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ST. ANDREWS UNIVERSITY 
 PUBLICATIONS, No. VI. 
 
 EARLY IRISH MINUSCULE SCRIPT. 
 
 BY 
 
 W. M. LINDSAY, M.A., 
 
 Professor of Humanity in the University of St. Andrews. 
 
 OXFORD: 
 
 JAMES PARKER & CO., 27 Broad Street. 
 
 1910. 
 
QNIVERSITY OF ST. HNDREVS. 
 
 LIBRARY EXCHANGE. 
 
 WITH THE COAFLmENTS OF THE aNIVERSITY COaRT. 
 
 Acknowledgments and publications sent in exchange should 
 be addressed to 
 
 The Libbaeiaw, 
 
 UNivEKaiTY Library, 
 
 St. Andrews, 
 
 Scotland. 
 
EARLY IRISH MINUSCULE SCRIPT. 
 
 BY 
 
 W. M. LINDSAY. M.A., 
 
 Professor of Hmnanity in the University of St. Andrews. 
 
 OXFORD: 
 I antes ^arker anb Oto., 
 
 27 BROAD STREET. 
 1910. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 § 
 
 r. 
 
 § 
 
 2. 
 
 § 
 
 3- 
 
 § 
 
 4- 
 
 § 
 
 S- 
 
 § 
 
 6. 
 
 8 
 
 7- 
 
 § 
 
 8. 
 
 § 
 
 9- 
 
 § 
 
 lO. 
 
 § 
 
 II. 
 
 § 
 
 12. 
 
 § 
 
 13- 
 
 § 
 
 14 
 
 § 
 
 IS 
 
 § 
 
 i6 
 
 § 
 
 17 
 
 The Bangor Antiphonary (68o — 691) 
 
 The Schaffhausen Adamnan (713 or earlier) 
 
 The Boniface Gospels at Fulda (saec. viii. first half) 
 
 The Book of Dimma . 
 
 The Book of Mulling (saec. vii. ex. ?) 
 
 The Book of Armagh (807) 
 
 Three Bobbio MSS. (Naples IV. A8 ; Vienna 16 ; Vienna 17 
 
 The Leyden Priscian (838) 
 
 The St. Gall Priscian (saec. ix) . 
 
 The St. Gall Gospels, Basle Psalter and Dresden Epistles 
 (saec. ix) ... 
 
 The Berne Horace (saec. ix. ex.) 
 
 The Carlsruhe Bede (836—848) 
 
 The Carlsruhe Augustine (saec. ix) 
 
 The Carlsruhe Priscian (saec. ix) 
 
 Berne 207 (saec. ix — x) 
 
 Vat. Pal. lat. 68 (saec. viii — ix) . 
 
 Earliest Syllabic Suspensions in Milan C. 301 inf. and Boulogne 
 63, 64 . . . • . 
 
 Page 
 r 
 I 
 
 4 
 12 
 16 
 
 24 
 
 30 
 36 
 40 
 
 47 
 5° 
 54 
 57 
 60 
 64 
 67 
 
 70 
 
 PLATES. 
 
 I. Vienna 16 (Eutyches, fol. 57 r.). 
 
 II. The Schaffhausen Adamnan (p. 108). 
 
 III. The Boniface Gospels (fol. 54 v.). 
 
 IV. The Douce Primasius marginalia (Bodl. Douce 140, fol. 
 
 100 v.). 
 V— VI. The Book of Dimma (St. Mark, fol. 18 r. ; St. John, fol. 64 r.). 
 VII— VIII. The Book of Mulling (St. Matthew, fol. 38 v.; St. John, 
 fol. 88 v.). 
 IX. The Book of Armagh. 
 X. The St. Gall Priscian (p. 182). 
 XI. The Carlsruhe Augustine (fol. 42 r.). 
 XII. Vat. Pal. lat. 68 (fol. 46 r.). 
 
EARLY IRISH MINUSCULE SCRIPT. 
 
 1. The difficulty of dating Latin MSS. written by Irish scribes is well 
 known. In this monograph an attempt will be made to fix the date of 
 some of the earlier specimens of Irish minuscule and to make their 
 peculiarities, especially their abbreviation symbols, available as a clue for 
 dating other Irish MSS. Two specimens of majuscule script may be 
 considered first. 
 
 2. The Bangor Antiphonary (680 — 691), edited, with photo- 
 graphic facsimile, in 1893 for the Henry Bradshaw Society by Rev. F. E. 
 Warren, is, in the words of its editor, " the earliest Irish MS. to which 
 an almost exact date can be assigned with certainty." It was written by two 
 scribes at Bangor, or Benchuir, in the North of Ireland, during the abbacy 
 of Cronan (680 — 691). The evidence for the date is this. A hymn, 
 written on the last page by the scribe who has written the second part 
 of the MS., enumerates the Abbots of Bangor. When Cronan, the fifteenth 
 Abbot, comes to be mentioned, the Perfect Tense is changed to the Present 
 {ftunc sedet) and a prayer is added (with a characteristically Irish parade of 
 Greek scholarship in the first word) : zoen ut carpat, conservet cum Dominus 
 (see Mr. Warren's preface, p.x.). From Bangor it came to Bobbio, the Irish 
 monastery founded by St. Columban in 612 in North Italy, and now belongs, 
 with other Bobbio MSS., to the Ambrosian Library (C 5 inf.) at Milan. 
 Among its peculiarities of script may be mentioned the occasional use of 
 a very open q ?>Sid.p (see Mr. Warren's facsimile). Its abbreviation symbols, 
 as is natural in a majuscule MS., are few. Besides the symbols for sacred 
 names (and some capricious suspensions in repetitions), we find q, and 
 q: ' que ' ; b- ' bus ' ; the usual Irish ' pro ' and ' per ' symbols ; and b with 
 cross-stroke for 'bene.' There is one occurrence (fol. 31 r.) of the ,^-like 
 symbol of ' autem ' and one (fol. 34 v.) of frs ' fratres.' The contraction of 
 ' nostro,' ' nostrum,' etc., is no, nm. Not merely final ;;/, but also /;/ in the 
 middle of a word (before another consonant, e.g. 'coluwba') is expressed 
 by the suprascript stroke. 
 
 3. The Schaffhausen Adamnan (713 or earlier). More ab- 
 breviations occur in another majuscule MS. whose date seems certain, 
 the Adamnani Vita Columbae, now at Schaffhausen (Stadtbibliothek, Msc. 
 Generalia 1), but formerly at Reichenau. The scribe was Dorbbene, Abbot 
 
 B 
 
2 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 (or Prior) of lona for some months before his death in October, 713 ; and 
 it is a natural supposition that this successor of Cohimba and of Adamnan 
 wrote the MS. at lona during his abbacy or while he was qualifying for the 
 post J so that the Schaffhausen codex is some twenty or thirty years later 
 than the Bangor Antiphonary. The whole appearance of the codex suggests 
 a transcript, made under such conditions, of a previous Abbot's book, the 
 careful, regular script, all by the same hand, the elaborate duplication" (one 
 of the pair red, the other black) of the abbreviation-stroke or the apex, 
 the distinctive colouring of the two ' subscriptiones ' at the end of the MS., 
 all combine to give a ceremonious or official character to the Schaffhausen 
 copy, which marks it off from ordinary transcripts of this biography, such as 
 the ninth-century MS. at St. Gall (Stiftsbibliothek 555). Here are the 
 'subscriptiones' (on p. 136 of the MS. '^): (i) (in black) Obsecro eos 
 quicumque volueiunt hos discribere libellos, immo potius adiuro per 
 Christum iudicem saeculorum, ut, postquam deligenter discripserint, con- 
 ferant et emendent cum omni dihgentia ad exemplar unde craxerunt, et 
 banc quoque adiurationem hoc in loco subscribant. (2) (in red) Quicumque 
 hos virtutum libellos columbae legerit, pro me dorbbeneo deum deprecetur, 
 ut vitam post mortem aeternam possedeam. And there is another peculi- 
 arity of this MS. which perhaps indicates it as Dorbbene's actual transcript of 
 Adarnnan's autograph copy, and which certainly makes it valuable as a clue 
 to the dating of early Irish minuscule script. On p. 108 (see Plate II., 
 which represents the upper portion of this page) the first column is wholly 
 written in minuscule size, with the exception of the first line (see the photo- 
 graph) and of the last line (the beginning of the red title-heading, the end of 
 which appears at the top of the second column in the photograph). Ap- 
 parently the scribe at first left a blank space for the passage referring to 
 a previous Life of Columba by Cuimine Ailbhe, another Abbot of lona 
 (see the Preface to Reeves' edition of Adamnan's ' Vita Columbae,' in vol. 
 VI. of the 'Historians of Scotland,' Edinburgh, 1874), and, when he came 
 to fill this gap, found that he had miscalculated the space required and was 
 forced to reduce the size of his script. If this passage was an ' afterthought ' 
 of Adamnan, added on the margin (or in an interposed slip of parchment) 
 
 'i This occurs, persistently or occasionally, in some of our oldest Insular MSS., 
 e.g. the Bangor .Xntiphonary ; the Corpus Christi College (Cambridge) St. John; 
 the Books of Durrow and of Kells at Dublin ; the Martyrology of St. Wilbrord at 
 Paris (Bibl. Nat., lat. 10837; from Echternach, written by an English scribe between 
 700 and 710) ; the Lindisfarne Gospels (written by Eadfrith, probably before 698, when 
 he became Bishop of Lindisfarne; cf. Pal. Soc. I. pi. 3) at the British Museum; another 
 British Museum copy of the Gospels (Royal l B vii), written in a script very like that 
 of the Durham Cassiodorus. In a later Bodleian MS. (Matton 93) ' De Officio Missae,' 
 we find something different ; for the rubricator here has rather retraced in colour the 
 punctuation and abbreviation signs and the apices. 
 
 ^ On the last p.nge (p. 137) the Lord's Prayer (Latin) is written in Greek majuscules. 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 3 
 
 in Adamnan's autograph copy, Dorbbene's action, whicli at first sight seems 
 very strange, becomes intelligible. And the nature of the passage itself, 
 a quotation and a criticism of a predecessor's biography of Columba, 
 certainly suggests this explanation. 
 
 However that may be, this minuscule passage, embedded in a majus- 
 cule MS., is of great assistance to us in dating early Irish minuscules. It 
 dispels from our minds the prejudice that any regularly formed Irish 
 minuscule script cannot be as old as (say) the year 700, that only such MSS. 
 as shew majuscule script can be assigned to so early a period. Few 
 palaeographers, on getting a sight of Plate II., with the top-line of the first 
 column and the whole of the second column concealed, would venture to 
 assign the minuscule script to the year 713. But it is undoubtedly written 
 by the hand of Dorbbene. The only difference between the lettering of the 
 first and the second column is a difference of size °. 
 
 A calligraphic majuscule MS. like this cannot be expected to give us 
 much insight into the abbreviations current at the time. Still in its 137 
 pages (there are only 72 in the Bangor Antiphonary) a certain number of 
 symbols do shew themselves (unfortunately not ' nostri,' etc., ' vestri,' etc.). 
 
 autem the /z-like symbol. 
 
 bene b with cross-stroke (in a red title-heading, p. 68). 
 
 dico, etc. df ' dicitur' (frequent). Once dcs ' dicens ' (p. 108). 
 
 eius the usual Irish symbol (p. 72, and in a red title-heading, p. 5). 
 
 enim the usual Irish symbol (p. 39). 
 
 est -¥ (sometimes commas replace the dots and the horizontal line 
 
 becomes sinuous) ; esse ee (in a red title-heading, p. 48). 
 filius fl (in a red title-heading, p. 20, 'echodius fi domnail'), perhaps 
 
 a mere capricious suspension. 
 hie, etc. h- ' haec,' h- 'hoc ' (once h' on p. 65). 
 nomine noe (in red title-headings on p. 47 and p. in). Also no (p. 23 
 
 'quorum unus meldanus notnitie''). 
 non n. 
 nunc nc. 
 per the usual Irish symbol, / with a ' tail.' 
 
 o 
 
 post p. 
 
 prae p. 
 
 pro the usual symbol. 
 
 quasi qsi (in a red title-heading, p. 122). 
 
 que q: (but q; on p. 125). 
 
 = All the plates in this book exhibit the writing of the MSS. in its natural size, 
 without any reduction. 
 
 E 2 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 i 
 
 qui, etc. q 'qui' q:- and sometimes q 'quae.' For 'quod' and 
 ' quam ' tlie usual Irish symbols are employed. Dorbbene care- 
 fully distinguishes q: 'que' and q-.- 'quae.' 
 
 quia the usual Irish symbol, q with cross-stroke through the shaft 
 (p. 122). 
 
 quoniam qm (p. 108). 
 
 qtioque qq. 
 
 sed% (p. 130). 
 
 simt St. 
 
 tantiim tra (p. 130 'angelica visione exhilarita in tatilum remisit ut'). 
 
 vel I with cross-stroke (p. 80). 
 
 Syllable-symbols. 
 
 in Medial, as well as final, in is symbolized (e.g. 'coluwba'). Some- 
 times the stroke has a similar red stroke above it. 
 
 n i 'in' (' /wsula ' p. 118). The ^-stroke is straight, not bent at each 
 end like the 77^stroke. 
 
 con 3. ' Contra ' has its first syllable expressed by this symbol in the 
 word ' contraria ' (p. 91), 
 
 er t ' ter,' e.g. ' iraler.' 
 
 runt rt in ' promiser?<«/ ' (p. 123). 
 
 um r- 'rum.' 
 
 ur € ' tur.' 
 
 Its b: ' bus.' 
 
 In this list (as in the following lists) the ' nomina sacra,' so mono- 
 tonously uniform at all periods and in all scripts, are omitted. On p. 45 
 occMXS faulum apos ' apostolum ' ; on p. 113 columbanus epls ' episcopus.' 
 On p. 39 pas ' passus ' is a mere capricious suspension of a repeated word 
 (' passus . . . hoc est mille pas '). 
 
 The second upright of the letter u is often prolonged downwards, so as 
 to suggest an open q (see line 13 of col. i. of Plate II. for a not very pro- 
 nounced example. The ' et ' ligature has some curious forms, one of which 
 occurs on the page photographed (1. 10 of col. ii.). The w-stroke is 
 occasionally joined to the tail of a preceding a. 
 
 The characteristically Irish use of Greek letters is found on p. 103, 
 where the worAs finitur secundus liber are written partly in Latin and partly 
 in Greek lettering (with * for/, CHIC for sec, etc.). The MS. is composed 
 of gatherings of 12 leaves. 
 
 3. The Boniface Gospels at Fulda (saec. viii., first half). 
 The exact date of Codex Bonifatiamis 3 in the Landesbibliothek, Fulda 
 
Early Irish Mintiscuk Script. 5 
 
 (see Plate III.), cannot be determined ; but the tradition which connects 
 with S. Boniface (680 — 755) this small duodecimo volume, written in Irish 
 cursive (or, at any rate, careless) script, is so early that it can hardly be set 
 aside. On the last leaf there is an entry in golden Caroline minuscules, 
 stating that Abbot Huoggi (elected in 891) begged and obtained from King 
 Arnulf (died in 899) the restitution of this MS. (which St. Boniface 'ut 
 nobis seniorum relacione compertum est propriis conscripsit manibus '). 
 This entry was undoubtedly inserted at some time between 891 and 899, only 
 140 years later than Boniface himself. The statement that Boniface wrote 
 the MS. with his own hands may of course be questioned ; but we can 
 hardly be so sceptical as to deny that this pocket Testament belonged to 
 Boniface, having been brought to Fulda either by himself or by an Irish 
 .missionary. Dr. Scherer, the Fulda Librarian, and author of a monograph 
 on the three Boniface MSS. (' Die Codices Bonifatiani in der Landes- 
 bibliothek zu Fulda.' Fulda, 1905), has rightly deciphered the name in the 
 ' subscriptio' as Cadmug (not ' Widrung') : 'amen, deo gratias ago. cadmug 
 scripsit.' This is a common Irish name and means literally ' the war-slave.' 
 The presence of Irish glosses on some pages (to be edited by K. Meyer in 
 the ' Keltische Zeitschrift ') is further evidence that the scribe was an Irish- 
 man and that the Fulda tradition errs in one detail. This error, however, 
 should not make us doubt the connexion of the MS. with Boniface. For, 
 certainly, if a small Testament was constantly in Boniface's hands, it is 
 imaginable that sooner or later a story might arise, that Boniface was not 
 merely the owner, but the scribe as well. The linguistic form of the Irish 
 glosses is said not to favour too early a date in the eighth century ; but this 
 evidence is not overwhelmingly strong, for the history of Irish forms in that 
 remote period is not fully known. The irregularity of the script, which on 
 some pages looks as if it had been rather scratched (under a magnifying- 
 glass) by a pin than traced by a pen, and which varies in size and character, 
 according as the writer had more or less space or time at his disposal, 
 makes it difficult to decide how many scribes have been employed on the 
 MS. The ' subscriptio ' cadnmg scripsit can hardly avail to prove that there 
 was only one scribe; for, as will be shewn when the book of Mulling comes 
 under discussion (p. 16, below), it is not an unknown practice that only 
 one of the scribes of a MS. signs his name at the end. 
 
 The abbreviation-symbols shew sometimes a variety that argues for 
 more than one scribe. 
 
 ante an. 
 
 apudsi^. 
 
 atit a. 
 
 aittem the /i-symbol. 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 bene b" (once by error b-ne) fol. lo r. 'in quo mihi bene conplacuit '). 
 
 cuius cs. 
 
 mm c (either with straight contraction-stroke or with the w-stroke) and 
 
 C7 (often not angular but curved like a large comma prolonged 
 
 far below the line). 
 dico etc. dt 'dicit,' dx (sometimes dix) 'dixit,' dnt 'dicunt,' dxnt 
 
 'dixerunt' (fol. 7 v.), df ' dicitur,' dcs 'dicens,' die 'dictum.' 
 
 Once dxi ' dixi ' (' et dixi discipulis tuis ut iecirent ilium '). 
 ecce ec (frequent). 
 eius the usual Irish symbol, but with the ' tongue ' of the reverted c 
 
 hanging down and not stretched out horizontally. 
 enim the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 o 
 
 ergo g (with the to the right and not immediately over the centre of 
 the g) and er. 
 
 est 4- in various forms ; esse ee. 
 
 et the 7-symbol in various forms (in one the side-stroke of the 7 has its 
 end turned up so far as to equal the down-stroke in length). 
 
 eum e (frequent). 
 
 facio fac 'factum,' ' facta.' Perhaps a mere capricious suspension, but 
 not at all rare. 
 
 filius fls (Nom.), flm (Ace). Cf. ' mater fliorum zebedei ' (Matthew). 
 
 frater ff (fol. 60 r.). The fra of fol. 4 r. (' omnis qui irascitur fra suo .... 
 dixerit fra suo .... quia fra tuus habet ') etc., seems to be a mere 
 capricious suspension, like the frat of ' et iohannem frat eius,' etc. 
 Cf. ' acipiat fra eius uxorera ipsius .... septem ergo ff erant ' 
 (Mark). This ff ' fratres ' (cf. pf ' patres ' ; see below) occurs 
 elsewhere, e.g. 'venit mater eius zt fratres eius' (Mark). 
 
 habeo, etc. ht ' habet,' hnt ' habent.' Once hat ' habeat ' (s v. ' quoniam 
 
 a 
 
 filius hominis hat potestatem '). Once hns ' habens ' (6 v. 
 ' homo habens aecus '), with the suprascript a added apparently by 
 the scribe himself 
 hie, etc. h- ' haec,' h- and h' (e.g. fol. 4 v.) 'hoc,' hs ' huius,' he and 
 hnc ' hunc' Sometimes hnc denotes 'hanc,' e.g. ' in hanc horam' 
 (fol. 60 v.), ' scribturam hanc legistis,' etc. 
 
 o 
 
 homo h ' homo,' hoe ' homine.' But homi in phrases like ' filius homi,' 
 
 ' hoc coinquinat homi ' is a mere capricious suspension. 
 id est The Irish glosses shew -i- 
 
 i 
 
 igitur g (fol. 5 r.) (the suprascript i shews the normal z-form). On fol. 
 4 r. the letters gi traversed by a long oblique stroke (sloping down 
 from right to left) seem to denote 'igitur' (' vos estis sal terrae, 
 igitur si sal evanuerit '). 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 7 
 
 inter the usual Irish symbol, an ' i longa ' traversed by a stroke (which 
 
 in this MS. slants upwards from left to right and ends on the right 
 
 with a down-turned hook). 
 mens ms ' meus,' mm ' meum.' Often the (capricious ?) suspension m 
 
 denotes ' meum,' ' meam,' e.g. ' angelum m,' ' filium m,' ' adiuva 
 
 incredulitatem m,' ' manumm.' 
 
 niihi m . 
 
 nisi ns and nsi (e.g. fol. 62 r. ' nemo venit ad patrem nisi per me '). 
 
 nobis nob-. 
 
 noinen no ' nomen,' noe ' nomine,' noa ' nomina.' 
 
 non n. 
 
 nosterm. 'nostri,' na ' nostram ' (e.g. 'gentem na'), nm 'nostrum,' etc. 
 
 (The fuller symbol with r, nri, etc., is never found.) 
 niiinerus nuo ' numero.' 
 nunc nc. 
 ovtnis oms ' omnis ' and ' omnes,' ome ' omne,' oma and oa ' omnia,' 
 
 om! ' omni,' etc. 
 pater -px. The same symbol occurs for 'patres' sometimes, e.g. ' pf 
 
 vestri manducaverunt ' (cf. ff ' fratres,' above). The pa of a 
 
 phrase like ' quern ergo pa sanctificavit ' is a mere capricious 
 
 suspension. 
 per the usual Irish symbol. 
 populus. The pop of phrases like ' coram dec et omni pop ' is perhaps 
 
 a mere capricious suspension. 
 
 o 
 
 post p. This symbol followed by the 'est ' symbol is once used (by 
 
 error ?) for ' potest ' (fol. 4 r. ' vos estis lux mundi ; non potest 
 
 civitas '). 
 prae p. 
 
 pro the usual Irish symbol. 
 propter pp (once, fol. 54 v., possibly by error, ppt) and that curious 
 
 monogram of the Irish 'pro' and 'per' symbols which is made 
 
 by adding the ' tail ' of the ' per ' symbol, not (as in the ' per ' 
 
 symbol, to the letter p, but to the ' pro ' symbol. 
 quatido qn and qnd and once qno ('testimonium lohannis quando 
 
 misserunt '). 
 quare qre. 
 quasi qsT. 
 que ql (with the two inverted commas often joined, so that they 
 
 resemble Greek Epsilon). 
 
 i i i o 
 
 qui, etc. q ' qui,' qs ' quis,' qd ' quid.' Similarly q ' quo,' etc. 
 
8 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 For ' quae ' two symbols are used, (i) q and (2) the 'que ' symbol 
 followed either by an inverted comma or by a dot. 
 
 For 'quod,' the usual Irish symbol. But a variety (peculiar to 
 one scribe ?) is also found, in which the lower part of the 
 swerving cross-line is omitted, so that the symbol appears as 
 q followed by a comma touching the shaft, and closely re- 
 sembles the well-known ' que ' symbol of other MSS. 
 
 For ' quem,' the ' que ' symbol is used, with the //^-stroke set over 
 the q. 
 
 Once qm. 
 
 For ' quam,' the usual Irish symbol (also in, e.g. ' 3.quam ' fol. 8 v.). 
 
 f/uia the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 quomodo qmd and qmo. 
 
 quoniam qm and sometimes (a symbol which is rather English than 
 
 Irish) quo (e.g. fol. 11 r ' omne debitum dimisi tibi quoniatn 
 
 rogasti me,' fol. 11 v. 'quoniam moyses ad duritiam,' etc.). 
 quol qt. 
 scriptum (scribtum) scrib in phrases like ' sicut scriptum est.' Perhaps 
 
 a mere capricious suspension. 
 secundum the usual Irish symbol, the letter j- with slanting cross-stroke 
 
 hooked at each end. Also secun (fol. 2 r., in title-heading). 
 sed s. 
 
 i 
 
 sicut s. 
 
 sunt St. 
 
 suum siTi (fol. 10 r. ' secundum opus suum '). 
 
 ta?nen tn. 
 
 tantum tm. 
 
 i 
 
 tibi t (when the t has the form of Greek Tau, this symbol resembles the 
 
 ' inter ' symbol of other MSS.). 
 trans trs. 
 ttcnc tc. 
 
 tuus ts (frequent). 
 vel I with cross-stroke. 
 
 o 
 
 vero u. 
 
 vester ur ' vester,' ui ' vestri,' um ' vestrum,' etc. (The fuller symbol 
 
 with r, uri, etc., is never found.) 
 ut u with comma (sometimes a mere upright dash) above (frequent). 
 
