''Leabhar Ua Maine'' (also ''Leabhar Uí Dubhagáin'', ''The Book of Hy-Many'' and
RIA
A ria (; gl, ría) is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea.
Definitions
Typically rias have a dendritic, treelike outline although they ca ...
MS D ii 1) is an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
genealogical
compilation
Compilation may refer to:
*In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler
**Compilation error
**Compilation unit
*Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products
*Compilation thesis
M ...
, created c. 1392–94.
History
Previously known as ''Leabhar Uí Dubhagáin'', after
Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin
Seán Mór Ó Dubhagáin (died 1372
Year 1372 ( MCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–December
* May – Owain Lawgoch makes a second att ...
(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.
Histor ...
(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. The principal
scribe 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 anima ...
book written in Irish. It was property of the O'Kelly clan until 1757, when it was sold to
William Betham
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
. In 1814, Betham proceeded to sell the manuscript to the
. The Duke then donated the manuscript to the
Royal Irish Academy in 1883, where it is currently housed.
Contents
The manuscript 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 anima ...
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 Ir ...
, An
Banshenchas,
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
''Lebor na Cert'', or the ''Book of Rights'', is a book of Early Irish laws, from medieval Ireland. The text details the rents and taxes paid by the King of Cashel, to various others in Ireland. The Great Book of Lecan and the Book of Ballym ...
, portions of
Lebor Gabála, poems, genealogies and
pedigrees.
The largest single section is devoted to the origins and genealogies of the
Ó Ceallaigh dynasty of Uí Maine, its contents updated to the time of compilation.
Works found in this work are
quatrains 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 Bhaird
The Mac an Bháird family ( ga, Clann an Bháird) was one of the learned families of late medieval Ireland. The name has evolved over many centuries, the anglicised forms coming down as ''MacAward'', ''McWard'', ''MacEward'', ''MacEvard'', ''Macan ...
s in their capacity as Chiefs of Cinél Rechta
Soghain
The Soghain were a people of ancient Ireland. The 17th-century scholar Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh identified them as part of a larger group called the Cruithin. Mac Fhirbhisigh stated that the Cruithin included "the Dál Araidhi ál nAraidi t ...
of east-central
County Galway.
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 ...
at
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 on ...
in 1649–1650. Texts he utilised included Seanchas Síl Ír, and perhaps Clann Ollamhan Uaisle Eamhna. Material was also incorporated into
Cuimre na nGenealach, 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, Ó ...
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 im ...
.
See also
* ''
An Leabhar Muimhneach''
*
Irish genealogy
Irish genealogy is the study of individuals and/or families who originated on the island of Ireland.
Origins
Genealogy was cultivated since at least the start of the early Irish historic era. Upon inauguration, Bards and poets are believed to ...
* ''
Leabhar Adhamh Ó Cianáin''
* ''
Leabhar Cloinne Maoil Ruanaidh''
* ''
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 ...
''
*
Ó Cléirigh Book of Genealogies
The O'Clery Book of Genealogies, also known as Royal Irish Academy Ms. 23 D 17, was written by Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh, one of the Four Masters, who was transported in the 1650s to Ballyacroy, County Mayo, "under the guidance of Rory O'Donn ...
*
Rawlinson B 502
Oxford, Bodleian Library, Rawlinson B 502 is a medieval Irish manuscript which presently resides in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. It ranks as one of the three major surviving Irish manuscripts to have been produced in pre-Norman Ireland, the tw ...
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,
Thomas Davis Lectures, Dublin, 1967
* ''The Celebrated Antiquary'',
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, Ó ...
, Maynooth, 1996
* ''The Great Book of Irish Genealogies'',
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 ...
(ed.
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, Ó ...
), 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 c ...
, 2003-2004]
* ''The Ó Cellaigh Rulers of Uí Maine - A Genealogical Fragment, c.1400'', (Part 1),
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, Ó ...
, 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 ''J ...
, 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'', 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