Index of Names in Irish Annals: Céle / Céile
by Mari Elspeth nic Bryan (Kathleen M. O'Brien)
© 2000-2020 by Kathleen M. O'Brien. All rights reserved.
Version 2.0, updated 18 March 2020
Masculine Given Names: Céle / Céile
This name, Céle, means "servant, bondsman, vassal, subject".
Names with this element, either as a standalone name or as the first portion of a two element name,
were predominantly used by men in religious orders (abbots, priests, etc).
There are three name structures that regularly appear early in the annals in the names of men with
religous callings such as that of a priest, abbot, etc. These names often reference the names of
saints and each has a general meaning of "servant/follower [of] [the name referenced, usually a saint]".
However, each initial element carries other layered meanings, which adds to the meaning of the name.
The three name structures are:
- Céle [element]: Céle means
"servant, bondsman, vassal, subject" or "companion, fellow"
(eDIL s.v. céile).
It is unclear whether the original meaning indicated a level of subservience (as in a vassal to liege relationship)
or a common, more equal status (as in a neighbor or companion relationship).
- Gilla [element]: Gilla means "a male child, a boy"
(eDIL s.v. gilla).
The meaning of "servant" extends from there; as a boy or adolescent could have
a role as a servant, messenger, etc..
- Máel [element]: Máel literally means
"crop-headed, shorn, and by extension bald"
(eDIL s.v. 1 mael).
In this usage, it generally means "tonsured servant". The connotations carried
changed over time. Previous to Christianity in Ireland, slaves had portions of their heads shaved
as a mark of their status. In Christianity, members of monastic orders often shaved portions of their
heads. In both cases, the shaved head was a mark of status where the one shaved was of a lesser status,
whether it be as a slave or as a member obedient to his monastic order and superiors in the order.
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:
| Old Irish Gaelic (c700-c900) nominative form: | Céle |
| Old Irish Gaelic (c700-c900) genitive form: | |
|
| Middle Irish Gaelic (c900-c1200) nominative form: | Céle |
| Middle Irish Gaelic (c900-c1200) genitive form: | |
|
| Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c1200-c1700) nominative form: | Céile |
| Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c1200-c1700) genitive form: | |
Frequency & Dates:
| Number of men found in the annals with this name: | 6 |
| Found in Years: | 746, 751, 906, 926, 927, 928, 929, 950, 952,
1048, 1050, 1076, 1209, 1210, 1257, 1331 |
Research Notes:
The Annals of Ulster (entry U929.3) gives more information:
Ceile, comarba Comgaill, scriba & anchorita & apostolicus doctor totius Hibernie, .l.ix. annoetatis sue, .xuiii. die Kl. Octimbris in perigrinatione feliciter Romae quieuit.
1. Tri .ix., .ix. cet do bliadnaib
rimthir fo riaghlaibh reilibh
o gein Crist, gnim cen deni,
co bas caidh Ceili clerig.
which appears in the translation as:
Céile, successor of Comgall, scribe and anchorite and apostolic doctor of all Ireland, rested happily at Rome on his pilgrimage, on the eighteenth day before the Kalends of October 14 Sept., in the 59th year of his age.
(Thrice nine and nine hundred years
Are reckoned by clear rules
Since the year of Christ's birth (a benign occurrence)
Until the holy death of the cleric Céile.)
The full text of entry M927.3 in the Annals of the Four Masters (vol. 2) covers this same event:
Cele Dabhaill, mac Scandail, comharba Comhghaill Beandchair fo Erinn eapscop scribhnidh, proiceptaidh, & doctor ergna, d'ég ina ailithre isin Roimh an 14 do September, & isin naomhadh bliadhain ar caogatt a aoisi. Ba do bliadhain a bháis ro ráidheadh,
1. Tri naoi, naoi c-céd do bhliadhnaibh,
ríomhthar fo riaghlaibh reilibh,
o ghein Críost, gníomh ga n-déine,
co bás cáidh Céle cléirigh.
which appears in the translation as:
Celedabhaill, son of Scannall, successor of Comhgall of Beannchair, throughout Ireland, bishop, scribe, preacher, and learned doctor, died on his pilgrimage at Rome, on the 14th of September, and in the fifty-ninth year of his age. Of the year of his death was said:
1] Three times nine, nine hundred years, are reckoned by plain rules
2] From the birth of Christ, deed of purity, to the holy death of Cele the Cleric.
