| |
|
|
| |
| Rawlinson MS B 502 |
| Other Names |
Leabhar Glinne Dá Locha, The Book of Glendalough |
| Date Written |
1187 |
| Place Written |
Royal Court, King Henry II |
| Author |
Commission by King Henry II of England, edited by Gerald of Wales |
| Pages |
166 pages, unknown number of pages lost |
| Summary |
One of the oldest surviving manuscripts containing alleged royal genealogies connecting ancient Irish Kings to Scottish kings and the supposed line of Kenneth MacAlpin, various small stories such as “wonders of Ireland” a variation to the end of Historia Brittonum, miracle stories of favoured saints and short historical anecdotes. Modified by Gerald of Wales and commissioned by King Henry II of England following the invasion of Ireland. Based on manuscripts seized from the court of Diarmuid MacMurrough including the original Book of Leinster (Lebor Laignech). |
| Context |
In 1184, Gerald of Wales became Chaplain to King Henry II of England and then also Ireland. Related through marriage to King David of Scotland (his great uncle) from the line of Kenneth MacAlpin it is certain that King Henry provided Gerald with the various manuscripts seized from Diarmuid MacMurrough in order to write in the MacAlpin bloodline more deeply into Irish and Scottish history. |
|
|
|
| |
The two invasions of Ireland by King Henry were bloody and ruthless culminating in the complete and utter dismantling of Tara to bare Earth and the final destruction of almost all remaining non-Christian irish texts. |
|
| |
The exception were the texts written by Dermot MacMurrough which provided a powerful base from which King Henry with the aide of Gerald of Wales could insert the line of MacAlpin more deeply, so in essence his Kingship of Ireland and even claim over Scotland could be justified. |
|
| |
The close similarities between Rawlinson B502 and the Book of Leinster did for a time confuse scholars, particularly because the writing and poetic skills of Gerald of Wales were far superior to the earlier fictional works of the Ua Brian clann. |
|
| |
Regardless of the motive for its creation, Rawlinson B502 remains an important historic text for Ireland, because so little survived. However its genelogies for Ireland and Scotland (Dal Riata) should be viewed at best as dubious, at worst as pure fiction on account of the political motive of the Royal House of Plantagenet at the time of its editing. |
|
| |
|
|
|
Copyright One-Ireland.Org 2008. All Rights Reserved |
