The Book of Lismore is a Medieval Irish

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

 manuscript

Manuscript

A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...

.

Overview

The Book of Lismore is an Irish vellum

Vellum

Vellum is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on, to produce single pages, scrolls, codices or books. It is generally smooth and durable, although there are great variations depending on preparation, the quality of the skin and the type of animal used...

 manuscript, compiled in early 15th century, Lismore

Lismore, County Waterford

Lismore is a town in County Waterford, Ireland. It is located where the N72 road crosses the River Blackwater.-History:It was founded by Saint Mochuda, also known as Saint Carthage. In the 7th century, Lismore was the site of the well-known Lismore Abbey. It is also home to Lismore Castle, the...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. Its original name was Leabhar Mhic Cárthaigh Riabhaigh (The Book of Mac Cárthaigh Riabhach

MacCarthy Reagh

The MacCarthy Reagh dynasty are a branch of the great MacCarthy dynasty, Kings of Desmond, deriving from the ancient Eóganachta, of the central Eóganacht Chaisil sept. The MacCarthys Reagh seated themselves as Princes of Carbery in what is now southwestern County Cork in the 13th century...

). It should not be confused with the similarly named Book of the Dean of Lismore

Book of the Dean of Lismore

The Book of the Dean of Lismore is a famous Scottish manuscript, compiled in eastern Perthshire in the first half of the 16th century. The chief compiler, after whom it is named, was James MacGregor , vicar of Fortingall and titular Dean of Lismore Cathedral, although there are other probable...

, a Scottish manuscript from the 16th century. It was commissioned by Finghin MacCarthy Reagh, 8th Prince of Carbery

Finghin MacCarthy Reagh, 8th Prince of Carbery

Finghin MacCarthy Reagh was the 8th Prince of Carbery from 1477 to his death in 1505. He belonged to the MacCarthy Reagh dynasty, and was the eldest son of Dermod an Duna MacCarthy Reagh, 7th Prince of Carbery...

 and his wife Lady Catherine, daughter of Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond

Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond

Thomas FitzJames FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond , called 'Thomas of Drogheda', was the son of James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond and Mary de Burgh....

.

The manuscript was compiled from the early, and lost, Book of Monasterboice

Monasterboice

The historic ruins of Monasterboice are of an early Christian settlement in County Louth in Ireland, north of Drogheda. It was founded in the late 5th century by Saint Buithe who died around 521, and was an important centre of religion and learning until the founding of nearby Mellifont Abbey in...

as well as other manuscripts. The Book of Lismore contains a variation of themes. Part of the book references the lives of Irish saints, notably, St Brigid

Brigid of Kildare

Saint Brigit of Kildare, or Brigit of Ireland , nicknamed Mary of the Gael is one of Ireland's patron saints along with Saints Patrick and Columba...

, St Patrick, and St Columba. The Book of Lismore also contains Acallam na Senórach

Acallam na Senórach

Acallam na Senórach is an important prosimetric Middle Irish narrative dating to the last quarter of the 12th century...

, a most important Middle Irish narrative dating to the 12th century, a text pertaining to the Fenian Cycle

Fenian Cycle

The Fenian Cycle , also referred to as the Ossianic Cycle after its narrator Oisín, is a body of prose and verse centering on the exploits of the mythical hero Fionn mac Cumhaill and his warriors the Fianna. It is one of the four major cycles of Irish mythology along with the Mythological Cycle,...

.

The book also contains Leabhar Ser Marco Polo, an Irish translation of The Book of Sir Marco Polo, or Il Milione.

Some ninety per cent of the script is by an unknown scribe. About twelve folio

Folio

Folio may refer to:* Folio , a book size* A particular edition of a book printed on folio pages, such as the First Folio of William Shakespeare's plays* A leaf of a book: see Recto and verso* Folio , a sans-serif typeface...

s were by Aonghas Ó Callanáin (fl. 15th century) who was from a local medical family. Some other brief insertions were also by unknown hands.

Some of the pages and text of the book became mislaid to scholarly pursuit soon after its discovery in 1814, but it is believed that copies of these pages still survive in scholarly articles written in the 19th century.

Texts

Hagiographic texts

• Betha Shenáin meic Geirginn
• Short text on Saint Molaise, called "Molaisse und seine Schwester"

Prose narratives

• Acallam Bec
  Acallam Bec
  Acallam Bec or Agallamh Bheag is the title of a medieval Irish compilation of fianaigecht tales, preserved in the fifteenth-century Book of Lismore and the Reeves manuscript. It is closely related to the Acallam na Senórach , of which it is sometimes considered to be a later recension...
  
  ("Little Colloquy")
• Echtra Loegairi meic Crimthainn from the Book of Lismore, at Thesaurus Linguae Hibernicae
• Airne Fíngein. Available at Thesaurus Linguae Hibernicae
• Tromdám Guaire ("The company of Guaire")

Translations from European Latin texts;

• Leabhar Ser Marco Polo ("The Book of Sir Marco Polo
  Marco Polo
  Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...
  
  "), a translation in Irish of the Latin version of Marco Polo's Il Milione
• Gabháltas Séarlais Mhóir ("The Conquest of Charlemagne
  Charlemagne
  Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
  
  ")
• Stair na Lombardach ("The History of the Lombards")

External links

• http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2011/0708/1224300294060.html
• http://www.maryjones.us/jce/lismore.html
• http://lismoreheritagecentre.blogspot.com/2010/02/book-of-lismore-introduction-by-donald.html
• http://www.medievalarchives.com/tag/book-of-lismore

Sources

• Stokes, Whitley (ed. and tr.). Lives of saints, from the Book of Lismore. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1890. Scans (PDF) available from the Internet Archive and a transcription of the edition from CELT.

Further reading

• Breatnach, Caoimhín. "Lismore, Book of." In Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia, ed. Seán Duffy. New York and London: Routledge, 2005. pp. 270–80.
• Macalister, R.A.S. The Book of Lismore. Facsimile with introduction. Dublin: Irish Manuscripts Commission, 1950. Facsimile edition.
• Ó Cuív, Brian. "Observations on the Book of Lismore." Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 83C (1983). pp. 269–92.
• Ó Murchadha, Family Names of County Cork. Cork: The Collins Press. 2nd edition, 1996. p. 54