''Leabhar Ua Maine'' (also ''Leabhar Uí Dubhagáin'', ''The Book of Hy-Many'' and RIA MS D ii 1) is an Irish genealogical compilation, created c. 1392–94.

History

Previously known as ''Leabhar Uí Dubhagáin'', after

Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin (died 1372) was an Irish Gaelic poet. Background Ó Dubhagáinn was among the first notable members of the bardic family Baile Uí Dhubhagáin (Ballyduggan), near Loughrea, County Galway. He was accorded the rank o ...

(died 1372) of the prominent family of historians and musicians in East Galway, it was later also known as the ''Book of the O'Kelly's'', written at the behest of Muircertach Ó Ceallaigh (d. 1407), Bishop of Clonfert (1378–93) and then

Archbishop of Tuam The Archbishop of Tuam ( ; ga, Ard-Easpag Thuama) is an archbishop which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Catholic Church. Histo ...

(1393–1407). The book was written by ten scribes in Uí Mháine not before 1392 and sometime after 1394. There were ten scribes, eight of whom are

anonymous Anonymous may refer to: * Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown ** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author * Anonym ...

. The principal

scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...

and overall compiler of the manuscript was Ádhamh Cúisín (fl. c.1400); the only other scribe known by name is Faolán Mac an Ghabhann na Scéal (d. 1423). It is a massive, oversized

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 ani ...

book written in Irish. It was property of the O'Kelly clan until 1757, when it was sold to William Betham. In 1814, Betham proceeded to sell the manuscript to the

Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos (20 March 1776 – 17 January 1839), styled Earl Temple from 1784 to 1813 and known as the Marquess of Buckingham from 1813 to 1822, was a British landowner and ...

. The Duke then donated the manuscript to the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier learned society and one its leading cultural i ...

in 1883, where it is currently housed.

The manuscript is a massive, oversized

book written in Irish, its contents are described by one of the scribes as ''bolg an tsolathair'' (''a mixed bag of contents''). It includes a series of metrical

dindsenchas ''Dindsenchas'' or ''Dindshenchas'' (modern spellings: ''Dinnseanchas'' or ''Dinnsheanchas'' or ''Dınnṡeanċas''), meaning "lore of places" (the modern Irish word ''dinnseanchas'' means "topography"), is a class of onomastic text in early Iris ...

, An

Banshenchas ''An Banshenchas'' (literally "the woman lore") is a medieval text which collects brief descriptions of prominent women in Irish legend and history into a poetic narrative. Unlike much of early Irish literature, ''An Banshenchas'' may be attrib ...

Cormac's Glossary ''Sanas Cormaic'' (or ''Sanas Chormaic'', Irish for "Cormac's narrative"), also known as ''Cormac's Glossary'', is an early Irish glossary containing etymologies and explanations of over 1,400 Irish words, many of which are difficult or outdated ...

, Lebor na Cert, portions of Lebor Gabála, poems, genealogies and pedigrees. The largest single section is devoted to the origins and genealogies of the

Ó Ceallaigh O'Kelly ( ga, i=no, Ó Ceallaigh, approximately ) is the name of a number of distinct septs in Ireland. Most prominent of these is the O'Kelly sept of the Uí Maine. Another sept is that of the kingdom of Brega, descended from the Uí Néill. A ...

dynasty of Uí Maine, its contents updated to the time of compilation. Works found in this work are

quatrain A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines. Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India, Ancient Gre ...

s paying tribute to the long reign and continuing prosperity of the Uí Dhiarmada (i.e., the descendants of Diarmuid Mac an Bháird), praising the Mac an Bhairds in their capacity as Chiefs of Cinél Rechta Soghain of east-central

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

Lost material

Some forty

folio The term "folio" (), has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for a book ma ...

s have become detached and lost. One fragment is preserved as folios 17–19 of London, British Library, MS Egerton 90.

Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh (), also known as Dubhaltach Óg mac Giolla Íosa Mór mac Dubhaltach Mór Mac Fhirbhisigh, Duald Mac Firbis, Dudly Ferbisie, and Dualdus Firbissius (fl. 1643 – January 1671) was an Irish scribe, translator, histori ...

drew upon some of the missing material while writing

Leabhar na nGenealach ''Leabhar na nGenealach'' ("Book of Genealogies") is a massive genealogical collection written mainly in the years 1649 to 1650, at the college-house of St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church, Galway, by Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh. He continued to add m ...

