{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_16479/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_16479","id":"gutenberg_16479","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16479","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: History - Religious","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Ciaran, Saint, abbot of Clonmacnois"],"text":"Produced by Ted Garvin, Lesley Halamek and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  TRANSLATIONS OF CHRISTIAN\n  LITERATURE. SERIES V\n  LIVES OF THE CELTIC SAINTS\n\n  THE LATIN & IRISH\n  LIVES OF CIARAN\n\n  By R.A. STEWART-MACALISTER\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n  SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING\n  CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. London\n  The Macmillan Company. New York\n\n  1921\n\n\n\n\n  CONTENTS\n\n  INTRODUCTION\n\n  A HARMONY OF THE FOUR LIVES OF ST CIARAN\n\n  THE FIRST LATIN LIFE OF ST CIARAN\n\n  THE SECOND LATIN LIFE OF ST CIARAN\n\n  THE THIRD LATIN LIFE OF ST CIARAN\n\n  THE IRISH LIFE OF ST CIARAN\n\n  ANNOTATIONS TO THE FOREGOING LIVES\n\n  THE LATIN TEXT OF THE SECOND LIFE\n\n  INDEX\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE LATIN AND IRISH LIVES\nOF CIARAN\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nOf all the saints of Ireland, whose names are recorded in the native\nMartyrologies, probably there were none who made so deep an impression\nupon the minds of their fellow-countrymen as did Ciaran[1] of\nClonmacnois. He stands, perhaps, second only to Brigit of Kildare\nin this respect; for Patrick was a foreigner, and Colum Cille\naccomplished his work and exercised his influence outside the shores\nof Ireland.\n\nDoubtless much of the importance of Ciaran is reflected back from\nthe outstanding importance of his great foundation--the monastic\nuniversity, as it is fair to call it, of _Cluain maccu Nois_ (in an\nEnglish setting spelt \"Clonmacnois\"), on the shore of the Shannon. But\nthis cannot be the whole explanation of the esteem in which he\nwas held; it must be at least partly due to the memory of his own\ncharacter and personality.\n\nSuch a conclusion is indicated if we examine critically the _Lives_ of\nthis saint, translations of which are given in the present volume, and\ncompare them with the lives of other Irish saints. In studying all\nthese documents we must bear in mind that none of them are, in any\nmodern sense of the word, biographies. A biography, in the proper\ndefinition of the term, gives an ordered account of the life of its\nsubject, with dates, and endeavours to trace the influences which\nshaped his character and his career, and the manner in which he\nhimself influenced his surroundings. The so-called lives of saints are\nproperly to be regarded as _homilies_. They were composed to be read\nto assemblies of the Faithful, as sermons for the festivals of the\nsaints with whom they deal; and their purpose was to edify the hearers\nby presenting catalogues of the virtues of their subjects, and,\nespecially, of their thaumaturgic powers. Thus they do not possess\nthe unity of ordered and well-designed biographies; they consist\nof disconnected anecdotes, describing how this event or that gave\noccasion for a miraculous display.\n\nIt follows that to the historian in search of unvarnished records\nof actual fact these documents are useless, without most drastic\ncriticism. They were compiled long after the time of their subjects,\nfrom tales, doubtless at first, and probably for a considerable time,\ntransmitted by oral tradition. It would be natural that there should\nbe much cross-borrowing, tales told about one saint being adapted to\nothers as well, until they became stock incidents. It would also be\nnothing more than natural that many elements in the Lives should\nbe survivals from more ancient mythologies, having their roots in\npre-Christian beliefs. Nevertheless, none of these writings are devoid\nof value as pictures of life and manners; and even in descriptions of\nincredible and pointless miracles precious scraps of folk-lore are\noften embedded. In most, if not in all, cases, the incidents recorded\nin the Lives are to be criticised as genuine traditions, whatever\ntheir literal historicity may be; few, if any, are conscious\ninventions or impostures.[2]\n\nIn the Lives of Ciaran there are many conventional incidents of this\nkind, which reappear in the lives of other saints. In the Annotations\nin the present edition a few such parallels are quoted; though no\nattempt is made to give an exhaustive list, the compilation of which\nwould occupy more time and space than its scientific value would\nwarrant. But there are certain other incidents of a more individual\ntype, and it is these which make the Lives of Ciaran especially\nremarkable. They may well be genuine reminiscences of the real life,\nor at least of the real character of the man himself. Thus, there are\na number of coincidences, clearly undesigned (noted below, p. 104)\nconsistently pointing to a pre-Celtic parentage for the saint. Again,\nthe saint's mother is represented as a strong personality, with a\ndecided strain of \"thrawnness\" in her composition; while the saint\nhimself is shown to us as distinguished by a beautiful unselfishness.\nThis, it must be confessed, is very far from being a common character\nof the Irish saints, as they are represented to us by the native\nhagiologists; and in any case the character-drawing of the average\nIrish saint's life is so rudimentary, that when we are thus enabled to\ndetect well-defined traits, we are quite justified in accepting them\nas based on the tradition of the actual personality of the saint. In\nother words, so deep was the impression which the man made upon his\ncontemporaries during his short life, that his _memorabilia_ seem to\nbe, on the whole, of a more definitely historic nature than are those\nof other Irish saints.\n\nThere is, however, a disturbing element which must be kept in mind in\ncriticising the Lives of Ciaran. He was the son of a carpenter, and he\nwas said to have died at the age of thirty-three. It is quite clear\nthat these coincidences with the facts of the earthly parentage and\ndeath of Christ were observed by the homilists--indeed the author of\nthe Irish Life says as much, at the end of his work. They provoked a\nnatural and perhaps wholly unconscious desire to draw other parallels;\nand if we may use a convenient German technical term, there is\na traceable _Tendenz_ in this direction, as is indicated in the\nAnnotations on later pages. It is not to be supposed that even these\napparently imitative incidents are (not to mince matters) mere\npious frauds; they may well have come into existence in the\nfolk-consciousness automatically, before they received their present\nliterary form. But such a development could hardly have centred in an\nunworthy subject; there must have been a well-established tradition\nof a _Christ-likeness_ of character in the man, for such parallels in\ndetail to have taken shape.[3]\n\nThe homiletic purpose of these documents is most clearly shown in the\nIrish Life. This was written to be preached as a sermon on the saint's\nfestival [\"this day _to-day_,\" Sec. 1], at Clonmacnois [\"he came _to this\ntown_,\" Sec. 34: \"a fragment of the cask remained _here_ till recently,\"\nSec. 36: \"_here_ are the relics of Ciaran,\" Sec. 41. Similarly the First\nLatin Life, Sec. 35, calls the saint \"_Our_ most holy patron\"]. The\nactual date of the Irish sermon is less easy to fix; the language\nhas been modernised step by step in the process of transmission from\nmanuscript to manuscript, but originally it may have been written\nabout the eleventh century, though incorporating fragments of earlier\nmaterial. The passage just quoted, saying that a certain relic had\nremained _till recently_, may possibly indicate that the homily had\nbeen delivered shortly after one of the many burnings and plunderings\nwhich the monastery suffered; in such a calamity the relic might have\nperished. The prophecy put into Ciaran's mouth, that \"there would be\ngreat persecution of his city from evil men in the end of the world\"\n[Irish Life, Sec. 38] seems to relate to such an event: it is very\nsuggestive that exactly the same exprestion \"great persecution from\nevil men\" (_ingrem mor o droch-daoinibh_) is used in the _Chronicon\nScotorum_ of certain raids on the monastery which took place in the\nyear A.D. 1091; and that on the strength of an old prophecy there was\na belief in Ireland that the world was destined to come to an end in\nthe year 1096, as we learn from the _Annals of the Four Masters_ under\nthat date.[4] It must, however, be remembered that a date determined\nfor a single incident does not necessarily date the whole compilation\ncontaining it.\n\nThe text of the First Latin Life (here called for convenience of\nreference LA) is found in an early fifteenth-century MS. in Marsh's\nLibrary, Dublin. It has been edited, without translation, by the Rev.