The ''Liber Flavus Fergusiorum'' ("Yellow Book of the Ó Fearghuis"; RIA MS 23 O 48 a-b) is a medieval

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 ...

text (dated to c. 1437-40) authored by the Ó Fearghuis, an Irish medical family of

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

who were hereditary physicians to the

Irish nobility The Irish nobility could be described as including persons who do, or historically did, fall into one or more of the following categories of nobility: * Gaelic nobility of Ireland descendants in the male line of at least one historical grade o ...

Ó Fearghuis

The Ó Fearghuis name was conceived in the 7th century when Saint Máedóc of Ferns baptised and renamed the sons of

Ailill Ailill (Ailell, Oilioll) is a male name in Old Irish. It is a prominent name in Irish mythology, as for Ailill mac Máta, King of Connacht and husband of Queen Medb, on whom Shakespeare based the Fairy Queen Mab. Ailill was a popular given name in ...

, who was a 7th-great-grandson of

Niall Niall is a male given name of Irish origin. The original meaning of the name is unknown, but popular modern sources have suggested that it means "champion" (derived from the Old Irish word ''niadh''),. According to John Ryan, Professor of Early an ...

High King of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ga, Ardrí na hÉireann ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and later sometimes assigned ana ...

, as per his pedigree recorded in the ''Lives of Irish Saints'', which reads: "Ailill, son of Rechtaide, son of Eitin, son of Felim, son of Caol, son of Áed, son of Ailill, son of Erc, son of Eógan, son of

Niall of the Nine Hostages Niall ''Noígíallach'' (; Old Irish "having nine hostages"), or Niall of the Nine Hostages, was a legendary, semi-historical Irish king who was the ancestor of the Uí Néill dynasties that dominated Ireland from the 6th to the 10th centuries. ...

." The brothers mac Ailill thus became Fearghus and Faircheallaigh and were made Saint Máedóc's heirs to Rosinver Abbey and Drumlane Abbey. The Ó Fearghuis were themselves

for descent from King Niall, originally based at Roscam, in

Clann Fhergail Clann Fhergail was a cantred located in County Galway, comprising the baronies of Moycullen and Galway, the parishes of Oranmore and Ballynacourty and Rahoon. Crichaireacht cinedach nduchasa Muintiri Murchada is a tract dating to the reign of i ...

. In the 13th century, they moved to what became

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

. In the 14th century, members of the family created the

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

which came to be known as the ''Liber Flavus Fergusiorum''.

Authorship

The ''Liber Flavus Fergusiorum'' was composed at various times by several different scribes of the Ó Fearghuis, the principal one identifying himself as

Aedh Aodh ( , , ; sga, Áed) is an Irish and Scottish Gaelic male given name, originally meaning "fire".The modern word ''aodh'' meaning 'inflammation' or as a phrase with the Irish word for 'itch' (''tochas''), giving ''aodh thochais'', 'burning itc ...

. Two translators, Seaán Ó Conchubair and Uidhisdín Mag Raighin, are named in colophons. Ó Conchubair translated a work on the

Office of the Dead The Office of the Dead or Office for the Dead (in Latin, Officium Defunctorum) is a prayer cycle of the Canonical Hours in the Catholic Church, Anglican Church and Lutheran Church, said for the repose of the soul of a decedent. It is the proper r ...

into Irish, while Mag Raighin translated the Life of

John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given t ...

. The book derives its name from the Ó Fearghuis family, whose descendant Dr. John Fergus brought the manuscript from

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 ...

in the 18th century. Upon his death in 1761, it was held by his daughter, Frances Arabella Kennedy, whose grandson deposited it in 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 List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

in 1875.

References

Sources

* ''Catalogue of Irish manuscripts in the Royal Irish Academy'' (Dublin, 1933), Fasc. 10: 1254-73. * E.J. Gwynn, "The Manuscript Known as the Liber Flavus Fergusiorum", ''Proceedings of the RIA'' 26 C 2, 15-40. * Máire Herbert, "Medieval Collections of Ecclesiastical and Devotional Materials:

Leabhar Breac An Leabhar Breac ("The Speckled Book"; Middle Irish: An Lebar Brec), now less commonly Leabhar Mór Dúna Doighre (The Great Book of Dun Doighre") or possibly erroneously, Leabhar Breac Mic Aodhagáin ("The Speckled Book of the MacEgans"), is a ...

, Liber Flavus Fergusiorum and The

Book of Fenagh The ''Book of Fenagh'' ( ga, Leabar Fidhnacha) is a manuscript of prose and poetry written in Classical Irish by Muirgheas mac Pháidín Ó Maolconaire in the monastery at Fenagh, West Breifne (modern-day County Leitrim). It was commissioned ...

" in Bernadette Cunningham and Siobhán Fitzpatrick, ''Treasures of the Royal Irish Academy Library'' (Dublin, 2009), 33-43. * Diarmuid Ó Laoghaire, "Beatha Eustasius agus Beatha Mhuire Éigipti", Celtica 21 (1990), 489-511. * Diarmuid Ó Laoghaire, "Mary of Egypt in Irish: A Survey of the Sources", in Poppe and Ross, ''The Legend of Mary of Egypt in Medieval Insular Hagiography'' (Dublin, 1996), 255-7.

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20120508201733/http://www.ria.ie/Library/Special-Collections/Manuscripts/Liber-Flavus-Fergusiorum.aspx * http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/index.cfm?fuseaction=Go.&UserID= {{DEFAULTSORT:Liber Flavus Fergusiorum Medieval literature Irish-language literature History of County Mayo Irish manuscripts 1430s books

Ó Fearghuis

Authorship

See also

References

Sources

External links