 A large number of early Irish literary texts, though recorded in manuscripts of the Middle Irish period (such as "Lebor na hUidre" and the Book of Leinster), are essentially Old Irish in character.Middle Irish is the form of Irish used from the 10th to 12th centuries; it is therefore a contemporary of late Old English and early Middle English.It is the language of a large amount of literature, including the entire Ulster Cycle.