Accompanying Handout for Eschatological Themes in Lebor na hUidre: The Body, Judgement and the End - Dr. Elizabeth Boyle, Dept. of Early & Middle Irish, UCC & St Edmund’s College, Univ. of Cambridge. For additional information including audio recordings to accompany this presentation please click here - http://www.ria.ie/library/exhibitions/lebor-na-huidre-conference.aspx. Disclaimer: The Royal Irish Academy has prepared the content of this website responsibly and carefully, but disclaims all warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy of the information contained in any of the materials. The views expressed are the authors’ own and not those of the Royal Irish Academy.

1. Lebor na hUidre: A Conference
Royal Irish Academy
22 – 23 November 2012
Eschatological Themes in Lebor na hUidre: the Body, Judgement and the End
Elizabeth Boyle
St Edmund’s College, Cambridge/University College Cork1
elw37@cam.ac.uk
1. Ind esergi coitchenn tra bias tall i llo brátha ni hinund 7 ind esergi dianid ainm isind augtartas prestrigia .i.
esergi fuathaigthi amal in pitóndacht. ł ni inund 7 ind esergi dianid ainm reuolutio .i. tathcor na hanma i
corpaib ecsamlaib iar ndesmirecht na tathcorthe. ł ind esergi dianid ainm metaformatio .i. tarmchrutad iar
ndesmirecht na conricht. ł ni inu[n]d 7 ind esergi díanid ainm subductio .i. fothudchestu .i. amal bíte lucht
ind remeca. ł ind esergi dianid ainm suscitatio .i. toduscud marb tria mírbail. iar ndesmirecht Lazáir. (Scéla
na esérgi, LU l. 2702-10)
(‘Now the general resurrection which shall be beyond on the Day of Judgment is not the same as the
resurrection which in the authority is called praestrigia, that is, an apparitional resurrection, like the
pythonism. Nor is it the same as the resurrection called revolutio, that is, the transmigration of the soul into
various bodies, after the example of the transmigrated persons. Nor the resurrection called metaformatio, that
is, transfiguration, after the example of werewolves. Nor is it the same as the resurrection called subductio,
that is subduction, as in the case of the prematurely dead. Nor the resurrection called suscitatio, that is, the
awakening of the dead by a miracle, after the example of Lazarus.’, trans. Stokes, ‘The Tidings’, §33)
2. Bíaid dano and sin mairg 7 íachtad. gol 7 egmech. cnet 7 grechach. cach óenbeoil. 7 mallacht cen chumsanad
ona pecthachaib fora n-apaid .i. for Díabul. ar iss ed dosbeirsium ic fulang phéne cach olc dorónsat triana
aslachsom. Ocus mallacht dano úadsom fora manchaib imme .i. forsna pecdachaib ar is moti a píansom féin
cach olc dorontsatsom triana aslom forro oc aslach cach uilc. (Scéla laí brátha, LU l. 2434-40)
(‘There will be there, moreover, sorrow and groaning, weeping and wailing, sighs and screaming, from
every single mouth. And ceaseless malediction from the sinners on their abbot, i.e. on the Devil, for what
makes them suffer is everything they did at his instigation; and a malediction, moreover, from him on his
monks around him, i.e. on the sinners, because his own pain is greater for every evil that they did through
his persuasion, on account of him inducing every evil.’, my translation)
Cf. Würzburg gloss in Stokes and Strachan, Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus I, 665, gloss 26a8: ‘gebtit iudei i n-apid’
(‘the Jews will receive him as abbot’) – as far as I am aware, this is the only other Irish example of the Devil being
described as an abbot.
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I acknowledge the support of the Gerda Henkel Stiftung and the European Union’s M4HUMAN (Mobility for Humanities
Researchers) programme in funding my research through a Marie Curie Fellowship in the Historical Humanities.
