Misplaced Pages

Bodley Survey

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

The Bodley Survey was a 1609 cadastral survey overseen by Josias Bodley which aimed to study the largely unmapped areas of Ulster in the Kingdom of Ireland . It is also referred to as the Ulster Survey of 1609 .

#279720

74-687: The survey covered six counties Armagh , Cavan , Coleraine , Donegal , Fermanagh , and Tyrone . Following the Flight of the Earls , this was land which had been set aside for the Ulster Plantation to be granted to a mixture of English and Scottish settlers and Irish inhabitants. Bodley was a veteran of the Nine Years' War who now held the position of Inspector of Fortifications in Ireland. He had previously overseen

148-560: A Lieutenancy area – the county retains a lord lieutenant who acts as representative of the British Monarch in the county. Currently the county is covered for local government purposes by three district councils , namely Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council , approximately the western third of Newry, Mourne and Down Council and a part of Mid Ulster District Council , centred around Peatlands Park . Armagh ceased to serve as an electoral constituency in 1983 but remains

222-407: A majority of the population from a Catholic background, according to the 2011 census . During the 17th and 18th centuries, County Armagh was a major center of guerrilla warfare , cattle raiding , and brigandage by local Rapparees ; including Count Redmond O'Hanlon , Cormacke Raver O'Murphy, and Séamus Mór Mac Murchaidh . The southern part of the county has been a stronghold of support for

296-456: A microcosm of the whole world's population in Ireland". Several other companions echo the names of ancient Irish goddesses. Ireland is then uninhabited for 300 years, until a second group of people arrive. They are led by Partholón , who is descended from Noah through Magog. They sail to Ireland via Gothia, Anatolia , Greece, Sicily and Iberia. They include Partholón's wife Delgnat , their four chieftain sons, and others. When they arrive, there

370-605: A preliminary report of the Ulster terrain, but this was insufficient for the more formal requirements of the Plantation. The eight-man team led by Bodley included the cartographer Thomas Raven . One of the problems the surveyors encountered was that Gaelic Ireland had used differing and sometimes irregular units of measurement. Areas were often defined by natural features such as hills or rivers or man-made constructions such as tower houses or burial mounds . Because of time constraints,

444-581: A reading of 31.4 °C was registered at Armagh Observatory's weather station. Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid (also known as Voluntii, Ultonians, Ulidians, Ulstermen) before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch , whose capital was Emain Macha (or Navan Fort) near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha . The Red Branch play an important role in

518-516: A salmon and later an eagle and a hawk, living for 5,500 years after the Flood, whence he becomes a man again and recounts Ireland's history. In an earlier version of the tale, the first woman in Ireland is Banba . Banba, Fódla and Ériu were a trio of land goddesses and their husbands were Mac Cuill (son of hazel), Mac Cecht (son of the plough) and Mac Gréine (son of the Sun). It is likely that Cessair,

592-459: A single week. Only one man, Tuan mac Cairill , survives. Like Fintán, he lives for centuries in a number of forms, so that he can recount Irish history. This chapter also includes the tale of Delgnat committing adultery with a servant. Partholón comes from Bartholomaeus (Bartholomew) and he is probably an invention of the Christian writers, possibly being borrowed from a character of that name in

666-706: A son named Goídel Glas . Goídel crafts the Goidelic (Gaelic) language from the original 72 languages that arose after the confusion of tongues . Goídel's offspring, the Goidels (Gaels), leave Egypt at the same time as the Israelites ( the Exodus ) and settle in Scythia. After some time they leave Scythia and spend 440 years travelling the Earth, undergoing trials and tribulations akin to those of

740-538: A succession of wars and floods. Numerous fragments of Ireland's mythological history are scattered throughout the 7th and 8th centuries. In his Lectures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History (1861), Eugene O'Curry , Professor of Irish History and Archaeology at the Catholic University of Ireland , discussed various genres of historical tales mentioned in the manuscripts: The Tochomladh

814-599: Is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language intended to be a history of Ireland and the Irish from the creation of the world to the Middle Ages . There are a number of versions, the earliest of which was compiled by an anonymous writer in the 11th century. It synthesised narratives that had been developing over the foregoing centuries. The Lebor Gabála tells of Ireland being "taken" (settled) by six groups of people:

