Archbishop of Armagh
Armagh has survived as a center of missionary work in Ireland by St. Patrick. The high importance that has been attributed Patrick, was also transmitted to the bishopric in Armagh, whose incumbent is viewed as Primate of the Church in Ireland.
As the first bishop of Armagh applies Patrick himself The Archdiocese of Armagh was built by the Synod of Rathbreasail until the year 1111. Since the Reformation in 1534, there are both a Roman Catholic archbishop and an archbishop of the Church of Ireland. Both see themselves as the successors of Patrick.
- 2.1 Bishops of Armagh
- 2.2 Archbishops of Armagh before the Reformation
- 2.3 Roman Catholic Archbishops of Armagh after the Reformation
- 2.4 Anglican Archbishops of Armagh after the Reformation
- 3.1 Primary Sources
- 3.2 secondary literature
- 3.3 External links
Notes on the lists
The office of bishop in the early Middle Ages
There is no complete and reliable list of bishops Armagh handed down in the early Middle Ages. This is mainly due to the mid-6th century in Ireland and introduced many to the 12th century maintained separation of the episcopate in a successor of the founder, who was abbot of the monastery at the bishop's seat often simultaneously, and the actual bishop. The reason for this was probably in the increased establishment of monasteries in bishoprics and the growing political and economic importance of a bishopric. The competencies were distributed according to the former canon law in Ireland about as follows:
- The successor ( Old Irish: comarbae, Latin: princeps) of the founder ( in the case of Patrick of Armagh ) had the highest political authority, which were symbolized by the relics, including the shepherd's crook. He could claim the rightful tribute to the diocese and was in demand as a political mediator go. This position was often occupied by married lay people who inherited this often within their own families. In Armagh this was particularly the case in the 8th and 9th centuries.
- The abbot stood in front of the monastery and its monks.
- The bishop was the supreme authority in spiritual matters, donated the rightful sacraments and was the clergy in his diocese before that did not belong to a monastery.
The earliest example of an official separation in Armagh is from the year 534, the split between David, Mac Guaire as bishop and Feidlimid Finn as abbot and successor Patrick. These offices separation was often overlooked, with the result that has been adopted in many cases the completely preserved list of successors Patricks from the early Middle Ages RELIED list of bishops.
Completeness of the list of bishops
From the period from the 5th to the early 12th century (see below: first list ) complete lists of incumbents have survived only for the ministry of the Successor Patrick, as this had the highest reputation. Bishops who were not simultaneously successor Patrick are only partially documented in the annals. The first list below mentions only the names from the annals that were explicitly mentioned as bishops of Armagh.
It happens that bishops who were also followers Patricks same time, not explicitly mentioned as a bishop in the annals. An example of this is the 936 deceased Mael Patraic Mac Maeltuile. The Annals of Ulster call him as a successor to Patrick. However, the Chronicon Scotorum or the Annals of the Four Masters provide here an indication that Mael Patraic has been a bishop. It is also conceivable that there are other such cases, in which the other Annals not fill the void.
Conversely bishops are mentioned in the annals, which were assigned only by a copying error Armagh. An example of this is the entry U1122.6 in the Annals of Ulster, the Mael Coluim Ua Brolcháin as bishop of Armagh calls, even though this is the first Bishop of Ardstraw. Gwynn has claimed in his book that this is true for not less than three bishops of Ardstraw. These are not included according to the list.
Annual data from the annals
The dates of the Annals can move through a series of errors or diverge among themselves. An example of this is the year of death of David, Mac Guaire, which lay three annals in three different years: 550, 551 and 553 thanks to the extensive work and analysis of Mc Carthy can reconstruct the correct year numbers. For David, Mac Guaire can be so determined as 552 deaths a year.
All years to the early Christian bishop list have been corrected according to the table work of Mc Carthy. From the 12th century, the problem no longer, and thus could all subsequent entries will be unchanged.
The lists of the archbishops
All other lists are largely based on the Handbook of British Chronology of 1986. Cellach For Mac Aodh 's assumption of office in 1105 has been corrected to 1106 because Cellach 1105 initially only successor Patrick and one year later became bishop.
The information from the Handbook of British Chronology based on 1172 records of the English crown, the so-called patent roles that documented the selection, appointment, the consecration, the inauguration and the resignation from office. The patent in question rollers Ireland were largely adopted in 1922 lost in the fire of the Irish Record Office, but have been previously systematically evaluated yet by H. J. Lawlor.
To keep the lists clearly, with already consecrated bishops the date of appointment is called along with the former bishop's seat. Otherwise, given the consecration date of priority, as far as is known.
After the Reformation in 1534 all existing ecclesiastical institutions went up in the Anglican Church of Ireland. In particular, all the bishops remained in office and have been recognized by the Crown, if they were willing to give their papal letters of appointment. This forced the Catholic Church to build a parallel diocesan administration and to occupy the episcopal offices new. As in the transition period many bishops to the pope, despite the return of certificates of appointment secretly insured their loyalty, they are twice - out - as a Roman Catholic and Anglican bishops as. An example of this is George Dowdall, who was recognized by both the Crown and the Pope.
The lists after the Reformation respectively represent the view of the Roman Catholic Church and the English Crown dar. Due to the problem of hidden loyalties, the Roman Catholic archbishops were only included in this list if there is sufficient evidence of their loyalty to the Roman Catholic Church gave. This includes in particular a mention of her name in the certificate of appointment of the next bishop, as these documents usually perform the previous model and therefore represent a subsequent recognition of its predecessor. The list of Anglican archbishops in turn is based primarily on the evaluated Lawlor patent rolls.
The latest data from the list of bishops - from the period after the most recent edition (March 2007 ) of the Handbook of British Chronology in 1986 - were taken from the websites of the two dioceses.
Lists
Bishops of Armagh
This list of early Christian bishops the most important sources are given for each name. The abbreviation " C " stands for those of H. J. Lawlor compiled due medieval sources list the successor to Patrick. The other symbol " AI ", " CS ", "M " and "U " are according to the Annals of Inisfallen, the Chronicon Scotorum, the Annals of the Four Masters and the Annals of Ulster.