H i g h Cr o s s o f M o n as ter b m e o .

PR E FAC E

This book i c om an ion work is ntended as a p , and ,

of in some sense, a sequel a small volume recently

Irelan d : Its M ths an d written by me, entitled y

Le e of g nds . The publishers were desirous having the early Christian period of Irish history treated in the same manner as the pagan period had been

its Irelan d Its Sain ts treated in forerunner , and an d Scholars represents the attempt to give within a small compas s a concise survey of the most glorious epoch in the annals of our country . The subject is a vast and an extremely important on h as e . A great deal of study and research been to given it by learned and devoted workers , and a great amount of literary and archaeological research still remains to be done before we c an assure ourselves that we have gained a really com prehensive view of Early Christian Ireland . The size of this volume will n ot therefore be taken as ’ the author s measure of the importance of a period of of history surpassing human interest , and the book itself is only intended as an introduction to the study of larger an d more ambitious treatises covering the same ground .

206059 4 PREFACE No useful purpose could be served by overload ing with references a book of this kind which is

, intended f or popular use . I have not , however spared any pains in consulting the various

, authorities , Irish , English , French , and German W who have written on this subject , and hile reference is not always made to the sources from which information is derived , there is no statement in the book which cannot be substantiated by learned and thoroughly competent authorities . ’ ’ Dr . Healy s Ireland s Ancient Schools and ’ of Scholars contains a mine information , and he treats the subject in a manner at once learned and Z ’ popular . Professor immer s Ueber die Bedeutung des irischen Elements fur die Mittel ” alterlich e Cultur is an important contribution to the history of the influence of Irish thought on the Continent from the fifth to the twelfth century . ’ Gou aud s Ch retien tés Pere g Les Celtiques is , perhaps , the ablest and most authoritative study which has yet been published on the Early Irish

Church , a work which combines the most pain s taking and up - to - date research with the lucidity and clearness of presentation which is a character istic of ’ French litterateurs . Miss Margaret Stokes

’ Sketch of E arly Christian Art in Ireland though

s a o h as n ot written thirty year g , yet in any degree diminished in value by the publication of subse

a on th e quent and l rger books subject, and the PREFACE vii

’ author s deep and unique knowledge of Irish Archaeology will always make her work extremely

on useful to students . Every modern writer Irish S of history owes much to the plendid work Dr.

P . W . Joyce .

While I have endeavoured to be concise, I have at the same time striven to omit nothing essential , and I hope I have been able to give my re aders a fairly comprehensive idea of a splendid period

our sa in national history . I may y , in the words l b . Co um an us of St , that I wished to include every

to thing , but I found it impossible compress every thing within a small compass . There is much

to to reason believe that , in trying make a selection from a great amount of material , and to combine the net results of great learn ing and research into f a small volume , faults both o commission and omission may have occurred . It is consolatory,

e to th refore , reflect that the most competent

of judges such a book as this , will undoubtedly

‘ its a be kindest critics , since they who c n most easily detect any errors that may have occurred , will also be most capable of judging its difficulty . Any effort that has been expended in the writing of th e book has been more than rewarded by the closer study which its preparation h as entailed of some of the greatest personalities that have lived h and worked in Ireland . Dr . Healy remarks wit truth that while we Speak glibly of the Saints and vi i i PREFACE

. Scholars of the early times , we know , in general n very little about them , and that the informatio concerning them is contained in volumes not easily ac cessible to the general reader . The author hopes that the present little work may in some degree supply this deficiency . The greate st results may be expected from a closer knowledge of first centuries of the Faith in of Ireland . In the words a distinguished Irish

or man , it is no vain retrogressive study for Ire land to look back and ponder well upon her old

Christian past . The lessons that can be learned

a of from th t distant time can never be out date ,

or no matter what may happen in the world , who may come or go in it ; for they teach eternal truths — they are indeed the sole needs of men and

s . i d nation Educat on , industry , knowle ge of the

, arts the practice of justice , temperance , fortitude , judgment and mercy . Above all , they teach the beauty and the power of faith in God,and of the fi f or unsel sh labour the welfare of His creatures . “ nd let us remember ” A , continues Sir William Butler, that these old teachers belonged entirely to . was us It not a strange race of beings w , ho o thus t iled and taught - , and triumphed they were our o glorious wn people . The dust of many of them is in our midst , and the simple words in which they asked our prayers , can still be read upon their mouldering ” tombstones . C O NT E NT S

CH APT E R PAG E

I TH I L ND OF IN AND CH O AR S . E S A SA TS S L

II. TH E C OM IN G or ST . PATRICK

III. ST . C OLUM C ILLE

IV . ST . C OLU M BAN US

TH I I IN V . E R SH SA TS

VI. TH E IRISH M ISSION

II M M I I M I I I V . SO E FA O US R SH SS ONAR E S

III TH I IS LS V . E R H SCHOO

I" . TH E IRISH LE ARNING

" . EARL" CHRISTIAN AR T IN IRE LAND

ix . ILLUSTR ATIONS

t s e e H igh C ro ss of M o n aste rboice F ro n i pi c l Ir sh ra t Lib r n . C In itial l ette r L. i T c T i o l

Dub .

Tara Brooch Faci n g p .

Cross of Co n g

’ t at r s e Sh ri n e of S . P ick B ll

t e r e . Fro n ti spi ece of E pistle of S . J om Book of Du rrow Faci n g p

Ca ta s an d M d n s C lon m acn ois pi l oul i g ,

'

h t C ulan us e Fa n . S ri n e of S . B ll ci g p “ r H n s In itial lette S. Book of ym

C lon m acn ois H ead of Celtic Pin .

M d n a G re n e oul i g , Tu im i

' Fr n t s e e to t h n s Fa n S . o i p i c Jo ci g p .

’ Fr n t s e e to t e s o i pi c S . Luk

In itial I N Book of K e lls

In t a ette r R K e s i i l l . Book of ll

rt P n f I m n ated M n ram . B f K e s o io o llu i o og ook o ll . Fa n ci g p . Th e West S de f th e Cr ss at M n as terb e i o o o oic . Fa n ci g p . D r a ' w f St . Faran n an s Ch r h D n a h m r oo y o u c , o g o e . a n F ci g p . ’ C r a s Ch a e R Cash e o m c p l , ock of l

M a n y of th e i llu s t ra tion : m thi s

b r ook a e M u ted f rom bloc ks kin dly

len t b th e Na t . M u y s eu m . Du bli n . IRE LAND IT S

° SAINT S 89 SC HOLARS

C HAPTER I .

T h e Islan d of Sai n ts an d Sch ol ars

The sixth an d seventh centuries of the Christian era must be regarded as the Golden Age of Ireland . The story of our country during this period is one of the most glorious epochs in the history of European n ot Christianity . St . Patrick had been half a century in his grave when the whole island was studded with the monasteries and schools of the of new faith . The doctrines Christianity were received by the people with a burst of enthusias m which has scarcely been equalled in the history of of any nation . Learning became the handmaid t Faith , and art and let ers followed rapidly in the train of the churches and monas te ries . While Science and Sacred Studies were almost extin guish ed on the Continent owing to the victorious of advance the Goths and Vandals , and the of civilisation of the East became the prey Islam , 2 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOLAR S

Ireland was the secure abode of European culture . Clon m ac Armagh , Clonard , Durrow , Bangor and noise were at this time the Universities of the

West, and the great centres from which the spiritual life was once again to be renewed in

Europe . At this time Ireland came to be known as The Island of Saints and Scholars ’ and the noble work which Irishmen accomplished f or religion and learning securely vindicates her claim to this splen did title . The energy and enthusiasm which were awakened throughout the country by the preach ing of the Gospel could n ot be contained within a s the limits of Ireland itself . Mont lembert note as one of the most striking characteristics of the Irish monks their passion f or pilgrimage and preaching, and the imperious necessity which seemed to impel them to spread themselves over

Western Europe , seeking and carrying knowledge of and faith afar , and penetrating into the most to t distant regions, wa ch and combat paganism .

St . Bernard speaks of the multitude of saintly men who descended from Ireland on the Continent like r an overflowing st eam . They threw themselves with the fiery enthusiasm of their race into the Struggle with the mass of heathenism that was e of threat ning the existence the Christian world . was so So splendid their success , and prominent a part did they play in the re- establishment of the a a f ith amongst foreign n tions , that, in the strik of h ing words John Ric ard Green , it seemed for ’ th e was to a time as if world s history be changed , THE IS LAND or S AINT S AND S CHOLAR S 3 an d as n ot L i if Celtic , and atin Christ anity , was to mould the destinies of the churches of the West . Another historian writes that from Iceland to the n or Danube and the Appenines , among Fra k L m a Burgundian or o bard , the Irish energy p “ peared omnipotent and inexhaustible ) During the sixth and seventh centuries in ” of Ireland , says Dr . Dollinger, the Church

Ireland stood in the full beauty of its bloom . The spirit of the Gospel operated amongst the people with a vigorous and vivifying power ; troops of holy m en from the highest to the lowest ranks of of C society , obeyed the holy Gospels hrist , and forsook all things that they might follow Him . There was n ot a country Of the world during th is of i or period , which could boast pious foundat ons of religious communities equal to those that adorned this far distant island . Amongst the of C Irish , the doctrines the hristian Religion were preserved pure and en tire ; the names of heresy and schism were not known to them ; and in th e Bishop of Rome they acknowledged and venerated H of the Supreme ead the Church on earth , and him continued with , and through him with the n whole Church , in a never i terrupted communion . The schools in the Irish cloisters were at the time the most celebrated in the West . While almost the whole of Europe was desolated by war , peace of ful Ireland , free from the invasion external t n foes , opened o the lovers of learning a d piety

Th e wh o e a welcome asylum . strangers visit d

‘ Lan e- e : St dies n th e His t r diaev l Th h t Pool u i o y of Me a oug . AR 4 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOL S

of Ireland , not only from the neighbouring shores of Britain , but also from the remote nations the

Continent, received from the Irish people the most

, hospitable reception , a gratuitous entertainment free instruction , and even the books that were 536 necessary for their studies . Thus in the year , t . Sen an us in the time of St , here arrived at Cork who from the Continent, fifteen monks were led thither by their desire to perfect themselves in the practices of an ascetic life under Irish directors , and to study the Sacred Scriptures in the schools established near the city . At a later period the Anglo - Saxons passed over to Ireland in great numbers f or the same laudable purpose . On the other hand many holy and learned Irishmen left to their own country to proclaim the faith , estab or e lish to reform monast ries in distant lands , and thus to become the benefactors of almost every ” nation in Europe . The mere summary of the names of the best known of the Irish missionaries is sufficient to show how great and wide was the influence which on l they exercised other nations . St . Co um cille e of founded the celebrat d monastery Iona , which spread the knowledge of th e Gospel amongst the of Picts the Scotch mainland . At the time of his

- on e death forty missions had been established ,

-five s n twenty among t the Scots , a d eighteen in the of country the Picts . His monks went to all the of of islands the west coast Scotland , and there is scarcely on e Of these island s th at does not a cknowledge an Irishman as the founder of its THE IS LAND OF S AINTS AND S CHOLARS 5

l . a Co um cill o of . e church C rm c , a disciple St , te O of visi d the rkneys , and there were settlements Far the Irish monks on the c e and Shetland Islands . to Further north they went Iceland , and when the Northmen first discovered that island they found there books an d other traces of the early e Irish Church . Aidan , a monk from Iona , found d the great monastery of Lindisfarne and Spread Christianity through the kingdom of Northumber in n ian land and the North of England . F and l s a on Co man , his succe sors , c rried the work begun by Aidan and brought the faith to Mercia and East lum ban us . . Co Anglia St went through France , e a founding monast ries at Luxeuil , Font ines and An n e rai s g ; then pa sing through Switzerland , he cros sed the Alps to build the famous Abbey of

Bobbio in Lombardy . Jonas, his contemporary an d us L biographer , tells that from uxeuil alone si over x hundred missionaries went to Bavaria . l m ban u on e of . Co u s St . Gall , of the companions St , la boured in Switzerland , and established a monaste ry near the lake of Constance on the Site l of the town that sti l bears his name . St . Killian of became the Apostle Franconia and Thuringia , is and St . Colman the Patron Saint of Lower d of Austria . St . Fri olin , the first Bishop Alsace , worked at Glarus where his figure still finds place Fri idian on the cantonal arms and banner . St . g wh o converted the Lombards and became Bishop

of . s Lucca , and St Donatus , the fir t Bishop of

Fiesole , were both Irishmen . In Southern Italy C ath aldus L m an d St. of is ore became the Bishop 6 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOLARS

on Patron Saint of Tarentum . Marianus Scotus, h r is pilg image to Rome, stopped at Regensburg o a out of n the Danube and founded a mon stery , which there grew twelve Irish convents in Ger n ot many and Austria . The Irish missionaries did s to on e of confine them elves Europe, for we find a C them n med Augustine residing at arthage , and on a i s writing a treatise the S cred Scr pture , while at the same time two of his countrymen Baetan and Main chin e taught in the same city . As the sixth and seventh centuries were the of s great period the Irish Saint and Missionaries , so in the eighth and ninth centuries the Scholars from Ireland became famous throughout the Wes t of Europe . In the ninth century Irishmen were to be found in every cathedral an d monastery of the so empire, and were identified with the new intellectual movement which was then taking place that the teaching of the scholars was called the Irish learning . They went in great numbers to France, and a distinguished French savant writes that in the time of Charlemagne nearly all th e learned men of th e empire were of ‘ s ori in r Iri h g . Their name is inseparably associated

Carolovin ian with the foundation of the g Schools , an event of the greatest importance in the history t of civilisa ion , since it marked the commencement of th e to attempt recover for Europe all that it h ad of lost by the inroads the Goths and Vandals . A

tScal ig er l e Jen n e : Du te ‘ mps de Ch arl emag n e om n e ’ ' s ( are doct i eta ien d ” t Irelan de . have it to Eric of Auxerre writing in the to middle of the ninth century a dedication

Charles the Bald of a poem on St . Germanns of

“ of th e men of learning then in France . What “ s of need is there , he writes , to peak Ireland , which sets at naught the peril of the sea, and

e our migrates almost in on body to shores , with its crowds of philosophers who voluntarily subject ” on e themselves to exile . At and the same time we find John Scotus Erigena lecturing at the Royal at Sedulius a School Paris , Scotus and Eindan te ch ing at Liege and Rheinau , and the Irish Abbot oen al M g , who was famed alike for his know f e resid ledge o th ology and secular science , p ing over the great monastery of St . Gall at a period when it was one of the foremost schools in an i was Europe . Clemens , Ir shman , tutor to the future Emperor Lothaire and continued his labours at the court seminary after Charlemagne ’ s so death . His reputation was great that the Abbot of Fulda sent some of his best pupils from the monastery to study grammar under the Irish as monk , and he is known in the court records of a h . a Instructor the Imperi l Court Dung l , anot er

Irishman , gained fame as a theologian , an s a tronomer and a poet . Dungal , John Scotus , ” s Sedulius M oen al w Z Clemen , and g , rites immer , are representatives of a higher culture than was to be found in the Continent of their day ; to a

‘ esta C rolom a n — a l . Per z G n LI t 2 731. THE IS LAND or SAINTS AND S CHO LARS 9

purely Christian training , and a severely simple of habit mind , they joined the highest theoretical of attainments , based upon a thorough knowledge of the best standards classical antiquity . These

Irishmen had a high mission entrusted to them , ” t a ‘ and they faithfully accomplished heir t sk . 1

” Zimm er : Th e Irish Ele en t in ediae val lt re t m M Cu u .

In itial l ett e r L .

ish Tra t Lib . Trin . l l Du Ir h . c , Co CHAPTER II .