\nC. Plummer in his most valuable _Vitae Sanctorum Hiberniae_ (Oxford,\n1910) vol. i, pp. 200-216. The translation given in this volume has\nbeen made from Plummer's edition, which I have collated with the\noriginal MS.[5]\n\nThe text of the Second Latin Life (LB) is contained in two MSS. in the\nBodleian Library (Rawl. B 485 and Rawl. B 505, here called R1 and R2).\nOf these R2 is a direct copy of R1, as has been proved by Plummer, in\nhis description of these manuscripts.[6] As to their date, there is\nno agreement; the estimate for R1 ranges from the first half of the\nthirteenth to the fourteenth century, R2 being necessarily somewhat\nlater. The Life of Ciaran contained in these MSS. has been used\nby Plummer in editing LA, and extracts from it are printed in his\nfootnotes. It has not, however, been previously printed in its\nentirety, and a transcript made by myself is therefore added here, in\nan Appendix.\n\nThe text of the Third Latin Life (LC) is contained in the well-known\nBrussels MS., called _Codex Salmaticensis_ from its former sojourn\nat Salamanca. It is of the fourteenth century. This was the only\ncontinuous authority at the disposal of the compiler of the Bollandist\nlife of our saint; he speaks of it in the most contemptuous terms. The\nlife of Ciaran in this manuscript is a mere fragment, evidently copied\nfrom an imperfect exemplar; there seems to have been a chasm in\nthe middle, and there is a lacuna at the end, which the scribe\nhas endeavoured to conceal by adding the words \"Finit, Amen.\" The\ntranslation here given has been prepared from the edition of the\nSalamanca MS. by de Smedt and de Backer, cols. 155-160.\n\nThe Irish Life (here denoted VG, i.e. _Vita Goedelica_) was edited by\nWhitley Stokes from the late fifteenth-century MS. called the _Book of\nLismore._[7] The numerous errors in the Lismore text may be to some\nextent corrected by collation with another Brussels MS., written in\nthe seventeenth century by Micheal o Cleirigh. Stokes has indicated\nthe more important readings of the Brussels MS. in his edition. The\nscribe of the Lismore Text was conscious of the defects of his copy:\nfor in a note appended to the Life of our saint, he says, \"It is not I\nwho am responsible for the meaningless words in this _Life_, but the\nbad manuscript\"--_i.e._ the imperfect exemplar of which he was making\na transcript.\n\nThere were other Lives of the saint in existence, apparently no longer\nextant. Of these, one was in the hands of the hagiographer Sollerius:\nfor in his edition of the _Martyrologium_ of Usuardus (Antwerp, 1714,\np. 523) he says, _Querani, Kirani, uel Kiriani uitam MS. habemus.\nuariaque ad eam annotata, quae suo tempore digerentur_. This promise\nhe does not appear to have fulfilled; the Bollandist compiler, as we\nhave just noticed, had no materials but the imperfect Salamanca Life,\nand was forced to fill its many gaps as best he could, by diligently\ncollecting references to Ciaran in the lives of other saints. Another\nLife of the saint seems to be referred to in the _Martyrology of\nDonegal_; under the 10th May that compilation quotes a certain \"Life\nof Ciaran of Cluain\" (_i.e._ Clonmacnois) as the authority for a\nstatement to the effect that \"the order of Comgall [of Bangor, Co.\nDown] was one of the eight orders that were in Ireland.\" It would\nbe irrelevant to discuss here the meaning of this statement; its\nimportance for us lies in the fact that the sentence is not found in\nany of the extant Lives, so that some other text, now unknown, must be\nin question.\n\nCiaran of Clonmacnois was not the only saint of that name. Besides his\nwell-known namesake of Saighir (Seir-Kieran, King's Co.), there were\na few lesser stars called Ciaran, and there is danger of confusion\nbetween them. The name reappears in Cornwall, with the regular\nBrythonic change of Q to P, in the form Pieran or Pirran. This Pieran\nis wrongly identified by Skene[8] with our saint; a single glance at\nthe abstract of the Life of St. Pieran given by Sir T.D. Hardy[9]\nwill show how mistaken this identification is. A similar confusion is\nprobably at the base of the curious statement in Adam King's _Scottish\nKalendar of Saints_, that Queranus was an \"abot in Scotl[=a]d under\nking Ethus, [anno] 876\" and of Camerarius' description of him as\n\"abbas Foilensis in Scotia.\"[10]\n\nThe four documents of which translations are printed in this book\nrelate almost, though not quite, the same series of incidents. There\nis a sufficient divergence between them, both in selection and in\norder, as well as in the minor details, to make the determination of\ntheir mutual relationship a difficult problem. We must regard all\nfour as independent compositions, though based on a common group of\nsources, which, in the first instance, were doubtless disjointed\n_memorabilia_, preserved by oral tradition in Clonmacnois. These would\nin time gradually become fitted into the four obvious phases of the\nsaint's actual life--his boyhood, his schooldays, his wanderings, and\nhis final settlement at Clonmacnois. It is not difficult to form a\nplausible theory as to how the systematisation took place, and also\nas to how the slight variants between different versions of the same\nstory arose. The composition of hymns to the founder and patron would\nsurely be a favourite literary exercise in Clonmacnois. In such hymns\nthe different incidents would be told and re-told, the details varying\nwith the knowledge and the metrical skill of the versifiers. There are\nexcerpts from such hymns, in Irish, scattered through VG: and LB ends\nwith a _pasticcio_ of similar fragments in Latin. As a number of\ndifferent metres are employed, both in the Irish and in the Latin\nextracts, there must have been at least as many independent\ncompositions drawn upon by the compilers of the prose Lives: and it is\nnoteworthy that there are occasionally discrepancies in detail between\nthe verse fragments and their present prose setting. Most probably the\nprose Lives were based directly on the hymns; one preacher would use\none hymn as his chief authority, another would use another, and\nthus the petty differences between them would become fixed, perhaps\nexaggerated as the prose writer filled in details for which the\nexigencies of verse allowed no scope. It is probably impossible to\ncarry the history of the tradition further.\n\nIn order to facilitate comparison between the four documents, I have\ndivided them into _incidents_, and have provided titles to each. These\ntitles are so chosen that they may be used for every presentation of\nthe incident, however the details may vary. The titles are numbered\nwith _Roman_ numerals, whilst the successive incidents within each\nof the Lives are numbered consecutively with _Arabic_ numerals. The\n_Harmony of the Four Lives_, which follows this Introduction, will\nmake cross-reference easy.\n\nNo modern biography, no edition of the ancient homiletic Lives, of\nCiaran could be considered complete without a history of Clonmacnois,\nthrough which being dead he yet spake to his countrymen for a thousand\nyears. It was the editor's intention to include such a history in the\npresent volume; and this part of the projected work was drafted. But\nas it progressed, and as the indispensable material increased in bulk,\nit became evident that it would be impossible to do justice to the\nsubject within the narrow limits of a volume of the present series. A\nslight or superficial history of Clonmacnois would be worse than none,\nas it would block the way for the fuller treatment which the subject\nwell deserves. The materials collected for this part of the work\nhave therefore been reserved for the present: it is hoped that their\npublication will not be long delayed.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: The name is pronounced as a dissyllable, something like\n_Kyee-raun_, with a stress on the second syllable.]\n\n[Footnote 2: The Bollandists long ago remarked as the special\ncharacteristics of Irish Saints' Lives, their doubtful historicity,\ntheir late date, and their continual repetition of stock incidents.\n(_At priusquam id agam, lectorem duo uniuersim monitum uelim; primum\nest, quod Hibernorum sanctorum acta passim dubia sint fidei, et\na scriptoribus minime accuratis ac aetate longe posterioribus\nconscripta; alterum est, quod in iisdem frequens occurrat rerum\nsimillimarum narratio, quas uariis sanctis adscribunt, ita ut nescias\ncui tuto adscribi possint._--Acta Sanctorum, September, vol. iii, p.\n372).]\n\n[Footnote 3: Even the date of Ciaran's death may have been\nmanipulated, in order to make his age conform to the age of Christ.\nAs we shall see below, traditions vary.]\n\n[Footnote 4: The end of the\nworld is not actually mentioned in the Annals, but the expected plague\nreferred to was undoubtedly the apparition of the mysterious _Roth\nRamhach_, or \"oar-wheel,\" an instrument of vengeance that was to\nherald the end of all things. For the references to this prophecy see\nO'Curry's _Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History_ (index, _sub\nvoce_ \"Roth Ramhach\"), and the present writer's _Study of the Remains\nand Traditions of Tara_ (Proceedings Royal Irish Academy, vol. xxxiv,\nsect. C, p. 231 ff.).]\n\n[Footnote 5: The following corrections may be noticed. Page 201 of\nprinted text, line 7, _for_ Et cum _read_ Cumque. Same page, line 24,\n_for_ factum _read_ factam (_sic_). Page 202, line 6, _after_ vitulum\n_add_ ilico canis famelicus iruit (_sic_) in uitulum. Same page, line\n25, _after_ fregit _add_ et fracto capite effussoque cerebro canis\nperiit. Same page, line 33, _after_ narrabant _add_ hoc. Same page,\nlines 35, 38, _for_ vaccam _read_ vacam. Page 203, line 35, _for_\nAngeli _read_ Angli. Same page, line 39, _insert_ et _after_ generis.\nPage 204, line 7, Innsythe appears to be written in the MS. as one\nword. Same line, _insert_ uidit _before_ zabulum. Same page, line 18,\n_after_ flumen _add_ et ibi mersum est. Page 205, line 32, _read_ est\nostensum. Page 206, line 18, _after_ libri _add_ ad locum. Same page,\nline 32, _after_ manducans _add_ in illa die. Same page, line 38,\n_read_ Kyaranus. Same page, line 40, _read_ Maelgharbh. Page 207, line\n13, _after_ recepit _add_ ipse. Page 208, line 16, _for_ complebit\n_read_ implebit. Page 209, line 23, _delete_ et _after_ clamor; and\nin the next line _for_ impediebant _read_ -bat. Page 211, line 14,\n_insert_ in _before_ istis. Same page, line 16, _read_ loco isto.\nSame page, line 40, _read_ edifficio. Page 212, line 2, _read_\nedifficiorum. Page 213, line 10, _after_ ignem _insert_ nostrum. Same\npage, line 21, _for_ ipsi _read_ ipsum. Same page, line 37, _after_\npaciencie _insert_ nostre. Page 214, footnote 3, note that the first\n\"uas\" is struck out. Same page, footnote 7, the first \"sanctus\" is\nexpuncted.]\n\n[Footnote 6: _Zeitschrift fuer Celtische Philologie_, vol. v, p. 429.]\n\n[Footnote 7: _Lives of Saints from the Book of Lismore_, Oxford, 1890,\npp. 117-134.]\n\n[Footnote 8: _Four Ancient Books of Wales_, i, 124.]\n\n[Footnote 9: _Descriptive Catalogue of Materials for the History of\nGreat Britain,_ vol. i, p. 102.]\n\n[Footnote 10: Forbes. _Kalendars_, s. v. Queranus; Bollandist _Acta_.]\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nA HARMONY OF THE FOUR LIVES OF SAINT CIARAN\n\n\nTo the incidents of Ciaran's life VG prefixes--\n\nI. _The Homiletic Introduction_ (VG I)\n\nnot found in any of the Latin Lives.\n\n=A.= Ciaran was born A.D. 515. The first section of his life, his\nChildhood and Boyhood, may have covered the first ten or twelve years\nof his life--say in round numbers 515-530. Fifteen incidents of this\nperiod are recorded, which are found in the Lives as under--\n\n                                                       LA LB LC VG\n  II. _The origin and birth of Ciaran; the\n         wizard's prophecies_                           1  1  1  2\n III. _How Ciaran raised the steed of Oengus\n         from death_                                    2  2  2  3\n  IV. _How Ciaran turned water into honey_              3  3  3  4\n   V. _How Ciaran was delivered from a\n         hound_                                         6  9  4  5\n  VI. _How Ciaran and his instructor conversed,\n         though distant from one another_               4  -  -  6\n VII. _Ciaran and the fox_                              -  -  -  7\nVIII. _How Ciaran spoiled his mother's\n         dye-stuff_                                     -  -  -  8\n  IX. _How Ciaran restored a calf which a\n         wolf had devoured_                             5  8  5  9\n   X. _How Ciaran was delivered from\n         robbers_                                       7  -  6 10\n  XI. _How Ciaran gave a gift of cattle_                8  -  -  -\n XII. _How Ciaran gave a gift of a\n         plough-coulter_                                9  -  -  -\nXIII. _How Ciaran gave a gift of an ox_                10  -  -  -\n XIV. _How Ciaran gave the king's cauldron\n         to beggars and was enslaved_                  11  -  7 11\n  XV. _How Ciaran reproved his mother_                 13  -  9  -\n XVI. _The breaking of the carriage-axle_              14  - 10  -\n\n\nThe boyhood legend probably consisted originally of the five incidents\ncommon to all, II-V, IX. It is noteworthy, however, that LB transfers\nV, IX, to a position after the second phase of the Life. This is\npossibly due to a misplaced leaf in the exemplar from which our copies\nof LB are derived. X-XIII, variants on the theme of XIV, are probably\ninterpolations in LA, and VIII, a valuable fragment of folk-lore, is\nan interpolation in VG. VI and VII are conflations of two varieties of\none incident, as is pointed out in the Annotations. These observations\nwill show how complex is the criticism of the Ciaran tradition.\n\n=B.= The second phase of the life is the Schooling of Ciaran at\nClonard; perhaps about 530-535, still using round numbers. This part\nof the life is most fully told in VG; it is very fragmentary in all\nthe Latin Lives. There are thirteen incidents--\n\n                                                       LA LB LC VG\n  XVII. _How Ciaran went with his cow to\n           the school of Findian_                      15  4 11 12\n XVIII. _The angels grind for Ciaran_                  16  - 12 13\n   XIX. _Ciaran and the king's daughter_               17  -  - 14\n    XX. _How Ciaran healed the lepers_                  -  -  - 15\n   XXI. _Ciaran and the stag_                           -  -  - 16\n  XXII. _The story of Ciaran's gospel_                 18  -  - 17\n XXIII. _The blessing of Ciaran's food_                19  -  8  -\n  XXIV. _The story of the mill and the\n           bailiff's daughter_                          -  6  - 18\n   XXV. _The story of Cluain_                           -  -  - 19\n  XXVI. _How Ciaran freed a woman from\n           servitude_                                  20  5  - 21\n XXVII. _How Ciaran freed another woman\n           from servitude_                             21  -  - 22\nXXVIII. _Anecdotes of Clonard_                          -  -  - 20\n  XXIX. _The parting of Ciaran and Findian_             -  -  - 23\n\n=C.= The third phase may be called the Wanderings of Ciaran. From\nClonard he made his way to the monastery of Ninnedh on the island in\nLoch Erne now called Inismacsaint (it is to be noted that VG knows\nnothing of this visit). From Loch Erne he went to Aran, thence (after\na visit to Saint Senan on Scattery Island) to his brother's monastery\nat Isel, a place not certainly identified. After this he removes\nto Inis Aingin, now Hare Island in Loch Ree, which is his last\nhalting-place before reaching his goal at Clonmacnois. There are\ntwelve incidents. The first forms incident 13 of LC, which then breaks\noff; this text therefore no longer requires a special column. The\nwander-years end with 548, the year of the saint's arrival at\nClonmacnois.\n\n                                                       LA LB VG\n    XXX. _The adventure of the robbers of Loch\n            Erne_                                      --  7 --\n   XXXI. _How Ciaran floated a firebrand on the\n            lake_                                      -- 10 --\n  XXXII. _Ciaran in Aran_                              22 11 24\n XXXIII. _How a prophecy was fulfilled_                12 -- 25\n  XXXIV. _How Ciaran visited Senan_                    23 12 26\n   XXXV. _Ciaran in Isel_                              24 13 28\n  XXXVI. _The removal of the lake_                     25 14 29\n XXXVII. _Ciaran departs from Isel_                    26 -- 30\nXXXVIII. _Ciaran in Inis Aingin_                       27 15 31\n  XXXIX. _The coming of Oenna_                         28 16 32\n     XL. _How Ciaran recovered his gospel_             29 -- 33\n    XLI. _How Ciaran went from Inis Aingin\n            to Clonmacnois_                            30 17 34\n\nThe difference of opinion as to the setting of incident XXXIII is to\nbe noted. Also noteworthy is the absence of any reference to a second\nvisit to Senan, though such is postulated in the lives of the latter\nsaint.\n\n=D.= The fourth phase covers the time--according to all our texts\na few months, according to other authorities some years--intervening\nbetween the foundation of Clonmacnois and the death of Ciaran. The\ntraditions of LA and VG here run along the same lines; LB is curiously\ndiverse. There are in all twelve incidents, namely--\n\n                                                       LA  LB  VG\n  XLII. _The foundation of the church_                 31  --  35\n XLIII. _How Ciaran sent a cloak to Senan_             32  --  27\n  XLIV. _Ciaran and the wine_                          34  18  36\n   XLV. _The story of Crithir_                         33  --  37\n  XLVI. _How an insult to Ciaran was averted_          --  19  --\n XLVII. _How Ciaran was saved from shame_              --  20  --\nXLVIII. _How a man was saved from robbers_             --  21  --\n  XLIX. _The death of Ciaran_                          35  22  38\n     L. _The visit of Coemgen_                         36  --  39\n    LI. _The earth of Ciaran's tomb delivers\n           Colum Cille from a whirlpool_               37  23  --\n   LII. _The envy of the saints_                       --  --  40\n  LIII. _Panegyrics of Ciaran_                         38  24  41\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nTHE FIRST LATIN LIFE OF SAINT CIARAN\n\n_Here beginneth the Life of Saint Kiaranus,[1] Abbot and Confessor._\n\n\nII. THE ORIGIN AND BIRTH OF CIARAN: THE WIZARD'S PROPHECIES\n\n1. The holy abbot Kyaranus sprang from the people of the Latronenses,\nwhich are in the region of Midhe, that is, in the middle of Ireland.