Islay Charter
The Islay Charter or "Gaelic Charter of 1408" is a grant of lands by Domhnall of Islay, Lord of the Isles to "Brian Bhicaire Magaodh" (Brian Vicar MacKay),[1] a resident of Islay, written in 1408.[2] The charter is unique in being the only MacDonald land charter extant to have been written in the Gaelic language. It is also notable as a very early example of this kind of document written in a vernacular language rather than Latin and is one of the earliest examples of Gaelic in public use from the 15th century.[3]
The Charter was composed and written on a piece of goatskin by Fearghas MacBeatha [4] (Fergus Beaton) personal physician to the Lord of the Isles and a member of the famous Beaton medical dynasty of the islands. The charter is also signed and holographed by the lord himself and was witnessed by a britheimh or 'judge', Pat McAbriuin. The lands granted consisted largely of the eastern portion of the island of approximately 400 acres (1.6 km2).[5]
See also
Notes
- ^ Thomson, The Companion to Gaelic Scotland pp63
- ^ Gaelic charter of 1408
- ^ The Herald - Scotland's Leading Quality Daily Newspaper
- ^ Regimen Sanitatis
- ^ Thomson, The Companion to Gaelic Scotland pp64
References
Thomson, Derick S. The Companion to Gaelic Scotland (Blackwell Reference 1987)