The ''Martyrology of Tallaght'', which is closely related to the '' Félire Óengusso'' or ''Martyrology of Óengus the Culdee'', is an eighth- or ninth-century

martyrology A martyrology is a catalogue or list of martyrs and other saints and beati arranged in the calendar order of their anniversaries or feasts. Local martyrologies record exclusively the custom of a particular Church. Local lists were enriched by n ...

, a list of saints and their feast days assembled by

Máel Ruain Saint Ruain Burrows (died 792) was founder and abbot-bishop of the monastery of Tallaght ( Co. Dublin, Ireland). He is often considered to be a leading figure of the monastic 'movement' that has become known to scholarship as the Céli Dé. He ...

and/or Óengus the Culdee at

Tallaght Monastery Tallaght Monastery was a Christian monastery founded in the eighth century by Máel Ruain, at a site called Tallaght, a few miles south west of present-day Dublin, Ireland. It operated until the Protestant Reformation. Founding Tallaght was fo ...

, near Dublin. The '' Martyrology of Tallaght'' is in prose and contains two sections for each day of the year, one general and one for Irish saints. It also has a

prologue A prologue or prolog (from Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "word") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ...

and an

epilogue An epilogue or epilog (from Greek ἐπίλογος ''epílogos'', "conclusion" from ἐπί ''epi'', "in addition" and λόγος ''logos'', "word") is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the w ...

.Welch, Robert, & Bruce Stewart, ''The Oxford Companion to Irish Literature'' (Oxford University Press, 1996, )
p. 359
at google.co.uk

''Prologue'' and Irish paganism

The prologue contains a famous verse on the declining pagan faith in Ireland:

''Senchatraig na ngente/iman roerud rudad/itfossa can adrad/amail Lathrach Lugdach.'' ''Ind locáin rogabtha/dessib ocus trírib/it rúama co ndálib/co cétaib, co mílib.''

which reads in translation as

''The old cities of the pagans to which length of occupation has refused are deserts without worship like
Lugaid Lugaid (Lughaid, Lughaidh, Lughaí, with all equivalents originally attested as Ogham Lugodeccus) is a popular medieval Irish name, thought to be derived from the god Lug. It is borne by a number of figures from Irish history and mythology, incl ...
's House-site.'' ''The little monastic sites that were settled by twos and threes are Romes with multitudes, with thousands.''

Title and authorship

The earliest mention of the ''Martyrology of Tallaght'' by that name is in the 12th-century '' Martyrology of Gorman'' (''Félire Uí Gormáin''), written between 1166 and 1174 by Mael Muire Ua Gormáin, abbot of Knock, County Louth. Ua Gormáin attributes the ''Martyrology of Tallaght'' to Mael Ruain and says that Óengus based his work on it: "...because it was thus in the ''Martyrology of Tallaght'' of Mael Ruain, out of which he �enguscomposed his félire".Follett, Westley, ''Céli Dé in Ireland: Monastic Writing and Identity in the Early Middle Ages'' (London: Boydell Press, 2006,
pp 129–130
at books.google.co.uk The 17th-century scholar Michael O'Clery made a copy of the ''Martyrology of Tallaght'', and headed it "Here begins the Martyrology of Oengus mac Oibleain and Mael Ruain", but he did not give a source for this statement. The

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

John Colgan, another 17th-century scholar, pointed out that Óengus and Maelruain could not have completed the ''Martyrology of Tallaght'' as it stands, as several entries are from periods after the death of both, but he also formed the opinion that the later entries had been made at

Tallaght ) , image_skyline = TallaghtDublinD24.jpg , image_caption = Tallaght, Dublin , image_flag = , flag_size = , pushpin_map = Dublin#Ireland , pushpin_label_position = left , ...

, where Óengus and Maelruain worked together, so justifying Ua Gormáin's use of the name ''Martyrology of Tallaght''. Based on oral traditions and on older texts, the work may have been first completed in 790. However, Pádraig Ó Riain of

University College, Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

, a leading authority, has argued that the ''Martyrology of Tallaght'' and the ''Martyrology of Oengus'' date from about 830. Ó Riain has shown that the general sections of the ''Martyrology of Tallaght'' are based on a

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

n copy of the ''

Martyrologium Hieronymianum The ''Martyrologium Hieronymianum'' (meaning "martyrology of Jerome") or ''Martyrologium sancti Hieronymi'' (meaning "martyrology of Saint Jerome") is an ancient martyrology or list of Christian martyrs in calendar order, one of the most used a ...

''.

Manuscripts

The earliest surviving manuscript of the work is in a fragment of

Áed Ua Crimthainn Áed Ua Crimthainn (''fl.'' 12th century), also called Áed mac Crimthainn, was abbot and coarb of Terryglass (), near Lough Derg (Shannon), Lough Derg in County Tipperary, Ireland. He was the principal scribe of the Book of Leinster ( mga, Leba ...

's 12th-century ''

Book of Leinster The Book of Leinster ( mga, Lebor Laignech , LL) is a medieval Irish manuscript compiled c. 1160 and now kept in Trinity College, Dublin, under the shelfmark MS H 2.18 (cat. 1339). It was formerly known as the ''Lebor na Nuachongbála'' "Book ...

''. This consists of ten folios which had been separated from the main volume of the ''Book of Leinster'' by 1583. These came into the possession of Michael O'Clery in 1627 and were deposited at the Franciscan friary of Donegal. In 1631, the ''Martyrology of Tallaght'' folios were sent to St Anthony's at Louvain, where John Colgan added some ''marginalia''. In the late 18th century they passed on to St Isidore's College, Rome, and in 1872 were returned from there to Ireland, to be kept first in the Franciscan convent at Merchant's Quay,

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 ...

, later at Dun Mhuire,

Killiney Killiney () is an affluent seaside resort and suburb in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It lies south of neighbouring Dalkey, east of Ballybrack and Sallynoggin and north of Shankill. The place grew around the 11th century Killiney Churc ...

. In 2000, the manuscript came into the possession of

University College, Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

, where it is known as MS Franciscan A3. This 12th-century manuscript is now lacking the text for some one hundred and fifty days of the calendar, but what is missing is supplied by Michael O'Clery's 17th century transcript. The related ''Martyrology of Oengus the Culdee'', which is in verse, survives in a number of other early medieval manuscripts.

Bibliography

*Best, Richard Irvine, & Hugh Jackson Lawlor (eds.) ''The Martyrology of Tallaght: From the Book of Leinster and MS. 5100–4 in the Royal Library, Brussels'' (Harrison and Sons, 1931, 262 pages)

Notes

{{reflist, 2

External links

''Martyrology of Tallaght'' text
Martyrologies Early Irish literature Irish texts Latin texts of medieval Ireland