\nHis father, who was a cart-wright, was called Beonnadus; now the same\nwas a rich man; and he took him a wife by name Derercha, of whom he\nbegat five sons and three daughters. Of these there were four priests\nand one deacon, who were born in this order, with these names--the\nfirst Lucennus, the second Donanus, the third that holy abbot\nKyaranus, the fourth Odranus, the fifth Cronanus, who was the deacon.\nAlso the three daughters were named Lugbeg, and Raichbe, and Pata.\nLugbeg and Raichbe were two holy virgins; Pata, however, was at first\nmarried, but afterwards she was a holy widow. Now inasmuch as the\nwright Beonedus himself was grievously burdened by the imposts of\nAinmireach King of Temoria, he, eluding the pressure of the impost,\ndeparted from his own region, that is from the coasts of Midhe, into\nthe territories of the Conactha. There he dwelt in the plain of Aei,\nwith the king Crimthanus; and there he begat Saint Kyaranus, whose\nLife this is.\n\nNow his birth was prophesied by a wizard of the aforesaid king, who\nsaid, before all the folk, \"The son who is in the womb of the wife of\nBeoedus the wright shall be had in honour before God and before men;\nas the sun shineth in heaven so shall he himself by his holiness shine\nin Ireland.\" Afterwards Saint Kyaranus was born in the province of the\nConnachta, namely in the plain of Aei, in the stronghold called Raith\nCrimthain; and he was baptized by a certain holy deacon who was called\nDiarmaid in the Scotic [= Irish] tongue; but afterwards he was named\nIustus, for it was fitting that a \"just one\" should be baptized by\na \"Iustus.\" And Saint Ciaran was reared with his parents in the\naforesaid place, and by all things the grace of God was manifested\nwithin him.\n\n\nIII. HOW CIARAN RAISED THE STEED OF OENGUS FROM DEATH\n\n2. One day the best horse of Aengussius, son of the aforesaid King\nCrimhthanus, died suddenly, and he was greatly distressed at the death\nof his best horse. Now when in sorrow he had fallen asleep, in his\ndreams a shining man appeared to him, saying to him, \"Sorrow not\nconcerning thy horse, for among you there is a boykin [_puerulus_],\nSaint Kiaranus son of Beoedus the wright, who by God's grace can\nquicken thy horse. Let him pour water into the mouth of the horse,\nwith prayer, and upon its face, and forthwith it shall arise sound.\nAnd do thou bestow a gift on the boy for the quickening of thy horse.\"\nNow when Aengus son of the king was awakened out of sleep, he told\nthese words to his friends; and he himself came to Saint Kyaranus\nand led him up to the place where the horse was lying dead. When the\ndutiful boy Kyaranus poured water into the mouth and on the face of\nthe horse, it forthwith rose from death and stood whole before them\nall. The son of the king bestowed that field, which was great and the\nbest, upon Saint Kiaranus in perpetuity.\n\n\nIV. HOW CIARAN TURNED WATER INTO HONEY\n\n3. On another day the mother of Saint Kyaranus upbraided him, saying,\n\"The sensible other boys bring honey to their parents every day, from\nthe fields and the places where honey is found. But this our son,\nweak and soft as he is, bringeth us no honey.\" The holy boy Kyaranus,\nhearing this saying of his mother chiding him, made his way to a\nspring hard by, and thence filled a vessel with water. When he blessed\nit, honey of the best was made from the water, and he gave it to his\nmother. But his parents, astonished at the miracle, sent that honey to\nthe deacon Iustus, who had baptized him, that he might himself see the\nmiracle wrought by God through the boy whom he baptized. When he had\nheard and seen it, he gave thanks to Christ, and prayed for the boy.\n\n\nVI. HOW CIARAN AND HIS INSTRUCTOR CONVERSED, THOUGH DISTANT FROM ONE\nANOTHER\n\n4. The holy boy Kyaranus, as he kept the flocks of his parents, was\nwont to read the Psalms with Saint Diarmatus. But that teaching was\nimparted in a manner to us most wondrous. For Saint Kiaranus was\nkeeping the flocks in the southern part of the plain of Aei, and Saint\nDiarmatus was dwelling in the northern part of the same plain, and the\nplain was of great extent between them. And thus, from afar off, they\nwould salute each the other at ease, with words, across the spaces of\nthe plain; and the elder would teach the boy from his cell across the\nplain, and the boy would read, sitting upon a rock in the field. The\nwhich rock is reverenced unto this day, as the Cross of Christ, called\nby the name of Kyaranus, is placed upon it. Now thus by divine favour\nwere the holy ones wont to hear each the other, while others heard\nthem not.\n\n\nIX. HOW CIARAN RESTORED A CALF WHICH A WOLF HAD DEVOURED\n\n5. On a day when Saint Kyaranus was keeping the herds, a cow gave\nbirth to a calf in his presence. Now in that hour the dutiful boy saw\na wretched wasted hungry wolf a-coming towards him, and God's servant\nsaid to him, \"Go, poor wretch, and devour that calf.\" Forthwith the\nfamished hound fell upon the calf and devoured it. But when the holy\nherd-boy had come home with his herds, the cow, seeking her calf, was\nmaking a loud outcry; and when Derercha, mother of Saint Kyaranus, saw\nit, she said unto him, \"Kyaranus, where is the calf of yonder cow?\nRestore it, although it be from sea or from land. For thou has lost\nit, and its mother's heart is sore vexed.\" When Saint Kyaranus heard\nthese words, he returned to the place where the calf was devoured,\nand collected its bones into his breast; then returning, he laid them\nbefore the cow as she lamented. Straightway, by divine mercy, by\nreason of the holiness of the boy, the calf arose before them all, and\nstood whole upon its feet, sporting with its mother. Then those who\nstood by lifted up their voices in praise to God, blessing the boy.\n\n\nV. HOW CIARAN WAS DELIVERED FROM A HOUND\n\n6. As the dutiful boy Kyaranus was going out to a homestead hard by,\ncertain worldly men, cruel and malignant, let loose a most savage\nhound at him, so that it should devour him. When Saint Kyaranus saw\nthe fierce hound coming towards him, he appropriated a verse of the\nPsalmist, saying, \"Lord, deliver not the soul that trusteth in Thee\nunto beasts.\" Now as the hound was rushing vehemently, by divine\nfavour it thrust its head into the ring-fastening of a calf; and tied\nby the ring-fastening, it struck its head against the timber to which\nthe fastening was hanging, and thus it broke its head. Its head being\nbroken and the brains scattered, the dog expired. When they saw this\nthey feared greatly.\n\n\nX. HOW CIARAN WAS DELIVERED FROM ROBBERS\n\n7. On another day certain robbers, coming from a foreign region, found\nSaint Kiaranus alone, reading beside his herds; and they thought to\nslay him and to reave his herds. But as they came toward him with that\nintent, they were smitten with blindness, and could move neither hand\nnor foot till they had wrought repentance, praying him for their\nsight. Then the dutiful shepherd, seeing them turned from their\nwickedness, prayed for them, and forthwith they were loosed and their\nsight restored (_soluti sunt in lumine suo_). And they returned and\noffered thanks, and told this to many.\n\n\nXI. HOW CIARAN GAVE A GIFT OF CATTLE\n\n8. One day a certain poor man came to Saint Kyeranus, and begged of\nhim a cow. Then Saint Kieranus asked of his mother that a cow should\nbe given to the poor man; but his mother would not hearken unto him.\nWhen Saint Kieranus saw this, he made the poor man accompany him out\nof doors with the herds, and there he gave unto him a good cow with\nher calf. Now the calf itself was between two kine, and both of them\nhad a care for it; and as the dutiful boy knew that the second cow\nwould be of no service without the calf, he gave them both, with their\ncalf, to the poor man. For these, on the following day, four kine were\ngifted to Saint Kiaranus by other folk as an alms, and these he gave\nto his mother as she was chiding him. Then he exhorted his mother in\nreasonable manner, and she was thereafter in awe of him.\n\n\nXII. HOW CIARAN GAVE A GIFT OF A PLOUGH-COULTER\n\n9. Saint Kiaranus on another day gave the coulter of his uncle Beoanus\nto a certain poor man, for which likewise on another day he received\nfour coulters. For four smiths came from the steading called Cluain\nCruim, with four coulters, which they delivered for an alms to Saint\nKyaranus; and these the holy boy restored to him for his coulter.