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The Expulsion of the Déssi

Author: Unknown

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Electronic edition compiled by Beatrix Färber

Funded by University College, Cork, School of History

1. First draft.

Extent of text: 4358 words

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Distributed by CELT online at University College, Cork, Ireland.
Text ID Number: G302006

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Available with prior consent of the CELT programme for purposes of academic research and teaching only.

Notes

I would like to thank Donnchadh Ó Corráin for supplying the following summary from his forthcoming book, Medieval Irish Manuscripts (Turnhout: Brepols 2015). The story is known under various names: 'Tucait Indarba na nDéssi'; 'Tairired na nDéisi'; 'Tochomlod na nDési ó Themraig' (recension 1, 8th century; recension 2, 11th century, c. AD 1050). The migration legend of the Déisi, from Tara to Leinster and then to East Munster where they got land for settlement through their offspring, Eithne Uathach, wife of Óengus mac Nad Fraích, king of Cashel. The tale is not historical and it links the Déisi to the legends of Uí Néill. It is, however, based in part on narratives and genealogies that go back at least to the seventh century. To this is attached an early settlement tract, Do thoirgib na nDéssi, an invaluable listing of early lineages and lordships. There is a short Latin summary in Dublin, Trinity College Library, 1298 (olim H. 2. 7), col. 78 and a longer Latin version in the Life of St Declán by Charles Plummer. It includes the texts 'Ceithri maic batar la hArttchorb mac Mes Chuirb .i. Brecc & Óengus & Eochuid & Forad' (recension 1); 'Cid dia tá cóechad Cormaic hi Temraig?' (recension 2).

Sources

Manuscript Sources
1. Oxford, Bodleian Library, Rawlinson B 502, ff. 72rb19–73r30 (facs. pp. 131b–133b); first half of 12th century. [Version A (=recension 1), the older one, complete.]
2. Oxford, Bodleian Library, Laud Misc. 610 ('Saltair mic Ruisdeard'), ff. 99vb15–102rb13; 15th century (AD 1453x1454). [Version A, complete.]
3. Dublin, RIA, D ii 1 (1225) al. Book of Uí Maine, ff. 35ra1–va73; 14th century? [Version A, incomplete.] See also R. A. S. MacAlister (ed.), The Book of Uí Maine, otherwise called The Book of the O'Kelly's, with a descriptive introduction and indexes (Facsimiles in collotype of Irish manuscripts 4, Dublin 1942). Digital images and a description of the MS are available on http://www.isos.dias.ie.
4. Dublin, RIA, 23 O 48 (476) al. Liber Flavus Fergusiorum, part 2, f. 51va–b; 15th century (c. AD 1435x1440) [Version B (=recension 2), the later one, fragment.]
5. Dublin, RIA, 23 E 25 (1229) al. Lebor na hUidre, p. 53a33–54b21; second half of 11th century to 13th century?; fragment; interpolated. [Version B, fragment, earlier than H. 3. 17 and H. 2. 15.]
6. Dublin, Trinity College Library, 1316 olim H. 2. 15A, pp. 67a–68b; 14th to 15th century. [Version B, complete, contains material added later.]
7. Dublin, Trinity College Library, 1336 olim H. 3. 17, part 6, cols. 720–723; 15th to 16th century [Version B, complete].

Editions and translations
1. Kuno Meyer (ed. & trans.), The expulsion of the Dessi, Y Cymmrodor 14 (1901) 101–135. (Rawl. 502; variants from MS Laud 610). (Available online at https://archive.org/details/ycymmrodor14cymmuoft).
2. Kuno Meyer (ed.), 'Tucait indarba na nDéssi', in Osborn J. Bergin, R. I. Best et al. (eds.), Anecdota from Irish manuscripts, 1 (Halle 1907), 15–24 (TCL 1316, variants from TCL 1336).
3. Charles Plummer (ed.), Vitae sanctorum Hiberniae, 2 vols. (Oxford 1910), 2 33–35 (Latin version).
4. R. I. Best & Osborn J. Bergin (eds.), Lebor na hUidre (Dublin 1929), 137–141 (RIA 23 O 48, diplomatic edition).
5. Vernam Hull, 'The Book of Uí Maine version of the Expulsion of the Déssi', Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie 24 (1954) 266–271.
6. Máigréad Ní C. Dobb al. Margaret E. Dobbs (ed.), 'From the Book of Fermoy', Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie 20 (1936), 161–184: 174–177 (loose paraphrase of the opening section of Tucait Indarba na nDéssi, from Dublin, RIA, 23 E 29 (1134) al. Book of Fermoy, pp. 77a–78b; 15th century).
7. Séamus Pender, 'Two unpublished versions of the Expulsion of the Déssi', in Séamus Pender (ed.), Féilscríbhinn Torna (Cork 1947), 209–17 (MSS RIA D ii 1 and RIA 23 O 48); corrections by Vernam Hull, 'The later version of the Expulsion of the Déssi', Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie 24 (1954) 270–71.
8. Vernam Hull, 'The later version of the Expulsion of the Déssi', Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie 27 (1958/59) 14–63. (RIA 23 E 25, TCL 1316 and TCL 1336].

