Peritia:Volume 10 (1996)
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SEVEN STUDIES IN SEVENTH-CENTURY TEXTS
DAVID HOWLETT
ABSTRACT. The following works are examined here: Versus de annis
a principio; Ailerán's Interpretatio mystica and
Canon euangeliorum; three verse prayers from the Book of
Cerne; seven works by and for Cummianus Longus (ob. 662),
including Celebra Iuda, which is here edited; three works by
Virgilius Maro Grammaticus; the Oratio Gildae and a verse
paraphrase of Carmen paschale, taken as examples of
Hiberno-Latin hendecasyllables; and the Lorica of Laidcenn mac
Baíth (ob. 661), for which a date of AD 659 is suggested. On
the basis of these texts, two inferences may be made of Irish culture
of the period: the intellectual agility and acuity exhibited in this
precisely constructed prose and verse was not the achievement of a few
isolated clerics; and the title sapiens was not given lightly
or loosely by the monastic annalists.
KEYWORDS: medieval Latin, Insular Latin, metrics, Book of Cerne,
Interpretatio mystica, Canon euangeliorum, Celebra Iuda, Epitomae,
Altus Prosator, sapiens, Ailerán, Cummian, Virgilius
Maro Grammaticus, Laidcenn mac Baíth, infixed dating devices,
computistic verse, Hebrew, Greek.
David Howlett, Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, Bodleian Library, Oxford OX1 3BG
howlett@vax.ox.ac.uk
47,142 words. Peritia 10 (1996) 1-70. Turnhout:Brepols. ISBN 2-503-50574-0
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RUBISCA: AN EDITION, TRANSLATION, AND COMMENTARY
DAVID HOWLETT
ABSTRACT. From indications of original internal orthography in two MSS
from Saint Augustine's in Canterbury the editor attempts to restore
the authorial text of Rubisca, a brilliant and light-hearted
poem in a rare metre, signed by its author, identified here as
Brían mac Con Catha, an Irish monk with some knowledge of
Hebrew and Greek. Quotations from and allusions to earlier
Hiberno-Latin and Anglo-Latin texts suggest composition after the
beginning of the ninth century. Diction from this text in an
Anglo-Latin and Old English glossary and a charter dated 16 April 928
suggest that the poem, if not the poet, like bishop Dub Innse of
Bangor and Israel the Grammarian, may have been known at the court of
king Æthelstan.
KEYWORDS: rhythmic double adonic metre, Æthelstan's charter,
alphabetic verse, editorial principles, Greek, Hebrew, Hiberno-Latin,
Harley Glossary, Brianus Molosi Belli, Brían mac Con Catha.
David Howlett, Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources,
Bodleian Library, Oxford OX1 3BG howlett@vax.ox.ac.uk
7144 WORDS, Peritia 10 (1996) 71-90. Turnhout:Brepols. ISBN
2-503-50574-0.
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VENANTIUS FORTUNATUS, IRELAND, JEROME: THE EVIDENCE OF PRECAMUR
PATREM
CLARE STANCLIFFE
ABSTRACT. The Irish hymn Precamur patrem does not draw on hymns
of Venantius Fortunatus; rather parallels in Precamur patrem
and Fortunatus's hymns occur because both draw on Jerome's
letters. This strengthens the case for Columbanus's authorship of the
hymn while demolishing the evidence for the transmission of
Fortunatus's hymns from Poitiers to early medieval Ireland.
KEYWORDS: Columbanus, Precamur patrem, Venantius Fortunatus,
Jerome, Ireland, hymns, Irish-Gaulish links.
Clare Stancliffe, St Oswald's Vicarage, Church St, Durham DH1
3DG
2807 words. Peritia 10 (1996) 91-97. Turnhout:Brepols. ISBN
2-503-50574-0
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THE VIEW FROM IONA: ADOMNÁN'S MENTAL MAPS
THOMAS O'LOUGHLIN
ABSTRACT. Adomnán wrote a geographical work. How did he view
the world around which he imagined people travelling. This raises
questions about the state of contemporary geographical knowledge and
whether we can assume that he shares our notions of time and space. In
fact, both are different. Here mental maps are used to allow him to
tell us about his world rather than about the past of ours. We can use
a series to reconstruct this world: (i) a T-O map to explain the
actual sequence of movement in De locis sanctis and why
Arculf's arrival in Iona did not raise any questions for him; (ii) a
Square-V map of the races of mankind; (iii) a map of circles based on
Luke and Acts to explain the division of De locis sanctis into
books; (iv) a map of scriptural signs which would explain the temporal
inconsistencies in the description of places; and (v) an
eschatological map which shows the book beginning at the gates of
heaven and ending at the gates of hell.