\n\n\nXIII. HOW CIARAN GAVE A GIFT OF AN OX\n\n10. On another day Saint Kyaranus gave the ox of the same uncle to a\nman who begged for it. And he said unto him, \"Son, how shall I be able\nto plough to-day, seeing that thou hast given mine ox to another?\" To\nhim responded the holy boy, \"Set thou to-day thy horse with the oxen\nin the plough, and to-morrow thou shalt have oxen enough.\" Forthwith\nthe horse, set under the yoke with the oxen, in place of the ox that\nhad been given, became tame; and the whole day it ploughed properly\nunder the yoke, like an ox. On the following day four oxen were gifted\nfor an alms to Saint Kiaranus, and these he delivered to his uncle\ninstead of his ox. For men who heard and saw the great signs wrought\nby Saint Kyaranus were wont to beg for his prayers, and to offer\noblations unto him.\n\n\nXIV. HOW CIARAN GAVE THE KING'S CAULDRON TO BEGGARS, AND WAS ENSLAVED\n\n11. One day the father of Saint Kiaranus bore a royal vessel from\nthe house of King Furbithus, to keep it for some days. Now the king\ntreasured that vessel. But Saint Kiaranus delivered that vessel of the\nking to certain poor men who asked an alms in Christ's name, as he\nhad nothing else. When the king heard this, his anger was kindled\nmightily, and he commanded that Saint Kiaranus should be enslaved\nto his service. And so for this cause was blessed Kiaranus led into\ncaptivity, and was a slave in the house of King Furbithus. A task\nchosen for its severity was laid upon him, namely, to turn the\nquern-stone daily for making flour. But in wondrous wise Saint\nKiaranus used to sit and read beside the quern-stone, and the\nquern-stone used to turn swiftly of itself, without the hand of man,\nand to grind corn before all the folk. For the angels of God were\ngrinding for Saint Kyaranus, unseen of men. And after no long time a\ncertain man of the province of Mumenia, that is, of the people of the\nDesi, who was called Hiernanus, stirred up by divine favour, came with\ntwo most excellent vessels, like unto the vessel of that king, of the\nsame sort and the same use, and gifted them in alms to Saint Kiaranus.\nWhen the king heard the miracle of the quern-stone, he accepted those\ntwo vessels, and gave his liberty to Saint Kiaranus; for beforetime he\nwould not for anger accept a ransom for him. Thus was Saint Kiaranus\nfreed from the servitude of the king; and Saint Kiaranus blessed that\nman with his tribe, by whom he himself obtained his liberty.\n\n\nXXXIII. HOW A PROPHECY WAS FULFILLED\n\n12. On a certain day when Saint Kieranus was in the place called\nCluain Innsythe, he saw a ship floating on the river, and he saw a\nhut on the bank of the river. Now there was a platter woven of twigs\nwithin it, full of ears of corn, with fire underneath so that they\nshould be dried for grinding, as was the custom of the western people,\nthat is, of Britain and of Ireland. Saint Kyaranus said in prophecy,\nsecretly, to his companions, \"Yonder ship which is on the waters shall\nbe burned to-day, and the hut which is on land shall be submerged.\"\nAs they disputed and wondered, he said, \"Wait a little space, and ye\nshall see it with your eyes.\" Forthwith that shiplet was raised from\nthe water on to the land, and placed in a shed that its leaks and\ncracks might there be caulked. But a bonfire having been lit, the shed\nwas consumed, and the ship in its midst was likewise consumed. But\nstrong men, wrenching the hut out of the ground, cast it from the bank\ninto the river, and there it was submerged, as the servant of the\nLord prophesied. When they heard and saw such a prophecy of things\ncontrary, they gave glory to Christ who giveth such a gift unto his\nservants.\n\n\nXV. HOW CIARAN REPROVED HIS MOTHER\n\n13. On another day when Saint Kiaranus had come from the fields to\nhis home, men came meeting him. To them he said, \"Whence have ye now\ncome?\" They said, \"We come now from the house of Beoedus the wright.\"\nSaid he to them, \"Have ye gotten there fitting refreshment for\nChrist's sake?\" They said, \"Nay; but we found there a hard woman who\nwould not for hospitality give us so much as a drink.\" When Saint\nKyaranus heard this, he blessed them, and came swiftly to his house,\nand entering the house he found no one therein, for its inmates were\nbusied with their work out of doors. Then blessed Kyaranus, moved with\nzeal for God, scattered all the food which he found in the house of\nhis parents; for[2] the milk he poured on the ground, the butter he\nmixed with the sheep's dung, the bread he cast to the dogs, so that it\nshould be of service to no man. For he was showing that whatsoever was\nnot given to guests for Christ's name should rightly be devoted by\nmen to loss, lest such food should be eaten. After a little space his\nmother came, and seeing her house thus turned upside-down, she felt\nmoved to raise an outcry; for she marvelled greatly at what had\nbefallen her house. When Saint Kiaranus had set forth the reason, she\nbecame calm, and promised amendment; and many of those who heard were\nrendered charitable.\n\n\nXVI. THE BREAKING OF THE CARRIAGE-AXLE\n\n14. On another day when Saint Kyaranus was sitting in a carriage with\nhis father, the axle of the carriage broke in two in the middle of\nthe plain; and the father of the saint, with his attendants, was\ndistressed. Then Saint Kyeranus blessed the axle, and it was forthwith\nmade whole again as it had been before; and afterwards for the entire\nday they travelled in the carriage safely.\n\n\nXVII. HOW CIARAN WENT WITH HIS COW TO THE SCHOOL OF FINDIAN\n\n15. After this Saint Kyaranus wished to leave his parents and to go\nforth to the school of Saint Finnianus, who was a wise man abounding\nin all holiness; so that he might there read the Scriptures, with the\nother saints of Ireland who were there. He asked of his parents that a\ncow might be led with him to the school, for the sake of her milk to\nsustain him; but his mother denied it, saying, \"Others who are in that\nschool have no kine.\" Then having received the licence and blessing of\nhis parents--though his mother was grieved, for she wished to have him\nalways with herself--Saint Kyaranus went on his way.\n\nComing to the cattle of his parents, he blessed a cow, and commanded\nher in the name of the Lord to follow him. Forthwith that cow followed\nhim with her new-born calf; and wheresoever he would go the cow walked\nafter him, to the city of Cluayn Irayrd, which is in the boundary of\nthe Laginenses and Ui Neill. But the city itself lies in the territory\nof Ui Neill.\n\nWhen Saint Kyeranus had come thither, he used to make a barrier in the\npastures between the cow and her calf with his rod; and by no means\ndid they ever dare to cross the tracks of the holy rod, nor used they\ncross it; but the cow would lick her calf across the track of the rod,\nand at the proper time they would come to their stall, with full store\nof milk.\n\nThat cow was of a dun colour, and was called _Odar Ciarain_, \"Ciaran's\nDun.\" Her fame endures for ever in Ireland, for she used to have the\ngreatest store of milk, such as at this time could not be believed.\nHer milk was daily divided among the school, and sufficed for many.\nHer hide in like manner remains to this day honourably in the city\nof Saint Kiaranus; for through it, by the grace of God, miracles are\nwrought. This grace greater than all it has, as the holy ancients,\nthe disciples of Saint Kiaranus, have delivered unto us; that it is\nrevealed by divine inspiration that every man who shall have died upon\nit shall possess eternal life with Christ.\n\n\nXVIII. THE ANGELS GRIND FOR CIARAN\n\n16. Now in the school of the most holy master Finnianus there were\nmany saints of Ireland; to wit, two Saints Kiaranus, and two Saints\nBrendanus, Columba, and many others; and each of them on his day would\ngrind with his own hands on the quern. But the angels of God used to\ngrind for Saint Kiaranus, as they did for him in his captivity.\n\n\nXIX. CIARAN AND THE KING'S DAUGHTER\n\n17. The daughter of the King of Temoria was conducted to Saint\nFinnianus that she might read the Psalms and the other Scriptures with\nthe saint of God, and should dedicate her virginity. And when she\npromised of her own free will to preserve her virginity for Christ,\nFather Finnianus said to Saint Kiaranus, \"Son, let this virgin,\nChrist's handmaid, daughter of an earthly king, read with thee in the\nmeanwhile, till such time as a cell of virgins shall be built for\nher.\" Which duty Saint Kiaranus obediently accepted, and the virgin\nread with him the Psalms and other lections. Now when holy Father\nFinnianus was establishing that virgin and other holy virgins in a\ncell, the blessed fathers questioned Saint Kiaranus as to her manners\nand her virtue. To them Kiaranus said; \"Verily, I know naught of her\nvirtues, of manners or of body; for God hath known that never have I\nseen her face, nor aught of her save the lower part of her vesture,\nwhen she was coming from her parents; nor have I held any converse\nwith her save only her reading.