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The Old Irish Life of St. Brigit

Part II. Introduction and Notes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2016

M.A. O'Brien
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Extract

The only extant copy of this recension of the life of St. Brigit is found in Rawlinson B 512, a Bodleian MS. of the fourteenth or fifteėnth Century. This MS. has been frequently described and catalogued, most fully by Whitley Stokes (Tripartite Life of Patrick (1887), pp. xiv ff.) and again in his edition of the Martyrology of Oengus (1905, pp. xxii-xxiv). With the exception of the Lebor Gabála, the greater part of the Contents has been edited in various places. The arrangement of the gatherings, the various foliations and paginations of the MS., and the different hands have been described by Dr. Best in ‘Notes on Rawlinson B 512’ (ZCP, xvii. 388 ff.).

Type
Research Article
Information
Irish Historical Studies , Volume 1 , Issue 4 , September 1939 , pp. 343 - 353
Copyright
Copyright © Irish Historical Studies Publications Ltd 1939

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References

Notes

Words quoted from the Life are in italics, whether Latin or Irish. Expansions of contracted forms are in roman.

1. MS. readings: 1. 4, fri; 1. 5, am may be ain.

In 1. 1, read i suidiu; 1. 4, nicon airsitis.

1. 5. I read amal áin cainche and suggest tentatively that it may mean ‘ like the playing of a melody ’. Corresponding to this, Vita IV (AA.SS, iv. 156, § 11) has pulchra facie et genis rubicundis.

Broicsech. This is probably the correct form of the name of Brigit's mother. It is formed from broc, ‘ badger ’, with the feminine suffix, -sech, found in gaillsech, laíchsech, etc.

fareith. This seems to preserve the older meaning of fo-reith, ‘ runs towards ’. The usual meaning in Old Irish is ‘ helps ’.

The last sentence in this section is very doubtful, but I suggest reading: atá adrad Brigte <and> céin <ṁ>bes. Cf. end of § 46.

2. MS. readings: 1. 1, quadam, magus 1. 2, cleirech.

3. MS. reading: 1. 4, cona hingin.

1. 4. sainruith must be a copyist's error for sainriuth. Cf. int <ṡ> ainriuth in §6, and sainriuth, §33.

4. MS. readings: 1. 3, in bec; 1. 3, hingini; 1. 4, deci duin; 1. 6, ossi, irnagthi; 1. 8, firm; 1. 11, frisin, em; 1. 12, lee; 1. 13, Brigitam, plepem; 1. 14, drui, ipsius, campus.

guth mbec. The MS. reading may be correct. Cf. cissí ṡlabrae in díscer-sa thall, ‘ what herd of cattle is that, the nimble one yonder ’ (Stories from the Táin, p. 18, 1. 20).

cid as-ro-gab. There may have been a compound as-gaib, ‘ utters ’ Cf. as-beir, ‘ says ’.

amnair, ‘ maternal uncle ’; see my note in Études Celt., iv. For the important rôle assigned to the ‘ mother's brother ’, see Studies in Early Irish Law, p. 186. The alternative explanation of this, suggested there, is scarcely tenable in view of the existence of a Special and obviously old term for this particular member of the woman's family, and the absence of any similar expression for ‘ father's brother ’.

1. 12. Read atrubart, mennut.

faindel. The only Suggestion I can make is that we may have here the third singular preterite, with infixed neuter pronoun -a-, of the verb fo-ind-ell Cf. fo-n-indlea (gl. euagari, M1.25a 5); foindel (gl. peruagatio, M1. 121d 8); in faendledach fo-n-indle fine, ocus in faendledach fo-indli tuaith (Anc. Laws Ire., i. 246, 1. 21). If so, the sentence might mean ‘ the maternal uncle of the druid abandoned the idea of Brigit's holding the land ’.

