LS G 3

Catalogue of Irish Manuscripts in National Library of Ireland

G 3

GENEALOGIES, PROSODY, LAW TRACT, VERSE

14th-15th cent. Vellum. 133ff. (G 2, 54ff.; G 3, 79ff.). Mainly 20 x 13 cms.

These two manuscripts, which originally formed a single volume, had apparently been divided before they were acquired by Edward O’Reilly. Their present binding in green vellum is O’Reilly’s (‘lately rebound in green vellum’, RIA 23H1, pp. 32, 36) but the staining on the first and last page of G 2 and the last page of G 3 shows they were outer unprotected leaves for some time prior to their re-binding. O’Reilly regarded them as two volumes, G 3 as volume 1 and number 10 in his collection and G 2 volume 2 and number 11 (see inside covers of both manuscripts). From a comparison with the figures in O’Reilly’s list of items (headed Clár de’n leabhairsi in G 2, Clár don leabhair ghlais so in G 3) on the recto of the second fly-leaf in each of the manuscripts it appears he supplied the independent (and only) foliation in each manuscript. The foliation 1-52 in G 2 ignores three intercalated leaves and contains an error, f.16 following f.14. The intercalated leaves have now been numbered ff.3a, 20a and 28a; a pencilled foliation has been applied to the fifteenth and subsequent folios and is followed in the present catalogue. The foliation 1-78 in G 3 has two folios numbered 67 the second of which has now been numbered 67a.

Subscriptions at various points, noted in detail below, suggested to O’Reilly that the scribe of these manuscripts was Adhamh Ó Cianán (Ó Cianáin), ‘canon and learned historian’, whose death at Lisgool, Fermanagh, as O’Reilly noted in Irish Writers p. 101, is recorded by the Four Masters under 1373. Elsewhere (in his catalogue of Irish MSS., RIA 23H1, pp. 32, 39) O’Reilly dates these manuscripts to the middle of the 15th cent. Later commentators, following the attribution to Ó Cianáin, have not explained either the conflict of the 14th and 15th cent. datings or the variations observable in the hand throughout. The suggestion by Miss Knott, Ériu xvii, Supplement 293, that the colophon in one case, G 3 f.78r, is a copy of the colophon of an exemplar, could hardly apply, for example, to that at G 2 f.8r. Accordingly the present cataloguer can only suggest that while most of the text is in the hand of Adhamh Ó Cianáin, ob. 1373, a substantial part, for example G 3 ff.20-25r and the intercalated leaves in G 2, may be in a 15th cent. hand. It is to be noted that the Magauran Manuscript, written by Ruaidhrí Ó Cianáin († 1383) and others, and Rawl B 506, written by Seaan Ó Cianáin for Adhamh Ó Cianáin, show stylistic similarities with the present manuscript.

The following items in G 3 were written by unidentified scribes: the law tract on ff.26r-45v and the marginal entry on f.29r in hands apparently contemporary with the main scribe; the legal transactions on f. 17r, dated 1497-1513 A.D. and written in Latin, in a court hand of the period; the genealogy on f.19rb and the poem on f.25v in a later hand. There is an item on f.15vb written by a scribe who signs himself Gilla Patraig.

Ó Cianáin wrote these manuscripts for his own use (G 2 ff.11v, 16r) from an exemplar belonging to or perhaps written by his teacher, Seaan Ó Dubhagáin (G 2 f.8r). The date of writing appears to be prior to the death, in the year 1345, of O’Conor, king of Connacht, whose genealogy is given on G 2 f.20ra1. A probable date is the year 1344 when Cormac Ballach Ó Maelsheachnaill, whose genealogy is given on G 2 f.10vb, became king of Meath.

The following ‘challenges’ and marginal jottings suggest that the two manuscripts were, while still one volume, the property of members of the Ó Maolchonaire family during the 16th cent. and up to at least 1719:

(a) G 2 f.15v Commortos and so re Torna mac Eoluis mic Muirgeso mic Paitin mic Lochlaind, f.50v Comortus so re Muirgius; G 3 f.11r Comortus and so re Torna, Comortus and so r, f.43r Comortus and so re mac mic Muirgisi, Comortus and so re Maoilleachlainn.
It is possible that Torna grandson of Muirghes mac Páidín († 1543), with whom this anonymous writer is in competition, is in fact one of the unidentified scribes in these manuscripts.