Patr ck T h e C omi ng of St. i

Towards the end of the fourth , and at the begin of ning of the fifth century , King Niall the Nine Hostages went on successive expeditions against the peoples of Gaul and Britain . Amongst the captives brought back from on e of these foreign of son of raids was Succoth , a lad sixteen, the Cal urn ius Con ch essa a Decurion p , and his wife , who was a relative of the great St . Martin of bo t Tours . The y Succoth , af erwards called Patricius probably in allusion to his noble birth , was as sold a slave in Ireland, and employed by his master Milch o to tend his cattle on the slopes of s his Slieve Mi h in Antrim . In the sadness of an d captivity in a strange land , whilst he ate the salt bread of servitude a profound spiritual change came over his mind , and his thoughts turned to s a of the Chri tian te ching his childhood . I was “ not, he tells us himself from my childhood a believer in God , but continued in death and unbelief until I was severely chastened : and in truth I have been humbled by hunger and naked was a ness , and it my lot to tr verse Ireland every da y sore against my will , until I was almost B h Fr n t T ara Br h Ba k T ar a. r ( ) , ooc ( c ) . ooc o Cr o s s of Co n g .

’ '

d h rin e St . atr i k s Be ll Fr n t Sh rin e o f St P atrick s B ell (E n ) . S of P c ( o )

F rom ph otogra ph s km dly s u pplied by th e Na tio n a l M u s eu m .

’ ’ THE COM ING O PA RICK 1 F ST . T 1

t exhausted . But this proved rather a benefit o of me , because by means it I have been corrected f or by the Lord , and He has fitted me being at this so day what was once far from me, that I should interest or concern myself about the salvation of to s others , when I used have no such thought even ” f or myself . He tells us further in his Confession ’ that he was employed every day in feeding cattle , and th at frequently in the day h e used to have recourse God was to prayer, and that the love of thus growing stronger and stronger, and His fear and a so f ith were increasing in him , that in a single day he would give utte rance to as many as an

as . hundred prayers , and in the night almost many He used to remai n In the woods and on the moun f or tains and would rise prayer before daylight , of n o in the midst snow and ice and rain , feeling n or was injury , there any sloth in him , because the ’ six c a Spirit within was fervent . After years p tivity Patrick escaped from Ireland to France and a to m de his way Tours , where he stayed for four r yea s receiving ins tructions from St . Martin . Then of he spent about fourteen years with St . Germanns to Auxerre , who sent him Pope Celestine to receive ’ the episcopacy . The Saint s thoughts often turned towards the people amongst whom he had spent

. of was the years his captivity , and he finally induced to undertake the conversion of Ireland by s w of a vision . I a in the visions the night a person coming from Ireland with innumerable

me n e o t I ' read letters, and he gave o f hem , and AR 12 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOL S in the beginning of the letter The voice of the ’ people of Ireland , and I thought at that very moment that I heard the voice of those who were Focluth to near the wood of , which is adjoining out the Western Sea , and they cried , as it were a to with one voice , We entre t thee, holy youth , ’ come and walk still amongst us, and I was very n o much pricked to the h eart, and could read to so . further, and I awoke Thanks be God the a Lord who , fter very many years , had granted to them according to their cry .

St . Patrick received authority from Pope

s Celestine to undertake the Irish mis ion , and com o 432 m en ced his apost late in the year , when

Leery was Ard Righ of Ireland . He landed

of . in the Co . Meath , a little south Drogheda He was received hospitably by a Chieftain of the dis triet, who , on hearing from him an explanation of s the Chri tian Faith , became a convert with his wife and family . Shortly afterwards , the Saint la to one day weary from fatigue y down rest, and ’ a son - of t the chieft in s , a fair haired boy gen le of bearing, strewed flowers round the head the a S int, and then sat at his feet . The companions of St . Patrick rebuked the lad for thus disturbing ’ the bishop s rest , but the Saint , waking from his h a : so slumber , corrected t em , s ying Leave him , of r he shall be the heir my kingdom . Afte wards

. n the boy , whom St Patrick named Ben ig us on a d ccount of his gentle and kindly nature , succeede of the Saint as Bishop Armagh . of Following the course the Boyne St . Patrick

1 4 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOLARS

to on the fundamental truths . of Christianity Ob ec Leery and his court, and answered all the j of tions of the Druids . The wife and daughters C riff an c the King, and his brother be ame

s Laer Christian , and y , although he remained s a pagan , gave the Saint permi sion to preach and make converts throughout his kingdom . St . a S s to P trick pent ome time at Tara , and then went Taillten , where the great annual games were m being held . There he ade many converts amongst the clans who were assembled to celebrate s a the fe tiv l of Lugh of the Long Arm . Leaving some of his companions to carry on the mission in

Meath , the Saint himself went westward , passing lecht . S through Granard and Cavan At Magh , ’ of or the Plain Adoration in Cavan , he found the people worshipping the idol Crom Cruach and s r twelve les er idols which su rounded it . St . Patrick had these idols of the Druidical rite s de troyed , and founded a church near the place . Passing over the Shannon he directed h is course Rath cro h an to g , the residence of th e Kings of

Connacht . When the Saint and his attendants assembled Clebach at early morning at , a well on the east of Rath cro h an side g , they found there Eth n ea and Felim ia of Laer , two daughters King y , who were In in fosterage Connacht . The story of their c on ’ In of version is told the Book Armagh . The sisters

at first thought that St . Patrick an d his white

Duine Sidhe or robed companions were fairies , and who t inquired hey were , and from whence they THE COM I G OF PA RICK N ST . T 1 5 had come . St . Patrick told them that it were better for them to confess to the true God than to inquire concerning the race and the country of s s him elf and his followers . Then the maiden od questioned him concerning G , asking who was

or He , and where He dwelt , in heaven , earth , in or i or the sea, the rivers, in the mounta ns valleys Was He ever - living and beautiful ? Did many His son His foster , and were daughters dear and beauteous to men of the earth ?How was He to was or old be seen and loved , and it in youth age was that He to be found ?St . Patrick told them that the God of whom he was come to preach to of God of them was the God all men , the heaven of of sun and earth , the seas and rivers , the , moon , all and stars, of the high mountains and lowly a was th e wh o w as a v lleys . He God above he ven , and in heaven , and under heaven . He had a sea habitation in heaven , in the , and all that were e therein . He inspired all things , quicken d all all things , was over all things , sustained things ,

to sun gave the light the , made springs in a dry h ad ground , and islands in the sea . He a Son

- - co eternal and cO equal with Himself . The Son

n o was was t younger than the Father , nor the Son an d Father older than the , the Holy Ghost an d breathed in them . The Father and the Son s the Holy Ghost were n ot divided . The Saint al o told them that he desired to unite them to the

a He venly King , and the maidens asked him that he would teach them diligently how they might believe in Him and how they might see Him face 1 6 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOLARS

d th e believe to . . s face St Patrick a ke them did y‘ that by baptism they put off the sin of their father and

mother ; did they believe in repentance after sin , a Da in life fter death , in the Resurrection at the y ? of Judgment, and in the unity of the Church Th e s two sisters profe sed their belief in all these ,

and the Saint baptized them , and put a white gar

ment on their heads . Then they asked him that

see . they might the face of Christ, and St Patrick replied that they could not see the face of Christ except they received the sacrifice and tasted of th e death . They begged that they might receive sacrifice and behold the Son , their spouse . They received the Eucharist of God from the hand s of “ the Saint , and slept in death . And they were on laid out one bed , covered with garments ; and (their friends) made great lamentation and weep ing for them .

Rathcro han r to From g , St . Pat ick went Mayo , and spent the forty days of Lent on the summit of a Croagh P trick in fasting and prayer . In T rawle o Awle y y he baptised the seven sons f y , B brother of King athi , and a great number of their

. followers He spent seven years in Connacht , and then went through the midlands of Ireland towards e Munst r . At Cashel the royal residence of the e was Munst r Kings he met by Aengus , King of h i . the Province , with s brehons and Chieftains

Aengus and his followers embraced Christianity .

. was While St Patrick baptiz ing Aengus , the stafi e pastoral which he held , and which terminat d a ’ in spike , pierced the King s sandalled foot . ’ THE COMING OF ST PA RICK i? . T

Aengus , imagining that the pain which he bore was to part of the rite , submitted patiently the wound which the saint, unwittingly , inflicted .

- Then St . Patrick went to the south west, and great numbers of the people from Corca B eisein crossed the Shannon in their curraghs , and were baptized a e of in the w t rs the river . In compliance with their request St . Patrick ascended a hill near

Foynes , since known as Cnoc Patrick , and blessed h m d the land of T o on .

St . Patrick is said to have founded the See of 45 a f 3 . o Armagh in the year Daire , a chieft in te Uls r , gave him the site for the church , and it was to his Armagh that , when the Saint felt end

to . set out approaching , he went die He from a Saul towards Arm g h , and tradition has it that he t was commanded by an angel to return o Saul . He died and was buried at Downpatrick about the 4 3 year 9 .

b . Judged by what e accomplished , St Patrick must be ranked amongst the greatest of the missionaries who spread the Christian Faith be yond the limits of . the Roman Empire . He organised the Christianity which existed in Ire of land before the date his arrival , converted king doms which were still pagan , and made Ireland h ad a part of universal Christendom . He a strong of personality, great powers initiative , a splendid enthusiasm for his great mission , and he showed himself wise and politic by the manner in which efiectin he dealt with the kings and Chieftains , g a great revolution in the life and habits of the 1 8 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOLARS people with little bitte rness and no sacrifice of n ot human life . While he did introduce

s Chri tianity into Ireland , he secured the per an en ce of m the faith in the country , and made it a living force which could never be extinguished . Like the great Apostle of the Gentiles he refused to take an y personal credit for the success of his ff an d t e orts , attributed the results he had at ained

of of to the purpose the Creator, and the working ” e Divine Grace . I protest in truth , he writ s , and can rejoice in the thought before God and His holy angels , that I never had any motive save its f or to the Gospel and promises , ever returning that people from among whom I had escaped . And I beg all that believe in God and seek and fear of to Him , whoever them may be pleased examine or s — read thi letter , which I , Patrick poor sinful and ignorant creature as I am— have written in on n r Ireland , that no e will ever say that my ig o to a of ff ance is h ve the credit it , if I have e ected or performed any little matte r according to the pur pose of God ; but believe and be assured f or certain a G od th t it was Who has done it . And this is my ” confession before I die .

Fr n t is ie e f E istl e f S r J e m . o p c o p o t . o e B k Du rr w oo of o . Ill m in at ed St C ol um c ill u by e .

20 IRELAND: ITS S AINTS AND S CHOLARS he engaged night and day in the unwearied exer of cise of fasting and watching , that the burden each of these austerities would seem beyond the power of all human endurance . And still in all f or o r these , he was beloved by all ; the holy j y eve beaming from his face revealed the joy and glad ness with which the Holy Spirit filled his in most ” soul .

lum cille Gartan Co. . Co St was born at , Donegal ,

on 7th 521 . December , His father Phelim , a ’ of O Don n ell C chieftain the lan , was the great of grandson of King Niall the Nine Hostages , and his mother Bitbus was a descendant of the Kings of so o Leinster, that by both parents he was f royal lineage . After his birth , in accordance with the s o cu t m of the times , he was placed in fosterage Cruitn ech an with an aged priest , and under his care the boy ’ s mind became imbued with a deep religious f eeling . According to the Leabh ar ’ " Breac he derived his name Colum cille or Dove ’ of the Church from his gentle affectionate man ners , and because he was so often met by h is com panions coming forth from prayer in the Church of Tull dou las his y g near birthplace . When he

a c of Cruitn e h c an . p ssed from under the are , St Colum cill e became a pupil of the Ecclesiastical

. Fin n ian M School founded by St at oville , Co .

, Down where he was ordained deacon . He then f or i studied a t me under Gemman , an aged bard of Leinster , and acquired from him the love of poetry which was one of his mos t distinguishing and beautiful e i s F m charact rist c ro Gemman , he T OLUM CILLE 21 S . C

to d went the famous monastic school founde by St . Fin n ian at Clonard , near the Boyne . Here he had as his companions the eleven great Saints who with himself were afte rwards known as the ’ olu ill Twelve Apostles of Erin . C m c e was o i rda ned priest , while at Clonard , by Bishop E eb of Clon f ad t en , and after his ordination he went with three of his companions Com gall Kiaran and Kairrech to complete his sacred studies in the o M obhi school f St . at Glasnevin . Colum cille When St . went forth on his mis sion ary work he founded his first church on a high ridge over Lough Foyle , which was covered with ’ a great oak from which it was called Daire or O ’ the ak Wood , and which was known for nearly l m ille a thousand years afterwards as Daire Co u c . The church was situated on the site of the present

of city Londonderry . At the date when he founded

545 - the church , the Saint was twenty four years of a e g , and during the seven years which followed he went through Ireland establishing many churches and monastic societies , of which the most famous were Durrow , Arran , Boyle , Swords , D m cliif ru . Raphoe , Kells , Tory Island and His of greatest work , however , was to be done outside I of wh o reland amongst the Picts Scotland , lived north of the Grampian Mountains . Tradition has it that the event which led to his exile was the great battle of Culdreim h n e which was fought six miles north of Sligo between Diarm ait King of ’ Colum cille s . Ireland , and kinsmen , the Clan Niall The Clan Niall felt aggr ieved because Diarm ait 22 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOLAR S had slai n one of their clansmen , the young Prince a Curn an , who had taken sanctu ry with him at on accooun t Tara, and of a decision pronounced by

Diarm ait on the question of the ownership of a book . cill e St . Colum had made a copy of a beautiful Fin nian book of the Psalms that was kept by St . Fin n ian at Clonard . When St . discovered this he demanded the copy as his right . The book had cost Colum cill e much pain and trouble , and he s refused to surrender it . The disputant referred K Diarm ait the matter to ing , and he decided in Fin n ian on to favour of St . the principle that olum cille ro every cow belongeth her calf . C p ’ m ait tested against Diar s judgment, and went back to his kinsmen who took up arms in his cause . King Diarm ait was utterly defeated at the battle ldreimh n e Laisren o u . f C After the battle , Colum ’ as f or cille s confessor , told him that penance the deaths of the many warriors wh o were Slain in the battle he must leave Ireland , and win as many souls f or Christ as there had been lives lost . This is the traditional account of the cause of ’ Colum cille s is exile , but it to be noted that the Old Irish Life does not ascribe his journey to Scot land to the circumstances arising out of the quarrel w Diarm ait z ith King , but merely states that When Colum cille had made the circuit of all

Erin , and when he had sown faith and religion ; when numerous multitudes had been baptised by him ; when he had founded churches and establish ments , and had left in them seniors , and reli uaries of t q , and relics martyrs , the de ermination COLUM CILLE 23 ST . that he had formed from the beginning of his life — to on . came into his mind namely , go pilgrimage He then meditated going across the sea to preach the word of God to the men of Alba and to the on Britons and the Saxons . He went therefore

His - n a voyage . age was forty two whe he went .

