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Lebor Na Huidre = Book of the Dun

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Lebor Na Huidre = Book of the Dun //íto«o 6loJk*4i-Z^ LEBOR NA HUIDRE LEBOR NA HU1DRE BOOK OF THE DUN COW EDITED BY R. I. BEST and OSBORN BERGIN PUBLISHED FOR THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY DUBLIN HODGES, FIGGIS, & CO. LONDON: WILLIAMS & NOKGATE 1929 PREFACE The lithographic Facsimile of Lebor na Huidre executed by Joseph O'Longan, and published by the Royal Irish Academy in 1870, having been out of print for many years, the Council decided in 192 1 to issue under our joint editorship a new edition of the ms., to be printed in Roman characters, in which the different hands, more especially the numerous interpolations to which atten- tion had recently been drawn, and which gave a new character to the ms., should be distinguished by different founts of type. The aim of the present edition is to provide not a critical text—so many of the tracts being defective owing to lacunae in the volume—but rather an accurate transcript, which will supplement the ' Fac- simile ' and present the evidence of the ms. in a more convenient form. Some apology is necessary for the long delay that has ensued since the work was taken in hands. The task of editing, owing largely to difficulties of interpre- tation, proved more arduous and exacting than had been anticipated. The entire work, both in ms. and in proof, was collated more than once with the original by both editors, and frequent revision of the text took place. The final comparison was with the ' Facsimile,' when a number of inadmissible readings of the facsimilist, which had before been overlooked, were noted, together with vi PREFACE certain inconsistencies of our own, indicated in the Introduction. We hope that it may not be found necessary to add considerably to the list of Corrigenda, which in works such as this is almost inevitable. We desire here to express our appreciation of the skilful manner in which the University Press has seconded our efforts in the execution of this compli- cated work, so long in the press. R. I. B. O. J. B. Dublin, 10th February, 1929. CONTENTS List of Abbreviations for CONTENTS PAGE Compert Mongán 333 Mongán 7 Aided Fothaid Airgd ig 334 Scél Mongán 336 Tucait Baile Mongán 337 Cind Erred Ulad 338 Corrigenda 339 PLATES I. Táin Bó Cúailnge, p. 55 II. do. p. 73 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS FOR WORKS, &c, CITED BB. = Book of Ballymote. Facsimile, 1887. Brit. Mus. = British Museum. Eg. = Egerton MSS. in British Museum. FM. = Annals of the Four Masters. Hail. = Harleian MSS. LB. = Lebar Brecc. Facsimile, 1876. Lc. = BookofLecan, R.I. A. LH. = Liber Hymnorum. LL. = Lebar Laigen, i.e. Book of Leinster. Facsimile, ii LU. = Lebor na Huidre. R.I. A. = Royal Irish Academy. Rawl. = Rawlinson MSS. in Bodleian Library. RC. = Revue Celtique. T.C.D. = Trinity College, Dublin. Y., YBL. = Yellow Book of Lecan. Facsimile, 1896. ZCP. = Zeilschrift fur celtische Philolog-ie. INTRODUCTION THE manuscript volume known as Lebor na Huidre or Book of the Dun, so named presumably from the hide of a famous dun cow of St. Ciarán of Clonmacnois, has been in the possession of the Royal Irish Academy since 1844, when it was acquired by purchase along with a number of other MSS., 212 in all, from Messrs. Hodges & Smith of College Green. This collection had been in course of formation for many years, and was offered to the Academy in February, 1843, for a sum much below its market value, namely 1200 guineas, in order that the manuscripts might be retained in the country. Towards this the Government of the day contributed £600, Lord Adare raised ,£300, the Academy contributed £200, and private subscribers the remainder. The Catalogue of the collection, known as the Hodges & Smith collection, was compiled by Eugene O'Curry. It fills three large folio volumes, and Lebor 11a Huidre is No. 226 in the collection. Its press mark is now 23 E 25. In whose keeping this venerable manuscript was before it passed into the custody of Messrs. Hodges & Smith, is now unknown. It was in their hands at all events in 1837, when it was cited by Petrie in his famous essay on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill (R.I. A. Trans. XVIII., 1837). Of its past history little is known beyond what is recorded itself b in the two precatory entries in the book (p. 37 ; infra p. 89). In the former, made in A.D. 1345, the compilation of the book is ascribed to Mael Muire son of Célechar, whose probaiio pennae occurs on the upper margins