The Book of Glendalough
Encyclopedia
Oxford, Bodleian Library, Rawlinson B 502 is a medieval Irish
manuscript which presently resides in the Bodleian Library
, Oxford. It ranks as one of the three major surviving Irish manuscripts to have been produced in pre-Norman Ireland, the two other works being the Lebor na hUidre
and the Book of Leinster
. Some scholars have also called it the Book of Glendalough, in Irish
Lebar Glinne Dá Locha, after several allusions in medieval and early modern sources to a manuscript of this name. However, there is currently no agreement as to whether Rawlinson B 502, more precisely its second part, is to be identified as the manuscript referred to by that title.
It was described by Brian Ó Cuív
as one of the "most important and most beautiful ... undoubtedly the most magnificent" of the surviving medieval Irish manuscripts. Pádraig Ó Riain
states ".. a rich, as yet largely unworked, source of information on the concerns of the community at Glendalough
in or about the year 1131, and a magnificent witness, as yet barely interrogated, to the high standard of scholarship attained by this monastic centre."
which were originally separate works but were bound together sometime before 1648. This was done at the request of their new owner, Irish antiquarian Sir James Ware (d. 1666), who thanks to Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh
(d. 1671) had been able to assemble a fine collection of Irish manuscripts. Several leaves of paper with a (mainly) Latin commentary by Ware on aspects of Irish history (fos. 13-18) were inserted between the two manuscripts, possibly in order to preserve the appearance of two distinct works. Further paper folios were added at the end of the second manuscript (fos. 90–103), containing notes and transcripts of documents, part of which was written in Latin.
The first manuscript, which covers folios 1-12v (six bifolia), was compiled and written in the late 11th century or possibly at the beginning of the 12th. The fine minuscule script suggests the work of two professional scribes, and gloss
es were added by later hands. One of these glossators has been identified as the scribe "H" who was also responsible for adding glosses to the Lebor na hUidre. Like the latter work, this part of Rawlinson B 502 may therefore have been a product of the monastic scriptorium of Clonmacnoise
, Co. Offaly.
The greater part of Rawlinson B 502, covering fos. 19-89, is taken up by a manuscript the text of which was written by a single scribe in the mid-12th century. The last king of Connacht listed is Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair (r. 1106-1156).
Every leaf has two columns of text written in regular minuscule. The calligraphy, with some decoration, is of a high standard. The parchment was well prepared, though the manuscript has been subject to wear and tear and several folios are now lost. The contents of the manuscript point towards a monastic milieu in Leinster as the source of its origin. It has been proposed that Killeshin
in Co. Laois was the house responsible for its production.
James Ware's collection of manuscripts passed on to his son, who sold it to the Earl of Clarendon
. It was later transferred to James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos
, who sold some of the manuscripts, including that known now as Rawlinson B 502, to Dr Richard Rawlinson
(d. 1755). Rawlinson's collection of manuscripts was bequeathed to St John's College, Oxford
, whence in 1756 it finally found its way into the Bodleian Library.
In 1909, Kuno Meyer
published a collotype
facsimile
edition of the vellum pages, with an introduction and indices, published by Clarendon Press. By 2000, the Early Manuscripts at Oxford University project was launched, now entrusted to the Oxford Digital Library, which published digital reproductions of the manuscript. The scanned images include both vellum and paper leaves, with the exception of the 17th-century paper leaves found on fos. 105-171. Critical editions and translations of the individual texts, insofar as these have been undertaken, have been published separately in books and academic journals.
, preserving a fragment of the so-called IChronicle of Ireland, a world history in Latin and Irish based on Latin historians such as Eusebius and Orosius. The text is incomplete at both its beginning and end, which suggests that the twelve folios may represent only a portion of the original manuscript.