6. MS. readings: 1. 2, Muman; 1. 3, tiansacto.

7. MS. readings: 1. 2, Re findad; 1. 3, for; 1. 4, fria.

re findad is, no doubt, for ra findad, owing to the constant confusion of initial re- and ra- in Middle Irish.

ni dechas for losait doib. Here I take dechas to be the perfect singular passive of tiagu, the sentence meaning literally ‘ the platter could not be overcome (exhausted) for them.’ For this idiom, cf. ‘ Tochmarc Ferbe ’, 1. 340 (Irische Texte, iii): ro gabsat co setrech 7 co ferda in tech commatain 7 ní deochas forru ind, ‘ they held the house bravely and manfully till the morning and they could not be overcome and the house could not be forced. ’ Ériu, vi. 133, 1. 7: Clasa a sith la hEtersceli, conluid forru ind, ‘ E. dug out the mound and forced his way in ’. Dechas (older perhaps dechos) should be substituted for -diches (?) in Old Irish Paradigms (3rd ed.), p. 85.

8. MS. readings: 1. 1, a mmume-si; 1. 2, ngalar trum; 1. 3, <cerv> isæ; 1. 4, o Bæthchoin; 1. 7, da-geni Dia erre-si.

Immediately after ‘ They got nothing from Baethchú ’, is a part of a sentence to which there is nothing corresponding in the Lismore Life or in Vita I (AA. SS, iv). It does not fit into the context and may be translated: ‘ the foot of the vat with the ale, but a spider's web over them ’.

For fothesi, I suggest reading foíte-si, ‘ she was sent ’ adellsat leu. Cf. atdub-elliub lemm (Wb. 7 a 4).

In the last line the MS. seems to have erre-si. This may be the correct Old Irish form, which has not hitherto turned up. For the ending, cf. inte and for the rr the third plural for erru, airriu.

9. MS. readings: 1. 2, more likely fuiri-si; 1. 3, comarnic; 1. 5, ad domum suam; 1. 6, atairim-si.

10. MS. readings: 1. 1, quidam; 1. 3, partem quintam; l. 4 somno; 1.8, dorighnai with subscript a; 1. 9, dognith.

In 1. 8, read nicon ēgadar. Egadar, in Old Irish orthography écadar, is the passive singular perfective present of ad-fét, ‘ relates ’. The expression ‘ a fifth of the bacon ’ or perhaps ‘ one of the five pieces of bacon’ is made clear by Vita I, § 11 (AA. SS, iv. 120), according to which her father gave her quinque particulas to cook for the guest.

In 1. 9, read in lucht í-sin.

11. MS. readings: 1. 1, iarsin; l. 3, do aaccallaim xxvii; 1. 5, riam; 1. 7, inter; 1. 8, quae; 1. 9, æss; 1. 10, llaim; 1. 13, præparatus.

In 1. 2, read in n-í Brigti, and in 1. 3, for xxvii et noeb, read secht noeb fichet.

In 1. 6, read arrubart, which must be a copyist's mistake for asrubart, sr can easily be misread as rr (see note on forracab-si, § 13).

epscop Ibuir. Stokes translated this ‘ bishop Ibair ’, but the correct nominative case is Ibor, as in 1. 11. This is an example of the genitive of apposition common at all periods. Cf. Modern Irish amadán fir, páiste fir, etc.

lotir dia llaim. This need not be emended. The right hand was raised in blessing, hence ‘ to go to the hand of ’=‘ to go to be blessed by ’. A good example is found in the metrical Version of the ‘ Voyage of Máeldúin’, § 173 (ZCP, xi. 159): lotar dia Iāim, Sēnats don dāim a tīr Gōidel, ‘ they went to his hand, he makes the sign of the Cross over the band from the land of the Gaels.’ Hence also dul do lāim came to mean ‘ to go to communion; e.g. daig dula do laim arabarach (Rule of the Céle Dé, § 2); co foisitin dualcha, trāth raga do lāim (ACL, iii. 319,1. 82).

