"No wild bird rising from the wave, no omen from the land or sea,

Oh Blessed Trinity, shall shake my fixed trust in thee.

No name to God, or demon given, no synonym of sin or shame,

Shall make me cease to supplicate the Archangel Michael's name,

That he, by God the leader led, may meet my soul that awful day

When from this body and this life it trembling takes its way.

Lest the demoniac power of him, who is at once the foot of pride

And prince of darkness, force it then from the true path aside.

May Michael the Archangel turn that hour which else were dark and sad

To one, when angels will rejoice and all the just be glad.

Him I beseech that he avert from me the fiend's malignant face,

And lead me to the realm of rest in God's own dwelling place.

May holy Michael day and night, he knowing well my need, be nigh,

To place me in the fellowship of the good saints on high;

May holy Michael, an approved assistant when all else may fail,

Plead for me, sinner that I am, in thought and act so frail,

May holy Michael in his strength my parting soul from harm defend,

Till circled by the myriad saints in heaven its flight doth end;

For me may holy Gabriel pray--for me may holy Raphael plead--

For me may all the angelic choirs for ever intercede.

May the great King's eternal halls receive me freed from stain and sin,

That I the joys of Paradise may share with Christ therein.

Glory for aye be given to God--for aye to Father and to Son--

For aye unto the Holy Ghost with them in council one.

V. "May the most holy St. Michael

The prince of angels defend us,

Whom to conduct our souls heavenward

God from the highest doth send us."

The School of Moville during the subsequent centuries of disaster not only

maintained its existence but produced one of the most distinguished of the

mediæval historians, the celebrated Marianus Scotus, the chronicler, to be

carefully distinguished from his namesake and contemporary, Marianus

Scotus, a poet, theologian and commentator of Sacred Scripture, to whom we

hope to refer on another occasion.

II.--MARIANUS SCOTUS.

Marianus Scotus, the Chronicler, was born, as he himself tells us, in the

year A.D. 1028; but we know nothing of his family, or the place of his

birth. Marianus is the smooth, latinized form of Maelbridge, the servant

of St. Brigid, a favourite pre-nomen in ancient Ireland. He tells us, too,

in his chronicle, that when he had on one occasion committed a slight

fault, his preceptor Tighernagh Boirceach reminded him, how the abbot of

Iniscaltra, an island in Lough Derg, had expelled a holy man from the

Island and commanded him to leave Ireland for giving a little food to the

brethren without permission. This shows that Tighernach Boirceach, Abbot

of Moville for several years before his death in A.D. 1061, must have been

the spiritual guide who reprimanded Marianus for his fault; whence we

infer that Marianus spent his youth in the School of Moville. In A.D. 1056

he tells us--"I, Marianus, left my native country this year, having become

a pilgrim for the kingdom of God." He came to Cologne and there entered

the Monastery of St. Martin, at that time ruled by Irish abbots and

containing a community of Irish monks. Two years later he went to Fulda,

and "all unworthy as I am, I Marianus, was ordained priest with Sigfrid,

Abbot of Fulda, nigh to the body of the blessed Martyr Kilian of

Wurtzburg"--his countryman who had been like himself a pilgrim and died

for Christ in a foreign land. There he became a recluse, shut up in his

little cell for ten long years, given wholly to prayer, penance, and

study. Every day during these ten years he offered the Holy Sacrifice over

the tomb of his countryman, Anmchaidh, the same who was driven from

Inniscaltra as a penance for his fault, and who died in A.D. 1043 in the

odour of sanctity. From Fulda in A.D. 1069, he, the "wretched Marianus,"

was, as he tells us, transferred by order of the Abbot of Fulda and the

Bishop of Mayence to that city, and there again, as he tells us in his

sweet humility, he became once more a hermit for his sins. His learning,

especially in history and chronology, was very extensive, and so by order

of his superiors he wrote a Chronicle in Three Books, which is one of the

most valuable memorials of mediæval learning that have come down to our

times. The first two books are mainly devoted to questions of chronology

in which the writer exhibits vast learning and great ingenuity. He labours

especially to refute the commonly assigned date of our Saviour's birth as

fixed by the Dionysian computation, which he affirms is twenty-two years

behind the proper date. For this, though he is not followed by modern

chronologists, he certainly won the applause of his mediæval

contemporaries. Unfortunately these two books have not yet been published;

but the "Third Book" has been published by the learned Waitz in the fifth

volume of _Pertz's Historical Monuments of Germany_. It has been since

republished in _Migne's Latin Patrology_, volume 147, where it can be more

readily consulted by Irish scholars. The work extends from the birth of

Christ to the year A.D. 1081; the following year A.D. 1082 the writer

ended a life full of good works, glorious for God, and for his country. He

sleeps, like many another Irish saint, far away from the green hills of

Ireland; but he sleeps well with kindred dust in the monastery of St.

Martin of Mayence, and posterity has honoured, with the name of "the

Blessed," Marianus Scotus, the latest glory of the School of Moville.

CHAPTER XII.

THE SCHOOL OF CLONMACNOISE.

"Quomodo sedet sola civitas plena populo."

--_Jeremias._

I.--ST. CIARAN OF CLONMACNOISE.

How solitary now she sits by the great river that once thronged City! Her

gates are broken, and her streets are silent. Yet in olden time she was a

queen, and the children of many lands came to do her homage. She was the

nursing mother of our saints, and the teacher of our highest learning for

a long six hundred years. The most ancient and the most accurate of the

Annals of Erin were written in her halls; the most learned 'Doctors of the

Scots' lectured in her classrooms; the sweetest of our old Gaedhlic poems

were composed by her professors; the noblest youth of France and England

crowded her halls, and bore the renown of her holiness and learning to

foreign lands. Even still her churches, her crosses, and her tombstones

furnish the best and most characteristic specimens of our ancient Celtic

art in sculpture and in architecture. View it as you may, Clonmacnoise was

the greatest of our schools in the past, as it is the most interesting of

our ruins in the present.

How well St. Ciaran chose the site of his monastic city in those turbulent

and lawless days. It reposed in the bosom of a grassy lawn of fertile

meadow land on the eastern bank of the Shannon, about ten miles south of

Athlone. Just at this point the majestic river takes a wide semi-circular

sweep first to the east and then to the south; presently it widens and

deepens into calm repose under the shelter of that grassy ridge, which

Ciaran chose as the site of his monastery. A vast expanse of bog lies

beyond the river; and in the time of St. Ciaran the country all round

about was an impassable morass to the east, south, and north of the

verdant oasis on which he built his little church. So it became necessary

to construct a causeway through the bog from the monastery somewhat on the

line of the present road to Athlone. At this day the aspect of the place

is very desolate and lonely. There is nothing to distract the attention

of the stranger save the gray ruins, the sweep of the full-bosomed river

stealing silently onwards like time in its flight, and vast flocks of

plover and curlew that are now settled on the meadows, and a moment after

are circling in flying clouds around us. The report of a gun had startled

both them and us. It was like a voice in the regions of the dead.

[Illustration: MAP OF CLONMACNOISE OR THE SEVEN CHURCHES.]

St. Ciaran, the founder of Clonmacnoise, is usually called Ciaran Mac In

Tsair, that is, the Son of the Carpenter, and sometimes Ciaran the

Younger, to distinguish him from St. Ciaran of Saigher, the patron of the

diocese of Ossory. His father, Beoit, son of Olcan, though a carpenter by

trade, came of high descent. His mother, Darerca, was a daughter of the

race that gave its name to the county Kerry. Beoit lived at Larne, in

Antrim, but being greatly harassed by the exactions of Ainmire, king of

the district, he migrated to the province of Connaught, and settled at a

place called Rath Crimthann, near Fuerty, in the county Roscommon. He was,

it seems, unmarried at the time, and there took to himself a wife from the

daughters of the Ciarraighe, who about the same time had migrated from

Irluachair, in Kerry, and had settled along the western bank of the Suck

in that very district.[208] They were a holy couple, and trained up a holy

family, for they had no less than five sons and three daughters, who were

great servants of God.

Ciaran was baptized by the deacon Justus at Fuerty (_Fidharta_), in the

year A.D. 512, which we take to be the date of the saint's birth.[209] He

received his early education from the same holy man, and in his turn was

not too proud to tend the herds of his tutor at Fuerty, especially during

the absence of the holy deacon. We are told, too, that while tending the

cattle he was also much given to study and prayer.

It is probable that young Ciaran went directly from home to the great

School of Clonard, of which we have already spoken. While he was there, he

gave himself up with great zeal to the study of holy Scripture under the

direction of the wise and learned Finnian. He made the acquaintance, too,

of nearly all the great and holy men who about this period lived in

blessed brotherhood at Clonard, and were afterwards known as the Twelve

Apostles of Erin. He was much beloved both by his master, who called him

the "gentle youth," and by his companions, whom he was ever anxious to

oblige. Books were then very scarce, and on one occasion when St.

Ninnidius of Lough Erne was vainly searching for a copy of the Gospels,

Ciaran gave him his own copy, saying that we should do to others as we

would have others do to us--the text which he was studying in St. Matthew

at the moment.

Ciaran once made a present of corn to his master and the brotherhood,

which sufficed for their wants during forty days--it was said, too, this

blessed food given by Ciaran had virtue to heal the sick, who partook of

it, and a portion of it was reserved for that purpose. Finnian in return

blessed his generous and holy pupil, and foretold that his Church in the

coming years would be fruitful "of nobility and wisdom;" that it would

have much glory and much land; and that half Ireland would one day be

subject to his rule. When the master was absent, Ciaran was deputed to

take his place, which shows the high opinion then entertained by Finnian

of his learning and holiness. One day Finnian saw in vision two golden

moons in the firmament of Erin; one he said was Columcille, to illumine

the North with the lustre of his virtues and high descent; the other was

Ciaran, who would shine over central Erin, with the mild radiance of

charity and meekness.

At length the time came for Ciaran to leave Clonard. Both masters and

scholars were sorry to part with the gentle youth. Finnian even offered to

resign the master's chair in his favour; but Ciaran wisely declined the

great honour, for he was too young and inexperienced for that office.

Columcille was then at Clonard about the year A.D. 537 or 538, and was

greatly attached to Ciaran; he composed regretful stanzas at his

departure, and afterwards followed him all the way to Aran:--

"The noble youth that goeth westward,

And leaves us mourning here--

Ah! gentle, loving, tender-hearted

Is Ciaran Mac In Tsair."

We have in a previous chapter referred to Ciaran's sojourn in Aran with

St. Enda. On his departure from the blessed isles Ciaran told the

venerable Enda that he saw in a vision a large fruitful tree planted in

the midst of Erin, and its boughs sheltered all the land. Its fair fruit

was borne over land and sea, and all the birds of the air came and eat

thereof. "That tree is thyself," said Enda; "all Erin shall be filled with

thy name, and sheltered by the grace that will be in thee, and many men

from all parts will be fed by thy prayers and thy fastings. Go, then, in

God's name, and found thy Church on the Shannon's banks in the centre of

the island."

After leaving Aran, Ciaran paid a short visit to St. Senan of Scattery

Island, in the Lower Shannon, and was much edified by the example and

conversation of that holy man. He then went north in obedience to the word

of Enda and at first founded a church at a place called Isell Ciaran,

where he remained only a short time. He then founded another oratory on

Inis Ainghin, now called Hare Island, in Lough Ree, a beautifully wooded

islet about two miles north of Athlone, where a ruined church may still be

seen that was built on the site of Ciaran's more ancient oratory.

It was an admirable site for a monastery; far enough from the shore for

security, but near enough for convenience, and situated just at the point

where the wide and beautiful lake contracts its waters into the stately

stream that flows beneath the historic arches of the bridge at Athlone.

For three years and three months only Ciaran remained at Hare Island. This

would fix his arrival there in A.D. 540 if, as we shall see, he died in

A.D. 544 at the age of thirty-three years. Going further south by the bank

of the river to a place that would be nearer to the centre of the island,

he stopped at the spot then called Ard Mantain, which in his opinion was

too fertile and too beautiful to be chosen as the abode of fasting saints.

"We might," he said, "have here much of the world's riches, but the souls

going to heaven from it would be few." So he journeyed on still further to

the south through what was then a desolate expanse of fens and brakes,

until he came to Ard Tiprait, the Height of the Spring. "Here," he said to

his companions, "let us remain, for many souls will ascend to heaven from

this spot."[210] It was on the 10th of the Kalends of February that Ciaran

took up his abode at Clonmacnoise with eight companions; and it was on the

10th of the Moon, and a Saturday. This is very specific information, and

evidently authentic. It shows that the writer of Ciaran's life knew what

he was saying, and was not afraid of being contradicted. These dates prove

that the foundation of Clonmacnoise took place on Saturday, the 23rd of

January, in the year A.D. 544.[211] It was finished on the 9th of May

following; and the same ancient and accurate life tells us the

circumstances of this most remarkable event--the founding of the greatest

school and the greatest monastery in Ireland.

When Ciaran was planting the first post to mark out the site of the

Cathair of Clonmacnoise, Diarmaid Mac Cearbhaill, who happened to be

present with a few of his companions, helped the saint with his own hands

to fix the post in the earth. "Though your companions to-day are few,"

said Ciaran, "to-morrow thou shalt be High King of Erin." This prophecy,

like many others, helped to fulfil itself. One of Diarmaid's companions,

Maelmor,[212] his foster brother, overheard the saint's word; and knowing

that he was a man of God, he resolved to help in carrying it out. King

Tuathal Maelgarbh, great grandson of Niall the Great, had set a price on

Diarmaid's head, or rather on his heart, if brought to him in person; so

Diarmaid was forced to hide himself and live in the deserts and bogs

around Clonmacnoise. There he met the saint, and not only aided him to

build his monastery, as stated above, but in reverence to the saint he

placed his own hand beneath that of Ciaran in fixing the first pole. Now,

Maelmor hearing the prediction, with Diarmaid's reluctant consent, took

his fleet black horse, and a whelp's heart besprinkled with blood on the

point of his spear, and rode post haste to a place called Greallach Eillte

in Meath, where the king with his nobles happened to be at the time.