- He was thirty four years in Alba . And the num ber that went with him was , twenty bishops , forty

s . priests , thirty deacons , and fifty student He went in good spirits until he reached the place the name of which to- day is Hii - Coluim - Cille It is also to be noted that neither Bede nor Adam n an make any reference to the quarrel so between the Saints , that the popular version Of ’ o olum cille s is the cause f St . C exile a story of a very doubtful character . Colum cille St . and his companions landed at

563 of - - Ch urraich Iona in at the little bay Port na , ’ of the Bay the Coracle , on the southern shore of is the island . Above the bay on a hill the cairn , that has been known since his time as the Carn ’ - - of to cul ri Erin , The Cairn the Back turned ’ Ireland , which marks the spot where the exile found that Ireland was no longer in sight , and where he could work and pray without being

w - tempte d to return to his o n dearly loved country . The story of his voyage tells that he landed first at Oron sa was y , but when he found that Ireland visible on from one of the hills the island , he went onward to Iona for he could n ot endure to live away from

of . Erin , and yet within sight his Fatherland He established his church on the eastern slope of the

C 24 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOLAR S

island , and here trained his followers and disciples to become the Soldiers of Christ . His monks were O taught by him to Observe bedience , Celibacy ,

Caution and Reason in Speech , Humility , Hospi

s . tality, and Kindness to Animal The two years after his landing were spent in establishing his his community , and in preparation for mission to the neighbouring islands and the mainland of set 565 Scotland . He out in the year on a long ’ of journey through The Great Glen Alba , the series of lakes and glens that are now united by a the Caledonian Canal , in order to pre ch the gospel s to the Northern Pict . w M r as . o It a daring adventure , writes Mr “ of of rison in his Life Columba , full hazard , thus to pierce into the heart of Pictland . It called f or a an d s u n w av er undaunted cour ge re ource , and " et ing trust in the leader . how few of the travellers wh o pass through that glen tod ay with its its deep lochs and dark and solemn forests , and all its mystery Of light and shadow , know anything of the little band of heroes wh o threaded it many ?” a o Bru de of s centuries g , King the Pict , barred his gates against the mission , and his Druids and s wa their follower Opposed it in every y . Colum cille and his followers triumphed over all natural and human obstacles , and the handful of un daunted men bore the standard Of the Cro ss into the country where the legions of Caesar had failed to subdue the inhabitants . The devote d little f company o Irishmen worked incessantly and in defati abl a g y for m ny years amongst th e Picts of COLUM CILLE 25 ST .

an d on the mainland , throughout the islands the e s w st coa t . They founded their churches and l schoo s everywhere , and instructed the people in the faith , baptising and preaching . The gospel to O was brought the rkneys , Shetlands , the

Hebrides and the Faroes . Even within the life time of its founder Iona sent forth missionaries to of Northumbria , the Isle Man , and South Britain . Colum c ille St . returned to Ireland in the year 575 Drum c eatt to attend the great Convention of , near Limavady . He was attended , as an Old poem us of tells , by forty priests , twenty bishops noble worth , thirty deacons and fifty youths . He had two important Objects in being present at the Con t i ven ion . s Dalr ada He de ired to secure that , an

Irish colony in Scotland , should be freed from an

t to annual tribu e , which was paid the Mother

Country , and also that the bards of Ireland , who were under sentence of banishment on account of their burdensomeness , should not be sent from the to country . In both Objects , owing his great personal influence and power over men , he was f Dalriada successful . The colony o was freed

to of from all tribute the supreme King Ireland , on condition that its inhabitants should join in ’ or an d expeditions hostings organised in Ireland , that the Mother Country and her colony should mutually assist on e another against the Saxons , of Danes or Norsemen . The sentence banishment on the bards was revoked on condition that they should lessen their claims to refection and main ten an c of e at the hands the people , and that they 26 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOLAR S should curtail the retinues of their followers .

r aill of Dallan Fo g , the chief the bards , expressed the thanks of the brotherhood to Colum cille by composing a poem in his honour Ambra Colum ’ ’ lle cille The Praises of Colum ci . Dallan tells us in the poem that the twelve hundred poets who were at the Convention composed a song of praise an d h for their preserver, that they sang it wit ’ music and chorus , and a surpassing music it was . But Colum cille forbade his praise to be further s n o produced or publi hed , adding that one should s be prai ed in a life that might end badly , and that he alone who had run well and ended his race successfully should be praised after death . ’ Adam n an Colum c ille s s , biographer , give many particulars of the life of the great Abbot and Saint of of Iona . He would often bathe the feet the t brethren af er their daily labour , and used to of carry the bags flour from the mill to the kitchen .

He practised great austerities , sleeping on a hide d sprea on the ground , with a stone for pillow , and was most strict and constant in fasting , prayer , and meditation . Much of his time was spent in writing , and the transcription of the Scriptures and the Psalter . In the Old Irish Life of the Saint it is stated that he transcribed ‘three hundred ’ as w as t splendid , l ting books . He himself , oo, a gifted poet, and in all probability a member of th e O rder of the Bards . We have three beautiful s to Latin hymn attributed him , the Altus ’ ’ Prosator s , In te Chri te and Noli Pater , and he composed many poems in his own native Irish

28 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND SCHOLARS

vouchsafes to invite me to Himself , and when this

sa own midnight , as I y , comes, I shall go at His ” bidding to be with Him . As he was returning to the monastery he sat down by the roadside , wearied by age and his old exertions . Whilst he sat here an white horse that was used for carrying the milk pails to the ’ r on monaste y , laid his head the Saint s breast and began to whinny and to drop great tears . When saw a th e the attendant this , he c me up to drive horse away, but the Saint forbade him , saying , W f or . Let him alone , he loves me hilst thou , a man possessing a rational soul , couldst in no wise s know anything about my departure hence , thi h as brute beast, devoid of reason , been shown in some way by the Creator Himself that his master ” is about to depart from him . And saying this , he blessed his servant , the horse , as it sadly turned

o . to e to g away Then returning the monast ry , he sat in his cell transcribing the Psalter until h e came to the verse of the thirty - third Psalm which reads But they that seek the Lord shall not ” ” want any good thing . Here , he said , laying ste down his pen , I must p , and what follows let ” Baith en e his ( cousin and disciple) write . After attending vespers in the church he returned to his c sat a ell , and up during the night on his p llet , a r bare ock , exhorting the Brothers to preserve m utual and unfeigned ch arity and peace amongst themselves . When the bell began to toll f or to prayer at midnight he went the church , which f of he reached be ore any the other monks , followed T OLUM CILLE 29 S . C b a on y his attend nt Dermot, and fell his bended was knees before the altar in prayer . Dermot see Colum c ill e unable to St in the dark church , ?” and called out , Where art thou , Father Then groping his way in the darkness he found the

Saint lying before the altar , and raising him up a Th e a little he pl ced the holy head on his bosom . little community of monks now began to assemble with lights in the church , and all wept when they beheld their dying father . The Saint opened his eyes and looked around him with great cheerful o e ness and joy f countenance . Dermot lift d up his right h and that he might bless the choir Of monks , but the venerable father himself at the h is Same time moved hand as much as he was able , n ot S so that though he could peak , he might give his last blessing to the Brotherhood . And thus S h is ignifying holy benediction , the Saint breathed o O forth his Spirit . The author f the ld Life says that in three places is the full habitation of St . lum c ille Co . , Iona , Derry , and Down To Iona he ’ ’ his gave his stainless grace , to Derry , soul , and to was his Down , where he buried , body C olum c ill e The great name of St . is held dear by the descendants of the Scots both in Erin and of in Alba . The people the Hebrides invoke his aid to this day in their annual Shealing Hymn , and the stone fl ag on which he was born at Garte n is worn bare by the hands and feet of pious pil " et h e h as grims . his full habitation throughout a an d his ow n even a wider are , even in time Adam n an could write that Though he lived 30 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOLAR S

an d of in this small remote island the British sea , his name has n ot only become illustrious through out of an d a the whole our own Ireland Brit in , but has reached even to triangular Spain , and to Gaul , an d to Italy which lies beyond the Pennine Alps , s to s of and al o the city of Rome it elf , the head all ” Hi c . s ities large statesmanship , writes Mrs . “ his Greene , lofty genius , the passionate and poetic temperament that filled men with awe and a reverence , the splendid voice and st tely figure s that seemed almost miraculous gift , the power of inspiring love that brought dying men to see h is face once more before they fell at his feet in death , t ” give surpassing dignity and beauty o his life .

Cap itals an d M l din s C l on m ac n o ou g , h .

h r i n e ’ S of St . C ul an u s Bell .

Art wor k f eleve n th en t r o c u y . CHAPTER IV.

m an u St . C olu b s

olum ban u s is The great St . C the most strik

o an d n e f s ing figure f his age , o o the mo t remarkable men in the long catalogue of th e

Saints . He has been described as being in many respects the greatest , bravest , the most thoroughly

s of national , and the most repre entative all the warriors of the cross that went forth from Ireland . There is n o ch aracter lay or religious in our history who represents so well in temperament the ‘ ’ — perf ervidum ingenium Sc otorum the lightning “ o aflam e genius f the Gael . A stern ascetic with religious passion , a finished scholar bringing from of of Ireland a knowledge Latin , Greek , Hebrew , s rhetoric , geometry and poetry , and a fine ta te , Colum ban u s battled for twenty years with the vice

- and ignorance of half pagan Burgundy . Scornful of s s ea e , indifferent to danger , astoni hed with the apathy of Italy as compared with the zeal of Ire land , he argued and denounced with the freedom of speech which accords with the custom of my ’ O country . wing to his Splendid character and achievement he is entitled to be considered as

‘ N t i n alit . 49 . Mrs . A. 8 . re en e Irish a G , o y , p 31 32 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOLARS

the outs tanding personality in the history of wn is n ot too Europe of his o time , and it much to say that a more remarkable m an never went

forth to preach the Gospel of Christ . In his fiery a a of zeal for the f ith , and his strong detest tion the vice and brutality of the people amidst whom he s of laboured , he recalls to mind the stern prophet O the ld Testament . The danger in which he stood from his fiery denunciation of the vicious lives of kings and nobles an d the apathy of French church ’ men never deterred him from his task . A great French historian tells us that he preached the reformation of morals an d devotion to the faith with perfect heedlessness of all other considera an d a tions all external circumst nces , sometimes s s embroiling him elf with princes and bi hops ,

on un con throwing the divine fire all sides , and to con fla rati n cerned as the g o which he caused . Col St . um ban us was born about the year 543 in

West Leinster . He was educated under the care in of St . S ell at a monastic school at Cleen ish in

Lough Erne , and afterwards studied at the great of m all school Bangor under St . C o g . When he

a s bec me fully trained for his career as a mis ionary , Colum ban us set forth from Ireland to the Con tin en t , bringing twelve monks of Bangor as h is

. a Atalas companions S int , who succeeded him at

. a Bobbio , St G ll , who founded the monastery of

. on s of "fa St Gall the hore ke Constance , Lua ,

of as a W ald len founder a mon tery in Neustri , o , as of head of the mon tery Luxeuil , were included

in the small company . After staying for a tim e

34 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOLARS

an d impressive , everywhere he went he made

sincere and earnest converts . His splendid cour age an d intense zeal f or the salvation of souls made an irresistible appeal to the hearts of the of people , and witnessed to the strength the faith which impelled him to take great risks and endure a great sacrifices . P ssing through Gaul , he came

Gon tran . to the court of , King of Burgundy Gon tran received C olum ban us and his fellow A missionaries kindly, and established them at nne grai , where they founded their first monastery , which was to be the parent of many religious o th olum ban u houses n e Continent . C s drew up for the guidance of his monks a series of rules which were stricter and more severe than those regulating the life of any monastic community of in Europe , with the exception the monasteries of Ireland , from which he derived the customs and hi practices that were to be observed by s followers . He realised that if he was to be successful in c om batting the sin and ignorance of a country which was pagan at heart , he must use the sternest dis i l c p in e amongst the men who were to serve as his s in truments . His monks had to employ every of an d moment the day , the intervals between the united prayer of the community were devoted to t copying manuscripts , writing, eaching in schools or labour in the fields . They were only to cease

to from work when overpowered by sleep , and had s f commence their ta ks again after insu ficient rest . In commenting on the stern ness of this rule estab lished Columban us by , Montalembert rightly C OLUM BANUS 35 ST .

Observes that it was only at the price of excessive and perpetual labour that France and Europe were restored to cultivation and life .

We should , however , entirely misread the character and mission of Colum ban us if we only view him as a stern and rigid ascetic , who was of of utterly careless his own ease and that others , and who disregarded all things human in the fiery l was zeal of his great ife work . He , it is true , strong and inflexible in all things that pertained f aith et l to the , y he a ways retained a warm and l kindly Irish heart, and had a great s ympathy for all created things . Legends tell us that he had a fascination for animals , that the birds played as freely with him he walked through the forest, and that the squirrels came down from the trees on e and nestled in his cowl . It is said that on

Occasion , when he was in the depth of the woods , of a pack wolves gathered round him , and were subdued by the mildness and saintliness of his presence .

Though he ruled his disciples sternly , he loved and was beloved by every member of his house O on e hold . n occasion when he was bidding them l e farewe l , he concluded his lett r with the following words The end of my parchment compels me to finish my letter . Love is not orderly , and it is

h as . this that made it confused Farewell , dear in hearts Of mine . Pray for me that I may live ff God . He always wrote to them a ectionately as n is dearest sons , his dearest pupils , his brethren in Deicola who abstinence . When parting from , 36 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOLARS

was also from Leinster , and who was one of his

: L , oldest friends , he said May the Almighty ord for the love of Whom you have left your native in land , grant that we may meet before His face ” heaven . He loved tenderly St . Valery , a shepherd who on e of his boy , became monks , and who had ’ charge of the novices garden , and always held it

as a mark of the divine favour , that no flowers

s so so melt sweet , and no vegetables were fresh as

those of his dear brother Valery . The community soon became too large for the old castle of An n egrai and it became necessary to

es tablish another house at Luxeuil , about seven s of miles di tant . At the time the Roman occupa Luxovium tion , Luxeuil , or , had been an important town and it was famous f or its medicinal springs

and baths . During the invasions of the barbarians a s the Roman town was reduced to she , and the population and all the semblances of agriculture a and cultiv tion had disappeared from the district . When Columban us came there the place was deserted save by wild animals and the ruins of the Roman villas were overgrown by thickets and

weeds . In a few years the monks had Cleared

away woods , tilled and sowed the land , and trans

formed the wilderness into a smiling garden . They toiled so hard that they often fell asleep when

returning home from their daily task . Frankish youths of noble family spurred by the example of s the Iri h monks , joined the brotherhood , and shared fe of O . of their hard li toil and prayer ne them ,

T - heodulf , followed the plough for twenty two COLUM BANUS 37 ST .

years , and when he died the people kept his plough in the village Church as a relic . When Colum ban us had lived f or some years at e Luxeuil , a dispute arose between hims lf and the secular clergy . The French bishops and priests in the neighbourhood complained that the Columban monks wore the tonsure differently from the Gaulish Clergy . The Columban monks , in s S accordance with the Iri h custom , haved the front of the head as far as the ears , while the priests of

to o Gaul shaved the p f the head . It was also complained that Colum ban us and his followers calculated th e time of Easter in accordance with the practice introduced into Ireland by St . to of Patrick , and did not conform the usage the lumban us . Co French Church in this matter . St was summoned to attend before an assembly of

Gaulish bishops to answer on these points , but he “ us did not appear lest , as he tells , he might ” contend in words . He wrote instead a letter to the French churchmen , in which he admonished them to hold Synods more frequently , and to pay attention to matte rs more important than the celebration of Easter . As to his Paschal Cycle : and himself , he said I am not the author Of this divergence . I came as a poor stranger into these

s of O . O part , for the cause Christ , ur Saviour ne

of thing alone I ask you , Holy Fathers , permit me to live in solitude in these forests near the bones of seventeen of my brothers now dead . Surely

it is better f or y ou to comfort than to disturb us ,

old too . Le poor men , strangers , , in your midst t 38 iRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOLARS

us rather love one another in the charity of Christ , s striving to fulfil his precept , and thereby to secure a place in the assembly of the just made

perfect in heaven .

