Texts

The devil Caincuile in Armagh

Early Modern Irish
prose

Short medieval Irish story about a demon called Cain Cuile, who used to visit Armagh to keep a record of the sins committed by its clergy as well as the lay folk. He had two books in his keeping: in the small one, he would erase the sins of the clerics who regularly confessed while in the bigger one, the sins of unrepenting laymen would pile up.

First words (prose)

Caincuile .i. demon bai i nArd Macha

Manuscripts

Edinburgh, National Library of Scotland, Adv. MS 72.1.26 [s. xv-xvi]

f. 4vb.6–4vb.35

beg. ‘Caincuile .i. demon bai i nArd Macha’

Language

Early Modern Irish

Form

prose (primary)

Textual relationships

The notion of a devil’s book recording the sins of the sinner is a medieval commonplace. As discussed by Ó Cuív (1962), the idea that sins can be erased from such a book if one does penance, may find parallels in the final quatrain of a devotional poem beg. Dera damh, a Coimde, in which the reprenting speaker expresses hope that letters may disappear from the devil’s book.

Related: Dera damh a CoimdeDera damh a CoimdeView incoming data

Classification

Subjects

penance⟨religious practices and behaviours⟩
penance

id. 27409

Cain CuileCain Cuile

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

Ard Macha

Ard Macha ... Armagh

County Armagh

No short description available

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.

[ed.] Meyer, Kuno [ed.], “Stories from the Edinburgh MS. XXVI (Kilbride Collection No 22)”, in: Osborn Bergin, R. I. Best, Kuno Meyer, and J. G. OʼKeeffe (eds), Anecdota from Irish manuscripts, vol. 3, Halle and Dublin, 1910. 7–10.

Celtic Digital Initiative: <link>

7–8

[tr.] Translation wanted