(b) G 2 f.51r Padruic O Maolchon<aire> do sgriobh so an bhliadhain a fh . . . m.ccc . . .> Patt. Conry 1719; G 3 f.33r sup. marg. Ní maith rum a cruaide is ta i labhair so c <. . .>maidhe is gan me feun cum curdacht (?) cuge, f.49v Ní mait[h] liom nach ttuigim an cheud fhocal san lath thall dhi so . i . Kl.

This is the hand of Patt. Conry (Padin Ua Maolconaire) of Rathmore who in 1692-3 was owner of RIA C iv 1 section (a).

(c) G 2 f.21r probatio pennae dus an fó an peann misi M<aeleachlainn?>.

(d) G 3 f.73v Ag so dhuit a Phaittin ruaidh mhic Lochluinn.

(e) G 3 f.77v Oiri do Seadhan mac Eiluis (leg. Eoluis?) ar lebhar fein.

The following are miscellaneous items, additions and scribblings inserted by three unidentified hands, also at a time when the manuscripts were still one volume:

(a) G 2 ff.30-4 corrections, variant readings and extraneous quatrains; G 3 f.62r the words na haistí added to the tract on metrical faults.

(b) G 2 f.11r marginal entry (see below), f.29v maith et maithfitear . . . ; G 3 38r, 69r maith et maithfitear duit . . .

(c) G 2 f.15v and God, 51v David, and God; G 3 f.45v Dandymin dura begg couggatso eas Iaren shough

Other entries, names, signatures and dates occurring in marginal jottings throughout the manuscripts are: G 2 f.30r Domhnal O Domhnail, 51v Robt. Temple; G 3 f.2v Phelim Ô Con, 7r Padric mac Dounill, 25r Denis Connor wrote the following receipt Recvd from S^r George Bingham bye the hands of William O Connor the sum of eleven shillings six pence for half a years quitt rent due to his Mattie. at Easter 17<43> and the same hand wrote Connor on f.42r, 29v se nota quod sutam lota dictam mihi non transsit dicere indicatam, 31r <. . . 7 in>dis dó gur sícánta sinn eiris cé nach sailinn sé féin é, 32v Hugo, 36r Do gab Oillil Molt mac Daibhi mic Feacra, 40v—41r inf. marg. me. fa. i. cc. soilech .i. sen caertann na crainnsi mar taid same notha tuig a droch duine, 41v 1717, 42r David L. Viscount Meidleton (also on f.45r), 53v Gilbert Kelly, 55v scriptum per . . . , 58r Neicolas Nevill Esq one of his Matie.^s Iust. (for Latin hexameters in Nevill’s hand see below 59v-60r), 61v Molly Conor hand, 77v Byrne This 18th day of May.

The following probationes pennae occur: G 3 f.41v fechain glesa, 49v dus an fo an peand. This unfinished quatrain is written on the upper and inside margins of f.41v (repeated on f.42r): Cindus sin a pinn | fintar linn do chor | an foghnand do glés | nó an fuil f[eidhm ort.] Cf. 23K24, 188b, Civ3, 243v.

TCD H.1.15, a compilation by Tadhg Ó Neachtain, contains transcripts of texts in G 2 and G 3 with the colophon (p. 625): ‘As scribhinn Adhamh O Cianain ro scriobh Tadhg ua Neachtuin so 1733 Iul 21’. It may be that the wear and tear of prolonged use by Ó Neachtain in making these transcripts was the occasion of the division of the volume into its present two-part form.

The manuscripts are written in double column but certain sections—G 2 intercalated leaves, G 3 ff.1-13v, 17r-18v and 25v— are in single column. The ruling is partly by dry point and partly in brown, with marginal prickings. Initial and small capitals and tail pieces are illuminated as is a minature of Noah’s Ark (G 3 f.16v); the colouring is not, however, carried out throughout the manuscripts. The interlaced designs are mainly zoomorphic but human figures occur also, for example at G 2 f.43r and G 3 ff.19v, 66r. There is a drawing by the scribe of a hare and a dog (?) in G 3 f.3r inf. marg. with the following Aig sin in da beathadhach marbhas in leomhan. The number of lines to the page varies between 22 and 32.