The tradition that Brigit was called ‘ Mary of the Gaels’ is certainly very old. It is mentioned in what is probably the oldest extant reference to the saint, a prophecy ascribed to the druid Moccu Mugairne and to be found in Rawl B 502, 125 b, 12 and BLec. 95 v, c 25.

This prophecy occurs in an origin-story of the Fotharta, the sept to which Brigit belonged, in which they are traced back to Eochaid Find Fuath nAirt, the brother of Conn Cétchathach. Kuno Meyer would ascribe the prophecy on linguistic grounds to the sixth Century. I give the text of the reference from Rawl. B 502 :

Cain gein cain orddan iartain dodoticfa dit genelgib clann. Condiṅerthar dia mor-buadaib Brig-eoit fir-diada. Bid ala-Maire mar-Choimded mathair.

As the passage is in the difficult rhetorical style, my translation must be considered as merely tentative:

‘ A fair birth, fair dignity which will come to thee thereafter from thy children's descendants, who shall be called from her great virtues truly pious Brig-eoit; she will be another Mary, mother of the great Lord.’

Brig-eoit in the above is an etymological spelling of Brigit. Miss M. E. Dobbs has edited the whole prophecy in ZCP, xvi. 396, but misses the point in her translation.

12. MS. readings: 1. 2, matrem; 1. 3, fri; 1. 5, dognith; 1. 6, MS. seems to have reainn; 1. 7, insin; 1. 10, unaquaque; 1. 11, apstal; 1. 11, immum; 1. 12, damsa.

pater. Here it Stands for the Irish aite, ‘ fosterfather ’

airleba. As the airge or ‘ boolie ’ was always in the foothills, I take this word to be a compound of are- and sliab. The meaning would then be ‘ the district in front of, or facing the mountain ’ Compare Gaulish Aremorica ‘ facing the sea ’; Welsh Arfon ‘ the district facing Mon; arfor ‘ the sea coast ’. Other Irish examples are: isind ermonai ‘in the land facing the bog ’ (TL, p. 84,1. 25); Contuil Corc issind airmiriu, ‘Corc fell asleep on the seashore’ (Anecdota from Irish MSS. iii. 58, 1. 12). Airgialla (Welsh Arwystli) may be another example, of which the original meaning was ‘ those in front of (having precedence of) the hostages ’.

i nde rainn. Dē is sometimes, but only in very old texts, found for dá and dí. See RIA Dictionary, s.v. dá.

ambui. This is a good Old Irish form. Cf. imboí (Ml. 53 d 6).

immum. This is no doubt due to a misreading of an original immimm.

co lleith. In Old Irish this would be co lleuth.

bit. This may be an old form of the third plural imperative of attā, corresponding to Middle Welsh bint. In the Old Irish glosses we have biat (Ml 51 d 13; 130 a 10). See Thurneysen, Handbuch des Altirischen, § 766.

an im. Read a n-im.

níí sgér frit. Already in Old Irish the compounds of scaraid have an ē-future.

13. MS. readings: 1. 2, fria; 1. 7, a mbesa; 1. 10, Christas, quo; 1. 11, dixit; 1. 12, meus; 1. 13, reliyuitur; 1. 14, suum; 1. 15, divinitus; patri; postponitur; 1. 17, prediosam.

For hinqto the MS. has inn followed by a peculiar character like a c with the lower stroke continued downwards perpendicularly, and which looks like an inverted note of interrogation without the stop; over this is clearly vel o.

bert. Read of course birt.

inni Brigit. Read in n-í Brigti.

cotusaisi. This probably Stands for co-ta-saíd-si.

forracab-si. Owing to the presence of the suffixed -si, there must be an infixed ferminine pronoun here. Read perhaps fo-s-rácab-si. sr can easily be misread as rr.

a chailg. There is no necessity to alter this to a cholg, as colg(calg) is a feminine ā-stem.

cid dathir di. Read cid dathar di. For this expression see RIA Dictionary, s.v. daas.

