G 45

Transcripts from the Book of Fermoy

19th cent. Paper. 29.5 × 18 cms. Pp. [viii]+424. From an entry, almost wholly erased, on page 94 it would appear that the scribe was <Barry> O Rafferty. The entry, which reads Discerpta ex vetusta codice manu scripta Liber Fermaighensis Rule Britania Rule the waves. <Barry> O Rafferty is written in a hand similar to that of other scribal notes on pp. 33, 223, 315. This entry was presumably erased before the ms. came into Edward O'Reilly's possession (as no. 97, in his collection) since he makes no reference to it in his catalogue (R.I.A. 23H1, p. 149). O'Reilly's only observation on the scribe is that "the writing is modern."

The transcripts in the present ms. from the Book of Fermoy (R.I.A. 23E19) were apparently made before the separation therefrom of B.M. Eg. 92. (See, for example, the reference by the scribe on p. 223 of the present ms. to a fragment of the tale Togail Bruidne Dá Derga which is on f. 18 of Eg. 92.)

The paper of the present ms. is watermarked 1802 (J. Sullivan 1802) and Flower has suggested that the separation referred to "possibly ... occurred while the mss. were in the hands of William O'Hara" [i.e. William Haliday] "in 1805". This would place the date of writing of the present ms. between the years 1802 and 1805.

Although the handwriting is bad the text of the present ms. is helpful in elucidating many passages (particularly those on the inside margins) in Fermoy which are now completely or partly illegible. The opening lines of the list of Roche lands which appear on p. 183 of thisms. are wholly illegible in Fermoy (p. 153). See also pp. 47, 49, 101, 203, 241, 269, etc., and compare with corresponding passages in Fermoy. In places where his exemplar was illegible the scribe inserted a series of ciphers in his transcripts.

At the beginning of each transcript the scribe cites the number of the folio (using the earlier notation) in the Book of Fermoy on which the corresponding text begins. From p. 11 onwards the scribe writes on the recto only of each leaf. There is a scribal pagination, but in the present catalogue a more recent pencilled pagination has been followed, and a reference given in the margin to the relevant page of Fermoy (the recent pagination, unbracketed in R.I.A. Cat.).

Three or four other hands appear in the ms. (pp. 1, 5, 6, 36, 367, 395, etc.) and with the exception of one hand, that of Edw. O'Reilly (pp. 1, 6, 36 etc.), they are unidentified.

The ms. is bound in boards, the spine now partly detached, the binder inserting one blank leaf after the front cover and another before the back cover. There is a slip of paper pasted on the recto of the first blank leaf, which, in the hand of Edw. O'Reilly, contains the following: "... [margin cut] itzgerald, as a testimony of her ... [margin cut] nt visit, Harold's Cross, Nov. 8th 1815." The ms. subsequently found its way into the Phillipps collection where it was numbered 10270.

Page

[i-viii] Blank.

1 (in Edw. O'Reilly's hand) Clar de'n leabhair so.

2-3 Blank.

4 Contains the first two lines of "Cath Crinda" followed by a list of the items in the ms. in their order in Fer.

Fer.

29 5 Incipitt Cath Crinda. Beg. Bai ri amra for hErinn .i. Cormac mac Airt meic Cuinn Cetchathaigh. Ends p. 33.

33 Contains the first two or three words of the following items (1) Bruiden Meic Da reo, (2) Ani dia roibe in Ces for Ultaibh, (3) Do-luidh Aillill isin caillid with the following note: haec omnia in aliis locis codicis hujusce manu scriptae inseruntur (see pp. 69-91 infra).

38 33 Fothad na Canoini *c. Beg. Cert cech righ co reill, 60 qq. Ends p. 45.

156 47 Beg. Bliadhain don cuaille co cert, 10 qq.

155 49 Headed Fragmentum de Metempsycosi. [Scél Tuain meic Cairill do Fhinnén Maige Bile]. Beg. Itea di bliadain ar mile iar sin ros gabh Partalan. Ends p. 63.

40 63 Indarba Mo Choda a rRaithin. Fragment beg. sechnab, Mairg notgeibh ┐ lasan gabhar (=Fer. 43 b 6).

65-67 blank.

38 69 Cined Ua Artagain cc. Beg. Do luidh Aillill isin caillid, 12 qq. Contains interlinear variant readings, etc., in O'Reilly's hand.

