An Irish Monk And His Ode To His Pen

[OakIris]

I just finished reading a book called The Course of Irish History, edited by T.W. Moody and F.X. Martin. In the chapter about the 11th and 12th centuries, the author, Brian Ó Cuív wrote about the monastic schools and how during the period interest in learning expanded from just church teachings and Latin to Irish traditions, monks actually copied down and preserved "pagan" Irish epic tales and Irish genealogies and wrote in Irish. On page 110, Ó Cuív included a poem written by one of the monk scribes which I wanted to share with you:

 

We can hear the voice of the monk as he transcribes unceasingly:

 

Is scíth mo chrob ón scríbainn;

ní dígainn mo glés géroll;

sceithid mo phenn gulban caelda

dig ndaelda do dub glégorm.

 

Sínam mo phenn mbec mbráenach

tar áenach lebar lígoll

gan scor, fri selba ségann

dían scíth mo chrob ón scríbonn.

 

(My hand is weary with writing;

my sharp great point is not thick;

my slender-beaked pen jets forth a beetle-hued

draught of bright blue ink.

 

I send my little dripping pen unceasingly over

an assemblage of books of great beauty,

to enrich the possessions of men of art,

whence my hand is weary with writing.)

 

 

I thought it was rather fun and, from the description of it, I would say the monk was using ink that had sheen, too!

 

Holly

 

[Hallel]

Very cool

[Uncial]

I collect stuff like this and marginal poems and short Asian poems are some of my favourite. At the risk of being dull, here are two that I like (avoided the obvious one: Pangur Ban)

 

The Scribe In The Woods

 

A hedge of trees overlooks me

A blackbird's lay sings to me

It is an announcement I won't conceal!

Above my lined book, the bird's chanting sings to me.

 

A clear voiced cuckoo sings to me (godly speech!)

In a grey cloak from bramble fortress.

The Lord is indeed good to me;

Well do I write beneath a forest of woodland.

 

Anon. Irish. Possibly 8th C

 

 

Sunshine On My Psalter

 

Pleasant to me

is the glittering of the sun

today upon these margins,

because it flickers so.

 

Anon. Irish. 9th Century marginal note in a Psalter.

[OakIris]

Oh, I like both of those poems, Uncial; thank you for sharing them with us.

 

(Though I couldn't help it, being from Colorado and all: I started singing "Sunshine on my psalter makes me happy...." Ok, so the Irish poet was a bit more talented than John Denver, but still... )

 

 

Holly

[abstract49]

I have that book, The Course of Irish History. As I don't recall the poem, I guess it's been too long since I read it, and it is therefore time to revisit it (whenever I get through the foot-high stack of books on my end table I haven't read yet to begin with).

[Uncial]

Sorry, I got so distracted by poetry that I forgot to mention the ink. 'Blue' beetle ink that I have seen on manuscripts tends to be a sort of teal; sometimes with a purplish tinge or sheen if applied thickly. I think most of the analysis done by Trinity College Dublin manuscripts has shown that copper cobalt was pretty much universally used in Ireland for blue.

[inkstainedruth]

Very cool indeed. Thanks for posting this.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[OakIris]

Sorry, I got so distracted by poetry that I forgot to mention the ink. 'Blue' beetle ink that I have seen on manuscripts tends to be a sort of teal; sometimes with a purplish tinge or sheen if applied thickly. I think most of the analysis done by Trinity College Dublin manuscripts has shown that copper cobalt was pretty much universally used in Ireland for blue.

 

You are a wealth of knowledge, Uncial; thank you! When I saw "beetle-hued" I admit I didn't think "teal" at all. I immediately thought of the shiny, iridescent carapace of a beetle and the sheen that a matching ink might have, kind of like this photo I found on the Internet (from this page.)

 

 

http://observeyourpreserve.org/sites/default/files/image_uploads/dogbane_beetle1.jpg

 

 

lol - sometimes imagination is better than reality, but I bet the copper cobalt did lend itself to sheen from time to time! The illustrations on the few manuscripts from medieval times that I have seen in person have amazed me with the deep, bright colors and the artistry that was involved.

 

Holly

[Uncial]

Hehe, I'd buy ink with that sheen!

[gmax]

Lovely posts! Thank you all for sharing

[OakIris]

Hehe, I'd buy ink with that sheen!

 

So would I! That would be pretty amazing...

 

Holly