14. mac ui Lugair. Read moccu Lugair.

adropert. Read adropart.

For chomairle, the MS. has chomairle.

15. This is not a separate section in the MS. and as only one miracle is referred to, these two sections should be continuous.

MS. readings: 1. 1, fri; 1. 2, alainn, is ed.

16. MS. readings: 1. 2, batar, dommi; 1. 2, tinscrae; 1. 3, friæsi maic; 1. 5, frie, int suil (the MS. has the ordinary sign for h over the s); 1.6, scith(the sign for h is late), statim; 1.7, sin.

tinscrae. This passage, which has been hitherto overlooked, throws some light on the meaning of the semi-legal expression tinscrae. The word does not occur in the printed laws, but is found in an old legal tract, ‘ Gúbretha Caratniad’ (ZCP, xv. 356, § 44). According to this, the tinscrae was a gift made by the husband to the wife, which the latter had to return, if she left her husband before the proper time. In the Táin Bó Fraích, tinscrae seems to mean the price demanded by the father in return for giving his daughter in marriage. Thurneysen (in Studies in Early Irish Law, p. 121) quotes two old legal maxims: cach athair a cetchoibche and cach tua[i]th a tindscra, which perhaps go to show that in very early times the tinscrae was a payment made to the family of the woman. This old meaning of the word seems to be confirmed by the passage in our text, where it clearly means a payment of some kind made by the suitor and shared in by the woman's brothers.

Ansu duit. The MS. has ausu which, I suggest, should be retained. It may be an older form of asso, ‘ here is ’. See Ériu, i. 120: Aso mo mac-sa dūib, ‘ here is my son for you ’ The Lebor Brecc version has acso, a later expression for ‘ here is ’.

17. This is not a separate section in the MS., and as §§ 16, 17 only refer to one miracle, they should be run together.

In 1. 3 the MS. has immon.

Mos memdatar do di suil it chiund. I belive I have met with other examples of this peculiar construction, in which a preterite is used for a future action, the certainty of which is regarded as absolute, but I cannot now lay my hands on them. Compare, however, Modern Irish expressions like dá dtuiteadh sé, bhí sé marbh.

18. 1. 2, tra. Read of course ammo ingen.

19. MS. readings: 1. 2, uirginibus; 1. 3, episcopus; 1. 4, dixerunt; 1. 5, dicentibus; 1. 6, Calli; 1. 9, nos.

20. MS. readings: 1. 1, consecradionis; 1. 2, Maic; 1. 3, incantadionem; 1. 4, fraxeinum; 1. 5, ussam; 1. 6, tribus.

21. MS. readings: 1. 2, gradia; 1. 4, Quandiu; 1. 5, columna.

22. MS. readings: 1. 2, nomine; 1. 3, locum.

23. MS. readings: 1. 2, fria hingena; 1. 5, Choimdeth; 1. 7, isin; 1. 8, mathiside furittthur, isindala.

imdel The meaning of this word, which I translate ‘mash’, is not quite certain. It obviously refers to some preliminary process in the brewing of ale, probably that known as ‘ mashing’, in which hot water is poured over the malt in order to extract the diastase. O'Mulconry's Glossary (ACL, i) explains it as follows: Imdell .i. im-dail itir coire 7 dabaig, ‘ pouring out between cauldron and vat ’. The corresponding verb occurs in Anc. Laws Ire., iv 310,1. 8: dabach in ro immdeltar bruth, which the official translation renders ‘is poured’ MacNeill translates ‘ is stirred ’ In ZCP, xvii. 153, y, no go ttiosadh an ri dia rohimdelled, it simply means to prepare ’.

