References and Further Reading
Frame, Robin. “Power and Society in the Lordship of Ireland,
1272–1377.” Past and Present76 (1977): 3–33.
MacNiocaill, Gearoid. “The Interaction of Laws.” In The
English in Medieval Ireland, edited by James Lydon, pp.
105–117. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 1984.
See alsoBrehon Law; Common Law
MARIANUS SCOTTUS
Marianus Scottus, whose real name was Máel Brigte,
was born 1028 in the north of Ireland and died December
22, 1082 at Mainz. He composed a work called the
Chronicon ex chronicis. This world history extended
from Creation to the year of his death, and it was
written probably at Mainz.
Asides in his chronicle provide what little is known
of Marianus’ life. He was a poet who identifies himself
in an acrostic verse. Marianus entered religious life in
1052 at Moville (Co. Down), but was banished from
Ireland in 1056 by Abbot Tigernach Bairrcech. The
reason is unknown, although he claims that it was a
minor offense. He went to the monastery of St. Martin
at Cologne, arriving on August 1. In 1058 he migrated
to Fulda, where he was walled up as an inclususin
- Immediately prior to this, Marianus had been
ordained a priest at the Church of St. Killian the Martyr
at Würzburg. Ten years later, in 1069, Marianus went
to the Church of St. Martin at Mainz, again as an
inclusus, where he died in 1082.
The chronicle of Marianus is an important source
of information about the contemporary Irish clergy on
the continent as well as for Irish and Scottish affairs.
The earliest copy is Vatican MS Codex Palatino-
Vaticanus no. 830, written in part by Marianus and in
part by his Irish amanuensis. The chronicle contains a
prologue and three books, with the third, from the
Ascension to Marianus’ own day, having unique infor-
mation such as the claim that Brian Boru was slain
while at prayer during the battle of Clontarf. The first
part of the manuscript provides a glimpse of the medi-
eval historian at work, as Marianus collects materials
and develops a chronology that is 21 or 22 years in
advance of the actual date. He used a variety of mate-
rials, including a late-ninth-century king-list extending
from the legendary Conn of the Hundred Battles to
Flann“Sinna”mac Máele Sechnaill (d. 916), records
from the continental Irish communities, and accounts
from contemporary informants. Marianus’ informants
included his amanuensis, who dated one year by ref-
erence to the slaying of the Leinster king Diarmait mac
Máele na mBó (1072) and whose journey across
Scotland provided the exact dates for the deaths of
kings Malcolm II, Duncan, Macbeth, and Lulach. He also
copied verses on the creation of Adam by Airbertach
Mac Cosse.
Marianus’ work was widely respected and influen-
tial. His chronicle was used by Bishop Robert de
Losinga of Hereford and the chroniclers Sigebert of
Gembloux and John of Worcester, among others.
Bishop Robert brought Marianus’ chronicle to
England and made a digest of it for his own use.
Through Robert’s friendship with Bishop Wulfstan II
of Worcester, a copy was used at that church.
Marianus provided a point of contact between the
Irish and continental writing centers. Efforts at chro-
nological precision, respect for his continental prede-
cessors, and interest in his homeland make Marianus’
chronicle an important resource for historians. The
fame of his work brought Irish historical writing into
the view of Europe as a whole.
BENJAMIN HUDSONReferences and Further Reading
Waitz, G. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores.Vol. 5,
edition of book 3 of the chronicle, pp. 481–564. Hanover,
1884.
MacCarthy, B. Todd Lecture Series.Vol. 3, The Codex Palatino-
Vaticanus, no. 830. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 1892.
Kenney, James. Sources for the Early History of Ireland: Eccle-
siastical. Edited by L. Bieler, pp. 614–616. New York, 1966.
Reprint, Dublin: Pádraic Ó Táilliúir, 1979.
See alsoAnnals and Chronicles; Poetry, Irish;
ScriptoriaMARRIAGE
Marriage in medieval Ireland was the result of a sym-
biotic relationship between native Brehon law and
canon law. But the theory, as defined by canonists and
jurists, was, as elsewhere in medieval Europe, very
different from the social and economic conditions that
impinged upon the practical realities. Recent studies
have shown that even native law surviving in Old Irish
tracts like Cáin Lánamna, “The law of marriage,” was
influenced by Roman law. Canon law, written in Latin,
was, of course, influenced by the Bible and early
church canons, but it was also influenced by Brehon
law. The main sources of canon law were the text
known as “The teachings of the Apostles,” Didascalia
Apostolorum, and the statements or formulations of
the early church fathers. But the clerical jurists relied
primarily upon the Bible, texts from which were
quoted with great frequency.
Native Irish law was, like the Roman law of mar-
riage, primarily concerned with property inheritance
and the transference of property and thus most imme-
diately affected the higher classes, those with propertyMARCH LAW