Chronicle of Ireland - Authorship

Authorship

There is no direct evidence for the identity of the Chronicle's successive authors, but scholars are confident that it was produced by annalists working in churches and monasteries and was intended for an ecclesiastical audience. The version of the Chronicle that annalists and chroniclers were working from was written in different places at different times; the earliest evidence for one of its authors places it in Iona sometime after 563, continuing until about 642. Around 639, another chronicle of uncertain origin was begun elsewhere and merged with the Iona chronicle in the second half of the 7th century. The chronicle was then continued until about 740. From about 740 to 911, the Chronicle's annalist was working in the Irish midlands, probably in the province of Brega (sometimes Breagh) but possibly in the monastery at Clonard. Some scholars believe that work may have moved to Armagh by the beginning of the 9th century, but debate continues on this point.

After 911, the Chronicle's descendants break into two main branches: one in Armagh, which was integrated into the Annals of Ulster; and a "Clonmacnoise group" including the Annals of Clonmacnoise (an English translation), the Annals of Tigernach (fragmentary), the Chronicum Scotorum (an abbreviation of Tigernach), and the Annals of the Four Masters. Most surviving witnesses to the lost Chronicle's original content are descended from the Clonmacnoise chronicle.