Scribe and text in Lebor na hUidre: H’s intentions and methodology

This paper examines the intentions and methods of the twelfth-century interpolator in Lebor na hUidre. It is argued that he was a scholarly historian and that his emendations and glosses betray the working methods associated with medieval Western historiography. In particular, he is clearly concerned to establish the 'facts' (frequently based on textual comparison); he presents contrary and/or alternative 'facts' about the past; and he attempts to reconcile contradictory accounts of the past. His interventions can produce awkward narratives but we can see that his primary concern was history rather than story.