Glenmasan manuscript facts for kids

The Glenmasan manuscript is a very old book from the late 1400s. It's written on vellum, which is a type of animal skin. You can find it today at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh. This special book contains old Scottish Gaelic stories, especially tales from the Ulster Cycle. Some of these famous stories include Táin Bó Flidhais and Oided mac nUisnig.

When and Where Was It Made?

The Glenmasan manuscript gets its name from a note inside it. This note suggests the original stories were put together at Glen Massan in Scotland around the year 1268. However, experts like Donald MacKinnon believe the actual book we have was copied much later, probably by the end of the 1400s.

It seems our current manuscript is a copy of an even older version. This older book might have arrived in Argyll, Scotland, from Ireland before 1238. Then, a new version was made, and our manuscript is a copy of that one. A note in the book says, "This is a book of adventures written by John M'Tavish." He might have been the main person who wrote it down. This fits with the idea that the book came from the Argyll area of Scotland.

The Manuscript's Journey Through Time

We don't know much about the very first days of the Glenmasan manuscript. It was likely written in Ireland but came to Argyllshire in Scotland soon after it was made. Small notes written in the margins of the book help us learn about its early owners.

One note mentions 'Robert Campbell at Glensluan' in Argyll. He was a forester and a poet who lived around 1650-1715. Later, the Rev. William Campbell, who was probably Robert's great-nephew, owned the book. He was a minister in Kilchrenan and Dalavich. Another owner was James McIntyre of Glenoe before 1782.

The manuscript became more widely known in the late 1700s. This was when the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland was looking for proof. They wanted to know if the famous poems published by James Macpherson, called Ossian, were truly old Scottish Gaelic poetry. After Rev. William Campbell died in 1793, the book went back to Kilmodan. Here, Sir William MacLeod Bannatyne found it with Rev. John Mackinnon. Mackinnon said he got it from people in his local area. Bannatyne then gave the manuscript to the Highland Society of Scotland.

Ewen MacLachlan made the first full copy of the manuscript. Later, Donald MacKinnon published a detailed version with a translation in the early 1900s.

What Does the Manuscript Look Like?

The Glenmasan manuscript has 27 pages, including the two that form its cover. It's a large book, about the size of a quarto book. Each page is written in two columns, usually with 38 or 39 lines of text in each column. Some of the pages at the beginning might be out of order from how they were originally put together.

What Stories Are Inside?

The manuscript contains several important old Gaelic stories:

• Oided mac nUisnig (which means "The deaths of the sons of Uisnech"). This is a version of the famous story Longes mac n-Uislenn.
• Fochonn loingse Fergusa maic Roig ("The cause of the exile of Fergus mac Roig").
• Toraigecht Tána Bó Flidaise (also known as Toruigheacht bó Flidais). This is a version of the well-known cattle-raid tale Táin Bó Flidhais.

See also

• Book of the Dean of Lismore
• Islay Charter
• Fernaig manuscript