 Syllable symbols, 
 
 m Medial, as well as final, m is symbolized (e.g. 'consuwmatione '). 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. <) 
 
 n 1 ' in ' (also, e.g. ' co/«quinat,' ' in\X\o '). The «-stroke is not curved 
 
 at each end like the i'/«-stroke. 
 con 0. 
 er t ' ter ' (e.g. ' iva.ler,^ ' msiter,' ' pa,ler,' ' nosier,' ' ves^^;;- ') ; u ' ver.' 
 
 ri p ' pri.' (The Irish ' gra,' ' gre,' ' pra,' ' tra ' symbols are not found. 
 
 Only the ' pri ' symbol.) 
 runt rt. 
 um V- ' rum.' Sometimes the stroke is united to the tail of the r so as 
 
 to resemble a ' squirrel-tailed ' r. ub" ' verbum ' (fol. 7 v. ' qui audit 
 
 verbum ') may be a mere capricious suspension. 
 
 On C7 ' cum ' (also in ' Xocum^ etc.), see above. 
 ur c' ' tur.' 
 ns b; ' bus,' pi ' pus,' t'. ' tus,' li ' lus,' etc. 
 
 Of the ' nomina sacra ' class may be mentioned isrl (with cross-stroke 
 through the /) ' Israel,' hiru ' Hi(e)rosolyma,' profe ' profeta,' (-tae, etc.), 
 ioh (with cross-stroke through the //) ' lohannes,' dd (with cross-stroke 
 through the shafts) ' David,' bab ' baplista,' (-tae, etc.). 
 
 Like all small-sized Irish Biblical texts, where every effort was made to 
 save space, Boniface's pocket-copy of the Gospels abounds in capricious 
 suspensions. These are found, not merely where a word is repeated, 
 e.g. 'mater (with the ' ter '-symbol) in filiam et filia in ma ('matrem') 
 suam,' but in any familiar phrase where the reader would not be likely to 
 make a mistake. Thus we find on fol. 60 r. ego sura pas bo ' ego sum 
 pastor bonus.' The text was so familiar that the scribe did not hesitate 
 to curtail the words, although neither pa for ' pastor ' nor. bo for ' bonus ' 
 are abbreviations that he would use elsewhere. The Beatitudes, familiar 
 
 i 
 
 to any monk, are similarly curtailed : Bea q luge nc qm ipsi Dsulabuntur. 
 
 i 
 
 Bea q esurl 7 siti iusti qm ipsi saturabu, etc. Here the only current 
 symbols are those of ' qui,' ' nunc,' ' quoniam,' ' con,' ' et.' All the rest 
 is mere capricious curtailment, tolerated in a familiar passage, but not 
 elsewhere. It is not always easy to draw the line between these ' capricious 
 suspensions' and the real object of our investigation, the abbreviations 
 current at the time in the scriptorium where the MS. was written. Thus 
 ' discipuli' (-lis, etc.) appears often asdiscip or discipu and ' respondit' as res 
 or respo and ' respondens ' as respo or respon and ' tempore ' more than once 
 as tempo (' in illo tempo,' ' in tempo messis '). In the preceding list of 
 Abbreviations it is possible that ec ' ecce,' e ' eum,' as well as others, have 
 no better claim to a place than res 'respondit,' tempo 'tempore.' On 
 
 fol. 43 v. we read ' qmadmo auis nid (with cross-stroke through the d) suum 
 
lo Marly Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 sub pennis 3gregat,' and it is quite possible that quemadmo and d with 
 cross-stroke should be treated as current abbreviations of the word 
 ' quemadmodum ' and of the syllable 'dum,' Also ciui ' civitas ' (fol. 4r. 
 ' quia civitas est magni regis '). 
 
 The irregularity of this ' scratchy ' script has been already mentioned. 
 It makes difficult the selection for mention of peculiar forms of letters. 
 The most striking peculiarity is the reverse form of the two commas used in 
 the ' que ' and ' us ' symbols (see above). When the two commas are written 
 without lifting the pen, something like a Greek Epsilon is produced, the reverse 
 of the usual Irish form of the symbol 3. Another peculiarity is a form of/ 
 which closely resembles a long-shafted Irish r. Another that deserves 
 mention is an occasional form of a, open beneath and not above. The 
 letter t is sometimes written like Greek Tau, i.e. as a straight horizontal 
 line upon a straight vertical line. Initial T often resembles our Z. A very 
 open form of d is not uncommon. That breaking up of letters into separate 
 parts which is characteristic of ' cursive ' script is not much seen. I noted 
 ' dicunt ' with the nt written as n^, and 'belzebuth' with the upper part 
 of the second e joined to the b and its lower curve to the z. 
 
 As is usual with Iiish Gospels of this type (see Lawlor 'Book of Mul- 
 ling,' p. 11), each Gospel forms a separate book and is preceded by a paint- 
 ing of the Evangelist. Fantastic arrangement of the text on a page is 
 occasionally found. Thus the last page of St. Matthew is arranged like 
 a St. Andrew's cross, and the script of the page shews some slightly 
 fantastic flourishes (e.g. in the word ' congregati '). In the bottom line 
 of a page the lower shafts of letters are often unduly prolonged. 
 
 What has a far stronger claim to be regarded as the actual writing of 
 Boniface is found in another MS. at Fulda. Bonifatianus i, known to 
 Biblical critics as the ' Codex Fuldensis,' is an uncial New Testament of the 
 middle of the sixth century. On a few pages (at the Epistle of St. James) 
 there are marginal entries in Insular minuscule script of the same type 
 as is used in that St. Petersburg MS. (Q. v. I. 15), which used to belong to 
 the library of Corbie and which Traube (' Perrona Scottorum,' p. 492) 
 declared to have been written at the Irish monastery of Peronne (near 
 Corbie). The characteristics of this script are (amongst others) a very 
 open q, a sloping t with a long tapering top-stroke rising from left to right 
 and a free use of the cursive ^ Insular e. A photograph of these marginalia 
 in the Codex Fuldensis will be found in Scherer's book (mentioned above) 
 and in Steffens^ pi. 21*; photographs from the St. Petersburg MS. in 
 Traube ' Palseographische Bemerkungen ' or in the Henry Bradshaw Society 
 
 ^ I give this name to that variety in which the lower curve (often angle) of the letter 
 is bent backwards, instead of forwards. (See the ' Zentralblatt fiir Bibliothekswesen ' 
 1908, p, 260.) 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 1 1 
 
 Publication of 1909 (Burn ' Facsimiles of the Creeds from Early Manu- 
 scripts '). Traube calls the script of the Pdronne (?) MS. 'Irish.' But 
 it seems more English than Irish. Its 'tur' symbol, ^ with its top-stroke 
 intersected on the right by a sinuous vertical stroke is an English symbol. 
 And its qd ' quod ' and (occasional) quo ' quoniam ' are more English than 
 Irish. On fol. 71 r. in the middle of the first column the script changes to 
 Continental minuscules of the Corbie type (such as are seen in MSS. from 
 Corbie like Amiens 220, Paris 12239). Fo"^ 'qui' the symbol used is q- 
 (hke the ' que ' sign), a rare symbol which is perhaps more English (Con- 
 tinental English ?) than Irish. I have noted it only in St. Petersburg 
 F. V. I. 3 (from Corbie Library, like Q. v. I. 15), Munich 6298 (photo- 
 graphed in Traube ' Pal. Bemerk.'), a MS. associated with Corbinian, 
 Wiirzburg Mp. th. F. 13. The script of these marginalia in the Codex 
 Fuldensis seems therefore English ", rather than Irish. It certainly belongs 
 to the time of Boniface (see the photograph in Scherer's book, reproduced 
 in Steffens^ pi. 21='). And who but Boniface himself would be likely to ven- 
 ture to make entries in so fearless a style in a precious MS. like this, a MS. 
 written for the great Victor of Capua and revised by his own hand ? We have 
 more reason to accept than to discard the traditional connexion of these 
 marginalia with Boniface. They contain the following abbreviations : — 
 
 autem the ^-symbol. 
 cetera cet. 
 dico dt ' dicit.' 
 
 eius the usual Insular symbol. 
 est ^. 
 idest -i- 
 non n. 
 
 per p with 'tail.' 
 prae p. 
 que q- 
 
 qui, etc, q:- 'quae,' qd 'quod.' 
 quia q with cross-stroke. 
 quoniam quo. 
 sunt St. 
 vel I with cross-stroke. 
 
 Syllable-symbols. 
 
 con a reverted f resembling the numeral g. 
 runt rt. 
 
 1= Of the same type is (see Plate IV.) the Minuscule script in the marginalia of the 
 Douce Primasius (Bodl., Douce 140), a MS. which Traube himself describes as written 
 in S.W. Britain, perhaps in the 7th century (Nom. Sac. p. 33). 
 
12 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 rum f. 
 us b- ' bus.' 
 To the 'nomina sacra ' category belong irl, euang, apos (Nom. Sing.). 
 
 4. The Book of Dimma. This other surviving specimen of Early 
 Irish Cursive (or careless script), in size and appearance not unlike Boni- 
 face's pocket-copy of the Gospels, belongs to Trinity College Library, Dublin 
 (A 4. 23). The Gospels of St. Matthew, St. Mark and St. Luke are written (see 
 Plate V.) by the same hand (which varies according to the deliberation or the 
 hurry of the writer), except the first leaf and a half (fol. 2 r. — 3 r.). Dimma, 
 we may suppose, got the head of the ' scriptorium,' to begin the work. 
 The differences of his script from Dimma's are easily recognized. For 
 example, he uses an extraordinary form of the ' et ' symbol which comes 
 very near the shape of n ; Dimma revels in the Irish cursive ^, etc., etc. 
 Although the beginning of St. Matthew was written by another hand, 
 Dimma signs his own name at the end of the Gospel : finit. orbit do dinunu 
 
 d 
 
 roscrib pro deo et benedi . . . (The Irish words mean 'pray for Dimma the 
 scribe '). Similarly at the end of St. Mark : ^/lit. orbit do dimmu (' pray for 
 Dimma '). At the end of St. Luke is a fuller entry : _finit. amen, deo gratias 
 ago. oroit do dianchridiu (?) diaroscribad hie liber 7 do dimmu scribe?iti. amen 
 ('pray for Dianchride for whom this book has been written and for Dimma 
 the writer '). The script of St. John's Gospel (see Plate VI.) has a much 
 later appearance, with its bold well-formed lettering ; but the Schaffhausen 
 MS. of Adamnan (see above, p. 3) has taught us the lesson that such 
 lettering is not inconsistent with great antiquity. At the end of the Gospel 
 we read : finit. amen (with the cursive e-form). Then comes a •cross, 
 followed by the words dimma maccnathi. Then two half-legible lines of 
 Irish, which mean ' give me in reward for my labour . . . without neglect . . 
 and a habitation in heaven ' (see Stokes and Strachan ' Thesaurus Palaeo- 
 hibernicus,' i, 257, where the lines are misplaced). The natural inference 
 is that Dimma was also the scribe of St. John and that the different 
 appearance of the script is due to his having discarded the cursive style in 
 writing the Fourth Gospel (in which, e.g. the cursive f-form is never used). 
 But a study of the abbreviations makes this inference impossible. While 
 
 o 
 
 Dimma uses er for ' ergo,' the scribe of St. John uses g ; his ' propter ' 
 symbol (the monogram of 'per' and 'pro') is unknown to Dimma, etc., 
 etc. And a closer inspection of the words dimma maccnathi suggests a 
 suspicion that they are a later addition. Their triangular form of a, a form 
 not found in the text of the Gospel, is perhaps suggestive of later Irish 
 script. Perhaps the truth is that Dimma's work ended with St. Luke, and 
 its end was marked by the entry 'finit. amen, deo gratias ago, etc. '; while 
 
■Early Irish Minuscule Script. 13 
 
 St. John's Gospel is the work of another (contemporary?) scribe. Some 
 later hand inserted Dimma's name at the end of the whole MS. 
 
 List of Abbreviations : — 
 ante an. 
 apud ap. 
 aut a. 
 
 autem the /i-like symbol. 
 bene b with cross-stroke. 
 contra 33. The scribe of St. John uses 3 with cross-stroke (a symbol 
 
 which differs from the ' eius ' symbol merely in this, that the stroke 
 
 traverses the half-circle in ' contra,' but only touches it in ' eius '). 
 cuius cs. 
 ctim c. 
 dico, etc. dt ' dicit,' dms ' dicimus,' dnt ' dicunt,' dx ' dixit,' df ' dicitur,' 
 
 dcs ' dicens.' 
 eitts the usual Irish symbol. The scribe of foil. 2 r. — 3 r. sometimes puts 
 
 a contraction-stroke '' above. 
 enim the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 o 
 
 ergo er. The scribe of foil. 2 r. — 3r. and the scribe of St. John use g, 
 but with this difference that in foil. 2 r. — 3 r, the stands above the 
 centre of the ^ while in St. John it stands towards the right (indeed 
 we find once go, perhaps by error, ' turba ergo quae stabat et 
 audiebat '). 
 
 est -^. 
 
 esse ee. 
 
 et the 7-symbol in various forms. On foil. 2 r. — 3 r. it sometimes re- 
 sembles the letter ?i or a short-shafted h. Dimma often makes it 
 curved and not angular, so that it resembles a large comma (pro- 
 longed below the line) or the ' con ' symbol of some early MSS. 
 /rater. The scribe of St. John uses ff ' frater,' frs ' fratres.' 
 
 habeo, etc. het ' habet,' hnt ' habent,' hns ' habens.' 
 
 ///c, etc. h-'haec,'h' 'hoc' For 'hoc' the dot is sometimes replaced 
 by a comma and even by a horizontal line, quite like the ' haec ' 
 symbol ; e.g. ' bibite ex hoc omnes ' (Matthew) ; ' divulgatum est 
 hoc verbum ' (Matthew). Also hs ' huius,' he ' hunc' 
 
 homo h° ' homo,' hois ' hominis,' hoem ' hominem,' etc. 
 
 igitur. The scribe of St. John uses ig. 
 
 inter an i widi cross-stroke. 
 
 ' As in the half-uncial Durham Gospels (Chapter Library, A. II, 17), written in 
 an English-scriptoriiim. 
 
14 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 loquihtr loqf (St. Jolin). 
 meus ms ' meus,' mm ' meum.' 
 
 i 
 
 mihi. The scribe of St. John uses m. 
 
 nomen no 'nomen,' noe ' nomine,' noa ' noinina,' etc. 
 
 non n. Once no (fol. 4 r. est est n no). 
 
 noster nf (St. John) ' noster,' ni and nri ' nostri,' nm and nrm ' nostrum,' 
 
 etc. Dimma prefers the fuller form (with r'). 
 nunc nc. 
 omnis oms ' omnis ' and ' omnes,' ome ' omne,' etc. For ' omnia ' 
 
 Dimma uses oma, but the scribe of St. John oa. 
 per the usual Irish symbol. Once, by error, the ' pro '-symbol is used 
 
 (fol. 2 V '■per Isaiam profetam '). 
 populus pis ' populus,' pll ' populi,' plo ' populo,' etc. 
 
 o 
 
 post p. 
 
 prae p. 
 
 pro the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 proprius. The scribe of St. John uses the monogram of ' pro ' and 
 
 ' pri ' (the ' pro '-symbol surmounted by the letter i) for the two 
 
 first syllables of ' proprius,' etc. To this monogram he adds the 
 
 case-endings, us, i, o, etc. 
 propter. The scribe of St. John uses the monogram of ' pro ' and ' per ' 
 
 (the ' pro '-symbol with a ' tail ' appended) and sometimes // with 
 
 cross-stroke traversing the lower shafts. 
 qicando qn and sometimes qno. 
 quare qre. 
 quasi qsi. 
 que q3 and q; (St. John). 
 
 1 i i o a 
 
 qui, etc., q ' qui,' qs ' quis,' qd ' quid ' q ' quo,' q ' qua,' etc. 
 
 For ' quae,' q and q3, (in St. John q and q:- or q;-). 
 
 For ' quod ' and for ' quam,' the usual Irish symbols. 
 
 For ' quem,' the w-stroke is put above the letter q. 
 quia the usual Irish symbol. 
 quomodo qmo. 
 quoniam qiti. 
 
 quoque. The scribe of St. John uses qq. 
 quot qt. 
 scriptum scrip (in the phrase ' scriptum est ') is too frequent to be a mere 
 
 capricious suspension. But it also occurs for ' scriptura ' (' nonne 
 
 scriptu?-a dicit '). 
 secundum the usual Irish symbol. For the Adjectives, this symbol is 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 15 
 
 followed by dus, di, do, etc., and occasionally dum is added for 
 
 the Preposition. 
 sed s. 
 sequentur seqnf (St. John). 
 
 i 
 
 sicut s. 
 sine sn. 
 sunt St. 
 super sf. 
 tamen tn. 
 tantum tm. 
 
 i 
 
 //iJ/. The scribe of St. John uses t. 
 
 trans ts. 
 
 /««;: tc. 
 
 vet I with cross-stroke. 
 
 
 vero u. 
 
 ww/^r ur 'vester,' uri and ul 'vestri,' urm and um 'vestrum,' etc. 
 
 Dimma prefers the fuller form (witli r) ; the scribe of St. John 
 
 prefers the two-lettered form. 
 unde uii. 
 
 Syllable-symbols : — 
 
 m Medial, as well as final, m (e.g. ' cowmissura,' ' ru;«po,' etc.). The 
 
 w-stroke is sometimes a vertical sinuous line. 
 ni^in' (also, e.g. '/«de'). The ^-stroke is not curved at each end 
 
 like the »/-stroke. 
 con 3. 
 er t ' ter,' e.g. ' ha.ter,' ' msiter,' ' ■pa.ter.' 
 
 u ' ver ' ; b- ' ber ' (e.g. ' Wberaxi '). 
 
 ra, ri p ' pri ' ; t ' tra ' (e.g. in ' trad.\t\\s,' etc.). 
 
 rimt rt. 
 
 um r- ' rum.' 
 
 On fol. 3 r. apparently c- ' cum ' in ' tv'nicum.' 
 ur t' ' tur.' 
 jis h} ' bus,' p3 ' pus,' tj ' tus,' n3 ' nus,' etc. In St. John also b; ' bus,' 
 
 n; ' nus,' etc. 
 
 To the ' nomina sacra ' class belong isrl (with cross-stroke through the 
 /) ' Israel,' hiru ' Hi(e)rosolyma,' ang (and angl with cross-stroke through 
 the /) 'angelus,' ioh- (io by the scribe of St. John) 'lohannes,' apos 'apos- 
 tolus,' etc. Perhaps the last four should be included among ' capricious 
 
1 6 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 suspensions ' like ' de mon (i.e. ' monte ') praecipit illis,' Res 'respondit' 
 is very common in St. John ; res and resp ' respondens ' in the other 
 Gospels. Other suspensions are diab (with cross-stroke through the b) 
 ' diabolus ' and discip ' discipuli.' Am ' amen ' seems to be another (cf. 
 'am a dico vobis ' St. John). 
 
 Of the letter-forms the most striking are the cursive e (of the S-form), 
 so persistently used by Dimma, and the curious varieties of the ' et ' symbol. 
 An open ^ and an a which resembles d are also prominent. Of peculiarly 
 'cursive' features I noted the formation of the contraction-stroke by pro- 
 longing the top curve of the e in hoem ' hominem.' 
 
 Each Gospel has its own 'gathering,' except that the picture of St. 
 Mark is on the reverse page of the last leaf of the first ' gathering.' 
 
 It should be added that a blank space at the end of St. Luke and the 
 beginning of St. John has been filled by a quite different and evidently 
 later hand with prayers for the sick. The writer uses some ' late ' abbrevi- 
 ations, us 'usque,' f'for,' etc.; although he twice employs the cursive e 
 (' salut^m per '). 
 
 5. The Book of Mulling. The history of this MS. of the Gospels 
 in Trinity College Library, Dublin, is told by Prof. Lawlor, ' The Book of 
 MuUing,' Edinburgh, 1897 (pp. 208; with a photograph of fol. 48 r,, the 
 latter part of St. Matthew's Gospel). He tells us how a number of loose 
 leaves preserved in a jewelled case (' cumdach ') passed from the library 
 of the Kavanaghs at Borris Idrone to the library of Trinity College ; and 
 how these loose leaves were bound (somewhat indiscriminately and in 
 wrong order) into the present volume by a London bookbinder, so that the 
 MS. in its present shape does not properly correspond to the ancient ' Book 
 of Mulling.' Our discussion of the script must confine itself, at least at 
 first, to the genuine kernel, the four Gospels, contained on foil, i — 17 
 (St. Mark), foil. 29 — 94 (St. Matthew, Luke, John). 
 
 The discrimination of the several scribes of this genuine portion can 
 be made with a fair amount of certainty. The four Gospels are mainly the 
 work of two scribes, one of whom (see Plate VII.) has written (with slight 
 exceptions which will be mentioned below) the first three Gospels, while the 
 other (Plate VIII.) has written the Fourth Gospel. 
 
 The script of the Fourth Gospel has a more ancient appearance than 
 the script of the other three, and shews some marked differences of abbrevi- 
 ation. This scribe, for example, uses the 7-symbol for ' um,' ns for ' nisi,' 
 qm for ' quern,' sf for ' super,' while in the other Gospels we do not find 
 these symbols. He confines himself to the older abbreviations of 'nostri,' 
 ' nostro,' etc. (ni, no). At the end of the Gospel appears (in the same 
 script) the signature : ' Finit. Amen. Finit. O tu quic ..nque scripseris vel 
 scrutatus fueris vel etiam videris haec volumina, Deum ora . . . [mijsseri- 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 17 
 
 cordia sua . . . perclivosam mundi viam . . . [ajdusque altissimum. Nomen 
 autem scriptoris mulling dicitur. Then comes (possibly by another hand) 
 Finiunt quatuor evangelia. 
 
 Now Mulling or Moling (accented on the second syllable) is no 
 common Irish name. It was the pet-name (or nickname) of a famous Irish 
 sa.'nt, Bishop of Ferns, who founded the monastery of Tech Moling and 
 who died in the year 696. There cannot be the shadow of a doubt that 
 •fhis is the Moling mentioned in this entry. For St. Moling belonged to 
 llhe Kavanagh family and his monastery is within a few miles of the 
 Ivavanaghs' family seat at Borris Idrone. 
 
 \ Are we then to regard the Gospel of St. John as a survival of 
 ^t. Moling's original codex, and the other three Gospels as subsequent 
 ;alien additions? The theory is a very attractive one, but is disproved by 
 I the fact that the hand of the Fourth Gospel appears here and there in the 
 .other portion. The second column of fol. 34 r. shews quite the same hand 
 as the Fourth Gospel (with 07 'cum,' man7 'manum'; but also nras 
 • nostras,' uris ' vestris '). Also, to all appearance, the first column of fol. 
 72 V. (with C7 'cum,' gaudi7 ' gaudium,' sf ' super '). 
 
 A temporary intervention of another scribe is of course a common 
 thing in Irish (and other) MSS. Another small portion (foil. 62 r. — 62 v.) 
 seems to be the work of a third scribe (with dix for ' dixit ' and the mono- 
 gram of the ' pro ' and ' per ' symbols for ' propter '). 
 
