THE DAY J
MISSIONS LIB^A^Y

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ADAMNANI
VITA S. COLUMBAE
EDITED FROM DR. REEVES'S TEXT
WITH AN INTRODUCTION ON EARLY IRISH
CHURCH HISTORY
NOTES AND A GLOSSARY

J. T. FOWLER, M.A., D.C.L.
HONORARY CANON OF DURHAM,
FELLOW OF THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF LONDON; LATE LIBRARIAN, LECTUUER IN
HEBREW, AND VICE-PRINCIPAL OF BISHOP HATFIELD'S HALL, IN THE UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM

A NEW EDITION, REVISED

OXFORD
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
M DCCCC XX

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON EDINBURGH GLASGOW NEW YORK
TORONTO MELBOURNE CAPE TOWN BOMBAY
HUMPHREY MILFORD
PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY

ALMAE MATRI
DVNELMENSI
IN DIE SS. COLVMBAE ET BAITHENEI
HOS VIRTVTVM LIBELLOS COLVMBAE
NVNC DENVO EDITOS
GRATO ANIMO DICAVIT
FILIVS OBSERVANTISSIMVS
A.D. MDCCCXC1V

PREFACE
TO THE FIRST EDITION, REVISED
Adamnan's Life of St. Columba is not a ' Life ' in the
ordinary sense, but rather, as described in the colophon,
virlutum libelli Columbae, three books recording respectively
the prophecies, the miracles, and the angelic visions of the
saint. The author, however, aimed at hagiology, not at
biography or history. Nevertheless his work is full of
allusions throwing great light on early Celtic monasticism,
and on the introduction of Christianity into the western
and northern parts of what is now called Scotland. Dr.
Reeves has collected hundreds of references to passages
bearing upon the constitution, the discipline, the buildings,
and the officers of St. Columba's monastery at Iona and
upon the topography of that most interesting little island.
Attention will be directed to many of these in the present
edition, which is intended principally for the use of junior
students in our Universities or elsewhere, to whom the
well-nigh exhaustive work of the late Bishop Reeves is
scarcely accessible in any of the forms in which it has
appeared. His notes, introductions, &c, have furnished
much of the information here given, though by no means
the whole of it. A brief sketch of the history of the Irish
Church and of the Columban mission down to the death of
Adamnan is prefixed, and a glossary is appended.
There are two recensions ofthe text, the longer or original
Life, and the shorter, which is abridged from it.
The following are the seven MSS. which furnished Dr.
Reeves with his collection of various readings, extracts
from which will be given in these pages.

6 PREFACE
A1. Beginning of eighth century, formerly at the monastery
of Reichenau, now in the public library at Schaffhausen.
Attributed in the colophon to Dorbhene, who is identified
by Reeves with Dorbhene, abbot of Iona, who died 713,
only nine years after the death of Adamnan. Facsimiles
in Reeves (1857), Plates I, 2, 3. The basis of Reeves's text,
in which, however, the original spelling has not been
followed, as being ' barbarous, or at least provincial '- Its
characteristics may be gathered from Reeves (1857), xvii-
xix, and from the various readings given by him. There is
a great similarity between this MS. and that of the ' Anti-
phonary ' of Bangor (a.d. 680-91) published in facsimile by
the Henry Bradshaw Society. See Warren's Introduction
to it, p. xxvi.
B1. Middle of fifteenth century. Brit. Mus. Bibl. Reg. 8 D. ix.
C2. The Windberg or Rebdorf MS., from which Canisius took
his text.
D2. Thirteenth century. In the so-called ' Book of Kilkenny ',
in Primate Marsh's Library, Dublin, v. 3. 4. For a full
description of the ' Codex Kilkenniensis ' see Plummer's
Vitae SS. Hib. pp. xi ff.
F2. Tenth century ; formerly belonged to the Church of
Freising ; was numbered 141, and is now in the Royal Library
of Munich, 6341. Facsimile in Reeves (1857), PI. 4.
S2. Early ninth century, in Library of St. Gall, No. 555.
Facsimile of writing in Reeves (1857), PL 4, and of figure
of St Columba (with the Roman tonsure), PI. 5.
Cott.1 Cottonianus. Late twelfth century. Brit. Mus. Bibl.
Cotton. Tiberius D. iii. Much damaged in the fire of 1731,
being ' burnt to a crust ', but restored as far as possible by
the separation, flattening, and inlaying of the consolidated
leaves, under the direction of Sir Frederick Madden, c. 1852.
Five others were reported to exist ; see Reeves, xxxi.
The printed editions that have appeared are the follow
ing :— I. In the Thesaurus sive Antiquae Lectiones of Canisius.
Ingolst. 1604. See MS. C. An unsatisfactory text.
II. In Surii Vitae SS. 1617, Jun. 9.
III. In the Florilegium of Thomas Messingham, who reprinted
the Canisian text. Parisiis, 1 624.
IV. In the Trias Thaitmaturga of John Colgan, from Cod. A.
Lovanii, 1647.
V. In the Acta Sanctorum of the Bollandists, also from Cod. A,
but less faithfully given. Acta SS. Junii, tom. ii, Jun. 9.
1 The full recension. 2 The short recension.

PREFACE 7
VI. In Basnage's ed. of Canisii Thesaurus, as a reprint of the
defective text of Canisius. Amstelaedami, 1725 (some copies
have Antverpiae).
VII. In Pinkerton's Vitae Antiquae Sanctorum, Lond. 1789,
and Paisley, 1889, 2 Vols, and a Vol. of translations, 1 894.
VIII. For the first time in a separate form, as 'The Life of
St. Columba, founder of Hy, written by Adamnan, ninth
abbot of that monastery . . . (with notes and dissertations)
by William Reeves, D.D., M.R.I.A. . . . Dublin : printed at
the University Press, for the Irish Archaeological and Celtic
Society, 1857 '. Founded upon Codex A. Two maps, five
plates of facsimiles, two genealogical tables. 4to, pp. lxxx
and 497.
IX. The same, somewhat abridged and re-arranged, with some
topographical notes by Dr. W. F. Skene, and a translation
superintended by the late Bishop Forbes. In the series of
Historians of Scotland, of which it forms Vol. vi. Edinburgh,
Edmonston and Douglas, ? 187 1, re-issue 1874. One map,
one genealogical table. 8vo, pp. clxxxiv and 385. Also issued
by the Bannatyne Club, with Special Title-page &c. 1857.
X. In Migne, Patrologia Latina, vol. 88. 725.
XI. In the re-issue of Pinkerton's Lives ofthe Scottish Saints,
edited by W. M. Metcalfe. Paisley, 1889, i. 72 (22° copies
only).
XII. The former edition of the present work, in which
Dr. Reeves's text has been adopted, with only slight varia
tions, as famen for tamen, III. iii n., caelum for ccelum, &c,
and in the punctuation. In words the spelling of which
varies, that recommended by Brambach (Hiilfsbuchlein fur
laleinische Rechtschreibung, Leipzig, 1884) has been adopted.
XIII. The present edition, being No. XII revised.
Dr. Reeves gives a list of seven other Lives of St. Columba,
the most important of which are : —
I. The Life by Cummene or Cummian referred to by Adamnan
in Book iii. c. 5 (where see note), which Life forms the basis
of this third book, and of some chapters in Books i, ii. In
this edition the passages taken from Cummian are printed
in bold type. Cummian's Life has been printed by Colgan,
Trias Thaum. 321-4; in Pinkerton (1889) i. 50, and else
where. It has been supposed that the text of Cummian, as
printed, cannot have been used by Adamnan, but is an
abridgement of his Life. See Hardy, Desc. Catal. p. 167.
II. The first part of Colgan's Vita Secunda (Tr. Th. 325-7),
wrongly attributed by him to Cummian, which contains
some particulars that are in the old Irish Life, but are not
recorded by Adamnan. Colgan's Vita Secunda was taken by

8 PREFACE
him from the MS. now printed as Acta SS. Hiberniae ex
Codice Salmanticensi. Edinb. et Lond. 1888, cols. 845-70.
III. An ancient Irish memoir, probably of the tenth century,
being a discourse of St. Columba's day on the text Ext de
terra tua et de cognatione tua, &c. Frequently referred to
by Reeves, and in the present edition, as 'the old Irish
Life'. In the Leabhar Breac or Speckled Book, in the Book
of Lismore, and in a MS. at the Advocates' Library. Transla
tion by Hennessy in Skene's Celtic Scotland, ii. 467-507. The
Leabhar Breac has been published in facsimile by the Royal
Irish Academy, folio, 1876 ; the Homily on Columba occupies
pp. 29-34 °f tne facsimile. The Homily was printed by
Whitley Stokes with translation in Three Middle-Irish
Homilies . . . Calcutta, 1877 (100 copies, privately printed).
A translation by W. M. Hennessy is given as an appendix
to the second volume of Skene's Celtic Scotland. Two other
recensions of this Homily were used by Hennessy, one in the
Book of Lismore, the other in MS. XL in the Advocates'
Library, Edinburgh. They contain some additional matter.
The former was printed with translation by Whitley Stokes
in Lives of Saints from the Book of Lismore (Oxford, 1890),
and extracts from the latter are given in the notes.
IV. An expansion of Adamnan and of the old Irish Life,
written in Irish by Manus O'Donnell in 1532. The com
piler has worked in a number of historical allusions from
Adamnan's other works, some alleged prophecies, and other
legendary matter. Colgan has summarized it, omitting
' disedifying ' passages, in Trias Thaumaturga, Quinta Vita
S. Columbae, pp. 389-446.
In addition to these may be mentioned a Life by John of
Tynemouth (fl. 1366) pirated by Capgrave, the Office in the
Aberdeen Breviary, and a Life printed by Benedict Gonon
(Lugduni, 1625), all compiled or abridged from Adamnan.
See further in Hardy's Descriptive Catalogue of MSS. relat
ing to British History, i. 166-74. There is a new translation
by myself (Henry Frowde, 1898), one published by Kelly,
Dublin (new ed. 1875), and another, with notes and illustra
tions, by Wentworth Huyshe (Routledge, n.d.).
Modern Lives will be found in Montalembert, Monks of
the West, Bk. ix, and in Alban Butler and Baring-Gould
under June 9 (the latter condensed from Montalembert) ;
in O'Hanlon's Lives of the Saints, in Bishop Lightfoot's
Leaders ofthe Northern Church, in Reeves's Adamnan (1857),

PREFACE 9
lxviii-lxxx ; the same (1874), xxxiii-xli ; Healy's Insula
Sanctorum, 291-331 ; Dictionaries of Christian Biography
and of National Biography ; and in the Rev. E. A. Cooke's
Life and Work of St. Columba, London and Derby, 1888.
A short account, moreover, is included in the Introduction
to the present work. The Life by Dr. John Smith, Edinb.
1798, is not of much value.
I cannot conclude this preface without again saying how
very much I am indebted to Dr. Reeves's original edition
of Adamnan, a truly monumental work, which has been of
the greatest service to all writers on St. Columba from
Montalembert downward. In this connexion I would refer
to the Life of Dr. Reeves by Lady Ferguson, which in
cludes a complete list of hjs printed works and articles. Nor
'can I forego the pleasure of expressing my best thanks to
all who have helped me by their friendly counsel during
my editorial labours. My thanks are due to the Rev.
Archibald Macmillan, Parish Minister at Iona, who gave
me the benefit of his sympathetic companionship and of
his great local knowledge when I last visited Iona, and
to the Rev. Charles Plummer, Fellow of Corpus Christi
College, Oxford, who has kindly helped me to explain
some Irish words, and in other ways.
Bishop Hatfield's Hall, Durham,
June 9, 1894. (Revised, May 1915. Also 1919-20.)

PREFACE
TO THE SECOND EDITION
The former edition of this work being now exhausted,
J have revised it carefully in preparation for a new edition.
With this object, the insets have been taken out, and some
few passages and quotations in the notes have been omitted.
It is hoped, however, that the absence of these will be com
pensated for by the introduction of many matters of detail,
including a great number of new or better references. Since
1894 some works of great importance, bearing on the subject,
have been published, and of these I have made considerable
use. I may mention especially Professor Bury's Life of St.
Patrick (1905), Mr. Piummer's Vitae Sanctorum Hiberntae
with its invaluable Introduction (1910), and Dr. Gwynn's
monumental edition ofthe Book of Armagh (1913). My new
edition of Adamnan will be substantially the same as the
earlier one, but, I venture to think, considerably improved.
Four of those friends whose help I acknowledged in 1894
have since passed away, two are now far removed by dis
tance and absorbing occupations. But I wish again to
acknowledge the kind help of the Rev. Charles Plummer,
in putting some things right, and answering inquiries on
matters which he has made so completely his own.
Bishop Hatfield's Hall, Durham,
June 1915.

The printing of this edition has been held over during
the War, in consequence of the depletion in the staff at the
Clarendon Press, and the necessity for much unusual work.
J. T. F.
Winterton, Lincolnshire,
March 1920.

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION :— CHAPTER I PAGE
Pre-Patrician Period ... ... 13
CHAPTER II
St. Patrick  . . 22
CHAPTER III
Saints of the Patrician Period, and the ' Three Orders '
of Irish Saints .... ... 30
CHAPTER IV
Irish Monasticism  . 32
CHAPTER V
Monastic Schools  45
CHAPTER VI
Columba in Ireland  50
CHAPTER VII
Columba in Iona  58
CHAPTER VIII
Columba's successors, up to and including Adamnan . 69
AUTHORITIES CITED  78
GENEALOGICAL TABLE ."  83

12 CONTENTS PAGE
VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE:—
Praefatio I  85
Praefatio II  85
Primi Libri Capitulationes  88
Primi Libri Textus, de Propheticis Revelationibus . 90
Capitula Secundi Libri  .123
Liber Secundus, de Virtutum Miraculis ... 126
Capitula Tertii Libri  163
Tertius Liber, de Angelicis Visionibus .... 165
NOTES  189
GLOSSARY  . . 237
SCRIPTURE TEXTS  244
ADDENDA, 1920  245
GENERAL INDEX  250

INTRODUCTIONI. Pre-Patrician Period
§ i. Early Christianity. We know comparatively little
of Christianity in Ireland before the fifth century, in Scot
land before the sixth, or in England before the seventh.
But from the arrival of St. Patrick in Ireland c. 432, of
St. Columba in Scotland in 563, of St. Augustine in Kent
in 597> and of St. Aidan at Lindisfarne in 635, we have
fairly consecutive accounts of the progress ofthe Church
in these islands. In Wales and in Cornwall, and indeed
at Glastonbury, the ancient British Christianity was still
living on when the tide of Anglo-Saxon Christianity reached
thus far westward. The work of St. Ninian and others
had left some fruit in parts of Scotland when Irish Chris
tianity began to spread from Iona, as from a new centre,
into all parts of northern Britain.
§ 2. In Ireland. But it is with Ireland that we are
mainly concerned in connexion with St. Columba, for he
was born in Ireland, and he lived in Ireland until, at the
age of forty-two, he went out from his own country and
from his father's house, to end his life's work in another
land. In order to understand his life and mission, we
ought to know something of the early history of his country,
ofthe traditions in which he was brought up. We propose,
then, first to state some of the peculiar circumstances in
which the first Christian missionaries in Ireland found
themselves, and then to give a brief sketch of Irish Church
history to the death of Adamnan.
§ 3. Britain and Ireland compared. One great difference
between Ireland in the earlier centuries after the Christian
era was this, that while Britain was an integral portion of
the great Roman Empire, Ireland was not. Hence in
early Christian times the decrees of Emperors and Councils
did not run in Ireland, nor was it very greatly affected by
Roman civilization.1 Britain and Ireland were distinguished
1 On this point, however, see Bury, ch. vi.

14 INTRODUCTION ch. i.
in the fifth century, and doubtless long before, as ' the
Roman Island ' and ' the barbarous island '.' Britain,
indeed, became very largely influenced, first by Roman,
and then by Teutonic occupation and institutions, while
Ireland remained, during the period with which we are
concerned, purely Celtic. And in her missionary work
the Church moulded her organizations as far as possible
on those which she found already existing. In England,
for example, where the dioceses and parishes are founded
on the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and on their minor sub
divisions, our system has been from the first essentially
territorial. In Ireland the early monastic and missionary
system was almost from the first a part of the ancient clan
system, to which it readily adapted itself.
§ 4. Early monasticism and the clan system. It was neces
sary at the very first that the life of the converts should be
in some sort coenobitic : they could hardly have lived other
wise in a pagan and half-savage land. And these earliest
Christian communities were in many cases the beginnings
of societies which afterwards became more strictly monastic,
importations in fact, through Gaul, of Egyptian and Syrian
monachism into the clan system that had prevailed for cen
turies in Ireland, the spirit of which pervaded the ancient
Irish Church throughout the whole period of its independent
existence. Many of the earliest converts were persons who
had been redeemed from servitude by the missionaries,
who were supplied from aSroad with funds for the purpose.
But the evangelization of Ireland was not quite that earliest
Christian work of all, in which ' not many wise men after
the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, were called '.
The Celtic missionaries aimed at the conversion of the
petty kings or chieftains at the heads of the clans, and of
their Druids and Bards, knowing that if once these could
be secured, the clansmen would follow their leaders in
religion as in all else.2 Their old religion had no great
1 Prosper of Aquitaine, Contra Collatorem, in Migne, Patr. Lat. tom. li,
col. 271.
2 ' To a clannish people it is not merely a habit, but a matter of
necessity, to follow a guide— to be led by a superior and unquestionable
authority. They care not for arguments, proofs, or reasons. They ask
only to receive a command from a chieftain, whose right to command
nobody can dream of questioning. It is not too much to say that this
spirit of clanship is the key to Irish history.' — Todd's St. Patrick, 1864,
p. 227.

§§3-7- PRE-PATRICIAN PERIOD 15
hold on the common people, and in many cases, no doubt,
the new doctrine would have as little. Nevertheless, the
pagan life of the country was transformed into a Christian
life, with comparatively little organic change.
§ 5. Subordiantion of the bishops. The Christian hier
archy, in which the bishops, though always felt to be
absolutely essential, held a very subordinate rank, in some
sort succeeded to the Druids and the Brehons ; the pagan
Bards became Christian Bards, and the main peculiarities
in the Irish monastic tenure of land arose out of the
ancient relations between chieftains and clansmen. When
land was granted to any ecclesiastic by its original owner,
the rights of chieftainry were transferred to the ecclesiasti
cal landlord, and descended, as before, in hereditary suc
cession. The comarb. or co-arb (says Dr. Todd),1 that is to
say, the heir or successor of the original saint who was the
founder of the religious society, whether bishop or abbot,
became the inheritor of his spiritual and official influence
in religious matters. The descendants in blood, or 'founder's
kin ', were inheritors of the temporal rights of property and
chieftainship, although bound to exercise those rights in
subjection or subordination to the ecclesiastical co-arb, that
is, to the successor inheriting the lands that had been
granted to the first in the series of abbots or bishops, heir
also to his ecclesiastical status and temporal rights.
§ 6. Three learned ' orders ' in pagan times. Previous to
the introduction of Christianity,2 there were three classes
of learned men among the Celtic tribes of Gaul, Britain,
and Ireland, namely, the Druids, the Bards, and the
Brehons. It seems probable that these were the result
of a gradual subdivision of labour, the Bards being first
distinguished from the Druids, and afterwards the Brehons
from the Bards. These orders, if indeed they were distinct
orders, were not hereditary;3 they corresponded in the
main with what are called 'the professional classes' among
ourselves. § 7. The Druids. Caesar, who had abundant opportunity
of knowing about the Druids of Gaul, tells us a great deal
about them, but how far his account would apply to those
1 St. Patrick, p. 149.
" On Pre-Christian Ireland see Olden, Church of Ireland, ch. i.
3 In later ages the legal profession tended to become hereidtary in
certain families. Joyce, Hist. 40.

16 INTRODUCTION ch. i.
of Ireland we do not know. Those of Gaul were at any
rate concerned with religion and sacrifices, with legal
decisions, and also in the instruction of youth. Their
system was found in Britain, and was thought to have been
brought thence into Gaul. They were excused from military
service and from tribute, and accordingly many youths
sought admission into the order. They taught the immor- »
tality and transmigration of souls, and thus excited men to
deeds of valour and disregard of death. They offered I
human sacrifices, sometimes having huge images woven of
osiers, the limbs of which they filled with living men to be
burnt alive, criminals if to be had, but if not, innocent
persons.1 Pliny gives a minute account of the ceremonies
with which they cut the mistletoe from the sacred oak, and
of the virtues which they attributed to it, calling it by a
name which meant 'All-heal '. From their great reverence
for oak groves, and their association of these with sacred
rites, he thinks the name ' Druid ' may be derived, the
name of the oak being Sots in Greek * ; it is however Celtic.3
He tells also of their ceremonial gathering of the herbs
selago and samolus,* and gives a not very intelligible and
to some extent clearly fabulous account of their doings
with the anguinum (sc. ovum) or snake's egg, not appa-.
rently an actual egg, but a perforated stone.5 Also, after
speaking of magical arts in Gaul, he says that they con
tinued within living memory, but that the rule of Tiberius
abolished their Druids and all that race of soothsayers
and medicine-men.6 Tacitus refers to their vain and super
stitious songs,7 and describes a momentary panic among
the Roman soldiers invading Mona (Anglesey) caused by
women rushing about with torches, and Druids with hands
upraised to heaven, putting up dire supplications.8 It is
1 De Bello Gallico, vi. 13, 14, 16. The whole account is most inter
esting, and should be consulted.
2 Hist. Nat. xvi. 44, § 95.
3 Irish drui, draoi, augur, magician. The Druids are often called
magi both in classical and in Christian writings. In connexion with
Druidical groves, it is remarkable how many of the earliest Irish Christian
settlements, as Derry, Durrow, and Kildare, began at groves of oak, and
took their names from them, daire being the old Irish word for oak wood.
4 H. N. xxiv. 11, §§ 62, 63. The plants referred to are, Ljrhaps. the
Lycopodium Selago or Fir Club-moss, and the Samolus Valerandi 'or Water
Pimpernel. See Elton, Origins of Eng. Hist. (1890), 253.
6 H. N. xxix. 3, § 12. See Engl. Dial. Diet, under adder-stone.
G H. N. xxx. 1, § 4. ' Hist. iv. 54. 8 Ann. xiv. 29, 30.

§§ 7, 8. THE DRUIDS 17
remarkable how little there is, almost nothing, about Druids
in the writings of the early Christian fathers; but in early
Irish poems and legends, and in lives of Irish Saints, they
are frequently referred to,1 mostly as magicians or sorcerers,
also as worshipping idols, paying idolatrous worship to
springs of water, making use of the yew, the rowan-tree,
and the blackthorn in the ordeal bv fire. &c. But there
seems to be some doubt whether they were, in Ireland at
any rate, a distinct order. They were often engaged in
teaching, and kings and chiefs, as well as learned men, were
frequently Druids. They appear to have worshipped idola
trous objects, the elements, and the heavenly bodies, to
have practised magical rites, and to have offered human sacri
fices.2 All reference to the Druids was carefully expunged
from the ancient laws of Ireland when they were revised
in early Christian times. They continued, however, to live
on, perhaps as little more than mere conjurors and wizards,
in some remote districts, down to the eighth century, and
it is thought that their influence long survived in the Celtic
church, and even survives to this day in some of the super
stitions of the peasantry.3 That idolatry was by no means
extinct when the Stowe Missal was drawn up (ninth or tenth
century) might: at first sight appear from a petition for the
founder of some church, that he and all the people might
be delivered ab idulorum cultural The form, however,
may be very much earlier.
§ 8. The Bards. The Bards 5 (carminatores) were the
poets and chroniclers, who related events and legendary
or historical stories, probably, as a rule, in verse and with
musical recitation and accompaniment, as Diodorus says
they did in Gaul.6 They eulogized the friends and satirized 7
the foes of their chief and clan, and always looked for
1 e.g. in the present work. See Index, s.v. Magi; Colg. Acta SS.
149, J5-
2 St. Patrick, in his Confession, refers to 'those who worship the
sun ', and on relics of sun-worship see Plummer, I. cxxxiii. ff., and notes.
For a very full catena of references to Druids in ancient Irish writings
see O'Curry, Manners, &c, ii. 179-228; Plummer, II. 573, and for a
summary, Joyce, Hist. 137-9.
3 See Carleton, Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry, i860, vol i.
p. I52n.
* Warren, pp. 236, 260.
5 Old Celtic bardo-s, whence ^dpdos, bardus, a minstrel poet.
6 Hist. lib. v. 31.
7 Cp. O'Curry, Manners, &c, ii. 70, 216, 217.
99Q1 B

18 INTRODUCTION ch. i.
rewards. There was no essential antagonism to Chris
tianity in their order, nor was it broken up in any way
thereby. They simply became Christian instead of pagan,
and 'when once blessed and transformed, their songs
I became so sweet that the angels of God leaned down from
heaven to listen to them'.1 In St. Columba's time they
(had become very unpopular by reason of their grasping
importunity and their overwhelming numbers. They had
free quarters wherever they went, and were envied on
account of this and other privileges. About a.d. 575 a
famous convention8 was held at Drumceatt, one main
object of which was the abolition ofthe bards. St. Columba,
who, it has been thought, may have been himself of their
number, was a relation of King Aedh, and one of the most
1 influential persons in the kingdom. He favoured reform,
not abolition ; he defended the order while condemning
/abuses. He called attention to their valuable services in
preserving the national records and traditions, and finally
carried the assembly with him. The Bards were saved,
but reformed. Their privileges were curtailed, and their
numbers, amounting, it is said, to about a third of the
population, were diminished. Their retainers,3 who had
always been a great burden on the public, were either
abolished, or at any rate maintained by their masters, who
now had certain lands assigned to them in lieu of their
former privileges. Thus they became shorn of much of
their early importance. Nevertheless the chief bard,
Dalian Forghaill, in gratitude to Columba, composed a
poem in his honour called the Amhra Coluimcille, still
extant, in very ancient and obscure Irish. In the Middle
Ages, every district had its Bard and its Brehon, and the
office of Bard was hereditary. In the Book of Mac Firbis
(a. d. 1650) is a list of those who had flourished within the
last 600 years, with the districts to which they belonged."
The Christian bards continued to live on through century
after century of gradual decadence, until, in the present
reign, their last representatives were reduced, in the gene-
1 Montalembert, Monks of the West, Engl. ed. 1861, ii. 392. See also
the quotation from Keble below, in a note on Book II, cap. xliv, p. 222.
2 Mentioned by Adamnan, I. xlix, II. vi.
3 Thirty for an Ollamh or chief bard, fifteen for an Anrot, one of the
second class.
* See Petrie on the Book of Mac Firbis, Trans. R. I. A., vol. xviii,
Antiquities, p. 5.

§§ 8-io. THE BARDS 19
ral ruin of the national literature of Ireland, to a chair by
the kitchen fire in winter, and a meal on the doorstep in
summer.1 §9. The Brehons. The Brehons2 or judges were an
order which grew out of that of the Bards. At first the
laws were in the form of rhythmical maxims transmitted
orally, but afterwards committed to writing. Those who
had the charge and administration of these laws formed
a distinct order, but sometimes the same man was both
Bard and Brehon. A Christian redaction of the ancient
laws of Ireland has been preserved under the names of
Senchus Mbr (Great Antiquity), Cain Patraic (Patrick's
Law) and Noi-fis (Knowledge of Nine). In the Senchus
itself it is stated that its 'authors', i.e. redactors, in St.
Patrick's time were three kings, three ecclesiastics, and
three men of science,3
Laeghaire, Core, Dairi, the hardy,
Patrick, Benen, Cairnech, the just,
Rossa, Dubhthach, Ferghus, with science.
These were the nine pillars of the Senchus Mor.
The laws thus laid down and revised from time to time,
with the old Irish commentaries upon them, have been
published with introductions and translations,4 and enable
us to see what sort of enactments the Brehons administered.
They continued the exercise of judicial functions beyond
the limits ofthe English pale, until the reign of Elizabeth,
when the power of the native chieftains was finally broken,
and English law was established throughout the kingdom.
§ 10. The ' Three Orders' and the Church. Now the
Druids, Bards, and Brehons, were all flourishing at the
time of the effectual introduction of Christianity into Ire
land, and all were affected by it, as we have seen. The
Druids could not, of course, become Christians without
effacing themselves as Druids, but there was no reason
why the other two orders should not go on as Christian
1 Diet, of National Biography, Art. Columba, p. 411 ; cp. O'Curry,
Manners, Sic, iii. 406 ; Derricke, Image of Ireland, 55, 109.
2 From the Old Irish brithem, a judge.
3 It may be noted that the ancient Roman laws were made conformable
to Christian doctrine and morality, and issued as the ' Theodosian Code,'
only a few years previously (a.d. 438). The Salic law was a similar
revision ofthe pagan laws of the Franks, made early in the same century.
1 Ancient Laws of Ireland, vols. i-vi. Brehon Law Commission Office.
Dublin, 1865-190 1.
B 2

20 INTRODUCTION ch. i.
poets, judges, lawyers, and men of letters, as in fact they
did, retaining their ancient titles, and little changed in
anything but their religion.1 Some of the authority of the
Druids naturally passed on to the abbots and bishops, who
from the first would find that they had to deal with men of
cultivated minds, sharpened by study, capable of taking in
new ideas, often quick to recognize the beauty and value
of Christian teaching, and prepared to accept it in prefer
ence to their ancient mythology, venerable as that must
have been in their eyes.2
§ n. Christians before St. Patrick. That there were
some Christians in Ireland, or of Irish birth, before the
coming of St. Patrick, appears from various passages in
Haddan and Stubbs's Councils, &c.,3 in which they are
mentioned. The Druids must have had some knowledge
of Christian customs if their 'prophecy ' of the coming of
St. Patrick, recorded in Muirchu's and the Tripartite Lives
be genuine. It is to the following effect : —
Adzehead 4 will come over a furious sea ;
His mantle head-holed, his staff crook-headed,
His dish (paten) in the east of his house.
All his household shall answer Amen, Amen.
Adzeheads will come, who will build cities,
Who will consecrate churches, pinnacled music-houses,
Many conical caps (for belfries) a realm round croziers.
The British Church of the fourth century, as Dr. G. T.
Stokes observes, ' proved its interest in theological ques
tions by the most vigorous and satisfactory of proofs. It
produced a heretic '.5 Pelagius, the founder of the Pelagian
heresy, was a Briton named Morgan, a contemplative stu-
1 Sedulius, the Christian poet, has been claimed as an early Christian
bard of Ireland by some who have confounded him with an Irish theo
logian ofthe same name who lived in the eighth century {Diet, of Hymno-
logy, 1037 ; Haddan and Stubbs, ii. 291 n.).
2 See O'Curry, Manners, Sec. ii. 73.
3 Vol. II, Part ii, pp. 289-91 ; Olden, 9, 24. It is to be observed that
in writings of this period the Irish are denoted by the term Scott. See
Praef. II, notes on p. 87.
4 Or, Latherhead ; both nicknames might refer to the Celtic tonsure.
See below, ch. iv. § 6, note. The germ of the prediction may very well
have been an apprehension of Christian missions. The above translation
is from the Irish. In the Latin version of Muirchu, which is much the
earlier, the third line is ' Incantabit nefas a sua mensa ex anteriore parte
domus suae '. Stokes, Trip. 274 ; Gwynn, 4 ; Colg. T. T. 123.
s Ireland and the Celtic Church, 1888, p. 12.

§§io, ii. THE FIRST CHRISTIANS 21
dent, hating controversy. But his chief friend and com
panion was Caelestius, a ' Scot ' or Irishman, a lawyer,
and a ' born agitator '. He was the great champion of
Pelagianism at Rome, at Constantinople, at Mopsuestia.
He is believed to be referred to by St. Jerome as ' indoctus
calumniator . . . stolidissimus, et Scotorum pultibus prae-
gravatus'.1 The last we hear of Caelestius is that at the
Council of Ephesus, a.d. 431, he supported the Patriarch
Nestorius against the Pope. Caelestius was clearly a thorn
in the side of orthodoxy, and this fact may have directed
the Pope's attention to the land of his nativity. Prosper
of Aquitaine says,2 'ad Scotos (the Irish) in Christum cre
dentes ordinatus a Papa Caelestino Palladius primus Epi-
scopus mittitur,' and elsewhere 3 praises Caelestine for the
same, and for his endeavours to keep the Roman island
Catholic, and to make the barbarous island Christian. We
hear nothing further of this mission of Palladius until we
are told in the Life of St. Patrick by Muirchu Maccu-
mactheni,4 c. a.d. 700 or later, that it proved altogether
abortive. The early history of Palladius, who was also named
Patricius, and of the more famous St. Patrick, is involved
in much obscurity, and not only has the genuineness of
the writings attributed to the latter by most modern critics,
but the historical existence of the Saint, been questioned
or denied. In the time of James I Sir Thomas Ryves
endeavoured ' to represent St. Patrick as a myth, and the
prevailing creed of Ireland as a fable '.5 Mr. Plummer
wrote, in 1896, ' On the whole I am inclined to agree with
those who, beginning with Ledwich (1790), have doubted
the very existence of St. Patrick.'6 On the other hand,
Reeves, Todd, Whitley Stokes, G. T. Stokes, Olden,
Bury, White, and Gwynn assume or uphold the authen
ticity of what are now commonly accepted as Patrician
1 Com. in Ierem. Prolog, (c. a. d. 416). This allusion to Irish ' stira
bout ' is well illustrated by a remarkable passage in the Senchus Mor
(Ancient Laws, ii. 149), in which the various kinds of stirabout suitable
for the children in various grades of society are described.
2 Chron. in Migne, P. L. 51, col. 595, Bassus and Antiochus being
consuls (a.d. 431).
3 Contra Collatorem, cap. xxi, in Migne ut supra, col. 271.
4 In the Book of Armagh, fo. 2, where, at the foot of col. 1, read ' uita
functus' See also Tirechan, ib. fo. 16, and further in Todd, S. P. 289 ff.
5 Lady Ferguson, Life of Bishop Reeves, 1893, p. 3. 6 Bede, ii. 25.

22 INTRODUCTION ch. i. § h
documents, and therefore the historic character of their
author. For Zimmer's theory and its refutation, see
Gwynn, xcvii. II. St. Patrick
§ i. Authorities for life of St. Patrick. The connected
history of the Church in Ireland begins with what is
thought to be known of St. Patrick, but with regard to
him all critical writers have found it most difficult to
extract what may safely be regarded as historically true,
or indeed to know what is truth amid so much that is
manifest fable. Legendae sunt lugendae,1 the lamentation
of a learned Jesuit, is particularly applicable to the case of
St. Patrick. The primary authorities are his own ' Con
fession ', a sort of Apologia pro vita sua, and his Epistle
' to ' or rather ' against ' or ' concerning ' one Coroticus,
perhaps a Welsh prince Caredig, or Ceretic, a prince of
Strathclyde. The Confession, with considerable omissions,
is found in the Book of Armagh, a composite volume
written about a.d. 807, now in the Library of Trinity College,
Dublin.2 The copy of the Confession professes to be
taken from one in St. Patrick's own writing, and it cer
tainly shows many signs of authenticity. Its Latin is rude
and semibarbarous in grammar and spelling ; its Scripture
quotations are from the ante-Hieronymian Latin, which,
however, was used in Ireland concurrently with the Vulgate
long after his time ; it speaks of Britain in the plural
number (Britanniae) 3 ; it refers to married clergy engaged
in secular pursuits, one, a deacon, being also a Roman
decurio ; it contains no miracles, nor any mention of St.
Patrick's having been in Rome or even in Gaul ; mentions
certain simple incidents in a remarkably naive and truth
like manner ; and is altogether just what might be expected
1 Quoted from the Abbe Feller, in Kenelm Digby's Morus, p. 40.
2 The primary documents relating to St. Patrick have often been printed.
See White, Libb. S.P., 233. Not to mention earlier works, they will be
found in Gwynn's Book of Armagh, 3-48, 443-70; Anal. Bolland., i. 545-
85, ii. 35-68 ; Stokes's Tripartite, 269-375. All these books give full de
scriptions ofthe MS., and complete indexes to Patrician matters. They
are also in Haddan and Stubbs, II. ii. 296 ff., and, with translations, in
Cusack's Tripartite, 580-620, Olden's Epistles and Hymns of S. P.,
Wright's Writings of S. P., and White's Libri Sancti Patricii. The last-
named includes very complete critical apparatus and notes.
3 See below, Praef. II, notes on p. 87.

ch. ii. § i. PRIMARY AUTHORITIES 23
in a genuine composition of St. Patrick. Being mainly
autobiographic, it is most valuable for our purpose. The
Epistle on Coroticus is a strong remonstrance against that
prince and his soldiers, who had slain some of the newly
baptized converts, and carried others captive, and it relates
that when a holy presbyter and clerks were sent with a
letter to intercede for them, and ask for a return of some
of the plunder, they were repulsed with laughter. The
style is exactly that of the Confession, and it gives some
additional particulars about St. Patrick. It is not in the
Book of Armagh, but is referred to in a MS. of the tenth
century supplementing the last part of that compilation,
found at Brussels.1 The earliest historical mention of
St. Patrick, after his own times, is in Cummian's letter to
Seghine on the Easter question, in 634 ; he is there called
' Patricius, Papa noster '. The silence of Bede is accounted
for by his small intercourse with Ireland, and by his great
dislike to the Celtic party ; it may be compared with his
silence about St. Boniface, or that of Josephus about the
Christians.2 In the Book of Armagh are notes on the life
of St. Patrick by Tirechan,3 a disciple of St. Ultan (d. a.d.
656), and the life already mentioned, written about the end
ofthe seventh century by Muirchu Maccumachtheni. The
writings of St. Patrick himself appear to be the only docu
ments on which we can place much reliance. The two
last-named, however, though full of doubtful and legendary
matters, probably give the substance of documents and
traditions reaching back to St. Patrick's time, and stand
on quite a different footing from the Tripartite Life, the
Life by Jocelin,and other mediaeval compilations, on which,
directly or indirectly, the traditional fame of St. Patrick so
largely rests.4
1 G. T. Stokes, Celtic Ch. 28 n. ; Anal. Boll. i. 539 ; W. Stokes, Tri
partite, 375. On the Hymn of St. Sechnall, &c, see below, § 5.
2 Adamnan makes only one allusion to St. Patrick, and that quite
incidental. See Praef. II, p. 86. But the nature of his works hardly
required any such reference.
3 Stokes, Tripart. 30a ; Gwynn, 17, 453.
4 There Is a mass for the feast of St. Patrick in the Sarum Missal, but
there are no Proper Lessons in any of the old English Breviaries ; in
that of Aberdeen, however, are nine lessons recounting some of what were
the most popular legends, including that of his going to Rome to receive
consecration from Pope Caelestine. In the Roman Breviary (Norwich,
1830) are three lessons mostly based on the Confession and therefore
historical, but the Caelestine legend is introduced. Colgan gives seven

24

INTRODUCTION ch. ii.

§ 2. St. Patrick's boyhood, captivity, and escape. We
gather from the Confessio that Patrick was born ' in Bri-
tanniis V The date of his birth is unknown, and has been
variously reckoned at c. 372, c. 389, and even later. His
father was Calpurnius, a deacon, farmer, and decurio or
' town-councillor ' ; his grandfather Potitus, a presbyter.
Calpurnius resided in his own villula, ' in vico Bannauem
Taberniae.' 2 The Hymn of St. Eiacc3 says he was born
in Nemthur, and gives his names as Patraicc, Succat,
and Cothraige. When sixteen years old he was carried
captive by Irish pirates, perhaps led by King Niall ' of
the Nine Hostages ', into Antrim, where he spent six years
in tending cattle, as the slave of one Miliucc, perhaps in .
the valley of the Braid, near the hill of Slemish. According
to his own account, during his boyhood he 'knew not
the true God ', that is to say, he was an average boy, with
no very serious thoughts or sense of personal relation
with God. He must have been well instructed in his
religion, and its vital truths came home to hirn when he
was in trouble. Some sin which he had committed when
about fifteen weighed heavily on his conscience ; his hard
ships and his sorrows sent him to God, and the fear and
love of God increased in him day by day. His own most
interesting account of his experiences at this time and sub
sequently is too long to quote here ; it should be read in
the Confession itself. At last he heard in a dream a
voice saying that he should soon return to his native land,
and then another voice that told him his ship was ready.
Having served for six years he took to flight, God guided
him to the ship, and, after being at first refused a passage,
he was taken by the shipmen. They landed in three
days, and for twenty-eight days wandered through a wil
derness, possibly in North Britain, or perhaps in Western
Gaul.4 After some strange but not improbable experiences,
offices of St. Patrick and one of the Transl. of SS. Patrick, Columba, and
Bridget. 1 ' Old Kilpatrick ', near Dumbarton, probably preserves the memory
of the place, and the date appears to be about 375.
2 Not identified. See Bury, 322.
3 Not earlier than the latter part of the sixth cent. See Haddan and
Stubbs, II. ii. 360 n. ; Todd, 5. P. 313. But see also Healy, p. 85.
4 Mr. Olden infers from ihe mention of .dogs in the Confessio that the
sailors were engaged in the exporting of Celtic dogs into Gaul, that they
would be glad to have Patrick with them as one who spoke Latin, and

§§ 2, 3. ST. PATRICK 25
he escaped from the men, who seem to have held him in
a sort of captivity, and so again ' after a few years ', appa
rently those of his six years' captivity and his escape, he
was once more in his father's house, received as a son,
and implored, after so many tribulations, never to leave it.
§ 3. His mission : difficulties in the chronology. But he
longed to carry the Gospel to the people among whom it
had first come home with power to his own soul, whose
language he had learned, to whose ways he had become
accustomed. In the visions of the night he saw a man of
Ireland, who called him to go over and help them. Sooner
or later, he obeyed this call, and was consecrated bishop.
He is said to have studied with St. Honoratus at Lerins,
with" St. Germanus at Auxerre, and with St. Martin at
Tours, and to have started for or to have actually gone to
Rome to obtain consecration and mission from Pope
Caelestine I. There is, however, no evidence for these
statements in St. Patrick's own writings or in the hymn
of St. Sechnall (c. 448). In St. Fiacc's hymn (c, 590) we
have the Germanus story, in Tirechan's Collections
(c. 650 ?) 1 the Caelestine legend is added, but in Muirchu's
memoir (c. 690) we are told, without any mention of Cae
lestine, that St. Patrick studied with St. Germanus, and
that he afterwards went to St. Martin, who died eighteen
years before Germanus became bishop of Auxerre, so
that all this story is very suspicious. As to the Honoratus
sojourn, see Bury, ch. iii. In the later lives, the man
Victoricus, who appeared to St. Patrick in a dream, develops
into his guardian angel Victor, and, as usual, the later we
come down the more particulars we find. Dr. Todd regards
the whole story of St. Patrick's connexion with St. Ger
manus and mission from St. Caelestine as transferred from
a lost history of Palladius, who was also named Patricius,
to the more famous St. Patrick.2 With regard to St.
Patrick's ordination, we learn from his own Confession
that the scene of the wanderings was somewhere near the Loire, which
would explain his alleged sojourn in Gaul with St. Martin. The whole
argument should be seen in Olden's Church of Ireland, 1892, pp. 16-19, 42°-
1 In the sentence immediately preceding is mentioned an event that
occurred in 877. Diet. Chr. Biog. iv. 205 a. The MS. in the Book of
Armagh, c. 807-45, had already received considerable additions.
2 St. Pattick, pp. 314-21. It has been supposed that there were two
Patricks as well as Palladius, whose acts have been blended. See Petrie,
in Trans. R.I. A. vol. xviii, Antiquities, pp. 115-118.

26 INTRODUCTION ch. ii.
that he confessed the boyish sin above mentioned before
he was a deacon, but that it was brought up against him
when he was to be made a bishop. The difficulty was
overcome ; we have no information, however, as to where
or by whom the consecration was effected.
§ 4. His landing in Ireland to his death and burial. The
more or less doubtful particulars of St. Patrick's life, as
gathered from Tirechan, Muirchu, and others, have been
woven into consecutive narratives by many writers during
the last few years, and we must do no more here than refer
our readers to some of these, merely mentioning that he is
said to have landed in Wicklow harbour about a.d. 432,
to have met with a hostile reception, and then to have
sailed northward with his companions, touching at St.
Patrick's Isle, and landing on the shores of Strangford
Lough. Here they made a convert of one Dichu, who
gave St. Patrick a barn for his first church, now repre
sented by that of Saul (Sabhall, barn); that St. Patrick next
sought out his old master Miliucc, who, warned by his
Druids, set fire to his house and goods, and perished in
the flames rather than risk being converted, or witness
the triumphs of Patrick; that he next went to Tara at
some great convention, and that many of the chief men
were converted, King Laeghaire (Leary) himself being
baptized, though continuing pagan at heart, and at last
buried with pagan rites at his own request. Next, he
repaired to the neighbouring station of Teltown, where a
brother of Laeghaire was converted, and the present
church of Donaghpatrick founded. He then laboured in
Connaught and Ulster, and obtained a grant of land for
the church of Armagh, whence arose the primacy which
that see still enjoys. Afterwards he laboured in Munster,
and took part in the revision of the Brehon laws. There
is no sufficient evidence for his alleged visits to Rome. On
the contrary, the earliest documents are silent on the
matter, and there are great discrepancies in the endeavours
of later writers to bring in a mission from Rome. The
early Irish chronology, confirmed by the undesigned
evidence ofthe Confession and the letter against Coroticus,
places the arrival of St. Patrick eight to ten years after
the death of pope Caelestine, who is said by the later
annalists to have sent him.1
1 See Todd, 5. P. 310 ff., 399.

§§ 3-5- WRITINGS OF ST. PATRICK 27
Such writers as Healy, Joyce, &c. who maintain that
Patrick received mission from Rome, rely on the very dis
putable antiquity of certain notes in the Book of Armagh.
Finally, in his old age, his heart turned to the scenes of
his earliest successes as a missionary, and he died at Saul,
the barn-church. The date of his death is unknown.
Todd thinks that Ussher's date, 493, is most probably
right, S.P. 497. a.d. 461 is the date now generally agreed
on, White, Libri S.P., 231. It is said that there was a con
tention between the men of Armagh and the men of Down
as to which should shelter his body, and one point among
others in which he was said to resemble Moses was that
no one knew where his body lay until St. Columba pointed
out the true resting-place at Saul, by which is probably
meant Downpatrick, about two miles S.W. The weight of
evidence, however, seems to be in favour of Armagh.1
§ 5. His influence, and his literary remains. Whatever
may be the amount of truth in what is commonly stated
about St. Patrick, there is no doubt that he exercised a
great influence on the local ' kings ' or chieftains, who
were, as we have seen, commonly followed by their clans,
and he may rightly be venerated as ^the Apostle ' of
Ireland, although many ofthe people remained unconverted,
and continued to regard him with hostility. In the Con
fession, written towards the close of his life, he says that
he was in daily expectation of being put to death or driven
back to slavery, and a partial apostasy appears to have
taken place during the two centuries following his death.2
He left behind him, in addition to the Confession and
Letter on Coroticus, a hymn in Irish called his Lorica or
religious armour, which he is said to have sung at Tara.3
Bishop Healy tells us that even to this day it is chanted in
Irish by the peasantry in the South and West, and ' re
garded as a strong shield against all evils natural and
supernatural '.4 Of St. Patrick's own period is a Latin
alphabetical hymn in his praise, written by his nephew
St. Sechnall or Secundinus,6 who possibly wrote also the
1 See Olden, in Proc. R. I. A., third ser., ii. 655.
2 Stokes, Tripartite, cxliii ; Skene, Celtic Sc. ii. 39.
3 Printed, with translation, in Haddan and Stubbs, II. ii. 320, and
elsewhere previously. See note, ib., p. 323.
4 Insula Sanctorum, p. 77.
6 Haddan and Stubbs, II. ii. p. 324 ; see notes, ib., p. 327 ; translation
in Olden's Epistles, Sec. of St. Patrick, p. no.

28 INTRODUCTION ch. ii.
hymn Sancti, venite, now so well known as ' Draw nigh
and take the Body of the Lord V Some canons attributed
to St. Patrick on insufficient grounds, and extracts from
the Senchus Mbr relating to the Church, are printed in
Haddan and Stubbs.2 In the Book of Armagh are some
traditional Dicta Patritii,s some of which may be genuine.
One has become famous through being often quoted thus,
' O Church of the Scots (Irish), nay of the Romans, as ye
are Christians, be ye also Romans.' 4 The original is
' Aecclesia Scotorum, immo Romanorum, ut Christiani, ita
ut Romani sitis, ut decantetur vobiscum oportet omni hora
orationis vox ilia laudabilis Curie lession, Christe lession.
Omnis aecclesia quae sequitur me cantet Cyrie lession,
Christe lession, Deo gratias'. The passage is apparently
corrupt, with its three ufs. And Professor Bury has shown
that it is probably spurious, and has been added, perhaps
after a.d. 700, to the two genuine dictaS It will be seen
that the opening words have a somewhat different com
plexion when taken with what follows, but even then the
sentiment is hardly what we should expect from St. Patrick,
judging by his undoubtedly genuine writings. In con
nexion with the spying Deo gratias, Muirchu gives a curious
story of his being reported to say Grazacham (gratias
agamus),6 both when he received a present and when it
was taken from him. (Cp. Job i. 21 ; 1 Thess. v. 18.)
§ 6. Legends. Before taking our leave of St. Patrick,
we must briefly touch upon some of the principal legends
on which his fame so largely rests. One is, his driving all
the demons, serpents, toads, &c, out of Ireland with his
pastoral staff. This incident appears first in the Life by
Jocelin of Furness, written in the twelfth century, and subse
quently in various Breviaries, &c. The germ ofthe legend
is the probably historical circumstance related by Tirechan,
that, while Patrick was fasting during Lent alone on a
mountain, he was much troubled by flocks of birds, which
darkened the air (Stokes, Trip. 322). In the Tripartite the
birds have become demons in the shape of black birds, and
Patrick drives them away with his bell (Ib. 115). Jocelin
1 Hymns A. and M., No. 313. See below, II. ix. n., p. 131.
'' Vol. II. pt. ii. 328 sq.
3 Stokes, Tripart. 301 ; Wright, Writings, &c. 81 ; Gwynn, 17.
4 e.g. in Healy, p. 87. 6 Life of St. Patrick, 232.
6 Bury, 158 ; Wright, 83, where see reff.

§§ 5, 6. LEGENDS OF ST. PATRICK 29
says that he drove all the venomous creatures into the sea
with the ' staff of Jesus ', and that from that time to his
time they have altogether ceased to infest Ireland (Colgan,
Tr. Thaum. 102, 103).1
St. Patrick's crosier, which may have been a genuine
relic, has a wonderful story connected with it which cul
minates in its being given him by Christ Himself, in
Lerins 2 or some other island in the Tyrrhene sea ; to this
crosier also belongs the legend of its having been used
to drive away the reptiles. It was preserved at Armagh
until after the Norman Conquest, when it was transferred
to Dublin. There it remained until it was destroyed by
Archbishop Browne in 1538. The story of St. Patrick's
purgatory, first published by Henry of Saltrey in the
twelfth century, is connected with a cave in an island in
Lough Derg in Donegal, whither Irish pilgrims still resort.
This one has perhaps been set up as a rival to an earlier
St. Patrick's Purgatory on the top of the mountain Croagh
Patrick, co. Mayo.3 Perhaps the best known legend of all
is that of St. Patrick's illustrating the doctrine of the
Trinity by the leaf of the shamrock. The use of the
trefoil as an emblem- in Ireland is very ancient, but pro
bably of pagan origin. None of the early or mediaeval
Lives, however, connect it with St. Patrick, and the legend
seems not to be found earlier than a.d. 1600.4 It is not
mentioned by Colgan, who wrote in 1647.
1 Ireland has enjoyed an immunity from snakes and some other reptiles
from time immemorial. The probable explanation of the former im
munity of Ireland from reptiles is, that these creatures migrated west
ward, and that before our islands were separated from the Continent
a certain number had travelled as far as England, and a smaller number,
perhaps only the lizards, as far as Ireland, and that, when the continuity
ofthe land was broken, their further progress was stopped. There are
now twenty-two species in Belgium, eleven in England, and five in
Ireland. (Ramsay, Physical Geography, fifth ed., p. 483.)
2 There is no mention of Lerins in any of the earlier lives, not even in
the Tripartite. Modern writers have followed the Bollandists, who
thought that Aralanensis, 'of Aries' (Tirechan in Stokes's Trip. 302),
might refer to Lerins. Acta SS. Mar. 17, p. 528.
3 There is a large amount of information about the Purgatory in Cam-
brensis Eversus, vol. i, pp. 139-55, with Kelly's notes.
* For these legends see Diet. Chr. Biog. iv. 205, and works there cited ;
on St. Patrick's Purgatory, Cusack, 621-40 ; Olden, 263-7 i f°r a striking
account of Lough Derg and of a pilgrimage in 1817, Carletgn, Traits and
Stories, i860, i. 236-70.

30 INTRODUCTION ch. hi
III. Saints of the Patrician Period, and the
'Three Orders' of Irish Saints
§ i. Early Irish Saints. Three of the principal of St.
Patrick's contemporaries or immediate successors may now
be very briefly referred to.
Benignus, or Benen, was an early follower and lifelong
companion of St. Patrick, and there is a very pretty legend,
possibly founded on facts, about his ' call V He is spoken
of as the Psalm-singer, and became bishop at Armagh.
He died in 468, and was accounted the Apostle and Patron
of Connaught.
Brigida, Bridget, or Bride, 'the Mary of Ireland,' was
and is scarcely less popular than St. Patrick himself.
Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga consists of acts of Patrick,
Columba, and Bridget, the ' three common patrons ' of
Ireland, according to the title. Like many other Celtic
saints, she was of royal descent, but a child of shame.
Received and baptized, along with her mother, by the
disciples of St. Patrick, in after years she lived to be
foundress and first abbess of Kildare. This house had
affiliated houses of monks and of nuns all over the country
and she was abbess above all other abbesses ; hence her
domestic bishop and his successors long had pre-eminence
among the bishops of Ireland, who were, as we know,2 not
uncommonly in the position of domestic chaplains subject
to abbots, or even to abbesses. As in the case of St.
Patrick, her fame was to a great extent the result of the
legends that gathered round her memory, many of the
incidents in which can be referred to paganism. (Elton,
270.) The one that most concerns us is that she prophesied
of the birth of St. Columba, and of his becoming as a great
tree whose top should reach over Erin and Albania (Scot
land). She was much associated with St. Patrick, and is
said to have made his winding sheet. She died about 523.3
Maucteus or Mochta is mentioned by Adamnan as a
British stranger, a holy man, a disciple of St. Patrick, who
prophesied of St. Columba.4 He is said to have come
1 See Newell, St. Patrick, 81, 82.
2 Reeves, 1857, 339-41 ; 1874, civ, cv ; Stokes, Celtic Ch. 104.
3 St. Bridget of Ireland is not to be confounded with St. Bridget of
Sweden, famous for her ' revelations ', and as the foundress of the
Brigittine Order of nuns, who died July 24, 1373.
4 See Praef. II, p. 86.

§§ i, 2. EARLY IRISH SAINTS 31
over to Ireland with twelve disciples and to have evange
lized the county Louth ; also to have founded monastic
schools, first one at Kilmore (Cella magna) and afterwards
a more famous one at Louth. He died 535. Four other
monastic schools of the fifth century are treated of in
Healy, ch. vi.
§ 2. The Three Orders. It may be well now to say
a few words on the 'Three Orders' of Irish saints. Our
knowledge of this ancient classification is derived from
a document of the middle of the eighth century,1 in which
the Irish saints are divided into three distinct classes or
orders, who may be severallydescribed as secular, monastic,
and eremitical. The saints of the first or earliest order,
which continued for about a century after St. Patrick, were
all bishops, 350 in number, founders of churches. They
had one head, Christ, and one leader, Patrick.2 They had
one mass, one celebration," one tonsure from ear to ear, one
Easter, on the fourteenth moon after the vernal equinox, and
what one church excommunicated all did. They did not
refuse the services and society of women (or according to
another MS., either laymen or women), because, founded
on Christ the Rock, they feared not temptation.4 These
were for the most part sprung from the Romans, Franks,
Britons, and Scots (Irish).
The second order, or next in time, consisted of few
bishops and many presbyters, 300 in all. They had one
head, our Lord ; they celebrated different masses and had
different rules ; their Easter and tonsure were as in the
first order, but they refused the services of women, separa
ting them from their monasteries. This order has lasted,
says the document, for four reigns from the cessation of the
first order. They received a mass from bishop David, and
Gillas {al. Gildas), and Docus, the Britons.5
1 Printed by Ussher and others, e.g. in Acta SS. Hiberntae ex Cod.
Salmant. 161-4 ; see Reeves, 1857, 334, 1874, 233. The reading unam
celebrationem misse in Cod. Salm. is a late editor's alteration.
2 Not even in so late a document as this have we either here or in the
account of the second order a word about the Pope.
3 In the Irish lives the words celebrare and celebratio, if used without
qualification, almost always refer to the canonical hours, and not, as in
later usage, to mass. Piummer's Vitae Sanctorum, I. cxv. n.
4 There were women in their ecclesiastical societies or households;
the stricter monastic rule had not yet come in.
8 Some perhaps used the mass of the first order, others this imported
one ; hence ' different masses ' So also in the third order. Warren

32 INTRODUCTION ch. iii. § 2
The third or latest order consisted of presbyters and
a few bishops, 100 in all; they dwelt in deserts, and lived
on herbs and water, and on alms ; they despised private
property ; they had various rules, masses, tonsures, and
Easters, differing among themselves. They lived during
four reigns, and continued till the great mortality (a.d. 666).
The first order was sanctissimus, the second sanctior, the
third sanctus; they were as the sun, the moon, and the stars.
It seems inconceivable that these three orders should have
begun and ended exactly as stated. If we accept the docu
ment' as on the whole historical, we > .ust nevertheless
suppose that there must have been some considerable over
lapping, though each order may very well represent the
predominant character of the period to which it is assigned.
The succession of the first and second orders evidently
marks a transition from the missionary church of St. Patrick1
to the monastic church of the sixth century, while the third
order represents an increase in the number of hermits or
solitaries of various schools. It will be with the second
order, to which St. Columba belonged, that we shall now
be especially concerned. IV. Irish Monasticism
§ 1. Early Monasticism. The Irish monasticism ofthe
sixth century was the outcome ofthe spirit and the work of
the second order of Saints. It was very different from
mediaeval monasticism, and an Irish monastery of that
date, and for long after, was not in the least like those
monasteries ofthe middle ages whose ruins are still existing
in most parts of Ireland, as well as elsewhere. Celtic
monachism was the transition from the hermit life to that
ofthe religious orders of the middle ages. This transition
soon took place in the East. The first monks were, as the
word ixovaxos implies, solitaries. This earliest monasticism
remarks that the admixture of passages from the Ambrosian, Gallican,
and Mozarabic rites with the Roman Canon in the Stowe Missal (ninth
century) is suggestive of a period when these diversities had not ceased
to exist. Celtic Liturgy, 204.
1 On the enormous preponderance of bishops in St. Patrick's system,
and on the early Irish chorepiscopi, see Reeves, Eccl. Ant. of Down and
Connor, App. A. It was simply the oldest system going on, and still
surviving in Italy and southern France. Every town had its congrega
tion under a bishop, as now under a priest.

ch. iv. § i. EARLY MONASTICISM 33
is supposed to have arisen in Egypt and Syria, whither
numbers^jf Christians were driven by the Decian persecu
tion in the middle of the third, and that of Diocletian at
the beginning of the fourth, century. Many of these exiles
are believed to have betaken themselves to a hermit life,
possibly influenced not only by Christian, but by Mani-
chaean, Jewish, Buddhist, and even pagan ideas. They
soon divided themselves into two classes. Some continued
the original hermit life, which was in later times practised
by the third order of Irish saints, and by the comparatively
few hermits or anchorites of the middle and even later
ages. Others united themselves in communities each under
the rule of a ' father ' or abbot,1 and lived as coenobites.
Through constant communication between Alexandria and
Marseilles, Egyptian monachism soon spread into Gaul,
and then from Gaul into Ireland.2
§ 2. Early buildings. Such being the case, it is interest
ing to know, by existing remains and early accounts, that
the primitive Irish monasteries were of the same type as
those of Egypt and Syria, consisting of scattered huts or
cells grouped around a church or oratory of humble cha
racter, and surrounded by a stone wall (cashel), or by an
earthen rampart (rath, dun, or lis), with a ditch,3 and on
the top a palisade and quick hedge for seclusive enclosure,
and for defence against robbers and wild beasts. And it
may probably have been safety as well as solitude that so
often recommended islands to the Celtic monks as sites for
monasteries. In Ireland the cells were often wooden or wattled huts,
but not uncommonly of stone, and of 'bee-hive ' form, made
by laying each course a little within the one below, until
the top was covered in. The earliest stone buildings are
dry-walled, and some were built with clay used as mortar
before the use of lime became universal. The little churches
or oratories were invariably oblong, without chancels;
when of stone they were at first roofed on the same
principle as the bee-hive cells, the construction of the arch
1 From the Syriac Abba, i.e. father.
2 In the obscure beginnings of monastic life in Europe, St. Martin of
Tours undoubtedly plays a prominent part. (Sozomen, Eccl. Hist. iii. 14 ;
Migne, P. G., col. 1081.) On the influence of John Cassian and others,
see Stokes, Celt. Ch- Lecture ix, pp. 166-88.
3 Water still remains in some ol these. Joyce, Geograph^_ofJhe_Coun-
ties of Ireland, 1883, p. 31.
2291 C

34 INTRODUCTION ch. iv.
not being understood till much later. And the descriptions
of early Irish monasteries would serve for thoscof Egypt
and Syria. There are found the same bee-hive cells, the
same stone-roofed oratories, the same outer defences. In
Ireland the cells in some cases have doorways so low that
a man has to creep through, and inside is a set-off, forming
a stone bench on which the monk could sit or lie.1 There
is, however, no reason for supposing that all the buildings
in Ireland were directly copied from those in the East. It
was rather that the same mode of life required similar
buildings, and a similar stage in civilization developed the
same methods of construction. The first Christian archi
tecture in Ireland was certainly in some respects, and
probably in most, a continuation of the pagan work. When
the local kings or chieftains became Christian, their raths
or cashels, or new ones built in imitation of them, protected
the earliest oratories and bee-hive cells, which latter were
simply the old pagan dwellings, now serving as monastic
cells adapted to that stage in the monastic idea which had
then been reached. But, as Dr. Anderson says, ' there is
no pagan structure which, in Scotland or in Ireland,
assumes either the form or character of a Christian church,
however early or however rude.' 2 Whence then came the
idea of the little oblong church or oratory ? Most probably
from the East, where, as we have seen, similar churches
existed.3 With respect to burial-grounds, the pagan practice
was to enclose them within a stone circle, but in the
primitive Irish Church the enclosure was oblong in form,
like the oratory, and fenced by pillar-stones set close
together, each marked with a cross. Some of the early
stone buildings are in very good preservation to this day.
But the largest apartments, as well as some churches, and
the greater number of the cells, were often constructed of
much less durable materials, such as wood, wattles, and
clay, and so have perished ages ago, while the materials of
any stone buildings might be used again. Hence it is that
1 See on this subject Warren, ch. ii. § i, and Lecture ix, ' Ireland and
the East ', in Prof. Stokes's Ireland and the Celtic Church, and the end
of Lect. xi. For illustrations and ground-plans, Early Christian Art in
Ireland, hy Margaret Stokes, 1887, part ii, ch. ii, and reff. p. 82 ; Ander
son's Scotland in Early Christian Times, Lectures ii, iii ; Lord Dunraven,
Irish Architecture.
2 Scotland, &c, 79, 80.
3 See Fergusson's History of Architecture, 1874, ii. 229-32.

§ 2. BUILDINGS 35
not a trace of St. Columba's monastery is to be seen at
Iona. There must have been rooms with plenty of light,
for illuminations such as those in the Book of Kells or the
Book of Durrow could not have been executed in places in
the least like bee-hive cells.1 The great hall at Tara,
where national assemblies were held, appears from existing
indications to have measured 759 feet by 90, and, according
to Petrie, must have been constructed of wood and clay.2
And there is no reason why there may not have been
similar buildings connected with the monasteries, of any
size that might be required. Many ofthe churches, indeed,
appear to have been of this kind, especially in the east and
north-east of Ireland, where stone was less plentiful. But
they were always small, 20 to 40 feet in length, rarely 60
(oratories about io-J feet), never having aisles or apse, or
anything approaching the basilica form, nor has any round
church been found, nor indeed anything of Roman type.
The churches, however, often had a 'side-house ' or sacristy
(Erdamh, exedra, or exedriola), as in many existing
buildings.3 Churches were usually orientated, but there
were exceptions.4 We find mention also of the kitchen,
and of the 'great-house' or refectory. At Armagh, accord
ing to the Tripartite Life, p. 237, the kitchen was 17 feet
long, and the great-house was 27. There was also a guest
house for strangers, and there were storehouses, drying-
kilns, and mills, as well as workshops, and perhaps rooms
solely for writing and study. The famous 'Round Towers '
are invariably connected with ecclesiastical foundations,
and mostly belong to the ninth and tenth centuries ; some
may be earlier, and others may be the successors of earlier
ones. It is supposed that there may be a reference to one
in Adamnan, III, xv, which is founded on Cummian, x.
See note, p. 229. They were used as bell-towers, and as
places of temporary refuge during attacks upon monasteries,
1 Possibly, however, out of doors. For six facsimile plates of pages in
the Book of Kelts see vol. ii of the publications of the Old Palaeographical
Society (1873-83) under the seventh century, and for magnificent coloured
illustrations, with descriptive remarks on Irish Illuminations, by Dr. Todd,
Vetusta Monumenia, 1869, vol. vi, and reff. there.
2 Clay was ofien used as mortar in stone buildings ; Reeves, Eccl.
Ant. 23, 39.
3 The Great Gospel of Columcille, known as the Book of Kells, was
stolen out of the Erdamh at Kells in 1005. Chron. Scotorum, 245.
4 Reeves, Eccl. Ant. 221, 222. C 2

36 INTRODUCTION ch. iv.
probably also as beacons and lighthouses. (See Dr. Petrie
on Round Towers, and Miss Stokes's Early Chr. Art,
part ii. 48.)
§ 3. Discipline. With regard to discipline, each monas
tery, with its dependent houses, appears to have had a rule
of its own. These rules had a general resemblance in the
most important points. The Abbot was the head of each
monastic family, including the daughter-houses, which
were governed by local heads under the abbot. Some
times the abbot was a bishop, but usually a priest, with
one or more bishops subject to him as members of the
community, but performing episcopal functions, and treated
with honour and deference, as bishops. Even abbesses
had such episcopal chaplains subject to their authority.1
The system was one of monastic territorial jurisdiction
and not one of diocesan episcopacy, though episcopacy
was always held to be essential to the very being of a
church. Poverty, celibacy, and obedience were all essential
to the monastic life. There had been and were married
secular clergy, as for example St. Patrick's father and
grandfather. Polygamy existed ; hence, when St. Patrick
wanted a bishop for Leinster, he asked for ' a man of one
wife, to whom hath been born only one child '.2 Such
marriages were perhaps regarded by later monastic writers
as no marriages at all, and clerks' wives may be referred
to as 'mulieres ', or even ' meretrices '. Nevertheless, they
went on in Ireland until the fifteenth century, the Roman
canon law notwithstanding. The Brehon laws assume the
existence of married as well as of unmarried clergy. Some
writers have been driven to great straits in order to con
ceal these and kindred facts. (See Olden, 121, 289 ;
Warren's Celtic Liturgy, 13, 14.)
§ 4. Hospitality. Hospitality was shown to strangers,
in honour of whom the regular fasts were relaxed, accord
ing to the means at the command of the house, but the
usual fare of the ' family ' was very plain and simple.
§ 5. Dress. The ordinary dress was a coarse woollen
1 E. A. Freeman called them ' ordaining machines ', and remarked
that ' there the highest and the lowest notions of episcopal authority
seem to come together'. Life and Letters, ii. 222. Dr. G. T. Stokes
says ' the abbots kept a bishop on the premises for the purpose of con
ferring holy ordei s '. Celtic Ch. 104. See above p. 15.
2 Gwynn, 457 ; Stokes, Trip, clxviii ; Olden, 121,289; Warren, 13, 14.

§§ 2-7. MONASTIC LIFE

37

wrapper or cowl, probably with a cord or strap round the
loins, over a tunic or under-garment. The old Irish
casa.il, often rendered casula, and 'chasuble,' was the
ordinary outer garment worn not only by ecclesiastics, but
by Druids and women. It is supposed to be referred to
in the famous old Irish rime about St. Patrick1 in the
words rendered by Muirchu 'et sua domu capite perforato,'
domus being regarded as equivalent to casa, of which casula
is the diminutive. The monk slept in his clothes on a
straw mat or something of that kind in his cell, and with
probably a rug or skin over him.
§ 6. Tonsure. The tonsure was made by shaving off all
the hair in front of a line drawn from ear to ear,*-and is
called the frontal, ' St. John's,' or Celtic tonsure, to dis
tinguish it from the coronal, ' St. Peter's,' or Roman, and
the total, ' St. Paul's/or Greek tonsure. The Roman party
nicknamed it Simon Magus's tonsure, probably with refer
ence to some tonsure which the magi or Irish Druids had.3
There was also a slaves' tonsure, which is said in the
Tripartite to have been exchanged by St. Patrick for that
of a monk (ed. Stokes, 25). It would seem that in 1300
the Irish generally 'half-shaved their heads.' — Cambrensis
Eversus, i. 194 n.
§ 7. Church Services. The life of St. Columba contains
many references to the days and hours of Divine Service,
and we need hardly doubt that the Columban usages were
much the same as what had long prevailed in Irish monas
teries. The solemn days were Sundays and Saints' days
(natales), and were observed with celebration of the Eu
charist (which does not appear to have taken place daily)
in addition to the Offices for the Hours sung on ajl days,
1 Printed in Stokes's Tripartite, 34, 35, 274 ; Todd's St. Patrick, 411.
2 Distinctly shown in a drawing at the end of the Book of Durrow
(seventh century) in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin. This and
other representations of the Celtic tonsure are described in Proceedings
of Soe. Ant. Lond., 2nd ser., III. 272.
3 See Todd, 455 n., 456 ; Stokes, Trip. 509 n. The term applied to a
Christian missionary in ancient Irish writings is tailcend. This is rendered
by Muirchu in the Book of Armagh, fo. 2, by Asciciput, ' Adzehead ', and it
is so rendered in Dr. Whitley Stokes's ed. ofthe Tripartite (1887), p. 35.
But Dr. Todd (1864) says (411 n.) that the word is Lasciciput, which he
connects with lascivium [lixivium], barber's soap, lather. The reading
Asciciput is confirmed in Anal. Boll. i. 556. In the MS. the / is put in
the margin, as if the scribe had been uncertain which was the right
word.

38 INTRODUCTION ch. iv.
rest from labour,1 and an allowance of better food. All
the usual Hours appear to have been observed at Iona,
except that there is no mention of Compline, which was
evolved from the informal prayers at bedtime in the sixth
century, and seems not to have been adopted by the Celtic
Church until a later period, if at all. The terms for
Vespers (including Lauds) were Vespertinalis missa,2 and
Vesperlinales laudes. The Holy Eucharist was called sacra
Eucharistiae ministeria, sacra mysteria, sacrae oblationis
mysteria or obsequia or solemnia missarum. Wine, water,
and bread were provided, and the priest stood ante altare.
The terms for consecration were sacra Eucharistiae con-
secrare (vel conficere) mysteria, sacram oblationem consecrare,
Christi corpus conficere. Concelebration might be practised
by two or more priests, but a bishop celebrated alone.
The brethren communicated. On extraordinary occasions,
even in the dead of night, as well, probably, as for the
ordinary church services and for meals, the abbot or
bishop called the brethren together by the sound of a hand
bell, which seems to have been in his own possession for
life, and to have passed on to his successor.
§ 8. Ecclesiastical bells. These bells were of the rudest
construction, and all which have been preserved have a
strong family likeness. The bell ' of St. Patrick ' 3 is the
oldest and most authentic relic of metal work ofthe Chris
tian period that has come down to us ; it has a history of
over 1,500 years.4 Five chromolithographs, excellent for
the time when they were done, and representing this bell
and the four sides of its jewelled shrine, with a description
by Dr. Reeves, were published at Belfast in 1849 and 1850.
There is a beautiful woodcut of one side in Miss Stokes's
Early Chr. Art, part i, 60. The bell is formed of two plates of
sheet iron bent over and riveted together in a quadrilateral
form with rounded angles, 7! inches high, about 3! diameter
at the base, and a little less at the top. After being riveted,
1 Sunday was so observed, according to Muirchu and the Tripartite,
b> St. Patrick (ed. Stokes, 147, 193, 289 ; Anal. Boll. i. 571) ; see also
Cal. Oengus, ed. 1880, lxiv, cxlvii ; 1905, H.B.S. 211; Bede, Vit. S.
Cuthb. cap. 27 ; Olden, p. 114.
2 See notes on missarum, III. xi, and vespertinalem missam, III.
xxiii. 3 In the collection of the Royal Irish Academy.
* It is first mentioned in the Annals of Ulster at the year 552, about
170 years after the death of St. Patrick.

§§ 7-1°. BELLS 39
it has been dipped into melted bronze, which has both
coated it and run into the joints. The handle is an iron
loop let into holes on the top of the bell, and further
secured outside by bronze attachments. It is, indeed, made
in the same way as bells for camels, cattle, and sheep still
are, and have been from the earliest times. The ordinary
representation of St. Antony with a bell has perhaps
originated in some conception of him as the head of a
monastic house, bearing the bell as a recognized symbol of
monastic rule. And possibly the use of hand-bells may
have come into Ireland from the East. Whether they had
been used in pagan Ireland appears to be uncertain.
§ 9. Bell-shrines. In course of time the bell of any
famous saint came to be regarded as a most sacred relic,
and, rude as it was itself both in material and in workman
ship, it was enclosed in a shrine, made in its own form, and
covered with the most elaborate patterns in metal-work,
resplendent with gold and precious stones, and having
rings at the sides for suspension round the neck. These
magnificent shrines, however, formed no part of the equip
ment of an Irish monastery of the time with which we are
concerned ; they are supposed to have been made about
400 or 500 years after the deaths of the saints whose bells
. they enclose. They were preserved from generation to
generation in the families that represented the original
founders of the monasteries; hence the survival of so
many, between fifty and sixty in Ireland alone.1
§ 10. Books and their shrines. Sacred books, as missals
and Gospels, and crosiers, were regarded with like venera
tion, and in course of time enshrined and preserved by
hereditary custodians in the same way as the bells. The
most venerable of these are the Domhnach Airgid, a Latin
MS. of the Gospels reputed to have belonged to St. Patrick,
with its shrine or case, and the famous Cathach or Battle-
book, a Psalter possibly in St. Columba's handwriting, ''
also with its shrine. Many of these shrines or outer cases
1 For accounts and illustrations of Celtic bells and shrines see
Miss Stokes, 1887, ch. iv ; pt. i, Anderson, Lecture v ; Ellacombe, Church
Bells of Devon, Supplement, ch. vii ; Warren, Celtic Liturgy, 92, and
authorities cited. Giraldus appears to have been much interested in
Celtic bells and crosiers ; Topog. Hib. Distinctio iii. 33, 34.
2 See O'Curry, MS. Materials, Lect. xv, and below, vi. § 6. More
recent opinion is less favourable to the genuineness of both these MSS.
The cases are much later than the MSS.

40 INTRODUCTION ch. iv.
are described in Miss Stokes's Early Chr. Art, part i,
pp. 88-96.
To return now to the usages of Iona, as illustrating those
of the still earlier Irish Church.
§ 11. Easter and the Paschal controversy. The chief
festival was Easter, and the Paschales dies, from Easter
Day to Whit-Sunday, were marked by greater indulgence
than other times. Sunday of course was kept as 'an
Easter Day in every week ', and as a day of rest from work
and travelling (Olden, 114, 115), as, e.g., by St. Cuthbert
(Bede, Vit. S. C. xxvii ; Metrical Life, 2870-77). And in
the Tripartite (c. a.d. 1000) we find St. Patrick rebuking
the heathen for digging a rath on a Sunday (Stokes, 233).
In the story of the expedition of the sons of Ua Corra
they are represented as finding a man on an island digging
with a fiery spade as a punishment for digging on Sundays
when on earth, and on another island a man riding a horse
of fire, he having taken his brother's horse and ridden
it on a Sunday (O'Curry, MS. Mater. 293). We hear later
of a mill that refused to grind on a Sunday.1 As to the time
of keeping Easter, there had been and still were great
differences in the Church, as there is still between the
East and the West.2 The churches of Asia long began to
keep Easter on the evening of the Jews' Passover, on
the fourteenth day of Nisan or Abib, which month began
with the new moon nearest to the vernal equinox, so that
the fourteenth day was the day ofthe Paschal full moon ;
hence those who began to keep Easter on this day, which
might be any day of the week, were called 'Quartodeci-
mans '. The Western churches began to keep Easter on
the eve of the Sunday following, and this rule was con
firmed by the Council of Nicaea. And the Celtic Churches
followed the Western custom in this respect, and so were
not Quartodecimans. But the time of the year in which
the vernal equinox fell was a matter of astronomical calcu
lation, and depended on what 'cycle' was adopted. During
the fourth, and first half of the fifth, century the Alexan-
1 Plummer, Vitae SS. Hib. I. xcvii, cxxiii.
2 The present difference however is, that in Russia and Greece and
throughout the East the rectification of the Calendar made by Pope
Gregory XIII, in 1582, is still rejected, and the ' Old Style ' tenaciously
adhered to, as was the case in the British dominions until Jan. 1, 1752.
On the whole subject of the Paschal Controversy and Tonsure, see the
Excursus in Piummer's Bede, ii. 348, and Index, vol. ii.

§§ io-i2. SUNDAY AND EASTER 41
drian church used a nineteen-year cycle, while the Roman
used the old Jewish eighty-four-year cycle. But in 463
Rome adopted a new cycle of 532 years. Now the Irish
church had received with St. Patrick and its first teachers,
not the Alexandrian cycle of nineteen years, which might
conceivably have come to them through Marseilles and
Gaul, but the old Roman and Jewish eighty-four-year cycle,
which had prevailed all over Europe; indeed, so little had
the Irish clergy to do with Rome during the earlier
centuries of its life, that they knew nothing of the new
Roman cycle and consequent alteration in the time of
Easter, and, when attempts were made to bring in this
Roman Easter and the Roman tonsure, they resisted with
a vehemence altogether inconsistent with the alleged
saying of St. Patrick, to the effect that the Irish should
sing kyrie eleeson that they might be indeed Roman,1 or
with any such dependence on Rome as might have been
inferred had St. Patrick really sought consecration and
mission from the Pope. As a matter of fact, the Roman
Easter and tonsure were not accepted by the Celtic church
until a. d. 716.2 The only other great festival mentioned
by Adamnan is the Natalitium Domini, or Christmas.
Wednesdays and Fridays, except during the Paschales dies,
were fast-days, and Lent was strictly kept as a preparation
for Easter, while some kept the forty days before Christ
mas in a similar way.
§ 12. Baptism, &c. We find baptism administered to
children, and to an old man at the point of death, as well as
to adult converts. Holy orders were conferred by a bishop
only. It is not certain whether one bishop consecrating
another usually had, as later, at least two others with him
as co-consecrators. Lanfranc and Anselm both complained
that consecration by single bishops was practised in
Ireland, and there are two or three known instances of it.
Bishops probably had crosiers ; see pp. 20, 28, 29. Con
fession was made coram omnibus, and the abbot enjoined
1 See above, p. 28.
2 How entirely independent of one another and indeed mutually
antagonistic on these points the Celtic and Roman churches were is fully
shown in the Introduction to Warren's Celtic Liturgy, ch. 8, § 4, pp. 29-46.
The Celtic Churches however, like the Roman, kept Easter Day on
a Sunday, and so were not Quartodecimans. They did not all accept
the Roman Easter at the same time. For dates see Piummer's Bede,
I. xxxix n. See further in Addenda.

42 INTRODUCTION ch. iv.
penance and gave absolution. But there was also a .system
of personal direction, and the director was called one's
anmchara, animae carus, or soul-friend. The saying ' a man
without a soul-friend is a body without a head ' may belong,
however, to the mediaeval period, though attributed in
legend to the time of St. Bridget. (See Stokes, Calendar
of Oengus, xlvi, cxxix.) The sign of the cross for the
averting of evil or enduing with virtue was in constant use,
and in St. Columba's time objects which he had blessed
were regarded and used as charms. The Burial of the
Dead was a religious office following upon the exequiae,
which in the case of St. Columba lasted till the third day
after death, and in other cases for a longer or a shorter
time : p. 185, 1. 8, p. 234.
§ 13. Employments. The employments of the com
munities, apart from the church services and private devo
tion, were reading, writing, and labour. Holy Scripture
was a principal subject of study ; the Psalms were com
monly learnt by heart. Latin was still a living language
in the monasteries ; Greek and even Hebrew received
some attention. Lives of the saints were both written and
read, and perhaps some of the Latin Fathers were studied
as time went on. Adamnan, like other Celtic writers, was
much given to the use of Greek words turned into Latin
forms either by himself or others, and he sometimes quoted
Greek words, and put Latin words into Greek letters. In
the last page of Codex A of his Life of St. Columba is the
Lord's Prayer in the semi-uncial Greek characters adopted
by the Irish scribes,1 and exhibiting their usual confusion
between e and ¦«, with other clerical errors which show that
the scribe did not always understand the words, but that
Greek was felt to be at least a matter of interest and
curiosity.2 Writing formed a large part of the occupation
of monks and scholars, some of whom probably worked at
little else. We find mention of waxed tablets,3 styles,
1 A good deal of this writing is found in the Book of Armagh. See
Warren, note on p. 157 ; Reeves, 1857, pp. xx, xxi ; below, p. 85 n.
2 On the whole subject of Greek in Gaul and western Europe down
to 700, and the knowledge of Greek in Ireland between 500 and 900, see
Dr. G. T. Stokes, in Proc. R. I. A. third ser., vol. ii. pp. 177-202.
3 ' Cuius mihi formam in tabula cerata ipse depinxit.' De Loc. Sanctis,
i. 2. ' Mihi Adamnano . . . primo in tabulas describenti, . . . dictavit
quae nunc in membranis brevi texlu scribuntur.' Ib. Prolog. On pre-
Christian Irish tablets, see O'Curry, MS. Materials, 465-470, and on

§§ i2, i3. EMPLOYMENTS OF MONKS 43
skins, • and inkhorns.1 Most of the books used in the
churches, as ordinary mass-books, psalters, lectionaries,
hymn-books ; or for study, as the Scriptures, Fathers,
Saints' lives, chronicles, &c, would be but little orna
mented. Among the 'school-books' in use were educa
tional poems forming class-books to be learnt by heart,
and commented on or explained by the teachers.2 The
art of illumination doubtless grew by degrees, but such
magnificent specimens as the Book of Kells and the Book
of Durrow, both of which have been attributed to St.
Columba himself, are now considered to be of the seventh
century, not of the sixth. The colophon of the Book of
Durrow refers to the writer, Columba, but Columba was
a very common name, and the colophon, moreover, appears
to be copied from some other earlier MS., and to contain,
as do other parts of the MS., errors which St. Columba
would hardly have committed.3 But whoever the scribe
and illuminator may have been, they have produced one of
the finest extant works of its kind. Except at the begin
ning of each Gospel, the only attempts at ornament are the
red dots round the capital letters, and the filling in of
blank portions of lines with a sort of chain ornament. But
the first letter in each Gospel is a fine specimen of Celtic
illumination, and before each Gospel is an Evangelistic
symbol, and a page occupied by interlaced and other Celtic
patterns. The 'Man' of St. Matthew has been described
as an ' ecclesiastic ' with the Irish tonsure. The hair is
parted in the middle, and the front part of the head is
distinctly shown as being shaven. The text is 'a tolerably
pure Vulgate'. The Book of Armagh is written in a very
small hand, but with fine capital letters and Evangelistic
symbols. It contains, besides the Patrician documents, the
whole of the New Testament, and the Life of St. Martin
by Sulpicius Severus. Much finer still is the Book of
Kells, the text of which, like that of the New Testament in
the Book of Armagh, is the Vulgate modified by additions,
&c, from the Old Latin. It is impossible to give any idea
of the splendour and elaboration of its ornamental pages
waxen and other tablets, E. Maunde Thompson, Gk. and Lat. Palaeography,
1893, p. 19.
1 Reeves (on i. 25) refers to Keller, Bilder, &c, p. 92, pi. vii (Zurich,
1851). 2 Joyce, Hist. 160. 3 See p. 188, note.

44 INTRODUCTION ch. iv.
and letters, or of the extreme minuteness of the- work,
which often requires a lens to trace it, ' yet these minute
lines are as firm as if drawn by a machine, and as free as
if they were the growth of nature'. ' But', as Mr. Madan
observes, 'the limitations of excellence are also obvious.
When the human figure or historical scenes are attempted,
the effect is poor and often barbarous, and even trees and
flowers were avoided by Irish artists ; so that our judge
ment on the Irish school must be that it exhibits, not the
highest form of art, but the highest development of that
particular grade of art in which regularity and minuteness
hold a more important place than free drawing from
nature.' Oriental and mediaeval MSS. depend largely on
the free use of gold for the glory of their illuminations, but
in this and other Celtic works no gold is employed, and
the characteristic polychrome is obtained solely by the use
of pigments which produced richness rather than brilliancy
,of effect.1 Books, being so highly prized, as well they might
be, were kept in satchels of embossed leather (polairi) into
which they would just fit ; these had long straps by which
they could be hung upon walls, or round the neck, under
one arm. Such are the satchels of the Book of Armagh
(made for a larger book ; pattern reproduced in the binding
of Gwynn's edition), of the Corpus missal at Oxford, and
of St. Moedoc's reliquary. Curzon found the books in
the library of an Abyssinian monastery kept exactly in the
same way,2 and the Corpus satchel is very like an Ethiopic
one at St. John's College. The Irish had also larger
satchels (tiaga) to hold a number of books.3 The principal
manual labours of the Irish monks (besides writing, &c.)
were the various branches of agriculture, including cow-
keeping, and the preparation of food. Adamnan gives us
1 On the Books of Kells and Durrow and on others of the same class,
see above, IV, § 2 n., p. 35 ; Anderson's Scotland in Early Christian Times,
Lecture iv ; Miss Stokes's Early Chr. Art, part i, pp. 6-51 ; ii, iii (list of
reff. p. 52) ; The Book of Trinity College, Dublin, pp. r59-66 ; Madan,
MS. Books, ch. v, and below, VI. § 5, p. 55. The oft-quoted description by
Giraldus Cambrensis of the Kildare Gospels, now lost, might have been
written for the Book of Kells, and in its way it cannot be surpassed.
(Topog. Hib. ii. 38.)
2 Monasteries of the Levant, 93.
3 See Reeves's notes, ed. 1857, pp. 115, 116 ; Miss Stokes's Early Chr.
Art, part i, p. 50 ; Anhaeologia, xliii. 136; Bp. Wordsworth, Old Latin
Texts, ii, p. xiv ; Petrie, R. T. 332-42.

§i3- ILLUMINATIONS: SATCHELS 45
many details concerning the constitution of the monastery
at Iona, its officers, the household, the discipline, the
religious offices and holy days, theordinary occupations of
the brethren, their buildings, and their jurisdiction.1

V. Monastic Schools.
§ 1. Probable origin of scholastic discipline in Ireland.
We must now go back to the latter end of the fifth century,
and give a short account of those great monastic schools in
Ireland, with more than one of which St. Columba was
connected as a learner if not as a teacher. It is probable
that the men of the Second Order derived their monastic
discipline, as we have seen that they derived a Liturgy,
not from St. Patrick and the Saints ofthe First Order, but
from those great Welsh schools which were springing up
during the years of the missionary work of St. Patrick's
later disciples.
§2. Aran. The earliest of the Irish schools, and the
one regarded as the 'Nursery' ofthe Saints of the Second
Order, was that founded by St. Enda at Aran, the greatest
of three islands off Galway bay. Passing by the legendary
account of the earlier life of St. Enda, which tells of his
crossing from another island in a stone boat,2 it does
appear that he founded his first monastery at Killeany
(church of Enda or Enna), and that men were attracted to
it from all parts. Among these were the famous St.
1 Brendan of Clonfert, who, according to a very late develop
ment of his legend, made a seven years' voyage in search
of the Fortunate Isles, St. Ciaran of Clonmacnoise, St.
Finnian of Moville, and St. Columba himself; indeed
there were hardly any of the great saints of the Second
Order who did not spend some time in Aran with St. Enda.
The saint was of noble and royal descent, and, before his
conversion, the head of the tribe of the Oriels, in Ulster.
When he came to Aran, he was at first opposed by the
pagan chief, who however soon withdrew in his favour.
The islands are still full of most interesting ruins of pagan
1 See Dr. Reeves's most complete collection of reff. on all points con
nected with the life in Iona; ed. 1857, pp. 339~69 ! ed- l874, PP- civ-cxxvii.
2 A stone in size and form resembling a curroc bottom upwards is still
shown by the side of the little harbour, and some of the islanders now
say that it was ' St. Columcille ' that came in it.

46 INTRODUCTION ch. v.
forts and Christian churches ; 1 the former, with their bee
hive cells, &c, were no doubt made use of by the Christian
settlers. As so many came to Aran for a while and then
left it in order to set up monasteries of their own, it was
by no means a monastery pure and simple as the term is
now commonly understood, but rather, like those which
succeeded it, a monastery undertaking a great educational
work. § 3. Clonard. The School of St. Finnian at Clonard
became the most famous of all the great schools of the
sixth century. Its founder was known as the Tutor of
Erin's Saints, and twelve of his disciples were called the
twelve apostles of Ireland, the monastic schools which
they founded becoming the greatest centres of 'sound
learning and religious instruction' in Ireland. Finnian
had been under the training of St. David and other Welsh
saints, and seems to have founded his school at Clonard
about 520. He is said to have had no less than 100
bishops and 3,000 students in his college or monastery,
though not all, we may presume, at the same time.
Bishop Healy, however, thinks that there were as many
as 3,000 2 at a time,3 and that the instruction was generally
given in the open air, the pupils being so seated on the
grassy slopes that thousands could hear at a time. They
built their own huts, he says, and lived like an encamp
ment of soldiers, sowed and ground their own corn, fished
in the rivers, and had milk in abundance from the cows
that grazed in the monastic pastures. At Clonard it was
the custom that each one of twelve, apparently those
mentioned above, should in turn procure the daily food
of the rest wherever he could, by labour or buying or
begging.4 St. Finnian of Clonard, surnamed 'the Wise',
died Dec. 12, about 550, and was buried at Clonard,
1 See the first eight plates, and plates xxxvi-xlv, with the descriptions,
in Lord Dunraven's magnificent work entitled Notes on Irish Architecture,
2 vols , large 4to, 1875 and 1877, and Miss Stokes's Early Chr. Art,
part ii, pp. 1-81 ; reff. p. 82.
2 This was a favourite traditionary figure (Montalembert, iii. 93, 94),
and it would be safer to say, in the words of Ussher ( Works, vi. 586), that
from Clonard ' tanquam ex equo Trojano innumeri doctrina et pietate
praestantes viri prodierunt '.
3 Insula Sanctorum, 201.
4 See the Life of St. Columba of Tir-da-glas in Acta SS. Hib. ex Cod.
Salmant. sect. 5, col. 445; Tr. Th. 457.

