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IMC 2014: Sessions

Session 721: Insular Annals: England, Ireland, and Wales

Tuesday 8 July 2014, 14.15-15.45

Moderator/Chair:Peter Darby, Department of History, University of Nottingham
Paper 721-aUsing Databases and GIS to Analyse Chronicles Geographically: The Case of the Annals of Ulster, 1001-1070
(Language: English)
Nicholas Evans, Department of Celtic & Scottish Studies, University of Edinburgh
Index terms: Computing in Medieval Studies, Geography and Settlement Studies, Historiography - Medieval, Language and Literature - Celtic
Paper 721-bThe Historical Source(s) for Northern British Events in the Historia Brittonum and the Annales Cambriae
(Language: English)
Ben Guy, Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic, University of Cambridge
Index terms: Historiography - Medieval, Language and Literature - Celtic, Language and Literature - Latin
Abstract

Paper -a:
The Irish chronicles, which contain over a thousand events and people per century in a series of brief records, provide us with an evidence base for early medieval society and social connections unparalleled in Europe. In this paper I will discuss the methodological issues and results of a test case study involving the creation of a relational database for the 1001-1070 section of the Annals of Ulster which was then used to map and analyse the text, providing evidence for chronicling, the networks which underpinned it, and the potential to illuminate other aspects of society.

Paper -b:
The controversy surrounding the source for North British events related in Welsh historical texts known as the Historia Brittonum and the Annales Cambriae is based on a misconception: that there was but a single source. I argue that the two texts do share one source, a 'Northern History', whilst another, a set of Irish annals, lies behind many of the later northern entries in the Annales Cambriae. The limited use of the 'Northern History' by the Annales Cambriae, moreover, can tell us much about the motives behind the construction of that text.