SECTION 10

#1732858233280

888-681: Is a possible railway re-opening from Portadown railway station to Armagh railway station in the future. Government Minister for the Department for Regional Development , Danny Kennedy MLA indicates railway restoration plans of the line from Portadown to Armagh . Ulsterbus provides the most extensive public transport system within the county, including frequent bus transfers daily from most towns to Belfast. Northern Ireland Railways / Iarnród Éireann 's Enterprise service provides connections to Dublin in little over an hour and Belfast in little over forty minutes, several times daily. County Armagh

962-539: Is descended from Adam through the sons of Noah . It tells us how Noah's son Japheth is the forebear of all Europeans (see Japhetites ), how Japheth's son Magog is the forebear of the Gaels and Scythians , and how Fénius Farsaid is the forebear of the Gaels. Fénius, a prince of Scythia , is described as one of 72 chieftains who built the Tower of Babel . His son Nel weds Scota , daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh , and they have

1036-605: Is killed by unnamed attackers and his men return to Iberia. The Gaels set sail with a great force to avenge his death and take Ireland. They are referred to here as the Sons of Míl Espáine (or Milesians ). The name Míl Espáine comes from the Latin Miles Hispaniae ("soldier of Hispania "). After they land, they fight against the combined forces of the Tuath Dé and Fomorians. On their way to Tara , they are met on three mountains by

1110-560: Is loosely based on real events. In the 1940s, T. F. O'Rahilly created a model of Irish prehistory based on his analysis of the Lebor Gabála and the early Irish language. He suggested that there were four waves of Celtic migrations or invasions: the Cruthin (c. 700–500 BC), the Érainn or Builg (c. 500 BC), the Laigin , Domnainn and Gálioin (c. 300 BC), and the Gaels (c. 100 BC). He argued that

1184-491: Is named after its county town , Armagh , which derives from the Irish Ard Mhacha , meaning "Macha's height". Macha was a sovereignty goddess in Irish mythology and is said to have been buried on a wooded hill around which the town of Armagh grew. County Armagh is colloquially known as the "Orchard County" because of its many apple orchards. The county covers an area of 1,327 km (512 sq mi), making it

1258-525: Is not infrequent in the months November to February. Snow rarely lies for longer than a few hours even in the elevated south-east of the county. Summers are mild and wet and although with sunshine often interspersed with showers, daylight lasts for almost 18 hours during high-summer. On 22 July 2021 the record for highest outside air temperature ever measured in Northern Ireland was set in Armagh City when

1332-509: Is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland . It is located in the province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh . It borders the Northern Irish counties of Tyrone to the west and Down to the east. The county borders Louth and Monaghan to the south and southwest, which are in the Republic of Ireland . It

1406-428: Is only one open plain, three lakes and nine rivers. They clear four more plains and a further seven lakes burst from the ground . Named figures are credited with introducing cattle husbandry, ploughing, cooking, brewing, and dividing the island in four. They battle and defeat the mysterious Fomorians , who are led by Cichol Gricenchos . Eventually, Partholón and his people (now 5,000 men and 4,000 women) die of plague in

1480-478: Is possibly based on the Tower of Hercules , which was rebuilt at Corunna by the Romans. According to the Lebor Gabála , the first people to arrive in Ireland are led by Cessair , daughter of Bith, son of Noah . They are told to go to the western edge of the world to escape the oncoming Flood . They set out in three ships, but two are lost at sea. They land in Ireland, at Dún na mBárc on Bantry Bay , forty days before

1554-654: Is traversed by the Ulster Canal and the Newry Canal which are not fully open to navigation. In association football, the NIFL Premiership , which operates as the top division, has one team in the county: Glenavon , with Portadown , Annagh United , Armagh City , Dollingstown , Loughgall and Lurgan Celtic competing in the NIFL Championship , which operates as levels two and three. The Armagh County Board of

SECTION 20

#1732858233280

1628-701: Is traversed by two major highways – the M1 linking Belfast to Dungannon crosses the north of the county whilst the A1/N1 from Belfast to Dublin runs in the far south east. Other major roads in the county include the A3 and A29 . Armagh once had a well-developed railway network with connections to, among others, Armagh City, Culloville , Goraghwood , Markethill , Vernersbridge , Tynan (see History of rail transport in Ireland ) but today only Newry (Bessbrook) , Portadown , Poyntzpass , Scarva , and Lurgan are served by rail. There

