Catalogue of Gaelic Manuscripts in the National Library of Scotland
© Ronald Black, 2011
Adv. LS 72.1.28
(Gaelic MS.XXVIII). HISTORICAL, MYTHOLOGICAL
Mackinnon, pp.113, 138; Mackechnie, p.169.
15–16th cent. Vellum. 7 ff. Oblong quarto, 15.5 × 23.5 cms. and under. A gathering, stitched by a thong; f. 4 is a single wedge-shaped leaf, smaller than the rest and bound in back to front. Written in single columns, largely unruled. The chief hand is no.1 of Adv.MS.72.1.6 – medium to large in size and generally ugly, its chief characteristics being a lack of curves and the downward tendency of many strokes, particularly noticeable in “g” and “t”. Two hand without these characteristics relieve it at ff. 3, 6v and 7r. Marginalia are mainly by these secondary hands: “amen” (passim), letters of alphabet (1v, 3v), “abair” (5r, 6r), “ma beandacht” (5v), “cenn” (6r), “comaimsir” (6r). Kilbride no.18 by Major MacLachlan’s enumeration (“18 Historical”, f. 1r); no.24 by Hugh Kerr’s. The latter’s name or initials appear on every leaf. The manuscript was lost in an Edinburgh street in 1864 by Rev. Dr. Thomas McLauchlan. In 1888, the label having been removed from its cloth cover, it was gifted by an old man to Rev. Colin Campbell, Dundee, in return for a favour. Campbell showed it to W.A. Craigie of St. Andrews, who made transcription; in 1899 he published the text of f. 5, q.v. In 1893 Craigie was shown the Kilbride collection by Mackinnon, and the two men realised that Campbell’s manuscript was the one lost in 1864. It was thereupon returned to the Advocates’ Library and examined by Mackinnon. His subsequent report (6 ff. ) and his letter to J.T. Clark, Keeper of the Library, 29 November 1893 (2 ff. ), both including detailed descriptions of the manuscript, are kept with it. It is smoked and stained, but has suffered little textual loss except on the outsides, large parts of which (especially f. 7v) are illegible. Foliation modern.
f.
1 r1 Poem (?acephalous) of about 7 qq. Appears to end “ni iagh m’aineol” with dúnadh Maine.
1 r10 SYNCHRONISMS OF IRISH KINGS. Beg. Comaimser righ nEirenn and seo ⁊ righ na coicedh iar crei(tim). Ed. Boyle, Celtica 9, p.169.
2 v7 Enna dalta Cairpri cruaidh, 46 qq. f. 3v (margin): “da roinn anadhaid acht rann”.
3 v8 Calendar notes. Beg. In bliadain .i. v. laithe ⁊ viii. xx. dec indti ⁊ vi. huaire ⁊ la imarcaidh sa bliadain bis ind tosach ar cailendtoir. Lists saints’ days, followed (3v25) by golden Fridays.
4 r1 See 4v17.
4 r10 Alliterative passage on the prosperity of Ireland during a certain reign, preceded by abbreviations. Beg. G.m.m. ⁊ g. ⁊ c.m. ⁊ da Art 7 d.d. ⁊ 1. ⁊ druim 1.b.ach brrder g c. G.G.b.b.m.s.s. ⁊ fl.f. b.m. ⁊ gl.d.d.f. ⁊ n.d.con.ll.eoch.e n.f. dainghamh robsad boga biadhcomorda blaithledmara breithcerta.
4 v1 A liubair ata ar do lar, 18 qq.
4 v17 Ata sunn sencas nach suaill, 17 qq. Ends 4r10.
5 r1 CAIRPRE CINDCHAIT AND THE AITHECHTUATHA. Beg. Righ arnaidh uramanda edrochair da gab righe nErend ar eigein. Ed. Craigie, RC 20, p.335. Cf. Adv.MS.72.1.50, f. 7v7; Ó Raithbheartaigh, Genealogical Tracts 1, pp.vi-vii, 107–32; Adv. ms73.1.16, f. 61r.
6 r1 LAMENTATION OF OILILL ÓLOM. Beg. As ann sin doriacht Anraigh gilla Oilella go sgelaib an catha leis do go faisneis a uilc ⁊ a imnig d’Oilill. Followed 7r13 by Beir mo sgiath fa sgiath re huath, 11 qq. Ed. Dillon, SGS 6, p.1. f. 7v largely illegible.