The Book of Leinster (Irish Lebor Laignech), formerly known as the Book of Noughaval (Lebor na Nuachongbála), is a medieval Irish manuscript compliled ca. 1160 and now kept in Trinity College, Dublin.
It is one of the most important sources of medieval Irish literature, genealogy and mythology, containing, among many others, texts such as Lebor Gabála Érenn (the Book of Invasions), the most complete version of Táin Bó Cuailnge (the Cattle Raid of Cooley), the Metrical Dindshenchas and an Irish translation/adaptation of the Aeneid. It is apparently the work of a single scribe/compiler, Áed Ua Crimthainn . From annals recorded in the manuscript we can say it was written between 1151 and 1201, with the bulk of the work probably complete in the 1160s.
The manuscript has 187 leaves, each approximately 13" by 9" (33cm by 23cm). A note in the manuscript suggests as many as 45 leaves have been lost. A diplomatic edition was published by the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies in six volumes over a period of 29 years.
References
- R. I. Best, Osborn Bergin & M. A. O'Brien (eds) (1954), The Book of Leinster Vol 1
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