Royal sites of Ireland

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The royal site of the kings of Ulster, Eamhain Mhacha, now known as Navan Fort

The royal sites of Ireland were the seats of the

standing stones, cairns and enclosures.[1]

Each Irish kingdom is thought to have had its own royal site,

UNESCO World Heritage Site.[4]

These primary sites might be associated with less prominent sites that served other purposes for the kingship. For instance, the King of Tara presided over assemblies at Tailtiu (Teltown) and Tlachgta (the Hill of Ward) during the Lughnasadh festival.[5]

Features of a royal site

Historian Michael Herity analysed several historically designated royal sites to determine what feature they shared. He noted that each had

ancestor worship.[6] Herity also notes that a composite mound and circular enclosure structure, exemplified by the combination of An Forradh and Teach Cormaic, is almost exclusively found on royal sites.[7] Less frequent features include sacred trees ("bileda"), stone chairs, inauguration stones, stone basins, and churches.[8]

Inauguration sites

Detail of a copy of Richard Bartlett's 1602 map of Ulster that included this depiction of an Uí Néill (O'Neil) inauguration on Tulach Óg. A figure on the right, an Ó Catháin, can be seen holding a shoe over the king's head as part of the "single shoe" ritual.

Many royal sites served as ceremonial locations for inauguration ceremonies. The prospective monarchs benefited from associating themselves with the ancient monuments and cultural significance of the royal sites.[8] Inauguration ceremonies treated the prospective king's lands as "betrothed" and the rituals followed the pattern of a marital feast or banais righe.[8] The hilltop location of the inauguration sites offered panoramic views of the "betrothed" lands during the ceremony.[8] Similar feis ceremonies in the early Middle Ages represented a direct marriage between the king and a goddess representing his lands. The significance of the marriage analogy declined in the later Middle Ages as kingship became more oriented toward ownership.[9]

Historical accounts of inauguration ceremonies are scarce and varied. One account suggests that the

Méig Uidhir in the sixteenth century.[11] An account of the Choncobhair ceremony records the would-be king leaving a single slipper at his inauguration site to signify his claim. The next day, the Mac Diarmada, a vassal family with the role of "king-maker", placed a shoe on his lord's foot during the inauguration.[10] In the Uí Néill ceremony, the would-be king sat on a stone chair on the inauguration hill and Uí Ágáin or, in later ceremonies, Ó Catháin, (king-makers for the Uí Néill), cast the shoe over the seated prince's head.[10] The throwing of the shoe may have been evolved from a tradition of throwing a shoe for good luck.[10] The shoe may also be related to the footprints carved in inaugural stones.[12]

Detail of Bartlett's map with an inuauguration chair located at Tullyhogue Fort, County Tyrone at the bottom.

Inauguration sites had a diversity of features, attesting to their diverse ancient origins. Some of these ancient features seem to have been adapted for the purpose of inauguration ceremonies such as the flattening of the top of a burial mound.[8] Many inauguration sites have small mounds with a flattened area on top just large enough for a man to stand on. These features have been interpreted as "throne mounds," and might have allowed a king to stand on a summit and survey the lands and people below.[8] Several cases of using stone inauguration chairs were documented, although the use of a more conventional chair "throne" was probably an import dating to the later medieval period.[13] Cartographer Richard Bartlett drew the chair at Tulach Óg the inauguration site of the Ui Neill of Tir Eoghain. The only extant Irish inauguration chair, now in the Ulster Museum, belonged to the Ui Neill dynasty of the Clann Aeda Buide.[14]

Other royal sites

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b Herity 1993, p. 127.
  2. ^ Byrne 1973, 27[full citation needed]
  3. ^ a b c Newman 1998, p. 127.
  4. ^ "The Royal Sites of Ireland: Cashel, Dún Ailinne, Hill of Uisneach, Rathcroghan Complex, and Tara Complex". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 4 August 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  5. ^ Newman 1998, p. 129.
  6. ^ a b Herity 1993, p. 136.
  7. ^ Herity 1993, p. 137.
  8. ^ a b c d e f 'Inauguration Sites'. Medieval Ireland: an Encyclopedia. p. 230.
  9. ^ a b c d 'Feis'. Medieval Ireland: an Encyclopedia. p 165.
  10. ^ a b c d FitzPatrick 2004, p. 123.
  11. ^ FitzPatrick 2004, p. 122.
  12. ^ FitzPatrick 2004, p. 128.
  13. ^ FitzPatrick 2004, p. 129.
  14. ^ 'Inauguration Sites'. Medieval Ireland: an Encyclopedia. p. 231.
  15. ^ Medieval Ireland: an Encyclopedia, p 11.
  16. ^ FitzPatrick 2004, pp. 139–148.
  17. ^ FitzPatrick 2004, p. 206.
  18. JSTOR 27695679
    .
  19. ^ FitzPatrick 2004, p. 32.
  20. ^ MacDonald, Philip (2012). "Geophysical Survey and Excavation at the Mound of Down, County Down". Queen's University Belfast.
  21. ^ F.J. Byrne in Eogan 1968, 399[full citation needed]
  22. ^ Herity 1993, p. 147.
  23. ^ FitzPatrick 2004, pp. 80, 228–229.
  24. ^ FitzPatrick 2004, pp. 52–59.
  25. ^ FitzPatrick 2004, pp. 84–85.
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