Peritia: Volume 9 (1995)
FIVE EXPERIMENTS IN TEXTUAL RECONSTRUCTION AND ANALYSIS
DAVID HOWLETT
ABSTRACT. This is an edition and detailed analysis of six complex early
Celtic-Latin texts - a note on the Irish reception of the computus, a
part of Cummian's Paschal letter, the incipit of the Egloga and
the whole text of the Lorica of Laidcenn mac Baíth, Cú
Chuimne's hymn Cantemus in omni die, and the learned poem Adelphus
adelpha mater. The analysis draws attention to their elaborate and intricate
structure and the metrical and linguistic skills of their authors. It further
demonstrates that their Latin represents correct Classical and Late Latin usage.
KEYWORDS: Medieval Latin, Irish Latin, early medieval poetry, hymnology,
metrics, rhythmic prose, stylistics, Greek, Hebrew, Mo Chuoróc, Cummian,
Laidcenn (mac Baíth), Cú Chuimne, Israel Grammaticus.
David Howlett, Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, Bodleian
Library, Oxford OX1 3BG. howlett@vax.ox.ac.uk
18802 words
Peritia 9 (1995) 1-50 Turnhout: Brepols ISBN 2-503-50468-X VIRGIL THE GRAMMARIAN: A SPANISH JEW IN IRELAND?
MICHAEL HERREN
ABSTRACT. This is a detailed critique of two closely-linked theories on the
origins and linguistic background of Virgilius the Grammarian. Bischoff, in a
recent essay, expands on his earlier idea that Virgil was of Jewish origin, came
from Spain or Septimania, and sojourned in Ireland. He argued that Virgil grew
up in Hebrew and was acquainted with cabalistic techniques. Moreover, the
infuences of Vulgar Latin in his work point to a Continental rather than Irish
origin. In developing this last point, Bischoff builds on arguments advanced by
Bengt Löfstedt in a series of papers written in the early 1980s
KEYWORDS: Virgil the Grammarian (Virgilius Maro Grammaticus), Hebrew
language, cabbala, Hiberno-Latin, Vulgar Latin, Ars Sergilii, Spain, Septimania,
Ireland, medieval studies, medieval languages.
Michael Herren, 704 Atkinson College, York University, 4700 Keele Street,
North York, Ontario M3J 1P3
9763 words
Peritia 9 (1995) 51-71 Turnhout: Brepols ISBN 2-503-50468-X
INSULAR LATIN IDAMA, IDUMA
DAVID HOWLETT
ABSTRACT. This paper treats of the origin and use of Insular Latin idama,
iduma `hand'. It occurs in Altus Prosator, a poem composed probably
about the middle of the seventh century. The central word of a central line of
its central stanza, spelled idama in all four of the oldest extant
manuscripts, from the ninth and tenth centuries, correctly represents the vowel
a, of yadaim, the dual form of yad `hand'. As
open-topped a is easily confused with u in Insular minuscule
script, the word is spelled iduma in three eleventh-century manuscripts,
one of which glosses it correctly as manus and derives it correctly from
Hebrew. In the form iduma it appears in Laidcenn's Lorica and in
the Hisperica Famina, in which it is also glossed correctly. It is used
in English charters of the tenth and (possibly) eleventh centuries in the same
sense as in Altus Prosator.
KEYWORDS: Insular Latin, Hebrew, Greek, Altus Prosator, Hisperica
Famina, Laidcend, Aldhelm, Anglo-Saxon charters, idama, iduma.
David Howlett, Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, Bodleian
Library, Oxford OX1 3BG. howlett@vax.ox.ac.uk
3477 words
Peritia 9 (1995) 72-80 Turnhout: Brepols ISBN 2-503-50468-X THE POLYPHONIC COLOPHON TO CORMAC'S PSALTER
DAVID HOWLETT
ABSTRACT. This essay considers Cormac's verses first as a composition in a
Celtic Latin tradition seven hundred years long, second as a learned composition
in three-part polyphonic music, of which it is an early, if not the earliest,
extant example, third as part of an ancient tradition of music-making among
Insular Celtic peoples.
KEYWORDS: Insular Latin, psalter, medieval music, polyphony, Cormac,
Giraldus Cambrensis, Sarum rite.
