Red Book of Ossory

The Red Book of Ossory (Latin Liber Rubrum Ossoriensis) is a medieval manuscript produced in Kilkenny, Ireland, and usually kept in the Representative Church Body Library^[1] in Dublin.^[2]

On 82 folios,^[3] the manuscript contains a number of texts in Latin, Middle English^[a] and in Anglo-Norman. The sixth gathering of the MS contains the Proverbes de bon enseignement by Nicholas Bozon.^[4] The Latin religious lyrics in the manuscript were intended to replace more secular songs in the vernacular, and were mostly composed by Richard de Ledrede, Bishop of Ossory.^[5]

It is on display at St Canice's Cathedral since July 29 2024, the purchase of a ticket to visit the Cathedral and see the exhibition is required.^[1] It is planned to change the display of pages every three months; the first part on display is the recipe for aqua vite. Later, a letter from King Edward III, an early provision of the Magna Carta, and poems and songs composed by Bishop Ledrede will be shown.^[1]

The manuscript has been digitized and is available online.