| Reference Number | 192 |
| Title | Foirm na n-Urrnuidheadh |
| Author | N/A (Translated work) |
| Editor | Thomson, R. L. |
| Date Of Edition | 1970 |
| Date Of Language | mid 16c |
| Date Of Language Ed | 16th c. |
| DateMacro | 16th c. |
| Date Of Language Notes | |
| Publisher | Oliver and Boyd for the Scottish Gaelic Texts Society |
| Place Published | Edinburgh |
| Volume | N/A |
| Location | National, academic, and local libraries |
| Geographical Origins | Argyllshire |
| Geographical Origins Ed | Argyllshire |
| GeoMacro | Argyll mainland |
| GeoX | -5.7181 |
| GeoY | 56.0974 |
| Geographical Origins Notes | |
| Register | Literature, Prose (Religious) |
| Register Ed | Religion, Prose |
| Genre | Information |
| Medium | Prose |
| Rating | A
Significant text, first book to be printed in Gaelic.
More than a translation: contains original sections added by Carswell and adapts terms and expressions to meet Gaelic cultural expectations.
Set an orthographical standard for printed Gaelic texts in Scotland.
Created a stylistic model for Gaelic religious texts in Scotland.
Contains some recognisably Scottish features. |
| Alternative Author Name | Nicol Nicolson |
| Manuscript Or Edition | Ed. |
| Size And Condition | 22cm x 14cm |
| Short Title | Foirm na n-Urrnuidheadh |
| Reference Details | Academic libraries |
| Number Of Pages | xc, 243 |
| Gaelic Text By | John Carswell (from English and Latin) |
| Illustrator | N/A |
| Social Context | This text is a translation into Gaelic of The Book of Common Order. The Book of Common Order, first printed in Edinburgh in 1564, was a revision of the Geneva Book also known as John Knox’s liturgy, printed in Edinburgh in 1562. The English version of the Geneva Book was published in Geneva on 10 February 1556 and the Latin version followed on 13 February. This was the Order which Knox and his supporters had drawn up in Frankfurt. Queen Elizabeth of England insisted on conformity with the Anglican Book of Common Prayer (1552) and the Genevan Order did not attain official standing in England. There was only one English edition (1587). Reformed ideas made good headway in Scotland. Indications are that congregations used the English book of 1552, the most clearly protestant that the Church of England produced. This option was not available in Gaelic Scotland, where using an English text would be meaningless to most of the audience without an interpreter. Apart from his own additions at the beginning and at the end, Carswell translated the text largely as it stood, omitting the metrical psalms and the catechism and making some changes in respect of church order (see Thomson’s Introduction, p. lxvii). Carswell claims on his title page to have made his translation from Latin and English. However, the most recent Latin version was that entitled Ratio et Forma, published in 1556. In the meantime, several important alterations had been introduced in the 1564 English version, which became the officially approved text. Carswell’s translation incorporates these changes. If he really used a Latin text, he would most likely have begun work on his Gaelic version before the 1564 English edition appeared; in which case he must then have revised it very carefully to bring it into conformity with the English Book of Common Order.
This translator of the Book of Common Order, John Carswell, was born in the parish of Kilmartin c. 1520-25, where his family were Constables or Captains of Carnassery Castle under the tutelage of the Campbell Earls of Argyll. He attended St Andrews University, graduating BA in 1542 and MA in 1544. In 1551 he is recorded as being Treasurer of the Cathedral of Lismore, and from 1553 to 1562 he was rector of his native parish of Kilmartin. After the Reformation he was one of the five ecclesiastical superintendents appointed and his district was Argyll and the Isles. In 1565 a grant was made to him of the revenues of the bishopric of the Isles and on 24 March 1567 he was presented to the bishopric of the Isles and the abbacy of Icolmkill. He was elected one of the Lords of the Articles on 16 April 1567. He was married to Margaret Campbell, of whom little is known, and they had at least two children. He died in 1572 and is interred in the priory of Ardchattan. |
| Contents | This volume begins with a Preface (pp. v-vi), a table of Contents (p. vii), and a list of Abbreviations (p. viii). There is a substantial Introduction (pp. ix-xc), which contains sections entitled ‘Copies of the Text’ (pp. ix-xi), ‘Language of the Text’ (pp. xi-lix), ‘Origins of the Book of Common Order’ (pp. lix-lxvi), ‘The Translation’ (pp. lxvi-lxxvii), ‘John Carswell’ (pp. lxvii-lxxxix), and ‘Plan of the Present Edition’ (pp. lxxxix-xc). The section on the language of the text discusses orthography, morphology, mutation, vocabulary, and syntax in considerable detail.
Foirm na nUrrnuidheadh is printed on pp. 1-113. The text opens with a Dedicatory Epistle (‘Epistil Thioghlaicthe’, pp. 3-10), which consists of a lengthy address to the Fifth Earl of Argyll aimed at showing the Earl’s importance in promoting reformation. The dedication, which is written in Classical Gaelic, employs a panegyric style to praise the Earl for his zeal in promoting the reformed faith. Whereas in medieval Gaelic society poetry had been seen as de rigueur for expressing eulogy, Carswell enhanced the status of prose by using it in a context traditionally reserved for verse.
This is followed by an Epistle to the Reader (‘Do Chum an Leghthoir’, pp. 10-13) addressed to Carswell’s expected readership, i.e. members of the learned orders who discharged the offices of the church, the arts and the law. He expresses deep regret that the Gaels of Ireland and Scotland suffer the disadvantage that their language has so far lacked the dignity of being represented in print. He refers to the need for a Gaelic Bible, and for the history of the Gael to be available in print. Later in this epistle Carswell claims to have had misgivings as to his ability to undertake this translation. He resolved to proceed with it in the absence of a more learned translator, conscious that he himself had no better Gaelic than one of the common people.
