323 



pedigree of a Ferdomnach, twenty-third in descent from Co- 

 nary More, Monarch of Ireland, whose reign commenced A.D. 

 158. Allowing thirty years to a generation, we should bring 

 the time of this Ferdomnach just down to the middle of the 

 ninth century. For the discovery of this curious coincidence 

 Mr. Graves is indebted to Mr. Eugene Curry, who, at his 

 request, most kindly undertook the laborious task of making 

 the necessary searches. 



Sir William Betham, in his account of this manuscript,* 

 has assigned to it an earlier date, assuming it to have been 

 written by Aldus, Bishop of Sletty, who died A. D. 699. 

 And in this he has been followed by Mr. Westwood, in his 

 recently published PalcBograpMa Sacra. Sir William Be- 

 tham, wanting the positive evidences now brought forward, 

 appears to have been led to that conclusion by a passage in the 

 Life of St. Patrick, fol. 20, b : •' Hcecpauca de Sancti Patri- 

 cii peritia et virtutibus muipchu ITIacc u ITIacbdieni dictante 

 Aiduo Slebtiensis civitatis episcopo conscripsit." But it would 

 seem that these words were only intended to convey that the 

 memoir of St. Patrick was originally drawn up at the desire 

 or command of Aldus, just as the Gospel of St. Matthew, and 

 probably the whole Book of Armagh, was transcribed by Fer- 

 domnach dictante herede Patricn, at the bidding of the then 

 Archbishop of Armagh. 



The original Life of St. Patrick, by Muirchu, together 

 with the annotations of Tirechan, were evidently becoming il- 

 legible at the time that Ferdomnach's copy of them was made. 

 This is sufficiently indicated by notes in the margin, which 

 show that the scribe found it difficult, in many places, to 

 read the manuscript from which he was transcribing. What- 

 ever abatement, therefore, has been made from the supposed 

 age of the Book of Armagh, is fully compensated for by the 

 knowledge that it is a copy from documents which were them- 

 selves old in the year 807. 



* Irish Antiquarian Researches, vol. i. pp. 257, 270. 