<r>a menain st. There is no necessity to emend here. a menain si represents famenainn-se, used, like Old Irish abamin, with the imperfect subjunctive without ro.See Thurneysen, Handbuch des Altirischen, § 887 and Ériu, ii. 67

lestrai<b>. No emendation is necessary, as beside the common word lestar, ‘a vessel’, there is a feminine ā-stem lestrae with a collective meaning. See na fil lestræ linn in this line. The following are some further examples: dative singular, lestrai (Anc. Laws Ire., v. 390,1. 24); accusative singular, lestrai(ibid., iv. 17 8,1.11), lestrai laindreach (Anecdota from Irish MSS., i. 71,1. 189),for eech lestra imbi lind messe. (O'Mulconry, no. 402).

co ticceth. Delete stop before Co and read co.

ian. According to Ériu, iv. 134, § 10, the ian (pl. éna, ibid.) was smaller than the dabach, ‘ a large tub ’, but larger than the drolmach.

arúrthisi. I can make nothing of this as it Stands, but suggest tentatively that it may be a corruption of a rrofer disi, ‘what was sufficient for her ’.

24. MS. readings: 1.1, boin, with a dot over the b, not the ordinary sign for h; 1.5, sin; 1.6, tra.

25. MS. reading: 1.3, ndé 1.4, aman with a stroke over m 1.5, manam; 1.7, a digge (the two gs in this word are irregularly formed); 1.8, ol se; 1.9, quando; 1.10. tra; 1. 13, fothraicthir, clam; 1.14, ar in clam, romicc, minister.

a m'anam. Perhaps we should read a mena[i]n. Cf. § 23, 1.4.

ateth-sa. Before this the word bés, ‘ perchance ’, has probably dropped out.

cuch. I take this to be for cuuch, the dative singular of cuäch, ‘ goblet,vessel ’.

In the note on the top margin of fo. 33r, the correct MS. readingare: fæs, with m-strokeover s (read fæsam); coromsoera.

26. In the last line the MS. has Iacdis,facdis. For sen si read sēnsi, from sēnais,’ she blessed ‘, with suffixed masculine pronoun -i.

27. MS. readings: 1. 3, more likely dano than dam; 1. 4, imslan, breta; 1. 7, barnech; bréic(r is inserted above the line); 1. 8, coin; 1. 9 fxi; l. 11, forclu, dognith; 1. 15, asbert sin, isin.

dús imslán. As dús is almost always followed by an interrogative, read perhaps dús im[b] sldn,’ perchance I shall be whole \ -b may be the first singular conjunctive future of the copula, which has so far not turned up.

fri cách no-da-bert ‘ to those who brought it’; for cách ó tuctha, ‘on him from whom it was brought’ Cách, which normally means everyone, very often equals ‘he who, they who’ in relative sentences, as in these two examples. Further examples are: Maith on an cāch fil ann, ‘good indeed is he who is here’ Feast of Bricriu, § 40, Leyden version); Ba calma cāch is a cend, ‘ Brave was he whose head this is’ (Ériu, v. 244,1. 205) ; Mairg cách ro-da-ortsom, ‘woe to those who slew them’ Fél. Oeng.2, prol. 1. 57); is fodb trescada cách thanic and, ‘a boring tool is he who has come’ (Táin Bό Cuailnge, 1. 5290); urfoichledh in cach ferus na fuili, ‘ let him who inflicts the wounds take care', not as translated ‘ let everyone who, etc.’ (’ Bretha Crόlige ‘, in Ériu, xii. 46, 1. 13). Similarly, ibid., p. 46, l. i.

coimchloisit. Read con-imchloiset, which is closer to the MS. reading.

secht n-os (twice). As oss is a masculine o-stem, this must be one of those numeral compounds which turn up not infrequently in older texts. Some further examples are: gadaim tre ech asa iath (LU,p. 21b, marg. inf.); tre lia mothar (Anc. Laws Ire., v. 470, w); áer na cethararda (LU, 1. 6076); cetar-dam Ulcain (’ Togail Troi', 1. 1, in Irische Texte, ii, pt. 1).

