Lebor Bretnach
Lebor Bretnach,formerly spelledLeabhar Breathnachand sometimes known as theIrish Nennius,is an 11th-century historical work inGaelic,largely consisting of a translation of theHistoria Brittonum.It may have originated in Scotland, although it has traditionally been attributed to the Irish poetGilla Cóemáin.
Manuscripts[edit]
Lebor Bretnachexists in five manuscripts:
U.Dublin,Royal Irish Academy,MS 23 E 25 (1229). A 12th-century fragment in theLebor na hUidre.
B.Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 23 P 12 (536). A 14th-century manuscript known as theBook of Ballymote.
H.Dublin,Trinity College,MS H. 3. 17. Probably written in the 14th or early 15th century.
M.Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS Stowe D ii 1. Known as theBook of Uí Maine,written before 1423.
L.Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 23 P 2 (535) and Dublin, Trinity College, MS H. 2. 17, Vol. 2 (1319). Known as theBook of Lecan,written c. 1417.[1]
Sources[edit]
Lebor Bretnachis a translation of a 9th-century historical collection purportedly written by Nennius, theHistoria Brittonum,but not an entirely literal one. It only summarises theHistoria Brittonumwhere that work deals with specifically Gaelic matters already familiar to scholars in Ireland and Scotland, and in some other passages it includes additional material taken from, for example, theSex Aetates Mundi,Bede'sHistoria Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum,and aPictishking-list.[2][3]
Authorship and date[edit]
In two manuscripts ofLebor Bretnach,HandM,the translation is ascribed to the poet Gilla Cóemáin (fl. 1071/2).[4][3]This ascription is now in doubt,[4]and the historianThomas Owen Clancyhas suggested thatLebor Bretnachwas instead only intended to be dedicated to Gilla Cóemáin.[3]Traditionally there had been an assumption that the translation had been an Irish work, but Clancy has argued for a Scottish provenance, suggesting an origin atAbernethy,though probably intended for an Irish readership that had perhaps become interested in Scottish literature and history as a result of the military success and prestige of theKingdom of Alba.[5][6]It is generally agreed thatLebor Bretnachdates to the mid or late 11th century.[7][4]
Editions[edit]
- Todd, James Henthorn,ed. (1848).Leabhar Breathnach Annso Sis: The Irish Version of the Historia Britonum of Nennius.Dublin: Irish Archaeological Society.,HTML e-text at CELT:gaelic,english
- van Hamel, A. G.,ed. (1937).Lebor Bretnach: The Irish Version of the Historia Britonum Ascribed to Nennius.Irish Manuscripts Commission, Volume 5. Dublin: Stationery Office.
See also[edit]
- Nennius— a Welsh monk of the 9th century
- Frankish Table of Nations— a Latin source for the genealogies
References[edit]
- ^Todd 1848,p. viii.
- ^Dooley 2004,p. 13.
- ^abcFitzpatrick-Matthews 2007–2015.
- ^abcDooley 2004,p. 11.
- ^Evans 2005,p. 700.
- ^Clancy, Thomas Owen (2000). "Scotland, the" Nennian "recension of theHistoria Brittonum,and theLebor Bretnach".In Taylor, Simon (ed.).Kings, Clerics and Chronicles in Scotland 500–1297: Essays in Honour of Marjorie Ogilvie Anderson on the Occasion of her Ninetieth Birthday.Dublin: Four Courts Press. pp. 87–107.ISBN1851825169.
- ^Evans 2005,p. 11.
Sources[edit]
- Dooley, Ann(2004), "Arthur of the Irish: A viable concept?",Arthurian Literature,21:9–28
- Evans, Nicholas (2005), "Scottish influence", in Duffy, Sean (ed.),Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia,London: Routledge, pp. 699–700,ISBN0415940524
- Fitzpatrick-Matthews, Keith J. (2007–2015),"Lebor Bretnach",Historia Brittonum