§§ 2-5. CLONARD 47
where there are now no remains of any very ancient
buildings. § 4. Clonfert. The school of Clonfert, connected with
the see and monastery of that name, was founded by
St. Brendan 'the Navigator', pupil of St. Enda and of
St. Finnian of Clonard. He was born about 484, and,
after a very eventful life, founded Clonfert in 556 or 557 ;
his great fame both as a saint and as a traveller attracted
many students, and for many centuries Clonfert was the
most frequented and most famous school in the west of
Ireland. St. Brendan ruled the house for twenty years,
during which time his passion for travel never altogether
deserted him. He occasionally left Clonfert to visit other
monasteries, and in Adamnan, III, xvii, we find him, in
company with three other founders of monasteries, visiting
St. Columba on Hinba island, near Iona. He died in 577
in his 94th year, and was buried at Clonfert. His day is
May 16.
§ 5. Moville. The School of Moville, or Maghbile, at
the head of Strangford Lough in co. Down, was founded
by another St. Finnian, who is not to be confounded with
St. Finnian of Clonard by the southern border of Meath.
Moville is about five miles south of the Irish Bangor, a
school which of all others in Ireland acquired a European
reputation. The story of Finnian (or Finbar) of Moville
is that he was a scion of a noble family settled by Strang
ford Lough, anciently called Lough Cuan, and that he had
made great progress in wisdom and piety, when a bishop
called Nennio, with certain disciples, came over from the
famous house of Candida Casa in Galloway, to visit the
monastery and school of Noendrum, an island in the Lough,
now called Island Mahee. Candida Casa was founded"]
about 397 by St. Ninian, who had been educated in Rome
and had sojourned at Tours, whence probably arose much'
ofthe fame of his monastery. The young Finnian begged
to return with the visitors, and remained some time at
Candida Casa. Thence he went to Rome for seven years,
as is said, and on his return to Ireland founded Moville
about 540. Thus the two Finnians represented Welsh
and North British traditions respectively, and one of
them represented those of Rome as well. The school
of St. Finnian of Moville long flourished under himself
and his successors, who for about 200 years appear to

48 INTRODUCTION ch. v.
have been bishops; its fame, however, was in course of
time eclipsed by that of the Irish Bangor. St. Finnian's
penitential code is extant, but his rule is not. Adamnan
(II, i) relates a miracle which happened while St. Columba
was studying with Findbarr or Vinnian a bishop in Scotia
(Ireland); this and the post-Adamnanic legend of Columba's
furtive copy from St. Finnian's psalter, which will be re
ferred to more particularly below, both relate to Finnian
of Moville, who is said to have brought over with him
from Rome an entire copy of the Vulgate. He died in
589 at a great age, and was buried at Moville. Colgan,
Tr. Th. 372, n. 14, and others (e.g. Miss Stokes in her
interesting work Six Months in the Apennines, Lond.
1892) have identified him with Frigidianus or Fridian
bp, of Lucca, who may have been an Irishman, but
Lanigan, Todd, and Reeves all consider the two names
to belong to totally different persons, whose histories are
mixed up in mediaeval legend (Diet. Chr. Biog. under
Fridian). Fridian is said to have died and been buried at
Lucca, Finnian at Moville. (Healy, pp. 249, 254.)
§ 6. Clonmacnoise. The School of St. Ciaran of Clon-
macnoise was founded in 544 or 548 by Ciaran Mac In
Tsair, i.e. 'the Carpenter's son,' the 'beloved disciple' of
Ireland. He was baptized in 512, the probable year of his
birth, by a deacon named Justus, and was educated first at
Clonard, and then at Aran. St. Enda sent him to found a
church on the banks of the Shannon, and he founded one
at Isell Ciarain and then another on Inis Ainghin, now
Hare Island, in Lough Ree. He did not remain long at
either place, but journeyed south and settled at Clonmac
noise, on the left bank of the Shannon, with eight com
panions, on Saturda}', Jan. 23, 544 or 548 ? When Ciaran
was planting the first post he was helped by Diarmaid the
king's son, and in one of the panels of the great cross at
Clonmacnoise (a.d. 916) the clean-shaven monk in his long
robe and the bearded prince in short tunic are clearly
shown in the act of setting up the post, or a tall wooden
cross. Diarmaid became a great benefactor to Clonmac
noise, though he appears to have still kept Druids or
soothsayers about him. Ciaran lived only four months
after this. He was attended in his last hours by
St. Coemgen or Kevin of Glendalough, his ' soul-friend ',
whom he had known at Clonard, and to whom he now

§§ 5-7- CLONMACNOISE 49
gave his bell as a parting gift. Having been sprinkled
with holy water and having received the holy viaticum at
the hands of St. Kevin, he passed away in peace, ' at the
sacred age of thirty-three', Sept. 9 or 5? 544 or 549?
But, although Ciaran did not live long to rule the house,
he was held in most loving remembrance, and to this day
crowds of pilgrims meet at Clonmacnoise on the 9th of
September. His personal relics, such as the cow-skin on
which he died, were believed to work miracles of healing,
and it was thought that Ciaran's prayers would save the
souls of all who were buried in his holy ground. Hence
it became a famous place of sepulture, and in Dr. Petrie's
Christian Inscriptions in the Irish Language1 are no less
than 179 inscriptions from Clonmacnoise alone, all very
short and simple, and nearly all with incised crosses.2
The great sculptured standing cross was set up for King
Fland (ob. 916), by the Abbot Colman (ob. 924), as its
inscription shows.
As a monastic school, Clonmacnoise became most of all
in Ireland a national rather than a tribal institution.
St. Ciaran himself was half northern and half southern,
and his successors were chosen from all parts and without
any reference to their family connexions. St. Columba
visited Clonmacnoise in 585, as we shall see. To one
Colchu, lectorem in Scotia, usually identified with a head
teacher at Clonmacnoise c. 794, the famous Alcuin (Albinus),
who had been his pupil, addressed a letter implying the
highest respect and deference. He sends alms from King
Charles (Charlemagne) and a quantity of (olive) oil, then
very scarce in Ireland, to be distributed among the bishops
for the use of men or the honour of God.3
§ 7. Conclusion. And now that we have passed over in
brief review the main points that are known or fairly
probable with regard to the great monastic schools of the
sixth century,4 we shall be better prepared to consider
1 Dublin, 1872 and 1878, 2 vols., 4to.
2 The ordinary formula is simply Oroit do N. ' Pray for N.' The stones
are now collected together in one of the churches.
3 See Ussher's Works, iv. 466; Alcuini Opp., Migne, 100, col. 143.
4 On Ireland's ancient schools, teachers, and scholars, see full accounts
in Healy's Insula Sanctorum. Among these, Bangor was especially
famous. This Bangor on Belfast Lough is to be distinguished from Bangor
in co. Mayo, from Bangor on the Dee in Flintshire, and from Bangor in
Carnarvonshire. Its monastery was founded in the sixth century by
2J91 E

50 INTRODUCTION ch. v. § 7.
the life of St. Columba in the same way, and shall better
understand the nature of his preparation for the great
work of his life, namely, the carrying into northern Britain
of that Irish Christianity which had itself been derived, in
a great measure at any rate, from Britain. St. Patrick
himself, as we have seen, was of British extraction, and the
Saints of the Second Order probably derived much more
than their Liturgy from Wales. The one St. Finnian was
a pupil of St. David, the other had studied with the
successors of St. Ninian. The southern Picts, as Bede
tells us (E. H. iii. 4), had, long before the coming of
Columba to Iona, forsaken idolatry, and embraced the
truth through the preaching of St. Ninian, but it was
reserved for Columba to evangelize the Northern Picts,
and this he did, receiving of them the island of Iona, that
he might found therein a monastery, which should be a
great centre for missionary work.
VI. Columba in Ireland.
§ 1. Birth and childhood. It was not within the scope
of the Latin 'Lives' (so called) to say where or when
St. Columba was born,1 but the oldest Irish Life 2 says at
Gartan (little field) on Thursday the day of St. Buite's
decease (Dec. 7). The chronology is confused as to the
year, but 521 may be the date.3 Gartan is a village by
St. Comgall, the friend of St. Columba, and from it came the famous
' Antiphonary ' of Bangor. Beside the monastic schools, there were
some carried on at the public expense, and some kept by private indi
viduals, on which see Joyce, Hist., part ii, ch. v, p. 155.
1 Strange stories still enter into the folk-lore of the peasantry. On
Aug. 4, 1893, the editor was told the following by the widow Keelan,
aged 74, at Tara : ' St. Columcille never had a father. The way it was
was this : St. Bridget was walkin' wid St. Paathrick an' a ball fell from
heavin, an' it was that swate she et it all up, an' it made her prignant
with Columcille, an' that 's what a praste towld me, an' it 's thrue.
St. Bridget, an' St. Paathrick, an' St. Columcille, all lays in one grave
in Downpaathrick, so you can put that down.' (Cp. verses, in Reeves,
1857, lxxx.) Miraculous conceptions of a similar kind are not uncommon
in mediaeval Irish hagiology. See Stokes's Calendar of Oengus, pp. lxi,
Ixxii, lxxxix, clvi, clxxi ; H. B. S. 87, m, 135, 223, 247.
-2 This is the primary authority for most things relating to the life of
St. Columba that are not recorded by Adamnan. Concerning it see
above, Preface, p. 8.
3 The whole matter has been most fully gone into by Reeves (ed. 1857),
lxix, (1874) 225, and again by Mr. Alfred Anscombe, who afsigns

ch. vi. §§ i, 2. COLUMBA: HIS CHILDHOOD 51
a small lake among the hills of Donegal, and the local
traditions of St. Columba's birth there are still very strong.
He belonged to the race of Conall Gulban, from which
were descended the O'Donnells and other clans, who
claim ' St. Columcille ' as their patron and kinsman, and
he came of royal lineage on both sides, his father,
Fedhlimidh (Phelim), being great-grandson of Niall of the
Nine Hostages,1 'Over-king' in Ireland 379-405,2 and his
mother, Eithne, being also descended from a king of
Ireland. Thus the nobility of two races met in the child,
and afterwards contributed greatly to the influence which
he exercised. He was christened by the presbyter Cruith-
nechan, and named Colum (dove);3 Irish writers say he
had also the name Crimthann (fox). Afterwards he was
commonly called Colum-cille 'a cella et Columba' (Bede,
H. E. v. 9) or, according to the pretty explanation in the
Leabhar Breac, ' because of the frequency of his coming
from the cell in which he read his psalms, to meet the
neighbouring children. And what they used to say among
themselves was : Has our little Colum come to-day from
the cell? i.e. from Tulach-Dubhglaise (Temple Douglas)
in Tir-Lughdech in Cinell Conaill '. This would be while
he was living as the foster-child of Cruithnechan (pueri
nutritor, iii. 2), with whom he had been placed, in accordance
with the usual custom.4
§ 2. Education. When he was old enough to leave his
foster-father, he was placed as a pupil with the bishop
St. Finnian, in the great school at Moville.6 Here he
studied for some time, and was ordained deacon. Then
it was that, according to Adamnan, II, i, he turned water
into wine. From Moville he travelled southward, and
studied with ' Master Gemman ', an aged bard in Leinster,
probably with a view to perfect himself in the language and
St. Columba's birth to 504, his migration to 546, and his death to 580.
Obit of St. Columba, 1893, p. 7.
1 ' Quod nouem regnorum deuictorum obsides acceperit. Ita etiam iv
Magistri ... ad an. 379 et 405 . . et alii innumeri.' Tr. Th. 447.
They were confined at Tara, where the mound or fort ' of the hostages '
is still visible. See further in Cambr. Ev. i. 495, and notes ; iii. 271.
2 See above, II, § 2.
J Colum (or Colm) with the diminutive becomes Columan (Colman),
and so Columb becomes Columban. With the prefix of endearment and
another diminutive it is Mo-cholum-og (Mocholmog). Cp. VIII, § 8 n.
4 See below, III, ii, n. 5 See above, V, § 5.
D 2

52 INTRODUCTION ch. vi.
literature of his native land. At this time occurred the
incident related by Adamnan, II, xxv. Next, Columba went
to the monastic school of St. Finnian of Clonard, on the
Boyne,1 where he became one of the 'Twelve Apostles of
ErinV On his arrival he asked Finnian where he should
make his bothy, and Finnian told him to make it at the
door of the church. And at supper time each in turn of
the ' apostles ' used to grind the quern, but an angel ground
for Colum-cille.3 And as from the former St. Finnian he
had acquired Roman traditions through St. Ninian and
Candida Casa, so now from his second teacher of the same
name he acquired traditions of Wales and of Gaul.
§ 3. Ordination. St. Finnian of Clonard appears not to
have be*en a bishop. It has been thought that he may
have wished to have Columba ordained or consecrated as
a bishop to serve in his monastery. For it is said that
Columba was sent to Etchen bishop of Clonfad to receive
ordination, and that Etchen, intending to ordain him bishop
per saltum, ordained him priest by mistake, whereupon
Columba, as if regarding this as a leading of Providence,
vowed that he would always continue in priest's orders.4
The whole story has a very legendary complexion, and was
probably imagined in later times in order to account for
Columba's remaining a presbyter, which, however, was the
ordinary course among the eminent men or saints of the
Second Order. Etchen is said to have been at the plough
when Columba came to him ; and Dr. Todd points out c
that, even if we regard the story as pure fiction, which is
not necessary, at any rate it shows that when it was con
structed it was thought conceivable that a bishop might
work in the fields, that a single bishop might consecrate
another, and that the consecration might be per saltum
1 See above, V, § 3, p. 46.
2 Commemorated in a companion stanza to one on the Twelve Apostles
of Christ, thus rendered —
Two Finnens, two chaste Colombs,
Ciaran. Caindech, fair Comgall,
Two Brenainns, Ruadan with splendour,
Nindid, Mobii son of Natfraech.
Stokes, Cal. ofOengus, cxviii ; H. B. S. 169.
3 Old Irish Life in Skene, Celt. Sc. ii. 480.
4 Cal. of Oengus, li ; H. B. S. 73.
5 St. Patrick, 70-87, where the matter is very fully discussed in all its
bearings.

§§ 2-4. HIS ORDINATION 53
from deacon's orders. However, St. Columba was probably
ordained priest either while at Clonard or while with
St. Mobhi, for we next find him at another monastic
school, that of St. Mobhi Clarainech at Glas Naoidhen,
now Glasnevin, near Dublin. St. Mobhi is said to have
been one of the 'twelve apostles', and a fellow-student
with Columba at Clonard, though perhaps considerably his
Senior. Here too we find 'bothies', and here are said to
have sojourned others of his companions at Clonard, viz.
St. Comgall, St. Ciaran, and St. Cainnech. He was about
twenty-five years of age, when Mobhi dispersed his pupils
on account of the great pestilence of 543, then devastating
the neighbourhood ; it prevailed in many parts of Europe,
and was known as the yellow plague, and recurred from
time to time.1
§ 4. His return to Ulster, and first monastic foundations.
Columba returned to Ulster, the land of his kindred, and
on crossing the Bior (Moyola water) prayed that the plague
might not extend beyond it, and it is said that his prayer
was heard. According to the Annals of Ulster, Columba
founded Derry in 545 (546), and O'Donnell further states
in his Life 2 that Ainmire, first cousin of Columba, offered
him, in the name of his son Aedh,* then ten years old, the
fortified place in which he dwelt, that he might found there
a monastery. This spot was on a rising ground in a bend
of the Foyle, protected on the other side by a bog, and on
account of its oak grove called Daire Calgaich, now Derry
or Londonderry. Columba hesitated because Mobhi had
not given him leave to found a monastery, but two mes
sengers came to say that Mobhi had died of the plague,3
and that before his death he had sent the required per
mission, and with it his girdle as a token. So Columba
accepted his cousin's gift and founded his first monastery,
where his kith and kin rallied round him,4 and for which
he always retained a deep affection, as he said :
The reason why I love Derry is,
For its quietness, for its purity ;
For 'tis full of angels white,
From one end to the other.

1 See II, xlvi notes. 2 See Preface, p. 8.
a St. Finnian of Clonard died in the same plague in 549.
4 According to the Old Irish Life, he sent his monks to cut wattles for
a church in Derry. Skene, C. 5. ii. 483.

54 INTRODUCTION ch. vi.
We know, however, very little of its history in its earliest
days, nor are there any existing memorials of them except
'St. Columb's Wells'. While he was at Derry he thought
of going to Rome and Jerusalem, and did go to Tours,
whence he brought the gospel that had been on Martin's
bosom 100 years in the earth, and he left it in Derry.1
Some time in the sixth" century he founded a second
monastery, which became his principal Irish establishment,
namely that of Durrow, in Irish Dair-Magh, Oak Plain,
and so, like Derry, named from its oak groves. It is not
far from the centre of Ireland, on the border of King's
County and Westmeath. The site appears to have been
obtained from Aedh, son of Brendan, prince of the terri
tory, and Bede thus refers to the foundation : ' Fecerat
autem, priusquam Britanniam veniref, monasterium nobile
in Hibernia, quod a copia roborum Dearmach lingua Scot-
torum, hoc est, Campus roborum, cognominatur.'2 Adamnan
mentions several incidents of Columba's residence at Dur
row, and if the famous Book of Durrow had been really
the work of St. Columba it would probably have been
executed at this time.3 There are now no memorials of
Columba at Durrow but a well ; the fine sculptured cross
is doubtless of much later date.
§ 5. Other monasteries. During the fifteen years between
546 and 562, Columba founded other monasteries, the dates
of which cannot be fixed.4 The most famous of these was
that of Kells, but it does not seem to have risen to great
eminence during Columba's life, though after the decline
of Iona in the ninth century it became the chief monastery
of the Columban order. Kells, formerly Kenlis (Head
Fort), anciently Cenannus, is situated in the north-west
portion of the county of Meath, and, according to a tradi
tional story, was made over to Columba by King Diarmait
as an atonement for an insult he had received from some
'soldiers of the royal guard', or whatever the king's
retainers may have been. The so-called 'St. Columba's
House' at Kells, and 'St. Kevin's Kitchen' at Glenda-
1 Old Irish Life in Skene, C. S. ii. 483. * 2 H.E. iii. 4.
3 See above, IV, § 13, p. 43.
4 Reeves gives lists of churches which may with more or less reason
be attributed to Columba: ed. 1857, 276-85, and 289-98, 1874, xlix-lxxi.
It is now said that there are traces of fifty-five dedications to St. Columba
in Scotland, and forty-one in Ireland. And there is one in England, that
of Topcliffe in Yorkshire.

§§4-6. MISSION TO BRITAIN 55
lough, a very similar building altered to form the nave of
a church, were supposed by Dr. Petrie to be of this period.
Both these, however, as well as the sculptured crosses and
round tower, are now believed to be of much later date,
and there are no traces of the great church from the
sacristy of which the Book of Kells or Great Gospel of
Columcille was stolen in 1006. This famous codex is a
larger book than- the Book of Durrow, which may have
been regarded as the Smaller Gospel of Columcille. But, if
the Book of Kells was originally called the Gospel of Colum
cille only as belonging to one of his churches, it neverthe
less remains as a splendid example, and indeed the chief
existing monument, of Irish skill and taste in the art of
illumination. § 6. Supposed reasons for departure from Ireland. We
now come to consider the causes of St. Columba's depar
ture from Ireland, and here we find ourselves in a maze of
more or less probable legend. A great battle was fought
in 561 at Cooldrevny or Culdreimhne, now Cooladrummon,
a ridge about six miles north of Sligo, near the Connaught
and Ulster boundary. According to the Irish accounts1
the contending parties were, on the one side, Diarmait
King of Ireland, who had granted Kells to Columba, but
afterwards grievously offended him, and, on the other,
Columba's kinsmen the Clan Neill, mustered by Columba
himself. Accounts differ as to which side was taken by
the men of Connaught. Columba had two principal griev
ances, namely, that Diarmait had (1) put to death his clans
man the young prince Curnan, who had fled to him for
protection after causing the death of a playfellow during
the sports at Tara ; (2) unjustly decided against him when
appealed to about the ownership of a codex which he had
at some time or other secretly transcribed from one belong
ing to St. Finnian (of Moville apparently). Finnian claimed
the son-book or copy as having been made without his leave
from a book which he had brought from Rome, Columba
claimed the copy as being his own handiwork. Diarmait
decided that to every book belongs its son-book as to every
cow her calf. These and probably other causes led to the
battle, during which Finnian is said to have prayed for
1 See particularly O'Donnell, in Colgan, Tr. Th. 408 ff., and the Eng
lish abstract in O'Curry, MS. Materials, 328.

-56 INTRODUCTION ch. vi.
the South and Columcille for the North ; 1 the result was
that the men of the North were completely victorious.2 But
now we come to two stories which may be regarded as
sequels to the above. One is told by Adamnan (iii. 3), and
according to this there was a synod at Teltown in Meath
(presumably called together at the instance of Diarmait) at
which Columba was excommunicated. St. Brendan of Birr,
however, took his part, alleging a miracle in his favour,
whereupon the excommunication was withdrawn and
Columba treated with reverence and respect. It has been
thought, however, that the censure which had been ex
pressed, together with some searchings of heart on account
of the strife that had been stirred up and the blood that
had been shed, may have had something to do with his
leaving Ireland. The other story is an Irish legend to the
effect that after the battle of Culdreimhne he went to his
soul-friend or confessor, St. Laisren or Molaise of Devenish
(Daimh Inis) in Lough Erne, and that the saint bade him
leave Ireland as a penance, and go and win souls for
Christ as many as the lives that had been lost in the battle,
and never look upon his native land again or set foot upon
its soil. The story of St. Columba's life can hardly be
told without these legends, but, as Reeves points out, there
is no need to look for any other motive than that stated by
Adamnan, ' Pro Christo peregrinari volens, enavigavit '
(Pref. 2). This statement implies, he thinks,3 that Columba
went of his own accord, ' in good spirits ', as the Old Irish
Life says, and the same is thought to be implied in the
1 The metrical version of Columba's prayer on this occasion contains
the singular expression mo drui . . . Mac De", My Druid . . . the Son of
God, Chron. Scotorum 52, or, as quoted in Reeves's note on Magi, Is e
mo drai Crist mac De (ed. 1857, p. 74).
2 According to the legend of the Cathach or 'Battler', Columba
obtained possession of his ' son-book '. A mutilated Psalter, regarded
iii the eleventh century as the one copied by Columba as above stated,
and then provided with a cumdach or silver shrine, has remained to this
day in the hereditary keeping of the O'Donnells, and is at present de
posited by them in the collection of the Royal Irish Academy. It was
carried by the clan to insure victory in battle so lately as 1497, slung
round the breast of its hereditary keeper. It is written in a small round
hand without much ornament, and has been considered to be quite
possibly a genuine autograph of St. Columba. See Anderson, 147-9 1
Joyce, Hist. v. 19. But see above, IV, § 10, note 2. Its text is the Vulgate,
with Old Latin readings. See Notes and Queries, 11 Ser. xi, 466.
3 But the words are quite consistent with either of the traditional
explanations.

§ 6. LEGENDS

57

Salamanca Acta SS. col. 847, quoted by Reeves in his
note on the above passage,1 which should be consulted for
further references. And, moreover, the men of the Dal-
riadan colony were to Columba what the Jews were to
St. Paul, his 'kinsmen according to the flesh'. Besides,
his connexion with Ireland was fully kept up. We shall
find that he returned more than once, and took a prominent
part in Irish affairs. His reputation in Ireland at that
time would not greatly suffer if he did show himself to be
resentful or vindictive, or take a leading part as a man of
war. Public opinion was then but very imperfectly de
veloped on such points, very little leavened by the doctrine
of Christ. In the ancient annals of Ireland are numerous
entries of faction-fights between different monastic frater
nities, and till the time of Adamnan, about 700, the clergy
bore weapons to synods, and sometimes fought with them.
The tribal organization aggravated ill-feeling, and even the
women fought, and as fiercely as the men.2 It is no marvel
then if Columba, a leading spirit in the great clan of the
northern Hy-Neill, considering himself affronted by King
Diarmait, incited his kinsmen to fight about matters which
would be felt most keenly as closely touching their tribal
honour. But at the same time, such a man as he was may
very well, upon calm reflection, whether under the direction
of a spiritual adviser or not, have considered that his enthu
siasm and energies would be more worthily bestowed on
missionary work than in maintaining the dignity of his
clan. And he would naturally be attracted to that Irish
colony which had been planted in North Britain, just over
against the north-east coast of Ireland, about the time of
his birth. For ruler3 and people alike were his family
connexions, their Christianity was in peril of extinction,
and, if he could bring about a revival of religion among
them, he might hope next to convert their near neighbours,
the Pagan Picts. They had, moreover, sustained a great
reverse in 560, when Brude King of the Picts had attacked
them, driven them into the peninsula of Kintyre and other
parts most remote from the mainland, and slain their
' King '. These misfortunes would not fail to engage the
sympathies of Columba on their behalf.
1 Adamnan, 1857, p. 9.
2 Women were exempted from military service in 590 and 697, monks
not till 804. Reeves, 1857, 255 ; 1874, xlviii ; Stokes, Celtic Ch. 108-10.
3 Conall Mac Comghail, sixth lord of British Dalriada.

58 INTRODUCTION ch. vii.
VII. Columba in Iona.
§ i. His departure from Ireland. We are told by Cum
mian (cap. iv) that 'in those days', referring to the time
when Columba was a young deacon with St. Finnian of
Moville, he sailed over to Britain with twelve fellow-soldiers,
his disciples. But Adamnan, who makes use of this passage
in quite a different connexion,1 carefully avoids the anachro
nism, and places Columba's departure after the battle of
Cuildremhne,2 in the forty-second year of his age, i. e.
a.d. 563, when we find him in Britain with his kinsman
Conall, king or lord of British Dalriada,3 who, according to
the Irish Annals, in the same year made to him a donation
of the island of Iona. Bede ascribes this donation to the
Picts, and places it later,4 the whole truth probably being
that the Pictish tribe, to whom the island had belonged
before the coming of the Irish, still claimed it in some
sense, and confirmed Conall's donation after they became
Christian, and indeed because they had become Christian,
as Bede intimates. It was on the confines of Scotic and
Pictish jurisdiction, and formed a most desirable centre
for missionary work. There is not the least hint that
Columba either,,sought or obtained papal sanction for this
mission, any more than Columbanus did for his mission to
the Germans and Swiss.
§ 2. Iona. Iona6 is a small island about three miles long
1 III, iv, p. 167.
2 'Anno secundo post', Praef. II, p. 87, ' duobus transactis annis ', I, vii,
p. 97. The writer of Colgan's Vita Secunda (see note on III, v, p. 168 j
mentions the miracle of the wine, then that of the submerged codex,
and then gives an account ofthe mission to the Picts. Tr. Th. 326a.
3 I, vii, p. 98. 4 H. E. iii. 4.
D The usual name 'Iona' has been suggested by a misreading of the
adjective ' Ioua', confirmed by an imaginary connexion with * Iona', the
Hebrew equivalent of the Latin ' Columba '. Adamnan's practice is to
put the names of islands as adjectives agreeing with insula. The root of
Ioua is lou or Eo, and Codex A always has Ioua, thus,

loua>

which reading prevails also in Codd. C, F, S. Colgan took ' Iona' from
an inaccurate transcript of Cod. A, and saw that it was an adjective,
though not aware of its true form. In Irish writings the name occurs as
la, hie, hi, Eo, I, often with the addition of ' Coluimcille '. In Latin we
find Hii, Eo, Hu, Hy, Hya, Hi, I, Iona, and the adjectives Ioua, Euea,
Hiiensis, and Ionensis. The Saxon Chronicles have Ii and Hii. Scottish
forms are Yi, Hii-coluimchille, Hy, Iona, Yona, I, Hii. On the monu-

§§ i, 2. IONA

59

from NE. to SW., and varying in breadth from one mile
to a mile and a half. It is separated from the Ross of
Mull by a sound or strait about a mile across. The surface
is very uneven, the rocky bones protruding through the
skin of turf in almost every part. The most prominent
object is Dunii, the highest hill, which has an elevation
of 330 feet. None of the other hills are over 200 feet.
The rocks are mostly Laurentian gneiss, but there is some
marble and other limestone. There are also many ice-
borne masses of granite lying about, one of which is six
feet out of the ground, eleven paces long, and four or five
across at the ends, but broader in the middle. The soil,
where not peat, of which it consists in the boggy hollows
among the rocky hills, is calcareous sand, consisting entirely
of the comminuted shells of two or three species of land
snails which live and die in such countless numbers on the
sheep-nibbled pastures near the sea, that the beds of sand,
which drift like snow, are in some places twenty to thirty
feet thick. These pastures are formed by the accumulation
of sand and growth of grass, clover, thyme, &c, in what
would otherwise be bays girded in by the rocks on the
original coast-line. The principal of these is the Machar
or western plain. The eastern or sheltered side of the
island presents slopes of soil well fitted for ancient hus
bandry, at a time when drainage was unknown. The lake
or morass called the Lochan Mor, which once afforded
enough water to turn the abbey mill, is now drained, and
the bed of the stream leading from it, at present about
twelve feet deep, was quite dry in June 1893, though some
times full enough to turn a mill. Indications of ancient
ploughing may still be seen on hill-sides now devoted to
pasturage, but much of the land at present under the
plough has probably been so cultivated ever since the time
of St. Columba. And not only did the little island afford
a good proportion of pasture and corn land ; the sound or
fretum was, and is, like some of the rivers of Columba's
ments in the island Y is the prevailing form, but ' Iona ' seems to be the
true reading of the monument of the Prioress Anna, 1543, at the Nunnery
church. Icolmkill, Ycolmkill, and Ecolmkill are the regular forms in
legal documents, and Eecholuim-cille is at present the recognized verna
cular. On a gravestone of 1790 is I-Colm-kill. See further in Reeves,
1857, 258 ; 1874, cxxvii. ' Iona ', although an incorrect form, has now
become thoroughly established, and may therefore be used, under protest.

60 INTRODUCTION ch. vi.
native Erin, valde piscosum} The local features alluded to
by Adamnan are the following : Munitio Magna, ii. 4 ;
Mons qui monasterio eminus supereminet, i. 30 ; Monticellus
monasterio supereminens, iii. 23 ; Monticellus qui occidentah
supereminet campulo, iii. 16; .Colliculus Angelorum, ii. 44,
iii. 16 ; Cuul-Eilne, i. 37 ; Campulus occidentalis, i. 37, ii. 28,
iii. 16 ; Portus insulae, i. 45, ii. 15, implied in ii. 45. Beside
these may be mentioned Port-na-Churaich, at the southern
end of the island, where Columba is said first to have
landed, and, hard by, the hill crowned by the cairn Cui ri
Erin. These places are identified, as far as possible, in the
notes and index. The site of the ancient monastery was
supposed by Dr. Skene to have been about four hundred
yards to the north of the mediaeval ruins, but nothing can
be traced except some earthworks on the west side, which
may be prehistoric. He also considered that the great flat
granite stone above mentioned marks the site of the refec
tory, and that it is the 'stone that was in the Recles or
monastery', mentioned as used for a table in the preface
to a hymn attributed to St. Columba (Liber Hymnorum,
H. B. S. i. 62). 2 On the whole, there seems to be no suffi
cient reason to doubt that the present ruins are, as might
be expected, on the original site. Any description of them
would be outside the purpose of the present work.
§ 3. His coming to Iona. The Old Irish Life is to the
same effect as Adamnan's with regard to Columba's reasons,
namely, that, having made the circuit of all Erin, he desired
to preach the word of God to the men of Alba, and to the
Britons, and to the Saxons ; that his age was forty-two
when he went on his voyage, and that he lived thirty-four
years in Alba. O'Donnell's Life (1532) contains the later
traditions concerning the saint, and here we have the
popular story of his voyage, a sequel to that ofthe penance
enjoined by St. Molaise, namely, that he first landed on
the island of Colonsay and climbed the highest hill, when,
finding that Ireland was visible from that point, he would
not remain, but sailed on to Iona, where he again climbed
1 ' The large flounders of the Sound of Iona are still an important item
in the diet of its people. The rocks and islets all around swarmed with
seals, and their flesh seems to have been a favourite article of food.'
(Duke of Argyll, Iona, 93.)
2 On the topography of Iona, see Reeves, 1857, 413-33 ; Iona by the
Duke of Argyll, 1889, ch. ii ; Skene, Celtic Scotland, ii. 95-101.

§§ 2, 3- COLUMBA IN BRITAIN 61
the most likely hill, and, being satisfied that Ireland was
no longer in sight, founded his church on the island he had
now reached. On each of the hills his point of observa
tion is marked by a cairn called Cui ri Erin (Back upon
Ireland). According to Irish Annals 1 he arrived on the
night (eve) of Pentecost, May 12 in 563, and an old Irish
quatrain states the number of his company thus, apparently
including the twelve special disciples :
Illustrious the army that was in Hii,
Thrice fifty in monastic rule ;
With their Curachs, along the sea
For rowing were three score men.
On Columba's arrival in Iona, two bishops attempted to
conduct him out of the island, but when he told them
what he knew about them they left the island to him.
They were probably members of one of the Patrician
' colleges ' or fraternities of seven bishops, ministering to
the Dalriadan colonists, but O'Donnell supposes that they
were Druids in disguise. The first thing which Columba
and his companions would do would be to occupy any
available buildings that they could find on the island, and
then to supplement these by others, until they had estab
lished a fully-developed Celtic monastery, with church,
cashel, and all complete. Adamnan indicates that their
first buildings were of wood and wattles,2 and we find no
mention of any stone buildings in Iona of Columba's time,
unless, perhaps, the kiln. The church is called ' oratorium ',
which term is the ordinary equivalent of Duirthech, oak
building ? while ' ecclesia ' represents Damhliag, stone
church. But in the small island called Eilean na Naoimh
(Isle of Saints) there still remain some beehive cells3 and
other stone buildings of the first monastery that Columba
founded after that of Iona. The many particulars that
can be gathered from Adamnan respecting Iona have been
most admirably classified by Bishop Reeves.4 The Colum-
1 See the Chronicon Hyense in Reeves, 1857, 370. 2 II, iii, n., xiv, n.
3 Any of these early buildings may be of Columba's time. In Iona, in
a valley between Dunii and Dunbhuirg, are the foundations of a cell
measuring about 16 feet by 14, called the Culdees' Cell, and, on the
higher ground above Port Laithrichean, a better-preserved one, about
6 or 7 feet by 9, retaining the sideposts of its doorway.
4 Adamnan, 1857, 357-62 ; 1874, cxix-cxxii ; see also Skene's Celtic
Sc. ii. 95-101, and above, p. 60, note 2.

62 INTRODUCTION ch. vii.
ban mission there first planted afterwards embraced the
whole region north of the firths of Forth and of Clyde,
and gave to the Angles of Northumbria, through St. Aidan,
Celtic Christianity and Celtic ecclesiastical art. The Lin-
disfarne Gospels, and many sculptured crosses and other
works of the Celtic school, remain as abiding monuments
of the source whence we first of all derived the Christianity
of the North of England.
Columba appears to have laboured among the Irish
settlers in the neighbourhood of Iona for about two years,
and then to have journeyed through Glen More nanAlbin,
that mighty chasm which divides Scotland obliquely
between Oban and Inverness, and so to the court of King
Brude, in the immediate neighbourhood of the site now
occupied by the latter town.1 And just as St. Patrick had
attacked Irish paganism at the court of King Laoghaire on
the hill of Tara, so now St. Columba attacked Pictish
paganism at the court of King Brude on the river Ness.
Adamnan tells us that at first the king would not open his
gates to the strangers, but that, when Columba made the
sign of the cross and knocked, the bolts flew back and the
gates were opened. We learn from the life of St. Comgall
that Columba's companions were himself and St. Canice,
who, being Irish Picts, were the better able to confer with
the Picts of Britain. Like King Laeghaire at Tara, King
Brude was at first influenced by his Druids to oppose the
missionaries, but, as in the former case, his hostility was
soon disarmed, and his conversion effected. Nor were
his people long before they followed their leader, and the
number of churches dedicated to St. Columba in that
neighbourhood still bears witness to the mark which he
made. During the nine years which followed Brude's
conversion, Columba laboured diligently among the Picts,
perfected himself in their language, and frequently visited
the king, who granted or confirmed to him the possession
of Iona. Sometimes, no doubt, he visited his monastery
there, for he retained the headship as long as he lived, one
ofthe brethren taking his place during his absences. All
1 Dr. Reeves thought that Brude's residence was at Craig Phadrick,
where there is a vitrified fort. • (Adamn. 1857, 151 n. ; 1874, 277 ) But
Dr. Skene considers that a ridge called Torvean, a part of which is
encircled by ditches and ramparts, suits Adamnan's narrative better than
the hill-fort does. {Celtic Scotland, ii. 105 n.)

§§ 3, 4- LEGENDS, ETC. 63
the lives of Columba refer to his meeting with opposition
from the Druids. There was one in particular, named
Broichan, who had been the king's foster-father and tutor,
and who was greatly disconcerted, as was natural, by the
conversion of Brude and his people. There is a story of
Broichan and his Druids trying to stop Columba and his
monks when they came forth from the enclosure of the
king's residence to chant their evensong. The people
were attracted by this new singing, and, when Columba
lifted up his ringing voice in the words Eructavit cor meum
verbum bonum : dico ego opera mea regi, the Druids were
afraid, and, we may suppose, retired. Broichan is said at
another time to have raised an adverse storm just as
Columba was embarking on Loch Ness, but the saint
sailed away against the wind. Another story is that Broi
chan had an Irish captive maid whom he would not set
free when Columba asked him to do so. The saint pro
phesied that the Druid's death would soon follow his
refusal, and it was not long before his messengers came to
say he was now dying, and willing to set the captive free.
Columba blessed a pebble and told them to put it in
water and give the water to Broichan to drink, and that
he would then soon recover, provided that he gave the
maiden her liberty. These directions were followed with
the desired results, and the pebble was long preserved in
the royal treasury. But, when King Brude required its
aid, it could not be found, and so he died.1 It was in
584, twenty years after his conversion, that his death took
place, and he was succeeded by a Christian king, Gart-
naidh son of Domelch, under whom the new-born Pictish
Church continued to prosper.
§ 4. Some recorded events. To go back now to the re
corded events of St. Columba's life. In 573 he instituted
a festival at Iona in commemoration of his friend St.
Brendan of Birr, who died in that year. At various un
known dates he founded churches in the neighbourhood
1 Dr. G. T. Stokes says that a belief in pebbles as charms against
diseases of man and beast still prevails among the Irish peasantry, and
gives some references to articles on the subject Ireland and Celtic Ch.
124 n. and reff. Reeves, on ii. 33, refers to Martin's Western Islands,
134, 166, 183, 246, and to Ussher, Works, iii. 442. The anguinum,
Intr. I, § 7, was probably a perforated pebble. A vast amount of informa
tion on heathen folk-lore and mythology in the lives of Celtic Saints will
be found in Piummer's Vitae SS. Hib. Intr. cxxix-clxxxviii.

64 INTRODUCTION ch. Vii.
of Iona; Adamnan mentions Ethica (insula), Elena, Hinba,
and Scia. In 574 died Conall, lord of the British Dal-
riads, and his cousin Aedhan was inaugurated by St.
Columba at Iona.1 In the following year (575) Columba
and Aedhan both attended the famous convention of
Drumceatt, a long mound now called the Mullagh, or
Daisy Hill, in the county of Londonderry, near Newtown-
limavaddy. It was afterwards thought necessary to re
concile this and other visits to Ireland with the terms of
the penance enjoined on Columba by St. Molaise,2 and
so there grew up a legendary story that he came with
a sod of Alba under his feet, and with a cere-cloth, woollen
cap, and cowl over his eyes.3 The convention was called
by Aedh son of Ainmire, King of Ireland, in 575, and con
sisted, says Skene, ' of all the petty kings and heads of
tribes and of the principal clergy in Ireland ', as well as
a large ecclesiastical contingent brought by Columba.
The bard Dalian Forgaill, in the Amhra or panegyric
referred to above (i. § 8), states their number thus :
His company was forty priests,
Twenty bishops of noble worth ;
For the psalm-singing, without dispute,
Thirty deacons, fifty youths (lit. 'sons').4
This retinue probably included representative men from
Derry and other Columban monasteries in Ireland, together
with some from Iona and perhaps from other places there
about. The Amhra mentions three causes for which
Columba came, viz. the liberation of Scanlann, a state
prisoner, the protection of the Bards, and pacification
between Erin and Alba with respect to Dalriada. He
did not effect the first object. What he did for the Bards
has been related above (i. § 8). He and Aedhan together
obtained for Dalriada that it should pay no more tribute
to the King of Ireland, but should join in military, though
not in maritime expeditions when called upon. Thus
Dalriada became an allied though not a subject state, and
it is supposed that on his return Columba obtained from
King Brude a recognition of Aedhan as independent king
1 Columba appears to have been anmcata or soul-friend to Aedhan.
2 See above, p. 56. 3 Reeves, 1857, 322 ; 1874, lxxxix.
4 Skene says fifty deacons, thirty students, and points out that the
original reference was for the convention of Drumceatt. Celtic Scotland,
ii. 123.

§4- BATTLES; DEATH 65
overthe British Dalriads. It was at this convention that
the influence of Columba procured a decree exempting
women from military service.1
Many of the circumstances related by Adamnan belong
to Columba's life in Iona, e.g. the foundations of Campus
Lunge and Artchain existing in Tiree, a monastery, seem
ingly connected with penitential discipline, in Hinba insula,
and a hermitage at Muirbulcmar.2 We read also that four
founders of monasteries came from Ireland to visit Columba
in Hinba, viz. Comgall of Bangor and Cainnech of Agha-
boe, who had gone with him to King Brude, Brendan of
Clonfert, and Cormac the founder of some monastery un
known, for whom Columba, through King Brude, sought
the protection of the chieftain of the Orkneys when he
(Cormac) went in search of a solitary island for a hermitage.
This must have been before 577, when St. Brendan of
Clonfert died. About 579 there was some disputed point,
probably connected with jurisdiction, about a church near
Coleraine, on which St. Columba and St. Comgall could
not agree. Hence resulted the battle of Coleraine, on
the debatable ground between the Dal-Araidhe, the kins
men of St. Comgall, and the Hy-Neill, those of St. Columba.
It does not appear which side came off victorious, or how
far the ecclesiastical chiefs were responsible for the fighting.
Some time about 585 Columba was in Ireland for some
months on business connected with his new foundation of
Durrow, and at this time he visited Clonmacnoise.3 In 587
was fought the battle of Cuilfedha near Clonard, in which
again St. Columba is said to have been concerned. A Pre
face to his hymn Alius Prosator attributes its composition
to a desire for 'forgiveness for the three battles he had
caused in Erin'.'1 He was anmcara, soul-friend, or spiritual
director to at least one saint and two kings (Warren,
p. 148), and doubtless to many others. In 593, the thir
tieth year of his life at Iona, he thought he was going
to die, but, after a vision of angels, he foretold that his
departure would be delayed for four years.5 At the end of
this period, just after the midnight between June 8 and 9,
1 Stokes, Celtic Church, 109.
2 Forthese places and the reff. see Index. 3 Adamnan, I, iii, p. 95.
4 Liber Hymnorum, H. B. S. ii. 24 ; Reeves, 1857, 253 ; 1874, xlvi
On the earlier battle see above, p. 55.
6 Adamnan, III, xxii, p. 180.
2291 E

66 INTRODUCTION ch. vii.
597, he was found lying before the altar in a dying
state, and very shortly after, having given his blessing to
the monks who had gathered together, he passed to the
Lord as he lay in the arms of Diormit, his attendant.1
The long chapter which describes the closing scenes of
St. Columba's life is to a great extent Cummian's, but
Adamnan introduces some beautiful and touching inci
dents, e.g. that of the white horse weeping with its head
on the saint's bosom, as foreseeing his death. The last
thing Columba did before going into the church for the
last time was transcribing the Psalter, and the last verse
he wrote was Inquirentes autem Dominum non deficient omni
bono. And here, he said, I must stop, let Baithene write
the rest. The whole narrative is most interesting, and
may be compared with Bede's account of the death of
Boisil,2 and with the letter of Cuthbert abbot of Jarrow on
the death of Bede.3
§ 5. Adamnan' s summary. In the latter part of his
second Preface, Adamnan gives a short but expressive
summary of St. Columba's characteristics both of body
and mind. One was that he could not bear to be idle
even for an hour, he must always be doing something,
which rather reminds us of Eddius's graphic touch about
St. Wilfrid, that he was pedibus velox.4. It is of men like
Columba and Wilfrid of whom it may be said with a
special significance, that ' their works do follow them '.
There are some life-like touches in Colgan's Vita Secunda
(Tr. Th. 327 a) where he speaks of St. Columba taking
off the brethren's shoes, after their labours, and washing
their feet in warm water, like St. Cuthbert :
he walde come forthe, and J)aim mete,
And with hate water wesche J>air fete.
Metr. Life, 2261 : Bede, Vit. S. C. xviii.

1 Adamn. iii. 23. He was buried at Iona after the usual exequies.
Adamnan speaks of his body as being there when he wrote. So again
Bede, H. E. iii. 4. A fragmentary passage in the Book of Armagh
(c. 807) expresses the belief that the bones of St. Columcille had been
brought to Saul, near Downpatrick, in Ireland. Gwynn, p. 31, col. 1.
For a modern tradition (1893), see Intr. VI, § 1 n. The Annals of Tigher-
nach and of Ulster record a series of enshrinings which took place in
Ireland in the eighth century. See Reeves, 1857, 312-18. It is im
possible to know what became of his relics at last ; many places, in
cluding Durham, claimed to have portions of them.
2 Vit. S. Cuthb. viii. 3 Symeon, Hist. Eccl. Dunelm. i. 15.
4 Adamnan, end of Praef. II, p. 87. Eddii Vita Wilfridi, 3.

§§ 4-7- WRITINGS 67
Often would he carry a bag of flour on his shoulders
from the mill to the kitchen. In fastings, vigils, prayers,
meditations, preachings, and other works of charity, he
was unwearied beyond belief. He used a stone for a
pillow, and would lie on the ground, with only a leather
hide under him. And, notwithstanding all his austerities,
he was worthy to be admired by all for his handsome face,
his ruddy cheeks, and his well-nourished appearance,
The mortifications become still more severe in O'Donnell's
Life (Tr. Th. 437).
§ 6. Columba's works. It has been already mentioned
that Columba was a poet, and in all probability a member
of the order of the Bards. Three Latin hymns are attributed
to him, viz. Alius Prosator and its complement In te Christe,
with a third beginning Noli Pater. There are also two Irish
poems, viz. the Farewell to Aran, and a poem on the occa
sion of his flight from King Diarmait, as well as several
others which have less claim to be considered genuine.
Dr. Reeves prints three of these, which are at any rate
very ancient, with translations. Each of the Latin hymns
has a preface describing the occasion of its composition.1
The so-called Rule of St. Columba, printed in Irish and
English in Haddan and Stubbs, ii. 119, Skene, Celtic Scot
land, ii. 508 (English only), and elsewhere, is not a Rule at
all corresponding to St. Benedict's, but rather a collection
of maxims for a solitary who was to live in a cell contiguous
to a monastery.2 Colgan, who lived before the dispersion
of Irish MSS., knew of no other Rule of St. Columba, and
to this one he attached very little importance.3
§ 7. His religious opinions. A few words may be said
about the religion of St. Columba and ofthe Scotic Church
in his time. It was certainly neither ' Roman ' nor ' Pro
testant ', in the ordinary sense of those terms ; the modern
1 On the Latin Hymns see Liber Hymnorum, H. B. S. ii. 142-72;
Diet, of Hymnology, art. Alius Prosator ; on these and the Irish poems
Reeves, Adamn. 1857, lxxviii, 264 ; 1874, xl ; Healy, 326. For a re
markable legend concerning the Alius, see O'Curry, MS. Materials, 76.
2 There are foundations which may be those of a Disert or hermit's
cell, eight paces long by four across inside, at Cladh an Diseart (ceme
tery of the Disert) two or three fields to the NE. of St. Mary's at Iona.
Here was found a fragment of a cross with figure on it, and near it the
stone with a cross on it called St. Gfclumba's pillow. On such cells see
Reeves, 1857, 366, 418 ; 1874, exxiv, exxxvi ; O'Curry, MS. Materials,;)-]^.
3 On this and other Irish Rules see Reeves, Adamn. 1857, 336; 1874, ci.
E 2

68 INTRODUCTION ch. vii. § ?.
system that comes nearest to it is that of the Churches of
the Anglican Communion as understood by the school
which has arisen out of the Tractarian movement. We
find evidence of Confession, public, however, rather than
private, optional rather than compulsory, and absolution
was usually deferred till the penance had been performed; ¦
of Invocation of Saints 2 and confidence in their protection ;
of belief in the Real Presence; ofthe practices of fasting3
and penance, of prayers for the departed, and of the sign
of the Cross. But we find no indication of the ' worship '
now offered to the Blessed Virgin and the Saints, nor of
Unction of the sick in any form, nor the least allusion to
any supremacy in the See of Rome, or indeed to any con
nexion therewith. The atmosphere of miracle, in which
Adamnan lived when he wrote, was that of the times, and
is very similar to what we find in Bede. Everything was
thought possible or even probable when related as a
miracle. Adamnan told the stories as they were told to
him or to Cummian, perhaps with a little unconscious
infusion of the miraculous element. Some have found it
impossible to explain such narratives without attributing
deliberate invention to the narrator.4 The 'story of the
staff' (ii. 14) has been instanced as a case of this kind.
There is no need, however, to doubt that in Adamnan's
mind a very simple matter had assumed a miraculous
complexion. If St. Columba sent St. Cainnech's staff
after him by some ship which reached the Oidechan island
sooner than his own, this would explain the facts, and
what was first believed to be providential would very soon
be regarded as miraculous, and related as such in all
good faith, with ' the exaggerations (and suppressions) of
detail which transform the providential into the miraculous',
but without any intention to deceive.
1 Warren, p. 148, and see above, IV, § 12, p. 41.
2 Invocation of Saints has not been revived by authority in the Church
Of England.
3 Some genuine tradition of St. Columba's asceticism is probably en
shrined in the curious story that he resolved to take nettle pottage with
out any dripping or fat, and that he became so thin that the impression
of his ribs through his woollen tunic was seen in the sandy beach at
Iona, where he used to lie at night. And it was said that Diormit his
gillie contrived a tubular stick by means of which he secretly introduced
butter into the pottage of nettles, whereby he brought upon himself
a severe rebuke. ( Tr. Th. 436 ; Mart. Doneg. 165 ; Cal. of Oengus c ;
H. B. S. 147.)
4 c. g. the Duke of Argyll, Iona, p. 45.

ch. vm. §§ i, 2. SUCCESSORS 69
VIII. Columba's Successors, up to and including
Adamnan
During the eighty-two years that passed between the
death of St. Columba and the accession of his biographer
Adamnan, the ninth abbot of Iona, seven abbots presided
over the house. A short notice of each of these will serve
to connect the lives of Columba and Adamnan.1
§ 1. Columba was succeeded by his first cousin Baithene,
597-600, whom he had brought up as his foster-child, and
who to the last was one of his most intimate associates.
Having been a monk in Derry, he came with St. Columba
from Ireland, as one of ' the twelve ', and presided over the
monastery of Magh-Lunge in Tiree, a penitential house,
occasionally visiting and performing duties in Iona and
elsewhere. There is a curious story of his seeing three
empty chairs in heaven ready for St. Ciaran, St. Columba,
and himself. He was sometimes employed in copying
manuscripts. He was full of the spirit of prayer; while
walking his hands were clasped under his habit ; while
reaping he prayed as he carried the handfuls of oats, and
at his meals he would say Deus in adiutorium meum intende
between every two morsels of food. Having ruled in Iona
for three years, he fainted by the altar on June 4, 600.
The brethren wept around him, and Diormit, Columba's
old, attendant, thinking he was dying, remarked how small
an interval would separate the feast days of the two abbots.
Baithene opened his eyes, and prayed that he might be
taken on the same day as his dear master. His prayer
was heard, and he, like Columba, departed on the 9th day
of June. Columba used to liken him to John the beloved
disciple, and he was afterwards said to have had no equal
on this side the Alps in knowledge of Holy Scripture.
§ 2. Baithene was succeeded, 600-605, by Laisren the
third abbot, whose father, Feradach, was first cousin both
of himself and of St. Columba. Laisren was a pupil of
St. Columba, and was with him and Diormit at Ardnamur-
chan in 572. He was in charge of Durrow, and superin
tending building operations there, during St. Columba's
1 For further particulars, see the Dictionary of Christian Biography
under the names, where a great number of references to earlier works
will be found, also the digest of facts under each name in Reeves, 1857,
370-6, 1874, cxlvii-cxlix ; Healy, 331-4.

7o INTRODUCTION ch. viii.
life. From the abbacy of Durrow he was raised to that of
Iona on the death of St. Baithene.
§ 3. The next abbot was Fergna Brit, 605-23, said to
have been a bishop, but Dr. Reeves thinks there could not
have been a bishop-abbot at Iona so early. He was of
noble Irish descent, of the same race as St. Columba, but
not so nearly related to him as his predecessors had been.
Adamnan calls him Virgnous. His surname may indicate
that he was of British descent; if he was, it would of
course be on the mother's side ; cf. Colgan, Acta SS. 448 a.
He ruled in Iona from 605 to 623, but no events of his
abbacy are recorded on any good authority.
§ 4. Seghine, 623-52, nephew of Laisren the third
abbot, succeeded, and during his abbacy he was connected
with some very important affairs, though of his private life
we know very little. He founded a church on Rechra
island in 634, and he cherished recollections of St. Columba
and his times, which he imparted to those who related
them to Adamnan. He was a leading advocate of the
Celtic Easter observance, and hence a letter addressed to
him by one Cummian in 634, but the identification of this
Cummian with the seventh abbot of Iona is very doubtful.1
His letter to Seghine2 was sent in reply to his being
charged with being a schismatic, and a forsaker of his
country's traditions. In this letter Cummian says ironically :
' Roma errat ; Hierosolyma errat ; Antiochia errat ; totus
munduserrat; solitantum ScotietBritones rectum sapiunt!'
The letter is valuable as showing the position taken
up by the advocates of that more correct calculation of
Easter which at last prevailed, and the learning with which
it could be supported. But Seghine remained unconvinced.
In 640 he may have been included as ' Segenus presbyter '
among the Irish clergy whom John IV, while pope elect,
addressed on the same subject. It was during Seghine's
abbacy that Oswald king of Northumbria applied to the
Scotic Church for a missionary bishop, and that, after the
return of one 3 who was unsuccessful, St. Aidan was con
secrated, and sent out as first bishop of Lindisfarne.
Having ruled for twenty-nine years, Seghine died in 652.
His festival is Aug. 12.
1 See Diet. Christian Biography. 2 Migne, P. L., 87,969.
3 Named Corman, but only on the doubtful authority of Hector
Boethius, c. 1470-1536. See Aidan, and Corman, in Diet. Chr. Biography.

§§ 2-8. ABBOTS OF IONA

7i

§ 5. He was succeeded by Suibhne, 652-7, the sixth
abbot, son of Cuirtri, of whose genealogy nothing is known.
Colgan has a short notice of him at Jan. 11, containing
nothing of importance.
§ 6. The seventh abbot was Cuimine Ailbhe, 657-669
(surnamed also Fionn or Albus, the Fair), nephew of Seg
hine the fifth abbot. He wrote a book De virtutibus Sancti
Columbae, which has been transferred by Adamnan into
his own pages, and is mentioned by him in the fifth chapter
of his third book. He probably went to Iona to be under
his uncle Seghine, and on the death of Suibhne the family
succession was restored in him. There is a Life of him
in Colgan, Acta SS. 408. We have seen above, p. 70,
that he is to be distinguished from the Cummian who
advocated the Roman Easter. He died in 669.
§ 7. The next in the succession was Failbhe, 669-79,
who was great-grandson of Duach, first-cousin of Columba
and of Baithene. He is twice mentioned by Adamnan,
and is said to have twice revisited Ireland.1 All the
annals record a journey in 673 and a return in 676. The
Paschal controversy and missionary enterprise have both
been suggested as possible reasons for his going into
Ireland. St. Maelrubha, abbot of the Irish Bangor, went
on a mission to the north-west of Scotland about that time.
Failbhe died in 679. His festival is March 22.
§ 8. Adamnan, 679-704, the ninth abbot, and author or
compiler ofthe Life of St. Columba, was born twenty-seven
years after the death of the latter, namely, c. 624, and pro
bably in SW. Donegal. His father, Ronan, was great-
great-grandson of ^ednajuncle of St. Columba ; his mother,
Ronnat, was connected with an important race. His name,
Adamnan, is a diminutive of Adam, either double, -an + an,
or a compound with nan, ' little ' (nanus), and appears in
various forms.2 Nothing whatever is known of his early
1 Colgan, Acta SS. 717.
2 The consonants d, m are first aspirated (dh, mh), and then, being
thus weakened, are finally lost, so that we have the forms Ownan,
Eunan, &c. St. Eunan, the patron of Raphoe, has been wrongly sup
posed to have been a different person from St. Adamnan. Sir James
Ware represents Raphoe as founded by Columba, repaired by Adamnan,
and made a cathedral by 'St. Eunan'. Works, 1705, under 'Bps. of
Rapho ', p. 53. Pope Clement XII sanctioned a mass of ' St Eunan '
for Sept. 7, on which day the Bollandists and Alban Butler have notices
of this same fictitious saint. The names of Irish saints are sometimes

72

INTRODUCTION ch. viii.

history. A curious story of his schoolboy life, improbable,
though not impossible, is told in the life of Finnachta the
Festive, subsequently monarch of Ireland.1 The Aberdeen
Breviary represents him as admitted to be a monk by
St. Columba, and even Baronius in the Roman Martyrology
(Jun. 9) makes him contemporary (aequalis).
§ 9. He was doubtless brought up in some of the
monastic schools, and, when he decided to be a monk, his
thoughts would naturally turn to Iona, where Seghine his
kinsman had been abbot during the whole of his life.
Seghine lived till Adamnan was twenty-eight. During his
time, and that of Suibhne, Cuimine, and Failbhe, we may
suppose that Adamnan so progressed in piety, learning,
and influence, as to be distinctly marked out among his
kinsmen for the chair of St. Columba. Dr. Reeves thinks
that there is sufficient evidence to justify Hugh Ward in
the statement, ' Edoctus est omnes liberales, sacras et
asceticas disciplinas, linguas etiam Hebraicam et Graecam ;
et quidquid patria lingua (in qua tum pleraeque scientiae
et Druydum quae non fuere damnata dogmata) scriptum
esset vel artium, vel legum, vel historiarum '.2 His works
show that he could write Latin, not classical indeed, but
good of its kind, quite different from that of St. Patrick
for example ; also that he had at least an interest in and
some slight knowledge of Greek and Hebrew. Bede,
Ceolfrid, Alcuin, Fordun, and Irish writers, all bear high
testimony to his learning and goodness.3 In II, xiv, p. 159,
we find him on three occasions out with the sailors when
they went to the mainland for timber, &c. In 675 Fin
nachta, mentioned above, succeeded as monarch, and it is
said that Adamnan was his anmcara or spiritual director.
§ 10. In 679 Adamnan, being now fifty-five years of age,
succeeded to the chair of St. Columba. Bruide, son of
much disguised by phonetic changes, and by the endearing prefix mo
(= my), as we say ' Our Lord' and ' Our Lady', and the diminutives
-an and -og. Thus from Aedh we have Aedhan (Aidan), and also Mo-
aedh-og, or Moedhog, pronounced Mogue. Further, we have the last
letter of ' Saint ' attracted, as in Tedan for St. Aidan, Tantony for St.
Antony, Tooley and Tulius for St. Olaf, and Tobin for St. Aubin. Thus
Eunan (Adamnan) appears as Deunan, Teunon, and Thewnan in Scotland.
(See Reeves, 1857, lxi. 256 ; i874,clxiv, clxix ; Todd, St. Patrick, 115 n.)
1 Reeves, 1854, xiii ; 1847, cxlix.
2 Vardaei 5. Rumoldi Acta, &c. Lovanii, 1662, p. 218 ; in Reeves •
1854, xliii.
3 Reeves, 1854, Ivii ; 1847, clxi.

§§ 8-10. ADAMNAN 73
Bile, king of the Picts, was now his contemporary, and
appears to have been his intimate friend. In the Irish
Life of Adamnan is a curious story of this king's burial at
Iona in 693. Aldfrith' or Ealdfrith, the Northumbrian
prince who succeeded his brother Ecgfrith as king in 685 ,
was at the time of Adamnan's accession (679) a refugee
in Ireland, and during his exile was under instruction with
Irish monks, for some time at least, according to the
author of the early anonymous Life of St. Cuthbert,1 at
Iona, which is in accordance with the statement of Bede,
' in insulis Scottorum ob studium literarum exulabat '.2
The Irish knew Aldfrith as ' Flann Fina mac Ossa ', from
Fina his alleged mother and Oswiu his father. It was
probably his connexion with Ireland through his mother
that determined the place of his retirement and education.
He was called the foster-son or alumnus of Adamnan, and
when he came to the throne he readily restored sixty Irish
captives whom his brother's general had carried away from
Meath. It was probably with this object, among others,
that Adamnan visited the Northumbrian court in the first
year of Aldfrith's reign, and perhaps at the instance of
King Finnachta. He appears to have kept up frequent
communication with Aldfrith, to whom he presented his
book De Locis Sanctis. While in Northumbria, he came
under the influence of men more learned than himself, and
changed his earlier convictions with regard to the Roman
Easter and other observances.3 But he was unable to
convince the brethren at Iona. In 692, he visited Ireland
on political as well as ecclesiastical business, and appears
to have been opposed to his old friend King Finnachta,
and to have prophesied that his life should soon be cut
off by fratricide, for that he had not given the same privi
leges to the lands of Columcille as were enjoyed by those
of Patrick, Finnian, and Ciaran. And Finnachta fell by
the hand of his cousin in 695. Adamnan seems to have
been far more successful in promoting the new Easter
observances, &c. in Ireland than he had been in Iona. He
again visited Ireland, in 697, for legislative purposes, and
it is thought that he compiled his Life of St. Columba
between this visit and the former one. In the Life he but
slightly alludes to the Paschal controversy,4 and it has
1 Lib. iii. § 6. 2 Vit. S Cuthb. xxiv.
3 Bede, H. E. v. 15, 21. 4 See p. 96, 1. 26.

74 INTRODUCTION ch. viii.
been suggested that he wrote it for the Irish Columbans,
who had accepted his later teaching, and not for those of
Iona, who held out for the ancient Celtic traditions.
This supposition is contradicted by such terms as nostra
insula (applied to Ioua insula), nostrum monasterium, &c.
The Rath of the Synods and the cross of Adamnan at
Tara are supposed to be connected with a great convention
held there during this second visit.1 The enactments of
this synod were called 'Lex Adamnani', as modern Acts
of Parliament are often named after their chief promoters.
The main object of this law appears to have been to renew
St. Columba's measures for the exemption of women from
military service, and the one thing said of Adamnan in the
Calendar of Oengus is ' To Adamnan of Iona whose troop
is radiant, noble Jesus granted the lasting liberation of the
women of the Gael ', with reference to which the Leabhar
Breac gives the story about Adamnan having seen one
woman dragging another by a reaping-hook fastened in
her breast.2 Adamnan seems to have remained in Ireland
until 704, in which year he returned to Iona, where he
soon after died. He had received the Roman tonsure in
Ireland, and it is recorded by Mac Firbis, that 'it was a
great surprise to his congregation to see him with that
tonsure '.3 He appears to have arrived after Easter in
704, and, as Bede points out, he was taken to his eternal
rest before another Easter, and thereby delivered from any
discord with the brethren on that subject (H. E. v. 15).
1 Tara had been deserted for 134 years, in consequence, as is said, of
a curse pronounced upon it by St. Ruadan in 563 (for a picturesque
account of which see O'Curry, Manners, Sec. ii. 336), when the last
assembly of the tribes under a king was held. But it has never ceased
to be regarded as a great national centre. The Rath of the Synods is so
called from synods said to have been held therein by SS. Patrick and
Brendan, as well as this by St. Adamnan. Other memorials at Tara are
Adamnan's ' pavilion' (site), 'chair', mound, and cross. Daniel O'Con-
nell held there what would now be called ' a monster gathering ' in 1843.
' There was a million and a half with Dan ', said the widow Keelan
(cp. p. 50 n.). And a modern statue of St. Patrick has been set up in
the very centre of the central rath.
2 Reeves, 1857, 179 ; Stokes, Cal. Oeng. lxiv, exxxix, cxlvi ; we find
that ' the four rules or laws of Ireland ' were Patrick's, not to slay clerics ;
Adamnan's, not to slay women ; Dari the nun's, not to kill or steal oxen
or kine ; and the law of Sunday, not to transgress thereon. H. B. S.
196, 211.
3 MS. Annals, in Reeves, Ivi. See Bede, H. E. v. 21, Piummer's ed.
I. 344, 345-

§§ ro, n. ADAMNAN 75
He died on the 23rd of September, but we have no further
record of the circumstances of his death or burial. The
church of Skreen in co. Sligo is said to derive its name
from a shrine of Adamnan preserved there.1
§ 11. His place in history, 6°c. Adamnan may be regarded
as a sort of link between an earlier and a later phase in the
history ofthe ancient Church of Ireland. He was brought
up in the ' old learning ', but he adopted and promoted the
Roman Easter and tonsure, to which the Celtic sentiment
was so strongly and so long opposed. His undoubted
writings are the work De Locis Sanctis, taken down on
waxed tablets from Arculf's dictation, and then put into
literary form, probably about 688, and the Life of St. Columba,
compiled from earlier memoirs and the traditions of Iona,
between 692 and 697. This Life is described by Pinkerton
as ' the most complete piece of such biography that all
Europe can boast of, not only at so early a period, but
throughout the whole middle ages'; by Dr. Reeves, as
' an inestimable literary relic of the Irish Church : perhaps,
with all its defects, the most valuable monument of that
institution which has escaped the ravages of time ', and as
' one of the most important pieces of hagiology in exis
tence ' ; by Bishop A. P. Forbes, as ' the solitary record of
the history of the Church of Scotland, and, with the ex
ception of Bede and the Pictish Chronicle, the chief trust
worthy monument till we come to the Margaretan reforma
tion ' ; by Montalembert, as ' un des monuments les plus
vivants, les plus attrayants et les plus authentiques de
l'histoire chretienne '. And the Duke of Argyll well says,
that ' we find in Columba's Life, not only the firm foothold
of history, but the vivid portraiture of an individual man.
. . . Not one historical character of the time ... is in any
similar degree known to us. On one spot, and one spot
only, of British soil, there shines in this dark time a light,
more vivid even than the light of common history — the
light of personal anecdote and of domestic narrative.
When we land upon Iona, we can feel that we are treading
in the very footsteps of a man whom we have known in
voice, in gesture, in habits, and in many peculiarities of
character; and yet, of a man who walked on the same
ground before the Heptarchy, when Roman cities still
1 On the shrine or shrines of Adamnan, see Reeves, 1857, lxiii ;
1874, clxv. So Skreen in Meath.from a shrine of St. Columba.

76 INTRODUCTION ch. viii.
stood in Britain, and when the ancient Christianized Celts
of Britain were maintaining a doubtful contest with Teutonic
heathenism '}
Adamnan is said also to have written a Life of St. Patrick,
certain poems, a work on Irish history, and an epitome of
Irish laws.2
Many churches, wells, &c, are dedicated to him both in
Ireland and in Scotland, and Reeves points out that the
dedications to St. Columba and to St. Adamnan keep very
close together.3
§ 12. Schism in Iona. After the death of Adamnan there
was a schism in Iona between those who at last came over
to his later views, and those who did not, and there appear
to have been rival abbots. In 717 the Columban monks
were expelled from the kingdom ofthe Picts. In 794 Iona
was for the first of many times ravaged by Danish pirates.
In 814 to 831 the monastery was rebuilt with stone and the
shrine of St. Columba set up therein. In 878 the shrine
and relics of St. Columba were taken to Ireland. In 1059-
93 Queen Margaret rebuilt the monastery. But during
the eleventh and twelfth centuries Iona shared in the
general decadence of the old Celtic Church, and in 1203
were founded a Benedictine abbey and nunnery in I, or
Iona, in honour of God and of St. Columba. The ruins,
still standing, are those of the buildings of this foundation,
though probably imagined by many tourists to be those of
St. Columba's monastery.
§ 13. Adamnan's Latin style. This introduction, which
has perhaps extended to an undue length, may fitly close
with Dr. Reeves's account of Adamnan's Latin style, from
the memoir included in the appendix to his preface.
'Of Adamnan's two Latin works, the tract De Locis
Sanctis is the better written and more flowing, but it bears
a striking resemblance to the other in many particulars of
style, and the use of peculiar words and phrases. In the
following pages the readers will observe the liberal em
ployment of diminutives4 so characteristic of Irish com
position ; and he will find them, in many cases, used without
any grammatical force, and commutable, in the same chapter,
with their primitives. The same tendency is also observ-
1 Iona, 55-7. 2 Reeves, 1857, lx ; 1874 , clxiii.
3 Reeves, 1857, lxi-Ixvii ; 1874, clxiv-clxix.
1 See Glossary, a. v. Diminutiva.

§§n-i3. LATIN NAMES 77
able among verbs in the use of frequentatives and intensi
ties. He delights in the distributive numerals instead
of cardinals, and in the adjective termination -ax where
admissible.1 He uses the pluperfect for the perfect, and
the nominative instead of the ablative absolute. He occa
sionally employs Greek, or Greco-Latin words ; 2 and in
a few instances introduces Irish or Hiberno-Latin expres
sions. Proper names he sometimes inflects according to
the rules of Irish grammar, so that in a Latin narrative
they present an anomalous appearance. Above all, the
artificial, and often unnatural, interweaving of his words,
in long sentences, and the oft-recurring ablative absolute
in awkward position, will strike the reader as remarkable
features of the style.' 3
We may note too his habit of giving a Latin equivalent
instead of or in addition to a native name, as is also done
by Bede, Giraldus Cambrensis, Colgan, O'Sullivan Bear,
and others. Such interpretations are of great value as
being many of them given by men to whom the Irish lan
guage was the mother tongue, and when the place-names
were well understood.
1 Note also his use of adjectival forms agreeing with insula {Ed.).
2 And Greek letters. Such uses of Greek are found in other early
Irish writings {Ed.).
3 There is a very full account of Adamnan's style in Geyer. Adamnanus,
Augsb. 1895, pp. 39-47. '
Bishop Hatfield's Hall, Durham,
June 9, 1894. (Revised. 1915 and 1919-20.)

SOME AUTHORITIES CITED
Acta Sanctorum . . . collegit . . . Ioannes . . . Bollandvs . . . prodit
nunc duobus Tomis Ianvarivs. Antverpiae, 1643. Continued by other
editors to Novembris Tomus III, Brussels, 1910, containing Nov. 5-8.
Sixty-six vols, issued. On the Bollandists and their labours, see
Neale's Essays on Liturgiology. Lond. 1863, 89-97.
Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae ex codice Salmanticensi, Edinb. et Lond.
1888.
Acta SS. Hib. ; see Colgan, Plummer.
Acta SS. Ordinis Benedictini ; see Index under Mabillon.
AdamnaniVita S. Columbae: see Preface, pp. 5-7.
Adamnanus De Locis Sanctis. Edited by Mabillon in Acta SS. Ord.
Ben. saec. iii. pt. 2, p. 456. Migne, P. L. lxxxviii. 779. Translation :
' The Pilgrimage of Arculfus,' in Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society's ,
series. Lond. 1889.
Alfred, king, translation of Baeda. In Baedae Opp. cura Smith, q. v.
Altus of Columcille : see pp. 65, 67.
Amalarius de Ecclesiae Officiis, in Migne, P. L. ci. n 73, and else
where ; see Index Auctorum in Ducange.
Analecta Bollandiana : 33 vols, issued. Paris, Brussels, &c. 1882-1914.
Under the direction of the present editors of the Bollandists' Acta
Sanctorum.
Ancient Laws of Ireland : (Senchus M6r) see pp. 19, 21 n., 28.
Anderson, Joseph, Scotland in Early Christian Times. Edinb. 1881.
Annals of Tighernach {pron. Teernah). Originally compiled down to
about 1088, and continued to 1407. See O'Curry, MS. Materials 52,
53, 57-70. Edited and translated, but not faultlessly, by Dr. C. O'Conor,
in Vol. ii of Scriptores rer. Hibern. Buckinghamiae, 1814-26. Published
in Rev. Celtique, vols, xvii, xviii.
Annals of Ulster. Originally compiled down to 1498, and continued to
1604. See O'Curry, MS. Materials, 83-92. Four vols., with Intro
duction and Index, edited by Hennessy and McCarthy, 1887-1901, in
the Irish Rolls Series.
Antiphonarium Benchorense : MS. of seventh century, printed in Migne,
Patrol. Lat. Ixxii. 583 ; issued, with facsimile, by the Henry Bradshaw
Society, 1892, 1895. See ii, 9 n., p. 213.
Archaeologia of the Society of Antiquaries, London, from 1770. Vols.
1-68.
Argyll, Duke of, Iona. Edinb. 1889.
Baedae Opera Historica cura Joh. Smith. Cantab. 1722. Plummer.
Oxon. 1896.
Book of Armagh : MS. in Trinity College, Dublin, written by Ferdom-
nach a.d. 807-45. Edited by Dr. Gwynn. Dublin. 1913.
Brambach, see p. 7.
Breviarium Aberdonensis Ecclesiae : Two parts. Edinb. 1509-10. Re
print, Lond. 1854.
Buiy, J. B., Life of St. Patrick. Lond. 1905.
Cainnech, St., Brussels Life of; in Acta SS. Hib. ex. Cod. Salm., q. v.,
cols. 361-92. The Salamanca codex is preserved in the Burgundian
Library at Brussels.

SOME AUTHORITIES CITED 79
Calendar of Oengus. See Martyrology.
Cambrensis Eversus. An elaborate criticism of Giraldus, written in
Latin by Dr. John Lynch (Gratianus Lucius) and first printed in 1662
(at St. Malo?). Edited, with translation and notes, by Matthew
Kelly. Three vols. Dublin, printed for the Celtic Society, 1848-52.
Canisii Thesaurus sive Lectt'ones Antiquae, Amst. 1725.
Carleton, William, Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry: fifth ed.,
two vols, in one. Lond. i860.
Chronicon Scotorum. From the earliest times to 1135, with a supple
ment, 1 141-50. By Duald Mac Firbis. Edited, with transl. by
W. M. Hennessy, M.R.I. A., in the Rolls Series. Lond. 1866. See
O'Curry, MS. Materials, 120-30.
Codex Bruxellensis. A MS. volume in the Royal Library at Brussels,
in hands of the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries. The
editors oi Anal. Boll, and Dr. Gwynn have supplied from it the begin
ning of Muirchu's Life of St. Patrick, which is wanting in the Book of
Armagh. Described in Anal. Boll. i. 539.
Codex Marshianus vel Marshii. A MS. volume in Primate Marsh's
Library, Dublin, wrongly called ' the Book of Kilkenny ', marked
V. 3. 4, and containing the lives of twenty-eight saints, all Irish
except St. Anthony (Reeves, 1857, p. xxv). See above, p. 6.
Colgan, Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae, Lovanii, 1645. The first volume
only, January 1 to March 31, all that was issued. Many of the pages
are wrongly numbered ; the reff. here are to the right numbers.
Colgan, Triadis Thaumaturgae, seu Divorum Patricii, Columbae, et
Brigidae Acta. Lovanii, 1647. Uniform with the last, and called
Tomus Secundus.
Coroticus, Epistle on. See Intr. ii. § 1 n.
Cuminii sive Cummiani Albi Vita S. Columbae. See Pref. p. 7.
Cusack : see Tripartite.
Cuthbert, St., Bede's Life of, in Baedae Opp. : cura Smith, q. v., pp. 229-64.
Cuthbert, St., Anonymous Life of. In Acta SS. Boll., Mar. 20, pp. 117-
24 ; in Rolls Symeon, i. 196-214 ; in Surtees Symeon, i. 138-52, and
in Bedae Opp. Historica, ed. Stevenson, II, pp. 259-84.
Cuthbert, St., Libellus de Ortu Sancti Cuthberti. In Miscellanea Biogra-
phica, Surtees Soe. vol. 8, Lond. 1838, pp. 61-87.
Cuthbert, St., Metrical Life of: MS. at Castle Howard. Printed in vol.
87 of the Surtees Society. Durham, 1891.
D'Achery, Spicilegium, 3 vols. Par. 1723.
Dempster, Thomas : Menologivm Scotorvm. Bononiae (Bologna) 1622.
Derricke, John : The Image of Irelande. Written 1578, published 1581.
Twelve rude woodcut illustrations. Facsimile edition with notes by
Sir Walter Scott, and Introduction by Mr. John Small, F.S.A. Sc.
Edinb. 1883. (286 copies issued.)
Dictionary. See Julian, Murray, Smith and Wace.
Ducange : Glossarium Mediae et Infimae Latinitatis conditum a Carolo
Dufresne Domino du Cange. Parisiis, 1840-50. 7 vols. A later ed.
Niort, 1883-7 i IO v°ls-
Dunraven, Lord, Irish Architectural Antiquities : edited by Margaret
Stokes. Lond. 1878.
Eddii Vita Wilfridi. In Memorials of York and Abps., 1, 1-103. Rolls Ser.
Elton, Charles I., F.S.A., Origins of English History, Lond. 1890.
Four Masters, Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland, from the^earliest period
to a. u. 1616. Compiled by Michael O'Clerigh and three other

80 SOME AUTHORITIES CITED
Franciscans. Edited by Dr. O'Donovan. Seven vols. Dublin, 1853.
O'Curry, MS. Materials, 140-61.
Freeman, Norman Conquest, 3rd ed. 5 vols, and Index vol., Lond.
1877-9.
Giraldi Cambrensis Topographia Hibernica : in the fifth vol. of his
works. Rolls Series. Lond. 1867.
Godric, St. : see Reginaldus.
Gwynn, see Book of Armagh.
Haddan and Stubbs, Councils and Ecclesiastical Documents of Great
Britain and Ireland. Oxford, 1869. (Unfinished 1915.)
Healy, the Most Rev. John, D.D., &c. : Insula Sanctorum et Doctorum.
Dublin, 6th ed., 1912.
Henry Bradshaw Society (H. B. S.), 47 vols. 1891-1915.
Huyshe, transl. of Adamnan's Life of St. Columba. Routledge, n. d.
is. cloth.
Hymns Ancient and Modern (H. A. & M.), 1889.
Jocelini Vita Kentegerni: edited by Bp. Forbes, with translation, in
Historians of Scotland, vol. v. Edinb. 1874.
Jocelini Vita S. Patricii : The sixth Life of St. Patrick in Colgan, Tr. Th.
64-108. Transl. by E. L. Swift. Dublin, 1809.
Joyce, P. W., LL.D., &c. A Short History of Ireland. Lond. 1893.
Joyce, P.W. The Origin and History of Irish Names of Places. Vol. i.
Dublin, 1891 ; vol. ii. ib. 1883. Referred to as ' Joyce *.
Julian (and Mearns), Dictionary of Hymnology. London, 1892 ; 2nd ed.
1907.
Kannechi, S., Vita : see Cainnech.
Keating, Geoffrey, D.D. ( d. 1644). History of Ireland, written in Irish.
Translated in 1726 by Dermod O'Connor (badly). Dublin, 1809; again
by John O'Mahony (well). New York, 1866. See Joyce, Hist. 32.
Kentigern, St. : see Jocelini Vita Kentegerni.
Leabhar Breac, The Speckled Book. MS. in the Royal Irish Academy,
Dublin, compiled from ancient sources about end of fourteenth cen
tury. Published in facsimile. Dublin, 1876. See O'Curry, MS.
Materials, 353, 353.
Liber Hymnorum, MS. in Library of T. C. D. H. Bradshaw Society,
2 vols. 1897, 1898.
Liber Kilkenniensis (so called) : see Codex Marshii.
Lorica of St. Patrick : see pp. 27, 81.
Lynch : see Cambrensis.
Mac Firbis, Duald, Annals, now usually quoted as Chron. Scotorum, q. v.
Martene, Edm., De Antiquis Ecclesiae Ritibus, 3 vols. 4to. Rotomagi
(Rouen), 1700-1702.
Martyrology of Donegal : compiled in the Franciscan Convent of Donegal
by Michael O'Clerigh, and finished Apr. 19, 1630 ; published by the
Irish Archaeol. and Celtic Society, Dublin, 1864.
Martyrology of Oengus, a metrical festology attributed to Oengus the
Culdee, written about a. d. 800, preserved in the Leabhar Breac and
nine other MSS. ; with notes in mediaeval Irish and Latin. Edited by
Whitley Stokes, with glossary and translation, in Trans. R.I. A.,
Irish MS. Ser. vol. i, pt. i, June 1880. Re-edited by him for H. Brad
shaw Soe, 1905.
Missale Stowense. The earliest surviving Missal of the Irish Church.
MS. and shrine formerly in the Stowe Library, then in the library at
Ashburnham Place, and now in that ofthe R. I. A. at Dublin. Printed
in Warren's Celtic Liturgy, pp. 207-48.

SOME AUTHORITIES CITED 81
Missale Vetus Hibernicum. MS. and satchel at C. C. C, Oxford.
Edited by F. E. Warren. Lond. 1879.
Montalembert, Les moines d'Occident : Paris, 1860-77. Authorized
translation. Edinb. 1861-77.
Muirchu Maccumachtheni, Life of St. Patrick, c. a.d. 700, included in
Gwynn's Book of Armagh, 3-16, 39, 40, 442-51 ; Stokes's ed. of the
Tripartite, 269-301, q. v. and in Analecta Bollandiana, i. 545-85.
Murray and others, A New English Dictionary. Oxford, 1884-1920.
Referred to as ' N. E. D.'
Neale and Forbes. Ancient Liturgies of the "Gallican Church. Three
parts only issued. Burntisland, 1855, 1858. and 1867.
Newell, E. J., St. Patrick, His Life and Teaching. Lond. S. P. C. K.,
1890.
Notker Balbulus : Martyrologium. See p. 230.
O'Clerigh or O'Clery : see Four Masters, and Martyrology of Donegal.
O'Curry. Eugene, M.R.I.A., Lectures on the MS. Materials of Ancient
Irish History. Dublin, 1861.
O'Curry, Eugene. On the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish.
Three vols. Vol. i is an Introduction by Dr. W. K. Sullivan, vols, ii,
iii, are Lectures vols, i, ii. London, Dublin, and New York, 1873.
O'Donnell, Life of St. Columba : see Pref. p. 8.
O' Flaherty, Roderic. A Chorographical Description of West or H-Iar
Connaught, written 1684, edited by Hardiman for the Irish Archaeo
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Old Irish Life of St. Columba, Life No. Ill : see Pref. p. 8.
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ferred to as ' Olden ' Epistles and Hymn of St. Patrick, S. P. C. K.,
1894.
O'Sullivan Bear, Historiae Catholicae Hiberniae Compendium. A. D.
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Pref. p. 7.
Plummer. See Baedae Opp , and Vitae SS. Hib.
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Reeves, W., M.B., M.R.I A., Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down,
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ROnsch, Hermann, Itala und Vulgata. Marburg, 1875 : A most useful
work on late Latin words.
Salamanca MS., see Acta SS. Hib. ex cod. Salm.
Senchus M6r : see p. 19, «.
Simeon : see Symeonis.
Skene, W. F., Celtic Scotland. Three vols. Edinb. 1876-80.
Smith, Dr. John, Life of St. Columba. Edinb. 1798.
0291 F

8a SOME AUTHORITIES CITED
Smith and Wace, Dictionary of Christian Biography, 4 vols. Lond.
1877-87.
Solinus, C. J., Polyhistor. With Pomponius Mela. H. Stephanus, 1577.
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Stokes, Whitley. See Martyrology of Oengus, and Tripartite Life.
Symeonis monachi Dunhelmensis libellus de exordio atque procursu
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marked V. II. 6. Edited by Thomas Bedford, with Disquisitio by
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Thompson, E. Maunde, Greek and Latin Palaeography. Lond. 1893.
Tighernach, see Annals.
Tirechan, Notes on St. Patrick. In Gwynn, 17 ; Anal. Boll. ii. 35. In
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from three Irish MSS., as the seventh Life of St. Patrick in the Trias
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Miss M. F. Cusack, Lond., &c, 187J. The standard edition is the
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The second volume contains the notes by Muirchu and other early
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lation, with notes. Religious Tract Society, n. d.
Zeuss, j. C, Grammatica Celtica, e monumentis vetustis. Lips. 1853.
2nd ed., Berlin, 1871.

GENEALOGICAL TABLE
Niall 'of the Nine Hostaqes.' Monarch <rf Ireland 379-405".

laoghaire orLeary. Monarch of Ireland 428-458)
nominally converted by St Patrick

CbnalltJulban.Headof one of Ihe Iwo great races of
ihe NorihernHyNedl.iheKinell-Conall', 5tain4fc4.

Fergus Cennfada =f £rca d.of LoamMor. 1st k.of Dalriada In 503'

Amilire,kot Ireland
ob.569
Aetih,k of Ireland
0b598

Col man

Baedan.
K oi Ireland. ob.586

Duach Columba
111 Abbot. 563-597

I 
Maalcobhak of Ireland
ob.615

 1
Domhnall k.of Ireland
ot>642

laisren
3rd. Abbot 600-505

Fiachna Amhalqaidh

Tinne

Rooan-r Ronnal

Sighing.
51hAbbot 623-652

Ernan

Pipan

 1
Enna Boohaine
-1 I
Brenann Qintech
\ I
Baithene Rodaiqhe
2nd Abbot 597-600 1

Failbhe

Cuimine
71h Abbot 657-669

Qi

bhe

8lh Abbol 669 -679

FerqnaBrit'
1lh Abbot 605-623

Adamnan
9lh.Abbol 679-704
5uibrine. lhesonofCuirtri,vYaslhe6lh Abbol b52-657.buInolbinq isknown of his extraction.
1 According to ancient Irish tradition, Niall was killed by an arrow shot across the river Loire by Eochaidh, son of the
king of Leinster, a.d. 405.
2 The other race, the Kinel Owen, were descended from Owen Gulban, another son of Niall. ihe boutnern Hy-JNeill
were the descendants of Niall by another wife. ,.,-,,
3 Succeeded by his brother Fergus Mor (and king), who was succeeded by his son Domhangart (3rd king), from whom
were descended several kings, &c, who come into Adamnan's Life of St. Columba, and who were all related
to him through his grandmother Erca.
4 Tenth in descent from Cathaeir Mor, king of Ireland, a. d. 120.
3 The genealogy of Fergna Brit may be one generation too long.

VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE

IN NOMINE IESU CHRISTI ORDITUR PRAEFATIO.
The origin and character ofthe work. Beati nostri Patroni,
Christo suffragante, vitam descripturus, fratrum flagita-
=, tionibus obsecundare volens, in primis eandem lecturos
quosque admonere procurabo ut fidem dictis adhibeant
compertis, et res magis quam verba perpendant, quae, ut
aestimo, inculta et vilia esse videntur ; meminerintque
regnum Dei non in eloquentiae exuberantia, sed in fidei
10 florulentia constare ; et nee ob aliqua Scoticae, vilis vide
licet linguae, aut humana onomata, aut gentium obscura
locorumve vocabula, quae, ut puto, inter alias exterarum
gentium diversas vilescunt linguas, utilium, et non sine
divina opitulatione gestarum, despiciant rerum pronuntia-
15 tionem. Sed et hoc lectorem admonendum putavimus,
quod de beatae memoriae viro plura, studio brevitatis, etiam
memoria digna, a nobis sint praetermissa, et quasi pauca
de plurimis ob evitandum fastidium lecturorum sint cara-
xata. Et hoc, ut arbitror, quisque haec lecturus forte
20 annotabit, quod minima de maximis per populos fama de
eodem beato viro divulgata disperserit, ad horum etiam
paucorum comparationem, quae nunc breviter caraxare
disponimus. Hinc, post hanc primam praefatiunculam, de
nostri vocamine praesulis in exordio secundae, Deo auxi-
25 liante, intimare exordiar.
IN NOMINE IESU CHRISTI SECUNDA PRAEFATIO.
Significance ofthe name Columba. Vir erat vitae venerabilis
et beatae memoriae, monasteriorum pater et fundator, cum
2. Incipit prima praefatio apologiaque Adomnani abbatis sancti scriptoris
in vitam S. Columbae confessoris et abbatis C. — vite sancti Columbae
S. Incipit prologus Adamnani abbatis in vita sancti Columbae abbatis et
confessoris D. om. F. Codex B acephalus est, hodieque ad -ro pectore verba
in cap. 3 incipit. n. nomina anomala inepte Boll. 18' caraxata C. D. F. S.
craxataA.; octiesin hoc vita, quinquies praeterea in tractalu De Locis Sanctis,
haec forma, verisimihter Adamnani propria, adhibetur. Stephanus Vitus,
cuius apographo Codicis A. usi sunt Colganus et Bollandistae, exarare hic
et alibi substituit, 'volens', ut ait Baertius, ' plus quam oportebat sapere'.
26. Incipit praefatio secunda C. F. S. Incipit secundus prologus D.

86 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
Iona propheta homonymum sortitus nomen ; nam licet
diverso trium diversarum sono linguarum, unam tamen
eandemque rem significat hoc, quod Hebraice dicitur Iona,
Graecitas vero ILEPL2TEPA vocitat, et Latina lingua
Columba nuncupatur. Tale tantumque vocabulum homini $
Dei non sine divina inditum providentia creditur. Nam et
iuxta Evangeliorum fidem Spiritus Sanctus super Unigeni-
tum aeterni Patris descendisse monstratur in forma illius
aviculae quae columba dicitur : unde plerumque in sacro-
sanctis libris columba mystice Spiritum Sanctum significare 10
dignoscitur. Proinde et Salvator in evangelio suo prae-
cepit discipulis ut columbarum in corde puro insertam
simplicitatem continerent ; columba etenim simplex et
innocens est avis. Hoc itaque vocamine et homo simplex
innocensque nuncupari debuit qui in se columbinis mori- 15
bus Spiritui Sancto hospitium praebuit : cui nomini non
inconvenienter congruit illud quod in Proverbiis scriptum
est Melius est nomen bonum quam divitiae multae. Hic
igitur noster praesul non immerito, non solum a diebus in-
fantiae hoc vocabulo, Deo donante, adornatus, proprio 20
ditatus est, sed etiam praemissis multorum cyclis annorum
ante suae nativitatis diem cuidam Christi militi, Spiritu
revelante Sancto, quasi filius repromissionis mirabili pro-
phetatione nominatus est. Nam quidam proselytus Brito,
homo sanctus, sancti Patricii episcopi discipulus, Maucteus 25
nomine, ita de nostro prophetizavit Patrono, sicuti nobis
ab antiquis traditum expertis compertum habetur. ' In
novissimis', ait, 'saeculi temporibus filius nasciturus est,
cuius nomen Columba per omnes insularum oceani pro-
vincias divulgabitur notum ; novissimaque orbis tempora 30
clare illustrabit. Mei et ipsius duorum monasteriolorum
agelluli unius sepisculae intervallo disterminabuntur : homo
valde Deo carus, et grandis coram ipso meriti.' Huius
igitur nostri Columbae vitam et mores describens, in primis
brevi sermonis textu, in quantum valuero, strictim compre- 35
hendam, et ante lectoris oculos sanctam eius conversationem
pariter exponam. Sed et de miraculis eius succincte quae-
dam, quasi legentibus avide praegustanda, ponam : quae
tamen inferius, per tres divisa libros, plenius explicabun-
tur. Quorum Primus propheticas revelationes ; Secundus 40
vero divinas per ipsum virtutes effectas ; Tertius angelicas
4. IIHPICTHPA A. F. S. NHniOTHTA peristera C. ITEPICTHPA Cott.
19. adiebus A. ; duo verba saepe in cod. A. cohaerent.

VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE 87
apparitiones, continebit, et quasdam super hominem Dei
caelestis claritudinis manifestationes. Nemo itaque me de
hoc tam praedicabili viro aut mentitum aestimet, aut quasi
quaedam dubia vel incerta scripturum : sed ea quae maio-
5 rum fideliumque virorum tradita expertorum congrua rela
tione narraturum, et sine ulla ambiguitate caraxaturum
sciat, et vel ex his quae ante nos inserta paginis reperire
potuimus, vel ex his quae auditu ab expertis quibusdam
fidelibus antiquis, sine ulla dubitatione narrantibus, dili-
10 gentius sciscitantes, didicimus.
St. Columba's parentage, mission, and character. Sanctus
igitur Columba nobilibus fuerat oriundus genitalibus, patrem
habens Fedilmithum filium Ferguso ; matrem Aethneam
nomine, cuius pater Latine Filius Nauis dici potest, Sco-
15 ticavero lingua Mac Naue. Hic anno secundo post Cule-
drebinae bellum, aetatis vero suae xiii., de Scotia ad
Britanniam pro Christo peregrinari volens, enavigavit. Qui
et a puero Christiano deditus tirocinio, et sapientiae studiis
integritatem corporis et animae puritatem, Deo donante,
2 1 custodieng, quamvis in terra positus, caelestibus se aptum
moribus ostendebat. Erat enim aspectu angelicus, ser-
mone nitidus, opere sanctus, ingenio optimus, consilio
magnus, per annos xxxiv. insulanus miles conversatus.
Nullum etiam unius horae intervallum transire poterat,
25 quo non aut orationi aut lectioni, vel scriptioni, vel etiam
alicui operationi, incumbered Ieiunationum quoque et
vigiliarum indefessis laboribus sine ulla intermissione die
noctuque ita occupatus, ut supra humanam possibilitatem
uniuscuiusqtie pondus specialis videretur operis. Et inter
30 haec omnibus carus, hilarem semper faciem ostendens
sanctam, Spiritus Sancti gaudio intimis laetificabatur prae-
cordiis. 1. contenebit A. 6. craxaturum A. exaraturum Colg. Boll.
ii. Incipit liber primus de propheticis revelationibus C. S. Explicit
secundus prologus in vita sancti Columbe abbatis et confessoris Incipit
primus liber in vita sanctissimi Columbe abbatis et confessoris D.

NUNC PRIMI LIBRI CAPITULATIONES
ORDIUNTUR
De virtutum miraculis brevis narratio. (i.)
De sancto Finteno abbate, Tailchani filio, quomodo de ipso
sanctus Columba prophetavit. (n.) 5
De Erneneo, filio Craseni, prophetia eius. (in.)
De adventu Cainnichi quomodo praenuntiavit. (iv.)
De periculo sancti Colmani gente Mocusailni sancto Co
lumbae revelato. (v.)
De Cormaco nepote Letha prophetationes eius. (vi.) 10
De bellis. (vii, vm.)
De regibus. (ix-xv.)
De duobus pueris secundum verbum eius in fine septimanae
mortuis. (xvi.)
De Colcio filio Aido Draigniche, et de quodam occulto ij>
matris ipsius peccato. (xvii.)
De signo mortis eiusdem viri prophetia sancti Columbae.
(xvii.)
De Laisrano hortulano. (xviii.)
De ceto magno quomodo prophetavit. (xix.) 20
De quodam Baitano, qui cum caeteris ad maritimum remi-
gavit desertum. (xx.)
De quodam Nemano ficto poenitente, qui postea secundum
verbum sancti carnem equae furtivae comedit. (xxi.)
De illo infelici viro qui cum sua genitrice peccavit. (xxii.) 25
De I vocali littera quae una in Psalterio defuit. (xxiii.)
De libro in hydriam cadente. (xxiv.)
De corniculo atramenti inclinato. (xxv.)
De adventu alicuius Aidani qui ieiunium solvit, (xxvi.)
De aliquo misero viro, qui ad fretum clamitabat, mox mori- 30
turo. (xxvii.)
De civitate Romanae partis, super quam ignis de caelo
cecidit. (xxviii.)
De Laisrano filio Feradaig, quomodo monachos probavit in
labore. (xxix.) 35
De Fechno Bine, (xxx.)
De Cailtano monacho. (xxxi.)
36. obscure A.

VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE 89
De duobus peregrinis. (xxxii.)
De Artbranano sene, quem in Scia insula baptizavit.
(xxxm.)
De naviculae transmotatione iuxta stagnum Loch-diae.
5 (xxxiv.)
De Gallano filio Fachtni quem daemones rapuere. (xxxv.)
De Lugidio Claudo. (xxxviii.)
De Enano filio Gruth. (xxxix.)
De presbitero qui erat in Triota. (xl.)
10 De Erco furunculo. (xli.)
De Cronano poeta. (xlii.)
De Ronano filio Aido filii Colcen, et Colmano Cane filio
Aileni, prophetia Sancti. (xliii.)

INCIPIT PRIMI LIBRI TEXTUS,
DE PROPHETICIS REVELATIONIBUS
Cap. I. De VIRTUTUM MIRACULIS brevis NARRATIO.
Summary of St. Columba's miracles. Vir itaque veneran-
dus qualia virtutum documenta dederit, in huius libelli 5
primordiis, secundum nostram praemissam superius pro-
missiunculam, breviter sunt demonstranda. Diversorum
namque infestationes morborum homines, in nomine Domini
Iesu Christi, virtute orationum, perpessos sanavit : daemo-
numque infestas, ipse unus homo, et innumeras contra to
se belligerantes catervas, oculis corporalibus visas, et
incipientes mortiferos super eius coenobialem coetum in-
ferre morbos, hac nostra de insula retrotrusas primaria,
Deo auxiliante, repulit. Bestiarum furiosam rabiem, partim
mortificatione, partim forti repulsione, Christo adiuvante 15
compescuit. Tumores quoque fluctuum, instar montium
aliquando in magna tempestate consurgentium, ipso ocius
orante, sedati humiliatique sunt ; navisque ipsius, in qua
et ipse casu navigabat, tunc temporis, facta tranquillitate,
portum appulsa est optatum. In regione Pictorum ali- 20
quantis diebus manens, inde reversus, ut magos confun-
deret, contra flatus contrarios venti erexit velum, et ita
veloci cursu eius navicula enatans festinabat, ac si secun
dum habuisset ventum. Aliis quoque temporibus, venti
navigantibus contrarii in secundos, ipso orante, conversi 25
sunt. In eadem supra memorata regione lapidem de
flumine candidum detulit, quem ad aliquas profuturum
benedixit sanitates : qui lapis, contra naturam, in aqua
intinctus, quasi pomum supernatavit. Hoc divinum mira-
culum coram Brudeo rege, et familiaribus eius, factum 30
est. In eadem itidem provincia, cuiusdam plebei credentis
mortuum puerum suscitavit, quod est maioris miraculi,
vivumque et incolumem patri et matri assignavit. Alio in
tempore idem vir beatus iuvenis diaconus, in Hibernia
apud Findbarrum sanctum episcopum commanens, cum ad 35
sacrosancta mysteria necessarium defuisset vinum, virtute

LIB. I CAP. I 91
orationis, aquam puram in verum vertit vinum. Sed et
caelestis ingens claritudinis lumen, et in noctis tenebris, et
in luce diei, super eum, aliquando quibusdam ex fratribus,
diversis et separatis vicibus, apparuit effusum. Sanctorum
5 quoque angelorum dulces et suavissimas frequentationes
luminosas habere meruit. Quorundam iustorum animas
crebro ab angelis ad summa caelorum vehi, Sancto reve-
lante Spiritu, videbat. Sed et reproborum alias ad inferna
a daemonibus ferri saepenumero aspiciebat. Plurimorum
10 in carne mortali adhuc conversantium futura plerumque
praenuntiabat merita, aliorum laeta, aliorum tristia. In
bellorumque terrificis fragoribus hoc a Deo virtute ora-
tionum impetravit, ut alii reges victi, et alii regnatores
efficerentur victores. Hoc tale privilegium non tantum in
15 hac praesenti vita conversanti, sed etiam post eius de carne
transitum, quasi cuidam victoriali et fortissimo propugna-
tori, a Deo omnium sanctorum condonatum est honorifl-
catore. Huius talis honorificentiae viro honorabili ab
Omnipotente caelitus collatae etiam unum proferemus ex-
20 emplum, quod Ossualdo regnatori Saxonico, pridie quam
contra Catlonem Britonum regem fortissimum praeliaretur,
ostensum erat. Nam cum idem Ossualdus rex esset in
procinctu belli castra metatus, quadam die in suo papi-
lione supra pulvillum dormiens, sanctum Columbam in
25 visu videt forma coruscantem angelica ; cuius alta proceritas
vertice nubes tangere videbatur. Qui scilicet vir beatus,
suum regi proprium revelans nomen, in medio castrorum
stans, eadem castra, excepta quadam parva extremitate, sui
protegebat fulgida veste; et haec confirmatoria contulit
30 verba, eadem scilicet quae Dominus ad Iesue Ben Nun
ante transitum Iordanis, mortuo Moyse, prolocutus est,
dicens : Confortare et age viriliter ; ecce ero tecum etc.
Sanctus itaque Columba, haec ad regem in visu loquens,
addit : ' Hac sequenti nocte de castris ad bellum precede ;
35 hac enim vice mihi Dominus donavit ut hostes in fugam
vertantur tui, et tuus Cation inimicus in manus tradatur
tuas, et post bellum victor revertaris, et feliciter regnes.'
Post haec verba experrectus rex senatui congregato hanc
enarrat visionem ; qua confortati omnes, totus populus
4° promittit se post reversionem de bello crediturum et
baptismum suscepturum : nam usque in id temporis tota
ilia Saxonia gentilitatis et ignorantiae tenebris obscurata
22. Cummian, XXV.

92 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
erat, excepto ipso rege Ossualdo, cum duodecim viris, qui
cum eo Scotos inter exulante baptizati sunt. Quid plura ?
eadem subsecuta nocte Ossualdus rex, sicuti in visu edoctus
fuerat, de castris ad bellum, cum admodum pauciore
exercitu, contra millia numerosa progreditur : cui a 5
Domino, sieut ei promissum est, felix et facilis est concessa
victoria, et, rege trucidato Catlone, victor post bellum
reversus, postea totius Britanniae imperator a Deo
ordinatus est. Hanc mihi Adamnano narrationem metis
decessor, noster abbas Failbeus, indubitanter enarravit, 10
qui se ab ore ipsius Ossualdi regis, Segineo abbati ean
dem enuntiantis visionem, audisse protestatus est.
The virtues of Irish poems in praise of St. Columba.
Sed et hoc etiam non praetereundum videtur, quod eius-
dem beati viri per quaedam Scoticae linguae laudum ipsius 15
carmina, et nominis commemorationem, quidam, quamlibet
scelerati laicae conversationis homines et sanguinarii, ea
nocte qua eadem decantaverant cantica, de manibus inimi-
corum qui eandem eorundem cantorum domuin circum-
steterant sint liberati ; qui flammas inter et gladios et 20
lanceas incolumes evasere, mirumque in modum pauci ex
ipsis, qui easdem sancti viri commemorationes, quasi parvi
pendentes, canere noluerant decantationes, in illo aemu-
lorum impetu soli disperierant. Huius miraculi testes non
duo aut tres, iuxta legem, sed etiam centeni. et eo amplius, 25
adhiberi potuere. Non tantum in uno, aut loco, aut
tempore, hoc idem contigisse comprobatur, sed etiam
diversis locis et temporibus in Scotia et in Britannia, simili
tamen et modo et causa liberationis, factum fuisse, sine
ulla ambiguitate exploratum est. Haec ab expertis unius- 3°
cuiusque regionis, ubicumque res eadem simili contigit
miraculo, indubitanter didicimus.
His gifts of prophecy, and of distant vision. Sed, ut ad
propositum redeamus, inter ea miracula quae idem vir
Domini, in carne mortali conversans, Deo donante, per- 35
fecerat, ab annis iuvenilibus coepit etiam prophetiae spiritu
pollere, venturapraedicere, praesentibus absentia nuntiare ;
quia quamvis absens corpore, praesens tamen spiritu,
longe acta pervidere poterat. Nam, iuxta Pauli vocem,
Qui adhaeret Domino unus spiritus est. Unde et idem 4°
vir Domini sanctus Columba, sieut et ipse quibusdam
paucis fratribus, de re eadem aliquando percunctantibus,
7. Cummian, XXV,

LIB. I CAP. I 93
non negavit, in aliquantis dialis gratiae speculationibus
totum etiam mundum, veluti uno solis radio collectum,
sinu mentis mirabiliter laxato, manifestatum perspiciens
speculabatur.
5 Haec de sancti viri hic ideo enarrata sunt virtutibus, ut
avidior lector breviter perscripta, quasi dulciores quasdam
praegustet dapes : quae tamen plenius in tribus inferius
libris, Domino auxiliante, enarrabuntur. Nunc mihi non
indecenter videtur, beati viri, licet praepostero ordine,
10 prophetationes efFari, quas de Sanctis quibusdam et illu-
stribus viris, diversis prolocutus est temporibus.
Cap. II. De sancto finteno, abbate, filio tailchani.
St. Fintan goes to Iona. Sanctus Fintenus, qui postea
per universas Scotorum ecclesias valde noscibilis habitus
15 est, a puerili aetate integritatem carnis et animae, Deo
adiuvante, custodiens, studiis dialis sophias deditus, hoe
propositum, in annis iuventutis conversatus, in corde habuit,
ut nostrum sanctum Columbam, Hiberniam deserens, pere-
grinaturus, adiret. Eodem aestuans desiderio, ad quendam
20 vadit seniorem sibi amicum, in sua gente prudentissimum
venerandiimque clericum, qui Scotice vocitabatur Columb
Crag, ut ab eo, quasi prudente, aliquod audiret consilium.
Cui cum suos tales denudaret cogitatus, hoc ab eo re-
sponsum accepit : ' Tuum, ut aestimo, a Deo inspiratum
35 devotumque desiderium quis prohibere potest, ne ad
sanctum Columbam transnavigare debeas ? ' Eadem hora
casu duo adveniunt monachi sancti Columbae, qui de
sua interrogati ambulatione, 'Nuper,' aiunt, 'de Britannia
remigantes, hodie a Roboreto Calgachi venimus.' ' Sospes
30 anne est,' ait Columb Crag, ' vester Columba sanctus pater?'
Qui valde illacrymati, cum magno dixerunt maerore, ' Vere
salvus est noster ille patronus, qui his diebus nuper ad
Christum commigravit.' Quibus auditis, Fintenus et
Columb et omnes qui ibidem inerant, prostratis in terram
35 vultibus, amare flevere. Fintenus consequenter percun-
ctatur dicens : ' Quem post se successorem reliquit ? '
' Baitheneum,' aiunt, ' suum alumnum.' Omnibusque cla-
mitantibus, ' Dignum et debitum, ' Columb ad Fintenum
inquit : ' Quid ad haec, Fintene, facies ? ' Qui respondens
40 ait : ' Si Dominus permiserit, ad Baitheneum virum sanctum
et sapientem enavigabo et, si me susceperit, ipsum abbatem
2. Cummian, XXV.

94 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
habebo.' Tum deinde supra memoratum Columb oscu-
latus, et ei valedicens, navigationem praeparat, et sine
morula ulla transnavigans, Iouam devenit insulam. Et
necdum, in id temporis usque, nomen eius in his locis erat
notum. Unde et imprimis, quasi quidam ignotus hospes 5
hospitaliter susceptus, alia die nuncium ad Baitheneum
mittit, eius allocutionem facie ad faciem habere volens.
Qui, ut erat affabilis, et peregrinis appetibilis, iubet ad se
adduci. Qui statim adductus, primo, ut conveniebat, flexis
genibus in terra se prostravit ; iussusque a sancto seniore, 10
surgit, et residens interrogatur a Baitheneo, adhuc inscio,
de gente et provincia, nomineque et conversatione, et pro
qua causa inierit navigationis laborem. Qui, ita interro-
gatus, omnia per ordinem enarrans, ut susciperetur humili-
ter expostulat. Cui sanctus senior, his ab hospite auditis, 15
simulque hunc esse virum cognoscens de quo pridem
aliquando sanctus Columba prophetice vaticinatus est,
' Gratias,' ait, ' Deo meo agere debeo quidem in tuo
adventu, fili ; sed hoc indubitanter scito quod noster
monachus non eris.' Hoc audiens hospes, valde can- 20
tristatus, infit : ' Forsitan ego indignus tuus non mereor
fieri monachus.' Senior consequenter inquit : ' Non quod,
ut dicis, indignus esses hoc dixi ; sed quamvis maluissem
te apud me retinere, mandatum tamen sancti Columbae
mei decessoris profanare non possum; per quem Spiritus 25
Sanctus de te prophetavit. Alia namque die mihi soli
seorsim, sic prophetico profatus ore, inter cetera, dixit :—
Haec mea, O Baithenee, intentius debes audire verba;
statim namque post meum de hoc ad Christum saeculo
expectatum et valde desideratum transitum, quidam de 30
Scotia frater, qui nunc, bene iuvenilem bonis moribus
regens aetatem, sacrae lectionis studiis satis imbuitur,
nomine Fintenus, gente Mocumoie, cuius pater Tail-
chanus vocitatur, ad te, inquam, perveniens, humiliter
expostulabit ut ipsum suscipiens inter ceteros adnumeres 3.;
monachos. Sed hoc ei in Dei praescientia praedestinatum
non est ut ipse alicuius abbatis monachus fieret ; sed ut
monachorum abbas, et animarum dux ad caeleste regnum,
olim electus a Deo est. Noles itaque hunc memoratum
virum in his nostris apud te retinere insulis, ne et Dei -jo
voluntati contraire videaris : sed, haec ei intimans verba,
ad Scotiam in pace remittas, ut in Laginensium vicinis
mari finibus monasterium construat, et ibidem Christi

LIB. I CAP. II 95
ovinum pascens gregem, innumeras ad patriam animas
caelestem perducat.' Haec audiens sanctus iunior, Christo,
lacrymas fundens, agit gratias, inquiens : ' Secundum
sancti Columbae propheticam fiat mihi et mirabilem prae-
5 scientiam.' Iisdemque diebus verbis sanctorum obtempe-
rans, et a Baitheneo accipiens benedictionem, in pace ad
Scotiam transnavigat.
Haec mihi quodam narrante religioso sene presbytero,
Christi milite, Oisseneo nomine, Ernani filio, gente Mocu
10 Neth Corb, indubitanter didici : qui se eadem supra
memorata verba eiusdem ab ore sancti Finteni, filii Tail
chani, audisse testatus est, ipsius monachus.
Cap. III. De erneneo, filio craseni, sancti columbae
PROPHETIA.
15 St. Columba's reception at Clonmacnoise. Alio in tempore
vir beatus, in mediterranea Hiberniae parte monasterium,
quod Scotice dicitur Dair-mag, divino fundans nutu, per
aliquot demoratus menses, libuit animo visitare fratres
qui in Clonoensi sancti Cerani coenobio commanebant.
20 Auditoque eius accessu, universi undique ab agellulis
monasterio vicinis cum his qui ibidem inventi sunt congre-
gati, cum omni alacritate suum consequentes abbatem
Alitherum, sancto Columbae, quasi angelo Domini, obviam,
egressi vallum monasterii, unanimes pergunt ; humiliatis-
25 que in terram vultibus eo viso, cum omni reverentia
exosculatus ab eis est : hymnisque et laudibus resonantes,
honorifice ad ecclesiam perducunt ; quandamque de lignis
pyramidem erga sanctum deambulantem constringentes,
a quatuor viris aeque ambulantibus supportari fecerunt :
30 ne videlicet sanctus senior Columba eiusdem fratrum
multitudinis constipatione molestaretur. Eadem hora
quidam valde despectus vultu et habitu, puer familiaris,
et necdum senioribus placens, retro, in quantum valuit se
occultans, accessit, ut videlicet vel illius amphibali fim-
35 briam, quo vir beatus induebatur, occulte, et si fieri possit
ipso nesciente et * non sentiente, tangeret. Sed hoc
tamen Sanctum non latuit, nam quod corporalibus oculis
retro se actum intueri non potuit, spiritalibus perspexit.
Unde subito restitit, et post se extendens manum,
40 cervicem. pueri tenet, ipsumque trahens ante faciem suam
30. Cummian, XXVII. 34. anfibali A. F. : sic anfibalo Lib.
Armacan. fol. 209 a b.

96 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
statuit, omnibusque qui ibidem circumstabant dicentibus,
' Dimitte, dimitte, quare hunc infelicem et iniuriosum
retines puerum?' Sanctus e contra haec puro pectore
verba depromit prophetica, ' Sinite, fratres, sinite modo.'
Ad puerum vero valde tremefactum dicit, ' 0 fili, aperi os, s
et porrige linguam.' Iussus tum puer, cum ingenti
tremore aperiens os, linguam porrexit ; quam Sanctus,
sanctam extendens manum, diligenter benedicens, ita pro-
phetice profatur, dicens, 'Hic puer quamvis vobis nunc
despicabilis et valde vilis videatur, nemo tamen ipsum ob 10
id despiciat. Ab hac enim hora non solum vobis non
displicebit, sed valde placebit; bonisque moribus, et
animae virtutibus paulatim de die in diem crescet : sapien
tia quoque et prudentia magis ac magis in eo ab hac die
adaugebitur, et in hac vestra congregatione grandis est 1?
futurus profectus ; lingua quoque eius salubri et doctrina
et eloquentia a Deo donabitur.' Hic erat Erneneus, filius
Craseni, postea per omnes Scotiae ecclesias famosus et
valde notissimus ; qui haec omnia suprascripta verba
Segineo abbati de se prophetata enarraverat, meo deces- 20
sore Failbeo intentius audiente, qui et ipse cum Segineo
praesens inerat ; cuius revelatione et ego ipse cognovi
haec eadem quae enarravi. Sed et multa alia iisdem
diebus quibus in Clonoensi coenobio Sanctus hospitabatur,
revelante prophetavit Sancto Spiritu ; hoc est, de ilia, quae *?
post dies multos ob diversitatem Paschalis festi orta est
inter Scotiae ecclesias, discordia : et de quibusdam angelicis
frequentationibus sibi manifestatis, quibus quaedam intra
eiusdem coenobii septa ab angelis tunc temporis frequenta-
bantur loca. 30
Cap. IV. De adventu sancti cainnechi, abbatis, de quo
sanctus columba prophetaliter praenuntiavit.
A calm in a tempest for the voyage of St. Cainnech. Alio
in tempore, cum in Ioua insula, die fragosae tempestatis et
intolerabilis undarum magnitudinis, sedens in domo Sanctus 35
et fratribus praecipiens diceret, ' Praeparate ocius hospi-
tium, aquamque ad lavandos hospitum pedes exhaurite ; '
quidam ex ipsis frater consequenter, ' Quis,' ait, ' hac die
valde ventosa et nimis periculosa, licet breve, fretum
prospere transnavigare potest?' Quo audito Sanctus sic 40
profatur : ' Cuidam sancto et electo homini, qui ad nos
ante vesperam perveniet, Omnipotens tranquillitatem,

LIB. I CAP. IV 97
quamlibet in tempestate, donavit.' Et ecce, eadem die
aliquamdiu a fratribus expectata navis in qua sanctus
inerat Cainnechus iuxta Sancti prophetationem pervenit.
Cui Sanctus cum fratribus obviam venit, et ab eo honorifice
5 et hospitaliter susceptus est. Illi vero nautae qui cum
Cainnecho inerant, interrogati a fratribus de qualitate
navigationis, sic retulerunt sicuti sanctus Columba prius
de tempestate et tranquillitate pariter, Deo donante, in
eodem mari, et iisdem horis, mirabili divisione praedixerat ;
:o et tempestatem eminus visam non sensisse professi sunt.
Cap. V. De periculo sancti colmani episcopi, mocusailni,
in mari iuxta insulam quae vocitatur rechru.
St. Columba sees a storm at a distance. Alia itidem die
sanctus Columba, in sua commanens matrice ecclesia, re-
i5 pente in hanc subridens erupit vocem, dicens: 'Colum-
banus, filius Beognai, ad nos transnavigare incipiens, nunc
in undosis Charybdis Brecani aestibus valde periclitatur ;
ambasque ad caelum, in prora sedens, palmas elevat ; turba-
tum quoque et tam formidabile pelagus benedicit : quem
20 tamen Dominus sic terret, non ut navis naufragio, in qua
ipse residet, undis obruatur; sed potius ad orandum in-
tentius suscitetur, ut ad nos, Deo propitio, post transvadatum
perveniat periculum.'
Cap. VI. De cormaco.
25 He sees Cormac failing to find a desert island. Alio
quoque in tempore de Cormaco, nepote Lethani, viro
utique sancto, qui tribus non minus vicibus eremum in
oceano laboriose quaesivit, nee tamen invenit, sanctus
Columba ita prophetizans ait : ' Hodie iterum Cormacus,
30 desertum reperire cupiens,-enavigare incipit ab ilia regione
quae, ultra Modam fluvium , sita, Eirros Domno dicitur;
nee tamen etiam hac vice quod quaerit inveniet; et non
ob aliam eius culpam nisi quod alicuius religiosi abbatis
monachum, ipso non permittente, discessorem secum non
35 recte comitari, navigio susceperit.'
Cap. VII. De bellorum fragoribus longe commissorum
beati prophetia viri.
He sees the battle of Ondemone. Post bellum Cule
Drebene, sieut nobis traditum est, duobus transactis annis,
9. A. B. C. F. S. visiones syllaba prima erasa D.
2291 G

98 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
quo tempore vir beatus de Scotia peregrinaturus primitus
enavigavit, quadam die, hoc est, eadem hora qua in Scotia
commissum est bellum quod Scotice dicitur Ondemone,
idem homo Dei coram Conallo rege, filio Comgill, in
Britannia conversatus, per omnia enarravit, tam de bello 5
commisso, quam etiam de illis regibus quibus Dominus de
inimicis victoriam condonavit : quorum propria vocabula
Ainmorius filius Setni, et duo filii Maie Erce, Domnallus
et Forcus. Sed et de rege Cruithniorum, qui Echodius
Laib vocitabatur, quemadmodum victus, currui insidens l0
evaserit, similiter Sanctus prophetizavit.
Cap. VIII. De bello miathorum.
And that of the Miathi. Alio in tempore, hoc est post
multos a supra memorato bello annorum transcursus, cum
esset vir sanctus in Ioua insula, subito ad suum dicit 15
ministratorem Diormitium, ' Cloccam pulsa.' Cuius sonitu
fratres incitati ad ecclesiam, ipso sancto praesule prae-
eunte, ocius currunt. Ad quos ibidem flexis genibus infit :
' Nunc intente pro hoc populo et Aidano rege Dominum
oremus; hac enim hora ineunt bellum.' Et post modicum 2°
intervallum egressus oratorium, respiciens in caelum
inquit, ' Nunc barbari in fugam vertuntur ; Aidanoque,
quamlibet infelix, tamen concessa victoria est.' Sed et
de numero de exercitu Aidani interfectorum, trecentorum
et trium virorum, vir beatus prophetice enarravit. 25
Cap. IX. De filiis aidani regis sancti columbae pro
phetia. Prophecy of the succession. Alio in tempore ante supra
dictum bellum Sanctus Aidanum regem interrogat de regni
successore. Illo se respondente nescire quis esset de 30
tribus filiis suis regnaturus, Arturius, an Echodius Find,
an Domingartus, Sanctus consequenter hoc profatur modo :
' Nullus ex his tribus erit regnator ; nam in bellis cadent
ab inimicis trucidandi : sed nunc si alios iuniores habes ad
me veniant, et quem ex eis elegerit Dominus regem, subito 35
super meum irruet gremium.' Quibus accitis, secundum
verbum Sancti Echodius Buide adveniens in sinu eius recu-
buit. Statimque Sanctus eum osculatus benedixit, et ad
patrem ait : 'Hic est superstes, et rex post te regnaturus,
et filii eius post eum regnabunt.' Sic omnia post, suis 4°
16. Cummian, XXV.

LIB. I CAP. IX 99
temporibus, plene adimpleta sunt. Nam Arturius et
Echodius Find, non longo post temporis intervallo, Mia-
torum superius memorato in bello, trucidati sunt. Domin-
gartus vero in Saxonia bellica in strage interfectus est :
5 Echodius autem Buide post patrem in regnum successit.
Cap. X. De domnallo filio aido.
A similar prophecy. Domnallus filius Aido, adhuc puer,
ad sanctum Columbam in Dorso Cete per nutritores
adductus est : quem intuens percunctatur inquiens, ' Cuius
10 est filius hic quem adduxistis ? ' Illis respondentibus, 'Hic
est Domnallus filius Aido, qui ad te ideo perductus est, ut
tua redeat benedictione ditatus.' Quem cum Sanctus
benedixisset, continuo ait, ' Hic post super omnes suos
fratres superstes erit, et rex valde famosus ; nee unquam
1 5 in manus inimicorum tradetur, sed morte placida, in
senectute, et intra domum suam, coram amicorum familia-
rium turba, super suum morietur lectum.' Quae omnia
secundum beati vaticinium viri de eo vere adimpleta sunt.
Cap. XI. De scandlano filio colmani.
20 He comforts Scandlan in prison. Eodem tempore Sanctus,
et in eodem loco, ad Scandlanum filium Colmani, apud
Aidum regem in vinculis retentum, visitare eum cupiens,
pergit; ipsumque cum benedixisset, confortans ait: ' Fili,
nolis contristari, sed potius laetare et confortare : Aidus
25 enim rex, apud quem vinculatus es, de hoc mundo te prae-
cedet ; et, post aliqua exilii tempora, triginta annis in gente
tua rex regnaturus es. Iterumque de regno effugaberis, et
per aliquot exulabis dies ; post quos, a populo reinvitatus,
per tria regnabis brevia tempora.' Quae cuncta iuxta
30 vaticinationem Sancti plene expleta sunt. Nam post tri
ginta annos de regno expulsus, per aliquod exulavit
spatium temporis : sed post a populo reinvitatus, non, ut
putabat, tribus annis, sed ternis regnavit mensibus; post
quos continuo obiit.
35 Cap. XII. De duobus aliis regnatoribus, qui duo
NEPOTES MUIREDACHI VOCITABANTUR, BAITANUS FILIUS
MAIC ERCE ET ECHODIUS FILIUS DOMNAIL, BEATI PROPHE-
TATIO VIRI.
He sees the death of two kings. Alio in tempore, per
40 asperam et saxosam regionem iter faciens, quae dicitur
g 2

ioo VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
Artdamuirchol, et suos audiens comites, Laisranum utique
filium Feradachi, et Diormitium ministratorem, de duobus
supra memoratis regibus in via sermocinari, haec ad eos
verba depromit : ' O filioli, quare inaniter de his sic con-
fabulamini ? nam illi ambo reges, de quibus nunc sermo- 5
cinamini, nuper ab inimicis decapitati disperierunt. In
hac quoque die aliqui de Scotia adventantes nautae haec
eadem vobis de illis indicabunt regibus.' Quod venerabilis
viri vaticinium eadem die de Hibernia navigatores, ad
locum qui dicitur Muirbolc Paradisi pervenientes, supra 10
scriptis eius binis comitibus, et in eadem navi cum Sancto
navigantibus, de iisdem interfectis regibus expletum retu-
lerunt. Cap. XIII. De oingusio filio aido commani sancti pro
phetia VIRI. 15
Foretells a future reign. Hic namque de patria cum aliis
duobus fratribus effugatus, ad Sanctum in Britannia pere-
grinantem exul venit; cuique benedicens, haec de eo
prophetizans sancto promit de pectore verba : ' Hic iuvenis,
defunctis eius ceteris fratribus superstes remanens, multo 20
est regnaturus in patria tempore ; et inimici eius coram
ipso cadent; nee tamen ipse unquam in manus tradetur
inimicorum ; sed morte placida, senex, inter amicos mo-
rietur.' Quae omnia iuxta Sancti verbum plene sunt
adimpleta. Hic est Oingusius cuius cognomentum Bron- 25
bachal. Cap. XIV. Prophetia beati viri de filio dermiti regis
qui aidus slane lingua nominatus est scotica.
Utters a prophetic warning. Alio in tempore, cum vir
beatus in Scotia per aliquot demoraretur dies, ad supra- 30
dictum Aidum, ad se venientem, sic prophetice locutus ait,
' Praecavere debes, fili, ne tibi a Deo totius Hiberniae
regni praerogativam monarchiae praedestinatam, parri-
cidali faciente peccato, amittas : nam, si quandoque illud
commiseris, non toto patris regno, sed eius aliqua parte in 35
gente tua, brevi frueris tempore.' Quae verba Sancti sic
sunt expleta secundum eius vaticinationem. Nam post
Suibneum filium Columbani dolo ab eo interfectum, non
plus, ut fertur, quam quatuor annis et tribus mensibus
regni concessa potitus est parte. 4o

LIB. I CAP. XV 101
Cap. XV. De rege roderco filio tothail, qui in petra
cloithe regnavit, beati viri prophetia.
Foretells that a king will die in his bed. Alio idem in
tempore hic, ut erat sancti viri amicus, aliquam ad eum
5 occultam per Lugbeum Mocumin legationem misit, scire
volens si ab inimicis esset trucidandus, an non. At vero
Lugbeus, a Sancto interrogatus de eodem rege, et regno, et
populo, et respondens, quasi misertus, dicit, ' Quid de illo
inquiris misero, qui qua hora ab inimicis occidatur, nullo
io modo scire potest? ' Sanctus dum deinde profatur, ' Nun-
quam in manus tradetur inimicorum, sed in sua, super
plumatiunculam, morietur domo.' Quod Sancti de rege
Roderco vaticinium plene adimpletum est: nam iuxta
verbum eius in domo sua morte placida obiit.
15 Cap. XVI. De duobus pueris, quorum unus, iuxta
verbum sancti, in fine hebdomadis obiit, prophetia
sancti. A prophecy regarding two boys. Alio in tempore duo
quidam plebei ad Sanctum in Ioua commorantem insula
20 deveniunt ; quorum unus, Meldanus nomine, de filio suo
qui praesens erat Sanctum interrogat, quid ei esset futurum.
Cui Sanctus sic profatur : ' Nonne sabbati dies hodierna
est? filius tuus sexta feria, in fine morietur septimanae,
octavaque die, hoc est, sabbato, hic sepelietur.' Alter
25 proinde plebeus, nomine Glasdercus, et ipse de filio quem
ibidem secum habuit nihilominus interrogans, talem Sancti
audit responsionem : ' Filius tuus Ernanus suos videbit
nepotes et in hac insula senex sepelietur.' Quae omnia,
secundum verbum Sancti, de pueris ambobus, suis plene
30 temporibus sunt expleta.
Cap. XVII. De colcio, aido draigniche filio, a nepotibus
fechureg orto; et de quodam occulto matris eius
peccato, prophetia sancti.
Concerning the mother of Colca, and Colca himself. Alio
35 in tempore, supramemoratum Colgium, apud se in Ioua
commorantem insula, Sanctus de sua interrogat genitrice,
si esset religiosa, an non. Cui ipse inquiens ait, 'Bene
moratam, et bonae famae, meam novi matrem.' Sanctus
tum sic prophetice profatur, ' Mox, Deo volente, ad
40 Scotiam profectus, matrem diligentius de quodam suo
pergrandi peccato interroga occulto, quod nulli hominum

102 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
confiteri vult.' Qui, haec audiens, obsecutus, ad Hiberniam
emigravit. Proinde mater, ab eo studiose interrogata,
quamlibet primule infitiens, tamen suum confessa est
peccatum, et iuxta Sancti iudicationem, poenitudinem
agens, sanata, de se quod Sancto manifestatum est Valde 5
mirata est.
Colgius vero, ad Sanctum reversus, per aliquot dies
apud eum commoratus, de fine sui interrogans temporis,
hoc a Sancto audit responsum: 'In tua, quam amas, patria
primarius alicuius ecclesiae per multos eris annos; et si ic
forte aliquando tuum videris pincernam in coena amicorum
ludentem, hauritoriumque in gyro per collum torquentem,
scito te mox in brevi moriturum.' Quid plura? Haec
eadem beati viri prophetatio sic per omnia est adimpleta,
quemadmodum de Colgio eodem est prophetata. 15
Cap. XVIII. De laisrano hortulano, homine sancto.
Foretells certain events. Vir beatus quemdam de suis
monachum nomine Trenanum, gente Mocuruntir, legatum
ad Scotiam exire quadam praecipit die. Qui, hominis Dei
obsecutus iussioni, navigationem parat festinus ; unumque 20
sibi deesse navigatorem coram Sancto queritur. Sanctus
haec consequenter, eidem respondens, sacro promit de
pectore verba, dicens, ' Nautam, quem tibi non adhuc
suppetisse dicis, nunc invenire non possum. Vade in
pace : usquequo ad Hiberniam pervenias prosperos et 2;
secundos habebis flatus. Quemdamque obvium videbis
hominem eminus occursurum, qui primus prae ceteris
navis proram tuae tenebit in Scotia, hic erit comes tui
itineris per aliquot in Hibernia dies; teque indcrever-
tentem ad nos usque comitabitur, vir a Deo electus, qui in 30
hoc meo monasterio per omne reliquum tempus bene con-
versabitur.' Quid plura? Trenanus, accipiens a Sancto
benedictionem, plenis velis per omnia transmeavit maria :
et, ecce, appropinquanti ad portum naviculae Laisranus
Mocumoie, citior ceteris, occurrit, tenetque proram. Nautae 35
recognoscunt ipsum esse de quo Sanctus praedixerat.
Cap. XIX. De ceto magno quomodo sanctus praesciens
DIXERAT. Of a great whale. Quadam die, cum vir venerabilis in
Ioua demoraretur insula, quidam frater, Berachus nomine, 40
ad Ethicam proponens insulam navigare, ad Sanctum

LIB. I CAP. XIX 103
mane accedens, ab eo benedici postulat. Quem Sanctus
intuitus, inquit, 'O fili, hodie intentius praecaveto ne
Ethicam cursu ad terram directo per latius coneris trans-
meare pelagus, sed potius, circumiens, minores secus
5 naviges insulas ; ne videlicet, aliquo monstruoso per-
territus prodigio, vix inde possis evadere.' Qui, a Sancto
accepta benedictione, secessit, et navem conscendens,
Sancti verbum quasi parvipendens, transgreditur ; maiora
proinde Ethici transmeans spatia pelagi, ipse et qui ibi
10 inerant nautae vident, et ecce cetus mirae et immensae
magnitudinis, se instar montis erigens, ora aperuit patula
nimis dentosa, supernatans. Tum proinde remiges, de-
posito velo, valde perterriti, retro reversi, illam obortam
ex belluino motu fluctuationem vix evadere potuerunt,
'5 Sanctique verbum recognoscentes propheticum, admira-
bantur. Eadem quoque die Sanctus Baitheneo, ad supra
memoratam insulam navigaturo, mane de eodem intimavit
ceto, inquiens, ' Hac praeterita nocte media, cetus magnus
de profundo maris se sublevavit, et inter Iouam et Ethicam
20 insulam se hodie in superficiem eriget aequoris.' Cui
Baitheneus respondens infit, ' Ego et ilia bellua sub Dei
potestate sumus.' Sanctus, ' Vade,' ait, 'in pace, fides tua
in Christo te ab hoc defendet periculo.' Baitheneus tum
deinde, a Sancto benedictione accepta, a portu enavigat :
25 transcursisque non parvis ponti spatiis, ipse et socii cetum
aspiciunt ; perterritisque omnibus, ipse solus aequor et
cetum, ambabus manibus elevatis, benedick intrepidus.
Eodemque momento bellua magna, se sub fluctus im-
mergens, nusquam deinceps eis apparuit.
30 Cap. XX. De quodam baitano, qui cum ceteris desertum
marinum appetens enavigaverat, sancti prophetia viri.
Baitan's wanderings in search of a desert island. Alio in
tempore quidam Baitanus, gente Nepos Niath Taloirc,
benedici a Sancto petivit, cum ceteris in mari eremum
35 quaesiturus. Cui valedicens Sanctus hoc de ipso pro
pheticum protulit verbum, ' Hic homo, qui ad quaerendum
in oceano desertum pergit, non in deserto conditus iacebit,
sed illo in loco sepelietur ubi oves femina trans sepulcrum
eius minabit.' Idem itaque Baitanus, post longos per
40 ventosa circuitus aequora, eremo non reperta, ad patriam
reversus, multis ibidem annis cuiusdam cellulae dominus
permansit, quae Scotice Lathreginden dicitur. Iisdemque

io4 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
diebus accidit, quibus, post aliqua mortuus tempora,
sepultus est in Roboreto Calgachi, ut propter hostilitatis
incursum vicina ad eiusdem loci ecclesiam plebecula cum
mulieribus et parvulis confugeret. Unde contigit ut quadam
die mulier deprehenderetur aliqua, quae suas per eiusdem «;
viri sepulcrum nuper sepulti oviculas minabat. Et unus
ex his qui viderant sanctus sacerdos dixit, 'Nunc prophetia
sancti Columbae expleta est, multis prius divulgata annis.'
Qui utique supra memoratus presbyter mihi haec de
Baitano enarrans retulit, Mailodranus nomine, Christi 10
miles, gente Mocurin.
Cap. XXI. De nemano quodam ficto poenitente sancti
prophetatio viri.
The fate of one Neman, a penitent. Alio in tempore
Sanctus ad flinbinam insulam pervenit, eademque die ut ^b
etiam poenitentibus aliqua praecipit cibi consolatio indul-
geretur. Erat autem ibi inter poenitentes quidam Nemanus,
filius Cathir, qui, a Sancto iussus, renuit oblatam accipere
consolatiunculam. Quem Sanctus his compellat verbis, 'O
Nemane, a me et Baitheneo indultam non recipis aliquam 20
refectionis indulgentiam ? Erit tempus quo cum furacibus
furtive carnem in silva manducabis equae.' Hic idem
itaque, postea ad saeculum reversus, in saltu cum furibus
talem comedens carnem, iuxta verbum Sancti, de craticula
sumptam lignea, inventus est. 35
Cap. XXII. De infelici quodam qui cum sua dormivit
genitrice. The fate of a wretched sinner. Alio in tempore fratres
intempesta nocte suscitat Sanctus, ad quos in ecclesia
congregatos dicit, ' Nunc Dominum intentius precemur ; 30
nam hac in hora aliquod inauditum in mundo peccatum
perpetratum est, pro quo valde timenda iudicialis est
vindicta.' De quo peccato crastino die, aliquibus paucis
percunctantibus, intimavit inquiens, ' Post paucos menses
cum Lugaido nesciente infelix ille homuncio ad Iouam 35
perveniet insulam.' Alia itaque die Sanctus ad Diormitium,
interiectis quibusdam mensibus, praecipiens profatur,
' Surge citius, ecce Lugaidus appropinquat, dicque ei ut
miserum quem secum in navi habet in Maleam propellat
insulam, ne huius insulae cespitem calcet.' Qui, praecepto 40
11. Mocucurin B.

LIB. I CAP XXII 105
Sancti obsecutus, ad mare pergit, Lugaidoque adventanti
omnia Sancti prosequitur de infelici viro verba. Quibus
auditis, ille infelix iuravit nunquam se cibum cum aliis
accepturum nisi prius sanctum videret Columbam, eumque
5 alloqueretur. Quae infelicis verba Diormitius, ad Sanctum
reversus, retulit. Quibus compertis, Sanctus ad portum
perrexit, Baitheneoque, prolatis sacrae Scripturae testi-
moniis, suggerenti ut miseri poenitudo susciperetur, Sanctus
consequenter inquit, ' O Baithenee, hic homo fratricidium
10 in modum perpetravit Cain, et cum sua matre moechatus
est.' Tum deinde miser in litore flexis genibus leges
poenitentiae expleturum se promisit, iuxta Sancti iudica-
tionem. Cui Sanctus ait, 'Si duodecim annis inter
Brittones cum fletu et lacrymis poenitentiam egeris, nee
15 ad Scotiam usque ad mortem reversus fueris, forsan
Deus peccato ignoscat tuo.' Haec dicens Sanctus, ad
suos conversus, dicit, 'Hic homo filius est perditionis,
qui quam promisit poenitentiam non explebit, sed mox
ad Scotiam revertetur, ibique in brevi ab inimicis inter-
20 ficiendus peribit.' Quae omnia secundum Sancti pro-
phetiam ita contigerunt : nam miser iisdem diebus ad
Hiberniam reversus, in regione quae vocitatur Lea, in
manus incidens inimicorum trucidatus est. Hic de Nepo-
tibus Turtrei erat.
25 Cap. XXIII. De i vocali litera.
The collating of a Psalter. Quadam die Baitheneus, ad
Sanctum accedens, ait, Necesse habeo ut aliquis de fratri
bus mecum Psalterium quod scripsi percurrens emendet.
Quo audito, Sanctus sic profatur, 'Cur hanc super nos
30 infers sine causa molestiam ? nam in tuo hoc, de quo
dicis, Psalterio nee una superflua reperietur litera, nee
alia deesse, excepta I vocali, quae sola deest.' Et sic, toto
perlecto Psalterio, sicuti Sanctus praedixerat repertum
exploratum est.
35 Cap. XXIV. De libro in aquarium vas sanctus sicuti
praedixerat cadente.
Accidental immersion of a book. Quadam itidem die,
ad focum in monasterio sedens, videt Lugbeum, gente
Mocumin, eminus librum legentem, cui repente ait, ' Prae-
40 cave, fili, praecave, aestimo enim quod quem lectitas liber.
in aquae plenum sit casurus vasculum.' Quod mox ita

io6 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
contigit : nam ille supra memoratus iuvenis, post aliquod
breve intervallum, ad aliquam consurgens in monasterio
ministrationem, verbi oblitus beati viri, libellus, quem
sub ascella negligentius inclusit, subito in hydriam aqua
repletam cecidit. 5
Cap. XXV. De corniculo atramenti inaniter defuso.
An inkhorn upset. Alia inter haec die ultra fretum
Iouae insulae clamatum est : quem Sanctus sedens in
tuguriolo tabulis suffulto audiens clamorem dicit, ' Homo
qui ultra clamitat fretum non est subtilis sensus, nam hodie 10
mei corniculum atramenti inclinans effundet.' Quod ver
bum eius ministrator Diormitius audiens, paulisper ante
ianuam stans, gravem expectabat superventurum hospitem,
ut corniculum defenderet. Sed, alia mox faciente causa,
inde recessit ; et post eius recessum hospes molestus 15
supervenit, Sanctumque osculandum appetens, ora vesti-
menti inclinatum effudit atramenti corniculum.
Cap. XXVI. De alicuius adventu hospitis quem sanctus
praenuntiavit. A fast dispensed with for a guest. Alio itidem tempore 20
Sanctus die tertiae feriae fratribus sic profatus est, 'Crastina
quarta feria ieiunare proponimus, sed tamen, superveniente
quodam molesto hospite, consuetudinarium solvetur ie-
iunium.' Quod ita ut Sancto praeostensum est accidit :
nam mane eadem quarta feria, alius ultra fretum clamitabat 25
proselytus, Aidanus nomine, filius Fergnoi, qui, ut fertur,
duodecim annis Brendeno ministravit Mocualti; vir valde
religiosus, qui, ut advenit, eiusdem diei, iuxta verbum
Sancti, ieiunationem solvit.
Cap. XXVII. De aliquo miserabili viro qui ultra 30
SUPRADICTUM CLAMITABAT FRETUM.
A man comes for medical aid. Quadam quoque die,
quemdam ultra fretum audiens clamitantem, Sanctus hoc
profatur modo : ' Valde miserandus est ille clamitans
homo, qui, aliqua ad carnalia medicamenta petiturus per- 35
tinentia, ad nos venit : cui opportunius erat veram de
peccatis hodie poenitudinem gerere ; nam in huius fine
hebdomadis morietur.' Quod verbum qui inerant prae-
sentes advenienti misero intimavere. Sed ille parvipendens,

LIB. I CAP. XXVII 107
acceptis quae poposcerat, citius recessit; et, secundum
Sancti propheticum verbum, ante finem eiusdem septimanae
mortuus est.
Cap. XXVIII. De romani iuris civitate igni sulfureo
5 caelitus prolapso combusta sancti viri prophetia.
Vision of fire from heaven in Italy. Alio itidem in tem
pore, Lugbeus gente Mocumin, cuius supra mentionem
fecimus, quadam ad Sanctum die post frugum veniens tri-
turationem, nullo modo eius faciem intueri potuit, miro
10 superfusam rubore ; valdeque pertimescens cito aufugit.
Quem Sanctus, complosis paulum manibus, revocat. Qui
reversus, a Sancto statim interrogatus cur ocius aufugisset,
hoc dedit responsum, ' Ideo fugi quia nimis pertimui.' Et
post aliquod modicum intervallum, fiducialius agens, audet
15 Sanctum interrogare, inquiens, ' Numquid hac in hora tibi
aliqua formidabilis ostensa visio est ? ' Cui Sanctus talem
dedit responsionem : ' Tam terrifica ultio nunc in remota
orbis parte peracta est.' ' Qualis,' ait iuvenis, 'vindicta, et
in qua regione facta?' Sanctus tum sic profafur : ' Sul-
20 furea de caelo flamma super Romani iuris civitatem, intra
Italiae terminos sitam, hac hora effusa est ; triaque ferme
millia virorum, excepto matrum puerorumque numero dis-
perierunt. Et antequam praesens finiatur annus, Gallici
nautae, de Galliarum provinciis adventantes, haec eadem
25 tibi enarrabunt.' Quae verba post aliquot menses veridica
fuisse sunt comprobata. Nam idem Lugbeus, simul cum
sancto viro ad Caput Regionis pergens, nauclerum et
nautas adventantis barcae interrogans, sic omnia ilia de
civitate cum civibus ab eis audit enarrata, quemadmodum
30 a praedicabili viro sunt praedicta.
Cap. XXIX. De laisrano filio feradachi beati visio
viri. Vision of overworked labourers in Durrozv. Quadam bru-
mali et valde frigida die Sanctus, magno molestatus maerore,
35 fievit. Quem suus ministrator Diormitius, de causa inter
rogans maestitiae, hoc ab eo responsum accepit, ' Non
immerito, O filiole, ego hac in hora contristor, meos videns
monachos, quos Laisranus nunc gravi fatigatos labore in
alicuius maioris domus fabrica molestat ; quae mihi valde
40 displicet.' Mirum dictu ! eodem momento horae Laisranus,
habitans in monasterio Roboreti Campi, quodammodo,

108 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
coactus, et quasi quadam pyra intrinsecus succensus, iubet
monachos a labore cessare, aliquamque cibationum conso-
Iationem praeparari ; et non solum in eadem die otiari, sed
et in ceteris asperae tempestatis diebus requiescere. Quae
verba ad fratres consolatoria, a Laisrano dicta, Sanctus in 5
spiritu audiens flere cessavit, et mirabiliter gavisus ipse in
Ioua insula commanens, fratribus, qui ad praesens inerant,
per omnia enarravit, et Laisranum monachorum benedixit
consolatorem. Cap. XXX. De fechno sapiente, quomodo poenitens ad 10
sanctum columbam, ab eodem praenunciatus, venit.
Vision of a penitent coming in a ship. Alio in tempore
Sanctus, in cacumine sedens montis qui nostro huic monas
terio eminus supereminet, ad suum ministratorem Diormi-
tium conversus, profatus est, dicens, ' Miror quare tardius 15
appropinquat quaedam de Scotia navis, quae quemdam
advehit sapientem virum, qui in quodam facinore lapsus,
lacrymosam gerens poenitudinem, mox adveniet.' Post
proinde Haud grande intervallum ad austrum prospiciens
minister, velum navis videt ad portum propinquantis. 20
Quam cum Sancto adventantem demonstraret, cito surgit,
inquiens, ' Eamus proselyto obviam, cuius veram Christus
suscipit poenitentiam.' At vero Feachnaus, de navi de-
scendens, Sancto ad portum pervenienti obvius occurrit;
cum fletu et lamento, ante pedes eius ingeniculans flexis 23
genibus, amarissime ingemuit, et, coram omnibus qui
ibidem inerant, peccantias confitetur suas. Sanctus tum,
cum eo pariter illacrymatus, ad eum ait, ' Surge fili, et con-
solare ; dimissa sunt tua quae commisisti peccamina ; quia,
sicut scriptum est, Cor contritum et humiliatum Deus non 30
spernit.' Qui surgens, gaudenter a Sancto susceptus, ad
Baitheneum tunc temporis in Campo Lunge praepositum
commorantem, post aliquot est emissus dies, in pace com-
migrans. Cap. XXXI. De cailtano eius monacho sancti pro- 35
PHETATIO VIRI.
Prophecy of the death of Cailtan. Alio in tempore binos
mittens monachos ad suum alium monachum, nomine Cail-
tanum, qui eodem tempore praepositus erat in cella quae
hodieque ejus fratris Diuni vocabulo vocitatur, stagno 40
adhaerens Abae fluminis, haec per eosdem nuncios Sanctus

LIB. I CAP. XXXI 109
commendat verba : ' Cito euntes ad Cailtanum properate,
dicitoteque ei ut ad me sine ulla veniat morula.' Qui, verbo
Sancti obsecuti exeuntes, et ad cellam Diuni pervenientes,
suae legatiunculae qualitatem Cailtano intimaverunt. Qui
5 eadem hora, nullo demoratus modo, Sancti prosecutus
legatos, ad eum in Ioua insula commorantem, eorum itineris
comes, celeriter pervenit. Quo viso, Sanctus ad eum taliter
locutus, his compellat verbis, ' O Cailtane, bene fecisti ad
me obedienter fdstinando : requiesce paulisper. Idcirco ad
10 te invitandum misi, amans amicum, ut hic mecum in vera
finias obedientia vitae cursum tuae. Nam ante huius
hebdomadis finem ad Dominum in pace transibis.' Quibus
auditis, gratias agens Deo, Sanctumque lacrymans exoscu-
latus, ad hospitium, accepta ab eo benedictione, pergit :
15 eademque subsecuta infirmatus nocte, iuxta verbum Sancti
in eadem septimana ad Christum Dominum migravit.
Cap. XXXII. De duobus peregrinis fratribus sancti
PROVIDA PROPHETATIO VIRI.
Vision of the coming of two strangers, and prophecy of
30 their death. Quadam Dominica die ultra saepe memora
tum clamatum est fretum. Quem audiens Sanctus clamo-
rem, ad fratres qui ibidem inerant, ' Ite,' ait, ' celeriter,
peregrinosque de longinqua venientes regione ad nos
ocius adducite.' Qui continuo obsecuti, transfretantes
25 adduxerunt hospites : quos Sanctus exosculatus, conse
quenter de causa percontatur itineris. Qui respondentes
aiunt, ' Ut hoc etiam anno apud te peregrinemur, veni-
mus.' Quibus Sanctus hanc dedit responsionem : ' Apud
me, ut dicitis, anni unius spatio peregrinari non poteritis,
30 nisi prius monachicum promiseritis votum.' Quod qui
inerant praesentes valde mirati sunt ad hospites eadem
hora adventantes dici. Ad quae Sancti verba senior re-
spondens frater ait, ' Hoc in mente propositum, licet in
hanc horam usque nullatenus habuerimus, tamen tuum
35 sequemur consilium, divinitus, ut credimus, inspiratum.'
Quid plura? Eodem horae momento oratorium cum
Sancto ingressi, devote, flexis genibus, votum monachiale
voverunt. Sanctus tum deinde, ad fratres conversus, ait,
' Hi duo proselyti vivam Deo seipsos exhibentes hostiam,
40 longaque in brevi Christianae tempora militiae complentes,
hoc mox eodem mense ad Christum Dominum in pace
transibunt.' Quibus auditis ambo fratres, gratias Deo

no VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
agentes, ad hospitium deducti sunt : interiectisque diebus
septem, senior frater coepit infirmari, et, eadem peracta
septimana, ad Dominum emigravit. Similiter et alter post
septem alios dies infirmatus, eiusdem in fine hebdomadis,
ad Dominum feliciter transit. Et sic secundum Sancti 5
veridicam prophetiam, intra eiusdem mensis terminum,
ambo praesentem finiunt vitam.
Cap. XXXIII. De quodam artbranano sancti prophe
tia viri.
Prophecy about an aged heathen. Cum per aliquot dies in 10
insula demoraretur Scia vir beatus, alicuius loci terrulam
mari vicinam baculo percutiens, ad comites sic ait, ' Mirum
dictu, O filioli ! hodie in hac huius loci terrula quidam
gentilis senex, naturale per totam bonum custodiens vitam,
et baptizabitur, et morietur, et sepelietur.' Et ecce, quasi 15
post unius intervallum horae, navicula ad eundem super-
venit portum ; cuius in prora quidam advectus est decrepitus
senex, Geonae primarius cohortis, quem bini iuvenes, de
navi sublevantes, ante beati conspectum viri deponunt.
Qui statim, verbo Dei a Sancto per interpretem recepto, 20
credens, ab eodem baptizatus est, et post expleta baptiza-
tionis ministeria, sicuti Sanctus prophetizavit, eodem in
loco consequenter obiit, ibidemque socii, congesto lapidum
acervo sepeliunt. Qui hodieque in ora cernitur maritima ;
fluviusque eiusdem loci in quo idem baptisma acceperat, ex 25
nomine eius, Dobur Artbranani usque in hodiernum nomi-
natus diem, ab accolis vocitatur.
Cap. XXXIV. De navicula transmotata sancto
praecipiente.
Foresight with regard to a boat. Alio in tempore trans 30
Britanniae Dorsum iter agens, aliquo in desertis viculo
agellis reperto, ibidemque iuxta alicuius marginem rivuli
stagnum intrantis, Sanctus mansionem faciens, eadem nocte
dormientes, semisopore degustato, suscitat comites, dicens,
' Nunc, nunc, celerius foras exeuntes, nostram quam ultra 35
rivum naviculam posuistis in domum, hue citius advehite,
et in viciniore domuncula ponite.' Qui continuo obedientes,
sicut eis praeceptum est, fecerunt ; ipsisque iterum quies-
centibUs, Sanctus post quoddam intervallum silenter Dior-
mitium pulsat, inquiens, ' Nunc, stans extra domum, aspice 40
quid in illo agitur viculo ubi prius vestram posuistis navi-

LIB. I CAP. XXXIV in
culam.' Qui, Sancti praecepto obsecutus, domum egreditur,
et respiciens videt vicum flamma instante totum concremari,
reversusque, ad Sanctum quod ibidem agebatur retulit.
Sanctus proinde fratribus de quodam narravit aemulo prose-
5 cutore qui easdem domus eadem incenderat nocte.
Cap. XXXV. De gallano filio fachtni qui erat in
DIOECESI COLGION FILII CELLAIG.
Vision of a soul carried off by demons. Quadam itidem
die Sanctus, in suo sedens tuguriolo, Colcio eidem, lecti-
I0 tanti iuxta se, prophetizans ait, ' Nunc unum tenacem
primarium de tuae praepositis dioeceseos daemones ad in-
ferna rapiunt.' At vero hoc audiens Colcius tempus et
horam in tabula describens, post aliquot menses ad patriam
reversus, Gallanum filium Fachtni eodem horae momento
ij obiisse, ab accolis eiusdem regionis percunctatus, invenit,
quo vir beatus eidem a daemonibus raptum enarravit.
Cap. XXXVI. Beati prophetaTio viri de findchano
PRESBYTERO, ILLIUS MONASTERII FUNDATORE QUOD SCOTICE
ARTCHAIN NUNCUPATUR, IN ETHICA TERRA.
20 Prophecy of two dreadful deaths. Alio in tempore supra
memoratus presbyter Findchanus, Christi miles, Aidum
cognomento Nigrum, regio genere ortum, Cruthinicum
gente, de Scotia ad Britanniam sub clericatus habitu secum
adduxit, ut in suo apud se monasterio per aliquot pere-
3g grinaretur annos. Qui scilicet Aidus Niger valde san?
guinarius homo et multorum fuerat trucidator ; qui et
Diormitium filium Cerbulis, totius Scotiae regnatorem, Deo
auctore ordinatum, interfecerat. Hic itaque idem Aidus,
post aliquantum in peregrinatione transactum tempus,
3o accito episcopo, quamvis non recte, apud supradictum
Findchanum presbyter ordinatus est. Episcopus tamen
non est ausus super caput eius manum imponere, nisi prius
idem Findchanus, Aidum carnaliter amans, suam capiti eius
pro confirmatione imponeret dexteram. Quae talis ordina-
35 tio cum postea sancto intimaretur viro, aegre tulit : tum
proinde hanc de illo Findchano et de Aido ordinato for-
midabilem profatur sententiam, inquiens, ' Ilia manus dextra
quam Findchanus, contra fas, et ius ecclesiasticum, super
, caput filii perditionis imposuit, mox computrescet, et, post
4o magnos dolorum cruciatus, jpsum in terram sepelienda
praecedet ; et ipse post suam humatam manum per multos

ii2 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
superstes victurus est annos. Ordinatus vero indebite
Aidus, sicuti canis, ad vomitum revertetur suum, et ipse
rursum sanguilentus trucidator existet, et ad ultimum
lancea iugulatus, de ligno in aquam cadens, submersus
morietur. Talem multo prius terminum promeruit vitae, 5
qui totius regem trucidavit Scotiae.' Quae beati viri pro
phetia de utroque adimpleta est ; nam presbyteri Findchani
dexter per pugnum putrefactus in terram eum praecessit,
in ilia sepultus insula quae Ommon nuncupatur : ipse vero,
iuxta verbum Sancti Columbae, per multos post vixit annos. 10
Aidus vero Niger, solummodo nomine presbyter, ad sua
priora reversus scelera, dolo lancea transfixus, de prora
ratis in aquam lapsus stagneam, disperiit.
Cap. XXXVII. De quodam sancti solamine spiritus
MONACHIS IN VIA LABORIOSIS MISSO. 15
Spiritual comfort felt by the harvest men. Inter has prae-
dicabiles prophetici spiritus prophetationes, non ab re videtur
etiam de quadam spiritali consolatione nostris commemo-
rare literulis, quam aliquando sancti Columbae monachi,
spiritu eius ipsis in via obviante, sentiebant. Alio namque 20
in tempore, fratres, post messionis opera, vespere ad mo-
nasterium redeuntes, et ad ilium pervenientes locum qui
Scotice nuncupatur Cuuleilne, qui utique locus inter occi-
dentalem Iouae insulae campulum et nostrum monasterium
medius esse dicitur, mirum quid et inconsuetum singuli 25
sibi sentire videbantur : quod tamen alius alii intimare
nullo modo audebat. Et sic per aliquot dies eodem in
loco, eademque vespertina sentiebant hora. Fuit autem
iisdem in diebus sanctus Baitheneus inter eos operum
dispensator, qui sic ad ipsos alia die est prolocutus, in- 30
quiens, ' Nunc, fratres, confiteri debetis singuli, si aliquod
in hoc medio loco inter messem et monasterium, inconsue
tum et inopinatum sentitis miraculum.' Unus tum ex eis,
senior, ' Iuxta tuam,' ait, ' iussionem, quod mihi hoc in
loco ostensum est dicam ; nam et in his praetereuntibus 35
dieculis, et nunc etiam, quandam miri odoris fragrantiam
ac si universorum florum in unum sentio collectorum ;
quendam quoque quasi ignis ardorem, non poenalem, sed
quodammodo suavem : sed et quandam in corde insuetam
et incomparabilem infusam laetificationem, quae me subito 40
mirabiliter consolatur, et in tantum laetificat ut nullius
maeroris, nullius laboris, meminisse possim. Sed et onus

LIB. I CAP. XXXVII 113
quod meo, quamvis grave, porto in dorso, ab hoc loco
usquequo ad monasterium perveniatur, quomodo nescio,
in tantum relevatur, ut me oneratum non sentiam.' Quid
plura? Sic omnes illi messores operarii de se singillatim
5 profitentur per omnia sensisse, sicuti unus ex eis coram
enarraverat, singulique simul flexis genibus a sancto pos-
tularunt Baitheneo ut eiusdem miri solaminis causam et
originem, quod et ipse, sicut et ceteri sentiebant, illis igno-
rantibus, intimare procuraret. Quibus consequenter hoc
10 dedit responsum, ' Scitis/ inquiens, 'quod noster senior
Columba de nobis anxie cogitet, et nos ad se tardius per
venientes aegre ferat, nostri memor laboris, et idcirco quia
corporaliter obviam nobis non venit, spiritus eius nostris
obviat gressibus, qui taliter nos consolans laetificat.' Qui-
15 bus auditis verbis, ingeniculantes, cum ingenti gratulatione,
expansis ad caelum manibus, Christum in sancto vene-
rantur et beato viro.
St. Columba's far-reaching voice. Sed et hoc silere non
debemus quod ab expertis quibusdam de voce beati psal-
20 modiae viri indubitanter traditum est. Quae scilicet vox
venerabilis viri in ecclesia cum fratribus decantantis, ali
quando per quatuor stadia, hoc est, quingentos passus,
aliquando vero per octo, hoc est, mille passus, incom-
parabili elevata modo audiebatur. Mirum dictu ! Nee in
25 auribus eorum qui secum in ecclesia stabant vox eius
modum humanae vocis in clamoris granditate excedebat.
Sed tamen eadem hora qui ultra mille passuum longinqui-
tatem stabant, sic clare eandem audiebant vocem, ut illos
quos canebat versiculos etiam per singulas possent distin-
30 guere syllabas : similiter enim eius vox in auribus prope
et longe audientium personabat. Sed hoc de voce mira-
culum beati viri non semper, sed raro, accidisse com-
probatur ; quod tamen sine Divini Spiritus gratia nullo
modo fieri potuisset.
3j How it affected King Brude and his Druids. Sed et
illud non est tacendum quod aliquando de tali et incom-
parabiii vocis eius sublevatione iuxta Brudei regis muni-
tionem accidisse traditur. Nam ipse Sanctus cum paucis
fratribus extra regis munitionem dum vespertinales Dei
40 laudes ex more celebraret, quidam magi, ad eos propius
accedentes, in quantum poterant, prohibere conabantur, ne
de ore ipsorum divinae laudis sonus inter gentiles audire-
tur populos. Quo comperto, Sanctus quadragesimum et

ii4 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
quartum psalmum decantare coepit, mirumque in modum
ita vox eius in aere eodem momento instar alicuius formi-
dabilis tonitrui elevata est, ut et rex et populus intolerabili
essent pavore perterriti.
Cap. XXXVIII. De quodam divite qui lugudius 5
CLODUS VOCITABATUR.
Prophecy of the death of a rich bad man. Alio in tempore,
cum in Scotia per aliquot Sanctus demoraretur dies, alium
currui insidentem videns clericum, qui gaudenter pera-
grabat Campum Breg, primo interrogans de eo quis esset, 10
hoc ab amicis eiusdem viri de eo accipit responsum, ' Hic
est Lugudius Clodus, homo dives et honoratus in plebe.'
Sanctus consequenter respondens inquit, 'Non ita video;
sed homuncio miser et pauper, in die qua morietur, tria
apud se vicinorum praetersoria in una retentabit maceria, 15
unamque electam de vaccis praetersoriorum occidi iubebit
sibi, de cuius cocta carne postulabit aliquam sibi partem
dari, cum meretrice in eodem lectulo cubanti. De qua
utique particula morsum accipiens, statim ibidem strangula-
bitur et morietur.' Quae omnia, sicuti ab expertis traditur, 20
iuxta Sancti propheticum adimpleta sunt verbum.
Cap. XXXIX. De nemano filio gruthriche sancti
prophetia.
The same of another bad man. Hunc enim cum Sanctus
de malis suis corriperet, parvipendens Sanctum subsan- 25
nabat. Cui respondens vir beatus ait, ' In nomine Domini,
Nemane, aliqua de te veridica loquar verba. Inimici tui
reperient te in eodem cum meretrice cubantem cubiculo,
ibidemque trucidaberis. Daemones quoque ad loca poena-
rum tuam rapient animam.' Hic idem Nemanus, post 30
aliquot annos, in uno cum meretrice lectulo repertus in
regione Cainle, iuxta verbum Sancti, ab inimicis decapitatus,
disperiit. Cap. XL. De quodam presbytero sa:;cti viri pro-
PHETATIO. 35
Denunciation of an unworthy priest. Alio in tempore
Sanctus, cum in Scotiensium paulo superius moraretur
memorata regione, casu Dominica die ad quoddam devenit
15. A. B. maneria suo iure Boll.

LIB. I CAP. XL 115
vicinum monasteriolum quod Scotice Trioit vocitatur.
Eadem proinde die quendam audiens presbyterum sacra
eucharistiae mysteria conficientem, quem ideo fratres, qui
ibidem commanebant, ad missarum elegerant peragenda
5 sollemnia, quia valde religiosum aestimabant, repente hanc
formidabilem de ore profert vocem, ' Munda et immunda
pariter nunc permisceri cernuntur, hoc est, munda sacrae
oblationis mysteria per immundum hominem ministrata,
qui in sua interim conscientia aliquod grande occultat
10 facinus.' Haec qui inerant audientes tremefacti nimis
obstupuere. Ille vero de quo haec dicebantur verba coram
omnibus peccantiam compulsus est suam confiteri. Christi-
que commilitones, qui in ecclesia Sanctum circumstantes
occulta cordis audierant manifestantem, divinam in eo
*5 scientiam cum magna admiratione glorificarunt.
Cap. XLI. De erco fure mocudruidi qui in coloso
insula commanebat sancti prophetizatio viri.
Prophecy regarding a certain poacher. Alio in tempore
Sanctus in Ioua commanens insula, accitis ad se binis de
20 fratribus viris, quorum vocabula Lugbeus et Sil nanus,
eisdem praecipiens dixit, ' Nunc ad Maleam transfretate
insulam, et in campulis mari vicinis Ercum quaerite
furacem ; qui nocte praeterita solus occulte de insula
Coloso perveniens, sub sua faeno tecta navicula inter are-
25 narum cumulos per diem se occultare conatur, ut noctu ad
parvam transnaviget insulam ubi marini nostri iuris vituli
generantur et generant ; ut de illis furenter occisis edax
valde furax suam replens naviculam, ad suum repedet
habitaculum.' Qui, haec audientes, obsecuti emigrant,
30 furemque in locis a Sancto praesignatis absconsum re-
periunt, et ad Sanctum, sicut illis praeceperat, perduxerunt.
Quo viso, Sanctus ad eum dicit, ' Quare tu res alienas,
divinum transgressus mandatum, saepe furaris ? Quando
necesse habueris, ad nos veniens necessaria accipies postu-
35 lata.' Et haec dicens praecipit verveces occidi, et pro
phocis dari misero furaci, ne vacuus ad sua remearet. Et
post aliquantum tempus Sanctus, in spiritu vicinam furis
praevidens mortem, ad Baitheneum eo in tempore prae-
positum commorantem in Campo Lunge mittit, ut eidem
4° furi quoddam pingue pecus et sex modios novissima mittat
munera. Quibus a Baitheneo, sicut Sanctus commenda-
verat, transmissis, ea die inventus est morte subita prae-
Ha

116 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
ventus furax misellus, et in exequiis eius transmissa
expensa sunt xenia.
Cap. XLI I. De cronano poeta sancti prophetia viri.
Prophecy of the death of an Irish bard. Alio in tempore,
Sanctus cum iuxta Stagnum Cei, prope ostium fluminis 5
quod latine Bos dicitur, die aliqua cum fratribus sederet,
quidam ad eos Scoticus poeta devenit ; qui, cum post
aliquam recessisset sermocinationem, fratres ad Sanctum,
'Cur,' aiunt, 'a nobis regrediente Cronano poeta aliquod
ex more suae artis canticum non postulasti modulabiliter 10
decantari ? ' Quibus Sanctus, ' Quare et vos nunc inutilia
profertis verba? quomodo ab illo misero homuncione
carmen postularem laetitiae, qui nunc, ab inimicis truci-
datus, finem ad usque ocius pervenit vitae.' His a Sancto
dictis, et ecce ultra flumen aliquis clamitat homo dicens, 15
' Ille poeta, qui a vobis nuper sospes rediit, hora in hac ab
inimicis in via interfectus est.' Omnes tunc qui praesentes
inerant valde mirati, se invicem intuentes obstupuere.
Cap. XLIII. De duobus tigernis sancti vaticinatio
VIRI, QUI AMBO MUTUIS VULNERIBUS DISPERIERANT. 20
Vision of a mortal combat between two chieftains. Alio
itidem in tempore Sanctus in Ioua conversans insula,
repente inter legendum summo, cum ingenti admiratione,
gemitu ingemuit maesto. Quod videns, qui praesens
inerat, Lugbeus Mocublai, coepit ab eo percunctari subiti 25
causam maeroris. Cui Sanctus, valde maestificatus, hanc
dedit responsionem, ' Duo quidam nunc regii generis viri
in Scotia mutuis inter se vulneribus transfixi disperierunt,
haud procul a monasterio quod dicitur Cellrois, in provincia
Maugdornorum, octavaque die, hac peracta hebdomade, 30
ultra fretum alius clamitabit, qui haec, de Hibernia veniens,
ita taliter facta enarrabit. Sed hoc, O filiole, quamdiu
vixero nemini indices.' Octava proinde ultra fretum cla-
matum est die. Sanctus tum supra memoratum ad se
Lugbeum vocans, siienter ad eum ait, ' Qui nunc clamitat 35
ultra fretum ipse est, de quo tibi prius dixeram, longaevus
viator. Vade, et adduc eum ad nos.' Qui, celeriter ad-
ductus, inter cetera hoc etiam retulit, 'Duo,' inquiens, 'in
parte Maugdornorum nobiles viri, se mutuo vulnerantes,
mortui sunt ; hoc est, Colman Canis filius Aileni et 40
g. A. C. F. S. exenia B. exennia P,

LIB. I CAP. XLIII 117
Ronanus filius Aido filii Colgen, de Anteriorum genere,
prope fines illorum locorum, ubi illud monasterium cernitur
quod dicitur Cellrois.' Post haec illius verba narrationis,
idem Lugbeus, Christi miles, Sanctum seorsum coepit
5 interrogare, dicens, ' Quaeso mihi de his talibus narres
propheticis revelationibus quomodo, si per visum tibi, an
auditu, an alio hominibus incognito manifestantur modo.'
Ad haec Sanctus, ' De qua nunc,' ait, ' inquiris valde subtili
re nullatenus tibi quamlibet aliquam intimare particulam
10 potero, nisi prius, flexis genibus, per nomen excelsi Dei
mihi firmiter promittas hoc te obscurissimum sacramentum
nulli unquam hominum cunctis diebus vitae meae enarra-
turum.' Qui, haec audiens, flexit continuo genua, et,
prostrato in terram vultu, iuxta Sancti praeceptionem plene
is omnia promisit. Qua statim perfecta promissione, Sanctus
ad surgentem sic locutus inquit, 'Sunt nonnulli, quamlibet
pauci admodum, quibus divina hoc contulit gratia, ut
etiam totum totius terrae orbem, cum ambitu oceani et
caeli, uno eodemque momento, quasi sub uno solis radio,
20 mirabiliter laxato mentis sinu, clare et manifestissime
speculentur.' Hoc miraculum Sanctus, quamvis de aliis
electis dicere videatur, vanam utique fugiens gloriam, de
seipso tamen dixisse, per obliquum licet, nullus dubitare
debet qui Paulum legit Apostolum, vas electionis, de talibus
25 narrantem sibi revelatis visionibus. Non enim ita scripsit,
' Scio me,' sed ' Scio hominem, raptum usque ad tertium
caelum.' Quod quamlibet de alio dicere videatur, nemo
tamen dubitat sic de propria, humilitatem custodiens, enar-
rare persona. Quem etiam et noster Columba in spirita-
30 Hum visionum narratione secutus est superius memorata,
quam ab eo supradictus vir, quem plurimum Sanctus
amabat, magnis precibus praemissis, vix potuit extorquere,
sicut ipse coram aliorum personis sanctorum, post sancti
Columbae transitum, testatus est : a quibus haec quae de
35 Sancto supra narravimus indubitanter didicimus.
Cap. XLIV. De cronano episcopo.
Detection of a bishop who concealed his rank. Alio in
tempore quidam de Muminensium provincia proselytus
ad Sanctum venit ; qui se in quantum potuit occultabat
40 humiliter, ut nullus sciret quod esset episcopus : sed tamen
Sanctum hoc non potuit latere. Nam alia die Dominica a
18. Cummian. XXV.

n8 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
Sancto iussus Christi corpus ex more conficere, Sanctum
advocat, ut simul, quasi duo presbyteri, Dominicum panem
frangerent. Sanctus proinde ad altarium accedens, repente
intuitus faciem eius, sic eum compellat, ' Benedicat te
Christus, frater ; hunc solus, episcopali ritu, frange panem : 5
nunc scimus quod sis episcopus. Quare hucusque te
occultare conatus es, ut tibi a nobis debita non redderetur
veneratio?' Quo audito Sancti verbo, humilis pere-
grinus, valde stupefactus, Christum in Sancto veneratus
est ; et qui inerant praesentes nimis admirati, glorificarunt 10
Dominum.
Cap. XLV. De ernano presbytero sancti prophetia
viri. Prophecy of the death of Ernan. Alio itidem in tempore
vir venerandus Ernanum presbyterum, senem, suum avun- 15
culum, ad praeposituram illius monasterii transmisit quod
in Hinba insula ante plures fundaverat annos. Itaque
cum ipsum Sanctus emigrantem exosculatus benediceret,
hoc de eo intulit vaticinium, dicens, ' Hunc meum nunc
egredientem amicum non me spero iterum in hoc saeculo 20
viventem visurum.' Itaque idem Ernanus post non multos
dies, quadam molestatus aegrimonia, ad Sanctum volens
reportatus est : cuius in perventione valde gavisus, ire
obvius ad portum coepit. Ipse vero Ernanus, quamlibet
infirmis, propriis tamen, vestigiis a portu obviare Sancto 25
conabatur valde alacer. Sed cum esset inter ambos quasi
viginti quatuor passuum intervallum, subita morte prae-
ventus, priusquam Sanctus faciem eius videret viventis,
expirans in terram cecidit, ne verbum Sancti ullo frustra-
retur modo. Unde in eodem loco ante ianuam canabae 30
crux infixa est, et altera ubi Sanctus restitit, illo expirante,
similiter crux hodieque infixa stat.
Cap. XLVI. De alicuius plebeii familiola sancti
prophetia viri.
Prophecy regarding a poor family. Alio quoque in tem- 35
pore quidam inter ceteros ad Sanctum plebeius venit in
loco hospitantem qui Scotice vocitatur Coire Salchain ;
quem cum Sanctus ad se vespere venientem vidisset, ' Ubi,
ait, 'habitas?' Ille inquit, 'In regione quae littoribus
Stagni Crogreth est contermina ego inhabito.' ' Illam 40
quam dicis provinciolam,' ait Sanctus, ' nunc barbari popu-

LIB. I CAP. XLVI 119
lantur vastatores.' Quo audito, miser plebeius maritam et
filios deplangere coepit. Quem Sanctus valde maerentem
videns, consolans inquit, ' Vade, homuncule, vade, tua
familiola tota in montem fugiens evasit ; tua vero omnia
5 pecuscula secum invasores abegerunt, omnemque domus
suppellectilem similiter saevi raptores cum praeda rapuere.'
Haec audiens plebeius, ad patriam regressus, cuncta, sicuti
a Sancto praedicta, sic invenit expleta.
Cap. XLVII. De quodam plebeio, goreo nomine, filio
10 aidani, sancti prophetia viri.
Enigmatical prophecy of the death of a peasant. Alio
itidem in tempore quidam plebeius, omnium illius aetatis
in populo Korkureti fortissimus virorum, a sancto per-
cunctatur viro qua morte esset praeveniendus. Cui Sanc-
15 tus, ' Nee in bello,' ait, 'nee in mari morieris : comes tui
itineris, a quo non suspicaris, causa erit tuae mortis.'
' Fortassis,' inquit Goreus, ' aliquis de meis comitantibus
amicis" me trucidare cogitet, aut marita ob alicuius iunioris
viri amorem me maleficio mortificare.' Sanctus, ' Non ita,'
20 ait, ' continget.' 'Quare,' Goreus inquit, 'de meo inter-
fectore mihi nunc intimare non vis ? ' Sanctus, ' Idcirco,'
ait, 'nolo tibi de illo tuo comite nocuo nunc manifestius
aliquid edicere, ne te eius crebra recogniti recordatio nimis
maestificet, donee illaveniat dies qua eiusdem rei veritatem
25 probabis.' Quid immoramur verbis ? Post aliquot anno-
rum excursus, idem supra memoratus Goreus, casu alia
die sub navi residens, cultello proprio cristiliam de hastili
eradebat ; tum deinde alios prope inter se belligerantes
audiens, citius surgit ut eos a belligeratione separaret,
30 eodemque cultello ilia subitatione negligentius in terra
dimisso, eius genicula offenso graviter vulnerata est. Et
tali faciente comite, causa ei mortificationis oborta est ;
quam ipse continuo, secundum sancti vaticinationem viri,
mente perculsus, recognovit ; postque aliquantos menses,
35 eodem aggravatus dolore, moritur.
Cap. XLVIII. De alia etiam re, quamlibet minore,
PUTO NON ESSE TACENDA SANCTI IUCUNDA PRAESCIENTIA
ET PROPHETIZATIO VIRI.
Prophecy of the arrival of a crane from Ireland. Alio
40 namque in tempore, cum Sanctus in Ioua inhabitaret
13. KOPKTPETI Uteris maiusculis A.

iao VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
insula, unum de fratribus advocans, sic compellat, ' Tertia
ab hac illucescente die expectare debebis in occidentali
huius insulae parte, super maris oram sedens : nam de
aquilonali Hiberniae regione quaedam hospita grus, ventis
per longos aeris agitata circuitus, post nonam diei horam 5
valde fessa et fatigata superveniet, et pene consumptis
viribus, coram te in litore cadens recumbet ; quam miseri-
corditer sublevare curabis, et ad propinquam deportabis
domum, ibidemque hospitaliter receptam, per tres dies et
noctes ei ministrans, sollicite cibabis ; et post expleto 10
recreata triduo, nolens ultra apud nos peregrinari, ad
priorem Scotiae dulcem, unde orta, remeabit regionem,
plene resumptis viribus ; quam ideo tibi sic diligenter
commendo, quia de nostrae paternitatis regione est oriunda.'
Obsecundat frater, tertiaque die post horam nonam, ut 15
iussus, praescitae adventum praestolatur hospitae, adven-
tantemque de littore levat lapsam, ad hospitium portat in-
firmam, esurientem cibat. Cui ad monasterium vespere
reverso Sanctus, non interrogans sed narrans, ait, ' Bene-
dicat te Deus, mi fili, quia peregrinae bene ministrasti 20
hospitae, quae in peregrinatione non demorabitur, sed post
ternos soles ad patriam repedabit.' Quod ita ut Sanctus
praedixit et res etiam probavit. Nam trinalibus hospitata
diebus, coram hospite ministro de terra se primum volando
elevans in sublime, paulisperque in aere viam speculata, 25
oceani transvadato aequore, ad Hiberniam recto volatus
cursu die repedavit tranquillo.
Cap. XLIX. De bello quod in munitione cethirni
POST MULTA COMMISSUM EST TEMPORA, ET DE QUODAM
FONTICULO EIUSDEM TERRULAE PROXIMO BEATI PRAE- 30
SCIENTIA VIRI.
Prophecy of the defilement of a well by blood from a battle.
Alio in tempore vir beatus cum post regum in Dorso Cette
condictum, Aidi videlicet filii Ainmurech, et Aidani filii
Gabrani, ad campos reverteretur aequoreos, ipse et Com- 35
gellus abbas quadam serena aestivi temporis die, haud
procul a supra memorata munitione resident. Tum
proinde aqua de quodam proximo ad manus lavandas fon-
ticulo ad Sanctos in aeneo defertur vasculo. Quam cum
sanctus Columba accepisset, ad abbatem Comgellum a 40
latere sedentem sic profatur, ' Ille fonticulus, O Comgelle,
de quo haec effusa nobis allata est aqua, veniet dies

LIB. I CAP. XLIX 121
quando nullis usibus humanis aptus erit.' ' Qua causa,'
ait Comgellus, ' eius fontana corrumpetur unda ? ' Sanc
tus turn Columba, ' Quia humano,' inquit, ' cruore reple-
bitur : nam mei cognationales amici et tui secundum
5 carnem cognati, hoc est, Nellis Nepotes et Cruthini
populi, in hac vicina munitione Cethirni belligerantes
committent bellum. Unde in supra memorato fonte
aliquis de mea cognatione trucidabitur homuncio, cuius
cum ceteris interfecti sanguine eiusdem fonticuli locus
10 replebitur.' Quae eius veridica suo tempore post multos
vaticinatio expleta est annos. In quo bello, ut multi norunt
populi, Domnallus Aidi filius victor sublimatus est, et in
eodem, secundum sancti vaticinium viri, fonticulo, quidam
de parentela eius interfectus est homo. Alius mihi Adam-
35 nano Christi miles, Finanus nomine, qui vitam multis
anachoreticam annis iuxta Roboreti monasterium Campi
irreprehensibiliter ducebat, de eodem bello se praesente
commisso aliqua enarrans, protestatus est in supradicto
fonte truncum cadaverinum vidisse, eademque die ad
20 monasterium sancti Comgeili quod Scotice dicitur Cambas
commisso reversum bello, quia inde prius venerat, ibidem
que duos sancti Comgeili senes monachos reperisse : quibus
cum de bello coram se acto, et de fonticulo humano cruore
corrupto, aliquanta enarraret, illi consequenter, ' Verus
25 propheta Columba,' aiunt, ' qui haec omnia quae hodie de
bello et de fonticulo expleta enarras, ante multos annos
futura, nobis audientibus, coram sancto Comgello, iuxta
Cethirni sedens munitionem, praenunciaverat.'
Cap. L. De diversorum discretione xeniorum sancto
30 revelata viro diali gratia.
Hoiv St. Columba distinguished worthy and unworthy
givers. Eodem in tempore Conallus, episcopus Culera-
thin, collectis a populo Campi Eilni paene innumerabili-
bus xeniis, beato viro hospitium praeparavit, post condictum
35 supra memoratorum regum, turba prosequente multa, re-
vertenti : proinde sancto advenienti viro xenia populi multa,
in platea monasterii strata, benedicenda assignantur.
Quae cum benedicens aspiceret, xenium alicuius opulenti
viri specialiter demonstrans, ' Virum,' ait, ' cuius est hoc
40 xenium, pro misericordiis pauperum, et eius largitione,
Dei comitatur misericordia.' Itemque aliud discernit inter
alia multa xenium, inquiens, ' De hoc ego xenio viri sapien-

122 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
tis et avari nullo modo gustare possum, nisi prius veram
de peccato avaritiae poenitudinem egerit.' Quod verbum
cito in turba divulgatum audiens, accurrit Columbus filius
Aidi conscius, et coram Sancto flexis genibus poenitentiam
agit, et de cetero avaritiae abrenunciaturum se promittit, et 5
largitatem cum morum emendatione consecuturum. Et,
iussus a Sancto surgere, ex ilia hora est sanatus de vitio
tenacitatis. Erat enim vir sapiens, sicuti Sancto in eius
revelatum erat xenio. Ille vero dives largus, Brendenus
nomine, de cuius xenio paulo superius dictum est, audiens 10
et ipse Sancti verba de se dicta, ingeniculans ad pedes
Sancti, precatur ut pro eo ad Dominum Sanctus fundat
precem : qui, ab eo primum pro quibusdam suis obiurgatus
peccatis, poenitudinem gerens, de cetero se emendaturum
promisit; et sic uterque de propriis emendatus et sanatus 15
est vitiis.
Simili scientia Sanctus et alio tempore xenium alicuius
tenacis viri, inter multa cognovit xenia, Diormiti nomine,
ad Cellam Magnam Deathrib in eius adventu collecta.
The above are only a few instances of the Saint's prophetic 20
slfts- Haec de beati viri prophetica gratia, quasi de pluri-
mis pauca, in huius libelli textu primi caraxasse sufficiat.
Pauca dixi, nam hoc de venerabili viro non est dubitandum
quod valde numerosiora fuerint quae in notitiam hominum, 25
sacramenta interius celata, venire nullo modo poterant,
quam ea quae, quasi quaedam parva aliquando stillicidia,
veluti per quasdam rimulas alicuius pleni vasis ferventis-
simo novo distillabant vino. Nam sancti et apostolici viri,
vanam evitantes gloriam, plerumque in quantum possunt 30
interna quaedam arcana, sibi intrinsecus a Deo manifestata,
celare festinant. Sed Deus nonnulla ex eis, velint nolint
ipsi, divulgat, et in medium quoquo profert modo, videlicet
glorificare volens glorificantes se Sanctos, hoc est, ipsum
Dominum, cui gloria in saecula saeculorum. 35
Huic primo libro hic imponitur terminus ; nunc sequens
orditur liber de virtutum miraculis, quae plerumque etiam
prophetalis praescientia comitatur.
23. B. craxasse A. exarasse Colg. Boll.

CAPITULA SECUNDI LIBRI INCIPIUNT,
DE virtutum miraculis
De vino quod de aqua factum est. (i.)
De amarissimis alicuius arboris pomis, in dulcedinem per
5 Sancti benedictionem versis. (n.)
De terra, post medium aestatis tempus arata et seminata,
mensis Augusti incipientis exordio maturam messem
proferente. (in.)
De morbifera nube, et languentium sanitate, (iv.)
10 De Mauguina sancta virgine, et fractura coxae eius sanata.
(v.)
De multorum morbis fimbriae vestimenti eius tactu, in
Dorso Cete, sanatis. (vi.)
De petra salis a Sancto benedicta, quam ignis absumere
15 non potuit. (vn.)
De librariis foliis manu Sancti scriptis, quae aqua nullo
modo corrumpi potuere. (vm, ix.)
De aqua, quae, Sancto orante, ex dura producta est petra.
(x.)
20 De aqua fontana, quam Sanctus ultra Britannicum bene-
dixit Dorsum, et sanavit. (xi.)
De Sancti periculo in mari, et de magna tempestate in
tranquillitatem continuo, orante ipso, conversa. (xn.)
De altero eius periculo, et de sancto Cainnecho pro ipso
25 et sociis eius orante. (xm.)
De baculo in portu sancti Cainnechi neglecto. (xiv.)
De Baitheneo et Columbano filio Beognoi, qui a Sancto
secundum, eadem die, sed diversa via, ventum sibi
dari postularunt. (xv.)
3° De daemonis repulsione qui in lactis vasculo latitabat.
(xvi.)
De vasculo quod quidam maleficus, lacte de masculo bove
expresso, diabolica replevit arte ; sed, Sancto orante,
ipsum quod videbatur lac, in sanguinem, hoc est, in
35 naturam propriam, versum est. (xvii.)

