Old Irish language

Old Irish is the name given to the oldest form of the Irish language which can be more or less fully reconstructed from extant sources. It dates from the 6th to the 10th century, when it gives way to Middle Irish.

Related Topics:
Irish language - 6th - 10th century - Middle Irish

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Old Irish first appears in the margins of Latin religious manuscripts dating as early as the 6th century. A large number of early Irish literary texts, though recorded in manuscripts of the Middle Irish period such as Lebor na hUidre and the Book of Leinster, are essentially Old Irish in character.

Related Topics:
Latin - Manuscripts - Lebor na hUidre - Book of Leinster

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It should be noted that while Old Irish is the ancestor to Modern Irish, Scots Gaelic and Manx Gaelic, it is most definitely distinct from these. In general, Old Irish possesses much more inflection than its descendants, and also employs drastically different phonetic and grammatical structures.

Related Topics:
Scots Gaelic - Manx Gaelic

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A great deal of what is known about Old Irish comes from a small number of individuals, such as Dr. Rudolf Thurneysen (1857-1940), and Osborn Bergin. Even today their books are regarded as required material for any Old Irish enthusiasts.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Fragments, mainly personal names, of an earlier form of the language, known as Primitive Irish, are known from inscriptions in the Ogham alphabet in Ireland and western Britain, dating as late as the 4th century.

Related Topics:
Primitive Irish - Ogham - Ireland - Britain - 4th century

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~