Déisi

The Déisi were a social class in Ireland between the ancient and early medieval period. The various peoples listed under the heading déis shared a similar status in Gaelic Ireland, and had little or no actual kinship, though they were often thought of as genetically related. During the era of Roman rule in Britain, many members of the Déisi were recorded as settling in western coastal areas (especially the areas known later as Wales, Cornwall and Devon). During the early Middle Ages some Déisi groups and subgroups exerted great political influence in various parts of Ireland. For instance, in Munster, a subgroup of Déisi constituted a regional kingdom, Déisi Muman, and were part of the hegemony of the Eoganachta confederacy. Déisi is an Old Irish term that is derives from the word déis, which meant in its original sense a "vassal" or "subject", a designated group of people who were rent-payers to a landowner. Later, it became a proper noun for certain septs and their own subjects throughout Ireland. The early histories of the Déisi groups are obscure. As a class that evolved from peoples tied by social status rather than kinship, groups had largely independent histories in different parts of Ireland. While some medieval texts attempt to give the Déisi an aristocratic origin, these are later fabrications dating to the period after the Déisi had gained political power. Despite their tributary origins, representatives of at least one Déisi population would eventually achieve spectacular success, founding a powerful medieval dynasty which is still in existence. Déisi groups included the Déisi Muman (the Déisi of Munster), Déisi Temro (of Tara), Déisi Becc (located in the Kingdom of Mide) and the Déisi Tuisceart (the Northern Déisi; a sept of which would become famous as the Dál gCais). Today, 'Déisi' is an informal term for County Waterford and its people. List of monarchs of Déisi Muman and Declán of Ardmore The Déisi Muman were a prominent enough power to form their own regional kingdom in Munster from a fairly early date.