\" For she was wont to take her\nrefection, and to sleep, with a certain holy widow. And the virgin\nspake the like testimony of Saint Kiaranus, and many were confirmed in\nthe true faith by other testimonies of them.\n\n\nXXII. THE STORY OF CIARAN'S GOSPEL\n\n18. Saint Kiaranus was reading the gospel of Matthew with holy Father\nFinnianus, along with others. And when he had come to the place where,\nin the middle of the book, it is written \"All things whatsoever ye\nwould that men should do unto you, so do ye unto them,\" Saint Kiaranus\nsaid to Saint Finnianus, \"Father, enough for me is this half of this\nbook which I have read, that I may fulfil it in deed; verily this one\nsentence is enough for me to learn.\" Then one of the school said to\nthem all, \"Henceforth a fitting name for Kiaranus is '_Leth-Matha_'\n(Half-Matthew).\" To him the holy elder Finnianus said, \"Nay; a fitting\nname for him is '_Leth n-Eirenn_' (Half-Ireland); for his parish shall\nbe extended through the middle of Ireland.\" This prophecy excited much\nenvy against Saint Kiaranus.\n\n\nXXIII. THE BLESSING OF CIARAN'S FOOD\n\n19. On another day, when Saint Kiaranus was alone in his cell, he came\nto table to take food; and wishing to partake after a blessing, he\nsaid, \"_Benedicite._\" When he saw that no one answered \"_Dominus_,\" he\nrose from the table, tasting nothing that day. He did the like on the\nfollowing day, still rising from the table without food. On the third\nday, after having thus fasted for three days, he came to table and\nsaid, \"_Benedicite_\"; and lo, a voice from Heaven said unto him, \"The\nLord bless thee, weary Kiaranus; now is thy prayer full-ripe. For it\nis enough for a man, whenever he is alone, to bless his food in the\nname of the Most High God, and then to partake.\" So Saint Kyaranus,\ngiving thanks, ate his bread on the third day.\n\n\nXXVI. HOW CIARAN FREED A WOMAN FROM SERVITUDE\n\n20. One time he went to the King of Temoria, who was called Tuathal\nMael-gharbh, in that he was harsh, so that he should set free a woman\nunjustly held in servitude with that king. The king released not the\nwoman to him. Then Saint Kiaranus blessed her, and bade her go with\nhim to her own people. So she forthwith rose out of the house of the\nking, and made her way between crowds of men, and none of them saw her\ntill she came safe to her friends. Regarding this matter the king and\nthe others marvelled greatly at the wondrous acts of God.\n\n\nXXVII. HOW CIARAN FREED ANOTHER WOMAN FROM SERVITUDE\n\n21. On another occasion Saint Kyaranus entered the region of a certain\nlord of the Connachta, that in like manner he should demand from him a\ncertain woman who was in unjust servitude to him. As holy Ciaran was\nsitting there, lo, three men came with three gifts as an alms to\nhim; namely, one gifted to him a cow, another a robe, and a third a\nfrying-pan; and these three gifts did Ciaran straightway give to the\npoor who were begging of him in the presence of the lord. Now in that\nhour in lieu of these gifts he received others yet greater in the\npresence of the lord; to wit, for the frying-pan a cooking-pot of\nthree measures, and for the one robe twelve robes, and for the one cow\ntwelve kine, were gifted to him by others. Which things Saint Kiaranus\nsent to other holy men living hard by. Seeing all these things, that\nlord graciously gave the woman free to Saint Kiaranus, and she went\nforth to her own people, rejoicing and giving thanks.\n\n\nXXXII. CIARAN IN ARAN\n\n22. After these things Saint Kiaranus made his way to an island by\nname Ara, which is in the ocean westward beyond Ireland a certain\nspace. And that same island is ever peopled from Ireland,[3] and in it\ndwell a multitude of holy men, and countless saints lie there unknown\nto all save only to God Omnipotent. Now for many days did Saint\nKyranus dwell in hard service, under the most holy Abbot Henna, and\ngreat miracles were manifested by him, and works of holiness are\nstill there related. Now when Saint Kiaranus was there, he saw this\nmarvellous vision--a like vision Saint Enna also saw--to wit, a great\nand fruitful tree on the bank of the river Synna in the middle of\nIreland, whose shadow was protecting Ireland on every side; and its\nbranches were flowing beyond Ireland into the sea. On the following\nday Saint Kiaranus related that vision to Saint Enna, which holy\nFather Enna forthwith interpreted, saying; \"That fruitful tree which\nthou hast seen, and which I likewise have seen, thou art it, my\nson, who shalt be great before God and man. Thine honour shall fill\nIreland, and the helpful shade[4] of thy dutifulness and grace shall\nprotect her from demons, plagues, and perils, and thy fruit shall be\nfor a profit to many far and wide. Therefore at the decree of God go\nthou without delay to the place wherein thy resurrection shall be,\nwhich shall be shown thee of God, so that thou mayest be for a profit\nto many.\" And there Saint Kiaranus was consecrated priest; and\nafterwards, at the command of holy Father Enna, and with the prayer\nand benediction of him and of all the saints that were in the island\nof Ara, Saint Kiaranus came to Ireland.\n\n\nXXXIV. HOW CIARAN VISITED SENAN\n\n23. One day when Saint Ciaran was making a journey, there met him a\npoor man in the way, who begged of him something in alms; and holy\nCiaran gave him his cloak, and he himself went on afterwards in his\nunder-garment only. His journey led him to the island of Cathi which\nis in the entrance of the ocean to the west, in the estuary of\nLuimnech between the territories of Kiarraighe and of Corco Baiscind:\nwherein was the most holy senior Senanus, who first dwelt in that\nisland. For a venomous and most hurtful monster had alone possessed\nthat island from ancient times, which holy Senanus, by the power of\nGod, had driven far from thence unto a certain lake; and to-day there\nis a shining and holy settlement in that island, in honour of Saint\nSenanus. Now when Saint Kiaranus was approaching that island of Cathi,\nSaint Senanus foresaw in the spirit his coming and his nakedness: and\nhe sent a ship to bear him to the island, while he himself, taking\na cloak secretly in his hands, went out to meet him at the island's\nharbour. Now when most blessed Senanus saw Saint Kyaranus coming to\nhim, in an under-garment, he chid him sportively, saying, \"Is it not\nshame that a presbyter should walk in a sole under-garment, without a\ncowl?\" To him, Saint Kiaranus, smiling, said, \"This my nakedness shall\nsoon receive its alleviation, for there is a cloak for me under the\nvesture of mine elder Senanus.\" And Saint Kiaranus remained for\nsome days with Saint Senanus, they passing the time in the divine\nmysteries; and they made a pact and a brotherhood between them, and\nthereafter Saint Kiaranus with the kiss of peace went his way.\n\n\nXXXV. CIARAN IN ISEL\n\n24. Now when blessed Kiaranus came from Saint Senanus, he went out to\nhis brethren Luchennus and Odranus, who were living in a _cella_ which\nis called Yseal, that is \"the lowest place\"; and he lived with them\nfor a time. And his brethren made Saint Kiaranus their almoner and\nguest-master: but Luchennus, who was the eldest, was the abbot of\nthat place, and Odranus was the prior. Once, when Saint Kiaranus was\nreading out of doors in a field facing the sun, he suddenly espied\nweary guests entering the guest-house; and rising quickly, he forgot\nhis book, and left it out of doors open till the following day. As he\nhimself was settling the guests in the house, washing their feet and\ndiligently ministering to them, the night fell. In that very night\nthere was a great rain, but by the favour of God the open book was\nfound perfectly dry; for not a drop of rain had touched it, although\nthe whole ground was wet around it. For this did Saint Kiaranus with\nhis brethren render praises to Christ.\n\n\nXXXVI. THE REMOVAL OF THE LAKE\n\n25. Near that place of Saint Kiaranus there was an island in a\nlake, on which a certain lord was dwelling in his fortress with his\nfollowers; and the noise of their uproar was hindering the prayers of\nthe holy men in their _cella_. When Saint Kyeranus saw this, he went\nout to the shore of the lake, and prayed there to the Lord, that He\nwould give them somewhat of relief from that island. On the following\nnight that island, with its lake, was removed by the divine power, far\naway to another place, where the noise of the mob of that island could\nnot reach the saints of God. And unto this day there is to be seen the\nplace of the lake, where it had been before, some of it sandy, some of\nit marshy, as a sign of the act of power.\n\n\nXXXVII. CIARAN DEPARTS FROM ISEL\n\n26. On a certain day when Ciaran was busied out of doors in a field, a\npoor man came to him, asking that an alms should be given him. In\nthat hour a chariot with two horses was gifted to Saint Kiaranus by\na certain lord, namely the son of Crimthannus; which horses with the\nchariot Saint Kiaranus gave to that poor man.