1702-580: The Caspian Sea in 44 ships but, after a year and a half of sailing, the only ship to reach Ireland is Nemed's. On board are his wife, his four chieftain sons, and others. During their time in Ireland, the Nemedians clear twelve plains and build two royal forts, and four lakes burst from the ground. They win four battles against the Fomorians. After Nemed and many others die of plague, the Nemedians are oppressed by

1776-513: The Fir Bolg (men of bags), and contain two sub-groups known as the Fir Domnann and Fir Gálioin. Led by their five chieftains, they divide Ireland into five provinces : Gann takes North Munster, Sengann takes South Munster, Genann takes Connacht, Rudraige takes Ulster and Slanga takes Leinster. A succession of nine High Kings rule over Ireland for the next 37 years. Those who went into the north of

1850-579: The Gaelic Athletic Association or Armagh GAA organises Gaelic games in the county. 54°21′00″N 6°39′17″W  /  54.3499°N 6.6546°W  / 54.3499; -6.6546 Lebor Gab%C3%A1la %C3%89renn Lebor Gabála Érenn (literally "The Book of the Taking of Ireland"; Modern Irish spelling: Leabhar Gabhála Éireann , known in English as The Book of Invasions )

1924-723: The IRA , earning it the nickname "Bandit Country". South Armagh is predominantly nationalist , with much of the population being opposed to any form of British presence, especially that of a military nature. The most prominent opposition to British rule was the Provisional IRA South Armagh Brigade . On 10 March 2009, the CIRA claimed responsibility for the fatal shooting of a PSNI officer in Craigavon , County Armagh—the first police fatality in Northern Ireland since 1998. The officer

1998-484: The Lebor Gabála was first compiled in the 11th century, the three waves of settlers had grown to six. Joseph Lennon says "These waves may, in fact, represent the redactors' attempts to account for numerous oral accounts in Irish of origin legends". It is also suggested that there are six waves to match the " Six Ages of the World ". These stories continued to be enriched and elaborated upon by Irish historian-poets throughout

2072-691: The Tuatha Dé Danann took husbands from the Gaeil when they 'invaded' and 'colonised' Ireland. The pattern of successive invasions recounted in the LGE is reminiscent of Timagenes of Alexandria's account of the origins of the Gauls of continental Europe. Cited by the 4th-century historian Ammianus Marcellinus , Timagenes (1st century BC) describes how the ancestors of the Gauls were driven from their native lands in eastern Europe by

2146-687: The Ulster Cycle , as well as the Cattle Raid of Cooley . However, they were eventually driven out of the area by the Three Collas, who invaded in the 4th century and held power until the 12th. The Clan Colla ruled the area known as Airghialla or Oriel for these 800 years. The chief Irish clans of the county were descendants of the Collas, the O'Hanlons and Mac Cana , and the Uí Néill , the O'Neills of Fews. Armagh

2220-551: The tochomlaidh referred to above by O'Curry), paraphrasing and enlarging the verse. The result was the earliest version of LGE. It was written in Middle Irish, a form of Irish Gaelic used between 900 and 1200. Within a century of its compilation there existed a plethora of copies and revisions of Lebor Gabála , with as many as 136 poems between them. It is "somewhat misleading" to refer to the Lebor Gabála as one narrative. No two versions are identical, although many elements remain

2294-454: The 19th century". Today, scholars regard the Lebor Gabála as primarily myth rather than history. It appears to be mostly based on medieval Christian pseudo-histories, but it also incorporates some of Ireland’s native pagan mythology. Scholars believe that the goal of its writers was to provide a history for Ireland that could compare to that of Rome or Israel, and which was compatible with Christian teaching. The Lebor Gabála became one of

Bodley Survey - Misplaced Pages Continue

2368-1030: The 2021 Census, County Armagh recorded a population of 194,394. It is one of four counties in Northern Ireland with a Catholic majority, with 58% of the population coming from a Catholic community background. Around 10% of the population was born outside the United Kingdom and Ireland, mainly immigrants from the European Union and concentrated in the Craigavon urban area ( Lurgan , Portadown and Craigavon ). (population of 18,000 or more and under 75,000 at 2001 Census) (population of 10,000 or more and under 18,000 at 2001 Census) (population of 4,500 or more and under 10,000 at 2001 Census) (population of 2,250 or more and under 4,500 at 2001 Census) (population of 1,000 or more and under 2,250 at 2001 Census) (population of fewer than 1,000 at 2001 Census) Baronies Parishes Townlands County Armagh