Literature
1. Eugene O'Curry, On the manners and customs of the ancient Irish, ed. W. K. Sullivan, 3 vols. (Dublin, 1873; facs. repr. Dublin, 1996), 2, 205–208.
2. Heinrich Zimmer, Nennius Vindicatus. Über Entstehung, Geschichte und Quellen der Historia Brittonum (Berlin 1893).
3. Kuno Meyer, 'Gauls in Ireland', Ériu, 4 (1908/10) 208.
4. Eoin MacNeill, 'The native place of St. Patrick', PRIA, Section C, vol 37 (1924-1927) 118–140.
5. Vernam Hull, 'A collation of Tucait indarba na nDéissi', Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie 24 (1954), 132–134 (re-collation of TCL 1316 ).
6. Vernam Hull, 'The Book of Uí Maine version of the Expulsion of the Déssi', Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie 24 (1954), 266–271.
7. Tomás Ó Cathasaigh, 'On the LU version of 'The expulsion of the Dési'', Celtica 11 (1976), 150–157.
8. Tomás Ó Cathasaigh, 'The Déissi and Dyfed', Éigse, 20 (1984), 1–33.
9. Tomás Ó Cathasaigh, 'The expulsion of the Déisi', Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society 110 (2005) 13–20.
10. Thomas Charles-Edwards, Early Christian Ireland (Cambridge 2000).

The edition used in the electronic edition
1. Kuno Meyer, The Expulsion of the Déssi in Ériu. volume 3, Dublin, Royal Irish Academy (1907) page 135–142

Encoding

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The electronic text represents the edited text. Meyer's introduction is integrated. Names are capitalized in line with CELT practice. In Meyer's edition, the acute accent is used to mark long vowels. Instances with f and overdot are rendered fh. Meyer's corrections are marked corr sic="" resp="KM". Text supplied by him is marked sup resp="KM"; editorial expansions are marked ex. Editorial footnotes are integrated into the electronic edition.. Editorial normalisation of the text is tentative and subject to revision.

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Profile Description

Created: (c. 750)

Use of language

Language: [GA] The text is in Old Irish.

Language: [EN] The Introduction is in English.

Language: [LA] A few formulaic words are in Latin.

Revision History

• (2014-11-30)

  Beatrix Färber (ed.)

• Header modified; new wordcount made.
• (2014-09-23)

  Beatrix Färber (ed.)

• SGML and HTML files created.
• (2014-09-23)

  Donnchadh Ó Corráin (ed.)

• Additional codicologial and bibliographic information supplied.
• (2014-09-23)

  Beatrix Färber (ed.)

• File parsed and validated, header completed.
• (2014-09-19)

  Beatrix Färber (ed.)

• File converted to XML; TEI header created; Introduction typed in; file proofed (2); existing markup updated and added to, variants and annotations integrated, expansions encoded; line-breaks added.
• (1996?)

  Students of the CURIA Project (ed.)

• File proofed (1); some structural markup added.
• (1996?)

  Students of the CURIA Project (data capture)

• File scanned.

Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition: G302006

The Expulsion of the Déssi: Author: Unknown

List of witnesses

• R: Rawlinson B 502

p.135

The Expulsion of the Déssi

Though an edition and translation of the following text from the Bodleian MS Rawlinson B 502 have already appeared in the Cymmrodor, vol 13, pp. 104 ff., I believe that the linguistic and historical importance of this Old Irish document, which, as Zimmer has shown,¹ was first written down about A.D. 750, will justify my reprinting here from the only other manuscript in which this early version has come down to us in its entirety,² the Bodleian codex Laud 610, fo. 99b2 –102a2. I omit all variants, except in a few cases where the reading of Laud is evidently corrupt.

A different and later version of the same tale is found in the following three manuscripts: — LU pp 53a–54b (incomplete); H. 3. 17, col. 720 b–723a; H. 2. 15, pp. 67a–68b. Under the title Tucait indarba na nDéssi this second version has been printed from the last-mentioned MS in Anecdota from Irish Manuscripts vol. 1, pp. 15 ff.

p.136

p.137

Nithothemuir dochumlith ticith dofaitech gluind mair conib cath crechtnigther aratuitet damac durthacht dercthus echen
70] sceo echde sceo mac mairechach ere maine ard erc corba maccu delchidech sit dodaireim findchath mac níathait no endi rofhitir ruithfid find marfithid coderaind dil dia ratuslithi ladcend hilar lentus dia chondochtæ norbe dal nadla thugaile gainethur gaibidith co firo foichle hifoidse dosfeth tus ar ditharus mac
75] Meschuirp mogeth ardalsus condessel ditafind gola folt forderga ord æra serbsi as indin indinn. dega grisas rigthus rigib oscechrus condirannais ingair arus mac maic Fechuir fech fellnatar contofodli fergair conar nith mac Níath naiscthus hitrena hitriach none conoethus nithu Niothemuir dochumlit.

p.138

p.139

p.140

p.141

p.142