''Sanas Cormaic'' (or ''Sanas Chormaic'', Irish for "Cormac's narrative"), also known as ''Cormac's Glossary'', is an early

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 ...

glossary A glossary (from grc, γλῶσσα, ''glossa''; language, speech, wording) also known as a vocabulary or clavis, is an alphabetical list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms. Traditionally, a gl ...

containing

etymologies Etymology () The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words a ...

and explanations of over 1,400 Irish words, many of which are difficult or outdated. The shortest and earliest version of the work is ascribed to

Cormac mac Cuilennáin Cormac mac Cuilennáin (died 13 September 908) was an Irish bishop and the king of Munster from 902 until his death at the Battle of Bellaghmoon. He was killed in Leinster. Cormac was regarded as a saintly figure after his death, and his shri ...

(d. 908), king-bishop of

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following t ...

. It is an

encyclopedic dictionary An encyclopedic dictionary typically includes many short listings, arranged alphabetically, and discussing a wide range of topics. Encyclopedic dictionaries can be general, containing articles on topics in many different fields; or they can s ...

containing simple synonymous explanations in Irish or

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, 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 ...

of Irish words. In some cases, he attempts to give the etymology of the words, and in others he concentrates on an encyclopedic entry. It is held to be the earliest linguistic

dictionary A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologie ...

in any of the non-classical languages of Europe. Many of its entries are still frequently cited in Irish and Celtic scholarship.

Manuscripts and editions (with external links)

The glossary survives, in part or whole, in at least six manuscripts.
The work may have been included in the '' Saltair Chaisil'' ("Psalter of Cashel"), a now-lost manuscript compilation that is thought to have contained various genealogical and

etiological Etiology (pronounced ; alternatively: aetiology or ætiology) is the study of causation or origination. The word is derived from the Greek (''aitiología'') "giving a reason for" (, ''aitía'', "cause"); and ('' -logía''). More completely, e ...

lore relating to Munster. The versions of ''Sanas Cormaic'' divide into two groups: the earliest and shortest version represented by

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 ...

and the fragment in MS Laud 610, and a longer one represented by the

Yellow Book of Lecan The Yellow Book of Lecan (YBL; Irish: ''Leabhar Buidhe Leacáin''), or TCD MS 1318 (''olim'' H 2.16), is a late medieval Irish manuscript. It contains much of the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, besides other material. It is held in the Librar ...

, which underwent some expansion in the hands of later redactors.

References

External links

Mary JonesEarly Irish Glossaries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanas Cormaic 9th-century books Irish texts Early Irish literature Irish dictionaries Irish-language literature Irish books Medieval European encyclopedias Irish encyclopedias

Manuscripts and editions (with external links)

References

Further reading

External links