of p. 55, where it is only partly legible : Probatio pennae Mail Muri m^zc m^z'c Cuind [na mbocht] 1 and of Prfbatio pennae Mail Muri j p. 70: inso. 1 illegible. x INTRODUCTION The two entries in question have been translated and interpreted by O'Curry in his MS. Materials of Ancient Irish History, p. 182 ff., and again in his Catalogue, reprinted in the Introduction to the Facsimile. It may be convenient, however, to give at this point a fresh rendering of them, and to recapitu- late their contents. I. "A prayer for Mael M 11 ire son of Célechar, grandson of Conn na mBocht, who copied and searched out this book from various books. A prayer for Domnall 1 son of Muirchertach son •of Domnall son of Tadg son of Brian son of Aindrias son of Brian Luignech son of Toirrdelbach Mór. It is this Domnall who ordered the restoration 2 by Sigraid O Cuirrndin 3 [of the work] of that same person by whom this beautiful book was written. And which is best for us, to send our blessing to the owner of this book by human lips or to leave it with him ? And it is a week from to-day to Easter Saturday, and a week from yesterday to Good Friday, and there are two golden Fridays 4 therein, i.e. Friday of the Festival of Mary and Good Friday, and that is a great marvel to certain scholars." II. "A prayer for Aed Ruad son of Niall Garb O'Donnell who carried off this book by force from the Connachtmen, and the Leabar Gearr along with it, after they had been absent from us from the time of Cathal Og O'Conor to that of Ruaidri son •of Brian [O'Conor], and ten lords were over Cairbre in the interval. And in the time of Conchobar 5 son of Aed O'Donnell 1 He died in the Castle of Sligo, a week before Christmas, 1395. FM. • The retracing or re-inking of faded letters is quite common in Irish MSS. The expressions used by the scribe of Laud Misc. 610 (Bodl.), entrusted with the task of renovating ' that MS. are, athscribad na liter, the re-writing of the letters, fol. 24 d ; lesugad an Ubhair, 'the restoring of the book,' fol. 47/; culaid athnuaigthi, 'implement of renovation,' fol. 257'. See Plummer's Colophons and Marginalia of Irish Scribes, 1926, p. 85 (British Academy Proc). This and the following entry have themselves been retraced, the former so skilfully that it is only through minute portions of letters here and there having escaped the process, that one can recognize it. In the second Orait, which overflows into the lower margin, the retracing is more obvious. Consequently a second renovator has been at work at some later period. 3 Sidhradh 6 Cuirnin, a learned poet and ollav of Breifne, died 1347. FM. 4 The festival of the Annunciation referred to here, coincided with Good Friday on March 25th, 1345, which furnishes the date of the entry. Cp. Facsimile, p. xi. 5 He succeeded his father in 1333, and was slain by his brother Niall in his own ^fortress at Murbach in 1342. FM. INTRODUCTION xi they were taken to the West, and in this manner they were 1 2 taken, i.e. the Leabar Gearr in ransom for O'Doherty and Leabar na Huidre going in ransom for the son of O'DonnelTs ollav of history, it being taken by Cathal as a pledge for him 3 4 from Cenél Conaill . from Conchobar to Aed." From the above entries it would appear that Lebor na Huidre was carried from Donegal into Connacht during the reign of Conchobar son of Aed O'Donnell, that is between 1333 and 1342; that it remained there until 1470, when it was brought back to Donegal after a successful expedition by Aed Ruad, son of Niall Garb O'Donnell. Further, that in 1345, shortly after its transfer to Connacht, the writing which was then much faded, was renovated or re-inked by Sigraid 'Ó Cuirrndin, a poet of Bréifne, who died in 1347. It was thus upwards of 130 years in Connacht. That the book was still in Donegal in 1631, when the O'Clerys and their associates were at work in the Franciscan Convent there, is evident from the references to it in their various compilations: (1) Martyrology of Donegal (1630) under preface, it is described Sep. 23 ; (2) Lebar Gabála (1631) where in Ciarán in as written at Clonmacnois the time of St. ; (3J their Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland, under A.D. 266 (Stowe copy). Further Lughaidh O'Clery is said by Mac Fir Bhisigh 1 Cp. the reference to the Lebar Gearr or Short Book in Aided Nath I, p. 94, in a passage interpolated by H, 1. 2922, and also found in YBL., where it is cited as one •of the sources, formerly in Monasterboice, afterwards stolen by a student and taken over sea, since when it was never heard of.
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