Texts

Book of Leinster colophon to the Táin bó Cúailnge

  • Middle Irish, Hiberno-Latin
  • Táin bó Cúailnge, Scribal additions
The Book of Leinster copy of the Táin bó Cúailnge ends with a colophon in Irish and Latin. It consists of three items:
  1. A finit in Irish
  2. A note in Irish: Bendacht ar cech óen mebraigfes go hindraic Táin amlaid seo ⁊ ná tuillfe cruth aile furri (‘A blessing on everyone who will rehearse the Táin exactly as it is here and will not add any other form to it’)
  3. An oft-cited scribal note in Latin on the value of the Táin: Sed ego qui scripsi hanc historiam aut uerius fabulam quibusdam fidem in hac historia aut fabula non accommodo. Quaedam enim ibi sunt praestrigia demonum, quaedam autem figmenta poetica, quaedam similia uero, quaedam non, quaedam ad delectationem stultorum. (‘But I who have written this story [historia] or rather fable [fabula], do not give credence to the various incidents related in it. For some things in it are the deceptions of demons, others poetic figmenta; some are probable, others improbable; while others are for the amusement of foolish people.’)(1)n. 1 Translation based on Cecile O'Rahilly, Táin bó Cúalnge: from the Book of Leinster (1967): 272.
Context(s)The (textual) context(s) to which the present text belongs or in which it is cited in part or in whole.
Language
  • Middle Irish Hiberno-Latin

Classification

Táin bó Cúailnge
Táin bó Cúailnge
id. 624
Scribal additionsScribal additions
...

Sources

Notes

Translation based on Cecile O'Rahilly, Táin bó Cúalnge: from the Book of Leinster (1967): 272.

Primary sources Text editions and/or modern translations – in whole or in part – along with publications containing additions and corrections, if known. Diplomatic editions, facsimiles and digital image reproductions of the manuscripts are not always listed here but may be found in entries for the relevant manuscripts. For historical purposes, early editions, transcriptions and translations are not excluded, even if their reliability does not meet modern standards.

[ed.] [tr.] OʼRahilly, Cecile [ed. and tr.], Táin bó Cúalnge: from the Book of Leinster, Irish Texts Society, 49, Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1967.
CELT – edition: <link> CELT – translation: <link>
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Contributors
Dennis Groenewegen
Page created
July 2012, last updated: January 2024