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Déisi
The Déisi were a social class in Ireland between the ancient and early medieval period. The various peoples listed under the heading déis shared a similar status in Gaelic Ireland, and had little or no actual kinship, though they were[when?] often thought of[by whom?] as genetically related.[citation needed] During the era of Roman rule in Britain, many members of the Déisi were recorded as settling in western British coastal areas (especially the areas known later as Wales, Cornwall and Devon).
During the early Middle Ages, some Déisi groups and subgroups exerted great political influence in various parts of Ireland. For instance, in Munster, a subgroup of Déisi constituted a regional kingdom, Déisi Muman which ruled modern day County Waterford and South Tipperary, and were part of the hegemony of the Eoganachta confederacy.
Déisi is an Old Irish term that is derived from the word déis, which meant in its original sense a 'vassal' or 'subject' and, in particular, people who paid rent to a landowner. As such, it denoted a specific social class. Later, however, it was more often used as a collective term for the members of particular septs, regarded as originating in that social class.
The early histories of the Déisi groups are obscure. Evolving from peoples connected by social status rather than kinship, these groups had largely independent histories in different regions of Ireland. While some medieval texts attempt to give the Déisi an aristocratic origin, these are later fabrications dating to the period after the Déisi had gained political power. Despite their tributary origins, representatives of at least one Déisi population would eventually achieve spectacular success, founding a powerful medieval dynasty which is still in existence.
Déisi groups included the Déisi Muman (the Déisi of Munster), Déisi Temro (Déisi of Tara), Déisi Becc ("Little Déisi," located in the Kingdom of Mide) and the Déisi Tuisceart (the Northern Déisi; a sept of which would become famous as the Dál gCais).
Today, 'Déisi' is an informal term for County Waterford and its people.
The Déisi Muman were a prominent enough power to form their own regional kingdom in Munster from a fairly early date. In a recent[when?] title[which?], Paul MacCotter states "The regional kingdom of Déisi Muman must have existed in roughly its present location from a very early period. Oghams dating perhaps from the fifth century record unique first names associated with its kings." According to Francis John Byrne, there are certain inscriptional hints that both the Eóganachta and their Waterford Déisi vassals may have been of fairly recent[when?] Gaulish origins. The ancestors of the Eóganachta are known as the Deirgtine and they are also believed to have been active in Roman Britain, one piece of evidence being the name of their capital Cashel, thought to be inspired by the Roman castella they observed on raids. The Déisi Muman enjoyed a position in the later Eóganachta overkingdom suggesting a special relationship. Byrne mentions it was noticed by Eoin MacNeill that a number of the early names in the Eóganachta pedigrees are found in oghams in the Déisi country of Waterford, among them Nia Segamain (NETASEGAMONAS), after the Gaulish war god Segomo. According to MacNeill, the Waterford Déisi and the Eóganachta at Cashel "cannot well be disconnected".
The Uí Liatháin dynasty were western neighbours of the proto-Déisi Muman along the southern Irish coast and raided and colonized parts of Wales and Cornwall. They are the best characterized of the South Irish colonists because of clear references to them by name in both early Irish and early British sources, while the presence of the Déisi Muman cannot actually be confirmed. Also noted are the Laigin, particularly in North Wales.
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Déisi
The Déisi were a social class in Ireland between the ancient and early medieval period. The various peoples listed under the heading déis shared a similar status in Gaelic Ireland, and had little or no actual kinship, though they were[when?] often thought of[by whom?] as genetically related.[citation needed] During the era of Roman rule in Britain, many members of the Déisi were recorded as settling in western British coastal areas (especially the areas known later as Wales, Cornwall and Devon).
During the early Middle Ages, some Déisi groups and subgroups exerted great political influence in various parts of Ireland. For instance, in Munster, a subgroup of Déisi constituted a regional kingdom, Déisi Muman which ruled modern day County Waterford and South Tipperary, and were part of the hegemony of the Eoganachta confederacy.
Déisi is an Old Irish term that is derived from the word déis, which meant in its original sense a 'vassal' or 'subject' and, in particular, people who paid rent to a landowner. As such, it denoted a specific social class. Later, however, it was more often used as a collective term for the members of particular septs, regarded as originating in that social class.
The early histories of the Déisi groups are obscure. Evolving from peoples connected by social status rather than kinship, these groups had largely independent histories in different regions of Ireland. While some medieval texts attempt to give the Déisi an aristocratic origin, these are later fabrications dating to the period after the Déisi had gained political power. Despite their tributary origins, representatives of at least one Déisi population would eventually achieve spectacular success, founding a powerful medieval dynasty which is still in existence.
Déisi groups included the Déisi Muman (the Déisi of Munster), Déisi Temro (Déisi of Tara), Déisi Becc ("Little Déisi," located in the Kingdom of Mide) and the Déisi Tuisceart (the Northern Déisi; a sept of which would become famous as the Dál gCais).
Today, 'Déisi' is an informal term for County Waterford and its people.
The Déisi Muman were a prominent enough power to form their own regional kingdom in Munster from a fairly early date. In a recent[when?] title[which?], Paul MacCotter states "The regional kingdom of Déisi Muman must have existed in roughly its present location from a very early period. Oghams dating perhaps from the fifth century record unique first names associated with its kings." According to Francis John Byrne, there are certain inscriptional hints that both the Eóganachta and their Waterford Déisi vassals may have been of fairly recent[when?] Gaulish origins. The ancestors of the Eóganachta are known as the Deirgtine and they are also believed to have been active in Roman Britain, one piece of evidence being the name of their capital Cashel, thought to be inspired by the Roman castella they observed on raids. The Déisi Muman enjoyed a position in the later Eóganachta overkingdom suggesting a special relationship. Byrne mentions it was noticed by Eoin MacNeill that a number of the early names in the Eóganachta pedigrees are found in oghams in the Déisi country of Waterford, among them Nia Segamain (NETASEGAMONAS), after the Gaulish war god Segomo. According to MacNeill, the Waterford Déisi and the Eóganachta at Cashel "cannot well be disconnected".
The Uí Liatháin dynasty were western neighbours of the proto-Déisi Muman along the southern Irish coast and raided and colonized parts of Wales and Cornwall. They are the best characterized of the South Irish colonists because of clear references to them by name in both early Irish and early British sources, while the presence of the Déisi Muman cannot actually be confirmed. Also noted are the Laigin, particularly in North Wales.