The scribe left a vacant space for an ornamental initial ‘M’ of the poem on G 3 f.46r, an attempt was made subsequently by someone else to fill it in but only the up-stroke of the letter was executed. Ó Neachtain, in his copy of the poem (H.1.15, p.631), mistook this for an ‘A’ and wrote ‘A oidi’ instead of ‘Moidi’.

The manuscripts are in reasonably good condition. The vellum is uneven in texture, being thin and transparent in places, so that the ink has come through the membrane, for example, at G 2 ff.6, 7, 27, 28. It is also naturally defective, with many holes without loss of text. The outer margin of the last folio of G 3 is torn causing the loss of a letter here and there. Parts of the writing on G 2 ff.8v, 19v, 20r are illegible owing to staining; the staining in other leaves has not, however, affected legibility. The inner margin of G 2 f.25 and the outer margin of G 3 f.29 have been repaired with green thread. G 3 f.68 is now loose.

The composition of the gatherings is as follows: G 2 1-8, 9-19, 20-29, 30-35, 36-43, 44-51, G 3 (made up of irregular gatherings and single leaves) 1-12, 13, 14-19, 20-25, 26-37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42-45, 46, 47-52, 53-60, 61-78. The intercalated leaves (in G 2) alone show no signs of previous sewing. The first, now f.3a, is a single leaf inserted in the first gathering between f.3 and f.4, the second and third are conjugate leaves inserted in the third gathering, one (now f.20a) is between f.20 and f.21, the other (now f.28a) between f.28 and f.29. The text in the first of the conjugate leaves is continued on the recto of the second.

The green vellum binding of the two manuscripts is simply tooled. Two vellum flyleaves have been inserted by the binder after the front cover and before the back cover of each manuscript. The following, in different hands appear on the first flyleaf, recto and verso of G 2: (1) Cronology of Irish Kings. MS. of the 11th century (2) ? If this is not the Book of Invasions mentioned by Keating p. 39 (3) Most of the poems here are historical and, very scarce and rare as the antiquity of the writing shews Kings of Ireland Ulster etc. The inside front cover of each manuscript has O’Reilly’s book-stamp under which is written the number of the manuscript in the Phillipps collection 7021 (G 2) 7022 (G 3). In G 2, however, Phillipps has written MSS. Cooper in pencil but these items were never, of course, part of the Cooper collection. After the dispersal of O’Reillys collection in 1830, they were acquired by John O’Donovan, who may have sold them directly to Phillipps (See Mrs. A. O’Sullivan’s article in the forthcoming Miscellany in memory of Angus Matheson).

G 3

Fo.

1 Gilla Moduta. BANSHENCHUS NA HÉIREANN. Adham aenathair na ndaine 202qq. Ed. Dobbs from LL with variants from Lec, RC xlvii 283-339. This version is closer to that in the Book of Uí Maine than to the other versions (see RC xlvii 283). Breaks off with f.13v=Uí Maine 44(100) va 2.

14r Metrical tract. Beg. Do aisdibh tairceadail i coitc[h]eann and seo sís ⁊ ca lin aisdi fil ann. Ni hansa. a cuig. lx. ar tri cedaibh. A shorter version of Thurneysen’s Tract II (Irische Texte iii 67-105) containing only 35 varieties of metre. Breaks off near end of column caise coise cornairne=IT iii 96 §151. This ms. was not consulted by Thurneysen for his edition. Ó Neachtain’s transcript, H.1.15, p. 625.

15vb The following in plain (f.16r inf. marg.) and in cipher with a key to the cipher on f.16ra: Duibhithir dael dath abhra ger a gha co ngeoghna a crand caisithir snas snaithe a chuil guirmi a shuil fri bugha mair.
At the foot of the page is the following Ni melladh meraighi so ⁊ ar Dhia re Adumh na foillsigheadh do duine eli e. Gilla Patraig scribhsit. See introductory remarks.

16ra Adham in cedfear gan cradh 2qq. On descendants of Adam.

16ra A table equating letters of the alphabet with numerals, presumably as a key to letters in the following item which often stand for numbers.
Beg. A cccc B. ccc Ends Amen. The scribe of the item on f.15 vb inserts a key to the cipher here.

