SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF DUALD MAC FIRBIS, THE TRANSCRIBER. Duald or Dudley MacFirbis was born about the year 1585, and probably at Lackan (Hillside) in Sligo. He spent part of his youth at the great historical and legal school kept by the MacEgans of Ormond. He also studied some time with the O'Davorens at Burren in Clare, about the year 1595. He had a knowledge of Latin and Greek, as is evident from his marginal explanations in his copy of "Cormac's Glossary," preserved in the library of Trinity College, Dublin. In 1645 we find Duald in Galway giving instructions to Roderic O'Flaherty, and John Lynch, the future author of "Cambrensis Eversus." His great work on genealogies, now in the possession of the Earl of Roden, was written in 1650 in the College of St. Nicholas, Galway. In 1655 he is found assisting Sir James Ware in his researches among the antiquities and ecclesiastic affairs of Ireland. He was for some time an inmate of this gentleman's house in Castle-street, as appears from a passage in Harris. - Dudley Firbisse an amanuensis whom Sir James Ware employed in his house to translate, and collect for him from the Irish manuscripts, one of whose pieces begins thus, viz.:-'This translation beginned was by Dudley Firbisse in the house of Sir James Ware in Castle-street, Dublin, 6th of November, 1666,' which was twentyfour days before the death of the said knight. I suppose," adds Harris, "the death of his patron put a stop to his further progress." Charles O'Connor of Belanagare, grandfather of Dr. O'Connor, editor of Tiernach's Chronicles, thus feelingly speaks of the profound and modest scholar : "Duald MacFirbis, the most eminent antiquarian of the latter times, was possessed of a considerable number of the Brethe Nimhe (Ancient Irish Laws). He alone could explain them, as he alone without patronage or assistance, entered into the depths of this part of Scottish learning, so extremely obscure to us of the present. When we mention MacFirbis, we are equally grieved and ashamed, his neglected abilities ignominious to his ungrateful country, his end tragical, hislossirreparable." The lot of our ill-starred archæologist was cast in evil times. Returning to his native province, he found no encouragement or patronage. His friend and pupil, Dr. John Lynch, had been obliged by the civil troubles to quit the country. Roderic O'Flaherty and others, who would befriend him if they could, were nearly as helpless as he himself. Of the condition of the last-named scholar, Thomas Molyneux thus speaks in his account of a journey into Connaught onnaught made in 1709. (Miscellany of the Irish Archæological Society, vol. i.) "I went to visit old Flaherty, who lives very old in a miserable condition at Park, some three hours' west of Galway in Hiar or West Connaught. I expected to have seen here some old Irish manuscripts, but his ill-fortune has stripped him of these as well as other goods, so that he has nothing now left but a few of his own writings and a few old rummish books of history printed." O'Flaherty was then in his eightieth year. Mr. Hennessy quotes from Mr. O'Curry's Lectures the untimely death of the estimable scholar in 1670. Had Disraeli been acquainted with the circumstances of his death it would surely have got a place as one of the saddest of his “Curiosities of Literature." Speaking of the legal and other attainments of MacFirbis, the editor says, — "In the art, for such it may be called, of correctly interpreting the very ancient phraseology of the Irish or Brehon laws he was without an equal. It was the opinion of Charles O'Connor, that all chance of rightly translating them passed away with him. He observes nearly as much himself, for in his observations on Irish authors, he observes that there were only three or four persons living in his time who understood a word of the subject, and they were the sons of Ollamhs of the territory of Connaught, in which province the ancient Irish customs and systems of jurisprudence continued longer than in the other divisions of Ireland. In proof of this, MacFirbis alleges in the abridged copy of his large genealogical work, that he knew Irish chieftains, who in his own time governed their septs according to the words of Fithal and the Royal Precepts. The Fithal alluded to was brehon or judge to Cormac MacAirt, King of Ireland in the third century, the reputed author of the Royal Precepts, or Teagasg Rioghdha of which various ancient copies are in existence." THE CHRONICLE AND ITS PECULIARITIES. The "Chronicum Scotorum" once belonged to Roderic O'Flaherty, but it is probable that it was not in his possession in 1709 when Molyneux paid him the visit above recorded. It afterwards belonged to Dr. O'Brien, R. C. Bishop of Cloyne, who died in France in 1769. It then passed through the hands of Colonel Vallancey and the elder O'Connor, whose grandson the learned editor of "Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," has published a description of it in the Stowe catalogue. The old annalists were very careful to mark their chronology. They would put down the date of the year, whether any memorable event had occurred in it or not. The chronicler marked