Recent from talks
Tanistry
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Tanistry
Tanistry is a Gaelic system for passing on titles and lands. In this system the Tanist (Irish: Tánaiste; Scottish Gaelic: Tànaiste; Manx: Tanishtey) is the office of heir-apparent, or second-in-command, among the (royal) Gaelic patrilineal dynasties of Ireland, Scotland and Mann, to succeed to the chieftainship or to the kingship. The word is preserved in Ireland's government, where the prime minister is the Taoiseach while the deputy prime minister is the Tánaiste.
Historically the tanist was chosen from among the heads of the roydammna or "righdamhna" (literally, those of kingly material) or, alternatively, among all males of the sept, and elected by them in full assembly. The eligibility was based on descent from a king to a few degrees of proximity. Usually descent from the male lines of a king was the norm, however in Scotland, descent through the female lines of a king was also accepted, possibly because of an intermingling with the Pictish succession rules. An example of this is King Eochaid who claimed the Scottish throne as the son of the daughter of Kenneth I.
The composition and the governance of the clan were built upon descent from a similar ancestor. The office was noted from the beginning of recorded history in Ireland, and probably pre-dates it. A story about Cormac mac Airt refers to his eldest son as his tanist. Following his murder by a member of the Deisi, another roydammna, Eochaid Gonnat, succeeded as king.
In Ireland, the tanistry continued among the dominant dynasties, as well as lesser lords and chieftains, until the mid-16th/early 17th century when it was replaced by English common law. When in 1943 Ireland appointed its first new Chief Herald, it did not reintroduce tanistry. The state granted courtesy recognition to Irish chiefs based on primogeniture from the last known chief.
The royal succession in Celtic Scotland was limited to the elective succession of the male descendants of Siol Alpein (House of Alpin) until the accession of King Malcolm II in 1005. This monarch was the first to introduce the concept of hereditary monarchy in Scotland. He did so to try to eliminate the strife caused by the elective law, which encouraged rival claimants to fight for the throne. The earlier Pictish kingdoms had allowed female-line succession to the throne and in middle age Scotland, Pictish and Gaelic succession rules were intermingled. Since Malcolm had only daughters, the throne passed to his grandson through his eldest daughter and later, their descendants. The Irish monarchies, for their part, never at any stage allowed for female line succession.
The king or chief held office for life and was required by custom to be of full age, in possession of all his faculties, and without any remarkable blemish of mind or body. At the same time, and subject to the same conditions, a tanist or next heir to the monarchy was elected, who if the king died or became disqualified, at once became king. Typically a former king's son became tanist, sometimes the son of the king simultaneously elected but more often a son of a rival branch of the dynasty. Election was based on the principle that the dignity of chieftainship descend to the eldest and most worthy agnate of the last ruler; this differs from the system of primogeniture. Tanistry still disqualified many in the clan, as most clansmen were clients, not related to the ruling line, patrilineally or otherwise.
One of the most common rules for qualification as a roydammna was that a candidate had to be a member of the previous chief's "derbfhine", a kindred including all descended in the male line from a common great-grandfather. However, it was often restricted to the chief's gelfhine, a fine descended from one common (patrilineal) grandfather. This meant that the group became highly exclusive, keeping the kingship within the dynasty. Many in the wider clan might be reduced to gentry or peasant status (though they might share the surname). These features make tanistry an agnatic succession mode, and a succession by appointment, as it was an elective monarchy. Tanistry evades the basic requirement of the hereditary monarchy, i.e. that the outcome of the succession is predictable, up to the identity of successor and next heirs, by genealogy.
The downside of the large group of eligibles was that increases in roydammna in each generation might lead to internecine dynastic civil war. Such was the case among the descendants of King and High King Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair (1088–1156). His dynasty, the Uí Briúin, had successfully ruled as Kings of Connacht since at least the mid-5th century. Their increasing consolidation via the annexation of the Kingdoms of Mide and Dublin, plus suborning neighboring states and lordships to vassalage, led to Tairrdelbach becoming the first of his dynasty to become High King.