KEYWORDS: geography, medieval cartography, exegesis, mental maps,
sacred space, sacred time, pilgrimage, De locis sanctis,
Isidore, Jerusalem.
Thomas O'Loughlin, School of Celtic Studies, DIAS, 10 Burlington
Road, Dublin 4
11821 words, Peritia 10 (1996) 98-122. Turnhout:Brepols. ISBN
2-503-50574-0
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BERNHARD BISCHOFF (1906-1991): A MEMOIR
DÁIBHÍ Ó CRÓINÍN
ABSTRACT. Bernhard Bischoff was one of the greatest palaeographers and
medievalists of modern times. Besides his many important contributions
to the study of Late Antique and early medieval Latin manuscripts, he
also made path-breaking discoveries in the field of Hiberno-Latin
literature. This memoir offers a sruvey of his life and career by one
who knew him.
KEYWORDS: Anonymus ad Cuimnanum, Bischoff, Carolingian
manuscripts, Codices Latini antiquiores, glosses, oldest
Italian text, Paul Lehmann, E. A. Lowe, Munich school of palaeography,
Ludwig Traube, `Wendepunkte'.
Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, School of
History, University College, Galway daibhi.ocroinin@ucg.ie
5766 words. Peritia 10 (1996) 123-35. Turnhout:Brepols. ISBN
2-503-50574-0
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THE LLANDDEWI-BREFI `IDNERT' STONE
CHARLES THOMAS
ABSTRACT. A now dismembered Welsh christian Latin memorial inscription
in 12 words and 64 letters was intricately constructed in `biblical
style'—allusive, arithmetical and (except to the initiated)
cryptographic. Analysis introduces this entirely new aspect of
post-400 Insular epigraphy. The `Idnert' memorial does not stand
alone, but may be unique in its pictorial culmination. An appendix
summarises related features from other memorials.
KEYWORDS: Insular Latin, biblical style, memorial inscriptions, Wales,
Cornwall, arithmetical composition, quasi-cryptograms, Crucifixion,
Calvaria, Rab(b)ula gospels, Idnert, Iaco, St David.
Charles Thomas, Lambessow, St Clement, Truro, Cornwall TR1 1TB,
United Kingdom
21230 words, 5 figures. Peritia 10 (1996)
136-83. Turnhout:Brepols. ISBN 2-503-50574-0
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HENRY II, THE COUNCIL OF CASHEL AND THE IRISH BISHOPS
MARIE THERESE FLANAGAN
ABSTRACT. The endorsement by the Irish episcopate of king Henry II's
personal intervention in Ireland has been viewed as an important
element in advancing Anglo-Norman interests in Ireland: this paper
explores the motivation, degree of unanimity, and import of the Irish
bishops' response, and its association with a church reform council at
Cashel. While factors promoting episcopal solidarity in the
twelfth-century Irish church may be identified, account also has to be
taken of tensions resulting from the relatively recent creation of a
diocesan constitution and, in the sphere of secular politics, the
struggle for the high-kingship, which would have served to undermine
collective episcopal action, as highlighted by the conflicting
concerns of Gilla Críst Ua Connairche, bishop of Lismore and
papal legate, and Cadla Ua Dubthaig, archbishop of Tuam.
KEYWORDS: Ireland, Anglo-Norman invasion, Irish church, synod/council
of Cashel, 1172, Henry II, king of England, pope Alexander III, Gilla
Críst Ua Connairche, bishop of Lismore, Cadla Ua Dubthaig,
archbishop of Tuam.
Marie Therese Flanagan, School of Modern History, Queen's
University, Belfast BT7 1NN mtflanagan@clio.arts.qub.ac.uk
14200 words. Peritia 10 (1996) 184-211. Turnhout:Brepols. ISBN
2-503-50574-0
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`KEEPING THE NATIVES IN ORDER': THE ENGLISH KING AND THE `CELTIC'
RULERS 1066-1216
REES DAVIES
ABSTRACT. English kings exercised some control of the `Celtic'
societies on their periphery, 1066-1216, through well tried
mechanisms—parleys, submission, the surrender of hostages and
the payment of tribute, often in animals. This relationship was
essentially personal in character, non-penetrative in its nature, and
reflected the contemporary realities of power. It was a form of
extensive, or indirect, rather than intensive rule. In the later
twelfth century this relationship between the king of England and the
rulers of Scotland, Ireland and Wales was being re-defined and
intensified. Relationships were increasingly expressed in written
documents composed in the English chancery: the technical language of
feudal dependence was being applied; and there was growing emphasis on
the need to stipulate more precisely the tenurial, territorial and
jurisdictional dependence of the client rulers on their English
overlord. By the time of king John it looked as if an essentially
loose overlordship was about to be converted into a more direct
English lordship of the British Isles.