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city ...

in 1649–1650. Texts he utilised included Seanchas Síl Ír, and perhaps Clann Ollamhan Uaisle Eamhna. Material was also incorporated into

Cuimre na nGenealach {{Use dmy dates, date=October 2013 Cuimre na nGenealach ("binding of the genealogies") is an abridgment of Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh's ''Leabhar na nGenealach'', written at his home in Lecan in Tír Fhíacrach Múaidhe, County Sligo in the sprin ...

, written in early to mid-1666. MacFhirbhisgh's transcriptions are noted by

Nollaig Ó Muraíle Nollaig Ó Muraíle is an Irish scholar. He published an acclaimed edition of Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh's '' Leabhar na nGenealach'' in 2004. He was admitted to the Royal Irish Academy in 2009. Life and career A native of Knock, County Mayo, ...

as being very faithful compared to surviving portions. A catalogue was made of the manuscript's contents in the seventeenth century, while it was in the possession of

Sir James Ware Sir James Ware (26 November 1594 – 1 December 1666) was an Irish historian. Personal details Born at Castle Street, Dublin on 26 November 1594, James Ware was the eldest son of Sir James Ware (1568–1632) and Mary Bryden, daughter of Ambrose ...

and before the subsequent loss of certain folios. This reveals it also to have included, at that time, texts like

Lebor Gabála Érenn ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of the Taking of Ireland"), known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'', is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language intended to be a history of Ireland and the Irish fro ...

and

Acallam na Senórach ''Acallam na Senórach'' ( Modern Irish: ''Agallamh na Seanórach'', whose title in English has been given variously as ''Colloquy of the Ancients'', ''Tales of the Elders of Ireland'', ''The Dialogue of the Ancients of Ireland'', etc.), is an i ...

External links

* https://www.ria.ie/news/library/book-ui-mhaine-international-conference * https://soundcloud.com/the-royal-irish-academy/elizabeth-boyle-maynooth?in=the-royal-irish-academy/sets/book-of-ui-mhaine-conference * https://celt.ucc.ie/published/G105007/index.html * https://www.isos.dias.ie/RIA/RIA_MS_D_ii_1.html * https://www.ria.ie/library/catalogues/special-collections/medieval-and-early-modern-manuscripts/book-ui-mhaine-book-hy

References

* ''The topographical poems of John O’Duhbhangain and Giolla na Naomh O’Huidrin'', ed. with trans, notes, and introductory dissertations by

John O'Donovan John O'Donovan may refer to: *John O'Donovan (scholar) (1806–1861), Irish language scholar and place-name expert *John O'Donovan (politician) (1908–1982), Irish TD and Senator *John O'Donovan (police commissioner) (1858–1927), New Zealand pol ...

, Thomas Davis Lectures, Dublin, 1967 * ''The Celebrated Antiquary'',

, Maynooth, 1996 * ''The Great Book of Irish Genealogies'',

(ed.

), De Burca,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, 2003-2004] * ''The Ó Cellaigh Rulers of Uí Maine - A Genealogical Fragment, c.1400'', (Part 1),

, Journal of the

Galway Archaeological and Historical Society The Galway Archaeological and Historical Society was founded on 21 March 1900, at the Railway Hotel, Galway. It promotes the study of the archaeology and history of the west of Ireland. Since 1900, the Society has published 70 volumes of the '' ...

, pp. 32–77, volume 60, 2008 * ''Compilations of lore and legend: Leabhar na hUidhre and the Books of Uí Mhaine, Ballymote, Lecan and Fermoy'', John Carey, in Bernadette Cunningham and Siobhán Fitzpatrick (eds), ''Treasures …'' Dublin, 2009, pp. 17–31. * ''The ''Book of Uí Maine'', formerly the Book of Ó Dubhagáin: Scripts and Structure'', William O'Sullivan, ''

Éigse ''Éigse: A Journal of Irish Studies'' is an academic journal devoted to the study of the Irish language and literature. It began in 1923 as part of an initiative by the Senate of the National University of Ireland to use the Adam Boyd Simpson Fu ...

'', pp. 151–66, volume 23, 1989. * ''Catalogue of Irish Manuscripts in the British Museum'', Volume 2, Robin Flower, London, 1926. {{DEFAULTSORT:Leabhar Ua Maine 14th-century history books Irish-language literature Irish manuscripts Irish genealogy 14th-century manuscripts Irish books 1390s in Ireland

History

Contents

Lost material

See also

External links

References