This manuscript contains the oldest and best copy of the Vita Prima
Sanctae Brigidae (The First Life of St Brigit), which survives in
26 complete copies and 1 fragmentary copy. The Vita Prima is one of
the earliest lives of St Brigit of Kildare (b. 439/452, d.
542/526), patron saint of Kildare, that was composed in the 7th or
8th century. This copy was produced at the Benedictine abbey of
Benediktbeuern (Bavaria) around the mid-9th century. The fact that
the Vita Prima circulated in Southern Germany in such an early
stage can be explained by the fact that missionary Irish monks had
been travelling to the Continent from the late 6th century onwards,
bringing relics and copies of the lives of Irish saints with them
(see Walz, ‘Einleitung’ (2009), pp. 21-26). Contents: ff.
1v-124v: Vita Prima Sanctae Brigidae . The manuscript contains a
later addition:f. 1 r: A necrology, added in an 11th-century
script. f. 124v: Office for Pope Alexander I (d. c. 115),
‘A[ntiphona] Nontimeo [ve]rbera · A[ntiphona] S[an]c[tu]s
pr[ae]sul · A[ntiphona] Missus a[u]t[em] · A[ntiphona] Preciosus
Christi martir Alexand[er]’, added in an 11th-century script. f.
1 r: ‘Vita b[eate] Brigitte virginib[us]’, added in a
15th-century script. [f. 128r and f. 128v are
blank].Decoration:Small red initials (many oxidized) with
decorative dots inside their letters.
