Tionscadal na Nod (translated loosely as ‘The Scribal Abbreviation Project’) was conceived as a place to gather illustrative examples of Irish writing to make it easier for people to read the manuscripts. The project contains links to examples of Irish scribal writing already on the internet, as well as new examples copied from manuscripts by a modern scribe, Dennis King.
Facsimiles of many Irish manuscripts are available to everyone on websites such as the Irish Script on Screen project at Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies. It is our hope that our collection of examples will make it easier for students and others to read and enjoy the work of the scribes.
The project
For reasons of clarity and copyright, the samples of the collection are redrawn and abstracted from photographic exemplars as made available in digital form by the following online repositories:
OʼBrien, Anne-Marie, and Pádraig Ó Macháin,
Irish Script on Screen (ISOS) – Meamrám Páipéar Ríomhaire, Online: School of Celtic Studies, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1999–present. URL: <
http://www.isos.dias.ie>.
Oxford Digital Library,
Early manuscripts at Oxford University, Online: University of Oxford, 2001–present. URL: <
http://image.ox.ac.uk>.
An additional resource, which has been used for the Rennes manuscript, is
Editorial decisions
- In order to give one a rough idea of the minim height and the relative position of each written symbol, a subtle blue baseline and a brown yellow mean line are added to each image. Please be aware, however, that these are little more than approximations as the reality tends to be messier and more whimsical than such orderly arrangements might suggest.
- In the case of dependent graphs, such as superscripts and subscripts, a dotted circle is shown at the place where one would normally expect the other component to occur. In the accompanying transcription, a square (□) indicates the semantic position of this other component.
- Separate transcriptions are given for Irish and Latin, although these may often overlap.
Scope
The samples are primarily drawn from Irish manuscripts that were compiled and written between the 11th/12th and 16th centuries, occasionally with some later examples added to the mix. The earliest specimens of the Irish language which have been preserved as glosses in continental Latin manuscripts are not presently covered, but may be considered in the future.
Digital reproductions of (portions of) the following manuscripts were consulted for the project:
Manuscripts | Otherwise known as | Approximate date |
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Dublin, National Library of Ireland, MS G 5 | | s. xv–xvi |
Dublin, National Library of Ireland, MS G 11 | | s. xv2 |
Dublin, National Library of Ireland, MS G 1303 | Leabhar Í Eadhra (Book of O'Hara) | 1597 |
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 3 B 23 | Tallaght manuscript | s. xv2 |
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 23 E 25 | Lebor na hUidre | s. xi/xii |
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 23 E 29 | Book of Fermoy | s. xiv/xv |
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 23 O 48a | Liber Flavus Fergusiorum, part 1 | c. 1435-1440 |
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 23 P 2 | Book of Lecan (Leabhar Leacain) | s. xvin |
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 23 P 12 | Book of Ballymote (Leabhar Bhaile an Mhóta) | 1384 x 1406 |
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 24 P 25 | Leabhar Chlainne Suibhne | s. xvi1 |
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS B ii 1 | | s. xiv-xv ? |
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS C iii 2 | | s. xvi |
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS D ii 1 | Leabhar Uí Mhaine (The Book of Uí Maine) | 1394 |
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS D iv 1 | | s. xiv / xv |
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS D iv 2 | | s. xv |
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS D v 2 (a) | | s. xiv |
Dublin, Trinity College, MS 1318 | Yellow Book of Lecan (Leabhar Buidhe Lecain) | s. xiv–xv |
Dublin, Trinity College, MS 1339 | Book of Leinster | s. xii2 |
Dublin, University College, MS Franciscan A 12 | | s. xvi (?) |
Edinburgh, National Library of Scotland, Adv. MS 72.1.5 | | s. xv (?) |
Edinburgh, National Library of Scotland, Adv. MS 72.1.32 | Leabhar Chille Brighde | s. xv/xvi? |
Leiden, University Library, MS VLQ 7 | | s. xvi |
London, British Library, MS Egerton 1782 | | 1516-1518 |
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Laud Misc. 610 | | s. xv |
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Laud Misc. 615 | Saltair Choluim Chille | s. xvi1 |
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Rawlinson B 488 | | s. xivex-xvin + s. xvii |
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Rawlinson B 502 | | s. xi/xii + s. xvii |
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Rawlinson B 506 | | s. xiv + s. xvii |
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Rawlinson B 512 | | s. xv–xviin |
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Rawlinson B 514 | | s. xvi |
Rennes, Bibliothèque de Rennes Métropole, MS 598 | | s. xv (?) |
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