Volume 22 in the series Corpus Christianorum. Series Apocryphorum adds a new, important chapter to the edition of medieval Irish apocrypha. It is the third volume that focuses on eschatological texts and was prepared by the same group of prominent scholars (Prof. Joseph Flahive joined for this edition) as the acclaimed volume 21 in the same series.
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A collection of some of the most important medieval Irish eschatological texts
The present volume, the continuation of volume Corpus Christianorum. Series Apocryphorum 21, comprises further editions, by several of the major scholars now working in the field of medieval Irish apocrypha, of a selection of important eschatological texts.
The first of these, Bráth, níba bec a breisim, edited by Erich Poppe, concerns the events which will occur on the Day of Judgement. Caitríona Ó Dochartaigh provides edition, translation and a commentary of Poems 153-162 of Saltair na Rann, an independent eschatological composition. Prof. Uáitéar Mac Gearailt publishes a study and a commented edition of Scéla Laí Brátha, Tidings of the Day of Judgement. Prof. Caoimhín Breatnach publishes Garbh éirghid iodhain bhrátha, Harshly do the pangs of Doomsday, as well as two short Irish texts on the Fifteen Signs Before Doomsday and on Doomsday. Prof. Pádraig A. Breatnach provides the edition of A Tract on the Fifteen Signs of Doomsday. Fr Martin McNamara MSC publishes two short studies in Appendices: the first one on the duration of the Day of Doom (The Day of Doom a Thousand Years, in Appendix 1); the second one concerns a quotation in the Fifteen Signs text edited by Caoimhín Breatnach from the 15th-century Latin theologian Pelbartus (Passage from Pelbartus, Advent Sermon IV: Appendix 2). Fr McNamara also introduces the collection with a discussion of “The Signs before Doomsday”.
Fr Martin McNamara MSC (emeritus, Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy), Prof. Caoimhín Breatnach (University College Dublin), Prof. Pádraig A. Breatnach (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), Prof. John Carey (University College Cork), Prof. Joseph Flahive (The Royal Irish Academy), Prof. Máire Herbert (emerita, University College Cork), Prof. Uáitéar Mac Gearailt (Dublin City University), Dr Caitríona Ó Dochartaigh (University College Cork), Prof. Erich Poppe (University of Marburg), Prof. Charles D. Wright (Emeritus, University of Illinois)
About the foregoing volume (Thomas J. Kraus, in Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 2022.03.25):
“This volume is a masterpiece of editorial technique and methodology; and it is an invaluable foundation of further studies of Irish apocrypha. At the same time it provides essential insights into the ongoing processing of biblical or non-biblical material, its transmission and reception, and its regional adaptation. It comprises the most distinguished scholars working in the field, who must be thanked for their meticulous and scrupulous work.”
TABLE OF CONTENTS
General Introduction: The Signs before Doomsday
— Martin McNamara
Bráth, níba bec a breisim – A Poem on the Day of Judgement
— Erich Poppe
Poems 153-162 of Saltair na Rann
— Caitríona Ó Dochartaigh
Scéla Laí Brátha – Tidings of the Day of Judgement
— Uáitéar Mac Gearailt
Garbh éirghid iodhain bhrátha – Harshly do the pangs of Doomsday approach
— Caoimhín Breatnach
Texts on the Fifteen Signs Before Doomsday and on Doomsday
— Caoimhín Breatnach
A Tract on the Fifteen Signs of Doomsday with Account of Hells Torments and the Joys of Heaven
— Pádraig A. Breatnach
Appendix 1: The Day of Doom a Thousand Years
— Martin McNamara
Appendix 2: Passage from Pelbartus, Advent Sermon IV
— Martin McNamara
Indexes for volumes CC SA 21-22 (Apocrypha Hiberniae II, 2-3: Apocalyptica)
Index of Biblical References
Index of Persons and Places
Index of Authors and Texts
Index of ThemesIndex of Manuscripts
Index of Noteworthy Words and Phrases