Middle Irish

Middle Irish
	Gaoidhealg
Pronunciation	[ˈɡɯːʝeɫɡ]
Native to	Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man
Era	Evolved into Early Modern Irish/Classical Gaelic about the 12th century
Language family	Indo-European Celtic Insular Celtic Goidelic Middle Irish; ; ; ;
Early forms	Primitive Irish Old Irish Middle Irish; ;
Writing system	Latin (Gaelic alphabet)
Language codes
ISO 639-2	mga
ISO 639-3	mga
Glottolog	None

Middle Irish (sometimes called Middle Gaelic^[1]) is the Goidelic language which was spoken in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man from the 10th to 12th centuries; it is therefore a contemporary of late Old English and early Middle English.^[2]^[3] The modern Goidelic languages—Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx—are all descendants of Middle Irish.

The Lebor Bretnach, the "Irish Nennius", survives only from manuscripts preserved in Ireland; however, Thomas Owen Clancy has recently argued that it was written in Scotland, at the monastery in Abernethy.^[4]

Notes[edit]

^ Mittleman, Josh. Concerning the name Deirdre. Quote: "Early Gaelic (aka Old Irish) is the form of Gaelic used in Ireland and parts of Scotland from roughly 600 - 900 AD. Middle Gaelic (aka Middle Irish) was used from roughly 900 - 1200 AD, while Common Classical Gaelic (aka Early Modern Irish, Common Literary Gaelic, etc.) was used from roughly 1200 - 1700 AD". Medieval Scotland. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
^ Mac Eoin, Gearóid (1993). "Irish". In Martin J. Ball (ed.). The Celtic Languages. London: Routledge. pp. 101–44. ISBN 0-415-01035-7.
^ Breatnach, Liam (1994). "An Mheán-Ghaeilge". In K. McCone, D. McManus, C. Ó Háinle, N. Williams, and L. Breatnach (eds.). Stair na Gaeilge in ómós do Pádraig Ó Fiannachta (in Irish). Maynooth: Department of Old Irish, St. Patrick's College. pp. 221–333. ISBN 0-901519-90-1.
^ Clancy, Thomas Owen (2000). "Scotland, the 'Nennian' recension of the Historia Brittonum, and the Lebor Bretnach". In Simon Taylor (ed.). Kings, Clerics and Chronicles in Scotland, 500-1297. Dublin & Portland: Four Courts Press. pp. 87–107. ISBN 1-85182-516-9.