The Hiberno-Latin Tradition of the Evangelists and the Gospels of Mael brigte

Abstract

The paper draws attention to a short exegetical text on the four evangelists inserted in the twelfth-century gospels of Mael Brigte (London, British Library, Harley 1802) and its close parallels with Hiberno-Latin compilations of the eighth century. The text’s position within the exegetical tradition and its apparently arbitrary position within the manuscript are discussed. Harley’s preservation not only of earlier exegesis but of many features characteristic of early Insular gospel-books offers evidence of Irish monastic cultural traditions which were still alive and understood in the decades before the Norman invasion.