Another source of trouble also arose . Thierry , the of youthful King Austrasia , acting on the advice of his grandmother Brunehaut , repudiated his

lawful wife , and lived in a state of debauchery . Saint Colum ban us reproved Thierry for his wicked

life , and the King , who greatly reverenced him , s of promised to reform , but showed no sign amend O ille iti ment . ne day Brunehaut brought four g Colum ban us an d mate sons Of Thierry before , lum ban : asked him to bless them . Co us replied NO n ot s , I will ble s them ; they shall not reign , ” a l m ba they re a bad breed . Finally C o u n us

t to refused the guil y pair admission the monastery , an d the angry King made an order that it should be open to all visitors under pain of forfeiting the olum ban u s royal gifts and patronage . St . C us our replied If you wish to violate rules , we ” do n ot of want any your gifts . The Saint and his Irish companions were thereupon expelled from

the kingdom . In parting from the community at Luxeuil Columban us of sent a letter farewell , in which , o writes Montalembert , recollections f classical antiquity mingle with evangelical instruction to dictate to the Saint some of the finest and proudest a h as words which Christi n genius ever produced . The letter runs as follows : I had at first meant to a e a d write lett r full of sorrows n tears , but COLUM BANUS 39 ST . knowing well that your heart is overwhelmed with cares and labours , I have changed my style , and to sought dry the tears rather than call them forth . I have permitted only gentleness to be seen out of side , and chained down the grief in the depths ow fl w my soul . But my n tears begin to o " I must drive them back ; for it does not become to a good soldier weep in front of the battle . After to us is all , this that has happened nothing new . Is it not what we have preached every day ?Was there n ot of old a ph ilosopher wis er than the others wh o was thrown into prison for maintaining against the Opinion of all that there was only on e God ? The Gospels also are full of all that is to necessary encourage us . They were written to the r of with that purpose , teach t ue disciples

Christ crucified to follow Him bearing their cross . Our perils are many ; the struggle that threatens us is severe , but the recompense is glorious , and ur the freedom of o choice is manifest . Without n o n o adversaries conflict , and without conflict,

. is is crown Where the struggle , there courage , vigilance, patience , fidelity , wisdom , prudence ; o out f the fight there is misery and disaster . Thus w n o then , ithout war crown , and I add without ” freedom no honour . On i olum ba u leaving Luxeu l St . C n s went north Clotaire ward and was hospitably received by ,

of o . King Neustria , at Soiss ns Thence he went to of Metz , the capital Austrasia, where he was of joined by some his brethren , who had escaped to from Luxeuil in order accompany him , and with

(0 355) 40 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOLAR S

their help, he began a mission amongst the pagan populations who dwelt on the right bank of the

s on Rhine . He establi hed monasteries at Tuggen

Lake Zurich an d at Constance . After spending three years in Switzerland , he crossed the Alps by A ilul h the Pass of St . Gothard into Italy , and g p ,

King of the Lombards , gave him lands for the foundation of a monastery at Bobbio , a lonely spot in the Appenines . There was a ruined church at l m ban us . Co u Bobbio dedicated to St . Peter , and St , was n ow s of who over eventy years age , set about to repair it , to build his monastery , and to clear away the surrounding district of timber in order a to prep re it f or cultivation . When the monastery Columban us to was built St . went to Rome ’ obtain the Pope s approval for his rule , and placed the monastery under his protection . He lived but on e of year after the foundation Bobbio , and 61 5 passed away from the brotherhood in the year ,

his s - when he was in eventy third year . of Colum ban us be The life work must judged , own not by his accomplishment alone , but by the accomplishment of the m en who were trained by l a him , and under the ru e which he est blished . It h as been calculated that 1 05 monasteries were s founded by his disciple in France , Germany ,

Switzerland , and Italy . The great monastery of Bobbio which he founded in Lombardy became of one the most celebrated homes of religion and ” . . Columban u learning in Europe St s, said a Mont lembert, lit up at Bobbio a fire of science an d teaching which for ages was a centre of peace

42 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOLARS

s e his di seminat d by knowledge and doctrine , e h e t wher ver presented himself , caused a con em porary writer to compare him to the sun in his course from East to West ; and he continued after his death to shine forth in numerous disciples ” r rh om h ad he trained in learning and piety .

“ In itial l ette r 8 B k f H oo o ym ns . CHAPTER V .

T h e Irish Sain ts

During the three centuries that followed the coming of St . Patrick there were numerous Saints o in every province f Ireland , and the conversion of the people to the faith influenced the whole life of the nation to an extent that has scarcely been parallelled in the history of the spread of of Christianity . Cardinal Newman speaks the Irish multitude of Saints which the Book of Life ” i a alone is large enough to conta n , and Mont l em bert tells us that the Thebaid reappeared in

Ireland , and that the West had no longer any thing to envy in the history of the East . An ancient Irish manuscript of unknown authorship divides the Saints of Ireland into three O great orders . The First rder was in the time of 350 St . Patrick . They were in number , all of bishops and all founders churches , and were of either citizens the Roman Empire , Franks , r f Britons o Scots . This order consisted chiefly o of St . Patrick with the great number foreign wh o o to missionaries acc mpanied him Ireland , or who came there after his time , and of the Britons and native Irish ordained by th e Apostle of Ire" 44 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOLARS

O land and his successors . The rder continued for

more than a century after the date of St . ’ O Patrick s arrival . The Second rder numbered 300 of , whom many were priests and a few were Fin n ian bishops . It included , Enda , Colman , Com all C ain n ec h g , Ciaran , Columba , Brandan , ,

oem han Lasri n Lu eus Barrin d an d C g , a , g and , flourished during the latter half of the Sixth O of century . The Third rder Saints lived in Ireland f or a period which extended f or about seventy years from the end of the sixth century . The writer of the manuscript says that the First O r O rde was most holy , the Second rder holier , and sun the Third holy . The First glowed like the in the fervour of their charity ; the Second cast a pale radiance like the moon ; the Third shone like the aurora . These Three Orders the blessed Patrick e foreknew , enlight ned by heavenly wisdom , when in prophetic vision he saw at first all Ireland a a on blaze, and afterwards only the moun t ins fire ; ” and at last saw lamps lit in the valleys . The First Order of Saints were mainly occupied in spreading the Christian faith amongst the Irish

. people They were not connected , as a rule , with monasteries , although there were monastic estab lishm en ts and schools founded during the period , s and many of the abbots were bi hops . Their lives as were , in general , Dr . Healy remarks , too full of missionary labours to be given to the govern or of ment foundation monasteries . They devoted all their energy to the task of converting the Irish o pe ple from paganism , and they efl ected this great THE IRISH SAINT S 45

i n o t Change by their zeal and fervour , leav ng bit er memories and without any sacrifice of human lif e . When they had satisfactorily accomplished their work a transition " set in from the missionary h of . is church St Patrick and immediate successors , who were engaged in preaching the Christian Faith to of and founding churches , the monastic church f O the sixth century . The Saints o the Second rder were the pioneers of the great monastic movement of in Ireland , and the love monastic seclusion characterised to a remarkable degree the religious life of the country during the period . The move ment took its rise principally from the great s Fin n ian mona tery and school founded by St . at e Clonard , as the Saints who were ducated there to of went forth found , in imitation their master , monasteries and schools in the diff erent provinces . The Third Order was chiefly composed of

Anchorites or hermits , who retired from the world to Spend their lives in prayer and meditation in s places removed from human society . The de ire f or solitude had become general amongst religious men of the time , and we find whole communities living apart in remote valleys or on lonely islands . Each member of the community constructed a little cell for himself , a church was built in the centre of the cells an d a low rath or wall sur rounded the settlement . The monks passed the greater portion Of their time apart from on e an in ow n to other their cells , and only assembled gether in the church for common worship or at n of meal times . There are i teresting remains ‘ 46 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOLARS these hermit communities on some of the islands at In ishm urra off off the Irish coast, notably y the s of Sli o Ardoilen off of coa t g , at the coast Galway , i fl a of and on the Great Skell g o the co st Kerry , where there is still a group of the beehive - Shaped stone houses built by the monks in a good state of preservation . The ecclesiastical system prevailing in Ireland for a long period was almost exclusively monastic . The monasteries were governed by rules that h ad in many cases been handed down from their founders . Thus reference is made in ancient doc uments to the Ailbe of of . . rules St Emly , St Ciaran Of Clon a i h m cn o se Com all o . . f , St g Bangor and St Carth ach t of Lismore . These rules were n o similar to the set body of rules which were afterwards drawn up for th e regulations of great religious orders like the Benedictines and the Dominicans , but were a number of pious practices derived from the or of precept example of the first Abbot . In all these rules the three virtues most strongly c om m an ded are obedience , poverty, and chastity Every member of the community had to yield the most implicit obedience to the commands of the

Abbot . To hold riches in contempt and to denude oneself of all worldly possessions was regarded as of the first perfection a monk . The ru le of St . Colum cille prescribes absolute nakedness from of f worldly goods in imitation Christ . The lif e o the community was conceived as a warfare ; they of regarded themselves as the soldiers Christ, and therefore divorced themselves from earthly in THE IRISH SAINT S 47

terests . They were also req uired to be chaste in

of . thought, word , and work . The rule St

Colum ban us provides that silence , which is the practice of be carefully preserved o at every task and in every place . The t ngue was sin regarded as a source of , and therefore the

s monks must only speak when ab olutely necessary , and the Abbot in giving h is orders was to be brief and to the point . Humility was another virtue arth ac h strongly insisted upon and the rule of St . C of Lismore requires the monk to live in humility S towards all , howing to everyone devotion , ” humility , and enslavement . The Spirit of monasticism existed in the Irish e Church from the beginning . St . Patrick writ s of the great multitude of the Scots and their daughters who became monks and virgins of

. of Christ The first ardours the faith , which broug ht the first Christians in other countries to to martyrdom , drew the Irish neophytes the

zan am . monastery , says Frederick O The bishops and clergy left by St . Patrick in the churches which he founded , lived together in a relation similar to the community lif e in a monastery . The clan syste m also assimilate d to the monas tic life where the Abbot was the Spiritual father of the other monks as the chief was considered the father of e of the clan , and the example of the m mbers the chieftain ’ s families who became Christians and monks was imitated by their followers . A

Leinster chieftain , who was baptized by St . M doc of ofl er to oe Ferns said , I myself God and 48 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOLARS

ou f to y , and with myself I O fer all my race ; be you ” mas ter over all of us . Women were not behind hand in sanctity and St . Brigid , St . Ita , and St .

Fan ch ea founded communities of holy women . The more ardent and enthusiastic spirits were de sirons of leading a life of even greater m ortification and prayer than was contemplated by the monastic to rule , and went live apart in solitary communion

O of . with God . ne of the earliest these , St Enda , was of of O wh o a son the King riel , resigned an d his kingdom became a monk , obtaining from his relative the King of Munster a grant of Aran Mor island as a place where he might retreat from

f or m ortification . the world solitude , penance , and

St . Kevin dwelt alone for seven years in a small Glen dalou h cave at g . St . Fiac retired every year to Slett for the season of Lent a cave near y , taking with him some barley loaves , which were the only food he used until he returned to his monastery to celebrate the great festival of Easter with his brethren . The Saints wh o led this life of prayer and m ortific ation became naturally the objects of great veneration and respect , and when their of places retreat were discovered , others came to learn from them and to place themselves under their guidance . Thus disciples came from various of . a parts Ireland to St End at Aran , and after a time he had on e hundred and fifty monks under his control . In the same way a shepherd made a of known the retre t St . Kevin , and great numbers of holy men made their way to Glen dalough ttr u f or a acted by his rep tation sanctity , so that

50 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOLARS

of lon m ac olum cille . C rushes . St . C and St Ciaran i noise had stones f or their pillows . The r food was of the simplest and poorest character , and was only just sufficient to maintain them in their life

of . toil All, including the Abbot, engaged in manual labour, levelling and fencing the ground , and cultivating the fields and reclaiming woods and wildernesses . Some of them were skilled or workers in metal , craftsmen , and made many w u e r r articles for their o n s o f o the outside world . Others were physicians and helped the poor in the o a time f sickness . They had att ched to the f or monastery a guest house travellers , and here all who choose to avail of their hospitality were received and given the best cheer that the monas ter y could afford .

on e of Writing was their chief occupations, and it is to their industry that we owe the preservation of most of our ancient learning that has come down t o us . They copied and multiplied manuscripts own or f or for their use , presentation to others , and executed their work of transcription with the greatest care and artistic beauty . St . Colum cille gave up whatever time he could Spare from other labours to this work , and he is said to have made three hundred Copies of the New Testament with hi s own hand . They gave up another portion of their time to the study of the Sacred Scriptures , of C the Fathers the Church , lassical literature , and of other branches learning . They had also the y of dut giving instruction in the schools . i A genu ne and unselfish love of learning f or its THE IRI SH SAINT S 51 own sake was on e of the Characteristic features in the lives of our Irish Saints . Many of them were endowed with great literary gifts and made im t of portant contributions o letters . A number of them gained distinction as poets . Saint Fiac l tt e o . S y , one of the earliest f the converts of St of Patrick , who was a nephew the royal poet ' Dubhtach wh o h ad been , and trained by his uncle of for the Bardic profession , was the author a of on e metrical life the National Apostle , which is of the most important works that we possess in connection with the early history of the Church in n ech n all Ireland . Sai t S composed a hymn in

of . s honour St Patrick , and al o a beautiful Eucharistic Hymn which is preserved in the lum cille of . Co Antiphonary Bangor Saint , who of r studied the art poet y under the aged bard , of L e Gemman einster , has writt n poems in Irish olumban us and Latin . St . C sought refreshment from his labours as a missionary in the writing of playful Latin poems . Donatus , Bishop of Fiesole , has left us graceful Latin verses in praise of Ire Cum m ain land . Ultan , , and Colman were poets as well as Saints .

They had , also , a great love of nature , and , as

. of Dr Healy notes , a very keen perception the ’ grandeur and beauty of God s universe . The

o o voice f the storm and the strength f the sea , the majesty of lofty mountains and the glory of sum mer woods , spoke to their hearts even more n of or eloque tly than the voice the preacher , the writing on their parchments They loved all the 52 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOLAR S

beauties of the natural world about them which of manifested the glory of the Creator all things , and they learned to know the invisible things of

God from the visible things that He had made . They chose positions of great natural beauty as

the sites for their churches and monasteries . Sometimes individual saints Chose remote or in accessible places where they could live in un in ter ru ted c God p ommunion with and Nature , and built their oratories on uninhabited i slands off the Dom an art his n coast, or in lakes . St . g had cell o of the summit Slieve Donard , and St . Brandon on lived for a time the summit of Mount Brandon .

