Gebeachan
![Black and white illustration of Viking king, looking out from his warship, at the head of his fleet.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Anlaff_Entering_the_Humber.jpg/170px-Anlaff_Entering_the_Humber.jpg)
Gebeachan(died 937),[2]also known asGébennach,[3]andGebechán,[4]was a tenth-centuryKing of the Isles.He seems to have been a subordinate toAmlaíb mac Gofraid, King of Dublin,and is recorded to have fought and died at theBattle of Brunanburhin 937.
Career
[edit]Gebeachan was slain in 937 at theBattle of Brunanburh,[5]a remarkably bloody affair fought byÆðelstan, King of the Englishon one side, andAmlaíb mac Gofraid, King of Dublin,Custantín mac Áeda, King of Alba,andOwain ap Dyfnwal, King of Strathclydeon the other.[6]According to a poem preserved by the ninth to twelfth-centuryAnglo-Saxon Chronicle,Æðelstan's opponents suffered greatly, with five kings, seven earls, and "countless of the raiding-army of Seamen andScots"amongst their dead.[7]As for Gebeachan, his fall in this conflict is attested by a single source, a seventeenth-century translation of the now lostAnnals of Clonmacnoise.[8]The original translator of this source,Conall Mac Eochagáin,is known to have incorporated his own comments and material into his translation. Since the original version no longer exists, it is uncertain what information is accurately interpreted and what originates from Mac Eochagáin himself.[9]Nevertheless, this source styles Gebeachan "king of the Islands",[8]a royal title that appears to be a translated form of the Gaelicrí Innse Gall,and is otherwise first recorded in 989.[10]
"Gebeachan", the name that theAnnals of Clonmacnoiseascribes to him, seems to represent either theGaelicGebechán,[11]Giblechán,[12]orGébennach[13](the latter two attested by the fifteenth- to sixteenth-centuryAnnals of Ulsterin 890 and 973 respectively).[14]Another possibility is that the name is derived fromgebech,a word for a type of craftsman.[15]Alternately, Gebeachan's name could be derived from anicknamereferring tofettersor bondages.[16]Whatever the case, the name is clearly Gaelic,[17]which indicates that Gebeachan was unlikely to have been fromOrkney,[12]and more probably centred in the southernHebrides.[18]
There is reason to suspect that Gebeachan may have been a subordinate of Amlaíb,[19]a monarch styled "king of the Irish and the many islands" by the twelfth-centuryChronicon ex chronicis.[20]If so, Gebeachan's obituary would be evidence ofUí Ímairauthority in the Isles in the 930s and 940s.[21]In fact, Gebeachan's attested title suggests that he was one of the fivereguli,noted by theChronicon ex chronicis,who are stated to have fallen supporting Amlaíb at Brunanburh.[22]Amlaíb himself died in 941. In an entry following his death, the twelfth-centuryChronicon Scotorumrecords thatMuirchertach mac Néill, King of Ailechraided "the Isles ofAlba"in an annal-entry that seems to refer to the southern Hebrides.[23]This notice may have bearing on Gebeachan's apparent cooperation with Amlaíb, and appears to show that opponents of the Uí Ímair seized the initiative on his death.[24]
Also in 941, the seventeenth-centuryAnnals of the Four Mastersreports that a chieftain named Áed Albanach was slain amongst a vast host of Dublin Vikings by the invading forces of Amargein mac Cináeda, overking ofUí Failge.The fact that Áed bore a Gaelicpersonal name,died with the Dubliners, and bore anepithetreferring to aScotsman,could be evidence that he was a successor of Gebeachan.[25]Further evidence of this may be the record of Mór, a woman attested by the twelfth-century pseudo-historicalCaithréim Chellacháin Chaisil,which identifies her as a daughter of a certain Áed mac Echach, and describes her as the daughter of a King of the Hebrides.[26]
Citations
[edit]- ^Cassell's History of England(1909)p. 49.
- ^Charles-Edwards (2013);Jennings (1994).
- ^Crowcroft; Cannon (2015);Jennings (2015);Jennings (1994).
- ^Downham (2013).
- ^Crowcroft; Cannon (2015);Jennings (2015);Charles-Edwards (2013)p. 527;Downham (2013)p. 183;Etchingham (2001)p. 167.
