Ossian Collection > Reliquiae Celticae > Volume 2

THE LEGEND OF DEER,
WITH TRANSLATION AND PHILOLOGICAL ANALYSIS.
The Book of Deer is a MS. of portions of the Gospels in Latin,
once belonging to the Abbey of Deer, Aberdeenshire. There are
six entries in the MS. in Gaelic of the 11th and 12th centuries :
these occur on some blank pages and margins of the book, and
form the oldest documents that we possess of Scottish Gaelic.
The first piece records the founding of the monastery ; it is
legendary, and is hence known as the " Legend of Deer." The
other five pieces are nearly all names of persons, and of the places
which they granted to the monastery. Dr Cameron published the
text and translation in the first volume of the Gael, and left an
" analysis" of over a third of the legend (to iarfalldn), intending
it for publication in the Scot. Celt. Revietv. The rest of the
analysis is completed here.
"Columcille 7 drostan mac cosgreg adalta tangator ahi
marroalseg dia dòib gonic abbordobòir 7 bède cruthnec ro-
bomormaer buchan aragi'nn 7 esse rothidnaig dòib ingathràig
sain insaere gobraith òmorraàer 7 òthòsèc. tangator asààthle sen
incathraig ele 7 doraten ricolumcille si iarfallan dorath de 7
dorodloeg arinmormaer .i. bèdè gondastabràd do 7 nitharat 7
rogab mac db galar iarnèrè na glerec 7 robomarb ^ act madbec
iarsen dochuid inmormaer dattac na glerec gondendses ernacde
les inmac gondisad slante do 7 dorat inedbairt doib ùàcloic
intiprat gonice chloic pette mic garnait doronsat innernacde 7
tanic slante do ; larsen dorat collumcille dòdrostàn inchadràig sen
7 rosbenact 7 foracaib imbrether gebe tisad ris nabad blienec
buadacc tangatar deara drostan arscarthain fri collumcille rolaboir
collumcille bedear anim ohiinn imacc."
Translation.
Columcille and Drostan son of Cosgrach his pupil came from I
as God had shown to them unto Abbordoboir and Bede the Pict
was mormaer ot Buchan before them, and it was he that gave
them that town in freedom for ever from mormaer and tosech.
^ MS. has "robomareb," with deleting points above and below the e,
on which also an accent appears.