Rí, or commonly ríg (genitive), is an ancient Gaelic word meaning 'king'. It is used in historical texts referring to the Irish and Scottish kings, and those of similar rank. While the Modern Irish word is exactly the same,Niall Ó Dónaill: "Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla" in modern Scottish Gaelic it is , apparently derived from the genitive. Cognates include Gaulish rix, Latin and German .
There were three grades of : a or 'overking' was a major, regional king and superior to a 'king of [many] peoples' or a 'king of a troop' either of whom, in turn, were superior to several figures known as 'king of peaks' or 'king of a single people'.
Three traditional grades
The three traditional grades of in Gaelic Ireland was largely symbolic. As time went on, the real power of many lesser kings could equal or even eclipse those of higher grade.
Rí benn A ('king of peaks'), or ('king of a single people'), was most commonly a local petty king of a single , although one might be many times the size of another. There are generally estimated to have been between 100 and 150 in Ireland, depending on who really qualified.
Importantly, in theory every king of a superior grade was also a himself, and exercised no direct compulsory legal authority outside his own ancestral .Byrne, p. 41 Kings were bound to others by military allegiance and the payment of tribute.
Examples:
Kings of Thira Dha Locha Kings of Umaill
Rí buiden A ('king of troops'), also ('king of [many] peoples') or ruiri, king etc., on dil.ie ('overking'), was a regional king to whom several were subordinate, and often other territories. He was in some sense still a petty king, but could also achieve provincial-level prominence, including, although rarely, the provincial kingship, and was often fully sovereign in any case. Depending on who was counted, there may have been as many as 20 genuine in Ireland at any one time.
Examples:
Kings of Osraige Kings of Breifne Kings of Uí Maine Kings of Moylurg Kings of Iar Connacht
Rí ruirech A "king of over-kings", a was often a provincial () or semi-provincial king to whom several were subordinate. They were also referred to as ('ultimate king of every individual'). Several kingdoms belonging to the 1st and 2nd millennia are listed below, but do not all belong to the same periods. No more than six genuine were ever contemporary, with the average being three or four. Originally, there were only five provinces, at least according to legend (see the Táin Bó Cúailnge, the actual text thereof).
Examples:
Kings of Ulster Kings of Munster Kings of Mide Kings of Connacht Kings of Leinster
Ard Rí The , or 'High King' (of Ireland), was traditionally the supreme ruler of all the Irish provinces, subject to no higher domestic authority. While the were in theory subordinate to the high king, Irish stories and mythology relate that the power of the high king varied considerably throughout the office's existence, and he was usually not more than a figurehead exercising suzerainty over the largely independent lower kingdoms.
According to tradition, the high king was originally crowned at Lia Fáil upon the Hill of Tara in Meath, in the Kingdom of Mide. When stood upon by a candidate for the throne, if they were the rightful High King of Ireland, the stone monument was said to loudly roar in joy. The stone was supposedly split by the sword of Cú Chulainn when it refused to acknowledge his preferred candidate Lugaid Riab nDerg, following which it never called out again.
High King of Ireland
In Scotland, the initially had very little centralized power. Instead, he exercised suzerainty over the lower kingdoms, much like his Irish counterpart. This would change as Scotland combined into a more centralized state, and the High King gathered more power over regional monarchs. This was to the point where the regional Kings were referred to as earls by the English rather than the proper term, Rí.
High King of Scotland Style of the monarchs of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland had a variety of as well. In addition to the monarch or 'high king' there were others, although these are conventionally styled only lords in the English language. Lord of the Isles Lords of Galloway Lords of Argyle
There were also a number of Kings of Moray, who are commonly styled mormaers in later Scottish tradition, but properly styled in contemporary Irish sources. The famous Macbeth of Scotland is argued to have begun his career as of Moray.)
A number of Scottish monarchs styled themselves 'High King of Scotland,' 'High King of Picts,' or 'High King of Alba,' using the following variants of the term :
Other than the Irish/Scottish Gaelic titles, some styled themselves in Latin:
('King of All the Provinces of the Picts')
See also White Wand Flaith Tigerna Grand Prince of Kiev Imperator totius Hispaniae Irish nobility Ollam Ríg (Norse god)
Notes
References
Bhreathnach, Edel (ed.), The Kingship and Landscape of Tara. Dublin: Four Courts Press for The Discovery Programme. 2005. Byrne, Francis J., Irish Kings and High-Kings. Dublin: Four Courts Press. 2nd edition, 2001. Charles-Edwards, T. M., Early Christian Ireland. Cambridge University Press. 2000. Cowan, Edward J., "The Historical Macbeth", in Moray: Province and People. ed. W. H. D. Sellar. Edinburgh: Scottish Society for Northern Studies. 1993. 117–142. Dillon, Myles, "The consecration of Irish kings", in Celtica 10 (1973): 1–8. Dillon, Myles, The Cycles of the Kings. Oxford. 1946. FitzPatrick, Elizabeth, Royal Inauguration in Gaelic Ireland c. 1100–1600: A Cultural Landscape Study. Boydell Press. 2004. Hamp, Eric P., "Scottish Gaelic morair", in Scottish Gaelic Studies XIV Part II (1986): 138–141. Jaski, Bart, Early Irish Kingship and Succession. Dublin: Four Courts Press. 2000. MacCotter, Paul, Medieval Ireland: Territorial, Political and Economic Divisions. Dublin: Four Courts Press. 2008. MacNeill, Eoin, Celtic Ireland. Dublin: The Academy Press. 1981. Reissue with new intro. and notes by Donnchadh Ó Corráin of original Martin Lester Ltd edition, 1921. Nicholls, K. W., Gaelic and Gaelicized Ireland in the Middle Ages. Dublin: Lilliput Press. 2nd edition, 2003. Ó Corráin, Donnchadh, "Nationality and Kingship in Pre-Norman Ireland". 1975. Richter, Michael, Medieval Ireland: The Enduring Tradition. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan. 1988. Watkins, Calvert, "Italo-Celtic Revisited", in Birnbaum, Henrik and Jaan Puhvel (eds.), Ancient Indo-European Dialects. University of California Press. pp. 29–50.