Seeing the stranger riding post to the king with the bloody heart on his

spear, all made way for him, for they, like the king himself, thought it

was the heart of Diarmaid, which he was going to present to the king. But

instead of Diarmaid's heart, Maelmor gave the monarch a fatal thrust with

his spear, which killed him on the spot. Maelmor was immediately set upon

by the royal guards and hewn to pieces. But his purpose was

achieved--Diarmaid MacCearbhaill was the nearest heir to the throne, and

was immediately proclaimed king without opposition. During his reign he

was, as might be expected, a great patron and benefactor of Clonmacnoise,

and although there is good reason to believe that he still kept

Druids[213] and soothsayers in his palace, he gave that monastery large

grants of land, and subjected to its authority no less than one hundred of

the small churches in its neighbourhood. Such was the origin of the

Diocese of Clonmacnoise, which after many vicissitudes is now united to

that of Ardagh.[214]

St. Ciaran lived only four months after founding his monastery and little

church--the Eclais Beg--on the banks of the Shannon. The same accurate

writer of his life states with great precision that his death came upon

him in the thirty-third year of his age, on the fifth of the Ides (the

9th) of September, on a Saturday, the fifteenth day of the moon. These

data mark the year A.D. 544 (not 549), as the year of the saint's death.

It was also the year in which King Diarmaid ascended the throne, and which

brought with it a great plague that proved fatal to many of the saints of

Erin, as well as to Ciaran himself.

The death of Ciaran was very touching. "Take me out a little," he said,

"from the cell into the open air." Then looking up to the blue sky, he

said--"Narrow indeed is the way which leads to heaven." "Not for you,

father, will it be narrow," said one of his monks who was standing nigh.

"It is not said in the Gospel that it will be easy for me or for any one,"

said Ciaran; "even the blessed Paul and David were afraid." He would not

allow the stone pillow to be removed in order to give more ease to his

head. He had kept it during life, and he would rest on it in

death--"Blessed are they," he observed, "who persevere unto the end." The

brethren now saw God's angels hovering in the air around them awaiting the

moment of Ciaran's departure. He grew weaker, so they brought him in again

to Eclais Beg. It was fitting he should die there; it was the scene of his

prayers and tears. The skin on which he used to sleep in his little cell

was stretched on the ground, and he was laid upon it. The end was now at

hand. He gave his last blessing to the brethren, and asked them to close

the church, and leave him alone with his soul's friend, St. Kevin of

Glendaloch, whom he had known and loved at Clonard. Kevin blessed holy

water according to the Church's rite, and sprinkled the little oratory,

and the couch of the dying saint. Then he gave Ciaran the holy Communion

and blessed him once more ere he died. Ciaran loved the holy Kevin much;

God had sent him to his bedside at the prayer of Ciaran himself--and as a

pledge of his love the dying saint gave to Kevin his bell--the symbol in

those days of monastic rule--and bidding him a tender farewell, he gave up

his pure and gentle soul to God.

He was, indeed, a wonderful man--that St. Ciaran. He died very young; it

was at the sacred age of thirty-three, as all our Annals tell. In four

months--from February to May--he built his convent; for four months more

he ruled his community; and then he was called to his reward; yet that

community grew to be the greatest and most learned of all the land.

All our martyrologies assign the festival of St. Ciaran to the 9th of

September; and the day has been celebrated from that hour to the present.

St. Ængus says that it is a solemnity that "fills territories and impels

fast-going ships" on sea and river--hurrying to celebrate the glorious

festival of Ciaran of Cluain.

Anyone who visits Clonmacnoise on the 9th of September will see the

"territory" of the saint still filled with pilgrims, and the 'ships' laden

with crowds of men and women crossing the Shannon to visit his holy

shrine. St. Cummian of Clonfert in his Paschal Epistle, of which we have

already spoken, ranks Ciaran, and most justly, amongst the "early Fathers

of the Irish Church."[215] Alcuin, who studied at Clonmacnoise, calls him

the glory of the Irish nation.[216] "The three worst counsels that were

ever accomplished in Erin," says the gloss on Ængus, "by the advice of

saints, were the shortening of Ciaran's life, the exile of Columcille, and

the expulsion of Mochuda from Rahan." The 'saints,' it seems, were jealous

because Diarmaid had conferred so many favours on Ciaran--so they prayed

to God to take him out of the world before any harm came of it, and lo! it

was done. A more thoughtful man, however, would say, not without reason,

that these three counsels were great blessings for Ireland and for

Scotland too. It was well that Ciaran was called away so soon to heaven

before jealousy or rivalry made enemies for Clonmacnoise; it was well,

surely, that Molaise of Innismurray sent Columba to Scotland to preach the

Gospel; and it was well, too, that Mochuda left Rahan; for it was only to

found a greater and more magnificent monastery at Lismore. So Providence

always out of seeming evil brings forth good.

There was hardly time for Ciaran himself to do any literary work at

Clonmacnoise--he built the house and blessed it; and was then summoned to

his Father's House in heaven. There is, however, an old Gaelic poem widely

celebrated, which is attributed to Ciaran. It begins with the words "An

rim, an ri, an richid rain," and seems to have been a fruitless prayer

that God would spare his life to do greater works for His glory. God

thought, however, he had done enough, and called him home. He was, say the

ancients, like to John the Apostle in his life and habits--pure, and

young, and loving, soaring up to God on the wings of the eagle.

Like most of the Apostles of the early Irish Church, Ciaran led an

extremely ascetic life. He never passed a day without manual labour for

the benefit of the brethren. He was never idle. He slept on the naked

clay; he had a stone for his pillow; he never wore a soft garment next his

skin. He was, as we know, above all, humble, gentle and chaste; he never,

it is said, told a lie and never looked on the face of a woman. He never

drank ale or milk, except diluted one-third with water. He never ate any

bread except one-third sand was mixed with it. He was thus a man of

humility, abstinence, and prayer, and therefore God blessed the work of

his hand, and exalted him both during his life and after his death. There

was no saint more beloved by his own contemporaries--by Enda, and Kevin,

and Finnian, and Columcille. They all loved him dearly whilst he was with

them; and their hearts were sore at his departure. And to this day, at

least by the Shannon's shore, there is no saint whose name is held in more

affectionate remembrance than the founder of Clonmacnoise.

The Eclais Beg, in which St. Ciaran died, became not unnaturally a sacred

spot. It was the very centre of the holiness of Clonmacnoise. He left

several relics, which the piety of his children deemed most holy, and not

without cause. The Imda Chiarain, or cow-skin couch,[217] on which he died

was deemed a most precious relic, and cured the sick who were allowed to

stretch their feeble frames over it. His holy body was buried in the

Eclais Beg, or Tempull Chiaran, and his grave is still venerated by the

faithful, although the site is rather doubtful. The "Cemetery of noble

Cluain" was deemed as sacred a burial place as any in Rome itself; and the

noblest families in all the land built mortuary chapels within the sacred

enclosure. There were saints interred in its cemetery, it was said, "whose

prayers would make even hell a heaven." The sound of its bell was holy,

and frightened away the demons. The shadow of its round tower sanctified

the soil that it fell upon. Ciaran brought to heaven by his prayers,

during their life or after their death, the souls of all those who were

buried in that holy ground. Or, as it is quaintly put in the _Registry of

Clonmacnoise_--"What souls harboured in the bodies buried under that dust

may never be adjudged to damnation--wherefore those of the same (royal)

blood have divided the churchyard amongst themselves by the consent of

Kyran, and of his holy clerks."

This is not the imagining of later writers, for the venerable Adamnan

tells us that when after the Synod of Drumceat (A.D. 585) St. Columcille

came to visit Clonmacnoise, he took a portion of the same holy clay to

bring it home; but threw it into the sea at Coryvreckan to still the

raging waves, which thereupon became quite calm.

II.--THE RUINED CHURCHES AT CLONMACNOISE.

The existing ruins at Clonmacnoise, though now so much dilapidated, are

highly interesting, both from the historical and artistic point of view.

They belong to different periods, the date of which can be easily

ascertained, and thus furnish many authentic specimens of the Irish

Romanesque.

Of St. Ciaran's original church or oratory--the Eclais Beg--not a trace

now remains. The grave of the saint is pointed out close by the southern

wall of the ruin called Tempull Ciaran, which is in the very centre of the

church-yard, and in all probability was built on the site of Ciaran's

original oratory.

The following are the principal ruined churches still to be seen at

Clonmacnoise:--

(1.) There is the Daimhlaig, or Great Stone-Church, called also

M'Dermott's Church, and sometimes the Cathedral. We know for certain that

it was built in A.D. 909 by Flann, King of Ireland, and by Colman, abbot

of Clonmacnoise and Clonard at that time. The beautiful stone cross which

was erected to commemorate the building of the church itself is still

standing before the great western doorway, and tells its own story. In two

of the compartments of the sculptured shaft a prayer is asked of every one

who passes for the souls' rest of the founders of the church. In one it

is:--OR DO FLAVND MAC MAELSECHLAIND--"A prayer for Fland, son of

Maelsechlaind." In the other it is:--COLMAN DORROINI IN CROISSA AR IN RI

FLAND--that is, "Colman made this cross for King Fland." The inscriptions

are partly effaced, but not so as to obliterate the words completely.

Taken in connection with the entry in the _Annals of Clonmacnoise_, A.D.

901 (_recte_ 908), they are highly interesting. "King Flann and Colman

Connellagh this year founded the church in Clonmacnoise called the Church

of the Kings." Colman outlived King Flann, who died in A.D. 916, by eight

years, and no doubt this cross, as Petrie points out, was erected for the

two-fold purpose of commemorating the foundation of the church, and of

marking the sepulchre of King Flann, its pious founder. The sculptures on

the west side of the shaft represent St. Ciaran and King Diarmaid in the

act of planting the first pole of the Eclais Beg; the opposite side

represents in high relief several events in the life of our Saviour, as

recorded in Holy Scripture. Hence this great cross came to be called the

Cross of the Scriptures--_Cros na Screaptra_. It is fifteen feet in

height; and is a most interesting specimen of Celtic art in sculpture at

that early and unpropitious period. This, the Cathedral Church, afterwards

came to be called M'Dermott's Church, because, as the _Registry of

Clonmacnoise_ informs us, "Tomaltach M'Dermott, chief of Moylurg, repaired

or rebuilt the Great Church upon his own costs; and it was for the

cemetery of the Clanmaolruany that he did so." This Tomaltach Mac Dermott,

the King of Moylurg, "a most formidable and triumphant man against his

enemies, and a man of the greatest bounty and alms-giving," died in the

year A.D. 1336,[218] which sufficiently fixes the period of the

restoration of the Great Church. There is an inscription over the northern

doorway in Latin, which tells that "Odo, Dean of Clonmacnoise, caused it

to be made," probably in the fifteenth century.

(2.) On the western boundary of the church-yard is the ruined chancel of

the church called Tempull Finnian, which probably dates back to the ninth

century, and was built on the site of a more ancient oratory dedicated to

St. Finnian of Clonard, if not actually built by that saint. He was, as we

have seen, the 'tutor' of Ciaran, and loved him much; so that doubtless he

came to visit his former disciple at Clonmacnoise. Close at hand on the

river's bank is Finnian's Well; and tradition still points out the grave

in which he is said to be buried. The chancel arch of this church in three

orders is highly ornamented, and is considered an excellent specimen of

the Celtic Romanesque. The round tower, which adjoins this church, appears

to be coeval with the building; and doubtless both were erected during the

Danish wars. It is only 56 feet high, but it is 49 feet in circumference.

The material is a fine sandstone, probably carried thither on the river,

for there is none in the neighbourhood. Lord Dunraven considered it to be

the most interesting monument at Clonmacnoise, and Petrie describes it as

wholly built of ashlar masonry with a fine sandstone laid in horizontal

courses. Its conical roof is built in a peculiar herring-bone ashlar, such

as is not found elsewhere in Ireland.

This tower is commonly called M'Carthy's Tower; and the church is

frequently called M'Carthy's Church, from a mistaken notion that it was

built by Finneen M'Carthy of Desmond in the beginning of the thirteenth

century. M'Carthy certainly gave some land to the community of

Clonmacnoise to secure their prayers, and what he valued even more, a

burial-place in its holy soil for his own royal race. Tempull Finnian was

assigned to him for the purpose; and it was doubtless repaired by

M'Carthy; but it was built long before any of his name was known at

Clonmacnoise.

(3.) The O'Conors, Kings of Connaught, also gave a grant of many townlands

to secure a mortuary chapel at Clonmacnoise. It was known as Tempull

Conor, and was founded by Cathal, King of Connaught, who died A.D. 1010;

he was son of that Conor (Conchobhar) who gave his name to their royal

race.

(4.) Another kingly family of Connaught--the O'Kellys of Hy-Many--built

themselves a sepulchral chapel within the sacred enclosure, which they

paid for with many a broad acre. It was founded by Conor O'Kelly of

Moenmoy, in the year A.D. 1167, as the Four Masters inform us. He was a

great chief, famed for his royal bounty, and ruled over Hy-Many for forty

years.