2442-532: The 9th century. In the 10th and 11th centuries, several long historical poems were written that were later incorporated into the scheme of LGE. Most of the poems on which the 11th-12th century version of LGE was based were written by the following four poets: It was late in the 11th century that a single anonymous scholar appears to have brought together these and numerous other poems and fitted them into an elaborate prose framework – partly of his own composition and partly drawn from older, no longer extant sources (i.e.

2516-413: The Christian histories of Saint Jerome and Isidore. The Fomorians have been interpreted as a group of deities who represent the harmful or destructive powers of nature; personifications of chaos, darkness, death, blight and drought. Ireland is then uninhabited for 30 years, until a third group of people arrive. They are led by Nemed , who is also descended from Noah through Magog. They set out from

2590-405: The Flood. The only survivors are Cessair, forty-nine other women, and three men: Fintan mac Bóchra , Bith and Ladra. The women are split evenly among the men. Each also takes one as his wife: Fintán takes Cessair, Bith takes Barrfhind and Ladra takes Alba. However, Bith and Ladra soon die and Ladra is the first man buried in Ireland. When the Flood comes, Fintán is the only one to survive. He becomes

2664-452: The Fomorian kills Nuada, but Balor's grandson Lugh kills him and becomes king. The Tuath Dé enjoy 150 years of unbroken rule. The tale of the Gaels is now resumed. Íth, who has spied Ireland from the top of Breogán's Tower, sails to the island with a group of men. He travels to Aileach Néit where he meets Ireland's three kings: Mac Cuill, Mac Cecht and Mac Gréine of the Tuath Dé. However, he

2738-620: The Fomorians Conand and Morc. Each Samhain , they must give two-thirds of their children, their wheat and their milk to the Fomorians. This tribute that the Nemedians are forced to pay may be "a dim memory of sacrifice offered at the beginning of winter, when the powers of darkness and blight are in the ascendant". Eventually, they rise up against the Fomorians and attack the Tower of Conand with 60,000 warriors (30,000 on sea and 30,000 on land), defeating Conand. Morc then attacks, and almost all of

2812-559: The Goths , described by James Carey as "a model of barbarian pseudohistory", Isidore concludes that the Goths and Gets are related due to their similar names, and says that they (along with the Scythians) descend from Magog. The claim of Iberian origins may be based on three things: the coincidental similarity of the names Iberia and Hibernia , Isidore describing Iberia as the "mother[land] of

2886-696: The Irish comparable to that of the Israelites in the Old Testament of the Bible. This history was intended to fit the Irish into Christian world-chronology, to "find a place for Ireland in the Biblical history of the world". In doing so, it links them to events from the Old Testament and likens them to the Israelites. Ancestors of the Irish were described as enslaved in a foreign land, fleeing into exile, wandering in

2960-587: The Israelites. The druid Caicher foretells that their descendants will reach Ireland. After seven years at sea, they settle in the Maeotian marshes . They then sail via Crete and Sicily and eventually conquer Iberia . There, Goídel's descendant Breogán founds a city called Brigantia, and builds a tower from the top of which his son Íth glimpses Ireland. Brigantia was the Roman name of Corunna in Galicia and Breogán's tower

3034-575: The LGE was a conflation of two independent works: a History of the Gaedil (modelled after the history of the Israelites in the Old Testament), and an account of several pre-Gaelic settlements of Ireland (to the historicity of which Macalister gave very little credence). The latter was then inserted into the middle of the other work. Macalister theorised that the quasi-Biblical text had been a scholarly Latin work named Liber Occupationis Hiberniae ("The Book of

Bodley Survey - Misplaced Pages Continue

3108-455: The Nemedians are either killed in the fighting or swept away by the sea. Only one ship of thirty men escapes. Some of them go "into the north of the world", some go to Britain and become the ancestors of all Britons , and some go south to Greece. Those who went to Greece were enslaved by the Greeks and made to carry bags of soil and clay. After 230 years, they sail back to Ireland. They are known as

