]> The Vision of Laisrén An electronic edition unknown Kuno Meyer Electronic edition compiled by Benjamin Hazard University College, Cork The Higher Education Authority via the LDT Project Second draft. 1970 CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a Department of History project at University College, Cork
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 Manuscript Source Oxford, Bodleian Library, Rawlinson B. 512, 44ra–44vb (Composite; vellum; late fifteenth century); see Brian Ó Cuív (ed.), Catalogue of Irish Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library at Oxford and Oxford College Libraries, 2 volumes (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, School of Celtic Studies, 2001–2003) vol. 1, 232–244. Literature Richard Irvine Best, Notes on Rawlinson B 512, Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 17 (1928) 389–402. The edition used in the digital edition Stories and Songs from Irish Manuscripts Kuno Meyer Reprinted from Otia Merseiana 15 (113–128) David Nutt London 1899

CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts

Text has been checked and proof-read twice.

The electronic text represents the edited text. Meyer's introduction is integrated. Names are capitalized in line with CELT practice. In Meyer's edition, the acute accent and macron are used to mark long vowels. Both are retained. Meyer's handwritten corrections are marked corr sic="" resp="KM". Text supplied by him is marked sup resp="KM" and editorial expansions are marked ex.

Direct speech is marked q.

Soft hyphens are silently removed. When a hyphenated word (hard or soft) crosses a page-break, this break is marked after completion of the hyphenated word.

div0=the tale (vision); div1=the editor's paragraph; page-breaks are marked pb n="".

Names are not tagged, nor are terms for cultural and social roles.

 Manuscript in 15th century; its language suggests creation in Old Irish period. c.850–925 The text is in Old Irish. The Introduction is in English. Some words are in Latin. A few words are in French. religious prose medieval eschatology vision 2019-06-05 Beatrix Färber ed. Changes made to div0 type. 2011-01-23 Beatrix Färber ed. Conversion script run, new wordcount made. 2008-10-01 Beatrix Färber ed. Keywords added; file validated. 2005-08-25 Julianne Nyhan ed. Normalised language codes and edited langUsage for XML conversion 2005-08-04T15:45:43+0100 Peter Flynn ed. Converted to XML 2005-04-26 Beatrix Färber ed. Header modified, file proofed (3); re-parsed. 2005-04-25 Benjamin Hazard ed. Introduction keyed-in; file proofed (2); header constructed; bibliographical details compiled; structural and content markup applied to text; file parsed; HTML file created. 1996-04-03 Staff of the CURIA Project ed. File proofed (1); hyphenation and some content markup added. 1996-04-03 Staff of the CURIA Project data capture File scanned.
The Vision of Laisrén

In our forthcoming edition of various inedited versions of Tundale's Vision,Versions inédites de la Vision de Tondale. Deux versions françaises et une version irlandaise publiées par V. H. Friedel et Kuno Meyer. Émile Bouillon, 1900. Dr. Friedel and I have purposely refrained from giving an account of early Irish visionary literature, and from touching the question of its relation to the Continental literature which culminated in Dante's poem. Nor do I propose to do so here. The time for such investigations has hardly arrived, since every search among Irish MSS. may bring new and important materials to light.

The Old Irish Vision of Hell, of which I now submit text and translation to the reader, has not hitherto been noticed,It is duly mentioned by Stokes in his list of contents of Rawl. B. 512 (Tripartite Life, p. xx), but the heading 'Legend of Laisren' gives no clue to the nature of the contents. and it is edited here for the first time. It is found in the well-known Bodleian codex Rawlinson B. 512, fo. 44a1-44b2. Like so much of early Irish literature, it is only a fragment, containing no more than the introduction and the beginning of what was undoubtedly a complete description of Hell and Heaven. The MS. dates from the fifteenth century, but from the language I am inclined to assign the original from which our copy is derived to the Old-Irish period, to the early tenth or the latter half of the ninth century.I am guided by the occurence, among other things, of such deponential forms as co n-acadar (paragraph 6), co n-aicedar (6), crithnaigistar (2); the t-preterites frisrogart (9), frisgart (5) 'he answered', targart 'he charged' (4), targart 'I charged' (5), tairgairt 'thou chargedst' (5); the relative form file (1), the neuter a tacra n-í sin 'that charge' (5), the gen. fem. inna (7), the acc. plur. anmann (8), the superlative moam (5), etc.

Laisrén is the name of several Irish saints. The most celebrated among them was the abbot of Lethglenn, now Leighlin, co. Carlow, who died in A.D. 638, and it is not unreasonable, in the absence of any further particulars, to assume that he is the hero of our Vision. The monastery of Clúain mentioned in the introduction may be either Clonmacnois or Cloyne. Clúain Cháin in Connaught may be Clonkeen, near Athenry.

 The Vision of Laisrén Rawlinson B. 512, 44ra–44vb.

Feachtas luid Laisren for slatrad o muintir Cluana do glanad Chluana Cain, cell file a crich Connacht. Ro áin tri tredna la glanad na cille. I forciunn an tres tredain doforthrom cotlud fair isin derrthach, cu cuala trena cotlud in guth fris: At-rai-su as!. Nin gluais an cetna fecht. Co cuala aitherrach in guth. To-ocaib a cenn la sodain acus do-beir airde na croichi dara gnuis. Co n-aca ba solas ind eclais i m-bai, acus bai drechd din aidchi beos. Acus co n-aca in deilb n-etroicht etir an crocaingel acus an altoir.

