Lebor na hUidre
| Lebor na hUidre | |
|---|---|
| Royal Irish Academy | |
| Also known as | Book of the Dun Cow |
| Type | Compilation of early Irish literature |
| Date | Before 1106 (with later additions) |
| Place of origin | Clonmacnoise |
| Language(s) | Middle Irish, with some Latin words |
| Scribe(s) | Máel Muire mac Céilechair and two others |
| Material | Vellum |
| Size | 32cm x 24cm |
| Format | Folio |
| Condition | Damaged, only 67 pages remaining |
| Script | Irish minuscule |
| Discovered | 1844 |
Lebor na hUidre (Middle Irish: [ˈl͈ʲevor nˠə ˈhuiðʲrʲə], LU) or the Book of the Dun Cow (MS 23 E 25) is an Irish vellum manuscript dating to the 12th century. It is the oldest extant manuscript in Irish. It is held in the Royal Irish Academy and is badly damaged: only 67 leaves remain and many of the texts are incomplete. It is named after an anachronistic legend that it was made from the hide of a dun cow by Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise.