The ''Book of Ballymote'' (,
RIA MS 23 P 12, 275 foll.), was written in 1390 or 1391 in or near the town of
Ballymote, now in
County Sligo
County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...
, but then in the
tuath of
Corann.
According to
David Sellar who was the
Lord Lyon King of Arms
The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officer of State, Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scotland, Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry i ...
in Scotland, the ''Book of Ballymote'' was written from between 1384 and 1405. According to
Robert Anthony Welch, it was compiled in the late 14th century.
Production and history
This book was compiled towards the end of the 14th century at the castle of Ballymote for Tonnaltagh McDonagh, who was then in occupation of the castle. The chief compiler was Manus O'Duignan, one of a family who were
ollavs and
scribe
A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of Printing press, automatic printing.
The work of scribes can involve copying manuscripts and other texts as well as ...
s to the McDonagh and the McDermots. Other scribes of the book were Solomon O'Droma, a member of a famous County Fermanagh family, and a Robert McSheedy. The book is a compilation of older works, mostly loose manuscripts and valuable documents handed down from antiquity that came into possession of McDonagh.
The first page of the work contains a drawing of Noah's Ark as conceived by the scribe. The first written page is missing and the second opens with a description of the ages of the world.
Patrick and his household; Cormac's instructions to a king; and a physical and geological survey of Ireland. Part of the work is devoted to the sagas of
Finn and
Brian Boru
Brian Boru (; modern ; 23 April 1014) was the High King of Ireland from 1002 to 1014. He ended the domination of the High King of Ireland, High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill, and is likely responsible for ending Vikings, Viking invasio ...
, and the
Lebor na Cert (Book of Rights). It also contains treatises on the metre and the profession of a poet, and on the
Ogham writing and language. The book ends with several translations from Greek: the destruction of Troy and the wanderings of Ulysses, followed by a resume of Virgil's 'Aeneid', beginning with Nestor's speech to the Greeks.
The Book of Ballymote, like many of its kind, has made history by its wanderings. For over a hundred years it was a treasured possession of the McDonaghs of Corran. In 1522 it was purchased by the O'Donnells
with whom it remained until the
in 1603. From 1620 until 1767 it was in the library of Trinity College, Dublin. It disappeared from the library and was later found in Burgundy, France. In 1785 it was returned to the
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...
where it remained as one of the Academy's most treasured possessions. The work was photographed by the Academy in 1887 and two hundred copies of it were made. One copy is in the diocesan archives and others in libraries.
Description
The first page of the work contains a drawing of
Noah's Ark. The first written page is lost, and the second page describes the ages of the world.
*a life of
Saint Patrick (6r)
*a copy of the ''
Lebor Gabála Érenn
''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of Ireland's Taking"; Modern Irish spelling: ''Leabhar Gabhála Éireann'', known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'') is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language inten ...
'' (8r)
*''
Tecosca Cormaic'' "The Instructions of King Cormac" and other stories concerning king
Cormac mac Airt
*
Triads of Ireland
*stories of
Fionn Mac Cumhail and
Brian Bóruma
*various genealogies of clans and kings
**Christian kings of Ulster (34v)
**Christian kings of Leinster (35v)
**Christian kings of Connaught (37v)
**of the Munster families (97r)
**
Dál gCais
The Dalcassians ( ) are a Gaels, Gaelic Irish clan, generally accepted by contemporary scholarship as being a branch of the Déisi Muman, that became very powerful in Ireland during the 10th century. Their genealogies claimed descent from Tál ...
(102v)
*rules of the different measures of Irish versification (157r)
*the only known copy of the ''
Auraicept na n-Éces'', or "scholars' primer"(169r)
*the ''
Lebor na gCeart'' (Book of Rights) (181r)
The book ends with various Greek and Latin fragments on the fall of
Troy
Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...
, including a fragment of the ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...
''.
Editions
*
*O'Donovan, The Book of Rights, ed. and trans. 1847.
*The Book of Ballymote: Photographic facsimile with introduction by R. Atkinson, (Dublin 1887).
References
* McDonagh, James, ''History of Ballymote and the Parish of Emlaghfad'' (1998).
* Harrison, A.: 'Leabhar Bhaile an Mhóta ag tús an 18ú aois', Éigse 23 (1989), 147-50.
* Ó Concheanainn, T.: 'The Book of Ballymote', Celtica 14 (1981), 15-25.
External links
Royal Irish Academy description
(excerpt of McDonagh 1998)
(ria.ie)
Leabhar Bhaile an Mhóta
has digital images of the document.
Family History Library
also provides digital images of the document.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Book Of Ballymote
1390s books
Ballymote
Early Irish literature
Irish-language manuscripts
14th-century illuminated manuscripts
Texts in Irish
Royal Irish Academy Library
Irish-language literature