124 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
De Lugneo Mocumin, quem Sanctus de profluvio san
guinis, qui crebro ex naribus eius profluebat, oratione
et digitorum tactu sanavit. (xviii.)
De esoce magno in fluvio, iuxta verbum Sancti, invento.
(XIX.) 5
De duobus piscibus, illo prophetante, in flumine quod
vocatur Boo repertis. (xix.)
De quodam plebeio qui Nesanus Curvus dicebatur. (xx.)
De quodam divite tenacissimo, nomine Uigeno. (xx.)
De Columbano aeque plebeio viro, cuius pecora admodum 10
pauca vir sanctus benedixit ; sed post illius bene-
dictionem usque ad centenarium creverunt numerum.
(xxi.)
De interitu Johannis filii Conallis, eadem die qua Sanctum
spernens dehonoravit. (xxii.) 3 5
"De alicuius Feradachi morte, fraudulenti viri, a Sancto
praenunciata. (xxiii.)
De alio persecutore, cuius nomen latine Manus Dextera
dicitur. (xxiv.)
De alio innocentium persecutore, qui in Laginensium pro- 20
vincia, sicut Annanias coram Petro, eodem momento,
a Sancto terribiliter obiurgatus, cecidit mortuus.
(xxv.)
De apri mortificatione, qui a Sancto eminus cecidit, signo
prostratus Dominicae crucis. (xxvi.) 25
De alia aquatili bestia, quae, eo orante, et manum e contra
levante, retro repulsa est ne Lugneo natanti vicino
noceret. (xxvii.)
De insulae Ionae viperinis serpentibus, qui, ex qua die
Sanctus earn benedixit, nulli hominum nee etiam 30
pecoribus nocere potuere. (xxviii.)
De hasta ab eo signata, quae deinceps nullo modo, quam
libet fortiter impulsa, alicui potuit nocere animanti.
(xxix.)
De Diormiti aegrotantis sanitate, (xxx.) 55
De Fenteni filii Aido, in extremis positi, sanitate, (xxxi.)
.De puero quem mortuum, in nomine Domini Jesu Christi,
in regione Pictorum, suscitavit. (xxxii.)

VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE 125
De conflictu eius contra magum Broichanum, ob ancillae
retentionem ; et de lapide quem Sanctus benedixit, qui
in aqua quasi pomum supernatavit. (xxxiii.)
De beati viri contra Broichanum magum refragatione, et
5 venti contrarietate. (xxxiv.)
De spontanea regiae munitionis portae subita apertione.
(xxxv.)
De ecclesiae Duorum Agri Rivorum simili reclusione.
(xxxvi.)
10 De alio paupere, plebeio mendico, cui Sanctus sudem
faciens benedixit, ad ferarum iugulationem silvestrium.
(xxxvn.)
De utre lactario, quem unda maris abduxit, et reduxit ad
terram. (xxxviii.)
15 De Librano Harundineti sancti prophetatio viri. (xxxix.)
De quadam muliercula, magnas et valde difficiliores par-
turitionis tortiones passa, et sanata. (xl.)
De coniuge Lugnei odiosi gubernatoris. (xli.)
De Cormaco Nepote Lethani, et eius navigationibus, sancti
20 Columbae prophetatio. (xlii.)
De venerabilis viri in curru evectione, absque currilium
obicum communitione. (xliii.)
De pluvia post aliquot siccitatis menses, beati ob honorem
viri, super sitientem, Domino donante, terram effusa.
25 (xliv.)
Miraculum quod nunc, Deo propitio, describere incipimus,
nostris temporibus factum, propriis inspeximus oculis:
De ventorum flatibus contrariis, venerabilis viri virtute
orationum, in secundos conversis ventos. (xlv.)
3° De mortalitate. (xlvi.)
expliciunt capitula secundi libri.

LIBER SECUNDUS
DE VIRTUTUM MIRACULIS
Cap. I. De vino quod de aqua factum est.
Turning of water into wine. Alio in tempore, cum vir
venerandus in Scotia apud sanctum Findbarrum episcopum, 5
adhuc iuvenis, sapientiam sacrae Scripturae addiscens,
commaneret, quadam solemni die vinum ad sacriricale
mysterium casu aliquo minime inveniebatur : de cuius
defectu cum ministros altaris inter se conquerentes
audiret, ad fontem sumpto pergit urceo, ut ad sacrae 10
Eucharistiae ministeria aquam, quasi diaconus, fon-
tanam hauriret : ipse quippe illis in diebus erat in
diaconatus gradu administrans. Vir itaque beatus aquati-
cum, quod de latice hausit, elementum, invocato nomine
Domini lesu Christi, fideliter benedixit, qui in Cana Gali- 15
leae aquam in vinum convertit : quo etiam in hoc operante
miraculo, inferior, hoc est aquatica natura, in gratiorem,
videlicet vinalem, per manus praedicabilis viri conversa est
speciem. Vir itaque sanctus, a fonte reversus, et ecclesiam
intrans, talem iuxta altare urceum intra se habentem 20
deponit liquorem ; et ad ministros, ' Habetis,' ait, ' vinum,
quod Dominus Iesus ad sua misit peragenda mysteria.'
Quo cognito, sanctus cum ministris episcopus eximias
Deo referunt grates. Sanctus vero iuvenis hoc non
sibimet, sed sancto Vinniano adscribebat episcopo. 25
Hoc itaque protum virtutis documentum Christus Dominus
per suum declaravit discipulum, quod in eadem re, initium
ponens signorum in Cana Galileae, operatus est per semet-
ipsum. Huius, inquam, libelli, quasi quaedam lucerna, illustret 30
exordium, quod per nostrum Columbam diale manifestatum
est miraculum ; ut deinceps transeamus ad cetera, quae per
ipsum ostensa sunt, virtutum miracula.
1. titulus deest A. incipit secundus liber de virtutum miraculis quae
plenissime plerumque etiam praescientia prophetalis comitatur B. incipit
liDer secundus de virtutum miraculis C. F. S. sancti columbe add. D.
7. Cummian, IV.

LIB. II CAP. II 127
Cap. II. De alicuius arboris fructu amaro per sancti
benedictionem in dulcedinem verso.
Changing bitter apples to sweet. Quaedam arbor erat
valde pomosa prope monasterium Roboris Campi, in
5 australi eius parte ; de qua cum incolae loci quoddam
haberent pro nimia fructus amaritudine querimonium, qua
dam die Sanctus ad earn accessit autumnali tempore,
vidensque lignum incassum abundos habere fructus qui ex
eis gustantes plus laederent quam delectarent, sancta
10 elevata manu, benedicens ait, ' In nomine omnipotentis
• Dei omnis tua amaritudo, O arbor amara, a te recedat;
tuaque hue usque amarissima nunc in dulcissima vertantur
poma.' Mirum dictu, dicto citius, eodemque momento,
eiusdem arboris omnia poma, amissa amaritudine, in miram,
'5 secundum verbum Sancti, versa sunt dulcedinem.
Cap. III. De segete post medium aestatis tempus
seminata, et in exordio augusti mensis, sancto orante,
messa, in ioua conversante insula.
Procuring rapid growth of corn. Alio in tempore Sanctus
20 suos misit monachos ut de alicuius plebeii agellulo vir-
garum fasciculos ad hospitium afferrent construendum.
Qui cum ad Sanctum, oneraria repleta navi de supradictis
virgularum materiis, reversi venirent, dicerentque plebeium
eiusdem causa dispendii valde contristatum, Sanctus con-
25 sequenter praecipiens dicit, ' Ne ergo ilium scandalizemus
virum, ad ipsum a nobis bis terni deferantur hordei modii,
eosdemque his in diebus arata ipse seminet in terra.'
Quibus ad plebeium, Findchanum nomine, iuxta Sancti
iussionem, missis, et coram eo cum tali commendatione
30 adsignatis, gratanter accipiens, ait, ' Quomodo post medium
aesteum tempus seges seminata, contra huius naturam
terrae, proficiet?' Marita e contra, 'Fac,' ait, 'secundum
Sancti mandatum, cui Dominus donabit quodcunque ab eo
postulaverit.' Sed et qui missi sunt simul hoc addiderunt,
35 dicendo, ' Sanctus Columba, qui nos ad te cum hoc misit
munere, hoc mandatum per nos de tua commendavit segete,
dicens, — Homo ille in omnipotentia Dei confidat : seges
eius, quamvis de mense Iunio duodecim praemissis diebus
seminata, in principiis Augusti mensis metetur.' Obse-
40 quitur plebeius arando et seminando ; et messem, quam
supradicto in tempore contra spem seminavit, cum omnium

ra8 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
admiratione vicinorum in exordio Augusti mensis maturam,
iuxta verbum Sancti, messuit, in loco terrae qui dicitur
Delcros.
Cap. IV. De morbifera nube, et plurimorum sanitate.
A pestilential cloud. Alio itidem in tempore, cum Sanctus s
in Ioua commoraretur insula, sedens in monticulo qui
Latine Munitio Magna dicitur, videt ab aquilone nubem
densam et pluvialem, de mari die serena obortam : qua
ascendente visa, Sanctus ad quendam de suis iuxta se
monachum sedentem, nomine Silnanum, filium Nemani- 10
don Mocusogin, ' Haec nubes,' ait, 'valde nocua nominibus
et pecoribus erit ; hacque die velocius transvolans super
aliquantam Scotiae partem, hoc est, ab illo rivulo qui
dicitur Ailbine usque ad Vadum Clied, pluviam vespere
distillabit morbiferam, quae gravia et purulenta humanis in 15
corporibus, et in pecorum uberibus, nasci faciet ulcera;
quibus homines morbidi et pecudes, ilia venenosa gravitu-
dine usque ad mortem molestati, laborabunt. Sed nos
eorum miserati subvenire languoribus, Domino miserante,
debemus. Tu ergo, Silnane, nunc mecum descendens de 20
monte, navigationem praepara crastina die, vita comite et
Deo volente, a me pane accepto, Dei invocato nomine bene-
dicto, quo in aqua intincto, homines ea conspersi, etpecora,
celerem recuperabunt salutem.' Quid moramur? Die
crastina, his quae necessaria erant citius praeparatis, Sil- 25
nanus, accepto de manu Sancti pane benedicto, in pace
enavigavit. Cui Sanctus, a se eadem emigranti hora, addit
hoc consolatorium verbum, dicens, ' Confide, fili, ventos
habebis secundos et prosperos die noctuque, usque dum
ad illam pervenias regionem quae dicitur Ard Ceannachte, 30
ut languentibus ibidem celerius cum salubri subvenias
pane.' Quid plura? Silnanus, verbo obsecutus Sancti,
prospera et celeri navigatione, auxiliante Domino, ad supra
memoratam perveniens partem illius regionis, plebem de
qua Sanctus praedixerat devastatam nubis praedictae mor- 35
bifera reperiit pluvia superpluente, citius praecurrentis.
Imprimisque bis terni viri in eadem mari vicina domo
reperti in extremis morte positi appropinquante, ab eodem
Silnano aqua benedictionis aspersi, in eodem die oppor
tunity sanati sunt. Cuius subitae sanationis rumor, per 40
totam illam morbo pestilentiore vastatam regionem cito
divulgatus, omnem morbiduni ad sancti Columbae legatum

LIB. II CAP. IV 129
invitavit populum; qui, iuxta Sancti mandatum, homines
et pecora pane intincta benedicto aqua conspersit, et con*
tinuo plenam recuperantes salutem, homines, cum pecudi-
bus salvati, Christum in sancto Columba cum eximia
5 gratiarum actione laudarunt. In hac itaque suprascripta
narratione, ut aestimo, duo haec manifeste pariter comitan-
tur; hoc est, gratia prophetationis de nube, et virtutis
miraculum in aegrotantium sanitate. Haec per omnia esse
verissima, supradictus Silnanus, Christi miles, sancti lega-
10 tus Columbae, coram Segineo abbate et ceteris testatus est
senioribus. Cap. V. De maugina sancta virgine daimeni filia,
quae inhabitaverat in clochur filiorum daimeni.
A broken hip-bone cured by holy water. Alio in tempore
I5 Sanctus, cum in Ioua demoraretur insula, prima diei hora,
quendam advocans fratrem, Lugaidum nomine, cuius cogno
mentum Scotice Lathir dicitur, et taliter eum compellat,
dicens, ' Praepara cito ad Scotiam celerem navigationem,
nam mihi valde est necesse te usque ad Clocherum filiorum
20 Daimeni destinare legatum. In hac enim praeterita nocte,
casu aliquo, Maugina, sancta virgo, filia Daimeni, ab ora
torio post missam domum reversa, titubavit, coxaque eius
in duas confracta est partes. Haec saepius meum, inclami-
tans, nomen commemorat, a Domino sperans se accepturam
25 per me consolationem.' Quid plura? Lugaido obsecun-
danti, et consequenter emigranti, Sanctus pineam tradit
cum benedictione capsellam, dicens, ' Benedictio, quae in
hac capsellula continetur, quando ad Mauginam pervenies
visitandam, in aquae vasculum intingatur, eademque bene-
30 dictionis aqua super eius infundatur coxam ; et statim,
invocato Dei nomine, coxale coniungetur os, et densabitur ;
et sancta virgo plenam recuperabit salutem.' Et hoc
Sanctus addit, ' En ego coram in huius capsae operculo
numerum viginti trium annorum describo, quibus sacra
35 virgo in hac praesenti, post eandem salutem, victura est
vita.' Quae omnia sic plene expleta sunt, sicuti a Sancto
praedicta : nam, statim ut Lugaidus ad sanctam pervenit
virginem, aqua benedicta, sicut Sanctus commendavit, per-
fusa coxa, sine ulla morula condensato osse, plene sanata
40 est ; et in adventu legati sancti Columbae cum ingenti
gratiarum actione gavisa, viginti tribus annis, secundum
21. Mauguina B. Cf. p. 123.
2211 I

130 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
Sancti prophetiam, post sanitatem, in bonis actibus per-
manens, vixit.
Cap. VI. De his quae in dorso ceate peractae sunt
DIVERSORUM SANITATIBUS MORBORUM.
Cures at Drumceatt. Vir vitae praedicabilis, sicuti nobis s
ab expertis traditum est, diversorum languores infirmorum,
invocato Christi nomine, illis in diebus sanavit, quibus, ad
regum pergens condictum in Dorso Cette, brevi commoratus
est tempore. Nam aut sanctae manus protensione, aut
aqua ab eo benedicta, aegroti plures aspersi, aut etiam 10
fimbriae eius tactu amphibali, aut alicuius rei, salis vide
licet vel panis, benedictione accepta, et lymphis intincta,
plenam credentes recuperarunt salutem.
Cap. VII. De petra salis a sancto benedicta, quam
ignis absumere non POTUIT. 15
Preservation of a lump of salt. Alio itidem in tempore
Colgu filius Cellachi postulatam a Sancto petram salis
benedictam accipit, sorori et suae nutrici profuturam, quae
ophthalmiae laborabat valde gravi languore. Talem eu-
logiam eadem sorer et nutricia de manu fratris accipiens, 20
in pariete super lectum suspendit ; casuque post aliquantos
contigit dies, ut idem viculus, cum supradictae domuncula
feminae, flamma vastante, totus concremaretur. Mirum
dictu, illius parietis particula, ne beati viri in ea deperiret
suspensa benedictio, post totam ambustam domum, stans 25
illaesa permansit ; nee ignis ausus est attingere binales, in
quibus talis pendebat salis petra, sudes.
Cap. VIII. De librario folio sancti manu descripto,
QUOD AQUA CORRUMPI NON POTUIT.
Preservation of a leaf written by St. Columba. Aliud 30
miraculum aestimo non tacendum, quod aliquando factum
est per contrarium elementum. Multorum namque trans-
cursis annorum circulis post beati ad Dominum transitum
viri, quidam iuvenis de equo lapsus in flumine, quod
Scotice Boend vocitatur, mersus et mortuus, viginti sub 35
aqua diebus permansit ; qui, sicuti sub ascella, cadens,
libros in pelliceo reconditos sacculo habebat, ita etiam
post supra memoratum dierum numerum est repertus,
sacculum cum libris inter brachium et latus continens ;
cuius etiam ad aridam reportato cadavere, et aperto sacculo, 40

LIB. II CAP. VIII 131
folium sancti Columbae Sanctis scriptum digitulis, inter
aliorum folia librorum non tantum corrupta sed et putre-
facta, inventum est siccum et nullo modo corruptum, ac si
in scriniolo esset reconditum.
5 Cap. IX. De alio miraculo in re simili gesto.
Also of a hymn-book. Alio in tempore hymnorum liber
septimaniorum sancti Columbae manu descriptus, de
cuiusdam pueri de ponte elapsi humeris, cum pelliceo in
quo inerat sacculo, in quodam partis Laginorum fluvio
10 submersus cecidit. Qui videlicet libellus, a Natalitio
Domini usque ad Paschalium consummationem dierum in
aquis permanens, postea in ripa fluminis a feminis qui
busdam ibidem deambulantibus repertus, ad quendam
Iogenanum presbyterum, gente Pictum, cuius prius iuris
15 erat, in eodem, non solum madefacto, sed etiam putrefacto,
portatur sacculo. Quem scilicet sacculum idem Iogenanus
aperiens, suum incorruptum libellum invenit, et ita nitidum
et siccum, ac si in scrinio tanto permansisset tempore, et
nunquam in aquas cecidisset. Sed et alia de libris manu
20 sancti Columbae caraxatis similia ab expertis indubitanter
didicimus in diversis acta locis : qui scilicet libri, in aquis
mersi, nullo modo corrumpi potuere. De supra memorato
vero Iogenani libro a viris quibusdam veracibus et per-
fectis bonique testimonii, sine ulla ambiguitate, relationem
25 accepimus ; qui eundem libellum, post tot supradictos
submersionis dies, candidissimum et lucidissimum con-
siderarunt. Haec duo, quamlibet in rebus parvis peracta, et per
contraria ostensa elementa, ignem scilicet et aquam, beati
30 testantur honorem viri, et quanti et qualis meriti apud
habeatur Dominum.
Cap. X. De aqua quae, sancto orante, ex dura.pro-
DUCTA EST PETRA.
Water brought from a rock. A prophecy. Et quia paulo
3? superius aquatici facta est mentio elementi, silere non
debemus etiam alia miracula, quae per Sanctum Dominus
eiusdem in re, licet diversis temporibus et locis, creaturae
peregit. Alio namque in tempore, cum Sanctus in sua
conversaretur peregrinatione, infans ei per parentes ad
40 baptizandum offertur iter agenti ; et quia in vicinis aqua
non inveniebatur locis, Sanctus, ad proximam declinans
12

132 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
rupem, flexis genibus paulisper oravit, et post orationem
surgens, eiusdem rupis frontem benedixit; de qua conse
quenter aqua abundanter ebulliens fluxit ; in qua continuo
infantem baptizavit. De quo etiam baptizato haec, vati-
cinans, intulit verba, inquiens, ' Hic puerulus usque in 5
extremam longaevus vivet aetatem; in annis iuvenilibus
carnalibus desideriis satis serviturus, et deinceps Chris
tianae usque in exitum militiae mancipandus, in bona
senectute ad Dominum emigrabit.' Quae omnia eidem
viro iuxta Sancti contigerunt vaticinium. Hic erat Lugu- 10
cencalad, cuius parentes fuerant in Artdaib Muirchol, ubi
hodieque fonticulus, sancti nomine Columbae pollens,
cernitur. Cap. XI. De alia maligna fontana aqua quam vir
BEATUS IN PICTORUM REGIONE BENEDIXIT. 15
A baneful spring blessed and healed. Alio in tempore
vir beatus, cum in Pictorum provincia per aliquot demora
retur dies, audiens in plebe gentili de alio fonte divulgari
famam, quem quasi deum stolidi homines, diabolo eorum
obcaecante sensus, venerabantur ; nam de eodem fonticulo 20
bibentes, aut in eo manus vel pedes de industria lavantes,
daemoniaca, Deo permittente, percussi arte, aut leprosi,
aut lusci, aut etiam debiles, aut quibuscunque aliis infestati
infirmitatibus revertebantur. Ob quae omnia seducti gen
tiles divinum fonti deferebant honorem. Quibus compertis, 25
Sanctus alia die intrepidus accessit ad fontem. Quod
videntes magi, quos saepe ipse confusos et victos a se
repellebat, valde gavisi sunt, scilicet putantes eum similia
illius nocuae tactu aquae passurum. Ille vero imprimis
elevata manu sancta, cum invocatione Christi nominis, 30
manus lavat et pedes; tum deinde cum sociis de eadem,
a se benedicta, bibit. Ex illaque die daemones ab eodem
recesserunt fonte, et non solum nulli nocere permissus est,
sed etiam, post Sancti benedictionem et in eo lavationem,
multae in populo infirmitates per eundem sanatae sunt 35
fontem. Cap. XII. DE BEATI VIRI IN MARI PERICULO, ET TEMPESTATIS
EO ORANTE SUBITA SEDATIONE.
A storm ceases at his prayer. Alio in tempore vir sanctus
in mari periclitari coepit ; totum namque vas navis, valde 40
concussum, magnis undarum cumulis fortiter feriebatur,

LIB. II CAP. XII 133
grandi undique insistente ventorum tempestate. Nautae
tum forte Sancto, sentinam cum illis exhaurire conanti,
aiunt, 'Quod nunc agis non magnopere nobis proficit
periclitantibus; exorare potius debes pro pereuntibus.' Quo
5 audito, aquam cessat amaram exinanire, hininglas ; dulcem
vero et intentam precem coepit ad Dominum fundere.
Mirum dictu, eodem horae momento, quo Sanctus, in
prora stans, extensis ad caelum palmis, Omnipotentem
exoravit, tota aeris tempestas et maris saevitia, dicto citius
10 sedata, cessavit, et statim serenissima tranquillitas sub-
secuta est. Qui vero navi inerant, obstupefacti, cum magna
admiratione referentes gratias, glorificaverunt Dominum in
sancto et praedicabili viro.
Cap. XIII. De alio eius in mari simili periculo (in
isvortice Brecain. Cod. B).
Another storm ceases at the prayer of St. Cainnech. Alio
quoque in tempore, saeva nimis insistente et periculosa
tempestate, sociis ut pro eis Sanctus Dominum exoraret
inclamitantibus ; hoc eis dedit responsum, dicens, ' Hac in
20 die non est meum pro vobis in hoc periculo constitutis
orare, sed est abbatis Cainnichi, sancti viri.' Mira dicturus
sum. Eadem hora sanctus Cainnichus, in suo conversans
monasterio, quod Latine Campulus Bovis dicitur, Scotice
vero Ached-bou, Spiritu revelante Sancto, supradictam
25 sancti Columbae interiore cordis aure vocem audierat ;
et cum forte post nonam coepisset horam in refectorio
eulogiam frangere, ocius deserit mensulam, unoque in
pede inhaerente calceo, et altero pro nimia festinatione
relicto, festinanter pergit hac cum voce ad ecclesiam,
30 ' Non est nobis nunc temporis prandere quando in mari
periclitatur navis sancti Columbae. Hoc enim momento,
ipse huius nomen Cainnichi ingeminans commemorat, ut
pro eo et sociis periclitantibus Christum exoret.' Post haec
illius verba oratorium ingressus, flexis genibus paulisper
35 oravit ; eiusque orationem exaudiente Domino, illico tem
pestas cessavit, et mare valde tranquillum factum est.
Tum deinde sanctus Columba, Cainnichi ad ecclesiam
properationem in spiritu videns, quamlibet longe conver-
santis, mirabiliter hoc de puro pectore profert verbum,
4° dicens, ' Nunc cognovi, O Cainniche, quod Deus tuam
exaudierit precem ; nunc valde nobis proficit tuus ad
27. eylogiam sic cap. vii. supra {litera Y ex Graeca T efficta) A.

i34 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
ecclesiam velox cum uno calceamento cursus.' In hoc
itaque tali miraculo amborum, ut credimus, oratio cooperata
est Sanctorum.
Cap. XIV. De baculo, in portu, sancti cainnichi,
NEGLECTO. 5
The staff of St. Cainnech projected over the sea. Alio in
tempore idem supra memoratus Cainnichus suum, a portu
Iouae insulae ad Scotiam navigare incipiens, baculum
secum portare oblitus est ; qui scilicet eius baculus, post
ipsius egressum in litore repertus, sancti in manum traditus 10
est Columbae ; quemque, domum reversus, in oratorium
portat, et ibidem solus in oratione diutius demoratur.
Cainnichus proinde ad Oidecham appropinquans insulam,
subito de sua oblivione compunctus, interius perculsus est.
Sed post modicum intervallum, de navi descendens, et in 15
terra cum oratione genua flectens, baculum, quem in portu
Iouae insulae oblitus post se reliquit, super cespitem
terrulae Aithche ante sei invenit. De cuius etiam effecta
divinitus evectione valde est miratus cum gratiarum in
Deo actione. 20
Cap. XV. De baitheneo et columbano filio beogni,
SANCTIS PRESBYTERIS, EADEM SIBI DIE VENTUM PROSPERUM
A DOMINO PER BEATI VIRI ORATIONEM DONARI POSTULANTI-
BUS, SED DIVERSA NAVIGANTIBUS VIA.
The wind changed at the prayer of St. Columba. Alio 25
quoque in tempore superius memorati sancti viri ad
Sanctum venientes, ab eo simul unanimes postulant ut
ipse a Domino postulans impetraret prosperum crastina
die ventum sibi dari diversa emigraturis via. Quibus
Sanctus respondens, hoc dedit responsum, ' Mane crastina 30
die Baitheneus, a portu Iouae enavigans insulae, flatum
habebit secundum usquequo ad portum perveniat Campi
Lunge.' Quod ita, iuxta Sancti verbum, Dominus donavit:
nam Baitheneus plenis eadem die velis magnum totumque
pelagus usque ad Ethicam transmeavit terram. Hora vero 3;
eiusdem diei tertia vir venerandus Columbanum advocat
presbyterum dicens, ' Nunc Baitheneus prospere optatum
pervenit ad portum : ad navigandum te hodie praepara ;
mox Dominus ventum convertet in aquilonem.' Cui sic
prolato beati viri verbo eadem hora auster obsecundans 40
ventus se in aquiloneum convertit flatum ; et ita in eadem

LIB. II CAP. XV 135
die uterque vir sanctus, alter ab altero in pace aversus,
Baitheneus mane ad Ethicam terram, Columbanus post
meridiem Hiberniam incipiens appetere, plenis enavigavit
velis et flatibus secundis. Hoc illustris viri virtute ora-
5 tionum, Domino donante, effectum est miraculum ; quia,
sicut scriptum est, Omnia possibilia sunt credenti. Post
ilia in die sancti Columbani egressum, sanctus hoc de illo
propheticum Columba protulit verbum, 'Vir sanctus Colum
banus, cui emigranti benediximus, nusquam in hoc saeculo
10 faciem videbit meam.' Quod ita post expletum est, nam
eodem anno sanctus Columba ad Dominum transiit.
Cap. XVI. De repulsione daemonis qui in lactario
LATITABAT VASCULO.
A demon driven out of a milk-pail. Alio in tempore
15 quidam iuvenis, Columbanus nomine, Nepos Briuni, ad
ianuam tugurioli subito perveniens restitit, in quo vir
beatus scribebat. Hic idem, post vaccarum reversus
mulsionem, in dorso portans vasculum novo plenum lacte,
dicit ad Sanctum, ut iuxta morem tale benediceret onus.
20 Sanctus tum ex adverso eminus in aere signum salutare
manu elevata depinxit, quod illico valde concussum est,
gergennaque operculi, per sua bina foramina retrusa,
longius proiecta est, operculum terra tenus cecidit, lac ex
maiore mensura in solum defusum est. Iuvenculus vas,
25 cum parvo quod remanserat lactis, super fundum in terra
deponit, genua suppliciter flectit. Ad quem Sanctus,
' Surge,' ait, ' Columbane, hodie in tua operatione negli-
genter egisti, daemonem enim in fundo vacui latitantem
vasculi, impresso Dominicae crucis signo, ante infusionem
30 lactis, non effugasti : cuius videlicet signi nunc virtutem
non sustinens, tremefactus, toto pariter turbato vase,
velociter cum lactis effusione aufugit. Hue ergo ad me
propius vasculum, ut illud benedicam, approxima.' Quo
facto, Sanctus semivacuum quod benedixerat vas, eodem
35 momento divinitus repletum repertum est ; parvumque
quod prius in fundo vasis remanserat, sub sanctae manus
benedictione, usque ad summam citius excreverat.
Cap. XVII. De vasculo quod quidam maleficus nomine
SILNANUS LACTE DE MASCULO BOVE EXPRESSO REPLEVERAT.
4o Milk taken from an ox. Hoc in domo alicuius plebeii
divitis, qui in monte Cainle commorabatur, Foirtgirni

136 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
nomine, factum traditur. Ubi cum Sanctus hospitaretur,
inter rusticanos contendentes duos, quorum prius adventum
praescivit, recta iudicatione iudicavit : unusque ex eis, qui
maleficus erat, a Sancto iussus, de bove masculo, qui
prope erat, lac arte diabolica expressit : quod Sanctus, non 5
ut ilia confirmaret maleficia, fieri iussit, quod absit ; sed ut
ea coram multitudine destrueret. Vir itaque beatus vas,
ut videbatur tali plenum lacte, sibi ocius dari poposcit ; et
hac cum sententia benedixit dicens, ' Modo probabitur non
esse hoc verum, quod putatur, lac, sed daemonum fraude, 10
ad decipiendos homines, decoloratus sanguis : ' et continuo
lacteus ille color in naturam versus est propriam, hoc est,
in sanguinem. Bos quoque, qui per unius horae momentum,
turpi macie tabidus et maceratus, erat morti proximus,
benedicta a Sancto aqua superfusus, mira sub celeritate 15
sanatus est.
Cap. XVIII. De lugneo mocumin.
Bleeding at the nose cured.' Quadam die quidam bonae
indolis iuvenis, Lugneus nomine, qui postea senex in
monasterio Elenae insulae praepositus erat, ad Sanctum 20
veniens, queritur de profluvio sanguinis, qui crebro per
multos menses de naribus eius immoderate profluebat.
Quo propius accito, Sanctus ambas ipsius nares binis
manus dexterae digitulis constringens benedixit. Ex qua
hora benedictionis nunquam sanguis de naso eius usque 25
ad extremum distillavit diem.
Cap. XIX. De piscibus beato viro specialiter a deo
PRAEPARATIS. A large salmon in the net. Alio in tempore, cum prae-
dicabilis viri sociales, strenui piscatores, quinos in rete 30
pisces cepissent in fluvio Sale piscoso, Sanctus ad eos,
' Iterato,' ait, 'rete in flumen mittite, et statim invenietis
grandem, quem mihi Dominus praeparavit, piscem.' Qui,
verbo Sancti obtemperantes, mirae magnitudinis traxerunt
in retiaculo esocem a Deo sibi praeparatum. Alio quoque 35
in tempore, cum Sanctus iuxta Cei Stagnum aliquantis
demoraretur diebus, comites ire ad piscandum cupientes
retardavit, dicens, ' Hodie et eras nullus in flumine repe-
27. de esoce magno in fluvio sale iuxta verbum sancti invento B.
35. capit. novum orditur, cui praefigitur titulus de duobus piscibus illo
prophetante in flumine quod vocitatur boo repertis B.

LIB. II CAP. XIX 137
rietur piscis : tertia mittam vos die, et invenietis binos
grandes, in rete retentos, fluminales esoces.' Quos ita
post duas dieculas, rete mittentes, duos rarissimae magni
tudinis, in fluvio qui dicitur Bo reperientes, ad terram
5 traxerunt. In his duabus memoratis piscationibus, mira-
culi apparet virtus et prophetica simul praescientia comi-
tata, pro quibus Sanctus et socii Deo grates eximias reddi-
derunt. Cap. XX. De nesano curvo qui in ea regione conver-
3° SABATUR QUAE STAGNO APORUM EST CONTERMINA.
The saint blesses a poor but hospitable man. Hic Nesanus>
cum esset valde inops, sanctum alio tempore gaudenter
hospitio recepit virum. Cui cum hospitaliter secundum
vires, unius noctis spatio ministrasset, Sanctus ab eo in-
J5 quirit, cuius boculas numeri haberet : ille ait, 'Quinque.'
Sanctus consequenter, 'Ad me,' ait, 'adduc, ut eas bene-
dicam.' Quibus adductis, et elevata manu sancta bene-
dictis, ' Ab hac die tuae pauculae quinque vacculae crescent,'
ait Sanctus, ' usque ad centum et quinque vaccarum nu-
20 merum.' Et quia idem Nesanus homo plebeius erat, cum
uxore et filiis, hoc etiam ei vir beatus benedictionis aug-
mentum intulit, dicens, ' Erit semen tuum in filiis et ne-
potibus benedictum/ Quae omnia plene, iuxta verbum
Sancti, sine ulla expleta sunt imminutione. [De quodam
25 viro divite tenacissimo, nomine Uigenio, qui sanctum
Columbam despexerat, nee eum hospitio recepit, hanc e
contrario protulit prophetalem sententiam, inquiens, ' Illius
autem avari divitiae, qui Christum in peregrinis hospitibus
sprevit, ab hac die paulatim imminuentur, et ad nihilum
3° redigentur ; et ipse mendicabit ; et filius eius cum semi-
vacua de domo in domum perula discurret ; et, ab aliquo
eius aemulo securi in fossula excussorii percussus morie
tur.' Quae omnia de utroque, iuxta sancti prophetiam viri,
plene sunt expleta.]
35 Cap. XXI. De columbano aeque plebeio viro, cuius
PECORA ADMODUM PAUCA VIR SANCTUS BENEDIXIT ; SED
POST ILLIUS BENEDICTIONEM USQUE AD CENTENARIUM
CREVERUNT NUMERUM.
He blesses a poor man's cattle. Alio quoque tempore vir
40 beatus quadam nocte, cum apud supra memoratum Colum-
24-34. om- A. sine rubrica, paragrapho, titulo, aut quavis distinctione
tenori praecedenlium adhaeret B.

138 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
banum tunc temporis inopem, bene hospitaretur, mane
primo Sanctus, sicuti superius de Nesano commemoratum
est, de quantitate et qualitate substantiae plebeium hospitem
interrogat. Qui interrogatus, 'Quinque,' ait, 'tantummodo
habeo vacculas ; quae, si eas benedixeris, in maius cres- 5
cent.' Quas illico, a Sancto iussus, adduxit, similique
modo, ut supra de Nesani quinis dictum est vacculis, et
huius Columbani boculas quinales aequaliter benedicens,
inquit, ' Centenas et quinque, Deo donante, habebis vaccas,
et erit in filiis et nepotibus tuis florida benedictio.' 10
Quae omnia, iuxta beati viri prophetationem, in agris et
pecoribus eius et prole, plenissime adimpleta sunt ; mi-
rumque in modum numerus a Sancto praefinitus supra
memoratis ambobus viris, in centenario vaccarum et qui-
nario expletus numero, nullo modo superaddi potuit : nam 15
ilia, quae supra praefinitum excedebant numerum, diversis
praerepta casibus, nusquam comparuerant, excepto eo
quod aut in usus proprios familiae, aut etiam in opus
eleemosynae, expendi poterat. In hac itaque narratione,
ut in ceteris, virtutis miraculum et prophetia simul aperte 20
ostenditur : nam in magna vaccarum ampliatione benedic
tionis pariter et orationis virtus apparet, et in praefinitione
numeri prophetalis praescientia.
Cap. XXII. De malefactorum interitu qui sanctum
DISPEXERANT. 2;.
Predicts the fate of a persecutor. Vir venerandus supra
memoratum Columbanum, quem de paupere virtus bene
dictionis eius ditem fecit, valde diligebat ; quia ei multa
pietatis officia praebebat. Erat autem illo in tempore qui
dam malefactor homo, bonorum persecutor, nomine loan 30
filius Conallis filii Domnallis, de regio Gabrani ortus
genere. Hic supradictum Columbanum, sancti amicum
Columbae, persequebatur ; domumque eius, omnibus in ea
inventis, devastaverat, ereptis, non semel, sed bis inimiciter
agens. Unde forte non immerito eidem maligno accidit 35
viro, ut tertia vice post eiusdem domus tertiam deprae-
dationem, beatum virum, quem quasi longius positum di-
spexerat, propius appropinquantem, ad navem revertens
praeda onustus cum sociis, obvium haberet. Quem cum
Sanctus de suis corriperet malis, praedamque deponere 40
10. Cummian, XXV. 24. de interitu iohannis filii conallis eadem
die qua sanctum spernens dehonoravit B.

LIB. II CAP. XXII 139
rogans suaderet, ille, immitis et insuadibilis permanens,
Sanctum dispexit, navimque cum praeda ascendens, beatum
virum subsannabat et deridebat. Quem Sanctus ad mare
usque prosecutus est, vitreasque intrans aquas usque ad
5 genua aequoreas, levatis ad caelum ambis manibus,
Christum intente precatur, qui suos glorificantes se glori-
ficat electos. Est vero ille portus, in quo post egressum
persecutoris stans paulisper Dominum exorabat, in loco
qui Scotice vocitatur Ait-Chambas Art-muirchol. Tum
10 proinde Sanctus, expleta oratione, ad aridam reversus, in
eminentiore cum comitibus sedet loco : ad quos ilia in hora
formidabilia valde profert verba, dicens, ' Hic miserabilis
homuncio, qui Christum in suis dispexit servis, ad portum,
a quo nuper coram vobis emigravit, nunquam revertetur ;
15 sed nee ad alias, quas appetit, terras, subita praeventus
morte, cum suis perveniet malis cooperatoribus. Hodie,
quam mox videbitis, de nube a borea orta immitis immissa
procella eum cum sociis submerget ; nee de eis etiam unus
remanebit fabulator.' Post aliquantum paucularum inter-
20 ventum morarum, die serenissima, et ecce de mari oborta,x
sicut Sanctus dixerat, nubes, cum magno fragore venti
emissa, raptorem cum praeda inter Maleam et Colosum
insulas inveniens, subito turbato submersit medio mari :
nee ex eis, iuxta verbum Sancti, qui navi inerant etiam
25 unus evasit ; mirumque in modum, toto circumquaque
manente tranquillo aequore, talis una rapaces ad inferna
submersos prostravit procella, misere quidem, sed digne.
Cap. XXIII. De quodam feradacho subita morte
SUBTRACTO.
30 Fate of a treacherous man. Alio quoque in tempore vir
sanctus quendam de nobili Pictorum genere exulem,
Tarainum nomine, in manum alicuius Feradachi ditis viri,
qui in Ilea insula habitabat, diligenter assignans com-
mendavit, ut in eius comitatu, quasi unus de amicis, per
35 aliquot menses conversaretur. Quem cum tali commen-
datione de sancti manu viri suscepisset commendatum,
post paucos dies, dolose agens, crudeli eum iussione truci-
davit. Quod immane scelus cum Sancto a commeantibus
esset nunciatum, sic respondens profatus est, 'Non mihi
4° sed Deo ille infelix homunculus mentitus est, cuius nomen
de libro vitae delebitur. Haec verba aesteo nunc mediante
28. de alicuius feradachi morte fraudulenti viri a sancto praenunciata B.

140 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
proloquimur tempore, sed autumnali, antequam de suilla
degustet carne, arboreo saginata fructu; subita praeventus
morte, ad infernalia rapietur loca.' Haec sancti prophetia
viri, cum misello nunciaret homuncioni, despiciens irrisit
Sanctum : et post dies aliquot autumnalium mensium, eo 5
iubente, scrofa nucum impinguata nucleis iugulatur, nec-
dum aliis eiusdem viri iugulatis suibus ; de qua celeriter
exinterata partem sibi in veru celerius assari praecipit, ut
de ea impatiens homo praegustans, beati viri propheta-
tionem destrueret. Qua videlicet assata, dari sibi poposcit 10
aliquam praegustandam morsus particulam ; ad quam per-
cipiendam extensam manum priusquam ad os converteret,
expirans, mortuus retro in dorsum cecidit. Et qui viderant,
et qui audierant, valde tremefacti, admirantes, Christum in
sancto propheta honorificantes glorificarunt. 15
Cap. XXIV. De alio quodam nefario homine, eccle
siarum persecutore, cuius nomen latine manus
dextera dicitur.
, Sees at a distance that a certain ruffian is slain. Alio in
tempore, vir beatus cum alios ecclesiarum persecutores, in 20
Hinba commoratus insula, excommunicare coepisset, filios
videlicet Conallis filii Domnaill, quorum unus erat loan,
de quo supra retulimus, quidam ex eorundem malefactori-
bus sociis, diaboli instinctu, cum hasta irruit, ut Sanctum
interficeret. Quod praecavens unus ex fratribus, Findlu- 25
ganus nomine, mori paratus pro sancto viro, cuculla eius
indutus intercessit. Sed mirum in modum beati viri tale
vestimentum, quasi quaedam munitissima et impenetrabilis
lorica, quamlibet fortis viri forti impulsione acutioris hastae,
transfigi non potuit, sed illaesum permansit ; et qui eo 3°
indutus erat, intactus et incolumis tali protectus est muni-
mento. Ille vero sceleratus, qui Manus Dextera, retro
repedavit, aestimans quod sanctum hasta transfixisset
virum. Post ex ea die completum annum, cum Sanctus in
Ioua commoraretur insula, ' Usque in hanc diem,' ait, 35
' integratus est annus, ex qua die Lam-dess, in quantum
potuit, Findluganum mea iugulavit vice ; sed et ipse, ut
aestimo, hac in hora iugulatur.' Quod iuxta Sancti reve-
lationem eodem momento in ilia insula factum est, quae
Latine Longa vocitari potest : ubi ipse solus Lam-dess, in 40
aliqua virorum utrinque acta belligeratione, Cronani filii
Baithani iaculo transfixus, in nomine, ut fertur, sancti

LIB. II CAP. XXIV 141
Columbae emisso, interierat ; et post eius interitum belli-
gerare viri cessarunt.
Cap. XXV. De alio itidem innocentium persecutore.
His sentence on a murderer, when he was a deacon. Cum
5 vir beatus, adhuc iuvenis diaconus, in parte Laginensium,
divinam addiscens sapientiam, conversaretur, quadam acci
dit die ut homo quidam innocuorum immitis persecutor
crudelis, quandam in campi planitie filiolam fugientem
persequeretur. Quae cum forte Gemmanum senem, supra
10 memorati iuvenis diaconi magistrum, in campo legentem
vidisset, ad eum recto cursu, quanta valuit velocitate, con-
fugit. Qui, tali perturbatus subitatione, Columbam eminus
legentem advocat, ut ambo, in quantum valuissent, filiam a
persequente defenderent. Qui, statim superveniens, nulla
15 eis ab eo data reverentia, filiam sub vestimentis eorum
lancea iugulavit ; et relinquens iacentem mortuam super
pedes eorum, aversus abire coepit. Senex tum, valde
tristificatus, conversus ad Columbam, ' Quanto,' ait, ' sancte
puer Columba, hoc scelus cum nostra dehonoratione tem-
20 poris spatio inultum fieri Iudex iustus patietur Deus ? '
Sanctus consequenter hanc in ipsum sceleratorem protulit
sententiam, dicens, ' Eadem hora qua interfectae ab eo
filiae anima ascendit ad caelos, anima ipsius interfectoris
descendat ad inferos.' Et, dicto citius, cum verbo, sicut
25 Ananias coram Petro, sic et ille innocentium iugulator,
coram oculis sancti iuvenis, in eadem mortuus cecidit
terrula. Cuius rumor subitae et formidabilis vindictae
continuo per multas Scotiae provincias, cum mira sancti
diaconi fama, divulgatus est.
30 Hucusque de adversariorum terrificis ultionibus dixisse
sufficiat : nunc de bestiis aliqua narrabimus pauca.
Cap. XXVI. De apro per eius orationem interempto.
Sentence of death on a wild boar. Alio in tempore vir
beatus, cum in Scia insula aliquantis demoraretur diebus,
35- paulo longius solus, orationis intuitu, separatus a fratribus,
silvam ingressus densam, mirae magnitudinis aprum,
3. qui in laginensium provincia sicut ananias coram petro eodem mo
mento a sancto terribiliter obiurgatus cecidit mortuus add. B. 32. de
apri mortificatione qui a sancto eminus cecidit signo prostratus dominicae
crucis B. 36. Cummian, XXV.

i4a VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
quem forte venatici canes persequebantur, obviam
habuit. Quo viso eminus, Sanctus aspiciens eum restitit.
Tum deinde, invocato Dei nomine, sancta elevata manu,
cum intenta dicit ad eum oratione, ' Ulterius hue proce-
dere noles : in loco ad quem nunc devenisti morere.' 5
Quo Sancti in silvis personante verbo, non solum ultra
accedere non valuit, sed ante faciem ipsius terribilis ferus,
verbi eius virtute mortificatus, cito corruit.
Cap. XXVII. De cuiusdam aquatilis bestiae virtute
ORATIONIS BEATI VIRI REPULSIONE. ,0
A river monster driven back. Alio quoque in tempore,
cum vir beatus in Pictorum provincia per aliquot moraretur
dies, necesse habuit fluvium transire Nesam : ad cuius
cum accessisset ripam, alios ex accolis aspicit misellum
humantes homunculum ; quem, ut ipsi sepultores ferebant, 15
quaedam paulo ante nantem aquatilis praeripiens bestia
morsu momordit saevissimo : cuius miserum cadaver, sero
licet, quidam in alno subvenientes porrectis praeripuere
uncinis. Vir e contra beatus, haec audiens, praecipit ut
aliquis ex comitibus enatans, caupallum, in altera stantem 20
ripa, ad se navigando reducat. Quo sancti audito praedi-
cabilis viri praecepto, Lugneus Mo.cumin, nihil moratus,
obsecundans, depositis excepta vestimentis tunica, immittit
se in aquas. Sed bellua, quae prius non tam satiata, quam
in praedam accensa, in profundo fluminis latitabat, sentiens 25
eo nante turbatam supra aquam, subito emergens, natatilis
ad hominem in medio natantem alveo, cum ingenti fremitu,
aperto cucurrit ore. Vir tum beatus videns, omnibus qui
inerant, tam barbaris quam etiam fratribus, nimio terrore
perculsis, cum salutare, sancta elevata manu, in vacuo aere 30
crucis pinxisset signum, invocato Dei nomine, feroci im-
peravit bestiae, dicens, ' Noles ultra progredi, nee hominem
tangas, retro citius revertere.' Tum vero bestia, hac Sancti
audita voce, retrorsum, ac si funibus retraheretur, velociori
recursu fugit tremefacta : quae prius Lugneo nanti eo usque 35
appropinquavit, ut hominem inter et bestiam non amplius
esset quam unius contuli longitude Fratres tum, reces-
sisse videntes bestiam, Lugneumque commilitonem ad eos
intactum et incolumem in navicula reversum, cum ingenti
9-10. de alia aquatili bestia quae eo orante et manum e contra levante
retro repulsa est ne lugneo natanti vicino noceret B. 20. caupulum C.
caballum D.

LIB. II CAP. XXVII 143
admiratione glorificaverunt Deum in beato viro. Sed et
gentiles barbari, qui ad praesens inerant, eiusdem miraculi
magnitudine, quod et ipsi viderant, compulsi, Deum magni-
ficaverunt Christianorum.
5 Cap. XXVIII. De benedicta a sancto huius insulae
TERRULA NE DEINCEPS IN EA VIPERARUM ALICUI NOCERENT
VENENA. Serpents made harmless in Iona. Quadam die eiusdem
aestei temporis quo ad Dominum transiit, ad visitandos
10 fratres Sanctus plaustro vectus pergit, qui in campulo
occidentali Iouae insulae opus materiale exercebant. Post
quorum consolatoria a Sancto prolata alloquia, in emi-
nentiore stans loco, sic vaticinatur dicens, ' Ex hac, filioli,
die, scio quod in huius campuli locis nunquam poteritis
15 in futurum videre faciem meam.' Quos, hoc audito verbo,
valde tristificatos videns, consolari eos in quantum fieri
possit conatus, ambas manus elevat sanctas, et totam hanc
nostram benedicens insulam, ait, ' Ex hoc huius horulae
momento omnium viperarum venena nullo modo, in huius
20 insulae terrulis, aut hominibus aut pecoribus nocere pote-
runt, quamdiu Christi mandata eiusdem commorationis
incolae observaverint.'
Cap. XXIX. De pugione a sancto cum dominicae
crucis signaculo benedicto.
25 A spear made harmless. Alio in tempore quidam frater
nomine Molua Nepos Briuni, ad Sanctum eadem scri-
bentem hora veniens, dicit ad eum, ' Hoc quod in manu
habeo ferrum, quaeso benedicas.' Qui, paululum extensa
manu sancta, cum calamo signans benedixit, ad librum
30 de quo scribebat facie conversa. Quo videlicet supradicto
fratre cum ferro benedicto recedente, Sanctus percunctatur
dicens, ' Quod fratri ferrum benedixi ? ' Diormitius, pius
eius ministrator, ' Pugionem,' ait, ' ad iugulandos tauros
vel boves benedixisti.' Qui e contra respondens infit,
35 ' Ferrum quod benedMi, confido in Domino ineo, quia nee
homini nee pecori nocebit.' Quod Sancti firmissimum
eadem hora comprobatum est verbum. Nam idem frater,
vallum egressus monasterii, bovem iugulare volens, tribus
firmis vicibus, et forti impulsione conatus, nee tamen potuit
5-7. de insule ione viperinis serpentibus qui ex qua die sanctus earn
benedixit nulli hominum nee etiam pecoribus nocere potuere B.

144 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
etiam eius transfigere pellem. Quod monachi scientes
experti, eiusdem pugionis ferrum, ignis resolutum calore,
per omnia monasterii ferramenta liquefactum diviserunt
illinitum ; nee postea ullam potuere carnem vulnerare,
illius Sancti manente benedictionis fortitudine. 5
Cap. XXX. De diormitii aegrotantis sanitate.
Recovery of one at the point of death. Alio in tempore
Diormitius, Sancti pius minister, usque ad mortem aegro-
tavit : ad quem, in extremis constitutum, Sanctus visitans
accessit ; Christique invocato nomine, infirmi ad lectulum 10
stans, et pro eo exorans, dixit, ' Exorabilis mihi fias precor,
Domine mi, et animam mei ministratoris pii de huius carnis
habitaculo, me non auferas superstite.' Et hoc dicto ali-
quantisper conticuit. Tum proinde hanc de sacro ore
profert vocem, dicens, ' Hic meus non solum hac vice nunc 15
non morietur puer, sed etiam post meum annis vivet
multis obitum.' Cuius haec exoratio est exaudita : nam
Diormitius, statim post Sancti exaudibilem precem, plenam
recuperavit salutem ; per multos quoque annos post Sancti
ad Dominum emigrationem supervixit. 20
Cap. XXXI. De finteni filii aido in extremis positi
SANITATE.
A similar case. Alio quoque in tempore, Sanctus quum
trans Britannicum iter ageret Dorsum, quidam iuvenis,
unus comitum, subita molestatus aegrimonia, ad extrema 25
usque perductus est, nomine Fintenus : pro quo commili-
tones Sanctum maesti rogitant ut oraret. Qui statim, eis
compatiens, sanctas cum intenta oratione expandit ad
caelum manus, aegrotumque benedicens, ait, ' Hic, pro
quo interpellatis, iuvenculus vita vivet longa ; et post om- 30
nium nostrum qui hic adsumus exitum superstes remanebit,
in bona moriturus senecta.' Quod beati viri vaticinium
plene per omnia expletum est : nam idem iuvenis, illius
postea monasterii fundator, quod dicitur Kailli-au-inde, in
bona senectute praesentem terminavit vitam. 35
Cap. XXXII. De puero quem mortuum vir venerandus
IN CHRISTI DOMINI NOMINE SUSCITAVIT.
Another like case. Illo in tempore, quo sanctus Columba
in Pictorum provincia per aliquot demorabatur dies, quidam
cum tota plebeius familia verbum vitae per interpretatorem 40

LIB. II CAP. XXXII 145
sancto praedicante viro, audiens credidit, credensque bap'tw
zatus est, maritus cum marita liberisque et familiaribus.-
Et, post aliquantulum diecularum intervallum paucarurny
unus filiorum patrisfamilias, gravi correptus aegritudine,
5 usque ad confinia mortis et vitae perductus est. Quem
cum magi morientem vidissent, parentibus cum magna
exprobratione coeperunt illudere, suosque, quasi fortiores:
magnificare deos, Christianorum vero, tanquam infirmiori,
Deo derogare. Quae omnia cum beato intimarentur viro,
10 zelo suscitatus Dei, ad domum cum suis comitibus amici
pergit plebeii, ubi parentes nuper defunctae prolis maestas
celebrabant exequias. Quos Sanctus valde tristificatos
videns, confirmans dictis compellat consolatoriis, ut nullo
modo de divina omnipotentia dubitarent. Consequenter*
15 que percunctatur, dicens, ' In quo hospitiolo corpus
defuncti iacet pueri?' Pater tum orbatus Sanctum sub
maestum deducit culmen, qui statim, omnem foris exclusam
relinquens catervam, solus maestificatum intrat habitacu-
lum, ubi illico, flexis genibus, faciem ubertim lacrymis
20 irrigans, Christum precatur Dominum ; et post ingenicu-
lationem surgens, oculos convertit ad mortuum, dicens,
' In nomine Domini Jesu Christi resuscitare, et sta super
pedes tuos.' Cum hac Sancti honorabili voce anima ad
corpus rediit, defunctusque apertis revixit oculis, cuius
25 manum tenens apostolicus homo erexit, et in statione
stabiliens, secum domum egressus deducit, et parentibus
redivivum assignavit. Clamor tum populi attollitur, plangor
in laetationem convertitur, Deus Christianorum glorificatur.
Hoc noster Columba cum Elia et Eliseo prophetis habeat
30 sibi commune virtutis miraculum ; et cum Petro et Paulo
et Ioanne apostolis partem honoris similem in defunctorum
resuscitatione ; et inter utrosque, hoc est, prophetarum et
apostolorum coetus, honorificam caelestis patriae sedem
homo propheticus et apostolicus aeternalem cum Christo,
35 qui regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus Sancti per omnia
saecula saeculorum.
Cap. XXXIII. De broichano mago ob ancillae reten-
TIONEM INFIRMATO, ET PRO EIUS LIBERATIONE SANATO,
Recovery of Broichan the Druid through the use of a
40 pebble. Eodem in tempore vir venerandus quandam a
Broichano mago Scoticam postulavit servam humanitatis
20. Cummian, XXV,
2291 K

146 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
miseratione liberandam : quam cum ille duro valde et
stolido retentaret animo, Sanctus ad eum locutus, hoc pro
fatur modo, 'Scito, Broichane, scito quia si mihi hanc
peregrinam liberare captivam nolueris, priusquam de hac
revertar provincia, citius morieris.' Et hoc coram Brudeo 5
rege dicens, domum egressus regiam, ad Nesam venit
fluvium, de quo videlicet fluvio lapidem attollens candidum,
ad comites, 'Signate,' ait, 'hunc candidum lapidem, per
quem Dominus in hoc gentili populo multas aegrotorum
perficiet sanitates.' Et hoc effatus verbum consequenter 10
intulit, inquiens, ' Nunc Broichanus fortiter concussus est,
nam angelus de caelo missus, graviter ilium percutiens,
vitream in manu eius, de qua bibebat, confregit in multa
biberam fragmenta ; ipsum vero anhelantem aegra reliquit
suspiria, morti vicinum. Hoc in loco paululum expectemus 15
binos regis nuncios, ad nos celeriter missos, ut Broichano
morienti citius subveniamus : nunc Broichanus, formida-
biliter correptus, ancillulam liberare est paratus.' Adhuc
Sancto haec loquente verba, ecce, sicut praedixit, duo a
rege missi equites adveniunt, omniaque quae in regis 20
munitione de Broichano, iuxta Sancti vaticinium, sunt acta,
enarrantes; et de poculi confractione, et de magi cor-
reptione, et de servulae parata absolutione ; hocque intu-
lerunt, dicentes, ' Rex et eius familiares nos ad te miserunt,
ut nutricio eius Broichano subvenias, mox morituro.' 25
Quibus auditis legatorum verbis, Sanctus binos de comitum
numero ad regem, cum lapide a se benedicto, mittit, dicens,
' Si in primis promiserit se Broichanus famulam liberatu-
rum, tum deinde hic lapillus intingatur in aqua, et sic de eo
bibat, et continuo salutem recuperabit : si vero renuerit, 30
refragans absolvi servam, statim morietur.' Duo missi,
verbo Sancti obsequentes, ad aulam deveniunt regiam,
verba viri venerabilis regi enarrantes. Quibus intimatis
regi et nutricio eius Broichano, valde expaverunt : eadem-
que hora liberata famula sancti legatis viri assignatur, lapis 35
in aqua intingitur, mirumque in modum, contra naturam,
lithus in aquis supernatat, quasi pomum, vel nux, nee
potuit sancti benedictio viri submergi. De quo Broicha-
1 nus natante bibens lapide, statim a vicina rediit morte,
integramque carnis recuperavit salutem. Talis vero 40
lapis, postea, in thesauris regis reconditus, multas in
populo aegritudinum sanitates, similiter in aqua natans
35. Cummian, XXV.

LIB. II CAP. XXXIII 147
intinctus, Domino miserante, effecit. Mirum dictu, ab his
aegrotis, quorum vitae terminus supervenerat, requisitus
idem lapis nullo modo reperiri poterat. Sic et in die^obitus
Brudei regis quaerebatur, nee tamen in eodem loco, ubi
5 fuerat prius reconditus, inveniebatur.
Cap. XXXIV. De beati viri contra broichanum
MAGUM REFRAGATIONE, ET VENTI CONTRARIETATE.
St. Columba sails against the wind. Post supra memo
rata peracta, quadam dieg Broichanus ad sanctum pro*
10 loquens virum infit, ' Dicito mihi, Columba, quo tempore
proponis enavigare?' Sanctus, 'Tertia,' ait, 'die, Deo
volente et vita comite, navigationem proponimus incipere.'
Broichanus e contra, ' Non poteris,' ait ; ' nam ego ventum
tibi contrarium facere, caliginemque umbrosam superin-
15 ducere possum.' Sanctus, ' Omnipotentia Dei,' ait, 'om
nium dominatur, in cuius nomine nostri omnes motus, ipso
gubernante, diriguntur.' Quid plura ? Sanctus die eadem,
sicut corde proposuit, ad lacum Nesae fluminis longum,
multa prosequente caterva, venit. Magi vero gaudere tum
20 coepere, magnam videntes superinductam caliginem, et
contrarium cum tempestate flatum. Nee mirum haec inter-
dum arte daemonum posse fieri, Deo permittente, ut etiam
venti et aequora in asperius concitentur. Sic enim ali
quando daemon iorum legiones sancto Germano episcopo,
25 de Sinu Gallico, causa humanae salutis, ad Britanniam
naviganti, medio in aequore occurrerant, et opponentes
pericula procellas concitabant, caelum diemque tenebrarum
caligine obducebant. Quae tamen omnia, sancto orante
Germano, dicto citius, sedata detersa cessarunt caligine.
3° Noster itaque Columba, videns contra se elementa con-
citari furentia, Christum invocat Dominum, cymbulamque
ascendens, nautis haesitantibus, ipse constantior factus
velum contra ventum iubet subrigi. Quo facto, omni
inspectante turba, navigium flatus contra adversos mira
35 vectum occurrit velocitate. Et post haud grande inter
vallum venti contrarii ad itineris ministeria cum omnium
admiratione revertuntur. Et sic per totam illam diem
flabris lenibus secundis flantibus, beati cymba viri optatum
pervecta ad portum pulsa est. Perpendat itaque lector
40 quantus et qualis idem vir venerandus, in quo Deus omni-
potens, talibus praescriptis miraculorum virtutibus, coram
plebe gentilica illustre suum manifestavit nomen.
K2

148 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
Cap. XXXV. De SPONTANEA REGIAE MUNITIONIS PORTAE
SUBITA APERTIONE.
The opening of the gates of King Brude. Alio in tem
pore, hoc est, in prima Sancti fatigatione itineris ad regem
Brudeum, casu contigit ut idem rex, fastu elatus regio suae 5
munitipnis, superbe agens, in primo beati adventu viri, non
aperiret portas. Quod, ut cognovit homo Dei, cum comiti-
bus ad valvas portarum accedens, in primis Dominicae
crucis imprimens, signum, tum deinde manum pulsans
contra Ostia ponit ; quae continuo sponte, retro retrusis 10
fortiter serfs, cum omni celeritate aperta sunt. Quibus
statim apertis, Sanctus' consequenter cum sociis intrat.
Quo cognito, rex cum senatu valde pertimescens, domum
egressus, obviam cum veneratione beato pergit viro, paci-
ficisque verbis blande admodum compellat : et ex ea in 15
pbst'erum die sanctum et venerabilem virum idem regna-
tor, suae omnibus vitae reliquis diebus, valde magna hono-
ravit, ut decuit, honorificentia.
Cap. XXXVI. De ecclesiae duorum agri rivorum
SIMILI RECLUSIONE. 20
A lock opened without ihe key. Alio itidem in tempore
vir beatus aliquantis in Scotia diebus conversatus, ad visi-
tandos fratres qui in monasterio Duum Ruris commanebant
Rivulorum, ab eis invitatus, perrexit. Sed casu aliquo
accidit ut, eo ad ecclesiam accedente, claves non feperi- 25
rentur oratorii. Cum vero Sanctus de non repertis adhuc
clavibus et de obseratis foribus inter se conquirentes alios
audisset, ipse ad ostium appropinquans, ' Potens est Domi
nus,' ait, ' domum suam servis etiam sine clavibus aperire
suis.' Cum hac turn voce subito retro retrusis forti motu 30
pessulis, sponte aperta ianua, Sanctus cum omnium
admiratione ecclesiam ante omnes ingreditur, et hospi
taliter a fratribus susceptus, honorabiliter ab omnibus
veneratur. Cap. XXXVII. De quodam plebeio mendico cui sanctus 35
SUDEM FACIENS AD IUGULANDAS BENEDIXIT FERAS.
St. Columba blesses a stake for killing wild animals. Alio
in tempore quidam ad Sanctum plebeius venit pauper-
rimus, qui in ea habitabat regione quae Stagni litoribus
38. Cummian, XIV.

LIB. II CAP. XXXVII 149
Aporici est contermina. Huic ergo miserabili viro, qui
unde maritam et parvulos cibaret non habebat, vir
beatus petenti, miseratus, ut potuit, quandam largitus
eleemosynam, ait, 'Miselle homuncio, tolle de silva con-
5=tulum vicina, et ad me bcyus defer.' Obsecundans
miser, iuxta Sancti iussionem, detulit materiam ; quam
Sanctus excipiens in veru exacuit; quodque propria
exacuminans- manu, benedicens, et illi assignans inopi
dixit, ' Hoc veru diligenter custodi, quod, ut credo, nee
10 homini, nee alicui pecori, nocere poterit, exceptis feris
bestiis quoque et piscibus ; et quamdiu talem habueris
sudem, nunquam in domo tua cervinae carnis cibatio abun-
dans deerit.' Quod audiens miser mendiculus, valde
gavisus, domum revertitur, veruque in remotis infixit
isterrulae locis, quae silvestres frequentabant ferae; et
vicina transacta nocte, mane primo pergit revisitare
volens veru, in quo mirae magnitudinis cervurn cecidisse
reperit transfixum. Quid plura? Nulla, ut nobis traditum
est, transire poterat dies, qua non aut cervum, aut cervam,
20 aut aliquam reperiret in veru infixo cecidisse bestiam.
Repleta quoque tota de ferinis carnibus domo, vicinis
superflua vendebat, quae hospitium suae domus capere non
poterat. Sed tamen diaboli invidia per sociam, ut Adam,
et hunc etiam miserum invenit; quae, non quasi prudens,
25 sed fatua, taliter ad mari tum locuta est, ' Tolle de terra
veru; nam si in eo homines, aut etiam pecora, perierint,
tu ipse et ego cum nostris liberis aut occidemur aut
captivi ducemur.' Ad haec maritus inquit, 'Non ita
fiet ; nam sanctus vir mihi, benedicens sudem, dixit quod
30 nunquam hominibus aut etiam pecoribus nocebit.' , Post
. haec verba mendicus, uxori consentiens, pergit, et tollens
de terra veru, intra domum, quasi amens, illud secus
parietem posuit; in quo mox domesticus eius incidens
canis disperiit. Quo pereunte, rursum marita, ' Unus,'
35 ait, 'filiorum tuorum incidet in sudem et peribit.' Quo
audito eius verbo, maritus veru de pariete removens ad
silvam reportat, et in densioribus infixit dumis, ut puta-
bat ubi a nullo posset animante offendi. Sed postera
reversus die capream in eo cecidisse et periisse reperit.
4° Inde quoque illud removens, in fluvio qui Latine dici
potest Nigra Dea, iuxta ripam sub aquis abscondens
infixit: quod alia revisitans die, esocem in eo mirae
magnitudinis transfixum et retentum invenit; quem de

150 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
flumine elevans vix solus ad domum portare poterat,
veruque secum de aqua simul reportans, extrinsecus in
superiore tecti affixit loco ; in quo et corvus devolatus,
impetu lapsus disperiit iugulatus. Quo facto, miser, fatuae
coniugis consilio depravatus, veru tollens de tecto, -
assumpta securi, in plures concidens particulas in ignem
proiecit. Et post, quasi suae paupertatis amisso non me-
diocri solatio, remendicare, ut meritus, coepit. Quod vide
licet penuriae rerum solamen saepe superius in veru
memorato dependebat, quod pro pedicis, et retibus, et omni I0
venationis et piscationis genere servatum posset sufficere,
beati viri donatum benedictione, quodque amissum miser
plebeius, eo ditatus pro tempore, ipse cum tota familiola,
sero licet, omnibus de cetero deplanxit reliquis diebus
vitae. i5
Cap. XXXVIII. De lactario utre quem salacia
ABSTULIT UNDA ET VENILIA ITERUM REPRAESENTAVIT IN
PRIORE LOCO.
The recovery of7,a "Jeathern jnilk-bag. Alio [in tempore
beati legatus viri, Lugaidus nomine, cognomento Laitirus, 20
ad Scotiam iussus navigare proponens, inter navalia navis
Sancti instrumenta utrem lactarium quaesitum inveniens,
sub mari, congestis super eum non parvis Japidibus, made-
faciendum posuit; veniensque ad Sanctum quod de utre
fecit intimavit. Qui subridens inquit, ' Uter, quem ut dicis 25
sub undis posuisti, hac vice ut aestimo non te ad Hiber
niam comitabitur.' ' Cur,' ait, ' non mecum in navi comitem
eum habere potero?' Sanctus, 'Altera,' inquit, 'die quod
res probabit scies.' Itaque Lugaidus mane postera die ad
retrahendum de mari utrem pergit ; quem tamen salacia 30
noctu subtraxit unda. Quo non reperto, ad Sanctum
reversus tristis, flexis in terram genibus, suam confessus
est negligentiam. Cui Sanctus, ilium consolatus, ait,' Noli,
frater, pro fragilibus contristari rebus : uter (sic) quem salacia
sustulit unda, ad suum locum, post tuum egressum, repor- ,-
tabit venilia.' Eadem die post Lugaidi de Ioua insula
emigrationem, hora transacta nona, Sanctus circumstanti-
bus sic profatus, ait, ' Nunc ex vobis unus ad aequor pergat ;
utrem, de quo Lugaidus querebatur, et quem salacia sus-
tulerat unda, nunc venilia retrahens, in loco unde sub- .0
tractus est repraesentavit.' Quo Sancti audito verbo,
quidam alacer iuvenis ad oram cucurrit maris, repertumque

LIB. II CAP. XXXVIII 151
utrem, sicut praedixerat Sanctus, cursu reversus concito
reportans, valde gavisus, coram Sancto, cum omnium qui
ibidem inerant admiratione, assignavit. In his, ut saepe
dictum est, binis narrationibus superius descriptis, quam-
5 libet in parvis rebus, sude videlicet et utre, prophetia simul
et virtutis miraculum comitari cernuntur. Nunc ad alia
tendamus. Cap. XXXIX. De librano arundineti prophetatio
SANCTI VIRI.
10 A humble clerk arrives at Iona. Alio in tempore, cum
vir sanctus in Ioua conversaretur insula, homo quidam
plebeius nuper sumpto clericatus habitu, de Scotia trans-
navigans, ad insulanum beati monasterium viri devenit.
Quem cum alia die Sanctus in hospitio residem hospitan-
35 tern invenisset solum, primum de patria, de gente, et causa
itineris, a Sancto interrogatus, de Connachtarum regione
oriundum se professus est, et ad delenda in peregrinatione
peccamina longo fatigatum itinere. Cui cum Sanctus, ut
de suae poenitudinis exploraret qualitate, dura et laboriosa
20 ante oculos monasterialia proposuisset imperia, ipse con
sequenter ad Sanctum respondens, inquit, ' Paratus sum
ad omnia quaecunque mihi iubere volueris, quamlibet
durissima, quamlibet indigna.' Quid plura ? Eadem hora
omnia sua confessus peccata, leges poenitentiae, flexis in
25 terram genibus, se impleturum promisit. Cui Sanctus,
'Surge,' ait, 'et reside.' Tum deinde residentem sic com
pellat, ' Septennem debebis in Ethica poenitentiam explere
terra. Ego et tu usquequo numerum expleas septennalium
annorum, Deo donante, victuri sumus.' Quibus Sancti
30 confortatus dictis, grates Deo agens, ad Sanctum, ' Quid
me,' ait, ' agere oportet de quodam meo falso iuramento ?
nam ego quendam in patria commanens trucidavi homun-
cionem ; post cuius trucidationem quasi reus in vinculis
retentus sum. Sed mihi quidam cognationalis homo eius-
35 dem parentelae, valde opibus opulentus, subveniens, me
opportune et de vinculis vinculatum absolvit, et de morte
reum eripuit. Cui post absolutionem cum firma iuratione
promiseram me eidem omnibus meae diebus vitae servitu-
rum. Sed post aliquot dies in servitute peractos, servire
4° homini dedignatus, et Deo potius obsecundare malens,
desertor illius carnalis domini, iuramentum infringens,
discessi, et ad te, Domino meum prosperante iter, per-

152 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
veni.' Ad haec Sanctus, virum pro talibus valde angi
videns, sicuti prius prophetans, profatur, inquiens, ' Post
septenorum, sicut tibi dictum est, expletionem annorum,
diebus ad me hue quadragesimalibus venies, ut in Paschali
solemnitate ad altarium accedas, et Eucharistiam sumas.' 5
Quid verbis immoramur ? Sancti viri imperiis per omnia
poenitens obsequitur peregrinus. Iisdemque diebus ad
monasterium Campi missus Lunge, ibidem plene expletis
iri poenitentia septem annis, ad Sanctum, diebus quadra-
gesimae, iuxta eius priorem propheticam iussionem, rever- 30
titur. Et post peractam Paschae solemnitatem, in qua
iussus ad altare accessit, ad Sanctum de supra interrogans
memorato venit iuramento. Cui Sanctus interroganti talia
vaticinans responsa profatur, 'Tuus de quo mihi aliquando
dixeras, carnalis superest dominus; paterque et mater et 35
fratres adhuc vivunt. Nunc ergo praeparare te debes ad
navigationem.' Et inter haec verba machaeram belluinis
ornatam dolatis protulit dentibus, dicens, 'Hoc accipe
tecum portandum munus, quod domino pro tua redemp-
tione offeres; sed tamen nullo modo accipiet. Habet enim 20
bene moratam coniugem, cuius salubri obtemperans- con-
silio, te eadem die gratis, sine pretio, libertate donabit,
cingulum ex more captivi de tuis resolvens lumbis. Sed
hac anxietate solutus, aliam a latere surgentem non effur
gies sollieitudinem : nam tui fratres undique coarctabunt 25
te, ut tanto tempore patri debitam, sed neglectam, redin-
tegres pietatem. Tu tamen, sine ulla haesitatione voluntati
eorum obsecundans, patrem senem pie excipias confoven-
dum. Quod onus, quamlibet tibi videatur grave, contristari
non debes, quia mox depones : nam ex qua die incipies 30
patri ministrare, alia in fine eiusdem septimanae mortuum
sepelies. Sed post patris sepultionem, iterum fratres te
acriter compellent, ut matri etiam debita pietatis impendas
obsequia. De qua profecto compulsione tuus iunior te
absolvet frater ; qui tua vice paratus omne pietatis opus, 35
quod debes, pro te matri serviens reddet.' Post haec verba
supra memoratus frater, Libranus nomine, accepto munere,
Sancti ditatus benedictione perrexit ; et ad patriam perve-
niens, omnia, secundum Sancti vaticinium, invenit vere
probata. Nam statim, ut pretium suae offerens libertatis 4°
ostendit domino, accipere volenti refragans uxor, ' Ut quid
nobis,' ait, 'hoc accipere quod sanctus pretium misit Co
lumba ? Hoc non sumus digni. Liberetur ei pius hic

LIB. II. CAP. XXXIX 153
gratis ministrator. Magis nobis sancti viri benedictio pro-
ficiet, quam hoc quod offertur pretium.' Audiens itaque
maritus hoc maritae salubre consilium, continuo gratis
liberavit servum. Qui post, iuxta prophetiam Sancti, com-
5 pulsus a fratribus, patrem, cui ministrare coepit, septima
die mortuum sepelivit. Quo sepulto, ut et matri debite
deserviret compellitur. Sed, subveniente iuniore fratre,
sicut Sanctus praedixerat, vicem eius adimplente, absolvi-
tur. Qui ad fratres sic dicebat, ' Nullo modo nos oportet
10 fratrem in patria retentare, qui per septem annos apud
sanctum Columbam in Britannia salutem exercuit animae.'
Post quae, ab omnibus quibus molestabatur, absolutus,
matri et fratribus valedicens, liber reversus, ad locum qui
Scotice vocitatur Daire Calgaich pervenit. Ibidemque
15 navim sub velo a portu emigrantem inveniens, clamitans
de litore rogitat, ut ipsum nautae cum eis susciperent navi-
gaturum ad Britanniam. Sed ipsi non suscipientes refuta-
verunt eum, quia non erant de monachis sancti Columbae.
Tum deinde ad eundem venerabilem loquens virum, quam-
20 libet longe absentem, tamen spiritu praesentem, ut mox res
probavit, ' Placetne tibi;' ait, ' sancte Columba, ut hi nautae,
qui me tuum non suscipiunt socium, plenis velis et secundis
enavigent ventis ? ' In hac voce ventus, qui ante illis erat
secundus, dicto citius versus est contrarius. Inter haec
25 videntes virum eundem e regione secus flumen cursitantem;
subito inter se inito consilio, ad ipsum de navi inclamitantes
dicunt nautici, ' Fortassis idcirco citius in contrarium nobis
conversus est ventus quia te suscipere renuerimus. Quod
si etiam nunc te ad nos in navim invitaverimus, contrarios
30 nunc nobis flatus in secundos convertere poteris ? ' His
auditis, viator ad eos dixit, ' Sanctus Columba, ad quem
vado, et cui hucusque per septem annos obsecundavi, si
me susceperitis, prosperum vobis ventum a Domino suo,
virtute orationum, impetrare poterit.' Quibus auditis, navim
35 terrae approximant, ipsumque ad eos in eam invitant. Qui
statim, rate ascensa, 'In nomine Omnipotentis,' ait, 'cui
sanctus Columba inculpabiliter servit, tensis rudentibus
levate velum.' Quo facto, continuo contraria venti flamina
in secunda vertuntur, prosperaque usque ad Britanniam
4° plenis successit navigatio velis. Libranusque, postquam
ad loca perventum est Britannica, illam deserens navim, et
14. claire Colg. Boll, litera d, quae in cod. A. formam cl prae se feri,
'minus observata.

154 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
nautis benedicens, ad sanctum devenit Columbam in Ioua
commorantem insula. Qui videlicet vir beatus, gaudenter
suscipiens eum, omnia quae de eo in itinere acta sunt, nullo
alio intimante, plene narravit, et de domino, et uxoris eius
salubri consilio, quomodo eiusdem suasu liberatus est ; de 5
fratribus quoque ; de morte patris, et eius, finita septimana,
sepultione ; de matre, et de fratris opportuna iunioris sub-
ventione ; de his quae in regressu acta sunt ; de vento
contrario, et secundo ; de verbis nautarum qui primo eum
suscipere recusarunt, de promissione prosperi flatus ; et de 10
prospera, eo suscepto in navi, venti conversione. Quid
plura? Omnia, quae Sanctus adimplenda prophetavit, ex
pleta enarravit. Post haec verba viator pretium suae quod
a Sancto accepit redemptionis assignavit. Cui Sanctus
eadem hora vocabulum indidit, inquiens, ' Tu Libranus 15
vocaberis eo quod sis liber.' Qui videlicet Libran iisdem
in diebus votum monachicum devotus vovit. Et cum a
sancto viro ad monasterium, in quo prius septem annis
poenitens Domino servivit, remitteretur, haec ab eo pro-
phetica de se prolata accepit verba valedicente, ' Vita vives 20
longa, et in bona senectute vitam terminabis praesentem.
Attamen non in Britannia, sed in Scotia, resurges.' Quod
verbum audiens, flexis genibus, amare fievit. Quem Sanc
tus valde maestum videns, consolari coepit dicens, ' Surge,
et noles tristificari. In uno meorum morieris monasterio- 25
rum, et cum electis erit pars tua meis in regno monachis ;
cum quibus in resurrectionem vitae de somno mortis evigi-
labis.' Qui, a Sancto accepta non mediocri consolatione,
valde laetatus est, et Sancti benedictione ditatus, in pace
perrexit. Quae Sancti de eodem viro verax postea est 30
adimpleta prophetatio. Nam, cum per multos annales
cyclos in monasterio Campi Lunge post sancti Columbae
de mundo transitum, obedienter Domino deserviret, mona
chus, pro quadam monasteriali utilitate ad Scotiam missus,
valde senex, statim ut de navi descendit, pergens per 35
Campum Breg, ad monasterium devenit Roborei Campi ;
ibidemque, hospes receptus hospitio, quadam molestatus
infirmitate, septima aegrotationis die in pace ad Dominum
perrexit, et inter sancti Columbae electos humatus est
monachos, secundum eius vaticinium, in vitam resurrectu- 40
rus aeternam. Has de Librano Arundineti sancti veridicas
Columbae vaticinationes scripsisse sufficiat. Qui videlicet
Libranus ideo 'Arundineti' est vocitatus, quia in arundineto
multis annis arundines colligendo laboraverat.

LIB. II CAP. XL 155
Cap. XL. De quadam muliercula magnas et valde diffi-
CILIORES PARTURITIONIS, UT EVAE FILIA, TORTIONES PASSA.
The relief of a woman in child-birth. Quadam die, Sanctus .
in Ioua commanens insula, a lectione surgit, et subridens
5 dicit, ' Nunc ad oratorium mihi properandum, ut pro qua
dam misellula Dominum deprecer femina, quae nunc in
Hibernia nomen huius inclamitans commemorat Columbae,
in magnis parturitionis difficillimae torta punitionibus, et
ideo per me a Domino de angustia absolutionem dari sibi
10 sperat, quia et mihi est cognationalis, de meae matris
parentela genitorem habens progenitum.' Haec dicens
Sanctus, illius mulierculae motus miseratione, ad ecclesiam
currit, flexisque genibus pro ea Christum de homine natum
exorat. Et post precationem oratorium egressus, ad fratres
15 profatur occurrentes, inquiens, ' Nunc propitius Dominus
Jesus, de muliere progenitus, opportune miserae subve
niens, eam de angustiis liberavit, et prospere prolem peperit,
nee hac morietur vice.' Eadem hora, sicuti Sanctus pro-
phetizavit, misella femina, nomen eius invocans, absoluta
20 salutem recuperavit. Ita ab aliquibus postea de Scotia, et
de eadem regione ubi mulier inhabitabat, transmeantibus,
intimatum est.
Cap. XLI. De quodam lugneo guberneta, cognomento
TUDIDA, QUEM SUA CONIUX ODIO HABUERAT DEFORMEM, QUI
25 IN RECHREA COMMORABATUR INSULA.
A wife reconciled to her husband. Alio in tempore, cum
vir sanctus in Rechrea hospitaretur insula, quidam plebeius
ad eum veniens, de sua querebatur uxore, quae, ut ipse
dicebat, odio habens, eum ad maritalem nullo modo admit-
30 tebat concubitum accedere. Quibus auditis, Sanctus, mari-
tam advocans, in quantum potuit, eam hac de causa corripere
coepit, inquiens, ' Quare, mulier, tuam a te carnem abdicare
conaris, Domino dicente, Erunt duo in carne una ? itaque
caro tui coniugis tua caro est.' Quae respondens, ' Omnia,'
35 inquit, ' quaecunque mihi praeceperis, sum parata, quam
libet sint valde laboriosa, adimplere, excepto uno, ut me
nullo compellas modo in uno lecto dormire cum Lugneo.
Omnem domus curam exercere non recuso, aut, si iubeas,
etiam maria transire, et in aliquo puellarum monasterio
40 permanere.' Sanctus tum ait, ' Non potest recte fieri quod
dicis, nam adhuc viro vivente alligata es a lege viri. Quos
enim Deus licite coniunxit nefas est separari.' Et, his

156 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
dictis, consequenter intulit, ' Hac in die tres, hoc est, ego
et maritus, cum coniuge, ieiunantes Dominum precemur.
Ilia dehinc, ' Scio,' ait, ' quia tibi impossibile non erit ut
ea quae vel difficilia, vel etiam impossibilia videntur, a
Deo impetrata donentur.' Quid plura? Marita eadem 5
die cum Sancto ieiunare consentit, et maritus similiter':
nocteque subsequente Sanctus insomnis pro eis deprecatus
est ; posteraque die Sanctus maritam praesente sic com
pellat marito, ' O femina, si, ut hesterna dicebas die,
parata hodie es ad feminarum emigrare monasteriolum? ' 10
Ilia, 'Nunc,' inquit, 'cognovi quia tua Deo de me est
audita oratio ; nam quem heri oderam, hodie amo ; cor
enim meum hac nocte praeterita, quomodo ignore, in me
immutatum est de odio in amorem.' Quid moramur ? ab
eadem die usque ad diem obitus, anima eiusdem maritae 15
indissociabiliter in amore conglutinata est mariti, ut ilia
rriaritalis concubitus debita, quae prius reddere renuebat,
nullo modo deinceps recusaret.
Cap. XLI I. De navigatione cormaci nepotis lethani
PROPHETATIO BEATI VIRI. 20
Prediction respecting Cormac's second voyage. Alio iri
tempore Cormacus, Christi miles, de quo in primo huius
opusculi libello, breviter aliqua commemoravimus pauca,
etiam secunda vice conatus est eremum in oceano quaerere.
Qui postquam a terris per infinitum oceanum plenis enavi- 25
gavit, velis, iisdem diebus sanctus Columba, cum ultra
Dorsum moraretur Britanniae, Brudeo regi, praesente
Orcadum regulo, commendavit, dicens, 'Aliqui ex nostris
nuper emigraverunt, desertum in pelago intransmeabili
invenire optantes ; qui si forte post longos circuitus Orca- 30
das devenerint insulas, huic regulo, cuius obsides in manu
tua sunt, diligenter commenda, ne aliquid adversi intra
terminos eius contra eos fiat.' Hoc vero Sanctus ita dice-
bat, quia in spiritu praecognovit quod post aliquot menses
idem Cormacus esset ad Orcadas venturus. Quod ita 35
postea evenit ; et propter supradictam sancti viri commen-
dationem, de morte in Orcadibus liberatus est vicina. Post
aliquantum paucorum intervallum mensium cum Sanctus
in Ioua commoraretur insula,, quadam die coram eo eiusdem
Cormaci mentio ab aliquibus subito oboritur serm'ocinan- 40
tibus, et taliter dicentibus, ' Quomodo Cormaci navigatio,
prosperane an non, provenit, adhuc nescitur.' Quo audito

LIB. II CAP. XLII 157
verbo, Sanctus hac profatur voce, dicens, ' Cormacum, de.
quo nunc loquimini, hodie mox pervenientem videbitis.'
Et post quasi unius horae interventum, mirum dictu, et
ecce inopinato Cormacus superveniens, oratorium cum
5 omnium admiratione et gratiarum ingreditur actione. Et
quia de huius Cormaci secunda navigatione beati propheta^
tionem breviter intulerimus viri, nunc et de tertia aeque
propheticae eius sdentiae aliqua describenda sunt verba.
Prophetic knowledge regarding Cormac's third voyage.
jo Cum idem Cormacus tertia in oceano mari fatigaretur vice,
prope usque ad mortem periclitari coepit. Nam cum eius
navis a terris per quatuordecim aestei temporis dies, toti-
demque noctes, plenis velis, austro flante vento, ad septem-
trionalis plagam caeli directo excurreret cursu, eiusmodi
15 navigatio ultra humani excursus modum, et irremeabilis
videbatur. Unde contigit, ut post decimam eiusdem quarti
et decimi horam diei, quidam paene insustentabiles undique
et valde formidabiles consurgerent terrores; quaedam
quippe usque in id temporis invisae, mare obtegentes
20 occurrerant tetrae et infestae nimis bestiolae, quae horri-
¦. bili impetu carinam et latera, puppimque et proram ita
forti feriebant percussura, ut pelliceum tectum navis pene
trates putarentur penetrare posse. Quae, ut hi qui inerant
ibidem postea narrarunt, prope magnitudinem ranarum,
25 aculeis permolestae, non tamen volatiles sed natatiles,
erant; sed et remorum infestabant palmulas. Quibus visis,
inter cetera monstra quae non huius est temporis narrare,
Cormacus cum nautis comitibus, valde turbati et pertimes-
centes, Deum, qui est in angustiis pius et opportunus auxi-
30 liator, illacrymati precantur. Eadem hora et sanctus noster
Columba, quamlibet longe absens corpore, spiritu tamen
praesens, in navi cum Cormaco erat. Unde, eodem mo
mento, personante signo, fratres ad oratoriurn convocans,
et ecclesiam intrans, astantibus sic, more sibi consueto,
35 prophetizans profatur, dicens, ' Fratres, tota intentione pro
Cormaco orate, qui nunc humanae discursionis limitem,
immoderate navigando, excessit,nunc quasdam monstruosas,
ante non visas, et paene indicibiles, patitur horrificas per-
turbationes. Itaque nostris commembribus in periculo. in-
40 tolerabili constitutis mente compati debemus fratribus, et
Dominum exorare cum eis. Ecce enim nunc Cormacus
cum suis nautis, faciem lacrymis ubertim irrigans, Christum
intentius . precatur ; et nos ipsum orando adiuvemus, ut

158 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
Austrum flantem ventum usque hodie per quatuordecim
dies, nostri miseratus, in Aquilonem convertat ; qui vide
licet Aquiloneus ventus navem Cormaci de periculis retra-
hat.' Et haec dicens, flebili cum voce, flexis genibus ante
altarium, omnipotentiam Dei ventorum et cunctarum guber- 5
natricem precatur rerum. Et post orationem cito surgit,
et abstergens lacrymas, gaudenter grates Deo agit, dicens,
' Nunc, fratres, nostris congratulemur, pro quibus oramus,
caris : quia Dominus Austrum nunc in Aquilonarem con-
vertet flatum nostros de periculis commembres retrahentem, I0
quos hue ad nos iterum reducet.' Et continuo cum eius
voce Auster cessavit ventus, et inspiravit Aquiloneus per
multos post dies, et navis Cormaci ad terras redacta est.
Et pervenit Cormacus ad sanctum Columbam, et se, donante
Deo, facie in faciem, cum ingenti omnium admiratione vide- 15
rant et non mediocri laetatione. Perpendat itaque lector
quantus et qualis idem vir beatus, qui talem propheticam
habens scientiam, ventis et oceano, Christi invocato nomine,
potuit imperare.
Cap. XLIII. De VENERABILIS VIRI IN CURRU EVECTIONE 30
ABSQUE CURRILIUM OBICUM COMMUNITIONE.
Protection of a car with insecure wheels. Alio in tempore,
cum in Scotia per aliquot dies Sanctus conversaretur, ali
quibus ecclesiasticis utilitatibus coactus, currum ab eo
prius benedictum ascendit iunctum ; sed non insertis 25
primo, qua negligentia accedente nescitur, necessariis
obicibus per axionum extrema foramina. Erat autem
eadem diecula Columbanus filius Echudi, vir sanctus, illius
monasterii fundator quod Scotica vocitatur lingua Snam-
luthir, qui operam aurigae in eodem curriculo cum sancto 30
exercebat Columba. Fuit itaque talis eiusdem agitatio
diei per longa viarum spatia sine ulla rotarum humerulo-
rumque separatione sive labefactatione, nulla, ut supra
dictum est, obicum retentione vel communitione retinente.
Sed sola diali sic venerando praestante gratia viro, ut 35
currus cui insederat salubriter, absque ulla impeditione,
recta incederet orbita.
Hucusque de virtutum miraculis quae per praedica-
bilem virum, in praesenti conversantem vita, divina operata
est omnipotentia, scripsisse sufficiat. Nunc etiam quaedam 40
de his quae post eius de carne transitum ei a Domino
donata comprobantur, pauca sunt commemoranda.

LIB. II CAP. XLIV 159
Cap. XLIV. De pluvia post aliquot siccitatis menses
BEATI OB HONOREM VIRI SUPER SITIENTEM, DOMINO
DONANTE, TERRAM EFFUSA.
Rain after long drought. Ante annos namque ferme
5 quatuordecim, in his torpentibus terris valde grandis
verno tempore facta est siccitas iugis et dura, in tantum
ut ilia Domini in Levitico libro transgressoribus coaptata
populis comminatio videretur imminere, qua dicit, Dabo
caelum vobis desuper sicut ferrum, et terrain aeneam
10 Consumetur incassum labor vester ; nee proferet terra
germen, nee arbores poma praebebunt ; et cetera.
Nos itaque haec legentes, et imminentem plagam per-
timescentes, hoc inito consilio fieri consiliati sumus, ut
aliqui eK nostris senioribus nuper aratum et seminatum
15 campum cum sancti Columbae Candida circumirent tunica,
et libris stylo ipsius descriptis ; levarentque in aere, et
excuterent eandem per ter tunicam, qua etiam hora exitus
eius de carne indutus erat ; et eius aperirent libros, et
legerent in Colliculo Angelorum, ubi aliquando caelestis
20 patriae cives ad beati viri condictum visi sunt descendere.
Quae postquam omnia iuxta initum sunt peracta con
silium, mirum dictu, eadem die caelum, in praeteritis
mensibus, .Martio videlicet et Aprili, nudatum nubibus,
mira sub celeritate ipsis de ponto ascendentibus illico
25 opertum est, et pluvia facta est magna, die noctuque de
scendens ; et sitiens prius terra, satis satiata, opportune
germina produxit sua, et valde laetas eodem anno segetes.
Unius itaque beati commemoratio nominis viri in tunica et
libris commemorata multis regionibus eadem vice et populis
30 salubri subvenit opportunitate.
Cap. XLV. De ventorum flatibus contrariis venera
bilis VIRI VIRTUTE 0RATI0NUM IN SECUNDOS CONVERSIS
VENTOS. The wind changed on three occasions. Pra'eteritorum,
35 nobis, quae non vidimus, talium miraculorum praesentia
quae ipsi perspeximus, fidem indubitanter confirmant.
Ventorum namque flamina contrariorum tribus nos ipsi
vicibus in secunda vidimus conversa. Prima vice cum
dolatae per terram pineae et roboreae traherentur longae
3. miraculum quod nunc domino propitio describere incipimus nostris
temporibus factum propriis inspeximus oculis add. B. 5. Cummian,
XXVI.

