Garland of Howth

{{short description|Ancient Latin Gospels written by Irish monks}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Use Hiberno-English|date=December 2018}} thumb|Folio 22r, one of two with decorative interlace The '''Garland of Howth''', also known as the '''Codex Usserianus Secundus''', designated by '''r<sup>2</sup>''' or '''28''' (in the Beuron system), is a fragmentary 8th to 10th century Latin Gospel Book in the possession of Trinity College Dublin as MS. 56 (A. IV. 6).<ref name = Metzger/> The Insular manuscript is one of seven in the Library of Trinity College Dublin's collection, related examples including the Book of Kells and the Book of Durrow.

The text, written on vellum, is a version of the old Latin. The manuscript contains the text of the four Gospels with lacunae.<ref name = Metzger/> It was written at the monastery of Ireland's Eye, Dublin, and once kept in the nearby parish church of Howth. Only 86 folios have survived; for example only 5:12-10:3 of the Gospel of John have survived.<ref>[http://itsee.bham.ac.uk/iohannes/vetuslatina/manuscripts.htm No 28 in the table]{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> It is written with "diminuendo" script from initials, a feature of the oldest manuscripts in insular script such as Cathach of St. Columba. It has been described as the work of many scribes, none of them first-class.

The Garland of Howth is approximately {{cvt|241|x|192|mm}}.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Moss |first=Rachel |title=An Insular Odyssey: Manuscript culture in early Christian Ireland and beyond |publisher=Four Courts Press |year=2017 |isbn=9781846826337 |editor-last=Moss |editor-first=Rachel |location=Dublin, Ireland |pages=260-282 |chapter=The Garland of Howth (TCD MS 56) |editor-last2=O'Mahoney |editor-first2=Felicity |editor-last3=Maxwell |editor-first3=Jane}}</ref> The manuscript is in fragmented condition, with two remaining illuminated pages decorated with interlace.<ref name=":0" />

The text of the codex is mixed.<ref name="Metzger">Bruce M. Metzger, ''The Early Versions of the New Testament'', Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 300.</ref> The text of Matthew is Old Latin, similar to that in Codex Usserianus I. The text of Mark, Luke, and John is very near to the Vulgate.<ref name="Scrivener">{{Cite book | last = Scrivener | first = Frederick Henry Ambrose | author-link = Frederick Henry Ambrose Scrivener |author2=Edward Miller | title = A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, Vol. 2 | publisher = George Bell & Sons | year = 1894 | location = London | edition = 4th | page = 50 }}</ref>

"Vetus Latina" means the text is a Latin version predating the Vulgate - such versions were used in Ireland later than in most areas. The "garland" of its title is taken from a corrupted English form of ''Ceithre Leabhair'', Gaelic for 'four books', i.e., a gospel. Abbott made a collation. The manuscript was examined and edited by Lawlor, Hoskier, and Jülicher.<ref name = Metzger/>

==References== {{reflist}} ==Further reading== * T. K. Abbott, ''Evangeliorum Versio antehieronymiana ex codice Usseriano'', vol. II (Dublin, 1884), pp. 819–963. * A. Jülicher, ''Itala. Das Neue Testament in Altlateinischer Überlieferung'', Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, New York, 1976. * ''Literature in Ireland'', by James Carney, in ''A New History of Ireland'', vol. 2, p. 527-531.

==External links== * [https://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/concern/works/7d278x98k?locale=en The Garland of Howth], digitised at the Library of Trinity College Dublin [MS 56] * [http://howth.dublin.anglican.org/history.html Howth history] * [http://www.florin.ms/aleph3.html#trinity The City and the Book - much detail on textual contents of Irish MS in particular] * [https://archive.org/details/MN41398ucmf_3 The text of Codex Usserianus 2., r2 (microform) ("Garland of Howth") with critical notes to supplement and correct the collation of the late T. K. Abbott (1919)] *[https://elmss.nuigalway.ie/catalogue/591 More information at Earlier Latin Manuscripts]

Category:8th-century biblical manuscripts Category:9th-century biblical manuscripts Category:10th-century biblical manuscripts Category:Gospel Books Category:Hiberno-Saxon manuscripts Category:Irish manuscripts Category:Vetus Latina New Testament manuscripts Category:Library of Trinity College Dublin Category:Howth