Lebor Na Cert: The Book of Rights

Cur síos

Myles Dillon (foilsithe den chéad uair / first published 1962)

xxvi + 200 pp. ISBN 1 870 16646 9

Since its first edition for the Celtic Society by the great John O’Donovan in 1847, the Book of Rights had been regarded as one of the most authoritative sources for the study of early Irish history. However, many notable scholars, such as Eoin MacNeill and T. F. O’Rahilly, cast doubt on its antiquity. And, as the editor of the volume for the Irish Texts Society, Myles Dillon, who was also the Society’s President, showed, the text was compiled in the late eleventh century, much later than previously thought, probably as a means of promoting the political interests of Munster. By making the present edition available, Dillon performed what Brian Ó Cuív has described as a notable service to Irish studies, for even if of less importance than was thought, the text is still full of interest.