Lecture Chantal Kobel: Marginalia in medieval Irish vernacular law manuscripts

On Friday 14 February, the Utrecht University Centre for Medieval Studies (UUCMS) will organise its second lecture in the 2024-2025 lecture series. Chantal Kobel (Maynooth University) will explore the marginalia and colophons in medieval Irish law manuscripts in her lecture '‘‘He deserved my curse for the bad quality of the ruled page”: The form and function of marginalia in medieval Irish vernacular law manuscripts'.

Marginalia in medieval Irish law manuscripts

Medieval Irish vernacular law covers a period from the seventh century to the early seventeenth century. The canonical law tracts, with extensive glosses and commentary, survive mostly in manuscripts compiled between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. This was a time of great political turbulence in Ireland.

These manuscripts, complex in format and varied in content, provide insights into the compiler’s daily concerns, as reflected in their marginalia and colophons. The scribal notes, rich in poetic vocabulary, personal names, placenames, and historical references, also cast light on book production, usage, and scribal practices within the professional law schools where the manuscripts were compiled.

A survey of marginalia and colophons

Despite their richness, most marginalia and colophons are inadequately recorded in modern catalogue descriptions of these law manuscripts. In her lecture, Kobel will present a typological survey of this material and compare it to other European manuscript cultures, including Scandinavia.

Kobel will argue that Irish legal scribes focused on accurately copying and assembling law texts, developing innovative methods for reading and arranging texts, and that they were aware of the political turmoil which threatened their very existence.

Chantal Kobel

Chantal Kobel is an assistant lecturer of Early Irish in the Department of Early Irish, Maynooth University. She has previously held research positions at the School of Celtic Studies, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. She specialises in Early Irish language, literature and palaeography. She is currently preparing a new descriptive catalogue of the Irish vernacular law manuscripts held in the Library of Trinity College Dublin.