Irish Script on Screen

MS 1314/4

COMPUTUS

15th cent. Vellum. 1 leaf of irregular shape (29.5 × 2.5–21 cms), with curved outer edge, and with lower edge tapering into narrow tail, now curling backwards onto verso. No pagination. Numbers ‘1314/4’ on f. [1]r, upper margin, ‘H.2.12 / No 10’ and ‘1314/4’ (in pencil, cancelled) on f. [1]v, upper margin. No scribal signature.

Housed in paper folder marked ‘MS 1314/4’ (in pencil) and ‘formerly 1309^* / [Abbott and Gwynn]’ (in pencil) on front cover.

Double columns, 49–52 lines, ruled in dry point. Section-incipits in Latin, with first three lines of opening incipit, and first line of following incipits, in display script. Space reserved for 6-line opening initial ‘A’ at f. [1]ra1, for 1-line initial ‘A’ at f. [1]rb45, and for 3-line initial ‘A’ at f. [1]va31, but initials not filled in; space reserved for 1-line initial ‘N’ at f. [1]rb26 otiose. Pricking for double columns with single inner and outer bounding lines, and for line between columns, visible in upper and lower margins at edge of text area; pricking for horizontal text lines visible in outer margin near text area.

Leaf mutilated, a sizeable portion of its lower two thirds having been torn away along the inner edge; consequent loss of text from f. [1]ra12 onwards, progressing in severity, with only the final letters of f. [1]rax–z now remaining; corresponding loss on verso, column b, ll. 13–z. Hole in upper quarter towards centre with slight loss of text on f. [1]ra4–7 and [1]vb5–7; upper inner corner torn and damaged with slight loss of text on f. [1]vb1–2. General staining, heaviest on recto.

[1]ra. [Johannes de Pulcro Rivo, Compilatio elucidans compotum manualem, composed at Paris, a. 1289. (TK 41)] Beg. [A]dabendum ciclum solarem secundum Ger[? ala]ndum siue literam Domnecalem et cetera .i. dfagbail an cigail grianda ⁊ na litreach Domnaighi <...> / in da ni sin doreir anughduir darub ainm <...> / ⁊ doreir anadbair sin trialltar in leburso ⁊ c<...> / so tís ris sin. Breaks off with f. [1]v Et bid a <...> / ainm<...> / fear<...> / [...] <...>. Ed. and trans. in BM Cat. i, pp. 287–320 (§§ 1–34) from BL MS Cotton Appendix li, ff. 1ra1–5va21 [excluding ff. 1rb35–va5, 2va31–b8 and 3rb32–va9 (immediately following §§ 3.17, 15.4 and 20.12 of printed text, respectively). Note that: (a) BL MS Cotton Galba A.V, f. 63 [order of text: f. 63v–r] comprises a fragment of f. 4 of Cotton Appendix li: see Martin McNamara, The Psalms in the Early Irish Church (Sheffield 2000) 154–6; (b) date 1406 cited in Cotton Appendix li, f. 4ra10–12 [= BM Cat. p. 307.34–5 (§ 24)] may be date of translation of this computus into Irish; and (c) date 1289 cited in Cotton Appendix li, f. 1va9 and 18–19 [= TCD 1314/4, f. [1]rb27 (for ‘.c.’ ibid., leg. ‘.c.c.’) and 35, respectively], that is, date of composition of Latin text (TK 41), mistranscribed as 1589 at BM Cat. p. 290.22–3 and 30–31 (§ 4); hence 1589 cited at BM Cat. p. 285.5 as year of writing of Cotton Appendix li.] Text here corresponds to Cotton Appendix li, ff. 1ra1–2rb28 (breaking off at p. 297.10 (§ 12.9) of printed text).