\n\nThen, since the brethren of Saint Kiaranus could not endure the\ngreatness of his charity, for every day he was dividing their\nsubstance among the poor, they said unto him, \"Brother, depart from\nus; we cannot now be along with thee in one place, and preserve and\nnourish our brethren for God, for thine excess of charity.\" To whom\nholy Kiaranus answered: \"If therefore I had remained in this place, it\nwould not have been 'Ysseal,' that is, 'lowest,' that is, not small;\nbut high, that is, great and honourable.\"[5] With these words, holy\nKiaranus gave a blessing to his brethren, and taking his book-satchels\nwith his books on his shoulders, he went thence on his way.\n\nWhen he had gone some little distance from the place, there met him\nin the way a stag awaiting him with utmost gentleness. Saint Kiaranus\nplaced his book-satchels upon him, and wheresoever the stag would go,\nSaint Kieranus followed him. The stag came to Loch Rii which is in the\neast of Connachta; he stood over against Inis Angin, which is in that\nlake. Thereby Saint Kyaranus understood that the Lord had called him\nto that island, and dismissing the stag with a blessing he entered\nthat island and dwelt there.\n\n\nXXXVIII. CIARAN IN INIS AINGHIN\n\n27. Now when the fame of his holiness was noised abroad, from far and\nwide and from every quarter good men came together to him, and Saint\nKiaranus made them his monks. And many alms, in respect of various\nmatters, would be given to Saint Kiaranus and to his people by the\nFaithful. But a certain presbyter, by name Daniel, who owned Inis\nAngin, inspired by the devil's envy, set about expelling Saint\nKyaranus with his followers by force from the island. But Saint\nKiaranus, wishing to benefit his persecutor, sent him by faithful\nmessengers a royal gift which had been given him in alms, namely a\ngolden _antilum_, well adorned. When the presbyter saw it, at first he\nrefused to accept it; but afterwards, on the persuasion of trustworthy\nmen, he received it gratefully. And presbyter Daniel, filled with the\ngrace of God, came and gifted Inis Angin which was in his possession,\nto God and to Saint Kiaranus for ever.\n\n\nXXXIX. THE COMING OF OENNA\n\n28. On another day when Saint Kiaranus was in that island Angin, he\nheard the voice of a man in the port wishing to enter the island; and\nhe said to his brethren, \"Go ye, my brethren, and lead me hither him\nwho is to be your abbot after me.\" So the brethren, voyaging quickly,\nfound an unconsecrated youth in the port, whom despising they left\nthere. Coming back, they said unto Saint Kiaranus, \"We found no man\nthere save an unconsecrated youth, who wandered as a fugitive in the\nwoods; he it is who calleth in the port. Far removed from abbotship\nis _his_ rudeness!\" To these Saint Kiaranus said: \"Voyage ye without\ndelay and bring him with speed; for the Lord having revealed it to me,\nby his voice I have recognised that he shall be your abbot after me.\"\nWhen the brethren heard this, they forthwith led him in, and Saint\nKiaranus tonsured him, and he read diligently with him, and was filled\nfrom day to day with the grace of God; and after the most blessed\nKiaranus, he was the holy abbot. For he is the blessed Aengus, son of\nLuigse.\n\n\nXL. HOW CIARAN RECOVERED HIS GOSPEL\n\n29. The gospel-book of Saint Kieranus fell into the lake from the hand\nof one of the brethren, who held it carelessly when voyaging. For a\nlong time it was therein, under the water, and was not found. But on\na certain day, in summer, the kine entered the lake to refresh\nthemselves in the waters, for the greatness of the heat; and when the\nkine had returned from the lake, the binding of the leather satchel\ncontaining the gospel-book caught about the hoof of a cow, and so the\ncow dragged the book-satchel on her hoof as she came to land. And the\ngospel-book was found in the rotten leather satchel, perfectly dry\nand clean, without any moisture, as though it had been preserved in a\nbook-case. Saint Kiaranus with his followers were rejoiced thereat.\n\n\nXLI. HOW CIARAN WENT FROM INIS AINGIN TO CLONMACNOIS\n\n30. After this a certain man of Mumonia, to wit of the people of Corco\nBaiscind, by name Donnanus, came to Saint Ciaran as he sojourned in\nInis Angin. To him one day Saint Kiaranus said, \"What seekest thou,\nfather, in these coasts?\" Saint Donnanus answered, \"Lord, I seek a\nplace wherein to sojourn, where I may serve Christ in pilgrimage.\"\nSaint Kiaranus said to him, \"Sojourn, father, in this place; for\nI shall go to some other place, for I know that here is not my\nresurrection.\"\n\nThen Saint Kyaranus granted Inis Angin with its furniture to Saint\nDonnanus, and came to a place which is called Ard Mantain, near the\nriver Sinna; but being unwilling to remain in that place, he said: \"I\nwill not live in this place: for here shall be great abundance of the\nthings of this life, and earthly joy; and hardly could the souls of my\ndisciples attain to heaven, were I to have dwelt here, for this place\nbelongs to the men of this world.\"\n\nThereafter Saint Kiaranus left that place, and came to a place which\nonce was called Typrait, but now is called Cluain meic Nois. And\ncoming to this place he said: \"Here will I live: for many souls shall\ngo forth in this place to the kingdom of God, and in this place shall\nbe my resurrection.\"\n\nThen most blessed Kiaranus with his followers dwelt, and began to\nfound a great monastery there. And many from all sides used to come to\nhim, and his parish was extended over a great circuit; and the name of\nSaint Kiaranus was much renowned over all Ireland. And a shining and\nholy settlement, the name of which is Cluain meic Nois, grew up in\nthat place in honour of Saint Kiaranus; it is in the western border\nof the land of Ui Neill, on the eastern bank of the river Synna, over\nagainst the province of the Connachta. Therein are the kings or the\nlords of Ui Neill and of the Connachta buried, along with Saint\nKiaranus. For the river Synna, which is very rich in various fish,\ndivides the regions of Niall, that is, of Midhe, and the province of\nthe Connachta.\n\n\nXLII. THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH\n\n31. And when Saint Kiaranus would place with his own hands a\ncorner-post in the first building of that settlement, a certain wizard\nsaid to him: \"This hour is not good for beginning; for the sign of\nthis hour is contrary to beginnings of building.\" Then Saint Kiaranus\nhimself set the post in the corner of the house, saying, \"Thou wizard,\nagainst thy sign I fix this post in the ground; for I care naught for\nthe art of wizards, but in the name of my Lord, Jesus Christ, do I all\nmy works.\" For this the wizard and his followers uttered commendation,\nmarvelling at the faith of Saint Ciaran in his God.\n\n\nXLIII. HOW CIARAN SENT A CLOAK TO SENAN\n\n32. Now when Saint Kiaranus had been in his settlement of Cluain meic\nNois, an excellent cloak was gifted to him in alms by a certain man.\nSaint Kyaranus was minded to send it to the aforesaid holy elder\nSenanus, who dwelt in the island of Cathi; but he was not able\nimmediately to find a messenger, because the way from the settlement\nof Saint Kiaranus of Cluain meic Nois, which is in the middle of\nIreland, to the island of Cathi, situate at the entrance of the ocean,\nwas long and rough and difficult, and crossed borders of different\nkingdoms. Then at the command of Saint Kiaranus, the cloak was placed\non the river Synna, and was sent alone with the river, and it came dry\nover the waters to the island of Cathi; and no one saw it while it\ntravelled thither. The Synna flows from the settlement of Cluain meic\nNois to the estuary of Luimnech, in which the island of Cathi stands.\n\nAnd Saint Senanus, filled with the spirit of prophecy, said to his\nbrethren, \"Go ye to the shore of the sea, and bring to us with honour\nthe guest there seated, the gift of a man of God.\" And the brethren,\nasking no questions, made their way to the sea, and found there the\ncloak, perfectly dry, for it was untouched by the waters. And the holy\nelder Senanus accepting it, gave thanks to God; and the cloak was in\nhonourable keeping with Saint Senanus, as though it were a sacred\ndiadem.\n\n\nXLV. THE STORY OF CRITHIR\n\n33. A certain boy of the company of holy Kiaranus, called Crithir of\nCluain (a boy of great wit, but hurtful and wanton) fled from Saint\nKiaranus to the settlement of Saigyr, in the northern border of\nMumonia, that is, the land of Hele, to the other Kiaranus, the most\nholy aged bishop. And that boy, sojourning for some days with the holy\nbishop, after his devilish manner took the drink of the brethren, and\npoured it over the fire; extinguishing thus the consecrated fire. Now\nSaint Kiaranus the elder would have no other fire in his monastery\nsave the consecrated fire, maintained without being extinguished from\nEaster to Easter. When Saint Kiaranus the elder heard what the boy\nCrithir did, it greatly displeased him, and he said, \"Let him be\nchastened for this of God in this life.