28. MS. readings: 1. 2, di; 1. 4, cona ingenaib.

In line 3, there is no necessity to emend the reading of the text, as there is an old word congab, ‘a seizing, a holding ’ See Meyer's Contributions to Irish Lexicography. It occurs also in § 32 where we should read with the MS. chet-chongbaib. The use of ng for ng is common in some old texts, e.g. Tripartite Life,’ The Second Battle of Moytura ‘ (Rev. Ce/t., xi).

29. MS. readings: l. 1, cum; 1. 5, per; leprosusque.

30. MS. readings: 1. 2, fxia, choirm; l. 3, pridchabus; 1. 4 dond usciu; 1. 6, gradias; 1. 8, ammo ingen; 1. 9, rombennachaisiu; 1. 11 for descdu; isin; for ba ferr the MS. has ba ferd.

For ro for read ro fer.

tainic doib iarom co Minchaisc (sie leg.). This impersonal construction is quite frequent, although Thurneysen Scéla Mucce Meic Dathό, p. 27, n. 24) seems to regard it as unusual.

I take da nasbert si to be for dath asbert-si. For this use of dath see RIA Dictionary, s.v., and last sentence of § 27

In line 8, we must, of course, read ammo ingen.

31. MS. readings: 1. 2, iarom, charput, coemtecht (final t is subscript); 1. 3, in campam; 1. 5, dommum; 1. 7, sancta; 1. 8, inquid; 1. 9, more likely natiuitadis; 1. 10, sancta; l. 11 euui the e is the tall variety and beneath it is the first part of an a, perhaps intended for q); 1. 15, gradias; 1. 17, thiasu (after the s is what looks like h and over this is u); 1. 18, ar Brigit; 1. 19, frisind; 1. 20, con berid; 1. 22, andsin; 1. 23, conrancatax,fri.

aithech tige. Here this seems to be used in the sense of ‘ wife ’ Compare Thurneysen, Irisches Recht, §2. According to O'Davoren (Glossary, no. 98, in ACL, ii), it can mean either ‘ husband’ or ‘wife ’

32. MS. readings: 1. 2, Ardachad; 1. 6, nicon bái; 1. 8, ṁbruithi; 1. 10, siui;

1. 11, int; 1. 12, cona aradig; 1. 14, ei; 1.15, sancta. After this is a stop and Space; Brigita fecit seems to be a later insertion.

1. 2. Read with the MS. chet-choggbaib. See note to § 28.

ni ririu dano acht a bas. ririu must be the first singular future conjunct of renaid. After ni there is probably an infixed masc. pronoun (‘I shall not give him in exchange for any compensation, but he shall be put to death.’).

33. MS. readings: 1. 3,acaldaim, first a is subscr.; 1. 8, immo; iar; 1. 10, thuctha a mmiassa; 1.11, a noeb-ingen; 1.20, tra; 1.17, n-ísin, Brí (over g is a dot, not the ordinary sign for h); 1.20, tra; 1. 25, orridum, timore; 1. 26, Brigita; 1. 27, temporibus, ar Brig; 1. 28, iterum; 1. 29, cibum, gradias.

O totoited I take to be a mistake, by dittography, for ó toided.

asin lothair is peculiar, as lothur seems to be an o-stem. See § 23 where the word occurs several times. It may be a mistake for lóthommair ‘washtub ’, for which see Windisch. Táin Bó Cuailnge.

gaibid Brigit<for>sirdecsin. There is no nedessity to emend the MS. reading here as gaibid, ‘commences’, can be followed directly by the verbal noun in the accusative case.

indius I take to be for ind fius, an insturmental used adverbially like int śainriuth.