(5.) King Diarmaid, who helped St. Ciaran to fix the first stake enclosing

the sacred boundary of Clonmacnoise, belonged to the southern Hy-Niall

race. It is no wonder, therefore, that his royal descendants had their

chapel there. It was called Tempull Righ--the King's Church--and sometimes

Tempull Ua Maelshechlainn, from the family name, which the southern

Hy-Niall afterwards assumed. It stands south-east of the cathedral, and

measures 40 feet in length by 17 feet in breadth.

(6.) The beautiful round tower at the north-western corner of the cemetery

is commonly called O'Rorke's Tower, because, as the _Registry of

Clonmacnoise_ tells us, it was built by Fergal O'Rorke, King of Connaught,

towards the middle of the tenth century. This prince, for his soul's sake,

and as the price of his family sepulchre, undertook to keep all the

churches in repair during his own life; and he also built the causeway

still in part existing from the Yew Tree to the Lough. The portion of the

tower built by O'Rorke's men in the tenth century is of fine-jointed

ashlar masonry; but the upper portion, executed two centuries later in

A.D. 1135, is of ruder and very inferior workmanship.[219] At that date

lightning struck the tower, overthrowing its roof and twenty feet of

wall. The coarser masonry represents the restoration then effected by

Turlogh O'Conor and O'Malone, Abbot of Clonmacnoise. This tower is now

sixty-two feet high, and fifty-six feet in circumference. There were other

chapels and sepulchral oratories at Clonmacnoise, which have now

completely disappeared, and to which it is unnecessary for us to make

further reference. The nunnery whose foundations have only recently been

brought to light, was about 1,000 paces to the east of the monastery.

On the western border beyond the cemetery are the ruins of a very striking

Norman Keep, commonly called De Lacy's Castle. It was built, however, in

A.D. 1214, not by De Lacy, who was then dead, but by John de Gray,[220]

Bishop of Norwich, an able and vigorous justiciary, who built this strong

keep to protect the monastery and defend the passes of the Shannon against

the turbulent Connaught men. Like all the Norman work of that period in

Ireland, it is as solid and massive as if it were built of solid rock, not

by man but by nature.

The churchyard has many inscribed tombstones, which are fully described by

Petrie and by Miss Stokes in her interesting work on Christian

Inscriptions. These were the tombstones placed over the graves of the

abbots of Clonmacnoise, for the humble brothers of the monastery were

interred beneath 'noteless burial stones.' The most striking feature

exhibited in these monuments is their wonderful variety of design and the

delicacy of execution.

One of the most interesting of the tombstones is that placed over

"Suibine, son of Mailae Humai," who, in the _Chronicon Scotorum_, is

described as an anchorite and choice scribe, and whose death is marked at

the year A.D. 890 or 891. He is beyond doubt the person who, as we shall

see hereafter, is described by Florence of Worcester as the "most learned

Doctor of the Scots"--Doctor Scotorum peritissimus--truly a high eulogy of

Suibine, whose name is inscribed on this stone, and whose dust lies

beneath it.

There is another stone on which is incised a cross of very peculiar form

with the simple legend BLAIMAC, who, as we learn from the same _Chronicon

Scotorum_, was princeps, or ruling Abbot of Clonmacnoise, and died in A.D.

896.

There were no less than one hundred and forty of these inscribed stones at

Clonmacnoise, when it was first visited by Petrie in early life. Many of

them have since disappeared, but a few new ones have been discovered

during more recent excavations, so that the place is still a perfect

treasury of the monuments of our ancient art. There is an ancient Gaedhlic

poem in the Burgundian Library at Brussels which gives an account of the

kings and warriors who are buried in "the city of Ciaran, the prayerful,

the pious and the wise."[221] A somewhat similar poem, written by Conaing

Buidhe O'Mulconry, is in Trinity College, and has been translated by the

late Mr. Hennessy.[222] The second stanza tells how Turlough O'Conor and

his ill-starred son, Roderick, the last King of Ireland, sleep on either

side of the high altar in Temple Mor, which the Four Masters identify with

Temple-Ciaran. The independence of Erin sleeps with them in their tomb.

III.--THE SCHOLARS OF CLONMACNOISE.

There was one feature in the government of the monastery of Clonmacnoise

which served to make it more than any other school in Ireland a kind of

national seminary--it belonged to no tribe. Its monks and its scholars

came from all parts of the country; and its abbots were chosen not from

any family, or from any tribe, but from all the provinces without

distinction. Its founder was a Connaughtman of half-northern and

half-southern extraction. His successor, St. Oena, was from the territory

of Laeghis (Leix) in Leinster. The third abbot, MacNisse, was of the

Ultonians; and the fourth, Alithir, who died in A.D. 599, was a

Munsterman. This wise policy tended to develop a generous and large-minded

spirit in the community, which must have been productive of the happiest

effects.

The influence of Clonmacnoise as a great school was first displayed during

the discussions on the Easter question. The Columbian houses in the north

of Ireland, following the example of the mother house at Hy, adhered to

the ancient method of fixing the date of Easter. On the other hand the

religious houses of the south and south-eastern parts of Ireland, in

obedience to the directions of Pope Honorious, convoked a Synod at Magh

Lene in King's County to discuss this most important question. Magh Lene

was near Durrow, and not far from Clonmacnoise; but Durrow was Columbian,

and its abbot remained away. Cummian, however, expressly tells us that

Ciaran's successor was present at that great assembly and sanctioned its

decrees. Though belonging to the northern half--for Clonmacnoise was in

the ancient Meath--the abbot had learning and courage enough to see that

the Irish practice was opposed to that of the universal Church, and ought

to be given up in favour of the Roman discipline.

It is from this time forward that Clonmacnoise begins to rank as the first

of our Irish Schools. It was already largely endowed by the kings of Meath

and Hy-Many, to both of whom, so to speak, it belonged, for the river was

the only boundary. These possessions were constantly growing larger. In

A.D. 648 or 649, Diarmaid, King of Meath, crossed the Shannon to fight

Guaire, King of Connaught, and his Munster allies. Diarmaid on his way to

battle stopped at Clonmacnoise, and begged the congregation of Ciaran to

pray to God that he would return safe home "through the merits of their

guarantee." Then the King, full of courage, continued his march, and

fought the great battle of Carn Conaile, near Gort, in which he was

completely victorious. On his return he granted the territory of

Tuaim-n-Eirc, now Lemanaghan, in King's County, with all its

sub-divisions, as an altar sod, _i.e._, church land, to God and St. Ciaran

for ever, so that no king of Meath might take so much as a 'drink of water

from its well without paying for it.' For this grant King Diarmaid also

secured the right of sepulchre at Clonmacnoise, and was himself buried

there. What is stranger still, his rival, Guaire, towards the close of his

life came to do penance at Clonmacnoise; and he, too, the Generous and

Hospitable, was buried there in A.D. 663, and no doubt did not forget the

monks when he was dying. Just at this time the plague wrought great havoc

amongst the saints and students of Clonmacnoise. Two or three abbots died

in rapid succession, and doubtless the family of the monastery suffered

severely, for the frightened students fled far away. In A.D. 719 the

monastery was burned. Most of the buildings up to this time were probably

of wood, for it was not easy to procure stone at Clonmacnoise. But the

schools were soon again at work. In A.D. 724 we hear of the death of Mac

Concumba, a learned scribe of this monastery. His duty was to multiply

copies of valuable works, and record in the annals of the monastery from

year to year entries of all those noteworthy events which happened

throughout the kingdom. It was these scribes who prepared the materials

afterwards so admirably compiled by Tighernach and his associates. Another

'choice scribe' died in A.D. 768; and we are told that the monastery was

burned again in A.D. 751, and a third time in A.D. 773--on both occasions

probably by accident.

At this time Clonmacnoise was at the height of its literary glory. The

Danes had not yet arrived on the coasts of Ireland. Great scholars

flourished there, the fame of whose learning attracted students from many

lands. Fortunately here we are not left to vague conjecture; we have

definite historical proofs both native and foreign. In the very year the

Danes first landed at Rathlin--in A.D. 794 or 795--we find recorded the

death of Colgan (or Colgu or Colcu), a professor of Clonmacnoise, who was

probably the teacher of the greatest scholar of that age. He was a

Munster-man by birth, but seems to have lived and died at Clonmacnoise.

His fame was very great amongst his contemporaries, who called him Colgu

the Wise. He was lecturer in Theology, and seems also to have been Rector

of the Monastic College. That he was a diligent student of St. Paul's

Epistles we may infer from a story told in his life. One day returning

from his class hall with his leathern book-satchel on his shoulder, he sat

down to rest at the place called Mointireanir. As he sat a stranger came

up and began to converse in the kindest and most affable way with the

professor, and even ventured to give him counsel and instruction. Nay,

more, he took up the book-satchel, and carried it on his own shoulders,

letting the tired master walk on by his side. The kind stranger turned out

to be the Apostle Paul himself. On another occasion when public

disputation was being held at the college, it seems certain scholars were

objecting vigorously to Colgu's views, when St. Paul once more appeared as

a learned stranger, and was invited to take part in the discussion. The

unknown scholar accepted the invitation, and reasoned so convincingly that

in a very short time he clearly showed to the satisfaction of all present

that Colgu's view of the question at issue was the correct one.

The celebrated Alcuin was the most distinguished scholar of his own time

in Europe. There is fortunately a letter of his still preserved, which

shows quite clearly that he was a student of Clonmacnoise, and a pupil of

Colgu, and which also exhibits the affectionate veneration that he

retained through life for his _Alma Mater_ at Clonmacnoise. It is

addressed to "Colgu, Professor (_lectorem_) in Ireland--the blessed Master

and Pious Father of Albinus,"[223] the more usual name given to Alcuin in

France, by Charlemagne and his courtiers. The writer complains that for

some time past he was not deemed worthy to receive any of those letters

'so precious in my sight from your Fatherhood,' but he daily feels the

benefit of his absent Father's prayers. He adds that he sends by the same

messenger an alms of fifty sicles of silver from the bounty of King

Charles, and fifty more from his own resources for the brotherhood. He

also sends a quantity of (olive) oil which it was then very difficult to

procure in Ireland, and asks that it may be distributed amongst the

Bishops in God's honour for sacramental purposes. This shows the

thoughtful piety of Alcuin, who doubtless noticed, when he was a student

of Clonmacnoise, the difficulty of procuring pure olive oil for the holy

Chrism and Extreme Unction. This letter breathes the most beautiful spirit

of piety, and shows the affectionate gratitude of Alcuin for the home and

the teachers of his youth.

Colgu, or Colgan, of Clonmacnoise, is the earliest _Ferlegind_ who is

noticed in our Annals. During the course of the ninth century the

Ferlegind appears by name in the School of Armagh, and during the tenth

and eleventh centuries we find reference made to these 'Readers' in

several of our Irish monasteries. We may infer the nature of his office,

not only from his name--the 'reading-man' or lecturer--but also from the

position, which he appears to have held in the monastery. He is different

from the abbot, and subject to him, but he appears superior to all the

other teachers and officials, so that he may be described not only as

chief professor, but also as the Rector of the Monastic School under the

abbot. His position corresponded to that of the scholasticus in the early

Continental schools. He arranged the programme of study, superintended the

classes, kept the other officials, like the _scribneoir_ and _aeconomus_,

to their duties, and lectured himself in the most important

subjects--especially in Scripture and theology. To be an accomplished

'scribe,' however, required very special gifts not merely of beautiful

penmanship, but also a knowledge of the subject, which would prevent the

writer from making grave mistakes in transcription, thus destroying the

value of his manuscript. Hence we find the same person is frequently

described as 'scribe and bishop;' and sometimes 'scribe, abbot and

bishop.'

Colgu has been called a saint, and justly; his piety seems to have been

quite equal to his learning. The "Prayer of St. Colgu," written by the

saint in Latin, has been rendered into English from the copy in the

ancient Book of Clonmacnoise, called _Leabhar-na-h-Uidhre_. It is a

prayer, full of the deepest and most ardent devotion, in which the holy

man implores, "With Thee, O holy Jesus," the intercession of all the

heavenly host and of all the saints, apostles, and martyrs, and bishops,

and virgins of the Old and New Law, that, "Thou, O Holy Trinity, may take

me this night under Thy protection and shelter, and defend me from the

demons.... and from desires, from sins, from transgressions, from

disobediences ... from the fire of hell and eternity ... and that God may

light up in their souls meekness and charity, and gratitude and mercy, and

forgiveness in their hearts, and in their thoughts, and in their souls,

and in their minds, and in their bowels."

Colgan also wrote another celebrated work in Irish, called _Scuap

Chrabhaigh_, or the "Besom of Devotion," which his namesake, the renowned

Franciscan, also a lector in theology, pronounces to be a "book of most

fervent prayers, after the manner of a litany; a book, moreover, of most

ardent devotion and elevation of the soul to God."[224] Some think that

the "Besom of Devotion" referred to by Colgan, is only the Litany or

Prayer of St. Colgan, under another name.

In spite of the devastations both of the Danes and native princes during

the ninth century, learning still flourished at Clonmacnoise. That

Suibhne, son of Maeluma, whose grave-stone may still be seen at

Clonmacnoise, died in A.D. 891. His fame was great, not only in Ireland,

but in England also. The _Saxon Chronicle_ and the _Annals of Cambria_, as

well as Florence of Worcester, all notice his death and describe him as

the wisest and the greatest Doctor of the Scots or Irish, and the _Annals

of Ulster_ call him a "most excellent scribe." Unfortunately we have none

of his writings extant to confirm the judgment of his contemporaries.

