The medieval Book of Leinster, celebrated for its genealogy, history, mythology and early placename lore, has undergone painstaking conservation over the past two years and is now the focus of a new exhibition at Trinity College Dublin.
Pages from one of the most important surviving medieval manuscripts written in Irish, the Book of Leinster (Leabhar Laighean), go on display today as part of a new exhibition in the Library of Trinity College Dublin, following a major conservation project.
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Written in Old Irish and Middle Irish in the 12th century, the Book of Leinster is an important source of Irish literature and history from the medieval period. The manuscript was compiled by the “prime historian of Leinster”, Áed Úa Crimthainn – abbot of Terryglass monastery in Co. Tipperary.
The Book of Leinster is a compendium of poetry, prose, genealogical lists, pseudohistorical accounts, myths, sagas and placename lore. It includes historical and genealogical information, mainly on Leinster kings and heroes, mythological and historical accounts of invasions and battles, descriptive prose and verse, as well as the history and etymology of nearly 200 placenames.
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Caoimhe Ní Ghormáin, Curator of Manuscripts and Archives at the Library in Trinity, added:
“The Book of Leinster provides us with an unparalleled snapshot of the Middle Ages in Ireland. It includes a significant version of the famous Irish saga Táin Bó Cúailnge, or the Cattle Raid of Cooley, which is the story of the warrior Cú Chulainn.
Most famously, it contains the Irish ‘Book of Genesis’, Lebor Gabála Érenn, which establishes Ireland, the Irish people and their language in a biblical world setting. According to the manuscript, the Irish language was created after the confusion at the Tower of Babel thus avoiding all the shortcomings of other languages. This origin story was particularly relevant in medieval times when Irish was threatened by the enormous prestige of Latin.”
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The Book of Leinster was formerly known as the Lebor na Nuachongbála or Book of Nuachongbáil. Nuachongbáil, a monastic site in Co. Laois now known as Oughaval, is where the manuscript was discovered. Dr Mícheál Hoyne, Assistant Professor in the Department of Irish and Celtic Languages at Trinity, outlined more of its history:
“The Book of Leinster was rescued from possible oblivion by the Welsh scholar Edward Lhwyd at the end of the 17th century. At that time the native schools of history, poetry and law had collapsed and traditional Irish learning was in danger of being forgotten altogether. The manuscript then spent most of the 18th century inaccessible to Irish scholars in an English nobleman’s library. It was finally presented to Trinity College as a gift to the Irish people in 1786. Since then, it has been the responsibility of Trinity to preserve and study this vital source for Irish language, literature and learning in the Middle Ages.”
The Book of Leinster came to Trinity in 1786 in an unbound state. For some time, the fragile condition of its 400 vellum pages prevented it from being put on public display or consulted by researchers.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
But now, thanks to painstaking conservation, the manuscript has been cleaned, stabilized, its extensive tears and losses repaired and the different sections reassembled. Chief Manuscript Conservator Dr John Gillis at the Library in Trinity, who led the project, explained more:
“Over the past two years, we have undertaken meticulous conservation of this extremely fragile and important manuscript. This involved replacing losses where necessary with new vellum, particularly the vulnerable backfolds, and reinforcing weakened areas and tears in the manuscript with a form of thin collagen.
We were successful in our efforts to stabilize this precious manuscript and now it can be safely handled, studied and displayed. We also recorded all evidence of sewings and other marks to help better understand the manuscript’s own past.”
This conservation work was made possible through a grant from Bank of America’s Art Conservation Project.
The new exhibition, entitled The Book of Leinster − Preserving for the Future, includes several examples of newly-conserved pages from the Book of Leinster as well as other significant early Irish-language manuscripts, including the Yellow Book of Lecan (Leabhar Buidhe Leacáin) and a number of early Irish law texts.
A F F I L I A T E A D
Curated by the Library of Trinity College Dublin, the exhibition is being held to celebrate the completion of the conservation project. The exhibition forms part of the Book of Kells Experience and will run until 12 August.
Tickets for the exhibition can be booked here. For those unable to make it, a digital exhibition focusing on medieval Irish-language manuscripts held in the Library of Trinity College Dublin is available online here.
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