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2. 3. Matthew 25:31-46 (Vulgate) (italics denote the words which are excluded from the Irish translation of this
biblical passage in Scéla laí brátha, taken from Mac Gearailt, ‘The Middle Irish Homily’, p. 93)
Cum autem venerit Filius hominis in maiestate sua et omnes angeli cum eo tunc sedebit super sedem
maiestatis suae
Et congreganuntur ante eum omnes gentes et separabit eos ab invicem sicut pastor segregat oves ab hedis
Et statuet oves quidem a dextris suis hedos autem a sinistris.
Tunc dicet rex his qui a dextris eius erunt venite benedicti Patris mei possidete paratum vobis regnum a
constitutione mundi
Esurivi enim et dedistis mihi manducare sitivi et dedistis mihi bibere hospes eram et collexistis me nudus et
operuistis me infirmus et visitastis me in carcere eram et venistis ad me
Tunc respondebunt ei iusti dicentes Domine quando te vidimus esurientem et pavimus sitientem et dedimus
tibi potem
quando atuem te vidimus hospitem et colleximus te aut nudum et cooperuimus
aut quando te vidimus infirmum aut in carcere et venimus ad te
Et respondens rex dicet illis amen dico vobis quamdiu fecistis uni de his fratribus meis minimis mihi fecistis
Tunc dicet et his qui a sinistris erunt Discedite a me maledicti in ignem aeternum qui paratus est diabolo et
angelis eius
Esurivi enim et non dedistis mihi manducare sitivi et non dedistis mihi potum
hospes eram et non collexistis me nudus et non operuistis me infirmus et in carcere et non visitastis me
Tunc respondebunt et ipsi dicentes Domine quando te vidimus esurientem aut sitientem aut hospitem aut
nudum aut infirmum vel in carcere et non ministravimus tibi
Tunc respondebit illis dicens amen dico vobis quamdiu non fecistis uni de minoribus his nec mihi fecistis
Et ibunt hii in supplicium aeternum iusti autem in vitam aeternam
4. Is amlaid iarom atá in chathir sin .i. flaith cen úaill cen díummus cen goí cen écnach cen díupert cen taithlech
cen gres cen ruci cen mebail cen mélacht cen tnúth cen mórdataid cen teidm cen galar cen bochtai cen
nochtai cen díth cen díbad cen chasir cen snechta cen gaíth cen flechud cen deilm cen toraind cen dorche cen
úardataid. flaith úasal adamra aererda co suthi co soilsi co mbolud tíri láin hi fail aerer cech mathiusa. Finit
amen finit. (Fís Adomnáin, LU l. 2294-2301)
(‘This, then, is the manner of that City: a Kingdom without pride, or vanity, or falsehood, or outrage, or
deceit, or pretence, or blushing, or shame, or reproach, or insult, or envy, or arrogance, or pestilence, or
disease, or poverty, or nakedness, or death, or extinction, or hail, or snow, or wind, or rain, or din, or
thunder, or darkness, or cold – a noble, admirable, ethereal realm, endowed with the wisdom, and radiance,
and fragrance of a plenteous land, wherein is the enjoyment of every excellence. Finit – Amen – Finit.’, trans.
Boswell, An Irish Precursor, p. 47, §35)
5. Na buidne ocus na hairechta dano filet i tír na náeb amal ro radsem bidat marthanaig isin mórglóir sin co
mordail brátha coros córaigea in brithem firén i llathe ind fugill isna sostaib 7 isna inadaib i mbíat oc déscin
gnússe Dé cen fial cen forscáth etarru tria bithu na mbetha. (Fís Adomnáin, LU l. 1997-2001)
(‘The bands and companies which are in the land of the saints abide continually in even such great glory as
aforesaid, until the great Parliament of Doom, when the righteous judge, on the Day of Judgment, shall
dispose them in their stations and abiding places, where they shall contemplate God’s countenance, with no
veil nor shadow between, through ages everlasting.’, trans. Boswell, An Irish Precursor, p. 31, §6)
6. Is and sin arthraigfes in brethem díada isin delb sin inro mided fó brithemain dóenni. Is and sin
midfedsom co firen forsna dóenib isin deilb in ro mided co hanfirén óna dóenib. (Scéla na esérgi,
LU l. 2739-2742)
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3. (‘It is then that the divine judge shall appear in that form in which he was judged by a human judge. It is then
that he himself will judge men justly in the form in which he was judged unjustly by men.’, my translation)
Cf. other uses of antonyms (ecnae/anecnae; eólas/aneólas; etc.) and heavy use of philosophical vocabulary (adbar;
aicned; dliged; folud; teorfégad) and Latin loanwords (augtartás (auctoritas); intliucht (intellectus); scrútan
(scrutinium); teor[fégad] (theoria); umallóit (humilitatem)) throughout.