 Another theory must be considered. Is our MS. a mere transcription, 
 made by two (or rather three) monks of Tech Moling from the original 
 autograph Gospels of St. Moling, the ' subscriptio ' of the Saint having been 
 transcribed word for word, as it stood in the original? That is certainly 
 quite a rational theory. It is true that one might expect the monks to have 
 substituted for the original form of the signature some such phrase as " this 
 is a transcript from St. Moling's autograph text." Still there are many 
 examples of the mechanical transcription of a signature along with the text 
 of an original. On the other hand, just as a man must be held to be innocent 
 until he is proved to be guilty, a signature like this must be accepted as 
 St. Moling's autograph, unless this is proved to be impossible. It has been 
 argued that the fact that these Gospels are written by more than one scribe 
 proves that the signature is copied and not original, since the signature 
 implies that all four Gospels were written by St. Moling. This argument 
 however is invalidated by some instances of MSS., which were partitioned 
 among a number of scribes but which exhibit the signature of one scribe 
 only. We may suppose that the head of the ' scriptorium ' would sign his 
 name to a MS. in which he had a share, just as Rubens used to affix his 
 signature to pictures i- .ivhich he had been assisted by his pupils. So that 
 the aged St. Moling may have penned this entry at the end of the Fourth 
 
 c 
 
1 8 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 Gospel, although tlie greater part of the work had been done by one (or 
 rather two) of his monks. He would all the more readily do this, since, 
 the Fourth Gospel, the last portion of the MS., was his own share of the' 
 work. All this suits admirably the more antique appearance of the script of 
 the Fourth Gospel and of at least some of its peculiar abbreviations (e.g. nL 
 ' nostri,' ns ' nisi '). 
 
 Of this procedure many examples might be given ; but one, taken from; 
 a MS. of the Gospels, may suffice. At Colmar (Stadtbibl. 38) there is an-^ 
 eightli-century copy of the Gospels in Continental minuscules (now bound up, 
 with a copy of the Epistles in Insular minuscules), which presumably comes,! 
 like other Colmar MSS., from Murbach Library. The changes of script are 
 clearly marked. One shews itself, for instance, at fol. 52 r., at the beginning', 
 of the eighth quire and of St. Mark's Gospel. This scribe was called 
 Ratfrid, as we see from the ' subscriptio ' at the end of St. Mark on \ 
 fol. 79 V. : explicit . . . Ratfridus scripsit hunc libellum. Qui legit oret pro 
 scriptore si Deum habeat protectorem (the last sentence being a common 
 form of rhyming subscriptio in MSS. of different parts of Europe). Ratfrid's 
 unmistakable script appears again at fol. 152 r. and continues to the end 
 of St. John on fol. 172 v., where we read : Finit evangelium secundum 
 lohannem . Deo gratias. Ratfridus scrpsit {sic^ hunc libellum. Now St. 
 John's Gospel begins long before Ratfrid's second intervention, so that 
 Ratfrid has no right to the full title of the ' writer of this booklet.' All 
 that he has written of St. John is a mere part, not the whole. Surely no 
 other example is needed to disprove the sceptical argument based on the 
 Moling 'subscriptio.' 
 
 We must therefore accept the Book of Mulling as a genuine relic of 
 St. Moling's time, the end of the seventh century, unless it can be shewn 
 that there is anything in the script or the abbreviations which is inconsistent 
 with so high antiquity. The abbreviations are these : — 
 
 ante an. 
 
 apud ap. 
 
 ant a. 
 
 antein the ^-symbol. 
 
 hem b with cross-stroke. 
 
 contra 33 (also expressed by the 'con ' symbol followed by the ' tra ' 
 
 symbol). 
 civilas ciuT (also for ' civitatis,' -' ti,' -' tes,' etc.), perhaps a mere 
 
 capricious suspension. We find ciuita 'civitate' on fol. 89 v. ('in 
 
 civitate quae dicitur efrem '). 
 cuius cs. 
 cvm c (the scribe of St. John uses 07). 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 19 
 
 dico, etc. dt ' dicit,' dnt ' dicunt,' dx ' dixit ' (but dix, by the scribe of 
 
 foil. 62 r. — 62 v.), df ' dicitur,' dcs ' dicens,' dens ' dicentes ' (fol. 
 
 29 V. 'magi . . . venerunt . . dicentes'), die ' dictum.' 
 eiiis the usual Irish symbol. The scribe of St. John writes it with the 
 
 'tongue' sometimes hanging down, sometimes not touching the 
 
 reverted c. 
 enim the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 o 
 
 ergo g. The scribe of St. John puts the suprascript towards the 
 
 right. 
 est ■- (or with commas instead of dots) ; esse ee. 
 et the 7-symbol, not always of the same form. 
 facio fac ' factum.' 
 filiits fls ' filius ' (sometimes fi, probably a mere capricious suspension, 
 
 e.g. fl ho ' filius hominis '), flo ' Alio,' flm ' filium,' etc. Also fla 
 
 ' filia ' (fol. 90 r.). 
 frater if ' frater,' frm ' fratrem,' frs ' fratres,' etc. 
 
 The fra 'fratres,' ' fratris,' etc. of fol. 75 r. ('aut fra aut sorores') 
 fol. 39 V. ('propter hero uxorem fra sui ') is a mere capricious 
 suspension. 
 habeo, etc. ht and het ' habet,' hns ' habens.' 
 hie, etc. h- 'haec,' h (with dot above shoulder) 'hoc,' h§ / huius,' he 
 
 ' hunc ' and ' banc ' (e.g. fol. 7 1 r. ' hanc similitudinem '). 
 
 o 
 
 homo h ' homo,' hols ' hominis,' hoi ' homini ' (once hi, fol. 39 r. 
 
 'simile est regnum caelorum homini negotiatori '), hoes 'homines,' 
 
 hoibus ' hominibus,' hoium ' hominum ' (St. John). 
 
 The ho and homi of phrases like ' fi ho ' (' filius hominis ') and ' qui 
 
 deum non timebat et homi non verebatur . . . nee ho revereor ' 
 
 (fol. 74 V.) are mere capricious suspensions. Probably the 
 
 same should be said of ho 'homo' fol. 39 r. ('quem qui 
 
 invenit homo abscondit '). 
 
 igiiiir ig' and g'. The comma has precisely the form of the ' ur ' 
 
 symbol. 
 inter the usual Irish symbol, z longa with cross-stroke. 
 mater. Once mrm ' matrem ' (fol. 86 r.). Thema 'matrem,' ' matri ' of 
 fol. 40 r. (' honora pa tuum et ma tuam . . . quicumque dixeril pa 
 vel ma suae ') is a mere capricious suspension. 
 mens ms ' meus,' mm ' meum ' and ' meam ' (e.g. fol. 88 r. ' quare 
 loquelam meam non cognoscetis.' 
 
 But also mam ' meam ' (fol. 86 v. ' qui manducat mam carnem 
 et bibit mm sanguinem '). On fol. 38 r mm ' meam ' (' in 
 domum meam ') is corrected to mam. 
 C 2 
 
20 Early Irish Minnsaik Script. 
 
 i 
 
 ?inki m. 
 
 o 
 
 Modo. The scribe of St. John uses m. 
 
 o 
 
 nemo. The scribe of St. John uses the singular abbreviation n 
 (fol. 82 V. 'deum nemo vidit umquam nisi unigenitus ' ; fol. 83 v. 
 ' nejno enim potest '). 
 
 nihil ^ (with cross-stroke through the /). 
 
 i 
 
 nisi n. The scribe of St. John uses the old syllabic suspension ns. 
 
 nomen no ' nomen,' noe ' nomine.' 
 
 non n. The majuscule form of the letter is often used. 
 
 nosier nf 'noster' (St. John). For the oblique cases the scribe of 
 
 St. John uses the older abbreviation, ni, no, etc. In the other 
 
 Gospels the fuller forms nrl, nro, etc. are more frequent, although 
 
 the older type is also used (e.g. fol. 43 v. ' miserere ni fili dauid ' ; 
 
 fol. 74 r. ' miserere ni '). 
 numerus nuo ' numero ' (fol. 85 v.), nuos ' numeros.' The nu ' numerus ' 
 
 of fol. 39 V. (' manducantium autem fuit numerus quinque milia') 
 
 is a mere capricious suspension. 
 mmc nc. 
 omnis oms ' omnis ' (also omis) and ' omnes,' ome ' omne,' omi ' omni,' 
 
 oma ' omnia,' etc. 
 pater prm ' patrem,' pre ' patre.' The pa ' patrem,' ' patri ' of fol. 40 r. 
 
 (see above, ' mater ') is a mere capricious suspension. 
 per the usual Irish symbol. 
 popiilus. The pop in phrases like 'dimisit popwlum' (fol. 39V.), 
 
 ' populus hie ' (fol. 40 r.) is probably a mere capricious suspension, 
 
 for which popu is substituted on fol. 77 V. (' audiente autem omni 
 
 populo '). 
 
 o 
 
 post p. 
 
 prae p. 
 
 pro the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 proprius. The scribe of St. John uses the monogram of ' pro ' and 
 
 ' pri ' followed by the case-ending. 
 propter pp (sometimes with the 'ter' symbol added). Also pp with 
 a cross-stroke traversing the lower shafts. 
 
 The scribe of foil. 62 r. — 62 V. uses the monogram of 'pro' and 
 ' per.' 
 quando qn and qn5. Similarly qndiu ' quandiu ' once (fol. 88 r.). 
 quare qre. 
 qiiasi qsl. 
 que q; (St. John) and qj (a form of the semi-colon). 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 21 
 
 qui, etc. q ' qui ' (but often ql, with a suprascript stroke, like the 
 i'«-stroke, for u; this stroke being sometimes connected with 
 
 i i o a 
 
 the qs ' quis,' qd ' quid,' q 'quo ' (also in 'quol,' etc.), q (often 
 
 with the open form of a) ' qua,' etc. 
 
 For 'quae,' q is far more frequent than q:- (fol. 30 v., fol. 87 r., 
 
 etc. Also in ' aquae '). 
 For ' quod ' and ' quam,' the usual Irish symbols. 
 For ' quern ' the scribe of St. John uses qm, with a stroke curved 
 at each end (like the ;«-stroke or the suprascript u of 'qui') 
 over the q, while his symbol for ' quoniam ' has a straight 
 stroke over the m. 
 quia the usual Irish symbol. 
 quippe qpe (fol. 86 v.). 
 qtiomodo qmo. 
 quoniam qm. 
 quoque qq. 
 quot qt. 
 scriptum scrip (in the phrase ' scriptum est '). Once for ' scripta ' 
 
 (fol. 93 V. ' quae non sunt scripta in hoc libro '). 
 secundum the usual Irish symbol. The scribe of St. John adds to it the 
 
 termination uni. 
 sed s. 
 
 i 
 
 sicut s. 
 
 sine sn. 
 
 sunt St. 
 
 suis ss (fol. 62 r.). 
 
 tamen tn. 
 
 tantum tm. 
 
 i 
 
 tibi t. 
 
 trans ts. 
 
 tunc tc. 
 
 tuus. The scribe of St. John uses ts (identical with the ' trans ' 
 
 symbol) (fol. 87 v., 89 v. 'resurget frater tuus^). 
 vcl I with cross-stroke. 
 
 o 
 
 vero u. 
 
 vester Or ' vester ' (St. John). For the oblique cases the scribe of 
 St. John uses the older abbreviation ul, uo, etc. In the other 
 Gospels, they are seldom abbreviated, but, when they are, the 
 fuller forms url, etc., are found. (Notice urm ' vestram ' on fol. 40 r. 
 ' propter traditionem vestram '). 
 
 unde un. 
 
2 2 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 Syllable-symbols : — 
 
 m. Medial, as well as final, m (e.g. ' ruwpit,' ' condewpno,' and even 
 on fol. 40 V. nuero ' numero 's). In St. John almost only final m. 
 n 1 'in.' The ^-stroke is not curved at each end like the ?«-stroke. 
 con 3, 
 er t ' ter ' (e.g. ' paler,' ' mater') ; u ' ver ' ; b" ' ber ' (e.g. ' rmberQ '). 
 
 i 
 
 ra, ri, re p 'pri ' g ' gre ' (e.g. ' Gr(a)ece ' fol. 93 r.). 
 
 c ' tra ' appears rarely, e.g. on fol. 76 r. ' contra ' (with the ' con ' 
 symbol) and (unless there is a correction here) fol. 88 v. 
 ' extra.' 
 
 runt rt. Also bt ' bunt ' (e.g. fol. 84 v. ' z.&oxabunt'). 
 
 um r- ' rum.' The scribe of St. John uses for uin, after any other letter 
 than r, a symbol like the numeral 7, which (unlike the very 
 similar ' et ' symbol) descends below the line, e.g. C7 ' cum,' e7 
 ' eura,' d7 ' dum,' fact7 'factum,' 37 'sum,' su7 'suum.' Some- 
 times a curve replaces the angle of this symbol. 
 
 ur c' ' tur.' 
 
 us b3 and b: (St. John) ' bus ' ; p3 and p: (St. John), ' pus,' etc. 
 
 Of the ' nomina sacra ' class these may be mentioned : 
 
 apos 'apostoli ' and 'apostolos,' aps 'apostolorum.' 
 
 prof ' propheta ' and 'prophetae,' profa ' propheta.' 
 
 hiru (hieru on fol. 71 v.) ' Hierosolyma.' 
 
 isrl- ' Israel.' 
 
 ioh- and iohan ' lohannes ' ; pet ' Petrus.' 
 
 dd (with stroke traversing the shafts) ' David.' 
 
 (On the abbreviation of ' Christus ' see below. For ' Ihesus ' we find 
 once ihus, on fol. 88 v., instead of the usual ihs. Similarly spus ' spiritus, 
 in the Plural Number, on fol. 68 r.) 
 
 Capricious suspensions abound in this small octavo copy of the 
 Gospels, e.g. ha 'habuerunt' on fol. 44 r. ('omnes enim habuerunt loannem 
 sicut profetam '). That they were taken from the original is suggested by 
 fol. 77 V. 'omnem quem ha misit,' where ha has been expanded, by the 
 
 ens 
 
 scribe himself apparently, to habuit (cf. fol. 80 r. respoii ). Some of them 
 might, from their frequency, claim to be regarded as current abbreviations, 
 e.g. dis and disci ' discipuli,' '-lis,' '-los,' etc. (also ' discip ille ') ; res and 
 respoii ' respondit ' or 'respondens' or even 'responsa' (fol. 57 r. 'super 
 prudentiam et respofi eius') or ' respondebitis ' (fol. 77 V. ' non praemedi- 
 tari quemadmodum respoii ') ; reg ' regnum,' etc. ; am ' amen ' (St. John). 
 
 8 This may however be due to a suspension nu in the original. 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 23 
 
 The cap ' caput ' (or rather ' capud,' the usual spelling) of fol. 62 v. is justi- 
 fied by the ' apud ' symbol. 
 
 The scribe of St. John has the peculiarly Irish affectation of occasion- 
 ally substituting a Greek for a Roman letter. On foil. 85 v., 86 v., 93 v. the 
 initial P of 'Post,' at the beginning of a paragraph, is written with the 
 Greek letter Pi. And his ' subscriptio,' at the end of the Gospel, uses Greek 
 Phi for the F of ' Finit.' It is therefore not surprising that he should 
 favour the form xpc as symbol of ' Christus ' (a form used once or possibly 
 twice by the other scribe, fol. 57 v. and perhaps fol. 79 r.). He uses 
 the normal form xps also. But s, not c (i.e. Greek Sigma) is always found 
 in the symbol for ' lesus ' (and, of course, for ' Spiritus '). 
 
 The scribe of St. John uses an open q and a very open a ; he never 
 writes the cursive form of e, which however appears, now and then, in the 
 other Gospels. Another of his peculiarities is the occasional use (for n) of 
 N with the second stroke curved, instead of straight, so that the letter 
 somewhat resembles M. His u is distinguished from his a by having the 
 second upright prolonged downwards ; sometimes he uses the J^form. His 
 y is very like his .?. He often uses dots with abbreviation symbols (-n- 
 ' non,' etc.) ; especially, when two symbols come together, they are separated 
 by a dot. 
 
 The suprascript u in the form of the i^«-stroke has been mentioned in 
 connexion v/ith the ' qui ' symbol. It is also a common expression of ri 
 before s, e.g. huis (with this stroke above the /) 'huius.' In the three first 
 Gospels the letter / often shews a very pronounced curve in its large top- 
 stroke, which sometimes suggests a pair of wings. Fantastic writing is used 
 sparingly (e.g. fol. 37 v. uide ' videbunt ' presents a curious conglomeration 
 of letters with the subscript i connected with the bight of the open d and 
 with the cursive e forming a continuation of the tail of the d. The top of 
 the shaft in letters like b, d, I is often looped. 
 
 Of the abbreviations those for nostri (vestri) '', quae, tra are the most 
 difficult to reconcile with a seventh-century dating. The main difficulty 
 however is offered by the script, which hardly seems a full century older 
 than the script of the Book of Armagh. 
 
 Each Gospel has its own gathering, so that the phrase ' haec volumina ' 
 of the Moling 'subscriptio' (O tu quicumque scripseris vel scrutatus fueris 
 vel etiam videris haec volumina) exactly applies to this MS. 
 
 We may now turn our attention to the other leaves which have been 
 bound up along with the true ' Book of Mulling.' Before the volume 
 received its present shape from a London bookbinder, it consisted of loose 
 
 •' In the Moore Bade of c. 737 nri is used along with ni. 
 
24 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 leaves kept in an ornamental case. Naturally, any fragmentary MS., whose 
 size suited this case, would be included for safe preservation in the same 
 receptacle, so that we must not be misled by the accidental juxta-position 
 of our four Gospels with other fragments. One of these fragments is clearly 
 alien (foil. 95 — 98 of the volume in its present state), as is seen from the 
 absence of colunans and the different size of the page (cf. Lawlor ' Book of 
 Mulling,' p. 12). It is a fragment of another copy of the Gospels, in neat, 
 early minuscule script, distinguished from the script of the Book of Mulling 
 by a persistent use of the cursive form of e and of the symbol q:- for ' quae ' 
 and the colon-symbol for 'us.' For ' nostri,' etc., 'vestri,' etc., this frag- 
 ment offers only ni, ui, etc. 
 
 On the other hand, foil. 18 — 28 of the volume in its present state are 
 probably not alien to the Book of Mulling ; but whether they are con- 
 temporary or a later addition is open to question. They contain a Preface 
 to the Gospels, written in early minuscule script. Since foil. 22 — 28 are 
 occupied with lists of numerals, the only part available for comparison with 
 the true ' Book of Mulling' is foil. 18 — 21. The distinctive features of the 
 
 script of these four leaves are these : — at (never the /^-symbol) for ' autem ' ; 
 
 t 
 
 p ' post ' ; q, ' que ' ; b, ' bus ' ; the ' est ' symbol lacks the under point (or 
 
 i 
 
 comma). For ' nostro ' the symbol nro occurs. The ' igitur ' symbol ig 
 shews a suprascript / slightly curved. 
 
 To complete the account of the Trinity College volume, it should be 
 added that a blank space after the Gospel of Matthew in the true ' Book of 
 Mulling ' has been filled by a later hand with prayers (with clo for ' caelo ' ; 
 p with cross-stroke through lower shaft for ' per ' (the Continental symbol), 
 q with the w-stroke above for ' quern ' j oia, oium, oes for ' omnia,' ' omnium,' 
 ' omnes ' ; fres for ' fratres ' ; u for 'ut,' to mention only some of the abbre- 
 viations). The blank page at the end of the true ' Book of Mulling ' (fol. 
 94 V.) has been utilized for a liturgy and a map of a monastery, which Prof. 
 Lawlor has shewn to be the liturgy and the map of Tech Moling. The 
 illegibility of the writing makes its age difficult to determine. It is not by 
 the hand of the scribe of St. John, as we see from its a, q, etc. 
 
 6. The Book of Armagh. We now come to a MS. (see Plate IX.) 
 to which a definite place and date can be assigned, Armagh in the year 
 807. Its large bulk (221 leaves of i\ in. x 5I in.) and its variety of script 
 make it most useful for Irish palaeography. It shews us the script and 
 the abbreviations of the Armagh scriptorium at the very beginning of the 
 ninth century. 
 
 Since this historically interesting MS., which will in time find a home 
 in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, is to be edited by Prof. Gwynn, 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 25 
 
 it is unnecessary here to give an account of its contents (see Stokes 
 ' Tripartite Life of St. Patrick,' Introd. p. xc). The ' subscription which 
 gives us the place and date, had been deliberately erased, but was 
 deciphered by Dr. Graves with a fair amount of certainty. It stands on 
 fol. 52 v. St. Matthew's Gospel ends on this page, and is followed by an 
 entry (in Greek letters), which records the curious coincidence that this 
 was ' scriptum atque finitum in feria Matthei.' Then follows a Collect for 
 St. Matthew's Day by the same hand. Then the famous ' subscriptio ' (in 
 Greek letters) : — 
 
 F DOMNACH HUNC LIB 
 E RUM . . . E DICTANTE 
 
 R (tor)bach herede pat 
 
 RICH SCRIPSIT 
 
 apparently 'Ferdomnach wrote this book at the command of Torbach, 
 successor of Patrick.' Torbach held the bishopric of Armagh (of which 
 St. Patrick was the first bishop) for one year only. His death is recorded 
 in the ' Annals ' under the date 808, July 16 ; so that this entry was made 
 on Sept. 21 (St. Matthew's Day), 807. 
 
 Another ' subscriptio ' of Ferdomnach has been erased in a later part 
 of the book : pro ferdomnacho ores. These erasures were in all probability 
 made with the view of removing evidence against the tradition that the 
 Book of Armagh was an autograph MS. of St. Patrick. Since the Book 
 played an important part in Irish history and conferred great privileges on 
 its possessors, there was every inducement to suppress the damaging 
 evidence of these subscriptions. The tradition seems to have arisen from 
 a misinterpretation of an entry on fol. 24 V., at the end of a transcript of 
 St. Patrick's Autobiography : hue usque volumen quod patricius manu 
 conscripsit sua. Septima decima martii die translatus est patricius caelos. 
 This entry of course implies merely that the scribe had made a transcription 
 of a MS. containing St. Patrick's Autobiography ; although it may be 
 pressed to mean that the scribe's original was St. Patrick's autograph MS. 
 of his Autobiography. But to read into it the sense that St. Patrick wrote 
 with his own hand the first part of the Book of Armagh is simply to misread it. 
 
 The following list of abbreviations, abbreviations used in the Armagh 
 scriptorium at the opening of the ninth century, cannot claim to be final. 
 It is to be hoped that Prof. Gwynn's edition will provide a complete list : — 
 
 ante an. 
 
 apiid ap. 
 
 aut a. 
 
 autem the ,^-symbol. Also at and au (the Continental symbol). 
 
 bene b with cross-stroke. 
 
26 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 civitas ciul (for various cases, e.g. on fol. 34 v. the Ace. Sing, and the 
 Abl. Sing.) is perhaps a mere capricious suspension. 
 
 contra the old Irish symbol, 3 with cross-stroke. 
 
 cuius cs. 
 
 cum c. 
 
 dico, etc. dt 'dicit,' dnt 'dicunt,' dx and diic (fol. 191 r.) 'dixit,' dxunt 
 (fol. 9 r.) 'dixerunt,' df ' dicitur,' dre 'dicere,' dcs ' dicens,' dees 
 (fol. 45 r., fol. 49 r.) ' dieentes,' dcm and sometimes die ' dictum.' 
 The dicen ' dieentes ' of fol. 40 r. etc., seems to be a mere capri- 
 cious suspension. 
 
 eius the usual Irish symbol, sometimes with the ' tongue ' hanging 
 down. 
 
 enim the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 o 
 
 ergo g, sometimes (e.g. fol. 20 r.) with the towards the right. 
 
 est -^ (sometimes with omission of the dot underneath) and e. These 
 
 two symbols, the Irish and the Continental, are found in proximity 
 
 (e.g. in the same line on fol. 8 r.). 
 esse ee and e. The two symbols are found in proximity, e.g. on fol. 
 
