Flannchad Ua hEolais (fl. 1101) was a twelfth century

scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...

and scholar at the abbey of Durrow, County Offaly. He was likely born, and lived his childhood, at '' Conmaicne Réin'', present day southern

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority f ...

. Flannchad moved to

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hon ...

in adult life to become a ''scriba'' (scribe) at Durrow Monastery.

Life

Flannchad was a scholar and scribe at Durrow, County Offaly. He wrote a document on a blank verso of the

Book of Durrow The Book of Durrow is an illuminated manuscript dated to c. 700 that consists of text from the four Gospels gospel books, written in an Irish adaption of Vulgate Latin, and illustrated in the Insular script style.Moss (2014), p. 229 Its origin ...

. The text, in Irish and Latin, describes a resolution for some unrecorded dispute, supposedly agreed during the reign of

Muirchertach Ua Briain Muircheartach Ua Briain (old spelling: Muirchertach Ua Briain) (also known as Murtaugh O'Brien) (c. 1050 – c. 10 March 1119), son of Toirdelbach Ua Briain and great-grandson of Brian Boru, was King of Munster and later self-declared High Kin ...

as high king of Ireland. That suggests Flannchad was active circa 1101AD. Flannchad was probably buried at Durrow monastery.

A great agreement (oentu) between Comgan and Columcille. ... It was given in the time of Muiredach mac meic Cormain and Muircheartach Ua Briain king of Ireland... Flannchad Ua hEolais was the scribe. (App. XXVII) " The settlement of disputes in early medieval Europe", Davies and Fouracre, 1992, p171

He possessed the rare 11-12th century "Ua hEolais" surname. A second scribe name,

Ódhrán ua hEolais Odhran Ua hEolais (died A.D. 994) was a medieval scribe and scholar at the abbey of Clonmacnoise. He must have been born, and lived his childhood, in the kingdom of ''Conmaicne, Conmaicne Magh Réin'', which corresponds to present day County ...

(d. 994 AD), recorded at

Clonmacnoise Clonmacnoise ( Irish: ''Cluain Mhic Nóis'') is a ruined monastery situated in County Offaly in Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone, founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán, a young man from Rathcroghan, County Roscommon. Until the 9th ...

must be a relative. The family name originates from Muintir Eolais of

county Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority f ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flannchad ua hEolais History of County Leitrim History of County Offaly 12th-century Irish people 11th-century births 12th-century deaths People from County Leitrim People from County Offaly Irish Christian monks People of Conmaicne Maigh Nissi

Life

See also

References

Sources