Áed Ua Crimthainn

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Áed Ua Crimthainn, active in the 12th century and also known as Áed mac Crimthainn, was the abbot and coarb of Terryglass (Tir dá Glas) near Lough Derg in County Tipperary, Ireland. He was the principal scribe of the Book of Leinster and the Book of Oughaval, important Middle Irish manuscripts, and is believed to have been their sole compiler. He signed himself as Áed Ua Crimthainn.

Áed came from an old ecclesiastical family in County Laois and was a comarb (heir) of Colum moccu Loigse, the 6th-century founder of Terryglass and a friend of Colum Cille. He became the temporal head of Terryglass after Finn mac maic Chélechair Ui Cheinnéidig died in 1152. It seems Áed had no successor; Terryglass was burned in 1164 and was later dissolved by reforms.

He was a friend of Finn mac Gussáin Ua Gormáin, bishop of Kildare and abbot of Newry, who sometimes collaborated with him, and Gilla na Náem Úa Duinn helped with the Book of Leinster as well. A note in the Book of Leinster says, “Áed Ua Crimthainn wrote the book and collected it from many books.” The Book of Leinster is a compendium of stories, poetry and history, likely written between 1151 and 1201 and largely completed by the 1160s; the last dated entry in Áed’s hand appears to be 1166. When Gerald of Wales saw the book with Strongbow, he praised its illuminations as “the work of Angels.” Áed was probably the court historian for Diarmait Mac Murchada.

In the Book of Leinster, he appears to have introduced the idea of the rí Érenn co fressabra, the “king of Ireland with opposition,” describing Diarmait’s ambitions and the deeds of his great-grandfather Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó. A later misreading of Áed’s period by Conall Macgeoghegan contributed to errors in lists of High Kings in the Annals of Clonmacnoise. A letter from Bishop Finn to Áed was copied into the Book of Leinster; it is often claimed to be the oldest surviving personal letter in Ireland, though earlier correspondence existed. The letter, written in Irish and translated in part, asks Áed to study the poems in the book of Mac Lonáin and to be in touch.

Áed is remembered as someone who respected Irish tradition, even when it challenged his religious beliefs or his reason. The Book of Leinster ends with a caveat from the author: some incidents are the deceptions of demons or poetic invention; others are probable or improbable, and some are included for the delight of fools.