Ní beag nod don eolach

Tionscadal na Nod, translated loosely as ‘The Scribal Abbreviation Project’, was conceived as a place to gather illustrative examples of Irish writing to make it easier for people to read the manuscripts. The initiative arose from a discussion on OLD-IRISH-L, an electronic mailing list devoted to early Irish language and literature. The project currently contains 385 entries using 522 examples of Irish scribal writing that were copied from manuscripts by Dennis King and Dennis Groenewegen. Some of these were already posted on the internet, but many new examples have been furnished since.

Facsimiles of many Irish manuscripts are available to everyone on websites such as the Irish Script on Screen project at Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies. It is our hope that our annotated collection of examples will make it easier for students and others to read and enjoy the work of the scribes.