Index of Names in Irish Annals: Descriptive Bynames: Glenna Madair, Glinne Magair
by Mari Elspeth nic Bryan (Kathleen M. O'Brien)
© 2000-2006 by Kathleen M. O'Brien. All rights reserved.
Version 2.0, updated 08 June 2006
Descriptive Bynames: Glenna Madair, Glinne Magair
Meaning:
"[of] Glenn Magair" (Anglicized "Glanmire" - outside Cork) -
forces came to this location to avenge the death of the person who is referred to by this byname.
Spellings:
What we know as a set of Irish Annals are manuscripts that were each compiled during a
particular time period, usually using older material as sources. For example, when
the Annals of the Four Masters were written from 1632 to 1636, they covered events
that occurred centuries and millenia before (including legendary history). So, when
an entry in this set of annals refers to a person who lived in the year 738, the
spelling used for that person's name is very likely not using the spelling that
would have been used in 738.
Standard forms of this name (based on spelling systems of different periods) would be:
| Middle Irish Gaelic (c900-c1200) genitive form: | Glenna Madair, Glinne Magair |
Frequency & Dates:
| Number of men found in the annals with this name: | 1 |
| Found in Years: | 1114, 1117, 1118, 1134 |
Research Notes:
The online translation for MacCarthaigh's Book (vol. 1) shows how this location is associated with Brían:
MCB1118.1
A.D. 1118. Brian son of Murchadh an Sgeith Ghirr son of Donnchadh son of Brian Bóramha took the kingship of Sliocht Eóghain Mhóir ...
MCB1118.2
... to the east of Cork to meet Brian son of Murchadh, and they fought a battle there in which Brian Gleanna Maidhir son of Murchadh an Sgeith Ghirr [Ó Briain]
fell by the hand of Toirdhealbhach son of Diarmaid son of Tadhg son of Brian Bóramha, who had been driven out by Muircheartach son of Toirdhealbhach [Ó
Briain] and by Brian son of Murchadh, and was with Tadhg son of Muireadhach Mac Carthaigh.
MCB1118.3
Muircheartach son of Toirdhealbhach son of Tadhg son of Brian Bóramha with [the men of] Thomond, Toirdhealbhach son of Ruaidhrí [Ó Conchobhair], king of
Connacht, Murchadh Ó Maoil Sheachlainn, king of Midhe, and Aodh son of Donnchadh Ó Ruairc, king of Uí Bhriúin, came with their forces to Gleann Maidhir
to avenge Brian son of Murchadh and to take the kingship of Sliocht Edghain Mhdir again for Muircheartach. Sliocht Edghain went to meet them at the other side
of Gleann [Maidhir]. Toirdhealbhach Ó Conchobhair, Murchadh Ó Maoil Sheachlainn, and Aodh son of Donnchadh Ó Ruairc came into the assembly of Tadhg
son of Mac Carthaigh and made an enduring treaty with him and with Cormac, his kinsman, against Muircheartach son of Toirdhealbhach and Síol Briain. It was
then that Muircheartach Ó Briain was parted from the kingship of Munster and Ireland.
[Answering a question about a Middle Irish Gaelic standardized form of this byname
and the modern name for this location:]
Glanmire. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glanmire> says that
it's a town located just outside Cork and gives the modern
Irish as Gleann Maghair; this is confirmed by numerous web
sites, e.g., <http://www.gaelachas.com/nua.htm>. Room also
agrees, glossing it 'Maghar's glen'.
The MIr nominative is Glenn Magair (which is the form used
in the Inisfallen translation); the genitive can be either
Glenna Madair or Glinne Magair. The noun glenn was
neuter in OIr and had gen. sing. glinne. In MIr it became
masculine, but at least for a while it retained the old gen.
sing. alongside the new glenna. The modern gen. sing. is
gleanna, continuing glenna; I don't know, but I suspect
that glinne is the more common form in early MIr and
glenna the more common form in later MIr.
I don't know exactly where Maidhir comes from, but
confusion of dh and gh is common, as they represented
the same sound by the 13th c. [email from Talan Gwynek - 08 Jun 2006]
Sources:
Further information about the byname Glenna Madair, Glinne Magair, may be found in:
The Sources page lists the Annals referenced below.
Information about secondary sources is included on that page as well.
Raw Data
In the table below, I have separated individuals with a blank line. That is, when there are multiple
entries in the annals that refer to a single person, those entries are grouped together.
Within the list of entries refering to a single person, I have sorted the entries
primarily by orthography when it is obvious that what I am seeing is the same entry
showing up in multiple annals. The entries that tend to use older spellings are listed first.
NOTE: The Annals referenced below under the code letters A, B, C, E, & F tend to use
later spellings than the other Annals. In some cases, the spellings listed in these Annals
may not be appropriate for the year referenced in the Annal entry.
In some Gaelic scripts, there is a character that looks approximately like a lowercase f,
but without the crossbar. This character (represented by an underscored , e, in
the entries below) sometimes represents e and sometimes ea depending upon the
context of the text.
| [Standardized form of this man's name] |
| Annals | Entry | Context | Citation (formatting preserved) |
| |
| [Brían Glenna Madair mac Murchada in Scéith Girr Uí Bríain] (d. 1117-1118) |
| MCB1 | MCB1114.2 | | Brian mac Murchadha An Sgeith Ghirr mic Dondchadha mic Briain Boramha |
| T | T1118.2 | | Brían mac Murchada, rí Tuadhmuman |
| LC | LC1117.2 | | Brian mac Murchada |
| U | U1117.4 | | Brian m. Murchadha |
| MCB1 | MCB1118.1 | | Brian mac Murchadha An Sgeith Girr mic Dunnchadha mic Briain (Boramha |
| MCB1 | MCB1118.2 | | Brian Gleanna Maidhir mac Murchadha An Sgeith Girr |
| B | M1118.5 | | Brian, mac Murchadha Uí Briain, ríoghdhamhna Mumhan |
| MCB1 | MCB1134.6 | | Donnchadh mac Briain Gleanna Maidhir mic Murchadha In Sgeith Ghirr |
Medieval Scotland | Medieval Names Archive | Index of Names in Irish Annals
Feminine Given Names | Feminine Descriptive Bynames | Masculine Given Names | Masculine Descriptive Bynames
Kathleen M. O'Brien's articles are hosted by Medieval Scotland, which is published by Sharon L. Krossa (contact). Shopping online? How you can support this site.
(Jan 2006)
© 1996-2007. All rights reserved. Copyright of individual articles belongs to their authors. Please do not copy or redistribute without proper permission!
http://MedievalScotland.org