Yet during this and the following century, which produced these great

scholars, we read a shameful record of the burnings, pillage, and

slaughter wrought both by native and foreigner in this peaceful home of

sanctity and learning.

It was plundered or burned--generally both--on at least ten different

occasions by the Danes. But the Irish themselves exceeded even that bloody

record, and laid sacrilegious hands on these holy shrines and their

inmates no less than fourteen or fifteen times. The Danes began this foul

work; both Danes and Irish continued it at short intervals; the English of

Athlone completed the job. Nothing more shameful, or so shameful, can be

found in the annals of any even half-civilized country. There were many

accidental fires that destroyed the monastic buildings during the first

three hundred years of its existence, but no pillage, no slaughter is

recorded during that period. The Danes set the bad example, and several of

the native princes were not slow to follow it. The worst of them was Felim

Mac Criffan (Fedhlimidh Mac Crimthann), King of Cashel. He plundered

Clonmacnoise and its termon lands three times, at one of which, A.D. 833,

he spoiled and pillaged up to the church doors, and butchered the monks

like sheep--_jugulatio_ is the word in the Annals. He did the same to

Durrow and several other religious houses. He broke into the oratory of

Kildare in A.D. 836, and took Forannan, the Primate of Armagh and his

attendants prisoners, forcing the Primate to give a reluctant consent to

his claim to be recognised as High King of all Erin. Ten years later he

died after a stormy life, and the _Annals of Ulster_ describe him as the

best of the Scots--_optimus Scotorum_--a scribe and an anchorite! There is

no foundation for Dr. Todd's assertion that he was an 'abbot and

bishop,'[225] except a poetic reference to his _bachall_, which the poet

mockingly says he left in the shrubbery,[226] and which was carried off by

his rival, Niall Caille, King of the North. Neither is there any ground

for O'Donovan's assertion in the note that "he was Abbot and Bishop of

Cashel in right of his crown of Munster." There was neither an abbot nor

bishop of Cashel at the time, nor for many years after; and although

Cormac Mac Cullinan was certainly a bishop, he is not described as Bishop

of Cashel either in our Annals or our Martyrologies.[227] The warlike

Felim Mac Criffan retired to a hermitage a short time before his death to

do penance for his many crimes; and he seems to have employed his leisure

in copying MSS. Hence the _Martyrology of Donegal_ commemorates him simply

as an 'anchorite'[228] who retired into solitude to bewail his sins, and

as his penance seems to have been sincere, there was nothing to prevent

him becoming a saint. The _Chronicon Scotorum_, whilst recording his

death, as that of 'a scribe and anchorite, and the best of the Scots,'

records a little before that Ciaran followed him to Munster after the last

violation of his monastery, and gave him a thrust of his crozier, causing

an internal wound, which, no doubt, hastened his death, and perhaps

prompted him to do penance. The true date of his death is A.D. 847.

We cannot stay to record the many similar deeds of violence from which the

sanctuary of Ciaran suffered during these lawless times. Even the

religious communities themselves were infected with the evil spirit that

prevailed around them. The monks sometimes took up arms, not merely to

protect themselves against murderous aggression, which would be reasonable

enough, but to wage war on their own account as well. It was a woful time

for Inisfail. She was writhing in the grasp of the invader; and no sooner

did that grasp begin to relax than her own false princes drew their

aimless swords in fratricidal strife. Even the salt of the earth lost its

savour--lay usurpers called themselves the Heirs of Patrick in Armagh, and

the monks of St. Ciaran forgot to pray, and put their trust in sword and

shield, like the lawless chieftains around them:--

"Sure it was a maddening prospect thus to see this storied land,

Like some wretched culprit, writhing in the strong avenger's hand--

Kneeling, foaming, weeping, shrieking, woman-weak and woman-loud--

Better, better, Mother Erin! they had wrapped thee in thy shroud."

IV.--ANNALISTS OF CLONMACNOISE.

During the eleventh century Clonmacnoise produced several most

distinguished scholars. This was the earliest era for prose chroniclers in

Ireland. Hitherto the chronicles of the kingdom were written in verse,

which greatly facilitated the work of the professional sheanachies. It was

the safest way to preserve history in those turbulent days. The monastery

might be burned, and the parchments all destroyed; but so long as the

rhyming chronicler, or even one of his disciples survived, the historical

poem committed to their faithful memory could not perish. Amongst these

rhyming chroniclers there are several whose poems are still extant,

although unpublished. Such, for instance, were Eochy O'Flinn and Kennett

O'Hartigan, and in the eleventh century Gilla Caemhain, who died in A.D.

1072. But during that century a new race of prose chroniclers arose for

the first time in Ireland. Of these the two most distinguished were Flann

of Monasterboice, who died in A.D. 1056, and his illustrious contemporary

Tighernach, the greatest glory of the School of Clonmacnoise.

Of the personal history of Tighernach we unfortunately know little. He

belonged to the Sil Muiredhaigh of Magh Aei--the royal race of

Connaught--of which the O'Conors were the chiefs. His family name was

O'Braoin,[229] and we are merely told that he was Erenach of Clonmacnoise,

and elsewhere, that he was Comarb of Ciaran and Coman of Roscommon. Like

St. Ciaran himself, he was a native of the co. Roscommon, which bordered

on Clonmacnoise; and he was doubtless educated in that monastery. His

death is recorded under date of A.D. 1088, in all our Annals; and he is

described as a _Saoi_ or Chief Doctor, in Wisdom, Learning, and Oratory.

His bones repose in the holy clay of Clonmacnoise, but the exact place is

not known.

Tighernach truly was one of the greatest Doctors of the Gael. His Annals

are yet extant, and prove him to have been a man of great and various

learning. Unfortunately we have no perfect copy of his Annals. There are

many gaps in the entries, and the original text has been greatly defaced

by the errors of ignorant copyists. Dr. O'Conor's edition in the _Rerum

Hibernicarum Scriptores_ is by no means faultless, and the book is so rare

and expensive, that although Tighernach is much talked about he is very

little read.

Both Flann of the Monastery and Tighernach have done much to fix the true

chronology of Irish historical events. They were men of wide culture, and

were familiar with the great Ecclesiastical historians--Eusebius, Jerome,

Orosius, Africanus--and followed their example in giving a sketch of

universal history in the opening pages of their Annals. They were

acquainted not merely with the chronology of the Bible, like several of

their predecessors, but also with the history and chronology of Greece and

Rome and the great Eastern Empires. The special value of their work is

that for the first time in our history they synchronize the leading facts

in Irish history with the great events of the general history of

antiquity. They were perfectly well acquainted with the use of the

Olympian Era, the Era from the Building of the City, and the Christian

Era, and were thus enabled to fix the true dates of the reigns of our

early monarchs. This was no easy task; for hitherto there were confused

lists of Kings often handed down by memory with the length of their

reigns; but there was, so to speak, no definite starting point. Tighernach

himself, who was a man of highly critical mind, saw this difficulty, and

made the famous statement that before the reign of Cimbaeth and the

founding of Emania all the historical monuments of the Scots were

uncertain. It is strange indeed that he dates our authentic history from

the reign of a mere provincial king. The real reason, however, seems to be

that from Cimbaeth forward, he found in the poems of Eochaidh O'Flinn

definite lists of the Ulster Kings, and of the High Kings also, which

enabled him to trace their genealogy, and fix the dates. But he could find

no such accurate lists of the earlier kings, and hence he pronounces the

bardic histories of the earlier period to be uncertain.

Tighernach was probably the first Irish historian who used the common

era--that of the Incarnation. But in the earlier entries he dates from the

Creation, giving also the Lunar Epact, and the Day of the Week for the

Kalends of January. There are certainly some errors in these dates; but

they have arisen probably from the ignorance of the transcribers. The

Annals written by himself came down to the date of his death in A.D. 1088;

and the scribe continued them to A.D. 1178. Various subsequent additions

were made by different writers down to A.D. 1407, where the entire

chronicle ends.

These Annals undoubtedly furnish the earliest and most authentic record

that we possess of our national history. Their author was a man of

judgment, learning, and candour. Hence the statements of Tighernach,

supported as they are by collateral evidence in very many cases, may

always be accepted as authentic history. It is very probable the work was

left in an unfinished state; and this is all the more to be regretted,

because he had materials at hand, very many of which have since

unfortunately perished. The Irish of Tighernach is considered very pure,

like that of Cormac Mac Cullinan, for it was the classic era of the

Gaedhlic language. The Annals, however, are too often half-Latin,

half-Gaedhlic, although the writer could have done the work much better by

adopting either language exclusively.

To Clonmacnoise we also owe the _Chronicon Scotorum_, which has been very

ably edited by the late lamented W. M. Hennessy, and is published in the

Rolls Series. The text is mainly taken from a transcript made by the

celebrated Duald M'Firbis, and now preserved in the Library of Trinity

College, Dublin. O'Curry thought it was a compilation made by

M'Firbis[230] from different sources, but in this opinion that eminent

scholar was mistaken. The work produced by M'Firbis is a mere copy of the

original work, which was undoubtedly composed and preserved at

Clonmacnoise. This is quite evident, as Hennessy remarks, from an entry

made under date of the year A.D. 718 by M'Firbis himself. "A front of two

leaves of the old book out of which I copy this is wanting, and I leave

what is before me of this page for them. I am Dubhaltach Firbisigh."

The entries in this Chronicle of the Scots are very brief and condensed;

but contain scraps of most valuable information not to be found in other

authorities. They are particularly valuable in all that refers to

Clonmacnoise as well as to its neighbouring territories and monastic

houses. In the MS. of the Royal Irish Academy there is prefixed a note

written in Gaedhlic, which attributes the composition of the Chronicle to

Gilla-Christ O'Maeileoin--that is O'Malone--abbot of Clonmacnoise, who

flourished in the twelfth century. This is highly probable. O'Malone was a

very distinguished scholar of Clonmacnoise, and was present at the Synod

of Uisneach held in the year A.D. 1111, of which Synod this Chronicle

alone gives original and detailed information. The writer takes care to

add that Gillachrist Ua Maeileoin, abbot of Cluain, with the congregation

of Ciaran were present at the Synod. The death of this learned abbot is

noticed at A.D. 1123, where he is described as "the fountain of knowledge

and charity, the head of the prosperity and affluence of Erin." In its

present form the Chronicle has been continued by another hand down to the

year A.D. 1150. It is, therefore, a later, but hardly less important

Chronicle, than that of Tighernach himself.

The Four Masters had before them when compiling their own immortal work a

book which they call the _Annals of Clonmacnoise_, coming down to the year

A.D. 1227. It has been conjectured that the Four Masters in that statement

refer to the _Chronicon Scotorum_, which they do not mention under that

name, and which doubtless must have come into their hands. But the

_Chronicon Scotorum_, although it might properly be called the _Annals of

Clonmacnoise_, as having been compiled in that monastery, does not in its

present form come down beyond the year A.D. 1150. Neither can the work

referred to by the Four Masters be the _Book of Clonmacnoise_, translated

by MacGeoghegan in A.D. 1627, for that work comes down to A.D. 1407, and,

moreover, does not contain important passages, which we know were in the

work used by the Four Masters. Our own opinion is that the _Book of

Clonmacnoise_, and the _Annals of Clonmacnoise_, to which the Four

Masters frequently refer, are identical with the _Chronicon Scotorum_, and

that the work in their time did come down to A.D. 1227, but the folios

containing the years from A.D. 1050 to that date have perished from mere

careless use, if not from accident.

V.--THE LEABHAR-NA-H-UIDHRE.

Another celebrated work, undoubtedly composed at Clonmacnoise, is the

_Leabhar-na-h-Uidhre_, now in the Royal Irish Academy. A great part of the

work has unfortunately perished, so that the 138 folio pages still

remaining can only be regarded as a fragment. The history of the book is

very strange. The author, or rather compiler, was Maelmuire--that is,

Servant of Mary--a grandson of the celebrated Conn-na-mBocht, or Conn of

the Poor. Conn himself was a holy and learned man, but seems to have never

taken Orders. He was greatly esteemed at Clonmacnoise; and founded an

hospital or refuge for poor laymen, of which he himself seems to have been

the head. He had at least two sons, one called Gellananaeve, arch-priest

of Clonmacnoise, and another called Ceileachair, probably the father of

this Maelmuire. Both were distinguished scholars and writers, whose books

Conal MacGeoghegan quotes as sources for his own _Annals of Clonmacnoise_.

Conn's grandson Maelmuire, must have been a very distinguished scholar,

and was also in all probability a lay brother of the community of

Clonmacnoise. The _Annals of the Four Masters_ record the tragic end of

the industrious scribe. In A.D. 1106 he was slain by a party of robbers in

the midst of the great stone church of Clonmacnoise. His work was written

therefore during the last years of the eleventh, and the beginning of the

twelfth century; and with the exception of the _Book of Armagh_ is, so far

as it goes, the oldest transcript now existing of our great historical

works.