The second manuscript opens with a series of Middle Irish religious poems entitled Saltair na Rann
("The Psalter of the Verses"), followed by a recension of the Irish Sex Aetates Mundi ("The Six Ages of the World") and the poem Amra Coluimb Chille ("Song for Columba
"). The manuscript contains many Leinster narratives belonging to the Cycles of the Kings, some of which are grouped in a section which is headed Scélshenchas Laigen, beginning with Orgain Denna Ríg. Among these is Tairired na n'Déssi, the best preserved copy of the "A" version of the work known as The Expulsion of the Déisi
. Another secular group of Leinster texts, but written in verse, is the selection of poems collectively referred to as the Laídshenchas Laigen. Other verse texts include the wisdom poems Immacallam in Dá Thuarad ("The Colloquy of the Two Sages") and Gúbretha Caratniad ("The Judgments of Caratnia"). The manuscript is also one of two pre-Norman sources for Irish genealogical texts, the other being the Book of Leinster. These genealogies, which come at the end in a sizeable section of some 30 folios, are mainly associated with Leinster, but others are integrated. Importantly, some material of Early Irish law is preserved, such as the tract Cóic Conara Fugill ("The Five Paths of Judgment"). For a select but more detailed list of the contents of the manuscript, expand the following table:
beginning on the first folio (fo. 19): "Oengus Celide, Author antiquus, qui in libro dicto Psalter-narran" and elsewhere, "vulgo Psalter Narran appellatur" ("commonly called Psalter Narran"). Ware’s contemporaries John Colgan
(d. 1658) and Geoffrey Keating
(d. 1644) also appear to have used this name for the manuscript as a whole. Keating refers to this title three times throughout his Foras Feasa ar Éirinn, citing it as his source for the poem beginning Uí Néill uile ar cúl Choluim in Book III. Complicating matters, this poem is not be found in Rawlinson B 502, though Breatnach draws attention to the loss of folios and the trimming of pages which may account for the poem's absence.
It is unknown whether in using the name "the Saltair na Rann by Óengus Céile Dé", these three writers were following a convention which significantly predated the 17th century. Caoimhín Breatnach assumes that they did, but Pádraig Ó Riain has expressed serious reservations, suggesting instead that the title may have been a convenient shorthand introduced by Ware in the 1630s and adopted by some of his contemporaries.
, too, but see there). References to this title in the manuscripts include:
The case for identification was made by scholars like Eugene O'Curry
(1861) and James Carney (1964), but it has been argued most forcefully and elaborately by Pádraig Ó Riain. He observed close textual affinities between copies of texts which acknowledge their source as being the Book of Glendalough, such as the first two items above, and versions of these texts in Rawlinson B 502. Caoimhín Breatnach, however, criticises his methodology in establishing textual relationships and concludes that Lebar Glinne Dá Locha and Rawlinson B 502 are two separate manuscripts.
An important item of evidence is the poem Cia lín don rígraid ráin ruaid, which survives in three manuscripts: Rawlinson B 502, RIA MS 23 D 17 (which attributes its copy to the Book of Glendalough) and National Library of Ireland MS G 3. In Rawlinson B 502, the poem is embedded in a section on pious kings and accompanied by a short prose introduction as well as some marginal notes. In the versions of the poem given by MS G 3 and MS 23 D 17, the scribe explicitly cites the Lebar Glinne Dá Locha as his source, but the thematic context and the accompanying texts of the Rawlinson B 502 version are found in neither of them. Breatnach suggests that these shared differences are unlikely to have occurred independent of one another, but probably derive from a common source known to both scribes as the Lebar Glinne Dá Locha.
Breatnach also points out that Geoffrey Keating, in a list of extant manuscripts known to him, distinguishes between the Saltair na Rann by Óengus Céile Dé, i.e. Rawlinson B 502 (second part), and the Book of Glendalough. Ó Riain objects, however, that Keating does not claim to have witnessed all these manuscripts in person and so might not have been aware that the manuscript he used, at least by the time he wrote Book III, was formerly known as the Book of Glendalough.
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
manuscript which presently resides in the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
, Oxford. It ranks as one of the three major surviving Irish manuscripts to have been produced in pre-Norman Ireland, the two other works being the Lebor na hUidre
Lebor na hUidre
Lebor na hUidre or the Book of the Dun Cow is an Irish vellum manuscript dating to the 12th century. It is the oldest extant manuscript in Irish. It is held in the Royal Irish Academy and is badly damaged: only 67 leaves remain and many of the texts are incomplete...
and the Book of Leinster
Book of Leinster
The Book of Leinster , is a medieval Irish manuscript compiled ca. 1160 and now kept in Trinity College, Dublin, under the shelfmark MS H 2.18...
