St Aidens ~ The Book of Armagh

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The Book of Armagh (Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS 52)
is a 9th century Irish manuscript. It is also known as the
Canon of Patrick and the Liber Ar(d)machanus. It contains
some of the oldest surviving specimens of Old Irish.

The manuscript was thought to have belonged to St.
Patrick and, at least in part, to be a product of his hand.
Research has determined that at least part, if not all, of
the manuscript was the work of scribe named
Ferdomnach of Armagh (died 845 or 846). Ferdomnach
wrote the first part of the book in 807 or 808.

There are 221 folios of vellum. It measures 7.75 inches by
5.75 inches. The text is written in two columns in a fine
pointed insular minuscule. The manuscript contains four
miniatures, one each of the four Evangelist's symbols.
Some of the letters have been coloured red, yellow,
green, or black. The manuscript is associated with a
tooled-leather satchel, believed to be of great antiquity.

The manuscript contains important early texts relating to
St. Patrick. These include two Lives of St. Patrick, one by
Muirchu Maccu Machteni and one by Tírechán. Both texts
were originally written in the 7th century. The manuscript
also includes other miscellaneous works about St. Patrick
including the Liber Angueli (or the Book of the Angel), in
which St. Patrick is given the primatial rights of Armagh by
an angel. Some of these texts are in Old Irish and are the
earliest surviving continuous prose narratives in that
language. The only Old Irish texts of greater age are some
fragmentary glosses found in manuscripts on the continent.

The manuscript also includes significant portions of the
New Testament including the Epistles of St. Paul, the
Epistles of James, Peter, John, and Jude, the Book of
Revelation, and the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, John, and
Luke. There is also prefatory matter including prefaces to
Paul's Epistles (most of which are by Pelagius), the Canon
Tables of Eusebius, and St. Jerome's letter to Damasus. The
manuscript closes with the Life of St. Martin of Tours, by
Sulpicius Severus. The New Testament texts are based on
the Vulgate, but with variations characteristic of insular
texts.

The people of medieval Ireland placed a great value on
this manuscript. It was one of the symbols of the office for
the Archbishop of Armagh. The custodianship of the book
was an important office that eventually became
hereditary in the MacMoyre family. It remained in the
hands of the MacMoyre family until the late 17th century.
By 1707 it was in the possession of the Brownlow family of
Lurgan. It remained in the Brownlow family until 1853 when
it was sold to the an Irish antiquary, Dr. Reeves. In 1853,
Reeves sold it to the Anglican Primate of Ireland, who
presented it to Trinity College, Dublin.

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