Book of Fenagh
TheBook of Fenagh(Irish:Leabar Fidhnacha) is amanuscriptof prose and poetry written inClassical IrishbyMuirgheas mac Pháidín Ó Maolconairein the monastery atFenagh,West Breifne(modern-dayCounty Leitrim).[1]It was commissioned by Tadhg Ó Rodaighe, thecoarbof the monastery, and is believed to derive from the "old Book of Caillín" (Irish:Leabar Chaillín), a lost work aboutCaillín,founder of the monastery.[1]Ó Maolconaire began work about 1516.[1]
Provenance[edit]
The O'Roddy coarbs and descendants retained the book down to Brian O'Roddy,parish priestof Kilronan (Ballyfarnon) in the mid-19th century, upon whose death it was retained by his successors as parish priest.[2]It later passed to George Michael Conroy,Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise,for safe-keeping, before his successorBartholomew Woodlocksold it in 1888 to theRoyal Irish Academy(RIA) for £10.[3]This was on the advice of Denis Murphy, aJesuit,that the RIA were best able to preserve it.[3][4]Itscatalogue numberis RIA MS 23 P 26: Cat. No. 479.[1]
John O'Donovanmade a facsimile transcript in 1828, and a manuscript English translation in 1830.[5]The first published edition was in 1875, edited byWilliam Maunsell Hennessyand translated byDenis H. Kellyfrom O'Donovan's facsimile.[5]TheIrish Manuscripts Commissionpublished a supplementary volume in 1939 with material missing from previous versions.
Contents[edit]
| [4] | ||
| Part | Form | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 1A | Prose | Introduction and Genealogy of St. Caillín |
| 1B | Poetry | 14 poems about Caillín,Magh Rein(southCounty Leitrim), and the Bell of Fenagh (Clog Na Riogh,"the bell of the kings", now inSt Mel's Cathedral[6]). |
| 1C | Prose | Introductions to Poems |
| 2A | Prose | Caillín and Tadhg O'Roddy |
| 2B | Prose | Ó Maolconaire discusses the Old Book of Caillín |
| 3 | Poetry | TheO'Donnellsand other families |
| 4 | Prose | Genealogies ofConmaicne,O'Crechan (probably ofConmhaícne Dúna Móir[7]), and the Abbot of Fenagh |
| 5 | Poetry | Six poems: five on theO'Neillsand other families, and one on Caillín |
Marginal notes in Irish adorning the book are commentaries by the noted Irish antiquarian Tadhg O'Rodaighe (floruit 1700) from Crossfield in Fenagh. The book was used as a source for theAnnals of Connachtand theAnnals of the Four Masters.[5]
Cumdach[edit]
A metalcumdach(a book-shaped shrine) known as the "Shrine of Caillín" was built before 1536 to hold and protect the manuscript.[8][9]Caillín is described by Lucas as "something of a specialist in the production of battle talismans"[10]and according to legend, in his lifetime commissioned a number of battle standards, including this shrine.[10]The shrine was badly damaged in a 2009 fire atSt Mel's Cathedral,Longford, where it had been kept since 1980.[8]It was acquired by theNational Museum of Irelandthe following year, while the manuscript is in the collection of theRoyal Irish Academy.[11]There is some doubt as to if the shrine was actually intended as a cumdach, given that it is smaller than the manuscript.[8]
References[edit]
- ^abcd"Book of Fenagh".Royal Irish Academy.31 August 2015.
- ^Hennessy 1875, p.ix
- ^abCunningham, Bernadette (15 June 2016)."Celebrating 500 years of the Book of Fenagh".Royal Irish Academy.Retrieved19 May2017.
- ^ab"Book of Fenagh history".fenagh.com.Fenagh Visitors Centre. Archived fromthe originalon 12 March 2019.Retrieved18 August2016.
- ^abcRIA 2016
- ^"The Bell of Fenagh".Fenagh Visitors Centre. Archived fromthe originalon 12 March 2019.Retrieved19 May2017.
- ^Hennessy, in: Ó Maolconaire 1875, p.383 fn.13
- ^abcScott (2017), p. 20
- ^"The shrine of St Caillín of Fenagh and its place in Irish late medieval art".Royal Irish Academy,2016. Retrieved 10 August 2022
- ^abLucas (1986), p. 19
- ^Scott (2017), pp. 18, 20
Sources[edit]
- "Book of Fenagh 500th anniversary".Royal Irish Academy. 2016. Archived fromthe originalon 14 January 2020.Retrieved19 May2017.
- Lucas, Anthony."The Social Role of Relics and Reliquaries in Ancient Ireland".The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland,volume 116, 1986.JSTOR25508904
- Ó Maolconaire, Muirgheas mac Pháidín (1875).Hennessy, W. M.(ed.)."The Book of Fenagh in Irish and English".Translated by Kelly, D. H. Dublin: Alexander Thom.Retrieved19 May2017.(Another digitisationfromNational Library of Scotland)
- Macalister, R. A. S.,ed. (1939).The Book of Fenagh: supplementary volume.Irish Manuscripts Commission.Retrieved19 May2017.
- Scott, Brendan. "The Making of the Book of Fenagh".History Ireland,volume 25, no. 3, 2017.JSTOR90014529
Further reading[edit]
- O Rodaighe, Tadhg."Tadhg O Rodaighe to [Edward Lhwyd], [around May 1700]"(PDF).Oxford University Research Archive.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 6 October 2016.Retrieved31 August2016.
External links[edit]
- Book of Fenagh / Leabar Chaillín / Leabar FidhnachaRoyal Irish Academy;links to digital images of the manuscript
- The Book of Fenagh in Irish and English
- The shrine of St Caillín of Fenagh and its place in Irish late medieval art.Lecture by Paul Mullarkey of theNational Museum of Ireland,September 2016. Published byThe Royal Irish Academy.