 213 eet and et 'esset' (while in other Irish MSS. et represents 
 
 ' etiam '), ee and e ' esse.' This extraordinary use of e for ' esse ' 
 
 must surely be peculiar to the Armagh scriptorium. 
 et the 7-symbol, not always of the same form. 
 etiam eti. 
 facio, etc. fes ' faetus,' fci ' facti,' fern ' factum,' fca ' facta ' (also fac 
 
 sometimes, e.g. fol. 34 V. ' vox facta est,' perhaps a mere capricious 
 
 suspension). 
 f rater ff ' frater,' fris ' fratris,' fri ' fratri,' friti 'fratrem,' frs and fres 
 
 ' fratres,' fribus ' fratribus.' 
 habeo, etc. het ' habet,' hnt ' habent,' hms ' habemus ' (fol. nor., 118 r.), 
 
 hnf 'habentur' (fol. 107 r.), hre 'habere,' hns ' habens,' hnm (fol. 
 
 109 r.) and hnem (fol. 14 v., 21 v., etc,) 'habentem,'hnes 'habentes' 
 
 (e.g. fol 37 r. ' duo homines habentes demonia ' ), etc. 
 hie, etc. h- 'haec,' h with dot over shoulder 'hoc,' hs 'huius,' he 'hunc' 
 homo hoes ' homines,' hoibus ' hominibus,' etc. The homi ' hominem ' 
 
 of fol. 2 r. may be a mere capricious suspension. 
 id est •!• (and i) followed by the ' est ' symbol. 
 
 igitur ig' and g. The comma of the first has precisely the form of the 
 ' ur ' symbol. The suprascript i of the second is usually curved 
 (as in ' tibi,' ' mihi,' etc.). 
 
 inter the usual Irish symbol, i longa with cross-stroke. 
 
 meus ms ' meus ' and ' meas ' (fol. 3 1 v. ' pasce oves meas' in an Index ; 
 
Early Irish Minuscuk Script. 2? 
 
 so perhaps a capricious contraction, to save space) mm ' meum ' 
 and ' meam ' (e.g. fol. 23 r. ' qui viam meant ad bonum dirigebat '). 
 
 i 
 
 mihi m, 
 
 o 
 
 modo m. 
 
 i 
 
 nisi n. 
 
 nobis nob- (fol. 31 r.). 
 
 nomen no ' nomen,' noa 'nomina' Cf. cognoatus ' cognominatus ' (fol. 
 
 173 v.), etc, 
 non n. 
 ■nosier nf ' noster.' For the Oblique Cases both ni and nri, no and nro, 
 
 etc. Once nosorum ' nostrorum ' (fol. 172 v. ' deus patrum nostro- 
 
 rum.'') 
 nuinerus nus 'numerus,' nuo ' numero,' nuos ' numeros,' etc. 
 mcnc nc. 
 oinnis ois ' omnis ' (e.g. fol. 108 v.), oe ' omne,' oms and oes ' omnes,' 
 
 oa and oma ' omnia,' oibus and omibus ' omnibus,' etc. 
 
 pater prls ' patris,' pres ' patres.' 
 
 per the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 populus pis 'populus,' pli 'populi,' plo ' populo,' plm ' populum,' etc. 
 
 o t 
 
 post p and p. The two symbols are found in proximity, e.g. on fol. 
 
 30 V. They are also used for ' pos ' in '/i^j-tera,' '/i?j-tremo,' etc. 
 
 prae p. 
 
 pro the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 pfoprius the monogram of the ' pro ' and ' pri ' symbols followed by the 
 Case-ending. 
 
 propter the monogram of the ' pro ' and ' per ' symbols (sometimes with 
 a dot before and a dot after). Once pp with a cross-stroke travers- 
 ing the lower shafts (fol. 40 v.). 
 
 quando qn and qno (e.g. fol. 7 r.). 
 
 quantum qto ' quanto' (e.g. fol, 36 v.), qta ' quanta ' (fol. 173 v ). 
 
 quare qre. 
 
 quasi qsi. 
 
 que q- (e.g. fol. 45 r.) and q: and q; (e.g. fol. 5 r.) and q3. 
 
 i a 
 
 qici, etc. q ' qui,' q (with open a) ' qua,' etc. 
 
 For ' quae,' q and (less favoured) q:- (with three dots). 
 For ' quod,' q, (with the curve touching or nearly touching the shaft 
 but not intersecting it). Rarely qd with cross-stroke through 
 the d (e.g. fol. 25 r.), the Continental symbol. 
 For ' quam,' the usual Irish symbol. 
 For ' quern,' q with the ;«-stroke above. 
 
Early Irish Mituisaile Script. 
 
 quia the usual Irish symbol ; the stroke traversing the shaft of the <j is 
 
 either oblique or horizontal. 
 quomodo qmo. 
 quoniam qm. 
 quoqite qq. 
 quot qt. 
 
 reliqua rl with cross-stroke through the / (fol. 24 r.). 
 scriptum scrip. 
 
 secundum the usual Irish symbol. 
 sed s. 
 
 i 
 
 sicut s. 
 
 sine sn. 
 
 sive ^u (fol. 25 v., 217 r., etc). 
 
 J'««i? St. 
 
 supers followed by the 'per ' symbol (fol. 167 r., 212 r.). This contraction 
 
 is preceded and followed by a dot. 
 tamen tn. 
 tantum titi. 
 tempore tempo (too frequent to be a mere capricious suspension). 
 
 i 
 
 tibi t. 
 
 tot tt (fol. II V. =Trip. Life ii. 312, 30, 'trium dierum tot et noctium,' 
 
 23 r.). (In older Irish MSS. this would represent ' tantum '). 
 trans ts. 
 tunc tc. 
 vel I with cross-stroke. 
 
 o 
 
 vero u. 
 
 vester ur ' vester.' For the Oblique Cases both ul and uri, uo and uro, 
 
 etc. (e.g. fol. 171 V. ' filii uri et filiae uae '). 
 vobis yob-. Also uo in the phrase 'amen dico vobis' and elsewhere 
 
 (e.g. fol. 46 'uae uo scri et faris hypo, where uo is perhaps a 
 
 capricious suspension like the others). 
 
 Syllable-symbols : — 
 
 in Medial m (e.g. 'ca«po,' ' ownis '), as well as final. 
 
 « i ' in ' (also, e.g., 'zwsola,' ' z«iquitas '). The «-stroke is not curved at 
 
 each end like the w-stroke. 
 con 3. 
 er t ' ter ' ; u ' ver ' (e.g. ui ' veri,' while ui means ' vestri ' ; uu ' verum,' 
 
 with the ?«-stroke over the second «) ; b- 'ber.' 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 29 
 
 ra, ri, re c ' tra ' (e.g. ' eyi.tra,' ' conlra ' with the ' con ' symbol, ' in/;-«,' 
 ' irado '), p ' pra ' (in svipra ') ; 
 
 i 
 
 p ' pri ' ; 
 
 g 'gre' (e.g. ' Gr(ci)ecns,' ingr^ssus '). 
 
 runt rt. 
 
 u?n 1- rum. 
 
 ur fc' ' tur.' 
 
 us b' and b: and b} ' bus,' p: ' pus,' i: ' ius,' etc. 
 
 Of the ' nomina sacra,' not merely ' Christus,' but also ' lesus ' and 
 even ' Spiritus ' are written in contracted form with c (i.e. Greek Sigma) 
 instead of s, xpc, ihc, spc (e.g. fol. 171 r. spc scs ' spiritus sanctus '). 
 The forms with s are also found, although one scribe never tolerates xps 
 but only xpc. 
 
 The following may also be mentioned : — 
 
 apos 'apostolos' (fol. 8 r.), 'apostolis' (fol. 171 r. etc.); aposr- 
 
 ' apostolorum.' 
 epis ' episcopus,' ' -pi,' etc. 
 hisrl- ' Israel ' (or with cross-stroke through the /). 
 
 aecl- ' ecclesia,' aeclm 'ecclesiam,' etc. 
 prof 'propheta.' 
 
 Capricious suspensions abound in the quotations of familiar texts, e.g. 
 (fol. 39 r.) 'qui habet au audiendi audiat ' where au denotes ' aures,' 
 although the same scribe uses it elsewhere as the symbol of ' autem.' Some 
 may claim to be regarded as current abbreviations, e.g. angue ' ang[u]elus ' 
 (fol. 8r.); reg ('regnum') caelorum (fol 41 r.) ; res ' respondit ' and ' re- 
 spondens' (along with resp 'respondit,' respon 'respondens,' etc.). 
 
 The OT-stroke for suprascript u is used in this MS., as in the Book of 
 Mulling, e.g. huJs ' huius ' (with the stroke over the i curved at each end). 
 When united with w (set on its side) in the ending urn., there is no limit to 
 the number of curves (similarly am sometimes). An open form of ^ and of 
 d are sometimes used. The cursive form of e is very common '. Another 
 feature of the script is a fantastically enlarged form of t (resembling capital 
 Z) and of g. Greek letters often appear, e.g. Greek Psi in ' psalmus,' 
 ' pseudopropheta,' etc. and even Greek H (Eta) for the initial e of pure 
 Latin words like ' Ego ' (e.g. fol. 35 v.), ' Erat ' (fol. 37 v.) ' Ecce ' (fol. 37 v.). 
 Similarly we find in Greek capitals not merely a word like ' amen ' (e.g. 
 fol. 35 r-). i^ut also 'adtendite' (fol. 35 V.), ' patrein,' and even 'qui' 
 
 1 Correct the misstatement in ' Zentralblatt Bibl, wesen ' 1908, p. 260. 
 
30 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 (written KYI). On fol. 36 r. the Lord's Prayer is written in Greek 
 capitals; and other passages elsewhere (e;g. fol. 37 V.). The page- 
 headings too affect Greek capitals. Ferdomnach's ' subscriptio ' on fol. 
 52 V. has been already mentioned. The ' subscriptio ' at the end of the MS. 
 is also in Greek characters. It is apparently metrical : — 
 
 per Martini suifragia sumraum deprecor dominum 
 ut michi sapientiae donet divinae munera. 
 
 Fantastic writing is especially affected in the Arguments to the books 
 of the New Testament. The end of St. John's Gospel (fol. 103 r.) is 
 arranged in rhombus-fashion with most fantastic script in the centre (con- 
 taining the final verses). 
 
 Of the various entries which have been added later on blank spaces in 
 this volume, one (on fol. 16 v.) is especially interesting. It contains the 
 charter of the ecclesiastical pre-eminence of Armagh, confirmed by Brian 
 Boru, and purports to have been written by'Calvus Perennis' (i.e. Maol- 
 suthain) in the presence of Brian Boru himself (in the year 1002) : 'ego 
 scrips!, id est calvus perennis in conspectu briain,' etc. The first syllable 
 of the word ' perennis ' shews the Continental ' per ' symbol, / with cross- 
 stroke through the lower shaft, which has supplanted the genuine Irish 
 symbol, / with a ' tail.' 
 
 From MSS. written in Ireland we now pass to MSS. written, certainly 
 or possibly, on the Continent. 
 
 7. Three Bobbie MSS. The Book of Armagh supplies us with 
 an ample list of the abbreviations current in the Armagh scriptorium about 
 the year 800. Equally ample details of the abbreviations used about a 
 century earlier in the Irish monastery of Bobbio in North Italy are supplied 
 by three MSS., two of which have a good claim to be regarded as the 
 most ancient specimens extant of Irish minuscule script ; although, since 
 they were written, not in Ireland, but in Italy, they contain an admixture 
 of Continental elements. One of the three is at Naples (IV. 
 A 8), the other two at Vienna (No. 16, of which a specimen is given in 
 Plate I., and No. 17). These three MSS. are of heterogeneous content, 
 partly grammatical and partly theological. The Naples MS. is well known 
 as the authority for the GraiTimar of Charisius and for the Gesta Pontificum 
 Romanorum. Vienna 16 is divided between grammar and theology, while 
 Vienna 17 has mainly grammar (Probus, etc.). All three come from 
 Bobbio Library. That the first two (or rather parts of the first two) were 
 written in one and the same scriptorium and at the same time is proved by 
 their sharing palimpsest leaves of the same ancient codex. An ancient 
 copy of Lucan had been taken to pieces, and its leaves had been scraped 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 31 
 
 and prepared for the reception of new writing. One batch of these leaves 
 was assigned to scribes of the Naples MS. (for a part of the Charisius and 
 for the other grammatical treatises), another to a scribe of Vienna 16 (for 
 theological works). Of course, we must not be too ready to believe that 
 the volumes, as they now stand, retain the exact size and contents of the 
 volumes as they left the scriptorium. In the Naples MS., for example, 
 the Gesta Pontificum Romanorum occupies a separate quaternion (the 
 last) of the MS., and may have formed originally an entirely separate 
 treatise, if we may trust the earliest extant Bobbio Catalogue (of 
 Saec. X— xi ; cf. Becker ' Cat. Bibl. Ant.' p. 69, No. 434). It is 
 written in North Italian Cursive, while the Charisius is in Irish pointed 
 minuscules. The ' Gesta ' quaternion can be dated. It must have been 
 penned when Sergius was Pope (687 — 701); for the last Pope mentioned 
 is Conon, his predecessor, who died in 687. (See Mommsen's preface, 
 p. Ixxxv.) But we have no right to conclude that the Charisius was penned 
 simultaneously. Nor have we the right to infer, from the presence of 
 palimpsest leaves of the same ancient codex in the Naples MS. and in 
 Vienna 16, that these two MSS. (or the parts which contain the palimpsest 
 leaves) originally belonged to the same volume ; for one batch of the 
 palimpsest leaves may have been assigned to the transcription of one book 
 and another batch to the transcription of a different author. And, in point 
 of fact, this identification of the two MSS. is challenged by certain marked 
 differences in the abbreviations which they employ. Besides, the Naples 
 Lucan leaves have grammatical content (including part of Charisius, Book 
 IV.), the Vienna leaves theological. Still there are inferences which we have 
 a right to make. We have a right to infer that the three MSS. were written 
 at Bobbio. One argument for this, but not the strongest, is the use of these 
 palimpsest leaves of ancient MSS. ; for Bobbio is specially famous as a 
 preserver of palimpsest MSS. of antiquity. The portions, indeed, which are 
 written in North Italian Cursive (and Vienna 17 is almost entirely in this 
 script) need no arguments ; for the combination of North Italian script with 
 Irish abbreviations points unmistakably to Bobbio ; but the portions 
 written in Irish minuscule lay themselves open to the suspicion that they were 
 written in Ireland and brought from there to Bobbio. Still, when we look 
 at the Naples MS., we find that, although it exhibits these two extremes of 
 script, Irish minuscules in the Charisius part and North Italian Cursive in 
 the Pontificale part, the remaining portions (of grammatical content) shew 
 varieties of gradation between these two types. And all the scribes have 
 much the same stock of abbreviations (Irish in character, but with a Con- 
 tinental element) at their command. Now, although the Pontificale may 
 have been originally unconnected with the Charisius, the other parts of the 
 Naples MS. (Synonyma Ciceronis, etc.) cannot be dissevered from it in the 
 
32 Early Irish Miimsaile Script. 
 
 same way. That the palimpsest Lucan leaves are shared between it and 
 them has been mentioned already. Vienna i6 shews in its first half similar 
 gradations of script (see Plate I.) combined with Irish abbreviations, which 
 point to Bobbio. Its second half (from fol. 76 r.) is written in half-uncials 
 (sometimes approaching to that form of ' cursiva Romana' which was em- 
 ployed in marginalia) ; and this half may be a separate volume, since a 
 separate numbering of quaternions appears at foil. 76 sqq. (Fuller details 
 are given by Bick ' Wiener Palimpseste. I Theil,' in the Sitzungsberichte 
 CLIX. vii of the Vienna Academy, 1908.) 
 
 As regards the date of the three MSS., the only certainty we have is 
 the date of the Pontificale ; and the Pontificale may, as we have seen, have 
 formed originally a treatise by itself. But the script of the others helps us 
 to date them. Tlie North Italian Cursive of Vienna 17 is not unlike the 
 North Italian Cursive of the Pontificale. The primitive Irish minuscules of 
 the Naples Charisius have their exact counterpart in portions of Vienna 16. 
 The half-uncial script (or ' cursiva Romana') of Vienna 16 is unmis- 
 takably early. Of course, leaves here and there may have been inserted 
 from later MSS. or, if left blank by the scribe, have been filled with writing 
 by a later scribe (e.g. fol. 35 v. of the Naples MS., photographed on pi. 42 of 
 Cipolla' Codici Bobbiesi ' ; foil. 20 r., iii v., 139 v. — 141 v., 157-8 ofVienna 
 
 16 ; foil. 8 r. — ID v., the Irish minuscule part, of Vienna 17). But, in the main, 
 everything about these volumes, script and abbreviations alike, points to 
 high antiquity. A detailed description of their contents, varieties of script, 
 and quaternion-numbers is greatly needed. Photographs of some pages of 
 the Charisius part of the Naples MS. will be found in Cipolla ' Cod. Bobb.' 
 pi. II, pi. 36, and in Monaci 'Archivio Paleografico ' pi. 21; of the other 
 grammatical portions, in Cipolla, pi. i, and Monaci, pi. 64, pi. 65; of the 
 Pontificale, in Mommsen's edition and in Cipolla, pi 10. There are photo- 
 graphs, in abundance, of Vienna 16, in Chroust (of fol. i r., 8 v., 76 r, 
 137 r.), in Chatelain's ' Pal. Class. Lat.' pi. 153 (of fol. 7,0 r., 35 v.), in ' Old 
 Latin Biblical Texts ' IV. (of fol. 54 r.), and in Bick's treatise (of fol. 23 r., 
 26 v., 40 r., 45 v., 62 r., 67 v., 68 v.). The North Italian Cursive of Vienna 
 
 17 (fol. 50 V.) is photographed in the 'Wiener Studien ' XIV., 278. 
 
 More exact details of the abbreviations of these three MSS. than can be 
 given here will be found in the ' Zentralblatt fiir BibJiolhekswesen ' XXVI. 
 (1909), pp. 293 — 298). Here a rough-and-ready list of the earliest Bobbio 
 minuscule abbreviations must suffice. No distinction can be made between 
 the symbols used in Irish script and in the other types of script practised at 
 Bobbio ; for practically the same stock of abbreviations appears in all the 
 varieties of script exhibited in these three MSS., excepting the calligraphic 
 half-uncials ofVienna 16, which avoid abbreviation. In this list the symbols 
 peculiar to the possibly later leaves are omitted. 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 33 
 
 apud ap 
 
 aut a. 
 
 autem the /^-symbol and sometimes au (the Continental symbol). 
 
 cetera. Once cet. 
 
 contra 33. 
 
 cuius cs 
 
 ct{!7i c with a sinuous vertical line touching the end of the lower curve 
 
 (so that the symbol bears some resemblance to a q). Also c' 
 
 (occasionally in the Naples Charisius). In the abbreviation of 
 
 '-cumque ' cm is used (with a genuine contraction-stroke, not a 
 
 cursive u, above the m). 
 dico, etc. dt ' dicit ' ; dms ' dicimus ' ; dnt ' dicunt ' ; dx ' dixit ' ; 
 
 dxms ' diximus ' ; dxnt ' dixerunt ' ; df ' dicitur ' ; dnf ' dicuntur.' 
 eius the usual Irish symbol, in various forms. 
 enim the usual Irish symbol. Occasionally the monogram of N and I 
 
 (one of the ancient Notae Juris). 
 (For ergo, et, etiam there are no symbols. The words are written in 
 
 full.) 
 frater ff ' frater,' frm ' fratrem.' Sometimes also ff ' fratres,' ff b (with 
 
 cross-stroke through the b') 'fratribus.' 
 
 habeo, etc. het ' habet,' hnt ' habent.' 
 
 hie, etc. h- ' haec,' h' ' hoc,' h (with cross-stroke) ' huius,' h (with 
 
 suprascript c) and he ' hunc' 
 
 homo ho and h ' homo,' homis ' hominis,' home ' homine,' hoes 
 
 ' homines,' homb (or homib) (with the cross-stroke through the b) 
 
 ' hominibus.' 
 id est. Once ie. 
 (For igitur there is no symbol.) 
 imperator imp 'imperator,' '-ris,' '-ri,' etc., imprls ' imperatoris,' imp! 
 
 ' imperatori,' impe and impre ' imperatore,' etc. 
 item it (sometimes). 
 loquor, etc. loqf ' loquitur.' Once loqmf ' loquimur.' Once loqnf 
 
 ' loquuntur.' 
 
 i 
 
 mihi m. 
 
 o 
 
 modo mo and m and mdo. 
 
 modum mm. 
 
 1 
 nihil Xi. 
 
 nisi nsl. 
 
 7iobis nob and nb (each with cross-stroke through the b). 
 
 nomen nil (once nm) ' nomen,' noi ' nomini,' noe ' nomine,' noa 
 
 ' nomina,' nomb (with cross-stroke through the b) ' nominibus.' 
 
 P 
 
34 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 non n. 
 
 nosier nf ' noster,' ni ' nostri,' no ' nostro,' nm ' nostrum,' etc. 
 
 7iiinc nc. 
 
 omnis om and 5ms and omis 'omnis,' ome 'omne,' omi ' omni,' om 
 
 ' omnem,' oms (sometimes omes) ' omnes,' etc, 
 per. Both the Irish symbol and the Continental (/ with cross-stroke 
 through the lower shaft) are used. 
 
 o 
 
 post p. 
 prae p. 
 
 o 
 
 pro the usual symbol. Once p. 
 
 propter pp with contraction-stroke either above or traversing the lower 
 
 shafts. 
 quaeritur qf. 
 
 quando qno and sometimes qdo and qndo. 
 qtianttim qntm. 
 quare qre. 
 quasi qsl. 
 que q- and q: and qj (a form of the semi-colon). 
 
 i i o a 
 
 qui, etc. q 'qui,' qd 'quid,' q 'quo,' q 'qua,' etc. 
 
 For 'quae,' q and sometimes q:' or q}- (semi-colon with dot). 
 
 For ' quod,' the usual Irish symbol. (The Continental symbol qd, 
 
 with cross-stroke through the d, is employed only by the North 
 
 Italian Cursive scribes.) 
 For ' quam,' the usual Irish synabol. 
 
 e m 
 
 For 'quern,' qm and q. These symbols are peculiar to Vienna i6. 
 
 For ' quibus ' qb- (or qb:), with cross-stroke through the b, is found 
 in Vienna i6. 
 quia the usual Irish symbol, in various forms. 
 quomodo qmo. 
 quoniam qm 
 
 quoqiie qq with the contraction-stroke above, rarely traversing the shafts. 
 reliqua ri. 
 
 secundum secun. Also used for ' secundus, -da, -dum,' etc. 
 sed ^- and s, (symbols peculiar to the Naples MS.). 
 sequor, etc. seqf ' sequitur,' seqnf ' sequuntur.' 
 
 (For sine, sive there are no symbols.) 
 sunt St and sometimes s. 
 
 (For super there is no symbol.) 
 supra spra (with contraction-stroke, not cursive u, above). This symbol 
 
 is peculiar to Vienna 17. 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 35 
 
 suprascriptus ss (sometimes). 
 
 tamen tn. 
 
 tantum tm. Sometimes tntm and tnm. 
 
 i 
 
 Hbi t 
 
 (For trans there is no symbol.) 
 tunc tc. 
 vel u (a symbol found in the oldest Continental minuscule), and / with 
 
 cross-stroke. 
 velut uu (an ancient symbol, one of the Notae Juris). 
 
 o 
 
 vero u 
 
 vobis ub (with cross-stroke through the /) occurs once. 
 (For unde there is no symbol.) 
 
 Syllable-symbols : — 
 
 m. Only final m. The stroke may be either hooked at each end or 
 
 straight. 
 {n is always written in full.) 
 con 3 in various forms. 
 em d with cross-stroke ' dem ' (rare). 
 er t ' ter,' u ' ver,' c ' cer,' s ' ser.' 
 is b with cross-stroke ' bis ' (in ' urto,' etc.). 
 
 a a d a 
 
 ra p ' pra,' t ' tra,' g ' gra/ f ' fra,' etc. 
 
 e e e e 
 
 re c ' ere,' f ' fre,' g ' gre,' t ' tre,' etc. 
 
 i i 
 
 ri p ' pri,' c ' cri.' 
 ro (see above, ' pro '). 
 
 u u u 
 
 ru c ' cru,' p ' pru,' t ' tru.' 
 
 urn r- 'rum' (and sometimes the Continental symbol,/- with branch 
 
 intersected by oblique line), d with cross-stroke ' dum.' (On 
 
 ' cum ' see above.) 
 ur c' ' tur.' 
 ush: and sometimes b- and b} 'bus,' i: ' ius,' m: 'mus,' n: 'nus,' p: 
 
 ' pus,' etc. 
 
