Copy Book Archive

Pangur Bán A 9th century Irish monk scribbled some verses about a beloved cat into his copy book.

In two parts

early 9th century
Music: Sir Charles Villiers Stanford and Sir Arthur Sullivan

From the British Library, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain. Source

About this picture …

At the bottom right of this page of the Lindisfarne Gospels, taken from the start of the Gospel According to St Luke, a pert puss has made an appearance. The Lindisfarne Gospels book dates from the early 8th century; the poem Pangur Bán was found scribbled among the pages of a 9th century collection of hymns and other texts in Latin known as the Reichenau Primer.

Pangur Bán

Part 1 of 2

An anonymous ninth-century Irish monk – possibly Sedulius Scottus, driven onto the Continent by Vikings – penned a little poem about his cat Pangur Bán (Fuller the White) into his scrapbook, sharing the precious space with Latin hymns and noble quotations.
Based on the Old Irish

I, AND Pangur Bán —
each doing what he does best:
his mind on the hunt,
mine on my own pursuits.

I love, better than fame, relaxing
with my texts, in painstaking study;
Pangur Bán does not envy me that:
he loves his own childish craft.

When at home together, just us two
(we never tire of that tale),
we hold our never-ending competition,
our test of ingenuity.

Our regular daring raids often end
with a mouse caught in his net,
or with some teasing, stubborn problem
fallen into mine.

Jump to Part 2

Précis

An anonymous Irish monk of the 9th century wrote some verses about his cat into his copybook. He begins by setting the scene: he and his cat, Pangur Bán, comfortably at home alone, with the monk intent on his books, and the cat occupied with hunting: indeed they are both hunting, the cat for mice, and he for meaning. (60 / 60 words)

Part Two

© Nickolas Titkov, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0. Source

About this picture …

Pangur Bán means ‘Fuller the White’, evidently because the monk’s companion was a cat of the purest white. Being a monk he probably also had in mind Malachi 3:2-3 and Mark 9:3.

HE fixes his eye, sharp and bright,
on the hedgerow; my beady eye,
feeble though it is, I fix
on some pin-point of knowledge.

He races around with joy
when a mouse catches on his claw;
when some delectably teasing problem
surrenders to me, that gives me joy too.

Though we are together so much,
we do not annoy one another;
it is good we each have our own craft,
and each is happy in his own amusement.

Each is master in his own field,
busy with the task he has each day;
and shining light on dark passages,
that is mine.

Copy Book

Précis

The monk continues his verses about Pangur Bán, comparing his cat’s hunting skills with his own occupation as an interpreter of texts. He likens the cat’s victory laps on catching a mouse to his own pleasure at solving some problem of interpretation, and expresses his appreciation for a companion who allows him to get on with his work. (59 / 60 words)

Source

Based on ‘Pangur Bán’, as translated by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan. There is a translation in rhyming verse by Robin Fowler in ‘The Poem-Book of the Gael’. The Old Irish original can be found at Wikisource.

Suggested Music

1 2

Irish Rhapsody No. 1

Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)

Performed by the Ulster Orchestra, conducted by Vernon Handley.

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Symphony in E Minor, ‘Irish’ (1866)

3. Allegretto - Moderato - Tempo Primo

Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900)

Performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Richard Hickox.

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How To Use This Passage

You can use this passage to help improve your command of English.

IRead it aloud, twice or more. IISummarise it in one sentence of up to 30 words. IIISummarise it in one paragraph of 40-80 words. IVMake notes on the passage, and reconstruct the original from them later on. VJot down any unfamiliar words, and make your own sentences with them later. VIMake a note of any words that surprise or impress you, and ask yourself what meaning they add to the words you would have expected to see. VIITurn any old-fashioned English into modern English. VIIITurn prose into verse, and verse into prose. IXAsk yourself what the author is trying to get you to feel or think. XHow would an artist or a photographer capture the scene? XIHow would a movie director shoot it, or a composer write incidental music for it?

For these and more ideas, see How to Use The Copy Book.

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