of</strong> Ireland (1978) [UL 554:6.c.95.5]. For background and commentary, see<br />
also: N. Ó Muraile, The celebrated antiquary Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh (c. 1600-1671): his l<strong>in</strong>e<strong>age</strong>,<br />
life and learn<strong>in</strong>g, Maynooth monographs 6 (1996) [UL 488:16.b.95.28]<br />
Scotland<br />
Scottish annals and genealogies are far less copious than <strong>the</strong> Irish ones, and <strong>of</strong>ten <strong>in</strong>terrelated textually;<br />
see (B120) for an anthology <strong>in</strong> translation. For a collection <strong>of</strong> early chronicles, regnal lists, and much else<br />
besides, see:<br />
[B140] Text: W.F. Skene, Chronicles <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Picts, Chronicles <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Scots, and o<strong>the</strong>r early memorials <strong>of</strong><br />
Scottish <strong>history</strong> (1867) [UL OP.6.24]. For more recent discussion and some newly edited versions <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
texts, see M.O. Anderson, K<strong>in</strong>gs and k<strong>in</strong>gship <strong>in</strong> early Scotland (1973; rev. edn 1980) [UL 550:1.c.95.6;<br />
rev. edn 550:1.c.95.8]<br />
Wales<br />
[B145] The title Annales Cambriæ reflects various mediaeval Welsh annals. Text: J. Williams ab I<strong>the</strong>l,<br />
Annales Cambriæ, RS 20 (1860; repr. 1965) [UL R542.30.20]. For <strong>the</strong> oldest versions cover<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> years<br />
up to 954, see: E. Phillimore, ‘The Annales Cambriæ and Old-Welsh genealogies from Harleian MS.<br />
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