David Howlett, Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, Bodleian
Library, Oxford OX1 3BG. howlett@vax.ox.ac.uk
3768 words; 2 figures
Peritia 9 (1995) 81-91 Turnhout: Brepols ISBN 2-503-50468-X. AFFILIATION OF CHILDREN: IMMATHCHOR nAILELLA & AIRT
JOHAN CORTHALS
ABSTRACT.
This is an edition and translation of an Old-Irish legal text, dating
probably from c.700, and describing a lawsuit on the assignment of twins, after
their mother Sadb had been repudiated by their father Ailill Aulomm. A decision
is reached on the basis of principles governing marriage and an ordeal is
avoided. The legal proceedings are represented as being conducted in a highly
artistic style, commonly called rosc or retoiric in Irish
studies, and deriving from late antique and medieval rhetoric.
KEYWORDS: Old Irish, medieval literature, literary registers, rhetoric,
metrics, legal proceedings, marriage law, ordeals, political aetiology
Johan Corthals, Universität Hamburg, Bogenallee 11, D-20144 Hamburg.
johcort@rrz-cip-1.uni-hamburg.de
16631 words Peritia 9 (1995) 92-124
Turnhout: Brepols ISBN 2-503-50468-X. THE STATUS OF THE SCULPTOR IN OLD-IRISH LAW AND THE EVIDENCE OF THE
CROSSES
DOUGLAS MAC LEAN
ABSTRACT.The high legal and social status of the craftman and the
relationship between a master craftsman and his dependents and apprentices are
set out in the eighth-century legal tracts (especially Uraicecht becc)
and in the later commenaries. The texts also deal with hierarchies amongst
craftsmen, their various skills as builders in wood and stone, and their
payment. The carpenters of the older texts become the stone-masons of the
later, and this indicates a transition from wood to stone as the principal
material of construction, the artifactual evidence for which is studied. The
makers of the high-crosses at Kinnitty, Clonmacnois, Iona and elsewhere are
considered in the context of the law tracts.
KEYWORDS: craftsmen, legal status, hierarchy, Uraicecht becc, high
crosses, Kinnitty, Clonmacnois, Kells, Iona, Scottish crosses.
Douglas Mac Lean, 14 Campus Circle, Lake Forest, IL 60045, USA
16266 words
Peritia 9 (1995) 125-55 Turnhout: Brepols ISBN 2-503-50468-X. IRISH LAW: SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS AND THE LAW OF STATUS
NEIL MCLEOD
ABSTRACT. Early Irish law texts appear frequently to draw upon a particular
numerical series. The numbers in this series are 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 30. In status
texts this series is supplemented by the numbers 2, 20, 42. A method for
generating these numbes is suggested. This method also provides a solution to
anomalies in the ordering of grades in some texts.
KEYWORDS: Early Irish law, numerical series, honour prices, secular status,
church grades
Neil McLeod, School of Law, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia
6150. mcleod@central.murdoch.edu.au
4062 words Peritia 9 (1995) 156-66
Turnhout: Brepols ISBN 2-503-50468-X. IMMORTALITY AND CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: PATRISTIC CONCEPTS IN IRISH LAW
DAMIAN BRACKEN
ABSTRACT: An early legal poem is the centre-piece in the pseudo-historical
introduction to the Senchas Már. It is the work of a cleric and
is described as a skilful justification of capital punishment in a christian
context. The poet uses the complex theology of the Fall and Redemption in a
creative way and his work can only be interpreted in the context of
Hiberno-Latin and patristic literature. The poem is not symptomatic of christian
influence on the Laws in a merely unfocused sense. Rather it is the product of
the same ecclesiastical milieux that produced Hiberno-Latin literature itself.
KEYWORDS: Law, medieval law, immortality, Bible, theology, redemption, the
Fall, capital punishment, patristics, biblical commenary, biblical exegesis
Damian Bracken, Department of History, University College, Cork. d.bracken@ucc.ie
9735 words Peritia 9 (1995) 167-86 Turnhout: Brepols ISBN
2-503-50468-X. LATIN PASSAGES IN IRISH VERNACULAR LAW: NOTES ON SOURCES
DAMIAN BRACKEN
ABSTRACT: Latin sentences and phrases are found in the early Irish
vernacular Laws (ranging from Old-Irish commentaries to later gloss and
commentary). Some sentences have parallels in the Hibernensis, itself
related to earlier Hiberno-Latin florilegia. At times, the evidence suggests
that the vernacular legists are drawing directly on Hiberno-Latin literature
rather than the Hibernensis. These and other collections of aphorisms
were, therefore, important for the early Irish canonists and of continued
interest to the legists who wrote the vernacular Laws and comentaries.
