 | This article includes alist of references,related reading, orexternal links,but its sources remain unclear because it lacksinline citations. Please helpimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(September 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Leabhar Ua Maine | |
|---|---|
| Royal Irish Academy | |
| Also known as | The Book of Hy-Many, Leabhar Uí Dubhagáin |
| Type | Compilation ofIrish legends |
| Date | 1392–94 |
| Place of origin | Uí Maine |
| Language | Middle Irish |
| Scribe(s) | Ádhamh Cúisín,Faolán Mac an Ghabhann na Scéal |
| Patron | Muircheartach mac Pilib Ó Ceallaigh |
| Material | Vellum |
| Size | 44cm x 27cm |
| Format | Folio |
| Script | Irish minuscule |
Leabhar Ua Maine (alsoLeabhar Uí Dubhagáin,Book of Uí Maine,Book of Hy-Many andRIA MS D ii 1) is anIrish genealogicalcompilation, created c. 1392–94.[1]
Previously known asLeabhar Uí Dubhagáin, afterSeán Mór Ó Dubhagáin (died 1372) of the prominent family of historians and musicians in East Galway, it was later also known as theBook of the O'Kelly's, written at the behest of Muircertach Ó Ceallaigh (d. 1407),Bishop of Clonfert (1378–93) and thenArchbishop of Tuam (1393–1407).
The book was written by ten scribes inUí Mháine not before 1392 and sometime after 1394. There were ten scribes, eight of whom areanonymous. The principalscribe and overall compiler of the manuscript wasÁdhamh Cúisín (fl. c.1400); the only other scribe known by name isFaolán Mac an Ghabhann na Scéal (d. 1423).
It is a massive, oversizedvellum book written in Irish. It was property of the O'Kelly clan until 1757, when it was sold toWilliam Betham. In 1814, Betham proceeded to sell the manuscript to theRichard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. The Duke then donated the manuscript to theRoyal Irish Academy in 1883, where it is currently housed.
The manuscript is a massive, oversizedvellum book written in Irish, its contents are described by one of the scribes asbolg an tsolathair (a mixed bag of contents). It includes a series ofmetricaldindsenchas, AnBanshenchas,Cormac's Glossary,Lebor na Cert, portions ofLebor Gabála, poems, genealogies andpedigrees.
The largest single section is devoted to the origins and genealogies of theÓ Ceallaigh dynasty of Uí Maine, its contents updated to the time of compilation.
Works found in this work arequatrains paying tribute to the long reign and continuing prosperity of the Uí Dhiarmada (i.e., the descendants of Diarmuid Mac an Bháird), praising theMac an Bhairds in their capacity as Chiefs of Cinél RechtaSoghain of east-centralCounty Galway.
Some fortyfolios have become detached and lost. One fragment is preserved as folios 17–19 of London, British Library, MS Egerton 90.
Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh drew upon some of the missing material while writingLeabhar na nGenealach atGalway in 1649–1650. Texts he utilised included Seanchas Síl Ír, and perhaps Clann Ollamhan Uaisle Eamhna. Material was also incorporated intoCuimre na nGenealach, written in early to mid-1666. MacFhirbhisgh's transcriptions are noted byNollaig Ó Muraíle as being very faithful compared to surviving portions.
A catalogue was made of the manuscript's contents in the seventeenth century, while it was in the possession ofSir James Ware and before the subsequent loss of certain folios. This reveals it also to have included, at that time, texts likeLebor Gabála Érenn andAcallam na Senórach.