St . Finan had h is hermitage on an island in Lough ’ Fin bar . r s Lee in Kerry , and St first foundation was at lone Gongane Barra . St . Finan founded on Skelli s M or a monastery the g , and Aran was ‘ ’ known as Aran of the Saints . Akin to their love of nature was their love of birds and animals . St . Patrick was in this , as in so s many other respect their exemplar . The Irish life of the Saint tells that as he w as going with Daire to mark out the site of his church at d Armagh , they came upon a oe and her fawn lying

. a doe a beneath a tree The st rtled fled way , and ’ s s t th e the king attendant were abou to kill fawn ,

. but St Patrick interfered and saved it . Taking S it gently upon his houlders he bore it away , and ’ the little animal s mother followed the Saint to of a place refuge . Tradition tells us that the s s of quirrels and dove nestled in the hands St . Columbanus h the t and t at birds used to come oSt . THE IRI SH SAINT S 53 Kevin and alight on his Shoulders to Sing him C olum cille their sweetest songs . St . had a pet d on crane , which followe him his walks about the t monastery , and another s ory tells of how a wounded bird from Ireland was carried by the tempest to Iona ; and of how the Saint cared and to u tended it, and set it free ret rn homewards when the storm had abated . St . Brendan had a a of pet crow , and St . Colman had a t me flock ducks that came and went at his call . There is o Sai hir a beautiful legend that St . Ciaran f g formed his first community of animals . On the margin of an ancient manuscript from the monastery of St . Gall there were found verses which an Irish monk composed in praise of the song of a blackbird which had interrupted him in his task of glossing . The love of little Children is noted as a character ti o Feilire of is c of others f the Irish Saints . The f rdbracc an to . o A Angus refers St Ultan , Bishop , “ as the great sinless prince , in whom the little ones are flourishing : the children play greatly ” i d a It round Ultan of Ar brac c n . is also recorded that during the " ellow Plague he brought to his monastery a number of children whose fathers and mothers had been carried Off by the disease , and fed and kept them . It is told Of St . Fridolin that he was especially fond of boys and joined in their games and amusements . An abundant literature of beautiful legends has grown up round the lives of our Irish Saints . In many cases the narrative of their deeds was 54 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOLARS

own writte n two or three centuries after their age , and one can easily detect anachronisms and ex i n on aggerat o s . They were often founded vague popular tradition which in course of time becomes

naturally amplified and distorted , and were some

times written to excite veneration and zeal , and et with little regard for historical exactitude . " f or when due allowance has been made all this , and when we entirely reject statements of a legendary

or doubtful character , there is sufficient testimony of a thoroughly reliable nature to warrant the

claim made by Dr . Healy that the first centuries of the faith in Ireland present a more beautiful spectacle before men and angels than anything or seen in Christendom before since . Pere Gou gaud who submits all his evidence to severe critical s test , and who will not accept stories that have

or m any appearance of being legendary i aginative , describes the period in the following words efflorescen ce of a Such an sanctity , l sting for a three or four centuries , is a spect cle that does to honour human nature regenerated by grace , and shows what Christianity is capable of accomplish ” ing .

Head f elti Pin o C c .

Cl on m ac n ois. CHAPTER VI .

T h e Irish M ission

We owe our knowledge of the labours and influence of the Irish monks in England and the to an d Continent almost entirely foreign sources , , our with a very few exceptions, native annals are almost silent concerning the missionaries wh o went forth from Ireland in such great numbers . So frequently were they to be met with on the Walaf ried of Continent that Strabo , a writer the of ninth century, remarks that the custom travel ling appeared to have become a part of the Irish ’ " man s nature . St . Gildas notes that to voyage to of over seas , and journey over broad tracts land was to the Irish monks n ot so much a weariness “ ” of as a delight . Most them , he writes , appear ” to have been born under a wandering planet . ” - The Celt , says Mr . Lane Poole , did not yield r m to the No se en in his passion for travel . Various reasons may be assigned to account f or of the large number Irish monks that went abroad , and they certainly did n ot leave their native land because of any idle curiosity to see foreign

‘ Con suetudo p er eg rin an di Jam p aen e in n aturam Con vers a ” es t . M on um en ts . er an i a II. 30. G m c , 55 56 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOLARS

countries or through a desire to wander about on of the Continent . There was a multitude monks f or in Ireland , and an urgent and great need

missionary eff ort in France and Germany . The s f or t Irish Saint had a real vocation the apostola e , and many of them were impelled by the call to a higher degree of the ascetic life . They fully realised that charity began at home and they did not go away until the faith was secure in Ireland .

An early canon attributed to the epoch of St . — ’ Patrick states z One s first work must be to in ’ of ow n struct the people one s country , following o the example f Christ . It is only in the case when no results can flow from such instruction that on e is permitted to abandon it following the example tl "E of the Apos e .

e The Venerable Bede , a cont mporary writer , has described f or us how devoted and zealous the s Iri h missionaries were , and how they were always the servants of God and despised the things of the

. s world They posse sed neither gold nor silver , and all that they received from the rich passed

of through their hands , into the hands the poor . an d n obles Kings visited them from time to time , r or to only to pray in thei churches , listen to their

sermons , and as long as they remained in their cloisters they were content with the humble of food the brethren . Wherever on e of these c a w e clesi stics or monks came , he as received by all with joy ; and whenever he was seen journey

o Had ' don an d St s : ubb Councils a“Q Ecoleexastic al Dc cu " _ e ts m n II. . , , p 335.

58 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOLARS

C i she centre of hr stendom , and kept ever before — her his maxim 0 Church of the Scots nay of — i l th e Romans as ye are Christ ans , be ye a so ” Colum ban us to Romans . St . in a letter Pope Boniface states that although dwelling at the of extremity the world , all the Irish were disciples t e of Sain s Pet r and Paul, receiving no other than the evangelical and apostolic doctrine ; that no or or i to heretic, Jew, schismat c , was be found to among them , but they still clung the Catholic faith as it was first delivered to them by his (the ’ Pope s) predecessors ; that is the successors of the holy apo stles ; that the Irish race were attached to th e Chair of St . Peter, and that although Rome was great and renowned , it was only on account of was so w that Chair it with them . Through the t o of Apostles Christ you are almost celestial , and is of of Rome the head all churches , as well as the ” world . The Irish missionaries were wholly absorbed by s n the great mis io which they had undertaken , and in the execution of it they took but little thought of their own welfare . They wandered about from

a ? pl ce to place , sometimes through trackless 80 1i

tudes , always trusting that God would provide for

. Cloth aire their support King the Second , while

Se u an ia hunting the wild boar in the forest of q , on e of D . eicola met them , St , and asked him what w ere his means of livelihood , and how his brethren “ ” as fared in such a wilderness that . It is written , a Deicola s id , that they wh o fear God shall want

or othi g . We f n n are poor, it is true, but we love THE IRI SH MIS SION 59

of and serve the Lord , and that is more value than ” a e n gre t riches . Special host lries had to be fou ded for their support in many parts of the Frankish

- realm by the charity of their fellow countrymen . In on e of the capitularies of Charles the Bald o 845 drawn up after the Council f Meaux , in , there of of s is mention made the hostelries the Scot , which holy men of that nation built and endowed with the gifts acquired by their san ctity . It is to be remembered that the Irish monks had been trained in a hard and severe school , where it was the rule that th e members of the community were to support themselves by the labour of their w o n hands . Mendicant orders whose members were dependent chiefly on the off erings of the faithful for subsistence did n ot exist in Ireland at this n ot time , and were introduced until many centuries e lat r . The stronger brothers in the early monasteries devoted themselves mainly to manual labour , and all the brethren , including even the s to scribes and artist , were required work in the

fields . Thus everything that the little community was needed produced by themselves , and it became

- self supporting . The companions of St . Colum banus by their incessant labour transformed one of the wildest and most deserted regions in France

c rn fields . into fertile o and vineyards . St Fiacre and his fellow monks Changed the portion of La

Brieu , near Meux , from a wild forest into a

s . miling garden . The biographer of St Remi tells us h ow he received certain pilgrims from Ireland an d h M settled t em in suitable places near the arne, ' 60 IRELAND : iTs SAINT S AND S CHOLAR S

where they might visit and help one another . “ t sa on They did n o , he ys , live only the charity of those to whom pious Remi had com own mended them , but also on their industry and

the labour of their hands , in accordance with the

custom of the religious bodies in Ireland . This a life, united to wonderful holiness and const nt won f or prayer, them a great love among the ” natives of the country . The Irish missionaries usually travelled in groups as it would have been dangerous in that age of violence to journey alone . The group con sisted general ly of a dozen individuals and their to of Chief , who was be the Abbot the future

. set G settlement They sail first for reat Britain ,

re- and then passing through that country , em barked at some Kentish port for the Continent . f or on In Europe they travelled the most part foot , and according to the rules of certain orders of monks could not travel in any other way , as these rules permitted only an Abbot to use a c arriage of any kind . They were clad in coarse woollen r ga ments , worn over a white tunic , their hair was tonsured from ear to ear across the front of the head and long flowing locks hung behind ; they carried long staves , and bore a t their sides leather water bottles and wallets in which they kept their food , writing tablets and manuscripts . They a Allem an i appe red thus amidst the Franks and , a to spe king them with fiery eloquence , at first

through an interpreter, and afterwards in the u lang age of the country which they acquired . THE IRI SH MIS SION 61 Wherever they settled down they erected little wooden huts and a Church within a large enclosure . They supported life by cultivation of the land and fishing and asked for nothing for themselves but a space where they might found their settlement and , at times , a little food . They laboured all day to teach and civilise and sought to influence the people who surrounded them by precept and examp le . They won the people by their gentle ness , earnestness and humility , and both Franks so ua and Romans joined them , that event lly similar colonies were formed far and near from the first settlement as a starting point . They were men whose whole mind was devoted

" to the great work in which they were engaged , to the exclusion of all thoughts of their ow n personal s Se ebert ff interest . When King g o ered gifts to Colum ban u s , the Saint replied We are fol of wh o h as lowers Christ , plainly said , Whosoever will be my disciple , let him deny himself , take up ’ the Cross and follow me . The things which are in w to n ot f or your po er bestow do attract us, in these things there is nothing to satisfy the heart of c om myself and my companions . We seek not

n or to to forts , dwell in fertile lands , nor gratify the flesh . We seek for solitude and some secluded place wherein to live in penitence and devotion They took no thought of the dangers which they might encounter in travelling to foreign and ’ hostile peoples . A story is told in King Alfred s Chronicle of three Irish missionaries who were “ ” washed on the shores of Cornwall . They came , 62 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOLARS

writes Alfred , in a boat without oars from h ad Hibernia, whence they stolen away , because for th e love of God they would be on pilgrimage

they cared not where . The boat in which they of fared was wrought three hides and a half , and they took with them enough meat for seven ” old of nights . An French chronicle tells the arrival about the year 589 of two Irishmen named Caidoc and Fric or with twelve companions at the of uen ton vic of little town Q , at the mouth the

Somme, and how they followed the great Roman the road into Country, preaching the gospel on

their way . They arrived at Centule (now St . “ as on Riquier) and , the chronicler puts it, fought , perceiving that the inhabitants were blinded by to error and iniquity , and were subjected the most cruel slavery ; they laboured with all their strength to redeem their souls and wash them in their ’ Saviour s blood . The people could n ot under of stand the language these missionaries , and rebelled against their teaching . They asked wh o angrily what these adventurers , had just out of escaped a barbarous island , were in search of , and by what right they sought to impose their on e laws th m . Violence would have been used n ot towards the missionaries , were it that a young noble named Riquier interfered in their favour .

He took the strangers under his protection , and ,

entertained them at his house . He learned from

them to love God above all things , and was filled with sorrow for his past life which he had Spent as v an unfruitful ser ant . He resigned all the THE IRI SH MIS SION 63

splendour of his high rank , cut the long locks which were a symbol of his nobility , and became

s o d l f on e a ervant f Go . Henceforth his i e was of m ortific ation a prayer and , and when he had t ken orders he became the founder of the celebrate d id c Fric or . Ca o Abbey of St Riquier , where and t were buried , and where two Latin epi aphs written n ilbe m by St . A g rt co memorate their virtues and o the land f their nativity . After landing in Europe they had to go amidst was to people whose language unknown them , and e of though themselves oft n noble descent, they found that they were poor and friendless in r is a st ange land . It frequently recorded how r ff t great were thei su erings from pover y , fatigue of an d h ow ‘ and lack equipment , many met their on " et to death the way . in the service which they had devoted themselves they bore all their trials with resign ation and a stout heart . They

e e - were compet nt, ch erful , and self supporting, faced privation with indiff erence ; caring nothing f or luxuries ; and when other provisions failed i a them , they gathered w ld fruit, tr pped animals , and fished with great dexterity , and with any sort of i rude appl ances . They were rough and some in what uncouth outward appearance , but beneath all that they had solid sense and much learning .

Their simple ways , their unmistakeable piety , and their intense earnestness in th e cause of religion so attracted the people everywhere , that they made crowds of

‘ J ce : S c ia Hist r of Ire an d art I. . 341 . oy o l o y l . P . p 64 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOLARS

Near the end of the seventh and at the beginning of the eighth century the Irish monks had estab lish ed a series of monasteries which extended from the mouth of the Meuse and Rhine to the Rhone . Throughout the chronicles and the lives of the Saints of this time references are often made to them ; and names purely Irish are consta ntly found aidor Furseus Frillan such as C , , Fullan Ultan , ,

of . Livin . Thus in the life St Remi , mention is made of his hospitable reception of ten pilgrims sa from Ireland . From that island , I y , seven brothers started on a pilgrimage for the love of

Christ . They were men of great piety and virtue . Gebrian G erm an us These were , Helan , Tressan , , Veran us Hebran us Petr an u s , , , and three sisters , u or Possen a Fra da Francla , Portia and In the h of life of St . Riquier it is recorded ow a body

Irishmen preached the faith in Picardy . In M Belgium they worked in alines , Ghent and other ' places . In the ninth century the number of Irishmen travelling in France was so great as to be almost burthensome and the Council of Chalons sur- Saone made canons against the wandering

Scots . There is al so frequent mention made in ’ of of the histories the time episcopi vagi , bishops h without any fixed diocese , who journeyed throug

France , and of whom the great majority appear t o our . have been countrymen . Many of the missionary establishments in Germany were either originally Irish or were the offsprings of Irish foundations . In the tenth century we find a great of t number Irish monasteries in Germany . O ho I .

66 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOLARS bon twelve Irish monasteries were established in of various parts South Germany , and at the time of its greatest prosperity the Abbot of Ratisbon s controlled the mona teries of Dels in Silesia , t Erfur in Thuringia , Wurzburg, Nuremberg , a M em n in en Eichst dt in Franconia , g and

Constance in Swabia, and Vienna in Austria . on e of of Johannes , the associates Marianus , went to Gottweich in Austria, where he died as an of s to Anchorite ; another his monk went Kief , and of a third went to Jerusalem . Frederick Bar barossa found in Bulgaria a monastery governed by an Irish Abbot, and there are letters still extant from the Irish Abbot of Ratisbon petition ing King Wratislaw Of Bohemia f or an escort f or his messengers through that country on their way to Poland . There is authentic evidence that these Irish monks who went to Germany in the eleventh and thirteenth centuries were worthy successors to the Saints and Missionaries who laboured in

France at an earlier period . The houses which to a they founded were Closed Germans , and lmost o so entirely recruited fr m Ireland , that while in France the second generation of monks was of largely composed Frenchmen , the German establishments continued to be thoroughly Irish even in the constitution of their members . It is difficult to exaggerate the influence which the Irish Saints and Missionaries exercised at this early period upon European civilisation . The was e Continent plunged in utt r darkness , literary as s an d as well piritual , the advent of th e Irish THE IRI SH MI S SION 67 t a s men of z s e e cher , full piety and eal, with up rior accomplishments and a genuine love of learning s marked the renaissance of religion and letter . ” - P n ot Mr . There reigned , says Lane oole , of only amongst the professed , scholars Ireland , but also amongst the plain scholars whom she sent t to for h preach the gospel to the heathen , a love of e e f or its own a lit ratur sake , and keen delight in poetry . Apart from their written works , there is a vein of poetry running through the lives of h ese of t Irish confessors , a poetry which the stories of their acts are better witnesses than their

- practical essays in verse making . They brought l imagination , as they brought spiritual ife into a world well nigh sunk in materialism . Through their ati poetry , a d especially through their L n n . hymns , which were carried abroad over Europe and t sung in many schools and monasteries , hey may be considered to have exercised n o small influence on the literatures that were just then arising from a the smallestbeginnings in the various n tions . The Romance languages which sprang from the Latin f would naturally be most directly a fected , and two

l - Z wel known European scholars , euss and Nigra , have traced the introduction of rhyme to the Irish e monks who wrot in this language . Their skill c G in music appears from the fa t that ertrude , f r daughter of Pepin , sought o Irish monks to cinstr uc t her community at Nivelle in sacred psalmody . St . Gall acquired its highest fame as as a school of music , as well a seat of learning , during the time that the Irishman Moen gal pre 68 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOLARS

Notker Balbulus sided over it, and , the most cele on e brated musician of the Middle Ages , was of his pupils .

