Texts

In lebor ollaman ‘The ollam’s book’

  • Middle Irish
  • prose
  • Irish legendary history, Irish texts on language and literature

A Middle Irish commentary on the Auraicept na n-éces and some of its companion material. McLaughlin has suggested that “the author was working with an annotated copy of that text”. The text opens with a list of the judges and authors of Ireland and a prologue. Much of the commentary is structured using didactic formulae (e.g. ceist ... ní hansa, and similar).

Manuscripts

The list below follows that of Roisin McLaughlin, ‘Fénius Farsaid and the alphabets’, Ériu 59 (2009):

Group A

ff. 299b.30–301b.23
Complete. Beginning ‘Cia cet ughdair robhar a nErind?’.

Group B (longest version)

pp. 217a.1–219a.22 in facsimile cols 500.1–504.22
Complete, here foll. by a copy of the Auraicept.

Group C

ff. 46r.1–47v.20
Incomplete.
p. 3ff
Fragment, citations from the text; not used by Calder.
pp. 75c.22–75c.36
Fragment, citations from the text = CIH 622.4–622.12.
Language
  • Middle Irish
  • Middle Irish.
Form
prose (primary)
Textual relationships

An annotated copy of Auraicept na n-éces.

(Possible) sources: Auraicept na n-écesAuraicept na n-éces
Related: Aimirgein Glúngel tuir tendAimirgein Glúngel tuir tend

Classification

Irish legendary historyIrish legendary history
...

Irish texts on language and literatureIrish texts on language and literature
...

Sources

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.

Edition wanted
The text has never been published and has received little attention to date” (McLaughlin). McLaughlin is preparing a critical edition, with English translation and discussion.
Translation wanted
[ed.] [tr.] McLaughlin, Roisin, “Fénius Farsaid and the alphabets”, Ériu 59 (2009): 1–24.  
abstract:
This paper examines evidence for the existence of an alternative tradition to that found in Auraicept na nÉces concerning the role played by Fénius Farsaid in the invention of the alphabet of Irish and those of the three sacred languages—Hebrew, Greek and Latin. The sources to be considered are Auraicept na nÉces, In Lebor Ollaman, a Middle Irish text in Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Laud 610, glosses on the copy of Auraicept na nÉces in TCD MS E 3.3 (1432) and the Etymologiae of Isidore of Seville.
Offers various extracts together with English translations.
[ed.] Smith, Peter J., “Aimirgein Glúngel tuir tend”, unpublished M.Litt. thesis, Trinity College Dublin, 1990.
Not seen but reported by McLaughlin (2009) to contain an edition of the prose list of the judges and authors of Ireland.
[ed.] Stokes, Whitley, “A list of ancient Irish authors”, Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 3 (1901): 15–16.
Internet Archive: <link>

An edition of the list of ancient authors (persaind) of traditional lore at the end of the text in BB. Cf. Pseudo-historical prologue to the Senchas Már.

Secondary sources (select)

McLaughlin, Roisin, “Fénius Farsaid and the alphabets”, Ériu 59 (2009): 1–24.  
abstract:
This paper examines evidence for the existence of an alternative tradition to that found in Auraicept na nÉces concerning the role played by Fénius Farsaid in the invention of the alphabet of Irish and those of the three sacred languages—Hebrew, Greek and Latin. The sources to be considered are Auraicept na nÉces, In Lebor Ollaman, a Middle Irish text in Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Laud 610, glosses on the copy of Auraicept na nÉces in TCD MS E 3.3 (1432) and the Etymologiae of Isidore of Seville.
Meroney, Howard, “Fénius and Gáedel in the Lebar Cindfáelad”, Modern Philology 43:1 — Studies in honor of Tom Peete Cross (August, 1945): 18–24.
Contributors
Dennis Groenewegen
Page created
March 2012, last updated: January 2024