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Fís Mheirlíno: a Diplomatic Edition with Introduction and Notes Fís Mheirlíno: a diplomatic edition with introduction and notes Ciarán Hegarty, B.A. Hons (Ulster 2011) Faculty of Arts of Ulster University A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy April 2018 I confirm that the word count of this thesis is less than 100,000 words. 2 Table of contents 1. Descriptor of Edition 6 2. A Theory concerning authorship of FMh 7 3. Synopis of FMh 19 4. Textual analysis with a view to establishing authorship 21 5. Previous editions 73 6. The Manuscripts 75 7. Relationship of manuscripts 79 8. Editorial method 90 9. Notes on translation 115 10. Language of text 117 11. Historical and literary context 118 12. Text and Translation 122 13. Textual notes 162 14. Linguistic analysis 182 Appendix 1 – Bibliography 277 Appendix 2 – List of MSS. in which FMh is found 292 Appendix 3 – Diplomatic transcription of FMh from MSS. 296 Appendix 4 – Glossary 313 3 BUÍOCHAS Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a chur in iúl don Dochtúir Nioclás Mac Cathmhaoil a bhí mar stiúrthóir orm sa tionscadal seo. Eisean a d’aithin agus a chothaigh an tsuim a bhí agam i léann téacsúla agus i litríocht chraifeach na Nua-Gaeilge luaithe agus a mhol an t-ábhar agus mé ag tabhairt faoi thaighde dochtúireachta. Tá mé faoi chomaoin mhór aige as na huaireanta fada a chaith sé ag cuidiú liom teacht isteach ar theanga agus litríocht na 17ú agus 18ú aois. Is mór an tacaíocht a fuair mé ó bhaill fhoirne agus ó mhic léinn araon in Ollscoil Uladh agus in institiúidí eile ó chuir mé tús leis an saothar seo. Ba mhaith liom aitheantas a thabhairt don Dochtúir Malachy Ó Néill agus don Dochtúir Fionntan de Brún as an tsuim a léirigh siad i mo chuid oibre agus as an mhisneach a thug siad dom. Tá aitheantas ar leith tuillte ag an Dochtuir Art Hughes as téacs agus aistriúchán Fís Mheirlíno a léamh agus as na moltaí a rinne sé ina thaobh seo agus don Dochtúir Peadar Mac Gabhann as an chomhairle a thug sé dom a chuidigh go mór liom an tionscadal a thabhairt chun críche. Tá mé buíoch fosta de mo theaghlach agus de mo chairde as éisteacht go fial foighneach le sonraí faoi Mheirlíno agus faoin domhan teangeolaíoch agus diagachta inar tháinig sé ar an tsaol. Mar fhocal scoir ba mhaith liom focal buíochais faoi leith a rá faoin Athair Pádraig Mac an Bheatha nach maireann, sagart nár chaill riamh an tsuim a bhí aige sa Ghaeilge ó chuaigh sé i mbun staidéir uirthi in Ollscoil na Banríona, Béal Feirste, sna 1940í agus a raibh spéis mhór i gcónaí aige san iarracht agam féin chun nasc a léiriú idir an scéal agus sagart deoiseach eile ón 17ú aois. Suaimhneas síoraí ar a anam uasal. Is mé féin amháin, áfach, atá freagrach as cár bith locht atá fágtha ar an saothar seo. 4 ABSTRACT Despite a proliferation of ninety-five transcriptions between the years 1679 and 1895 and two edited versions executed by R.A.S. Macalister in 1903 and 1905 little information has been uncovered to date concerning the origins and authorship of the Modern Irish late vision tale Fís Mheirlíno (FMh). This thesis seeks to redress this state of affairs through the execution of a diplomatic edition of the earliest known instance of the tale – MS. TCD 1399 – which predates Macalister’s primary source MS. by thirty-four years. This project is envisaged as a preliminary step towards the eventual creation of a critical edition of FMh. A rigorous examination of this primitive version sheds light on its possible origins and authorship by furnishing a profile of an author of considerable literary and theological skill who appears to have fused elements from well- known early seventeenth century Irish devotional texts with material of his own composition to create FMh. That this author might be identified as Owen O’Donnelly is argued on the basis of scholarly hypotheses that a figure of this name may have been the scribe of MS. TCD 1399 and the author of the contemporary satirical tale Comhairle Mhic Clamha. This argument is supported by the seemingly deliberate juxtaposition of the poem Aluinn Dún Mhic Muire, by ‘Eog[h]an Ó Donnaoile’ with FMh in a section of this MS. apparently dedicated to prose material alone. By way of contextualisation a diplomatic edition and translation of this transcription are preceded by consideration of previous editions, the manuscripts consulted and their relationship, along with an account of the process of transcription and the editorial method. The text is complemented by textual notes, an analysis of the language used as well as by appendices covering bibliography, a list of all MSS. containing the tale, the diplomatic transcription of the version found in MS. TCD 1399 and a glossary. 