34. MS. readings: 1. 4, claim; for lár; 1. 5, quæ hoc bedi 1.9, fructibus;.

35. MS. readings: leprosis; last line, furi instead of foir. This is correct as fern is a feminine noun.

36. MS. readings: qudam loco; riguerunt; dixit.

37. MS. readings: Induae, with a subscript; comarnactar; co ructhar; mo carput; in the first ol seat the MS. seems to have ol seut; n-enhuairi; ar na caillecha fria fer ṅgalair; ogslan.

fri oclaigh; the original text had no doubt óclaig the accusative singular of óclach a fern. ā-stem.

I suggest reading a chéliu Dé and translate accordingly; cf.do cheilib Dé, § 13.

38. MS. iiii. caillecha.

39. The correct reading may be Maic Odrian. Ministratque is followed by a stop. Paraliticus has a large P and seems a later insertion.

40. MS. readings: 1. 4, Mag ṁBreg; 1. 5, Brigit; co nidnarladar; tarda; 1. 9, lnnaim-si se uaibsi; maigin; 1. 13, contulisdi; 1. 15, derecaigi si; 1. 18, may be siur; 1.20, pransit (not Latin but Irish; see notes to § 42); 1. 21, graias Deo.

In 1. 7 I read: arnach-im-érla.

41. MS. readings: 1. 2, cheist n-anetargnaid; 1. 5, dodechod sa; 1. n, gnim; 1. 13, sancti; 1. 15, cleriei; 1. 16, mná 1. 25, Brigita, poenitentiam; 1. 26, populusque.

I read: batar im cheist.

42. MS. readings: 1. 2, a leath(a is subscript); 1.4, uocare; 1.5, in firt namræ; 1.6, ar a ingena fri; 1.9, fobith; 1.14, fer ṅgraid; 1.15, do bait-; 1.15, cum; familia; gradias; 1.17, non licet; 1.18, tuus; 1.19, abbaitibus.

There is no necessity to alter the MS. reading ni praindib. There is a simple verb praindim, e.g. Ériu, vii. 150, § 15, nech praindes 7 ibes choirm; ibid., § 19, nech firaindes ría cách; LU, 1. 1716, prainsit iarom 7 ibsit. Cf. pransit, § 40.

For do baitsis, read perhaps do baitsiud, or do baithis. For fri Brigit, do Brigit, resid fri Brigti, do Brigti.

43. MS. has Cill Śuirdd.

icsais may be a corruption of ícsus, from íccais and suffixed -us . I suggest reading: in sentine ṁbac[h]laige.

44. MS. has oc foibreth-; it may be the name of a place.

Read co Brigti.

45. MS. readings: 1. I, almost certainly Chill Lassre, indí Brigit; 1. 3, con <acc>atar.

For comarle the MS. has merely com; for ndún, ṅdun; for iss ed, issed.

Read do Brigti. For the phrase ata adrad mBrigte and, compare §I end.

46. MS. readings: 1. 2, fora tarat; 1. 3, da chobair.

Read co Brigit.

47. MS. readings: 1. 2, Is di anmaim ro ainmnigthi; 1. 6, recusabunt; ar Brigit; for cæman the MS. has distinctly coeman; Mairi ṁboid.

The word (aithrius) translated ‘ to tend ’ is doubtful; it may merely mean ‘ to talk to ’. Cf. O'Donovan's Supplement to O'Reilly's Dictionary: aitreos, ‘ to confer with ’, and L U, 1. 10740: A tech i mbith Ailill ina galur dothéged Etaín cach dia día athre ós 7 bá lugaite a galarsom ón do suidiu,‘ the house in which Ailill lay ill, Etain used to come to it to nurse him each day and his illness decreased as a result.’

O'Clery explains the word by lesugud ‘curing, nursing ’. Compare do aitrius, § 28, where it seems to mean ‘ to visit’, and similarly, § 31.

Iss<in> donin moir si. The emendation may not be necessary, as the contraction of issin to iss before words commencing with d or t is certainly as old as Saltair na Rann (end of tenth Century), and may well be much older.

Read, of course, luid-si and gabsi rand occo. Gabsi=gabais with suffixed masculine pronoun referring proleptically to rand masculine.