From Clonmacnoise the Book was carried, we know not when or by whom, all

the way to Donegal. About the year A.D. 1340 it was given to O'Connor

Sligo, so an entry in the Book itself informs us, as a ransom for

O'Donnell's chief historian, who had been taken prisoner by Cathal Oge

O'Conor. Donnell O'Conor, a chieftain of the same race, ordered his own

historian, Sigraidh O'Cuirnin, to make an entry of the name of the author,

who composed "this beautiful book," and he made that entry a week before

Good Friday in the year A.D. 1345. It seems that even then the opening

pages were lost, and it is to Donnell O'Conor we owe our knowledge of the

writer, small as it is. The book remained in Sligo, where it was highly

prized, for about 130 years, when the fortune of war brought it back again

to Donegal. In A.D. 1470, Hugh Roe O'Donnell took the Castle of Sligo from

the O'Conors; and amongst other trophies carried off this book again to

Donegal, as the Four Masters proudly record under date of that year. How

it came to the Royal Irish Academy we are not informed, but it is quite

evident that the work was just as highly prized in Sligo and in Donegal,

as it is in the Academy; and what is more to the purpose, the O'Clerys and

O'Cuirnins knew much better how to interpret its contents than any of the

members of that learned body.

The contents of the fragment are of a very varied character, partly

biblical, partly historical, partly old romantic tales. One of the most

important documents contained in the _Leabhar-na-h-Uidhre_ is the ancient

elegy on Columcille, composed by another bard, the celebrated Dallan

Forgaill so early as the end of the sixth century. This poem is

undoubtedly genuine. The language is so ancient that even the great

scholars of Clonmacnoise in the eleventh century found it necessary to

write an interlinear gloss in order to render it intelligible to ordinary

readers at that early date.

VI.--DICUIL THE GEOGRAPHER.

In connection with the School of Clonmacnoise an account of Dicuil, the

celebrated Geographer, as he is called, will not be deemed out of place.

For there is very good reason to believe that he was trained at

Clonmacnoise; and if not trained there, he was certainly a pupil of some

of the Columbian Schools, of which we shall treat in our next chapter. A

sketch of his history and his writings, therefore, is most appropriate in

this place.

Dicuil's treatise, _De Mensura Orbis Terrarum_, is one of the most

interesting monuments of ancient Irish scholarship, and furnishes most

conclusive proof that the culture of our writers and the learning of our

schools in the ninth century were superior to almost anything yet

exhibited in Western Europe since the fall of the Roman Empire. This work

has been published in Paris, but it is now very rare, and hence we purpose

giving a fuller account of its contents than might otherwise be deemed

necessary. It is not to the credit of Irish learning in the present day

that no attempt has been made even by any of our learned Societies to

print this treatise in Ireland. It is to French scholarship we are

indebted for editing and annotating Dicuil's treatise.[231]

Unfortunately we know nothing whatsoever of the personal history of Dicuil

except what can be gathered from a few incidental references which he

makes to himself in this treatise; but these, though very brief, are clear

and definite. He tells us first of all that his name was Dicuil, and that

he finished his task in the spring of the year A.D. 825. Like most of his

countrymen at that time, he was fond of poetry, and gives us this

information in a neat poem, written in Latin hexameters at the end of the

MS., to which we shall refer again. He also implies in his opening

statement, or prologue, that he had already written an _Epistola de

questionibus decem Artis Grammaticae_, which was probably intended to be

copied and circulated amongst the Irish monastic schools of the time, but

of which we know nothing more. He tells us that a certain Suibneus

(Suibhne), or Sweeney, was his master to whom under God he owed whatever

knowledge he possessed. His native country was Ireland, which he describes

in affectionate language as "nostra Hibernia,"--our own Ireland--in

opposition to the foreign countries of which he had been speaking.

Elsewhere he calls it in accordance with the usage of the time _nostra

Scottia_. He also adds when referring to the islands in the north and

north-west of Scotland, that he had dwelt in some of them, he had visited

others, more of them he had merely seen, and some of them he had only read

of.

This is really all the information we have about Dicuil, and from data so

meagre, it is very difficult to identify Dicuil the Geographer, amongst

the many Irish monks who bore that name.

By a careful examination, however, of these and some other facts to which

he refers, we can conjecture with some probability where and by whom he

was educated.

When speaking of Iceland Dicuil refers to information communicated to him

thirty years before by certain Irish clerics, who had spent some months in

that island. This brings us back to A.D. 795, so that when Dicuil wrote

in A.D. 825, he must have been a man considerably advanced in years. We

may infer, too, that his master, Suibhne, to whom he owed so much,

flourished as a teacher at a still earlier period than A.D. 795. There

were several abbots who bore that name between A.D. 750 and A.D. 850; but

it appears to us that the master of Dicuil must have been either Suibhne,

Abbot of Iona, who died in A.D. 772, or Suibhne, son of Cuana, Abbot of

Clonmacnoise, who died in A.D. 816. If Dicuil were, suppose, seventy-five

when he wrote his book, he must have been born in A.D. 750. He would then

be about sixteen years of age when Suibhne, Vice-Abbot of Iona, came over

to his native Ireland in A.D. 766, where he remained some time. Suppose

that Dicuil returned with him as a novice in that year, he could have been

six years under the instruction of Suibhne before that abbot's death in

A.D. 772. It is likely that Dicuil remained in Iona for several years

after the death of his beloved master. It was, doubtless, during these

years that he visited the Scottish islands, and dwelt with some of the

communities whom St. Columba had established there. On this point his own

statement is clear and explicit.

The founder of Iona, Columcille, with his kinsmen, originally came from

Donegal, and the monastery seems to have been principally recruited at all

times by members of the Cenel-conal race. Amongst the saints who were

called Dicuil, or Diucholl, were two who were venerated in Donegal; one

the son of Neman, whose memory was venerated at Kilmacrenan on December

25th; the other was Dicuil of Inishowen, whose feast-day is December 18th.

The latter is described as a hermit; and it may be that our geographer,

after his return from Iona, retired to a life of solitude in Inishowen,

and there, towards the close of his life, composed this treatise, of which

the most valuable portion is that containing the reminiscences of his

early life in the Scottish islands.

The chief difficulty against this hypothesis, that Suibhne, Dicuil's

master, was the Abbot of Iona who died in A.D. 772, is the great age at

which, in that case, the pupil must have written his book, in A.D. 825.

The monks of those days, however, were often intellectually and physically

vigorous at the age of eighty, and even of ninety years.

The other hypothesis certainly fits in better with the dates; so we must

assume that Dicuil was trained at the great College of Clonmacnoise, which

at this period was certainly the most celebrated school in Ireland, if not

in Europe. Suibhne, we are told, was abbot for two years before his

death, in A.D. 816; but had been, no doubt, for many years previously, a

_fer-legind_, or professor in Clonmacnoise. It was nothing new for the

younger monks to travel to other religious houses in pursuit of knowledge

and sanctity; and in this way Dicuil, like so many of his countrymen,

would visit Iona and the Scottish islands.

The treatise _De Mensura Orbis Terrarum_ is very valuable as affording

evidence of the varied classical culture that existed in our Irish

monastic schools at this period. In the prologue the author tells us that

he derived his information mainly from two sources; first, from the Report

of the Commissioners whom the divine Emperor Theodosius had sent to survey

the provinces of the Roman Empire; and secondly, from the excellent work

of Plinius Secundus--that is, the _Natural History_ which is so well known

to scholars. Dicuil complains that the manuscripts of the Report in his

possession were very faulty; but still, being of more recent date than

Pliny's work, he values it more highly. He adds that he leaves vacant

places in his own manuscript for the numbers, in order to be able to fill

them in afterwards when he can verify or correct them by collating his own

with other manuscripts of the Report. He also quotes numerous passages

from other writers, who, we are afraid, are not very familiar to the

classical scholars of our own times. The first of these works is that of

Caius Julius Solinus, known as the Polyhistor. Of his personal history we

know as little as we do of Dicuil himself. He flourished about the middle

of the third century, and appears to have borrowed his matter, and

sometimes even his language, from Pliny's _Natural History_. The contents

of this work of Solinus may be inferred from the title of an English

translation, published in A.D. 1587: "_The Excellent and Pleasant Work of

Julius Solinus, Polyhistor, containing the Noble Actions of Humaine

Creatures, the Secretes and Providence of Nature, the Description of

Countries, the Manners of the People, &c., &c._ Translated out of the

Latin by Arthur Golding, Gent." Another work, equally unknown to the

present generation, but frequently quoted by Dicuil, is the _Periegesis_

of Priscian. It is a metrical translation into Latin hexameters of a Greek

work bearing the same title, which was originally composed by Dionysius,

surnamed from that fact Periegetes, or the "Traveller," in Goldsmith's

sense. He appears to have flourished in the second half of the third

century of the Christian era.

Such are the principal authorities whom Dicuil follows; and as he knew

nothing of foreign countries himself, he cites his authorities textually

for the benefit of his own countrymen. It is surely a singular and

interesting fact that we should find an Irish monk, in the beginning of

the ninth century, collating and criticising various manuscripts of those

writers either in some Irish monastic school at home, or in the equally

Irish school of Iona, though surrounded by Scottish waters and in view of

the Scottish hills.

For us, however, the information which Dicuil gives us of his own

knowledge, or gathered from his own countrymen, is far more valuable; and

to this we would especially invite the reader's attention.

In the sixth chapter, when speaking of the Nile, he says

"Although we never read in any book that any branch of the Nile flows

into the Red Sea, yet Brother Fidelis[232] told in my presence, to my

master Suibhne (to whom, under God, I owe whatever knowledge I

possess), that certain clerics and laymen from Ireland, who went to

Jerusalem on pilgrimage, sailed up the Nile for a long way."

--and thence continued their voyage by canal to the entrance of the Red

Sea.

This Irish pilgrimage to Jerusalem is worthy of notice, for many of our

critics where they find mention of such pilgrimages to Rome and to

Jerusalem in the Lives of our early Saints, seem to regard it as an

exaggeration, if not a kind of pious fraud. But here we have the testimony

of one in every way worthy of credit, who himself spoke to such pilgrims

after their return from the Holy Land.

Then their testimony is peculiarly valuable in reference to a vexed

geographical question regarding the existence of a navigable canal in

those days from the Nile to the Red Sea. A canal called the "River of

Ptolemy" and afterwards "The River of Trajan," was certainly cut from the

Pelusiac branch of the Nile to the Red Sea at Arisnoe. It was certainly

open for commerce in the time of Trajan, but during the decline of the

Roman empire became partially filled with sand. Trajan, it seems, however,

when re-opening the canal connected it with the Nile at a point higher up

the river than the old route, opposite Memphis, near Babylon, in order

that the fresh water might flow through the canal and help to keep it

open. Under the Arabians this canal of Trajan was re-opened, but

geographers have asserted that it became choked shortly afterwards and

remained so ever since. The testimony of the Irish pilgrims quoted by

Dicuil is the only satisfactory evidence that we now possess to prove that

this canal was open at the end of the eighth century for the purposes of

commerce and navigation.[233]

The pilgrims also give some interesting information with reference to the

Pyramids, which they call the "Barns of Joseph." "The pilgrims," he says,

"saw them from the river rising like mountains four in one place and three

in another." Then they landed to view these wonders close at hand and

coming to one of the three greater pyramids, they saw eight men and one

woman and a great lion stretched dead beside it. The lion had attacked

them, and the men in turn had attacked the lion with their spears, with

the result that all perished in the mutual slaughter, for the place was a

desert and there was no one at hand to help then. From top to bottom the

pyramids were all built of stone, square at the base, but rounded towards

the summit, and tapering to a point. The aforesaid brother Fidelis

measured one of them, and found that the square face was 400 feet in

length. Going thence by the canal to the Red Sea, they found the passage

across to the eastern shore at the Road of Moses to be only a short

distance. The brother who had measured the base of the pyramid wished to

examine the exact point where Moses had entered the Red Sea, in order to

try if he could find any traces of the Chariots of Pharaoh, or the wheel

tracks; but the sailors were in a hurry and would not allow him to go on

this excursion. The breadth of the sea at this point appeared to him to be

about six miles. Then they sailed up this narrow bay which once kept the

murmuring Israelites from returning to Egypt.

This is a very interesting and manifestly authentic narrative. Another

interesting chapter is that in which Dicuil describes Iceland and the

Faroe Islands. "It is now thirty years," he says, "since certain clerics,

who remained in that island (Ultima Thule) from the 1st of February to the

1st of August, told me that not only at the Summer solstice, (as Solinus

said), but also for several days about the solstice, the setting sun at

eventide merely hid himself, as it were, for a little behind a hill, so

that there was no darkness even for a moment, and whatever a man wished to

do, if it were only to pick vermin off his shirt--vol pediculos de camisia

abstrahere--he could do as it were in the light of the sun, and if he were

on a mountain of any height, he could doubtless see the sun all through."

This way of putting it is certainly more graphic than elegant, but it is

at the same time strictly accurate, and shows that the Irish monks had

really spent the summer in Iceland. For the arctic circle just touches the

extreme north of Iceland, and therefore in any part of that country the

sun would even at the solstice set for a short time, but it would be only,

as it were, going behind a hill to reappear in an hour or in half an hour.

So that by the aid of refraction and twilight a man would always have

light enough to perform even those delicate operations to which Dicuil

refers.

He then observes with much acuteness that at the middle point of this

brief twilight it is midnight at the equator, or middle of the earth; and

in like manner he infers that about the Winter solstice there must be

daylight for a very short time in Thule, when it is noonday at the

equator. These observations show a keen observant mind, and would lead us

to infer that Dicuil, like his countryman Virgilius, who flourished a

little earlier, had been taught the sphericity of the earth in the schools

of his native country. He says also in this same chapter, what is

certainly true, that those writers are greatly mistaken who describe the

Icelandic Sea as always frozen, and who say that there is a perpetual day

from Spring to Autumn, and perpetual night from Autumn to Spring. For the

Irish monks sailed thither, he says, through an open sea in a month of

great natural cold, and whilst they were there enjoyed alternate day and

night except about the Summer solstice, as already explained. But one

day's sail further north brought them to the frozen sea.