160 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
naves, et magnae navium pariter materiae . eveherentur
dqmus ; beati viri vestimenta et libros, inito consilio, super
altare, cum psalmis et ieiunatione, et eius nominis_ invo
catione, posuimus, ut a Domino ventorum prosperitatem
nobis profuturam impetraret. Quod ita eidem sancto viro, 5
Deo donante, factum est : nam ea die qua nostri nautae,
omnibus praeparatis, supra memqratarum ligna materiarum
proposuere scaphis per mare et curucis trahere, venti,
praeteritis contrarii diebus, subito in secundos conversi
sunt. Tum deinde per longas et obliquas viastota die 10
prosperis flatibus, Deo propitio, famulantibus, et plenis
sine ulla retardatione velis, ad Iouam insulam omnis ilia
navalis emigratio prospere pervenit.
Secunda vero vice, cum, post aliquantos intervenientes
annos, aliae nobiscum roboreae ab ostio fluminis Sale, 15
duodecim qurucis congregatis, materiae ad nostrum re-
novandum traherentur monasterium, alio die tranquillo
nautis mare palmulis verrentibus, subito nobis contrarius
insurgit Favonius, qui et Zephyrus ventus, in proximam
tum declinamus insulam,' quae Scotice vocitatur Airthrago, 20
in ea portum ad manendum quaerentes. Sed inter haec
de ilia importuna venti contrarietate querimur, et quo-
dammodo quasi accusare nostrum Columbam coepimus,
dicentes, ' Placetne tibi, Sancte, haec nobis adversa retar-
datio ? hucusque a te, Deo propitio, aliquod nostrorum 25
laborum praestari speravimus consolatorium adiumentum,
te videlicet aestimantes alicuius esse grandis apud Deum
honoris.' His dictis, post modicum, quasi unius momenti,
intervallum, mirum dictu, ecce Favonius ventus cessat
contrarius, Vulturnusque fiat, dicto citius, secundus. Iussi 30
tum nautae antennas, crucis instar, et vela protensis
sublevant rudentibus, prosperisque et lenibus flabris eadem
die nostram appetentes insulam, sine ulla laboratione, cum
illis omnibus qui navibus inerant nostris cooperatoribus,
in lignorum evectione gaudentes, devehimur. Non medio- 35
criter, quamlibet levis, ilia querula nobis sancti accusatio
viri profuit. Quantique et qualis est apud Dominum meriti
Sanctus apparet, quem in ventorum ipse tam celeri con-
versione audierat.
Tertia proinde vice, cum in aesteo tempore, post Hiber- 4°
niensis synodi condictum, in plebe Generis Loerni per
aliquot, venti contrarietate, retardaremur dies, ad Saineam
devenimus insulam ; ibidemque demoratos festiva. sancti

LIB. II CAP. XLV 161
Columbae nox et solemnis dies nos invenit valde tristi:
ficatos, videlicet desiderantes eandem diem in Ioua facere
laetificam insula. Unde, sicut prius alia querebamur vice,
dicentes, ' Placetne tibi, Sancte, crastinam tuae festivitatis
5 inter plebeios et non in tua ecclesia transigerediem? facile
tibi est talis in exordio diei a Domino impetrare ut
contrarii in secundos vertantur venti, et in tua celebremus
ecclesia tui natalis missarum solemnia.' Post eandem
transactam noctem diluculo mane consurgirhus, et videntes
10 cessasse contrarios flatus, conscensis navibus, nullo flante
vento, in mare progredimur, et ecce statim post nos Auster
cardinalis, qui et Notus, inflat. Tum proinde ovantes
nautae vela subrigunt : sicque ea die talis, sine labore,
nostra tam festina navigatio, et tam prospera, beato viro
15 donante Deo, fuit, ut, sicuti prius exoptavimus, post horam
diei tertiam ad Iouae portum pervenientes insulae, postea
manuum et pedum peracta lavatione, hora sexta ecclesiam
cum fratribus intrantes, sacra missarum solemnia pariter
celebraremus, in festo die inquam natalis sanctorum
20 Columbae et Baithenei : cuius diluculo, ut supradictum est,
de Sainea insula, longius sita, emigravimus. Huius ergo
praemissae narrationis testes, non bini tantum vel terni.
secundum legem, sed centeni et amplius adhuc exstant.
Cap. XLVI. De mortalitate.
25 The great plague. Et hoc etiam, ut aestimo, non inter
minora virtutum miracula connumerandum videtur de mor
talitate, quae nostris temporibus terrarum orbem bis ex
parte vastaverat maiore. Nam, ut de ceteris taceam latio-
ribus Europae regionibus, hoc est, Italia et ipsa Romana
30 civitate, et Cisalpinis Galliarum provinciis, Hispanis quoque
Pyrenaei montis interiectu disterminatis, oceani insulae per
totum, videlicet Scotia et Britannia, binis vicibus vastatae
sunt dira pestilentia, exceptis duobus populis, hoc est,
Pictorum plebe et Scotorum Britanniae, inter quos utros-
35 que Dorsi montes Britannici disterminant. Et, quamvis
utrorumque populorum non desint grandia peccata, quibus
plerumque ad iracundiam aeternus provocatur iudex, utris-
que tamen hucusque, patienter ferens, ipse pepercit. Cui
alii itaque haec tribuitur gratia a Deo collata, nisi sancto
4° Columbae, cuius monasteria intra utrorumque populorum
terminos fundata ab utrisque ad praesens tempus valde
sunt honorificata ? Sed hoc quod nunc dicturi sumus, ut
«291 L

i6a VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
arbitramur, non sine gemitu audiendum est, quia sunt pleri
que in utrisque populis valde stolidi, qui se Sanctorum
orationibus a morbis defensos nescientes, ingrati Dei pa-
tientia male abutuntur. Nos vero Deo agimus crebras
grates, qui nos et in his nostris insulis, orante pro nobis 5
venerabili patrono, a mortalitatum invasionibus defendit;
et in Saxonia, regem Aldfridum visitantes amicum adhuc
non cessante pestilentia, et multos hinc inde vicos devas-
tante, ita tamen nos Dominus, et in prima post bellum
Ecfridi visitatione, et in secunda, interiectis duobus annis, 10
in tali mortalitatis medio deambulantes periculo liberavit,
ut ne unus etiam de nostris comitibus moreretur, nee aliquis
ex eis aliquo molestaretur morbo.
Hic secundus de virtutum miraculis finiendus est liber :
in quo animadvertere lector debet, quod, etiam de com- 15
pertis, in eo multa propter legentium evitandum praeter-
missa sint fastidium. FINITUR SECUNDUS LIBER.
17. <J>INITVPCHKVNDVCAlBEP/^n'5Grara's«««W!iM5A. explicit
liber secundus B C. F. S.

INCIPIUNT CAPITULA TERTII LIBRI
De Angelicis Apparitionibus quae vel aliis de beato viro,
vel eidem de aliis, revelatae sunt. (Praefatio)
De angelo Domini qui eius genitrici in somnis post ipsius
5 in utero conceptionem apparuit. (i.)
De radio luminoso super dormientis ipsius pueri faciem
viso. (ii.)
De angelorum apparitione sanctorum, quos sanctus Bren-
denus, beati comites viri, per campum viderat com-
10 meantes. (in.)
De angelo Domini quem sanctus Fennio beati viri socium
itineris vidit. (iv.)
De angelo Domini, qui ad sanctum Columbam in Hinba
commorantem insula per visum apparuit, missus ut
15 Aidanum in regem ordinaret. (v.)
De angelorum apparitione alicuius Britonis animam ad
caelum vehentium. (vi.)
De angelorum revelata eidem sancto viro visione, qui ani
mam alicuius Diormitii ad caelum ducebant. (vn.)
20 De angelorum contra daemones forti belligeratione, Sancto
in eodem bello opportune subvenientium. (vm.)
De angelorum apparitione quos vir Dei viderat alicuius
animam nomine Columbi, fabri ferrarii, Coilrigini cog-
nomento, ad caelos evehere. (ix.)
25 De angelorum simili visione, quos vir beatus aspexerat
alicuius bene moratae feminae animam ad caelum
ferre. (x.)
De angelorum apparitione sanctorum, quos sanctus Columba
obvios in transitu viderat beati Brendeni animae, illius
,,0 monasterii fundatoris quod Scottice Birra nuncupatur.
(XI.)
De angelorum visione sanctorum, qui sancti Columbani
episcopi, Moculoigse, animam ad caelum evexerant.
(XII.)
35 De angelorum apparitione qui obviam animabus sancti
monachorum Comgeili descenderant. xiii.)
L2

164 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
De angelorum manifestatione alicuius Emchathi animae
obviantium. (xiv.)
De angelo Domini, qui alicui fratri lapso de monasterii cul-
mine rotundi in Roboreti Campo opportune tam cito
subvenerat. (xv.) 5
De angelorum multitudine sanctorum visa ad beati condic
tum viri de caelo descendentium. (xvi.)
De columna luminosa sancti viri de vertice ardere visa.
(xvii.)
De Spiritus Sancti descensione sive visitatione quae in 10
eadem insula, tribus continuis diebus, totidemque
noctibus, super venerabilem mansit virum. (xviii.)
De angelicae lucis claritudine, quam Virgnous, bonae in-
dolis iuvenis, qui post, Deo auctore, huic praefuit
ecclesiae, cui ego, indignus licet, deservio, super sane- 15
tum Columbam in ecclesia, fratribus hiemali nocte in
cubiculis quiescentibus, descendere viderat. (xix.)
De alia prope simili celsae claritudinis visione. (xx.)
De alia parili divinae lucis apparitione. (xxi.)
De alia angelorum sancto manifestata viro apparitione ; 20
quos sanctae eius animae obviare incipientes quasi
mox de corpore viderat migraturae. (xxii.)
De transitu ad Dominum sancti nostri patroni Columbae.
(xxiii.) expliciunt capitula tertii libri. 25

HIC TERTIUS LIBER ORDITUR,
DE ANGELICIS VISIONIBUS
PRAEFATIO
Summary of the entire work. In Primo ex his tribus
5 libellis libro, ut superius commemoratum est, de Prophe
ticis Revelationibus quaedam breviter succincteque, Domino
navante, descripta sunt. In Secundo superiore, de Virtu
tum Miraculis, quae per beatum declarata sunt virum, et
quae, ut saepe dictum est, plerumque prophetationis comi-
10 tatur gratia. In hoc vero Tertio, de Angelicis Apparitioni-
bus, quae vel aliis de beato viro, vel ipsi de aliis, revelatae
sunt ; et de his, quae utroque, quamlibet disparili modo,
hoc est, ipsi proprie et plenius, aliis vero improprie, et ex
quadam parte, sunt manifestatae, hoc est extrinsecus et
35 explorative, in iisdem tamen, vel angelorum vel caelestis
visionibus lucis : quae utique talium discrepantiae visionum
suis caraxatae locis inferius clarebunt. Sed nunc, ut a pri-
mordiis beati nativitatis viri easdem describere angelicas
apparitiones incipiamus :
20 Cap. I
An angel appears to the mother of St. Columba. Angelus
Domini in somnis genitrici venerabilis viri quadam nocte
inter conceptual eius et partum apparuit, eique quasi
quoddam mirae pulchritudinis peplum adsistens detulit ;
25 in quo veluti universorum decorosi colores florum de-
picti videbantur ; quodque post aliquod breve interval
lum eius de manibus reposcens abstulit ; elevansque et
expandens in aere dimisit vacuo. Ilia vero de illo tristi-
ficata sublato, sic ad ilium venerandi habitus virum, ' Cur
3° a me,' ait, ' hoc laetificum tam cito abstrahis pallium ? '
Ille consequenter, ' Idcirco,' inquit, • quia hoc sagum
alicuius est tam magnifici honoris, apud te diutius reti
nere non poteris.' His dictis, supra memoratum peplum
1-2. incipit textus tertii libri de angelicis visionibus B. incipit liber
tertius de angelicis apparitionibus et de transitu sancti columbae C. D. F. S.
21. Cummian, I.

166 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
mulier paulatim a se elongari volando videbat, campo-
rumque latitudinem in maius crescendo excedere, mon-
tesque et saltus maiOre sui mensura superare ; vocem-
que huiuscemodi subsecutam audierat, 'Mulier, noles
tristificari, viro enim cui matrimoniali es iuncta foedere 5
talem filium editura es floridum, qui quasi unus prophe-
tarum Dei inter ipsos connumerabitur, innumerabilium-
que animarum dux ad caelestem a Deo patriam est
praedestinatus.' In hac audita voce mulier expergis-
citur. 10
Cap. II. De radio luminoso super dormientis ipsius
PUERI FACIEM VISO.
A heavenly light on St. Columba when an infant. Alia in
nocte eiusdem beati pueri nutritor, spectabilis vitae vir,
presbyter Cruithnechanus, post missam ab ecclesia ad 15
hospitiolum revertens, totam invenit domum suam clara
irradiatam luce; globum quippe igneum super pueruli
dormientis faciem stantem vidit. Quo viso, statim in-
tremuit, et prostrato in terram vultu valde miratus,
Spiritus Sancti gratiam super suum intellexit alumnum 20
caelitus effusam.
Cap. III. De ANGELORUM APPARITIONE SANCTORUM QUOS
SANCTUS BRENDENUS BEATI COMITES VIRI PER CAMPUM
VIDERAT COMMEANTES.
The vision of St. Brendan at Teltown. Post namque mul- 25
torum intervalla temporum, cum a quodam synodo pro
quibusdam veniabilibus et tam excusabilibus causis, non
recte, ut post in fine claruit, sanctus excommunicaretur
Columba, ad eandem contra ipsum collectam venit congre-
gationem. Quem cum eminus appropinquantem sanctus 30
vidisset Brendenus, illius monasterii fundator quod Scotice
Birra nuncupatur, citius surgit, et inclinata facie, eum vene-
ratus exosculatur. Quem cum aliqui illius seniores coetus
seorsim ceteris redarguerent semotis, dicentes, ' Quare
coram excommunicato surgere et eum exosculari non re- 35
nueris ? ' taliter ad eos inquiens, ' Si vos,' ait, ' videritis ea
quae mihi Dominus hac in die de hoc suo, quem dehono-
ratis, electo jnanifestare non dedignatus est, nunquam ex-
communicassetis quem Deus non solum, secundum vestram
14. Cummian, II.

LIB. Ill CAP. Ill 167
non rectam sententiam, nullo excommunicat modo, sed etiam
magis ac magis magnificat.' Illi e contra, ' Quomodo,' aiunt,
' ut dicis, ipsum glorificat Deus, quem nos non sine causa
excommunicavimus, scire cupimus.' ' Ignicomam et valde
5 luminosam,' ait Brendenus, ' columnam vidi eundem quem
vos despicitis antecedentem Dei hominem. Angelos quoque
sanctos per campum eius itineris comites. Hunc itaque
spernere non audeo quem populorum ducem ad vitam a
Deo praeordinatum video.' His ab eo dictis, non tantum,
10 ultra Sanctum excommunicare non ausi, cessarunt, sed
etiam valde venerati honorarunt. Hoc famen factum est hi
Teilte. Cap. IV. De angelo domini quem sanctus finnio beati
VIRI SOCIUM ITINERIS VIDIT.
1 5 The vision of St. Finnio. Alio in tempore vir sanctus
venerandum episcopum Finnionem, suum videlicet ma
gistrum, iuvenis senem, adiit ; quem cum sanctus Finnio
ad se appropinquantem vidisset, angelum Domini pariter
eius comitem itineris vidit : et, ut nobis ab expertis tradi-
20 tur, quibusdam astantibus intimavit fratribus, inquiens,
' Ecce nunc videatis sanctum advenientem Columbam,
qui sui commeatus meruit habere socium angelum caeli-
colam.' Iisdem diebus Sanctus cum duodecim commili-
tonibus discipulis ad Britanniam transnavigavit.
25 Cap. V. De angelo domini qui ad sanctum columbam in
HINBA COMMORANTEM INSULA PER VISUM APPARUIT, MISSUS
UT AIDANUM IN REGEM ORDINARET.
An angel instructs St. Columba to ordain Aidan king.
Alio in tempore, cum vir praedicabilis in Hinba commora-
30 retur insula, quadam nocte in ecstasi mentis angelum
Domini ad se missum vidit, qui in manu vitreum ordina-
tionis regum habebat librum : quem cum vir venerandus
de manu angeli accepisset, ab eo iussus, legere coepit.
Qui cum secundum quod ei in libro erat commendatum
35 Aidanum in regem ordinare recusaret, quia magis Ioge-
nanum fratrem eius diligeret, subito angelus, extendens
manum, Sanctum percussit flagello, cuius livorosum in
eius latere vestigium omnibus suae diebus permansit
vitae. Hocque intulit verbum, ' Pro certo scias,' in-
40 quiens, ' quia ad te a Deo missus sum cum vitreo libro, ut
15. Cummian, III. 23. Cummian, IV. 29. Cummian, V.

168 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
iuxta verba quae in eo legisti, Aidanum in regnum ordines.
Quod si obsecundare huic nolueris iussioni, percutiam te
iterate' Hic itaque angelus Domini, cum per tres con-
tinuas noctes, eundem in manu vitreum habens codicem,
apparuisset, eademque Domini iussa de regis eiusdem or- 5
dinatione commendasset, Sanctus, verbo obsecutus Do
mini, ad Iouam transnavigavit insulam, ibidemque
Aidanum, iisdem adventantem diebus, in regem, sicut
erat iussus, ordinavit. Et inter ordinationis verba, de
filiis et nepotibus pronepotibusque eius futura propheti- 10
zavit : imponensque manum super caput eius, ordinans
benedixit. Cummeneus Albus, in libro quem de virtutibus sancti
Columbae scripsit, sic dixit quod sanctus Columba de Ai-
dano et de posteris eius, et de regno suo, prophetare coepit, 15
dicens, 'Indubitanter crede, O Aidane, quoniam nullus
adversariorum tuorum tibi poterit resistere, donee prius
fraudulentiam agas in me et in posteros meos. Propterea
ergo tu filiis commenda ut et ipsi filiis et nepotibus et pos
teris suis commendent, ne per consilia mala eorum seep- 20
trum regni huius de manibus suis perdant. In quocunque
enim tempore adversum me aut adversus cognatos meos
qui sunt in Hibernia fecerint, flagellum, quod causa tui
ab angelo sustinui, per manum Dei super eos in magnum
fiagitium vertetur, et corvirorum auferetur ab eis et inimici 25
eorum vehementer super eos confortabuntur.'
The fulfilment. Hoc autem vaticinium temporibus nostris
completum est, in bello Roth, Domnail Brecco, nepote
Aidani, sine causa vastante provinciam Domnill nepotis
Ainmuireg. Et a die ilia usque hodie adhuc in proclivo 30
sunt ab extraneis : quod suspiria doloris pectori incutit.
Cap. VI. De angelorum apparitione alicuius beati
BRITONIS ANIMAM AD CAELUM VEHENTIUM.
St. Columba sees a soul taken to heaven. Alio in tempore,
cum vir sanctus in Ioua commoraretur insula, quidam 35
de suis monachis, Brito, bonis actibus intentus, molestia
correptus corporis, ad extrema perductus est. Quem
cum vir venerandus in hora sui visitaret exitus, paulis-
per ad lectulum eius assistens, et ei benedicens, ocius
domum egreditur, nolens videre morientem. Qui eodem 40
momento post sancti de domu secessum viri praesentem
34. Cummian, VI, XXV.

LIB. Ill CAP. VI 169
finiit vitam. Tum vir praedicabilis, in plateola sui deam-
bulans monasterii, porrectis ad caelum oculis, diutius
valde obstupescens, admirabatur. Quidam vero frater,
Aidanus nomine, filius Libir, bonae indolis et religiosus
5 homo, qui solus de fratribus eadem adfuit hora, flexis geni-
bus, rogare coepit ut Sanctus eidem tantae admirationis
causam intimaret. Cui Sanctus, ' Nunc sanctos angelos
in aere contra adversarias potestates belligerare vidi ;
Christoque agonothetae gratias ago quia victores angeli
10 animam huius peregrini, qui primus apud nos in hac in
sula mortuus est, ad caelestis patriae gaudia evexerunt.
Sed hoc quaeso sacramentum nemini in vita mea reveles.'
Cap. VII. De angelorum revelata eidem sancto viro
VISIONE, QUI ANIMAM ALICUIUS DIORMITI AD CAELUM DUCE-
15 BANT. A similar vision. Alio in tempore quidam Hiberniensis
peregrinus ad Sanctum perveniens, per aliquot apud eum
menses in Ioua commanebat insula. Cui vir beatus alia
die, ' Nunc,' ait, ' quidam de provincialibus tuis clericis ad
20 caelum ab angelis portatur, cuius adhuc ignoro nomen.'
Frater vero, hoc audiens, coepit secum de provincia per-
scrutari Anteriorum qui Scotice Indairthir nuncupantur,
et de illius beati hominis vocabulo ; hocque consequenter
intulit verbum, inquiens, ' Alium Christi scio militonem qui
25 sibi in eodem territorio, in quo et ego commanebam, mo-
nasteriolum construxit, nomine Diormitium.' Cui Sanctus
ait, ' Ipse est de quo dicis, qui nunc ab angelis Dei in
paradisum deductus est.' Sed hoc etiam non negligenter
adnotandum est, quod idem vir venerabilis multa sibi a
30 Deo arcana, ab aliis celata, sacramenta, nullo modo in
hominum notitiam prodi passus sit, duabus, ut ipse ali
quando paucis intimaverat fratribus, causis existentibus :
hoc est, ut iactantiam devitaret, et ad semetipsum interro-
gandum, insustentabiles turbas de se aliqua interrogare
35 volentes, divulgata revelationum fama, non invitaret.
Cap. VIII. De angelorum contra daemones forti bel-
LIGERATIONE SANCTO IN EODEM BELLO OPPORTUNE SUBVE-
NIENTIUM. A conflict between good and evil angels. Alia die vir sanc
to tus, in Ioua conversans insula, remotiorem ab hominibus
40. Cummian, IX.

170 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
locum, aptumque ad orationem, in saltibus quaesivit :
ibidemque cum orare coepisset, subito, ut ipse postea
paucis intimaverat fratribus, videt contra se nigerrimam
daemonum cum ferreis verubus aciem proeliari: qui,
sicuti sancto viro per Spiritum revelatum erat, monas- 5
terium eius invadere, et multos ex fratribus iisdem
volebant iugulare sudibus. Ipse vero contra tales ae-
mulos unus homo innumeros, accepta Pauli armatura
apostoli, forti conflictu dimicabat. Et ita ex maiore diei
parte utrinque dimicatum est, nee innumerabiles unum 10
vincere poterant, nee eos unus de sua valebat insula re-
pellere ; donee angeli Dei, ut Sanctus post quibusdam non
multis retulerat, in adminiculum affuere ; quorum timore
proturbati daemones loco cessere. Eademque die, Sanctus
ad monasterium post daemoniorum reversus de sua insula 15
effugationem, hoc de eisdem turmis hostilibus verbum pro
fatur, inquiens, ' Illi exitiabiles aemuli qui hac die de huius
terrulae, Deo propitio, regione, angelis nobis subvenienti-
bus, ad Ethicam effugati sunt terram, ibidemque saevi
invasores fratrum monasteria invadent, et pestilentes in- 20
ferent morbos, quorum molestia infestati, multi morientur.'
Quod iisdem diebus, iuxta beati praescientiam viri, ita et
factum est. Et post, interveniente biduo, ei revelante
Spiritu, 'Bene,' ait, 'Baitheneus, auxiliante Deo, dispen-
savit ut eiusdem ecclesiae cui, Deo auctore, praeest, in 25
Campo Lunge, ieiuniis et orationibus collectio a daemo
num defendatur invasione : ubi nemo, excepto uno qui
mortuus est, hac vice morietur.' Quod ita, iuxta vatici-
nium eius, expletum est. Nam cum multi in ceteris eius
dem insulae monasteriis eodem morbo morerentur, nemo, 3°
nisi unus de quo Sanctus dixit, apud Baitheneum in sua
est mortuus congregatione.
Cap. IX. De angelorum apparitione quos vir dei
VIDERAT ALICUIUS ANIMAM, NOMINE COLUMBI, FABRI FER-
RARII, COILRIGINI COGNOMENTO, AD CAELOS EVEHERE. 3.
The soul of a blacksmith carried to heaven. Quidam faber
ferrarius in mediterranea Scotiae habitabat parte, elee-
mosynarum operibus satis intentus, et ceteris iustitiae
actibus plenus. Hic, cum ad extrema in bona senectute
perduceretur, supra memoratus Columbus cognominatus 40
Coilriginus, eadem hora qua de corpore eductus est,
37. media parte liybernie que vocatur midi habitabat D.

LIB. Ill CAP. IX 171
sanctus Columba in Ioua commanens insula, paucis quibus
dam se circumstantibus sic profatus senioribus, ' Columbus
Coilriginus,' ait, 'faber ferrarius, non incassum laboravit,
qui de propria manuum laboratione suarum praemia, emax,
5 felix, comparuit aeterna. Ecce enim, nunc anima eius
a Sanctis vehitur angelis ad caelestis patriae gaudia. Nam
quodcunque de suae artis negotiatione acquirere potuit, in
egenorum eleemosynas expendit.'
Cap. X. De angelorum simili visione quos vir beatus
10 ASPEXERAT ALICUIUS BENE MORATAE FEMINAE ANIMAM AD
CAELUM FERRE.
Also that of a good woman. Alio itidem in tempore vir
sanctus, in Ioua conversans insula, quadam die, subito
oculos ad caelum dirigens, haec profatus est verba, ' Felix
15 mulier, felix bene morata, cuius animam nunc angeli Dei
ad paradisum evehunt.' Erat autem quidam religiosus
frater, Genereus nomine, Saxo, pistor, opus pistorium
exercens, qui hoc audierat verbum ex ore Sancti prolatum.
Eademque die mensis, eodem terminato anno, Sanctus
20 eidem Genereo Saxoni, 'Miram rem video,' ait; 'ecce,
mulier de qua, te praesente, praeterito dixeram anno nunc
mariti sui religiosi cuiusdam plebeii in aere obviat animae,
et cum Sanctis angelis contra aemulas pro ea belligerat
potestates : quorum adminiculo, eiusdem homuncionis
25 iustitia suffragante, a daemonum belligerationibus erepta,
ad aeternae refrigerationis locum anima ipsius est per-
ducta.' Cap. XI. De angelorum apparitione sanctorum quos
SANCTUS COLUMBA OBVIOS IN TRANSITU VIDERAT BEATI
30 BRENDENI ANIMAE, ILLIUS MONASTERII FUNDATORIS QUOD
SCOTICE BIRRA NUNCUPATUR.
Angels descend to meet the soul of St. Brendan of Birr.
Alia itidem die, dum vir venerandus in Ioua conversaretur
insula, mane primo suum advocat saepe memoratum
35 ministratorem Diormitium nomine, eique praecipit, in
quiens, ' Sacra celeriter Eucharistiae ministeria prae-
parentur. Hodie enim natalis beati Brendeni dies.'
' Quare,' ait minister, ' talia missarum solemnia hodierna
praeparari praecipis? nullus enim ad nos de Scotia
17. A. B. CD. F. S. pictorColg. Boll. 17. A. pistorum B. C. D. F. S.
pictorium Colg. Boll. 33. Cummian, VII.

172 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
sancti illius viri obitus pervenit nuncius.' 'Vade,' tum ait
Sanctus, ' meae obsecundare iussioni debes. Hac enim
nocte praeterita vidi subito apertum caelum, angelo-
rumque choros sancti Brendeni animae obvios descen-
dere : quorum luminosa et incomparabili claritudine 5
totus eadem hora illustratus est mundi orbis.'
Cap. XII. De angelorum visione sanctorum qui sancti
COLUMBANI EPISCOPI, MOCU LOIGSE, ANIMAM AD CAELUM
EVEXERANT. Angels bear the soul of a bishop to Paradise. Quadam 10
itidem die, dum fratres, se calceantes, mane ad diversa
monasterii opera ire praepararent, Sanctus e contra ea
die otiari praecipit, sacraeque oblationis obsequia
praeparari, et aliquam, quasi in Dominico, prandioli
adiectionem fieri. ' Meque,' ait, ' hodie, quamlibet 15
indignus sim, ob venerationem illius animae quae hac in
nocte inter sanctos angelorum choros vecta, ultra siderea
caelorum spatia ad paradisum, ascendit, sacra oportet
Eucharistiae celebrare mysteria.' Et his dictis fratres
obsequuntur, et, iuxta Sancti iussionem, eadem otiantur 20
die : praeparatisque sacris, ad ecclesiam, ministeriis, quasi
die solenni albati cum Sancto pergunt. Sed forte, dum
inter talia cum modulatione officia ilia consueta decantare-
tur deprecatio, in qua sancti Martini commemoratur
nomen, subito Sanctus ad cantores, eiusdem onomatis ad 25
locum pervenientes, 'Hodie,' ait, 'pro sancto Columbano
episcopo decantare debetis.' Tunc omnes qui inerant
fratres intellexere quod Columbanus, episcopus Lage-
nensis, carus Columbae amicus, ad Dominum emigra-
verit. Et post alicuius temporis intervallum, aliqui de 3°
Lagenica commeantes provincia ea nocte eundem
obiisse nunciant episcopum qua Sancto ita revelatum est.
Cap. XIII. De ANGELORUM APPARITIONE QUI OBVIAM
ANIMABUS SANCTI MONACHORUM COMGELLI DESCENDERANT.
Angels come to the aid of holy souls. Alio in tempore 35
vir venerandus, cum in Ioua conversaretur insula, quadam
subitatione incitatus, signo personante, collectis fratribus,
' Nunc,' ait, ' oratione monachis abbatis Comgeili auxilie-
mur, hac in hora in Stagno demersis Vituli ; ecce enim hoc
11. Cummian, VIII. 22. A. abbati B. C. sabbati Colg. Boll.
23-4. illam consuetam deprecaretur prefacionem D.

LIB. Ill CAP. XIII 173
momento in aere contra adversarias belligerant potestates,
animam alicuius hospitis simul cum eis demersi eripere
conantes.' Tum, post lacrymosam et intentam orationem
cito ante altarium surgens, inter fratres pariter in oratione
5 prostratos, laetificato vultu, ' Christo,' ait, ' gratias agite,
nunc enim sancti angeli, Sanctis obviantes animabus, et
ipsum hospitem, ereptum a daemonum belligerationibus,
quasi victoriales liberarunt belligeratores.'
Cap. XIV. De angelorum manifestatione alicuius
10 EMCHATHI ANIMAE OBVIANTIUM.
Angels come for the soul of an aged convert. Alio in
tempore vir sanctus, ultra Britanniae Dorsum iter agens,
secus Nisae fluminis lacum, subito inspiratus Spiritu
Sancto, ad fratres pariter commeantes, ' Properemus,' ait,
15 'sanctis obviam angelis, qui de summis caeli regionibus
ad praeferendam alicuius gentilici animam emissi, nos illuc
usque pervenientes expectant, ut ipsum, naturale bonum
per totam vitam usque ad extremam senectutem conservan-
tem, priusquam moriatur, opportune baptizemus.' Et,
20 haec dicens, sanctus senex in quantum potuit comites
festinus praecedebat, donee in ilium devenit agrum qui
Airchartdan nuncupatur: ibidemque quidam repertus senex,
Emchatus nomine, audiens a Sancto verbum Dei praedi-
catum, et credens, baptizatus est, et continuo, laetus et
25 securus, cum angelis obviantibus ei, ad Dominum com-
migravit. Sed et filius eius Virolecus credens cum tota
domo est baptizatus.
Cap. XV. De angelo domini qui alicui fratri lapso
de monasterii culmine rotundi in roboreti campo
30 OPPORTUNE tam cito subvenerat.
An angel helps one who fell down a round tower. Alio
in tempore vir sanctus, dum in tuguriolo suo scribens
sederet, subito eius immutata facies, et hanc puro de
pectore promit vocem, dicens, 'Auxiliare, auxiliare.'
35 Duo vero fratres ad ianuam stantes, videlicet Colgu,
filius Cellachi, et Lugneus Mocublai, causam talis subitae
interrogant vocis. Quibus vir venerabilis hoc dedit
responsum, inquiens, 'Angelo Domini, qui nunc inter
vos stabat, iussi ut alicui ex fratribus de summo culmine
40 magnae domus lapso tam cito subveniret, quae his in
diebus in Roboreti Campo fabricatur.' Hocque con-
32. Cummian, X

174 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
sequenter Sanctus intulit famen, inquiens, 'Valde
admirabilis et paene indicibilis est angelici volatus
pernicitas, fulgureae, ut aestimo, celeritati parilis. Nam
ille caelicola, qui hinc a nobis nunc, illo viro labi
incipiente, avolavit, quasi in ictu oculi, priusquam terram 5
tangeret, subveniens, eum sublevavit ; nee ullam fractu-
ram aut laesuram ille qui cecidit sentire potuit. Quam
stupenda, inquam, haec velocissima et opportuna sub-
ventio, quae, dicto citius, tantis maris et terrae inter-
iacentibus spatiis, tam celerrime effici potuit.' 10
Cap. XVI. De angelorum multitudine sanctorum visa
AD BEATI CONDICTUM VIRI DE CAELO DESCENDENTIUM.
Many angels visit St. Columba al the Angels' hill : an
over-curious brother. Alio itidem in tempore, quadam die,
vir beatus in Ioua conversans insula, fratribus congre- 15
gatis, cum ingenti animadversione, denunciavit, ad eos
dicens, ' Hodie in occidentalem nostrae campulum insu
lae solus exire cupio ; nemo itaque ex vobis me
sequatur.' Quibus Obsecundantibus, solus quidem, ut
voluit, egreditur. Sed frater quidam, callidus explo- 20
rator, alia means via, in cuiusdam monticelli cacu-
mine, qui eidem supereminet campulo, se occulte col-
locat ; videlicet illius causam solitariae beati egressionis
viri explorare cupiens. Quem cum idem explorator de
monticelli vertice, in quodam illius campuli colliculo 25
stantem, et expansis ad caelum manibus orantem, ocu-
losque ad caelum elevantem conspiceret, mirum dictu, et
ecce subito res miranda apparuit, quam idem supra
memoratus homo, ut aestimo, non sine permissione Dei,
de propioris monticelli loco, oculis etiam eorporalibus 30
aspexerat, ut nomen Sancti et eius honorificentia, quamvis
ipso nolente, ob hanc manifestatam visionem postea magis
in populis divulgaretur. Nam sancti angeli, caelestis
patriae cives, mira advolantes subitatione, sanctum
virum orantem circumstare coeperunt, albatis induti 35
vestibus; et post aliquam cum beato sermocinationem
viro, ilia caelestis caterva, quasi se exploratam sentiens,
ad summa citius repedavit caelorum. Beatus et ipse vir,
post angelicum condictum, reversus ad monasterium,
iterum collectis fratribus, cum quadam non mediocri 40
obiurgatione inquirit quis de illis esset transgressionis
14. Cummian, XI.

LIB. Ill CAP. XVI 175
obnoxius. Quibus consequenter se nescisse protestantibus,
ille, conscius sui inexcusabilis transgressus, ultra non
sustinens delictum celare suum, flexis genibus, in medio
fratrum choro, coram Sancto, veniam supplex precatur.
5 Quem Sanctus seorsum ducens, ingeniculanti cum
grandi commendat comminatione, ut nulli hominum de
ilia angelica visione in diebus eiusdem beati viri aliquid
etiam parvum occultum aperiret. Post egressum vero de
corpore sancti viri, illam caelestis coetus apparitionem
10 fratribus cum grandi intimavit protestatione. Unde
hodieque et locus illius angelici condicti rem in eo gestam
suo proprio protestatur vocabulo, qui Latine potest dici
Colliculus Angelorum, Scotice vero Cnoc Angel. Hinc
itaque animadvertendum est, et non negligenter perscru-
35 tandum, quantae et quales ad beatum virum, in hyemalibus
plerumque noctibus, insomnem, et in locis remotioribus,
aliis quiescentibus, orantem, angelicae fuerint et suaves
frequentationes, quae nullo modo venire in hominum
notitiam potuere : quae procul dubio valde numerosae
20 fuerunt ; si etiam quaedam ex ipsis quoquo modo ab
hominibus, vel in die vel noctu explorari potuerint; quae
absque dubitatione paucae admodum ad earum compara-
tionem angelicarum frequentationum, quae videlicet a
nemine sciri poterant. Hoc idem similiter et de quibusdam
25 luminosis manifestationibus annotandum, quae a paucis
exploratae, inferius caraxabuntur.
Cap. XVII. De columna luminosa sancti viri de ver
tice ARDERE VISA.
The appearance of a comet on St. Columba's head. Alio
30 in tempore quatuor, ad sanctum visitandum Columbam,
monasteriorum sancti fundatores de Scotia transmeantes,
in Hinba eum invenerunt insula ; quorum illustrium voca-
bula Comgellus Mocu Aridi, Cainnechus Mocu Dalon,
Brendenus Mocu Alti, Cormacus Nepos Leathain. Hi
35 uno eodemque consensu elegerunt ut sanctus Columba
coram ipsis in ecclesia sacra Eucharistiae consecraret
mysteria. Qui, eorum obsecundans iussioni, simul cum
eis, die Dominica ex more, post Evangelii lectionem,
ecclesiam ingreditur, ibidemque, dum missarum solemnia
40 celebrarentur, sanctus Brendenus Mocu Alti, sicut post
Comgello et Cainnecho intimavit, quendani criniosum
26. taxabuntur D. tractabuntur male Co\g. Boll. 29. Cummian, XII,

176 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
igneum globum, et valde luminosum, de vertice sancti
Columbae, ante altare stantis, et sacram oblationem
consecrantis, tamdiu ardentem, et instar alicuius co-
lumnae sursum ascendentem, vidit, donee eadem per-
ficerentur sacrosancta ministeria. 5
Cap. XVIII. De spiritus sancti descensione sive visi
tatione QUAS IN EADEM INSULA TRIBUS CONTINUIS DIEBUS
ET NOCTIBUS SUPER VENERABILEM MANSIT VIRUM.
Visions in Hinba. Alio in tempore, cum sanctus vir in
Hinba commaneret insula, gratia sancti spiraminis super 10
eum abunde et incomparabiliter effusa, per triduum
mirabiliter mansit, ita ut per tres dies totidemque
noctes, intra obseratam et repletam caelesti claritudine
domum manens, nullum ad se accedere permitteret,
neque manducans neque bibens. De qua videlicet domo, 15
immensae claritatis radii, per rimulas valvarum, et
clavium foramina, erumpentes, noctu visebantur. Car-
mina quoque quaedam spiritalia et ante inaudita decan-
tari ab eo audiebantur. Sed et multa quaedam, ut ipse
post coram paucis admodum professus est, occulta ab 20
exordio mundi arcana aperte manifestata videbat : Scriptu-
rarum quoque sacrarum obscura quaeque et difficillima,
plana, et luce clarius aperta, mundissimi cordis oculis
patebant. Baitheneumque alumnum non adesse quere-
batur ; qui si forte adesset illo in triduo, vel de praeteritis 25
vel de futuris deinceps saeculis ab ore viri beati quaedam
plurima, ab aliis ignorata hominibus, mysteria describeret ;
aliquantas quoque sacrorum explanationes voluminum.
Qui tamen Baitheneus, in Egea insula venti contrarietate
detentus, usquequo illi trinales illius incomparabilis et 30
honorificae visitationis dies, et totidem noctes, terminaren-
tur, adesse non potuit.
Cap. XIX. De angelica lucis claritudine quam
VIRGNO, BONAE INDOLIS IUVENIS, QUI POSTEA, DEO AUCTORE,
HUIC PRAEFUIT ECCLESIAE, SUPER SANCTUM COLUMBAM IN 35
ECCLESIA, FRATRIBUS HYEMALI NOCTE IN CUBICULIS QUIES-
CENTIBUS, DESCENDERE VIDERAT, CUI EGO, INDIGNUS LICET,
DESERVIO. The church filled with heavenly light. Quadam hyemali
nocte supra memoratus Virgnous, in Dei amore fervens, 4o
9. Cummian, XIV. 39. Cummian, XV.

LIB. Ill CAP. XIX 177
ecclesiam, orationis studio, aliis quiescentibus, solus
intrat : ibidemque in quadam exedra, quae oratorii ad-
haerebat parieti, devotus orabat. Et post aliquantum
quasi horae intervallum unius, vir venerandus Columba
5 eandem sacram ingreditur domum, simulque cum eo
aurea lux, de summa caeli altitudine descendens, totum
illud ecclesiae spatium replens. Sed et illius exedriolae
separatum conclave, ubi se Virgnous, in quantum potuit,
latitare conabatur, eiusdem caelestis claritas luminis, per
10 interiorem illius cubiculi ianuam, quae ex minori patebat
parte, erumpens, non sine aliquo formidabili repleverat
terrore. Et sicut nullus aesteum et meridianum solem
rectis et irreverberatis potest intueri oculis, sic et
illam caelestem claritudinem ille Virgnous, qui viderat,
15 sustinere nullo poterat modo ; quia valde oculorum rever-
berabat aciem ilia luminosa et incomparabilis effusio. Quo
fulminali et formidabili splendore viso, in tantum idem
supra memoratus frater exterritus erat, ut nulla in eo
virtus remaneret. Sanctus vero Columba, post non
20 prolixam orationem, egreditur ecclesiam. Virgnoumque
valde timoratum ad se crastina advocat die, hisque
brevibus compellat consolatoriis verbis, ' Bene, O filiole,'
ingeminans, ' hac praeterita nocte in conspectu Dei pla-
cuisti, oculos ad terram deprimendo, claritatis timore
25 perterritus eius ; nam, si non ita fecisses, ilia inaestimabili
obcaecarentur tui luce visa oculi. Sed hocnon negligenter
observare debebis, ut talem hanc lucis manifestationem nemini
unquam in mea denudes vita.' Haec itaque praedicabilis et
admirabilis res, post beati viri transitum, multis, eodem
30 Virgnouo narrante, innotuit. Cuius scilicet Virgnoui
sororis filius Commanus, honorabilis presbyter, mihi Adam-
nano de hac supra visione caraxata aliquando, sub testifi-
catione, enarraverat. Qui etiam enarratam ab ore ipsius
Virgnoui, abbatis, et avunculi sui, ab eo in quantum potuit
35 visam, audierat.
Cap. XX. De alia prope simili celsae claritudinis
VISIONE. A similar vision and injunction, Alia itidem nocte, qui
dam de fratribus, Colgius nomine, filius Aido Draigniche,
40 de Nepotibus Fechreg, cuius in primo fecimus mentionem,
32. craxata A, tractata Colg. Ball,
9291 M

,-78 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
casu ad ianuam ecclesiae, aliis dormientibus, devenit,
ibidemque aliquamdiu stans orabat. Tum proinde subito
totam videt ecclesiam caelesti luce repleri : quae scilicet
fulguralis lux dicto citius ab eius recessit oculis. Sanctum
vero Columbam hora eadem intra ecclesiam orantem 5
ignorabat. Postque talem subitam luminis apparitionem,
valde pertimescens, domum revertitur. Postera die Sanc
tus, ilium advocans, asperius obiurgavit, inquiens, ' De
cetero praecavere debes, fili, ne, quasi explorator, caeleste
lumen, quod tibi non est donatum, inspicere coneris, quia 10
te effugiet ; et ne alicui in meis diebus quod vidisti
enarres.' Cap. XXI. De alia parili divinae lucis apparitione.
A similar light in the saint's cell. Alio itidem in tempore,
vir beatus cuidam suo sapientiam discenti alumno, nomine 15
Berchano, cuius cognomentum Mesloen, non mediocriter
quadam denunciavit die, inquiens, 'Caveto, fili, ne hac
sequenti nocte, iuxta tuam semper consuetudinem, ad
meum appropinques hospitiolum.' Qui haec audiens, con
tra interdictum, ad domum beati viri, in noctis silentio, 2c
aliis quiescentibus, accessit, callideque explorans, oculos
e regione ad clavium foramina posuit, aestimans scilicet,
ut res probavit, aliquam intus caelestem visionem Sancto
manifestari. Nam eadem hora beati viri illud hospitiolum
caelestis splendore claritudinis erat repletum : quam non 25
sustinens intueri, transgressor iuvenis illico aufugit. Quem
die crastina Sanctus seorsum ducens, cum magna severitate
obiurgans, haec ad eum profatur verba, dicens, ' Hac in
nocte, fili, coram Deo peccasti, nam tuae infitialis explo-
rationem calliditatis a Spiritu Sancto celari vel abscondi 30
posse inaniter putasti. Nonne ad mei ostium hospitioli
te ilia in hora appropinquantem et inde redeuntem vidi ?
et nisi ego eodem momento pro te orarem, ibidem ante
ianuam, aut cadens morereris, aut tui de suis foraminibus
oculi eruerentur. Sed tibi hac vice propter me Dominus 35
pepercit. Et hoc scito, quod in tua Hibernili patria luxu-
riose vivens, exprobrationem facies tua omnibus patietur
diebus vitae tuae. Hoc tamen a Domino orans impetravi,
ut quia noster sis alumnus, lacrymosam ante exitum agas
poenitudinem, et a Deo misericordiam consequaris.' Quae 40
omnia, secundum verbum beati viri, ita ei postea contige-
runt, sicuti de eo prophetata sunt.

LIB. Ill CAP. XXII 179
Cap. XXII. De alia angelorum sancto manifestata
viro apparitione, quos sanctae eius animae OB-
viare incipientes, quasi MOX de corpore viderat
migraturae.
5 A vision of angels coming for St. Columba's soul. Alio
in tempore, dum vir beatus in Ioua commaneret insula,
quadam die sancta facies eius subita mirifica et laetifica
hilaritate effloruit, oculosque ad caelum elevans, in-
comparabili repletus gaudio, valde laetificabatur. Tum,
10 post modicum alicuius momentioli intervallum, ilia sapida
et suavis laetificatio in maestam convertitur tristificatio-
nem. Duo vero viri,qui eadem hora eius tugurioli ad ianuam
stabant, quod in eminentiore loco erat fabricatum, et ipsi
cum eo valde tristificati, quorum unus Lugneus erat Mocu-
15 blai, alter vero Pilu nuncupabatur, Saxo, causam ipsius
subitae laetationis inquirunt, et illius subsequentis
maestitiae. Ad quos Sanctus sic profatur, ' Ite in pace,
nee illius laetaminis causam, nee etiam tristificationis, a me
nunc inquiratis manifestari.' Quo audito, illacrymati, in-
20 geniculantes, prostratis in terra vultibus, suppliciter rogant,
scire volentes aliquid de ilia re quae hora eadem Sancto
erat revelata. Quos valde tristificatos videns, ' Quia vos,'
ait, ' amo, tristificari nolo. Promittere prius debetis ne
ulli hominum sacramentum quod inquiritis in vita mea
25 prodatis.' Qui continuo, secundum eius commendationem,
prompte promiserunt. Et, post talem promissionem, vir
venerandus sic ad eos proloquitur, 'Usque in hunc,'
inquiens, ' praesentem diem, meae in Britannia peregri-
nationis terdeni completi sunt anni. Interea multis ante
30 diebus a Domino meo devote postulavi, ut in fine tricesimi
huius praesentis anni me de meo absolveret incolatu, et
ad caelestem patriam illico advocaret. Et haec fuit mei
causa laetaminis, de qua vos me maesti interrogatis.
Angelos enim sanctos de excelso vidi missos throno ad
35 meam de carne animam obvios educendam. Sed ecce
nunc, subito retardati, ultra nostrae fretum insulae stant
in rupe, scilicet volentes ad me de corpore advocandum
appropiare. Sed propius accedere non permittuntur,
mox ad caelorum summa repedaturi ; quia Dominus quod
40 mihi totis viribus roganti donavit, ut hac in die ad ipsum
5. Cummian, XVI.
M 2

180 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
de mundo transirem, multarum magis ecclesiarum pro
me orationes exaudiens, dicto citius immutavit. Quibus
scilicet ecclesiis exorantibus sic a Domino donatum
est, ut, quamlibet contra meam voluntatem, quatuor ab
hac die mihi in carne manenti superaddantur anni. Haec 5
talis mihi maesta retardatio hodiernae tristificationis non ,
immerito causa fuit. Quibus videlicet quatuor futuris,
Deo propitio, terminatis in hac vita annis, subita emigra-
tione, nulla praecedente corporis molestia, cum Sanctis
mihi obviaturis illo in tempore angelis, ad Dominum 10
laetus emigrabo. Secundum haec verba, vir venerabilis,
quae non sine magno gemitu et maerore, ut traditur, nee-
non et ingenti lacrimabilitate, prolocutus est, quatuor postea.
annis in carne mansit.
Cap. XXIII. De transitu ad dominum sancti nostri 15
PATRONI COLUMBAE.
St. Columba blesses Iona and its inhabitants. Annorum
supra quatuor memoratorum termino iam appropinquante,
post quorum completionem finem praesentis vitae veri-
dicus praesagator sibi futurum fore multo ante praesciebat 20
tempore, quadam die, mense Maio, sicut in priore secundo
scripsimus libro, ad visitandos operarios fratres senex
senio fessus, plaustro vectus, pergit. Ad quos, in occi-
dua insulae Iouae laborantes parte, sic ea die exorsus est
loqui, dicens, ' In Paschali solemnitate nuper Aprili 25
peracta mense, desiderio desideravi ad Christum Domi
num, sicut et mihi ab eo concessum erat, si maluissem,
emigrare. Sed ne vobis laetitiae festivitas in tristitiam
verteretur,diem meae de mundo emigrationis paulo diutius
protelari malui.' His ab eo maestis monachi familiares 3°
auditis interim dictis valde tristificati sunt : quos in quan
tum poterat verbis coepit consolatoriis laetificare. Quibus
finitis, ut erat in vehiculo sedens, ad orientem suam
convertens faciem, insulam cum insulanis benedixit
habitatoribus ; ex qua die, ut in supra memorato cara- 35
xatum est libello, viperarum venena trisulcarum linguarum
usque in hodiernum diem, nullo modo aut homini aut
pecori nocere potuere. Post eiusdem benedictionis verba
Sanctus ad suum revehitur monasterium.
21 . Cummian. XVII. 35. craxatum A. tractatum Colg. Boll.

LIB. Ill CAP. XXIII 181
An angel visits him in the church. Turn proinde, paucis
diebus transactis, dum missarum solemnia, ex more,
Dominica celebrarentur die, subito, sursum elevatis
oculis, facies venerabilis viri florido respersa rubore
ig videtur: quia, sicut scriptum est, 'Corde laetante vultus
floret.' Eadem namque hora angelum Domini supra
volitantem solus vidit intra ipsius oratorii parietes : et
quia sanctorum angelorum amabilis et tranquillus aspectus
gaudium et exultationem electorum pectoribus intundit,
IO haec fuit illius subitae causa laetitiae beato infusa viro.
De qua scilicet causa inspiratae laetationis, cum qui
inerant ibidem praesentes inquirerent, hoc eis Sanctus
responsum, sursum respiciens, dedit, 'Mira et incom
parabilis angelicae subtilitas naturae. Ecce enim
15 angelus Domini, ad repetendum aliquod Deo carum missus
depositum, nos desuper intra ecclesiam aspiciens et
benedicens, rursum per parasticiam ecclesiae reversus,
nulla talis vestigia exitus reliquit.' Haec Sanctus.
Sed tamen, de qualitate illius depositi ad quod missus est
20 angelus requirendum, nemo de circumstantibus recognos-
cere potuit. Noster vero patronus sanctum, propriam a
Deo sibi commendatam animam, depositum nuncupavit.
Quae, sicuti inferius narrabitur, alia, senis intervenientibus
continuis diebus, Dominica nocte ad Dominum emigravit.
25 He blesses the barn and the corn. Vir itaque venera
bilis in fine eiusdem hebdomadis, hoc est die sabbati,
ipse et eius pius minister Diormitius ad proximum pergunt
benedicendum horreum. Quod intrans Sanctus cum bene
dixisset, et duos in eo frugum sequestratos acervos, hoc
30 intulit verbum cum gratiarum actione, inquiens, ' Valde
congratulor meis familiaribus monachis, quia hoc etiam
anno, si quoquam a vobis emigrare me oportuerit, annuum
sufficientem habebitis.' Quo audito verbo, Diormitius
minister tristificari coepit, et sic dicere, ' Huius anni tem-
•35 pore, pater, saepius nos contristas, quia de tuo transitu
crebro commemoras.' Cui Sanctus hoc dedit responsum,
'Aliquem arcanum habeo sermusculum, quem, si mihi
firmiter promiseris, nemini ante meum denudare obitum,
de meo tibi egressu aliquid manifestius intimare potero.'
40 Quam cum talem minister promissionem, iuxta voluntatem
Sancti, flexis genibus, terminasset, vir venerandus conse-
x. Cummian, XVIII. 25. Cummian, XIX. 37. ser-
monusculum D.

18a VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
quenter sic profatur, * Haec in sacris voluminibus dies
Sabbatum nuncupatur, quod interpretatur requies. Et
mihi vere est sabbatum haec hodierna, quia huius prae-
sentis laboriosae vitae mihi ultima est, in qua post meas
laborationum molestias sabbatizo ; et hac sequenti 5
media venerabili Dominica nocte, secundum eloquia Scrip-
turarum, patrum gradiar viam. lam enim Dominus
meus Iesus Christus me invitare dignatur; ad quem,
inquam, hac mediante nocte, ipso me invitante, emigrabo.
Sic enim mihi ab ipso Domino revelatum est.' Haec 10
maesta minister audiens verba, coepit amare flere. Quem
Sanctus in quantum potuit consolari conabatur.
The white horse makes his farewell to the saint. Post
haec Sanctus horreum egreditur, et ad monasterium rever-
tens, media residet via, in quo loco postea crux, molari 15
infixa- lapidi hodieque stans, in margine cernitur viae.
Dumque ibidem Sanctus, ut praefatus sum, senio fessus,
paululum sedens, requiesceret, ecce albus occurrit caballus,
obediens servitor, qui scilicet lactaria bocetum inter et
monasterium vascula gestare consueverat. Hic ad Sanctum 20
accedens, mirum dictu, caput in sinu eius ponens, ut credo
inspirante Deo, cui omne animal rerum sapit sensu quo
iusserit ipse Creator, dominum a se suum mox emigraturum,
et ipsum ultra non visurum sciens, coepit plangere, uber-
timque, quasi homo, lacrymas in gremium Sancti fundere, 25
et valde spumans flere. Quod videns minister, coepit
ilium flebilem repellere lamentatorem : sed Sanctus prohi-
buit eum, dicens, ' Sine hunc, sine nostri amatorem, ut in
hunc meum sinum fletus effundat amarissimi plangoris.
Ecce tu, homo cum sis, et rationalem animam habeas, nullo 30
modo scire de meo exitu potuisti, nisi quod tibi ego ipse
nuper manifestavi : huic vero bruto et irrationali animanti,
quoque modo ipse Conditor voluit, egressurum a se domi
num manifeste revelavit.' Et haec dicens maestum a se
revertentem equum benedixit ministratorem. 35
Who blesses the monastery. Et inde egrediens, et mon-
ticellum monasterio supereminentem ascendens, in
vertice eius paululum stetit, et stans, ambas elevans
palmas, suum benedixit coenobium, inquiens, ' Huic loco,
quamlibet angusto et vili, non tantum Scotorum reges, cum 40
populis, sed etiam barbararum et exterarum gentium reg-
7. ingrediar C.

LIB. Ill CAP. XXIII 183
natores, cum plebibus sibi subiectis, grandem et non
mediocrem conferent honorem : a Sanctis quoque etiam
aliarum ecclesiarum non mediocris veneratio conferetur.'
Transcribes the Psalter. Post haec verba, de illo de-
5 scendens monticellulo, et ad monasterium revertens,
sedebat in tugurio Psalterium scribens ; et ad ilium
tricesimi tertii psalmi versiculum perveniens ubi scri-
bitur, « Inquirentes autem Dominum non deficient omni
bono,' ' Hic,' ait, ' in fine cessandum est paginae ; quae
10 vero sequuntur Baitheneus scribat.' Sancto convenien-
ter congruit decessori novissimus versiculus quem scrip-
serat, cui nunquam bona deficient aeterna : successori
vero sequens patri, spiritalium doctori filiorum, ' Venite,
filii, audite me, timorem Domini docebo vos,' congruen-
15 ter convenit ; qui, sicut decessor commendavit, non
solum ei docendo, sed etiam scribendo, successit.
And goes to the church for vespers, and exhorts the
brethren. Post talem superius memoratum terminatae
versum perscriptum paginae, Sanctus ad vespertinalem
20 Dominicae noctis missam ingreditur ecclesiam : qua
continuo consummata, ad hospitiolum revertens, in
lectulo residet pernox; ubi pro stramine nudam habebat
petram, et pro pulvillo lapidem, qui hodieque quasi
quidam iuxta sepulcrum eius titulus stat monumenti.
25 Ibidem itaque residens, ultima ad fratres mandata, solo
audiente ministro, commendat, inquiens, ' Haec vobis,
O filioli, novissima commendo verba, ut inter vos
mutuam et non fictam habeatis charitatem, cum pace :
et si ita, iuxta sanctorum exempla patrum, observaveritis,
30 Deus, confortator bonorum, vobis auxiliabitur, et ego,
cum ipso manens, pro vobis interpellabo ; et non tantum
praesentis vitae necessaria ab eo sufficienter administra-
buntur, sed etiam aeternalium bonorum praemia, divinorum
observatoribus praeparata, tribuentur.' Hucusque extrema
35 venerabilis patroni verba, quasi de hac taediali peregrina-
tione ad caelestem patriam transmeantis, brevi textu narrata
deducta sunt.
He goes to the church again. Post quae, felici appropin-
quante novissima paulisper hora, Sanctus conticuit.
4° Turn proinde media nocte pulsata personante clocca,
festinus surgens, ad ecclesiam pergit, citiorque ceteris
4. Cummian, XX. 18. Cummian, XXI. 20. officium B.
39. Cummian, XXII.

184 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
currens, solus introgressus iuxta altare flexis in ora
tione genibus recumbit; Diormitius minister, tardius
prosecutus, eodem momento eminus totam intrinsecus
ecclesiam angelica luce erga Sanctum repleri videt : quo
ad ianuam appropinquante, eadem lux visa ocius 5
recessit : quam etiam alii de fratribus pauci, et ipsi eminus
astantes, viderant. Diormitius ergo, ecclesiam ingre-
diens, flebili ingeminat voce, 'Ubi es, Pater?' Et,
necdum allatis fratrum lucernis, per tenebras palpans,
Sanctum ante altarium recubantem invenit : quem 10
paululum erigens, et iuxta sedens, sanctum in suo
gremio posuit caput. Et inter haec coetus monachorum
cum luminaribus accurrens, patre viso moriente, coepit
plangere. Et, ut ab aliquibus qui praesentes inerant didi-
cimus, Sanctus, necdum egrediente anima, apertis 15
sursum oculis, ad utrumque latus cum mira vultus hilari-
tate et laetitia circumspiciebat ; sanctos scilicet obvios
intuens angelos. Diormitius tum sanctam sublevat ad
benedicendum Sancti monachorum chorum dexteram
manum. Sed et ipse venerabilis pater, in quantum po- 20
terat, simul suam movebat manum, ut videlicet quod voce
in egressu non valebat animae, etiam motu manus fratres
videretur benedicere. Et post sanctam benedictionem
taliter significatam, continuo spiritum exhalavit. Quo
tabernaculum corporis egresso, facies rubens, et mirum 25
in modum angelica visione exhilarata, in tantum re-
mansit, ut non quasi mortui, sed dormientis videretur
viventis. Tota interim personabat maestis plangoribus
ecclesia. His death is revealed to a holy man in Ireland. Sed non 30
praetereundum videtur quod eadem hora beatae transitus
animae, cuidam Hiberniensi Sancto revelatum est. In illo
namque monasterio quod Scotica nominatur lingua Cloni
Finchoil, quidam homo erat sanctus, senex Christi miles, qui
Lugudius vocitabatur, filius Tailchani, iustus et sapiens. 35
Hic itaque primo mane cuidam aeque Christiano militi,
Fergnouo nomine, suam enarravit visionem, cum ingenti
gemitu, dicens, ' Hac praeterita nocte media sanctus
Columba, multarum columna ecclesiarum, ad Dominum
transiit, et in hora beati exitus eius louam insulam, ad 40
quam corpore nunquam perveni, totam angelorum claritu
dine in spiritu vidi irradiatam, totaque spatia aeris usque ad
aethera caelorum, eorundem angelorum claritate illustrate ;

LIB. Ill CAP. XXIII 185
qui ad sanctam ipsius animam perferendam, de caelis missi,
descenderunt innumeri. Altisona quoque carminalia, et
valde suavia audivi angelicorum coetuum cantica eodem
momento egressionis inter angelicos sanctae ipsius animae
5 ascendentes choros.' Hanc angelicam manifestationem
Virgnous, ut praedictum est, qui ab ore sancti illius senis
cui revelata erat, indubitanter didicerat, iisdem diebus de
Scotia remigans, Hinba in insula reliquis diebus vitae suae
permanens, sancti Columbae monachis saepius enarrabat.
10 Qui videlicet Virgnous, post multos in subiectione inter
fratres irreprehensibiliter expletos annos, alios duodecim
in loco anachoretarum in Muirbulcmar, vitam ducens
anachoreticam, Christi victor miles, explevit. Hanc prae-
dictam visionem, non solum paginis inscriptam reperimus,
15 sed et ab aliquibus expertis senioribus, quibus ipse Virgnous
retulerat, sine ullo didicimus cunctamine.
A heavenly light seen in Donegal. Eadem quoque hora
aliam visionem, aliter revelatam, unus ex eis qui viderant,
Christi miles, valde senex, cuius nomen etiam potest dici
20 Ferreolus, Scotice vero Ernene, gente Mocufirroide, qui
inter aliorum sancti Columbae monachorum reliquias, et
ipse sanctus monachus, in Dorso Tomme sepultus, cum
Sanctis resurrectionem expectat, mihi Adamnano, illo iuveni
in tempore, cum grandi retulerat testificatione, dicens, ' Ilia
25 in nocte qua sanctus Columba de terra ad caelos felici et
beato fine transiit, ego et alii mecum viri laborantes in
captura piscium in valle piscosi fluminis Fendae, subito
totum aerei illustratum caeli spatium vidimus. Cuius
miraculi subitatione permoti, oculos ad orientem elevatos
3° convertimus, et ecce, quasi quaedam pergrandis ignea ap
paruit columna, quae in ilia nocte media sursum ascendens
ita nobis videbatur mundum illustrare totum, sicuti aesteus
et meridianus sol, et postquam ilia penetravit columna
caelum, quasi post occasum solis, tenebrae succedunt. Huius
35 itaque claritudinem luminosae et praedicabilis columnae,
non tantum nos, qui simul in eodem loco ineramus, cum
ingenti admiratione vidimus, sed et alii multi piscatores, qui
sparsim per diversas fluminales piscinas eiusdem fluminis
piscabantur, sicut nobis post retulerant, simili apparitione
4° visa, magno pavore sunt perculsi.' Harum igitur trium
22. dorso tomae B. dorso thomae C. druim thuama D.

186 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
miracula visionum eadem transitus hora venerandi apparen-
tium patroni, aeternos ei a Domino collatos protestantur
honores. Ad propositum revertamur.
The body prepared for burial. Interea post sanctae
egressum animae, hymnis matutinalibus terminatis, 5
sacrum corpus de ecclesia ad hospitium, unde paulo ante
vivens venerat, cum canora fratrum reportatur psalmo-
dia, honesteque ternis diebus et totidem noctibus
honorabiles rite explentur exequiae. Quibus in Dei
sapidis laudibus terminatis, sancti et beati patroni venera- 10
bile corpus, mundis involutum sindonibus, et praeparata
positum in ratabusta, debita humatur cum veneratione,
in luminosa et aeternali resurrecturum claritudine.
A prophecy fulfilled. De supra memoratis ergo tribus illis
exequiarum diebus more peractis ecclesiastico, quod nobis 15
ab expertis traditum est, huius prope finem enarrabitur
libri. Quidam namque aliquando unus de fratribus coram
venerabili viro simpliciter loquens. 'Ad celebrandas,' ait
ad Sanctum, ' tuas, post tuum obitum exequias, totus
harum provinciarum populus hanc louam remigans reple- 20
bit insulam.' Quod verbum audiens Sanctus consequenter
ait, ' O mi filiole, non ut loqueris sic res probabit, nam
promiscuum populi vulgus nullo modo ad meas poterit
exequias venire ; mei soli familiares monachi mea sepul-
cralia complebunt, et exequialia honestabunt officia.' 25
Quod verbum eius propheticum, statim post transitum ipsius,
omnipotentia Dei adimpleri fecit : nam per tres illas exe-
quiales dies et noctes, grandis sine pluvia facta est
ventosa tempestas, qua fortiter prohibente, nullus hinc
inde navicella vectus transfretare poterat. Et post con- 30
summatam beati sepultionem viri continuo tempestate
sedata, et cessante vento, totum tranquillatum est aequor.
Epilogue. St. Columba's miracles. Perpendat itaque
lector quanti et qualis apud Deum praedicabilis patronus
honoris habeatur, cui aliquando in carne mortali conver- 35
sand Deo dignante, oranti, tempestates sedatae sunt, et
maria tranquillata ; et rursus, quando necesse habuit, supra
memorata occasione, orta flamina ventorum, et ventosa,
cum voluit, concita sunt aequora, quae subsequenter, ut
4. Cummian, XXIII. 12. ratabusta A. B. rata busta F. intra
busta C. in rata tabeta D. catabusta suo hire Boll . 17. Cummian
XXIV. 33. Cummian, XXV.

LIB. Ill CAP. XXIII 187
superius dictum est, expletis eius sepulturae ministeriis, in
magnam conversa sunt tranquillitatem.
Reflections on his death, and on his fame. Hic itaque
nostra praedicabili patrono vitae terminus fuit, ista meri-
5 torum exordia ; qui, secundum sententias Scripturarum,
aeternis comes triumphis, Patribus additus, Apostolis et
Prophetis consertus, numero aggregatus albatorum millium
Agnino in sanguine suas Sanctorum qui laverunt stolas,
Agnum ductorem comitatur, virgo immaculatus, ab omni
10 integer labe, ipso Domino nostra lesu Christo dignante :
cui est cum Patre honor, virtus, laus, gloria, et imperium
sempiternum in unitate Spiritus Sancti, per omnia saecula
saeculorum. Post horum trinalium lectionem libellorum, quisque dili-
15 gens annotet lector quanti et qualis meriti sanctus saepe
supra memoratus praesul venerandus, quantae et qualis
apud Deum honorificentiae fuerit aestimatus, quantae et
quales angelicae ad ipsum, et luminosae frequentationes,
fuerint; quanta in eo prophetalis gratia, quanta dialium
20 efficientia virtutum ; quanta et quam frequens eum divini
luminis claritudo in carne mortali adhuc commorantem
circumfulserit ; quae, etiam post egressum animae de taber
naculo corporis almissimae, sicuti quibusdam electis osten-
sum habetur compertum, locum in quo ipsius sancta pausant
25 ossa usque hodie eadem caelestis claritas frequentare non
cessat, et sanctorum frequens visitatio angelorum. Ethaec
etiam eidem beatae memoriae viro a Deo non mediocris est
•collate gratia, qua nomen eius non tantum per totam nostram
Scotiam, et omnium totius orbis insularum maximam
30 Britanniam, clare divulgari promeruit, in hac parva et ex
trema oceani Britannici commoratus insula ; sed etiam ad
trigonam usque Hispaniam, et Gallias, et ultra Alpes
Peninas Italiam sitam pervenire, ipsam quoque Romanam
civitatem, quae caput est omnium civitatum. Tantus et
35 talis honor noscibilis eidem Sancto inter ceterae divinae
donationis munera condonatus scitur a Deo, qui se dili-
gentes amat, et eos qui eum sapidis magnificant laudibus
magis ac magis glorificans, immensis sublimat honoribus,
qui est benedictus in saecula. Amen.
40 Obsecro eos quicunque voluerint hos describere libellos,
immo potius adiuro per Christum, iudicem saeculorum, ut
postquam diligenter descripserint, conferant, et emendent

188 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
cum omni diligentia, ad exemplar unde caraxerunt, et hanc
quoque adiurationem hoc in loco subscribant.
Quicumque hos virtutum libellos Columbae legerit, pro
me Dorbbeneo
Deum deprecetur, ut vitam post mortem aeternam 5
possedeam. 1. craxerunt A. traxerunt Colg. Boll.

NOTES
PREFACE
Page 85. 10. constare] This paraphrase of i Cor. iv. 20, ' Non
enim in sermone est regnum Dei, sed in virtute,' Vulg., has
apparently been suggested by a similar passage in a preface to
the Life of St. Martin by Sulpicius Severus, ' ut res potius quam
verba perpendant,' etc., Gwynn, 377 a. Reeves thinks that Adamnan
has borrowed other ideas from the same source.
Scoticae] Irish, so passim ; see note on Scotia, below, p. 191.
The Celtic tongues were characterized as barbarous by Gregory,
Bede, and others.
11. onomatd] This is the first of many instances in which
Adamnan, following the fashion of his time, makes use of Greek
loan-words. Latin words were sometimes written in Greek letters,
though often incorrectly, and specimens of Greek, as for example
the Lord's Prayer in Cod. A. of Adamnan, were written in a peculiar
Irish form of the Greek character (Reeves, 1857, xx, xxi, 354, and
facsimile PI. 3). Similar instances occur in the Book of Armagh,
c. a.d. 807. See Intr. iv. § 13. Greek seems to have been
cultivated as a matter of interest and curiosity, but in many cases
with very slender knowledge (Reeves, 1857, 158 n.). We find in
the Antiphonarium Benchorense (A.D. 680-691), proto, 5 a, Alfa et
a, 1 1 r, agie, 12 r, agius, 15 V, pantes, ta erga, 1 5 v, zoen, 36 v. If we
had more iiturgical remains of the old national rite, we should
probably find survivals of Greek similar to those still remaining in
the Roman service-books, which are analogous to the Latin sur
vivals in the English Prayer-book, and carry us back to times when
Greek was the principal ecclesiastical language. It may here be
mentioned that Greek, written phonetically in Roman letters, was
used somewhat extensively in England as late as the eleventh
century (Archaeologia, xlvi. 389, etc.).
18. caraxatd] Caraxare, to write (craxare in Cod. A. and in De
Locis Sanctis, xraxare in the Irish Cod. Lat. Paris, 12021), is from
Xapaao-a, to scratch, denoting the action of the stylus on waxed
tablets ; it had been used by Latin writers as early as Prudentius,
and karaxare occurs in charters of Eadgar and ^Ethelred. Colgan
and the Bollandists have adopted Stephen White's improper
substitution of exarare.
23. praefatiunculanz] On the frequent use of diminutives by
Adamnan and other Irish writers, see above, in the conclusion of
the Introduction.
28. monasterioruni\ The number is variously stated at sixty-six
(Colgan), one hundred (Jocelin), and three hundred (O'Donnell).
Page 86. 3. Iona] Heb. roVi 1. a dove, 2. proper name 'Jonah ',

190 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
Columbanus in the superscription of his epistle to Pope Boniface IV
made a similar reference to his name in the same three languages.
It no doubt helped to determine the erroneous form ' Iona', as the
name of the island ' Hy ' or ' Y '.
4. IIEPI2TEPA] See the various readings. The confusion of
long and short Greek vowels is common in Irish MSS. The
reading of Cod. C. is probably an explanatory gloss ('gentleness '),
possibly a misunderstanding ofthe Greek capitals.
5. Columba] On St. Columba's Irish names see above, in the
Introduction (vi. § 1). There are at least 264 Irish saints called
Colum, Colman, Columba, etc., mostly men, but in Continental
hagiology Columba is a woman's name. Adamnan uses the forms
Columba, Columbanus, Columbus, and Columb. Mr. Olden has
remarked to me that the frequent use of ' Colum ' with its additions
was perhaps meant as a rebuke to the quarrelsome habits of
the Celt.
18. Melius est, etc.] Prov. xxii. I, Vulg.
24. proselytus Brito] A British stranger. St. Mochta of Lugh-
magh, or Louth (Aug. 19), is described in his life as 'ortus ex
Britannia ', hence his title proselytus. He is said to have styled
himself in an epistle, ' peccator prespiter, sancti Patricii discipulus,'
and to have died in 534 (Annals of Ulster). The word proselytus
is used by St. Patrick in this sense both in his Confession and in
his Epistle on Coroticus. According to a metrical account quoted
in the mediaeval notes on the Calendar of Oengus (ed. Stokes,
cxxxii ; H.B.S. 189), St. Mochta had 300 priests, 100 bishops, and
80 psalm-singing noble youths, who did no ploughing, reaping,
kiln-drying, nor any work save only reading.
25. Patricii] The only allusion made by Adamnan to St. Patrick.
31. monasteriolorum] We can hardly attach any special meaning
to the diminutives here. But see Glossary.
32. disterminabuntur] This prophecy cannot be shewn to have
been fulfilled.
37. de miraculis] The promissiuncula referred to in the opening
words of i. 1.
40. propheticas revelationes] In later times many spurious
prophecies, worthy to rank with those of Merlin and Mother
Shipton, were attributed to St. Columba and to other saints, who
may at first only have been called 'prophets' in the sense of
preachers. The Irish have always been disposed to welcome such
predictions (O'Curry, Lect. on MS. Materials, 382-434). Even
the Norman knight John de Courcy, c. 1 1 76, kept by him a book
of St. Columcille's prophecies, although as they were written in
Irish he could not read a word of them (Joyce, Hist. 272). On
mediaeval prophecies, see Dollinger's Prophecies (tr. by Dr. Plum
mer), and on some of the latest productions of this kind, Reeves,
1857, lxxx ; 1874, xii.
43; cohaerent) This is common in MSS. of the date of Cod. A.
and is a transition towards complete separation of all words.

NOTES: PREFACE 191
Page 87. 3. praedicabili] A favourite epithet with Adamnan,
frequently applied to St. Columba, in i. 37 to his prophecies, and
in De Locis Sanctis to Jerusalem, and to a capsa. Render,
' famous.' 11. Sanctus igitur, etc.] Other early biographies begin in this
manner after their prefaces, and Codd. C, D., F., S. make this the
beginning of ch. 1. So also Cummian.
12. nobilihis, etc.] See Intr. vi. § I, and the Genealogical
Table, p. 83.
13. Ferguso] The regular form of the old Irish genitive, as in
Aido, i. 10, etc.
14. Scolica,etc.] In the Irish language. See note on Scotia, 1. 16.
15. Culedrebinae belluni] The great battle of Cooladrummon, on
which see Intr. vi. § 6.
16. Scotia] Bede writes ' Venit de Hibernia . . . Columba
Britanniam' (H.E. iii. 4), and Adamnan 'per totam nostram
Scotiam, et . . . Britanniam', iii. 23. Many similar passages
might be cited, yet the identity of Scotia with Hibernia was long
disputed by North British writers. Scotia, an ancient name of
Ireland, passed on to Alba or North Britain as a consequence of
emigrations, as it has now passed on to Nova Scotia in the New
World. Scotland had the name of Scotia Minor at first, while the
parent country was called Scotia Major, or Vetus. This continued
to about the eleventh century, when Ireland returned to the other
native name Eire, whence ' Eireland ', and ' Scotia ' gradually came
to be used of North Britain only. 'Erin' is really the dative of
Eriu, an earlier form of Eire.
17. Britanniam] Britain regarded as one. In earlier writings,
e.g. the Confession of St. Patrick, the plural Britanniae is used,
denoting the Roman provinces of what is now Great Britain, which
varied in number at different times ; in the fourth century there
were five. The plural form has been used on our coins since 1817,
meaning ' of the British Isles ', including Ireland. It does not occur
on Roman coins.
peregrinari volens] This passage possibly gives the true or at
any rate the chief reason of St. Columba's leaving Ireland. On
some alleged reasons, see above, Intr. vi. § 6.
23. per annos xxxiv] Bede says ' circiter xxx et duos ' (H. E.
iii. 4), but Adamnan makes_ the number amount to 34 again in
iii. 22.
Page 88. Capitulationes] These headings appear to be genuine,
though independent, portions of the original work. They do not
quite correspond with those of the chapters as we have them (see
the numbers appended and notes thereon), and they contain some
different forms of names and words, in one instance supplying
a proper name not elsewhere mentioned.
17. This and the preceding title both belong to ch. 17.
27. hydriam) ' Aquarium vas ' in ch. 24.
Page 89. 4. Loch-diae) Not mentioned by name in ch. 34. The

192 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
Annals of Ulster s. a. 728 mention stagnum Loogdae, but it has not
been identified.
7. Chapters 36 and 37 are not mentioned here.
8. Enano filio Gruth] ' Nemano filio Gruthriche ' in ch. 39.
10. furunculo] In ch. 41 he is called fur, and valde fur ax. In
classical Latin furunculus is a petty thief, a pilferer ; thus Cicero
speaks of one who was 'olim furunculus, nunc etiam rapax' (In
Pisonem, 27). Here the diminutive has no force.
13. Chapters 44-50 are not mentioned here.

LIB. I
Page 90. Cap. I] This chapter may be regarded as a third
preface; it is wanting in all the MSS. except A. (B. is imperfect
here), and its genuineness has been questioned, probably on
insufficient grounds.
6. promissiunculam] See above, in Pref. 2, p. 86.
9. sanavif] See ii. 4, 5, 6, 18, 30, 31, 33, 40, 46.
daemo?ium] See ii. II, 16, 17; iii. 8, 13.
13. nostra de insula] So in ch. 30, 'nostro huic monasterio,' and
in ch. 37, ' nostrum monasterium,' confirming the opinion that this
Life was written in Iona, and not, as has been thought, in Ireland.
See Intr. viii. § 10.
primaria] Bede thus refers to the primacy of Iona : ' In quibus
omnibus idem monasterium insulamim, in quo ipse requiescit
corpore, principatum teneret ', H. E. iii. 4.
14. repulit] See iii. 8.
16. compescuit] See ii. 26, 27.
18. humiliati sunt] See ii. 12, 13.
20. Pictorum] The Picti were properly the Picts or Caledonians,
who dwelt in the northern parts of what is now called Scotland.
But there were also the Cruithne or ' Irish Picts ', who inhabited the
southern half of Antrim and the greater part of Down.
21. magos] The term Magi, Druids, is used in Acts of Irish
Saints as equivalent to Druoithe, Druidh, as Draoithe is of the
'Magi' in St. Matt. ii. I, and Druith of Jannes and Jambres in
the Wurzburg Irish gloss on 2 Tim. iii. 8.
24. ventum] See ii. 34.
25. conversi sunt] See i. 4; ii. 15, 42, 45.
28. sanitates] See ii. 33.
30. Brudeo rege] Brude, son of Maelcon, king of the Picts, c. 554
to 584 ; mentioned also in i. 37 ; ii. 33, 35, 42.
32. suscitavii] See ii. 32.
34. Hibernia] The oldest extant form of the native name is Eriu,
supposed to be from a still older native name Iberiu, through an
intermediate Ieriu. Hiberio is the Latin form used in St. Patrick's
writings. The form ' Hybernia ' may be due to transcribers. Bede
uses ' Hibernia'. See note on Scotia, p. 191, and Joyce, ii. 458,

NOTES: LIB. I 193
-^.Findbarrum] Finbarr, Finnio, Finnian, or Vinnian, a bishop
at Maghbile or Moville, in Down, St. Columba's former instructor,
not to be confounded with the other Finnian of Cluain-Eraird, now
Clonard in Meath. He died Sept. 10 (his day), 579. ' Finnian ' is
formed from dim. of finn, white, Findbarr from finn barr, white
head. See Intr. v. § 5.
Page 91. 1. vinum] See ii. 1. Bede relates how water was
thought to taste like wine after St. Cuthbert had blessed it and
drunk a little of it. Vita S. Cuthb. 35.
4. effusum] See iii. 17-21.
6. meruit] See iii. passim.
8. videbat] See iii. 6, 7, 9-14.
9. aspiciebat] See i. 35, 39 ; ii. 23, 25.
11. laeta] See i. 3, 10, 11, 31, 46; ii. 39.
tristia] See i. 16, 21, 22, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 45, 47 ; ii. 22.
13, 14. victi, victores] See i. 7, 8, 12.
15. de carne transitum] See ii. 45, 46.
20. Ossualdd] St. Oswald was king of Northumbria, 63401635-642.
Saxonico] See note on Saxonia, below, on 1. 42.
21. Catlone?n] Cadwalla, king of the Strathclyde Welsh. A
Christian in name, but a heathen in life and conduct (Bede, H. E.
ii. 20). Bede's description is literally applicable to some in our
time. After a long struggle against the Saxon domination, he
allied himself in 633 with Penda king of Mercia and slew King
Edwin in battle at Hatfield in Yorkshire. In 634 he slew Osric
king of Deira, and in 635 Eanfrid king of Bernicia. Proceeding to
harry Northumberland, he was slain in battle with King Oswald at
Denisesburn in the same year (Bede, H. E. ii. 20 ; iii. 1).
23. belli] The reference is to the battle of Denisesburn, supposed
to be the same as Devil's Water, a stream which falls into the Tyne
at Dilston, formerly Devilston, in Northumberland. Bede (H. E.
iii. I, 2) gives some interesting particulars respecting this battle,
but does not refer to the appearing of St. Columba. In the Anony
mous Life of St. Cuthbert, written by a monk of Durham early in
the twelfth century, is a very similar story of St. Cuthbert's appear
ing to King Alfred before the battle of ' Assandun ' to encourage
him for the conflict.
papilione] Pavilion, Irish pupall.
32. tecum, etc.] Founded on Josh. i. 5, 18, Vulg.
42. Saxonia] A name given by Adamnan, as by some other
writers, to England in general; in iii. 10, 22, he uses Saxo. The
Irish still speak of an Englishman as ' the Saxon '.
gentilitatis] Of heathenism.
Page 92. 8. imperator] The Bretwalda.
9. Hanc mihi] Note the way in which Adamnan obtained his
information ; cp. note on didicimus, iii. 23. Cadwalla was slain in
635, when Adamnan was about eleven years old. The author speaks
again of himself in the first person in this chapter and in 2, 3, 49 ;
ii. 45, 46 ; iii. 19, 23/

i94 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
Adainnano) The name is an Irish diminutive of Adam. See
Intr. viii. § 8.
10. Failbeits] Failbhe, eighth abbot of Iona, 669-679. See Intr.
viii. § 7.
II. Segineo] Segineus or Seghine was fifth abbot, 623-652. See
Intr. viii. § 4.
16. carmina] Adamnan is probably referring to the Amhra
Choluimcille or Laudes S. Columbae, referred to in Intr. i. § 8, and
vii. § 4. Great and supernatural benefits were believed to be
obtained by the recital of this and other highly venerated poems, as
for example, the Lorica of St. Patrick, the Alius of Columcille, the
Calendar of Oengus, and a ' Corslet' ascribed to St. Gildas.
25. legem) Deut. xvii. 6, and reff.
40. Qui adhaeret) 1 Cor. vi. 17, Vglg.
Page 93. 13. Fintemis] 'Gente Mocumoie' infra; St. Fintan,
Munna, Munde, or Mundus (Oct. 21). According to Adamnan and
other early authorities he came to be a monk at Iona just too late
for St. Columba to receive him (c. 597), but the Aberdeen Breviary
represents him as entering during St. Columba's life. At the synod
of Campus Albus he upheld the Irish Easter against St. Laisre of
Leighlin, who nevertheless paid the highest possible tribute to his
sanctity. Ob. Oct. 19, 635, probably buried on the third day, Oct.
21. Abbot in Argyle ?
16, dialis sophias] Of Divine wisdom. Dialis is used by classical
as well as by later writers, e. g. in the title Flamen Dialis. Sophias
is an unaltered Greek word. In dialis we have a curious trans
ference of a word originally used with reference to a Greek or
Roman deity, to the God of Christian theology. We find dialis in
St. Columba's hymn Altus Prosator, ' Magni Dei virtutibus appen-
ditur dialibus.'
21. Columb Crag] Colgan conjectures that he may have been
Colum, priest of Eanach (Enagh), near Derry, whose day is Sept. 22
in calendar. Tr. Th. 373, n. 22.
29. Roboreto Calgachi) Daire-Calgaich (the oak-wood of Calgach).
The old Pagan name of Derry, which in the tenth or eleventh cen
turies was superseded by Daire Coluimcille (Four Masters, s.a. 950).
This name continued till the time of James I, whose charter to a
company of London merchants imposed the name Londonderry.
Calgach is the Galgacus of Tacitus (Agricola, c. 29), and is an
Irish name found elsewhere, originally an adj. from calg, ' sword '
or ' thorn ', denoting ' sharp ' or ' angry ' ; hence, as a proper name,
' fierce warrior.'
37. Baitheneum . . . alumnum] Intr. viii. § 1.
Page 94. 3. louam insulam] The island of Iou, Y, Hy, or Ioria.
See Intr. vii. § 2, and note on the forms of the name.
4. in his locis) A note of the place where the book was written.
3.3. Mocumoie] A clan-name, probably Mac-Ua-Maan, filius
nepotis Maan. ' Mac ' is son, ' Ua ' grandson, later, descendant,
now O'. The plural is ' Ui ' (Hy), descendants, as in ,' Hy-Neill ', etc.-

NOTES: LIB. I 195
Tailchanus] Tulchan, mentioned as father of St. Fintan or
Munna in Colgan, Acta SS. 452 iv, 602 b, n. 3; Tr. Th. -$j$b,
n. 23, 483 a, n. 50.
42. Laginensium] The Laginenses or Lagini were the men of
Leinster. The derivations of the names of the Irish provinces are
thus given (after Worsaae) by Joyce, vol. i, p. 113 : 'The terminar
tion ster in the names of three of the provinces is the Scandinavian
stadr, a place, which has been added to the old Irish names. Lein
ster is the place (or province) of Laighen or Layn ; Ulster is con
tracted from Ula-ster, the Irish name Uladh being pronounced
Ulla ; and Munster from Moon-ster, or Mounster (which is the
form found in a State Paper of 15 15), the first syllable representing
the pronunciation of the Irish Mumhan. ' For the derivation of
Connaught see note on lib. ii, cap. 39, p. 151, 1. 16, p.219.
PAGE 95. 7. transnavigat] The story is told in the Life of
St. Fintan or Munna much in the same way. Colgan, Tr. Th.
461 a.
8-12. Haec mihi . . . monachus] Compare end of ch. I, first para
graph, and see note on p. 92, 1. 9, p. 193. The present passage is
wanting in Codd. C, F., S.
9. Oisseneo] Possibly an abbot of Clonard, who died 654.
Mocu Neth Corb) Of the clan of Nia Corb.
16. mediterranea Hiberntae parte) Here and in iii. 9, the neigh
bourhood of Athlone, which is almost exactly in the centre of
Ireland. Cod. D. here supplies midi (Meath), in Latin Media,
' quia in medio est insulae sita.' Giraldus, p. 144, speaks of a large.
stone called Umbilicus Hiberttiae.
17. Dair-mag] Irish Dar magh or Dear magh, now Durrow,
Bede mentions it as ' Dearmach lingua Scottorum, hoc est, Cam
pus roborum ' (H. E. iii. 4). Elsewhere Adamnan uses Latin
equivalents: see Index, s.v. Roborei.
fundans] Perhaps confirming an earlier foundation. See
Reeves. 19. Clonoensi, etc.] Clonmacnoise, founded 548.
Cerani] St. Ciaran (Kiaran) was the founder. See Intr. v. § 6.
20. ab agellulis] Many of the monks appear to have been at work
in the fields. Cp. Warren, p. 22.
23. Alitherum) Alitherus was fourth abbot of Clonmacnoise, and,
died in 599. Irish Ailithir, ' the pilgrim '.
24. vallum] The cashel or outer defence. See Intr. iv. § 2.
28. pyramidem] The word Pyramis is used in one passage quoted
by Ducange, of the Ciborium or Altar-canopy ; in De Locis Sanctis,
ii. 4, 7, of the tombs of David and of Rachel. Here it seems to
mean a square barrier or perhaps a canopy. These later senses
may have arisen out of the original sense by gradual extension.
The Greek irvpay.ls is supposed to be a loan-word from Egypt.
34. amphibali] A kind of cowl or outer garment, the same as
birrhus and caracalla. In the Gallican Church it was some kind of
chasuble (Ducange). Either from a/j.(f)i^o\os as if ' wrapper ', or
N 2

196 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
dfi(plpd\\os, ' woolly on both sides,' which latter is favoured by the
Latin :"
Thecentury, Intr. p. ix, Desc. of Plates I, IV). It was probably the lineal
descendant of the old Irish woolly casail or ' chasuble ' (Intr. iv. § 5).
The legend of the imaginary ' St. Amphibalus ', who had a shrine
at St. Albans, and whose dust was venerated at Durham, is sup
posed to have arisen out of the cloak (amphibalus) mentioned in
the fabulous Acts of St. Alban.
36. tangeret) Cp. ii. 6, and St. Matt. ix. 20 and xiv. 36.
Page 96. 17. Erneneus, fil. Craseni] According to the Old Irish
Life, Ernan of Cluaindeochra. It was for him Columcille composed
the prophecy. Mart. Doneg. Jan. 11.
22. cuius revelatione] Compare notes on p. 92, 1. 9, and p. 95, 1. 8.
27. discordia] As to the Easter controversies, see Intr. iv. § 11.
39. breve] The Sound is one English mile across.
Page 97. 3. Cainnechus] Surnamed Mocu Dalon, St. Cainnech,
from whom the two Kilkennys derive their name; born 517, died
600 ; founder of Aghaboe ; in Scotland called Kenneth. His day is
Oct. 11.
9. divisione] The more likely as being the less obvious reading.
It may well refer to the tempest and the calm just mentioned.
10. professi sunt) The same account is given in the Brussels Life
of St. Cainnech, quoted in Reeves's note (ed. 1857) ; Acta SS. Hib.
Salm. col. 375.
12. Rechru] The L-shaped rocky island now called Rathlin, about
three miles off Fair Head, on the NE. coast of Ireland, called
Rechrea in ii. 41. See Reeves, Eccl. Ant. 288.
15. Columbanus, fil. Beognai] In the title Colmanus Mocusailni,
Colman Ela Mac Ui Seilli, sometimes called Colmanellus, or Colum
banus, as in the text. Son of Beogna, born in Tyrone 555, d. 611 ;
day Sept. 26. A presbyter (ii. 15), but in heading of i. 5 called
episcopus. Patron of Kilcolmonell and Colmonell.
17. Chary bdis Brecani] Coire Brecain, ' Brecan's Cauldron,' a
whirlpool in the channel between Ballycastle and the island of
Rathlin. Named from a tradition that Brecan, grandson of Niall
of the Nine Hostages, was engulfed in it. Since Adamnan's day
the name has been shifted to Corryvrechan, the tumultuous strait
between Scarba and Jura, N.B. See O'Curry, Lect. MS. Materials,
257, Reeves, Eccl. Ant. 289, and Joyce, ii. 432.
26. Cormaco] Cormac was abbot of Durrow, also a bishop and
anchorite, styled ' Cormac Ua Liathain of the sea ' ; he is referred
to in connexion with St. Columba in two ancient Irish poems. It is
not known what monastery he founded. (See iii. 17.)
nepote Lethani] Ua Liathain, a clan-name.
27. eremuni] See i. 20; ii. 42; Reeves, 1857, p. 366; Stokes,
Celtic Ch. 179 n. and reff.
31. Modam] The river Moda or Moy, in Sligo ; Irish Muaidhe.