the year by that day of the week on which the first day of January occurred. Thus Kal. ui (u for 2, this last letter being deficient in the Irish alphabet) implied that New Year's Day fell on the VIth day of the week, Friday. U (v) being easily mistaken for II (2), innumerable mistakes were committed by careless or incompetent scribes. Even the best of all our ancient histories, that of Tiernach swarms with blunders in regard to dates. An amusing peculiarity of this chronicle is the free and easy mixture of Latin and Irish in the text. A non-Irish reader looking at the subjoined extract would imagine all to be pure native. “C2.11. Cat ata Dapa για Laignit pop Laosaire in quo ipse captus est, red tunc dimirpur est, iurans per polem et uentum sé bouer eis dimirpupum." Yet here is the mixture in Roman type : "Kal. II. Cath atha Dara ria Laighnibh for Laoghaire, in quo captus est, sed tunc dimissus est, jurans per SOLEM et VENTUM se boves eis dimissurum." In plain English : "The battle of the Ford of Dara (gained) by the Lagenians over Laeré in which he himself was taken; but then he was liberated, swearing by the Sun and the WIND that he would forgive them the cattle (tribute)." Deaths being of occurrence in nearly every sentence or paragraph, it was desirable to the chronicler to have formulas expressive of the different modes of exit from this life. So the following expressions were generally adopted. Jugulatus est implied that the subject was murdered. Occisus est and Interfectus est insinuated that he fell in fair fight. When Mortuus est is used, we become aware of the peaceful death of a layman. Quievit was an honourable mode of relating the departure of an ecclesiastic. These Latin words were invariably written in the native characters. SOME EXTRACTS FROM THE CHRONICLE. Other chroniclers not only "began at the beginning" (of the world), but mingled the contemporary chronicles of all nations with their own. Our historian intent on confining his labours to the Scots alone, felt it imperative on him to apologize to his readers. This he did in the manner following : "Understand, reader, that for a certain reason and to avoid tediousness, what we desire is to make a short abstract and compendium of the history of the Scoti only in this copy, leaving out the lengthened details of the books of history. Wherefore it is that we entreat of you not to reproach us therefor, as we know that it is an ex ceeding great deficiency." The expression of the time from Adam to the Flood will instruct the English scholar in the Irish mode of numbering, the units being first mentioned with the objects following it, then the tens, then the hundreds, then the thousands. "There are six years, L. (fifty), six hundred, the amount I reckon, A great thousand I count from Adam to the Flood." The Abbot of Clonmacnois, whom for sake of ease and brevity we assume to be the compiler of our history, adopted the Hebrew instead of the Septuagint scheme of chronology, which last was generally admitted by other Irish scholars, who in all probability were nearer the truth. He never omits the bursting out of lakes and springs, a conspicuous feature in our old chronicles. In the year 460 we find the death of that Laeghaire whose escape has been mentioned on his adjuring the sun and wind that he would no more insist on the borumha (cow tribute). "Laeghaire son of Niall died On the side of Cais, -green its land, tee Inflicted the doom of death on the king." The death of St. Kiaran (founder of Clonmacnois) in the year 544 is thus recorded, "Ciaran the Great, son of the carpenter (Mac an tsair, hence MacIntire), quievit in the 33rd year of his age, in the seventh month also after he began to build Cluain Muc Nois. Beoid was the name of Ciaran's father, and Darerca the name of his mother as he himself said. "Darerca was my mother: The dispute of St. Colum Cille with King Diarmuid has been already re lated in the DUBLIN UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE. The king incurred the displeasure of the saint by slaying Cornan, grandson of the king of Connaught then under his (C. C.'s) protection, and the father of the slain youth assisted by other princes assailed the Ard Righ at Cuil Dreimne, and defeated him, St. Colum Cille praying on their side, and saying, "Oh, God Why dost thou not ward off the Mist, That we might reckon the number Of the host which has taken judg ment* from us, A host that marches round a cairn, In A.D. 565 is recorded the death (quies) of St. Brenainn of Bir, and a mysterious transaction, for whose explanation we have looked in the notes without any profit. "In this year the Muirgeilt (wild sea woman, mermaid), i.e. Liban, daughter of Achy Mac Muiredha, was caught on the strand of Ollarbha in the net of Bedan, son of Innle, fisherman of Conngall of Bennchair." The quiet historian, sitting in his quiet room in his quiet monastery, adding one piece of information to another, was glad of the visit of any inhabitant of the outer world who could or would furnish him with an interesting fact for insertion. It may be reasonably supposed that the thoughtful but often-credulous annalist would be at times victimized by some ancestor of the Baron