KEYWORDS: King of England; rulers of Wales, Ireland and Scotland;
submission and dependence, direct and indirect rule, extensive and
intensive authority, parleys, hostages, tribute, impact of written
definition of relationships, feudal dependence, tenurial and
jurisdictional dependence.
Rees Davies, All Souls College, Oxford OX1 4AL
5999 words. Peritia 10 (1996) 212-24. Turnhout:Brepols. ISBN
2-503-50574-0
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HENRY II, RICHARD I AND THE LORD RHYS
JOHN GILLINGHAM
ABSTRACT. It has generally been assumed that when Richard I insulted
the lord Rhys in October 1189 this needlessly brought to an end an
Anglo-Welsh detente that had lasted since 1171. Against this it is
argued that Rhys had already broken the peace twice before October
1189, and that Richard's employment of Gerald de Barri on missions to
Wales does not suggest that the refusal to meet Rhys was due to the
new king's indifference to Welsh affairs. It was Richard—and
not, as has always been thought, his brother John—who met the
other Welsh kings at Worcester in September 1189. Right from the start
Richard was determined to keep the peace with the Welsh (as with the
Scots)—a policy which paid off in 1193 when he was in prison in
Germany and they chose not to join John's rebellion.
KEYWORDS: Anglo-Welsh relations, Rhys ap Gruffudd, Henry II, Richard
I, John, Gerald de Barri (Gerald of Wales), Roger of Howden,
Deheubarth, Worcester, Brut y Tywysogyon, Glamorgan,
Abergavenny, William de Braose.
John Gillingham, Department of International History, London School
of Economics, London WC2 2AE
5850 words. Peritia 10 (1996) 225-36. Turnhout:Brepols. ISBN
2-503-50574-0
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1098 AND ALL THAT: THEOPHYLACT BISHOP OF SEMNEA AND THE ALEXIAN
RECONQUEST OF ANATOLIA
MARGARET MULLETT
ABSTRACT. The reconquest of Anatolia by Alexios I Komnenos (1081-1118)
has been ignored by recent scholars; it was not emphasised by
narrative and panegyric sources close to the emperor, and the
epigraphic and archaeological evidence is sparse. That there was an
attempt at such a reconquest however is clear from three groups of
letters by Theophylact of Ochrid, relating to the Aegean islands
(expedition of John Doukas), Pontos (expedition of Gregory Taronites),
and the hinterland of Attaleia. This last group suggests that bishops
may have been in place in Semnea and Side at the time of writing. The
reconquest began with John Doukas's expedition to the islands in 1092,
received a setback with the cooling of Byzantine-crusader relations
after Antioch in 1098-89, and was seriously hampered by Bohemond's
invasion of Albania in 1107, though Alexios continued to plan a
counterattack until his death. The silence in his daughter Anna's
history, the Alexiad, and his (or his son John's) poem the
Mousai can be explained by the failure of Alexios's policy. If
a turning-point can be identified, it was Alexios's decision not to
advance to the assistance of the crusaders at Antioch in 1098.
KEYWORDS: Byzantium, reconquest, Alexios I Komnenos, Theophylact of
Ochrid, letter-writing, patronage, network, Bohemond, metropolitan of
Side, bishop of Semn(e)a; Danishmend, Anna Komnene's Alexiad,
the Mousai Crusade.
Margaret Mullett, School of Greek, Roman and Semitic Studies,
Queen's University, Belfast BT7 1NN mem@clio.arts.qub.ac.uk
7809 words. Peritia 10 (1996) 237-52. Turnhout:Brepols. ISBN
2-503-50574-0
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DAVID MACCARWELL AND THE PROPOSAL TO PURCHASE ENGLISH LAW,
c.1273-c.1280
SEYMOUR PHILLIPS
ABSTRACT. It has long been known that David MacCarwell, archbishop of
Cashel (1254-89), played an important part in the attempted purchase
of English law for the Irish between about 1276 and 1280. This paper
argues that, although Edward I probably had no personal objection to
the extension of English law to the Irish, the primary role in
initiating and carrying forward the project was played by the
archbishop of Cashel; that the plan emerged from and followed his
successes between 1273 and 1277 in restoring the houses of the
Cistercian order in Ireland to the control of Mellifont and in
vindicating his rights as archbishop after a bitterly fought dispute
with Edward I and his administration in Ireland; and lastly that it
represented an attempted grand scheme of reconciliation between the
king and the archbishop, involving a re-definition of the relationship
between Gaelic Irish society and the English crown which would have
produced significant benefits for the church.
