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Auraicept Na N-eces: The Scholars' Primer (Celtic studies)

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No body of ancient literature has suffered such an undue general oversight as that of Ireland. A handful of translations are available in Penguin editions, a few scattered remains crop up elsewhere. But nothing satisfactory has yet reached the public outside Ireland. This book is one notable exception, if you can find it that is.

But limited availability is its only fault. Otherwise it is splendid. The Auraicept Na N-eces was the textbook of the old filid class, the poets and scholars of ancient Ireland. The unique and particularly important aspect of this book is in its primacy. It is the first book in Europe to pay reverence to a vernacular (non-Latin) language. Dante follows with his "De Vulgari Eloquentia" only centuries later. And yet the Auraicept doesn't just praise, it describes. This may also be the first comparative study of languages in all of Europe.

The writer or writers of the Auraicept begin with a fantastic claim, that 72 elders purposefuly set about one day to create the Irish language. They chose its elements from the best parts of the diverse languages that disseminated after the fall of Babel Tower. A loose narrative moves through progressively more intriguing discussions, including a comparison of Irish and Latin, a how-to of Old Irish poetry, and a description of Ireland's native writing system, Ogam.

What makes this edition emminently worthwhile, however, is Calder's perfect treatment. The whole Irish text is given with facing page translation. This text is cushioned on one end by a useful introduction, and on the other by extensive notes, a glossary, and an index. Finally, the binding is sharp and sturdy.

This book is a treasure trove to readers of a dozen interests. To name just a few uses: Umberto Eco has noticed this book's influence, direct or indirect on Joyce's language-building program; The connection to the above-mentioned "De Vulgari Eloquentia" essay begs for comparison. Dante probably knew no Irish, but he might have caught a scent of the vernacular revolution distantly from the Irish who were evidently its first combatants.

Lovers of the languages and worlds of Tolkien, who must have encountered this book in his Celtic studies, will find here a book that seems to belong in some magical library in Middle Earth. But despite the vein of the fantastic, the Old Irish language-lore closely reflects Tolkien's own, very real, invention of Quenya and Sindarin. Some of the parallels are shocking.

Pick your reason for enjoying it, this book will not fail to supply choices. If you have even a spark of interest in Irish literature, the Irish language, or anything Irish (or Medieval!) at all, then hunt this book here or wherever you can.