16ra O Adhamh go dilind 11qq. On the years between biblical events with calculation to present.

16rb Cet[h]ri rig dheg o Cloind Fhiachrach 6qq. Cf. Lec 72 rb.

16rb Ro genir Find fear iar fhuin 1q. Chronology of the birth and death of Fionn mac Cumhaill.

16v An illuminated miniature of Noah’s Ark showing the compartments for Noah’s family, the horses and the birds. Headed Denamh na hairce andseo ⁊ Sliabh Armenia fuithe. Cf. BB 2.

16va Tale of Solomon’s impatience at the slowness of David’s dooms. Beg. No bidh Daibhith fod int amlai og breth na haenbreithi. Ends bos in choimdhead. See BM ii 514.

17r Summary of four legal transactions relating to Conn O Duibhgeannáin with dates 1497-1513. Beg. In Dei nomine. Amen. Memorandum est. Ends O Rodachan scriptore. Ed. G. Mac Niocaill, Galvia iv 25. See introductory remarks above for note on handwriting.

17v DÚAN IN CHOÍCAT CEST. [Ia]rfaighthear libh .l. ceast 23qq. Ed. Meyer from Eg. 1782, ZCP iv 234. See BM ii 280.

18va SEX AETATES MUNDI. Extract. Beg. Is fisi hi sunn cia lin do c[h]laind do tuismestar Adhamh=Rawl. B 502 41ra34 with poem (18vb) Adam ⁊ Eba an 5qq.=Rawl. B 502 41rb1.

18vb Cia lin dan righraid rain ruaid 8qq.=Rawl. B 502 75ra26. Ed. O’Brien, Corpus Genealog. Hib. i 125.

19ra Se rig deg Eogain anall 13qq.= Rawl. B 502 75ra45=BB 81a30. Preceded by a short prose introduction beg. At e so iaramh det[h]bir ⁊ comairim righ Erenn = Rawl. B 502 75ra42=BB 81a27. Ed. O’Brien, Corpus Genealog. Hib. i 126.

19rb Genealogy of descendant of Lughaidh son of Ith: Mág Flannchadha Dartraighe. Beg. Cathal dubh mac Fearadaigh mic Uilliam. Ends mic Luigech mic Ithi.

19va Series of relative measurements of time and space. Beg. Tre gort crand. Tre crand cu.=BB 14a6, G 1 f. 38v6. Ends tacmoc nime=BB 14a38. Cf. G 2, f.34rb. See BM ii 115.

19vb Dia ngair[e] dam dum laim cli 8qq. Prognostications from birds.

19vb Genealogy of descendant of Cathaír Mór ; Ó Faelán (Genelach O Fhaelan). Beg. Maelmorda mac Murc[h]adha=Rawl. B 502 65rd4 (ed. O’Brien, Corpus Genealog. Hib. i 14). Ends mic Cat[h]air mor righ Erenn.

19vb Medical recipe. Beg. Folcud and seo sis do chosc na < . . . >. Ends arna marach abhus te.

20ra Gnimhradha in sheseadh lai lain 63qq. On the creation of the world, the Fall and the racial divisions of the human race up to the birth of Christ.

21va ROSCADA FLAINN FÍNA MIC OSSA RÍG SAXAN. Extract headed [I]ntamail Flaind Fhina .i. righ Saxan for (ms. s̄) cinadaib Ereann ar a fhiarfaighidh dia mhac dhe. Beg. Cia segho ranag ar a mhac fri Fland. Fir Maighe ⁊ in ghaeth ar Fland. Ends fianna faebhardherg. Printed by Meyer from 23 D 2 with translation, Tecosca Cormaic, p. vi. See BM ii 512.

21vb Description of Christ and the Apostles. Beg. Christus dubhdhonn a fholt=BB 14b6 (printed by Stokes RC viii 362). Ends Lucas crucifixus=BB 14b22. Cf. G 1, f.50r7, Laud Misc. 610, f.42rd1. See BM ii 430.

22ra Clerig gecha cilli | eol damh a ndoghenad 2qq. Headed .i. baili in sgail Amen.

22ra Rab tu mu baili 16qq. Ed. M. Nevin from this manuscript, Éigse ii 114-6 ; G. Murphy, Early Irish Lyrics, No. 18.

