Birr and its environs, the heartland of insular script

THE rich literary heritage of manuscripts such as Psalters, Gospels and Missals which were produced in the monasteries of Birr, Terryglass, Roscrea, Clonmacnoise, Durrow, Lorrha and Inishcealtra were highlighted in talks given by Dr Donnacha MacGabhann and Dr Joseph Flahive during their recent visit to Birr Library.

The arrival of Christianity in the fifth century, brought writing and the language of the Church of Rome was Latin. Dr Flahive spoke about the palaeography of handwriting styles and the development of handwriting found in the manuscripts (Insular inscriptions), for example, The Book of Dimma, The Stowe Missal and Book of Durrow. He also spoke about, the Irish tradition which dominated intellectual life in this island until the coming of the Vikings (9th c) and which flourished until the Norman invasion in 1169.

Dr MacGabhann spoke about his study of manuscripts which led him to write a book about the Book of Kells. He talked about his detailed study of the Latin handwriting and style of letter forms, found in the MacRegol Gospels (Four Gospels in Latin) – analysing both the original vellum manuscript in the Bodleian Library, Oxford and the Facsimile in Birr Library. His research raised questions about the number of scribes who made the MacRegol Gospels and his findings reveal that there are two scribes evident in the original Latin manuscript.

The MacRegol Gospels ended up in England towards the end of the 9th century. In the second half of the 10th century, two priests ‘Farman the priest at Harewood’ and Owun added in Old English text. This gloss is the second oldest surviving translation of the Four Gospels in the English language, after Aldred’s gloss in the Lindisfarne Gospels. He mentioned that Margaret Hogan, local Historian and retired English teacher, would agree with him, that the English translation found in the MacRegol Gospels is an important source for students learning about the origin of the English language.

Dr MacGabhann and Dr Flahive both drew attention to the unique stories associated with the ancient manuscripts, the people who wrote them, the books themselves and the wealth of Irish monasteries. If a bright blue colour was present, this was made from Lapis which came from Iran. Scribes had to know how to grind the pigments to make colours. Both presentations were supported by very detailed beautiful images of script from different manuscripts and the audience could see very clearly the examples of writing/letter styles.

At the end of the evening, Dr MacGabhann thanked the staff of Birr Library for their warm welcome to Birr Library, Dr Flahive for joining him in making the presentation on manuscripts, Birr Historical Society for their support and members of the audience for their interest. He presented a copy of his book, The Book of Kells – A Masterwork Revealed to Birr Library.