. Some scholars have also called it the Book of Glendalough, in Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
Lebar Glinne Dá Locha, after several allusions in medieval and early modern sources to a manuscript of this name. However, there is currently no agreement as to whether Rawlinson B 502, more precisely its second part, is to be identified as the manuscript referred to by that title.
It was described by Brian Ó Cuív
Brian Ó Cuív
Brian Ó Cuív was a Celtic scholar who specialised in Irish history and philology.-Life:Ó Cuív was professor of Celtic Studies at University College Dublin and later at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. His later years were devoted to the compilation of a catalogue of the Irish manuscripts...
as one of the "most important and most beautiful ... undoubtedly the most magnificent" of the surviving medieval Irish manuscripts. Pádraig Ó Riain
Pádraig Ó Riain
Pádraig Ó Riain is an Irish Celticist and prominent hagiologist focusing on Irish hagiography, martyrdom, mythology, onomastics and codicology....
states ".. a rich, as yet largely unworked, source of information on the concerns of the community at Glendalough
Glendalough
Glendalough or Glendaloch is a glacial valley in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is renowned for its Early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin, a hermit priest, and partly destroyed in 1398 by English troops....
in or about the year 1131, and a magnificent witness, as yet barely interrogated, to the high standard of scholarship attained by this monastic centre."
History and structure
The manuscript as it exists today consists of two vellum codicesCodex
A codex is a book in the format used for modern books, with multiple quires or gatherings typically bound together and given a cover.Developed by the Romans from wooden writing tablets, its gradual replacement...
which were originally separate works but were bound together sometime before 1648. This was done at the request of their new owner, Irish antiquarian Sir James Ware (d. 1666), who thanks to Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh
Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh
Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh, also known as Dubhaltach Óg mac Giolla Íosa Mór mac Dubhaltach Mór Mac Fhirbhisigh, Duald Mac Firbis, Dudly Ferbisie, and Dualdus Firbissius was an Irish scribe, translator, historian and genealogist...
(d. 1671) had been able to assemble a fine collection of Irish manuscripts. Several leaves of paper with a (mainly) Latin commentary by Ware on aspects of Irish history (fos. 13-18) were inserted between the two manuscripts, possibly in order to preserve the appearance of two distinct works. Further paper folios were added at the end of the second manuscript (fos. 90–103), containing notes and transcripts of documents, part of which was written in Latin.
The first manuscript, which covers folios 1-12v (six bifolia), was compiled and written in the late 11th century or possibly at the beginning of the 12th. The fine minuscule script suggests the work of two professional scribes, and 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 were added by later hands. One of these glossators has been identified as the scribe "H" who was also responsible for adding glosses to the Lebor na hUidre. Like the latter work, this part of Rawlinson B 502 may therefore have been a product of the monastic scriptorium of Clonmacnoise
Clonmacnoise
The monastery of Clonmacnoise is situated in County Offaly, Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone....
, Co. Offaly.
The greater part of Rawlinson B 502, covering fos. 19-89, is taken up by a manuscript the text of which was written by a single scribe in the mid-12th century. The last king of Connacht listed is Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair (r. 1106-1156).
Every leaf has two columns of text written in regular minuscule. The calligraphy, with some decoration, is of a high standard. The parchment was well prepared, though the manuscript has been subject to wear and tear and several folios are now lost. The contents of the manuscript point towards a monastic milieu in Leinster as the source of its origin. It has been proposed that Killeshin
Killeshin
Killeshin is a village in County Laois, Ireland on the R430 regional road. It is a small rural community of approximately 1300 people. It is situated 5 km west of Carlow town and overlooks the picturesque Barrow Valley...
in Co. Laois was the house responsible for its production.
James Ware's collection of manuscripts passed on to his son, who sold it to the Earl of Clarendon
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon was an English historian and statesman, and grandfather of two English monarchs, Mary II and Queen Anne.-Early life:...
. It was later transferred to James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos
James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos
James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos, MP, PC was the first of fourteen children by Sir James Brydges, 3rd Baronet of Wilton Castle, Sheriff of Herefordshire, 8th Baron Chandos; and Elizabeth Barnard...
