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A Chrínóc cubaid do cheól

verse

11 st.

beg. A Chrínóc, cubaid do cheól

Ua Brolcháin (Máel Ísu)

Ua Brolcháin (Máel Ísu)

(d. (c.) 1086)

No short description available

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Middle Irish lyrical poem addressed to a certain Crínóc (‘dear old little thing’, a hypocoristic form of crín). Crínóc is lovingly described as an old, judicious woman, who had lain with the speaker as well as other men yet who is without sin. James Carney was the first to suggest that she personifies an old psalm-book that the speaker had turned to since the age of seven, i.e. when he first received his religious education.

Middle IrishIrish lyrical verseIrish liturgical and devotional literatureearly Irish verseriddles and puzzlespsalters

A fhir thall triallus

verse

30 st.

beg. A fhir thall tríallus in scél

Fíngen mac Flainn

Fíngen mac Flainn

(fl. 9th century (?))

early Irish poet to whom is ascribed a threat of satire (a tréfhocal fócrai, beg. A mo Choimdiu nél) to the Fir Arddae; said to be a pupil to one Dubdhartach.

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Middle Irish poem (30qq) attributed to Fíngen mac Flainn, in the form of a series of questions and interlined answers concerning Irish history and pseudo-history.

Middle IrishIrish legendary historyearly Irish versedialogue and question-and-answer literature

The advice to Doidin

form undefined

Early Irish tecosc-text in the form of legal advice addressed to one Doidin mac Nin(e).

Early IrishIrish wisdom literatureearly Irish legal textsDoidin mac Nine

Agallamh Leborchaim

form undefined

beg. A ingen a lúath, a láeb, a Leborcham, cía Ultu ána acca?

A prose introduction, including a list of Ulster women, and passage of rosc that are found as part of the early Irish tale Talland Étair. According to the tale, Leborcham is sent north to warn the wives of Ulster heroes and notables of the impending misfortunes of their husbands in battle. Her warning is uttered in the form of a rosc in which she presents a vision of the bloody outcome of the fight. Scholars like Dobbs have regarded the text as an interpolation, although this view may be open to debate.

Late Old IrishEarly Middle IrishUlster Cycleretoiric or rosc(ad)Leborcham

Aided mac Conchobuir

form undefined

Brief account. A hunter catches three hares at Emain Macha, but as he prepares to cook them a voice recites a poem, and tells him he has killed the three sons of Conchobar mac Nessa, Cormac Cond Longas, Cairpre and Cúscraid Mend Macha, who had taken the form of hares. The hunter runs away, leaving his game behind.

Middle IrishAidedaUlster CycleEmain Macha ... Navan FortConchobar mac NessaCormac Cond LongasCairpre mac ConchobairCúscraid Mend Macha

Aniar táinic tuitim Bhriain

verse

beg. Aniar táinic tuitim Bhriain

Elegiac poem on the fall of Brian Bóruma. It is cast in the form of a dialogue between two poets, Mac Líacc, who asks questions about those fallen in the battle of Clontarf, and Mac Coise of Clonmacnoise, who is able to provide answers.

Early Modern Irishearly Irish versedialogue and question-and-answer literatureelegiesMac Líacc ... MuirchertachUrard mac CoiseBrían Bóruma (Brian Boru)

Apair rim a Sétna

verse

20 st.

beg. Apair rim a Sétna

Late Middle Irish poem (20qq) in the form of a dialogue between Finnchú, saint of Brí Gobann (Brigown), and a certain Sétna, whose speech occupies the greater part of the text with prophecies of political upheaval and moral decline at the end of the world. The identity of this prophet is uncertain. The prose heading in one manuscript identifies him as Sétna of Clúain Becc (presumably Clonbeg, Co. Tipperary), but it may also be significant that in Irish genealogies, a Sétna is listed as either Finnchú’s father or his grandfather.

Late Middle IrishIrish syllabic verseIrish religious literaturevisions and eschatologydialogue and question-and-answer literatureliterature of political prophecyFinnchú of Brigownprophecies

Bamberg cryptogram

prose

Suadbar [Irish scholar]Suadbar ... Irish scholar

Entry reserved for but not yet available from the subject index.

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Letter from Suadbar, one of four Irish scholars on the continent (the others being Caínchobrach, Fergus and Dominnach), to their teacher Colgu. It relates that when the group had been received at the court of Merfyn Frych (king of Gwynedd, r. 825-844), a cryptic message was left for them by an Irish scholar called Dubthach. To put the wisdom of the Irishmen to the test, it contained a cryptogram, the key to which involved substituting Greek numerals for Roman letters. Once deciphered, the message would read Mermin rex Conchn [sic] salutem (‘Merfyn the king greets Cyngen’, i.e. Cyngen ap Cadell, king of Powys). In a final note, an error in the form of Cyngen’s name (Conch(e)n, betraying Irish influence, for Concen) is pointed out.

