Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 367 



LXL — On the Book op Letnster and its Contents. 

 By Professor O'Loonet, M.B.I. A., F.B.H.S. 



[Read 13th. January, 1873.] 



The Manuscript in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, styled the 

 " Book of Leinster," has for many years past been regarded as of very 

 high importance in connexion with the early history and language of 

 Ireland. For some time this manuscript was supposed to have been 

 the ancient te&b&p gtinne-o^ Loc<\, or Book of Glendalough, under 

 which title it was quoted by Dr. Petrie in his " Essay on the Anti- 

 quities of Tara Hill ; " but subsequently it was ascertained by Pro- 

 fessor O'Curry to be the Book of Leinster. This discovery was first 

 made known by the late Bev. Dr. Todd, in his edition of the Irish 

 Nennius, published by the Irish Archaeological Society in 1848, and 

 the manuscript has been since known as the Book of Leinster. A 

 number of entries occur in the body of the book which enable us to 

 fix the age and to identify the writer of the work. A few illustra- 

 tions will serve the present purpose : — 



At folio 16, a. a., page [31], commences a poem ascribed to Cinaed 

 TJa Artacain, on the manner and places of death of a number of 

 warriors, chiefly Ultonians, whose names occur in our ancient tales, 

 and who flourished between the time of Conor Mac Nessa, King of 

 Ulster at the time of the Crucifixion, and Piannachta, the Festive 

 Monarch of Erin, who died a.d. 693. At page [32], col. 1, line 2, 

 ten quatrains are interpolated, by which the chain of historical events 

 is carried down from the death of Piannachta to the Battle of Moin 

 Mor, fought a.d. 1151, by Torlough O'Conor, King of Connaught, and 

 Dermot MacMurrogh, King of Leinster, with their united forces, 

 against Torlough O'Brien, King of Munster, and his Dalcassian fol- 

 lowers, of whom it is stated that seven thousand fell in this battle. 



The following entries on the margin, all written in the original 

 hand, indicate the extent of the interpolation, and show clearly that 

 the verses added as well as the writing may be attributed to Pind 

 [O'Gorman], Bishop of Kildare, who died a.d. 1160 : — 



Inc ur^ue Cin^et) cecmic — "Hie usque Cinaed cecinit." And 

 at the next line is added: ptro eppcop C1VI1 t)A]\A hie ^"0"Oit)ir — 

 " Find Bishop of Kildare added this." And again, at the end of the 

 part interpolated, there is a marginal title ascribing the two last 

 verses to the original author. It runs thus: Cm^et) 1nc uenrum 

 cecimu — " Cinaed hie versum cecinit." 



"We have now no power to ascertain the original size or bulk of the 

 manuscript, but the following entries may be interesting in consider- 

 ing the question. 



Folio 116, page [231], foot margin, the following entry occurs in a 



