RAWLINSON B 502with introduction and indexes, was published by Kuno
Meyer. The manuscript is described in great detail by
Brian Ó Cuív (2001) and his description has been
drawn on heavily below. There are a total of 175 folios,
which also includes binder’s leaves. There are two
vellum sections that were originally independent of
one another. Their combination in this volume together
with the paper leaves is due to Sir James Ware (1594
−
1666), auditor general under the English administra-
tion in Ireland. During his lifetime, Ware was very
active in collecting manuscripts, both in Irish and in
Latin, and in using them in his historical researches.
Rawlinson B 502 is one of thirteen manuscripts in the
bequest of Richard Rawlinson that were part of the
collection of Irish manuscript material built up over a
number of years by Ware.
First Vellum Section
There are twelve folios in the first vellum section,
foliated as folios one through twelve that would seem
to date from the late eleventh or early twelfth centuries.
Writing is in two columns. Incomplete text at begin-
ning and end suggests the original manuscript is likely
to have been much more extensive. It contains a frag-
ment of the “Irish World-Chronicle,” a Latin-Irish
chronicle of ancient world history based on Latin
sources, mainly Eusebius, Orosius, and Bede. The text
is in a fairly large and careful minuscule script. Various
features of the text have led some scholars to conclude
that one scribe wrote the first four folios and a second
scribe wrote the remaining eight. The second scribe
also added many textual glosses in both sections.
Glosses were also added by at least two other scribes.
It would seem to be the case that this section of the
manuscript was glossed, and possibly written, in a
scriptorium attached to the church of Clonmacnoise.
Second Vellum Section
The second vellum section, foliated as folios nineteen
through eighty-nine, consists of seventy-one folios and
consists mainly of material in the Irish language. Ó
Cuív has postulated eight gatherings for this section.
A number of leaves have been lost. The writing is
generally in two columns, but there are exceptions.
Genealogical material, for example, is in many
instances set out over the full page divided into more
than two columns. Care taken with the preparation of
the vellum, neatness of presentation of the various
texts, and the structured order and quality of its deco-
ration indicate that this section of Rawlinson B 502 is
the surviving part of one of the finest medieval Irish
illuminated manuscripts and the most magnificent of
the extant manuscripts containing for the most part
material in the Irish language. Its decoration indicates
that this manuscript was carefully planned from the
outset. Splendid examples of script and decorative fea-
tures from this section of the manuscript may be seen
in the Catalogue of the Irish Language Manuscripts
in the Bodleian Library (cf.Brian Ó Cuív [2003],
plates 15
−21). Apart from the decoration, the whole
manuscript seems to be the work of one scribe who
wrote a very neat and regular hand using minuscule
letters for the most part, but with majuscule or larger
letters in conjunction with minuscule in some texts.Date and Place of Composition of Second
Vellum Section
There are no scribal notes to indicate even approxi-
mately the date or place of writing of this manuscript.
Ó Cuív observes that comparison with similar manu-
scripts of known date on the basis of script, layout,
and illumination as well as linguistic features would
suggest a date about the end of the eleventh century
or the beginning of the twelfth. He also points out,
however, that the evidence of some of the versified
king lists points to a date well into the twelfth century.
The last king of Connacht listed, for example, is Taird-
elbach Ua Conchobair, who reigned from 1106 to- Many of the texts in this section reflect a special
interest in Leinster history and prehistory, which
would point to compilation in a Leinster monastery.
Places suggested are Glendalough in County Wicklow
and Killeshin in County Laois. It has been argued by
Pádraig Ó Riain that these seventy-one folios are what
remain of a manuscript known as Lebar Glinne Dá
Locha (The Book of Glendalough), a source quoted in
later manuscript sources. It has been argued by Cao-
imhín Breatnach and Brian Ó Cuív, however, that this
is not the case. As part of his argument Breatnach has
pointed out that the title Saltair na Rann(The Psalter
of Verses), the title of the first text in the extant manu-
script, was applied to the manuscript by seventeenth-
century scholars, one of whom was James Ware.
Breatnach and Ó Cuív also pointed out that some of
these scholars also cite Lebar Glinne Dá Locha as one
of their manuscript sources. It is most unlikely that
two different titles would have been applied to the one
manuscript contemporaneously by these scholars.
Contents of Second Vellum Section
At the beginning of this section (folios nineteen
through forty-six) is a medley of prose and verse texts