Index of Names in Irish Annals: Céle Do Laisse
by Mari Elspeth nic Bryan (Kathleen M. O'Brien)
© 2000-2020 by Kathleen M. O'Brien. All rights reserved.
Version 2.0, updated 18 March 2020
Masculine Given Names: Céle Do Laisse
The first element of this name, Céle, means "servant, bondsman, vassal, subject".
Names with this prefix were predominantly used by men in religious orders (abbots, priests, etc).
There are three name structures that regularly appear early in the annals in the names of men with
religous callings such as that of a priest, abbot, etc. These names often reference the names of
saints and each has a general meaning of "servant/follower [of] [the name referenced, usually a saint]".
However, each initial element carries other layered meanings, which adds to the meaning of the name.
The three name structures are:
- Céle [element]: Céle means
"servant, bondsman, vassal, subject" or "companion, fellow"
(eDIL s.v. céile).
It is unclear whether the original meaning indicated a level of subservience (as in a vassal to liege relationship)
or a common, more equal status (as in a neighbor or companion relationship).
- Gilla [element]: Gilla means "a male child, a boy"
(eDIL s.v. gilla).
The meaning of "servant" extends from there; as a boy or adolescent could have
a role as a servant, messenger, etc..
- Máel [element]: Máel literally means
"crop-headed, shorn, and by extension bald"
(eDIL s.v. 1 mael).
In this usage, it generally means "tonsured servant". The connotations carried
changed over time. Previous to Christianity in Ireland, slaves had portions of their heads shaved
as a mark of their status. In Christianity, members of monastic orders often shaved portions of their
heads. In both cases, the shaved head was a mark of status where the one shaved was of a lesser status,
whether it be as a slave or as a member obedient to his monastic order and superiors in the order.
In this case, the name Céle Do Laisse means "servant [of Saint] Do Laisse",
with the layered meanings of 'bondsman, vassal, subject'.
Do Laisse is a variant of Mo Laisse and both were
used to refer to the same person.
Mo Laisse is a pet form of Laisrén where Mo means "my".
It is also found in forms using Do, which means "your".
The name Céle Do Laisse seems to
exclusively use the form Do. No examples have been found using Mo at this time.
Spellings:
What we know as a set of Irish Annals are manuscripts that were each compiled during a
particular time period, usually using older material as sources. For example, when
the Annals of the Four Masters were written from 1632 to 1636, they covered events
that occurred centuries and millenia before (including legendary history). So, when
an entry in this set of annals refers to a person who lived in the year 738, the
spelling used for that person's name is very likely not using the spelling that
would have been used in 738.
Standard forms of this name (based on spelling systems of different periods) would be:
| Old Irish Gaelic (c700-c900) nominative form: | Céle Do Laisse |
| Old Irish Gaelic (c700-c900) genitive form: | |
Frequency & Dates:
| Number of men found in the annals with this name: | 1 |
| Found in Years: | 746, 751 |
Research Notes:
Sources:
Further information about the element Céle, may be found in:
The Sources page lists the Annals referenced below.
Information about secondary sources is included on that page as well.
Raw Data
In the table below, I have separated individuals with a blank line. That is, when there are multiple
entries in the annals that refer to a single person, those entries are grouped together.
Within the list of entries refering to a single person, I have sorted the entries
primarily by orthography when it is obvious that what I am seeing is the same entry
showing up in multiple annals. The entries that tend to use older spellings are listed first.
Special factors which may affect name usage are marked in the context column.
| AN | indicates a member of an Anglo-Norman family |
| AS | indicates an Anglo-Saxon |
| N | indicates a Norseman |
| P | indicates a Pict |
| R | indicates a person holding a religious office |
| S | indicates a person from Scotland |
NOTE: The Annals referenced below under the code letters A, B, C, E, & F tend to use
later spellings than the other Annals. In some cases, the spellings listed in these Annals
may not be appropriate for the year referenced in the Annal entry.
In some Gaelic scripts, there is a character that looks approximately like a lowercase f,
but without the crossbar. This character (represented by an underscored , e, in
the entries below) sometimes represents e and sometimes ea depending upon the
context of the text.
| Annals | Entry | Context | Citation (formatting preserved) |
| |
| [Céle Do Laisse] (d. 746-751) |
| U | U751.5 | R | Celi Du Laissi o Daimhinis [Note: name is in genitive case due to sentence structure.] |
| T | T751.7 | R | Céle Du Lassi ó Daiminis [Note: name is in genitive case due to sentence structure.] |
| A | M746.13 | R | Cele Du Laisi ó Daimhinis |
Medieval Scotland | Medieval Names Archive | Index of Names in Irish Annals
Feminine Given Names | Feminine Descriptive Bynames | Masculine Given Names | Masculine Descriptive Bynames
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