Latin languageHiberno-Latin literature and learning to c.1169cryptogramsletters and correspondenceriddles and puzzlesMerfyn FrychCyngen ap CadellFergus ... Irish scholar, fl. 9th centuryDominnach ... Irish scholarCaínchobrach ... Irish scholar, fl. 9th centuryDubthach ... cryptographer

Bodmin manumissions

prose

A group of 51 records, in Latin and Old English, of grants and manumission, the freeing of slaves, at Bodmin, Cornwall. These records were added to blank spaces and additional leaves of a gospel manuscript, the Bodmin Gospels (BL MS Add. 9381), over a period stretching from about the mid-10th to 11th centuries. They form an important source of information about social history and onomastics. The majority of personal names are Old English, while others are Latin and Old Cornish, making it one of the earliest witnesses of the Cornish language to survive.

Old EnglishLatin languagerecord sources for Cornwall

Bruidhean chaorthainn

prose

Late Gaelic prose romance in the form of a so-called bruidhean tale about Fionn mac Cumhaill and his men, perhaps composed in the 15th or 16th century. In the story, Fionn and a number of companions are entrapped in a sinister enchanted hostel or bruidhean by Míodhach (Midac), son of Colgán (Colga), king of Lochlann. Míodhach was taken up and reared by the Fían after his father was killed in an unsuccesful attempt to seize Irish territory, but on coming of age, plotted revenge and so invited Fionn to a feast at ‘The hostel of rowan’ on the Shannon. Once inside, Fionn and his men find themselves magically glued to their seats, awaiting death by decapitation, while Míodhach is making foreign allies. They chant a dord fían (a low kind of humming), which reveals their whereabouts to the remaining members of the Fían, including Oisín, Caoilte, Innse, and Diarmuid. A series of fights ensues in which the latter resist foreign attackers and kill Míodhach. Diarmuid slays the kings of Inis Tuile (Thule) and uses their blood to release Fionn and the other captured men from the spell of enchantment (although Conán Maol does not come away without being partially skinned alive). Finally, a great battle is fought and won over the ‘King of the world’, who is defeated and beheaded.

Early Modern Irishmiscellaneous textsRí an DomhainFinn mac Cumaill (Find úa Báiscni)Caílte mac RónáinOisín mac FinnOscar mac OisínDíarmait úa DuibneLochlannConán (Mael) mac MornaMídach mac ColgáinColgán ... king of LochlannInis Tuile

Caiseal cathair Chlann Mogha
Entry forthcoming. View incoming data.

verse

75 st.

beg. Caiseal cathair Chlann Mogha

Ó Dubhagáin (Seaán Mór)

Ó Dubhagáin (Seaán Mór)

(d. 1372)

Irish poet and historian.

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A list of kings of Munster in versified form (75 qq), attributed to Seaán Ó Dubhagáin.

Early Modern IrishIrish historical verseIrish historiesregnal listskings of MunsterMunster/Cúige Mumhan

Canu Llywarch Hen

verse

A collection of early Welsh poems in englyn form, most of which are attributed to an elderly Llywarch Hen, a legendary prince of the Old North.

Early Welshearly Welsh poetrycollections of verseLlywarch HenGwên ap Llywarch HenMaen ap Llywarch HenPyll ap Llywarch Hen

Cartulary of Redon
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prose

Cartulary of the abbey of Saint-Sauveur in Redon, written in Latin in the 11th century and updated until the 12th century. In its extant, incomplete form, the collection contains 391 charters, the majority of which relate to the 9th or early 10th century, while the latest charter is dated to 1081. The work is an important source for proper names in Old Breton.

Latin languagecharter textsBreton Latin literature and learningrecord sources for BrittanyRedon, Abbey of Saint-SauveurNominoeErispoe

Cathair cenn cóicid Banba
Entry forthcoming. View incoming data.

verse

66 st.

beg. Cathaír cenn cóicid Banba

Eochaid ua Céirín

Eochaid (Eolach) úa Céirín

(fl. 11th century?)

Middle Irish poet

Eochaid ua Céirín

Eochaid (Eolach) úa Céirín

(fl. 11th century?)

Middle Irish poet

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Middle Irish poem which gives a version of the tale known in prose form as Esnada tige Buchet.

Middle IrishIrish historical verseearly Irish verse

Chronicle of Ireland
Entry forthcoming. View incoming data.

prose

The hypothesized compilation of Irish annals whose text is no longer extant in its original form but whose contents have been partially reconstructed, to varying extents of probability, from the so-called Clonmacnoise group of annals and the Annals of Ulster.

Irish languageLatin languageIrish annals

Chronicle of the kings of Alba
Entry forthcoming. View incoming data.

prose

Short Latin chronicle of Scottish history, the earliest of its kind, which is preserved in a single manuscript (BNF lat. 4162, or the Poppleton MS). The core of the text, which takes its structure from a regnal list, covers the period between the reigns of Cináed mac Ailpín (d. 858) and Cináed mac Maíl Choluim (d. 995), who appears to have been still alive when his reign was added. The form in which this text has come down, however, is in a later redaction, possibly of the 12th century, surviving in a 14th-century manuscript.