NOTES : LIB. I 197
Eirros Domno] In Irish lorries Domhnann, Erris of the
DamnOnii, supposed to be a section of the Firbolgs. Now Erris in
Mayo. Iorrus or Irrus = promontory.
34. permittente] Reeves says that ' in the Lives of Irish Saints,
the formula accepta licentia (having taken leave or permission)
generally accompanies the mention of a departure from a monastery '
(ed. 1857, p. 31).
36. Cap. VII] This and the following chapter come under ' De
bellis ', p. 88. •
38. bellum Cule Drebene] Culedrebinae bellum, Pref. 2, p. 87.
Page 98. 3. bellum . . . Ondemone] Fought against the Cruithne
by the Northern Hy-Neill, in 563. The name Ondemone has not
been explained.
4. Conallo, etc.] The king of the Scottish Dalriada who first gave
Columba leave to settle in Iona. He died in 574.
8. Ainmorius, etc.] Irish over-king in 568, cousin of St. Columba.
filii Maie Erce] Sons of Muircertach, whose matronymic was
Mac Erca, as being son of Muiredach by Erca, daughter of Loam.
See Muiredachus in Index.
Domnallus et Forcus] Irish joint-kings in 565.
9. Cruithnii] The Cruithne, Dal Araidhe, or Irish Picts. See
note on i. 1, p. 90, 1. 20, p. 192.
Echodius Laib] Echoid Laib, king of the Cruithne or Irish
Picts. 12. Mialhorum] The Miathi or Maeatae were a British tribe
dwelling by the northern Roman vallum, the Caledonians being
beyond them.
16. Diormitium] St. Columba's faithful attendant Diormit is
frequently mentioned. See Index.
Cloccam pulsd] Clocca is the old Irish cloc, later clog, a bell,
akin to the English clock, and probably of echoic origin. In the
sense of ' bell ' the A.S. clucge occurs once (in Alfred's Baeda, iv. 23,
referring to a bell at the monastery of Hacanos or Hackness), re
appearing in Caxton's Golden Legend and then surviving as late as
1715, apparently derived from Old French or Dutch without any
historic continuity with the Anglo-Saxon (N.E.D.). On Irish eccle
siastical bells, see Intr. iv. §§ 8, 9. The identical bell used on this
occasion is possibly still in existence (Warren, 92).
19. Aidano] Aedhan (dim. of Aedh) son of Gabhran, king or lord
of the Scottish Dalriada ; he succeeded in 574, and opposed Aedh
son of Ainmire at Drumceatt (see Aidus rex in Index).
25. enarravit] This is very like Bede's story of St. Cuthbert's
vision at Carlisle, when he saw King Ecgfrith slain in battle with
the Picts. Vita S. C. cap. 27.
26. Cap. IX] This and the following six chapters are included
above, p. 88, under the heading, ' De regibus. '
29. regem) The king mentioned in the last chapter.
40. regnabunt) For Columba's prophecy during the ' ordination '
of Aedhan, see iii. 5.

1.9.8 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
PAGE 99. 7. Domnallus) Domhnall surnamed BrecC (' speckled '
or 'freckled'), or fil. Aido, king of Ireland. Son of king Aedh,
who was son of king Ainmire or Ainmurech.
Aido) Later Aedho, the old Irish genitive of Aedh, as in title
of ch. 13. Cp. note on p. 87, 1. 13, p. 191.
8. Dorso Cete] In Druim Ceatt, or Drumceatt, the ridge of Ceatt,
a place in Co. Derry, where the famous convention was held in 575.
See Intr. vii. § 4. Ceatt, Cet, or Keth is a man's name.
nutritores] See iii. 2n., p. 166, 1. 14, p. 225.
17. ledum) An unusual kind of death for an Irish sovereign at
this time.
21. Scandlanitm) Scandlanus, son of Colman. In most Irish
authorities called Scanlann Mor, son of Cenfaeladh, but all the
MSS. have the reading in the text.
22. in vinculis retentum] St. Columba tried to effect the libera
tion of Scanlann. See Intr. vii. § 4.
Page 100. 1. Artdamuirchol] Ard na Muir chon, 'height ofthe
sea dogs ', now Ardnamurchan, in Argyle.
Laisranum) Laisran, son of Feradach, was first cousin to
St. Columba. Abbot of Iona 600-605, ob. Sept. 16. Previously Abbot
of Durrdw. See Intr. viii. § 2.
3. supra memoratis] This shows that the title is an integral part
of the work.
7. Scotia] Synonymous with Hibernia in the next sentence, and
again in cap. 17, and passim. See note on p. 87, 1. 16, p. 191.
10. Muirbolc Paradisi] Identified by Dr. Skene with Port-na-
Murloch, a sheltered harbour in Lismore in Argyle. Murbolgh
= sea-inlet. Lismore is said to be Gaelic Lios, garden, and
mor, great ; hence perhaps the epithet Paradisi. Reeves, 1874,
App. 325.
14. De Oingusio fil. Aido Commani] Aengus surnamed Bron-
bachal. The Annals of Ulster have, A. C. 648, Mors Oengusa
Bronbachlae regis Ceniuil Coirpri. The Cenel Cairbre were a tribe,
whence Carbury, in north Sligo.
25. Bronbachal) Interpreted baculi dolorosi, and supposed to
refer to the pilgrim's staff". This Aengus was also called an
naomh, ' the religious.' See Reeves's note.
28. Aidus Slane] Aedh Slane, eldest son of Diarmait, king or
lord of the Southern Hy-Neill, named from the river Slaine, near
which he was born. He consented to the grant of Kells to
St. Columba, succeeded his father, and, about 580, granted a
site for a church at Lynally at the instance of St. Columba.
33. parricidali] Murderous. The term was applied to the murder
of near relations.
37. vaticinationem) It was his nephew whom he slew. See the
next note.
38. Suibneuni] Suibhne, son of Columbanus or Colman Mor ; he
was assassinated in 600 by his uncle Aedh Slane, and his death
was avenged by Conall his son, in 604. Hence an Irish rime

NOTES: LIB. I 199
to this effect :—' Conall slew Aedh Slaine, Aedh Slaine slew
Suibhne.' Page 101. 1. Roderco fil. Tothail] Rhydderch, son of Tudwal,
a British king.
Petra Cloithe) The Alcluith of Bede (H. E.\.i) called in the.
thirteenth century from its British inhabitants Dun-Breatan, now
Dumbarton. 5. Lugbeum Mocumin] This Lugbe and his brother Lugne are
frequently mentioned. See Index. Mocumin is their tribe-name.
12. plumatiuncula] A feather pillow or bed.
22. sabbati dies] The ancient application of the term Sabbatum
to Saturday survives to this day in the Roman service-books, and
in modern languages, as Ital. Sabbato, Fr. Samedi (sabbati dies).
It was first applied to Sunday in the twelfth century, figuratively,
when the observation of the real Sabbath had ceased among Chris
tians. Heylin (Hist, of Sabbath, pt. ii, ch. v. 13) asserts that the
phrase is first found in Petrus Alfonsus in the twelfth century :
' Dies Dominica . . . Christianorum sabbatum est.'
23. sexta feria] Friday is feria sexta, Sunday being dies Domi
nica, Monday feria secunda, and so on to Saturday, or Sabbatum.
As octavaque die refers to the Sabbath in this connexion, it would
seem that this burial took place on the day after death. Feria in
classical Latin is a festival, whence 'fair-day', but in ecclesiastical
use it has come to mean a weekday.
25. Glasdercus] From the Irish Glas Derg, Grey-eyed.
31. Colcius, Colgius, Colca, or Colcu, an Irish saint (Colgan,
Acta SS., Feb. 20, p. 380), de nepotibus Fechureg sive Fechreg
(Ui Fiachrach), son of Aidus Draigniche, ' of the blackthorn.' '
37. religiosd] Religious in the ordinary sense.
40. Scotiam] I. e. Hiberniam ; see next sentence.
Page 102. 3. primule] ' In the first instance ' (De Locis Sanctis,
iii. 4).
4. peccatum] Said in Aengus, De Matribus SS. Hibermae, to have
been adultery (Reeves).
5. sanata) As there is no mention of any bodily sickness, the word
probably relates here to spiritual healing, as in Ps. cxlvii. 3, A.V.,
cxlvi. 3, Jer. iii. 22, viii. 11, etc., Vulg.
7. Colgius vero] This has a separate heading in the Capitulationes.
10. primarius) See Glossary.
11. pincernam] Cellarius (or cellerarius) is a usual term for a
monastic butler.
12. hauritoriumque, etc.] Dr. Reeves says here (ed. 1854), 'The
meaning of this obscure passage seems to be : When you see your
butler making merry in a supper of his friends, and twirling the
ladle round in the strainer, etc. The difficulty arises from our im
perfect knowledge concerning the domestic utensils of the early
natives.' He takes hauritorium to be ' ladle ', and collum to be
for colum, ' strainer/ But render, ' whirling round the flagon by its
neck.'

200 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
1 8. Mocuruntir] Maccu or Moccu, race.
41. Ethicam insulam) ' Ethica insula sive terra' is 'the corn-
bearing isle', from eth or ith, corn; in Irish Saints' Lives, terra,
insula, or regio Hyth, or Hyth. From the Irish Tir itha, answer
ing to Terra Hyth, we have now, through various stages, Tiree,
the name of a sandy but fertile island, about twenty miles NW. of
and visible from Iona. Ethicum pelagus is mentioned below, in
this same chapter. Reeves, 1874, Appendix, 303-317.
Page 103. 11. ora] Plural poetically used for singular, like
pectora, rura, etc. Kennedy's Vergil, 1881, p. 630.
33. Baitanus] Irish baotan ; Baithene is baoithin (late forms).
Niath Taloirc] Niath = ' champion ', Tolorg is a Pictish name.
39. minabit] Minare, to drive animals, occurs in Is. xi. 6 and
Jer. xxxi. 24, Vulg., also in passages quoted by Reeves from Lives
of Saints. The same word is used in Acts xviii. 16, 'Et minavit
eos a tribunali.' Fr. mener.
41. cellulae] The word cellula is common in the Book of Ar
magh, and appears to denote a small monastic house.
42. Lathregitiden] Not identified ; probably near Derry.
Page 104. 4. confugeret] This does not point to the mediaeval
use of Sanctuary, but is rather a case of war or vendetta. For a
very graphic description of Durham in like case in 1091, see the
Auctarium appended to Symeon, cap. ix or x, translated in the
Metrical Life of St. Cuthbert, 5221-5812.
10. Mailodranus] Mael-Odhrain, 'Servus Odrani.'
11. Mocurin] Or Mocucurin. Maccu or Moccu, descendants.
15. Hinbinam insulam) Some island probably not far from Iona,
not yet identified with certainty. But Dr. W. F. Skene has shown
good reasons for supposing it to be Eilean na Naotnh (Isle of
Saints). Hinba and Ethica insula were the most important islands
connected with Iona in St. Columba's time, and on Eilean na
Naomh are some remarkable remains of a rectangular church and
of three beehive cells. (Reeves's Ada7nnan, ed. 1874, App. I, 318-
324.) See Elena insula (ii. 18 n.) and Muirbulcmar (iii. 23 n.).
16. indulgeretur] This relaxation in honour of a visitor appears
again in ch. 26, where see note.
22. equae] Reeves refers to Colgan for a similar prediction by
St. Enda concerning one who refused hospitality. Acta SS. 707, xxvi.
24. craticuld] A hurdle, grate, or grill, hence a gridiron, here
some wooden substitute for one. Pocock in his Irish Tour, 1752,
ed. Stokes, Dublin 1891, p. 37, says, ' I went to the Causeway late,
and Mr. Duncane came and dined with me, and sent afresh salmon
which was roasted before a turf fire ; it was cut in pieces and stuck
on five or six sticks, set in the ground round the fire, and sometimes
taken up and turn'd.' See Hole's Tour in Ireland, 1892, p. 158,
and illustration.
35. Lugaido) Lugaid the messenger appears again in ii. 5, 38.
39. Maleam insulam] The island of Mull, separated from Iona
by the narrow Sound.

NOTES : LIB. I 201
Page 105. 11. leges poenilentiae) The penitential canons, as laid
down in the Penitentials. That of Cummian (not the biographer of
Columba, but the famous advocate of Rome in the Paschal contro
versy, and probably a monk of Durrow) is an abridgement of the
earlier penitential canons ; it has been printed in Fleming's Coll.
Sacra, 197-210, and in Wasserschleben, Bussordnungen, etc.,
460 sq.
13. duodecim annis] A usual term of monastic penance or service.
Reeves refers to ch. 26 and iii. 23 ; Bede, H. E. v. 20, Hist. Abb.
Uirem. §§ 7, 14, and Cod. Marshii, fo. \:.%a, b.
22. Lea] In Irish Li or Lee -, the district is on the west of the
Bann, near Coleraine.
24. Turtrei] The tribes called Hy Tuirtre and Fir Li (Lea) had
a common ancestry. Reeves, Eccl. Ant. 82 n.
28. emendet] Note the practice of going through a newly copied
MS. with another person in order to correct it if necessary, and see
the last sentence in Book iii.
32. I vocali) The letter by which St. Brendan of Birr is said to
have indicated to St. Columba the place of his future sojourn. See
Colgan, Tr. Th. p. 462 a ; Ussher, Wks. vi, p. 240 ; Innes, Civ.
and Eccl. Hist. p. 170. (Reeves.)
38. focum) Probably the only fire in the monastery, which would
be the kitchen fire, most likely one of turf burning on a hearth.
Page 106. 4. ascella] for axilla, ' inter brachium et latus,' ii. 8.
5. cecidit] This story affords a good example of the way in which
ordinary foresight might be mistaken for prophetic insight. Very
probably St. Columba knew by experience that both Lugbe and the
guest mentioned in the following chapter were careless or clumsy in
their habits.
8. clamatum est] So in ch. 26, 27, 32, 43. Strong voices, even
those of shepherds calling to their dogs, or of boys at play, can be
heard across the Sound when the wind is favourable. Reeves
mentions the use of visible signals, as of smoke from an ignited
bundle of heather.
9. tuguriolo) St. Columba's own cell. Cf. i. 35, ii. 16, iii. 15, 22.
tabulis suffulto] Supported by boards forming a raised plat
form, probably reached by a few steps : perhaps the eminentior
locus mentioned, p. 179. The cell itself was no doubt made of
boards, or of wattles.
10. subtilis sensus) Of delicate perception.
11. corniculum] Representations of ancient inkhorns appear in
illuminated MSS. See Intr. iv. § 13.
13. gravem] Troublesome.
15. molestus) Dangerous. These epithets areapparently employed
half in joke.
21. tertiae feriae) Tuesday ; see note on p. 101, 1. 22, p. 199.
22. ieiunare proponimus] Ussher thought it very probable that
the Wednesday and Friday fasts were introduced into Ireland by
St. Patrick (Wks. vi, p. 444). St. Augustine refers to the custom

202 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
(Ad Casulanum, Ep. 36 or 86; Migne, P.L. 33, 150). St. Aidan
brought it over from Iona to Lindisfarne (Bede, H. E. iii. 5) and
Columbanus's Penitential refers to it (cap. 13). Colgan speaks of
the observation of the Wednesday fast in Ireland in his time. Tr.
Th. 377, note 71. In the early Western Church generally the
Wednesday and Friday and also the Saturday (ieiunium Sabbati)
were observed, but the Wednesday and Saturday fasts were kept
less and less strictly, and at last discontinued except in the Ember-
weeks, and on Rogation Wednesday and Easter Eve. See Ducange,
s. v. Ieiunium.
23. solvetur ieiunium) Cf. ch. 21. Both cases point to great
discretionary power in heads of Irish monasteries. There is an
Irish canon De solvendo ieiunio, 'humanitatis causa' (D'Achery,
Spicileg. i. 494, Paris, 1 723).
27. Brendeno Mocualti] The famous St. Brendan of Clonfert, on
whom see Intr. v. § 4. His tribe-name was Mac Ua Alta.
valde religiosus) Yet, it appears, ' molestus', because his coming
would involve a relaxation of discipline.
35. carnalia medicamentd) Note the resort to the monastery for
medical treatment. Carnalis here means ' after the flesh ', ' earthly,'
as in ii. 39.
Page 107. 4. Romani iuris] Subject to the jurisdiction of the
Roman Empire. Notker Balbulus, in relating this same prophecy
and its fulfilment, gives the name of the city as Nova, now Citta
Nuova, in Istria'. (Martyrol. Jun. 9.)
8. triturationem] The grinding of corn by hand-querns seems to
have been part of the daily labour of the monks, as at Clonard under
St. Finnian ; see Intr. v. § 3.
24. advenlantes] There are other references in Lives of Saints to
frequent intercourse between Gaul and Britain and Ireland. Gallic
traders visited Clonmacnoise before 548-9 ( Vit. S. Kierani, Cod.
Marshii, c. 31).
27. Caput Regionis) Cantyre (Irish Cenn-tire or Cind-tire), ' hoc
est,' says Buchanan, ' Regionis Caput.'
pergens) The distance from Iona to the nearest part of Cantyre
is about fifty miles by sea.
28. barcae) Barca, a ship, occurs in Paulinus Nolanus, c. 400
(Migne, P.L. 61, col. 617). It is probably identical with bark,
barge, and the Old Irish bare.
39. maioris domus] Called monasterium rotundum in the heading
of iii. 15, where see note.
41. Roboreti Campi] ' Oakwood Plain', Dair-magh, Durrow.
Page 108. 1. pyrd) Properly a funeral pile, but here preferred to
ignis as being of Greek origin.
6. audiens) So St. Cainnech, ii. 13, p. 133.
14. supereminet] The highest spot in Iona is Dun-I (330 ft.),
but Dr. Reeves thought that Cnoc Mor, which immediately overlooks
the village, was more likely to be the hill referred to here. Cp.
iii. 23 n.

NOTES: LIB. I 203
17. sapientem virum) Sui, or sage, is an epithet applied to
ecclesiastics in Irish annals.
20. portum] Probably Port-Ronain, the present usual landing-
place, or Port na Muintir, which is less commodious, but nearer to
the monastery.
26. coram omnibus] Confession was public rather than private,
optional rather than obligatory, and absolution was deferred till
penance had been fulfilled. There is no trace of private confession
as a preparation before celebrating or communicating (Warren,
Intr. ch. ii, § 35).
31. spernit] ' Non despicies ' in Ps. 1. 19 (Vulg. li. 17). ' Spernit '
comes from the Psalterium Romanum. Adamnan usually quotes
the Vulgate. This quotation may have come through some liturgical
use of the passage.
32. Campo Lunge] a subordinate monastery, probably adjacent to
the little creek called Port-na-Lung, in Ethica terra (Tiree) where
Soroby now is.
praepositum] That Baithene was at the head of this penitential
house (see ii. 39) appears again in ch. 41 and iii. 8. See above,
Intr. viii. § 1.
38. Cailtanum] Cailtan, a monk presiding over Diuni's cell (oh
Loch Awe ?).
40. hodieque] 'Even to-day'.
41. Abae fluminis] Probably Loch Awe is meant. See Skene, in
Reeves, 1874, p. 327. In iii. 14 we have Nisae fluminis lacus,
which was certainly Loch Ness.
Page 109. 38. voverunt) The novitiate appears to have been
dispensed with in this case.
Page 110. 11. insula Scia] The isle of Skye.
14. gentilis] Applied to the heathen Picts in ch. 37, ii. 11 bis, 27,
33 j so gentilicus, ii. 34, iii. 14.
naturale . . . bonum] The moral law of nature, i. e. of the
natural reason ; so again in iii. 14. Cp. Rom. ii. 14, 15.
18. Geonae cohortis] Probably a Pictish corps deriving its name
from some place unknown ; the little island of Gunna, between
Tiree and Coll, seems too small.
20. per interpretem] St. Columba would seem not to have acquired
the Pictish language at this time. We have seen how at the court
of King Brude he at first availed himself of the help of friends who
were Irish Picts. Introd. vii. § 3. We find a reference to the same
diversity of tongues in ii. 32. Bede states the five (written) lan
guages of Britain to be 'Anglorum, Brittonum, Scottorum, Pictorum,
et Latinorum' (H.E. i. 1), and the four (spoken) tongues to be
' Brittonum, Pictorum, Scottorum, et Anglorum' (Ib. iii. 6). Some
of the Saxon Chronicles speak of English, Brit- Welsh, Scottish,
Pictish, and Book-Latin. In the Amhra of Columcille is a stanza
referring to the labours of the Saint for thirty years among 'the
people of Alba to the Ictian Sea (British Channel), the Gaedhil,
Cruithneans, Saxons, Saxo-Brits '

204 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
23. lapidum acervo] This example of Christian burial in a cairn
is remarkable, but it is to be noted that the old man was buried by
his comrades, who may be supposed to have been heathens. The
same custom, however, still survives in Ireland and Scotland, for in
many parts they make a cairn over the spot where any one has
come to an untimely end, and every one who passes is expected to
add a stone, as in N. Lincolnshire, c. 1840. But there are other
early Christian examples, as in Tirechdn (Stokes, Trip. 322), ' Et
sepeliuit ilium aurigam Totum Caluum, id est Totmdel, et congre-
gauit lapides erga sepulcrum,' and the epitaph ' Carautius hic iacit
in hoc congeries lapidum' (sic) (Hiibner, Insc. Chr. No. 136).
24. cernitur) Sepulchral barrows were usually placed in the most
conspicuous situations available.
26. Dobur Artbranani) An unidentified rivulet in the Isle of Skye.
Dobur, later Dobhar, is water, both in Gaelic and Cymric ; later
Welsh, Dwr.
27. accolis] Properly neighbours, but here and in ch. 35 and
ii. 27, used for resident inhabitants. See Glossary.
28. transmotatd] See Glossary.
31. Britanhiae sive Britannicum Dorsum] Drum-Alban, the
mountain chain dividing Perthshire and Argyle, ending in the Gram
pian hills, and forming the backbone or water-parting of Scotland
and the division between the Picts and the Scots.
33. stagnum) The Capitulationes, p. 89, give the name as 'Stag
num Loch Diae', which has not been identified unless it be Lochandu.
36. in domum] Codd. B. and Cotton have the ordinary construc
tion ' posuistis in domo '.
advehite] A coracle could easily be carried about, and it would
seem that in this case the party had one with them for crossing
lakes and navigable rivers. On reaching this stream they either
forded it at once, leaving the coracle behind them for the night, or
else they had sent it over beforehand, themselves remaining where
they had arrived.
40. pulsat] Nudges, to wake him up.
Page 111. 6. De Gallano filio Fachtni] A local administrator iri
connexion with Iona.
7. dioecesi] There were no episcopal dioceses in Ireland at this
time. Dioecesis here denotes the district or province under the
charge of a local administrator acting under the superior of the
mother church in a large monastic missionary system. Colga may
or may not have been a bishop.
9. tuguriolo] See note on p. 106, 1. 9, p. 201.
Colcio] Colcius, Colgu, or Colga, son of Cellach, presided over
the district, apparently with Gallanus under him. Colgion and
Cellaig (in the heading) are Irish genitives.
10. tenacem] Grasping, as an unprincipled person in his position
might easily be.
11. praepositis] It is not clear how far primarius and praeposilus
were synonymous ; a praepositus was the head of a cell (i. 30, 31),

NOTES: LIB. I 205
a prtmarius seems to have been the same, perhaps with some
supremacy or jurisdiction over other praepositi.
13. tabula] Probably a tabula cerata. See Intr. iv. § 13.
19. Artchain) Ard chain, ' fair height,' a hill in Tiree not now
identified. 20. supra meinoratus) I.e. in the heading, as frequently.
21. Aidum Nigrum) Aedh Dubh, son of Suibhne; he was
chieftain of the Dal Araidhe in 565, king of Uladh 581, and
died 588.
23. habitu] The Irish annals contain many instances of royal
persons taking the monastic habit ; note that in this case it was
only for a time, as a penance.
27. regnatorem) Monarch of all Ireland, whose regal seat was at
Tara, and who was superior over the kings of the provinces, as they
were over the chieftains or petty ' kings ' under them.
29. tempus) Seven years was the prescribed time in Ireland for
penance ' sub regula monasterii ' after homicide (D'Achery, Spicileg.
i. 497, Par. 1723). The same period is mentioned in ii. 39.
30. accito episcopo] It was of course impossible to obtain a pres-*
byter without a bishop, though, as now, the act of the bishop was
' with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery '. In this case
the bishop seems to have asked the presbyter to lay his hand on
first, .as head of the monastery, and so to sanction an act which he
on his part was not very willing to perform. Note further that
ordination by one bishop was sufficient, and in accordance with
primitive custom, though it must be safer to have more than one.
33. carnaliter) With mere human affection. Cp. 2 Cor. v. 16.
39. computrescet] 'The notion was probably borrowed from Job
xxxi. 22, and was very general among the Irish ' (Reeves, who gives
several instances). One place where a hand was buried was called
Carn-lamha, the cairn ofthe hand.
Page 112. 8. dexter] So A., B., for dextera (manus).
9. Ommon] Possibly ' Sanda near the Mull of Kintyre, the old
name of which was Avoyn'. Skene, in Reeves, 1874, p. 328.
13. disperiit] This death of Aedh Dubh (a.d. 588) is mentioned
in all the principal Irish annals. The lake was probably Lough
Neagh. 23. Cuuleilne] Probably Insulae secessus. Not precisely identified.
24. campulum] The Machar or plain, the most level and produc
tive part of the island. See ii. 28, iii. 16.
30. dispensator) At other times Baithene was head of a monastic
house in Tiree, but at this time he seems to have been holding an
office in Iona.
37. florum] Cf. Vit. Tripart. S. Patr. (ed. Stokes), p. 255 ; Vita
afocelino, in Tr. Th., cap. 192, p. 108. A miraculous fragrance is
often mentioned in connexion with the tombs of Saints.
Page 113. 23. mille passus] In the ancient Irish Life in the Lea
bhar Breac, 31 b (Skene, Celtic Scotland, ii. 478), the distance has
grown to 1,500 paces, and that when Columba was a boy.

206 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
37. Brttdei regis munitionem) See above, Intr. vii. § 3, and lib.
ii- 33. 35-
39. vespertmales laudes] Called vesperhnahs missa in iii. 23.
On this occasion it would seem that Vespers were sung in the open
air. See above, Intr. vii. § 3.
Page 114. 1. psalmum] Ps. xiv according to the Hebrew and
English order, Vulg. xliv : Eruciavit cor meum.
9. currui insidentem] ' The memoirs of St. Patrick in the Book of
Armagh make frequent mention of his chariot, and even name his
driver (see Index Rerum in Tripartite, s. v. Chariot, and Gwynn,
s. v. Currus). St. Columba used such a conveyance in Ireland (ii.
43). On the ancient currus of the Irish, see O'Conor, Rer. Hib.
Scriptor. iv, p. 148. A spirited drawing of an ancient car is given
from a monument at Meigle in Chalmers' Sculptured Momiments
of Angus (PI. 18, Edinb. 1848)', Reeves. There is a woodcut of
the Meigle chariot in Huyshe, p. 174. We find cttrrus vimineus,
and currus duarum rotarum in Tr. Th. 515, 517.
10. Campum Breg] Magh Breg, a territory in .Meath, the name
of which has survived in that of ' Slieve Bregh ', a hill in NE.
Meath. 15. praetersoria] Stray or trespassing animals ?
maceria] A cashel or walled enclosure. The kings of Cashel
are styled Reges Maceriae in a charter of c. 1004 entered in the
Book of Armagh, and the fortified farms of the Campagna in Italy
are still known by the name of Masseria, Low Latin Maseria, and
Masura, for Mansura. Cf. Ps. lxi. 4, in the Vulgate, lxii. 3, A.V.
22. Nemano) The same name occurs at i. 21, ii. 4. The Four
Masters mention Neman abbot of Lismore in Scotland in 610.
32. Cainle) Not identified. Cp. ii. 17.
34. presbytero] Compare the story in Symeon of Durham, iii. 10.
Page 115. 1. Trioit] Trevet, in co. Meath. In an ancient his
torical tale it is stated that when Art was buried, three sods were
dug in honour of the Trinity, and that hence the place was named.
There are many such triple combinations in Irish place-names,
supposed to have reference to the Trinity. See Joyce, Irish Names,
1891, vol. i, pp. 133, 261.
2. quendam audiens] Implying that the service was in an audible
voice. 3. conficientem) Conficere is used in this connexion by St. Jerome
(Ep. ad Heliodorum and Ep. ad Evangelum, Migne, P. L. 22, cols.
352, 1193) and was not uncommon. Reeves cites many instances
at ch. 44.
11. coram omnibus] See note on p. 108, 1. 26, p. 203,
16. Mocudruidi] An obscure tribe-name.
24. Coloso] Colonsay, here probably the greater island of the
same name.
26. insulam] Reeves says most probably Erraid isle, about two
miles SE. of Iona.
marini vituli] .Pliny calls seals vituli, from their cry (N. H. ix,

NOTES: LIB. I 207
cap. 13), and the Same term is applied in the Libellus de Ortii S.
Cuthb. xiv, xviii, rendered cele (and seele) calf in the Metrical Life;
They are called phocae below. Seals were extensively used for food
in the Hebrides in the 18th century, the hams being considered the
best portions. Seal-flesh was esteemed as food in England formerly,
and is still. See Memorials of Fountains, Surt. Soe, vol. iii, p. xii n.
40. sex modios] So bis terni in ii. 3.
Page 116. 1. in exequiis eius] The gifts of the Saint were con
sumed at the funeral feast of the marauding neighbour.
2. xenia] Properly gifts or presents made to a guest (|eVor), hence
any present, particularly one of a customary or ceremonial kind,
made whether from superiors to inferiors, or the reverse. In i. 50,
we find St. Columba publicly blessing xenia sent in his honour,
even coram episcopo. Exenium, see readings of Codd. B., D., is
a form often found elsewhere. * '¦
5. Stagnum Cei] Loch Ce, now Lough Key in, co. Roscommon.
6. Bos] At ii. 19 called Bo, Irish Buill, now Boyle, a river running
from Lough Key to the Shannon.
7. Scoticus poeta] An Irish Bard. The Bards are regarded by
the old Irish historians as the representatives in the Irish Church
of the old Pagan magi or druids. See above, Intr. i. § 8.
16. modulabiliter] 'Cum modulatione' (iii. 12), understood by
some of harp accompaniment, but in iii. 12 at any rate the musical
intonation or chant used in the mass, and so probably any melody.
The songs of the bards were usually accompanied. See above,
Intr.i. §8n.
19. Tigernis] An Irish word with a Latin inflection. The Irish
tigherna, a chieftain, is connected with tig, a house, as dominus
with domus. ¦ ' .
25. Lugbeus Mocublai) Lugbe of the tribe Mocublai (Mac-Ua-
Blae) ; Lugneus Mocublai occurs iii. 1 5, 22.
29. Cellrois) Now Magheross in Monaghan. ' Kylrose it hat as
Ik hard say.' Barbour, Brus, x. 252.
30. Maugdornorum] The Maugdorni were a tribe descended
from Mughdorn dubh, whence Crich Mughdorna, a territory in
Monaghan, now Cremorne and Farney.
40. Colman Canis] A nobleman otherwise unknown. Cu, canis,
frequently occurs in Irish names.
Page 117. 1. Ronanus) Another unknown chieftain.
Anteriorum] Anteriores is the name given by Adamnan to the
Airtheara (Easterns), a tribe inhabiting the territory afterwards
known as East Oriel or Uriel (anciently Airghialla) in Ulster. See
Indairthir, iii. 7. Reeves cites here many passages from Irish
writers which show that they, like the Hebrews, regarded the
cardinal points as having reference to the rising sun, and not, of
course, to the magnetic needle, of which they knew nothing. Thus
Anterior (Irish Airthir, Hebrew Dip) is equivalent to Orientalis.
Hence E., W., S., N., were front, back, right, left. See Ussher's
Wks. v. 103, vi. 114, 187 ; Zeuss, Gr. Celt. 67 n., 283, 566.

208 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
II. sacramentum] Here and in ch. 50, and iii. 6, 7, 22, 'a holy
secret '. ' Aliquando dicitur Sacramentum, quasi sacrum secretum,
velut Sacramentum Incarnationis et huiusmodi.' — Hugo de S.Victor,
cited by Ducange. For a full discussion on the word see Piummer's
Bede, Ivii, n.
27. caelum] 2 Cor. xii. 2, on which the Irish commentator Sedu-
lius remarks, ' Hoc de se humilitatis causa, quasi in alterius persona
loquitur.' (In S. Pauli Epp. p. 276, Basil., 1538 ; Migne, P.L. 103,
col. 179.)
36. Cronano] Possibly the Cronan mentioned by Colgan, Acta
SS. Feb. 9, p. 302.
38. Muminensium] The Muminenses were the men of Munster.
See note on Laginensium, i. 2, p. 94, 1. 42, p. 195.
Page 118. 1. iussus) ' Bidden' or invited to celebrate, according
to the direction of the Council of Aries, ' ut peregrino episcopo locus
sacrificandi detur,' and of the fourth Council of Carthage to the
same effect.
2. duo presbyter!) It appears to have been usual at Iona for two
priests to act as concelebrants. See Warren, 128, § 19.
3. frangerent] The scriptural expression here and below probably
has a special reference to the Eucharistic fraction, or it may be
simply a synonym for celebrating.
5. episcopali ritu] A bishop seems to have always celebrated
solus, without a concelebrant, except, perhaps, where another bishop
was present. The exact contrary was formerly the rule in the
Latin Church, namely that when a bishop celebrated any priests
present should unite with him in the words of consecration and in
the manual acts (Martene, De Ant. Eccl. Rit. I. iii. 8. Amalarius,
i, cap. 12). This practice survives in the present Roman ordination
of priests so far as concerns the recitation of the words.
8. veneratio] Taking this chapter with ch. 36, and with ii. I,
nothing can be plainer than that St. Columba fully recognized the
three distinct orders of bishop, priest, and deacon, and considered
that the proper function of a bishop was to confer Holy Orders,
and that a bishop or a priest could celebrate, while a deacon could
only provide the elements lor the celebration, and, moreover, that
he considered the greatest veneration to be due to the episcopal
order as higher than his own.
15. Ernanum] ' Ernanus presbyter' is mentioned in the Epilogus
of Cod. B. as 'sancti avunculus Columbae ', and one of his twelve
followers ; he was a brother of Ethnea, the mother of the saint.
30. canabd) A kiln ' ad spicas siccandas et triturandas ', Vita S.
Cannechi, c. 33, Acta SS. Hib. Salm., col. 379. It further appears
from the Life of St. Kiaran, c. 12, cited by Reeves, that a navicula
was placed in canabam for repairs. See Glossary s. v.
31. crux) The cross called ' Macleane's ' may mark the site. We
are told in iii. 23 of a cross fixed in a millstone by the wayside ; it
has always been usual to mark memorable spots by setting up
crosses. So in the Life of St. Patrick ' ubi nunc usque crux habe
tur in signum ' (Tripartite, 276; Anal. Boll. i. 559). Hence the

NOTES: LIB. I 209
great number of places in Ireland that have taken their names from
crosses, over 200 altogether, most of which commemorate the erec
tion of crosses, though a few may be from cross-roads or a trans
verse position (Joyce's Irish Names of Places, i. 327). Sometimes
a wooden cross was set up, as by St. Oswald (Bede, H. E. iii. 2),
and where St. Wilfrid's body was washed (Offices of St. W., Ripon,
1893, p. 27 ; Eddii Vita Wilfridi, cap. 63).
37. Coire Salchaiji] Now Corry, in Morvern. The term Coire,
a cul-de-sac or hollow in a mountain, is almost peculiar to the
Scotch Highlands, and there are many Sallachans in the Highlands
now, named from sallows.
40. Crogreth] A lake not identified, unless it be Loch Creeran in
Upper Lome.
Page 119. 3. homuncule] Note how many diminutives Adamnan
uses while representing Columba as consoling the poor man with
kind and endearing words. Homuncule is here something like the
Durh. and Northd. ' Canny man ', or ' Canny bairn ' ; see N. E. D.
s. v. Canny, 9.
9. Gored) Goreus probably represents the Irish Guaire or Gowry.
13. Korkureli] Possibly Corkaree, in Westmeath ; if so, a form
of Corca Raidhe, the race of Raidhe.
26. casu, etc.] Render, ' by chance one day sitting by a boat, was
scraping the bark from a spear-shaft, or rust from a spear-head (?),
with his own knife . . . and, the same knife being carelessly left on
the ground in that sudden movement, his knee was severely
wounded by lighting on it ' (kneeling on the edge). But see
Glossary, s. vv. Cristilia, Offensus.
Page 120. 4. grus] Giraldus mentions large flocks of cranes in
Ireland, of 100 or so (Topogr. Hib., Dist. i, cap. 14). Reeves gives
several references to legends of Irish Saints concerning their
familiarity with cranes and other birds. But stories of favourite
animals abound in the lives of the saints of all nations.
34. condicttcm) Held a.d. 575. See Intr. vii. § 4.
35. Comgellus abbas] His tribe-name was Mocu Aridi (Maccu
Araidhe). St. Comgall, founder and first abbot of Benchor or
Bangor in Ulster, b. 517, founded Bangor 558, and a church in
Tiree 565 ; he died 602, May 10, his day. Reeves, on iii. 17, 1857,
p. 220.
Page 121. 4. cognationales amici] St. Columba's family friends
were a branch of the Northern Ui- or Hy-Neill, descended from
Conall Gulban, whose great-grandson St. Columba was ; their home
was Tir-Connell, now Donegal.
secundum carnem cOgnati] St. Comgall's relations were the
Cruithne or Irish Picts or Dal-Araidhe, who inhabited the southern
half of Antrim.
5. Nellis Nepotes] The Ui-Neill, or Hy-Neill, the descendants of
Niall ofthe Nine Hostages, king of Ireland, A D. 358-405. On the
Cruthini or Cruithnii see notes on pp. 90, 98 ; pp. 192, 197.
6. munitione Cethirni] Dun Ceithirn, the fortress of Cethirn,

aio VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
identified with the Giant's Sconce, near Coleraine. Dr. Reeves
gives an interesting account of this fortified hill.
12. victor sublimatus est] Render ' came off victorious ' Domh-
nall was grandson of Ainmire, who was Columba's first cousin.
14. mihi Adamnano) The writer was in his fifth year at the date
of the battle of Dun Ceithirn, A. D. 629.
20. Cambas) Otherwise Camas or Camus, a name common in
Ireland and North Britain, from Cam, crooked, with formative
-as for abstract noun, hence a bend in a river or a curved bay.
St. Comgall's monastery was named from the curve in the river
Bann near which it was situated, two miles above Coleraine.
32. Conallus] His date is not known.
Culerathin) Cuil-rathain, secessus filicis, Fern cover or corner,
now Coleraine on the Bann, in Londonderry. Joyce mentions five
other places whose names were originally the same, vol. i, p. 531.
33. Campi Eilni] Magh Eine, between the rivers Bush and Bann,
now nearly represented by the NE. Liberties of Coleraine.
37. plated) The enclosed courtyard in which the isolated cells
of a Celtic monastery stood. Intr. iv. § 2. Called plateola in iii. 6.
42. viri sapientis) A sage or philosopher, Irish sui.
Page 122. 10. patelo superius] In this same chapter, second
sentence. 19. Cellam Magnam Deathrib] Hib. Cell-mor Dithribh, Kilmore
in Roscommon, on the Shannon, founded by St. Columba before he
left Ireland.
29. vino) This allusion to new wine bursting through the inter
stices of a cask is perhaps borrowed from some southern writer, or
may be founded on what the writer knew of other fermenting
liquors. Page 123. 1. Capitula] These are supplied from Cod. B., as Cod. A.
has none for the second and third books. It will be seen by the
numbers appended that they do not quite correspond with the order.
of the chapters, and that they are not expressed in the same words
as are the titles.
Page 124. 6. De duobus, etc.] This and the preceding title both
belong to ch. xix.
8, 9. De quodam plebio, etc. : De quodam divite, etc.] Both these
titles belong to ch. xx.
29. Ionae] The late MS. B. always reads Iona, as here.
Page 125. 31. Expliciunt] A barbarous plural of Explicit, which
is really an abbreviation for Explicitus, unrolled, ' formed, no doubt,
as a pendant to Incipit' A MS. Glossary, quoted by Ducange,
says, 'Explicit, il est fini, Expliciunt, Eux sont finis, et se decline
Explicit, Expliciunt, et non plus.' But Explicui, Expliceat, and
Explicuit also occur. See Ducange, s.v. ; Maunde Thompson, Gk.
and Lat. Palaeography, 1893, p. 59 ; and Madan, MS. Books, 1893,
pp. 9, 46, 137. The word, like volumen, originally referred to rolls.

NOTES: LIB. II 211

LIB. II

Page 126. 6. addiscens] If the Findbarrus of the rext be St. Fin
nian of Moville, which seems probable, it is to this period that the
legend of the ' son-book ' (Intr. vi. § 6) relates. Cummian calls him
Vinnianus in this same chapter. Dr. Reeves, in his note here, has
collected a number of references to legends of water turned into
wine, honey, milk, beer, etc.
11. aquam) Note that the early Irish Church, in common with
the rest of Christendom, used the mixed chalice, on which see
Martene, Ant. Eccl. Rit. I. iii. 7 ; Bingham, Orig. Eccl. XV. ii. 7.
It is three times mentioned in Justin Martyr's account of the
Eucharist, and alluded to in the Clementine Liturgy as well as by
Irenaeus, evidently as the only usage known. It was in fact uni
versal for the first 1,500 years after Christ, except in Armenia.
14. elementum] In ancient and mediaeval philosophy the elements
were believed to be earth, water, air, and fire, and this appears to
be the meaning here. The now common Eucharistic employment
of the word seems to have arisen out of the late Latin application of
it to food and drink, e. g. by Gregory of Tours.
19. speciem] Note here an early application of this term to one of
the Eucharistic elements.
26. protum] Gr. TrpSrrov. Protum is the reading of MS. F. ;
MS. A., Colgan, and the Bollandists have pro tum ; C. has pri-
mum, and T).promptum. Protum is doubtless the right reading,
and the remark would be suggested by St. John ii. 11.
31. diale] See note on p. 93, 1. 16, p. 194.
Page 127. 15. dulcedinem] A similar story is told of St. Mochoe-
moc. Colg. Acta SS., p. 593 b.
20. virgarum fasciculos] Faggots for wattled buildings. Kilclief
in co. Down, Kilclay near Clogher, and Kilcleagh in Westmeath
took their names from Cill-Cleithe, the 'hurdle church'. Reeves,
Eccl. Ant. 217; Joyce, i. 313.
22. navi] According to the ancient Irish Life this wattling was
wanted for a church in Derry.
26. bis terni modii) So 'sex modios' in i. 41, p. 115, 1. 40.
Page 128. 3. Delcros] Not identified ; dealg ros = promontory
of thorns.
7. Munitio Magna) Possibly Dunbhuirg, ' the hill of the fortifica
tion,' in the north-west of Iona, which shows some traces of forti
fication on the top. It is one of the highest hills in the island, Rath
mor (great fort) according to the Irish original of O'Donnell's life.
We need not attach much importance to the word monticulus,
when used by Adamnan.
10. Nemani-don Moaisogin] Neman-don Mocusogin ; the latter
is a clan name, probably = mocu Soghain, filiorum Soghani.
14. Ailbine) The small river Delvin, which runs between the
counties of Dublin and Meath.
O 2

2i2 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
Vadum Cited) Ath Cliath, ' Hurdle Ford,' the ancient name
of Dublin. Irish-speaking natives still call it Baile-Atha-Cliath,
the town of the ford of the hurdles. The later name is from Duibh-
linn, black pool, not a bad description of the Liffey at the present
time. On the Irish kishes or wickerwork bridges see Joyce, i. 361-4.
16. ulcera] This looks like an epidemic of small-pox and of cow-
pox. It is not noticed in the Irish Annals.
21. vita comite] From Vulg. of Gen. xviii. 10, 14; cp. 2 Kings
(4 Reg.) iv. 16. The meaning of the Hebrew is not quite certain.
See Speaker's Commentary and Revised Version. So Eddii Vita
Wilfr. cap. 4.
23. consperst] See the two following chapters, and ch. 33, as also
Bede's account of the virtues supposed to reside in water containing
particles of Irish MSS. and of St. Oswald's cross (H.E. i. 1, iii. 2) ;
many similar accounts may be seen in Bede and elsewhere.
26. pane benedicto] Bede relates how one Hildmer was cured by
drinking water in which had been put a little piece of a loaf that
had been blessed by St. Cuthbert. Vita S. C. xxxi. The Eulogia
or holy bread may be meant.
30. Ard Ceannachte) In Meath ; the height of the Cianachta or
posterity of Cian, who was slain c. 240.
Page 129. 19. Clocherum filiorum Daimeni) Clochar mac n
Daimhene, Clogher, where St. Maccarthen founded a monastery
in St. Patrick's time, which afterwards became a bishop's see.
21. Maugina] Moghain, probably of Cluainboirenn, Mart. Done
gal, Dec. 15, p. 337.
22. post missam] The ' vespertinalis missa ' ; see iii. 23 and note.
23. partes) Maugina appears to have sustained a fracture of the
neck of the thigh-bone, which is often caused by a false step, e. g.
from a kerb-stone, in the case of aged persons. Such patients not
uncommonly regain a fair use of the limb.
27. Benedictio) (1) blessing, as in ii. 39 bis. (2) the vehicle of
blessing, ii. 5, 6, 33, so Eulogia, ii. 7 n. For the second sense com
pare Heb. i"l3"|3, a present, Gen. xxxiii. 11, 1 Sam. xxv. 27, etc.
31. coniungetur os] For a broken arm cured by moss from
St. Oswald's cross, see Bede, H.E. iii. 2.
39. condensate-] United.
Page 130. 17. petram salis) A lump of rock salt.
19. eulogiani] Synonymous with benedictio just below. Eulogia,
id est, salutationem vel donum, Gloss, interl. Cod. D. Eulogiae,
Edulia sacerdotis benedictione consecrata. Index Onomast. in
Acta SS., Julii Tom. i ; Reeves, 1857, on ii. 13. Usually bread hal
lowed by prayer, from which the bread for the Eucharist was taken,
but in later times different bread, also hallowed, the ' holy-bread '.
See notes on ii. 4, 5, p. 128, 1. 26, p. 129, 1. 27, both on this page.
27. slides] Probably the stakes that supported the hurdle wall.
If they were made damp by the deliquescence of the salt, it would
not require a miracle to prevent their taking fire.
28. librario folio] A book leaf.

NOTES: LIB. II 213
35. Boend) Boand, the Boyne, which forms most of the southern
limit of Ulster.
36. sub ascella] The satchel was slung in the usual way under
his axilla, as represented on the Great Cross at Clonmacnoise.
37. in pelliceo sacculo] In a tiag ; each separate book would be
in a polaire. See Intr. iv. § 13.
Page 131. 6. hymnorwn liber] The Antiphonarium Benchorense,
A.D. 680-691, contains not only Antiphons, etc., but six well-known
canticles, and twelve metrical hymns, one of which (Sancti, venite)
has become familiar through Dr. Neale's translation, ' Draw nigh,
and take ', in Hymns A. and M., No. 313 ; Antiph. Bench, i. 10 v,
ii. 10 ; Warren, Celtic Ch. 187. The Liber Hymnorum in the
Library of Trinity College, Dublin, a MS. of the eleventh or twelfth
century, contains a number of Latin and Irish hymns not found
elsewhere. The late Dr. Todd began to edit it, but his death
prevented its completion. A very complete edition, however, with
translation, etc., was issued, in two volumes, by the H. Bradshaw
Society, in 1897, 1898.
22. nullo modo corrumpi potuere] There are many legends of
books written by or belonging to Saints resisting the action of
water and even of fire. See Reeves's note here, and Plummer,
I. cxxxviii. They are probably founded on actual facts. Symeon
relates a circumstance of this kind (Hist. Eccl. Dunelm., lib. II.
cap. xvii). Cp»_ Mac Geoghegan's MS. quoted in the Book of
Trinity Coll. Dublin, p. 160, as to the superstitious practice of pur
posely sinking these books in water to cure sick cattle, also, as to
St. Margaret's Gospel-book, Madan, Books in MS., 107 ff.
37. eiusdem in re . . . creaturae) In the circumstance or case of
the same 'creature' or created thing (used as in the Consecration
Prayer in the Prayer Book and 1 Tim. iv. 4).
Page 132. 10. Lugucencalad] A diminutive of Lugu, a proper
name, with caladh, ' of the ferry ', or L. 'Cenn-calad, ' hard-head.'
12. pollens] Potent, as a healing spring.
19. quasi deum] Tirechdn relates of St. Patrick that ' Venit ad
fontem Findmaige qui dicitur Slan, quia indicatum illi quod hono-
rabant magi fontem, et immolaverunt dona ad ilium in modum dii,
. . . quia adorabant fontem in modum dii ' (Stokes, Trip. 323). No
doubt the Christian veneration for holy wells has been in some
measure a continuation of a very natural pre-Christian feeling of
the value of wells, which feeling too often became idolatrous or
otherwise superstitious. Here, however, we have a rare instance
of a well regarded even by Adamnan as malign in its influences,
and worshipped by the heathen from a sense of fear, until St.
Columba obtained the healing of the waters.
Page 133. 2. sentifiam) Sentina is properly the bilge-water that
collects in the hold of a ship ; the only marginal gloss in Cod. A.
is on this word : ' sentina est feruida aqua nauis.' Reeves, 453 ;
PI. ii. 6. Also, the bilge-hole or sink.
5. •hininglas] In old Irish = ' the green water', i.e. the sea?

2i4 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
from in, the, an, water, and g;las, greyish or bluish green. (Reeves.)
A gloss crept into the text, or an original parenthetic explanation of
the unusual form ' aquam amaram ', contrasted with ' dulcem
precem '. The above derivation is open to question.
5-6. aquam cessat . . .fttndere] Note the antithesis.
14. in vorlice Brecain) See note on p. 97, 1. 17, p. 196.
24. Ached-bou] Campulus Bovis, Aghaboe, dio. Ossory.
27. eulooiam) Here the holy-bread ox pain beni, still distributed
in many French churches, as formerly in those of England. The
Irish practice seems to have been to take it in the refectory, and
that the same practice existed at Iona has been inferred from the
preface to the Alius of St. Columba in Lib. Hymnor. ii. 220 ; H. B. S.
ii. 23. See Skene, C. S. ii. 99. The later copyists have adapted
Codd. C, D. to later usage by substituting oratorio for refectorio.
Page 134. 1. cum uno calceamento] The same story is told, in
cluding this graphic detail, in the Life of St. Cainnech, Acta SS.
Hib. ex cod. Salm., col. 388. A similar story is told of St. David
(Colg. Acta SS. 209 b) and of St. Aidan, bp. of Ferns, quoted in
Ducange, Gloss., under Fico.
13. Oidecham] Called terrula Aithche in this same chapter;
somewhere between Iona and Ireland, possibly the south of Islay,
formerly named Owo, now ' The Ooa'.
18. invenit] This again is in a Life of St. Cainnech, in Cod.
Marshii, cap. 25, quoted by Reeves here.
31. portu. Iouae] See i. 30 n., p. 108, 1. 20, p. 203.
36. Columbanum] See note on i. 5, p. 97, 1. 15. p. 196.
Page 135. 6. credent!) St. Mark ix. 22, Vulg.
11. eodem anno] a.d. 595.
20. signum salutare] The sign of the cross ; see chs. 27, 29, 35.
St. Patrick is said to have signed himself a hundred times in a day,
and to have alighted from his currus to pray whenever he saw a
cross. Muirchu in Stokes, Tripartite, 293 ; Anal. Boll. i. 578 ;
Gwynn, 14.
22. gergenna] The wooden bar that fastened down the lid of
a milk-pail ; Glossae Saxon. MSS. sticca, gergenna (Somner, ap.
Ducange). 28. daemonem) ' An enumeration of all the superstitions regard
ing milk in its various stages, prevalent even in the present day
among the peasantry of Scotland and the north of Ireland, would
require more space than the limited nature of a note permits '
(Reeves, 1857, p. 126).
Page 136. 5. lac . . . expressit] In the Life of St. Fechin (Colg.
Ada SS. 131 a ; Plummer, ii. 79) is a story of how the saint when
a boy, ' per columbinam simplicitatem inter taurum et vaccam
discernere nesciens,' milked the former by mistake. The term
columbina simplicitas occurs in Acta SS. Boll., Junii Tom. i, p. 237.
20. Elenae insulae] ' Elena insula ' has not been identified with
certainty, but it is probably Eilean na Naomh, one of the Garve-
loch isles, between Scarba and Mull. Dr. Skene identified this with

NOTES: LIB. II 215
Hinba insula ; the same island may have had both names. See
i. 21 n., p. 104, 1. 15, p. 200. The Latin Elena may be from
Eileann, insula.
31. Sale] Possibly the Blackwater in Meath, anciently Sale or
Sele, which St. Patrick is said to have cursed, saying, ' Non erunt
pisces magni in flumine Sele semper.' Tirech£n in Stokes, Trip.
307. For another river Sale, see ii. 45, p. 160, 1. 15, p. 222.
35. esocem] Esox or isicius has been understood to denote three
or four different fishes, in modern times especially the pike (Esox
lucius, Linn.). But in mediaeval Latin it often stood for the salmon,
and we are probably to understand salmon here. See Piummer's
Bede, ii. 6.
Page 137. 10. Stagnum Aporuni] Or, Stagnum Aporicum,
Lochaber, now the name of a district, not of any lake. Called Loch
Abair by Mac Firbis, cited by Hogan, Onomasticon Goedelicum,
p. 494.
24. De quodam, etc.] This section is wanting in Cod. A., and is
supplied here from Cod. B. It is bracketed as being of doubtful
genuineness. Page 138. 8. boculas] Reeves thinks that in this and the pre
ceding chapters the diminutives may have reference to the poverty
of the animals.
10. florida benedictio] A bright or beautiful blessing.
Page 139. 4. vitreas) Glassy or glass-green, in allusion to colour
and transparency.
5. ambis] So in Codd. A., B., for ambabus, C, D.,S. Ambis
manibus is in De Loc. Sand. i. 14.
9. Ait-Chambas Art-muirchol] See i. 12 n., p. 100, 1. ij p. 198.
There is Camusnangel in Ardnamurchan.
19. fabulato'r) ' To tell the tale.'
33. Ilea insula] Islay.
Page 140. 2. arboreo saginata fructu) St. Patrick relates in his
Confessio how he met with a herd of swine in a forest when he was
escaping from servitude.
25. Findluganus] Finnloga, disciple and brother of St. Fintan of
Dunblesque, co. Limerick. Commemorated in the name of Loch
Finlagan in Islay, in ..which are the isle and ruined chapel of
St. Finlagan. Also in Tamlaght Finlagan, co. Derry, in which
parish Drumceatt is.
32. Manus Dextera] = Irish Lamh dess. Latin equivalents of
Irish names are often given by Adamnan as well as by other
writers of the<-Irish school. Codex B. adds dicebatur.
40. Longa] Luing, an island near Scarba.
PAGE 141. 3. innocentium] The term innocentes is often applied
to women and children, in this case to afiliola ox filia. Adamnan
dedit legem innocentium, i. e. a law exempting women from going
to battle (Ann. Ult. A.D. 696), explained in MacFirbis's Annals as
meaning 'to slay neither women nor children' (Chron. Scotorum,
112 n.). In 813, however, plurimi sunt interfedi innocentes (ib.).

316 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
So the infant Cuthbert is called ' be Innocent wappid (wrapt) in
clathes ' (Metr. Life, 1. 365). Innocens chori is a chorister in a
Bull of Innocent VIII (1484). So innocentes pueros in Ada SS.
Boll., Junii Tom. i, p. 237.
9. Gemmamim] Some MSS. and edd. have Germanum, but there
is an Irish name Gemman.
10. magistrum) See above, Intr. vi. § 2.
19. puer] Used by St. Columba of his attendant in ch. 30, and
constantly in mediaeval writings for a servant.
28. provincias] Used here in a much more limited sense than in
later times.
Page 142. 13. Nesd) Or Nisa, the river Ness, between Loch
Ness and the Moray Firth. Hence Inverness, inver being an
estuary or arm of the sea.
16. aquatilis bestia] Reeves, who gives some illustrations from
Colgan and others, says here : ' The belief that certain rivers and
lakes were haunted by serpents of a demoniacal and terrible
character was current among the Irish at a very remote period,
and still prevails in many parts of Ireland.' See Le Fanu, Seventy
Years of Irish Life, 107, 121. Some of these stories may have
arisen from enormous pike having been seen.
18. alno] Alnus is a classical word for a boat, properly one
made of alder wood.
20. caupalhim] Caupallus, a boat, coble, is the same as caupulus
or caupolus, which occurs in Aulus Gellius, and is explained by
the glossarists as lembus, cymba, navicula brevis, lignum cavatum,
etc. See Ducange. We find navicula as a synonym in this same
chapter. And yet O'Donnell and Colgan thought it denoted a
horse, Irish caput.
27. fremitu] This highly imaginative touch is very characteristic.
Le Fanu mentions a dreadful ' wurrum ' that roars like a bull, and
bites, as still surviving in many a mountain lake. Among the sup
posed signs of the last fifteen days of the world was that on one of
the days the sea monsters should come to the surface and bellow
even unto the heaven (Yks. Arch. Journal, xxiii. 320, etc.). The
legends of the 'worms' of Sockburn and of Lambton in the
Bishopric of Durham are probably of Celtic origin.
37. contuli) Of a punt-pole ?
Page 143. 10. campulo] See i. yj n., p. 112, 1. 24, p. 205.
12. eminentiore loco] Perhaps one of the 'fairy-hills' in the
Machar, or, a platform ; see note on p. 106.
19. viperarum venena] This is much earlier than the legend of
St. Patrick's driving the serpents, etc., out of Ireland, which legend
dates only from the twelfth century (Intr. ii. § 6). There are no
snakes in Iona, but if ever there had been any they would soon
have been exterminated during the human occupation of so small
an island. According to the earliest Cretan legends all noxious
creatures were expelled from Crete by Hercules ; later this was
attributed to St. Paul. Tozer, Islands of the Aegean, 1890, p. 57.

NOTES: LIB. II 217
Pausanias wrote that no snakes or wolves would live in Sardinia
(X. xvii. 6).
26. Molud] The name Lua, short for Luguid, with the particle of
affection( = ' my '). Nepos Briuni is in Irish Ua Briuin, cp. ch. 16,
P- 135-
38. vallum] The rath (enclosing mound and fence) or cashel
(wall). See Intr. iv. § 2.
Page 144. 2. ferrum] If a spear-head was really melted so that
others could be coated with the metal, it must surely have been
of bronze, though called 'ferrum' in the sense of weapon. They
would hardly be able to liquefy iron, though they might liquefy
bronze, as was done for the purpose of coating sheet-iron bells.
See Intr. iv. § 8.
5. fortitudine] This story is told of St. Baithene in his Life (Acta
SS., Junii Tom. ii, p 137 b).
16. puer] See ii. 25 n., p. 141, 1. 19, p. 216.
34. Kailli-au-inde] Not identified, unless Cally, in Perthshire.
40. per interpretatorem] This event seems to have occurred
before Columba had acquired the Pictish language sufficiently to
address the people. So in the case of Artbranan (i. 33 n.). But in
ii- 33i 34j 35, and '"• H, we have no' mention of an interpreter ;
SS. Comgall and Canice may, however, have acted in this capacity
at one time. See Intr. vii. § 3.
Page 145. 22-23. sta super pedes tuos] Acts xxvi. 16.
36. saeculorum) This doxology reads like the conclusion of a
homily. So on p. 187, 1. 13.
41. Broichanus magus] Broichan the Druid was nutricius or
foster-father (or foster-son ?) of King Brude ; see p. 146, 1. 25.
Scoticam) Of Irish extraction, but living in Scotland.
PAGE 146. 8. Signate] ' Mark ', in the sense of observe (cf. Verg.
Aen. ii. 423, Ovid, Rem. Amor. 417), or, perhaps, 'sign' with the
sign of the cross. On pebble superstitions, see Intr. vii. § 3 n.
candidum lapidem) See Rev. ii. 17, and Speaker's Commentary
thereon. 14. biberam) Bibera is a drinking-cup here, pocuhtm below. But
the monastic Biber or Biberes, and the English Bever or Bevers,
were the contents of the cups, not the cups themselves.
27. cum lapide a se benedicto] Basil of Seleucia tells a similar
story of St. Thecla sending a round stone and curing Alypius the
grammarian. Ussher, Works, iii. 442.
37. lithus] = Xidos ; this is the only example of the word in
Ducange. 38. benedictio] the blessed pebble; see Glossary s. v.
Page 147. 10. infit] as if without an interpreter.
18. longum] Loch Ness is twenty-four miles long, forming the
longest stage in the line of the Caledonian Canal.
25. Sinu Gallico] The Sinus Gallicus is what we call the British
Channel. 26. naviganti) St. Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, visited Britain

218 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
in 429 and 448. The reference is to the earlier visit. About 640
years later, his middle finger was brought to Selby in Yorkshire,
and led to the dedication of the noble Abbey Church in his honour.
29. caligine] This incident is related in the Life of St. Germanus
by Constantius and in other Lives of St. Germanus and of St. Lupus
in Acta SS. Boll. Bede adopts Constantius's account with slight
alterations and no acknowledgement (H. E. i. 17-21).
31. furentia] Loch Ness, like the Lake of Gennesaret and many
others, is subject to sudden squalls owing to its position among
surrounding hills.
Page 148. 5. Brudeum] There are discrepancies in the authorities
as to the chronology of this visit. Reeves fixes on 563 as the most
probable date. Bede makes the conversion of Brude and his sub
jects to precede the donation of Iona, which is in itself probable, but
he places the date at 565 (H. E. iii. 4). See Intr. vii. § 1.
7. comitibus] SS. Comgall and Cainnech or Canice. See Intr.
vii- § 3-
13. domum) Dr. Reeves thought that this was a house inside the
vitrified fort on Craig Phadrick, but Dr. Skene placed it among the
ditches and ramparts on Torvean. See Intr. vii. § 3 n.
22. Scotia] Note that by this name Ireland is here meant, as
elsewhere up to the eleventh century. Adamnan reckons modern
Scotland as part of Britannia.
23. Duum Ruris Rivulorum] Tir-daglas, now Terryglass, co.
Tipperary, a monastery founded by Colum mac Crimthain, fellow-
student of St. Columba at Clonard, who died Dec. 13, 548 (his day).
Duum (misread diuini by Dempster, Menol., p. 167) is frequently
used for duorum. On the remarkable frequency of two in Irish
place-names, see Joyce, i. 255-261.
Page 149. 13. deerit] St. Wilfrid taught the men of Sussex how
to use their eel-nets in the sea, so as to obtain draughts of fishes
regarded as miraculous. (Bede, H. E. iv. 13.)
28. captivi ducemur] A real danger at that time. See Colg.
Acta SS. and Tr. Th. Indices Morales, s. vv. Capti, Captivi;
Joyce, Hist. 79.
41. Nigra Dea] Irish Dubh bandea, not identified, but Bandea
(= Dea) occurs in the Book of Armagh as the name of a river in
Ireland. 42. esocem] A salmon. See above, ii. 19 n., p. 136, 1. 35, p. 215.
Page 150. 20. Laitirus] Probably laidir, 'fortis.'
22. utrem ladarium] A bag for holding milk, either the whole
skin of a single animal, like a wine-skin, or a leather bottle. See
O'Curry, Manners, etc. Intr. ccclvii, Lectures ii. 117.
30. salacia unda] The seaward or ebbing tide. St. Augustine
refers to a notion that the salacia and venilia undae were named
from Salacia. the wife of Neptune, and Venilia, another divinity
connected with the sea, but says, ' Venilia unda est quae ad littus
venit, salacia quae in salum redit.' De Civ. Dei, vii. 22 ; cp. ib.
iv. 10, 11.

NOTES: LIB. II 219
36. venilia (unda)] The coming in or flowing tide. See last
note. Other names for the ebb and flood were ledo and malina.
(Ducange.) 37. transacta nana] Perhaps ' when nones had been sung '.
Page 151. 8. prophetatio] The object of this long chapter is to
show the fulfilment of St. Columba's prophecies that both he and
Libran would live seven years after their first interview, that Libran
would be set free by his earthly master, that his younger brother
would relieve him ofthe responsibility of maintaining his mother, and
that he should live to a good old age as a monk in Tiree, but await
his resurrection in Ireland ; also, St. Columba's power to change
the wind, and to know, while in Iona, what was going on in Ireland.
12. sumpto clericatus habitu) The dress of a monastic associate,
novice, or penitent, as would appear from the narrative. Cp.
i. 36 n., p. ill, 1. 23, p. 205.
14. hospitio) The hospitittm or guest-house was necessary in all
monasteries for occasional visitors ; St. Cuthbert had one in con
nexion with his solitary cell on Fame island. And in Iona it would
be an important building.
1 6. Connachtarutn) Of the men of Connaught, at first Olnegmacht,
but in the third century called Connad from Cuinn iochta, the race
of Conn. (O'Curry, Manners, etc., ii. 10, 11 ; Keating, ed. 1809, i,
p. 14; O'Flaherty, West Connaught, note by Hardiman, p. 125.)
24. leges poenitentiae] The penitential canons. See above,
i. 22 n., p. 105, 1. 11, p. 201.
36. absolvit] Paid the fine, eric, or blod-wite, to the nearest of
kin to the deceased.
41. infringens] He appears to have been more distressed about
breaking his oath to an earthly master, even in order to serve God
in monastic penance, than about the murder.
Page 152. 18. dentibus] Solinus, speaking of the Irish, says,
'Qui student cultui, dentibus marinarum belluarum insigniunt
ensium capulos, candicant enim ad eburneam claritatem, nam
praecipua viris gloria est in armorum nitela.' Polyhist. xxv.
23. resolvens] This clause appears to refer to some form of
manumission. 33. pietatis obsequia] ' The allusion to filial obligations . . . indi
cates ... a better social and moral condition in Ireland at this date
than the tone of the native annals would lead one to expect.'
(Reeves.) Page 153. 5. septima die) I.e. from the beginning of Libran's
attendance on his dying father, according to Columba's prophecy.
17. refutaverunt eum] 'bid him begone'.
25. ftumen] The Feabhal or Foyle, on which Derry stands.
Page 154. 16. liber) Reeves cites seven other instances of the
name Libran, Libren, or Liber. All were probably named for the
same reason.
18. monasterium] Magh Lunge in Tiree. See above, in this
chapter, p. 151, 1. 27.

220 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
22. resurges] A good example of the distinction between North
Britain and Ireland, also of the habit of looking forward to
resurrection rather than to burial.
25. monasteriorum] All were included in the muintir Cholum-
cille, or familia Columbae-cille, and owned the abbot of Iona as
their common head. Bede regards Durrow in Ireland and Iona in
Britain as the two parent monasteries of the order. (H. E. iii. 4.)
44. arundines) The reeds would be for thatching and the like, as
now in the district of the Norfolk Broads, where churches as well as
other buildings are thatched with reeds. So again in Holland, and,
indeed, wherever reeds are plentiful.
Page 155. 8. punitionibus) People often speak of ' punishment '
meaning only pain.
20. Scotia) Called Hibernia just above.
27. Rechrea insula) Either Rechru (i. 5 n.), or Rechru, now
Lambay, off the coast of Dublin.
33. Erunt, etc.] St. Matt. xix. 5, Vulg.
39. maria transire) O'Donnell adds 'vel Hierosolimas pere-
grinari', ii. 81 (Tr. Th. 425 a).
puellarum monasterio] We have no record of any Columban
nunnery; a house of Austin canonesses was founded in Iona in the
thirteenth century.
41. alligatd] Connected with a lege viri. Cp. Rom. vii. 2;
1 Cor. vii. 39.
Quos enim, etc.] Cp. St. Matt. xix. 6.
Page 156. 9. si] Equivalent to the enclitic ne in a direct question,
as in St. Matt. xii. 10, Vulg., 'Si licet sabbatis curare?' See
Ronsch, 404. Heb. DN, Gr. el.
23. libello] See i. 6, p. 97.
30. Orcadas insulas] The Orkneys.
37. morte vicina] Reeves concludes from this that the men of
Orkney were still pagans.
Page 157. 13. septemtrionalis) Reeves cites instances of the
Irish in early times finding their way to Iceland, Faroe Isles, and
the frozen seas.
20. bestiolae) It was suggested to the editor by the late Rev. Dr.
A. M. Norman, that the creatures referred to must have been the
common stinging jelly-fish, Cyanaea capillata. He wrote, ' They
are larger than frogs, but their brown colour, and the fact that the
rounded bell of a floating Cyanaea above the water is not unlike
the rounded back of a frog floating still at the surface, might have
suggested the comparison. The jelly-fish are often a great impedi
ment to rowing, their long tentacula becoming entangled in the
blades of the oars, and fishermen know too well the effect of their
stinging-filaments when they handle ropes, nets, or oars, or anything
that has come in contact with the jelly-fish.' As to shoals of
medusae in the North Sea, Dr. Norman referred me to Baster,
Opuscula Subseciva, 1765, t. ii. p. 60, quoted in Lesson, Hist.
naturelle des Zoophytes, Paris, 1843, and Mr. Elton, in his Origins

NOTES: LIB. II 221
of Engl. Hist., 1890, p. 70 n., refers to Pontoppidan, Nat. Hist.
ii. 182, and Kircher, Mundus Subterr. ii. 129.
22. navis] The currach or coracle. A small one was called ' navis
unius pellis ' or ' de uno corio ' Larger ones were covered with
two or more skins. The keels and gunwales were of wood, and the
sides of wicker-work, on which the skins were stretched. Reeves
quotes a minute account of the building of a currach from a Life
of St. Brendan (the skins were greased with butter) and gives a
number of references to passages bearing on the subject. Those
now in use are made with longitudinal ribs and tarred canvas
stretched over. On coracles see Caes. Bell. Civ. i. 54 ; Plin. N. H.
iv, cap. 16 ; Lucan, Phars. iv. 130-6 ; Solinus, cap. 25 ; Gildas, De
excid., cap. 15 ; Muirchu in Stokes's Tripartite, 223, 288 ; Giraldus,
Topog. Hib., dist. iii, cap. 26 ; Lynch, Cambrensis Eversus, ii.
179-189; O'Flaherty, Ogygia, part iii, ch. 34; Ware, Antiq. of
Ireland, ch. xxiv. To Reeves's reff. to later writers, add Pocock's
Tour, p. 64; Stokes, Celtic Ch. 115; Gwynn, Index under
Nauicula. 33. signo] Signum, which has eight other meanings in Ducange,
is one ofthe many synonyms of campana, a bell, ' quia sonitu illius
datur signum sive indicium faciendi aliquid.' Rocca, De Campanis,
Opp. 1719, i. 159. 'Signo personante' occurs in iii. 13.
Page 158. 24. utilitatibus] Probably a visitation of monasteries,
hardly the convention of Drumceatt, as assumed by O'Donnell, Tr.
Th. 433 b.
currum) See i. 38 n., p. 114, 1. 9, p. 206.
25. benedictum] ' Iuxta morem ' no doubt, as in the case of the
milk-pail, ch. 16.
27. obicibus] Linch-pins, used, as at present, with fixed axles.
So in a metrical Life of St. Bridget we find 'Axis solus erat,
currusque sine obice abibat ', Tr. Th. 591 b. Another way of
securing wheels was by a roseta or hub, in which case the axle
revolved with the wheels, as in some modern Irish carts. 'Auriga
. . . rosetas oblitus est ponere contra rotas . . . Episcopus . . . vidit
ilium (currum) rosetas non habere ', Vit. Tert. S. Brig., Tr. Th.
29. Snamluthir] Slanore, in Granard, co. Longford. Snamhluthir
is the swimming-ford of Luthir ; the name has passed through the
forms Snawlougher and Snalore to its present form.
31. agitatio] We must remember what roads were 'before they
were made '.
32. humerulorumque] The shoulders or portions of the axles on
to which the wheels were fixed.
40. sufficiat) The short recension ends here, with the words
' animadvertere lector debet, quod et de compertis in eo multa
propter legentium praetermissa sunt fastidium'. Ch. 46 ends
nearly in the same form in the full recension.
41. transitum) Some of these have been related in i. I.
Page 159. 5. quatuordecim) The drought was probably partial,

222 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
not being recorded in the Annals as some are. Cummian begins
this chapter ' Post mortem viri Dei '. ' Now if this be a genuine
work, and if the writer be Cuimine Ailbe, it will follow that the
present chapter of Adamnan was written between 679 and 683 : for
Cummian, who relates the occurrence, died in 669, and therefore
that is the latest date to which we can add the 14 years in the text,
which brings us to 683, four years after Adamnan's elevation to the
abbacy of Hy.' (Reeves.)
11. praebebunt] Lev. xxvi. 19, 20, Vulg.
15. tunica] The inner garment. St. Martin took off his tunica
for a poor man, and was then ' extrinsecus indutus amphibalo, veste
nudus interius '. Sulp. Sev., Migne, P. L. 20, col. 201 ; Gwynn,
413. The well-known story of his dividing his cloak with a beggar
belongs to the earlier period in the saint's life, when he was a
soldier. See Migne, 20, col. 162 ; Gwynn, 379.
19/. Colliculo Angelorum) Cnoc Angel, a conspicuous round
sand-hill, covered with sheep-nibbled verdure, in the Machar or
western plain in Iona. It is called Sithean Mor (great fairies' hill)
to distinguish it from Sithean Beg (little fairies' hill), a similar
mound a little to the north-west. There is a Mons Angelorum
(Cam Ingli) in Pembrokeshire, and at Ripon is Elveshou, now
'Ailcey' hill. The fairies' hills of pagan mythology became Angels'
hills in the minds of the early Christian saints,
' Tun'd by Faith's ear to some celestial melody.'
Christian Year, 3rd S. in Lent. In this case there is a special
reason for the name; see iii. 16, p. 174.
23. April!] Reeves seems to infer that the sowing was done
immediately after the rain, and therefore earlier than June, the
usual time for sowing barley in Iona at present. But the text says
no more than that the thirsty soil was saturated, and that in the
same year there was a good harvest.
39. dolatae] 'Dug-out' or hollowed out of single trees. A fine
example was found at Brigg in Lincolnshire in April 1886, and is
now in the Museum at Hull. It is of oak, 48 ft. 6 in. long, and
4 ft. 6 in. across, and was apparently a hollow tree to begin with.
See an illustrated account of this and notices of others in Archaeo-
logia, vol. 50, p. 361. Reeves mentions some of great length found
in bogs and lakes, referring to Chalmers, Caledonia, i. 101.
Page 160. 8. curucis] Currachs or coracles. Three kinds of
vessels are mentioned in this chapter, naves longae dolatae,
scaphae, and curucae. Elsewhere we have barca, i. 28 ; navicula,
i. 1, 34 ; navis oneraria, ii. 3 ; alnus, ii. 27 ; caupallus, ib. ; cymba,
cymbula, ii. 34. The curucae had antennae, vela, remi, and
rudentes, ii. 42, 45. Both here and in the next paragraph, the
word trahere seems to denote towing, not carrying.
15. Sale] A river from which a SE. wind brought ships to Iona,
possibly the Seil in Lome.
1,6. duodecim] Reeves shows how largely adopted this number

NOTES: LIB. II 223
was not only in almost every department of religious economy but
in secular use also.
15-16. roboreae materiae] The construction of timber buildings
was called mos Scottorum, and that of stone mos Romanorum.
Reeves has collected a number of quotations to show that wood
was the rule and stone the exception until about the twelfth century.
See also Petrie, Round Towers, Index. In England it was much
the same, hence our word timber, properly building-material, and
the A.S. timbrian, to build. In the 'stone-carpentry' and turned
baluster shafts of our earliest stone buildings in this country, we
have reminiscences of the wooden structures that preceded them.
It is hardly necessary to point out that wood is the ordinary
building-material in many countries at the present day. Cp. note on
ii. 3, p. 127, 1. 20, p. 211. See Reeves, Eccl. Ant. 195.
20. Airthrago) SE. of Iona, unidentified unless it be Arran.
Kerrera and Erraid have been suggested.
31. crucis instar] A suggestion of the value of the sign of the
cross. 41. condidum] There is no means of knowing what particular
synod this was. Adamnan attended a synod of forty bishops or
abbots (antistites) c. 695, and an earthen enclosure at Tara was
called the Rath of the Synods ; with this the name of Adamnan
was traditionally connected, and on the east side of it is the Crux
Adamnani. He may have attended synods of the Irish clergy in
order to promote the acceptance of the Roman Easter.
Generis Loerni] Cinel Loairn, the tribe of Lome in Argyle-
shire. Page 161. 1. nox) The vigil or eve of St. Columba, June 8.
6. impetrare] St. Columba was invoked during his life on earth
from distant places (ii. 5, 13, 39, 40), and after his decease his
intercession was sought in the same way (ii. 44, 45, 46). It never
occurred to the congregation of Iona that when their master had
been taken from them he would be less able to hear and to help
them. 8. Natalis] dies is the festival of a saint, commemorating his
birth into the future life ' quia ut saeculo et mundo moriuntur, ita
tunc caelo nascuntur'. Beleth, Div. Off. 4. See further in
Ducange. The day of birth into this world is usually distin
guished as Nativitas, but, in ii. 9, Adamnan has Natalitium
Domini. 11. progredimur] By rowing.
Auster cardinalis) The wind due south. The cardinal points
are those which lie (1) in the direction of the earth's poles (cardines,
from cardo, a hinge, pivot, point about which the earth turns), (2) in
the direction of sunrise and sunset. See i. 43 n., p. 1 17, 1. I, p. 207.
16. tertiam] It was about thirty miles, a six hours' sail.
17. sexto) Note that mass was celebrated at noon on this
occasion. 19. sanctorujn] On this coincidence see Intr. viii. § 1.

224 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
21. Sainea insula] Shuna, in Nether Lome, parish of Kilchattan.
23. legem] Deut. xix. 15 ; St. Matt, xviii. 16; 2 Cor. xiii. 1.
26. mortalitate) The great plague of 664, of which Bede gives an
account in H. E. iii. 27. There were renewed outbreaks in Ireland
as well as in England during the rest of the century. The Four
Masters under 684 mention a mortality throughout the whole world
for three years in which not one in a thousand animals escaped,
and in the same year a frost in which all the lakes and rivers in
Ireland were frozen, and there was communication on. the ice
between Ireland and Scotland. At Jarrow in 685 the services had
to be carried on, owing to the plague, by the abbot Ceolfrith and
his little pupil, who grew up to be the venerable Bede. The
disease was a virulent bilious fever known as the flava pestis or
pestis idericia. Reeves has collected a number of quotations
relating to it.
27. bis] So binis vicibus, just below. Tighernach records a
former appearance of the same disease in Ireland in. 550, which
Adamnan may have included ' nostris temporibus '. See too the
Four Masters under 543 and 548. Under the latter date they call
this ' the first Buidhe Chonaill ' (jaundice). Their authorities are
of course the original annals.
29. Italia, etc.] The Four Masters record under 543 ' an extra
ordinary universal plague through the world, which swept away the
noblest third part of the human race '. How it affected St. Columba
is related above. See Intr. vi. § 3.
34. Britanniae) In later Lives it is said that St. Columba by his
prayers during the former plague obtained that it should not pass
the Moyola water into Ulster. See above, Intr. vi. § 4. The Scott
Britanniae were the Irish colony which had existed in some form
even before the Dalriadic settlement in 502.
35. mantes] See Britanniae Dorsum, i. 34 n., p. no, 1. 31, p. 204.
Page 162. 7. amicum] On the relations between Adamnan and
Aldfrith, and on this visit, see Intr. viii. § 10.
9. bellum Ecfridi] The expedition into Ireland reprobated by Bede
in H.E. iv. 26, a.d. 684, when Ecgfrith sent Beret, his general,
' and miserably wasted that harmless nation.' The invasion may
have been occasioned by the Irish having harboured Aldfrith.
Ecgfrith was slain in battle with the Picts in the following year.
10. secunda] Adamnan visited his royal pupil at least twice in
Northumbria, partly in order to obtain the return of captives taken
by Beret. 'Adomnanus captivos reducsit ad Hiberniam sexaginta.'
Ann. Ult. s. a. 686. Tighernach dates this visit 687, and has a
similar entry, s. a. 689.

NOTES: LIB. Ill 225

LIB. Ill
Page 163. 1. Capitula] Supplied from Cod. B. See note above,
p. 123, 1. 1, p. 210.
Page 165. 24. peplum] Reeves refers to a similar vision of a tree,
in the Life of St. Kiaran of Clonmacnoise (Cod. Marshii, cap. 21),
interpreted by St. Enna. Also to a mother's vision about her son
Finnian, in Colgan, Acta SS. 393 a ; Acta SS. Hib. Salm., col. 189.
PAGE 166. 3. superare] The old Irish Life seems to imply that it
reached from Clew Bay, on the coast of Mayo, to the NE. coast of
Scotland. 14. nutrilor] Foster-father. Many Irish saints are described as
placed in childhood with clerical guardians. So St. Cuthbert in
the Irish Libellus de ortu, cap. xv. Joseph is styled by Adamnan
' Domini lesu nutritor ' (De Loc. Sand. i. 14). Cp. 2 Kings (4 Reg.)
x. 5, in the Vulgate. On fosterage in Ireland, see O'Curry, Manners,
etc., ii. 355, 375 ; Ancient Laws of Ireland, Indices ; and Joyce,
Hist. 85. Broichan the Druid was a nutricius or foster-father (or
foster-son ?) of King Brude, p. 146.
15. Cruithnechantts] Cruithnechan,diminutive of Cruithnech, Pict.
17. luce] A regular incident in hagiology, as in the cases of
St. Cuthbert and St. Wilfrid, and of four Irish saints mentioned by
Reeves, who cites two classical examples, Verg. Aen. ii. 682 ; Liv.
i. 39, to which we may add the case of Aesculapius, in Pausanias,
II. xxvi. 4.
26. synodo] It is not known when this synod was held, or for
what St. Columba was condemned. Ussher places it in 561.
(Wks. vi. 468, and Chronological Index.)
31. Brendenus) St. Brendan, founder of Birr, of the race of Corb
Aulam, to be distinguished from St. Brendan of Clonfert. He died
on the night before Nov. 29, his day in the Calendar, probably in
573. Ann. Tighernach at 559 has 'Ascensio Brenaind in curru suo
in aerem '.
32. Birrd) Genitive of Bior or Bir, a stream, here that on which
the monastery stood, in the present King's County. The town Birr
is now called Parsonstown. The Moyola water was also called Bior.
Page 167. n. famen] Reeves gives tamen, but Cod. A. has
famen ; cp. pr/pa ; Adamnan could scarcely know "lin. Famen
occurs again in iii. 15.
hi) The Irish preposition for in, often found before proper
names elsewhere, e.g. in Muirchu, Stokes, Tripart. 283, 'cuius
reliquiae adorantur hi Sleibti,' i. e. in Sletty, and in the Tripartite
(ib. 222), ocus luid for muir hicurach oenseiched, ' and he went on
the sea in a coracle of one hide.' So in the Calendar ' of Oengus ',
ed. Stokes, clxxv ; H. B. S. 250, hicurchan cenchodail, ' in a coracle
without a hide.'
12. Teilte] A place in Meath between Kells and Navan, famous
in early times for its great Lammas fair, also a seat of royalty ;

226 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
hence, like Tara, a suitable place for a synod. It is now called
Teltown, a name formed from Tailteann, the Irish genitive. The
great circular rath, about loo paces in diameter, still remains in
fair preservation. It was ' till recently resorted to by the men of
Meath for hurling, wrestling, and other manly sports ', says
Dr. O'Donovan in his note in Four Masters, vol. i, p. 22
(1856), but in 1893 a car-driver from Kells drove past it and found
it at last with some difficulty.
13. Finnio) Cummian calls him Finnianus. Probably St. Finnian
of Moville is meant, as he was certainly a bishop, and St. Columba
was iuvenis. But there is no reference to St. Columba in the Life
of that St. Finnian, while in the Life of St. Finnian of Clonard,
who, however, is only called a bishop in one place, Columba is
mentioned as a disciple, and the present interview is referred to.
On the same uncertainty, see note on ii. 1, p. 126, 1. 6, p. 211.
23. iisdem diebus] In Cummian the third chapter ends 'qui sui
commeatus habere meruit angelum Domini ', and the fourth chapter
begins 'Hiisdem diebus', etc., and then proceeds to relate the
miracle of the water and wine (supra, ii. 1). As St. Columba is
described as iuvenis by both writers in both connexions, iisdem
must be taken in a wide sense, for he was forty-two when he sailed
over into Britain with twelve disciples.
24. discipulis) Their names are given in Cod. B. in a later, though
early, hand, probably from records preserved at Iona, thus : ' Duo
filii Brenden, Baithene, qui et Conin, sancti successor Columbae ;
et Cobthach, frater eius ; Ernaan, sancti avunculus Columbae ;
Diormitius, eius ministrator; Rus et Fechno, duo filii Rodain ;
Scandal filius Bresail filii Endei filii Neil ; Luguid Mocuthemne ;
Echoid ; Tochanna Mocufircetea ; Cairnaan filius Branduib filii
Meilgi ; Grillaan.' See Reeves, 1857, p. 245; 1874, pp. lxxi, 228,
for reff. to other places where the list appears, and for notes on the
names. 31. vitreum librum] Perhaps so called from glass or crystal on
its covers. Note, however, that this is not a description of an actual
book, but only of an imaginary codex seen in an ecstatic vision, like
that related by Bede, in which 'candidum codicem protulerunt
angeli, deinde atrum daemones'. H.E. -v. 13.
34. commendatum] This word seems to refer to some special
recommendation with regard to Aedhan which Columba thought
he saw in the book, probably a suggestion of his own conscience
mingling with the vision.
37- flagello] In a fragment of Caius (c. A. D. 200) preserved by
Eusebius (Hist. Eccl. v. 28) it is told how one Natalius, who had
been a ' bishop ' among heretics, was severely beaten by holy angels
for a whole night. Routh, Rei. Sacr. ii. 131. Bede relates how
Laurence, Archbishop of Canterbury, had a vision in which he was
scourged by St. Peter for thinking of forsaking his flock (H.E. ii. 6 ;
see also Alcuin in Haddan and Stubbs, iii. 519, and Laurence's
epitaph in Elmham's Hist. Mon. S. Aug. Cant., Rolls Ser., p. 149).

NOTES: LIB. Ill 227
St. Jerome writes how he was scourged while in an ecstasy for his
love of heathen literature (Ep. xxii. § 30). See Bright's Chapters of
E. E. Ch. Hist. 103. In the life of St. Corpreus of Clonmacnoise
it is related how Malachi I, king of Ireland, was scourged by
demons. Colgan, Acta SS. Hib. 508. Symeon relates how
St. Cuthbert appeared to one Ralph (probably Flambard) in his
sleep, and smote the oppressor of his people with his crosier. Hist.
Eccl. Dunelm. iii. 20.
Page 168. 10. prophetizavit] For a similar prophecy, see i. 9.
12. benedixit] Conventual rather than episcopal rank was the
qualification most considered for the consecrator of a Scotic king.
And St. Columba stood in the same relation to the Dalriadic
kings that the abbot of Armagh occupied towards the sovereigns of
Ireland. 13. Cummeneus Albus] Seventh abbot of Iona. See Intr.viii. § 6.
libro] The Life of St. Columba by Cummian. It is the first
Life in Colgan's collection, Tr. Th. 321-324, though published by
him as anonymous, under the mistaken belief that the second Life
therein is Cummian's. It was afterwards published, with small
variations, in the works mentioned above, in the Preface, p. vii.
28. Roth) Magh Rath, supposed to be Moira in county Down.
The battle was fought in 637.
nepote) Grandson ; he was son of Eochodius Buidhe, who as
a child had rushed into St. Columba's arms, and been named by
him to succeed his father as king (i. 9). From this use of nepos
comes the use of 'nephew' for ' grandson ', formerly common, as in
1 Tim. v. 4, A.V. ; 'grandchildren' in R.V.
29. nepotis] Grandson, being son of Aedh, son of Ainmire.
30. in proclivo ab extraneis) In decline or decadence caused by
strangers. 36. Brito) A British monk at Iona, probably St. Odhran.
Page 169. 1. plateold) See note on platea, i. 50, p. 121, 1. 37, p. 210.
9. agonothetae] Originally the superintendent of the public
contests in games, here applied to Christ as the witness of a
conflict. 10. primus mortuus est) There is a curious story in the old Irish
Life, quoted by Reeves here, about St. Odhran expressing his
willingness to be the first to be buried in Iona, and then dying.
The principal and now only cemetery in Iona is still called Reilig
Orain, the cemetery of Odhran, Reilig or Relic being a common
Irish term for a cemetery, and connected with Reliquiae. Legends
of voluntary death immediately after reception of the Viaticum
abound in Celtic hagiology. See Todd, S. P. 451-465. But the
story of Odhran belongs to a different class of legends.
22. Anteriorum] See i. 43 n., p. 117, 1. 1, p. 207.
Indairthir] Compounded of ind, an old form of article in nom.
pi., and airthir, easterns.
40. remotiorem . . . locum] Probably the sequestered hollow where
the so-called ' Culdees' cell ' is. See above, p. 61 n.
P 2

228 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
Page 170. 7. sudibus] Properly stakes, but here the iron darts
just mentioned ; perhaps to be taken figuratively as referring to
the pestilences mentioned below. Cp. Ps. xci. 5 (xc. 6, Vulg.).
Hom. //. A. 48.
8. armatura apostoli] Eph. vi. 13-17. Bede represents St. Cuth
bert as using the same spiritual armour when he drove the fiends
from Fame. Vit. S. C. 17.
19. effugati sunt] There is a wild legend of later date to the effect
that after St. Patrick had driven the demons into the sea they
emerged and dwelt in the savage wilds of Seangleann in SW.
Donegal, where they remained undisturbed until St. Columba at
the bidding of an angel drove them once for all into the sea after a
violent conflict, and with the help of his bell, the Dubhduaibseach.
The parish of Glencolumbcille derives its name from this legend, as
told by Manus O'Donnell in 1520. Colg. Tr. Th. 403 b.
26. colleciio] Called congregatio just below.
30. monasteriis) Adamnan mentions Artchain as well as Campus
Lunge, and, considering its extent, the ecclesiastical remains and
names of places from Saints, etc. are very numerous in Tiree.
37. mediterranea) Durrow is placed there in i. 3, where see note,
p. 95, 1. 16, p. 195. Cp. Joyce, Hist. 179.
Page 171. 2. Columbus Coilrigtnus] A smith in mid Ireland,
possibly of the tribe Cailraighe. Colum Gobha, ' the smith,' is in
the Calendars at June 7. ' Supra memoratus ', i. e. in the Capittda,
P- l63- fc
4. emax] Fond of buying, like edamfibibax,furax, etc.
17. Saxo] See i. 1 n., p. 91, 1. 42, p. 193.
pislor] Colgan and the Bollandists, perhaps misled by an
error in a transcript, here read pidor. This reading has led
Keller and Westwood to refer to the passage as supposed evidence
of the cultivation of painting or illumination in Iona, while Dr. John
Smith, in his Life of St. Columba, has accused Colgan 'and other
Catholics ' of wilfully altering the word to justify paintings.
37. natalis) See ii. 45 n., p. 161, 1. 8, p. 223.
38. missarum] The term missa was, as here, commonly applied
to the Eucharistic service, but was not limited to it. See Intr. iv.
§ 7, and note on vespertinalem missam, ch. 23, p. 183, 1. 19, p. 233
Page 172. 3. nocte praeterita] As in the case of St. Columba,
the death during the night was commemorated on the following
day. Hac in nocte, ' this last night,' is used of the previous night
in ch. 12 ; cp. Cummian, viii. (nocte in hac).
13. obsequia] From the classical senses of obedience, and military
service, naturally followed the ecclesiastical senses of pomp, cere
mony, ritual. Obsequia here means ' ritual requirements '- Obse-
quium and obsequiae came to be used especially of funeral rites,
for which special ritual was employed ; hence our word obsequies.
14. in Dominico] We have here an early example of the ' Sunday
dinner '.
16. hac in nocte] See note on ch. n, p. 172, 1. 3, on this page.