, who sold some of the manuscripts, including that known now as Rawlinson B 502, to Dr Richard Rawlinson
Richard Rawlinson
Richard Rawlinson FRS was an English clergyman and antiquarian collector of books and manuscripts, which he bequeathed to the Bodleian Library, Oxford.-Life:...
(d. 1755). Rawlinson's collection of manuscripts was bequeathed to St John's College, Oxford
St John's College, Oxford
__FORCETOC__St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, one of the larger Oxford colleges with approximately 390 undergraduates, 200 postgraduates and over 100 academic staff. It was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555, whose heart is buried in the chapel of...
, whence in 1756 it finally found its way into the Bodleian Library.
In 1909, Kuno Meyer
Kuno Meyer
Kuno Meyer was a German scholar, distinguished in the field of Celtic philology and literature. His pro-German stance at the start of World War I while traveling in the United States was a source of controversy.-Biography:...
published a collotype
Collotype
Collotype is a dichromate-based photographic process invented by Alphonse Poitevin in 1856. and was used for large volume mechanical printing before the existence of cheaper offset lithography. It can produce results difficult to distinguish from metal-based photographic prints because of its...
facsimile
Facsimile
A facsimile is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from other forms of reproduction by attempting to replicate the source as accurately as possible in terms of scale,...
edition of the vellum pages, with an introduction and indices, published by Clarendon Press. By 2000, the Early Manuscripts at Oxford University project was launched, now entrusted to the Oxford Digital Library, which published digital reproductions of the manuscript. The scanned images include both vellum and paper leaves, with the exception of the 17th-century paper leaves found on fos. 105-171. Critical editions and translations of the individual texts, insofar as these have been undertaken, have been published separately in books and academic journals.
Contents
The first manuscript contains an acephalous copy of the Annals of TigernachAnnals of Tigernach
The Annals of Tigernach is a chronicle probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin and Old and Middle Irish....
, preserving a fragment of the so-called IChronicle of Ireland, a world history in Latin and Irish based on Latin historians such as Eusebius and Orosius. The text is incomplete at both its beginning and end, which suggests that the twelve folios may represent only a portion of the original manuscript.
The second manuscript opens with a series of Middle Irish religious poems entitled Saltair na Rann
Saltair na Rann
The title Saltair na Rann “Psalter of Quatrains” refers to a series of 150 early Middle Irish religious cantos, written in the tenth century. Together they narrate the sacred history of the world, from its creation down to the last days of humanity...
("The Psalter of the Verses"), followed by a recension of the Irish Sex Aetates Mundi ("The Six Ages of the World") and the poem Amra Coluimb Chille ("Song for Columba
Columba
Saint Columba —also known as Colum Cille , Colm Cille , Calum Cille and Kolban or Kolbjørn —was a Gaelic Irish missionary monk who propagated Christianity among the Picts during the Early Medieval Period...
"). The manuscript contains many Leinster narratives belonging to the Cycles of the Kings, some of which are grouped in a section which is headed Scélshenchas Laigen, beginning with Orgain Denna Ríg. Among these is Tairired na n'Déssi, the best preserved copy of the "A" version of the work known as The Expulsion of the Déisi
The Expulsion of the Déisi
The Expulsion of the Déisi is a medieval Irish narrative of the Cycles of the Kings. It dates approximately to the 8th century, but survives only in manuscripts of a much later date. It describes the fictional history of the Déisi, a group that had gained political power in parts of Ireland during...