5 ABBREVIATIONS acc. = accusative interrog. = interrogative adj. = adjective m. = masculine, masculine noun adv. = adverb n. = noun attrib. = attributive neg. = negative auton. = autonomous neut. = neutral coll. = collective noun nom. = nominative compar. = comparative obj. = object compd. = compound pass. = passive cond. = conditional phr. v. = phrasal verb conj. = conjunction pl. = plural cop. = copula poss. = possessive dat. = dative pp. = past participle defect. = defective prep. = prepositional dem. = demonstrative prep. pron. = prepositional pronoun f. = feminine, feminine noun pres. = present f., ff. = folio, folios pron. = pronoun fut. = future rel. = relative gen. = genitive sg. = singular impv. = imperative subj. = subjunctive imperf. = imperfect v. = verb indef. = indefinite vn. = verbal noun indic. = indicative voc. = vocative 6 1. DESCRIPTOR OF EDITION The primary aim of this project is to provide a conservative diplomatic edition of the early modern prose-tale Fís Mheirlíno (FMh) readily comprehensible to an academic readership familiar with Ulster Irish. This might be seen as a preparatory step towards the eventual creation of a critical edition of the tale. After consideration of the most relevant source material it was determined that this present edition be based on a single transcription of the tale namely that found in manuscript (MS.) TCD 1399 (H 5 28) held in the library of Trinity College, Dublin.1 This choice was made on the grounds that, dated 1679, it is the earliest known instance of the tale. This selection was potentially problematic since the two folios containing the ending are missing but for the existence of two transcriptions for which MS. TCD 1399 was indisputably the source. Since these copies were palpably faithful to their source the reconstruction of the ending as it would in all likelihood have appeared in the earliest version was possible. Given the decision to present a form of the tale in a form which remains faithful to that which it took in the source MSS. the editorial interventions are restricted to the following: 1. Capitalisation. 2. Differentiation. 3. Punctuation. 4. Expansion of scribal abbreviations. 5. Supplying marks of vocalic lengths where necessary. 6. Some orthographic regularisation. 1 As regards this MS. see Abbott & Gwynn 1921: 263, Flower 1926: 338. The dates “5 July 1679” and “an 21 la do Mhí August 1679” were written at the conclusion of the prose-tales Ballan Congail and An MadraMaol respectively (folios 18a and 39a) while the date “20. Sep. 1679” is found at the beginning of Tóruigheacht Gruaidhe Griansholus (f. 61a). 7 2. AUTHORSHIP Opening remarks The frequency with which FMh has been copied over the course of two centuries is reason enough to excite curiosity in its regard. As far as my research indicates, ninety-five hand-written transcriptions are extant.1 As indicated above, the earliest known version is dated 1679 while the latest known is found in UCC MS. T1 the date of transcription of which is given as 1893-95.2 The tale was also made available in print by R.A.S. Macalister who published an edition of the tale in Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie as ‘The Vision of Merlíno’(VM I) in 19033 and then in revised form as the book, , The Vision of Merlino: an Irish allegory (VM II) two years after that.4 Despite this proliferation, however, it is the case that to date virtually nothing has been established as regards the origins or authorship of the text. In the preface of VM I, for instance, Macalister simply states: “The immediate origin of the present tale is not known to me” (VM I: 394) followed by the suggestion that the name Meirlíno might possibly indicate that the tale originated in Italy and a brief consideration of a few figures from classical and medieval literature to whom this character might perhaps correspond.5 Robin Flower, too, seems to have delved no deeper than the exotic names and placenames found in the text. In his description of the second transcription of the earliest known version of the tale – MS. TCD 1399 – in MS. Egerton 106 he 1 See appendix 2. 2 Tadhg Ua Donnchudha is recorded as being the scribe of this MS. 3‘The vision of Merlino.’ ZCP IV, 394-455 (VM I). As regards this version Macalister states: “A. In my own collection, 26pp. 8 ins. x 6 ins., a fragment of a larger volume (paged 191-216), written by a man calling himself Seón mac Solaidhe at Stackallen, Co. Meath, in the year 1718. This is the best and oldest MS. known to me, and I have used it as a standard text.” (VM I: 396). It is evident from MS. RIA 24 C 55 (ff. 193, 216) that Macalister was wrong about this date and that it was transcribed in 1713 rather than 1718. 4 : an Irish allegory = The vision of Merlino. Dublin: Gill (VM II). “Those who wish for information as to the manuscripts on which this version is based and their numerous but not very interesting divergencies of reading, may be referred to the Zeitschrift edition, where these details are set out.” (VM II: 3).
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