 For ' Christus -ti,' etc., the scribe of Gennadius ' de Viris Illustribus ' 
 (the first treatise in Vienna 16) uses at first exclusively, afterwards along 
 with the usual symbols, the extraordinary contractions chi, cho, chm, etc. 
 (sometimes chrl, chrm). Probably he found them in the original which he 
 was transcribing. For the frequently recurring technical terms of Grammar 
 capricious abbreviations are freely used in the grammatical portions of these 
 MSS. ; while in the theological portions a word like ' apostolus ' is similarly 
 
 D 2 
 
$6 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 treated (aps and apos and apols, with cross-stroke through the /, etc.), and 
 kk represents 'carissimi.' Notable is R (with cross-stroke), occasionally 
 used for ' responsum,' ' respondetur,' etc. 
 
 A prominent ' cursive ' feature of the Irish minuscules is the frequent 
 separation of the head of e from the lower curve of the letter (e.g. ' fer ' with 
 the lower curve joined to the tongue of the / and the head joined to the r; 
 're' with the lower curve united to the r; 'gen' with the lower curve 
 joined to the flat head of the g and the head to the n). 
 
 The insular cursive form of e is common, especially before x. It has 
 the S-form, as in the Book of Dimma (see p. 12, above). Another 
 notable feature of the script is the use of the 'st' ligature, which is a 
 Continental and not an Irish feature. 
 
 The symbol -^ (in other Irish MSS. a symbol of 'est') is used to 
 indicate a glossed word in the text and its gloss in the margin. 
 
 8. The Leyden Priscian (838). In the University Library of 
 Leyden is a MS. (lat. 67), containing the ' Periegesis ' and the Grammar 
 of Priscian. That it cannot be later than the ninth century is shewn by the 
 presence of unmistakably ninth-century Caroline minuscules in a few inter- 
 linear and marginal entries made by another handJ. But the precise year 
 and the actual name of one of the scribes (for there were several) is revealed 
 by the ' subscriptio ' at the end of the ' Periegesis ' (fol. 7 v.) : Finit perigesis 
 {sic') prisciani. 
 
 Dubthach hos versus transcripsit tempore parvo. 
 Indulge, lector, quae mala {sic) scripta vides. 
 
 Tertio idus apriles. Tribus degitis {sic). 
 
 Tertio anno decenno(venalis) cicli. Tribus instrumentis, penna, meni- 
 
 brano {sic), atramento. 
 Tertia decima luna incipiente. Trinitate auxiliatrice. 
 
 Tertia hora post meridiem. 
 
 So Dubthach (who calls himself the transcriber of the ' Periegesis,' although 
 only part of the text is by his hand) finished his task at three o'clock on 
 April II, A.D. 838. And since the greater part of the Grammar is by the 
 same scribe as the first part of the ' Periegesis,' we may refer the whole MS. 
 to this year''. The page (fol. 7 v.) of the 'Periegesis' with Dubthach's 
 ' subscriptio ' and a page (fol. 166 r.) of the Grammar are photographed in the 
 New Palaeographical Society's Plates 33 and 34. 
 
 J On fol. 13 r. and elsewhere. In contrast to the more numerous subsequent (lOth 
 century) Caroline minuscule entries, these shew Irish abbreviations, e.^. ts" ' trans.' 
 
 ^ Of course, not the I21h century addition, foil. 208—218, containing Priscian's 
 treatise 'De nominibus et pronominibus.' 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 37 
 
 This Dubthach has, with great likelihood, been identified with the 
 Dubthach of Sedulius Scottus' circle of Irish monks who travelled on the 
 Continent (see Traube ' O Roma Nobilis,' pp. 50 sqq.). That the MS. was 
 written in a Continental monastery is suggested by the use (by one scribe at 
 least) of the ' st '-ligature. The abbreviations too shew a large Continental 
 admixture. 
 
 ante an. 
 
 apud ap. 
 
 rt«/a. 
 
 autem at. One scribe (X) uses the ^-symbol and also the Continental 
 symbol aut. 
 
 bene b with cross-stroke. 
 
 contra DD. 
 
 cuius cs. 
 
 cum c. The scribe (X) uses 07 and once c- (206 r.). 
 
 dico^ etc. dms ' dicimus,' dnt ' dicunt,' dx ' dixit,' df ' dicitur,' dnf 
 'dicuntur,' dre ' dicere,' dcs 'dicens ' (63 r.), etc. 
 
 eius the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 enim the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 o 
 
 ergo g (with the o above the centre of the g). The scribe (X) writes 
 
 the suprascript to the right of the ^ (e.g. 206 v.). 
 est j_ (sometimes approaching the form of the numeral 2) and -v- or 
 
 -|- and the like. The scribe (X) uses also the Continental 
 
 symbol e. 
 et the 7-symbol. This scribe curves both the strokes, making the top 
 
 stroke resemble a horn. 
 etiam eti. 
 
 filius fls ' filius,' flm ' filium,' etc. 
 
 Graecus grs, gri, etc. by one scribe ; gcs, gci, etc. by another. 
 habeo, etc. ht ' habet,' hnt ' habent,' hns ' habens.' 
 hie, etc. h- ' haec,' h (with dot above shoulder) or h' ' hoc,' hs ' huius,' he 
 
 ' hunc' 
 homo ho 'homo' (rare), hois ' hominis,' hoem 'hominem,' hoes 
 
 ' homines,' etc. 
 id est. The scribe (X) uses the Irish 'est' symbol preceded by the letter i. 
 igittir. This scribe uses ig' (with a curve exactly like the ' ur ' curve). 
 
 ^ i 
 
 Another uses ig and a third g (with the curved form of supra- 
 script i). 
 
 inter. The scribe (X) employs the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 inagis mg (63 r. ' alter alterius, quod ideo magis correptam penultimam 
 
38 Early Irish Minusiuh Script. 
 
 habet ' ; 76 v. ' si vero in eus disinat nominativus, magis graecum 
 
 servamus vocativum '). 
 mater mrs ' matres ' (58 r.). 
 meus ms ' meus,' mm ' nneum.' 
 
 o _ o 
 
 modo m (used also for 'modum ' in quemadm 206 v.). 
 
 i 
 
 mihi m 
 
 i 
 
 nisi n 
 
 nomen no (e.g. 40 r.) ' nomen, noe ' nomine,' noa ' nomina ' (also in 
 
 • nomina^wMS,' etc.), noum ' nominum,' noibus ' nominibus,' etc. 
 non n. 
 
 noster nf ' noster,' nri ' nostri,' etc. 
 numerus nul ' numeri,' nuo ' numero,' etc. 
 nunc nc. 
 omnis cms ' omnis ' (61 r. ' omnis arabs, omnes vertebant terga ' ; 6r v. 
 
 ' vel omnis generis'), oms 'omnes,' oma ' omnia,' omb' ' omnibus,' 
 
 etc. 
 pater pf ' pater,' prs and pres ' patres,' etc. 
 per the Continental symbol, p with cross-stroke. The scribe (X) uses, 
 
 along with it, the usual Irish symbol. 
 populus ppm (91 r.) and (by the scribe X) poplm (with cross-stroke 
 
 through the /) ' populum.' 
 
 t o 
 
 post p and (66 r., etc.) p. 
 
 prae p. 
 
 pro the usual symbol in various forms. Dubthach writes/ and adds 
 
 a short arm to the shaft on the left. 
 propter pp. 
 proprius the monogram of the ' pro ' and ' pri ' symbols followed by the 
 
 case-endings (47 r.). 
 quando qn and sometimes qn5 (e.g. the two symbols occur in the same 
 
 line on 188 r.). Also qiid (47 v.). 
 quantum qnm (71 v. = Prisc. I. p. 275, I. 10 H.). 
 quasi qsi. 
 que q, and q. and q; and q} (the last two by the scribe X). 
 
 qui, etc. q ' qui,' q (with the open form of suprascript a) ' qua,' q ' quo,' 
 
 i 
 
 qb, ' quibus,' etc. 
 
 For ' quae ' q and once q;- (206 v. ' ea postuletis quae maxime 
 digna sint '). 
 
 For ' quod' the usual Irish symbol and (by the scribe X) the Con- 
 tinental symbol, qd (with cross-barred d) . 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 39 
 
 For ' quam ' the usual Irish symbol, with various forms of cross- 
 stroke. 
 
 For ' quem ' q with the i!;?-stroke. 
 quia the usual Irish symbol. The scribe (X) uses the Continental 
 
 symbol, q followed by something like the numeral 2 (197 r. ' quae 
 
 nondum fuerint, quia saepe evenit '). 
 quippe qpe. 
 quomodo qrao. 
 quoniam qm. 
 quoque qq with the contraction-stroke traversing the shafts (47 r.) or 
 
 (whether straight or bent at each end) standing above. 
 quot qt. 
 
 reliqua rl- (' et reliqua ' 194 r.). 
 secundum the usual Irish symbol, sometimes followed by d- or by dum. 
 
 For ' secundi, -do,' etc., the final syllable (di, do, etc.) is added. 
 sed s and (by the scribe X) s- (i 95 v.). 
 
 t 
 sicut s. 
 
 sunt St. 
 
 tanien tin and sometimes tn. 
 
 tantum tnm. The scribe (X) who uses tn for ' tamen,' uses tm for 
 ' tantum.' 
 
 tibi t. 
 
 trans ts and (by the scribe X) tns (197 v.). 
 
 tunce tc. 
 
 w// with cross-stroke and (by the scribe X) ul- (194 v.). 
 
 o 
 
 vero u. 
 
 vester ur ' vester,' uri ' vestri,' etc. 
 
 unde tin. 
 
 Syllable-symbols : — 
 
 III Medial m (e.g. ' se;«per,' ' dawznat,' etc.) as well as final. The 
 
 scribe (X) sometimes uses a straight stroke for m. 
 H\ ' in ' (also e.g. ' 2«ter,' ' ««de,' ' /«imicus '). The ^-stroke is not 
 
 curved at each (or one) end as the w-stroke normally is. 
 con 3 and (by the scribe X) the Continental symbol c (201 r.). 
 en- 'ne' e.g. ' coniunctiowe ' 166 r.). 
 
 en m 'men' (passim, e.g. ' iz.vien,' ' nomen,' ' comwewtarii,' etc.). 
 er t ' ter,' b- ' ber,' u ' ver.' 
 it die 'dicit' (196 v.). 
 
 i a 
 
 ra, re, ?-/ p ' pri ' ; g ' gre ' (e.g. ' Gr<(a>ecam ') ; p ' pra ' (in ' %wpra '). 
 
40 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 runt rt and rarely r" (' clixerunt ' 59 r.). 
 
 um f and (by the scribe X) the Continental symbol, r with tail tra- 
 versed by a hooked line, 'rum.' (On 'cum' see above s.v. ; on 
 'dum ' see above, under ' secundum '.) 
 
 ur t' ' tur.' 
 
 us b' and b' and b} * bus.' 
 
 In this ending the u is often suprascript, occasionally in the form of a 
 straight (or nearly straight) stroke, e.g. mortus 'mortuus,' proiis 'pronus.' 
 
 The 'capricious curtailments' of technical Grammatical terms (e.g. 
 nmi ' nominativi,' gni ' genitivi ') are omitted in this (probably incomplete) 
 list ; also of frequently repeated words like ' vetustissimi ' (expressed by 
 uetus 63 r., ^2) v.> etc. ; by uetusti 59 r., etc. ; by uetustis 72 v., etc.). 
 
 Of the * nomina sacra ' it is noteworthy that dns is used in the profane 
 sense of 'master,' 'owner' (e.g. 59 r.), and sps denotes 'breath' (e.g. 10 r.). 
 
 The cursive form of e is occasionally used (often in the ' fantastic ' 
 script of Explicits). The writing of the scribe (X) differs markedly from 
 that of the other scribes. 
 
 9. The St. Gall Priscian (saec. ix.). Contemporary with the 
 Leyden Priscian is another MS. of Priscian, now in the Monastery Library 
 of St. Gall (n°. 904). It too is full of Irish glosses which have been edited 
 (along with the Milan Psalms glosses) by Ascoli (' II Codice Irlandese 
 deir Ambrosiana,' Rome, 1878 sqq., with a photolithograph of p. 212). 
 A description of the MS., with specimens of its script, is given by Count 
 Nigra (' Reliquie Celtiche' I., Turin, 1872), who speaks (p. 27) of the text 
 as written by four or five scribes. 
 
 It would be truer to say that the text was divided between two scribes. 
 The first ended his task at the point where he has written in the margin : 
 hue usque calvus Patricii depinxit (at the top of the first column of p. 157). 
 His name was Maelpatricc (in Latin ' calvus" Patricii ') or, as we should now 
 pronounce it, Mulpatrick. The second scribe was responsible for the rest. 
 Here and there, however, a brother-monk gave him a momentary relief. 
 The second column of p. 182 was penned by a monk called Finguine, 
 who has written his name at the top of the column. A glance at the 
 photograph (Plate X.) below will shew that his signature is precisely in the 
 same script as the small portion of text which he has penned. Another 
 monk has similarly intervened for two short passages, the second column 
 of p. 194 (photographed in Steffens' 'Lat. Pal.' ^ pi. 50 = Suppl. pi. 25; 
 'Proben aus Handscriften,' ibid.) and the first column (and first half of 
 the second) of p. 207. The script of these passages is identical and easily 
 distinguishable from the other types (e.g. its a resembles u with a fine top- 
 stroke connecting the horns). This monk was called Donngus (or Dongus) ; 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 41 
 
 for it cannot be an accidental coincidence that the name (with these two 
 spellings) appears in the margin of these two passages, although the two 
 signatures, written with a finer pen than the text, do not shew the same 
 unmistakable identity with the text as Finguine's signature does. At the foot 
 of the first column of p. 194, at the point where Donngus took up the pen, 
 there is an Irish entry in the margin : do Inis Maddoc dun -i- meisse agus 
 Choirbbre, 'we two, Coirbbre and I, are from Inchmadock.' Coinciding, 
 as it does, with Donngus ' intervention in the text, this entry, though written 
 with a finer pen and in more cursive style than the text itself, must surely 
 have been written by Donngus, and although we cannot say for certain that 
 the brother-monk of whom he speaks was the scribe in whose task he took 
 a momentary share ; still, since it is convenient to have a name for the 
 ' second scribe,' we may venture to use the name Coirbbre. So the text 
 was divided between two scribes, Maelpatricc and Coirbbre (?), and two 
 other monks in the same scriptorium were Finguine and Donngus. Now 
 Donngus is (like the Dubthach of the Leyden Priscian) a name associated 
 with Sedulius Scottus (died 884) and may have been one of the Sedulius 
 circle of Irish monks who travelled on the Continent (see Traube ' O Roma 
 Nobilis/ pp. 54 sqq.). 
 
 As regards the place at which the MS. was written, it is difficult to say 
 how far the use of Irish glosses indicates a monastery in Ireland. The MS. 
 was clearly meant for Irish students. The neat, carefully written text has 
 at great pains been made intelligible by means of a huge mass ' of inter- 
 linear and marginal Latin and Irish glosses. 
 
 But English text-books are used nowadays by English Theological 
 students at the Catholic Seminaries on the Continent (e.g., the Scotch 
 College at Valladolid) ; and Irish glosses would be required at Continental 
 Irish Monasteries. For example, Vienna r6, which, as we have seen 
 reason to believe, was written at Bobbio, contains (in the Eutyches portion, 
 foil. 57-68) some Irish glosses. The inference therefore that the St. Gall 
 Priscian was a home product meant for home use is not necessary. Nor 
 can any cogent argument be based on the verse of an Irish poem written 
 in the top margin of p. 112, by the hand of some other monk (not the 
 ' glossator,' nor yet the ' corrector ' who has added passages on p. 64, 
 p. 43, etc.). The verse refers to the pirate Northmen, ' the fierce heroes from 
 Lothlend ' (see Stokes and Strachan ' Thesaurus Palaeo-hibernicus,' II. 
 p. 290) and may as well have been composed by an Irishman on the 
 Continent as by an Irishman at home. Besides, its presence on the margin 
 
 1 Probably transcribed from an Irish original. For the ' signe de renvoi ' for a 
 marginal gloss (a pair of dots) often appears in the text, although the marginal gloss 
 has been omitted; and the characteristically Irish phrase 'sudet qui legat,' referring 
 to the obscurity of the original, appears at the end of a marginal gloss on p. 3. 
 
42 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 of p. 112 does not imply that the monk who wrote it there was the 
 author. It may have been a scrap of poetry got from a visitor to the 
 monastery or quoted by an inmate in conversation, and entered, as a help 
 to memory, on the first piece of parchment that was handy. Or, as is 
 more likely, since silence was prescribed in the scriptorium, it may be a 
 scrap of written conversation between Maelpatricc and a brother-monk. 
 The rule of silence was evaded in this way by Coirbbre on every other page, 
 so that we get a true picture of the life of the scriptorium and of the 
 irrepressible personality of the young Irish monk, with his utterances in 
 Irish, like ' Oh ! my hand ' or ' This page has not been written very slowly ' 
 or 'The (intervention?) of Patrick and Brigit on Maelbrigte [the head of 
 the scriptorium ?] that he may not be angry with me for the writing that has 
 been written this time,' and also in Latin, like ' That's a hard page and a 
 weary work to read it ' or ' Nightfall and time for supper ' (see Stokes and 
 Strachan ' Thes.,' II. p. xx.). 
 
 Still, we can trace our MS. on its wanderings ; and Ireland may quite 
 possibly have been its original starting-point. It is not included in the 
 ' libri scottice scripti ' of the old catalogue (end of 9th century) of St. Gall, 
 and was therefore probably brought to that library at some later time. 
 Its presence at Cologne in the time of Bishop Gunthar (850-869) is proved 
 by an entry in Carolingian script ■" on p. 89, which is so interesting that 
 it must be described in detail. Maelpatricc had ended Book V. of Priscian's 
 Grammar on p. 88 (near the foot of the first column). He left the rest 
 of the leaf blank, because it was the last leaf of the quaternion (the fifth 
 quarternion), and began Book VI. on the first page (p. 90) of the sixth 
 quaternion. At the foot of p. 89, a page left wholly blank by Maelpatricc, 
 appears Q (with cross-stroke through the ' tail ') V ' qualernio quintus,' 
 precisely the same method of indicating the quaternion-number as is found 
 in the Leyden Priscian, the Book of Armagh, etc. The Q with cross-stroke 
 looks like a one-handled pair of open scissors. A little below, the writer of 
 
 a 
 
 the glosses added : i -i- in alia editione, which, if it means /«wa {Jox primus, 
 scil. quaternio), id est, in alia editione, seems to imply that the scribe of the 
 glosses used (or knew of) another MS. of Priscian, whose first quaternion 
 ended at this point. This entry however of the ' glossator ' has, like the 
 signature of the quaternion, been mutilated at its commencement by the 
 later excision of the half-leaf. All that now remains is the first column of 
 p. 88 and the second column of p. 89. The space left blank by Maelpatricc 
 
 "■ Scherrer's Catalogue of the St. Gall MSS. says "in Karoliiigischer Minuskel 
 ist mil- p. 64 und eine Columne Distichen auf Bischof Gunthar, p. 89." But on p. 64 
 there is no Carolingian minuscule, although there are often marginal notes in this script 
 on other pages, e.g. p. 76. These notes are, of course, later additions to the glosses. 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 43 
 
 was utilised in Bishop Gunthar's time by someone who used Continental, 
 and not Irish, script. We find at the foot of p. 88 col. i, and throughout 
 p. 89 col. 2, a poem (printed in ' Poetae Lat. Medii Aevi' III, 238) 
 in honour of Bishop Gunthar, witten in Caroline minuscules. It is evidently 
 a mere rough draft of the poem, submitted by the scribe, who was presumably 
 also the author, to a friend, for corrections ; since improved settings of 
 various lines appear in a different handwriting. Thus the unmetrical line 
 
 Sic exorsa sua verba pulcherrima virgo, 
 
 has the suprascript suggestion 
 
 Talibus allocitur verbis, 
 
 which (although the spelling is not quite scholarly) gives a flawless metrical 
 form to the line. We may perhaps conjecture, without excessive rashness, 
 that the ' clean copy ' of the verses was finally entered on the half-leaf whicli 
 has been cut off. At least, we may draw the inference that our MS. was 
 at Cologne about the middle of the ninth century, and that not merely 
 its text, but also its glosses, were penned before that time. 
 
 In the following list of Abbreviations, only the text (not the glosses) 
 is considered : 
 
 ante an. 
 
 apud ap. 
 
 aut a. 
 
 autem the usual Irish symbol. Also at (favoured by Coirbbre). 
 
 bene b with cross-stroke. 
 
 caput cap. 
 
 cuius cs. 
 
 cum c. The suprascript stroke is sometimes straight, sometimes, like 
 
 the iTz-stroke, bent at each end. 
 dico,&\.c. dt ' dicit,' dms and dcms ' dicimus,' dx 'dixit,' df 'dicitur,' 
 
 dnf 'dicuntur,' dre ' dicere,' dcs ' dicens,' die 'dictum' (e.g. 
 
 p. 190 ' sicut supra dictum est '). Coirbbre uses dxs ' diximus.' 
 eius the usual Irish symbol. 
 enim the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 o 
 
 ergo g (with the over the centre of the g) and eg (favoured by 
 
 Coirbbre). 
 est -L and (Coirbbre) and _L (Finguine). 
 esse ee. 
 
 et the 7-symbol. 
 etiam eti. 
 f rater fri ' fratri ' (e.g. p. 183), etc. 
 
44 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 habeo, etc. ht 'habet,' hnt 'habent,' hre 'habere,' hns 'habens' (e.g. p. 241). 
 hie, etc. h" * haec,' h' and h (with dot above shoulder) 'hoc,' hs ' huius,' 
 
 he 'hunc' 
 homo hols ' hominis,' hoi ' homini,' hoem ' hominem,' hoes ' homines,' etc. 
 id est -i- followed by the ' est '-symbol (Maelpatricc) and i followed by 
 
 the ' est '-symbol (Donngus). 
 
 i 
 
 igitur ig' (sometimes with contraction-stroke above) and g. The curve 
 
 of the first symbol is precisely identical with the ' ur ' symbol. 
 inter the usual Irish sjmbol. 
 loquitur loqf (p. 153). 
 
 inihi m. 
 
 mens ms 'meus' (p. 162), mm 'meum' (Donngus) (p. 207 'meus mea 
 mettm, tuus tua tm '). 
 
 o 
 
 modo m. 
 
 nihil nl (with cross-slroke through the /). The old symbol nh" is also 
 
 found (p. 188, p. 242) and nih" (p. 179). 
 nomen no 'nomen,' noe 'nomine,' noa 'nomina' (also, e.g. '«(?- 
 
 mi/iantes '), noum ' nominum,' noibus ' nominibus.' Donngus uses 
 
 nolum ' nominum ' (along with noe ' nomine,' noa ' nomina '). 
 non n. 
 
 fwster nrl ' nostri,' nro ' nostro,' nrm ' nostrum,' etc. 
 numertis nuo ' numero,' nuls ' numeris,' etc. 
 mc7ic nc. 
 omnis oms 'omnis' (Donngus), omi 'orani,'oms 'omnes,' oa and oma 
 
 ' omnia,' omibus ' omnibus.' 
 pater pf. 
 per the usual Irish symbol. But Coirbbre uses the Continental symbol, 
 
 p with cross-stroke through the lower shaft. 
 
 o t 
 
 post p and p. 
 
 prae p. 
 
 pro the usual Irish symbol in various forms. 
 
 proprius the monogram of the 'pro ' and ' pri ' symbols followed by the 
 
 case-endings. 
 propter ^p (e.g. p. 159). 
 quando qno and qii. 
 quantum qnm (e.g. p. 179). 
 quare qre (e.g. p. 154). 
 quasi qsi. 
 que q' and q' and q; (Finguine) and q; (Donngus). 
 
 i o a 
 
 qui, etc. q ' qui,' q ' quo,' q ' qua,' etc. 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 45 
 
 For ' quae,' q. 
 