3182-552: The Syriac Cave of Treasures ), as well as the four Christian works mentioned earlier (i.e. The City of God , etc.). This part also contains a genealogy derived via the Historia Brittonum from the 6th-century Frankish Table of Nations , itself relying partly on the 1st-century Germania of Tacitus . It gives the descent of the major peoples of Europe from three brothers. This chapter begins by explaining that all mankind

3256-619: The Taking of Ireland"). The earliest surviving account of Irish origins is found in the Historia Brittonum ("History of the Britons"), written in Wales in the 9th century. The story probably came from a now-lost Irish source. It says that Ireland was settled by three groups of people from the Iberian Peninsula . The first are the people of Partholón , who all die of plague. The second are

3330-531: The Tuath Dé conjure up a great wind that prevents them from sailing back to land. However, Amergin calms the wind by reciting a verse. The surviving ships return to land and the two groups agree to divide Ireland between them. The Gaels take the world above, while the Tuath Dé take the world below (i.e. the Otherworld ) and enter the sídhe mounds. Modelled on the Biblical Books of Kings , this chapter recounts

3404-467: The aforementioned Banba, Fódla and Ériu – the wives of Ireland's three kings. Each goddess asks that the Gaels name the land after her. One of the Gaels, Amergin , promises that it shall be so. At Tara, they meet the three kings, who defend their claim to the joint kingship of the land. They ask that there be a three-day truce, during which the Gaels must stay a distance of nine waves from land. The Gaels agree, but once their ships are nine waves from Ireland,

3478-451: The capital of the Ulaid kings (who give their name to Ulster ) and is believed to be the high place from which the county takes its name. From its highest point at Slieve Gullion , in the south of the county, Armagh's land falls away from its rugged south with Carrigatuke, Lislea and Camlough mountains, to rolling drumlin country in the middle and west of the county and finally flatlands in

3552-445: The city of Newry , notable towns in the county include Lurgan , Portadown and Craigavon . The name Armagh derives from the Irish Ard Macha , meaning Macha's height / Macha's high place . Macha is a mythological figure who is mentioned in The Book of the Taking of Ireland . Macha is also said to have been responsible for the construction of the hill site of Emain Macha (now Navan Fort near Armagh City ) to serve as

3626-439: The confusion. The survey was part of an increasing effort to use scientific methods to measure terrain in the seventeenth century. A much more comprehensive study of Ireland was undertaken in the 1650s known as the Down Survey . This cartography or mapping term article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . County Armagh County Armagh ( Irish : Contae Ard Mhacha [ɑːɾˠd̪ˠ ˈwaxə] )

3700-520: The core of the Newry and Armagh constituency represented at Westminster and the Newry and Armagh constituency represented in the Northern Ireland Assembly . County Armagh also remains as a district for legal and property purposes; however, its baronies no longer have any administrative use. The -XZ suffix is currently used on vehicle registration plates for vehicles registered in County Armagh. Other suffixes have been -IB and -LZ. These marks are followed by up to four numbers, e.g., JLZ 6789 As of

3774-450: The county's northern boundary. There are also a number of uninhabited islands in the county's section of Lough Neagh: Coney Island Flat, Croaghan Flat, Padian, Phil Roe's Flat and the Shallow Flat. Despite lying in the east of Ireland, Armagh enjoys an oceanic climate strongly influenced by the Gulf Stream with damp mild winters, and temperate, wet summers. Overall temperatures rarely drop below freezing during daylight hours, though frost

SECTION 50

#1732858233280

3848-408: The deeds of various kings of Ireland, most of them legendary or semi-legendary, from the time of Éber and Érimón to the early 5th century of the Christian era. A continuation of the previous chapter, it is the most accurate part of Lebor Gabála , being concerned with historical kings of Ireland whose deeds and dates are preserved in contemporary written records. For many centuries, the Lebor Gabála

3922-410: The demonic Fomorians, who have been likened to the Æsir and Vanir of Norse mythology . It is suggested that the Nemedians' struggle against the Fomorians is "an echo of the primordial clash" between these two groups of supernatural beings, and that the Fir Bolg are the human equivalent of the Fomorians. While most scholars view the work as primarily myth rather than history, some have argued that it

