The Red Book of Ossory (Latin Liber Rubrum Ossoriensis) is a medieval manuscript produced in Kilkenny, Ireland, and usually kept in the Representative Church Body Library[1] in Dublin.[2]
On 82 folios,[3] the manuscript contains a number of texts in Latin, Middle English[a] and in Anglo-Norman. The sixth gathering of the MS contains the Proverbes de bon enseignement by Nicholas Bozon.[4] The Latin religious lyrics in the manuscript were intended to replace more secular songs in the vernacular, and were mostly composed by Richard de Ledrede, Bishop of Ossory.[5]
It is on display at St Canice's Cathedral since July 29 2024, the purchase of a ticket to visit the Cathedral and see the exhibition is required.[1] It is planned to change the display of pages every three months; the first part on display is the recipe for aqua vite. Later, a letter from King Edward III, an early provision of the Magna Carta, and poems and songs composed by Bishop Ledrede will be shown.[1]
References
edit- ^ The exhibition claims it to be Old English, but that had developed into Middle English by the 12th century.
- ^ a b c "Red Book of Ossory". St Canice's Cathedral. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
- ^ "Location & Contact Details". RCB Library. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
- ^ Carrigan, William (1905). The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory, vol. IV. Kilkenny. p. 363.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Shields, Hugo (1974). "A Text of Nicole Bozon's Proverbes de bon enseignement in Irish Transmission". The Modern Language Review. 69 (2): 274–278. JSTOR 3724573.
- ^ Greene, Richard L. (1952). "'The Maid of the Moor' in the Red Book of Ossory". Speculum. 27 (4): 504–506. JSTOR 2850478.