Sources:
Further information about the element Céle / Céile, 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.
Special factors which may affect name usage are marked in the context column.
| AN | indicates a member of an Anglo-Norman family |
| AS | indicates an Anglo-Saxon |
| N | indicates a Norseman |
| P | indicates a Pict |
| R | indicates a person holding a religious office |
| S | indicates a person from Scotland |
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.
| Annals | Entry | Context | Citation (formatting preserved) |
| |
| [Céle] (d. ?) |
| B | M906.3 | R | Fogartach, mac Cele, tighearna Ua Mic Uais |
| |
| [Céle] (d. 927-929) |
| U | U928.7 | R | Ceile, comarba Comgaill & apostolicus doctor totius Hibernie |
| B | M926.5 | R | Cele Dabhail, mac Scannail, do dhol co Róimh dia ailithre a h-abdhaine Bendchair [Note: in this form, Dabhaill seems to be a byname. It only appears in entries for this person in the Annals of the Four Masters.] |
| U | U929.3 | R | Ceile, comarba Comgaill, scriba & anchorita & apostolicus doctor totius Hibernie |
| CS | CS929 | R | Cele mac Scannail comarba Benncuir |
| B | M927.3 | R | Cele Dabhaill, mac Scandail, comharba Comhghaill Beandchair fo Erinn eapscop scribhnidh, proiceptaidh, & doctor [Note: in this form, Dabhaill seems to be a byname. It only appears in entries for this person in the Annals of the Four Masters.] |
| U | U929.3 | R | Ceili clerig [Note: this reference uses a byname meaning "cleric".] |
| B | M927.3 | R | Céle cléirigh [Note: this reference uses a byname meaning "cleric".] |
| |
| [Céle] (d. 952) |
| U | U952.3 | R | Cele clam & ancorita ["Céile the leper and anchorite"] |
| B | M950.6 | R | Céle Clamh ancoire Ard Macha |
| |
| [Céle] (d. 1048) |
| T | T1048.1 | R | Ceili, espoc Ardachaidh Espuic Mael |
| CS | CS1048 | R | Cele episcopus Ardachaidh |
| B | M1048.1 | R | Céle, epscop Ardachaidh Epscuip Mel |
| |
| [Céle] (d. 1076) |
| I | M1050.16 | R | Céle mac Donnacáin |
| U | U1076.6 | R | Cele m. Donnacan |
| B | I1076.4 | R | Céle mac Donnacáin |
| B | M1076.1 | R | Céle mc. Donnacáin, cenn crabuid h-Erend |
| |
| [Céile Ua Dubhthaigh] (d. 1209-1210) |
| U2 | U1210.4 | R | Ceile h-Ua Dubhthaigh, epscop Mhaighi Eo na Saxan |
| LC | LC1210.2 | R | Céle .H. Dubthaigh, espuc Moighe h-Eó |
| C | M1209.1 | R | Cele Ua Dubhthaigh epscop Maighe Eo na Saxan |
| |
| [] (d. ?) |
| C | M1257.3 | ? | Maol Pattraicc mac Cele airchinneach Cille h-Aladh |
| |
| [] (d. ?) |
| C | M1331.1 | ? | Comharba Caillín, .i. Giolla na Naomh Mac Cele |
Medieval Scotland | Medieval Names Archive | Index of Names in Irish Annals
Feminine Given Names | Feminine Descriptive Bynames | Masculine Given Names | Masculine Descriptive Bynames
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