Book of Armagh
Encyclopedia
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
written mainly in Latin. It is held by the Library of Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
(MS 52). The document is valuable for containing early texts relating to St Patrick and some of the oldest surviving specimens of Old Irish
Old Irish language
Old Irish is the name given to the oldest form of the Goidelic languages for which extensive written texts are extant. It was used from the 6th to the 10th centuries, by which time it had developed into Middle Irish....
, and for being one of the earliest manuscripts produced by an insular church to contain a near complete copy of the New Testament.
History
The manuscript was once reputed to have belonged to St. Patrick and, at least in part, to be a product of his hand. Research has determined, however, that the earliest part of the manuscript was the work of a scribe named Ferdomnach of Armagh (died 845 or 846). Ferdomnach wrote the first part of the book in 807 or 808, for Patrick's heir (comarba) Torbach. Two other scribes are known to have assisted him.The people of medieval Ireland placed a great value on this manuscript. It was one of the symbols of the office for the Archbishop of Armagh. The custodianship of the book was an important office that eventually became hereditary in the MacMoyre family. It remained in the hands of the MacMoyre family in the townland of Ballymoyer
Ballymoyer
Ballymoyer is a parish in the barony of Upper Fews, County of Armagh and province of Ulster, three miles north east of Newtownhamilton, and the seat of Sir Walter Synnot , Bart....
near Whitecross, County Armagh
Whitecross, County Armagh
Whitecross is a small village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies within the townland of Corlat, in the civil parish of Ballymyre. It is part of the Newry and Mourne District Council area. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 285 people....
until the late 17th century. By 1707 it was in the possession of the Brownlow family of Lurgan
Lurgan
Lurgan is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and in the north-eastern corner of the county. Part of the Craigavon Borough Council area, Lurgan is about 18 miles south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway...
. It remained in the Brownlow family until 1853 when it was sold to the Irish antiquary, Dr William Reeves
William Reeves (bishop)
William Reeves was an Irish antiquarian and the Church of Ireland Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore from 1886 until his death...
. In 1853, Reeves sold the Book to John George de la Poer Beresford
John George de la Poer Beresford
Lord John George de la Poer Beresford PC was an Anglican archbishop and Primate.-Background:Born at Tyrone House, he was the second surviving son of George de La Poer Beresford, 1st Marquess of Waterford and his wife Elizabeth, only daughter of Henry Monck and maternal granddaughter of Henry...
, Archbishop of Armagh
Archbishop of Armagh (Church of Ireland)
The Anglican Archbishop of Armagh is the ecclesiastical head of the Church of Ireland, the metropolitan of the Province of Armagh and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Armagh....
, who presented it to Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
.
Manuscript
The book measures 7.75 by. There are 221 folios of vellumVellum
Vellum is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on, to produce single pages, scrolls, codices or books. It is generally smooth and durable, although there are great variations depending on preparation, the quality of the skin and the type of animal used...
. The text is written in two columns in a fine pointed insular minuscule. The manuscript contains four miniature
Miniature (illuminated manuscript)
The word miniature, derived from the Latin minium, red lead, is a picture in an ancient or medieval illuminated manuscript; the simple decoration of the early codices having been miniated or delineated with that pigment...
s, one each of the four Evangelist
Four Evangelists
In Christian tradition the Four Evangelists are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament that bear the following titles:*Gospel according to Matthew*Gospel according to Mark...
s' symbols. Some of the letters have been colored red, yellow, green, or black. The manuscript is associated with a tooled-leather satchel, believed to be of great antiquity.
It contains text of Vulgate, but there are many Old Latin readings in the Acts and Pauline epistles.
Texts relating to St Patrick
The first part contains important early texts relating to St. Patrick. These include two Lives of St. Patrick, one by Muirchu Maccu Machteni and one by TírechánTírechán
Tírechán was a 7th century Irish bishop and biographer of Saint Patrick. Tírechán wrote his untitled memoir sometime after the death of his mentor, Ultan of Ardbraccan, in 657. The work survives in the manuscript The Book of Armagh.Tírechán's account, which J. B...
. Both texts were originally written in the 7th century. The manuscript also includes other miscellaneous works about St. Patrick, including the Liber Angueli (or the Book of the Angel), in which St. Patrick is given the primatial
Primate (religion)
Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....
rights and prerogatives of Armagh
Armagh
Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...
by an angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
. Some of these texts are in Old Irish and are the earliest surviving continuous prose narratives in that language. The only Old Irish texts of greater age are some fragmentary gloss
Gloss
A gloss is a brief notation of the meaning of a word or wording in a text. It may be in the language of the text, or in the reader's language if that is different....
es found in manuscripts on the Continent.