Munchausen, who, in absence of any stirring authentic news, would communicate some choice fancy of his own, such as the above, or that of the gigantic woman farther on. reader must not set chronicles such as this in the same class with the The romantic annals, for everything here is put down in good faith, the writer being left pretty much at the mercy of his news-imparters. "A.D. 598. The battle of Dun-bolg (Fort of the Sacks, County Wicklow), gained on the fourth of the Ides of January, by Brandubh (Black Raven) and the Lagenians, in which Aedh, son of Ainmire, King of Erinn, was slain in the 19th year of his reign." And well Aedh (Hugh) deserved his fate. Making a coshering progress, and being well entertained by the Leinster king, his contentment would not be complete till he had obtained the queen along with the many other gifts. The Raven chief would not be an Irishman if he gave way on this point, and he was going to attack the royal ruffian with all odds against him. His queen, however, by exerting her ingenuity (appearing to be agreeable to the wishes of the prince at the same time) brought about the destruction of himself and his forces at small cost of life to her own people. A.D. 625, Cl. vii. Maedhog of Ferna quevit. St. Aidan or Mogue (Mo Aedh oge, My (Lord) Young Hugh) was the first Bishop of Ferns (Fearnn, the Alder tree), in Wexford. St. Mogue was the contemporary and dear friend of St. David of Wales. The battle of Magh Rath (the Plain of the Fort, now Moyra), which furnishes the subject for a historic romance, given in an abridged form in the UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE, is set down as having been fought in A.D. 634. The author of the romance attributes all the havoc and slaughter to the pitiful circumstance of the king's purveyors taking by force a basket of goose-eggs from a a poor recluse. The good Bishop of Slanc generally spent the day immersed in the Boyne, reading his book of offices, which lay open on the bank before him. His only meal, which he took in the evening, was one goose egg and a few sprigs of water cress, provided for him by the pious recluse. The basket of eggs being carried off, and cooked, one was laid before every one of the king's guests; but one of the proudest spirits present, preparing to knock the top off his, found nothing there but the small egg of a wretched redfeathered hen. King, nor queen, nor noble, nor brehon, was able to appease his wrath. He flew into open rebellion, and the terrible fight of Magh Rath was the result-a caution to future kings to look after the conduct of their tribute collectors. * The saint being an enthusiast in literature as well as in piety, had made at spare hours a neat transcript of a portion of the Scriptures belonging to a certain bishop or abbot, without asking the owner's permission. This wise Churchman knew what was going on, but made no move till the copy was made. Then he claimed it, and on the refusal of the copier to give it up, the cause was tried before the king. He handed the poor saint's masterpiece to the owner of the original with the pithy remark, "To every cow her little cow (calf)." This, as the bardic historians assert, set king and saint on opposite sides of the house. A.D. 661 witnessed the scourge of the Buidhe Conaill, probably so called from its ravages among that ancient and noble tribe. The following phenomenon is noticed under the date 670. "A thin and tremulous cloud in the form of a rainbow appeared at the fourth watch of the night of the fifth day before Easter Sunday, stretching from east to west in a clear sky. The moon was turned into blood." A bright and luminous comet is mentioned as appearing in the months of September and October of 673. O'Flaherty changed the date to 677. In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle the appearance is quoted at the year 678. We can scarcely conceive a more useful or interesting occupation for an archæologist than the comparison of various old chronicles, and the establishing of certain authentic facts by the operation. When one observer in the Fens of Lincoln notices the appearance of a comet or other phenomenon in any long vanished year, and his unknown fellow-labourer in the Isle of Arranmore marks the same appearance a year or two later, or earlier, the mo dern astronomer has no hesitation in assuming the fact as having really occurred within a year or two of the mean time of the two announcements. In 680 there was a great mortality among children, and Loch Necach (Neagh ?) was turned into blood. 