. Another secular group of Leinster texts, but written in verse, is the selection of poems collectively referred to as the Laídshenchas Laigen. Other verse texts include the wisdom poems Immacallam in Dá Thuarad ("The Colloquy of the Two Sages") and Gúbretha Caratniad ("The Judgments of Caratnia"). The manuscript is also one of two pre-Norman sources for Irish genealogical texts, the other being the Book of Leinster. These genealogies, which come at the end in a sizeable section of some 30 folios, are mainly associated with Leinster, but others are integrated. Importantly, some material of Early Irish law is preserved, such as the tract Cóic Conara Fugill ("The Five Paths of Judgment"). For a select but more detailed list of the contents of the manuscript, expand the following table:
| folios | pages (facsimile) | texts |
|---|---|---|
| f. 1r-12v | Annals of Tigernach Annals of Tigernach The Annals of Tigernach is a chronicle probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin and Old and Middle Irish.... (Irish World Chronicle) |
|
| f. 13-8 | Paper leaves containing historical notes by Ware | |
| f. 19r-40 | Saltair na Rann Saltair na Rann The title Saltair na Rann “Psalter of Quatrains” refers to a series of 150 early Middle Irish religious cantos, written in the tenth century. Together they narrate the sacred history of the world, from its creation down to the last days of humanity... ("The Psalter of Verses") |
|
| f. 40v-44v | Sex Aetates Mundi (The Six Stages of the World) | |
| f. 45r | Poem ascribed to Mac Cosse, beginning Ro fessa hi curp domuin dúir | |
| f. 46r | Poem Fichi rig cia rim as ferr, text on kings who ruled Jerusalem, beginning with King Saul Saul -People:Saul is a given/first name in English, the Anglicized form of the Hebrew name Shaul from the Hebrew Bible:* Saul , including people with this given namein the Bible:* Saul , a king of Edom... and ending with the destruction of Jerusalem by Nabcodon |
|
| f. 46r | Religious poem A Dé dúlig adateoch / Cethrur do-raega ní dalb | |
| f. 46v | Religious poem Ro chuala crecha is tir thair | |
| f. 46v | Text beginning Ad fet Augustus míl do bith i fudumnaib in mara 7 in talman Indecdai, note on monster in India. | |
| f. 46 | Poem beginning Cenn ard Ádaim étrocht rád; annal for 1454 | |
| f. 47r | p. 81a-b | Orcuin Néill Noígíallaig (The Death of Níall Noígíallach) |
| f. 47r-v | p. 81b-82a | Gein Branduib meic Echach 7 Aedáin meic Gabráin (The Birth of Brandub son of Eochu Brandub mac Echach Brandub mac Echach was an Irish king of the Uí Cheinnselaig of Leinster. His father, Echu mac Muiredaig had been a king of the Ui Cheinnselaig. They belonged to a branch known as the Uí Felmeda descended from Fedelmid, son of Énnae Cennsalach... and of Aedán son of Gabrán Áedán mac Gabráin Áedán mac Gabráin was a king of Dál Riata from circa 574 until his death, perhaps on 17 April 609. The kingdom of Dál Riata was situated in modern Argyll and Bute, Scotland, and parts of County Antrim, Ireland... ) |
| f. 47v | p. 82a-b | Aided Maelodráin (The Death of Maelodrán) |
| f. 47v | heading announcing Laidsenchas Lagen (fos. 47v-50v) | |
| f. 47v | Poem Is mo chen a Labraid lain, dialogue between Scoriath, Labraid Loingsech and Moriath | |
| f. 47v | Poem Cethri m. Airtt Mis Telmann | |
| f. 47v | Poem Ochtur Criathar cid dia ta | |
| f. 47v | p. 82b-83a | Orgguin trí mac Diarmata meic Cerbaill. Cf. p. 134b. |
| f. 48r | Poem Coic rig trichat do Laignib, on kings of Leinster who ruled early Ireland | |
| f. 48r | Poem Secht rig do Laignib na lerg, further kings of Leinster | |
| f. 48r | Poem Dia ngaba apgitir Lagen, on Leinster warriors | |
| f. 48r | Poem Fedeilmid athair Echach, on battle fought by the Fothairt against the men of Munster | |
| f. 48r | Poem Fothairt for clannaib Concorb, on expulsion of the Fothairt from Tara Hill of Tara The Hill of Tara , located near the River Boyne, is an archaeological complex that runs between Navan and Dunshaughlin in County Meath, Leinster, Ireland... |