KEYWORDS: Law, Irish vernacular law, florilegium, Hibernensis,
Hiberno-Latin, Bible, biblical exegesis, Sedulius Scottus
Damian Bracken, Department of History, University College, Cork.
d.bracken@ucc.ie
4526 words Peritia 9 (1995) 187-96
Turnhout: Brepols ISBN 2-503-50468-X. TRANSFORMING WOMEN IN IRISH HAGIOGRAPHY
ELVA JOHNSTON
ABSTRACT. The transformation of women is a common motif in early Irish
literature. Three aspects will be dealt with, using mainly hagiographical
sources. Initially there will be an exploration of the image of the sovereignty
goddess. This will be followed by a discussion of the notion of a woman
possessing a masculine soul, and finally, of the evidence for the transvestite
saint. It will be argued that these represent aspects of the Irish church's
ideology.
KEYWORDS: transformation, hagiography, saga, Eithne Úathach, Finbarr,
prophecy, temptress, masculine soul, transvestites, warriors.
Elva Johnston, Christ Church, Oxford OX1 1DP
elva.johnston@christ-church.ox.ac.uk
10901 words Peritia 9
(1995) 197-220 Turnhout: Brepols ISBN 2-503-50468-X. IRON WORKING FROM SOME EARLY MEDIEVAL IRISH SITES
MARK E. HALL
ABSTRACT. This is a metallographic study of some ferrous tools and weapons
from three Irish sites (Gransha, Killerdadrum, and Moyne). While steel was used
in most of the artifacts, not all steel was fully hardened and heat-treated.
This variability in the quality of the cutting edges is also seen in Anglo-Saxon
tools and weapons.
KEYWORDS: iron-working, ferrite, forge welding, pearlite, martensite,
manufacturing style, technological style.
Mark E. Hall, Archaeological Research Facility, Kroeber Hall, University of
California, Berkeley CA 94720
3143 words; 7 figures Peritia 9 (1995)
221-33 Turnhout: Brepols ISBN 2-503-50468-X. THE MISERABLE BEASTS - ANIMAL ART IN THE GOSPELS OF LINDISFARNE,
LICHFIELD AND ST GALLEN 51
SUSANNE MARX
ABSTRACT. This paper studies the animal art in the three gospel books - Lindisfarne,
Lichfield and St Gallen 51 - and draws the conclusions that three
different artists produced the animal art in the Lichfield Gospels and that, as
far as animal art goes, there are marked similarities between Lichfield,
Lindisfarne and St Gallen 51.
KEYWORDS: Lindisfarne Gospels, Lichfield Gospels, St Gallen 51, gospel
books, Insular art, animal art, statistical analysis, typology.
Susanne Marx, Endenicher Allee 27, D-53121 Bonn, Germany
2933 words; 8
figures Peritia 9 (1995) 234-45 Turnhout: Brepols ISBN 2-503-50468-X. THE WIRKSWORTH SLAB: AN ICONOGRAPHY OF HUMILITAS
JANE HAWKES
ABSTRACT. Iconographic studies of the Anglo-Saxon carving at Wirksworth,
Derbyshire, have provided widely differing dates and interpretations. The
identity and possible sources of the scenes are here re-examined, along with any
implications this exercise may have for dating the piece. Consequent to this,
the possible significance(s) of the scenes which could have influenced their
selection and arrangement on the stone are discussed, demonstrating the
potential for a female audience at Wirksworth.
