Publications
Irish Texts Society Volume 46: Lebor Na Cert
Buy OnlineMyles Dillon ed. €30.00
Lebor Na Cert
Myles Dillon ed.,
The Book of Rights.
xxvi + 200 pp.
Volume 46 1962
ISBN 1 870 16646 9
Since its first edition for the Celtic Society by the great John O'Donovan in 1847, the Book of Rights had been regarded as one of the most authoritative sources for the study of early Irish history. However, many notable scholars, such as Eoin Mac Neill and T. F. O'Rahilly, cast doubt on its antiquity. And, as the editor of the volume for the Irish Texts Society, Myles Dillon, who was also the Society's President, showed, the text was compiled in the late eleventh century, much later than previously thought, probably as a means of promoting the political interests of Munster. By making the present edition available, Dillon performed what Brian Ó Cuív has described as a notable service to Irish studies, for even if of less importance than was thought, the text is still full of interest.
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