Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 2.djvu/72

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [12 s. n. JULY 22,

Magdalen, the names of the Twelve Apostles, the rites of the Church, the letters of the alphabet, divination, &c. There does not appear to have been any account hitherto published of this manu- script. Some of the poems which it contains are the only productions at present known of their authors, and the volume may be regarded as a valuable accession to the collections or the native literature of Ireland of the 14th century."

Twenty-one years later (1892) Sir J. T. Gilbert referred to the MS. in the Thirteenth Report (p. 56), hoping, " so soon as the arrangements of your Commissioners will permit, to procee'd." But well-nigh two more decades elapsed with still no sign of the promised second report, and in my then ignorance of Dr. Quiggin's paper, I communicated, in May, 1911, with the Right Hon. the O' Conor Don as a preliminary agitation for the ultimate translating and editing of this remarkable manuscript. The reply was prompt and encouraging. I cull a few sentences therefrom which contribute to its history :

"I had no difficulty whatever in identifying the MS. to which you refer. It is kept in a safe here [Clonalis, Castlerea, co. Roscommon], and, although very much discoloured, is in a good state of pre- servation. I have, in addition, a beautifully xecuted facsimile copy of the original, which is an exact copy even down to the formation of the letters. The copy, which would of course be the easiest to work with, is on parchment, and I had it bound a few months ago. Some portions of the original are now so black as to be almost impossible to decipher, but have been reproduced quite clearly in the copy. I believe my father, with the assist- ance of the late Dr. O'Donovan, had the copy made so as to preserve the record, as the original showed signs of failing. . . .If suitable arrangements could be made, I would be willing to lend the MS., subject to provision for its safe custody."

As a second effort to achieve my aim I .approached, in the following month, the Irish Texts Society through its secretary, Miss Eleanor Hull, by whom I was informed that " nothing could be done in the matter until we get the report from Prof. Quiggin as to the value to the public of these poems." Nigh on two years later (February, 1913) 'O'Longan's transcript, made in 1869, was happily " deposited for use in the Cambridge University Library," as Dr. Quiggin states above. As the deposit was made unknown to me, I again, in January, 1914, wrote to Miss Hull, who supplied me with additional interesting items concerning the MS. :

"I don't think it is being at all forgotten. Several poems from it have recently been pub- lished, and others will no doubt appear from time to time. Dr. Quiggin published a long poem from it last August in a collection of papers presented to Prof. Ridgeway on his sixtieth birthday. The book was for some time lent by the O'Conor Don to Dr. Hyde. He may have it still."

As a final move in my quest I addressed Dr. Quiggin himself, who, in referring me to his paper, added, with regard to the original MS. and O'Longan's copy :

"I examined it carefully at Castlerea in August, 1912. It is very difficult to read in parts, and is much stained. There are about forty leaves of vellum. The present O'Conor's father had a transcript of it made about 1870 by O'Longan, of which I myself have made a full copy. But as the pages of the original are so hard to decipher in parts, my transcript will have to be very carefully compared with the original as soon as an oppor- tunity arises. The earliest chieftain celebrated in any of the poems lived in the thirteenth century. These family books all contain poetry very difficult to interpret, and the compositions in this particular case are extremely tough. They will require a great deal of study, more especially as none of the pieces occur in any other collection as far as I am aware. It is my present intention to publish the whole text of the book if we survive this war. I am only waiting for leisure to pay another visit to Roscommon, and to traverse some of the region which your ancestors ruled over in order to

familiarize myself with the topography At this

moment my transcript is deposited in the strong room of my college."

Thus I reached the first goal of my ambition, in that an admittedly valuable manuscript is in prospect of rescue from an inglorious oblivion, and of deliverance to the world by competent hands.

A brief word on one or two other points of interest in Sir J. T. Gilbert's Report (ut supra).

1. Adam O'Cianain (or Cainain), the transcriber of the MS. But little is known of this apparently diligent scribe beyond these curt obits, under date 1373 :

" Four Masters : Adam O'Cianain, a Canon and learned historian, died at Lisgool."

" Annals of Ulster : Adam Ua Cianain died this year a Canon, after being tonsured by the Canons of Lisgabhail, on gaining victory from world and from demon."

" Annals of Loch Ce" : Adam O'Cianain, an eminent historian, died a Canon at Lisgabhail."

Applications to other sources for further items regarding this Seanachie only resulted in the following note from Prof. Bergin, of Dublin University College :

" I am sorry I have not been able to find out any information about O'Cianain beyond what is in the Annals. He seems to have been the scribe of part of a MS. numbered 23. 0. 4 in the Royal Irish Academy, for at the foot of p. 5 are the words: Adam O'Cianain do sgrib an diiain ' ('it was Adam O'Cianain who transcribed the poem'). O'Curry refers to this in his MS. Academy Cata- logue, p. 30, but he gives no particulars about the scribe, merely referring to the entry in F. M. 1373."

O'Curry also was of opinion, according to the editors of vol. ii. of ' Ancient Laws of Ireland,' that the " law tracts " in MS.