338 



Earl of Desmond, who succeeded his elder brother James in 

 the Earldom in 1481. He was the son of Thomas, the eighth 

 Earl, who was beheaded at Drogheda, 5th February, 1467. 

 He died 1497, according to O'Clery's book of Pedigrees: and 

 as the foregoing entries were manifestly made during his 

 life-time, it is evident that this volume was of some anti- 

 tiquity, so as to require the ink to be revived and restored, in 

 the latter end of the fifteenth century. This was a process 

 very common with Irish scribes, as is evident from the in- 

 spection of our ancient vellum MSS., many of which have 

 suffered great damage by ignorant attempts to restore them. 

 3. A memorandum of peculiar interest occurs on the up- 

 per margin of fol. 1 10, b. It is as follows : 



Salcaip m*^ puipoepo buTcilep This Psalter was the Psalter of 



.i.Ginonnbuicilep,moc-falcaip Mac Eichard Butler, i. e. Ed^ 



j^eo,no 50 D-cucao maioin baile mead Butler, until after the de- 



in ppoill ap lapla upiTiurhan featatBally-in-spoill,of theEarl 



ajup ap m*^ puipoepo buicilep of Ormond and of Mac Kichard 



le lapla oepmuman .1. comap, Butler, by the Earl of Desmond, 



a5up DO baineao inleabap po i. e. Thomas; and this Book and 



ajupleabap nacappuigi ap pu- the Book of Carrick were given 



apglao m*^ piiipoepo, ajup ip pe in ransom of Mac Eichard, and 



in m*^ puipoepo pin do chuip no itis this Mac Richard that caused 



leabaip pin do pcpibao do yb\n, these books to be transcribed for 



no gup bain Uomap [oe lao]. himself, until Thomas took them 



from him. 



Thus it appears that this book, and the book of Carrick, 

 (now unknown) were in the fifteenth century considered as 

 a sufficient ransom for the person of a great chieftain, — a re- 

 markable proof of the preservation of a love of literature 

 amongst the native Irish nobles, in the midst of all their war 

 and faction at that period. Nor is this a solitary instance in 

 Irish history. The Leabhar na h-Uidhri, a manuscript of 

 the twelfth century, in the collection of Messrs. Hodges and 

 Smith, contains an entry of a similar kind. 