|
| f. 48v | Poem Clanna Bresail Bricc builid, on Leinster dynasties | |
| f. 48v | Poem Coic rig trichat triallsat roe, on Christian kings of Leinster | |
| f. 49r | Poem attributed to Dubthach hua Lugair, Crimthann Crimthann mac Énnai Crimthann mac Énnai was a King of Leinster from the Uí Cheinnselaig sept of the Laigin. He was the son of Énnae Cennsalach, the ancestor of this dynasty.... clothri coicid hErenn |
|
| f. 49v | Poem Ro batar laeich do Laigneib, on the birth of Brandub mac Echach Brandub mac Echach Brandub mac Echach was an Irish king of the Uí Cheinnselaig of Leinster. His father, Echu mac Muiredaig had been a king of the Ui Cheinnselaig. They belonged to a branch known as the Uí Felmeda descended from Fedelmid, son of Énnae Cennsalach... , king of Leinster, and Áedán mac Gabráin Áedán mac Gabráin Áedán mac Gabráin was a king of Dál Riata from circa 574 until his death, perhaps on 17 April 609. The kingdom of Dál Riata was situated in modern Argyll and Bute, Scotland, and parts of County Antrim, Ireland... , king of Dál Riada |
|
| f. 50r | p. 87a-88a | Poem Cathair cenn coicid Banba, the metrical Esnada Tige Buchet ("The Songs of Buchet's House"). Cf. f. 73. |
| f. 50v | p. 88a | Poem Do chomramaib Laigen (or Eol dam i ndairib drechta), ascribed to Flann mac Máel Máedóc; on battles fought by Leinster heroes. |
| f. 50v | Poem A choicid choem Chairpri chruaid | |
| chasm | leaf or leaves missing | |
| f. 51r | Genealogies of Irish saints | |
| f. 52v | Alphabetically arranged list of saints bearing the same name | |
| f. 54r | Poem ascribed to Dallán Forgaill Dallan Forgaill Saint Dallán Forgaill —also Dallán Forchella; Dallán of Cluain Dalláin; born Eochaid Forchella—was an early Christian Irish poet best known as the writer of the Amra Choluim Chille and the early Irish poem Rop tú mo baile, the basis of the modern English hymn Be Thou My Vision.-Personal... , Amrae Coluimb Chille ("A Poem for Colum Cille") |
|
| f. 59v | Prayer "Adomnan mac Ronain ro cháchain in nothainseo", beginning Colum Cilli co Dia dommerail i tias nimustias. | |
| f. 59v | Poem attributed to Columba Columba Saint Columba —also known as Colum Cille , Colm Cille , Calum Cille and Kolban or Kolbjørn —was a Gaelic Irish missionary monk who propagated Christianity among the Picts during the Early Medieval Period... , Dia ard árlethar |
|
| f. 59v | Mac Lesc mac Ladain Aithech, about Mac Lesc mac Ladain and Finn Finn Finn is commonly used to refer to a member of the Finn ethnic group or a citizen of Finland.a name* Finn , a Frisian King, who appears in Beowulf and The Fight at Finnsburg... , both of whom utter a number of verses |
|
| f. 60r | Poem "Cainnech do rigni in northainse" | |
| f. 60r-62v | p. 107b-112b | Immacallam in Dá Thuarad ("The Colloquy of the Two Sages") |
| f. 62v | Gúbretha Caratniad ("The False Judgments of Caratnia") | |
| f. 63v | Cóic Conara Fugill ("The Five Paths of Judgment"), legal text | |
| f. 64r | Genealogies of the Laigin | |
| f. 65v | Story of Labraid Loingsech Labraid Loingsech Labraid Loingsech , also known as Labraid Lorc, son of Ailill Áine, son of Lóegaire Lorc, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He was considered the ancestor of the Laigin, who gave their name to the province of Leinster... and other pre-Christian kings of Leinster, including poems: Dind Rig attributed to Ferchertne; Lug sceith; Cethri meic la Setna Sithbacc, attributed to Senchán; etc. |
|
| f. 65v | Laigin genealogies, descendants of Cú Corb | |
| f. 66v | Laigin genealogies (Dál Niad Cuirp). Includes verse. | |
| f. 67r | Miniugud senchasa mac nairegda Cathair, Laigin genealogies | |
| f. 68v | Laigin genealogies (Dál Niad Cuirp). | |
| chasm | lacuna | |
| f. 69r | Laigin genealogies (continued) | |
| f. 69r | Laigin genealogies and section on Fothairt | |
