Posted on 07/25/2006 12:21:17 PM PDT by lunarbicep
IRELAND'S national museum today hailed what it said was one of the most significant discoveries in decades - and perhaps centuries - after an ancient prayer book was found by chance in an Irish bog.
The National Museum of Ireland said fragments of what appeared to be an ancient Psalter or Book of Psalms, written around AD 800, were uncovered by a bulldozer in a bog in the south Midlands.
"In discovery terms this Irish equivalent to the Dead Sea Scrolls is being hailed by the Museum's experts as the greatest find ever from a European bog," the museum said in a statement.
The Dead Sea Scrolls, found in the mid 20th century, are considered to be of enormous religious and historical significance since they include some of the earliest known surviving Biblical documents.
The Irish discovery, recovered from bogland last Friday, comprises extensive fragments of what is thought to be an Irish Early Christian Psalter, written on vellum, a fine animal skin parchment.
"In my wildest hopes, I could only have dreamed of a discovery as fragile and rare as this," Museum Director Pat Wallace said, adding it was not so much the fragments themselves, but what they represented, that was of such "staggering" importance.
"It testifies to the incredible richness of the Early Christian civilisation of this island and to the greatness of ancient Ireland," he said.
The museum said it did not know how the manuscript ended up in the bog.
"It may have been lost in transit or dumped after a raid, possibly more than a thousand to twelve hundred years ago."
Part of Psalm 83, a lament to God over other nations' attempts to wipe out Israel, is legible but the museum said the extent to which other Psalms or additional texts are preserved would only be determined by lengthy work by a team of experts.
Bernard Meehan, Head of Manuscripts at Trinity College Dublin, who was invited to advise on the context and background of the manuscript, said he believed it was the first discovery of an Irish Early Medieval manuscript in two centuries.
Initial impressions placed the composition date of the manuscript at about AD 800, a time of Viking raids in Ireland.
Thank you.
I've never figured that out, either.
Thanks.
Good point. We can't even comprehend the awesomeness of God. I just love the book He wrote. :)
"After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Catholic Church survived intact in Ireland"
That's the revised history. Ireland and Scotland and to a great extent England followed Christianity for centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire, and the Catholicisation (control by the Pope and adoption of Catholic dates and practices) of the islands was resisted for well over a thousand years.
Patrick preached to the Irish celts in 405 and the conversion of Ireland began.
In 431 The Pope sent Palladius to convert the Irish to Catholicism and the Christians drove him out.
Patrick's statue shows him in priest's robes and a fish-mouth hat. That's Catholic revisionism, too.
It certainly trumps a clay pipe!! :P
Must be the red hair!
Actually, there's a bit about marry in some "islands," as well as Irish legends on the topic.
Why wasn't this discovered in 1948 or 1967 or 1973?
That would have been good timing too.
just wait till the believers are taken/anti-christ comes and how many people will bow to him b/c he will perform miracles, etc.
the planet will be in free-fall when that time comes.
very serious business to unbelievers.
Could it have belonged to one of the "bog bodies", someone executed and staked down in the bog?
Those are generally older.
His Word is Life.
Christ Jesus His Living Word is my all in all as fully as I know how to make Him . . . as I depend on Him to complete that process.
Thought you might this of interest.
Cheers - Dinah
"Actually, some Jews believe the Irish are the "lost tribe."
I did not know that, but the "lost tribe" were 10 of the tribes also called the House of Israel.
You mean Tia Tephi. British Israelism (theory = the ten lost tribes migrated north and west to become British/Irish/Scottish/North Americans) thinks so. However interesting as some aspects may be - such as the many "Dans" of the region, like Danube River etc - they lose me in the scriptural "evidence," such as their claim that Jeremiah was father to a princess of Israel, especially considering that God told him specifically that he was not to take a wife (Jer 16:2).
However, I do firmly believe that the ten lost tribes are out there, that God knows who they are (Amos 9:9), and that they will be regathered into Israel as He promised so very many places in scripture. He said he would "save the tents of Judah first" (Zech 12:7), which is what has been happening for about a hundred years now - the house of Judah returning to the land. The house of Israel, however, has yet to be restored and joined with Judah to become one stick (Ez 37).
I've found such stories varying degrees of interesting . . . but have not researched it enough to know what to believe for sure.
Thanks.
Very interesting! Even aside from the somewhat significant content, I wonder about the details. Spain was under Muslim attack at that time, and I believe there was some flight from Northern Spain to Ireland. What is the script like, for example?
Theoden, your tagline translates as: "I become before determination in order to kill the cattle brake." What am I missing here?
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