Dicuil's reference to Iceland is interesting from another point of view.

In almost all our books of popular instruction, and even in many standard

works on geography, it is stated that the Danes, or Norwegians,

"discovered" Iceland about the year A.D. 860, and shortly afterward

colonized it during the reign of Harold Harfager. But Dicuil clearly shows

that it was well known to Irish monks at least more than half a century

before Dane or Norwegian ever set foot on the island, as is now generally

admitted by scholars who are familiar with Icelandic literature and

history.

The following interesting passage which shows the roving spirit that

animated some of the Irish monks at that period is contained in the third

section of the same seventh chapter. "There are several other islands in

the ocean to the north of Britain, which can be reached in a voyage of two

days and two nights with a favourable breeze. A certain trustworthy monk

(religiosus) told me that he reached one of them by sailing for two summer

days and one night in a vessel with two benches of rowers (duorum

navicula transtrorum). Some of these islands are very small and separated

by narrow straits. In these islands for almost a hundred years there dwelt

hermits, who sailed there from our own Ireland (nostra Scottia). But now

they are once more deserted, as they were from the beginning, on account

of the ravages of the Norman pirates. They are, however, still full of

sheep, and of various kinds of sea birds. We have never found these

islands mentioned by any author."

It is quite evident that Dicuil here refers to the Faroe Islands, which

are about 250 miles north of the Scottish coast. A glance at the map will

show that they are rather small, and separated from each other by very

narrow channels, and in this respect differing from the Shetland Islands,

to which this description could not therefore apply. Besides, the

Shetlands are only 50 miles from the Orkneys, and about 100 from the

mainland; hence they could easily be reached in a single day by an open

boat sailing before a favourable wind; whereas the islands occupied by the

Irish hermits could only be reached after a voyage of two days and a

night, even in the most favourable circumstances. The word "nostra

Scottia" of course refers to Ireland; for up to the time that Dicuil

wrote, that word had never been applied to North Britain. Skene, himself a

learned Scot, has shown by numerous citations from ancient authors that

beyond all doubt the name "Scottia" was applied to Ireland, and to Ireland

alone, prior to the tenth century.[234] Up to that time the name of

Scotland was Alban or Albania.

The love of the ancient Irish monks for island solitudes is one of the

most remarkable features in their character. There is hardly an island

round our coasts, which does not contain the remains of some ancient

oratory or monastic cells. But they did not always remain in sight of

land. Inspired partly with the hope of finding a "desert" in the ocean,

partly, no doubt, also with a love of adventure and a vague hope of

discovering the "Land of Promise," they sailed out into the Atlantic in

their currachs in search of these lonely islands. Every one has heard of

the seven years' voyage of St. Brendan in the western ocean. St. Ailbe of

Emly had resolved to find out the island of Thule, which the Roman

geographers placed somewhere in the northern sea. He was, however,

prevented from going himself, but "he sent twenty men into exile over the

sea in his stead."[235] St. Cormac the Navigator, made three voyages in

the pathless ocean seeking some desert island where he might devote

himself to an eremitic life. It is highly probable he went as far north as

Iceland; for Adamnan tells us that he sailed northwards for fourteen days,

until he was frightened by the sight of the monsters of the deep, when he

returned home touching on his way at the Orkney islands.

When the Norwegians first discovered Iceland in A.D. 860, they found Irish

books, and bells, and pilgrims' staffs, or croziers, which were left there

by men who professed the Christian religion and whom the Norwegians called

"papas" or "fathers." Dicuil, however, gives us the earliest authentic

testimony that Iceland and the Faroe Isles had been discovered and

occupied by Irish monks long before the Danes or Norwegians discovered

these islands. Of Ireland itself, Dicuil unfortunately gives us no

information. He was writing for his own countrymen, and he assumed that

they knew as much about Ireland--"our own Ireland"--as he did. The only

observation he makes in reference to Ireland is that there were islands

round the coast, and that some were small, and others very small. But he

takes one quotation from Solinus, who says that--

"Britain is surrounded by many important islands, one of which,

Ireland, approaches to Britain itself in size. It abounds in pastures

so rich, that if the cattle are not sometimes driven away from them

they run the risk of bursting. The sea between Britain and Ireland is

so wide and stormy throughout the entire year that it is only

navigable on a very few days. The channel is about 120 miles broad."

Dicuil, however, good Irishman as he was, does not quote two other

statements which Solinus made about the pre-Christian Scots--for he wrote

before the time of St. Patrick--first, that the Irish recognised no

difference between right and wrong at all; and, secondly, that they fed

their children from the point of the sword--a rather inconvenient kind of

spoon we should think. In fact the Romans of those days knew as little,

and wrote as confidently, about Ireland as most Englishmen do at present,

and that is saying a good deal.

There is one incidental reference in Dicuil--chapter V., section

ii.--which is of the highest importance, because it settles the question

as to the nationality of the celebrated Irish poet, Sedulius, the author

of the hymns _Crudelis Herodes_ and _A solis ortus Cardine_, in the Roman

Breviary. Dicuil quoting twelve lines of poetry from the Report of the

Commissioners of Theodosius, observes, that the first foot of the seventh

and eighth of these hexameter lines is an amphimacrus. Here are the

lines:--

"Cōnfĭcī ter quinis aperit cum fastibus annum.

Sūpplĭcēs hoc famuli, dum scribit, pingit et alter."

"At the same time," says Dicuil, "I do not think it was from ignorance of

prosody these lines were so written, for the writers had the authority of

other poets in their favour, and especially of Virgil, whom in similar

cases _our own Sedulius_ imitated, and he, in his heroic stanzas, rarely

uses feet different from those of Virgil and the classical poets." "Noster

Sedulius," here applied to the great religious poet by his own countryman,

in the ninth century, settles the question of his Irish birth. The reader

will observe also, what a keen critic Dicuil was of Latin poetry, and will

probably come to the conclusion that they knew Prosody better in the Irish

schools of the ninth than they do in those of the nineteenth century.

In the closing stanzas of his own short poem on the classic mountains,

Dicuil implies that he finished his work in the Spring of A.D. 825, when

night gives grateful rest to the wearied oxen who had covered the

seed-wheat in the dusty soil.

"Post octingentos viginti quinque peractos

Summi annos Domini terrae, aethrae, carceris atri,

Semine triticeo sub ruris pulvere tecto

Nocte bobus requies largitur fine laboris."

CHAPTER XIII.

THE COLUMBIAN SCHOOLS IN IRELAND.

"I hold it truth with him who sings

To one clear harp in divers tones,

That men may rise on stepping stones

Of their dead selves to higher things."

--_Tennyson._

I.--ST. COLUMBA'S EDUCATION.

Columba was the greatest saint of the Celtic race; and after St. Patrick,

he is the most striking figure in our Celtic history. He was a poet, a

statesman, and a scholar, as well as a great missionary saint--the apostle

of many tribes, and the founder of many churches. His name is dear to

every child of the Scottic race both in Erin and Alba; and what is

stranger still, monk and priest though he was, his memory is cherished not

only by Catholics but by Protestants and even by Presbyterians also.

His adventurous career has a strange dramatic interest of its own. He was

fortunate too in finding a biographer, who has written his Life in a

spirit of loving sympathy; and in our own times the biographer has found

an editor to publish and illustrate his work with great learning and

complete impartiality.[236]

Columba was a typical Celt, and seems to have been endowed by nature with

all the virtues and many of the failings of the Celtic race. He was

generous, warm-hearted, imaginative; he hated injustice and oppression; he

was capable of the tenderest friendship, passionately fond of his native

land, and filled with enthusiastic zeal for the propagation of the Gospel.

Yet he had his faults. He was fiery and impetuous, impatient of

contradiction, and too easily prone to anger and revenge. But this is his

glory that with God's help he conquered his faults; and therefore it is we

love him because he is so human, so like ourselves in all things. It gives

us greater confidence in the struggle, when we have a patron saint who

can have compassion on our infirmities because he was tried like us in all

things; and, if we are to believe the story of his life, not altogether

without sin. It is well too that he should be for us an example of perfect

penance; even as he schooled himself in patient endurance, and all other

noble virtues.

We, however, have to deal with Columba mainly as a scholar, a teacher, and

a writer--the founder of many schools, the patron of learning, the

protector and the idol of all the Bards of Erin. It is perhaps best in

sketching the literary history of St. Columba to make separate reference

to each of the great schools which he established, and at the same time to

give an account of those events which brought him into connection with the

various scenes in which he played so striking a part. We shall therefore

begin with the School of Derry, which was the first he founded in his own

native territory. First of all, however, it is necessary to know something

of his own early history.

St. Columba was born at Gartan, in the barony of Kilmacrenan, co. Donegal,

on the 7th of December, in the year A.D. 521.[237] It is a very wild but

beautiful district, surrounded by dark rugged mountains, which cast their

shadows over a beautiful sheet of water stretched at their base, sometimes

called Lough Veagh, but more properly Lough Gartan. His father, Felim

(Fedhlimidh) was prince of the surrounding district, and a scion of the

royal race of Niall the Great, or Niall of the Nine Hostages, and his

mother was Eithne, the daughter of a Leinster Chief, who came of the

equally royal line of Cathaeir Mor, a famous High King of Erin in the

second century of the Christian era. Most justly, therefore, does his

biographer, Adamnan, say that Columba was sprung from noble parentage, for

he was, through Conal Gulban, the great-grandson of Niall the Great. The

reigning king at his birth, Muircertach (Murtogh) Mac Erca, was his uncle,

of the half blood; and he himself might one day be qualified not only to

rule over the Cenel-Conal, but even to be elected High King of all

Ireland.[238]

There is no trace at present of any royal rath or ancient fort at Gartan,

so far as we could ascertain. The land around is naked and barren, and the

cabins of the cottagers are even poorer and blacker than may be seen

elsewhere in Donegal. About a quarter of a mile from the place of the

saint's birth, there is an old ruined church and church-yard; but

although certainly ancient, the church does not appear to have been coeval

with Columba himself. It was probably founded some years after his death,

when the place began to obtain some celebrity as the birth-place of so

great a saint.

But the flag, on which he was born, is pointed out to every visitor; and

there can hardly be any doubt that the tradition fixing the spot is

continuous and trustworthy. It is worn quite bare by the hands and feet of

pious pilgrims; and what is stranger still, the poor emigrants, who are

about to quit Donegal for ever, come and sleep on that flag the night

before their departure from Derry. Columba himself was an exile, and they

fondly hope that sleeping on the spot where he was born will help them to

bear with lighter heart the heavy burden of the exile's sorrows.

Shortly after his birth the child was brought from Gartan to Tulach

Dubhglaisse to be baptized by an old priest named Cruithnechan, who dwelt

there. It is now called Temple-Douglas, and the old church and church-yard

beside the dark stream is still there about mid-way between Gartan and

Letterkenny. There is a parish called Kilcronaghan in the Co. Derry, which

is supposed to take its name from the 'illustrious priest,' who had the

privilege of baptizing Columcille, and who was also his tutor and

foster-father.

The boy, however, seems to have spent the years of his early youth mostly

at Kil-mac-nenain--now corrupted into Kilmacrenan--which was in all

probability, even at that early period, a place of note in Tir-connell. In

after times it became celebrated as the place where the O'Donnells were

inaugurated as princes of Tir-connell. It is about three miles north of

Temple-Douglas, and about the same distance to the north-east of Gartan.

The place is supposed to have got its name from the 'Son of Enan,' whose

mother was Columba's sister.

We need not specially refer to the visions and prophecies concerning

Columba, which are given in his various Lives. The authentic facts of his

history are quite as strange and marvellous as any one can desire--in fact

his whole life was a miracle of grace. From the fact that the 'illustrious

priest,' who baptized Columba, is also described by Adamnan as his

fosterer--_pueri nutritor_--we may fairly infer that he was trained by

that holy man in the rudiments of learning, both in his native tongue and

in the Latin language. It illustrates what was quite a common custom in

days when schools were few and far between. The boy designed for the

Church was placed under the care of the priest or bishop, and was thus

trained in virtue and learning from his earliest years under the eyes of

one whose duty and interest it was to watch over him with the most zealous

care.

We know little, however, of Columba's history until he came from

Kilmacrenan to the more famous School of St. Finnian at Moville, near the

head of Strangford Lough. We have already given an account of the seminary

founded there by that great saint. At Moville Columba was ordained a

deacon; and here also, according to one account, his baptismal name of

Crimthann was changed by his young companions into that other name the

"Dove of the Church"--Columcille--by which he is best known to history.

Dr. Reeves, however, seems to think that he was called Colum at his

baptism, and that cille was merely added by his companions because he so

loved to haunt the church, when they would have him play. We learn from

Adamnan that whilst he was at Moville, the young saint devoted his

attention chiefly to the study of Sacred Scripture, of which Finnian was a

most distinguished professor. We have the sober testimony of the same

Adamnan that whilst the saint was a deacon at Moville no wine could be

found on a certain festival day for the "Sacrificial Mystery." Whilst the

ministers at the altar were complaining of the want of the wine, the

deacon took a cruet to the well, as it was his duty to procure and taste

the water for the Holy Sacrifice. Knowing that the wine was wanting, he

invoked our Lord Jesus Christ, and lo! the water in his hands was changed

into wine, as it once was at Cana of Galilee; and he brought it to Bishop

Finnian for the Sacrifice, who gave thanks to God on account of this

wondrous miracle.

It is not certain whether it was at this period or later on that Columba

made that furtive copy of Finnian's Gospel, which subsequently begot so

much trouble, and appears to have been the main cause of the bloody battle

of Cuil-dreimhne in Carberry, co. Sligo. We have referred to this incident

before, and we may have to refer to it again, when we come to explain the

causes of Columba's departure from Erin.

From Moville Columba, still a deacon, went southward to the plains of

Leinster, and placed himself under the instruction of an aged bard called

Gemman. The young deacon had a soul for music; and he greatly loved the

Bards, who sang of the brave deeds of warrior kings and ancient heroes. He

wished, also, to perfect himself in his own native tongue, and to become a

pupil in the School of the Bards was the recognised way to study the

language and literature of Erin, such as it was at that time. But he was

also learning 'divine wisdom' in Leinster at the same time, probably at

the School of St. Finnian of Clonard, which was on the borders of Meath

and Leinster.

There a very striking incident took place, which is in itself evidence of

the lawless character of the times, and the necessity of the presence of

some moral power with a divine sanction to hold that savagery in check. It

happened one day that whilst Gemman, the Bard, was sitting in the open

field reading his book, he saw a young girl flying to him for protection

from the attacks of a ruffian, who pursued her closely as she fled. Gemman

called to his disciple Columba who was close at hand, and both of them

sought to protect the maiden from the violence of her assailant. But he,

heedless of the reverence due both to the deacon and the bard, pierced the

maiden with his lance, even as she sought shelter in vain behind their

cloaks. She fell dead at their feet, but Columba, divinely inspired, cried

out that her soul would fly to heaven, and the murderer's soul would fly

as quickly to hell. No sooner was the word spoken, than the wretch fell

dead before them, and the name of God and of Columba was greatly magnified

through all the neighbouring country.

We have already spoken of the great College of Clonard founded by St.

Finnian, who is quite distinct from his namesake of Moville. We have seen

that Columba was there, and was recognised as one of the Twelve Apostles

of Erin, who were trained up together at that great seminary in all sacred

learning. He was about twenty-two years of age at this period, for he was

not yet ordained a priest, so that we may fix the period of his sojourn at

Clonard about the year A.D. 543. The immediate purpose of Columba's

studies at Clonard was to prepare himself for the priesthood. There he was

trained by the most celebrated master of Erin in all the virtue and

learning necessary for that holy state. He built his little cell close to

the church, and when he was not engaged in study, or attending his

lectures, he was nearly always to be found before the altar in prayer.

Though of the royal blood of Tara's kings, he was humble, and took his

turn at the quern, or hand-mill, grinding the corn that was necessary for

himself and his companions. Their chief food was bread and water, or a

little milk, when it could be had. No doubt from time to time they might

succeed in catching some fish in the River Boyne, which flows through the

meadows around Clonard. It was a simple life, but a happy and a heavenly

one, when the youthful Apostles of Erin wandered together by the banks of

that historic stream, or gathered round their venerable master to hear his

lectures, as he sat on the old moat of Clonard, or to listen to his

burning words in his little church, when he exhorted them to the love of

God and the contempt of all worldly things for God's sake.

It was the custom in those days for the students to visit the various

saints of Erin, who were celebrated for holiness and learning; and so we

find that Columba, when he had finished his studies under Finnian of

Clonard, directed his steps to the school of another great master of the

spiritual life, St. Mobhi Clarainech of Glasnevin. Before his departure,

however, from Clonard, according to one account, the saint was ordained a

priest,[239] not by Finnian, for he does not appear to have been bishop,

but by Etchen of Clonfad, which is situated a little west of Clonard, and

who doubtless exercised at that time the episcopal jurisdiction, which was

afterwards exercised by the prelates of Clonard. It is said that it was

Finnian's purpose to have Columba ordained a bishop on this occasion, but

through some mistake on the part of Bishop Etchen, he was only ordained a

priest. Deeming it providential, Columba in his humility would never

afterwards consent to be raised to the episcopal dignity.[240]

The students' cells at Glasnevin were situated on one side of the River

Tolka, and Mobhi's church was on the other, at or near the spot where the

Protestant church now stands. The light-footed youngsters of those days,

however, found no difficulty in crossing the rapid and shallow stream at

ordinary times. But when the river was swollen with heavy rains, it was no

easy task to breast the flood; yet such was Columba's zeal in the service

of God that on one such occasion, to his master's admiration and surprise,

he crossed the angry torrent, that he might be present as usual at the

exercises in the church. "May God be praised," said Columba, when he had

crossed safely over, "and deliver us from these perils in future." It is

said that his prayer was heard; and that all the cells, with their

occupants, were suddenly transferred to the other side of the stream, and

remained there ever after.

It was doubtless during his leisure hours, while under Mobhi's care at

Glasnevin, that Columba used to ramble out to the Hill of Howth, and

sitting on the brow of its lofty cliffs, gaze in pensive mood over the

wide spreading sea, and contemplate, with a poet's eye, all the stern

grandeur of that iron-bound coast. He fed his soul on the glorious vision,

and in after years, when surrounded by the sterile rocks of Iona, his sad

thoughts often turned to those scenes of his youth, and found expression

in words that cannot fail to touch a sympathetic chord in every heart.

"Delightful to be on Benn-Edar

Before crossing o'er the white sea,

(To see) the dashing of the waves against its brow,

The bareness of its shore, and its border.

Delightful to be (once more) on Benn-Edar

After crossing the white-bosomed sea;

To row one's little coracle,

Ochone! on its swift-waved shore.

Ah, rapid the speed of my coracle;

And its stern turned on Derry;

I grieve at my errand o'er the noble sea,

Travelling to Alba of the ravens.

My foot in my sweet little coracle;

My sad heart still bleeding;

Weak is the man that cannot lead,

Totally blind are the ignorant (of God's will.)"

Columba had for companions at Glasnevin St. Cannech, St. Ciaran, and St.

Comgall--and during their entire lives a tender and ardent friendship

united these holy men together. A pestilence which broke out in A.D. 544,

and of which St. Ciaran appears to have died, scattered the holy disciples

of St. Mobhi's School; so Columba resolved to return home to his native

territory.

When he crossed the stream then called the Bior, but now called the Moyola

Water, which flows into Lough Neagh at its north-western extremity, he

earnestly prayed to God to stay the ravages of the terrible "Buidhe

Chonnaill" on the southern banks of that stream, so that it might not

invade the territories of his kinsmen. His earnest prayer was heard, and

thus Tir-Owen and Tir-Connell escaped the dreadful plague.

II.--COLUMBA FOUNDS DERRY.

Columba was now a priest twenty-five years of age; and he began to think

of founding a church in his native territory. The _Annals of Ulster_

record the founding of Derry by Columba in the year A.D. 545;[241] and it

was brought about in this way. The first cousin of St. Columba, Ainmire,

son of Setna, who succeeded to the throne of Tara later on, was in A.D.

545 prince of Ailech and the neighbouring territory. His eldest son Aedh,

was then a boy of ten years; but it seems, according to O'Donnell's _Life

of Columba_, the king in the name of his son Aedh, offered the fort in

which he then dwelt on the site of the present city of Derry to his cousin

in order to found his church and monastery. Columba, however, was at first

unwilling to accept the gift, because his master Mobhi had not yet given

him, as was customary, permission to found a church--doubtless thinking

him too young and inexperienced. But Mobhi himself was taken sick, and

died of the plague in A.D. 544, shortly after Columba had left him; and

before he died he retracted his prohibition, and sent two of his disciples

to Columba with his girdle as a sign to give him full permission to act as

he pleased. These messengers had just then arrived; and so Columba gladly

accepted the gift of his cousin, and founded his church on, what was

called then and long after, the Island of Derry. It was a rising ground

oval in shape containing 200 acres of land, surrounded on two sides by the

Foyle, and on the third by low marshy ground since known as the 'bog.' The

slopes of the hill were covered with a beautiful grove of oak trees, which

gave its name to the place. In ancient times it was called Daire Calgaich,

but after the tenth century it came to be more commonly known as Daire

Columcille.

Columcille's original church, called the Dubh-Regles, was built close to

the site now occupied by the Roman Catholic Cathedral; and hence it was

outside the walls of the modern city. Nigh to it were three wells

anciently known as Adamnan's Well, and Martin's Well, and Columba's Well.

One of them is, it appears, now dry; and the others are called simply "St.

Columb's Wells." Near to the church there was also erected a round tower,

which in like manner has completely disappeared. So anxious was Columba to

spare the beautiful oak-grove which covered the hill, that he would not

even build his church with the chancel towards the east according to

custom, because in that case some of his beloved oaks should be cut down

to make room for the church. It was probably for the same reason he built

on the low ground at the foot of the hill, instead of on its slope or

summit, where the modern city stands. He strictly enjoined his successors

to spare the sacred grove, and even directed in case any of the trees were

blown down by the storm to give a part to the poor, a part to the

citizens, and to reserve another part as fuel for the guest-house. In

later ages a cathedral called Templemore was built on the slope of the

hill; and the Dominicans, Augustinians, and Franciscans had each a church

and a monastery in the city of St. Columba. It also seems that a

Cistercian convent was founded there, but not a trace of any of them now

remains; so effectually did the imported colonists change the physical as

well as the religious aspect of the city.

We know very little of the history of Derry during the period that Columba

ruled over his monastery in person. He always loved it dearly, and many a

time his heart turned fondly from his lonely island in the Scottish main

to his beloved Derry.

"The reason I love Derry is

For its peace, for its purity,

And for its crowds of white angels

From one end to the other.

My Derry! mine own little grove!

My dwelling, my dear little cell;

O eternal God, in heaven above.

Woe be to him, who violates it!"

From all the highlands and valleys of Tir-connell his kith and kin rallied

round the young monk in his infant monastery. It was built on the

border-land between the territories of Eoghan and Conal; and in after ages

every acre of its termon lands was stained with blood, shed in fratricidal

strife by the two great clans of the north. It stood, too, under the

shadow of that ancient keep, the Grianan of Ailech, which, it is said, was

the abode of the northern kings long before the Christian era. It was

certainly the Royal Fortress of the Hy-Niall in their proudest days, and

still rears its stately walls, that overlook at once the Foyle and the

Swilly, as if in silent scorn of time and storm and man.

It will help us to understand better the subsequent history of Columcille,

if we try now to realize what manner of man he was. He came of a fierce

and haughty race, and seems to have been himself by nature,

notwithstanding his name, a man of ardent temperament and strong passions.

He was, says an ancient commentator,[242] quoting from a still more

ancient poet, "a man of well-formed and powerful frame; his skin was

white, his face was broad and fair and radiant, lit up with large grey

luminous eyes; his large and well-shaped head was crowned (except where he

wore his frontal tonsure) with close and curling hair. His voice was clear

and resonant, so that he could be heard at the distance of fifteen hundred

paces, yet sweet with more than the sweetness of the bards." Truly a great

and striking man to hear and to look at; one to admire but also to fear,

and moreover, animated with lofty purpose, and inspired with all the

dauntless courage of his race. In many respects his character appears to

us to bear a very striking resemblance to the character of the Prince of

the Apostles both in its strength and in its weakness.

Doubtless such a man as we have described, found it not only useful, but

necessary to chastise his body and bring it under subjection. "Though my

devotion is delightful," he is represented as saying of himself, "I sit in

a chair of glass, for I am fleshly and often frail."[243] We are told that

he practised the most extreme austerities. He barely took food enough to

sustain nature, and that was of the simplest kind. "He did not," says the

_Felire_, "take as much in a week as would serve for one meal of a

pauper." He abstained from meat and wine, living exclusively on bread and

water, and vegetables--sometimes contenting himself with nettles. He slept

on the bare ground with a stone for a pillow, and a skin for a coverlid.

Three times at night he rose to pray; and often scored his flesh with the

discipline in atonement for his sins. By day he read, or preached to the

brethren, or recited the divine office; and not unfrequently he took a

share in the manual labour of the monks--carrying on his own broad bare

shoulders the sacks of meal from the mill to the kitchen.

No wonder with such an example before their eyes that the young nobles of

Tirconnell strove with generous emulation to excel each other in the

service of God. What marvel if the white-robed brethren under such a

master became angels in the flesh; and what wonder if God's angels came

down from heaven, and "crowded every leaf on the oaks of Derry," to

listen to such a brotherhood chanting at midnight's hour and at morning's

dawn the inspired strains of the Hebrew Bard?

III.--THE SCHOOLS OF DURROW AND KELLS.

We know from the express statement of Venerable Bede that Columba founded

the noble monastery of Durrow before he left Ireland for Iona.[244] Like

Derry, it takes its name from an oak-grove; for it means the Plain of the

Oaks--in Irish _Dair-magh_. It was anciently called Ros-grencha--the oak

plain of the far famed Ros-grencha--and also Druim-Cain, or the Beautiful

Hill; and even to-day whoever wanders through the rich pastures and the

stately groves of Durrow will readily admit that it well deserves its

ancient name. It is situated not far from Clara in the barony of

Ballycowan, in the King's County; but in the time of Columcille it formed

part of the ancient kingdom of Teffia. Aedh, son of Brendan, prince of the

territory, gave it to Columcille for the purpose of founding a monastery.

It is true that Brendan himself was alive until A.D. 576; but, as not

unfrequently happened in Erin, after the death of Crimthann in A.D. 533

the lordship passed not to his brother, but to his nephew, Brendan's son,

who doubtless had been previously recognised as the tanist. If, as Bede

says, the monastery was founded before Columba set out for Britain in A.D.