KEYWORDS: David MacCarwell, Edward I, Cashel, Cistercians, Mellifont,
English law, Brehon law, Ireland, England, Council of Lyons,
church-state relations, Anglo-Irish relations, Laudabiliter.
Seymour Phillips, Department of Medieval History, University
College, Dublin 4
12005 words. Peritia 10 (1996) 253-73. Turnhout:Brepols. ISBN
2-503-50574-0
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THOMAS ROKEBY, SHERIFF OF YORKSHIRE, JUSTICIAR OF IRELAND
ROBIN FRAME
ABSTRACT. Thomas Rokeby served as justiciar in Ireland (1349-57) after
making his reputation as a soldier and administrator during the
Anglo-Scottish wars. His justiciarship saw an attempt, encouraged by
Edward III after years of friction with some Anglo-Irish, to rule in
collaboration with those who mattered, including marcher lineages and
Gaelic lords. The approach to warfare emphasised the recovery of land
and its fortification. The underlying policy was to make Ireland
profitable, and it led to heavier English military intervention from
1361. Rokeby's handling of Irish politics and war may be better
understood in the context of his earlier service in the north. His
career highlights the contrasts as well as the parallels between two
frontiers of the Plantagenet state, and reveals the questionable
assumptions that underlay English policies in Ireland.
KEYWORDS: frontiers, medieval warfare, Irish medieval government,
Anglo-Scottish wars, north of England, Yorkshire, Cork, Wicklow,
earldom of Ulster, Edward III.
Robin Frame, Department of History, University of Durham, 43 North
Bailey, Durham DH1 3EX, England r.f.frame@durham.ac.uk
11307 words. Peritia 10 (1996) 274-96. Turnhout:Brepols. ISBN
2-503-50574-0
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LIONEL OF CLARENCE AND THE ENGLISH OF MEATH
BRENDAN SMITH
ABSTRACT. Relations between the English colonial community in Ireland
and the English of England had become strained by the mid fourteenth
century, and the visit of the king's son, Lionel, to the lordship as
his father's deputy between 1361 and 1366 brought these tensions to
the surface. In 1366 one of Lionel's household, Henry de Ferrers, was
besieged at Clonee on the Meath-Dublin border by the local settler
gentry and had to be rescued by the lieutenant himself. The cause of
the dispute was Henry's marriage to Joan Tuit, a local heiress whose
previous marriage to a most important colonist of the region, Walter
Cusak (also her cousin), had been annulled by the bishop of Meath. In
1364 the archbishop of Armagh, Milo Sweteman, revoked this decision
and ordered Joan to resume living with Walter on pain of
excommunication. She refused. De Ferrers retained control of his
wife's estates even after her death, but when he died they passed to
Cusak. This incident provides an insight into the tensions between
settler and visitor `on the ground' and the way in which such disputes
were usually resolved in favour of the colonists.
KEYWORDS: Ireland, medieval colony, colonists, Lionel, Duke of
Clarence, marriage, inheritance, absentees.
Brendan Smith, Department of Historical Studies, University of
Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TB brendan.smith@bristol.ac.uk
2601 words. Peritia 10 (1996) 297-302. Turnhout:Brepols. ISBN
2-503-50574-0
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GOVERNMENT BY COMMISSION: THE CONTINUAL COUNCIL OF 1386 AND ENGLISH
ROYAL ADMINISTRATION
W. M. ORMROD
ABSTRACT. The extraordinary council established in the `wonderful'
parliament of October-November 1386 to inquire into and reform the
royal administration had a pivotal role in the politics of Richard
II's reign: its attack on the prerogative powers of the crown explains
much of the vehemence with which the king subsequently proceeded
against its members. The opposition of the king, and his removal from
the capital in 1387, are commonly supposed to have prevented the
commission fulfilling the expectations of the political community. In
fact, the limitations of its actions were determined as much by the
naivety and conservatism of parliament evident in the powers accorded
to the council. The administrative record reveals that it took active
steps to assert its judicial authority, to control royal patronage,
and to impose retrenchment in the management of the king's
finances. Although it formally held power for only a year, the work of
the commission had an enduring influence on the development of the
council as an administrative agency of the crown.
KEYWORDS: medieval politics, government, administration, kingship,
Richard II, royal council, royal justice, royal finance, patronage.