- ^Ryan (2013)p. 303.
- ^Clarkson (2014)ch. 5;Woolf (2007)pp. 169, 172–173;Halloran (2005)p. 133 n. 3.
- ^abClarkson (2014)ch. 5;Charles-Edwards (2013)p. 527, 527 n. 127;Wood (2013)p. 148;Downham (2013)p. 183;Clancy (2008)p. 26;Etchingham (2001)p. 167;Jennings (1994)pp. 202–203;Murphy (1896)pp. 150–151.
- ^Simms (2009)p. 26;Ó Corráin (2006).
- ^Jennings (1994)p. 203.
- ^Downham (2013)p. 183.
- ^abCharles-Edwards (2013)p. 527 n. 127.
- ^Charles-Edwards (2013)p. 527 n. 127;Jennings (1994)p. 203.
- ^The Annals of Ulster(2017)§§ 890.4, 973.2;Charles-Edwards (2013)p. 527 n. 127;The Annals of Ulster(2008)§§ 890.4, 973.2.
- ^Charles-Edwards (2013)p. 527 n. 127;eDIL s.v. Gebech(n.d.).
- ^Jennings (1994)p. 205 n. 11;eDIL s.v. Gébend(n.d.).
- ^Charles-Edwards (2013)p. 527 n. 127;Etchingham (2001)p. 167;Jennings (1994)pp. 203, 205 n. 11.
- ^Etchingham (2001)p. 167.
- ^Crowcroft; Cannon (2015);Jennings (2015);Downham (2013)p. 183;Etchingham (2001)p. 167;Jennings (1994)pp. 203–205.
- ^Crowcroft; Cannon (2015);Jennings (2015);Forester (1854)p. 97;Stevenson (1853)p. 242;Thorpe (1848)p. 132.
- ^Downham (2013)pp. 183–184.
- ^Jennings (1994)pp. 203–205;Forester (1854)p. 97;Stevenson (1853)p. 242;Thorpe (1848)p. 132.
- ^Charles-Edwards (2013)p. 530;Chronicon Scotorum(2012)§ 941;Chronicon Scotorum(2010)§ 941;Hudson (2006).
- ^Charles-Edwards (2013)p. 530.
- ^Annals of the Four Masters(2013a)§ 939.13;Annals of the Four Masters(2013b)§ 939.13;Jennings (1994)pp. 205–206, 228;eDIL s.v. Albanach(n.d.).
- ^Cathréim Cellacháin Caisil(2008)§ 29;Jennings (1994)pp. 206–207;Ó Corráin (1974)p. 26;Bugge (1905)pp. 15 § 29, 75 § 29.
References
[edit]Primary sources
[edit]- "Annals of the Four Masters".Corpus of Electronic Texts(3 December 2013 ed.).University College Cork.2013a.Retrieved11 December2019.
- "Annals of the Four Masters".Corpus of Electronic Texts(16 December 2013 ed.). University College Cork. 2013b.Retrieved11 December2019.
- Bugge, A,ed. (1905).Caithreim Cellachain Caisil: The Victorious Career of Cellachan of Cashel.Oslo: J. Chr. Gundersens Bogtrykkeri.OL23283601M.
- "Cathréim Cellacháin Caisil".Corpus of Electronic Texts(27 September 2008 ed.). University College Cork. 2008.Retrieved11 December2019.
- "Chronicon Scotorum".Corpus of Electronic Texts(24 March 2010 ed.). University College Cork. 2010.Retrieved11 December2019.
- "Chronicon Scotorum".Corpus of Electronic Texts(14 May 2012 ed.). University College Cork. 2012.Retrieved11 December2019.
- Murphy, D, ed. (1896).The Annals of Clonmacnoise.Dublin:Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland.OL7064857M.
- Forester, T, ed. (1854).The Chronicle of Florence of Worcester, with the Two Continuations: Comprising Annals of English History, From the Departure of the Romans to the Reign of Edward I.Bohn's Antiquarian Library.London:Henry G. Bohn.OL24871176M.
- Ó Corráin, D(1974). "Caithréim Chellacháin Chaisil: History or Propaganda?".Ériu.25:1–69.eISSN2009-0056.ISSN0332-0758.JSTOR30008432.
