[ 78 ] 



V. 



ON THE SO-CALLED PSALTER OF ST. CAIMIN. 



By M. ESPOSITO, B.A 



Plate VII. 



Ileail June 23. Published September 12, 1913. 



The fragmentary ms. known as the Psalter of St. C'aimin, 1 now preserved in 

 the Library of the Franciscan Monastery, Merchants' Quay, Dublin 2 (MS.A.i), 

 was first mentioned in 1G39 by Ussher 3 and Ware. 1 The latter states that it 

 was then " among the books of the Convent of Franciscans at Donnegall," 

 but it is not clear whether he had himself seen it there. Ussher's 

 account may be quoted in full: — "Habebatur psalterium cujus unicum 

 tantum quaternionem mihi videre contigit, obelis et asteriscis diligentis- 

 sime distinctum, collatione cum veritate Hebraica in superiore parte cujusque 

 paginae posita, et brevibus scholiis ad exteriorem marginem adjectis. Atque 

 illud S. Cammini manu fuisse descriptum communi traditione ferebatur." 



The statement that this MS. contains a collation with the original Hebrew 

 text is utterly false, and affords another proof that Ussher's works should 

 only be used with extreme caution. 5 



1 St. Caimin of Inis Cealtra is believed to have died about 653. No separate accounts 

 of his life, either Latin or Irish, are now in existence, and practically nothing is known 

 about hiin. His name does not appear in the Bollandists' invaluable Bibiiotheca 

 Hagiographica Latina (3 vols., Bruxelles, 1898-1911). 



- The valuable collection of Mss. preserved in this Library has not yet been thoroughly 

 catalogued. Some are not even mentioned in the very summary and inaccurate index 

 published by Gilbert {Historical MSS. Commission, Fourth Report, 1874, Appendix, 

 pp. 599-613). It is much to be regretted that none of the libraries of Dublin have as 

 yet published accurate catalogues of their siss. The Catalogue put forth by Trinity 

 College in 1900 is an almost worthless production, as I have pointed out in the Revue des 

 Bibliotheques and elsewhere. 



3 Works, vi, p. 544. 



4 Works, vol. ii, ed. Dublin, 1740, The Writers of Ireland, p. 32. 



6 Ussher's statement was relied upon by G. T. Stokes (Proc. R. I. Acad., Series iii, 

 vol. ii, 1892, p. 195) to assert that Hebrew was known in Ireland in the early Middle 

 Ages. Elsewhere (Studies, i, 1912, pp. 665-683) I have shown that there was no serious 

 knowledge of either Greek or Hebrew in mediaeval Ireland. The writings of G. T. Stokes, 

 like those of Ware and Ussher, are now of little historical value (cf. Studies, loc. cit.). 