22rb Truag a dhala domhnan dil 5qq. On the death of Cormac mac Cuileannáin.

22v upper margin. The following quatrain : Ro bith os la Tadc mac Cen | Tadc mac Cen la hos ro bith | la hos ro bith Tadhc mac Cen | Tadg mac Cen ag Ros na Righ.

22va M’aenaran dam isa (vel dar) sliabh 10qq. Headed a Lebar Glind Da Lacha in begsa sís. Ed. J. Carney from this manuscript and TCD H.3.18, Éigse ii 107-113.

22va Comraintear in airigidh 7qq. On the honour-portions of food due to different classes of people.

22vb Cruadaigh re congbail co calma 4qq. On the ten commandments.

22vb Beg. Robo maith Aichil mac Pel 14qq. On the boyhood deeds of Achilles.

23r upper margin. Genealogy of Cruithne : Cruithne mac Cinge (Lec. Inge) mic Luchta mic Partaloin mic Agnomas mic Buain mic Mair mic Aitheas mic Ianaid mic Iareth ced mbliadain do Cruithne i rrighe. Amail atfet Lebar Glind Da Lacha.

23ra A fir ted a Mag Medba | du sgela bud sgoithmebra 34qq.=Rawl. B 502 89ra37. Headed Do rigaibh Con[n]acht in so sis. E. O’Reilly transcribed the poem from this ms. into BM Eg. 175.

23vb DINDSHENCHUS. Sinann. Sinand cia hadhbhar dia ta 15qq. Except for minor variations it is similar to Sinann II, ed. Gwynn, Metrical Dindshenchus iii 292.

24ra I re Cesair Aughuist tair 5 qq. Synchronisms of the Roman Emperors with those of Christ and Conchobhar mac Nessa.

24ra SEX AETATES MUNDI. Extract. Cedna aimsear beathadh bind 9qq. Ed. Meyer from Rawl. B 502, ZCP iii 18.

24rb Arara aibhind in chnoc 11qq. Cf. Eg. 1782, f.46 (partly faded).

24va Aengus amhra in ri 10qq. Headed Ailill Flandchosach in fili du Laignib cecinit. Ed. Ó Donnchadha from other mss., An Leabhar Muimhneach 77-8.

24vb Eol damh aighidh earca gnim 8qq. Headed (in O’Reilly’s hand) Congal mac Eachach Feidlioch cecinit. Ed. Meyer from Eg. 1782, ZCP ix 175.

25ra Dunta in teach ataid na righ 12qq. Headed Flann file o Ronan .i. Fland na marb. Lament for Maelsechlainn mac Domhnaill (Uí Néill), king of Ireland († 1022).

25v Ceothrar is feili fuair Flann 19qq. Headed A Iosa is a Iosa. Part of the poem (39qq.) by Giolla Brighde mac Con Mide in praise of Domhnall Ua Domhnaill, king of Tír Conaill († 1241), ed. Fraser and O’Keeffe from Rawl. B 514, Irish Texts ii 1. See Dobbs, A Poem ascribed to Flann mac Lonáin, Ériu xvii 16-7.

26r URAICECHT BEG. Beg. Bunad ⁊ inde ⁊ airbeart conagar don focul is cid=AL v 2.3. Headed [I]n nomine Trino hoc opus incipio. Breaks off with f.45v amail rogab Cor=AL v 112.2. In place of the matter in AL v 8.18-10.3 this copy contains (ff.27rb41-30ra26) the tract Cuic conara fuigill ed. Thurneysen from this ms. ZCP xix 165-173.

29r lower margin. The following : Atamaid iga fhagbail and so gu sondradhach gebe du Leath Mogha le millfidhi Gilla na Naemh og mac Aedagan (.i. mac Conc[h]obair written above ; 1399 AFM) Leath Cuind da coimdhigailt gan cuntabairt ⁊ muna dearnad nar fhagbhad a n-oighredha ina inadhaib. See introductory remarks for note on handwriting.