St . Columba brought the poetry and learning of O Ireland to Iona , and swald , King of North umbria, who had been educated there , summoned the Irish monks to convert his country . In the words of Bede He sent to the seniors of the

Scots, among whom himself and his fellow soldiers when in banishment had received the Sacrament o f Baptism , desiring they would send him a i bishop , by whose instruction and min stry the Anglic nation which he governed might be taught a the advant ges of faith in the Lord , and receive Nor its sacraments . were they slow in granting his request, but sent him Bishop Aidan , a man ” of . . singular meekness , piety and moderation St

Aidan established himself at Lindisfarne , and the Irish influence was extended from there until the whole of Northumbria was supplied with monas a teri s and schools , and the love of study of letters was awakened amongst the people by the s enthusia m of their teachers . From the north the Irish monks penetrated into Mercia and o East Anglia , and fresh bodies f missionaries came over from Ireland in a constant succes sion . The Irish learning found its way to the South of England , and in Archbishop Theo ’ dore s day the school of Canterbury was full of

. M aelduf Irish scholars An Irishman , , founded a school , which afterwards grew into the famed A of an bbey Malmesbury, d amongst his scholars THE IRI S H MIS SION 69

Adh l wh . e m o was was St , pronounced by Alfred two centuries afterwards to be the best Of the

- Anglo Saxon poets . Glastonbury became a special so centre Of Irish learning and poetry , that it may t be claimed that Duns an , the chief figure in the revival Of English learning, derived from the Irish u scholars , who fo nded the school there , the spirit “ ” which inspired the movement . This , writes Mr . StO f ord G of p Brooke , was the aelic invasion .

England , and its imaginative and formative powers ran through all the poetry Of Northumbria , and stimulated the desires Of Wessex and Mercia ” to to a know , and feel fter the unknown .

M ldin T ai ein e ou g . u m Gr . I CHAPTER VI .

Som e Famous Irish M ission aries

With a few exceptions , we have but few and meagre details of the lives and works Of individual Irish missionaries who laboured in the various of countries Of Europe . Of that large multitude c on devoted men , who went from Ireland in a tin uous succession for three centuries the death 0 ” of one apostle being but the coming Of another the records are scanty and satisfactory , consisting mainly of casual references made by contemporary n ot writers . The period in Europe was favourable of our to the cultivation letters , and native annals generally do n ot make any reference to the Irish ecclesiastics wh o went abroad except in a few r ilius of cases . Thus we find it recorded that Ve g 788 Dun ch adh C Salzburg died in , Of ologne died

A 1 3 - — D . 8 n aemh Lai h en , Gilla na g , Superior of b r AD 1 085 Wurs u . the monastery in g , died ; but of Columban us there is no mention made , Gall , Cath aldus Fia h c ra or K . , , Colman illian Ver i . lius of o St g , Archbishop Salzburg , was b rn , e to reared , and educat d in Ireland , according s the te timony of Alcuin , who was almost his con

temporary , but the place and date of his birth 70

p n m c mio

‘ ( 1 p u do m

’

F r n tis ie e t o St J h n s s el . o p c . o Go p

n ve n t O f St . Ar n l et z. Co ou , M

72 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOLARS

Ver ilius St . g was not only a great missionary s on of saint , but was also distingui hed account his learning, and as an astronomer he was far in

o f or advance f his age , he held the sphericity of the earth and the existence of Antipodes long before Copernicus startled Europe with his teach

ing on this subject . In spite of Opposition he

stoutly maintained that the earth was round , that

u the s n passed beneath it , and that there must be

inhabitants on the other side . The doctrine and other views of Vergiliu s were unpalatable to the ecclesiastical authorities in Germany and charges

against him were brought before the Pope . He was represented as holding astronomical doctrines f s which were , in fact, di ferent from tho e which he

really advocated , and his teaching was condemned . Vergilius would appear to have explained his real t n o tenets o the satisfaction of the Pope , for w as punishment inflicted , and he was shortly after

wards promoted to the See of Salzburg . Fu rse St . y , a famous Irish missionary in France ,

was the son of a Munster prince named Fintan . He was trained in Connaught at a monastery on s of In c hi uin rrib the i land q in Lough C o by St . ’ Brendan , an uncle of his father s , and by St . wh o d o . f Meldan , succeeded St Brendan as hea the t community . Af er spending some time in Eng

- . P of land St ursey went to the north east Gaul , and landed with twelve companions at the mouth

A . D of . . the Somme , 638 He settled for a time at

a s to - - Peronne , but fterward went Lagny sur Marne

o . was at the request f King Clovis II , who desirous SOME FAM OUS IRISH MI S SIONARIES 73 of his having him near court . From the records of to that we possess his life , he appears have been o a man f a quiet and retiring character . Bede describes him as being renowned both for his words and actions , as remarkable for great virtues, and as being desirous to live a pilgrim f or the ff Lord , whenever an opportunity should O er . The same writer tells us that by the example of his c on virtues and the efficacy of his discourse , he verted many unbelievers to Christ, and confirmed in his faith and love those who already believed . Furse to Though St . y does not appear have possessed the learning for which his countrymen was a were celebrated , there a certain exalt tion in his nature which earns for him the epithet sub ” lime from the Venerable Bede . He wrote an ’ account of his Visions of Heaven and Hell which b c e ame well known in Europe , and which are the most remarkable writings of their kind anterior to the great epic poem of Dante . They Show a great of spiritual insight , and are full the most excellent moral precepts . They reflect the profound of religious convictions religious men of the period , and no small amount of imaginative power is shown in the treatment of the subject . It does n ot seem unlikely that the great Florentine poet ’ ’ Furse s was acquainted with St . y Visions , and deri ved inspiration from them in the writing of ’ the Divine Comedy . The Venerable Bede , who Furse speaks with the greatest reverence of St . y ” on e and his Visions , was of the writers whom e are Dante honoured in a special measure , and ther 74 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOLARS parallelisms between certain of the speeches in the

Furse Inferno and the words used by St . y

which would support this conjecture . 61 5 A D Cath aldus was . . St . born about the year

in Munster, and went to study at the great school

of Lismore . He eventually became a professor of h is s there , and the fame learning and virtue

attracted many pupils to the school . In addition C ath aldus an d to teaching , St . preached the Gospel

. He founded churches in the country of the Desii . of was consecrated Bishop Rachan , a locality was e which probably in Munst r , but which it is

difficult to ascertain . When he had presided over the diocese of Rachan f or some years he set out on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem with his brother

On . Donatus and several companions . their way homeward from Palestine the vessel in which they

sailed was wrecked in the Gulf of Taranto . St . Cath aldus escaped from the wreck , and arrived at a the city of Taranto . He found the city pr ctically pagan and the effeminate and licentious inhabitants

were almost entirely addicted to pleasure and vice . im lor He preached to them in moving language , p ing them to return to the rule and practices of

Christianity , and performed many striking mir o acles in their sight . The bishopric f Taranto

happened to be vacant at the time , and the Tarentines besought the Irish Saint to assume the f o to s . fice , promising follow his coun els . St Cath aldus h O e assented , reluctantly , in the p that to he might be able win them back to the faith . His labours amongst them were crowned with SOME FAM OUS IRI SH M I S SIONARIES 75

success , Taranto became a Christian city in reality t as well as in name , and the inhabi ants venerated

Cath aldus . St . as their patron and apostle His remains are still preserved with great honour in on the cathedral , and the inscription his tomb , ’ Cath aldus Rachan commemorates the debt which

Southern Italy owes to Southern Ireland . of St . Donatus was born a noble family in Ire of was land , near the end the eighth century , and educated at the monastic school of In ish caltra in a L . ough Derg He became priest , and Obtained high distinction as a professor and a man of learn of ing . He taught in Ireland for a number years , and was raised to the dignity of a bishopric . He . to left Ireland to make a pilgrimage Rome ,

9. of accompanied by Andrew , youth a noble Irish

on e of his . family , who was favourite pupils s They journeyed through France , vi iting many of places pilgrimage , and then made their way through Switzerland and Northern Italy to Rome . They received there the bles sing of the Supreme e s f or Pontiff , and , aft r taying some time in the set on city , out towards Tuscany their return to journey Ireland . They arrived at Fiesole , situated on the mountains overlooking Florence , where there were at the time many churches and memorials of Christian Saints and martyrs . They stayed for a time at a monastery at Fiesole before n resumi g their journey , and the monks and people of the to wn became greatly attached to the two Irishmen on account of their kindly simple way s t he r i al th e and great sanctity . Shor ly after t i arr y 76 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOLAR S

iesole an d Bishop of F died , the clergy and people resolved that Donatus should be his successor . on They approached him the subj ect , but Donatus of who was a man truly humble spirit , declined was the office . He told them that he only a poor pilgrim from Ireland , and that he did not wish to be their bishop as he was n ot fitted for the position since he hardly knew their language or customs . The clergy persisted in their request and at length

Donatus consented , and was consecrated Bishop

D . of Fiesole about 824 A . He became a great and

f or - successful pastor , and laboured thirty seven a th e ye rs at Fiesole , winning love and reverence is 61 . H of the people . He died in the year 8 O name is still honoured at Fiesole , and his tomb and other memories of him are held in high veneration . There is extant a short Latin poem of in which he recorded his love his native land , which he had left for ever , and celebrates the of of c beauty its climate , the worth the ancient ra e of that inhabited it , famed in the pursuits war and t peace , and noted for their at achment to the faith . Many legends have grown around the life ’ was of Saint Fridolin , the Wanderer . He born in Connaught and gained a great reputa tion for learning . After travelling through

s s various part of Ireland , he di tributed his

to . possessions amongst the poor, and went Gaul He entered the monastery of Saint Hilary of f or Poitiers , where he remained many years . His m brother onks loved and esteemed him , and elected him as their Abbot . He left Poitiers and went to SOME FAMOUSIRISH M I S SIONARIE S 77 the north - east towards the Moselle founding

r churches on the way . Ar iving at Strasburg he was f or founded a monastery there , which a long time under the direction of Irish monks . Then he went to a place called Seckin gen a little to the of east Basle, where he built a church , and lived t for a time . His wandering and restless spiri would n ot allow him to remain anywhere for a lengthened period , and we find him soon again travelling through Switzerland , and converting of h ear on the people Glarus , who still his figure

of his their cantonal banner , in memory mis sion ar y labours in the country .

St . Aidan was the most celebrated of the ’ lum c ille missionaries trained at St . C o s monastery

. son of Lu air s of at Iona The g , an Iri h Saint the same lineage as St . Brigid , Aidan studied at Innis Sen an us Scattery under St . , and became a monk to at Iona about 630. When King Oswald sent f or Iona missionaries , the first monks sent in answer to his call obtained but little results . They on of said their return , after the failure their mission , that success was impossible amongst the barbarous and stubborn people of Northumbria . a wh o of Aid n , was listening , asked if the cause their failure was due to the stubbornness of the people or to the severity of the monks . Did you ’ ” forget God s word , he asked , to give them the ” milk first and then the meat ? All those assembled thereupon considered Aidan as fittest to set out undertake the abandoned mission , and he to e in obedience their election, and fix d his home 78 IRELAND : ITS s AINTS AND S CHOL AR S

at Lindisfarne . Thence from his monastery preachers went forth in all directions through th e kingdom of Northumbria and the North . One group of missionaries went to the Valley of the s Tweed . Aidan him elf went on foot preaching to wh th e of . O o people Bernicia King swald , had spent some time with the Irish monks at Iona , acted as interpreter to the Irish mis sionaries in of their eff ort to convert his thegns . The piety

Aidan was seconded by the zeal of Oswald . Church es were built and the Northumbrian people came in great numbers to hear the new teachers .

Aidan lived the life that he preached to others . The gifts which he received from the king and the thegns were at once given to the poor , and his time was spe nt in study and preaching . He afterwards went as a missionary into the kingdom Oswin i Deira , and there he exercised over King the same influence which he had held over Oswald ’ in Northumbria . Aidan s mission in the North succeeded splendidly where the previous mission f rom Italy under Paulinus had failed , and Lindis farne became a focus and centre where some of the highest art and best literary culture of the period were cherished and cultivated . He found a school in which boys of the Angles were to be taught the

. O of a Christian polity ne his pupils , Eata , bec me a t f erwards Abbot of Lindisfarne . Another was the famous Bishop St . Chadd . A third was his G Dium a equally famous brother Bishop edda, and , of first Bishop Mercia , was a fourth . St . Aidan 651 is died in the year , and it related that, when he

CHAPTER VIII .

T h e Irish Sch ools

’ In early Irelan d religious training and the study s of letters were given at the same time . The Saint and their di sciples the monks were the founders ’ of the schools . The word sapiens so frequently employed in the early literature is applied to a learned man who was versed at once in sacred and O was profane literature . ther training only con sidered useful as serving as an auxiliary to religious e of n education . The lib ral arts , study ancie t languages and all profane culture was intended to prepare men for the study of the Divine mind c on " tain ed in the Scriptures and traditions . The School of Armagh was the oldest and one of the most celebrated of the schools of Ireland . It 450 was founded by St . Patrick between the years 4 A of D . and 57 . at the same time as the See

r h A mag . A great number of students from other a countries c me to Armagh , attracted by the fame of its of o professors , and one the wards int which the city was divided was kn own as the Trian Saxon or s of Saxon Third , because it was the re idence

English students . Later in the century St . Bridget established her church an d school at Kil

80 ‘ THE IRI S H S CHOOL S 81 d n la its . o t are with St C e h as first bishop and head , and Kildare soon became one of the greatest centres of Fin n ian religion and learning in Ireland . St . D founded the School of Clonard in 520 A . . and thither came as his pupils the Saints who were — known as the Twelve Apostles of Erin Ciaran of Sai hir of g , Ciaran Of Clonmacnoise , Brendan Birr, of C olum c ille of Brendan Clonfert, , Columba Tir - M obhi of of L da Glass , Glasnevin , Rodan orrha , Laserian of Sen an us of ni , Canice Aghaboe , In s in i Fin n ian cathy and N n dh the Pious . St . is said to have had as many as three thousand pupils at

Clonard . About twenty years after the foundation of Fin n ian Clonard , another St . founded the School o v f Mo ille . The great School of Bangor was Com ll . a founded by St g about the same time , and

St . Bernard of Clairvaux describes it as a noble institution that was in habited by many thousand s of monks . Amongst the most illustrious of its lum ban . Co us . pupils were St , St Gall , and Dungal the Astronomer, and the great St . Malachy pre sided over it in the twelfth century . The School 544 of Clonmacnoise was founded by St . Ciaran in , and took rank as on e of the greatest centres of learning in Europe . Alcuin , the foremost and of of most representative man letters his time , was a pupil there , and we have still a letter in which he records his gratitude to on e of his masters at i Clonmacnoise , and sends a g ft from the Emperor of Charlemagne to the professors . The oldest our

Irish t annals was written at Clonmacnoise by Ti h ern ach Suibh n e of its g , and , another teachers , 82 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND SCHOLARS who is referred to in the Saxon Chronicle as the a e of s gre t st master the Scots , a sisted King Alfred

at the foundation of the University Of Oxford .

