G 169

Félire Oénguso (incomplete)

19th cent. Parchment. 21 × 14 cms. iv + 108 pp. with more than half blank. The manuscript was written and well illuminated by an unidentified scribe in 1806 for John Mac Namara (p. iii), who, no doubt, was the person of that name associated with the Gaelic Society of Dublin (1807-1813) and later with the Iberno-Celtic Soceity (E. O Reilly, Irish Writers [1820], passim).

The text in this manuscript appears to be a transcript of the copy in G 10 above with minor changes (see below), the scribe leaving (a) blank spaces here (pp. 3i, 4) for the illegible words in his exemplar (p. 20 i) while adding the following unfinished (?) Latin note here (p. 3 lower marg.): `Hac in pagina vetus codex manuscriptus ex quo', and (b) blank pages (pp. 24-9) where he recognised a lacuna in the text of his exemplar (between pp. 26 and 27). The present copy was written while presumably the exemplar was still in the possession of William Haliday (see introductory remarks to G 10). In 1848 the manuscript was presented by George Petrie to Eugene O'Curry (p. 1v; see also O'Curry's marginal note concerning the numbers allotted to the glosses on p. 8) and later it became no. 1429 in Rev. J. H. Todd's collection (inside front cover) from whose collection Phillipps acquired it.

Bound in brown calf with `Feilire Aenguis' gilt-lettered and `23072' labelled on spine and `Phillipps MS 23072' inside front cover, the latter now loose.

Page

iii SCribal dedication: `Amplissimo ornatissimoque / viro / Domino Johanni MacConmara / hunc librum / Ut tessera amoris, amicitiae pignus / et quanti virtutes habeo / monimentum / Ego charissimus et devinctissimus / illi amicus / Dono dedi / Prid: Kalend. Januar: AD 1806 / Exscriptor'. An English translation is given in pencil interlinearly and on p. ii facing.

iv `Do bronnadh an leabharsa dansa re'm chara iommhain / Seóirse Petríe M.R.I.A. / mdccxlviii. / Eoghan Ó Comhraidhe. / in Ath Cliath Laighean.'

1 [Félire Oénguso]. Beg. (Prologue) Imrordus in rig[r]aid. The invocation Sen a Crist mo labhra which is more usually prefixed to the prologue occurs here on p. 10 (cf. G 10; see introductory remarks above). Breaks off p. 51 with quatrain Re richtain a feraind = G 10, p. 34. Glosses, headed `miniughadh', are given in lower margins. Occasional lengthy notes / verse omitted e.g. on Ciarán (G 10 p. 33 lower margin) where present manuscript (p. 48) gives pedigree; present copy has occasional additional notes, mainly concerning popes e.g. Gelasius, p. 34, Lucius, p. 48.