3996-524: The first three groups spoke Brittonic languages . O'Rahilly believed some of the 'invasions' in Lebor Gabála are based on these, but that others were invented by the writers. He also argued that many of Ireland's 'pre-Gaelic' peoples continued to flourish for centuries after 100 BC. O'Rahilly's theory has been challenged by historians and archaeologists, and is no longer accepted. In The White Goddess (1948), British poet and mythologist Robert Graves argued that myths brought to Ireland centuries before

4070-467: The most popular and influential works of early Irish literature. Mark Williams says it was "written in order to bridge the chasm between Christian world-chronology and the prehistory of Ireland". The Lebor Gabála is usually known in English as The Book of Invasions or The Book of Conquests . In Modern Irish it is Leabhar Gabhála Éireann or Leabhar Gabhála na hÉireann . The writers of Lebor Gabála Érenn sought to create an epic written history of

4144-426: The north where rolling flats and small hills reach sea level at Lough Neagh . County Armagh's boundary with Louth is marked by the rugged Ring of Gullion rising in the south of the county whilst much of its boundary with counties Monaghan and Down goes unnoticed with seamless continuance of drumlins and small lakes. The River Blackwater marks the border with County Tyrone and Lough Neagh otherwise marks out

4218-447: The people of Cessair , the people of Partholón , the people of Nemed , the Fir Bolg , the Tuatha Dé Danann , and the Milesians . The first four groups are wiped out or forced to abandon the island; the fifth group represents Ireland's pagan gods, while the final group represents the Irish people (the Gaels ). The Lebor Gabála was highly influential and was largely "accepted as conventional history by poets and scholars down until

4292-413: The people of Nemed , who eventually return to Iberia. The last group are led by three sons of a warrior or soldier from Hispania ( mīles Hispaniae ), who sail to Ireland in thirty ships. They see a glass tower in the middle of the sea and set out to capture it, but when they reach it, all but one of their ships are sunk. Only one ship is saved, and its passengers are the ancestors of all the Irish. When

4366-403: The physician and Credne the metalsmith replace Nuada's hand/arm with a working silver one, and he re-takes the kingship. Though in some versions Nuada's arm is replaced with a silver one by Dian Cecht immediately, but he is still considered unfit to be king and Dian Cecht's son Cian replaces it with an arm made of flesh. The Tuath Dé then fight the Fomorians in the Second Battle of Moytura. Balor

4440-439: The province of Connacht. Nuada , king of the Tuath Dé, loses his hand or arm in the battle and is thus no longer fit to be their king. He is replaced by Bres (a half-Fomorian), who becomes High King of Ireland. However, Bres mistreats the Tuath Dé and neglects his kingly duties. This may reflect the occasional supremacy of the powers of blight (the Fomorians) over the powers of growth (the Tuath Dé). After seven years, Dian Cecht

4514-405: The races", and Orosius describing Ireland as lying "between Iberia and Britain". The claim that the Gaels settled in the Maeotian marshes seems to have been taken from the Book of the History of the Franks , and their travels to Crete and Sicily may have been based on the tale of Aeneas . Other parts of the Lebor Gabála derive from pagan Gaelic mythology, most notably the divine Tuath Dé and

SECTION 60

#1732858233280

4588-455: The same. There are five recensions , surviving in more than a dozen medieval manuscripts: The following table summarises the extant manuscripts that contain versions of LGE. Most of the abbreviations used are taken from R. A. S. Macalister's critical edition of the work (see references for details): The LGE was translated into French in 1884. The first complete English translation was made by R. A. Stewart Macalister between 1937 and 1942. It

4662-418: The smallest of Northern Ireland's six counties by size and the sixth-smallest county on the island of Ireland. With a population of 194,394 as of the 2021 census , it is the fourth-most populous county in both Northern Ireland and Ulster. It is the 10th most populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties, as well as the fifth-most densely populated. In addition to the city of Armagh and the western portion of

4736-442: The surveyors mostly had to calculate the landscape on the basis local knowledge. Only occasionally were they able to actually measure in person. The study generally received co-operation from the Gaelic inhabitants. The survey was able to demarcate townlands and baronies which became the basis for later ownership. Some of the errors in the study led to land ownership disputes, and Bodley himself carried out later surveys to clarify