KEYWORDS: Anglo-Saxon, art, sculpture, christian culture, ecclesiology,
exegesis, iconography, liturgy, monasticism
Jane Hawkes, Dept English Literary and Linguistic Studies, University of
Newcastle, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 7RU
14439 words; 12 figures Peritia
9 (1994) 246-89 Turnhout: Brepols ISBN 2-503-50468-X. THE HIBERNO-LATIN TRADITION OF THE EVANGELISTS AND THE GOSPELS OF MAEL
BRIGTE
JENNIFER O'REILLY
ABSTRACT. The paper draws attention to a short exegetical text on the four
evangelists inserted in the twelfth-century gospels of Mael Brigte (London,
British Library, Harley 1802) and its close parallels with Hiberno-Latin
compilations of the eighth century. The text's position within the exegetical
tradition and its apparently arbitrary position within the manuscript are
discussed. Harley's preservation not only of earlier exegesis but of many
features characteristic of early Insular gospel-books offers evidence of Irish
monastic cultural traditions which were still alive and understood in the
decades before the Norman invasion.
KEYWORDS: Hiberno-Latin exegesis, the Irish Reference Bible, Insular
iconography, evangelist symbols, biblical text.
Jennifer O'Reilly, Department of History, University College, Cork
6486 words; 3 plates Peritia 9 (1995) 290-309 Turnhout: Brepols ISBN
2-503-50468-X. THE VIKINGS AND THE KINGSHIP OF TARA
BART JASKI
ABSTRACT. The influence of the Vikings on political developments in Ireland
from c.850 to 980 was considerable, and they contributed significantly to the
decline of the Uí Néill as the paramount dynasty. On several
occasions they served as mercenaries or allies of Irish kings who resisted the
power of the king of Tara, and they were responsible for the killing of Niall Glúndub
(919), one of the most powerful kings of Tara, his son Muirchertach when
he was about to succeed as king of Tara in 943, Ruaidri ua Canannáin in
like circumstances in 950, and Conglach Cnogba, the king of Tara from Brega, in
956. The unrest and rivalry this caused among the Uí Néill made
them lose their grip on political affairs and allowed the emergence of a new
political order marked by the rise of new dynasties such as Uí Briúin
Bréifne and Dál Cais. From c.950 onwards the Dublin Vikings were a
dominant political force in the east, and were confined to a secondary role only
after their defeat in 980, although their killing of Brian Bóroime in
1014 underlines once more their role as catalysts in Irish politics.
KEYWORDS: medieval political history, kingship, Vikings, Viking raiding,
medieval warfare, Ireland, Uí Néill, Dublin.
Bart Jaski, Larikslaan 5, NL-7875 AV Exloo, Netherlands
21421 words
Peritia 9 (1995) 310-53 Turnhout: Brepols ISBN 2-503-50468-X. COGAD GÁEDEL RE GALLAIB: SOME DATING CONSIDERATIONS
MÁIRE NÍ MHAONAIGH
ABSTRACT. Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib is now generally regarded
as a skilful piece of political propaganda written at the behest of a direct
descendant of Brian Bórama. By highlighting such indicators regarding
date as exist in the text itself and by examining in particular apparent
references to Muirchertach Ua Briain (d.1119) contained in the text, it is
shown that Cogad was most likely composed between the years 1103 and
1113.
KEYWORDS: medieval history, Vikings, text history, twelfth-century writing,
stylistics, Middle Irish, Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib, Armagh, Mide,
Cork, Brian Bórama, Muirchertach Ua Briain.
Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, St John's College, Cambridge CB2 1TP
mnm21@hermes.cam.ac.uk
11044 words Peritia 9 (1995) 354-77
Turnhout: Brepols ISBN 2-503-50468-X. OSTMEN, IRISH AND WELSH IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY
SEÁN DUFFY
ABSTRACT. Recent work on Hiberno-Welsh relations in the eleventh century
asserts that contacts between the countries rarely amounted to more than raids
by Irish-based Vikings, and that these raids followed a pattern, often taken
place after defeats inflicted on the Ostmen in Ireland. It is argued that this
interpretation is flawed, that relations between Ireland and Wales were more
complex, that both Ostmen and Irish kings had close political links with Wales,
and that the text Historia Gruffud vab Kenan is a useful primary source
for the subject.
KEYWORDS: Vikings, Ostmen, Ireland, Dublin, Wales, Gwynedd, Irish annals,
Brutiau, Brian Bóruma, Sitriuc Silkenbeard, Muirchertach Ua
Briain, Gruffudd ap Cynan, Historia Gruffud vab Kenan
Seán Duffy, Department of Medieval History, Trinity College, Dublin 2
9495 words Peritia 9 (1995) 378-96 Turnhout: Brepols ISBN
2-503-50468-X. |