681 was distinguished by a great storm and earthquake, and the invasion of the plain of Bregia (from the Boyne to the Dublin mountains) by the Saxons. In 696 there was a cattle plague, and such severe frost that people passed between Scotland and Ireland on the ice. In 718 a great battle was fought near the Hill of Allen, between Murchad, son of Bran, King of Leinster, and Fergal, King of Erin. Some of the people of the latter unroofed the hut of a leper, and killed his cow, and thereby brought destruction on their party. The number of the northern forces is put at 20,000. Here the abbot quotes a poem as was his wont, sung by Cubretan (the Dog* of Britain). Mention is often made in the battles of romance, of men losing their senses in the heat of fight. In the "battle of Ventry Harbour" a northern prince became insane, and fled to a glen in Kerry, thenceforward called Glenn-na-ngealt (Glen of Lunatics). Every lunatic in Ireland, according to fire-side lore is obliged once in his life to pay a visit to that valley. We know from trustworthy information, that many poor creatures in Kilkenny and Tipperary have gone on pilgrimage to that glen, after losing their senses, the strong impression made on their intellects when sane having now become irresistible. There is no record in either MS. from A.D. 718 to A.D. 804; and Tiernach's chronicle is also wanting, from A.D. 766 to 976. As the Chron. Scot. is nearly of equal value to the other, the irreparable deficiency is only from A.D. 766 to 804, a period of 38 years. The year 811 witnessed the following prodigies : "It was in it the Célé De (servant of God, Culdee) came over the sea (Bay of Galway) from the south, dry footed, without a boat, and a written roll used to be given * Cu, Dog, was used in an honourable sense. Hector was the (guardian) dog of Troy. Cuchullain was the dog of Ulster. In his youth he got his name from being made house-ward by a smith (named Ullan?) whose dog he had killed. was in it (the year) also that cakes were converted into blood, and blood used to flow from them when being cut. It was in it the birds used to speak with human voices." A.D. 832 is distinguished as the year in which Armagh was first plundered by the Foreigners. For a couple of centuries the ravages of the Danes kept the good chronicler's hands busy recording the atrocities of these merciless men of the sword. The quies, or the mors, or the occisio, or the jugulatio, of every remarkable person in the kingdom is carefully recorded in the lapse of years; and even an eruption of strange water from Sliabh Cualann, with little black fishes in 868 is not neglected. Eclipses are carefully recorded throughout. In A.D. 878 the conveyance of the shrines and reliquaries of St. Colum Cille to Ireland for better protection is recorded; also a shower of blood in Ciannachta, accompanied by great wind and lightning, also a total eclipse of the sun at noon. This latter circumstance has received confirmation from other quarters. Another eclipse is noticed in 885. The entry for the year A.D. 900 affords a glimpse of the mystifications exercised on the amiable and easily imposed on man of letters, as he leisurely and agreeably filled up his parchment folios. After relating the quies of Tadg, son of king of Connacht, and of Maelbrighde (tonsured servant of St. Brigid), Archbishop of Mumhan (Munster), and of Domhnall, son of Constantine, king of Alba (West Scotland), and the plundering of Cill-dara (church of the Oak, Kildare) by the Gentiles, he tells how "A large woman was cast ashore by the sea in Alba, viz., her length was nine score and twelve feet, six feet between her two paps, the length of her hair was fifteen feet (rather short for her size), the length of the fingers of her hands was six feet, the length of her nose was seven feet. Whiter than the swan or the foam of the wave was every part of her." * The abbot of Cluain must have recorded the events of 907 (908, according to O'Flaherty) with a heavy heart, the chief victim being a wise and benevolent prince, a pious bishop, and a profound scholar. "The battle of Bealach Mughna (Ballaghmoon, Co. Kildare) gained by the Lagenians (Leinster-men); and by the army of Leith Cuinn A (Conn's share, northern half of Ireland) over the men of Mumhan, in which was slain Cormac, the son of Cuilennan, king of Caisel, * a most excellent scribe, and bishop, and anchorite, and the wisest of the Gaeidhil. multitude to the number of 6,000 fell there. "Cormac of Feimhin, Fogarthach, Colman, Ceallach of the hard fights;They perished with many thousands In the battle of famous Magh Mughna. "Flann of Temhair of the plain of Tailten, Cearbhall (Carroll) of lordly Carmain (Wexford), On the seventeenth of September "The bishop, the soul-friend, Plunderings and ravages by the Foreigners continue to be recorded. These are varied by the appearance of two suns in the heavens in one day of the year 909, and occasional defeats suffered by the White and Black Foreigners, and at iast we spy the dawn of the island's deliverance from them in the birth of Brian, son of of Cennedigh, Cennedigh, A.D. 923 or 924. In the year 947 is recorded a strik ing example of the uncertainty of worldly things. Gormflaith (blueeyed lady) was married in the first instance to King Cormac, whose death has been recorded. Her second husband was Carroll, king of Leinster, who was slain in 909. King Nial Glundubh (black knee), who then made her his wife, perished in 919, and the widow of three kings spent the remainder of her life in poverty. The abbot says she died in great penitence. The Foreigners after lording it over the natives for a long time, have begun to taste the bitterness of many defeats. An inroad was made on the Cais, rent; ail, a stone;-Stone of tribute; seat of authority in consequence. It was the royal fortress of Munster for a considerable period. |