4810-509: The three men and their three wives are a Christianised replacement for them. Fintán/Mac Cuill may also be linked to the Salmon of Knowledge , which gains all the world's knowledge after eating nine hazelnuts that fall into a well . The women who accompany Cessair appear by their names to represent the world's ancestral mothers; they included Alba (ancestor of the Britons), Espa (Spanish), German (Germans), Gothiam (Goths), Traige (Thracians), and so forth. Thus "their arrival can be read as creating

4884-439: The wilderness, or sighting the "Promised Land" from afar. The writers also sought to incorporate native pre-Christian stories about the origins of the Irish, and to reconcile them with medieval Christian lore. The LGE seems to have been influenced by four major Christian works in particular: The pre-Christian elements, however, were never entirely effaced. One of the poems in LGE, for instance, recounts how goddesses from among

4958-537: The work into English, wrote: "There is not a single element of genuine historical detail, in the strict sense of the word, anywhere in the whole compilation". The tale of the Gaels coming to Ireland is believed to be an invention of the Christian writers and an attempt to liken the Gaels to the Israelites. The claim of Scythian origins seems to be based on the superficial similarity of the names Scoti and Scythae . Other medieval pseudo-histories did likewise with other nations. For example, in his earlier History of

5032-483: The world are the supernaturally-gifted Tuatha Dé Danann (or Tuath Dé), who represent the main pagan gods of Ireland. They come to Ireland in dark clouds and land on Sliabh an Iarainn in the west, bringing with them Four Treasures . They fight the Fir Bolg for the ownership of Ireland in the First Battle of Mag Tuired (Moytura). The Tuath Dé are victorious. In some versions, the Fir Bolg flee Ireland and settle on remote offshore islands, while in others they are granted

5106-706: Was accepted as an accurate and reliable account of the history of Ireland. As late as the 17th century, Geoffrey Keating drew on it while writing his history of Ireland, Foras Feasa ar Éirinn , and it was also used extensively by the authors of the Annals of the Four Masters . Recently, however, the work has been subjected to greater critical scrutiny. One contemporary scholar has placed it in "the tradition of historical fabrication or pseudohistory "; another has written of its "generally spurious character" and has drawn attention to its many "fictions", while acknowledging that it "embodies some popular traditions". The Irish archaeologist R. A. Stewart Macalister , who translated

5180-444: Was accompanied by an apparatus criticus , Macalister's own notes and an introduction. Macalister's translation "synthesizes the versions of this already synthesized text". The collection can be divided into ten chapters: A retelling of the familiar Christian story of the creation , the fall of Man and the early history of the world. In addition to Genesis , the author draws upon several recondite works for many of his details (e.g.

5254-418: Was an Immigration or arrival of a Colony; and under this name the coming of the several colonies of Parthalon of Nemedh , of the Firbolgs, the Tuatha Dé Danann , the Milesians, etc., into Erinn, are all described in separate tales. It is probably from the original records of these ancient stories that the early part of the various Books of Invasions has been compiled. R. A. Stewart Macalister believes that

5328-589: Was divided into several baronies: Armagh was held by the O'Rogans, Lower Fews was held by O'Neill of the Fews, and Upper Fews were under governance of the O'Larkins, who were later displaced by the MacCanns. Oneilland East was the territory of the O'Garveys, who were also displaced by the MacCanns. Oneilland West, like Oneilland East, was once O'Neill territory, until it was then held by the MacCanns, who were Lords of Clanbrassil. Upper and Lower Orior were O'Hanlon territory. Tiranny

5402-506: Was fatally shot by a sniper as he and a colleague investigated "suspicious activity" at a house nearby when a window was smashed by youths causing the occupant to phone the police. The PSNI officers responded to the emergency call, giving a CIRA sniper the chance to shoot and kill officer Stephen Carroll. The county was administered by Armagh County Council from 1899 until the abolition of county councils in Northern Ireland in 1973. County Armagh remains officially used for purposes such as

5476-576: Was ruled by Ronaghan. Miscellaneous tracts of land were ruled by O'Kelaghan. The area around the base of Slieve Gullion near Newry also became home to a large number of the Clan McGuinness as they were dispossessed of hereditary lands held in the County Down . St. Patrick is considered the first bishop of the Diocese of Armagh. County Armagh is presently one of four counties of Northern Ireland to have

#279720