 For 'quod,' ' quam,' the usual Irish symbols. 
 
 For ' quem,' q with the w?-stroke above. 
 quia the usual Irish symbol. 
 quomodo qmo. 
 quoniam qm. 
 quoque qq. Finguine uses qq with cross-stroke traversing the lower 
 
 shafts. 
 qtiot qt. 
 secundum the usual Irish symbol. For 'secundi, -do,' etc., the final 
 
 vowel is added. 
 sed s. 
 
 i 
 
 sicut s. 
 sine sn. 
 sive su. 
 stmt St. 
 sitper sf . 
 tamen tii. 
 tanluin tm. 
 
 i 
 
 Hbi t. 
 
 trans ts. 
 
 tunc tc. 
 
 vel I with cross-stroke. 
 
 o 
 
 vero u. 
 
 »«/«r uri ' vestri,' uro ' vestro,' urm ' vestrum,' etc. 
 
 iinde un. 
 
 Syllable-symbols. 
 
 m Medial tn (e.g. 'se»2plicia,"co7«monibus,' i.e. simplicia, communibus), 
 
 as well as final. 
 n 1 'in.' The «-stroke is not curved at each end like the w-stroke. 
 
 Donngus writes sigularis 'sing-' (p. 207). 
 con D. 
 -e, -em n- 'ne' and (with the w stroke 'above) ' nem ' at the end of 
 
 a word. 
 
 d" (with or without the w-stroke above) ' dem ' (of ' \dem^ ' eius^«;/,' 
 eodem,' etc.). 
 
 Initial ' De ' is sometimes indicated by uncial d with a vertical line 
 inside the circle. 
 
 An abbreviation like coniunctio ' coniunctione ' is also found. 
 
4^ Early Irish Minuscule Script, 
 
 er t ' ter,' u • ver,' b- ' ber ' (e.g. in ' ha^^re '). 
 
 i _ .. " .. " _ 
 
 ra, re, r«' p ' pri ' ; t and t ' tra,' p and p ' pra ' ; g ' gre' (e.g. in ' gr{a)e- 
 
 ciis'). 
 runl rt. 
 
 urn r- ' rum.' (On ' cum,' see above.) 
 7/rt.' ' tur.' 
 m h, (often with this 'comma '-symbol prolonged below the line) and b; 
 
 (Donngus), m' and m with 'comma '-symbol small or large 'mus,' 
 
 p with comma-symbol ' pus,' etc. 
 
 i; 'ius' (Donngus). 
 
 t; ' tus ' (Donngus). 
 The ' capricious suspensions ' of technical Grammatical terms are omitted 
 
 in this list. 
 
 Coirbbre, who revels in fantastic script, makes great use of the Irish 
 cursive «-form. Every other page of his shews 'etiam' with this cursive 
 e followed by the li ligature with subscript a appended to it and a many- 
 curved line (for m) rounding off the strange collection of letters (see figure 
 I D in Count Nigra's book). He writes y in a. form not unlike this cursive 
 e, but adds a dot above the fork of the letter. His g and I have their top 
 strokes sometimes curved or lengthened to exaggeration (see 1. 2, 1. 5, 1. 16 
 of col. i of Plate X.). Another feature of his script is suprascript in spiral 
 form, so that a word beginning with looks as if it began with a large 
 
 o 
 
 Arabic numeral 2 (cf. Finguine's suprascript t> of u ' vero ' in 1. 9. of col. ii 
 of Plate X.). 
 
 Here and there Irish Ogham-script is found in the margin ; e.g. the 
 words a cocart mi so on p. 196 (and merely cocart on pp. 193, 194, 195). 
 If this is to be translated literally ' its correction is this,' the Ogham-script 
 will come from the corrector and this entry may be compared to the 
 ' emendaui,' or ' relegi ' or ' contuli ' so often written in ' notae Tironianae ' 
 by correctors of Continental MSS. To conceal his meaning from vulgar 
 eyes the Irish corrector uses Oghams", the Continental corrector short- 
 hand. 
 
 " The vowels are indicated in this script by one, two, three (etc.) strokes depending 
 from a horizontal line, the order being A, O, U, E, I. It is well known that mediaeval 
 scribes often employ a cryptic script in which the vowels are represented by one, two, 
 three (etc.) dots. Another variety substitutes for a vowel the following consonant. The 
 scribe of a Fulda MS., now at Munich (CIm. 41 15 Lex Salica, etc., saec. viii — ix), com- 
 bines in the same entry these two varieties with a third in which the vowel-signs remind 
 us of Ogham-script, although the Ogham order is not observed. To a line slanting down 
 from left to right one dependent stroke is added for e, two for i, three for 0, four for tt, 
 none for a. The entry in which these three varieties appear stands on fol. 42 r. (at the 
 end of the Lex Alamannorum) and seems to be in rude metrical form ; 
 
Early Irish Minitsade Script. 47 
 
 A full list of these Ogham-entries will be found in Stokes and Strachan 
 ' Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus ' II. (Pref.), where the scraps of Coirbbre's 
 written conversation are also fully recorded. Coirbbre was a most regular 
 observer of the pious Irish habit of beginning his day's writing-task with 
 a prayer, entered in the top-margin, e.g. fave Brigitta, adiuva Brigitta, fave 
 Patricie (see the list in Thes. Pal. II. p. xx.). The shortest and commonest 
 formula with Insular scribes is xb" which means ' Ch(riste) bene(dic) ' or 
 something of the kind". 
 
 10. The St. Gall Gospels, Basle Psalter and Dresden 
 Epistles (saec. ix.). Another MS. associated with the circle of Sedulius 
 (died 884) is the ' Codex Sangallensis ' (known to Biblical scholars also as 
 ' Codex A') of the Gospels (Stiftsbibliothek, n». 48), a Greek text with 
 a suprascript Latin translation in Irish minuscules. (For a photograph, 
 see Pal. Soc. Publications I., pi. 179.) Another is the Graeco-Latin 
 Psalter at Basle (Universitatsbibliothek A vii, 3). A third is the ' Codex 
 Boernerianus ' (known as G) of the Pauline Epistles at Dresden (A 145 b), 
 recently published in facsimile (Leipzig, 1909), likewise Greek text with 
 interlinear Latin version. I combine in one list the abbreviations used by 
 these three MSS. in the interlinear Latin translation. The script of the 
 three is very similar in appearance, neat, small Irish minuscules ; and the 
 corrector (or later owner) of the first two appears to be the scribe of the 
 greater part of the Berne Horace (see, for example, p. 129 of the St. Gall 
 MS. and foil. ar. — 3 r., 12 v,, 85 r., 98 r. — 99 r. of the Basle MS., pages 
 on which he has written continuous passages). 
 
 List of Abbreviations : — 
 
 (Where the MSS. have to be distinguished, A denotes the St. Gall 
 Gospels, B the Basle Psalter, C the Dresden Epistles.) 
 ante an. 
 apud ap. 
 
 ut potui sub onini 
 
 giletate ( = [a]gilitate) exaraui 
 
 ne lectoris animum 
 
 tedio oppremerem. 
 
 Of tlie three varieties of cryptic script the third appears in ut potui, exaraui, and tedio 
 oppremerem ; the second in sub omni (written sxb pmnlc) and ne lectoris (written nf 
 Ifctprks) ; the first in giletate and animum. Did the first variety originate from the 
 third? And is Ireland the home of tliis cryptic script? 
 
 In a Reichenau MS., now at St. Paul's Monastery, Carinthia (25 D 86 = San- 
 blasianus 86) this xb" is varied by Xpri 0aji6rioov, adiuva nos Christe. See Stern's 
 description of this interesting MS., an Irish scholar's common-pl.ice book, in the 
 ' Zeitschrift fiir Celtische Philologie,' vi, 546. In the Echternach Martyrology of St. 
 Wilbrord (Paris, Bibl. Nat. 10837) '^^ scribe has written in the top margin of his opening 
 leaf (fol. 2r. ) xpe fave volis, 
 
48 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 aut a. 
 
 autem the ^-symbol. 
 
 bene b with cross-stroke (also for 'ben' of '^^mgnus' in B, 54V.; 
 
 C, 97 !■.)•' 
 carissimi kml (C, 46 r). 
 anus cs. 
 
 cum c (in ■' ^wque '). 
 dico, etc. dt ' dicit,' dnt ' dicunt,' dx ' dixit,' df ' dicitur,' dcs ' dicens,' 
 
 dre ' dicere.' 
 enim the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 
 ^''So g (with the over the centre of the g). 
 
 est -r esse ee (C). 
 
 et rarely the 7-symbol (A, p. 129; C, 24 V.). Usually a ligature of 
 
 e and t appears, in various forms. 
 etiam eti. 
 
 filitis fls ' filius,' flm ' filium,' flos ' filios,' etc. 
 f rater frs ' fratres ' (C). 
 habeo, etc. ht ' habet,' hms ' habemus ' (C, 47 v.), hnt ' habent,' hns 
 
 ' habens,' hntes ' habentes,' hfe ' habere.' 
 hie, etc. h- 'haec,' h§ 'huius,' he 'hunc,' h (with dot above shoulder) 'hoc' 
 
 o 
 
 homo h (B, C, 10 r.) 'homo,' hols * hominis,' hoes 'homines,' hoiim 
 
 'hominum,' hoibus ' hominibus,' etc. 
 id est A- 
 
 igitur g (C), with the /, in curved form, sometimes over the centre 
 
 of the g, sometimes more to the right. 
 iiiter the usual Irish symbol (A, p. 129). 
 meus ms ' meus,' mm 'meum.' 
 
 i 
 
 mihi m. 
 
 o 
 
 modo m. 
 
 nihil nl (with cross-stroke through the /). 
 
 i 
 
 nisi n. 
 
 nobis nb (with cross-stroke through the b) (frequent in AC). 
 
 nomen no ' nomen,' nois ' nominis,' noe ' nomine,' etc. 
 
 non n. 
 
 noster nf ' noster,' nri ' nostri,' nro ' nostro,' etc. 
 
 niimerus nus (B, 34 r. 'quorum non est numerus ' ; C, 13 r.). 
 
 ntmc nc. 
 
 omnis oms ' omnis ' and ' omues,' oma ' omnia.' 
 
 ferp with cross-stroke through lower shaft (the Continental symbol). 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 49 
 
 popnlus pis (with cross-stroke through /) or pis 'populus,' pli (with 
 
 cross-stroke through t) pr plI ' populi,' etc. 
 t 
 post p. 
 
 prae p. 
 
 pro the usual symbol. 
 
 proprius the monogram of the ' pro ' and ' pri ' symbols followed by the 
 case-ending (AC). 
 
 quando qii. 
 
 quare qre. 
 
 quasi qsi. 
 
 que q'. 
 
 i i i a o 
 
 qui, etc. q ' qui,' qd ' quid,' qs 'quis,' q 'qua,' q ' quo.' 
 
 For ' quae,' q. 
 
 For ' quod ' and ' quam,' the usual Irish symbols. 
 
 For 'quern ' q with the ;«-stroke above (B). 
 quia the usual Irish symbol. 
 quomodo qmo. 
 quoniavi qm. 
 quot qt. 
 
 saeculum sell or scli (with cross-stroke through /), 'saeculi.' 
 scriptum scrip (frequent). 
 secundum s with cross-stroke, followed by in. Similarly, followed by 
 
 am, ' secundam ' (C, 98 r.). 
 
 sed s (B). 
 
 t 
 sicut s (BC). 
 
 sine sn. 
 
 SU7lt St. 
 
 super sf . 
 
 supra sra (A, p. 214 ' et stans supra illam'). 
 
 tamen tii. 
 
 tantum tm. 
 
 trans ts. 
 
 tunc tc. 
 
 vel I with cross-stroke. 
 
 o 
 
 vera v (with the z>-form ; rarely, e.g. C, 27 r., with the «-form). 
 
 vester ur ' vester,' uri ' vestri,' uro ' vestro,' etc. 
 
 unde un. 
 
 vobis ub- (or with cross-stroke through the V), ' vobis ' (passim, AC). 
 
so Early Irish Minu settle Script. 
 
 Syllable-symbols ; — 
 
 m Medial ;« (e.g. ' cowparatio,' ' cowmovear,* ' tempore,' etc.), as well 
 
 as final. The ;/i-stroke is sometimes straight. A favourite usage 
 
 is m with the wz-stroke above for mm, e.g. ' immo,' commendo,' etc. 
 
 (C, passim). 
 n i 'in (also in 'wde,' 'zVzitio,' 'zVziquitas,' etc.). The ^-stroke is 
 
 straight, not curved at each (or one) end as the w-stroke normally 
 
 is. 
 (on 3 
 
 efi m men ' (the Continental symbol). 
 er I 'ter' (e.g. 'pa/er,' 'mter^ 'nosUr,' ' vcsfer,' ' propUr,' ' ma.ter,' 
 
 'frafer'); u ' ver' (e.g. ' »^;>-bum,' ' ad^e^sum') ; 6 with cross-stroke 
 
 or b- ' ber ' (e.g. ' Wberaia. '). 
 
 i " " " 
 
 ra, re, ri p ' pri ' j g 'gra' (e.g. ' gra\\a.'), p 'pra' (e.g. 'su/^-rt'), t 
 (sometimes with dots instead of commas) (e.g. ' conlra,' de- 
 mons/rat,' ' /"rffdidit," ' minis/r«ns ') ; g 'gre' (e.g. 'in^^-fdiens,' 
 con^;-ifgans '"). 
 
 runl rt. 
 
 Jitn f ' rum.' 
 
 ur c' ' tur.' 
 
 us b3 and b; and b; ' bus.' 
 
 I3 Mus' {'diahohis' A, p. 129), X} ' tus ' (BC), m3 ' mus ' (BC). 
 
 Of the ' nomina sacra' class maybe mentioned: ihum ' Ihesum ' (A, 
 p. 125; isrl (with cross-stroke through /) 'Israel'; apli (with cross-stroke 
 through /) ' apostoli ' ; eccla ' ecclesia ' ; dd (with cross-stroke traversing the 
 shafts) 'David '; iohs ' lohannes,' iohm ' lohannem.' The contraction sps 
 denotes 'wind' on p. 325 of A, ' spiritus ixh'i vult spirat.' 
 
 On the border-line between current abbreviations and 'capricious sus- 
 pensions' stands the frequent resps ' respondens ' (A). 
 
 The Continental ligature of ' st ' is found in all three MSS. 
 
 In the preceding account of A the Carohne minuscule portion (up to 
 p. 18) of the volume is ignored, and only the Gospels (which begin on a 
 separate gathering, on p. 19) are considered; the 'Carmen Hilarii Picta- 
 vensis de Evangelic,' a subsequent addition (on pp. i, 2, etc.) in 'splashy' 
 script, such as is found in some St. Gall MSS., is also ignored. 
 
 In the treatment of B the parts (see above) written by one transcriber 
 of the Berne Horace (usually on spaces left blank by the scribe) are ignored 
 (as also in A). 
 
 II. The Berne Horace (saec. ix. ex..). Since this MS. of the 
 Bongars collection at Berne (Stadtbibl. 363) has been reproduced in photo- 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 51 
 
 graphic facsimile in the Leydea series (with introduction by Hagen, 1897), 
 a description of it is unnecessary. The date is fixed by marginal allusions 
 to persons of the time, e.g. to the Italian Queen Engilberga. On these, see 
 Stern in 'Zeitschr. Celt. Philologie' iv, pp. 178, sqq. On the connexion of 
 this MS. (or its original) with the Sedulius circle, Traube ' O Roma Nobilis,' 
 P- 52. 
 
 I content myself with giving a list of the abbreviations in which it 
 should be remembered that more than one scribe is represented. 
 
 ante an. 
 
 apud ap. 
 
 aiit a. 
 
 autem the //-symbol. 
 
 bene b (or -b-) with cross-stroke (also for 'ben' of 'benivolus,' etc.). 
 
 civitas ciui (p. r7i, etc.). 
 
 cuius cs. 
 
 cum c. 
 
 dico, etc., dt ' dicit,' dms ' dicimus,' dnt ' dicunt,' dx ' dixit,' df ' dicitur,' 
 dcs 'dicens,' die 'dictum ' (p. 135), dre ' dicere.' 
 
 eius the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 enim the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 o 
 
 ergo g (with the over the centre of the g). 
 
 est -^ 
 
 esse ee. 
 
 et the 7 -symbol. 
 
 etia7n eti. 
 filius lis (p. 172). 
 frater f f ' frater,' fre ' fratre,' ffm ' fratrem,' frs ' fratres.' 
 
 gratia grae ' gratiae,' grm ' gratiam.' 
 
 habeo, etc. ht ' habet,' hnt ' habent,' hlo ' nabeto,' hns ' habens,' hre 
 ' habere.' 
 
 hie, etc. h- ' haec,' h (with dot ovep> shoulder) ' hoc,' hs ' huius,' he 
 ' hunc' 
 
 o 
 
 homo h 'homo,' hoTs ' hominis,' hol'homini,' hoem 'hominem,' hoes 
 
 'homines,' houm 'hominum.' 
 id est id (with cross-stroke through the d) or -i-. 
 
 i 
 
 igittir g (with the i over the centre of the g). 
 inter X\\t usual Irish symbol (p. 170). 
 loquitur loqf. 
 nieus ms ' meus,' mm ' meum.' 
 
 i 
 
 mihi m. 
 misericordia mla. 
 
52 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 o 
 
 modo m. 
 
 nihil tA (with cross-stroke through the /). 
 
 i 
 
 nisi n. 
 
 ?iobis nb (with cross-stroke through the b). 
 
 nonien no ' nomen,' noe ' nomine,' noa ' nomina,' noiim ' nominum,' 
 
 noib3 ' nominibus,' etc. 
 non n. 
 
 noster nf ' noster,' nrl ' nostri,' nro ' nostro,' etc. 
 7iuinen nue 'numine' (p. 175), nua 'numina' (p. 174, etc.). 
 Humerus nus 'numerus, nui ' numeri,' nuo ' numero,' num ' numerum.' 
 
 Similarly nuas ' numeras,' etc. 
 nunc nc. 
 omnis oms 'omnis' and 'omnes,' ome ' omne,' omi 'orani,' oma 
 
 ' omnia.' 
 per p with cross-stroke through lower shaft (the Continental 
 
 symbol). 
 populus pis or pis (with cross-stroke through the /) ' populus.' Similarly 
 
 pli (or, as above) 'populi,' plo 'populo,' etc. Also platur (with 
 
 cross-stroke through the /) 'populatur' (p. 136). 
 t 
 post p. 
 
 prae p. 
 
 pro the usual symbol. 
 
 proprius the monogram of the ' pro ' and ' pri ' symbols followed by the 
 
 case-ending. 
 propter pp. 
 
 quaero qft ' quaerunt/ qf ' quaeritur.' 
 guatido qn. 
 quasi qsi. 
 que q'. 
 
 i a o 
 
 qui., etc. q ' qui,' q ' qua,' q ' quo,' etc. 
 
 For ' quae,' q. 
 
 For 'quod ' and ' quam,' the usual Irish symbols. 
 
 For ' quem,' q with the ;;2-stroke above. 
 
 quia the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 quomodo qmo. 
 
 quoniam qm. 
 
 quoque qq (with cross-stroke through the shafts) and qq (p. 148). 
 
 t 
 quot qt and once q (in ' quots. '). 
 
 secundum s with cross-stroke, sometimes followed by tn (similarly for 
 
 ' secundi,' followed by i, etc.). 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 53 
 
 sed s. 
 sequitur seqf. 
 
 t 
 sicut s. 
 
 sine sn. 
 sive sfl. 
 siint St. 
 super sf. 
 iamen tn. 
 iatitum tm. 
 
 tempus tempts 'temporis,' tempi ' tempori,' etc. Perhaps capricious, 
 like the suspension temp 'temporis' (p. 142), ' tempori ' (p. 141). 
 
 i 
 
 tibi t. 
 
 trans ts. 
 
 tunc tc. 
 
 w/ /with cross-stroke. 
 
 o 
 
 vera v (with the v-, not the ^^forn)). 
 jiifj/^r uri ' vestri,' uro ' vestro,' etc. 
 unde un. 
 vobis ub (with cross-stroke through the b). 
 
 Syllable-symbols ; — 
 
 tn Medial in (e.g. ' cawpus,' etc., etc.), as well as final. The w-stroke 
 
 is sometimes straight. 
 n i 'in ' (also in '/?<clusus,' etc.). The ?^stroke is straight, not curved 
 
 at each (or one) end as the ;«-stroke usually is. 
 con 3. 
 
 en m ' men ' (the Continental symbol), e.g. ' inen%.' 
 er t ' ter ' (e.g. ' Yia^ter,' ' mter,' etc., etc.) 
 
 u ' ver ' b (with cross-stroke) ' ber.' 
 it c ' cit ' (e.g. ' fartV,' ' iecit ') ; x (with stroke above) ' xit.' 
 
 i " " 
 
 ra, re, ri p ' pri ' ; p ' pra ' (e.g. ' svpra '); t ' tra ' (e.g. ' contra.' Also 
 in ' con/wversia ') ; g 'gre' (e.g. ' in^r^ssus,' ' greg\s,' ' gr(ci)ec\is'). 
 runt rt. Also b(with cross-stroke)t '-berunt.' 
 um f 'rum.' 
 ur c' ' tur.' 
 
 i 
 
 us the }-symbol, e.g. b3 'bus,' p3 'prius.' 
 
 On the border-linQ between current abbreviations and capricious sus- 
 pensions stand bre 'breve' (p. 159), brem ' brevem ' (p. 176), probably to 
 
54 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 be classed with technical grammatical symbols like fig ' figura,' acm and 
 accaum 'accusativum,' g ' Graece ' (p. 147), 7c ' et cetera' (p. 145). 
 
 12. The Carlsruhe Bede (836 — 848). Another dateable ninth- 
 century MS. from a Continental Library is the Bede ' de Temporibus ' at 
 Carlsruhe (Reich. CLXVII), formerly at Reichenau, an Irish monastery on 
 an island in the Lake of Constance. It was written between 836 and 848, 
 the ' terminus ante quern ' being fixed by a marginal entry in another hand 
 purporting to be written in that year, and the ' terminus a quo ' by the 
 inclusion in the Calendar of the feast of All Staints, a feast extended in 835 
 to France and Germany. A photograph will be found in the New Palaeo- 
 graphical Society's Publications, pi. 34, with a fuller account of the dating 
 of the MS. Only foil. 1 — 4, 13—49 are available for our purpose, too little 
 to supply full knowledge of the current abbreviations. Foil. 5 — 12, in 
 Caroline minuscule script, tliough their use of the same abbreviations as the 
 other leaves shews that they must come from the same scriptorium, do not, 
 according to Holder's Catalogue, belong to this MS. The rest, in Irish ^ 
 minuscules, with many Irish glosses, is by more than one hand. The scribe 
 who writes the Isidorus Junior extract (foil. 46 r. — 47 v.), near the end of 
 the MS., and who begins his task with the pious entry in nomine in the top 
 margin of fol. 46 r., uses the Continental symbols for ' per,' ' est ' and ' quod.' 
 The glosses are ignored in this list of abbreviations : — 
 
 ante an. 
 
 apnd ap. 
 
 aut a. 
 
 aufem the /^-symbol. Also at (37 v.). 
 
 contra 33. 
 
 cuius cs. 
 
 cum c. 
 
 dico, etc. dt ' dicit,' dnt ' dicunt,' dras ' dicimus,' dx ' dixit,' df 'dicitur,' 
 
 dnf ' dicuntur,' dcs 'dicens.' 
 eius the usual Irish symbol. 
 enim the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 o 
 
 ergo g (with the over the centre of the g). Also eg (fol. 21 v., fol. 
 
 22 r., etc.). 
 est - (or with comma instead of dot). Also e (the Continental symbol) 
 
 by one scribe. 
 esse ee (not frequent). 
 
