There are only two or three hands in this singularly well-preserved and rather beautiful portion of manuscript, and only one non-scribal marginalium. The chief hand or style of the text (folios 1-5, 8-11) uses some fine decorative initials (partly zoomorphic) and red, yellow, green and brown colouring. The other (folios 6-7) is unembellished. The marginalium, “Ní bí amuigh aonduini ón ég”, 2 lines (folio 7 recto) is in a large formal script recalling a hand of the Annals of Ulster in Bodleian MS. Rawl. B 489.

The contents are as follows.

(i) Cóir Anmann, short recension. Beginning “Art Aenfhir, cidh dia tá? Ni [ansa]. Ar ni bái mac fa-deóidh ag Cond acht eisium”. Cf. Adv.MS.72.1.1, folio 13 recto, column a, line 1. (Folio 1 recto, column a, line 1.)

(ii) Banshenchas. Beginning ‘Scota i[ngen] Foraind rig Eigifti bean Niuil mathar Gaidil Glais ⁊ is don Forann sin doba comainm Bestoibeis’. Ends “Derborgaill ingen Taidg [maic] Gilla-Phatraig rig Osraidh m[áthair] dá m[a]c Toirrdealb[aigh mai]c Briain .i. Tadg ⁊ Muirc[er]tach”. Cf. Dobbs (editor) ‘The Ban-shenchus’ [part I], page 284; ‘The Ban-shenchus’ [part II], page 204. The present version is however independent of those edited by Margaret Dobbs in ‘Revue Celtique’, volumes 47-49.

(iii) Law on poets from Uraicecht Bec. Beginning “(S)eacht ngraid fil[edh] im[morro] .i. gradus grad [nó] gradus ceim .i. vii ceimenna na filidechta”. Ends with list of tales poets must know. Cf. Atkinson, ‘Ancient laws of Ireland’ volume 5, pages 26-30, 56-68; and Binchy, ‘Corpus iuris Hibernici’. (Folio 6 recto, column a, line 1.)

(iv) Blank save for marginalia ‘amesim’, ‘docn doncuarthsindo’. (Folio 7 verso.)

(v) Another tract on the law concerning poets. Beginning (as at folio 6 recto, column b, last line, see above) ‘Treidhe dleaghar don ollam fhilidh and so sis .i. teinm laegha ⁊ imas forosnadh ⁊ dicheadal do ceannaib, adb[er] Breatha Neimeadh’. Above is ‘a n-ainm Dhe so sis’, and there are various marginal additions to the text. Ends ‘Do neoch rangamar do mnaib Albancha is Eireandcha, isi in mael mairgeandach, isi in cairgeandach ceimeandach’. See Binchy, Corpus iuris Hibernici’. (Folio 8 recto, column a, line 1.)

(vi) Signs of bad and good pleading. Beginning “Secht comarthada déc drochtagra”. Folio 8 verso, column b, line 50, ‘Secht comartadha dec deagtagra’, of which only nine are given, the text being continued below the bottom line but nevertheless left incomplete. Edited by Meyer in, ‘Tecosca Cormaic’, page 55, and Smith in ‘The Senbriathra Fithail and related texts’, pages 36-37. Cf. Adv.MS.72.1.1, folio 11 verso, column d, line 34. (Folio 8 verso, column b, line 45.)

(vii) ‘Tecosca Cormaic’, part 1. Beginning “A ua Chuind, a Cormaicc, ol Cairbri, cia deach do rí? Ni [ansa], ol Cormac. Deach dó fostadh can fheirg”. Edited by Meyer in, ‘Tecosca Cormaic’, pages 1-18; cf. Adv.MS.72.1.1, folio 11 recto, column a, line 1. (Folio 9 recto, column a, line 1.)

(viii) Triads of Ireland. Beginning “Ceann Eirind Ardmacha. Ordan Er[end] Cluain M[ai]c Nóis. Ana Er[end] Cluain Iraird”. Headed ‘Treching Breath ann so’. Cf. Meyer, ‘Tecosca Cormaic’, page x, note 1, in addition to his ‘Triads of Ireland’. A further triad is added in upper margin of folio 9 verso, column b. Ends (as Adv.MS.72.1.1, folio 12 verso, column a, bottom of page) ‘Anas deach cacha fleidhe a chainaltug[ud] ⁊ a mhochdingbhail. Finit’ - this in upper margin of folio 10 verso, the following text with its decorative initial having been begun before completion of the present one. (Folio 9 verso, column b, line 29.)

(ix) Sermo ad Reges. Beginning ‘Bai rig amra f[or] m[a]caib Israhel feacht n-aill .i. Solam m[a]c Dauith eiside’. Headed ‘Teacusc rigda Sola[i]m m[ai]c Dauith ann so’. Cf. Adv.MS.72.1.1, folio 2 recto, column a, line 1. (Folio 10 verso, column a, line 13.)

(x) Glossary. Beginning ‘Ur .i. tosach. Er .i. uasal. Son .i. focal’. Headed in red ‘Eubfhocail and so’. Cf. Stokes, ‘The Lecan glossary’, page 50. This is an independent version. Folio 11 verso, column a, line 38: ‘Iarcaelad in uraicechta ann so’, beginning ‘Uraiceft .i. ur cach tosach’. Cf. Stokes, ‘The Lecan glossary’, numbers 205-206. Ends ‘Seachnoin .i. timcilladh. Soine .i. atharrach. A iarcaelad .i. a iaraid asa caelaib co cael a mbia corab a sin tuicear he’. Cf. Stokes, ‘The Lecan glossary’, numbers 282-283. (Folio 11 verso, column a, line 12.)