| f. 69v | Genealogies, De peritia 7 genelogia Loichsi, on Lugaid Loígsech and genealogies of Loíchse | |
| f. 70v | Genealogies, Duil laechsluinte Lagen | |
| f. 70v | Osairge genealogies | |
| f. 71v | Heading Scelshenchas Laigen, announcing items folios 71v-73v | |
| f. 71v-72r | p. 130b-131b | Orgain Denna Ríg (The Destruction of Dind Ríg) |
| f. 72r | p. 131b-133b | Tairired na n-Déssi (The Expulsion of the Déisi The Expulsion of the Déisi The Expulsion of the Déisi is a medieval Irish narrative of the Cycles of the Kings. It dates approximately to the 8th century, but survives only in manuscripts of a much later date. It describes the fictional history of the Déisi, a group that had gained political power in parts of Ireland during... ) |
| f. 73r-73v | p. 133b-134a | prose Esnada Tige Buchet (The Songs of Buchet's House). Cf. f. 50. |
| f. 73v | p. 134a | Comram na Clóenferta (The Triumph of the Sloping Mound) |
| f. 73v-74v | p. 134b | Orgguin trí mac Diarmata meic Cerbaill (The Deaths of the Three Sons of Diarmait mac Cerbaill Diarmait mac Cerbaill Diarmait mac Cerbaill was King of Tara or High King of Ireland. According to traditions, he was the last High King to follow the pagan rituals of inauguration, the ban-feis or marriage to goddess of the land.... ). Cf. p. 82b-83a. |
| chasm | ||
| f. 74r | Text on pre-Christian kings of Ireland, beginning Do rochair tra Sirna Sirsaeglach mac Dein m. Demail la Rothechtaid Rotha mac Moen | |
| f. 74v | List of kings of Ireland, from the age of Míl up to Brian Bóraime | |
| f. 75r | Miniugud na Croeb Coibnesta, on descendants of Éremón Eremon Érimón, son of Míl Espáine, according to medieval Irish legends and historical traditions, was one of the chieftains who took part in the Milesian invasion of Ireland, which conquered the island from the Tuatha Dé Danann, and one of the first Milesian High Kings.Before coming to Ireland, he and... up to the time of Eochaid Mugmedón Eochaid Mugmedon -Biography:According to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, Eochaid was a High King of Ireland, best known as the father of Niall of the Nine Hostages and ancestor of the Uí Néill and Connachta dynasties... 's sons |
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| p. 138a | Echtra mac Echdach Mugmedóin (The Adventures of the Sons of Eochaid Mugmedón Eochaid Mugmedon -Biography:According to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, Eochaid was a High King of Ireland, best known as the father of Niall of the Nine Hostages and ancestor of the Uí Néill and Connachta dynasties... ) |
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| Leinster and other genealogies | ||
| f. 90–103 | paper leaves (17th century) |
Disputed identity
The identity of the second part of the manuscript, more especially its name and provenance, in sources long before it passed into the hands of Rawlinson has been a matter of some controversy.Saltair na Rann
Sir James Ware himself referred to the second part as the Saltair na Rann by Óengus Céile Dé, after the metrical religious work of this nameSaltair na Rann
The title Saltair na Rann “Psalter of Quatrains” refers to a series of 150 early Middle Irish religious cantos, written in the tenth century. Together they narrate the sacred history of the world, from its creation down to the last days of humanity...
beginning on the first folio (fo. 19): "Oengus Celide, Author antiquus, qui in libro dicto Psalter-narran" and elsewhere, "vulgo Psalter Narran appellatur" ("commonly called Psalter Narran"). Ware’s contemporaries John Colgan
John Colgan
John Colgan was an Irish hagiographer and historian.-Life:...
(d. 1658) and Geoffrey Keating
Geoffrey Keating
Seathrún Céitinn, known in English as Geoffrey Keating, was a 17th century Irish Roman Catholic priest, poet and historian. He was born in County Tipperary c. 1569, and died c. 1644...