St . Brendan founded the School of Clonfert in the 556 f or year , and presided over it twenty years , during which time he is said to have trained three of thousand monks . The School Lismore was

Carth ach 635. . founded by St . in the year St Cathaldus of Tarentum was a professor in Lis more and had under his care students from Eng

land , Gaul , and Germany . There were also Clon en a h celebrated schools at Aran , Durrow , g , Glen dalou h In n isf allen Cork , Derry , Emly , g , , In iscaltra , Louth , Kells , Mayo , Mungret, Ross ,

and Tuam . In all the greate r schools of Ireland there were a wh o students from foreign l nds , were attracted of s by the celebrity the Irish teacher , and the ’ phrase Am an datus est ad disciplinan in Hibernia

‘ came to be the mark of a learned man on the of Continent . Bede tells us that in 664 many the nobility an d the lower ranks of the British nation forsook their native land and went to Ireland , either f or the sake of sacred study or Of devoting to of themselves a monastic life . Some these

s became monks , while others cho e rather to apply ’ s s on e themselve to tudy , going about from master s cell to another . The Irish willingly received them all , and took care to supply them with daily to food without cost , and also furnish them with ’ books for their study and teaching free of charge .

‘ ” Bede : Eccl esiasti al Hi stor III 37 . c y . ,

84 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOLAR S

Continental scholars that the standard of learning in the great Irish schools was much higher than a was in It ly . It derived without interruption of m en from the learning the fourth century , from

such as St . Ambrose , St . Jerome , and St .

Augustine . The pupils had an Opportunity of free access to the works of the great Christian

writers , and were also well trained in classical

studies . In monasteries like Bangor the range Of w on e instruction was a ide , and it must have been a thoroughly equipped and vigorous seat of learn ing in th e latter half of the sixth century when it could have despatched such a trained and even elegant scholar as Colum ban us to convert the an pagans of France . His learning d scholarship are manifest to any student of his writings . He has left us good Latin verses , full of quaint metrical conceits in the classical and monastic in to rhym g style , and allusions pagan and

Christian antiquity are frequent in his poems . ’

. d Arbois J bain It is sufficient , as M de u ville says , to glance at his writings , to recognise immediately his superiority over Gregory of Tours and the l - s of Ga lo Roman his time . He lived in close converse with the classical authors , as later did the learned men of the sixteenth century , whose n ot equal he certainly was , but of whom he is the ”

. precursor He must, too , have acquired this scholarship in Ireland , because his life on the Continent was on e of vigorous and all - absorbing f e fort which left him no time for such studies, and the i h country n which e worked was plu n ged in THE IRISH S CHOOL S 85

literary and spiritual darkness , and could not an t present y Oppor unities for culture . Darm esteter e M . writ s that The classic tradi tion , to all appearances dead in Europe , burst out of in full flower in the Isle Saints , and the Renais a 700 s nce began in Ireland , years before it was t known in I aly . During three centuries Ireland was the asylum of the higher learning which took sanctuary there from the uncultured States of

Europe . At one time , Armagh , the religious of of capital Christian Ireland , was the metropolis civilisation . The Irish schools did not confine their courses to the study of sacred literature and ir iliu s the classics . They sent forth St . V g , a great geometer who taught the sphericity of the earth of o Dicuil and the existence the Antip des , who wrote a complete Geography Of the World as then an d wh o known , Dungal gained fame as an astronomer . two There were classes of schools in Ireland , or ecclesiastical and lay . The ecclesiastical monastic schools were intended principally for the S of tudy the Sacred Scriptures , theology , and the s clas ics , while the lay schools were occupied with Of the teaching the language , literature , laws , and two of antiquities of Ireland . Each Of the classes its schools had separate and distinct mission , yet e they worked tog ther harmoniously , and many laymen received their education in the monas t i er es . While the learned men were for the most part ecclesiastics , we find that laymen had an i d i a d important r e n education , n that nearly all 86 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOLARS

s the poets , physician , lawyers , artists and his torian s were laymen . The lay schools succeeded to the schools which had been governed by the Druids before the introduction of Christianity to Ollaves or wh o Ireland , and the Christian doctors taught in them were the successors of the wise men who directed the training and education of the people of pagan Ireland . The course of education was divided into seven a s or as s st ge , they were called the seven degree ” s s of wi dom , which corre ponded with the term periods in a modern university . A student who had passed through the various degrees and at tain ed to the highest grade was known as an ’ O v lla e or Doctor . In the Bardic schools the O s course extended over twelve years , and an llav poet had to possess a knowledge of seven kinds of verse , and to be able to compose extemporaneously in each . In addition he was required to know by heart three hundred and fifty legendary poems f or in recitation public . He took rank at the head of the learned professions and was considered to be the equal of kings and bishops in social dignity and importance . The profession of the poet was so highly esteemed and very popular , so much that Keating tells that in the middle of the sixth century nearly a third of the men of Ireland be to . G longed the poetic order The llave Brehon , who corresponded to a Judge of the High Court in our a s t own day , had l o o pass through a long and of severe course study , and had to be conversant with the intricate an d complicated rules of the

88 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOLARS

of students . Some of the poorer students lived in of the houses of people in the vicinity the school , and were maintained and educated without any O charge . thers lived in the houses with their la f ellows wealthier c ss , and waited upon them , receiving their food and clothing as a recompense . Sometimes even rich and nobly born scholars chose to do this by way of discipline and as a prepara t of tion f or a life of austerity . A s ory is told the Adam n an of schooldays of , the celebrated Abbot

a of . Iona and the biogr pher St Columba , who was connected with the noblest families in the North a a of of Ireland , which illustr tes this fe ture school life an d shows the Spartan simplicity in which the students were trained . Some time before he suc ceeded to Fin a h ta his kingdom , King g the Festive was riding on e day in the direction of the School of of Clonard with certain his attendants , and t Adamn an they over ook , then a little boy, carry of ing a jar milk on his back . In attempting to a m ke way for the horsemen , the lad stumbled and fell , spilling the milk and breaking the jar . Fin a hta on g rode , without noticing the accident , bo e but the y ran aft r him , greatly troubled and a be ring in his hand a fragment of the broken jar . ’ s t He ucceeded in attracting the King s at ention , an d Fin a hta g , amused by his troubled looks , questioned him in a kindly way as to the cause . bo n ot n The y , k owing his questioner , replied to him , Indeed , good man , I have great cause to be r l t oub ed . There are living in on e house near the sc t an hool three noble studen s , d three others that THE IRI S H S CHOOL S 89

on e an d wait upon them , of whom I am ; the three of us have in our turn to collect provisions in the r ix neighbourhood f o the whole S . It was my turn to- 10 e day ; and , what I had obtained has b en lost ; n h a d this vessel which I borrowed as been broken , ” Fin a hta and I have not the means to pay for it . g consoled the lad , assuring him that his loss would be made good , and promising that he would be careful of his welfare in the future . When he to became King he was faithful his promise , and Adam n an to e summoned his court , wher he became his friend and spiritual adviser .

In itia k K el ls . l I N. Boo of I" CHAPTER .

T h e Irish Learn i n g

One of the most distinguished and learned of ’ Irish Archaeologists h as remarked that we must draw from foreign depositories the materials on which to rest the proofs that Ireland of old was really entitled to that literary eminence which our natural feeling lays claim to . Nearly all domestic evidences of advanced learning have been s an d our wept away destroyed . Hence real know ledge of Irish teachers and scholars who migrated of to the Continent , and became masters foreign d is monasteries abroa , derived from foreign n out chronicles , and their testimo y is borne by the evidence of the numerous Irish manuscripts and other relics of the period from the eighth to the tenth century occurring in libraries throughout

Europe . Irish manuscripts are at present to be found in the Ambrosian Library at Milan , in Turin and s Naples , which are aid to have been brought originally from Bobbio . Such Irish foundations as Bobbio were for many centuries fed from the m s ona teries in Ireland , and in the ninth century

‘ D t r Reeves oc o . w t

R 92 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOLA S

" ’ lle d Arbois de Jubain vi has shown , a good know ledge of Greek , and they appear to have been the only. people then in Western Europe who possessed this knowledge . They had Gracco Latin

Glossaries , Greek Grammars , and the books of the

Bible in Greek accompanied by Latin translations . O ne of them , John Scotus Erigena , was a disciple a h of Plato , whose Tim eus he appears to ave read in of the original text, and he was the founder a system of philosophy derived from the doctrines c on of the celebrated Greek philosopher . It was

‘ sidered good taste amongst the Irish scholars and the other learned men of this period to scatter Greek words through the Latin text which they composed , and this practice points to a certain a cquaintance with the language . John Scotus

Erigena went even further than this , and wrote verses entirely in Greek . A manuscript in the library of Laon , written by an Irish scribe between 850 900 f the years and , contains two glossaries o the Greek and Latin languages , with occasional passages in the Irish language , and also a Greek

Grammar . It is believed to have been included in the library of Charles the Bald . They were also famed for their subtlety in argument and boldness in speculation . In these qualities they were distinguished from th e Saxon s scholar , who were invited to the Court of Charle th e magne , by Emperor actin g on the advice of i Alcu n . Cardinal Newman h as remarked that as

0 a l v t e ude de la Li tté rat re Cel t-i e Livre u qu , THE IRI SH LEARNING 93

was of Rome the centre authority in these ages , so Ireland was the n ative home of Speculation . In this respect they were remarkably contrasted with n ow s the English , as they are the Engli hman

- was hard working , plodding , bold , determined , persevering , obedient to law and precedent , and if he cultivated his mind , he was literary and t in classical rather than scientific , for li erature volves in it the idea of prescription . On the other hand , in Ireland the intellect seems rather to have

in ’ taken the line of science , and we have various stances to Show how fully this was recognised in s w as these times , and with what succe s it carried ’ l out . Philosopher is in these times a most the

f or of name an Irish monk . The monks the two nations were distinct , and even antagonistic a of in t lent , and there are evidences jealousies and rivalries the repugnance between the plain solid English temperament and the more adven ” turons speculative genius of the Celt . The Irish s cholars were alluded to as Egyptians on account of their leaning towards mysticism and

eo- t N Platonism , as we learn from a let er from Alcuin to Charlemagne in which he writes “Nescio ” quis subin troduxit Aegyptos tibi . In the ninth and tenth centuries Ireland sent a great number of teachers to the Con tin en tal schools , and all the more because great as of was the fame its earlier schools , it had then w few flourishing homes of learning of its o n . The names of many of these professors have not

e be n preserved , but the reputation which they 94 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOLARS gained on the Continent is e videnced in many ways . Thus we find that when the Emperor Frederick the Second was about to set up the of s University Naple , he sent to Ireland for the to s learned Peter be its fir t Rector , that an Irish as of man , Clemens , succeeded Alcuin the Rector the Studium at Paris , and that in the same age the Irish John was sent by Charlemagne to found the School of Pavia . The chief representative of Ireland and philosophy at the Carolovin gian Court was John

Scotus Erigena . We know little of him until the time that we find him an intimate of the palace of

851 t of Charles the Bald in , and the da e his birth and place of education are matters of surmise . He was at that time well known in France as a distinguished scholar , so that he must have been f or s h . w o some time re ident there Charles , had few of the great qualities of his famous grand h as father, Charlemagne , at least the distinction of e . being, like him , a noble patron of lett rs Stories are told of the terms of intimacy that existed between Charles and John Scotus which do equal credit to the kindliness of the one and the of wit and freedom the other . Certain reputed works of Dionysius the Areo

a ite had - p g been sent by Pope Paul I . to Pepin le

Bref , and a splendid manuscript of the mystical writings of the same author was subsequently presented to Louis the Pious by the Byzantine

Emperor Michael . The works were in the Greek a an d langu ge, the greatest scholars of France were

96 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND SCHOLARS

a a or pityingly , scribes the alleged mist kes differ onces of his opponents to their ignorance of the of s Greek language . The varied nature his studie n was not without its eff ect o him , and he often mingles divinity with platonic philosophy , and fell into grave errors in his speculation . He was not, of n or course , an ecclesiastic, was he a sound His theologian . bold and inquiring mind had come to consider that even the most sacred

e myst ries were within his comprehension , and he met with inevitable failure when he theorised con of D cerning the nature and attributes the eity , of grace and predestination , the future state reward and punishment and other subjects . He sailed , says Dr . Healy, through unknown seas where there was no chart to guide him . His daring spirit essayed untravelled realms of s of thought, and in the que t truth he often followed l wandering fires ; yet , as he himself tel s us , in the ’ of t of his light God s revelation , and the streng h grace , the wearied spirit always found its home

. of ward way again He was , in reality , the first the schoolmen , and his very errors , like the of wanderings every explorer in a new country , a ” served to guide those who came fter him . Few philosophers have Obtained so high a reputation for wisdom in their own age as John

Scotus Erigena . The strange legends which have grown around his life tend to show the awe in his which learning was held by his contemporaries . g m as He ained fa e a philosopher , a poet , and a a an d l theologi n , men oc ked with wonder at this THE IRI SH LEARNING 97

wh o prodigy , could write Greek verses , and wh o was expound the Scriptures in the Hebrew , familiar with Aristotle and Plato , as well as with of was c of the Fathers the Church , who Re tor the of Royal School Paris , and also professor of k dialectics and mathematics . He was nown in his ” own time, and long after as The Master , and ” was looked upon as a miracle of knowledge . That single mind that Ireland sent to Gaul sur in passed all others acuteness , said his friend i m Prudent us , expressing the esti ation which the great Irishman gained amongst the learned . The resemblance between the Greek mind and the Irish an d has sometimes been observed , it has been noted that the scholars of both these nations were of characterised by quickness and subtlety , love of speculation , and power abstraction and general i i sat on . John Scotus , who was in many respects i a typical Celt , had , by close study , mbued himself

S of Ne - with the pirit the o Platonistic philosophy , and c had thus , by nature and training , be ome intensely

Greek in his outlook and methods of thought . It was this ch aracteristic of his teaching and language

so that made them appear strange to the Latins , and that induced them to father on him many errors and ideas f or which he was n ot in reality respon sible . Renan regards him as the most original of of figure his century , the greatest mind the e p riod . In the breadth of his philosophic outlook , of his knowledge philology , and his acquaintance as as n o with the Greek language , which w such member of the Latin races outside Italy pos sessed 98 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND ScHOLARS during the whole of the Middle Ages , he is a unique exception to the men of his time , a strange apparition f or which nothing that has gone before prepares us , and which remains isolated in the history of the human intellect . It is true that the position that he held as a philosopher has been out on e weakened , but, as Renan points , when a S considers his time, he is till greater wonder as a philologist than as a philosopher . He has , in this regard , antecedents , and his antecedents are

‘ w as to be found in the Irish schools . It not necessary for him to travel to Athens in order to his learn Greek , as legend supposes , for he found in his own country the best Hellenistic school that the Latin Middle Ages had . He made grave errors in philosophy , and they were justly cen sured , but they were not advanced in any recal citran t l spirit, and un ike Abelard and others who did n ot S followed him , John the Irishman how any ambition to become the leader Of a small body f o . too sectaries Unlike them , , he wore his high on e distinction with modesty , and who knew him intimately tells us that he was a holy and an humble man filled with the Spirit of God . He w ” as e Dr . loved , writ s Healy , and honoured by friends who knew him , and misjudged both during his lif e and after his death by many wh o knew neither the man himself nor his writings a to For ges he was lost view , but in our own time he is seen shining again in the literary heavens with even more than his ancient ” s plendour .