35 71 Bruiden meic Dareo annso sis ana. Beg. bui fodhord mor ic athechtuathaibh Eirenn a naimsir tri righ Erenn. Ends p. 85.

37 85 Ani dia roibe in ces for Ultaibh so sis. Beg. Cidh dia raibe an ces for Ultaibh. Ends p. 91.

93-99 Blank except for erased entry on p. 94 (see introductory remarks above) and scribblings (contractions) on p. 97.

72 101 An account of the Events leading up to the Expulsion of the Déisi. Beg. Righ uasul oirmhidnech oireda do ghabh flatheamhnus Fodhla fecht naill. Ends p. 181 with the words caetera desunt.

153 183 List of Roche lands. Beg. Is i so rinntail firinnech ferainn do leth criche Rodsech do reir a maor ┐ a marusdal. Ends p. 189 191-291 Blank.

54 203 Scel Saltrach na muic so sis. Beg. Espuc amrai boi hi Cluain Meic Nois. Ends (imperfectly) end of page corresponding to Fer. 55 a 11.

205-207 Blank.

213 209 Headed Fragmentum aliquod de Tamar. [Togail Bruidne Da Derga]. Acephalous beg. Do bui iarum inna codluth in maetoiclach a chosae ind ucht in dala fir, corresponding to ed. Knott, Togail Bruidne Da Derga, l.1045. Breaks off top of p. 223 corresponding to Fer. end of p. 214 (ed. Knott, l.1209) followed by desunt caetera est alium de Tara fragmentum in altero quodam loco codicis hujusce manu scripti inveniendum et continuatio est quoque (see introductory remarks above). The rest of the page is blank.

23 225 Beg. Mor loites lucht an indluig, 58 qq. Ends p. 239.

25 241 Headed eleven lines are erased in the original. The poem "Baile Suthach Sith Emhna" beg. here Imdnmind Emain na nindmher, 45 qq. (corresponding to Fer. 25 b 6). The copy in Fer. contains 49 qq. and not 44 as stated in the R.I.A. Cat. Ir. Mss., p. 3098. Ends p. 251.

21 251 Beg. Cia so agras coir um Cruach[ain], 35 qq. Ends p. 261.

67 263 [Tochmurc Treblainni ┐ a hOídedh]. Beg. Froech mac Fidhaigh foltruaigh o si[dh] Fhidaigh ┐ o loch Fidhaigh. Ends p. 299.

301 Blank.

117 303 Beg. Gabum dechmadh ar ndana, 40 qq. Ends p. 315 followed by: Quaere an sit poema sequens continuatio vera et justa poematis illius antecedentis vel utrum non sit poema alterum distinctum et prorsus ab alio illo differens, ubi equidem mihi clare patet ex litterarum forma etiam. The phrase from ubi to etiam is erased in the ms.

119 315 Poem "Garbh éirghidh idhan bhrátha" beg. here (as in Fer.) San deachmadh la legthar de, 5½ qq. Breaks off (imperfectly) at top p. 317. The rest of page is blank.

85 319 [Tuaruscbáil Iudáis Scairioth]. Headed fragmentum. Beg. here Is ann sin fhoillsighius an diabal dorus ifirn do Brenaind corresponding to Fer. 85 b 1. Breaks off (imperfectly) top of p. 323; the rest of the page is blank.

181 325 [Altramh Tighi Da Medar]. Beg. Ardrig croda cosgrach clann linmar gusmar garg beoda gusmar grua then breaks off leaving half the page blank and continuing at gurbe Emher ro ba cinntach fan comeirgi sin corresponding to Fer. 181a, last line. The scribe skipped a leaf after p. 329 (no lacuna). Breaks off (imperfectly) p. 365 corresponding to Fer. 186 a 29.

367 (in a different hand) Beg. Is eadh is cluithche cáointe ann: gulghairthe guirthe gaibhthiocha. Contains poem beg. Sgreadais mac Ronáin ann sin, 8 ll.

369-393 Blank.

193 395 (in another different hand). Headed Iesu Maria beg. [E]iseirgi do eirigh Dia. 37 qq. The Harrowing of Hell. Breaks off p. 403 corresponding to Fer. 194 last line. The rest of the ms. is blank.