PREFACE

Of the eighteen poems edited here, five have already been published: those concerning Ráth Essa, Faffand, and Almu I., in the Todd Lecture Series, volume 7; the poem on Inber n-Ailbine, in Atlantis, volume 4, page 235, from materials left by O'Curry Eugene O'Curry (1794–1862), a prominent Irish social historian and philologist; and the poem on Lagin II. in Stokes' Bodleian Dindshenchas Dindshenchas: a body of early Irish literature explaining the origins of place-names, page 7, and in Atkinson and Bernard's Book of Hymns original: "Liber Hymnorum", volume 2, page 58.

As in previous volumes, I have based my text as far as possible on the Book of Leinster A significant 12th-century Irish manuscript, and I have adopted the standard practice of this manuscript original: "codex" as my rule for spelling original: "orthography". The critical apparatus The system of notes and symbols used to show variant readings from different manuscripts is, I hope, reasonably thorough; the symbol "&c." is used to include various spellings of the same reading. In the text of Almu I., which is found only in the Book of Leinster original: "L", the expanded abbreviations original: "contractions" are carefully italicized; this has not been done elsewhere, except in doubtful cases. I have given more weight than previously to the readings of S₃, a late but accurate manuscript. I have also made use of M, a copy which I had unaccountably overlooked until my attention was drawn to it by Professor Meyer Kuno Meyer (1858–1919), a famous German scholar of Celtic languages.

My thanks are due to two friends: to Professor Atkinson, who has given me constant sympathy and advice; and to Mr. W. J. Purton, who has read my proofs and helped me with useful criticism.

TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN,
May, 1906.