Texts

verse beg. Carais Páttraicc phuirt Macha

  • Middle Irish
  • verse
  • Early Irish poetry
Middle Irish poem on the virtues of the saints of Ireland, attributed to Cuimíne of Condere (Connor, Co. Antrim).
First words (verse)
  • Carais Páttraicc phuirt Macha
Manuscripts
Independent version
f. 238a ff
A copy which covers the first three and last quatrains of the version above
f. 150
Imperfect and incomplete
(Unidentified)
A manuscript in RIA (yet to be confirmed), p 346: 25 qq only, beg. with quatrain 12 onwards
As quotations:
(a) verses about the individual saints are cited in the Martyrology of Donegal under their respective feast-day.
(b) verse relating to St Brénainn of Clonfert cited in the Irish Life of the saint.
Language
  • Middle Irish
Date
Stokes places the poem in the 11th or 12th century.
Form
verse (primary)
Textual relationships
Parts of the poem are cited in the Martyrology of Donegal and the Irish Life of Brénainn of Clonfert.
Related: Martyrology of DonegalMartyrology of DonegalExtensive martyrology (calendar of saints) prepared by Mícheál Ó Cléirigh in the early part of the 17th century (c.1630).

Classification

Early Irish poetryEarly Irish poetry
...

Early Irish poetryEarly Irish poetry
...

Sources

Primary sources Text editions and/or modern translations – in whole or in part – along with publications containing additions and corrections, if known. Diplomatic editions, facsimiles and digital image reproductions of the manuscripts are not always listed here but may be found in entries for the relevant manuscripts. For historical purposes, early editions, transcriptions and translations are not excluded, even if their reliability does not meet modern standards.

[ed.] [tr.] Stokes, Whitley, “Cuimmín’s poem on the saints of Ireland”, Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 1 (1897): 59–73.
Internet Archive: <link>
[ed.] [tr.] Kelly, Matthew, Calendar of Irish saints, the martyrology of Tallagh, with notices of the patron saints of Ireland, and select poems and hymns, Dublin, 1857.
Internet Archive: <link>
Edition, together with translation and notes by Eugene O'Curry (superseded), based it would seem on the copy in TCD 1284
Contributors
Dennis Groenewegen
Page created
April 2014, last updated: January 2024