1 00 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOL ARS account of his famous controversy with Claudius ,

on i . Bishop of Turin , the subject of image worsh p The Council of Nice had defined the position of use of the Church with regard to the images , but many of the bishops of France held heterodox a was views on the subject, and controversy carried on with much heat in the Frankish empire during the first quarter of the ninth century . Foremost amongst those who held heterodox views s of was Claudiu Turin , whose Opinions concerning the use Of images were similar to those which were afterwards held by the Calvinists and the

English Puritans of the seventeenth century . Claudius went so far as to remove the crosses from to of his cathedral , and break the images the sa th e ints and the holy pictures on walls . A Th eodom ir friend, the Abbot , wrote to Claudius reminding him how unworthy it was of a of Christian bishop to insult the Cross Christ , and to o dishonour the images f the Saints and Martyrs . This letter only provoked a furious reply from

Claudius , and it was the reply that induced

Dungal to appear as a champion of orthodoxy , and to produce a treatise setting forth the doctrines of on the Church the whole matter . He was at the time residing at Pavia , and he tells us that many times since his arrival in Italy , he had just cause to complain when he saw the field of the Lord overgrown with tares , yet he held his peace with

. grief and pain He could , however, do so no longer when he saw th e Church distracted and the b i H people Seduced y dece vers . e sets out clearly THE IRI S H LEARNING 1 01

t d to the poin s at issue , and then proceede demolish of the arguments Claudius , and to prove the r 820 Catholic doctrine and p actice , which for years or more was followed by the blessed Fathers , i by most rel gious princes , and by all Christian ” households . In his treatise Dungal shows a great knowledge of Sacred Scriptures and the Fathers of the

. d L Church It is compose in a atin style , which of is not excelled by any writer the age , and Muratori says that it is remarkable both on account W of of the idth of learning it discloses , and the l manner in which it is written . It fu ly achieved ’ Dun al its purpose , and after g s vigorous refutation of Claudius , the Iconoclastic party in the Church n ot were afterwards heard of . By his able of advocacy the truth , Dungal rendered a signal to is service the Church , and it doubtful whether an y ecclesias tic Of his day could have discharged the task so well and so successful ly . Cardinal Newman pays him a well- deserved tribute in his description of the work which Irishmen did in passing on the tr adition of civilisation to France . W ” hen , he writes , the heretical Claudius of Turin exul ted over the ignorance of the devastated C churches of the ontinent , and called the Synod of Bishops who summoned him to appear before ‘ ’ of was n o them a congregation asses , it other than

of . the Irish Dungal , a monk St Denis who met h and overt rew the presum ptuous railer . " of to Towards the end his life , Dungal retired o the monastery that was founded by St . C lum 1 02 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOLARS

r be banus at Bobbio , and to this monaste y he queathed his books at his death . They were d transferred to Milan by Car inal Borromeo , and now form part of the Ambrosian Library . Amongst them is an Antiphonary which appears to have been in use in Bangor . of Dicuil Another famous man learning , the De M en sura Geographer, has left us in his treatise Orbis Tarrarum one of the most interesting and valuable monuments of Irish scholarship in the ffi ninth century , a book which is in itself a su cient proof of the culture of our native schools at that period . From a few incidental references which he makes to himself in this treatise he appears to have been trained at the great school of Clon m ac noise at the time when Suibh n e was professor to there , and have subsequently visited the Irish foundations at Iona and the islands on the West of Scotland . He shows an acquaintance with the Re best authorities on his subject , including the port of the Commissioners who were sent to survey a s the Rom n Empire by the Emperor Theodosiu , of the Natural History Plinius Secundus , the olin Geography of Caius Julius S us, and a little of known work Priscian . When writing of the Nile he tells us that he derived his knowledge of the canalisation of this river from the narrative of certain Irish clerics and laymen who had sailed up it for a long way on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem He gives the measurement of on e of the Egyptian Pyramids which was supplied to him by his bountr m an o e a y Br ther Fidelis . H also gives n

1 04 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOLARS wonderful knowledge of the writings of the n Fathers of the Church . A treatise o Politics written by him was discovered some time ago in the Vatican library and published by Cardinal is Mai . He said , in addition , to have written grammatical commentaries on Priscian and

Donatus , which were used in the Irish schools .

“ In itia l etter B B k f l . oo o Katie

r ti Ill um in t d Po o n of a e Mo n o g ram . B k f K el ls oo o .

’ S TS AND S A S 1 06 IRELAND : ITS AIN CHOL R the Continent by the missionaries and the foreign too artists who came in their train . The arts , , ‘ were assiduously cultivated by the people , and Ferdinand Keller ’ s remarks on the manner in f which the excellence of the Irish school o cali graphy was obtained are also applicable to the of other arts . They attained a high degree culti a vation, which cert inly did not result from the genius of single individuals , but from the emula tion of numerous schools , and the improvements of several generations . The position which the artist and the crafts of h ow man held in society , is an indication the arts were loved and esteemed in Ireland . The title of scribe is frequently used in our ancient literature to enhance the dign ity Of a la th . Con e bishop , and we find that St , the

first Bishop of Kildare , was a skilled worker artificer s . in metal . St Dega was also a celebrated ’ r and scribe ; on e of St . Pat ick s three smiths was

Fortch ern son of e , L ery , King of Ireland ; and it is stated in the Trepartite Life that the holy

Bishop Assions was his coppersmith . A builder of churches was entitled under the Brehon Laws to the same compensation f or any injury done to his person as the lower rank of nobles , and the artist who worked for a king could claim half the amount payable to the king himself in a similar s ca e . The greatest care was taken that the workers in the various arts should be competent a s h ad s s f cr ft men , and they to pos es a certificate o the Ollave proficiency from or Chief Artist . EARL" CHRI S TIAN ART IN IRELAND 1 07 Under such conditions a native art was developed in Ireland to a high degree of perfection and its characteristics have been described as the union of primitive rhythmical designs with a style which of of accords with the highest laws the arts design , the exhibition of a fine architectural feeling in the distribution of parts , and such delicate and perfect execution , whatever the material in which the art con was treated , as must command respect for the scien tious artist by whom the work was carried The conversion of the island to Christianity gave a new energy and inspiration to the imaginative powers of the race , and a new impulse that was felt in all branches of the national life , more especially in the cultivation of the arts . The art of illumination was the first to be culti vated was to in Christian Ireland , and it brought a higher degr ee of perfection than any of the other arts . It reached its highest excellence at the close of the seventh and at the beginning of the eighth century . The designs and ornamentation used are n ot of entirely native origin , but the Irish school is distinguished from Celtic work elsewhere by a fine judgment displayed in the use of ornamenta d a tion , a elicate and refined t ste , and a knowledge Of architectural design . The interlaced patterns were probably in tr oduced from Northern Italy and

Southern Gaul ; the spirals , zigzags and other designs belong to the pre - Christian Art of Ireland ; and they were gradually grafted on the style intro duced by the Christian missionaries . The writing

‘ ” St ke s : E arl Ch r t t Irel an d refa e . o y is ian Ar in , P c 1 08 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOLARS

of an d was done with the quills birds , the inks used were of various colours , blended together with

-on e a great artistic eff ect . Sixty rem rkable scribes are mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters as having flourished in Ireland before the year art of 900. The distinctively Irish illumination has often been confused with Anglo - Saxon Art from the fact that many manuscripts written in

- a or Anglo S xon were illuminated by Irish artists , by monks wh o had learned the art in Ireland . The s s Irish monks who went to Iona , Melro e , Lindi farne an d other places in Great Britain had been s trained in thi art , and taught it to the peoples amongst whom they lived An Anglo - Saxon Eth elwulf monk , , tells of an Irish missionary named Ultan , who worked in England in the eighth century, and who was unrivalled in the art of of illumination , and the influence Irish artists is plainly discernible in many of the manuscripts preserved in the British Museum and the Univer of O sities xford and Cambridge . The art of working in metal attained its highest excellence in the period from the ninth to the twelfth century . The designs employed are similar to those used in the illumination of manuscripts , and while we find that the artists un sometimes followed foreign models , they doubtedly achieved their best work in the examples which we still possess that are Irish both in form and design . The best work in stone - carving to e appears have be n done about the tenth century , as the Annalists do n ot refer to the High Crosses

1 10 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOLARS

a much higher grade of perfection than it reached

a or . in Byzantium , It ly , Gaul They combined the Byzantine in terlac in g s with the native de signs , producing new and varied patterns , and developing novel and intricate forms of great ' n ow beauty and symmetry . Their work is known ’ ibern i um as the Opus H c , and splendid specimens

of Con it are found in Ireland itself , and in the tin en tal O of libraries . ne the finest specimens that have been preserved f or u s is the Book of K s ell , a vellum manuscript of the Four Gospels in Latin dating from the seventh or eighth

century , and , probably , the most beautiful book s ever written . Mi s Margaret Stokes says of it : No effort hitherto made to transcribe any on e page has the perfection Of execution and rich harmony of colour which belongs to this wonderful book as with the skeleton of a leaf or with of any microscopic work nature , the stronger the magnifying power brought to bear upon it the ” more is this perfection revealed . Professor Westwood of Oxford described it as the most astonishing book of the Four Gospels that exists ”

. in the world I know , he writes , pretty

well all the libraries in Europe , where such books as s thi occur, but there is no such book in any Of them there is nothing like it in all the books which were written for Charlemagn e and ” I his mmediate successors . Besides the Book of Kells we have as specimens of the exquisite Irish art of illumination the Book of ur , D row the Book of Armagh , the Sto we Missal , EARL" CHRISTIAN ART IN IRELAND 1 1 1

of M ac Durn an the Book , the Garland of Howth ,

of . . the Book Dimna , and the Book of St Moling The Book of Durrow shows fewer varieties of th e wh design than Book of Kells , but those ich it does display belong to the most ancient anal char acteristic m sty le of Irish Art . The orna ental of of h do portions the Book Armagh equal, if t ey s d not in some points urpass , the grace and elicate execution of the Book of Kells . It was written Ferdom n ac h o of by a scribe named , and the rec rd his death in the Annals of the Four Masters points to the fact that even at the finest period of this art in Ireland , he was recognised as an artist of as superior power . His death is recorded 844 Ferdom n ach follows , , a sage and ”

of . choice scribe the Church of Armagh , died ‘ ’ In the Garland of Howth the art of decoration is larger and bolder than we usually meet in Irish manuscripts . The designs and ornaments used by the artists wh o worked in metal in Ireland after the intro duction of Christianity were similar to those used in the manuscripts , and they showed the same

. exquisite , skill and taste The most beautiful specimens of their art that have been preserved are the Tara Brooch , the Ardagh Chalice , and the ”

of . . Cross Cong The Tara Brooch , says Dr P r to et ie, is superior any hitherto found in the variety of its ornaments and in the exquisite ” delicacy and perfection of its execution . The Ardagh Chalice is an almost unique example of the two- handled chalice used in the e arliest 1 1 2 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOLARS

- Christian time . A few two handled chalices have been found on the Continent , but no example has been hitherto found in Great Britain of the same a is type as this beautiful chalice . The ch lice m richly orna ented , and the ornamental designs upon the cup belong to the period when Celtic Art had reached its highest perfection There are about forty different varieties of design on the of of chalice , all which show a freedom inventive power an d play of fancy only to be equalled by the ” n ot work on the Tara Brooch . We do know the name of the artist who executed either of these or beautiful objects , nor the name of the king ecclesiastic for whom they were wrought , and we o a owe the discovery f both to ccident . A child playing on the sea- shore near Drogheda found the a bo T ra Brooch , and a y digging potatoes near the old Rath of Ardagh in Limerick found the a . of s of Ard gh Chalice In the case the Cros Cong , a series of inscription s along the sides of the cross s its s give hi tory . From these we learn that it was ’ a to Turlo h O Con n or of m de the order of g , King f or of Connaught the Church Tuam , then governed ’ M uredach O Duif by Archbishop y , and that the i ’ M aelisa a O He h a artist was Mac Br ddan c n . The

s is s cro s which two feet six inche high , and six measures one foot inches across the arms , is a of oak e m de covered with plat s , and is elaborately ornamented . Along the edges thirteen jewels an d were disposed at regular intervals , nine jewels adorned the face of the shaft and arms . The shaft terminates below in the grotesque head of an

Th e West Side of th e C r o ss at Mo n as terboic e . EARL" CHRI STIAN ART IN IRELAND 1 1 3

animal beneath which is a sp erically ornamented ball in which was inserted the pole f or carrying

the cross . The Irish artists who worked in metal have also left us many beautiful crosiers elaborately f f wrought, shrines or the lives and relics o s venerated saint , and other articles which show that they had attained a complete mastery of

. n material The Shrine of St . Manchan was co sidered to be on e of the most beautiful productions of Celtic Art . The Crosier of Lismore is a magni fic en t of our example of the work goldsmiths , and t a Molaise the cases made o cont in the Gospels of St . and the Stowe Missal , show the high standard that had been attained in ornamental and decora tive designs in the eleventh century . The skill of the Irish Artists in stone - carving is of principally shown in the great stone crosses,

- five which about forty remain . The earliest work of this kind in Ireland were the lapidary in scrip tions in Roman lettering placed over the tombs of a the dead in the first ye rs of Christianity , and it dates from a time before the Irish artists in stone h a w n d t o . time o form a style of their They seem ,

o s as Miss St ke points out , to be rather the occa sioual and te ntative efforts o f men wh o derived their knowledge of letters from various sources abroad . At a later period we find that Ireland of s of became the home . pilgrim and students various nationalities who sought refuge there from the disorders and lawles sness that prevailed in

is to s Europe . It the e foreign influences that we 1 14 IRELAND : ITS SAINT S AND S CHOLARS

on s m ay trace the fine relief work the High Cros es , which Shows an acquaintance with the early Christian Art of the Roman and Byzantine

Schools an d their systems of iconography . The

a s - art was pr cti ed by the Scotch , the Anglo Saxons an d the Welsh , and while we find the same orna mental material used by the stone - workers Of these countries, it only requires a comparison of the existing monuments to Show how much superior the Irish artists were to the contemporary artists

Of England , Scotland , and Wales . The beautiful results attained in Ireland were due to the fact that the people possessed a fine artistic instinct . They knew how to u se their decoration in the right so place, and that it should add to the effect Of the a fundament l form to be adorned , and they held it in subordination to the primary idea which they to wished express in their art . Examples Of this art are found throughout

Ireland . The celebrated High Cross of Tuam was considered by Dr . Petrie to rank as the finest monument of its class and age remaining in Ire land . The beautiful stone cross at Clonmacnoise was erecte d to commemorate the foundation of the s to greatest Of the churche there , and mark the Of sepulchre King Flann its pious founder . The l scup tures on th e west side Of the shaft represent

St . Kevin and King Diarmuid in the act of the of . on erection the small Church Of St Kevin , and the Opposite side several events in the life of Our e O Saviour are represent d in relief . n on e of the two crosses at Monasterboice the panels represent the

1 1 6 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOLARS small oratories and round bee - hive huts within the boundaries Of the stone fort or cas hel . The oratories of the period were angular Oblong structures with the walls mping in a curve to on wards the roof . They measure the average e fourt en feet long, nine feet wide , and twelve feet Of high . A good example the early type Of oratory is found at Gallerus in Kerry . The earliest buildings were made without cement , and with undressed masonry , and the transition to the cemented walls and dressed stones Of the later buildings took place in the period dating from the sixth to the eighth century . The doorway of the churches built at this time w as d constructed Of very large stones , which incline inwards towards the top , with a great horizontal l - intel stone . They had a round headed or arched a S e stern window, the arch being cooped out of the or stone, a pointed window . They consisted at

first of a single chamber, but as time went on a was chancel often added at the east end , and the churches became gradually larger and more orna mental . Native architecture in Ireland reached its highest development in the eleventh and twelfth

country at the time when the Romanesque archi ” tecture as introduced om ormand . ude w fr N y R , D rwa St F ' oo of . a r an n an s Ch r h Do n o y u c , ag h m re

1 1 8 IRELAND : ITS SAINTS AND S CHOLARS necessary to protect their churches and cells by . i means of this lofty tower . Its great he ght, and its small doorway, generally about feet o fourteen resIst from the ground , enabled them to the attacks of an enemy chiefly armed with bows and arrows .

’ C rm a s h a el o c C p . R k f Cas oc o h el .

Unive rs i of California SOUTHERNREGIO ALLIBRAR" FAC ILIT" 405 Hil and Ave nue Los An e es CA90024-13 88 g , g l , Return this mate rial to th e lib rary f rom whic h it was borrowed .

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