Lawi-or — The Ancient List of the Vourbs of Patrick. 817 



part (nos. 1-24) ia in the second column of f. 115r, on whicli page the first 

 column gives a list of kings of Ireland, and the third a list of kings of 

 Cashel. It has no title. The second part (nos. 25-51) is on f, 115v, and is 

 entitled Do Ghomarhaib Fdtrnie. 



These four lists are almost identical in scheme. The names of the coarbs 

 are arranged in what purports to be chronological order. To each name, with 

 some exceptions, due no doubt to accidental omission, is added a number, with 

 or without the word annis or its Irish equivalent, indicating the period of 

 office of the coarb. There are also occasional notes giving genealogical or 

 historical information. An examination of the lists, in fact, convinces us that 

 they are merely recensions of an earlier catalogue, which have been brought 

 up to date, in at least three instances, by the addition of names at the end. 

 We may therefore treat LYBO as copies of the same document, and endeavour, 

 by combining them, to restore the Ancient List of the Coarbs of Patrick at 

 Armagh. 



From this resultant list, set out below, it will appear that on several 

 occasions L stands alone against the unanimous consent of YBO.^ This 

 suggests that the latter group is derived from an ancestor independent of 

 the exemplar of L. The relation between the manuscripts may therefore be 

 represented thus, omitting intermediate links : — 



/\ 



/ \ 



/ \ 



/ \ 



A. M 



/ 



/ 

 / 

 / 



\ 

 \ 

 \ 

 \ 



Y B 



We shall also observe that the notes in YBO are fewer than those in L, and 

 that they are nob often in full agreement with each other, nor with the notes 

 in L. Since the L notes appear, at least in some instances, to have come 

 from the original list,- this phenomenon is best explained by the hypothesis 

 that in the ancestor of YBO the notes were omitted. It will follow that 

 the notes in those manuscripts, when they dififer from L, are of later date, 

 and of less authority, than the notes in L. 



In the following list the numeral indicating the period of office is always 



placed opposite the name to which it belongs, llic word annis or Uiadhna 



being always omitted. In the MSS. the numbers are in various positions, 



sometimes above the line of writing. The variants of the MSS. are recorded 



• See nos. 20, 26-29, 31-34, 41, 42. ^ See below, p. 353f. 