Latin languageannals and chroniclesregnal listsrecord sources for ScotlandCináed mac AilpínCináed mac Maíl Choluim

Commentary on the Amra Choluim Chille

prose

Middle Irish commentary in the form of scholia accompanying copies of the Amra Choluim Chille.

Middle IrishcommentariescommentariesIrish glossesIrish narrative literature about poetsIrish learning on language and style

Cyfoesi Myrddin a Gwenddydd ei chwaer

form undefined

Long poem that takes the form of a dialogue or colloquy between Myrddin and his sister Gwenddydd. In response to his sister's questions, Myrddin reveals many details concerning the future of Britain; includes references to Myrddin as a wild man of the woods; Gwenddolau; battle of Arfderydd (570s, Cumbria); includes a regnal list, especially of the Maelgyning kings of Gwynedd, from Rhydderch Hael to Hywel Dda ap Cadell (d. 950) and beyond, at which point the poem becomes obscure. It has been suggested that it was probably originally composed when Hywel Dda reigned supreme over the kingdoms of the Merfynion.

Early Welshmedieval Welsh poetry, c.1100-c.1600dialogue and question-and-answer literature

De sollemnitatibus et sabbatis et neomeniis
Entry forthcoming. View incoming data.

prose

Jerome

Jerome

(c.340s–420 (Prosper))

Church father, born in Dalmatia, and biblical scholar who translated the greater part of the Bible into Latin and whose labours led to the Vulgate version.

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A short Latin treatise on the Jewish observance of festivals and its relevance for the Paschal question. It comes in the form of an epistle or disputatio addressed by a certain peregrinus to an unspecified venerabilis papa, but lacks a subscription. In some manuscripts, it is ascribed to Jerome. There is evidence to suggest that it is, in fact, a Hiberno-Latin or Irish-influenced text of seventh-century date.

Latin languagecomputisticsHiberno-Latin literature and learning to c.1169letters and correspondence

The dialogue of Cummíne and Comgán

verse

Early Irish poem in the form of a dialogue between Cummíne Fota and Comgán Mac Dá Cherda, with a prose prologue of later date about the two characters.

Middle Irishearly Irish versedialogue and question-and-answer literatureComgán Mac Dá CherdaCummíne Fota

Dictionarium Latino-Anglo-Hibernicum
Entry forthcoming. View incoming data.

form undefined

Ó Neachtain (Tadhg)

Ó Neachtain (Tadhg)

(c.1670–c. 1752)

Irish scribe and scholar, son of Seán Ó Neachtain.

See more Bhailís (Froinsias)

Bhailís (Froinsias)

(1654–1724)

OFM, Irish lexicographer and scholar

Trilingual, Latin-English-Irish dictionary begun by Froinsias Bhailís (Francis Walsh) and others (c.1712), abandoned when Bhailís died, but later completed by Tadhg Ó Neachtain (c.1730). The work remained in manuscript form (Dublin, Marsh's Library, MS Z 3.1.13).

Irish languageLatin languageEnglish languageIrish glossariesdictionaries

Dúan in cethrachat cest

verse

prose

beg. Apraid a éolchu Elga

Eochaid ua Céirín

Eochaid (Eolach) úa Céirín

(fl. 11th century?)

Middle Irish poet

Eochaid ua Céirín

Eochaid (Eolach) úa Céirín

(fl. 11th century?)

Middle Irish poet

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Poem consisting of a series of questions concerning miscellaneous bits of lore, with the answer given in prose form in interlinear gloss.

Middle IrishIrish legendary historyIrish Mythological Cycleearly Irish versedialogue and question-and-answer literature

Dubh Rois do ba ríoghdha a mhais
Entry forthcoming. View incoming data.

verse

25 st.

beg. Dubh Rois do ba ríoghdha a mhais

Ó Dálaigh (Aonghus Fionn)

Ó Dálaigh (Aonghus Fionn)

(c.1548–c.1602)

also Aonghus Ó Dálaigh Fionn;

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Early Modern Irish poem in the form of an elegy uttered by Mis (in some manuscripts) and lamenting the death of Dub Ruis. It is attributed to Aonghus Fionn Ó Dálaigh.

Early Modern IrishIrish bardic poetryDub RuisMis

Eachtra Lomnochtáin an tSléibhe Riffe
Entry forthcoming. View incoming data.

prose

Modern Irish prose tale of the Fenian Cycle, which may be described as a bruidhean-tale. A few copies form a considerably enlarged version containing an additional romance.

Modern IrishFinn CycleFinn mac Cumaill (Find úa Báiscni)Díarmait úa Duibne

Ind fhilid ra fetatar

verse

12 st.

beg. Ind fhilid ra fetatar

Dinnshenchas poem on the origin of Tara, with prose introduction. The poem is 12 stanzas long and incomplete in the form in which it is preserved.

Old Irishearly Irish verseTara

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