318 
The Annals of the Four Masters contain entries respecting 
two persons of this name, both of them scribes. 
A. C. 726. Flpoomnach psmib- A. D. 727. Ferdomnach, Scribe 
nfoip Anoa Maéa dv’ecc. of Armagh, died. 
A, C. 844. Peapoomnach eag- A. D. 845. Ferdomnach, a sage 
naive 1 pspibnid cogaide do and choice scribe of the church 
muineip Cpoa Maéa v’ece, | of Armagh, died. 
The fact that both these persons were scribes of Armagh, 
where this manuscript was preserved for so many centuries, 
renders it in the highest degree probable that one or other 
was the writer. The names of between thirty and forty per- 
sons, who held the office of Scriba or Scholasticus in Armagh, 
are enumerated in the Annals of that see, given by Colgan 
in his Trias Thaumaturga. But of all these there were only 
two Ferdomnachs, the two already mentioned. 
Assuming, then, as it seems safe to do, that one or other of 
these persons was the scribe of the manuscript, Mr. Graves 
proceeds to fix the actual year in which it was written. He 
thinks that he has effected this by partly deciphering the writing 
in the erasure No.2. This erasure consists of four short lines ; 
and the original writing was in a semi-Greek character, the 
nature of which is exhibited in the following passages, con- 
taining nearly all the letters of the Roman alphabet. The 
first is one of the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, as given in 
St. Matthew’s Gospel, fol. 36, a. The second is a memoran- 
dum occurring in the very column at the foot of which is the 
erasure under consideration. 
Tee PANEM 
MocTpyoc: foT i kur oe DF NOSTRUM + COTIDIANUM - DA 
MinBic- bod¢- NOBIS - HODIE + 
bru iy: MEV Arve EXPLICIT » AEVANGVE 
ium: HATH yrcdar LION - KATA + MAT 
THY - chy tyme TEVM - SCRIPTVM: 
AT eve piety osc: Si EA aaa kg 
to dupa; nedrrH Taf IN FERIA - MATTEI «+ 
