Let us see, then, what statements we can find which may throw light on our early history, first in the fragments that remain of the lost books, and then in those which are still preserved.

The CUILMENN is the first of the lost books which we mentioned.  It is thus referred to in the Book of Leinster:[2] “The files [bards] of Erinn were now called together by Senchan Torpeist [about A.D. 580], to know if they remembered the Tain bo Chuailgne in full; and they said that they knew of it but fragments only.  Senchan then spoke to his pupils to know which of them would go into the countries of Letha to learn the Tain which the Sai had taken ‘eastwards’ after the Cuilmenn.  Emine, the grandson of Ninine, and Muirgen, Senchan’s own son, set out to go to the East.”

Here we have simply an indication of the existence of this ancient work, and of the fact that in the earliest, if not in pre-Christian times, Irish manuscripts travelled to the Continent with Irish scholars—­Letha being the name by which Italy, and especially what are now called the Papal States, was then designated by Irish writers.

The SALTAIR OF TARA next claims our attention; and we may safely affirm, merely judging from the fragments which remain, that a nation which could produce such a work had attained no ordinary pitch of civilization and literary culture.  The Book of Ballymote,[3] and the Yellow Book of Lecan,[4] attribute this work to Cormac Mac Art:  “A noble work was performed by Cormac at that time, namely, the compilation of Cormac’s Saltair, which was composed by him and the Seanchaidhe [Historians] of Erinn, including Fintan, son of Bochra, and Fithil, the poet and judge.  And their synchronisms and genealogies, the succession of their kings and monarchs, their battles, their contests, and their antiquities, from the world’s beginning down to that time, were written; and this is the Saltair of Temair [pron.  “Tara,” almost as it is called now], which is the origin and fountain of the Historians of Erinn from that period down to this time.  This is taken from the Book of the Uachongbhail."[5]

As we shall speak of Cormac’s reign and noble qualities in detail at a later period, it is only necessary to record here that his panegyric, as king, warrior, judge, and philosopher, has been pronounced by almost contemporary writers, as well as by those of later date.  The name Saltair has been objected to as more likely to denote a composition of Christian times.  This objection, however, is easily removed:  first, the name was probably applied after the appellation had been introduced in Christian times; second, we have no reason to suppose that King Cormac designated his noble work by this name; and third, even could this be proven, the much maligned Keating removes any difficulty by the simple and obvious remark, that “it is because of its having been written in poetic metre, the chief book which was in the custody of the Ollamh of the King of Erinn, was called the Saltair of Temair; and the Chronicle of holy Cormac Mac Cullinan, Saltair of Cashel; and the Chronicle of Aengus Ceile De [the Culdee], Saltair-na-Rann [that is, Saltair of the Poems or Verses], because a Salm and a Poem are the same, and therefore a Salterium and a Duanaire [book of poems] are the same."[6]