(d. 1644) also appear to have used this name for the manuscript as a whole. Keating refers to this title three times throughout his Foras Feasa ar Éirinn, citing it as his source for the poem beginning Uí Néill uile ar cúl Choluim in Book III. Complicating matters, this poem is not be found in Rawlinson B 502, though Breatnach draws attention to the loss of folios and the trimming of pages which may account for the poem's absence.
It is unknown whether in using the name "the Saltair na Rann by Óengus Céile Dé", these three writers were following a convention which significantly predated the 17th century. Caoimhín Breatnach assumes that they did, but Pádraig Ó Riain has expressed serious reservations, suggesting instead that the title may have been a convenient shorthand introduced by Ware in the 1630s and adopted by some of his contemporaries.
Lebar Glinne Dá Locha or Book of Glendalough
A case has been made for identifying Rawlinson B 502 (second part) as the manuscript referred to in some sources as the Lebar Glinne Dá Locha or Book of Glendalough. (To make confusion worse confounded, the latter title was once mistakenly used for the Book of LeinsterBook of Leinster
The Book of Leinster , is a medieval Irish manuscript compiled ca. 1160 and now kept in Trinity College, Dublin, under the shelfmark MS H 2.18...
, too, but see there). References to this title in the manuscripts include:
- Excerpts from Sex Aetates Mundi, in NLINational Library of IrelandThe National Library of Ireland is Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The Minister for Arts, Sport & Tourism is the member of the Irish Government responsible for the library....
G 3 (fos. 22va and 23r), which twice cite the Book of Glendalough as its source. - The Irish poem Cia lín don rígraid ráin ruaid as preserved in RIARoyal Irish AcademyThe Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...
MS 23 D 17 - A scribal note to a genealogical text in the 14th-century Great Book of LecanGreat Book of LecanThe Book of Lecan is a medieval Irish manuscript written between 1397 and 1418. It is in the possession of the Royal Irish Academy....
, which indicates that the pedigree has been following the Book of Glendalough up that point and will be proceed with the version known from the Book of Nuachongbháil, i.e. the Book of Leinster. - In Keating's Foras Feasa ar Éirinn, a list of Irish manuscripts said to have survived into his own time.
The case for identification was made by scholars like Eugene O'Curry
Eugene O'Curry
-Life:He was born at Doonaha, near Carrigaholt, County Clare, the son of Eoghan Ó Comhraí, a farmer, and his wife Cáit. Eoghan had spent some time as a travelling pedlar and had developed an interest in Irish folklore and music. Unusually for someone of his background, he appears to have been...
(1861) and James Carney (1964), but it has been argued most forcefully and elaborately by Pádraig Ó Riain. He observed close textual affinities between copies of texts which acknowledge their source as being the Book of Glendalough, such as the first two items above, and versions of these texts in Rawlinson B 502. Caoimhín Breatnach, however, criticises his methodology in establishing textual relationships and concludes that Lebar Glinne Dá Locha and Rawlinson B 502 are two separate manuscripts.
An important item of evidence is the poem Cia lín don rígraid ráin ruaid, which survives in three manuscripts: Rawlinson B 502, RIA MS 23 D 17 (which attributes its copy to the Book of Glendalough) and National Library of Ireland MS G 3. In Rawlinson B 502, the poem is embedded in a section on pious kings and accompanied by a short prose introduction as well as some marginal notes. In the versions of the poem given by MS G 3 and MS 23 D 17, the scribe explicitly cites the Lebar Glinne Dá Locha as his source, but the thematic context and the accompanying texts of the Rawlinson B 502 version are found in neither of them. Breatnach suggests that these shared differences are unlikely to have occurred independent of one another, but probably derive from a common source known to both scribes as the Lebar Glinne Dá Locha.
Breatnach also points out that Geoffrey Keating, in a list of extant manuscripts known to him, distinguishes between the Saltair na Rann by Óengus Céile Dé, i.e. Rawlinson B 502 (second part), and the Book of Glendalough. Ó Riain objects, however, that Keating does not claim to have witnessed all these manuscripts in person and so might not have been aware that the manuscript he used, at least by the time he wrote Book III, was formerly known as the Book of Glendalough.
External links
- Bodleian Library: MS. Rawl. B. 502, at Early Manuscripts at Oxford University.
- http://www.maryjones.us/jce/glendalough.html