NOTES: LIB. Ill 229
19. mysteria] Cummian adds ' pro anima sancta quae nocte in
hac inter angelos vecta est'. See note on ch. 11.
22. albat!) Used again in chs. 16 and 23, and probably with
reference to linen vestures, not to white as a ' liturgical colour '.
' Sabbati ' is another instance of corruption of the text in Colgan
and the Bollandists.
23. cum modulations] See i. 42 n., p. 116, 1. 10, p. 207.
24. deprecatio) The Oratio super Diptycha, represented in the
Roman Mass by the Memento Domine in the Canon. The Gallican
form of the prayer as used at Aries is given hy Mabillon (De
Lituri;. Gall., lib. i, cap. 5, num. 12, p. 43) and by Reeves in his
note here. Something like this prayer was probably used by the
early Irish Church. St. Martin was held in special veneration in
the Celtic Church by reason of St. Patrick's alleged association
with him. The inclusion of his Life in the Book of Armagh may
thus be accounted for.
26. Hodie) Immediately before this word Cummian says ' Et
inter sacra sancti sacrificii mysteria'.
27. decantare debetis] St. Columba directed them to add the
name of Columbanus after that of Martin, and perhaps composed
on the spot Proper prayers like those in Neale and Forbes' Ancient
Liturgies, e.g. on p. 305. The seventh-century MS. from which
these were taken came from -the Irish monastery of Bobbio (ib.
p. 205). On prayer for the dead, see Warren, ch. ii. § 10.
28. Columbanus) sive Colmanus Mocu Loigse, i. e. Mac U Loighse,
of the clan descended from Loigsech Cennmor, son of Conall
Cemach, a famous hero of the first century.
Lagenensis) ' In (not of) Leinster ', diocesan episcopacy being
then unknown in Ireland.
31. Lagenica provincia] Leinster. The original name was
Galian ; this is said to have been changed to Laighen not from the
name of a man, but from the use there of a peculiar broad-pointed
spear so called. On the termination -ster, see p. 94, 1. 42, p. 195.
32. revelatum est] The whole narrative is .very similar to that of
the death of Haduuald in Bede's Life of St. Cuthbert, ch. 34.
37. signo] See ii. 42 n., p. 157, 1. 33, p. 221.
39. Stagno Vituli) In Irish, Loch Laoigh, now Belfast Lough.
Page 173. 13. Nisae fluminis lactem] Loch Ness.
17. naturale bonum) See i. 33 n., and Ancient Laws, iii. 27 :
' The law of nature was with the men of Erin until the coming of
the faith in the time of Laeghaire son of Niall. It was in his time
Patrick came.'
22. Airchart-dan] Glen Urquhart, locally pronounced Arochdan.
32. tttguriolo] See note on i. 25.
35. ad ianuam stantes] From this passage and those referred to
in note on i. 25, it would seem that St. Columba while sitting in his
cell was usually attended by one or two of the brethren, to receive
orders, or take part in study.
40. magnae domus] In the heading, monasterii rotundi. Dr. Petrie

230 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
has shown that an ecclesiastical round tower is almost certainly
what is meant. (Round Towers, 1845, p. 387; but his account of
the MSS. and edd. is wrong; see Reeves here.) Reeves observes
that this passage points to the primary use of round towers as
monastic abodes distinct from the small cells, before they acquired
the name of Cloc teach or Campanile from a secondary use. The
building of this maior domus seems to be referred to in i. 29.
Notker Balbulus says ' Cum sederet in quadam insula scribens, et
in alia domus altissima aedificaretur, et quidam de culmine eius
enormis fabricae ad terram corruere coepisset', etc. (Martyrol. Jun.
9, in Canisii Lect. Antiq., Amst. 1725, t. II, pars iii, p. 140). Petrie
does not seem to have known of this passage, which is quoted by
Reeves in ed. 1857, p. 217. Notker (of St. Gall) died 912.
Page 174. 1. famen] See iii. 3 n., p. 167, 1. n, p. 225.
10. celerrime] Cp. Dan. ix. 21.
17. campulum) See i. 37 n., p. 112, 1. 24, p. 205.
18. nemo me sequatur] Not even the ordinary field-work was to
interfere with the privacy of the saint.
20. callidus explorator) Like the Coldingham brother who stole
out at night to watch St. Cuthbert praying in the sea. Bede, Vit.
S. C. x. See p. 178, 1. 21, p. 231.
21. monticelli] Probably Cnoc Or ain, between the monastery
and the Machar, and commanding a view of the Colliculus
Angelorum. Page 175. 13. Cnoc Angel] See p. 159, 1. 19, p. 222. From sidh,
pronounced shee, comes the Irish bean-sidhe (Banshee), woman
of the fairy mansions, sidhe signifying not only the fairies, but their
habitations. Joyce, vol. i. 179, Hist. 139 ; O'Curry, MS. Materials,
504, and see ' Banshee ' in N.E.D.
17. orantem) O'Donnell states that St. Columba recited the
Psalter every night immersed in cold water. As to St. Cuthbert,
see iii. 16 n., p. 174, 1. 20, on this page. Hence the couplet under
a painting at Carlisle Cathedral,
Her stude he nakyd in ye se
to all dauid psalter sayd had he.
St. Godric used to pray naked in the Wear the night through,
hindered neither by ice nor by snow (Libell. de Vita S. Godr.,
Surtees Soe, cap. xxxiii, p. 85). Reeves gives a number of refer
ences to Irish hagiology for subjecting the body to extreme cold.
Add to these, for St. Patrick, Fiacc's Hymn, and a Homily, in
Tripartite, 407, 485.
38. post Evangelii ledionem] This looks as if the Gospel was
read outside the little church, to persons in the position of
catechumens (cp. Bona, Rer. Lit., lib., I, cap. xvi. 5 1). But
there seems to be no positive evidence of such an arrangement.
Cummian 's words are, ' Sed illi post Evangelii recitationem
viderunt quendam,' etc.
41. criniosum) Hairy, a word added by Adamnan to Cummian's
account, to explain that the globe of fire had a tail like a comet.

NOTES: LIB. Ill 231
Reeves cites a parallel from Sulp. Severus's Life of St. Martin,
' Globum ignis de capite eius vidimus emicare, ita ut in sublime con-
tendens longum admodum crinem flammaproduceret.' Gwynn, 413^.
Page 176. 24. alumnum] See Intr. viii. § I, and iii. 2 n.,
p. 166, 1. 14, p. 225. St. Columba appears to have been nutritor
or foster-father to Baithene.
29. Egea insula) The island of Eig or Egg, where St. Donnan,
an irishman and disciple of St. Columba, founded a monastery, and
was put to death with his congregation of fifty-two by pirates in
617. After him the church of the island and ten others were called
Kildonan. 34. huic ecclesiae] Sc. that of Iona.
37. deservio] Referring to Adamnan's abbacy, 679-704.
39. Virgnous] Fergna Brit, fourth abbot of Iona. Intr. viii. § 3.
Page 177. 2. exedra] The Erdamh or side-house of a Celtic
church ; see Intr. iv. § 2, and Petrie, Round Towers, 1845, 437-444.
40. mentionem] See i. 17, p. 101.
Page 178. 15. ahimno] See iii. 18 n., p. 176, 1. 24, on this page,
and Joyce, Hist. 87. Berchan was probably another pupil under
' literary fosterage '-
16. Mesloen) 'A remarkable form of name, which the editor is
unable to illustrate ' (Reeves).
21. callideque explorans) Cp. ch. 16, p. 174.
28. Hac in nocte) This last night, as in ch. 12, p. 172.
29. infitialis) It does not appear that Berchan had actually
denied his inquisitiveness ; the word may stand as a strong
expression for ' disingenuous '.
35. eruerentur) O'Donnell has a curious story of one who peeped
through the keyhole of the church door at St. Columba, and whose
eye was picked out through the hole by a tame crane that had
followed the saint into the church. (Colgan, Tr. Th. 408 <5, Acta
SS. 640 (644 b).) A similar story is told in the metrical Life of
St. Senan. (Acta SS. 517 (607 a).) See further in Reeves.
Page 179. 5. Alio in tempore) In 593, thirty years after his
coming to Iona, and four years before his death.
10. sapida] savoury. Cp. ' Book of the Angel ' in Stokes,
Trip. 354, ' anchoritae aeclessiae et caeteri religiosi laudes sapidas
offerunt.' Gwynn, 41 b.
12. ad ianuam) See ch. i5n., p. 173, 1. 35, p. 229.
13. eminentiore loco) Perhaps a raised platform. See i. 25 n.,
p. 106, 1. 9, p. 201, and ii. 28 n., p. 143, 1. 12, p. 216.
15. Saxo] See i. 1 n., p. 91, 1. 42, p. 193.
37. rupe] The rocky coast of the Ross of Mull over against
Iona ; see the Duke of Argyll's Iona, frontispiece, ' View from the
Reilig Odhrain ' ; also cp. i. 25 n., p. 106, 1. 8, p. 201.
Page 180. 7. quatuor terminatis annis] So St. Wilfrid. ' Ecce
alter Hezekias.' Ripon Offices, p. 23. Eddii Vita Wilfr., cap. 56.
22. libro] See ii. 28, p. 143.
23. in occidua parte] In the Machar or campulus occidentalis.

232 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
25. Aprili peracta) Easter-day fell on Apr. 14 in 597.
26. desiderio desideravi) St. Luke xxii. 15. A Hebraism, perhaps
exactly representing our Lord's words.
36. libello) See ii. 28, p. 143.
trisulcarum linguarum) Adamnan has followed Vergil (Georg.
iii. 639), Pliny (A^. //.xi. 161), and others in this mistake. Serpents'
tongues are bifid, not trifid. Ovid (Metam. ix. 65) rightly has
linguam bisulcam. So Shakespeare (Mids. Night 's Dream, Act. 11,
Sc. 2), 'You spotted snakes, with double tongue,' and Tennyson,
In Mem. ex, ' To flicker with his double tongue.'
Page 181. 5. Corde, etc.] The Vulgate of Prov. xv. 13 is, 'Cor
gaudens exhilarat faciem.'
17. parasticiam] An unexplained word, probably denoting the
stone roof, called culmen ecclesiae in the Vita Secunda of Colgan,
cap. 30 (Tr. Th. 329 a).
26. sabbati] See i. 16 n., p. 101, 1. 22, p. 199.
29. sequestratos] Either ' reserved ' or ' winnowed '.
Page 182. I. Haec, etc.] Saturday.
5. sabbatizo] 1. To keep the Sabbath proper. 2. To rest, as in
the capitula of St. Boniface cited by Ducange, ' diebus Dominicis
sabbatizare.' St. Columba would use the word with reference to
Heb. iv. 9.
6. node] The night preceding Sunday, on which the Sunday
services begin. As to whether St. Columba died in 596 or in 597,
and whether at Pentecost or not, see Reeves, 1857, pp. 309-312.
He shows that 597 is the more likely date.
Scriplurarum] The reference is to Josh, xxiii. 14 and I Kings
(3 Reg.) ii. 2, 'Ego ingredior viam universae terrae' (Vulg.).
15. molari lapidi] A disused millstone would make a good base and
socket for a wayside cross. See note on i. 45, p. 118, I. 31, p. 208.
18. caballus] Sometimes spoken of as 'the old white horse'. Its
age is not mentioned in the text, but its actions as described are
those of an old familiar friend.
19. bocetum] For bucetum, cow-house, or perhaps cow-pasture.
Colgan's Vita Secunda here has bostarium. See Glossary.
27. fiebilem] Weeping ; cp. ' lamentable ' in Dan. vi. 20, A. V.
37. supereminentem) See i. 30 n. Dr. Reeves thought that the
Reiiig Orain was on the site of the original monastery, which site,
however, was perhaps ' within the circular enclosure, a little to the
north, just outside the wall enclosing the present cathedral ruins '
(Healy, 318), and if so, the mons or monticellus mentioned here and
in i. 30 may well have been an isolated rocky knoll a little outside
the remains of the vallum. Torr Abb, which is due west of the
cathedral church, hardly seems to command the more northern site
so well. But if the present ruins stand on the original site, Torr
Abb must be the monticellus of the text. See Intr. vii. § 2.
Page 183. 2. honorem] Iona was a favourite burial-place of kings
and chieftains for many centuries.
8. deficient] This quotation, like Ps. 1. (li.) 18, p. 108, 1. 31, p. 203,

NOTES: LIB. Ill 233
is from the Psalterium Romanum. Both are important as showing
that the older version, or else, as in the case of the Book of Kells,
a text of the Vulgate with some readings from the Old Latin, was in
use at Iona. (Ps. xxxiii. 11, Vulg., or xxxiv. 10.)
13. Venite, etc.] Ps. xxxiii. 12, Vulg. or xxxiv. II.
19. vesperlinalem missam] The first Vespers of the Sunday, said
on Saturday evening, called missa in ii. 5, p. 129. So Ducange,
'Missa, pro quovis Ecclesiastico officio quo I in aedibus sacris
peragebatur, interdum sumitur.' The original meaning was the
same as missio or dimissio, and the term seems to have been
applied to any service at the end of which the congregation was
dismissed, though the connexion is not quite clear, and finally to
the Eucharist alone. The reading of Cod. B. would require ves-
pertinale, a reading not recorded by Reeves.
23. lapidem] St. Kieran of Saiger and St. Kiaran of Clonmac
noise both, like Jacob, used stones for their pillows. (Colg. Acta
SS. 471 a ; Cod. Marshii, 147 bb).
24. titulus] Usually an inscription or epitaph, but often in the
Vulgate, etc., a pillar simply, as in Gen. xxviii. 18, 22. See
Ronsch, 326. The meaning is that the stone pillow stood by the
grave telling its own tale. A stone marked with a cross, and
exactly of a form suitable for a pillow, is still shown at Iona as
that of St. Columba. Woodcut in Huyshe, 186.
31. interpellabo] See ii. 45 n., p. 161, 1. 6, p. 223.
40. media nocte) He had previously attended the vespertinalis
missa, rested on his bed, and spoken farewell words to Diormit.
He now rose for Matins and perhaps Lauds, referred to below in
the expression hymnis matuiinalibics finitis.
clocca] See i. 8n.,p.98, 1. 16, p. 197. Cummian here has campana.
Page 184. 14. didicimus] Adamnan was born twenty-seven years
after the death of Columba, and came to Iona before he was twenty-
eight (Intr. viii. § 9), so that he might very well have known many
who knew St. Columba.
19. dexteram manuni] According to the appropriate and universal
custom. Bishops have always held the crosier in the left hand
while blessing with the right, and are commonly so represented.
33. Cloni Finchoil] Cluain finnchoill, 'meadow of the white
hazel.' Perhaps Rosnarea, on the Boyne, or in Leix, Queen's Co.
Page 185. 3. cantica] So in the Ripon Offices of St. Wilfrid, we
read, 'eadem hora non sine magno stupore astantium quidam mirae
dulcedinis avium concentus auditus est in nube ; fuitque sapientum
opinio quod esset congratulatio angelorum.' This singing was at
his-death ; the voices were heard again at his burial. Offices, Ripon,
1893, p. 27. Eddii Vita Wilfr. 62, 63.
6. Virgnous] called Fergnous above, p. 184, 1. 37.
8. remigans] When we bear in mind the extensive use of oars in
marine navigation, as above, ii. 42, 45, there seems to be no
occasion, either here or a little below, p. 186, 1. 20, for Reeves's
suggestion of remigrans. (Glossary, ed. 1857, s. v.)

234 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
II. duodecim] See note on i. 22, p. 105, 1. 13, p. 201.
12. Muirbulcmar] ' Sea-inlet of the sea.' Possibly in Hinba or
Elena insula (Eilean na Naomh), where there are beehive cells
that may have been tenanted by Virgnous. See Elena insula,
ii. 18 n., p. 136, 1. 20, p. 214.
20. Ernene) In Latin Ferreolus. Ernan or Ernin is a diminutive
of the old word iarn, ' iron,' now written iarann (with furtive vowel).
Cod. D. gives the name in the modern form Iarannan.
Mocufirroide] Mocu or Mac-ua-Fir-Roidhe. For Roidhe cp.
Korkureti, i. 47 n., p. 119, 1. 13, p. 209, and for Mocu see Glossary.
22. Dorsum Tomme] Druim thuama, now Drumhome,co. Donegal.
See Joyce, i. 14.
23. expectat) So the Irish saints used to speak of the place where
they would be buried, as the place of their resurrection.
iuveni] See iii. 23 n., p. 184, 1. 14, p. 233.
27. Fendae] The Finn, co. Donegal, a tributary of the Foyle.
38. fluminales piscinas] Fish-pools; a pool in a river is called
piscina Berachi in Acta SS. Boll., Aug. Tom. iii. 660 b, and in
Cod. Salmant., col. 896, from a miracle of St. Berachus related in
the Acts of St. Dagaeus.
Page 186. 5. hymnis matutinalibus] Matins, and perhaps
Lauds. 8. ternis, etc.] See Intr. iv. § 12. But St. Patrick's obsequies are
said to have lasted for twelve days, St. Senan's for eight. Seven
was the pagan number. (Stokes, Tripartite, p. 255 ; Colgan, Acta
SS. 533 a, 537 a).
12. ratabusta] This unique and unexplained term must denote a
coffin or a tomb. Reeves suggests that rata may have crept into
the text from pxa.epa.rata, or be the fern, of ratus, fixed (mentally),
agreeing with busta, a box, or perhaps a form of bustum, a grave.
Surius reads intra busta and the Bollandists in catabusla,but Colgan,
in rata bustd.
29. prohibenle] In Bede's Life of St. Cuthbert, ch. 36, is a story
of a storm that arose to punish certain brethren by detaining them
when they hesitated to accept his hospitality in Fame. After a
while the storm-stayed and doubtless hungry visitors overcame
their shyness, and began to boil the goose which St. Cuthbert had
offered to them. Then it came to pass that, as the pot boiled up,
so did the sea cease from its boiling.
34. quanti et qualis) This expression, here taken from Cummian,
is used by Adamnan in the De Locis Sanctis (Migne, P. L. 88, col.
581), 'quanti vel qualis honoris haec electa et praedicabilis civitas,'
i. e. Jerusalem. So in Peter Abelard's hymn, ' O quanta qualia
sunt ilia Sabbata.' H. A. and M. 235.
Page 187. 8. stolas] The word used in the Vulgate of Rev.
vii. 14, etc. Stola (0T0X17) originally meant any long outer garment,
especially that worn by the Roman matrons, and it is sometimes so
used in ecclesiastical Latin, as in the Ambrosian hymn, ' Ad coenam
Agni providi, Et stolis albis candidi,' referring to the baptismal

NOTES: LIB. Ill 235
robes at Easter. It is used of the chasuble, or, like our word
' vestment ', of a set of vestments. (Diet. Christian Ant. s. v.) It
is not clear how the term came to be applied to the long band now
known as a ' stole '. The most probable explanation is that this
band was at first the ornamental border of the original stola, which
has remained as a survival.
13. saeculorum] See ii. 32 n., p. 145, 1. 36, p. 217.
24. pausant ossa) This expression alone would show that the
author wrote earlier than the ninth century, before which time
St. Columba's remains were enshrined. Bede uses the words ipse
sepultus est in H. E. iii. 4. On St. Columba's shrine and its
migrations, see Reeves, 1857, 312-318. For the use of pausare and
its derivatives (cp. Greek avarravo-ao-Bai), see note 140, in Warren,
p. 264. ' In the old Irish Annals, the death of an ecclesiastic is
generally expressed by dormivit, quievit, pausavit, or obiit ; that
of a layman by mortuus, iugulatus, or occisus est, as the case might
be. De Loc. Sand. ii. 10.' (Reeves, 1857, in Glossary.)
28. nostram Scotiam] Adamnan's own country, Ireland, p. 71.
31. commoratus] A nominative absolute, ' though he lived.' A
very common construction in Irish Lives. Plummer, I. xcv.
32. trigonam] This term is more obviously applicable to Trinacria
(Sicily), but it is applied to Spain by Aethicus in his Cosmography,
printed with Pomponius Mela, etc., Leyden, 1722, p. 729. For
evidence of a colony from Britain in Spain (Gallicia), see Haddan
and Stubbs, Councils, vol. ii, pt. i. 99 ff. The knowledge of
St. Columba might reach Spain through this colony.
Alpes Peninas] The Pennine Alps, between the Valais and
Upper Italy.
35. noscibilis] The non-Irish writers who have mentioned
St. Columba are Bede, Alcuin, Walafridus Strabo, and Notker
Balbulus, all later than Adamnan. Bede did not know either
Cummian's or Adamnan's Life. See H. E. iii. 4, 'feruntur scripta
haberi.' 40. Obsecro] There is a similar adjuration preserved by Eusebius
(H. E. v. 20) from a work by Irenaeus now lost, as also, in a Latin
translation, by St. Jerome (De Viris Illustr. § 35). This is the
oldest colophon of the kind by a Christian writer. Cp. Rev. xxii.
I.8' I9> , o
42. emendent] See note on i. 23, p. 105, 1. 28, p. 201.
PAGE 188. 3. Quicumque, etc.] There are colophons more or less
similar in other famous Irish MSS., as for example in Mac Regol's
Gospels, 'Macregol dipin|cxit hoc euange|lium: Quicum|que legerit |
Et intellegerit | istam narratio|nem orat pro | macreguil scrip-
to|ri,' in a coloured border of Irish patterns (Lindisfarne and
Rushworth Gospels, Surtees Soe, part iv, frontispiece). In the
Book of Armagh, the scribe, who died in 845, appends at the ends
of various portions ' pro ferdomnacho ores ', and at the end of all a
Latin colophon in Greek letters. The colophon of the Book of
Durrow is. 'Rogo beatitudinem | tuam see praesbiter | patrici ut

236 VITA SANCTI COLUMBAE
quicumque | hunc libellum manu te|nuerit meminerit colum|bae
scriptoris. qui hoc scripsi | himet euangelium per xii | dierum
spatium gtia dnl nri s.s.' The only doubtful letters are ' hi ' before
' met ' ; the colophon appears to be a copy, ' mi ' being omitted by
a scribe's error. There is no contraction mark over 'gtia', nor is
it known what the letters s.s. stand for. Below, ' in a more angular,
but not later hand,' follows, ' Ora pro me fra|ter mi dns tecum | sit.'
(Hermathena, 1892, No. xviii, p. 199; Book of Trinity College
Dublin, 159; Reeves, 1857, 242). Adamnan's De Locis Sanctis has
a long colophon, which Reeves gives from Mabillon, Acta SS. Ord.
Ben. saec. iii. pt. ii, p. 472. Venet. 1734.
4. Dorbbeneo) Dorbhene, the scribe who wrote Codex A., is
probably identical with a Dorbhene who was abbot of Iona for five
months in 713. See account of the MS. in the Preface. I am
indebted to the Librarian of the Stadtbibliothek at Schaffhausen
for a tracing of the original colophon, which is in red letters and in
the following form : —
qui cum cr: hor utnrurum
libel I or coluboz lejC
nir pno me' donbbeneo
"offi clefpne'ce'run • uu ui
ram pore monre'm eren
nam porrecleam

GLOSSARY

An asterisk denotes that a word occurs more than onoe on the same page.

Abdieare, to reject, 155.
Absolvere, to release, from sla
very, 146, 151; from difficult
childbirth, 155.
Aeoola, a resident, no, in, 142.
Aesteus, for aestivus, 127, &c.
Agellulus, a double diminutive of
ager, 86, &c.
Agonotheta, arjoivoBkr-ns, used of
Christ, 169 n. Cf. Tertull. ad
Mart. 3, ' Bonum agonem subi-
turi estis, in quo agonothetes
Deus vivus est.' Migne, P. L. 1,
col 624. But agonotheta is more
common.
Albatus, clothed in white robes,
172 n., 174, 187.
Alnus, a boat, 142 n.
Alumnus, a foster-son, 93, 176,
178*.
Ambis, for ambabus, 139.
Amhra, a song of grief, elegy,
song simply, 18. From Ir. amor,
grief.
Amphibalus (or -um), a cloak or
cowl, 95, 130. Ronsch, 254.
Anmchara, confessor, from the
Irish anim and cara ; literally
soul-friend, 42, 64 «., 65.
Annuum, for annona, 181.
Anrot. See 18 n. No derivation
really known.
Anteriores, easterns, 117 n., 169.
Appetibilis, desirable, 94. Cf.
Ambr. Hexaem. v. 21, 'vade ad
apem . . . appetibilis est enim
omnibus et cara.'
Appropiare, to draw near, 179.
Cf. Ex. iii. 5, Vulg. ; Bede,
H. E. iv. 3.

Ascella, for axilla, 106 n., 130 n.
Not uncommon. See Ronsch, 96.
Axion, a£av, an axle, 158. See
Humerulus.

Barca, a ship, 107 n.
Bard. See 17 n.
Beehive cells. See pp. 33, 34.
Benedictio : (1) blessing, 152, 153,
(2) the vehicle of blessing, 129M.,
130, 146.
Bibera, a drinking-cup, 146 n.
Bocetum, a booly (Irish buaile,
from Lat. bovile), cow-pasture,.
or cow-byre, 182 n.
Bocula, for bucula, 137, 138 n
Bostarium. equivalent to boce
tum, 182 11.
Brehon. See 19K.
Busta. See Batabusta.

Canaba, a kiln or kiln-house,
n8«. The building with a
round pit at Eilean na Naomh
¦'Skene's Reeves, 1874, p. 321,
Anderson, Scotland, p. 99) has
probably been a canaba. Carleton
in Traits, &c., i860, ii. 204, gives
the following account of an
' Inside Kiln ' in modern times :
' This kind of kiln is usually —
but less so now than former
ly — annexed to respectable
farmers' out-houses, to which,
in agricultural districts, it forms
a necessary appendage. It also
serves at the time as a barn, the

238

GLOSSARY

kiln-pot being sunk in the shape
of an inverted cone at one end,
but divided from the barn-floor
by a wall about three feet high.
From this wall beams run across
the kiln-pot, over which, in a
transverse direction, are laid a
number of rafters like the* joists
of a loft, but not fastened. These
ribs are covered with straw, over
which again is spread a winnow
cloth to keep the grain from
being lost. The fire is sunk on
a level with the bottom of the
kiln-pot, that is, about eight or
ten feet below the floor of the
barn. The descent to it is by
stairs formed at the side wall.'
Such arrangements for artificial
drying would be made necessary
by the humid climate of Ireland
and ofthe Hebrides.
Capsellula, a double diminutive,
129.
Oaraxare, to write, Pref. 1 n., and
passim. It is used by Apicius,
who also has incharaxare, as
well as by post-classical writers.
Ronsch, 44, 255.
Carminale, a song, 185.
Carnalis, after the flesh, earthly,
106 n., 151 ; carnaliter, ni«.
Cashel, an encircling stone-wall,
Irish caisel, caiseal, 33.
Cathach, battle-book, 39, 56 n.
Properly an adj. meaning ' war
like ', from cath, battle.
Caupallus, a boat, 142 n.
Celebratio, see Intr. iii. § 2 ;:.
Cellula, 103 n.
Clocca, a bell, 98 n., 183.
Co-arb, Irish comharbha (pron.
coworbd), said to be derived from
comh (cum), with, and forba,
inheritance l^Colg. Tr. Th. 630,
col. 2), 15.
Cognationalis, related by kinship,
121 n., 151,155.
Collum, the neck of a bottle or
flask, 10211.
Condensatus, united (in case of
broken bone), 129 11.
Condictum, an appointment, in

terview, convention, 120, 121,
130, 159, 160, 174. Not an un
common word in ecclesiastical
Latin ; it occurs in the hymn
Alius Prosator, attributed to St.
Columba, thus, ' Quis ad con-
dictum Domini | Montem con-
scendit Sinai.'
Conficere, to consecrate, 115, 118;
an established liturgical expres
sion. See Reeves, 1857, 85 «.,
442.
Contulus, dim. of contus ; a punt-
pole (?), 142 «.; a stake, 149.
Corniculum, an inkhorn, 106.
Craticula, a gridiron, 104 n.
Criniosus, hairy, like a comet,
175 K.
Cristilia. The sole recorded in
stance of the word. The con
text shows that it must mean
either bark or rust, from crusta,
or a projecting knot or some
thing of the kind, from crista ;
ngn.
Cumtach, also cumdach, (1) build
ing, (2) covering, (3) ornament ;
a book-shrine, 56 n.
Curuca, a coracle, 157 »., 160 n.

Damhliag, stone church or house,
from dam or dom = domus, and
Hac or Hag, gen. of Ua, a stone,
61.
Deprecatio, 172 n.
Dialis, divine, sacred, 93K., and
frequently.
Diminutiva. Reeves gives a list
of eighty-three diminutives
occurring in the present work.
Ed. 1857, P- 442- Some are
double, as Agellulus, Capsellula,
Monticellulus. See above, p. 76.
Dioecesis, the district subject to
the jurisdiction of the head of
a federation of monasteries, such
as Iona was, 11 1 11.
Discursio, journeying, 157.
Disert, a hermit's cell (desertum),
67 «.

GLOSSARY

239

Dolare, to carve ivory, 152; to
hollow out trees for dug-out
boats, 160 ».
Domtmaeh Airgid, lit. 'church
of silver' — dominica argenti, a
name of a shrine ; hence the
enshrined Gospels 'of St. Pat
rick ', so called, 39.
Dorsum, a ridge, Irish Druim, in
proper names. See Index s. v.
Druid. See 16 n. In an Irish MS.
gloss on 2 Tim. iii. 8 Jannes and
Jambres are called druith.
Duirthech, oratory, 61 ; ' i. e. dair-
thech, i. e. a house of oak ; not
deirthech, i.e. a house in which
tears are shed; or duair-ihech,
i.e. a house in which words are
poured out ' (Transl. from MS.
H. 2, 16 in Library of Trinity
Coll., Dublin, in Petrie, Round
Towers, 345). The meaning and
etymology have been regarded as
doubtful. Petrie prefers the first
of the above. In usage it stands
for oratory as distinct from church
of stone, as in Annals of Ulster,
A. D. 839, ' The burning of
Armagh, with its derthechs and
daimhliag.' See Damhliag, and
Petrie, R. T. 120, 343-358.
Dun, an earthen rampart; 'two
walls with water between them '
(O'Curry, Manners, &c. iii. 572) ;
Ir. dun, Norse tun, 33.

E
Elementum, 126 n.
Emax, fond of buying, 171 n.
Erdamh. See Exedra.
Eremus (in oceano vel in mari), a
desert island, 97 «., 103, 156.
Esox, a salmon, 136 »., 137, 149 n.
Eulogia, a gift (charm), 130 n. ;
the holy-bread, 133 n.
Excussorium, a threshing-floor,
137- , ,
Exedra, exedriola, e£e5pa, the er
damh or side-house of a Celtic
church, 177 n. The Greek word
is frequently used by Josephus

in reference to the temple.
Adamnan uses the Latin form in
De Loc. SS. i. 8.
Exenium. See Xenium.
Exequiae, burial rites, 42, 116 n.,
145, 186 ; exequialia officia, 186 ;
exequiales dies, ib.
Exintero, for exeniero, to evisce
rate, 140.
Explicit, expliciunt, 125 n.

Famen, literally a saying, hence
a matter, event, 167 «., 174.
Feria, 101 »., 106 n.
Ferrum, a bronze spear-blade,
143 ».
Festivanox,eve"ofafestival, i6i«.
Filius, the Gaelic Mac in proper
names, frequently.
Flebilis, sorrowful, i8a«., 184.
Floridus, beautiful, 138 n., 166,
181.
Fluminales piscinae, fish-pools,
185 n.
Fossula, the part of a threshing
floor in which the grain collects,
137-
Fretum, the Sound of Iona, fre
quently.
Fulminalis, like lightning, 177.
Furunculus, a poacher, 89 n.

G
Genitalia, parentage, 87.
Gens, a clan, Irish cenel, 100, 103.
Gentilis, a heathen, norc., and
frequently; gentilicus, heathen,
I47i !73 i gentilitas, heathen
ism, 91.
Gergenna, a wooden bar, 135 n.
Graecismi. The following words
occur in the present work :
Agonotheta, Axion, Caraxo,
Eremus, Guberneta, Homo-
nymus, Lithus, Onoma, Pira,
Proselytus, Protus, Sophia,
Trigonus. See p. 1 n.
Guberneta, Kvfiiovirrr\%, a pilot,
155.

240

GLOSSARY

H
Hauritorium, a flask or bottle, or
any vessel into which liquids
could be drawn, 102 n. Cp.
Cummian, cap. iv.
Hi, (1) Irish prep, for in, 167 n. ;
(2) a form of the name of Iona.
In both cases the h is purely
accentual, and Hi = h-I. (3)
plural of Hua or O', a grandson,
94 n.
Hininglas, the green water, i. e.
the sea, 133 ».
Hospitium, guest-house, 151 n.
Humerulus, shoulder of axle,
158 n. Cf. 3 Reg. vii. 30, Vulg.
Hymni matutinales, Matins (and
Lauds ?), 186 n.

Indicibilis, indescribable, 157,
174.
Infitialis, disingenuous, secret,
178.
Ingeniculatio, kneeling, 145 {De
Loc. SS. iii. 4).
Iniuriosus, ill-behaved, 96.
Innocentes, women and children,
141 n.
Insuadibilis, obstinate, 139.
Intingo, to immerse or put into,
146 ; hence the liturgical term
' Intinction'.
Intransmeabilis, impassable, 156
Irreverberatus, undazzled, 177.
Iudicialis, condign, 104.

Labefactatio, slipping or loosen
ing, 158.
Lacrimabilitas, tearfulness, 180.
Lapidum acervus, a cairn, 1 10 n.
It should have been mentioned
in the note that cairns are still
raised in Scotland as well as in
Ireland. By the side of the
road leading from Glen More to
Craignure in Mull is a cairn
marking the grave of a well-
known character, 'Jones the

Pedlar,' who was found dead in
that lonely place in 1891, and
buried there. A smaller cairn
marks the exact spot where he
had died.
Laudes vespertinales, vespers,
113 n.
Leges poenitentiae, the peni
tential canons, 105 n., 151.
Librarium folium, a leaf of abook,
130 n.
Lignum, a boat, 112.
Lis, a homestead surrounded by
an earthen rampart, Irish liss or
less, Welsh llys, 33.
Livorosus, ' black and blue,' 167.
M
Maceria, a cashel, 114 n.
Magi, Druids, 90K., 113, 132, 145*,
"47-
Magna domus, a round tower (?),
173 n.
Marini vituli, 115 n.
Martyres. See Reliquiae.
Matrix ecclesia, Iona, 97.
Mediterranea pars, the middle of
Ireland, 95 n., 170 n.
Milito, a soldier (fig.), 169.
Minare, to drive 123 n. Very
common in the Vulgate. See
Ronsch, 236.
Missa nocturna, vespers, 129 n.,
166 ; vespertinalis, 183 n. ;
missarum solemnia, the mass,
115, 161*, 171 11., 175, 181.
Mocu or Maccu, perhaps Mac + ua,
or it may be a distinct word of
similar meaning. See Nepos.
Modius. The Roman niodius was
1.92 Engl, gall., or nearly a peck,
"5, 127.
Modulabiliter, n6«.
Molaris lapis, a millstone, 182 «.
Possibly a mere block of stone,
like pv\a( in Homer (//. xii.
161) or molares in Vergil {Acn.
viii. 250).
Monasteriolum, a little or subor
dinate monastery (?), 86 «., 115,
156, 169.
Montieellulus (double dim.), 183 n.

GLOSSARY

241

Called also mons, 108, and mon
ticellus, 182.
Mortificatio, slaying, 90, 124.
Mos Bomanorum, stone building,
160 n.
Mos Scottorum, wood building,
160 n.
Munitio, a fortress, the Irish dun,
or circular rampart, 33, 113, 120,
121 «., 128 »., 146, 148.
Mysterium, a hidden doctrine or
exposition, 176; sacrificale, the
mass, 126 ; mysteria eucharis
tiae, id., 115, 172, 175; obla
tionis sacrae, id., 115.
NT
Natalis dies, a festival of a saint,
42, 161 «., 171.
Naturale bonum, natural good,
not in the sense of material,
but of moral good, of which the
knowledge has been acquired
by the use of the natural reason,
in contradistinction to that of
which the knowledge has been
revealed either personally,
through grace, or mediately,
through sacred books or oral
teaching, now., 173 n. So in
Acta S. Albei, in Acta SS. Hib.
ex Cod. Salm. col. 236, 'quidam
vir . . . naturali bono perfectus.'
Navigare. See Bemigare.
Navis. The following equivalent
terms occur in the present work :
Alnus, Barca, Caupallus, Curu-
ca, Cymba, Cymbula, Lignum,
Navicella, Navicula, Navigium,
Navis, Ratis, Scapha. See
160 n.
Navis vas, structure of the ship,
132 ; sentina, bilge-water, hence
bilge-hole, 133K. ; carina, latera,
puppis, prora, pelliceum tectum,
157 ; sub navi, by and under
one side of a boat ashore, 119 ». ;
longa, 159 ; oneraria, 127.
Nepos, Irish ua or o, pi. ui, dat
pi. uibh {u in MocuX). Ui or Hy
is rendered Nepotes, as in Nellis
Nepotes, the Hy-Neill. It is

difficult to determine when Mac
and Ua ceased to represent son
and grandson, and came to de
note descendant.
Nox festiva, a vigil or eve, 161 n. ;
venerabilis, the eve of the
Lord's Day, 182 n.
Nutricius, foster-father (or foster-
son?), 146.
Nutritor, a fosterer, i66n.

Obex, a linch-pin, 158 n.
Obsequia, ritual requirements,
172*2.
Offensus, contact, 119 n. This
rendering assumes the use of
the 2nd decl. for the 4th, as in
many cases cited by Ronsch, pp.
260-262. To take it as a par
ticiple agreeing with cultello,
'being dashed against' (the
knee) seems awkward. In that
case dimisso would be rendered
' being let fall '. Another sug
gestion is that we ought to have
offensa, 'being struck,' agreeing
with genicula. Cf. offendi, p. 149.
OUami (pron. Ollav). The
highest rank in any learned pro
fession. See p. 18 n. O'Curry,
MS. Materials, 2, 3 ; Manners,
&c. iii. 592. No derivation
known.
Onoma (humanum), personal
name (ovofta), S$n., 172.
Ordinatio, clerici, 111 ; regis, 167;
ordinationis liber vitreus, ib. ;
verba, 168.

Palmula, the blade of an oar,
157-
Papilio, a pavilion or tent, 91 n.
Ex. xxxiii. 8; Num. xvi. 27;
2 Reg. xi. 11, Vulg.
Paradisus, a garden, 100 n. ;
synonymous with caelum, 169,
171, 172.
Parasticia, vaulting or roof (?),
181 n.

242

GLOSSARY

Parricidalis, murderous, 100 n.
Pausare, to rest, 187 k.
Per, over or across, trans, 104.
Per saltum, at one leap or step,
in the case of ordination to the
higher orders without previous
ordination to those below, 52.
Pincerna, the cellarer, 102 n.
Piscina fluminalis, a fish-pool in
a river, 185 n.
Platea, the monastic enclosure,
121 «. ; plateola, id., i6gn.
Plumatiuncula, a feather pillow,
101 n.
Polairi, pi. of polaire, a leather case
to protect a reliquary or a pre
cious book, 44. Also, a writing-
tablet, Lat. pugillaris (Stokes,
, Trip. 655). See Tiaga.
Praedicabilis, famous, 87 «., and
frequently.
Praepositura, presidency, 118.
Praepositus, a head of a subor
dinate monastic house, 108 n.*,
iiik., 115, 136. It often cor
responds with the later prior,
and is sometimes written pro
positus, whence provost. ,
Praesul, abbot, 85, 86, 98, 187.
See Ducange, s. v.
Praetersorium, a stray or tres
passing animal (?), 114.
Primaria insula, Iona, 90 11.
Primarius, a religious superior,
102, in ; a chief military officer,
no.
Primule, in the first instance,
102 K.
Proelivum, decline or decadence,
168 n.
Proselytus, -wfioij-qXvTos, a stranger,
86 n., and frequently.
Protus, -npSiros, first, 126 n.
Provincia, in limited sense, 141 n.
Puer, a youth, 141 «. ; an attend
ant, 141 11., 144.
Pulsare, to nudge, iiom.
Pyra, irvpa, fervour, 108 11.
Pyramis, a canopy (?), 95 n.

Q,uartodecimans, See 40 n.

B
Ratabusta, a coffin or tomb, 186 «.
Rath, a residence surrounded by
an earthen rampart = the ram
part itself. An Irish word, 33.
Refutare, to bid begone, 153 n.
Reliquiae, the ' remains ' of the
dead, 185. Hence the Irish
Reilig, a burial-place. Martyres,
Irish Martra, was the technical
term for a saint's relics ; hence
Kilnamartry in Cork and Mer-
thyr in Wales.
Remigare, to row, 185 n. In the
Life of St. Brendan in Acta SS.
Hib. ex Cod. Salm. , the equivalent
term is navigare, as in § 6, ' ha-
bebantque prosperum ventum,
nichilque eis opus fuit navigare,
nisi tantum vela tenere,' and in
§ 46, ' dum fratres aerius navi
gare cepissent, ait vir sanctus :
Nolite, fratres, super modum
navigare vel fatigare vos,' cols.
115, 146.
Reverbero, to dazzle, 177.
Robur, Roboretum, Roboreus,
all express the Irish Daire, ' Oak
wood,' in place-names, e. g.
Derry, Durrow, Kildare.
Bomana civitas, the Roman State,
161.
Romanum ius, 107 n. ; mos
Romanorum, 160 n.
Roseta, the hub of a wheel, Vita S.
Brig, in 158 n. S
Sabbatum, Saturday, 101 n., 181,
182* ; sabbatizare, to rest, 182.
Sacerdos, a presbyter, 104.
Sacramentum, a holy mystery or
secret, 117 »., 122, 169*, 179.
Salacia unda. the ebb, 150 n.
Sanitas, healing, 90, 146*, Ronsch,
274.
Sapidus, savoury, 179 «., 186, 187.
Sapiens, a sage, 121 n.
Scotica, Irish, 145 n., and passim.
Sentina navis, bilge-water, 133 n.
Sequestratus,' reserved (?), thresh
ed and winnowed (?), 181 n.

GLOSSARY

243

Sermusculus (sermonusculus MS.
D.), a little remark, 181.
Si, introducing a question, 156 n.
Signare, to observe (?), to sign (?),
146 n.
Signum, a bell, 157 n.
Sophia, ooipia, wisdom, 93 n.
Spiramen sanctum, holy inspira
tion, divine afflatus, 176. Cf.
4 Esdr. xvi. 63 in Vulg. : ' Et
spiramen Dei omnipotentis qui
fecit omnia.'
Stagnum, Celtic loch, in proper
names, 108 «., non. ; stagnea
aqua, 112 n.
Stola, a robe, 187 n.
Sub, by, in the sense of ' under
the side of ' (a boat) , 1 19 n.
Subitatio, a sudden or rapid
movement, 119,141, 172,174,185.
Sudes, stakes for hurdles, 130)2.
In the ancient wattled buildings
the stakes were first driven into
the ground, and then the withs
were woven in and out. Carle-
ton mentions ' a potato-bin,
made up of stakes driven into
the floor, and wrought with
strongwicker-work ' ( Traits, Sec,
i860, ii. 224). For ' staking '
game, 148; figurative, 170 n.
T
Tabula, a board of a platform.
106 k. ; a writing-tablet, 111 n.
Taedialis, weary, 183 n.
Tailcend, probably ' Adze-head '
(Asciciput), from tal, adze, and
cenn, head, 37 n.
Terdeni, thirty, 179.
Tiaga, pi. of tiag, a leather bag
or satchel for the ordinary car
riage of books, 44. Lat. theea.
Tigerna, a chieftain, 116 n.
Titulus, a monument, 183 n.
Transmotatio, shifting, 89. See
Transmutare.
Transmutare or Transmotare, to
shift, iiok. The reading in
Codex A. is transmotata ; see
the last word. Motare is used in
De Loc. SS. iii. 4 : ' quodcunque
Domino consecratur nullo modo

redimi possit aut motari ; nam si
quis motaverit, et quod motatum
est, et pro quo motatum, sancti-
ficabitur Domino.' Cf. Gen. i.
21, Vulg., ' omnem animam vi-
ventem et motabilem.' The con
fusion of ' o ' and ' u ' is common
in Irish MSS.
Trinales, three, 120, 176, 187.
' Trinalium lignorum ', De Loc.
SS. iii. 3.
Trisulcus, trifid. See 180 n.
Tuguriolum, St. Columba's cell,
106 »., 111, 135, 173, 179. The
form in Cod, A., as in De Loc.
SS. i. 2, and Conf. S. Patr. in
Bk. of Armagh, Gwynn, 45 b, is
tegoriolitm.
Tunica, the inner garment, 159.
V
Dter lactarius, a milk-bag, 150 11.
V
Vadum, the Irish Ath, ford, in
proper names, 128 n.
Vallum monasterii, the rath or
cashel, 95M., 143 «. See Ma
ceria.
Venilia unda, the flood tide, 150 n.
Vespertinalis missa, vespers,
183 n. ; vespertinales laudes,
id., 113 n.
Viaticum, provision for a journey;
hence, the Holy Eucharist given
to the dying, 49. See Ducange,
s. v. The same idea is suggested
by the antiphons, ' Placebo
Domino in regione vivorum,'
and ' Dirige, Domine Deus
mens, in conspectu tuo, viam
meam', in the Offices of the
Dead. From the latter anti-
phon comes our word Dirge.
Vita comite, while life lasts, 12811.,
147-
Vitreus, made of glass, 146 ; or
namented with glass (?), 167 n. ;
like glass, 139 n.

Xenium, (hiov, a ceremonial
present, 116 «., 121,

Q2

SCRIPTURE TEXTS

Gen. i. 21 (243) ; xviii. 10, 14 (212) ;
xxxiii. 11 (212); xxxviii. 18, 22
(233).
Ex. iii. 5(237) ; xxxiii. 8 (241).
Lev. xxvi. 19, 20 (222).
Num. xvi. 27 (241).
Deut. xvii. 6 (194) ; xix. 15 (224).
Josh. i. 5, 18 (193) ; xxiii. 14 (232).
1 Sam. xxv. 27 (212).
2 Sam. (2 Reg. Vulg.) xi. 11 (241).
1 Kings (3 Reg. Vulg.) ii. 2 (232);
vii. 30 (240).
2 Kings iv. 16 (212) ; x. 5 (225).
Job i. 21 (28) ; xxxi. 22 (205).
Ps. xxxiv. 10, 11 (233) ; xiv (206) ;
1. 19 (203) ; lxii. 3 (206) ; xci. 5
(228) ; cxlvii. 3 (199).
Prov. xv. 13 (232) ; xxii. 1 (190).
Is. xi. 6 (200); xlix. 23 (249).
Jer. iii. 22 ; viii. 11 (199) ; xxxi.
24 (200).
Dan. vi. 20 (232) ; ix. 21 (230).

4 Esdr. xvi. 63 (243).
St. Matt. ii. 1 (192) ; ix. 20 and
xiv. 36 (196) ; xii. 10 (220) ; xviii.
16 (224) ; xix. 5 (220) ; xix. 6
(220).
St. Mark ix. 22 (214).
St. Luke xxii. 15 (232).
St. John ii. 11 (211).
Acts xviii. 16 (200) ; xxvi. 16 (217).
Rom. ii. 14, 15 (203) ; vii. 2 (220).
1 Cor. iv. 20 (189) ; vi. 17 (194) ;
vii. 39 (220).
2 Cor. v. 16 (205) ; xii. 2 (208) ;
xiii. 1 (224).
Eph. vi. 13-17 (228).
1 Thess. v. 18 (28).
I Tim. iv. 4 (213) ; v. 4 (227).
2 Tim. iii. 8 (192. 239).
Heb. iv. 9 (232).
Rev. ii. 17 (217); vii. 14 (234);
xxii. 18, 19 (235).

ADDENDA, 1920
[For the notes signed ' C. P.' we are indebted to the Rev. Charles
Plummer.] Page 19. Cain Patraic also, and more commonly, means the
dues, &c, claimed by the see of Armagh. C. P.
Songs of the Bards. Fosbrooke supposed that the 'Irish
Howl ' was one survival of the funeral panegyrics of the Bards, and
the Trental another, or at least that St. Gregory substituted it for
the Bardicatio. British Monachism, ed. 1817, p. 296 n.
Page 24. Bannauem Taberniae. Bishop G. F. Browne thinks
that the best supported view is that St. Patrick was a native of
South Wales, that Bannaventa was the name of his village, and he
says that there are at least three places called Banwen in Glamor
ganshire. Connection between Churches of Britain and Ireland, in
Studies in Church History, S.P.C.K., 1919, p. 98. But I cannot
find any 'Banwen' in Bartholomew's Gazetteer, 1904.
Page 29, note 1. In my first edition (1894) this note continued,
after the first sentence, as follows : ' This fact is referred to by
Solinus in the third cent. (Polyhist. xxii), by Bede in the eighth
(H. E. i. 1), and by many other writers. The subject is fully
discussed, with catenae of quotations from earlier writers, in
Messingham, Florileg. Insulae SS. (1624) pp. 127-134, and in
Colgan, Tr. Th. p. 255. The credit usually assigned to St. Patrick
was given by some to Joseph of Arimathaea (Ussher, Wks. vi. 300).
According to Thompson (Nat. Hist, of Ireland, vol. iv. pp. 61-68),
the following reptiles are now found in Ireland : the common lizard,
Lacerta agilis, is common in suitable localities ; the harmless snake,
Natrix torquata, has often been introduced, but has no chance
against the prejudice of the Irish, or their jealousy for the credit of
St. Patrick ; the common frog, Rana temporaria, was introduced by
Dr. Guithers in 1699, by putting frog-spawn from England into
a ditch in Trinity College Park, from which the frogs spread into
many parts of Ireland, where they are now common. There is
a jocular similitude in Swift's " Considerations about maintaining
the Poor" where he says that " society-marks " (badges of insurance
offices on houses) "spread faster and farther than the colony of
frogs." (Wks. 1880, vol. ii. p. 132; see note.) Giraldus has a
chapter on a frog which was exhibited to vast numbers of people
near Waterford c. 1 179, and terribly alarmed the King of Ossory,
who regarded it as a most sure sign of coming calamities.
' Frogs have been seen in the island of Achill in modern times ;
the natterjack toad, Bufo calamita, is said to be indigenous in

246 ADDENDA
Kerry ; at least two kinds of water-newt, Lissotriton pundatus and
palmipes, are found in some localities ; the blindworm, viper, great
crested newt, and common toad, are not yet found in a wild state. '
On Irish soil exported as a remedy against serpents, see Notes
and Queries, loth Ser., iii. 328, 394. According to Trevisa's transla
tion of Higden's Poly chronicon, Ireland lacked ' wontes (moles) and
othere venemous bestes '. N. E. D., under ' Want ', sb.
Page 29. Shamrock. On ' The Shamrock in Literature ', see
N. Colgan, M.R.I.A., in the fournal of the Royal Society of Anti
quaries of Ireland, 5th Ser., vi. 21 1 and 349. His conclusions
are that from its first appearance in literature (1570) to nearly
1670, it appears solely as a bread-stuff or food-herb of the Irish,
probably only as a famine-food. The shamrock so used was
Trifolium pratense or T.repens, or both, and not later than 1682;
it was first used as a badge or emblem in 168 1. The Oxalis
acetosella was never used either as food or as a badge. T. repens
and T. minus are now in nearly equal favour as badges.
PAGE 35. On the Irish Erdamh, see Petrie, Round Towers,
pp. 437-444- C. P.
Page 39. ' the original founders of the monasteries.' Rather,
I would say, of the original stewards (maeir) appointed as the
custodians of these relics ; see Vitae SS. Hib. I. cxxiv ; Skene's
Celt. Scot. ii. 407-409, 411; O'Donovan's Hy Fiachrach, p. 40;
O'Donovan's Topographical Poems, pp. xix, Ixxii. The relics came
to be regarded as the property of these families, and when the
latter sank into poverty the relics came into the market. There
is an elaborate monograph on the Cathach of St. Columba by Prof.
Lawlor, in Proc. Royal Irish Acad., vol. xxxiii, Section C, No. 11
(1916) ; and one on the Domnach Airgid by him and Mr. E. C. R.
Armstrong, ib. vol. xxxiv, Section C, No. 7 (191 8), p. xiii, note 2.
See also Learning in Ireland in the Fifth Century, by Kuno
Meyer (1913). C. P.
Page 49, note 1. See also R. A. S. Macalister, The Memorial
Slabs ofClonmacnois, 1909. C. P.
Page 50, note 1. The following verses have been made about the
graves of the three saints :
Hic tres in Duno tumulo tumulantur in uno,
Brigida, Patricius, atque Columba pius. Polychron. v. 4. 7.
Three Saints one grave fill,
Patrick, Bridgit, Columkill.
Page 54, note 4. For other possible dedications to St. Columba
in England, see Arnold, Church Dedications, ii. 144 ff.
Page 55, note 1. Magnus O'Donnell's Life of Columba has been
published in Irish with translation by R. Henebry in vols, iii, iv,
v, ix, x of the Zeitschrift fiir Celtische Philologie; and separately
by O'Kalleher. (It is of course quite a late compilation.) C. P.
Page 55. 'now Cooladrummon.' I cannot remember where
I found this form of the word in 1894, nor have I now the means of

ADDENDA 247
consulting the books which I then used. Mr. Plummer writes as
follows :
' Culdreimne. The situation of this place is only approximately
known (between Drumcliff and Sligo), and there is no modern
place name which can be identified with it. But Cooldrevny cor
rectly represents the pronunciation of the Irish word, the m being
softened to v ; nor is the meaning of it clear. I cannot find Coola-
drummon in the townland index of Ireland. If it exists in the
right position it may be the site of Cuildreimne, but you cannot
derive the one name from the other ; Cooladrummon prob. = Cuil-
da-drommann, the angle of the two ridges (pi. of druim, a
ridge).' C. P.
Page 59, 1. 3. Accordingly, Adamnan always includes Iona in
Britain, while according to Bede's usage it is in ' Scottia ', i. e.
Ireland, though about sixty miles north. See Piummer's Bede,
ii. 186.
Page 68, add to the text : Some of the narratives in the third
book are based on a supposition that holy souls at the approach
or at the time of death were liable to conflicts with demons
endeavouring to carry them off, and that holy angels in such cases
came to their aid, and prevailed, though sometimes after belligera-
tiones long protracted. During St. Cuthbert's last illness in Fame,
he said to Herefrid, ' Never have my enemies, during all the time
I have abode in this island, assailed me with so many persecutions
as during these five days.' Bede, Vita S. C. xxxvii. In the 'St.
Cuthbert' window in York Minster, c. 1450, this scene is graphi
cally represented. The saint, mitred and nimbed, in his bed, is
assailed by four truculent-looking demons, red, green, white, and
brown. No angels are shown. Yorkshire Arch. Journal, iv. 351.
Pages 71-2, note. On the transformations of Irish proper names,
see Vitae SS. Hib. ii. 344-5. C. P.
Page 73. Aldfrith. A poem attributed to him, describing the
delights and blessings of Ireland, was translated from the Irish by
Dr. J. O'Donovan, and this English version is given in Dublin
Penny Journal, i. 94, and in Howorth's Golden Days, ii. 151. The
original Irish text is in Hardiman's Irish Minstrelsy, ii. 372. The
poem gives a charming account of Ireland in the seventh century.
Page 73. Irish Life of Adamnan. Now printed in Anecdota
from Irish MSS. ii. 10 ff. (1908). C. P.
Page 74. The Law of Adamnan, Cain Adamnain, has been
edited by Kuno Meyer, Oxford, 1905. C. P.
Page 74. On the change of Easter in Iona, see Piummer's Bede,
ii. 335 ; Adamnan induced the Northern Irish to accept it in or soon
after 692. Intr., p. lxxiii, Bede, H. E., lib. v, cap. 15.
Page 74, note 1. On Tara see Petrie in Trans. R.I. A. xviii,
where there is a plan showing all the existing remains, with
descriptions. There is nothing above ground, but the grass-grown
foundations of the great hall, the raths, &c, are distinctly visible.
Page 76. Diminutives. So in modern Scotch. The Scotsman
loves his ' wee drappie ', and his favourite poet sings, ' Ye . . . dainty

248 ADDENDA
damies, Wha by Castalia's wimplin' streamies, Lowp, sing, and
lave your pretty limbies '. Burns, To Dr. Blacklock.
PAGE 78. ad calcem. Life of Cainnech, edited separately and
presented to the Kilkenny Archaeological Society by the Marquis
of Ormonde, 1853. C. P.
Page 80. Keating's History, new and complete edition, with
Translation and Indices by David Comyn and R. S. Dinneen,
Irish Texts Society, 4 vols., 1902-14. C. P.
Page 80. Stowe Missal. Edited, with complete facsimile, by
Sir George F. Warner for H. B. S., 2 vols., 1906, 1915. C. P.
Page 88. Bine ? Biuc would give a good sense, dative of Bee,
little ; Feachna, the short. C. P. But MS. A. apparently has bine.
Page 193. belli. Mr. Plummer points out in his Bede, ii. 123,
that Devil's Water is not the same as Denisesburn, for a charter
cited by Raine mentions 'Ruleystal . . . inter Denisesburn et
Diuelis', and he says that in the fork between Rowley Water and
Devil's Water is a place called the Steel. The name of Denises
burn is lost, but it is probably to be identified with Rowley Water,
or a tributary thereof.
Page 193. Saxonia. Strictly speaking, only those parts occupied
by the Teutonic invading tribes. C. P.
Page 194. Mocumoie. The derivation given in the note is a
popular etymology, erroneous, though widely diffused : really maccu
(older moccu) is a single word meaning ' race ',' ' descendants ' ;
applied also to the territory ofthe tribe. C. P.
Page 197. bellum .-. . Ondemone. The annalists call it the battle
of Moin Doire Lothair. O'Donovan (Four Masters, i. 198, note),
alluding to this passage, says, 'Adamnan calls it the battle of
Moin mor.' I do not know what text of Adamnan O'Donovan
used. .Some verses cited by the Four Masters, ad loc, call the place
Moin mor Doire Lothair. Ondemone is probably a corruption
of (bellum) Mona more, battle of the great bog, but its locality has
not been fixed. C. P.
Page 198. Aido. Throughout you may take it for granted that
the forms of Irish words and names in the text of Adamnan are
old — considerably older than the averageMiddle-Irish forms— thus :
Aid, gen. Aido, old.
Aed(h), gen. Aed(h)o, middle.
Aodh, gen. Aodha, modern.
So Ferguso (p. 191) fox gen. of Fergus, is older than Fergusa. C. P.
Page 206. maceria. The reference to fortified farms and their
Italian designations may be cancelled as being doubtfully pertinent.
Page 209. Korkureti. More probably Dal Riadai, Dal, the
tribal territory, and Corca, the tribe, being practically equivalent.
Walsh, Ancient Place-names of Meath, ii. 11. C. P.
Page 211. Wood and Wattles. On these materials in England,
see Piummer's Bede, ii. 101, 102.
Page 211. Nemanidon Mocusogin. This is a very unintelligible
form. I am inclined to think the original reading was Nemani .i.

ADDENDA 249
Mocusogin, and that the scribe mechanically expanded .i. (id est)
into its Irish equivalent, idon. C. P.
Page 213. Hymnorum liber. Another MS. in the Franciscan
Convent, Merchants' Quay, Dublin. C. P.
Page 214. hininglas. Add to the note: ind, inn, in — del.
article : it can be aspirated, ati = water, and may be for an older
in. Stokes, Thesaurus Palaeo-hibernicus, ii. 277, suggests that
inglas = englas (or anglas), a name given to any thin drink such
as milk and water ; but as this word is explained to mean ' blue
water ', it comes to much the same thing. C. P.
PAGE 216. Snakes. See Piummer's Bede, ii. 10. Note that St.
Columba is not credited with driving snakes out of Iona, only with
rendering them harmless. If there were any snakes in Iona in his
time, they would probably be the naturally harmless snakes, Coluber
natrix, or the blindworm, Anguis fragilis.
Page 224. Plagues. See Piummer's Bede, ii. 194, 196.
Page 225. Nutritor and Nutricius. The former word un
doubtedly denotes foster-father, but there is some doubt as to the
latter. Nutricius is ' foster-father ' in classical Latin, and several
times in the Vulgate, e. g. ' Et erunt reges nutritii tui ', Isa. xlix. 23.
But in D'Arnis' Lexicon (Migne), Nutricius is explained as
'Alumnus; ecolier, nourisson. A. SS.' So that Adamnan, who
uses nutritor, quoting Cummian, p. 166, certainly meaning foster-
father, may, when writing his own words, p. 146, have used
nutricius in the sense of foster-son.
Page 226. flagello. Eddius relates how the queen of King Oswin,
after her ill-treatment of St. Wilfrid, was ' nocte arrepta a daemone,
sicut uxor Pilati, multis flagellis fatigata'. Vita S. Wilfr., cap. 39.
Fosbrooke states that 'two Jesuits clad as Angels applied the
discipline to Mr. Henry Fairfax one night at St. Omer's in the
seventeenth century'. Brit. Monachi sm, 11. Perhaps some of
the earlier flagellations may have been well-intentioned frauds of
this description.
Page 232. The incident of the horse weeping at his master's
death is found in Irish secular tradition. Cuchullin's horse, the
Liath Macha, did the like. Cf. Book of Leinster, Preface, p. 29 ;
Rev. Celt. iii. 182-3. C. P.
Page 236. S.S. These letters may stand for Sandissimi.
Page 236. the Librarian . . . at Schaffhausen. Again I have to
thank this gentleman, who has most kindly replied to repeated
inquiries about readings in MS. A., enclosing facsimiles of words in
question.

INDEX

In this index references marked by an asterisk, thus, 51*, mean that the
word or subject occurs more than once in the page indicated. The initials
S. C. stand for St. Columba, and St. Cuthbert, S. P. for St. Patrick. A refer
ence to a note often includes the same to the text.

Aba, river, 108, 203.
Abba, father, 3 «.
Abbot, his status, 36.
Aberdeen Breviary, 8, 23 n., 72, 78,
194.
Absolution, 108 ; deferred, 68.
Abyssinian library, 44.
Academy, Royal Irish, 8, 38K., 56B.,
80.
'Accepta licentia', the formula,
197.
Ached-bou, 133, 214.
Achill island, 245.
Acta SS. Bollandiana, 6, 29 n., 71 «.,
78*, 79, 85«.,87k., U4«.,I22».,
15in-i 171 ««., 172 «., 17s ».,
\tln., 188 n., 189, 211, 214, 216,
228, 229, 234; Onomast., 212.
Acta SS. Hib. ex Cod. Salm., 8, 3 1 n.,
46""-, 57. 77> J96» 2o8> 2I4. 225,
241, 242.
Acta SS. Hib. : see Vitae SS. Colgan,
Plummer, Surius,
Acta SS. Ord. Ben., 78*, 236.
Adam, 149, 194.
Adamnan, abbot, 71 ; borrowed
ideas, 1 89 ; changed some convic
tions, 73 ; death of, 13, 74 ; dedi
cations to, 76 ; dim. of Adam,
194 ; friendship with Aldfrith,
224* ; going out for timber, &c,
72 ; his one allusion to S. P., 23K.;
how he obtained information, 193;
Irish life of, 73 ; later teaching
of, 74, 75, 76 ; law of exempting
women, 215; his Latin style, 72,
76, 77 n. ; lineage of, 71, 83;
might have known many who
knew S. C, 184, 233 ; name of,

71, 194; persuaded Northern
Irish to change of Easter, 247 ;
his place in history, 75 ; received
oral traditions, 87, 92, 95, 96, 113,
114, 117, 121, 129,131, 167, 177,
184, 185*; shrines of, 75 n. ;
sojourns in Ireland, 74 ; soul-
friend of King Finnachta, 72;
succeeded as abbot, 70 ; his sum
mary as to S. C, 66 ; supposed
early life of, 72 ; visited Aldfrith,
224; visited Northumbrian Court,
73 ; works ascribed to, 76 ; Life
of S. C, 5, 78, 80, 83 n. ; descrip
tions of it, 75 ; when written, 73 ;
where written, 194; origin and
character of the work, 85 ; MSS.
of, 6 ; printed edd. of, 6, 7 ;
De Locis Sanctis, 42 «., 73, 75, 76,
78,85?;., 189,191,195, 199, 215,
225. 234. 235, 239i 24°. 243*-
Adder-stone, 16 n.
Adjectival forms, 77.
Advocates' Library, 8*.
Adzehead, 20*, 37 n.
Aedh, son of Ainmire, king, 18, 53,
64, 83, 197, 198, 227 ; son of
Brendan, 54; Dubh, 205.
Aedhan, 64*, 226 ; 'ordination' of,
as king, 197.
Aengus de matribus SS. Hib., 199 :
see Oingusius.
Aesculapius, 225.
Aethelred, charters of, 189.
Aethicus, 235.
Aged heathen, 110.
Aghaboe, 65, 214, 227.
Agonotheta, 227.
Agriculture, 44.

INDEX

25i

Aidan, king, 98* ; sons of, 98 ; or
dained king, 163, 167; St., 62,
70 «., 202 ; arrival at Lindisfarne,
13; bp. of Ferns, 214.
Aidanus, fil. Fergnoi, 88, 106 ; fil.
Gabrani, 120, 197; fil. Libir,
169.
Aido (Aedho), genitive of Aedh,
191, 198, 248.
Aidus Commanus, 198 ; Draigniche,
88, 101, 199; fil. Ainmurech, 120 ;
fil. Colcen, 89; Niger, in, 112,
205 ; rex, 99, 197 ; Slane, 100,
198*, 199.
Ailbine, river, 128, 211.
Ailcey hill, 222.
Ailenus, 116.
Ainmire, king, 53, 64, 83, 98, 197,
210.
Ainmorius : see Ainmire.
Ainmuireg, 168.
Airchartdan, 173, 229.
Airghialla, 207.
Airtheara, 207.
Airthrago insula, 160, 223.
Ait-Chambas Art-muirchol, 1 29, 2 1 5.
Aithche, 134, 214.
Alba (Scotland), 60, 64*, 203.
Alban, St., 196.
Albati, 229.
Albei, S., Acta, 241.
Albinus : see Alcuin.
Alcluith, 399.
Alcuin, 49, 72, 226, 235.
Alcuini Opp., 49 n.
Alder wood, 216.
Aldfrith, king, 73, 162, 224*, 247.
Alexandria, 33.
Alexandrian Church, 40, 41.
Alfonsus, Petrus, 199.
Alfred, king, appearing of St. Cuth
bert to, 193; tr. of Baeda, 78, 197.
Alitherus abbas, 95, 1 95.
'All-heal', 16.
Alnus, a boat, 142, 216.
Alpes Peninae, 187, 235.
Alphabetical hymn, 27.
Alps, 69; Pennine, 187, 235.
Altus Prosator, 65, 67 n., 78, 194*,
214, 238.
Alumni, 93 ; of S. C, 176, 178.
Alumnus, foster-son, 231.
Alypius the grammarian, 217.
Amalarius, De Off. Eccl., 78, 208.

Ambis for ambabus, 215.
Ambrose, St., Hexaem., 237.
Ambrosian hymn, 234; rite, 31 n.
Amen, 20.
Amhalgaidh, 83.
Amhra Coluimcille, 18, 64*, 194,
205.
Ammonite, 63 n.
Amphibalus, a cloak, 95, 130, 195.
Amphibalus, St., 196.
Analecta Boilandiana, 22 «., 23 «.,
38«., 73K., 78, 79, 81, 82, 208,
214.
Ananias, 124, 141.
Anchorites, 33, 185.
Ancient Laws of Ireland, 78, 225 ;
Liturgies, 81.
Anderson, Dr., Scotland, &c, 34 «.,
39»., 44, 56»., 78, 237.'
Anecdota from Irish MSS., 247.
Angel, Book of, 231.
Angelic visions, 163-80 ; visita
tions, 187.
Angels, coming to meet departing
soul of S. C, 164, 179; seen at
a conference with S. C, 164, 174 ;
seen in company with S. C, 163*,
164, 166, 167, 174; vision of, 65.
Angels' hill : see Colliculus ; songs,
233-
Angles of Northumbria, 62.
Anglesey, invasion of, 16.
Anglican Communion, 68.
Anguinum (ovum), 16, 63 n.
Anguis fragilis, 249.
Angus, Sculptured Monuments of,
206.
Anmchara, soul-friend, 42, 64, 65,
72.
Anna, prioress, 59.
Annals, MS., 74 n. : see Tighernach;
Ulster, 38 «., 53, 66 n., 78, 190,
192, 215, 224, 239.
Anrot, i8«.
Anscombe, Alfred, Obitof S.C., 50K.
Anselm, abp., 41.
Anteriores, 117, 169, 207, 227.
Anthony, St., 72, 79 ; bell of, 39.
Antiochus, consul, 21 n.
Antiphonary of Bangor, 6, 49«.,
78, 189, 213.
Antrim Co., 24, 192, 209.
Apicius, 238.
Aporicum, Stagnum, 149.

252

INDEX

Aporum Stagnum, 137.
Apples made sweet, 123, 127.
Aquatilis bestia, 216.
Aralanensis, 29.
Aran, antiquities of, 45 n., 46 n. ;
farewell to, 67 ; School of, 45,
48-
Archaeologia, 44«., 78, 189, 222.
Architecture, first Christian, resem
bled pagan, 34.
Arculfus, 78.
Aid Ceannachte, 128, 212.
Ard na Muir chon, 198.
Ardnamurchan, 69, 198, 215.
Argyle, 198* ; abbot in, 194.
Argyleshire, 204, 223.
Argyll, Duke of, on Iona, 60 mi.,
68«., 75> 78> 231-
Arimathaea, Joseph of, 245.
Aries, 29M., 229 ; Council of, 208.
Armagh, 26, 29, 30, 35 : abbots of,
227 ; burning of, 239 ; Book of, ed.
Gwynn, passim ; dues to see of,
245 ; and Down, contention be
tween, 27.
Armenia, 211.
Armour, spiritual, 228.
Armstrong, E. C. R., 246.
Arnold, Church Dedications, 246.
Arnold, Tho., 82.
Arochdan, 229.
Arran, 223.
Art, burial of, 206.
Artbrananus, 89, no, 217.
Artchain, 65, in, 205, 228.
Artdaib Muirchol, 132.
Artdamuirchol, 100, 198.
Arturius, 98, 99,
Ascensio Brenaind, 225.
Asciciput, 37 11.
Ashburnham Place Library, So.
Assandun, battle of, 193.
Ath Cliath, ' hurdle ford ', the ancient
name of Dublin, 212.
Athlone, 195.
Attraction of letter 't', 72 ».
Aubin, St., 72.
Auctarium in Symeon, 200.
Audible service, 206.
Augustine, St., 201 ; Ep. ad Casu-
lanum, 201 ; De Civitate Dei,
218.
Aulus Gellius, 216.
Austin canonesses, 220.

Auxerre, 25, 217.
Avoyn, 20;.
Awe, Loch, 203.
Axles, 221.

Baedae Opp., 81 ; cura Smith, 78*,
79 ; Hist. Plummer, 78 ; Hist.
Stevenson, 79 ; Hist. Abb. Uirem.,
201 ; Hist. Eccl., 54 «., 58 «.,
66»., 74, 191*, 193*, 195, 199,
201, 202, 203, 209, 212, 218*,
224, 226*, 235*, 237, 245, 247 ;
H. E., Alfred's transl. of, 197 ;
Vita S. Cuthb., 38 «., 40, 66 «., 73,
79, 193, 197, 212, 228, 229, 230,
234, 247 : see Bede and Plum
mer.
Baedan, king, S3.
Baertius, 85 ».
Baile Atha Cliath, 212.
Baitanus, 88, 103, 104; fil. maic
Ere, 99, 200 ; nepos Niath Taloirc,
88, 103, 200.
Baithanus, 140.
Baithene, St., 69, 70, 71, 83, 93,
94, 95, 105, 108, 112, 113, 115,
170, 200, 205, 217, 226, 231 ;
abbot, 69 ; alumnus of S. C, 93 ;
festival of, 161 ; head of peniten
tial house, 203 ; to finish MS. of
Psalter, 183; with S. C. at his
death, 66.
Baitheneus fil. Beognoi, 123, 134,
335-
Baker, 171.
Bally castle, 196.
Bandea, a river, 218.
Bangor (co. Down), School of, 47,
48, 49 «.*, 65, 71, 209 : see Anti-
phonary.
Bangors, four, 49 «.
Bann, river, 201, 210*.
Bannatyne Club, 7.
Bannauem Taberniae, 24, 245 ; Ban-
naventa, Banwen, ib.
Banshee, 230.
Baptism of converts, 41, 145, 173 ;
of infants, 41, 131 ; ofoldman,4i,
no.
Barbarous island, 14, 21 ; languages,
189.
Barbour, Brus, 207.
Bard, derivation of word, 1 7 n.

INDEX

253

Bardicatio, 245.
BaVds, 14, 15*; account of, 17;
Christian, 15, 18*, 19 ; Irish, 116,
207 ; in Irish Church, 207 ; S. C.
probably one, 67 ; latest survivals
of, 19 ; office of, hereditary, 18 ;
proposed abolition of, 18 ; pro
tection of, 64 ; retainers of, 18 n. ;
songs of, 245 ; unpopularity of, 18.
Baring-Gould, Lives of SS., 8.
Barn-church, 26, 27.
Baronius, 72.
Bartholomew's Gazetteer, 245.
Basil of Seleucia, 217.
Basnage, ed. of Canisii Thesaurus, 7.
Bassns, consul, 21 n.
Baster, Opuscula, 220.
Bed, dying in, unusual, 198.
Bede, 50, 72, 75, 77, 245 ; death of,
66 ; miracles recorded by, 68 ;
regarded Celtic tongues as bar
barous, 189 ; silence of as to S. P.
and St. Boniface, 23 ; when a
child, 224: see Baedae Opp.
Bedford, Tho., 82.
'Beehive' cells, 33, 34, 35, 46,
61, 200, 234,
Beleth, Div. Off., 223.
Belfast Lough, 49 s., 229.
Belfries, 20.
Belgium, 29 ».
Bell, as a parting gift, 49 ; for mid
night office, 183 ; for prayer, 157,
172.
Bells, 197, 217, 228 ; ecclesiastical,
38. 39 »•
Bell-shrines, 38, 39 n.
Bell-towers, 35.
' Beloved disciple ', 48.
Benchor, 209.
• Benedict, St., Rule of, 67.
Benedictio, bread, &c, blessed, 212.
Benediction before journeys, Sec, 95,
99, 100, 101, 102, 108, 109.
Benen, 19.
Benignus (or Benen), 30.
Beogna, 196.
Berachus, 102.
Berachus, St., 234.
Berchan, 231*.
Berchanus Mesloen, 178, 231.
Beret, sent to ravage Ireland, 224*.
Bernicia, 193.
Bevers, 217.

Bibera (cup), 217.
Bile, king of the Picts, 73.
Bilge-hole, 133, 213.
Bilge-water, 133, 213, 241, 242.
Bine or Biuc ?, 88, 248.
Bingham, Orig. Eccl., 211.
Bior, river, 53.
Birr, 225*.
Birra, gen. of Bior or Bir, 171, 225.
Bishop, every town had its own,
32 n. ; necessary, 205, 208 ; who
concealed his rank, 117.
Bishops,'essential, 15 ; preponderance
of, 32 n. ; subject to Abbots and
Abbesses, 36 ; subordination of,
35. 30. 36, 52-
Blacklock, Dr., 248.
Blacksmith, pious, 170.
Blackwater, river in Meath, 215.
Bleeding at the nose cured, 124, 136.
Blessing a chariot, 221.
Blod-wite, 219.
Bo, Boo, or Bos : see Boyle.
Boar, wild, struck dead, 124, 141.
Boar hounds, 142.
Boats, &c, names for, 222.
Bobbio, 229,
Bodily cure sought, 106.
Boend fluvius : see Boyne.
Boisil,- death of, 66.
Bollandists : see Acta SS. Boll.
Bona, Rerum Lit. lib. I, 230.
Boniface, 4, 190.
Boniface, St., 23, 232.
Book, of the Angel, 231 ; of Com
mon Prayer, 213 ; of Kilkenny,
79, 80 ; of Trin. Coll., Dublin,
44»., 236; submerged, 88, 105;
that fell into water, 201.
Book leaf, incorruptible, 212.
Books, and their shrines, 39 ; im
mersed and uninjured, 130, 131 ;
resisting water and fire, 213; sunk
in water to cure cattle, 213 ; used
in churches and for study, 43.
Bothies, 52, 53.
Boyle, river, 116, 124, 137, 207.
Boyne, river, 52, 130, 213, 233.
Bradshaw : see Henry.
Braid, valley of, 24.
Brambach, Hulfsbiichlein, 7, 78.
Branduib fil. Meilgi, 226.
Bread, blessed, 212.
Brecan's Cauldron, 196.

254

INDEX

Breccus, 'speckled' or 'freckled',
198.
Brehon, derivation of word, 19 n.
Brehon Law Office, 19 n. ; iaws, 36 ;
laws revised, 26*.
Brehons, 15*, 18; account of, 19;
went on as Christians, 19.
Brenainns, two, 52.
Brenann, 83.
Brendan, father of Aedh, 54 ; St.,
74 n., 221, 242 ; of Birr, St., 56,
°3. 363*, 166, 171, 201, 225 ; mass
on his day, 171 ; soui carried by
angels, 171 ; vision of, 166; of
Clonfert, ' the Navigator', 45,47,
65, 202, 225.
Brenden filii, 226.
Brendenus, 122.
Brendenus Mocualti, 106, 175, 202.
Bresail, 226.
Bretwalda, 193.
Breviaries, 28.
Bridget, St., 30, 42, 50K., 221, 246;
Life of, 242 ; Translation of, 24 «.
Bridget, St., of Sweden, 30 n.
Brigidae Acta, 79.
Brigittine nuns, 30 n.
Brigg in Lincolnshire, 222.
Bright, E. E. Ch. Hist, 227.
Britain and Ireland (Scotia) com.
pared, 13 ; distinguished, 154,
220; called the Roman island,
14 ; North, 24 ; languages of, 203.
Britannia, 179.
Britanniae, 22, 24, 191.
Britanniae sive Britannicum Dorsum,
144, 156, 161, 173, 204, 224.
British Channel, 203, 217; Church,
20 ; colony in Spain, 235 ; Mu
seum, 6* ; North, traditions, 47 ;
stranger, 190.
Brito, 86, 163, 168, 227.
Britons, 31*; founders of second
Order of SS., 31.
Broichan, a Druid, 63*, 125, 145,
146, 147, 225 ; foster-father (or
foster-son ?) of King Brude, 146,
225 ; his sickness and recovery,
146.
Broichanus magus, 217.
Broken thigh cured, 129, 212.
Bronbachal, 100, 198.
Bronze, coating iron with, 144, 217.
Bronze basin, 1 20.

Browne, abp., 29; bp. G.F., 245.
Brude, king of the Picts, 57, 62*,
62 «., 64, 65, 90, 156, 192, 203,
206; conversion of, 62, 63, 218;
his fortified place, 113, 146, 148 ;
honours S.C., 148 ; took fright at
Vespers, 114.
Bruide, son of Bile, friend of Adam
nan, 72.
Brussels, Burgundian Library, 78 ;
Royal Library, 79 ; MS. at, 23.
Brussels Life of St. Cainnech, 196.
Buchanan, 202.
Buckingham, 78.
Buddhist ideas, 33.
Bufo calamita, 245.
Buildings, early, 33, 34.
Buite, St., 50.
Burial of the dead, 42, 142, 152,
353. 154; ofS.C, 186.
Burial-grounds, 34.
Burns quoted, 248.
Burntisland, 81.
Bury, Prof. J.B., Life of St. Patrick,
10, 13«., 21, 24 ?z., 25, 28 nn.,
78.
Bush, river, 210.
Busta, Bustum., 234.
Butler, Alban, Lives of SS., 8, 71 n.
Caballus, 232.
Cadwalla, king (Cation), 91*, 92,
193*.
Caelestine I, pope, 2372., 25, 26;
sent Palladius to Ireland, 21.
Caelestine legend, 23 n., 25.
Caelestius, 21.
Caesar, De Bello Civili, 221 ; De
Bello Gallico, 15, 16 n.
Cailraighe, tribe, 228.
Cailtanus, 88, 108, 203.
Cain, 105.
Cain Adamnain, Adamnan's law,
215, 247.
Cain Patraic, 19, 245.
Cainle, 206 ; mons, 135 ; regio, 114.
Cainnech, Caindech, or Canice, St.,
52«., 53,62,65,88,96,97, 123*,
333, 334, 196*, 202, 214*, 217;
Life of, 78, 248 ; staff of, 68.
Cainnechus Mocu Dalon, 175.
Cairn burial, 204.
Cairns erected, no, 240.
Cairnaan, 226.

INDEX

255

Cairaech, 19.
Caius, fragment of, 226.
Calcutta, 8.
Caledonian Canal, 217.
Caledonians, 197.
Calendar, rectification of, 40 «. ; of
Oengus : see Stokes, Whitley.
Calgach, oak-wood of, 194.
Cally, in Perthshire, 217.
Calpurnius, 24.
Cambas, Camas, Camus, 121, 210.
Cambrensis Eversus, 29 «. ,42, 517Z.,
79-
Campagna (Italy), 206, 248.
Campulns Bovis, 133.
Campus Albus, synod of, 194 ;
Breg, 114, 154, 206; Eilni, 121,
210; Lunge, 65, 108, 115, 134,
152, 154, 170, 203, 228.
Camusnangel, 215.
Cana of Galilee, 126.
Canaba, 237.
Candida Casa, 47.
Canice, St. : see Cainnech.
Canisii, Lect. Antiq., 230 ; Thesau
rus, 79.
Canisius, text of, 6*, 7.
Cannechi, S., Vita, 208.
Canny, 209.
Canon ofthe Mass, 229.
Canon law (Roman), 36.
Canonical Hours, 37, 38.
Canticum Scotticum (Lorica S. P.),
81.
Cantyre (Caput Regionis), 107,
202.
Capgrave, 8.
Capitula, from Cod. B., 210, 225.
Captive delivered, 146.
Captives returned, 224.
Captivity, danger of, 218.
Caput Regionis, 107, 202.
Car without linch-pins, 125, 158.
Carautius, 204.
Carbury, 198.
Cardinal points, 207, 223.
Caredig, or Ceretic, 22.
Carleton, Traits, &c, 17??.', 29 «.,
. 79. 237, 243-
Carlisle, 197 ; couplet at, 230.
Carnarvonshire, 49 n.
Carn-lamha, 205.
Carpenter's son, 48.
Carthage, fourth Council of, 208.

Cashel, the place, 206.
Cashels (stone walls), 33, 34, 61,
195,206, 217.
Cassian, John, 33 n.
Castalia's streams, 248.
Casulanum, Ep. ad, 202.
Cathach (Battle-book), 39, 66 «.,
246.
Cathaeir Mor, king, 83 n.
Cation rex (Cadwalla), 91, 92, 193.
Cattle blessed, 124, 137, 138.
Caupallus, a boat, 216.
Caxton, Golden Legend, 197.
Ceatt, Cet, or Keth, 198.
Cei Stagnum, 136.
Celebrate, invitation to, 208.
Celebration (canonical hours), 31 n.
Celebration (mass) by bishop alone,
118, 20S.
Cella Magna Deathrib, 31, 210.
Cellrois, 117, 207.
Celtic Christianity, 62 ; Easter, 70 ;
eccl. art, 62; legends, 216, 227;
monasteries, construction in, and
plan of, 33, 210 ; monasteries,
resembled those of Egypt and
Syria, 34 ; Society, 79 ; tongues,
189 ; tonsure, 20 «., 37 n.
Celts, Christianized, 75.
Cenannus (Kells), 54.
Cenel Cairbre, 198.
Cenfaeladh, 198.
Ceolfrid, 72, 224.
Cethirn, 209.
Chairs, three, in heaven, 69.
Chalmers, Caledonia, 222 ; Monu
ments of Angus, 206.
Chariots, 98, 158, 206, 2r4, 221.
Charlemagne, 49.
Charms, 42.
Charybdis Brecani, 97, 196.
Chasuble (secular), 37.
Childbirth, help in, 155.
Chorepiscopi, 32 n.
Christian Fathers, silence about
Druids in, 17.
Christian Year, 222.
Christianity , Anglo-Saxon, 13; Early
British, 13* ; ofN. of England, 62.
Christians, pie-Patrician, 20.
Christmas, 41.
Chronicon Hyense, 61 n. ; Scotorum,
35 n-, £6w., 79, 80, 235.
Church of England, 68 n.

256

INDEX

Church Services, 37.
Churches, consecration of, 20.
Cian, Cianachta, 212.
Ciaran, St., of Clonmacnoise, 45,
48> 52«-, 53,69, 95, 395; kinds
of, 73 ; relics of, 49 : see Kiaran.
Ciborium, 195.
Cicero, In Pisonem, 192.
Cill-Cleithe, ' hurdle church ', 211.
Cinel Conaill, 51.
Cisalpine Gaul, 161.
Cladh an Diseart, 67 n.
Clan Neill, 55.
Clan system, 14, 15.
Clansmen followed leaders, 14 n.,
27.
Clay used in building, 35 n.
Clement XII, pope, 71 n.
Clementine Liturgy, 211.
Clerical habit, in, 219.
Clew Bay, 225.
Clocca, 183, 197.
Clochur filiorum Daimeni, 129, 212.
Cloc-teach or Campanile, 230.
Clogher, 211, 212.
Clonard, 65, 193, 195, 202, 21S;
School of, 46, 48, 52, 53.
Clonfert, School of, 47.
Cloni Finchoil, 184, 233.
Clonmacnoise, 65, 95, 195*, 202,
225, 227 ; Great Cross at, 48, 49,
213; inscriptions at, 49 »., 246;
pilgrims to, 49 ; School of, 48.
Clonoense coenobium, 95.
Cloud, pestilential, 128.
Cluainboirenn, 212.
Cluain-Eraird, 193.
Clyde, firth of, 62.
Cnoc Angel : see Colliculus ; Mor,
202 ; Orain, 230.
Coble (caupallus), 142.
Cobthach, 226.
Codex, Bruxellensis, 79 ; Marshianus
vel Marshii vel ' Kilkenniensis ',
6, 79, 80, 201, 202, 214, 225,233.
Coemgen (Kevin).
Coenobites, origin of, 33.
Coenobitic life, 14.
Cohesion of words in MSS., 190.
Coire Salchain, 118, 209.
Colchu, a teacher, 49.
Colcius, in; vel Colgius, fil. Aido
Draigniche, 88, 101, 102, 199*;
or Colgius, son of Cellach, 204.

Cold, exposure to, 230.
Coldingham, 230.
Coleraine, 201, 210*; battle of, 65.
Colgan, John, 67, 77, 85 «., 87 ».,
122 «., 153 n., 171ml., 172 «.,
175 n., 177 n.; i8o»., 189*,
211, 216*, 228, 229; Acta
SS., 17 »., 70, 71 «., 79, 195, 199,
200, 208, 211, 214, 218, 225, 227,
231, 233, 234; Offices of St.
Patrick recorded by, 23W. ; Trias
Thaumaturga, 6, 7*, 8, 20 n.,
29*, 30, 46 »., 48, 51 n., 55, 58M.,
66, 67, 68 n., 79, 82*, 194, 195*,
201, 202, 205, 218, 220, 221*,
227, 228, 231, 232, 234, 238,
245 ; Vita Secunda, 7, 232*.
Colgan, N., on the Shamrock, 246.
Colgion, Cellaig, Irish genitives,
204.
Colgion fil. Cellaig, dioecesis, in.
Colgius fil. Aido Draigniche, 177.
Colgu fil. Cellachi, 130, 173.
Coll island, 203.
Collation of MSS., 201.
Colliculus Angelorum, 159, 175,
222, 230*.
Colman, 83, 99 ; abbot, 49 ; St.,
SS, 97.
Colman Canis fil. Aileni, 89, 116,
207.
Colmanellus, 196.
Colmanus Mocu Loigse, 229 ; epi
scopus, Mocusailni, 97, 196.
Colmonell, 196.
Colombs, two, 52 n.
Colonsay, Colosus insula, 60, 115,
139, 206.
Colophons, 235, 236.
Coluber natrix, 249.
' Colum ' in Irish names, 190.
Colum (dove), variants of name,
51 re.; Gobha, 228; mac Criin-
thain, 218.
Columb Crag, 93, 194.
Columba, a common name, 43
sometimes a woman's name, 190
— St., acquired Irish, British, Gaul
ish, and Roman traditions, 47, 52
angel appears to his'mother, 163
165 ; to himself in the church
181 ; angelic visions, 163-80
appears in a vision to king Os
wald, 91 ; arrival in Scotland.

