The Garland of Howth, also known as the Codex Usserianus Secundus, designated by r² or 28 (in the Beuron system), is a fragmentary 8th to 10th century

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Gospel Book A Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels (Greek: , ''Evangélion'') is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament – normally all four – centering on the life of Jesus of Nazar ...

now in

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

as MS. 56 (A. IV. 6). The text, written on

vellum Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. Parchment is another term for this material, from which vellum is sometimes distinguished, when it is made from calfskin, as opposed to that made from other anima ...

, is a version of the

old Latin Old Latin, also known as Early Latin or Archaic Latin (Classical la, prīsca Latīnitās, lit=ancient Latinity), was the Latin language in the period before 75 BC, i.e. before the age of Classical Latin. It descends from a common Proto-Italic ...

. The manuscript contains the text of the four Gospels with lacunae. It was written at the monastery of

Ireland's Eye Ireland's Eye () is a small long-uninhabited island off the coast of County Dublin, Ireland. Situated directly north of Howth village and harbour, the island is easily reached by regular seasonal tourist boats, which both circumnavigate it an ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, and once kept in the nearby parish church of

Howth Howth ( ; ; non, Hǫfuð) is an affluent peninsular village and outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The district as a whole occupies the greater part of the peninsula of Howth Head, which forms the northern boundary of Dublin Bay, and includes ...

. Only 86 folios have survived; for example only 5:12-10:3 of the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

have survived.No 28 in the table
/ref> It is written with "diminuendo" script from initials, a feature of the oldest manuscripts in

insular script Insular script was a medieval script system originating from Ireland that spread to Anglo-Saxon England and continental Europe under the influence of Irish Christianity. Irish missionaries took the script to continental Europe, where they found ...

such as

Cathach of St. Columba The Cathach of St. Columba, known as the Cathach (meaning "the Battler"),O'Neill (2014), p. 12 is a late 6th century Insular psalter. It is the oldest surviving manuscript in Ireland, and the second oldest Latin psalter in the world. Its cumdac ...

. It has been described as the work of many scribes, none of them first-class. The text of the codex is mixed.

Bruce M. Metzger Bruce Manning Metzger (February 9, 1914 – February 13, 2007) was an American biblical scholar, Bible translator and textual critic who was a longtime professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and Bible editor who served on the board of the A ...

, ''The Early Versions of the New Testament'', Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 300. The text of Matthew is Old Latin, similar to that in ''Codex Usserianus I''. The text of Mark, Luke, and John is very near to the

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

. "Vetus Latina" means the text is a Latin version predating the

- such versions were used in Ireland later than in most areas. The "garland" of its title is taken from a corrupted English form of ''Ceithre Leabhair'',

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

for 'four books', i.e., a gospel. Abbott made a collation. The manuscript was examined and edited by Lawlor, Hoskier, and Jülicher.

References

{{reflist * ''Literature in Ireland'', by James Carney, in ''A New History of Ireland'', vol. 2, p. 527, 531.

External links

Direct link to the digitised manuscript, Library of Trinity College Dublin Digital Collections

* [https://archive.org/details/MN41398ucmf_3 The text of Codex Usserianus 2., r2 (microform) ("Garland of Howth") with critical notes to supplement and correct the collation of the late T. K. Abbott (1919)]
Early Irish Manuscripts Project, Library of Trinity College DublinMore information at Earlier Latin Manuscripts
8th-century biblical manuscripts 9th-century biblical manuscripts 10th-century biblical manuscripts Gospel Books Hiberno-Saxon manuscripts Irish manuscripts Vetus Latina New Testament manuscripts Library of Trinity College Dublin Howth

See also

References

Further reading

External links