 P Mr. Ramii.ster (Joiini. Theol. Stud, v, 51, 1904) argues, from the mention of 
 St. Quentin on fol. 1 7 v. in a Calendar, that the MS. was written in the scriptorium 
 of Perrona Scotorum, now Pcronne, Dep. du Nord. 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 55 
 
 el the 7-synibol. 
 
 etiam eti. 
 
 filia fla (fol. 13 v.). 
 
 haheo., etc. ht ' habet,' hnt 'habent' (also in ^ hahent\\>w%^ etc.), hat 
 
 ' habeat ' (in ' habeatMv' fol. 22 r.), hns ' habens,' hre 'habere.' 
 hie, etc. h- ' haec,' h (with dot above shoulder) 'hoc,' hs 'huius,' he 
 
 ' hunc' 
 homo hoi ' homini,' hoem ' hominem,' hoiim ' hominum.' 
 id est -i followed by the ' est ' symbol. 
 igitur ig' (the comma has precisely the form of the ' ur ' symbol, as in 
 
 ' dgura. '). 
 fiiaterraf (fol. 31 r. 'aegyptus mater artium '). 
 ftietis ms. 
 
 o 
 
 modo m. 
 
 nihil nl- (usually the stroke traverses the /). 
 
 i 
 
 nisi n. 
 
 nomen no ' nomen,' nols ' nominis,' noe 'nomine,' noa 'noraina' (also 
 
 in ' nominani '). 
 
 ?ion n (also in ' «(?«cipant,' i.e. ' nuncupant '). 
 
 Hosier nri ' nostri,' nro ' nostro,' etc. 
 
 Humerus nus ' numerus,' nui ' numeri,' nuo ' numero,' etc. 
 
 mine nc. 
 
 omnis 6ms ' omnis ' and ' omnes,' oa ' omnia.' 
 
 pater pf (fol. 22 r. ' qui etiam pater gentium constitutus est '). 
 
 per the usual Irish symbol. One scribe employs the Continental 
 
 symbol,/ with cross-stroke through the lower sliaft. 
 t o 
 
 post p and sometimes p. The two symbols are even found on the same 
 
 page (fol. 26 r.). 
 
 prae p. 
 
 pro the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 proprius the monogram of the ' pro ' and ' pri ' symbols followed by the 
 case-ending. 
 
 propter the monogram of the ' pro ' and ' per ' symbols. Also pp some- 
 times. 
 
 qiiando qn. 
 
 quantum qnm (frequent). 
 
 quare qre. 
 
 cpiiasi qsT. 
 
 que q. and q'. 
 
 i ci 
 
 qui, etc. q ' qui,' q ' qua ' (with open a), etc. 
 For ' quae,' q. 
 
56 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 For ' quod ' and ' quam,' the usual' Irish symbols. One scribe uses 
 qd (with cross-stroke through the d) 'quod.' 
 
 For ' quern,' g with the ;«-stroke above. 
 quia the usual Irish symbol. 
 quomodo qmo. 
 quoniam qm. 
 quoque qq. 
 quot qt. 
 saeculum sli ' saeculi ' fol. 39 r. (' caelestis vitae quam saeculi huius 
 
 erumna '). 
 secundum the usual Irish symbol. For the Adjective this symbol is 
 
 followed by di or i alone to express 'secundi ' and correspondingly 
 
 for the other cases. 
 sed s. 
 
 i 
 
 sicut s. 
 
 si7ie sn. 
 
 sive su. 
 
 sunt St. 
 
 super sf (also in ' superior, etc.). 
 
 tamen in. 
 
 iantuin tiii and tnm (fol. 22 r. 'quod ibi nativitatis ipsius memoria 
 
 tantum sollemnis habeatur '). 
 trans trs. 
 tunc tc. 
 vel V. 
 
 o ' 
 
 vero u. 
 
 vester urm ' vestrum ' (fol. 47 v.). 
 
 unde Cm. 
 
 Syllable-symbols : — 
 
 ;« Medial ni (e.g. ' ownis,' ' suwmus '), as well as final. 
 
 n 1 ' in.' The «-stroke is not curved at each (or one) end like the 
 
 w-stroke. 
 con D. 
 
 em d- ' dem ' (in ' idem,' etc.). 
 
 en m ' men ' (frequent). This is a Continental, not an Irish, symbol. 
 er t ' ter ' (e.g. 'pa/^r' etc.); ii '^ver' (e.g. ' wirrbum,' ' moz/m,' etc.); 
 
 b- ' ber ' (in the name ' huec/^«-cte '). 
 
 i 
 
 ra, re, ri p ' pri ' ; c ' tra ' (very common, e.g. ' contm ' with the ' con ' 
 symbol, 'u//-«que,' etc.), p ' pra ' (e.g. ' su/?-rt ') ; g ' gre ' (e.g. 
 ' Gr{a)ec\,' ' con^r^'go '). 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 57 
 
 ruiit rt. 
 urn r- 'rum.' 
 
 ur c' ' tur,' g' ' gur ' (e.g. ' ^gura. '). 
 
 us b} and b; and (by the scribe of the Isidorus Junior extracts) b, 
 ' bus,' m} and m; ' mus,' p; ' pus,' etc. 
 
 Of the ' nomina sacra,' sps is used in the mere sense of ' wind ' or 
 'breath,' e.g. fol. 19 v. ^ spirttus ventorum,' ibid, ('vitalem hunc 
 spm ') ; one scribe sometimes employs the form xpc ' Christus ' ; 
 apos denotes ' apostolus ' ; isfl ' Israel ' ; eps ' episcopus ' ; eccla 
 ' ecclesia.' 
 
 There are many ' capricious suspensions ' of frequently recurring words, 
 like ho ' hora,' lu ' luna,' si ' signum,' noc ' nocte.' The w-stroke is often joined 
 to the tail of a preceding a, etc. One form of m, in which the middle shaft 
 is not brought down to the line, somewhat resembles ri. Greek letters are 
 substituted for Latin sometimes in headings, e.g. fol. 3 r. ' bissexto ' (with 
 Greek Psi for x). The curve of the ' quod ' symbol is often broken into two 
 parts, so as to resemble the ' quia ' symbol followed by a comma. 
 
 13. The Carlsruhe Augustine (saec. ix.). With the Carlsruhe 
 Bede may be mentioned two other Carlsruhe MSS., one of Augustine, 
 (Reich. CXCV.) the other of Priscian, both of them full of Irish Glosses, 
 and very similar in script to each other, and, like the Bede, formerly 
 volumes of the Reichenau Library. The date of the two cannot be deter- 
 mined with certainty; but in the case of the Augustine, we have a 'terminus 
 ante quem,' in a later Caroline minuscule addition (with Insular abbrevia- 
 tions) on fol. 42 r.-v. (See Plate XL, which shews the upper portion of fol. 
 42 r.). The Caroline minuscules shew the ninth-century characteristics. 
 
 This list of abbreviations in the Augustine takes no account of the 
 glosses, nor of the Irish Hymns at the end (foil. 45 sq., with mf ' mater,' 
 
 sclu 'saeculum,' m 'mus,' and with cursive e in ' amm ') nor of the parts 
 in Continental script. More than one scribe has had a hand in 
 this MS. 
 
 mite an. 
 
 apud ap. 
 
 aiit a. 
 
 autein the /^-symbol. Also at fol. 35 r. (' omnia aittem haec inquit 
 
 operatur unus atque idem spiritus '). 
 bene b with cross-stroke. 
 cuius cs. 
 cum C. 
 
58 Early Irish Minuscule ScriJ>t. 
 
 dico, etc, dt ' dicit,' dnt ' dicunt ' (also ia ' dicuntax '), dx ' dixit,' df 
 'dicitur,' dnf ' dicuntur,' dre 'dicere,' dcs 'dicens,' die 'dictum.' 
 
 eius the usual Irish symbol (once, on fol. 22 v., with suprascript 
 stroke, apparently added by the scribe and not by a corrector). 
 
 enim the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 o 
 
 ergo g (with the o over the centre of the g). 
 
 est -— (Sometimes with the lower comma, or dot, omitted. The upper 
 comma in some of these instances touches the horizontal line and 
 gives the symbol something of the appearance of the numeral 2, 
 although never in so pronounced a form as characterizes later 
 Irish minuscule). 
 
 esse ee. 
 
 ei the 7-symbol. 
 
 etiain eti. 
 
 filius fls (fol. 41 v.). 
 
 habeo, etc. ht ' habet,' hnt ' habent,' hre ' habere.' 
 
 hie, etc. h- ' haec ' ; h (with dot above shoulder) ' hoc ' (with comma 
 for dot, fol. 30 r.) ; hs 'huius.' 
 
 o 
 
 homo h and sometimes ho ' homo ' (e.g. both symbols occur on fol. 
 
 41 r.), hols ' hominis,' hoi ' homini,' hoem 'hominem,' hoe ' ho- 
 
 mine,' hoes 'homines.' 
 id est -i followed by the ' est ' symbol. 
 
 igitur ig' (the comma has precisely the form of the ' ur ' symbol). 
 inter the usual Irish symbol. 
 meus ms ' meus,' mm ' meum.' 
 
 i 
 
 mihi m. 
 
 o 
 
 modo m. 
 
 nihil nl- (or with cross-stroke through the /). 
 
 i 
 
 nisi n. 
 
 nobis nob- and (fol. 20 r.) nb (with cross-stroke through the b). 
 
 nomen no ' nomen,' nois 'nominis,' noe 'nomine,' noa ' nomina ' (in 
 
 ' nominamus '). 
 non n. 
 noster nf ' noster,' nrl ' nostri ' (once nl), nrm ' nostrum ' (once nm), nra 
 
 'nostra,' etc. 
 nnmerus nuo ' numero,' nua 'numera' (in ' m?iumerdb\\cs '), num 
 
 ' numerum ' (fol. 37 r.). 
 nunc nc. 
 omnis oms ' omnis ' and ' omnes,' oe ' omne,' oa ' omnia. 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 59 
 
 pater pf (frequent). 
 
 per the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 o 
 
 post p. 
 
 prae p. 
 
 pro the usual symbol. 
 
 proprius the monogram of the ' pro ' and ' pri ' symbols, followed by the 
 
 case-ending. 
 propter the monogram of the 'pro ' and ' per ' symbols. 
 quando qn. 
 
 quantum qnm (frequent). One suspects the original to have used qii 
 (properly ' quando ') for ' quanto,' since ' quanto ' appears some- 
 times as qn with subscript to or as qno with subscript /, sometimes 
 as qnto. 
 quare qre. 
 quasi qsl. 
 que q- and q'. 
 
 i I a o 
 
 qui, etc. q ' qui,' qd ' quid,' q ' qua,' q ' quo,' etc. 
 
 For ' quae,' q. 
 
 For ' quod ' and ' quam,' the usual Irish symbols. 
 
 For ' quem,' q with the w-stroke above. 
 quia the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 quomodo qmo (on fol. 27 V. expressed by the ' quo ' and ' modo ' symbols). 
 quoniam qm. 
 quoque qq. 
 
 Since ' que ' in this MS. is expressed by q followed by a dot 
 (or comma), a transcriber would have some difficulty in 
 distinguishing qq ' quoque,' and qq- ' quaeque ' and qq- ' quem- 
 que ' (with the w-stroke over the first q). 
 
 quot qt. 
 
 secundum the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 sed s. 
 
 sicut s. 
 
 sine sn. 
 
 sive su. 
 
 sunt St. 
 
 super sf. 
 
 tamen tn. 
 
 tantuin tm. 
 
 tanto tno (fol. 35 r, with qnto ' quanto ' in the same sentence). 
 
 tibi t (fol. 24 v.). 
 
6o Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 trans trs (also ts fol. 24 r. ' ad alia transea.m\is '), 
 tunc tc. 
 
 a 
 
 tua t (fol. 20 r.). 
 vel 1- . 
 
 o 
 
 vero u and sometimes uo. 
 
 tcnde un (once altered to In, for 'inde,' by erasure of the first part of the 
 u, presumably by a later corrector). 
 
 Syllable-symbols : — 
 
 in Medial m (e.g. ' so»mus,' ' ownia,' ' ownes,' ' o;«nino,' ' su;«mus,' 
 ' awpHor,' sewper,' and even ' ani;;/adverti ' fol. 28 v.), as well as final. 
 
 n \ ' in.' The w-stroke has not the curved ends (or end) of the ;«-stroke. 
 
 con 0. 
 
 em d- ' dem ' (in ' qui^«/7,' ' idem,' etc.). 
 
 er t ' ter ' (e.g. ' mater,' ' inter,' etc.), u ' ver ' (e.g. ' z^if^us,' ' moveris,' 
 ' dubita»^rit '), b" ' ber ' (e.g. ' pertur^^re '). 
 
 i 
 
 ra, re, r/ p ' pri ' ; c ' tra ' (e.g. ' contra,' intra,' with the ' con ' and the 
 ' in ' syrnbols) ; g ' gre '(eg.' Gr{a)ec\xs,' ' aggr^gandi '), often used 
 as ' suspension ' of Graece, Graeci, etc. 
 runt rt. 
 um X- ' rum.' 
 t/r t' ' tur.' 
 us b3 and b' and b' and b; (fol. 35 r.) ' bus,' m} ' mus,' etc. 
 
 For ' apostolus ' we find apos (but aps fol. 42 r.). The suspension 
 episto ' epistolae ' may also be mentioned. 
 
 The second down-stroke of u is sometimes prolonged so that the letter 
 resembles an open 9 and a symbol like uam ' veram ' looks like ' qu[a]eara.' 
 The ' pro ' symbol is formed by adding a fairly horizontal cross-stroke 
 to a fairly open/, so as to be not unlike the Irish ' secundum ' symbol. The 
 'quod ' symbol is frequently constructed in the same manner as in the Carls- 
 ruhe Bade (see p. 57, above). The w-stroke is often joined to the tail 
 of a preceding a, etc. 
 
 14. The Carlsruhe Priscian (saec. ix.). Of very similar script 
 to the Carlsruhe Augustine is another MS. from Reichenau in the same 
 Library (Reich. CXXXII.), full of Irish glosses. The glosses are ignored 
 in the following (incomplete ?) list of abbreviations. 
 
 ante an. 
 apud ap. 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 6i 
 
 aut a (fol. 22 r., in a quotation from 'Ad Herenn.' IV. = Prise. I. p. 
 
 io8 1. 10 H. ' aut si Prometheus '). 
 autem the ^-symbol. 
 bene b with cross-stroke. 
 contra 33. 
 cuius cs. 
 cum c. 
 dico, etc. dt 'dicit,' dms ' dicimus,' dnt 'dicunt' (in ' dicuntm'), dx 
 
 ' dixit,' df ' dicitur,' dnf ' dicuntur,' dre ' dicere,' die ' dictum.' 
 eius the usual Irish symbol. 
 enim the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 o 
 
 ergo g (with the over the centre of the g). 
 
 est ■^- (or with comma for dot. The comma sometimes touches the 
 horizontal line, as in the Carlsruhe Augustine). 
 
 esse ee. 
 
 el the 7-symbol. 
 
 etiatn eti. 
 
 facto, etc. fcm ' factum,' fca ' facta ' (fol. 24 v.). 
 
 filius fls (fol. 22 v.). 
 
 f rater Ix (fol. 21 v.). 
 
 Jiabeo, etc. ht and het ' habet ' (the two symbols appear on the same 
 page sometimes, e.g. fol. 4 v.), hnt 'habent' (also in ^ habenlQs,' 
 habent\z,' etc.), hat ' habeat ' (fol. 2 1 v.), hre ' habere,' hiis ' habens.' 
 On fol. 22 V. 'si -g- hnat ante 'n-' the scribe seems to have mis- 
 written hnat for hant 'habeant.' In the original the « was 
 probably suprascript. 
 
 hie, etc. h- 'haec,' /%(with dot above shoulder) 'hoc,' hs 'huius,' he 'hunc' 
 
 homo ho ' homo,' hoes ' homines,' houm ' hominum.' 
 
 id est -i followed by the ' est ' symbol. 
 
 igilur ig' (the comma has precisely the form of the ' ur ' symbol, as in 
 ' figura,' e.g fol. 4 r. ' sunt \gitur Rgurae '). 
 
 inter the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 mater mf ' mater,' mrls ' matris,' mres ' matres.' 
 
 meus ms ' meus,' mm ' meum.' 
 
 I 
 7nihi m. 
 
 o .... 
 
 modom (this symbol also denotes 'modi' in ' huiusmodi,' ^ hnmscemodi,' 
 
 ^i\]\us->nodi'). 
 nam (see ' am,' below). 
 nihil vA (with cross-stoke through the /). 
 
 i 
 
 nisi n . 
 
62 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 nomen no ' nomen,' nois ' npminis,' noe ' nomine,' noa ' nomina ' (also in 
 
 ' «<?///;nativus,' etc.), noum ' nominum,' nolbus ' nominibus.' 
 non n. 
 noster nf ' noster,' nrl ' nostri,' nro ' nostro,' nrm ' nostrum,' etc. (also 
 
 nm ' nostrum ' fol. 2 r. ' veteres nostrum '). 
 numerus nui ' numeri,' nuo ' numero,' etc. (fol. 20 r. nuum ' numerum '). 
 omnis oms ' omnis ' and ' omnes,' omi ' omni,' oma and oa ' omnia,' 
 
 oium ' omnium.' 
 pater pf ' pater,' pris ' patris,' pre ' patre,' pres ' patres.' 
 per the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 o t 
 
 post p (also p fol. 21 r.}. 
 
 prae p. 
 
 pro the usual symbol. 
 
 proprius the monogram of the ' pro ' and ' pri symbols followed by the 
 
 case-ending. 
 propter the monogram of the ' pro ' and ' per ' symbols. Also the ' pro ' 
 
 symbol followed by p (fol. 8 v.). 
 qiiando qfl and also qno. 
 quare qre. 
 quasi qsi. 
 que q' and q" 
 
 i i a o 
 
 qui, etc. q 'qui,' qd 'quid,' q (with the open form of a) 'qua,' q 
 
 ' quo,' etc. 
 
 For ' quae,' q. 
 
 For ' quod ' and ' quam,' the usual Irish symbols (but qd, with 
 cross-stroke through the d, 'quod' fol. 32 r., in close 
 proximity to the normal symbol). 
 
 For ' quem,' q with the w-stroke above. 
 quia the usual Irish symbol. 
 quomodo qmo. 
 quoniam qm. 
 quoque qq. 
 qtiot qt. 
 secundum the usual Irish symbol, sometimes followed by dum. For 
 
 the Adj. the same symbol does duty (for any case), sometimes 
 
 followed by di, do, etc. 
 sed s. 
 
 i 
 
 siait s. 
 sine sn. 
 sive su. 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 63 
 
 sunt St. 
 super sf. 
 lamen tn. 
 tantum tm. 
 
 i 
 
 tibi t. 
 
 trans trs and sometimes ts. 
 
 tunc tc. 
 
 o 
 
 vero u. 
 
 z/«/i?y uf ' vester,' uri ' vestri,' uro ' vestro,' urm ' vestrum,' etc. 
 
 unde un. 
 
 Syllable-symbols : — 
 
 in Medial vi (e.g. ' se»?per,' ' ownium,' ' grawmatica '), as well as final. 
 « i ' ill.' The «-stroke is not curved at the end like the w-stroke. 
 con 0. 
 am 11 with cross-stroke (usually like the cross-stroke of the ' quam ' 
 
 symbol) traversing its second shaft i' ' nam ' ; d followed by the 
 
 same kind of stroke 'dam' (in ' qui^^/w,' etc., e.g. fol. 21 v. 
 
 ' ut o^\dam * putaverunt '). 
 em d" ' dem ' (in ' qui^fewz,' ' xdem^ etc.). 
 
 e n- ' ne' (e.g. ' oratio««,' fol. 19 v. ' M. Cato in oratio«e nequis iterum '). 
 er t ' ter ' (e.g. ' tsLfer,' ma.ler ') ; u ' ver ' ; b- ' ber ' (e.g. ' l\6er,' ' scniere,' 
 
 ' habere '). 
 
 ra, re, ri p 'pri'; p 'pra' (e.g. 'su/n?'); c 'tra' (e.g. ' con/^rt with 
 the 'con' symbol), ' /rflho,' etc.) ; g 'gra' (e.g. '^r«dus,' '^atus,' 
 etc.) ; g ' gre ' (e.g. ' Gr<(a>ecus '). 
 
 runt rt. 
 
 urn r- ' rum ' ; c ' cum ' (e.g. ' publi«^»: ') ; d- ' dum ' (e.g. sciendum fol. 
 32 v.) (the same as the 'dem' symbol). Another symbol is used 
 after any letter (except c and r) for ' um,' which sometimes (as 
 in the Book of Mulling) resembles the ' et ' symbol S sometimes 
 (with the angle turned into a curve) a large comma. 
 
 '■ For ' nam ' this second shaft is prolonged below the line, but not for ' Nam ' (with 
 large rounded form of N). 
 
 s The 'em' stroke of ' qiiid«« ' is not hooked at each end. On fol. 21 v. 'illud 
 qaidem volebam nostro vilico ' = (Prise. I. 104, 11 H.) the scribe has by error used the 
 ' am ' symbol instead of the ' em ' symbol. 
 
 ' The 'et' symbol is distinguished by having a larger and straighter head. On 
 fol. 34 1. 'quidum,' with this ' um ' symbol, is written by error for 'quidem' ('et nascitur 
 quidem a nominativo, generat autem omnes).' 
 
64 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 ur c' ' tur,' g' ' gur.' 
 
 us b} ' bus,' d} ' dus ' (e.g. ' mdusix'xa. '), etc. 
 
 The symbol sps is not confined to the religious sense of the word 
 'spiritus.' The technical terms of Grammar are expressed by a variety of 
 ' capricious suspensions ' (e.g. syll-, syl-, etc., ' syllaba, -ae,' etc.) and curtail- 
 ments. Whether gris 'generis' (with gre ' genere,' grm 'generum,' etc.) 
 belongs to this category or was a genuine abbreviation current in the scrip- 
 torium, is doubtful. The »2-stroke is often joined to the tail of a preceding 
 a or the tongue of a preceding e. The 'pro' symbol is formed 
 by an open p traversed by a sinuous stroke which sometimes passes a 
 little beyond the extremity of the curve of the p ; it often resembles the 
 ' secundum ' symbol. 
 
 This account of the abbreviations found in Irish minuscule MSS. 
 written on the Continent may be supplemented by a specimen of those 
 found in the Continental minuscule of a MS. written in some Irish 
 monastery on the Continent (Bobbio?). 
 
 15. Berne 207 (saec. ix — x). A MS. which formerly belonged to 
 the Monastery Library of Fleury, and now belongs to the Town Library of 
 Berne (n° 207), contains" various grammatical works, etc., written in Con- 
 tinental minuscules, apparently of the end of the ninth or the beginning of 
 the tenth century, which shew some Insular features (e.g. subscript / after 
 /, «, etc. ; the ' ti ' ligature, resembling a one-horned q ; the ' tio ' ligature 
 which adds to this a subscript 0). The abbreviations are Insular, with less 
 Continental admixture than one would expect, and with a remarkable pre- 
 servation of some antique symbols (for ' nisi,' ' nihil, -' am,' etc.). 
 
 This list is probably incomplete : — 
 
 apud ap. 
 
 aiitem the /^-symbol and aut (the Continental symbol ; sometimes in the 
 
 form afl, e.g. 14 v.). 
 cum c (?). This symbol may perhaps be inferred from the use of 
 
 nob" (or nob, with cross-stroke through the b) followed by c for 
 
 ' nobiscum ' (similarly ' vobiscum '). 
 dico, etc. dt ' dicit,' dms ' dicimus,' dnt ' dicunt,' dx and dix ' dixit,' dxms 
 
 ' diximus,' df ' dicitur,' dnf ' dicuntur,' etc. The use of d (with 
 
 cross-stroke) for ' dicuntur ' (?) on fol. 29 r. ('nam sunt quae 
 
 dictmiicrQ) semineutralia ') is probably taken from some early 
 
 original. 
 