Hub AI
Tanistry AI simulator
(@Tanistry_simulator)
Tanistry
Tanistry is a Gaelic system for passing on titles and lands. In this system the Tanist (Irish: Tánaiste; Scottish Gaelic: Tànaiste; Manx: Tanishtey) is the office of heir-apparent, or second-in-command, among the (royal) Gaelic patrilineal dynasties of Ireland, Scotland and Mann, to succeed to the chieftainship or to the kingship. The word is preserved in Ireland's government, where the prime minister is the Taoiseach while the deputy prime minister is the Tánaiste.
Historically the tanist was chosen from among the heads of the roydammna or "righdamhna" (literally, those of kingly material) or, alternatively, among all males of the sept, and elected by them in full assembly. The eligibility was based on descent from a king to a few degrees of proximity. Usually descent from the male lines of a king was the norm, however in Scotland, descent through the female lines of a king was also accepted, possibly because of an intermingling with the Pictish succession rules. An example of this is King Eochaid who claimed the Scottish throne as the son of the daughter of Kenneth I.
The composition and the governance of the clan were built upon descent from a similar ancestor. The office was noted from the beginning of recorded history in Ireland, and probably pre-dates it. A story about Cormac mac Airt refers to his eldest son as his tanist. Following his murder by a member of the Deisi, another roydammna, Eochaid Gonnat, succeeded as king.
In Ireland, the tanistry continued among the dominant dynasties, as well as lesser lords and chieftains, until the mid-16th/early 17th century when it was replaced by English common law. When in 1943 Ireland appointed its first new Chief Herald, it did not reintroduce tanistry. The state granted courtesy recognition to Irish chiefs based on primogeniture from the last known chief.
The royal succession in Celtic Scotland was limited to the elective succession of the male descendants of Siol Alpein (House of Alpin) until the accession of King Malcolm II in 1005. This monarch was the first to introduce the concept of hereditary monarchy in Scotland. He did so to try to eliminate the strife caused by the elective law, which encouraged rival claimants to fight for the throne. The earlier Pictish kingdoms had allowed female-line succession to the throne and in middle age Scotland, Pictish and Gaelic succession rules were intermingled. Since Malcolm had only daughters, the throne passed to his grandson through his eldest daughter and later, their descendants. The Irish monarchies, for their part, never at any stage allowed for female line succession.
The king or chief held office for life and was required by custom to be of full age, in possession of all his faculties, and without any remarkable blemish of mind or body. At the same time, and subject to the same conditions, a tanist or next heir to the monarchy was elected, who if the king died or became disqualified, at once became king. Typically a former king's son became tanist, sometimes the son of the king simultaneously elected but more often a son of a rival branch of the dynasty. Election was based on the principle that the dignity of chieftainship descend to the eldest and most worthy agnate of the last ruler; this differs from the system of primogeniture. Tanistry still disqualified many in the clan, as most clansmen were clients, not related to the ruling line, patrilineally or otherwise.
One of the most common rules for qualification as a roydammna was that a candidate had to be a member of the previous chief's "derbfhine", a kindred including all descended in the male line from a common great-grandfather. However, it was often restricted to the chief's gelfhine, a fine descended from one common (patrilineal) grandfather. This meant that the group became highly exclusive, keeping the kingship within the dynasty. Many in the wider clan might be reduced to gentry or peasant status (though they might share the surname). These features make tanistry an agnatic succession mode, and a succession by appointment, as it was an elective monarchy. Tanistry evades the basic requirement of the hereditary monarchy, i.e. that the outcome of the succession is predictable, up to the identity of successor and next heirs, by genealogy.
The downside of the large group of eligibles was that increases in roydammna in each generation might lead to internecine dynastic civil war. Such was the case among the descendants of King and High King Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair (1088–1156). His dynasty, the Uí Briúin, had successfully ruled as Kings of Connacht since at least the mid-5th century. Their increasing consolidation via the annexation of the Kingdoms of Mide and Dublin, plus suborning neighboring states and lordships to vassalage, led to Tairrdelbach becoming the first of his dynasty to become High King.