John Clyn - Citizendia

John Clyn of the Friars Minor, Kilkenny was a 14th century Irish monk and chronicler who lived at the time of the Black Death. The term Franciscan is commonly used to refer to members of Catholic Kilkenny, ( is a city and county town of County Kilkenny in Ireland. Generally a chronicle (chronica from Greek (from) is a historical account of facts and events in chronological order The Black Death, or the Black Plague, was one of the deadliest Pandemics in human history widely thought to have been caused by a bacterium named Yersinia

1 Background
2 Career
3 'The Annals of Ireland'
4 Notable entrys
5 Other
6 References
7 See also

Background

Clyn was probably born in Leinster some years prior to 1300, possibly at Baile a Clinn/Clyn's town/Clintstown, in the parish of Conahy, some six and a half miles north-west of Kilkenny. Leinster (ˈlɛnstər Irish: Laighin, lainʲ one of the Provinces of Ireland, lies in the east of Ireland and comprises the counties of Kilkenny, ( is a city and county town of County Kilkenny in Ireland. The surname Clyn is found in Somerset and Bristol, which may have been where his Anglo-Norman ancestors originated. Somerset ( or) is a county in south west England The County town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county Bristol ( ˈbrɪstəl is a city, Unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the conquest by William of Normandy in 1066, although

Career

Bishop James Ussher stated, possibly in error, that Clyn was a doctor of the Franciscian Order. James Ussher (sometimes spelled Usher) (4 January 1581–21 March 1656 was Anglican Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland This statement may be a presumption as it has no supporting evidence. Clyn was well educated, though just where he received his education is unknown. He may have attened the university at Dublin, while Oxford and Cambridge remain more distant possibilities. Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, The city of Cambridge (ˈkeɪmbrɪdʒ is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England

Clyn is recorded as the guardian of the friary of Carrick in 1336; Bernadette Williams believes that he would have beeen about fifty in 1336 ("around the same age as his hero Fulk de la Freigne") as someone mature would have been needed to become guardian of Carrick in 1336. He may have attended the general chapter of the Friars Minor at Marseilles in 1346. Marseille, ( English alt Marseilles mɑrˈseɪ — French: maʁsɛj locally — Provençal Occitan: Marselha maʀˈsijɔ At some point between 1336 and 1348 he moved to Kilkenny. He was still alive after the 17 June 1349, his last entry in his annals being a euology for Fulk de la Freinge. Events 1462 - Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II ( The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat As the Black Death had ceased by this point, Clyn may have survived it. The Black Death, or the Black Plague, was one of the deadliest Pandemics in human history widely thought to have been caused by a bacterium named Yersinia If this is the case, he may have ceased writing " . . . because of the death of his friend, and perhaps patron, Fulk de la Freigne. "

'The Annals of Ireland'

In an effort to identify Clyn's purpose in writing his annals, Bernadette Williams states:

"They are not a house chronicle, a town chronicle or a political history. . . . the difference between a city and county annalist is quite evident; Clyn was not a member of the burgage population of Kilkenny but a man of the countryside. . . . The reality is that Clyn was writing a military history of the geographical area of Kilkenny and Tipperary . Tipperary ( Irish: Tiobraid Árann, lit "The well of Arra" is the name of a town (pop 4546 in the south-west of County Tipperary, Ireland . . his audience was either the military men of that area or more specificly a military family such as the de la Freignes. "

Indeed the latter family are mentioned fulsomly in his annals.

As a person "from a military and chivalric background . . . he displayed an accecptance of the military situation on the ground" but abhorred "treachery and unprovoked violence. "

He would be unknown as the author had he not identified himself in his entry on the Black Death. The Black Death, or the Black Plague, was one of the deadliest Pandemics in human history widely thought to have been caused by a bacterium named Yersinia

In 2007 an edition of the annals of Friar Clyn was translated into English by Dr. Bernadette Williams.

Notable entrys

"So that notable deeds should not perish with time, and be lost from the memory of future generations, I, seeing these many ills, and that the whole world encompassed by evil, waiting among the dead for death to come, have committed to writing what I have truly heard and examined; and so that the writing does not perish with the writer, or the work fail with the workman, I leave parchment for continuing the work, in case anyone should still be alive in the future and any son of Adam can escape this pestilence and continue the work thus begun. "

Other

The above quote from Clyn is also the epigraph for Connie Willis's book Doomsday Book in which a young historian from the mid 21st century named Kivrin goes back to the 14th century to directly observe life. Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis (born 31 December 1945) is an American Science fiction writer Characters within the novel are aware of Clyn and mention his work, which may have directly inspired Connie Willis to write her novel.

References

"The Annals of Ireland by Friar John Clyn", edited and translated with an Introduction, by Bernadette Williams, Four Courts Press, 2007. ISBN 978 1 84682 034 2
John Clyn - Catholic Encyclopedia article

This article about a historian is a stub. The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia A number of Irish annals were compiled up to and shortly after the end of Gaelic Ireland in the 17th century The Annals of Boyle, also Cottonian Annals, are a Chronicle of medieval Ireland. The Annals of Clonmacnoise chronicle events in Ireland from pre-history to A The Annals of Connacht, covering the years 1224 to 1544, are drawn from a manuscript compiled in the 15th and 16th centuries by at least three scribes all believed Annals of the Four Masters AD432 entryjpg|thumb|right|Entry for A The Annals of Inisfallen are a Chronicle of the medieval history of Ireland. The Annals of Lough Cé (also Annals of Loch Cé) cover events mainly in Connacht and its neighbouring regions from 1014 to 1590. The Annals of Tigernach ( abbr AT) is a Chronicle probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The Annals of Ulster ( Annála Uladh) are a Chronicle of medieval Ireland. The Chronicle of Ireland is the modern name for a hypothesized collection of Ecclesiastical Annals recording events in Ireland from 432 Chronicon Scotorum is an Irish chronicle According to Nollaig O Muraile it is "a collection of annals belonging to the 'Clonmacnoise group' covering the period from prehistoric Leabhar Breac is an Irish language publisher based in Indreabhán in the County Galway Gaeltacht of Cois Fharraige. Leabhar Clainne Suibhne ( The Book of Clan Sweeney) is the title of a 16th century Donegal manuscript written in Irish Leabhar Cloinne Aodha Buidhe is the title accorded to a Dunaire or poem-book of the Clann Aodha Buidhe Clandeboye ( Clann Aodha Buidhe) Ó Neill Lebor Gabála Érenn ( The Book of the Taking of Ireland) is the Middle Irish title of a loose collection of Poems and Prose narratives Mac Carthaigh’s Book is a collection of Annals of the period AD 1114 - 1437 inclusive The Chronicle of Ireland is the modern name for a hypothesized collection of Ecclesiastical Annals recording events in Ireland from 432 The Fragmentary Annals of Ireland are a Middle Irish combination of chronicle from various Irish annals and narrative history See also History An historian is an individual who studies and writes about History, and is regarded as an Authority on it You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

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