As-bert an delb fris: Tair am dochum!. Crithnaigistar a corp uili an clerigh o mullach co fonn lasin n-guth n-í sin. Co n-acai anmain opunn co m-bui for a mullach acus ni fitir cia conair do-choid asin churp. Co n-acai ba obeola ind eclais suas dochum nime, co n-acai nan-gabsat da aingel eturru acus con-uacbasat isin aér.

Co n-aca iarum arbar de ainglib ara chiunn. Acus co n-accatar arbar aile do demnaib acus finna (?) tenntide impueib, acus tene as gech ball ro bui inntibh. Teora dealba do-arfás do forsna h-ib demnaib. Dealb rodub for alaile dib, acus gai boilggi tentidi ina lámaib, acus dealb ciardub for alaile, acus saigde tentide ina lamaib. Dealb mothluch forsin tres lucht, acus find tentidi trethu amail finn n-omthainn, acus goith tentide ina l-lamaib.

Do-génsat na tri lina-su tra aonergail catha dib do chosnam na h-anma frisna h-aingliu. Et do-accair oenfer dib frisin anmain for oentacra fot a anála cen coemchlod n-innsce a n-do-ringena do mignimaib o génair. Aidblidir lasin anmain a n-oentacrai sin a m-bith biet, acus nico n-erbart acht fir acus nocha targart fuirri gach ni do-rad a coibsena do anmcarait r n-dul a curp.

Fris-gart aingel don arbar mór dar cheann na h-anma don deman acus as-bert: Tairgairt tra do tacra n-uili. Fris-gart an demon acus as ed as-bert: Ni targart, ni targart anas moam de. Fris-gart aingel: Nin-cumca-sa a tacra n-i sin, o do-rata a coibsena acus a peinne do reir anmcharat re tuidencht a curp. Ércid tra, ol an t-aingel, ni fuil cuid duib isin fir-sa. Mad fír briathar Dé, ol in daemon, ni sceram an cruth-sa, ar ni derna an fer-sa núidin dé amail don-imarngair Dia dó, dicens: nisi conuersi fueritis et efficiamini sicut paruuli, non inntrabitis in regnum celorum. Matth. 18:3. Is fir tra briathar Dé, ol an t-aingel, ar ni do anad do-dechaid an fer-sa co demnaib, ar beraid robad reunn coa cheli. Ascaigid uan tra, ol an t-aingel. Fo-scuichsetar uada fo cetoir.

As-bert iarum aingel don arbar mor frisin da aingel batar imme: Beirid tra an fer-sa co n-aicedar ifern. Legar iarum fo tuaith fo glenn mar. Sírithir leis co n-acadar amail bid o turcbail greine co fuined. Co n-acadar fochlui mar amail bid beolu uama etir da sliab, co ristais iar n-uachtar. Tiagait isin uaim cein mair, co r-rancatar sliab mar n-ard n-dub ara ciund for belaib an ifirn acus gleann mar i n-ochtur an t-slebi-sin. Edh indus an glenda-sin: lethan iar n-ichtur, coel iar n-uachtar. Is ed indsin dono dorus an ifirn acus a erportach ind uaim.

Acus co n-acai lucht inna innsea a fail dib i n-etail De a corp. Ro batar a medon an glenna acus eat oc cui. Olc, a Dé!, ol an anim. In duineba thanaic diar n-eis? ol at-bebatar an t-sluaig-si uili diar n-éis an tan forsa-ragabsam. Ni ed, ol an t-aingel, acht cech oen fail i n-étail Dé a m-bethaid dit éis, iss ed indso for-accat a n-anmain, acus as airchenn ard atá, mani dernat aithrige. Cest: in eber-sa, ol in fer, fri cech n-anmain at-cíu sund? Nato, ol an t-aingel, arnabat derchaintech de. Apair friu immorro denat aithrige, ar nach aon do-gena aithrighe acus forcennfa inti, ni bia isind luc-sa, acht biaid i l-luc dídanta ond ulc-sa, acus nam-bera a aithrige secha. Acus dano an t-i bias i firinde, as betha for-accai cein bis i curp acus as betha 'na m-bia, mad feidil i firinne. Apair friu iarum, ol in t-aingel, an t-i fuil i firinne bád feidil innti, ar ni ba sir a n-imráiti con na tí ec. In t-i dano fil i n-etail Dé, dénad aithrige, ol ar-foem Dia ind aithrige, mad o cride etail do-gnether acus cun-genaid trocaire De fris.

Do-lluid iarsin anam ind fir i nd-ifirn fadeisin .i. muir tened co n-anfad di-aisneise acus cona thonnaib di-aisneisi fair. Acus at-connairc na h-anmann isin muir-sin for lasad a cenna uasa uili, it e oc gol acus oc mairg cen cumsanad tria bithu. Araile dona h-anmaib acus clói teinntidhe tria tengtha fria cend anechtair, araile dib tria cluasa, araile dib tré suile.

At-connairc dano araile dib acus a m-beoil obéla acus na demna oc a tairbert co n-gablaib teinntidib fo chosmailius na tri lín n-aile. Accobair an fer co fessed decoir na pian. Fris-rogart an t-aingel fo cetoir ar cuma no frisgaired an t-aingel do menmannaib acus imraitib: In lucht at-chiu-siu tra cusna cluib teintidib triana tengthaib .i. aes annsin naruo menic oc molad Dé nó oc a bennachad acus a adrad, acus rop menci immorro oc goi acus oc gol acus ac br acus ethech acus ecnach acus rad uabair acus Here, in the middle of the page, the MS. breaks off abruptly.