The dedicatory section closes with a poem composed by Carswell and addressed to the work itself (p. 13). In it he sends his ‘little book’ on its way, instructing it to travel throughout the Gaelic world in Scotland and Ireland. He uses unpretentious vocabulary and the versification is not highly embellished.
The various sections of Foirm na nUrrnaidheadh come next (pp. 14-94), and are followed by a short catechism (‘Foirceadul Aithghearr’, pp. 95-108). This catechism was intended for examining young people. Although based on Calvin’s Little Catechism, this is almost entirely Carswell’s own work. The language is simpler and Scottish Gaelic syntax and vocabulary are in evidence throughout. The work is concluded by a number of prayers, including a Blessing for a Boat – an unusual item to appear in a Protestant publication (pp. 110-11) – and a metrical version of the Lord’s Prayer (pp. 111-112). In his concluding Apologia (pp. 112-113), Carswell again alludes to the lack of polish and precision in his language. He also states that any printer’s errors are understandable, since the printer did not have a word of Gaelic. He is fully aware that he will receive strong criticism from Catholic theologians, but states that this will be an incentive and will only make him more determined to continue with his work.
This edition has extensive notes on points of interest or difficulty (pp. 115-72). There are two Appendices. Appendix I (pp. 173-82) is a translation of the epistles to the Earl of Argyll and the reader, the verses addressed to the book itself and the final Apologia. Appendix II (pp. 183-86) contains information about Carswell’s education and background. There is a substantial Glossary (pp. 184-243) including a section on Proper Names (pp. 242-43). |
| Sources | Carswell’s Gaelic translation of the Book of Common Order was printed in Edinburgh in 1567. Three copies survive; one in Edinburgh University Library, one in the British Museum in London, and one in the Pierpoint Morgan Library in New York. All three copies are defective in certain respects, but the lacunae occur in different places, and the text hence survives in its entirety. |
| Language | Foirm na nUrrnuidheadh is written in the Classical dialect of Early Modern Gaelic, i.e. the formal register shared by the literati of Ireland and Scotland. The orthography is in accordance with the normal usage of the time, in which a certain degree of free variation was permitted. Spellings are generally historically correct; exceptions include a small number of quasi-phonetic spellings. Carswell uses the acute, grave and circumflex accents, nasal suspension ~ over a vowel and once over the letter n, and the suprascript dot for lenition. Some vocabulary items are peculiarly Scottish in form or meaning (see ‘Language of the Text’, pp. xlix-l). Carswell is much given to amplification, translating a single term by a pair of approximate synonyms. This was a feature of the English of his time, the Latin of the Ratio et Forma, and it was also found in some types of Gaelic literary text. Carswell frequently carries this a stage further by introducing alliteration. In cases where the synonyms do not alliterate, he sometimes adds a prefix to produce the desired alliteration. Again, this is a common trait in Early Modern Gaelic prose texts. These stylistic features are well controlled and produce an effect that Carswell clearly intended to create. |
| Orthography | The editor explains that, since a diplomatic edition of Foirm na nUrrnuidheadh is available (see Further Reading), certain editorial changes have been made in the present edition: see pp. lxxxix-xc for details. They include the following orthographical changes.
– Lenition and nasalisation and single letters supplied editorially are italicised.
– The nasal suspension is expanded with italic n. Instances are listed to distinguish them from other instances of n.
– Larger groups of letters or words supplied are inserted in square brackets.
– Where spellings have been corrected in the text the original readings are recorded in footnotes.
– Where accents are lost by capitalisation of original lower case letters and by the regular removal of accents from ao, ia, ua and final -e, the original reading is printed at the foot.
Quoted Latin words and phrases are printed in italic.
The following changes to the formatting and presentation of the original text have also been made.
– The pagination and lineation of the original have been abandoned.
– Signatures are printed in the margin and an oblique stroke in the text indicates the original page division.
– Running titles are those of the original, but necessary adjustments have been made to accommodate the smaller number of pages in this edition.
– Capitalisation and punctuation have been modernised.
– Word division and in some cases sentence division and paragraphing have been adjusted in conformity with the sense and practices of the Book of Common Order and in accordance with modern usage.
– Since the accentuation in the original text is by modern standards incomplete and sometimes misplaced, the present edition inserts a macron on historically long vowels not accentuated in the original. Where an accent in the original is wrongly placed over an adjoining vowel it is moved to the correct position. Neither accent nor macron is supplied on a capital letter.
– The line numbering of the present edition runs consecutively throughout the text, including the title page but ignoring the running titles. |
| Edition | |
| Other Sources | |
| Further Reading | McLauchlan, Rev. Dr T. (ed.), The Book of Common Order, commonly called John Knox’s Liturgy, translated into Gaelic … by Mr. John Carswell, Bishop of the Isles (Edinburgh, 1873: Edmonston & Douglas).
Matheson, Angus, ‘Bishop Carswell’, TGSI, 42 (1965), 182-205.
Meek, D.E., ‘The Reformation and Gaelic Culture: Perspectives on Patronage, Language and Literature in John Carswell’s Translation of “The Book of Common Order”’ in The Church in the Highlands, ed. by James Kirk (Edinburgh, 1998: Scottish Church History Society), 37-62. |
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| NumWords | 86243 |