 " For a full account of its contents, see Hageii's Preface to ' Anecdota Helvetica ' 
 (pp. XV sqq.), the Supplement to Keil's ' Grammatici Lalini '). On fol. 3 r. various 
 alphabets are presented, including the Ogham alphabet with a Latin interpretation. 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 65 
 
 ecce ecc (rare). 
 
 enijn the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 est •— esse ee. 
 
 et the 7-synibol. 
 
 hie h- (with the dot to the right of the letter, sometimes down on the 
 line) ' hoc,' hs ' huius.' These two abbreviations we are accus- 
 tomed to find in Irish script. But a singular feature of this MS. 
 is the use of h- for ' hie ' (not ' haec,' its normal significance), and 
 of he for ' huic ' (not ' hunc '). ' Hunc ' is expressed by hnc (e.g. 
 88 V. he equiti romano, hnc equitem romanum '). Irish abbrevia- 
 tion has clearly reached the decadent stage, when the old conven- 
 tions are disregarded in this fashion. 
 
 item it. 
 
 mens ma ' mea,' mm 'meum,' etc. 
 
 viihi m. 
 
 nihil nl (with cross-stroke through /) and sometimes (e.g. 35 v., 37 v.), 
 
 the monogram of N and L. This monogram is one of the Notae 
 
 Juris. 
 nisi the monogram of N and s (one of the Notae Juris). 
 nobis nob (with cross-stroke through V) or nob. 
 nomen nm (an antique syllable-suspension) or nn. or nmii (the Visigothic 
 
 symbol), ' nomen,' nmnis ' nominis,' nmne ' nomine,' etc. 
 non n. 
 noster nf ' noster,' nrl ' nostri,' etc. 
 
 c 
 
 rmnc n (67 r.). 
 
 per the Irish (never the Continental) symbol. 
 postip; (3 V., 180 r.). 
 prae p. 
 
 pro the usual symbol. 
 quando qnd (with cross-stroke though d) and qnd. 
 
 a 
 
 quare qf, also (possibly by a corrector) qf (e.g. the two symbols occur 
 
 in neighbouring lines on fol. 36 v.). 
 quasi qsi. 
 qjte q with colon . 
 
 i i a o 
 
 qui, etc. q ' qui,' qd ' quid,' q ' qua,' q ' quo.' 
 
 For ' quod ' both the Irish symbol and the Continental qd (with 
 
 cross-stroke through d?) or qd are used. 
 For quam q traversed by a long oblique stroke sloping downwards 
 
 from right to left and furnished at the top with a ' hook ' oi' 
 
 ' head.' 
 
66 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 quia the usual Irish symbol of ' quam,' q traversed by a short oblique 
 stroke, sloping downwards from left to right and hooked at each 
 end. 
 
 quomodo qmd (with cross-stroke through d) or qmd. 
 
 quoniam qm. 
 
 quot qt. 
 
 secundmn scdra with cross-stroke through df^ii r.). 
 
 sed s' (frequent). 
 
 siciit sic (the Continental symbol) or sic'. 
 
 simiiiier sirdr with cross-stroke through / (frequent). 
 
 sunt s (the Continental symbol). 
 
 tamen tn. 
 
 iantiun tm. 
 
 c 
 
 tu?ic t (frequent). 
 vel I with cross-stroke 
 
 o 
 
 vera u. 
 
 vester ur ' vester,' uri 'vestri,' etc. On 14 V., in the quotation from 
 
 Virgil ' urbem quem {corr. quam) statuo vestra est,' the Visigothic 
 
 symbol usa appears. 
 vobis uob (with cross-stroke through U). 
 
 Syllable-symbols : — 
 
 m Medial m (e.g. ' te.'wpore,' 'cowmune,' etc.), as well as final. 
 
 am. A long oblique stroke like that used in the ' quam '-symbol (see 
 above) appears in words like ' alia/?z ' (36 r., traversing ihe subscript 
 «of tlie ligature /«'), 'productaw' (34 r., traversing the bend of the 
 if), ' siilabaOT ' (35 r., traversing the shaft of the b'), etc. 
 
 e d (with stroke above or crossing the shaft) ' de ' (e.g. in ' inife,' 
 ' unrtis ' ' dein(/e '). 
 (For c ' ce ' see above, ' ecre '). 
 
 ett m ' men ' (e.g. ' i&men,' ' nomen '), the Continental symbol. 
 
 er t ' ter ' (e.g. ' inter,' ' mater,' ' cetera. '). 
 
 iix 'xit' (e.g. 'dixit,' ' seiunx it,' 'Hexit'}, C 'cit' (e.g. ' (acit,^ 'fecit,' 
 ' crescit'). 
 
 i 
 
 ri p ' pri.' 
 
 ru/it f. 
 
 um r- ' rum.' 
 
 «r c' 'tur' (A corrector persistently adds a dot to the right of the lower 
 
 end of the comma). Sometimes tf and once the 'ter '-symbol 
 
 ('igi/?/r' 43 v). 
 
Early Irish Mimiscule Script. 6'7 
 
 us b; and b' ' bus.' 
 
 p' • pus ' (e.g. ' tzxaptis '), i' ' ius ' (e.g. ' cm'us'^). 
 ts ' tus ' (e.g. ' i&ctus '). 
 
 Of the ' nomina sacra ' class these symbols are noteworthy : 
 
 ds 'deus,' of a pagan deity (e.g. i6v. 'vinum precamur nam hie 
 deus praesens adest '). 
 
 sps ' spiritus,' in the sense of breath (e.g. ' spiriius asper '). 
 
 apsis (with cross-stroke through I) ' apostolus.' Similar is epsla 
 (with cross-stroke through /) ' epistula ' (65 r., ' paulus apos- 
 tolus in epistula '). 
 
 The common symbol dd (with cross-stroke through the shafts) 
 ' David ' may also be mentioned. 
 
 There are many ' capricious curtailments ' of technical Grammatical 
 terms, e.g. plr (with cross-stroke through /) ' pluralis,' sir (with cross-stroke 
 through /) ' singularis,' acctbo or atbo (each with cross-stroke through i>) 
 ' accusativo,' gntbm (with cross-stroke through 6) 'genetivum,' nrm 
 ' numerum,' gnris ' generis.' Probably hod (with cross-stroke through d) 
 ' hodie 'on fol. 179 r. should be called a ' capricious suspension.' 
 
 16. Vat. Pal. lat. 68 (saec. viii — ix). Latin MSS. written by 
 English or AVelsh scribes are not included in this investigation, since they 
 deserve a separate treatment, although the evidence of their script (e.g. 
 Plate IV.) and abbreviations is necessary for a judgment on the date of 
 Irish MSS. Here we may notice one codex which stands on the border- 
 line between English and Irish, as is shewn by the presence of English 
 glosses (of the Northumbrian dialect) as well as Irish. That both sets of 
 glosses are copied from an original is suggested by their being included 
 in the text (not placed above the line or in the margin) and distinguished 
 from it by apices *. We must suppose the original to have been written in 
 some Irish monastery in Northumbria, and since the abbreviations in the 
 transcript shew an English element (e.g. the ' tur' symbol), we may suppose 
 the same of the transcript. It is a Psalter, with commentary, now in the 
 Palatine collection (n". 68) in the Vatican Library, and has (at the end of 
 the text and forming part of it) this ' subscriptio ' (see Plate XII.) : — 
 
 Sicut portus oportunus naviganiibus, ita versus novissimus scribentibus. 
 Edilberict filius berictfridi scripsit hanc glosam^. Quicumque hoc legat, 
 
 ' When Celtic words occur in the text of the Schaffhausen Adamnan they are 
 similarly marked, e.g. p. 106 'factum est hi teilte.' So too the place-names in the Book 
 of Armagh. 
 
 y I.e. commentary. 
 
68 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 oret pro scriptore ; et ipse similiter omnibus populis et tribubus et linguis et 
 universogeneri humano aeternam salutem optat in Christo. Amen. Amen. 
 Amen. 
 
 Experts declare the Northumbrian glosses to be not later than the early 
 part of the eighth century (see Napier, ' Old English Glosses,' p. xxxii). The 
 script and abbreviations (e.g. ni and nrl ' nostri ') of the transcript point to 
 the eighth century, or, at latest, the beginning of the ninth. 
 
 On the last page (fol. 46 v.), left blank by the scribe, stands, amongst 
 other scribblings, CUNBRAHT. exaiidiat te Dominus. 
 
 apttd ap. 
 
 autem the ^-symbol. 
 
 bene b with cross-stroke. 
 
 civitas ciul and ciuit, perhaps mere ' capricious suspensions,' but of 
 
 frequent occurrence, are used for all cases. 
 contra 03 with contraction-stroke above (once). 
 citiiis cs. 
 cum c. 
 dico, etc. dt ' dicit,' dnis ' dicimus,' dnt ' dicunt,' dx ' dixit,' df ' dicitur,' 
 
 dnf 'dicuntur.' Mere 'capricious suspensions ' are 'ac si die' (fol. 
 
 46 r., etc.), ' quasi dixis ' (fol. 23 r,, etc.). 
 eius the usual Irish symbol. 
 enim the usual Irish symbol. 
 est ■— esse ee. 
 
 habeo, etc. ht ' habet,' hnt ' habent,' hns ' habens.' 
 hie, etc. h" ' haec,' hs ' huius.' 
 id est -i-. 
 igitur ig. 
 
 nam^ue nq (more than once). 
 
 nomen nom ' nomen,' nol ' nomini,' noe ' nomine,' noa ' nomina.' 
 no7i ii. 
 noster nf ' noster,' nri and nl ' nostri,' nrum {sic) and nin ' nostrum,' 
 
 nvis ' nostris.' 
 nunc nc. 
 oninis ols ' omnis,' oe ' omne,' 01 ' orani,' oes ' omnes, oa ' omnia.' The 
 
 om ' omnes ' of fol. 30 v. (excelsus sf om gen dns ' excelsus super 
 
 omnes gentes Dominus') and fol. 45 v. (mont et om col ' montes 
 
 et omnes colles ') is a mere capricious suspension. 
 per the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 o 
 
 post p. 
 prae p. 
 pro the usual symbol. 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 69 
 
 propter the monogram of the ' pro ' and ' per ' symbols. 
 quando qnd. 
 quare qre 
 quasi qsi. 
 que q. and q: 
 
 i 
 
 qui, etc. q ' qui ' ; q ' quae.' 
 
 For ' quod' the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 For ' quam ' q with the ;«-stroke above, a symbol which in other 
 Irish MSS. denotes 'quem.' 
 quia the usual Irish symbol (generally with a downward hook at the 
 
 upper (right-hand) end of the oblique cross-stroke). 
 quoniavi quo and sometimes qm (especially in lemmas). 
 quoque qq. 
 
 reliqua rl with cross-stroke through the /. 
 secundum the usual Irish symbol. 
 
 i 
 
 siciit s. 
 
 sive (seu ?) s (a symbol which denotes ' sed ' in other Irish MSS.). 
 
 sunt St. 
 
 super sf (also, e.g., in ' super\>\ '). 
 
 tamen tn^ 
 
 tantuin tiii. 
 
 trans ts. 
 
 tunc tc. 
 
 z'^// with cross-stroke. ' 
 
 o 
 
 vero u. 
 
 vester urae ' vestrae.' 
 
 Syllable-symbols : — 
 
 m only final m. 
 con 3. 
 
 Q)en (see 'nomen,' 'amen'). 
 er I ' ter.' 
 
 runt t~ (the ' rum ' symbol). 
 u/n r" 'rum.' 
 
 ur t with right-hand branch intersected by vertical stroke. 
 us bs ' bus ' (sometimes a suprascript u is substituted for the contrac- 
 tion-stroke). 
 
 ' Nomina Sacra' (selected) : — 
 
 isrl (once srl) with cross-stroke through the / ' Israel.' 
 hirl with cross-stroke through the / ' Hierosolyma.' 
 
70 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 Capricious suspensions (e.g. qiii essuriunt et sit ' sitiunt ') are especially 
 affected in the lemmas, i.e. the small portions of text prefixed to their 
 respective commentary. The symbol 'g- 'graece' is frequent, along with 
 lat 'latine.' Also am ' amen.' 
 
 A peculiarity of the script is that not merely the head of the shaft 
 of letters like h (and even curved suprascript /) but also the foot of the shaft 
 of letters like s are often looped. 
 
 17. Earliest Syllabic Suspensions in Milan C. 301 inf. and 
 Boulogne 63, 64. No account of early Irish Abbreviation would be com- 
 plete without a mention of two MSS. which have preserved a number of 
 most primitive symbols, evidently copied from some very early originals. 
 These symbols shew that ancient type of abbreviation known as ' syllabic 
 suspension,' in which the initial letter of each or some of the syllables does 
 duty for the whole word. The current Irish abbreviations in early minus- 
 cule are clearly based on a system of this kind, with their at ' a(u)t(em),' 
 sn ' s(i)n(e),' su ' s(i)u(e),' ^ etc. But that remoter period when, either in 
 the earliest Irish written documents or in their originals and models, this 
 type of abbreviation spread far beyond the limits subsequently imposed, is 
 hidden from our eyes. Of the iVISS. of this time only the calligraphic 
 specimens have survived ; the rest have long since been cut up for purposes 
 of binding. But there are two extant eighth-century MSS. which seem to 
 lift a veil and give us a glimpse into this obscure time, by preserving for us 
 some of the obsolete symbols which the scribes found in their originals. One 
 is a Bobbio MS., now at Mil^n (Ambr., C. 301 inf.), an epitomized Latin 
 translation (by Columban?) of the Greek commentary on the Psalms by 
 Theodore of Mopsuestia. It is full of Irish glosses and has been edited 
 by Ascoli ('Codice Irlandese dell' Ambrosiana,' Rome, 1878 sqq.), with a 
 photolithograph. A full account of its abbreviations will be found in the 
 ' Zentralblatt fiir Bibliothekswesen ' xxvi., pp. 302 — 306. The ' subscriptio ' 
 at the end is : Finit. Amen. Diarmait scripsit. Orate pro illo peccatore. 
 The other is a St. Berlin MS. in two volumes, now in the Town Library of 
 Boulogne (63-6'!., formerly ' 58 '), containing the Letters of St. Augustine. In 
 the following list of their obsolete syllabic suspensions, the Milan MS. is 
 denoted by A, the other by B. That the symbols were obsolete and were 
 often not even understood by the scribe and his contemporaries is shewn 
 in various ways. In the Milan MS. we find a symbol used for a page or 
 two until the scribe realises its meaning and substitutes for it in the re- 
 maining pages its current equivalent ; or else it is expanded (often wrongly) 
 by a contemporary corrector. In the Boulogne MS. these symbols stand 
 
 « Distinguished from su ' sum ' by the use of the straight contraction-stroke in ' sive ' 
 and of the w-stroke, bent at each (or one) end in ' sum.' 
 
Early Irish Miuuscule Script. ii 
 
 usually at a slight interval from the preceding and. from the following word, 
 the scribe having apparently first left a. space for tKeir expansion, then having 
 written them unaltered in the centre of this space. For the sake of com- 
 pleteness some syllabic suspensions are included, which, though normally 
 found in another form in Insular MSS., should be called old-fashioned, 
 rather than obsolete (e.g. qs ' quasi,' replaced by qsl ; qf ' quare,' replaced 
 by qre ; qp, replaced by qpe ' quippe '). 
 
 aq ' atque ' (A) (passim). 
 
 bn 'bene* (B) 64 fol. 20 r. ' sicut scriptum est bene nuntiate diem de 
 
 die' (Migne ' Augustini Epistolae' col. 450, § 3, = Psal. xcv. 2). 
 cI ' cuius ' (B) (frequent). 
 
 ct ' certe ' (B), e.g. 63 fol. 8 r. ' qui certe ad ea quae maiores sapiunt,' 
 63 fol. 13 r. 'aut certe corporaliter dictum est' (Migne 'Aug. Epp.' 
 
 847, §39). 
 •dc- ' dictum ' (A) (along with die). 
 
 dn 'donee' (B) 63 fol. 8 r., fol. 9 v. ' at do7iec eis deus revelet.' 
 eg 'ergo' (B). 
 hi 'huius' (B) (frequent). 
 
 hm (with cross-stroke through the h) ' huiusmodi ' (A), 
 mg ' magis ' (.^B). 
 •n- ' ne ' (A), 
 n and 'n- ' nee' (A), 
 nq ' neque ' (A). 
 
 nq- ' namque ' (A). Also with the ' nam ' symbol (see below) instead of n. 
 ns 'nisi' (A). In B a monogram of ;A^ and s (one of the Notae 
 
 Juris) is used, 
 nb 'nobis' (B). 
 opt 'oportet' (B) 63 fol. 32 r. 'quid enim oremus sicut oportet 
 
 nescimus.' 
 pnt 'penitus' (B) 63 fol. 6 r. 'moles ipsa corporis, quantacumque vel 
 
 quantulacumque sit, penitus auferatur' (Migne 'Aug. Epp.' 
 
 839, §18). 
 (?) pp 'populus.' The case-ending is added in ppo 'populo' (B) 64 
 
 fol. 6 r. 'sabbatum tamen commendatum est 'quox'i populo in otio 
 
 corporaliter celebrando ' (Migne 'Aug. Epp.' 212, § 18). 
 qd (with oblique line traversing both letters) ' quidem ' (A). 
 qu ' quamvis ' (B) 63 fol. 20 r. 'nee speciem fingere qitanivis sublime 
 
 cogitans mens ' {qucimquam Migne ' Aug. Epp.' 450, § 3). 
 qf 'qiiare' (B) 63 fol. 20 r. '■quare ergo post resurrectionem dixit ' {cur 
 
 Migne ' Aug. Epp.' 430, § 3). 
 qs 'quasi' (B) (frequent), 
 qp ' quippe ' (B). 
 
72 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 rf and -rr- ' rerum ' ( A) . 
 
 s and -s- 'sic ' (A) (On § ' sive,' see below). 
 
 scd (along with the usual Irish symbol and sec) ' secundum ' (B). 
 
 sm 'simul' (B), e.g. 63 fol. 12 v. 'omnibus simul in unum congregatis,' 
 
 (Migne ' Aug. Epp.' 847, § 38), fol. 13 r. ' hoc simul cum assumpto 
 
 homine diceretur.' 
 tq (along with trnqiii) ' tamquam ' (B). 
 tm ' tamen ' (B) (along with the normal tn). 
 tt ' tantum ' (B) (along with the normal tm). 
 u ' ut ' (B). 
 lib ' vobis ' (B). 
 
 To the ' nomina sacra ' category belongs : — 
 
 pp ' propheta ' (B) 64 fol. lor. ' Essaias /w//?r/a ' (Also prof, e.g. 63 
 fol. 33 r.). This symbol seems to have been misunderstood as 
 'populus, -li,' etc., on fol. 28 r. of 64 'ex persona ppl (expanded 
 ' prophete ' by the corrector) deum rogantis.' 
 
 Other obsolete or old-fashioned symbols, of a different type, transmitted 
 from the originals in these two MSS., are : — 
 
 amp ' amplius ' (B) 63 fol. 25V.' utique amplius quam in sua (written 
 
 a 
 
 s) substantia esse non posset ' (Migne ' Aug. Epp.' 460, § 16). 
 d with cross-stroke ' dicit,' ' diceret,' etc. (A), 
 et ' etiam ' (B). 
 ft ' facit ' (B) 63 fol. 35 v. ' in vasa misericordiae quae/rt«V in honorem 
 
 (Migne ' Aug. Epp.' 884, § 30). 
 hne ' homine,' hnem 'hominem,' etc. (B). 
 
 t i 
 
 inq ' inquit ' (B) 64 fol. 8 v., fol. 10 r. (along with the normal inqt). 
 
 m 
 
 m ' meam,' ' meum,' ' meos ' (A); m ' meum,' ' meam ' (A); me 
 'me(a)e' (B), e.g. 63 fol. 19 v. 'genus petitionis meae brevi 
 sermone.' 
 
 n followed by the ' quam ' symbol ' numquam ' (A). 
 
 N with L in monogram ' nihil ' (B). 
 
 o 
 
 n 'nos' (B), e.g. 63 fol. 17 r. ' unde dominus Ihesus per nos ad nos 
 venerit,' 12 r., 18 v. In other early MSS. this symbol denotes 
 ' non ' ; in the Book of Mulling (see p. 20, above) 'nemo.' 
 
 par 'pariter' (B) 63 fol. 6 r. 'cum pariter ei propinquant' (Migne 
 ' Aug. Epp.' 839, § 19). The corrector wrongly expands ' parum.' 
 
 pot 'potius' (B) 63 fol. 9 r. ' serviendo crea.turs.e politis quam creatori,' 
 26 r., etc. 
 
Early Irish Minuscule Script. 73 
 
 (?) q' ' quia ' (B), persistently altered to q2 by the corrector, so that 
 the original form of the symbol has been obscured. The scribe 
 often miswrites ' que ' for ' quia.' 
 
 d ! 
 
 q (along with qd) 'quid' (B), e.g. 63 fol. 19 V. ' siquid hie incondite 
 
 atque inculte dictum legeris.' 
 qd (with oblique line traversing both letters) ' quod ' (B), e.g. 64 fol. 
 
 18 V. 'quid est ergo ^uod scribunt,' 15 v., etc. (In A this symbol 
 
 denotes ' quidem ' ; see above). (In B not merely the usual Irish 
 
 symbol for ' quod ' but also qd is in use.) 
 
 s ' sed ' (B), e.g. 63 fol. 19 r. (along with s). Sometimes an apostrophe 
 replaces the dot. 
 
 i 
 
 s 'sic' (B), e.g. 63 fol. 21 r. 'sic currite ut adpraehendatis.' This 
 
 symbol denotes ' sicut ' normally " in Irish MSS. On the ' sic ' 
 
 symbols in A, see above, 
 ss ' sumus ' (when preceded by/ with a ' tail,' i.e. pos, ' possumus ') (B) 
 
 (frequent), 
 si ' sibi ' (B), e.g. 63 fol. 20 r. ' personae autem jz'i^/ constantes ' (Migne 
 
 ' Aug. Epp.' 450, § 4). 
 
 a 
 
 s 'sua' (B), eg. 63 fol. 25 v. ; se ' su(a)e ' (B) ; -s- ' suam ' (A); ss 
 
 ' suas ' (A) (as well as ' suis '). 
 s (also s with cross-stroke) ' sive ' (A). (On s ' sic ' see above.) 
 
 m 
 
 t ' tuam ' (A) ; -t- ' tuum ' (A) ; te ' tu(a)e ' (B) (frequent), 
 ti ' tibi ' (B) (frequent). 
 
 a i o 
 
 u ' vera,' u ' veri ' (B) (along with the better known u ' vero '). 
 u ' ubi ' (A). 
 
 Syllable-symbols : — 
 
 am a cross-stroke through the lower shaft of d ' dam ' (A) ; of JV' nam ' 
 (A) (i.e. through the first upright) ; of ^ ' ram ' (B), e.g. 'veram ' 
 64 fol. 6 r. ' futuraw ' 64 fol. 6 v. 
 
 er a cross-stroke through the lower shaft of 5 ' ser ' (B) ; of u ' ver ' (B). 
 
 t 
 " In A, along with the abnormal symbol si. B uses s 'sicut.' The syllabic sus- 
 pension sc 'sicut' is not found in these two MSS., but occasionally appears elsewhere, 
 e.g. in flag' 9 of St. Gall, Stiftsbibl. 1395, on p. 440 'ex animo operaraini sicut domino 
 et non hominibus.' The fragment is described in Scherrer's Catalogue as "vielleicht 
 ein Ueberrest der ' Epistolae Pauli in vol. i ' unter den ' Libri scottice scripti ' der altesten 
 Bibliothek." 
 
74 Early Irish Minuscule Script. 
 
 or c with a dot inside the half-circle (sometimes joined to the upper or 
 lower extremity) ' cor ' (B) (frequent). 
 
 um d with cross-stroke ' dum ' (A) ; c with apostrophe (like the ' tail ' 
 which, when added to p, denotes ' pos,' as well as ' per,' in this 
 MS.) ' cum ' (B) ; c' ' turn ' (B), e.g. ' scrip/«w ' 63 fol. 20 r., etc., 
 'quan/«y«,' etc. (also used in its normal function as ' tur ') 
 
 ADDENDUM (to p. 11). 
 
 In the Gospels of St. Chad in the Library of Lichfield Cathedral (p. 150 ' gtii male 
 habent ' ; p. 188 'i/«icumque voliierit fieri maior') q- 'qui' is used, along with q: 
 'que ' and q:- ' quae.' 
 
 PRINTED BY JA.MES PARKER AND CO. 
 CROWN YARD, OXFORD. 
 
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