46ra [M]oidi gach maith a moradh 103qq. Metrical Glossary. Cf. Book of Uí Maine 151b + Eg. 90 f.17 (=a folio missing from Uí Maine which contains the remaining 28½qq. of the poem). The Egerton quatrains ed. Stokes, Phil. Soc. Trans. 1891-4, p. 31. The introductory stanzas (3) from the present ms. are printed with English translation, J. Carney, Topographical Poems, Addenda and Corrigenda, pp. 157-8. Ó Neachtain’s transcript, H.1.15, p. 631. Ends f.49va. The remainder of the page is blank except for the entry in a later hand, for which see introductory remarks above.

50ra Prognostications of the weather from the incidence of the Calends. Beg. Calaind Enair [for Domnach] bliadain caincomhracach=G 1, f.11r1=Eg. 1782, f.43. Ends forsin Callaind. KL^-. En̄.b. See BM ii 276. Ó Neachtain’s transcript, H.1.15, p. 629.

51ra19 Prognostications of events from weather conditions. Beg. Madh fliuch Calaind Enair. Ends do dhiabhulta na diaidh sin. Finid. Amen. Adhamh O Cianan ro sgrib. Includes two poems: (1) f.51va Calaind Enair gaeth anair 6qq. (Fintan mac Bochna ; see last quatrain) and (2) f.51vb Legam Calainde cach raithe 6qq. Cf. G 1, f.11v13. See BM ii 276. Ó Neachtain’s transcript, H.1.15, p. 629.

52rb Eagar anma Adhaim aird 5qq. On the origin of Adam’s name.

52rb Grammatical tract. On vowels and consonants. Beg. Cidh as litear and. is eadh is litear ann rand rabeag in focail comsuidhighi no rann nach fhetar dfoghail ⁊ fhetar do sgribadh. Ends aenmuidh .i. a. Finid. Amen. Priscian (Presgen) is cited (f.52vb22) as authority.

53r Tract on metrical faults. Beg. Aig seo na lochta is coitc[h]eand teagaid in gach aisdi don dan. Ends molfaind in c[h]oir. Ed. Bergin from this ms., Ériu xvii, Supplement ; the section dealing with infixed pronouns ed. McKenna, Éigse ii 117-122. Ó Neachtain’s transcript, H.1.15, P. 636.

The following Latin hexameters occur on the margins of ff.59v-60r in the hand of Neicolas Nevill (see introductory remarks) : Dico poeta bonus carmen ques scripsit homerus. | Doctus et homo carmen est qui ille potest jungere. | Anser oves macculat potus dum vacca minisstrat | Furfur edit panes pannus quoque | Amosti cur fel ingutter sustineamus.

72va19 A short list of verbal nouns. Beg. Persanda a lan d'fhoclaibh and seo sis. Breth breth. Ends ifin iuidh eamhancoll ai. Ó Neachtain’s Transcript, H.1.15, p. 649. See Ó Cuív, Linguistic Terminology in the Mediaeval Irish Bardic Tracts, Trans. Phil. Soc. 1965, p. 161. Ed. Ó Cuív from this ms., Éigse xi 287.

73r2 Fragment of TRACT ON CONJUGATION. Beg. Ní do brighaibh na persand ann seo sís. Dabas bethear dabeithea dabithea bithear asbeti. Ends Da buailfi di. Ó Neachtain’s Transcript, H.1.15, p. 649.

74ra A aes dana is aichnid damh 9qq. On infixed pronouns. Ó Neachtain’s transcript, H.1.15, p. 621.

74rb A fhir ata ar slicht na suadh 17qq. On the letters of the Ogham alphabet. Cf. Calder, Auraicept na nÉces, p. 106, etc. Ó Neachtain’s transcript, H.1.15, P. 621.

75r Ca med fhocal féghtar lend 28qq. On pronouns and prepositions. Ó Neachtain’s transcript, H.1.15, P. 622.

76vb Tadhg Ó Huiginn (see last quatrain). Comardudh cindas is coir 21qq. On rime in poetry. Ó Neachtain’s transcript, H.1.15., p. 623.

77v Sloinfead daibh deaghaisdi in dana 14qq. Thurneysen’s Metrical Tract IV (Irische Texte iii 106). This ms. was not consulted by Thurneysen for his edition. Followed by colophon Agus Adhamh O Cianan ro sgribh in lebarsa uile sis. Ó Neachtain’s transcript, H.1.15, p. 624.