338 



Earl of Desmond, who succeeded his elder brother James in 

 the Earldom in 1481. He was the son of Thomas, the eighth 

 Earl, who was beheaded at Drogheda, otli February, 14C7. 

 He died 1497, according to O'Clery's book of Pedigrees: and 

 as the foregoing entries were manifestly made during his 

 life-time, it is evident that this volume was of some anti- 

 tiquity, so as to require the ink to be revived and restored, in 

 the latter end of the fifteenth century. This was a process 

 very common with Irish scribes, as is evident from the in- 

 spection of our ancient vellum MSS., many of which have 

 suffered great damage by ignorant attempts to restore them. 

 3. A memorandum of peculiar interest occurs on the up- 

 per margin of fol. 1 10, b. It is as follows : 



Salcaip m'= puipoepo butcilep This Psalter was the Psalter of 



.i.Ginonnbuicilep,mDC-falraip Mac Eichard Butler, i. e. Ed- 



peo, no 50 o-cucoD maioin baile 

 in ppoill ap lapla upiiiuriian 

 ajup ap m' puipoepo buicilep 

 le mpla oej^muriian .1. comap, 

 ajup DO baineao inleabap po 

 ajupleabap nacappuiji ap pu- 

 apjluD m*^ puipoepo, ajup ip pe 

 in m*^ puipoepo pin 00 cbuip na 

 leabaip pin oa pcpibao do pein, 

 no jup bain Cotnap [oe lao]. 



mond Butler, until after the de- 

 feat at Bally-in-spoill, of the Earl 

 of Ormond and of Mac Richard 

 Butler, by the Earl of Desmond, 

 i. e. Tliomas ; and this Book and 

 the Book of Carrick wei-e given 

 in ransom of Mac Richard, and 

 it is this Mac Richard that caused 

 these books to be transcribed for 

 himself, until Thomas took them 

 from him. 



Thus it appears that this book, and the book of Carrick, 

 (now unknown) were in the fifteenth century considered as 

 a sufficient ransom for the person of a great chieftain, — a re- 

 markable pi'oof of the preservation of a love of literature 

 amongst the native Irish nobles, in the midst of all their war 

 and faction at that period. Nor is this a solitary instance in 

 Irish history. The Leabhar na h-Uidhri, a manuscript of 

 the twelfth century, in the collection of Messrs. Hodges and 

 Smith, contains an entry of a similar kind. 



