59. Bran Ardchenn, King of Leinster, and his wife Eithne are Assassinated, Cell Cúile Duma, Ireland May 6, 795
The Book of Leinster, held at Trinity College, Dublin (this is f. 53) has lots and lots of information, of various sorts, and includes Irish Annals, which tell you such interesting things as, for example, the death of Bran and Eithne. They were burned to death! That’s it. That’s really all we know. The page above doesn’t have anything to do with Bran and Eithne, but it does give you an excellent example of why we said the illustrations in the manuscript are not as good as the illustrations in The Book of Kells. On the other hand, what illustrations are.
The Irish Annals are full — full, we tell you — of detailed histories of the kings of Ireland. Only mostly the details are their names, how long they ruled, and how they died. Though Bran Ardchenn and Eithne were burned to death in a church, we don’t know more than that. In this episode, we discuss early Irish history, the Book of Leinster, and Anne’s annoyance at not knowing exactly how Bran and Eithne died. Because “burned to death” doesn’t really explain much.