- Stevenson, J,ed. (1853).The Church Historians of England.Vol. 2, pt. 1. London: Seeleys.
- "The Annals of Ulster".Corpus of Electronic Texts(29 August 2008 ed.). University College Cork. 2008.Retrieved11 December2019.
- "The Annals of Ulster".Corpus of Electronic Texts(6 January 2017 ed.). University College Cork. 2017.Retrieved11 December2019.
- Thorpe, B,ed. (1848).Florentii Wigorniensis Monachi Chronicon ex Chronicis.Vol. 1. London: English Historical Society.OL24871544M.
Secondary sources
[edit]- Cassell's History of England: From the Roman Invasion to the Wars of the Roses.Vol. 1. London:Cassell and Company.1909.OL7042010M.
- Clancy, TO(2008)."The Gall-Ghàidheil and Galloway"(PDF).The Journal of Scottish Name Studies.2:19–51.ISSN2054-9385.
- Clarkson, T (2014).Strathclyde and the Anglo-Saxons in the Viking Age(EPUB). Edinburgh:John Donald.ISBN978-1-907909-25-2.
- Charles-Edwards, TM(2013).Wales and the Britons, 350–1064.The History of Wales. Oxford:Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-821731-2.
- Crowcroft, R;Cannon, J,eds. (2015) [2001]."Isles, Kingdom of the".A Dictionary of British History(3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-175802-7.Retrieved6 March2016– viaOxford Reference.
- Downham, C (2007).Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland: The Dynasty of Ívarr to A.D. 1014.Edinburgh:Dunedin Academic Press.ISBN978-1-903765-89-0.
- "eDIL s.v. Albanach".eDIL.n.d.Retrieved21 November2016.
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:CS1 maint: year (link) - "eDIL s.v. Gebech".eDIL.n.d.Retrieved8 November2016.
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:CS1 maint: year (link) - "eDIL s.v. Gébend".eDIL.n.d.Retrieved8 November2016.
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:CS1 maint: year (link) - Etchingham, C (2001). "North Wales, Ireland and the Isles: the Insular Viking Zone".Peritia.15:145–187.doi:10.1484/J.Peri.3.434.eISSN2034-6506.ISSN0332-1592.
- Halloran, K (2005). "The Brunanburh Campaign: A Reappraisal".Scottish Historical Review.84(2): 133–148.doi:10.3366/shr.2005.84.2.133.eISSN1750-0222.ISSN0036-9241.
- Hudson, BT(2006)."Muirchertach mac Néill (d. 943)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(October 2006 ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/19502.Retrieved10 March2016.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
- Jennings, A (1994).Historical Study of the Gael and Norse in Western Scotland From c.795 to c.1000(PhD thesis).University of Edinburgh.hdl:1842/15749.
- Jennings, A (2015) [1997]."Isles, Kingdom of the".In Crowcroft, R;Cannon, J(eds.).The Oxford Companion to British History(2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/acref/9780199677832.001.0001.ISBN978-0-19-967783-2.Retrieved4 December2015– via Oxford Reference.
- Ryan, MJ (2013). "Conquest, Reform and the Making of England". In Highham, NJ; Ryan, MJ (eds.).The Anglo-Saxon World.New Haven, CT:Yale University Press.pp. 284–322.ISBN978-0-300-12534-4.
- Ó Corráin, D(2006). "Annals, Irish §6. Annals of Clonmacnoise". InKoch, JT(ed.).Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia.Vol. 1. Santa Barbara, CA:ABC-CLIO.pp. 72–73.ISBN1-85109-445-8.
- Simms, K (2009).Medieval Gaelic Sources.Maynooth Research Guides for Irish Local History. Dublin:Four Courts Press.ISBN978-1-84682-137-0.
- Wood, M(2013). "Searching for Brunanburh: The Yorkshire Context of the 'Great War' of 937".Yorkshire Archaeological Journal.85(1): 138–159.doi:10.1179/0084427613Z.00000000021.eISSN2045-0664.ISSN0084-4276.S2CID129167209.
- Woolf, A(2007).From Pictland to Alba, 789–1070.The New Edinburgh History of Scotland. Edinburgh:Edinburgh University Press.ISBN978-0-7486-1233-8.