7. is bréo do loscud. is [s]raigell do esorgain. is fáebur do athcumma. is adaig do erdallud. Is dethach do
muchad. is croch do phíanad. Is claideb do dígail. is arm úathmar do guin do letrad. is buriud pían. is rubne
todernam. is bádud is plágud. is [s]raíniud. is brúd. is linud. is tragud. is dód. is leód. is loscud. is [s]lucud. is
ard. is isel. is roúar. is rothe. is cumung is farsiung. is mór bréni a brothgaile. (Scéla laí brátha, LU 2448-54,
incorporating in square brackets emendations suggested by Stokes, ‘Tidings of Doomsday’, §21)
(‘It is a fire for burning; it is a lash for flogging; it is a blade for lacerating; it is a night for blinding; it is
smoke for suffocating; it is a cross for torturing; it is a sword for vengeance; it is terrifying weaponry for
wounding and mutilating; it is a screaming of pains; it is a multitude of tortures. It is a drowning; a plaguing;
a dragging; a pounding; a flooding; an ebbing; a hardship; a hacking; a burning; a swallowing. It is high, low,
freezing, burning. It is constricted; it is far-reaching. Great is the stench of its steaming flesh.’, my
translation)
8. O ro gab iarom ceill for anand 7 for airiseom isin tír sin atchuala ina díaid triasin fíal guth ind aingil no
forcongrad furre co n-igsed ar cúlu doridisi cosin corp cetna asar escomloi. 7 coro innised i ndálaib 7
airechtaib 7 i comthinoltaib láech 7 clérech focraice nime 7 píana iffir[n]d feib ro follsig aingel in cóemtechta
di.
(‘But when he bethought him to rest and tarry in that land, he heard, through the veil, the angel’s voice
enjoining him to return again into that body whence he had departed, and to rehearse in courts and
assemblies, and in the great congregations of laymen and of clerics, the rewards of Heaven and the pains of
Hell, even as his guardian angel had revealed them to him’, trans. Boswell, An Irish Precursor, p. 44, §31)
9. Biblical quotations in Latin and Irish:
o Scéla laí brátha (LU), l. 2343-4
Is ed at bera fríu oca cur i n-iffern: Scuchaid dím a mallachtnachu 7 ercid isin tenid suthain ro faíred do
Díabul 7 dia drochmuintir.
o Old-Irish Homily (Yellow Book of Lecan), ed. Strachan, p. 5
Is dochum iffirnn immurgu cartfaid in Coimdiu na pecthachu i llaithiu brátho, a nasmbéra friu: Ite
maledicti in ignem aeternum qui praeparatus est Diabolo et angelis eius .i. Eirgid a maldachtachu issin tenid
suthain; issí ade tene foruired do Diabul cona dóiscarchéilib.
o Old-Irish Homily (Dublin RIA 535 [23 P 2]), ed. Meyer, §4
Is docum ifrinn chartfus in Coimdiu [n]a pect[th]achu il-laithi brátha a n-asmbéra friu: Ite maledicti ignem
in eternum qui praeparatus est diabolo 7 cetera. Éirgiu, a lucht na mallachtnu, isin teine tsuthain, is í sin
foruireg do díabul cona dhæsclarslúag.
o Sermo ad reges (LB 39b7), ed. Atkinson, p. 161 (Irish) and p. 418 (Latin)
Discedite a me maledicti in ignem eternum qui p[re]paratus est Diabulo et angelis eius. Scuchaid uam a
mallachtnachu isin purgatoir suthain ro fuired do Diabul cona drochmuntir.