563, it certainly was not completely founded; for several years after

Columba's arrival in Britain we read of the building of the Great House of

the monastery--whether that was, as Petrie thinks, the round tower, or

what is more likely, a larger church than the original one designed to

accommodate the enlarged community.

We may assume then that Durrow was founded about A.D. 553, that is seven

years after the foundation of Derry. By this time the reputation of

Columba had spread far and wide over the entire kingdom. His 'cousins' too

of the Southern Hy-Niall then reigned at Tara, and at this period the

saint seems to be on friendly terms with that branch of his family. Being

so famous and so influential, it is not to be wondered at that Columba was

invited to found monasteries through almost all the northern half of

Ireland to which even Durrow at that period belonged.

Several interesting incidents are recorded by Adamnan in his _Life of

Columba_ having reference to Durrow. The monks, it seems, had an orchard

near the monastery on its southern border, and in the orchard there was

one tree that produced a great abundance of apples; but they were so

bitter that no one would eat them. The saint hearing every one complaining

of the sour apples, raised his hand and blessed the tree in the name of

Almighty God, and lo! at once every apple on the tree became sweet and

good to eat.

Even when he was in Iona Columba was solicitous about his beloved monks of

Durrow. One cold winter's day the saint in Iona was very sad, and shed

silent tears. Diarmait, his attendant, asked what troubled him; and

Columba replied, that he was sore grieved because he saw in spirit how

Laisren, the prior of Durrow, kept his poor monks working on that bitter

day in building the Great House.[245] At the very same moment Laisren in

Durrow found himself moved by some internal suggestion, and bade the

monks, as the weather was so severe, to get their dinner, and take rest

for the remainder of the day. This too was made known in spirit to

Columba, and he greatly rejoiced.

On another occasion during the building of the same Great House, Columba

in spirit saw one of the monks falling from the very top of the roof.

"Help! help!" cried the saint--and lo! the guardian angel of Iona flew to

the monk's aid at the prayer of Columba, and caught him up before he fell

to the ground. Such is the speed of an angel's flight, and the virtue of a

saint's prayer; for it is written, "He hath given His angels charge over

thee; to keep thee in all thy ways. In their hands they shall bear thee

up; lest thou dash thy foot against a stone."[246]

When Columba was leaving Durrow, he was very anxious to secure the future

well-being of that dear monastery, which next to Derry appears to have

held the highest place in his affection. There is an ancient poem

attributed to the saint in which he describes with loving minuteness the

various charms of Durrow. There the wind sings through the elms, as well

as through the oaks; the blackbird's joyous note is heard at early dawn;

and the cuckoo chants from tree to tree in that noble angelic land--"all

but its government was indeed delightful." Elsewhere the saint speaks

with tenderest feeling of the toll of its soft-toned bell; and the

glories of the woods in beautiful many-coloured Dair-magh.

"O Cormac, beautiful is that church of thine,

With its books, with its learning;

A city devout with its hundred crosses,

Without blemish, and without transgression."

The reference here is to Cormac Ua Liathain, who seems to have been left

in charge at Durrow, when Columba himself retired to Iona. But Cormac was

a Momonian, as he is called in the dialogue with Columba, and hereditary

jealousy between North and South soon showed itself at Durrow after

Columba's departure. The princes of the Clan-Colman, or Southern Hy-Niall,

objected to have a Momonian the ruler in Durrow, and made it so unpleasant

for Cormac that the latter, without waiting for Columba's permission,

resolved to leave the government of Durrow to Laisren, the first cousin of

Columba, and seek for himself a desert isle in the ocean to be the place

of his rest and resurrection.

With a few companions he set out from Killala, and sailed the northern

seas for two long years, but yet could find no island home in the northern

main. After perils and hardships untold, he and his famished crew

succeeded in reaching Iona, where they were kindly welcomed by Columba.

But when Columba discovered why it was that Cormac had sailed so long

'over the all-teeming sea, from port to port and from wave to wave,' his

brow grew stern; and he felt much inclined to rebuke Cormac severely for

his disobedience. "Thou art welcome," he said; "since the sea hath sent

thee hither--else thou hath merited satire and reproach."[247]

Columba then urges on Cormac to return back again to his monastery in

Durrow; he enlarges on the beauty of that devout city with its books, and

its learning, and its hundred crosses; he describes how sweet is the

blackbird's song and the music of the wind, as it murmurs through the elms

on the Oak-plain of far-famed Ros-grencha; he promises Cormac that he will

cause the Clann-Colman of the reddened swords to protect the monastery of

Durrow; "and I pledge thee my unerring word," he said, "which may not be

impugned, that death is better in reproachless Erin than life for ever in

Alba."[248]

Still Cormac was unwilling to return--"How can I go there amongst the

powerful northern tribes in that border land, O Colum? and if it is

better to be in noble Erin than in inviolate Alba, do thou return to Erin

and leave me at least by turns in Alba." The discussion grew warm between

the two saints; but it appears to have ended amicably. Cormac was allowed

to remain for a time in Iona, and afterwards to found a monastery of his

own in Tyrawley, on condition that he used his influence with his southern

kinsmen to make them pay their alms and dues to the monastery of Durrow.

The two Irish poems printed by Colgan and Bishop Reeves giving an account

of these events, can scarcely in their present form be regarded as the

composition of Columcille. There can hardly be any doubt, however, that

they convey a truthful narrative of the facts, and were in their original

form the work of Columcille himself.

Whilst Columba was at Durrow he wrote, as far as we can judge with his own

hands, the celebrated copy of the Gospels, known as the _Book of Durrow_.

That the saint was an accomplished scribe is certain; we know from many

passages in his life that he spent much time in copying parts of the

sacred volume; and he was engaged in the same pious labour when he felt

the call of death, and asked Baithen "to write the rest." We shall see

later on how he copied stealthily Finnian's MS. of the Gospels, which

afterwards led to serious trouble and much bloodshed in Erin.

The _Book of Durrow_ is a highly ornamental copy of the Four Gospels

according to Jerome's version, then recently introduced in Ireland. It is

written across the page in single columns, and the MS. also contains the

Epistle of St. Jerome to Pope Damasus, an explanation of certain Hebrew

names, with the Eusebian Canons and synoptical tables. It has also

symbolical representations of the Evangelists, and many pages of coloured

ornamentation--spiral, interlaced, and tesselated.[249] There is a partly

obliterated entry on the back of fol. 12, praying for "a remembrance of

the scribe, Columba, who wrote this evangel in the space of twelve days."

That Columba was indeed the scribe who wrote this manuscript is rendered

still more probable from the old tradition that he with his own hands

wrote a copy of the Gospels for each of the monasteries which he had

founded. We have already seen that the _Book of Derry_ was lost, but

fortunately the _Book of Durrow_ and the _Book of Kells_ are still in

existence. It is referred to by O'Clery in the _Martyrology of Donegal_,

"as having gems and silver on its cover," and was seen by Connell Mac

Geoghegan, the translator of the _Annals of Clonmacnoise_, who made an

entry at the foot of folio 116 in the year A.D. 1623. It was then at

Durrow, but passed into the possession of Henry Jones, Vice-Chancellor of

Trinity College in the time of Cromwell. O'Flaherty saw it in A.D. 1677,

and fortunately then deciphered the inscription on the cover, and entered

it on the fly-leaf of the manuscript. The cover has since disappeared with

its gems and its silver cross--but thanks to O'Flaherty we know the

inscription, which it bore in Irish--Oroith agus benedacht Coluimcille do

Fland Macc Mailshechnaill do righ Erenn las a ndernad a cumdach so.

"The prayer and benediction of Columcille for Mailshechnaill, King of

Erin, for whom this cover was made."

"I have seen," says O'Flaherty, referring to this MS. and its cover,

"handwritings of St. Columba in Irish characters, as straight and as fair

as any print of above 1,000 years standing, and Irish letters engraved in

the time of Flann, King of Ireland, deceased in A.D. 916." O'Flaherty saw

the Book in Trinity College in A.D. 1677; and it is there still. Jones,

the Vice-Chancellor, afterwards Bishop of Meath, gave it to the College.

At present there is no trace of any of the ancient buildings at Durrow.

There is a holy well--St. Columba's well--still flowing, which is greatly

venerated for the virtue of its waters, and is kept in good order by the

present noble proprietor of these lands, Lord Norbury, whose mansion is

close at hand. There is an old church-yard, too, which doubtless marks the

site of the ancient churches; it is still much used for burials, although

already overcrowded with the dead. The most interesting memorial, however,

at present in Durrow is a beautiful sculptured cross which stands on a low

stone pedestal close to the church-yard. It is like the Cross of

Monasterboice. There are also two ancient inscribed stones, one

unfortunately broken, but the inscription remains, ✠ OR DO

CHATHALAN--(pray for little Cathal)--the proper name being a diminutive of

Cathal. This fragment is now only six inches long. The other stone asks a

prayer for _Aigide_. The inscribed cross on this stone, now half buried in

the grass, is of the most chaste and beautiful design, richly adorned with

spirals, knots, and frets, which point to the most flourishing period of

Celtic art. Nowhere else has a cross of similar design been discovered.

Two of the outer arch-stones of an ancient and once very beautiful window

are built into a wall near the High Cross. No other remains of antiquity

are now to be found on the site of the once celebrated monastery of

Durrow.

Hugh de Lacy completely desolated Durrow and uprooted its ancient shrines.

In the year A.D. 1186 that stern warrior set about building a castle at

Durrow. For this purpose he seized the abbey-lands, drove out the

neighbouring Celtic proprietor, whose name was Fox, and proceeded to build

his castle with the stones of Columba's monastery and churches. But this

was the close of his evil career. A workman, sent it is said by Fox for

the purpose, was watching for his opportunity, and when De Lacy, who

superintended the work in person, was stooping forward, he struck off his

head with one blow of his keen axe. The body fell into the ditch of the

castle; and at the same moment the assassin burst through the astonished

workmen, and fled into the neighbouring woods. "It was in revenge of

Columcille" that this was done, say the Four Masters, and certainly it

seems as if the fate that overtook this "profaner and destroyer of many

churches" was the not unnatural outcome of his own evil deeds. In 1839 the

Earl of Norbury, a worthy successor of De Lacy, was assassinated in the

same spot, after he had erected a castle on the site of De Lacy's.

----Pallas te hoc vulnere, Pallas

Immolat, et poenam scelerato de sanguine sumit.--_Virgil._

IV.--THE FOUNDATION OF KELLS.

The foundation of Kells took place soon after that of Durrow, but the

exact date cannot be assigned--all we know is that it was founded during

the reign of King Diarmait, the son of Fergus Cearbhaill. It is necessary

to know something of this King Diarmait, whose history is intimately

connected with that of Columcille. He was great grandson of Niall of the

Nine Hostages, and therefore a second cousin once removed of Columcille

himself. But Columcille belonged to the northern or Ulster Hy-Niall, who

derived their descent from Eoghan and Conal Gulban; while the southern, or

Meath Hy-Niall, were descended from Conal Crimthann, another son of Niall

the Great, who fixed his residence in Meath. Considerable jealousy existed

between these two branches of the Hy-Niall stock, especially when Diarmait

succeeded to the throne of Tara after the murder of his predecessor,

Tuathal Maelgarbh in A.D. 544; for he was supposed to have instigated the

commission of that crime. The princes of the North, especially the sons of

the gallant and ill-fated Muir-ceartach Mac Earca, considered that they

themselves had a better title to the throne than Diarmait, and indeed

during his reign of twenty years they were often in rebellion against him,

and not unfrequently were victorious in the strife. Still Diarmait

contrived to maintain his hold of Tara, and governed the kingdom with

vigour and wisdom, until he fell out with the 'Saints,' whom he found more

difficult to control than the princes of the rival line. In consequence of

his dispute with St. Ruadhan of Lorrha, Tara was cursed and abandoned; and

because of another outrage which he offered to Columcille the great battle

of Cuil-dreimhne was fought in which his army was utterly routed, and he

himself escaped with much difficulty. Shortly afterwards he, in his turn,

was slain by the hands of an assassin.

The only authority we have in reference to the foundation of Kells during

the reign of this Diarmait is O'Donnell's _Life of Columba_. It is not

noticed in our Annals, nor, at least explicitly, in the other Lives of the

Saint. According to O'Donnell's _Life_, Columba, after founding Durrow,

went to Kells[251]--in Irish Cenannus--where it seems the king then lived,

although he happened to be absent at this time. The saint when entering

the place was very rudely received by certain soldiers of the Royal Guard,

to whom he was most probably unknown. But when the king returned home and

heard that his soldiers had insulted the greatest saint in Erin at the

time, and moreover one of his own royal blood, he resolved to make over

the city itself to Columba for a monastery, as an atonement for the

rudeness of his soldiers. Columba could expect no more, and thankfully

accepted the gift. The donation was also ratified by the sanction of Aedh

Slaine, the eldest son of the king, and heir apparent to the throne. In

return Columba predicted that Aedh would mount the throne of Erin, and

that his reign would be prosperous so long as he abstained from shedding

innocent blood--a condition, however, which he afterwards did not observe.

Kells was thus founded about the year A.D. 554, although its foundation is

sometimes set down so early as the year A.D. 550. It does not, however,

seem to have attained great eminence during the lifetime of St. Columba

himself; for its fame was eclipsed by other more celebrated houses founded

by the saint. It was only after the decline of Iona in the ninth century,

consequent on the ravages of the Danes, that Kells became the chief

monastery of the Columbian order both in Erin and Alba, as we shall see

further on.