- MuirchuMuirchu moccu MachtheniMuirchu moccu Machtheni , usually known simply as Muirchu, was a seventh-century Irish historian and Leinster monk.-Works:...
, Vita sancti Patricii - TírechánTírechánTírechán was a 7th century Irish bishop and biographer of Saint Patrick. Tírechán wrote his untitled memoir sometime after the death of his mentor, Ultan of Ardbraccan, in 657. The work survives in the manuscript The Book of Armagh.Tírechán's account, which J. B...
, Collectanea - notulae in Latin and Irish on St. Patrick's acts, and additamenta, charter-like documents later inserted into the manuscript
- Liber Ang(u)eli ('The Book of the Angel') (640 x 670), written in Ferdomnach's hand
- St. Patrick, Confessio in abbreviated form
New Testament material
The manuscript also includes significant portions of the New TestamentNew Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, based on the Vulgate
Vulgate
The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations...
, but with variations characteristic of insular texts. In addition, prefatory matter including prefaces to Paul's Epistles (most of which are by Pelagius
Pelagius
Pelagius was an ascetic who denied the need for divine aid in performing good works. For him, the only grace necessary was the declaration of the law; humans were not wounded by Adam's sin and were perfectly able to fulfill the law apart from any divine aid...
), the Canon Tables of Eusebius, and the Letter of Jerome to Pope Damasus
Letter of Jerome to Pope Damasus
The Epistle of Jerome to Pope Damasus I , written in 376 or 377 AD, is a response of Jerome to a epistle from Damasus, who urged him to make a new translational work of the Holy Scripture. The letter was written before Jerome started his translational work .Jerome agreed that Old-Latin translation...
are included.
- New Testament:
- Preface to the New Testament
- Interpretation of Hebrew names
- Gospels of MatthewGospel of MatthewThe Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
, MarkGospel of MarkThe Gospel According to Mark , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Mark or simply Mark, is the second book of the New Testament. This canonical account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth is one of the three synoptic gospels. It was thought to be an epitome, which accounts for its place as the second...
, JohnGospel of JohnThe Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
and LukeGospel of LukeThe Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The... - Acts of the ApostlesActs of the ApostlesThe Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...
- Epistles of PaulPaul of TarsusPaul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
, including the Epistle to the LaodiceansEpistle to the LaodiceansAn Epistle to the Laodiceans, purportedly written by Paul of Tarsus to the Laodicean Church, is mentioned in the canonical Epistle to the Colossians...
- with prefaces, chiefly by PelagiusPelagiusPelagius was an ascetic who denied the need for divine aid in performing good works. For him, the only grace necessary was the declaration of the law; humans were not wounded by Adam's sin and were perfectly able to fulfill the law apart from any divine aid...
- with prefaces, chiefly by Pelagius
- Epistles of JamesEpistle of JamesThe Epistle of James, usually referred to simply as James, is a book in the New Testament. The author identifies himself as "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ", with "the earliest extant manuscripts of James usually dated to mid-to-late third century."There are four views...
, - Epistles of PeterSaint PeterSaint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
, - Epistles of JohnJohn the EvangelistSaint John the Evangelist is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John...
- JudeEpistle of JudeThe Epistle of Jude, often shortened to Jude, is the penultimate book of the New Testament and is attributed to Jude, the brother of James the Just. - Composition :...
- Book of RevelationBook of RevelationThe Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
- St Jerome, Letter to DamasusPope Damasus IPope Saint Damasus I was the bishop of Rome from 366 to 384.He was born around 305, probably near the city of Idanha-a-Velha , in what is present-day Portugal, then part of the Western Roman Empire...
- Eusebius, Canon Tables
Life of St Martin
The manuscript closes with the Life of St. Martin of ToursMartin of Tours
Martin of Tours was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Around his name much legendary material accrued, and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints...
by Sulpicius Severus
Sulpicius Severus
Sulpicius Severus was a Christian writer and native of Aquitania. He is known for his chronicle of sacred history, as well as his biography of Saint Martin of Tours.-Life:...
.
See also
- List of New Testament Latin manuscripts
- Annla Gearra as Proibhinse Ard MachaAnnla Gearra as Proibhinse Ard MachaAnnla Gearra as Proibhinse Ard Macha, aka The Short Annals of Armagh, aka British Library, Additional MS 30512, compiled c. 1460-75.The Annala Gearra Ard Macha covers events in Irish history from the lifetime of Lóegaire mac Néill Annla Gearra as Proibhinse Ard Macha, aka The Short Annals of...
External links
- Saint Patrick's Confessio Hypertext Stack a project by the Royal Irish Academy freely provides digital facsimiles of the Patrician Documents in the Book of Armagh.