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4. o Don Almsain (LB 71b30), ed. Atkinson, p. 213 (Irish) and p. 450 (Latin)
Discedite a me maledicti in ignem eternum qui preparatus est diabolo et angelis eis. Scuchaid uaim a
mallachtnachu isin tenid suthain ro fuíred do diabul cona drochmuintir 7 dia dóecurshluag.
Cf. examples of same process in LU vis-à-vis LB version of Fís Adomnáin (Mac Eoin, ‘Observations’, pp. 196-7),
and – significantly – ibid., p. 198, where instances of precept (and related words) in the LB version of Fís Adomnáin
have become forcetol or scél in the LU version.
Selected bibliography
*All quotations from LU texts are from Lebor na hUidre. Book of the Dun Cow, ed. R. I. Best & Osborn Bergin (Dublin, 1929)*
Scéla laí brátha:
• Elizabeth Boyle, ‘Eschatological Justice in Scéla laí brátha’, Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 59 (2010), 39-54
• David N. Dumville, ‘Scéla lái brátha and the Collation of Leabhar na hUidhre’, Éigse 16 (1975/6), 24-8
• Uaitéar Mac Gearailt, ‘The Middle Irish Homily Scéla laí brátha’, Apocrypha 20 (2009), 83-114
• Whitley Stokes, ed. and trans., ‘The Tidings of Doomsday’, Revue celtique 4 (1879-80), 245-57
• Paul Walsh, ed., ‘Scéla laí brátha’, in Mil na mBeach (Dublin, 1911), pp. 62-8.
Scéla na esérgi:
• Elizabeth Boyle, ‘Neoplatonic Thought in Medieval Ireland: the Evidence of Scéla na esérgi’, Medium Ævum 78
(2009), 216-30
• John O’Beirne Crowe, ed. and trans., Scela na esergi. A Treatise on the Resurrection (Dublin, 1865)
• Whitley Stokes, ed. and trans., ‘The Tidings of the Resurrection’, Revue celtique 25 (1904), 232-59
• Paul Walsh, ed., ‘Scéla na esérgi’, in Mil na mBeach (Dublin, 1911), pp. 69-78.
Other:
• Robert Atkinson, ed. and partial trans., The Passions and the Homilies from Leabhar Breac. Text, Translation and
Glossary, Todd Lecture Series 2 (Dublin, 1887)
• C. S. Boswell, An Irish Precursor of Dante. A Study on the Vision of Heaven and Hell ascribed to the Eighth-Century
Irish Saint Adamnán (London, 1908)
• David N. Dumville, ‘Towards an Interpretation of Fís Adomnán’, Studia Celtica 12-13 (1977-8), 62-77
• Gearóid Mac Eoin, ‘Observations on some Middle-Irish Homilies’, in Irland und Europa im früheren Mittelalter.
Bildung und Literatur – Ireland and Europe in the Early Middle Ages. Learning and Literature, ed. Próinséas Ní
Chatháin & Michael Richter (Stuttgart, 1996), pp. 195-211
• Martin McNamara, ‘Irish Homilies A.D. 600 – 1100’, in Via Crucis. Essays on Early Medieval Sources and Ideas in
Memory of J. E. Cross, ed. Thomas N. Hall (Morgantown, 2002), pp. 235-84
• Kuno Meyer, ed., ‘Eine altirische Homilie’, Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 4 (1903), 241–3
• Pádraig Ó Néill, ‘The Latin Colophon to the “Táin Bó Cúailnge” in the Book of Leinster: A Critical View of
Old Irish Literature’, Celtica 23 (1999), 269-75
• John Strachan, ed. and trans., ‘An Old-Irish Homily’, Ériu 3 (1907), 1-10
• Hildegard L. C. Tristram, Early Insular Preaching: Verbal Artistry and Method of Composition, Sitzungsberichte,
Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Philosophisch-historische Klasse 623 (Vienna, 1995)
• Ernst Windisch, ed., ‘Dis Vision des Adamnán’, in his Irische Texte mit Wörterbuch [vol. I] (Leipzig, 1880), pp.
165-96
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