INDEX

257

13 ; ascetic practices of, 67, 68 n.,
87; attendants, 229; birth and
childhood, 50 ; blesses Iona, the
bain, &c, 180, 181 ; the monas
tery, 182; blesses xenia, 207;
blessing as he died, 184; buriai
of, 66 re., 186, 246 ; burial and
enshrinement of, 235 ; his Cathach,
39, 56 «., 246 ; his cell, 201*, 204 ;
chair in heaven for, 69 ; closing
scenes of his life, 66, 180-8;
his coming to Iona, 60 ; compared
to St. Paul, 208 ; his confessor
and penance, 56 ; at convention
of Drumceatt, 64 «. ; date of his
death, 232 ; death revealed in
Ireland, 184 ; dedications to, 62,
76, 246 ; discourse for his day, 8 ;
drove demons into sea, 228 ; dy
ing prostrate before the altar, 184 ;
education of, 51 ; emaciation of,
68 re. ; energy, 87; eve of, 223;
eve and festival of, 161 ; excom
municated, 56, 166; family friends
of, 209,210; his farewell blessing
on Iona, 143 ; figure of, 6 ; first
in for midnight office, 184 ; his
first monasteries, 53 ; folklore of
his birth, 50 re. ; followed exam
ple of St. Paul, 117; fully recog
nized three orders, 208 ; gift of
prophecy, 92 ; grievances of, 55 ;
handsome features, Sec, 67 ; hand
writing of (?), 39 ; the hem of his
.garment, 95, 123; 'house' of,
54 ; hymn attributed to, 60 ; in
structed by an angel, 167 ; in
tended pilgrimages, 54 ; invoked,
223; Irish names of, 190; his
Irish origin, 13 ; in Iona, 68 ; in
Ireland, 50 ; Kells granted to,
198 ; his last days and death,
180-6 ; his later monasteries,
54; Latin and Irish poems of, 67 ;
leaves Ireland (Scotia) for Britain,
87 ; light at his birth, 163, 166;
lineage of, 83 ; his loud voice,
113, 142, 205 ; had leave to settle
in Iona, 197 ; Lives of, 7, 8, 9,
63 ; MSS. in his writing, 159, 160 ;
many prophecies of, not recorded,
122 ; his miracles, 90-3, 123-
162 ; his missions, 5, 50 ; his
monastery at Iona, 5 ; his mother,

165 : see Eithne ; names of 1 2 dis
ciples of, 226; ordained deacon,
51 ; ordained priest, 52, 53 ; out
of sightof Ireland, 61 ; parentage,
mission, and character, 87 ; patron
of Iona, 85, 86, 162, 164, 181,
186, 187; his penance, 60; per
haps a Bard, 18, 67 ; personal
characteristics, 87; personal re
collections of him, 70 ; pillow-
stone of, 67 re., 233 ; poems, Irish,
in praise of, 92 ; pointed out grave
of St. Patrick, 27 ; prophecies of,
87-122, 190, 191 ; prophecy con
cerning King Aidan, 168; pro
phecies of his birth, 30* ; prophe
tic gifts, 92, 122 ; reasons for
leaving Ireland, 191 ; reception at
Clonmacnoise, 95 ; recorded events
of his life, 63 ; reflections on his
death, 187; religious opinions,
67; returns to Ulster, 53; royal
lineage, 51; ' Rule ' of, 67 ; a
scholar, 45* ; belonged to second
Order, 32 ; his ' second sight ',
92, 97, 98, 100, 107, 116, 117,
333, 140, 353, 155, 357, 169, 170,
172, 173, 219; his ship's stores,
150; shrine and relics of, 75 re.,
76 ; shrine of, and its migrations,
235; significance of name, 85;
soul met by angels, 1 79 ; sonl-
friend to Aedhan, 64; to many,
65 ; successors of, 69 ; summary
of miracles, 90 ; supposed auto
graph of, 56 11. ; supposed reasons
lor leaving Ireland, 55, 60; taken
in a wagon to visit the workmen,
143, 180; transcribes a Psalter,
66, 183 ; Translation, feast of,
23re. ; twelve followers of, 58,
208 ; used a chariot, 206 ; vipers
made harmless by, 143, 180, 249 ;
visited by Angel at mass, 181 ;
visited Clonmacnoise, 49, 95 ;
visits a dying man, 168 ; washing
feet, 66; withstood by two bishops,
61 ; works the pumps, 133 ; writ
ings of, 67 : see Columcille.
Columba, St., of Tir-da-glas, 46 n.
Columbae Acta, in Colgan, T.T.,
79-
Columba s, St., ' House , 54.
Columb's, St., Wells, 54.

258

INDEX

Columban mission, 61 ; monasteries,
64, 220*; monks expelled, 76;
usages, 37.
Columbans, Irish, 74.
Columbanus, 100, 190* ; mission of,
58 ; Penitential of, 202 ; fil.
Beognai, 97, 123, 134, 135, 196,
214; or Colman Mor, 198; fil.
Echudi, 158 ; Moculoigse, bishop,
163, 229*; soul carried by angels,
172 ; Nepos Briuni, 135 ; a pea
sant, 124, 137, 138.
Columbus Coilriginus, a blacksmith,
163, 170, 228 ; fil. Aidi, 122.
Columcille, explanation of name,
51 ; Gospel of (Kells, Book of),
35 n. ; Great and Smaller Gospels
of, 55 ; lands of, 73 ; popular
name of S. C, 50«., 51.
Column of fire, 185 ; of light on
head of S. C, 164, 175.
Comarb or Co-arb, 15.
Combat, mortal, 116.
Comets, lights like, on heads of
saints, 230, 231.
Comgall, St., 49«., 52 re., 53, 62,
120, 163, 172, 175, 209*, 210;
founder of Bangor and friend of
S. C, 50 n., 65* ; abbas : see Mocu
Aridi.
Comgill, Conallus fil., 98.
Commanus, 177.
Compline not mentioned, 38.
Comyn, David, 248.
Conall Cernach, 229 ; Mac Com-
ghail, king or lord of British Dal-
riads, 57«., 58, 64, 98, 197;
Gulban, 51, 83; son of Suibhne,
198, 199.
Conallus, episcopus, 121, 210; fil.
Comgill, 9S ; fil. Domnaill, 140.
Concelebration, 38, 20S.
Conceptions, miraculous, 50 n.
Condictum, synod, converse, 174,
209, 223.
Confession, 41 ; and penance, 151 ;
coram omnibus, 108, 206 ; how
practised, 203; public, 6S, 115;
of S. P., 81, 243.
Conflicts of angels with demons,
163, 169*, 171, 172, 247.
Conin, 226.
Conjugal duties upheld by S. C, 355.
Connachtarum regio, 151.

Connaught, 26 ; and Ulster bound
ary, 55 ; apostle of, 30 ; deriva
tion, 195 ; men of, 219 ; West,
81.
Consecration of bishops, 41 ; of
kings, 227.
Consecration Prayer, 213.
Consonants weakened and lost, 71 re.
Constantinople, 21.
Constantius, 218.
Contulus, punt-pole (?), 216.
Cooke, Rev. E. A., on St. Columba,
9-
Cooldrevny {now Cooladrummon ?),
246, 247 ; battle of, 55, 58, 87,
97, 391, 197.
Coracle, portable, 204.
Coracles or Currachs, 61, 157, 160*,
221, 222.
Corb Aulam, 225.
Corca Raidhe, 209, 248.
Core, 19.
Cork, county, 242.
Corkaree, 209.
Cormac, 65; abbot, &c, 88, 97;
Nepos Lethani, 125, 156, 157,
I58> 375, 396.
Corman, 70 re.
Corn, rapid growth of, 327.
Cornwall, early Christianity in, 13.
Coroticus, Epistle on, 22, 23, 26,
27, 79, 81.
Corpreus, St., 227.
Corry, in Morvern, 209.
Corryvrechan, 196.
Cothraige, 24.
Cotton MSS., 86 »., 204.
Cottonian Library, 6.
Courcy, John de, 190.
Cow-house or pasture, 232.
Cows, 135, 137,138.
Craig Phadrick, 62 re., 218.
Craignure, 240.
Crane, arrival and kind treatment
of, 119 ; tame, 231.
Cranes, 209.
Craticula lignea, 104 re.
Creatura, 213.
Creeran, Loch, 209.
Cremorne, 207.
Cretata legends, 216.
Crimthann (fox), 51.
Cristilia, 209.
Croagh Patrick, 29.

INDEX

259

Crogreth, Stagnum, 118, 209.
Cronan, a bishop, 117; the poet,
89, 116.
Cronanus, 208 ; fil. Baithani, 140.
Crosiers, 20*, 41, 233.
Cross, base for, 208, 232 ; set in
mill-stone, 182 ; sign of, 42, 214,
223.
Crosses, memorial, 208 ; places
named from, 209 ; sculptured, 62,
67 re. : see Crux.
Crow staked, 150.
Cruithnechanus, presb., fosterer of
S. C, 51*, 166, 225.
Cruithnii, 98, 197*, 203, 209*, 225.
Cruthini, 121.
Cruthinicus gente, in.
Crux Adamnani, 223.
Cuchullin's horse, 249.
Cuilfedha, battle of, 65.
Cuimine Ailbhe or Cummian (1),
abbot of Iona, 71, 72, 83, 222,
227; Life of St. Columba, 7, 66,
68, 71, 79; anachronism, 58;
passages from, 91 and passim ;
referred to, 191, 222, 226*, 227,
229*, 230*, 233, 234, 235, 240, 249.
Cuirtri, 71, 83.
Cui ri Erin, 60, 61.
Culdees' Cell, 61 re., 227.
Culedrebina, Culdreimhne : see Cool-
drevny.
Culerathin, 121, 210.
Culmen ecclesiae, 232.
Cumdach, 66 re.
Cummian (1) : see Cuimine.
Cummian (2), abbot of Durrow (?),
his letter to Seghine, 23, 70, 71 ;
his Penitential, 201.
Cures of diseases, 1 30. s
Curnan, 55.
Currachs : see Coracles.
Curzon, Monast. of the Levant, 44 re.
Cusack, M. F., Tripartite, 2 2«.,
29«., 79, 82.
Cuthbert, St., 40, 66, 193, 212, 225,
227, 228, 234; anonymous Life
of, 73, 79, 393; apparition of,
iqV his gnest-house, 219; Life
by Bede, see Baedae Vita S. C. ;
light at his birth, 225; Lives of,
-5 ¦ Metr. Life of, reft, on p. 269;
'^yinginthesea, 230*; vexed
by demons, 247 ; vision of, 197.

Cuthbert, abbot of Jarrow, 66.
Cuuleilne, 112, 205.
Cyanaea capillata, 220.
Cycles, chronological, 40, 41.
D'Achery, Spicilegium, 79, 202, 205.
Dagaeus, St., 234.
Daimenus, 129.
Dair Magh ('Oak Plain'), 54, 95,
'95-
Daire Calgaich, 53, 153, 194; Col-
uimcille, 194.
Dairi, 19.
Daisy Hill, 64.
Dal, tribal territory, 248.
Dal-Araidhe, 65, 197, 205, 209.
Dalian Forghaill, 18, 64.
Dalriada, 64, 83; British, 57«.,
58; Scottish, 197.
Dalriadan colonists, 61 ; colony, 57 ;
kings, 227 ; settlement, 224.
Dalriads, 64, 65, 248.
Dam Inis, 56.
Damhliag, 61.
Dari's law, 74 re.
D'Arnis, Lexicon, 249.
David, bishop, 31 ; St., 46, 50, 214.
David, tomb of, 195.
Deacon, 126.
Dearmach (Dair Magh), 54.
Death, diverse expressions for, 235 ;
raising from, 144.
Deaths of evil men, 124*, 138.
Decapitation, 114.
Decian persecution, 33.
Decurio, 22, 24.
Dee, river, 49 n.
Deer staked, 149.
Deira, 193.
Delcros, 128, 211.
Delvin, river, 211.
Demon in milk-pail, 123, 135.
Demoniacal agencies permitted that
they may be brought to nought,
135, 336, 147-
Demons at deathbed, 247.
Dempster, Tho., Menol. Scot., 79,
218.
Denisesburn, 193*, 248.
Deprecatio, 229.
Derby, 9.
Dermitus rex, 100.
Derricke, Image of Ireland, 19 re.,
79, 196.

260

INDEX

Derry, i6re., 54, 64, 69, 194*, 211,
219, 242 ; church in, 53 re. ; found
ed, 53 ; St. Columba's praise of,
53; county, 198, 215.
Desert in the sea, 88, 97, 103, 156,
196.
Deunan, 72 re.
Dens in adiutorium, 69.
Devenish, 56.
Devil's Water, 193, 248.
Devilston, 193.
Dialis, use of term, 194, 211.
Diarmaid, king's son, 48.
Diarmait, king, 54, 55, 56, 57, 198.
Dicta Patritii, 28. .
Diet., Chr.Ant., 235 ; Chr. Biog., 9,
25 re., 29 re., 48, 69 re., 70 nn., 82 ;
English Dialect,i6 re. ; of Hymno-
logy, 2o«., 67 re. ; Nat. Biog.,
9, 19 re. ; New English (Murray
and others), 81, 246.
Dictionaries, 79.
Digby, Kenelm, 2 2 re.
Dilston, 193.
Diminutives, 76 re., 189, 190, 194,
209, 215, 247; -a.n and -og, 72 re.
Dinneen, R. S., 248.
Diocesan episcopacy, 229.
Dioceses in Ireland not episcopal,
but monastic, 204.
Diocletian's persecution, 33.
Diodoius, Hist., 17 re.
Dioecesis, province (?), in."
Diormit (1 ), attendant on S. C, 66,
68 «., 69*, 98, 100, 104, 106, 107,
130, 343, 144, 171, 181*, 184*,
197, 226, 233; sick, 124, 144.
Diormit (2), an Irishman, 169.
Diormit (3), tenax vir, 122.
Diormitius fil. Cerbulis, in.
Dirge, 243.
Discipline, monastic, 36.
Discretionary power, 202.
Diseases healed, 1 30.
Disert, 67 re.
Diuni cella, 108, 203.
Dives tenax, 122, 124, 137.
Dobur Artbranani, no, 204.
Docus, 31.
Dog (house dog), 149.
Dogs, Celtic, 24 re.
Dolatae, 222.
Dbllinger, Dr., 190.
Domelch, 63.

Domhangart, 83 re.
Domhnach Airgid, 39, 239, 246.
Domhnall (Domnallus fil. Aidi),
king, 83, 98, 99, 323, 397, 198,
230.
Domingartus, 98, 99.
Dominica nox, eve of Sunday, 182.
Domnail Brecco, 168.
Domnill, nepos Ainmureg, 168.
Donaghpatrick, 26.
Donegal, 29, 71 ; light seen in, 185.
Donnan, St., 231.
Dorbhene, scribe and abbot, 6, 236 ;
his adjuration, 188.
Dorsum Britanniae, no, 123; Cete
(Drumceatt, q.vi), 99, 120, 123,
130, 198; Tomme, 185, 234.
Down, county, 47, 192, 193, 211,
227.
Downpatrick, 27, 50 re. , 66 re., 246.
Doxology (' saecnlorum '), 217, 235.
Dress, 36.
Driving, 221.
Drought, great, 159, 221.
Druid, conflicts with, 125, 146, 147 ;
derivations of word, 16 re. ; term
applied to Christ, 56 re.
Druids, 14, 15, 37, 48, 192, 207 ;
accounts of, 16 ; authority of,
partly passed to abbots and
bishops, 20 ; catena of reff. to,
1 7 re. ; confounded, 132; could
not become Christians, 19 ; in dis
guise, 61 ; their objects of wor
ship, 17; their occupations, 17;
opposition of, 62, 63, 145 ; survi
vals of their influence, 1 7 ; took
fright at Vespers, 114; warnings
by, 20, 26.
Drum-Alban, 204.
Drumceatt, convention at, 18, 64 re.,
130, 197, 198, 221 ; cures at, 123,
130 : see Dorsum Cete.
Drumcliff, 247.
Duach, 71, 83.
Dubhduaibseach (bell of S. C), 228.
Dnblithach, 19.
Dublin, 19 re., 29, 49 re., 53, 200 ;
ancient and modern names of,
212 ; Irish Arch, and Celtic Soe,
80, 81 ; Franciscan Convent, 249 ;
Roy. Ir. Acad., i8re., 2572., 27?*.,
38 «., 42 re., 56 «., 80, 81*, 246;
Primate Marsh's Library, 79;

INDEX

261

Penny Journal, 247 ; Trin. Coll.,
Book of, 44 re., 2 1 3 ; Trin. Coll. ,
Library of, 22, 37 re., 80, 213,
239; Trin. Coll., MS. at, 78;
Park, 245.
Dublin, county, 211, 220.
Ducange, Glossarium, 78, 79, 195*,
196, 202, 20S, 210, 214*, 216,
237, 239, 221, 223, 232, 243.
Dug-out boat (alnus), 142, 159, 222.
Dnibh-linn, ' black pool,' 212.
Duiithech, 61.
Dumbarton, 24 re., 199.
Dtin Breatan, 199 ; Ceithirn, 209,
210 ; -I, or Dunii, 59, 61 re., 202.
Dunbhuirg, 61 «., 211.
Dunblesque, 215.
Duncane, Mr., 200.
Dunraven, Lord, Irish Architecture,
34«., 46«., 79.
Dunum, Downpatrick, 246.
Duonim Ager Rivorum, 125, 148,
218.
Durham, besieged, 200 ; Bp. Cosin 's
Library, 82; bishopric of, 216;
monk of, 193; relic of St. Amphi
balus at, 196 ; relics of St. Co
lumba at, 66 n.
Durham, county, 209.
Durrow, 16 «., 65, 70, 107, 195, 1
201, 202, 220, 228, 242 ; Book of
35, 37«-, 43, 44»-> 54, 55, 235
building at, 69 ; cross at, 54
founded, 54 : see Roborei Campus.
T)uum,for duorum, 218.
Duum Rus Rivulorum, 148.
Eadgar, charters of, 1S9.
Ealdfrith, 73.
Eanach, 194.
Eanfrid, king, 193.
East Oriel or Uriel, 207.
Easter, 31*, 380, 232; Communion
at, 152 ; controversy concerning,
40, 70, 71*, 73* ; controversy,
slight allusion to, 73, 96 ; dis
agreement about, 196; Irish, 194;
Roman, 75, 223.
Easter Eve, 202.
Easters, various, 32.
Ecclesiastical law, in.
Ecfridi bellum, 162.
Ecgfrith, king, 73, 197; ravaged
Ireland, 224; slain by Picts, 224.

Echodius Buide, 98, 99 ; fil. Dom-
nail, 99 ; Find, 98, 99 ; Laib, 98,
197.
Echoid, 226.
Ecolmkill (Iona), 59 re.
Eddius, Vita S. Wilfridi, 66 re., 79,
209, 212, 231, 233, 249.
Edwin, king, 193.
Eecholuim-cille (Iona), 59 re.
Eel-nets, 218.
Egea insula, 176, 231.
Egypt, loan-word from, 195 ; monas
ticism in, 33*.
Eigor Egg isle, 231.
Eilean na Naomh, 61, 200, 214,
234. 237-
Eire, Erin, Eriu, 191.
'Eireland', 191.
Eirros Domno, 97, 397.
Eithne or Ethnea, mother of S. C,
83, 87, 165, 208.
Elements, eucharistic, 231; the four,
211.
Elena (insula), 64, 136, 214, 215,
234-
Elias propheta, 145.
Eliseus propheta, 145.
Elizabeth, queen, 19.
Ellacombe, Church Bells of Devon,
39 re.
Elmham, Hist. Mon. S. Aug., 226.
Ellington, ed. of Ussher, 82.
Elton, Origins of English History,
i6re., 30, 79, 220.
Elveshou, 222.
Ember Weeks, 202.
Emchath,soulof, met by angels, 164,
3 73*-
Employments, monastic, 42.
Enagh, 194.
Enanus fil. Gruth, 89, 114, 192.
Enda, St., 45, 47, 48, 200.
Endeus, 226.
England, diocesan and parochial
system in, 14; early Christianity
in, 13; plagues in, 224; reptiles
in, 29 re.
English law, 19; pale, 19.
Enna, St., 225.
Enna Boghaine, 83.
Eochaidh, 83 re.
Eochodius Buidhe, 227.
Ephesus, Council of, 21.
Epidemic, 212.

262

INDEX

Episcopacy essential, 36.
Episcopal rite, 208.
Erca, 83*, 197.
Ercus, a poacher, 89, 115.
Erdamh (side-house), 35, 35 «., 233 ,
239, 246.
Erin and Alba, pacification between,
64.
Ernaan or Ernanus, presbyter, avun
culus S. C, 118, 208, 226.
Ernan, 83.
Ernanus fil. Glasderci, 101.
Erne, Lough, 56.
Ernene, 234.
Emene Mocufirroide, second sight
by, 1S5.
Emeneus fil. Craseni, 88, 95, 96,
196.
Erraid isle, 206, 223.
Erris, in Mayo, 197.
Eructavit cor meum, 63.
Esox, pike or salmon, 136, 215, 218.
Etchen, bp., legendary story of, 52.
Ethica insula, 64, 102, 351, 200*;
terra, 113, 135, 170, 203: see
Tiree.
Ethicum pelagus, 103, 200.
Ethiopic satchel, 44.
Ethnea : see Eithne.
Eucharist, celebration of, 37 ; terms
for, 38.
Eulogia, gift, 212; holy bread, 212*;
holy bread, taken in refectory, 214.
Eunan, same as Adamnan, 7 1 re.
Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., 226, 235.
Evangelistic symbols, 43*.
Evangelns, 206.
Eve, a daughter of, 155.
Evening mass (Vespers), 183.
Excommunication, 31.
Exedra : see Erdamh.
Exequiae, 42.
Exequies, three days of, 386.
Expliciunt, 230.
Fabulator, 235.
Fachtni, Gallanus fil., m.
Faction-fights, monastic, 57.
Faelan, 83,
Faggots, shipload of, 127.
Failbhe, abbot, 71, 72, 83, 92, 96,
194.
Fair Head, 196.
Fairfax, Mr. H., 249.

Fairy hills, 216, 222.
Fall from a height, 173.
Famen, 225, 229.
Farewell to Aran, 67 ; to the breth
ren, I S3.
Fame Island, 219, 247.
Farney, 207.
Faroe isles, 220.
Fast dispensed with for guest, 106.
Fast-days, 41.
Fasting, 68.
Fasts relaxed, 36, 106; Wed. and
Fr., 201.
Father, aged, to be supported, 152.
Feabhal or Foyle, river, 53, 2 1 9, 234.
Feather bed, 301.
Fechno (Feachna), 226, 24S.
Fechnus Bine, 88; sapiens, 10S.
Fechreg nepotes, 177.
Fechureg, 301, 199.
Fedhlim (Fedilmithns), 83, 87.
Fedhlimidh, 51.
Feller, abW, 2 2 re.
Fenda fluvius, 185, 234.
Fentenus fil. Aido, 124, 144.
Feradach, 69, 83, 124, 139.
Ferdomnach, 78, 235.
Fergna Brit, abbot, 70, 83 re. . see
Virgnous.
Fergnous, 184.
Fergus, 39, 87.
Fergus Cennfada, 83, 87 ; Mor, 83 re.
Ferguso, 87, 191, 248.
Ferguson, Lady, Life of Bp. Reeves
by, 9, 21 re.
Fergusson, Hist. Archit., 34 re.
Feria, meanings of, 199.
Ferns, bp. of, 214.
Ferreolus, 185, 234.
Ferrum (weapon), 217.
Fiacc, St., Hymn of, 24, 25, 230.
Fiachna, 83.
Fields, work in, 195.
Filial obligations, 219.
Filius Nauis, 87.
Fina, 73.
Finanus, an anchorite, 121.
Finbarr, Findbarr, Finnio, or Fin
nian, of Moville, bp., 45, 47, 50,
53, 55, 58> J93, 2", 226.
Finchale, 81.
Findbar, bp., 90, 126, 193, 211.
Findchanus, plebeius, 127; presbyter,
in*.

INDEX

263

Findluganus, 140, 215.
Findmaige, 213.
Finlagan, St., 215.
Finn, river, 185, 234.
Finnachta, king, 73* ; the Festive,
72*.
Finnens (Finnians), two, 52 re.
Finnian, 225; St., 163, 167; St.,
lands of, 73 ; St., of Clonard, 46,
47*, 5°, 52*, 53»-, 393, 2°2, 226.
Finnianus, 226.
Finnio, St., vision of, 167, 226.
Finnloga, 215.
F'intan, St., 88, 194, 195*; visits
Iona, 93, 95.
Fintan, St., of Dunblesque, 215.
Fintenus fil. Aido, sick, 144.
Fionn or Albus, 71.
Fir Club moss, 16 re.
Fir Li, tribe, 201.
Firbolgs, 197. ,
Fire, in the kitchen, 201.
First to die after S. C. came to Iona,
169.
Fish, a great, 124, 136.
Fishes, draughts of, 124, 136.
Fishing in river, vision while, 185.
Fish-pools, 185, 234.
Flambard, Ralph, bp., 227.
Fland, king, 49.
Flann, Fina mac Ossa, 73>
Flava pestis, 224.
Fleming, Collectanea Sacra, 201.
Flintshire, 49 re.
Florida benedictio, 215.
Flounders, 60 re.
Fluminales piscinae, 234.
Foirtgimus, 135.
Folklore, 50 re. ; pagan, 63 re.
Forbes, Bishop A. P., 7, 75, 80.
Forcus, 98, 197.
Fordun, 72.
Forth, firth of, 62.
Fortunate Isles, 45.
Fosbrooke, British Monachism, 245,
249.
Fosterage, 51, 63, 69, 73, 101, 146,
225 ; literary, 233.
Founder's kin, 35.
Four Masters, Annals, 79, 81, 194,
206, 224*, 226, 248.
Four years added to the thirty years
of S. C. in Iona, 179.
Fowler, J. T., edd. of Adamnan by,

7, 10 ; translation by, 8.
Foyle or Feabhal, river, 53,219, 234.
Fraction, Eucharistic, 208.
Fractured hip, 123, 129, 212.
Fragrance from tombs, 205.
France, southern, bps. in, 32 re.
Franciscans, 80*.
Franks, 31 ; pagan laws of, 19 re.
Freckled king, 198.
Freeman, E. A., Life and Letters,
36 re. ; Norman Conquest, 80.
Freising MS., 6.
Fridian, bp., 48.
Frigidianus, bp., 48.
Frogs, 220, 245.
Frowde, Henry, 8.
Frozen seas, 220.
Funeral feast, 207.
Gabhran, 197.
Gabrani, Aidanus fil., 120; genus,
138.
Gaedhil, 203.
Galgacus, 194.
Galian, 229.
Gall, St., Library of, 6.
Gallanus fil. Fachtni, 89, in, 204*.
Gallican Church, 195 ; Liturgies,
81, 229 ; rite, 31 re.
Gallicia, 235.
Galloway, 47.
Galway Bay, 45.
Gardener, 102.
Gartan, 50.
Gartnaidh, king, 63.
Garveloch isles, 214.
Gates open of their own accord, 125*,
148.
Gaul, 22,41; alleged sojourn of S. P.
in, 24 re. ; bards in, 17 ; Cisalpine,
161 ; Cisalpine and Transalpine,
187; Druids of, 15, 16; early
monachism in, 33 ; Greek in,
42 re. ; intercourse with, 202 ;
western, 24.
Gaulish sailors, 107.
Gemmanns, instructor of S. C, 51,
141, 216.
Genealogical Table, 83.
Genereus, Saxo, 171.
Gennesaret. Lake of, 218.
Gens Loerni, 223.
Geona cohors, no, 203.
Gergenna, 214.

264

INDEX

Germans, mission to, 58.
Germanus, St., 25*, 147, 217; fin
ger of, 218 ; Life of, ib.
Geyer, Adamnanus, 77 re.
Giant's Sconce, 210.
Gildas, St., 31; 'Corslet 'of, 194;
De excidio, 221.
Gillas, 31.
Gintech, 83.
Giraldus Cambrensis, Topog. Hib.,
39»., 44«., 77, 79, 80, 195, 209,
221, 245.
Girdle, as a token, 53; of a captive,
152.
Glamorganshire, 245.
Glas Naoidhen (Glasnevin), 53.
Glasdercus, 101, 199.
Glass drinking-cup, 146.
Glastonbury, early Christianity in,
33-
Glen More, 240 ; More nan Albin,
62 ; Urquhart, 229.
Glencolumbcille, 228.
Glendalough, 48, 54.
Glossae Saxonicae, 214.
Godric, St., 80, 81, 230.
Gold, use of, in MSS., 44.
Gonon, Benedict, 8.
Good woman, her soul taken to hea
ven, 171.
Goose, boiled, 234.
Goreus til. Aidani, 119, 209.
Gospel, at Mass, 175; read outside
church (?), 230.
Gospels, MS. of, 39 ; of St. Patrick,
239-
Gowry, 209.
Graecisms, 239.
Grampian Hills, 204.
Granary, 182.
Gratianus Lucius, 79.
Grazacham, 28.
Greco-Latin, 77.
Greek, 42*, 72, 77 re. ; Easter, 40 re. ;
letters used, 189, 190; loan
words, 389 ; vowels confused, 190.
Gregory, the Great, 189; Trental
of, 245 ; the Thirteenth, 40 re. ; of
Tours, 211.
Grill, 200.
Grillaan, 226.
Guaire, 209.
Guest-house, 35, 151 ; of monastery,
body of S. C. taken into, 186.

Guest-room of a house, 149.
Guithers, Dr., 245.
Gnnna isle, 203.
Gwynn : see Armagh, Book of.
' Hac in nocte ', 228*.
Hackness, 197.
Haddan and Stubbs, Councils, &c,
20, 20 re., 22 «., 24 «., 27 ««.,
28«., 67, 80, 226, 235.
Hadmiald, 229.
Hand rotting, 205.
Hand-bells, 33, 39.
Hardiman,8i ; Irish Minstrelsy, 247;
note by, 219.
Hardy, Descriptive Catalogue, 7, 8.
Hare Island, 48.
Harris, Walter, 82.
Harvesting monks, 112.
Hatfield, Yks., 193.
Hauritorium, 199.
Headings of chapters, 191.
Healy, Dr., Insula SS., 9, 24 re.,
27*, 28 re., 31, 46 re., 48, 49 re.,
67«., 69 «., 80, 232.
Hebraism, 232.
Hebrew, 42, 72 ; term in, for ' East ',
207 ; for a ' present ', 212.
Hebrides, 207, 238.
Hector Boethius, 70 re.
Heliodorus, 206.
Hem of garment of S. C, 95, 123,
130.
Henebry, R., 246.
Hennessy, W. M., 78, 79, 82 ; trans
lations by, 8*.
Henry Bradshaw Soe, 6, 38re., 5 2 re.,
60, 65 re., 67 re., 68 »., 78," 80*,
89, 213, 214, 248.
Heptarchy, 75.
Hercules, 216.
Hereditary succession, 1 5 re.
Herefrid, 247.
Hermathena, 236.^
Hermitages, 65, 185 ; in the sea, 88,
97, io3, 356, 196.
Hermits, 32, 33; their cells, 67 re.
Heteromala, 196.
Heylin, Hist, of Sabbath, 199.
Hezekias, alter, 231.
Hi, Irish for in, 225, 240.
Hibernia, 90, 93, 95, 100*, 102 ;
older forms of name, 192.
Hiberno-Latin, 77.

INDEX

265

Hildmer, 212.
Hill, little, overlooking the monas
tery, 1S2.
Hinba Island, 47, 64, 65, 104, 118,
140, 163, 167, 175, 176, 185, 200,
215, 234-
Hinmglas, 133, 213, 249.
Historians of Scotland, 7, 80.
Hogan, Onom. Goedel., 215.
Hole, Tour in Ireland, 200.
Holland, 220.
Holy bread, 128.
Holy Ghost, descent of, on S. C,
164, 176.
Holy water, 49, 128, 129, 130, 136.
Homer, 240.
Homily, 230.
Honoratus, St., 25*.
Horse, his farewell to S. C, 1S2,
232 ; weeping, 66, 249.
Horse-flesh eaten, 88, 104 ; grilled
in a wood, 104.
Hospitality, 36.
Hospitium, 219.
Howorth, Golden Days, 247.
Hubner, Insc. Chr., 204.
Hugo de St. Victor, 208.
Hull, museum at, 222.
Hurdle, construction, 127, 212; ford,
128.
Huyshe, Wentworth, 8, 80, 206,
233-
Hy, (1) Iona, 190, 194; (2) prefix,
now O', 194.
Hy-Neill, northern, 57, 65, 83, 197,
209 ; southern, 83 re., 198.
Hymns A. and M., 28«., 80, 213,
234-
Hymn-book in writing of S. C, 131.
Hymnorum liber, 213, 249.
Hyth, regio, 200.
I, the letter, 88, 105, 201.
Iarannan, 234.
Iceland, 220.
Icolrokill (Iona), 59 re.
Ictian Sea, 203.
Idon (id est), 249.
Idulorum cultura, 17.
Ilea insula, 139, 215.
Illuminations, 43, 44.
Incest, sin of, 104.
Indairthir, 169, 227.
Indulgence for visitor, 200.

Infant baptism on the road, 131.
Inis Ainghin, 4S.
Injunction to secrecy, 181.
Inkhoms, 43, 201 ; one upset, 88,
106.
Innes, Civil and Eccl. Hist., 201.
Innocent VIII, 216.
Innocentes, 141, 215.
In te Christe, 67.
Intercession, special, 98, 104.
Interpreters, no, 144, 145, 217*.
Inverness, 62, 216.
Invocation of S.C., 160, 161; of
Saints, 68 re.
Invulnerable cowl, 140.
Iogenanus, brother of King Aidan,
167 ; presbyter, 131.
Iona, 47, 200*, 202* ; agriculture in,
59 ; Aldfrith educated at, 73 ;
Austin canonesses in, 220 ; Bene
dictine foundations at, 76 ; blessed
by S. C, 143; burial of a king at,
73; change of Easter in, 247;
churches near, 64 ; Columban
church first planted in, 61 ; com
ing of St. Columba to, 50 ; con
stitution, &e, of, 45 re. ; dates
connected with, 76 ; decline of,
54 ; description of, 58 ; donation
of, to S. C, 58, 218; earthworks
in, 60 ; favourite burial-place of
kings, 232 ; festival at, 63 ; fish-
supply at, 60 re. ; forms of name,
194; freed from deadly serpents,
124, 143 ; future fame of, 182 ;
a good centre for missions, 58 ;
granted or confirmed to S. C, 50,
62; guest-house, 219; head of a
federation (dioecesis), 238 ; house
hold of,45; included inBritain,also
in Ireland, 247 ; Irish settlers in,
62 ; a late form of the name, 210 ;
Life of S. C. written in, not in
Ireland, 192 ; local features al
luded to by Adamnan, 60; the
Machar in, 59, 205, 216, 222,
229*, 231 ; mediaeval ruins in,
60 ; monastery thrice rebuilt, 76 ;
no trace of S. C.'s monastery at,
35; the name, 389, 210; a new
centre, 13 ; nunnery church, 59 re. ;
ports of, 214; present ruins at,
76 ; primacy of, 192,220; ravaged
by Danes, 76 ; St. Mary's Ch. in,

266

INDEX

67 re. ; schism in, 76; site of an
cient monastery questioned, 60 ;
the Sound of, 59*, 6ore., 96, 106*,
109, 196, 200; Sound of, shouting
over, and visible signals, 201 ; stone
for a table in, 60 ; topography of,
7, 58-60, 60 re. ; usages of, 40 ;
various forms of word, 58 re. ; visit
to, 9; the western plain, 143, 174.
Ireland, Aldfrith's poem on, 247 ;
ancient laws of, 17, 19 re. ; at first
purely Celtic, 14; called the 'bar
barous island', 14; clan system
in, 14; climate of, 238; early
Christianity in, 13* ; early mona
chism in,33*; English lawthrough-
outin, 19; fosterage in, 225 ; four
laws of, 74 re. ; how far affected by
Roman civilization, 13 re. ; reptiles
in, 245 ; Royal Soe. of Antiqua
ries of, 246 ; (Scotia) and Britain,
great plague in, 161.
Irenaeus, 211, 235.
Irish, called Scoti, 20 re. ; speak of
' the Saxon ', 193 ; welcomed pro
phecies, 190 ; Annals, 205 ; Arch.
and Celtic Society, 7 ; bishop, 90 :
captives restored, 73 ; Christian
ity from Britain, 50; Church,
211, 214, 229; Clergy, indepen
dent of Rome, 41 re. ; cloak, 196 ;
colony in North Britain, 57 ; soil,
246 ; form of Greek letters, 189 ;
genitives, 191, 19S, 204; Greek
writing, 42 re. ; hagiology, 230;
'howl', 245; laws, epitome of,
76 ; Life of Adamnan, 73 ; of St.
Columba, 8 : see O'Donnell, 196 ;
MSS., 187, 190, 235, 243, &c. ;
virtues of, 212; MS. Series, 80;
names disguised, 71M., 247,
248; paganism attacked, 62 ; pat
terns, 235; Picts: see Picts;
poems, 196; their virtues, 92;
Rolls Series, 78 ; Text Society,
248 ; Saints, their familiarity with
birds, 209 ; Lives of, 197, 200,
202; secular tradition, 249; synods,
223; worked in ivory, 219.
Ironical saying, 70.
Isell Ciarain, 48.
Isicins, 215.
Islands free from noxious creatures,
216, 217; sites for monasteries^.

Islay, 214, 215*.
Isle of Saints, 200 ; St. Patiick's, 26.
Isles ofthe sea, 161.
Istria, 202.
Italian designations, 206, 248.
Italy, 107, 161, 206, 224; bishops in,
32 re. ; Transalpine, 387; Upper,
235-
Jacob's pillow, 233.
James I, 21, 194.
Jannes and Jambres, 192.
J arrow, 66 ; plague at, 2 24.
Jelly-fish, 220.
Jeremiah, St. Jerome on, 21 re.
Jerome, St., 21 re., 81, 206, 227 ; De
Viris Illustr., 235 ; Epistles, 206.
Jerusalem, 54, 70, 191, 234; pil
grimage to, 220.
Jesuits clad as angels, 249.
Jewish ideas, 33.
Jews, 57.
Jocelin, 189, 205 ; Vita Kentegerni,
80 ; Vita S. P., 23, 28*, 80, 189,
205. .
Jocular expressions, 201.
Johannes fil. Conallis fil. Domnallis,
124, 138, 140.
John IV, pope, 70.
John Evangelist, St., 69, 145.
Jonah, 189.
Jones the Pedlar, 240.
Jordan, river, 91.
Joseph, nutritor Domini, 225.
Josephus, 239 ; silence of, as to
Christians, 23.
Joshua, son of Nun, 91.
Joyce, Dr. P. W., 27, 80* ; Geog.
of Counties, ^3 re. ; Short Hist, of
Ireland, 15 re., 17 re. , 43 «., 49 re.,
tfin., 190, 218, 225, 230,. 231 ;
on Irish names, 192, 195, 196,
206, 209, 211, 212, 218, 230, 234.
Julian (and Mearns), Diet. Hymnol. ,
80.
Jura, 196.
Jurisdiction territorial, not diocesan,
36-
Justin Martyr, 211.
Justus, a deacon, 48.
Kailli-au-inde, 144, 217.
Kannechi Vita, 80, 208 : see Cain
nech.

INDEX

267

Xeating, Dr. Geoffrey, Hist. Ireland,
8o, 219, 248.
Keble quoted, 18 re., 222.
Keelan, the widow, 50 «., 74 re.
Keller, 228; Bilder, *&c, 43 re.
Kells, 225, 226; antiquities of, 55;
Book of, 35 re., 43*, 44».*, 55,
233 ; grant of, to S.C., 55, 198 ;
monastery of, 44.
Kelly, Matthew, 79 (Cambrensis
Eversus).
Kelly, publisher, 8.
Kenlis (Kells), ' Head Fort,' 54.
Kennedy's Vergil, 200.
Kenneth (Cainnech), 196.
Kentigern, St., 80*.
Kerrera, 223.
Kerry, 246.
Kevin, St., 48, 49 ; his ' Kitchen', 54.
Kiaran, St., of Clonmacnoise, 225,
233; ofSaiger,St., 233:«eCiaran.
Kierani, S., Vita, 202, 208.
Kilchattan, 224.
Kilclay, near Clogher, 211.
Kilcleagh, in Westmeath, 211.
Kilclief, in co. Down, 211.
Kilcolmonell, 196.
Kildare, 16 re., 30, 242; Gospels of,
44 re.
Kildonan, 231.
Kilkenny, Archaeol. Society of, 248 ;
Book of (Codex Marshii, q. v.), 6.
Kilkenny's, the two, 196.
Killeany, 45.
Kilmore, Cella magna, 31 ; in Ros
common, 210.
Kilnamartry, 242.
Kilns, 35, 61, 208, 237.
Kilpatrick, Old, 24 re.
Kinel Owen, 83 re.
Kinell Conaill, 83.
King's County, 54, 225.
Kintyre, 57 ; Mull of, 205.
Kircher, Mcndus Subterr., 221.
Kishes, 212.
Kiss, salutation by, 106, 166.
Kitchen, 35.
Korkureti, 119, 209, 234, 248.
Kylrose, 207.
Kyrie eleeson, 28, 41.
Lacerta agilis, 245.
Laeghaire, son of Niall, king, 19, 26,
62*, 83, 229.

Laginenses zw/Lagini, 94, 124, 141,
195, 208.
Laginensium provincia, 141 re., 172,
229.
Laginorum partis fluvius, 131.
Laighen, a spear, 195, 229.
Laisran, the gardener, 88, 102 ; son
of Feradach, abbot, 69, 70, 83,
100, 107, 198.
Laisranus Mocumoie (hortulanus),
88, 102.
Laisre of Leighlin, St., 194.
Laisren or Molaise, St., 56, 60, 64.
Laitirus, 218.
Lambay insula, 220: see Rechrea.
Lambton, ' Worm' of, 216.
Lam-dess, 140, 215.
Lammas fair, 225.
Land sown late yields early harvest,
123,127.
Lanfranc, abp., 41.
Languages, 203.
Lanigan, Dr., 48.
Lanterns, 184.
Laoghaire, Laeghaire, q.v.
Lasciciput (Latherhead), 2o«., 37 re.
Lathreginden, 103, 202.
Latin, 42* ; Church, 20S ; late, 81 ;
equivalents of names, 77 ; Fathers,
42; Lives of S. C, 50 ; living lan
guage in monasteries, 42 ; of St.
Patrick, 22 ; lands, 233, 234.
Laurence, abp. of Canterbury, 226.
Laurentian gneiss, 59.
Law, Mosaic, of two witnesses, 224.
Lawlor, Professor, 246.
Lea regio, 105, 201.
Leabhar Breac, 8, 51, 74, So*, 205.
Leathern milk-bag, 150.
Leaves written by S. C. not injured
by water while others were, 123,
13°, I31-
Ledo (tide), 219.
Ledwich, 21.
Le Fanu, Seventy Years, 236*.
Legendae sunt lugendae, 22.
Leighlin, 194.
Leinster, 94, 229*; bard in, 51;
bishop for, 36 ; Book of, 249 ;
king of, 83 re. : see Laginenses.
Leix, 233.
Lent, 152.
Lerins, 25, 29 re.
Lesson, Hist. nat. des Zooph., 220.

268

INDEX

Letha or Lethanus, 88, 97.
Letter I, 88, 105, 201.
Leviticus, 159.
Lex Adamnani, 74.
Liath Macha, 249.
Libelms de ortu S. Cuthb., 79, 207,
225 ; de Vita S. Godrici, 230.
Liber Hymnorum, H.B. S. , 60, 65 re. ;
67 re., 80, 81, 213, 214; ' Kilken-
niensis ', 80.
Libran and similar names, 219.
Libranus Harundineti or Arundineti,
125, 1 5 1-4; prophecies concern
ing, 219 ; scruples of, 219.
Liffey, river, 212.
Light, filling the church, on a winter's
night, 177 ; from column of fire,
185 ; in church, 1S4 ; in the
Saint's cell, 178; on S. C. when
a child, 166 ; seen by Virgnous
on S. C, 164, 176 ; suddenly ap
pearing, 378; visions of, 164*,
375-8, i85-
Lightfoot, bishop, Leaders of N.
Church, 8.
Lights at births, 225 ; supernatural,
187.
Limerick, county, 215.
Linch-pins, 221.
Lincolnshire, cairn burial in, 204.
Lindisfarne, 15, 70, 202.
Lindisfarne and Rushworth Gospels,
62, 235.
Lismore, Book of, S*.
Lismore in Argyle, 198, 206.
Lissotriton palmipes and L. puncta-
tus, 246.
Lithus, 217.
Liturgy, a, of Welsh origin, 45.
Lives of SS., written and studied, 42.
Livy, 225.
Loarn, 197.
Loarn Mor, 83.
Loch Abair, 215.
Loch Awe, 203*; Diae, 89, 191;
Finlagan, 215; l.aoigh,229; Ness,
216, 217, 218, 229: see Lough.
Lochaber, 215.
Lochan Mor, 59.
Lochandu, 204.
Lock opened without key, 148.
Loerni Genus, 160.
Loigsech Cennmor, 229.
Loire, river, 24 re., 83.

London, British Museum, 82.
Londonderry, city, 53, 194; county,
64, 210 ; origin of name, 194.
Longa (Luing) isle, 140, 215.
Longford, county, 221.
Loogdae stagnum, 192.
Lord's Prayer, 42.
Lorica (Canticum) of S.P., 27, 80,
194.
Lome, 222; Nether, 224; Upper,
209 ; tribe of, 223.
Lough Ce or Key, 207* ; Cuan, 47 ;
Derg, in Donegal, 29 ; Ree, 48 :
see Loch.
Louth (Ireland), 190.
Louth, county, 31 ; par. in co. Louth,
formerly Lugenagh, 31, 190.
Lua, 237.
Lucan, Pharsalia, 221.
Lucca, 48.
Lugaidus Lathir, the messenger, 104,
129, 150, 200.
Lugbeus Mocublai, 116, 207; gente
Mocumin, 101, 105, 107; Mocu
min, 199, 201.
Lugdunum, 8.
Lughmagh, 190.
Lugidius or Lugudius Claudus
or Clodus, 89, 1 14.
Lugnei coniux, 125, 155.
Lugneus Mocublai, 173, 179, 207;
Mocumin, 124, 136, 142, 199;
Tudida, a pilot, 125, 155.
Lugucencalad, 132, 213.
Lugudius fil. Tailchani, ' second
sight' by, 184.
Luguid Mocuthemne, 226.
Luing isle, 140, 215.
Luminous globe on head of S. C,
176.
Lupus, St., 2 1 8.
Lynally, 198.
Lynch, Dr. John, Cambrensis Ever
sus, 79, 80, 221.
Mabillon, Acta SS. Ord. Ben., 78*,
236; De Liturg. Gall., 229.
Macalister, R. A. S., 246.
Maccarthen, St., 212.
McCarthy, 78.
MacEarc, a matronymic, 197.
Mac Firbis, Duald, 74, 79, 80 ;
Annals, 215 ; Book of, iS re.
Mac Geoghegan's MS., 213.

INDEX

269

Maceria, 206, 248.
Machar, the : see Iona.
Macleane's Cross, 208.
Macmillan, Rev. A., 9.
MacNaue, 87.
MacRegol's Gospels, 235.
Maccu, race, 248.
Madan, MS. Books, 44 «., 210,
213.
Madden, Sir F., 6.
Mael Odhrain, 200.
Maelcobha, king, 83.
Maelcon, 192.
Maelrubha, St., 71.
Magh Breg, 206 ; Eine, 210 ; Lunge,
69, 219.
Maghbile (Moville), 193.
Magheross, 207.
Magi (Druids), 16,17,37, 56 «., 90,
333, 325, 345, 347; Irish syn
onyms of, 192.
Magical arts, 16.
Magna domus, 229.
Mahee island, 47.
Maic Erce filii, 98, 197.
Mailodranus, 104, 200.
Maior domus, 202.
Malachi I, king, 227.
Malea insula, 104, 115, 139, 200.
Malefactors, fate of, 138, 140, &c.
Malina (tide), 219.
' Man ' of St. Matthew, 43.
Manichaean ideas, 33.
Manumission, 219.
Manus Dextera, 124, 140, 215.
Manuscripts collated, 201.
Mare's flesh as food, 104.
Margaret, queen, 76; Gospel Book
of, 213.
Margaretan Reformation, 75.
Marriage laws, 220.
Married clergy, 22, 36.
Marseilles, 33, 41.
Marsh, primate, 6.
Marshii: see Codex.
Martene, De Ant. Eccl. Ritibus, 80,
20S, 211.
Martin, St., 24 re., 25*, 33«., 229*,
231 ; Celtic veneration for, 229;
his day, 172; Gospel Book of, 54 ;
legends concerning, 222 ; Life of,
43, 189-
Martin, Western Islands, 63 re.
Martyrology of Donegal, 68 «., 80,

81, 196, 212; of Notker Balbulus,
81, 202, 230, 235; of Oengus,
38 re., 74«., 80, 82 ; Roman, 72 :
see Calendar.
' Mary of Ireland ', 30.
Mass, 228 ; at noon, 161, 223 ; not
daily, 171 ; of ' St. Eunan ', 71 re.;
on St. Brendan's day, 171; Roman,
229; one, 31; term applied to
Vespers. 228, 233 : see Missa.
Masses, different, 31 re., 32.
' Master Gemman ', 51 ; see Gemma-
nus.
Matins, 233, 234.
Maucteus (Mochta), 30, 86, 190.
Maugdorni, 116, 207.
Mauguina, 123, 129, 212.
Maunde Thompson, Gk. and Lat.
Palaeography, 43 «., 82, 210.
Mayo, county, 49 re., 197, 225.
Meath, 47, 54, 56, 73, 75 »., 193,
206*, 211, 212, 215, 225, 226,
248 ; Mediterranea pars, 195.
Medical aid sought, 106 ; treatment,
202.
Meigle, monument at, 206.
Meilgi, 226.
Meldanus, 101.
Memento Domine, 229.
Memorials of Fountains, 207.
Mercia, 193.
Merlin, 190.
Merthyr, 242.
Mesloen, Berchanus, 178, 231.
Messingham, Tho., Florilegium, 6,
245-
Metcalfe, W. M., 7.
Metrical Life of St. Cuthbert, 40,
79, 200, 207, 216.
Meyer, Kuno, 246, 247.
Miathi, 197; battle ofthe, 98, 99.
Migne, P. G., 33 re. ; P. L., 7, I4«.,
21 ««., 49«., 7o«., 78*, 83, 202*,
206, 208, 222, 234, 237.
Miliucc, 24, 26.
Milk from an ox, turned into blood,
123, 135; superstitions regarding
milk, 214.
Milk-bag, 125, 150, 218.
Milking, 135.
Milk-pails, 135, 182.
Mills, 35, 40.
Millstone as base, 182 ; for Cross,
208, 232, 240.

270

INDEX

Miracle, atmosphere of, 68.
Miracles, 123-62, 186; after death
of S. C, 159-62 ; short narrations
of, 90-3, 1S6.
Misc. Biogr., Surt. Soe, 79.
Missa, the term, 228, 233.
Missa Vespertinalis, 38 re., 129, 183,
228, 233*.
Missaie Sarum, 25 re. ; Stowense, 80 ;
Vet. Hibern., 81.
Missals, 28.
Missionaries, Celtic, 14.
Missionary church of S. P., 32 ; or
ganizations, 14.
Mistletoe, 16.
Mixed chalice, 126, 211.
Mo-, an endearing prefix, 73 re.
Mo-aedh-og, 72 re.
Mobhi Clarainech, St., 53*.
Mobii, son ofNatfreach (St. Mobhi),
52 re.
Mochoemoc, St., 211.
Mocholmog, 5 1 re.
Mochta, St., 30, 86, 190.
Mocu Aridi, Comgellus, 175, 209.
Mocu Dalon, Cainnechus, 175.
Mocu Neth Corb, gens, 95, 195.
Mocualti, Brendenus, 106, 175.
Mocudruidi, 115, 206.
Mocufirroide gens, 185, 234.
Moculoigse, Columbanus, 163, 172,
229*.
Mocumin, gens, 105, 107.
Mocumoie gens, 94, 194, 248.
Mocumoie, Laisranus, 102.
Mocurin gens, 104, 200.
Mocuruntir gens, 102, 200
Mocusailni gens, 88, 97.
Mocusogin, Nemanidon, 128, 213.
Moda fluvius (Moy), 97, 396.
Modii, 231.
Modulatio, 229.
Moedhogh (Mogue), 72 n.
Moedoc, St., 44.
Moin Doire Lothair, 248.
Moira, 227.
Molaise or Laisren, St., soul-friend
of S. C, 56, 60, 64.
Moles, 246.
Molua nepos Briuni, 143, 217.
Mona (Anglesey), 16.
Monachism, Egyptian and Syrian,
34.
Monaghan, county, 207*.

Monasteries, Celtic, 32-6 ; Colum-
ban, 220; number of, 189; visi
tation of, 221.
Monasterium rotundum, 229.
Monastic habit taken, in; taken
for a time as penance, 205 ;
Schools, 45 ; Vows, 109, 154.
Monasticism, early Irish, 32 ; con
nected with clan system, 14.
Montalembert, Monks of the West,
S, 9, 18 «., 46 re., 75, 81.
Mopsuestia, 21.
Moray Firth, 216.
Morgan (Pelagius), 20.
Mortality, the great, 32, 125, 224.
Mortification from a cut, 119.
Morus, 22 re.
Mos Romanorum, 223; Scottorum,
ib.
Moses, 91.
Moses, S.P. compared to, 27.
Mother, aged, to be supported, 152.
Mother Shipton, 390.
Moville, 393 ; School of, 47, 51.
Moy, river, 97, 396.
Moyola water, 53, 224, 225.
Mozarabic rite, 31 re.
Muirbolc Paradisi, 100, 198.
Muirbvilcmar, 65, 185, 234.
Muircertach, 197.
Muirchol, Artdaib, 132.
Muirchu Maccumachtheni, Life of
S. P., 20, 2ore., 21 «., 23, 25, 26,
28, 38re., 79, 81, 82, 214, 221,
225 ; his renderings, 37 re.
Miiiredachi nepotes, 99, 197.
Mull, island of, 59, 200, 215, 240;
the Ross of, 231.
Mull of Kintyre, 205.
Mullagh, the. 64.
Muminenses, 117, 208.
Munich, Royal Library, 6.
Munitio Brudei, 125, 148 ; Cethirni,
120, 121*, 209; Magna, 128, 211.
Munna, Munde, or Mundus (Fintan,
q.v.), St., 194, 195*.
Munster, 26, 395, 208.
Murray, Sir James, 83.
Music, 207.

Natalis dies, 171, 223.
Natalitium Domini, 131, 223

INDEX

271

Natalius, scourged, 226.
Nativitas, 223.
Natrix torquata, 245.
Natural reason, 110, 203.
Navan, 225.
Neagh, Lough, 205.
Neale, Essays, 78 ; and Fortes, An
cient Liturgies, 81, 229.
Neil, 226.
Nellis nepotes, 121, 209.
Neman, 206.
Nemanidon Mocusogin, 128, 211.
Nemanus fil. Cathir, 88, 104.
Nemanus fil. Gruthriche, 89,1 14, 192.
Nemthur, 24.
Nennio, bp., 47.
Nepos, 'grandson,' 227.
Nepos Brinni, 143, 217.
Nesa or Nisa or Ness, river, 62, 142,
146, 173, 203, 216, 229.
Nesanus Curvus, 124, 137, 138.
Ness, Loch, 63, 102, 173, 203, 216,
217, 229.
Nestorius, the Patriarch, 21.
Nettle pottage, 68 re.
New Engl. Diet., 81, 197, 209, 230.
Newell, E. J., S.P., 30 re., 81.
Newtown-Limavaddy, 64. f
Newts, 246.
Niall of the Nine Hostages, 24, 83*,
196, 209 ; why so styled, 51 re.
Niath Taloirc, Nepos, 103, 200.
Nicaea, Council of, 40.
Nigra Dea fluvius, 149, 218.
Nindid, 52 re.
Ninian, St., 13, 47, 50, 52.
Ninnidh, 83.
'Nocte praeterita', 228.
Noendrum, School and Monastery
of, 47.
Noi-fis, 19.
Noli Pater, 67.
Nominative absolute, 235.
Nones, 219.
Norfolk Broads, 220.
Norman, Rev. Dr. A. M., 220.
Northern Picts : see Picts ; voyages,
220.
Northumberland, 193, 209.
Northumbria, 62, 70, 193, 224.
Northumbrian prince, 73-
Norwich, 23 re.
Nose, bleeding at, cured, 136.
'Noster', use of, 192.

Notes and Queries, 56 »., 246.
Notker Balbulus : see Martyrology.
Nova (Citta Nuova), 202.
Nova Scotia, 191.
Novitiate, dispensed with, 203; dress
of, 219.
Nutricia, soror et mitrix, 1 30.
Nutricius, 146, 217, 225, 249.
Nutritor, 166, 225, 231, 249.
Nutritores, 99, 198.
O and U, confusion of, 243.
O', prefix, 194.
Oak, the sacred, 16.
Oak groves, Christian settlements at,
16 re.
Oars, use of, 233.
Oath broken, 151.
Oban, 62.
' Obsecro', 235.
Obsequies, 228; lasted for three,
twelve, or eight days, 234.
O'Clerigh or O'Clery, Michael, 79,
80, 81.
O'Connell, Dan, at Tara, 74 n.
O'Connor, Dermod, 80.
O'Conor, Dr. C.,Rer. Hib. Ser., 78,
206.
O'Curry, Manners, &e, Jinn., 19".,
2ore., 74re., 81, 218, 219, 225,
239, 241; MS. Materials, 39».,
40, 42 «., 55,67 rere., 78*, 79,80*,
81, 82, 190, 196, 230, 241.
Odhran, St., 227*.
O'Donnell family, 51, s6 re.
O'Donnell, Manus, Life of S. C, 8*,
50 n., 52 «., 53 «., 55, 56, 60, 61,
67, 81, 189, 211, 216, 220, 221,
225, 227, 228, 230, 231, 246.
O'Donovan, Dr., 80, 226, 246, 247,
248.
Oengus, Calendar of: see Stokes, W.
Offensus, 209.
O'Flaherty, Roderic, 81 ; Ogygia,
221 ; West Connaught, 219.
-og, termination, 72 re.
Oidechan island, 78, 134, 214.
Oil, present of, 49.
Oingusius fil. Aido Commani, 100,.
198.
Oisseneus, 95, 195.
O'Kalleher, 246.
Olaf, St., 71 re.
Old Irish Life : see O'Donnell.

272

INDEX

Old Kilpatrick, 24 re. ; Latin
Psalter, 81; text of N.T., 43,
56 re. ; ' Style ', 40 re.
Olden, Rev. Thomas, 21,190; Church
of Ireland, 15 re., 20 re., 24 re.,
29«., 36«., 38«., 40, 81 ; Epp.
and Hymns of S. P., 22 re., 27 re.,
81 ; in Proc. R.I. A., 27 re.
Ollamh, 18 re.
O'Mahony, John, 80.
Ommon insula, 112.
Ondemone, battle of, 97, 197,
248.
One shoe off, 133, 134, 214.
Ooa, the, 214.
Open air study, 141 ; vespers, 206.
Ophthalmia, 130.
Oratio super Diptycha, 229.
Oratory or church of the monastery,
61, 148, 155, 157*; locked up,
148 ; visited after voyage, 157.
Orcades : see Orkneys.
' Ordaining machines ', 36 re.
Orders, three learned pagan, 15 ;
Three, in Christian times, 1 9 ;
Three, of Irish SS., 31.
Ordination, by a single bishop, 205 ;
by bishop and priest, 111; per
saltum, 52*; of priests, &e, 41 ;
in Roman rite, 208.
Oriels, tribe of, 45.
Orientation, 35.
Orkneys, 65. 156, 220*.
Ormonde, Marquis of, 248.
Osric, king, 193.
Ossory, diocese, 214; king of, 245.
O'Sullivan Bear, Compendium, 77,
81.
Oswald, king, 70, 91, 92, 193*, 209 ;
St. , cross of, 212; St. , vision of,
91.
Oswin, king, 249.
Oswiu, king, 73.
Over-curious brothers, 174, 178*.
Ovid, Metam.. 232; Rem. Amor., 217.
Owen Gulban, 83 re.
Ownan, 71 re.
Ox, dying, recovered by holy water,
136.
Oxalis acetosella, 246.
Oxford, Clarendon Press, 10; CCC.
at, 9, 81 ; Corpus missal and
satchel at, 44 ; St. John's Col
lege, 44.

Pacification between Erin and Alba,
64.
Pagan architecture, 39 ; forts, 5 1 ;
ideas, 30, 33.
Palaeographical Soe, Old, 35 re.
Palestine Pilgr. Texts, 78.
Palladius, sent to Ireland, 21 ; lost
history of, 25.
Papal sanction not sought for mis
sions, 58.
Paradisus, 198.
Parasticia, 232.
Paris, Irish Codex at, 189.
Parsonstown, 225.
Paschal controversy, 96, 201 : see
Easter.
Paschales dies, 41.
Paten, 20.
Patraicc, 24
Patrician bishops, 32 «., 41 ; docu
ments, 21, 43 ; period, saints of,
30.
Patricii Acta, 79; Opera, 81.
Patricius, a name of Palladius, 21 ;
presbyter, 235.
Patrick, St., 19*, 62, 74««., 80,
S2*, 83, 212 ; alleged association
with St. Martin, 229 ; alleged
mission from Rome, 2 7 ; alleged
prophecy concerning, 20 ; alluded
to once only by Adamnan, 88,
190 ; apostle of Ireland, 27 ;
arrival in Ireland, 13; authori
ties concerning, 22; bell of, 28,
38 ; biography of, 2 2 ; boyish sin,
24, 26; birthplace, 245; burial,
27, 246; canons attributed to, 28;
captivity, 24, 25 ; chariot of, 206 ;
clerical father and grandfather
of, 36; Confession of, 17 re.,
22, 24*~7, 215 ; crosier of, 28,
29 ; cursed a river, 215 ; death of,
27; disciple of, 190; drove
demons into sea, 22S ; drove away
serpents, 216, 245 ; earlier life of,
24 ; Epistle on Coroticus, 22,23;
Ep. and Hymn of, 81 ; exposure
to extreme cold, 230 ; feast of,
23 re. ; flight and wanderings, 24 ;
Gospels, 39; historic doubts con
cerning, 21 ; influence and literary
remains of, 27; lands of, 73;
later life of, 26 ; legends concern
ing, 28 ; Lent fast, 38 ; Lives of, 76,

INDEX

273

81, 208 ; mission of, 25 ; obse
quies of, 234 ; Ordination of, 25 ;
primary documents relating to,
22 re. ; Proper Lessons for, 23 ». ;
Purgatory, 33; sayings of, 28;
signed himself 100 times a day,
214; statue of, 74 re. ; Sunday
observance, 38 re. ; thought to
have introduced Wed. and Fr.
fasts, 201 ; Translation of, 24 re. ;
visited the well of Slan, 213;
winding-sheet of, 30 ; writings of,
25, 190, 191, 192 ; and Palladius,
confusion about, 21, 25.
Patricks, two, 25 re.
Patrons, three, of Ireland, 30.
Paul, St., 57, 92, 145, 170, 216;
visions of, 117.
Paulinus Nolanus, 202.
Pausanias, 217, 225.
Pausare, 235.
Pebble superstitions, 217*.
Pebbles blessed, 63 re.
Peeping through keyhole, 231.
Pelagianism, 20, 21.
Pelagius, 20.
Pembrokeshire, 222.
Pen (calamus), 143; (stylus), 159.
Penance, 42, 68*, 105, 122; en
joined on S. C, 56, 64.
Penda, king, 193.
Penitential canons, 203, 219; code,
48.
Pennine Alps, 235.
Perception, want of, 201.
Perforated stone, 16.
Perils by the sea, 123*, 132, 133.
Persecutors, fate of, 138, 140, 141.
Perthshire, 204.
Pestiferous cloud, 123, 127.
Pestis ictericia, 224.
Peter, St., 124, 141, 145.
Peter Abelard, 234.
Petra Cloithe, 101, 199.
Petrie, Dr., 55 ; Antiquities, in
Trans. R.I. A., i8'»., 25 re. ; of
Tara, 247 ; Christian Inscriptions,
49; Round Towers, 36, 44 re.,
81, 223, 230, 231, 239*, 246.
Phelim, 51.
Phonetic changes, 72 re.
Pictish Chronicle, 75 ; Church, 63 ;
corps, 203 ; jurisdiction, 58 ; lan
guage, 203, 217 ; name, 200 ;
2291

paganism attacked, 6-2 ; presby
ter, 131 ; tribe, had owned Iona,
58-
Pictor, 228.
Picts, battle with, 197, 224 ; evan
gelization of, 50; mission to,
58 re. ; heathen, 57, 203; region
of, 124 ; S. C sojourns with, 132 ;
British, 62 ; Irish, 62, 192, 197*,
203, 209; Northern, 192*; and
British Scoti, their exemption
from great European plague at
tributed to St. Columba, 161 ;
and Scots, natural division be
tween, 204.
Pike (fish), 215, 216.
Pike(?), great, 142.
Pilgrim, 195; pilgrim's staff, 198.
Pilgrims, Irish, 29 re.
Pillar of fire, 185.
Pillars, nine, of Senchus Mor, 19.
Pillows, stones for, 183, 233.
Pilu Saxo, 179.
Pimpernel, Water, 16 re.
Pine-wood box, 129.
Pinkerton, 75 ; Vitae Antiquae SS.
Scotiae, 7*, 81.
Pipan, 83.
Pirates, massacre by, 231.
Piscina Berachi, 234.
Pistor, 228.
Plague, agreat, 125, 161.
Plague, yellow, 53 re., 224.
Plagues, several, 224.
Platea, 210.
Plateoia, 227.
Platform of cell, 201, 216, 231.
Pliny, Hist. Nat., 16 rere., 221, 232.
Plummer, Dr. A., tr. of Dbliinger,
190; Rev. C, editions by, 81;
Baedae Opp. Hist., 21 «., 4ore.,
41 «., 74 re., 208, 215, 247*, 248*,
249*; doubts as to S. P., 21;
help from, 9, 10, 245 ; Vitae SS.
Hib., 6, 10, i7«., 31 re., 4ore.,
63 re., 83, 82, 213, 235, 246, 247.
Plural for singular, 200.
Poacher after the seals, 135.
Pocock, Tour, 200, 221.
Poems in praise of St. Columba,
supernatural virtues of, 92, 194.
Polairi, 44, 213.
Polychronicon, HIgden's, 246.
Polygamy, 36.

274

INDEX

Pomponius Mela, 82, 235.
Pontoppidan, Nat. Hist., 221.
Poor beggar, 125, 148; family, 118.
Pope, silence concerning, 31 «., 58.
Port-na-Churaich, 60.
— Laithiichean, 61 n.
— na-Lung, 203.
— na-Muintir, 203.
— na-Murloch, 198.
— Ronaln, 203.
Portus Iouae, 108, 134, 161, 203.
Potato-bin, 243.
Potitus, 24.
Poverty, celibacy, and obedience, 36.
Praepositus, 136.
Prayers for the dead, 68, 229.
Pre-Christian Ireland, 1 5 re.
Pre-Patrician period, 13.
Prefix of affection, 71 re.
Presents : see Xenia.
Privacy, injunction for, 230.
Prophecies, 88, 89,93-122 ; of Cor
mac' s voyages, 156, 157 ; spu
rious, 190.
Prophecy, accompanying miracle,
337> 338, 351, 365; concerning
King Aidan, and its fulfilment,
168 ; can infant, 332; c. Maugina,
129; c. Columbanus fil. Beogni,
135; of death of murderer, 343 ; of
Diormit's long life, 144; of that
of Libran, 151, 154; grace of,
187; of greatness of Iona, 182;
with healing, 129; of St. Bridget,
30 ; of Maucteus, concerning St.
Columba, 86.
Proselyti, 109.
Prosper of Aquitaine, Contra Colla-
torem, I4«.; Chron., 21 re.
Protum, 211.
Provinces, names of, 195.
Provincia, use of term, 216.
Prudentius, 189.
Psalter, (the Cathach), 39, 56 re. ;
of St. Finnian, 48 ; recited in
water, 230; transcribed, 88, 105,
183-
Psalterium Gallicanum, 81.
Psalterium Romanum, 81, 203, 233.
Psalters, four, 81*.
Puer (attendant), 216, 217.
Punitiones (pains), 220.
Punt-pole (contulus), 142.
Purgatory, S. P.'s, 29 n.

Pyramis (canopy ?), 95, 195.
Pyrenees, 161.
Quanti et qualis, 234.
Quarrelsome habits of Celt, 190.
Qnartodecimans, 40 re., 41 re.
Queen's county, 233.
Querns, corn ground by hand in,
202.
Question expressed by si, 220.
Quick hedge, 33.
Rachel, tomb of, 195.
Rain procured, 125, 159; pes
tiferous, 128.
Raine, Dr. J., 248.
Raising from death, 124, 144*, 145.
Ramsay, Physical Geogr., 29 re.
Rana temporaria, 245.
Raphoe, foundation of, 71 re.
Ratabusta, 186, 234.
Rath, 217; mor, 211 ; of the Syn
ods, 74 re., 223 ; of Teltown, 226.
Rathlin, 196*: see Rechrea, Rechru.
Real Presence, 68.
Rebdorf MS., 6.
Recensions, two, 7.
Rechra island, 70.
Rechrea insula, 155, 220.
Rechru insula, 97, 196, 220.
Recles or monastery, 60.
Reeds for thatch, 220 ; got in Reed-
ground, 154.
Reeves, Dr., his account of Adam
nan's style, 76 ; descr. of St.
Patrick's bell, 38; Eccl. Ant.,
3i«., 35»re., 81, 196*, 201, 213,
223; ed. of Adamnan, 1S57,
passim; 3874, 7, 61, 398, 200*,
203, 205, 215, 218, 237 ; Life of,
by Lady Ferguson, 9, 21 re.
Reginaldus Dunelm., 81.
Refectory, 35.
Regulus Orcadum, 156.
Reichenau MS., 6.
Reilig (relic, cemetery) Orain, 227,
231, 232.
Relaxation in honour of a visitor,
104, 106.
Relics, custodians of, 246; of S. C.
employed, 159, 160.
Religious Tract Society, 82.
Remigare, 233.
Reptiles in Ireland, 29 re.

INDEX

*75

Resurrection, awaiting, 219, 220;
looked forward to rather than
burial, 234; place of, 154.
Revised Version, 212.
Revue Celtique, 78, 249.
Rhydderch son of Tudwal, 199.
Right hand used in blessing, 233.
Rime, Irish, 198.
' Ring the bell ', 98.
Ripon, Ailcey or Elveshou hill, 222.
Ripon Psalter, 82, 231, 233.
Rivers and lakes haunted, 216*.
Roads, rough, 221.
Roaring sea monsters, 216.
Robe, vision of, 165, 225.
Roboreae materiae, 223.
Roborei, Roboris, vel Roboreti Cam
pus (Durrow), 107, 321, 127, 354,
164, 373, 202.
Roboretum Calgachi (Derry), 93,
304.
Rocca, De Campanis, 221.
Rock salt, 123, 130.
Rodaighe, 83.
Rodain, filii, 226.
Rodercns rex, 101 ; fil. Tothail, 199.
Rogation Wednesday, 202.
Rolls Series, 79, 82*, 226.
Roman Breviary, 33 re. ; Britain, 75 ;
Canon, 31 re. ; canon law, 36;
city, 88, 107 ; Easter and tonsure,
late accepted, 41 re. ; Empire, in
fluence of, 13 ; iaws Christianized,
19 re. ; matrons, 234; occupation,
14; service-books, 1 99 ; soldiers,
panic among, 16 ; vallum, North
ern, 197; Romana civitas, 161,187.
Romans, 31.
Romanum ius, 202.
Rome, 21, 22, 54; alleged journeys
of S. P. to, 23 re., 25, 26; educa
tion at, 47 ; independence of: see
Pope ; MS. brought from, 48.
Ronan, 71, 83, 207.
Ronan fil. Aido, 89, 137.
Ronnat, 73, 83.
Ronsch, Hermann, 81, 233, 237*,
238, 240, 241, 242.
Roscommon, county, 207, 210.
Rosnarea, 233.
Ross of Mull, 59, 231.
Rossa, 19.
Roth (Magh Rath), 227 ; battle of,
168.

Rotundum monasterium, 202.
Round tower, fall from, 164, 173.
Round towers, uses of, 35, 36, 230 :
see Petrie.
Routh, Reliquiae Sacrae, 226.
Rowers, 103.
Rowing at sea, 157, 160, 233.
Ruadan, St., 52 re., 74 re.
Rud, Tho., 82.
Rules, Irish monastic, 67 re.
Ruleystal, 248.
Rumold, St., 72 re.
Rus, 226.
Russian Easter, 40 re.
Ryves, Sir Tho., 21.
Sabbatarian Sunday, 40.
Sabbath (7th day), 101, 181, 182,
199*, 232*.
Sacramentum, 117, 122, 169, 379,
208.
Sage or philosopher (sapiens), 108,
121, 122, 210.
Sailing against the wind, 147.
Sainea insula, 160, 161, 224.
Saint, Albans, 196 ; Gall, MS. at, 6 ;
Notker of, 230; ' Kevin's kitchen',
54 ; Malo, 79 ; Omer's, 249 : see
under specific names.
Saints, Intercession of, 162 ; Early
Irish, 30 ; names of, disguised,
71 re.
Saints' days, 37.
Salacia, wife of Neptune, 218.
Salacia unda, 218.
Salamanca MS., 81.
Sale fluvius, 136, 222; two rivers,
215.
Salic Law, 19 re.
Sallachans, 209.
Sallows, 209.
Salmanticensis codex, 8.
Salmon (esox), 218; cooked, 200;
killed on a pointed stake, 149 ;
large, 136.
Salt, blessed, 1 30* ; deliquescence
of, 212.
Saltrey, Henry of, 29.
Samolus, 16 re.
Sancti, venite, 28, 213.
Sanctuary, 200.
Sanda, 205.
Sapiens vir, epithet, 203 : see Sage.
Sardinia, 217.

2^6

INDEX

Satchels, 44, 130, 13I, 213.
Saturday (Sabbatum), a fast, 202.
Saul, the barn church at, 26, 27 ;
burial of S. C. at, 46 re. ; burial of
S.P. at, 27.
Saxo (Englishman), 171, 179, 193,
228, 231.
Saxo-Brits, 203.
' Saxon ' (English), 91.
Saxon Chronicles, 58 re., 203.
Saxonia (England), 99, 162, 248.
Saxons, 203.
Scandal fil. Bresail, 226.
Scandlanus fil. Colmani, 99, 198.
Scanlann, 64 ; Mor, 198*.
Scarba, 196, 215*.
Schaffhausen, Library at, 6 ; Libra
rian at, 236, 249.
' School-books', 43.
Schools, monastic, 45-50 ; private,
49 re.
Scia insula, 64, 89, no, 141, 203,
204.
Scoti, Britanniae, 224 ; Irish in Iona,
92.
' Scotia , &c. , meanings of, 189, 191,
192, 247.
Scotia (Ireland), 95, 108, 171, 198,
199, 218, 220, 235, &e; Major,
Minor, Vetus, 191 ; 'nostra', 187.
Scotic Church, 70; in sixth cent.,
67 ; jurisdiction, 58.
Scotica lingua (Irish language), 92,
100; serva, 217.
Scotice (in Irish), 95, 160, 169,
171.
Scoticus poeta, 207.
-Scotland (N.B.), 396, 238, 225 ;
early Christianity in, 13*; mis
sion to, 71 > modern, part of
Britain, 218; watershed of, 204.
Scots (Irish), 31.
Scott, Sir W., 79.
Scourgings, visionary, 226, 249.
Scriptores rerum Hib., 78.
Sea monster, 88, 102.
Seals for food, 6o«., 115, 207.
Seangleann, 288.
Sechnall, St., hymn of, on S. P.,
23«., 25, 27, 28, 213.
Second sight : see under Columba,
St., also 184, 185.
Secrecy, injunctions to, 169, 175,
177, 179.

Secundinus : see Sechnall.
Sedna, 71, 83.
Sedulius, the poet, 20 re. ; the Irish
commentator, 208.
Segenus presbyter, 70.
Seghine or Segineus, abbot, 23, 70,
7r, 72, 83, 92, 96> 129> '94- '
Seil, river, 222.
Selago, 16 re.
Selby Abbey, 217.
Senan, St., 231, 234.
Senchus Mor, 19, 21 re., 28, 78, 81,
213.
Sentina, 213.
Sepulchral barrows, 204.
Sequestrati, 232.
Serpents, driven from Ireland, 29,
216 ; harmless, if present, in Iona,
216 : see Vipers.
Servitude, redemption from, 14.
Seven, the pagan number of days of
obsequies, 234 ; years' penance,
152, 205.
Shakespeare, 232.
Shamrock, 29 re., 246.
Shannon, river, 48, 207, 210.
Sheep killed for a poacher, 115.
Shells forming sand, 59.
Ships or boats, appliances for, parts
of, terms for, 222, 241.
Shoe, one off, 133.
Shoes pnt on in a morning, 172.
Shouting over the Sound, 88, 106*,
109, 116.
Shrines, 75 re.
Shuna isle, 224.
Sicily, 235.
Side-house (exedra) : see Erdamh.
Sidh (pronounced shee), fairy, 222,
230.
Sign of the Cross, 68.
' Signate ', 217.
Signing with the Cross, 135, 141 re.,
142, 343, 148.
Signum (a bell), 221, 229.
Silnanus, monachus, fil. Nemanidon
Mocusogin, 115, 128, 129; qui
dam maleficus, 135.
Simon Magus, 37.
Sinus Gallicus, 147, 217.
Sithean Mor andS. Beg, 222.
Skene, Dr. W. F., 198, 200, 203,
205, 215, 218; Celtic Scotland,
8*, 27«.,52«., 53re.,6ore.,6i«.,

INDEX

277

62 re., 64»., 67, 81, 214, 246 ; ed.
of Adamnan: see Reeves, 1874.
Skins for writing on, 43.
Skreen, co. Meath, 75 re. ; co. Sligo,
ib.
Skye : see Scia.
Slaine, river, 198.
Slan, 213.
Slanore, co. Longford, 221.
Sleeping arrangements, 37.
Sleibte, or Sletty, 225.
Slemish, Mill of, 24.
Slieve Bregh, 206.
Sligo, county, 75, 196, 198; town,
55, 247-
Small, Mr. John, 79.
Small-pox, 212.
Smith, a, 228.
Smith, John, (1) ed. of Baeda, 78*;
(2) Life of S.C., 9, 82, 228.
Smith and Wace, Diet. Chr. Biog.,
82.
Snail-shell sand, 59.
Snake's egg, 16.
Snakes, 216, 249.
Snamluthir, 158, 221.
Soe Ant. Lond., Proceedings of,
37 re.
Society marks, 245.
Sockburn, ' Worm' of, 216.
Solinus, Polyhistor., 82, 219, 221,
245-
Somner, 214.
Son-book or copy, 55, 56 re., 211.
'Sons', students, 64 re.
Soroby, 203.
Soul-friend (anmchara), 48, 56.
Souls seen to be home by angels to
Paradise or Heaven, 163*, 168-
73-
Sound : see Iona.
Sowing, time for, 222.
Sozomen, Eccl. Hist., 33 re.
Spain, 161, 187, 235.
S.P.CK.,81*.Speaker's Commentary, 212, 217.
Spear that could not hurt, 124, 143.
Spear-head or shaft scraped, 119,209.
Speckled Book, 8, 80.
Spelling, ' barbarous ', 6.
S.S. (sanctissimi?), 236, 249.
Staff, story of, 68 ; of St. Cainnech
recovered, 123, 134; 'of Jesus',
29.

Stagnum Aporum vel Aportcum,
137,148,235; Cei, 3 16, 207; Loch
Diae, 89, 204; Vituli, 372, 229.
Stake, pointed, to kill deer or fish,
125,148.
Stakes : see Sudes.
Standing in prayer, 178.
Steel, the, 248.
-ster, the termination, 195, 229.
Stirabout, Irish, 21 re.
Stokes, Dr. G. T., 21 ; on Greek, in
Proc. R.I,A.,42». ; Ireland and
Celt. Ch., 20 re., 23 re., 30 re.,
33 re., 34 re., 36«., 47 re., 63 ».,
65 «., 82, 196, 221.
— Margaret, Early Chr. Art, 34 «.,
36, 38, 39«.,40, 44re«.,46re.,82 ;
ed. of Dunraven, q.v., 79; Six
Months in the Apennines, 48.
— Whitley,2i; Lives of SS. from the
Book of Lismore, 8 ; Martyrology
or Calendar of Oengus, 28 re., 42,
50 re., 52 re.*, 68re., 74»., 79,80,
190, 194, 225 ; Thesaurus Pa-
laeo-hibernicus, 249 ; Three Mid
dle-Irish Homilies, 8 ; Tripartite,
passim.
Stoles, 187, 234, 235.
Stone that swam, 125, 146.
Stone bed and pillow, 183 ; boat,
45 re. ; buildings (early), 41 re. ;
carpentry, 223.
Stones for pillows, 233.
Storehouses, 35.
Storm foreseen, 97 ; stilled, 332,
J33-
Stowe Library, 80 ; Missal, 17, 33 re.,
80, 248.
Strangford Lough, 26, 47*.
Strathclyde, 22 ; Welsh of, 193.
Stray animals, 206.
Study, rooms for, 35.
Submerged codex, 58 re.
Succat, 24.
Sudden gladness and sadness of
S. C, 179.
Sudes, figurative, 228 ; stakes for
hurdle wall, 212.
Suibhne (Sweeney), 205 ; abbot,
71*, 72, 83.
Suibneus fil. Columbani, 100, 198,
199.
Sullivan, Dr. W. K, 81.
Sulphureous fire from heaven, 107.

278

INDEX

Sulpicius Severus, 43, 189, 222,
233.
Summary of the entire work, 165.
Sun, moon, and stars, 32.
Sunday, 109 ; eve of, 232, 241 ;
when first called Sabbath, 199;
dinner, 172, 228 ; mass, 175, 181 ;
observance, 37 «., 38«., 40, 74 re.
Supremacy, Roman, 68.
Surii Vitae SS., 6, 234.
Surtees Society, 79*, 81, 230.
Survivals in service-books, 189.
Sussex, 218.
Swarms of marine creatures, 157.
Swift, Dean, 245.
Swine fed on acorns, 140, 215.
Swiss, mission to, 58,
Sword, ornamented, 152.
Symeonis Dunelm., De exordio, &e,
82; Hist. Eccl. Dunelm., 66 re.,
79, 82, 200, 206, 213, 227.
Synod in Ireland, 360.
Synods, 225, 226.
Syria, monasticism in, 14, 33*, 34.
Tablets, Pre-Christian Irish, 42 re. ;
waxed, 205.
Tabula, in.
Tacitus, Agricola, 194; Annals,
16 re.
Tailcend, 37 re.
Tailchan, 88, 93, 94, 95.
Tailchanus or Tulchan, 195.
Tailteann, 226.
Tamlaght Finlagan, 215.
Tantony, 7 2 re.
Tara, 26, 27, sore., 55, 57 re., 62*;
Adamnan's memorials at, 74 re. ;
conventions at, 74 ; existing re
mains at, 247 ; great hall at, 35 ;
mound of nine hostages at, 51 re. ;
O'Connell at, 74 re. ; Rath of the
Synods at, 74«., 223, 226; the
regal seat of the head king, 205 ;
sports at, 55.
Tarainus, 139.
Tedan, 72 re.
Teilte, 167, 225.
Teltown, 26, 226; synod at, 56,
166; vision at, 166.
Temple Douglas, 51.
' Tenacity ', the vice of, 122.
Tennyson, 232.
Termination -ster, 195, 229.

Terryglass, 218.
TertuUian, Ad Mart., 237.
Teutonic heathenism, 76 ; inva
sions, 248; occupation, 14.
thecla, St., 217.
Theodosian Code, 19 re.
Thewnan, 72 re.
Thirty-three, ' the sacred age ', 49.
Thistle, Thomas, 82,
Thompson, E. Maunde, Gk. and
Lat. Palaeography, 43«., 82, 210.
Thompson, Nat. Hist, of Ireland,
245-
Three Orders and the Church, 19 ;
of Irish Saints, 31 ; of pagan
classes, 15.
Threshing of corn, 107.
Tiaga, 44, 213, 243.
Tiberius, abolished Druids in Gaul,
; 16.
Tides, 218, 219; ebb and flood, 150.
Tigernis, 207.
Tighema, 207.
Tighernach, 66 re., 224*, 225.
Timber, the word, 223.
Timber building, 160*.
Tinne, 83.
Tipperary, county, 218.
Tir-da-glas, 218.
Tir Lugdech, 51.
Tirechan, Notes on S. P., 21 re., 23,
25, 26, 28, 29 re., 82, 204, 213,
.235-
Tiree, 65, 69, 200, 203*, 205*, 219*,
228; monk in, 219: see Ethica.
Titles integral part of work, 198.
Titulus, 233.
Toads, &e : see 29, 245, 246.
Tochanna Mocufircetea, 226.
Todd, Dr., 21, 48, 213 ; on Book of
Kells, 35 re. ; St. Patrick, 14 re.,
I5»., 21 re., 24«., 25re., 26re.,
27, 37 rere., 52 re., 71 re., 82,
227.
Tolorg, 200.
Tombs of David and of Rachel, 195.
Tonsures (Celtic, Greek, Roman),
6, 33*, 37, 43, 74, 75 ; various
Irish, 32.
Tooley, 72 re.
Torr Abb, 232.
Torvean, 62 »., 218.
Tothail, 101, 199.
Totmael, 204.

INDEX

279

Tours, 25, 33 re., 47, 54.
Towing of timber, 160*, 222.
Tozer, Islands of Aegean, 216.
Tractarian movement, 68.
Travellers, two, 89, 109.
Treacherous man, fate of, 139.
Tree, vision of, 225.
Trefoil, 29 re.
Trenanus, Mocurnntir, 102.
Trevet, 206.
Trevisa's Higden, 246.
Trias Thaumaturga : see Colgan.
Trifolinm minus, T. pratense, and
T. repens, 246.
Trigona (Hispania), 235.
Trinacria, 235.
Trinity, doctrine of, 29.
'Trinity' in place-names, 206.
Trioit, 115, 206.
Triota, 89, 115.
Tripartite : see Cusack, Stokes, W.
Trisulcae linguae, 232.
Trojan horse, 46 re.
Tubnlar stick, 68 re.
Tudida : see Lugneus.
Tudwal, 199.
Tuguriolum, 229.
Tnlach-Dubhglaise, 51.
Tulchan, 195.
Tulius, 71 re.
Turtrei, nepotes, 105, 201.
Twelve, the number, 222; apostles
of Ireland, 46, 52 ; list of, 52 re. ;
disciples of S. C, 58, 61, 69; of
Mochta, 31 ; years as anchorite,
234 ; years' penance, 201.
Twenty-three years more to live,
129.
Two,the number ,in place-names,2 1 8.
Two concelebrants, 208 ; witnesses,
224.
Tyne, river, 193.
Tynemouth, John of, 8.
Tyrone, 196.
Tyrrhene sea, 29.
Ua,//. Ui, now O', 194.
Ua Briuin, 217 ; Corra, sons of, 40 ;
Liathain, 196.
Ui Fiachrach, 199.
Uigenus, 124, 137.
Uladh, 205.
Ulster, 26, 40, 53, 55, 195, 207, 209,
213, 224: see Annals.

Ultan, St., 23.
Umbilicus Hiberniae, 195.
Uncle of S.C., 118.
Unction of the sick, 68.
Unworthy 'priest, 1 14.
Ussher, chronology of, 27, 31 re.,
46 re., 49 re., 63?/., 82, 203*, 207,
217, 225, 245.
Vadum Clied, 128, 212.
Valais, the, 235.
Vallum of monastery, 143.
Vardaei S. Rumoldi Acta, 72 re.
Various rules, &c, of third Order,
32.
Vendetta, 200.
Venilia, a sea goddess, 218. .
Venilia unda, 218.
Vergil, Aen., 217, 225,240; Georg.,
232.
Verses on three Saints, 246.
Vespers, 233; in open air, 206.
Vespertinales laudes, 113.
Vespertinalis Missa, 38 «., 129, 183,
228, 233*.
Vetusta Monumenta, 35 re.
Viaticum, 49, 227.
Victor, the Angel, 25.
Victorious, 25.
Vigil of S.C, 223.
Village on fire, 41.
Vinnianus episc. (Finnian of Mo
ville), 126, 193.
Vipers made harmless, 143, 1 80 :
see 249.
Virgnous, abbot (Fergna Brit), 70,
83«., 184, 231, 233 ; had a vision
when young, 164, 176, 177.
Virgnous, anchorite, 185, 234.
Virolecus, 173.
Visions of souls borne by Angels:
see Souls.
Visitation of monasteries, 221.
Vita comite, 212.
Vitae SS. Hib. : see Plummer, 81 ;
(Salm.) : see Acta.
Vitreae (aquae), 215.
Vitreus liber, 167, 226.
Vitrified fort, 218.
Vitus (White), Steph., 85 re.
Voice of S. C, 113, 142, 205.
Volcanic eruption, 107.
Volumen, 210.
Voluntary death, 227.

28o

INDEX

Vortex Brecain, 133, 214.
Vulgate text, 43, 48, 56 re., 233 {et
saepe) ; usually quoted, 203.
Wagon, S. C. travelling in, 143, 180.
Walafridus Strabo, 235.
Wales, early Christianity in, 13 ;
liturgy from, 50; traditions of,
47, 52.
Walsh, Ancient Place-names, 248.
War, the Great, 10.
Ward, Hugh, 72, 82.
Ware, Sir James, 71 re., 82 ; Antiq.
of Ireland, 221.
Warner, Sir G. F., 248.
Warren, Rev. J. E., on Antiphonary
of -Bangor, 6 ; Celtic Liturgy,
17 re., 31 re., 34 re., 36 re., 39«.,
41 «., 42 re., 65, 68 re., 80, 81, 82,
195, J97, 203, 208, 213, 229,
235 ; Missale Vetns Hib., 92.
Washing of hands and feet before
noonday mass, 161 ; of feet, 96.
Wasserschleben, 201.
Watching St. Columba secretly, 2 30,
231*.
Water in ditches, 33 re. ; for Eu
charist, 126; from a rock, 323,
131; hallowed by relics, 212;
healed, 123, 132; transformed,
211 ; turned into wine, 51, 91,
123, 126, 193, 226.
Water monster driven off, 124, 142 ;
Pimpernel, 16 re.
Waterford, 245.
Wattled buildings, 6i, 211, 243.
Wattled construction, 33, 127, 201,
248.
Wattles for a church, 53 re.
Waxed tablets, 42 re.
Weapons borne to synods, 57.
Wear, river, 230.
Weeping horse, 232, 249.
Well, baneful, healed, 132, 213 ; of
St. Columba, 54, 332 ; defiled by
blood and a dead body, 120;
worshipped as a god, 132.
Wells, holy, 213.
Welsh origin of schools in Ireland,
45; saints, 46; traditions, 47, 52.
Westmeath, county, 54, 209, 211.
Westwood, Professor, 228.

Whale, great, 302.
Whirling the flagon, 302.
White, N. J. B., Libri S.P., 21,
22M., 27, 83, 82; Stephen, S^re.,
189.
White robes on a solemn day, 172 ;
stone, miraculous properties of,
146,' 237.
Wicklow harbour, 26.
Wife reconciled, 155.
Wilfrid, St., 66, 209, 231, 233, 249;
light at his birth, 225 ; Offices of,
82, 209 ; taught fishing, 218.
Wind procured, 123, 134.
Windberg MS., 6.
Window, St. Cuthbert, 247.
Winds changed, 125, 153, 158, 159,
160*, 219; controlled, 147.
Wine, bursting through cask, 122;
miracle of, 58 re., 90, 123, 126;
new, 210.
Winterton, Lines., 10.
Woman in childbirth relieved, 125,
155 ; driving sheep, 103, 104.
Women exempted from military
service, 57 «., 66, 74 re. ; services
of, 3 1 re*.
Wood buildings, 33, 34, 61, 122,
223, 248.
Wordsworth, Old Lat. Texts, 44 re.
Workshops, 35.
'Worms' (serpents), legends of,
216*.
Worsaae, 195.
Worship of B.V. and SS., 68.
Wright, Writings of S. P., 22 re.,
28rere., Si, 82.
Writing, monastic, 42 ; out of doors,
35 re. ; rooms for, 35.
Writing materials, 42 re.
Xenia, 121, 122, 207.
Ycolmkill (Iona) , 59 re.
Yellow plague, 224.
York Minster, 247.
Yorkshire Arch. Journal, 216, 247.
Zeitschrift fiir Celtische Philologie,
246.
Zeuss, J. C, Gramm. Celt., 82, 207.
Zimmer, theory of, 22.

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