Currently selected criteria
A Chrínóc cubaid do cheól
verse
11 st.
beg. A Chrínóc, cubaid do cheól
Ua Brolcháin (Máel Ísu)
See more (ascr.)
Ua Brolcháin (Máel Ísu)
(d. (c.) 1086)
No short description available
See more (ascr.)
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.
Bamberg cryptogram
prose
Suadbar [Irish scholar]Suadbar ... Irish scholar
See more (ascr.)
Entry reserved for but not yet available from the subject index.
See more (ascr.)
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.
Joca monachorum
prose
A family of medieval question-and-answer texts on biblical topics and events, typically using humour as a pedagogical tool. A few of the earliest manuscript witnesses are known for their Irish connections.
Filter down on the current selection
Classification