W. M. Ormrod, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York, York
YO1 2EP
9634 words. Peritia 10 (1996) 303-21. Turnhout:Brepols. ISBN
2-503-50574-0
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MISTRANSLATIONS AND MISINTERPRETATIONS IN MEDIEVAL ENGLISH HISTORY
J. O. PRESTWICH
ABSTRACT. Despite the many excellent translations of Latin sources for
the history of England in the two centuries following the Norman
conquest, it is easy to forget the inevitable limitations of all
translations and to overlook the occasional mistranslations which
still influence, or are influenced by, interpretations of the
period. The examples considered here include laboriose as
applied to king John and others (meaning with difficulty, not
indefatigably); the purpose or purposes of Domesday Book and the oath
of Salisbury (the first, it is argued, being a purely fiscal measure,
the second to secure the loyalty of knights at a critical juncture);
the mistaken belief in `natural counsellors', whereas naturalis
in political contexts means native-born, reflecting the strength
of anti-alien sentiment in thirteenth-century England; and the
evidence for a plurality of royal treasures rather than a single
treasury.
KEYWORDS: Saladin tithe, king John, Domesday Book, oath of Salisbury,
`natural counsellors', treasures.
J. O. Prestwich, The Queen's College, Oxford, OX1 4AW
9138 words. Peritia 10 (1996) 322-40. Turnhout:Brepols. ISBN
2-503-50574-0
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THE ROUEN RIOT AND CONAN'S LEAP
WARREN HOLLISTER
ABSTRACT. The Rouen urban riot was less a bid for communal
independence than the outcome of a power struggle between the sons of
William the Conqueror. The rebels, led by a wealthy merchant, Conan,
were allied to king William II of England, who was trying to wrest
Normandy from his elder brother, duke Robert Curthose. Henry, the
third brother, rendered decisive aid to Curthose and led the
aristocratic faction that defeated William II's allies in Rouen and
seized Conan. Taking him atop the tower of Rouen, Henry ignored
Conan's pleas for mercy and pushed him to his death. Although
historians often cite this episode as evidence of Henry's cruelty,
most contemporaries saw it as a proper punishment of a traitorous
upstart. The contrast between Henry's courage and Curthose's timidity
could well explain why the duke turned against Henry shortly
afterwards and then went on Crusade.
KEYWORDS: Robert Curthose, William II, Henry, Normandy, medieval
towns, Rouen, Conan, urban riots, Cotentin, Robert of Bellême,
Orderic Vitalis, William of Malmesbury.
C. Warren Hollister, 4592 Via Clarice, Santa Barbara, CA 93111,
USA
4596 words. Peritia 10 (1996) 341-50. Turnhout:Brepols. ISBN
2-503-50574-0
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THE PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN IN THE HISTOIRE DE GUILLAUME LE
MARÉCHAL
EVELYN MULLALLY
ABSTRACT. The author of the French verse life of William Marshal,
writing in the 1220s, depicts women as marginal to a male-dominated
aristocratic power structure. Nevertheless, he portrays them
favourably and without the distortions of literary convention.
KEYWORDS: William Marshal, Isabel de Clare, courtly literature,
medieval marriage, gender stereotypes.
Evelyn Mullally, School of Modern Languages, Queen's University,
Belfast BT7 1NN
5655 words. Peritia 10 (1996) 351-62. Turnhout:Brepols. ISBN
2-503-50574-0
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WILLIAM REEVES AND THE MEDIEVAL TEXTS AND MANUSCRIPTS AT ARMAGH
JOHN THOMPSON
ABSTRACT. The achievement of William Reeves as Armagh keeper can be
closely associated with the changing mid-nineteenth-century fortunes
of the Armagh library property. In the absence of a detailed survey of
small Irish collections to match the example set by N. R. Ker's
magisterial Medieval manuscripts in British libraries, this
study traces the crucial role played by Reeves in the history of
several important manuscripts and early books now in Armagh Public
Library.
KEYWORDS: Armagh Public Library and archiepiscopal registry, Lord John
George Beresford, Book of Armagh, James H. Todd, John O'Donovan,
archbishop Richard Robinson, Lodge manuscripts, Annals of
Clonmacnoise, Conell Mageoghagan, Michael Ignatius Dugan, Roderick
O'Flaherty, Walter Harris, Sir James Ware, Richard Pynson, John
Lydgate's Fall of Princes, Pontigny manuscripts, Abbé
Joseph Felix Allard, Sir Thomas Phillipps, Rabanus Maurus
commentaries.
John Thompson, School of English, Queen's University of Belfast,
Belfast BT7 1NN
8950 words. Peritia 10 (1996) 363-80. Turnhout:Brepols. ISBN
2-503-50574-0
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