\" When he heard that Saint\nKiaranus the elder was angry with him, he went out from the settlement\nof Saigyr, and when he was gone a short space from the settlement,\nwolves met him and killed him; yet they did not touch his body after\nhe was dead, after the likeness of that prophet who was killed by the\nlion.\n\nNow when Saint Kiaranus the younger heard that his boy had been with\nKiaranus the elder, he went to him; and on the day when the aforesaid\nthings took place, he came to the settlement of Saigyr and was\nreceived with fitting honour by the holy bishop Kiaranus the elder.\nAnd the holy abbot Kiaranus the younger said to the holy bishop\nKiaranus, \"Restore to me, holy father, my disciple alive, who hath\nbeen slain while with thee.\" To him Saint Keranus the elder said,\n\"First needs must your feet be washed, but we have no fire in the\nmonastery, to warm the water for you; and ye know that it is because\nyour disciple quenched our sacred fire. Wherefore beseech for us\nconsecrated fire from God.\" Then the holy abbot Kieranus the younger,\nson of the wright, stretched his hands in prayer to God, and\nstraightway fire from heaven came into his breast, and thence was the\nhearth kindled in the monastery.\n\nBut the holy bishop Kiaranus the elder prayed to God for that youth\nslain by wolves, and straightway he arose sound from a cruel death,\nwith the scars of the wolf-bites visible upon him. And blessing them\nall, he took food and drink with the saints, and afterwards he lived\nmany days.\n\nThen the two Saints Kiaranus made a compact and brotherhood in heaven\nand in earth between their successors; and they said that should any\nwish to name or to beg aught for one of them, he should name them both\nand ask, for they would hear him.\n\nAfter this the holy abbot Kiaranus the younger said to the bishop,\nKiaranus the elder, \"In thy place, father, shall remain honour and\nabundance of riches.\" To him said the holy bishop, Kiaranus the elder,\n\"Also in thy place, dearest son, shall last the strength of religion\nand of wisdom, unto the end of the world.\" When these things were\nsaid, having received the kiss of peace and blessing of the most holy\nbishop, Kiaranus the elder, Saint Kiaranus the younger with his own\npeople and with the aforesaid youth Crithir returned to his settlement\nof Cluain meic Nois.\n\n\nXLIV. CIARAN AND THE WINE\n\n34. On a certain day when the brethren of Saint Kiaranus were at work\nin the harvest, enduring thirst from the heat of the sun, they sent\nword that cold water should be brought to them. Saint Kiaranus\nanswered them by a messenger, \"Choose ye, my brethren, whether ye will\ndrink to quench your thirst for necessity, or will endure in thirst\ntill the evening, that through your labour to-day in thirst and in\nsweat there may be abundance for the brethren who are to be in this\nplace hereafter; and you yourselves will not fail of reward from\nGod in heaven.\" The brethren answered, \"We choose that there be a\nsufficiency for our successors, and we to have the reward of our\npatience and of our thirst in heaven.\" So the brethren worked that day\nathirst, rejoicing, though the sun was hot.\n\nBut when evening was come, the brethren returned home, and Saint\nKiaranus wished to satisfy them, and to refresh them charitably. And\ntrusting in the Lord, he blessed a great vessel full of water; and\nimmediately under his hands wine of most excellent quality appeared in\nthe vessel. And bringing drinking-cups, he commanded the brethren to\nrefresh their bodies well, with sobriety, rendering thanks to Christ\nfor his gifts.\n\nThis is the Last Supper of Saint Ciaran with his brethren in his life,\nhe himself ministering unto them; for he lived thereafter but few\ndays. And that supper was most generous, excelling all the suppers\nthat were made in the monastery of Saint Kiaranus, as is proved thus--\n\nFor after a long time, when Saint Columba with his followers had come\nto Ireland from the island of Hia, a great feast was prepared for them\nin the monastery of Saint Kiaranus in his settlement of Cluain; and\nwhen they had come to the religious house of Saint Kiaranus, they were\nreceived with great joy and love, and were refreshed most bounteously\nwith that repast; and the fame of that supper went over the whole\nsettlement and its suburbs, far and wide.\n\nWhen, in the house of the holy elders, who had a little cell apart in\nthe monastery of Saint Kiaranus, certain persons said in ignorance\nthat never in that place had such a feast been made, nor would be in\nthe future, one, who had been a boy when Saint Kiaranus lived there,\nanswered: \"Ye know not whereat ye wonder: for the feast which Saint\nKiaranus our patron made, of water turned to wine, for his brethren\nathirst after harvesting, was far better than this feast. And that ye\nmay know this, and may believe that it is true, come and perceive the\nodour of my finger with which I drew of that wine for the brethren.\nFor my thumb touched the liquor through the mouth of the cup in which\nthe wine was drawn; and lo, even yet its odour remains thereupon.\"\nThen they all drew near, and being sated with the pleasant and sweet\nodour of that holy elder, they cried aloud saying, \"Truly much better\nwas that feast whose odour remains on a finger most sweet for so long\na time.\" And they blessed Saint Kiaranus, giving praises to God.\n\nAnd in those days, in which the brethren of Saint Kiaranus were sowing\ntheir crops, there came merchants with wine of the Gauls to Saint\nKiaranus, and they filled a huge vessel, the _solitana_ of the\nbrethren, from that wine, which Saint Kiaranus gave to his brethren\nwith his benediction.\n\n\nXLIX. THE DEATH OF CIARAN\n\n35. Our most holy patron Kiaranus lived but for one year in his\nsettlement of Cluain. When he knew that the day of his death was\napproaching, he prophesied, deploring the subsequent evils that would\ncome to pass in his place after him; and he said that their life would\nbe short. Then the brethren said unto him, \"What then shall we do in\nthe time of those evils? Shall we abide here beside thy relics, or\nshall we go to other places?\" To them Saint Kiaranus said, \"Haste ye\nto other quiet places, and leave my relics here like the dry bones of\na stag on a mountain. For it is better for you to be with my spirit in\nheaven than beside my bones on earth, and stumbling withal.\"\n\nSaint Kiaranus used greatly to crucify his body, and we write here an\nexample of this. He ever had a stone pillow beneath his head, which\ntill to-day remains in the monastery of Saint Kiaranus, and is\nreverenced by every one. Moreover, when he was growing weak, he would\nnot have the stone removed from him, but commanded it to be placed to\nhis shoulders, that he should have affliction even to the end, for the\nsake of an everlasting reward in heaven.\n\nNow when the hour of his departure was approaching, he commanded that\nhe should be carried outside, out of the house; and looking up into\nheaven, he said, \"Hard is that way,[6] and this needs must be.\" To\nhim the brethren said, \"We know that nothing is difficult for thee,\nfather; but we unhappy ones must greatly fear this hour.\"\n\nAnd being carried back into the house, he raised his hand and blessed\nhis people and clerks; and having received the Lord's Sacrifice,\non the fifth of the ides of September he gave up the ghost, in the\nthirty-third year of his age. And lo, angels filled the way between\nheaven and earth, rejoicing to meet Saint Kiaranus.\n\n\nL. THE VISIT OF COEMGEN\n\n36. And on the third night after the death of Saint Kiaranus, the most\nholy abbot Coemhgenus came from the province of the Lagenians to\nthe burial of Saint Kiaranus; and Saint Kiaranus spake with Saint\nCoemhgenus and they exchanged their vesture, and they made a perpetual\nbrotherhood between themselves and their followers. This is related\nfaithfully and at length in the Life of Coemhgenus himself.\n\n\nLI. THE EARTH OF CIARAN'S TOMB DELIVERS COLUM CILLE FROM A WHIRLPOOL\n\n37. Saint Columba, on hearing of the death of Saint Kiaranus, said,\n\"Blessed be God, Who hath called to Himself most holy Kiaranus from\nthis life in his youth. For had he lived to old age, there would have\nbeen envy of many against him, for he would have had a firm hold on\nthe parish of all Ireland.\"\n\nSaint Columba made a hymn to Saint Kiaranus; and when he set it forth\nin the settlement of Cluain, the successor of Saint Kiaranus said unto\nhim, \"Shining and worthy of praise is this hymn; what reward then,\nfather, shall be rendered unto thee?\" Saint Columba answered: \"Give me\nmy hands full of the earth of the grave of your holy father Kiaranus;\nfor I wish for and desire that, more than for pure gold and precious\ngems.\" And Saint Columba receiving earth from the grave of Saint\nKiaranus, made his way to his own island of Hya.\n\nWhen Saint Columba was voyaging on the sea, there arose a storm in the\nsea, and the ship was thrust towards the whirlpool which is in the\nScotic tongue called Cori Bracayn, in which is a sea-whirlpool most\ndangerous, wherein if ships enter they come not out. And the whirlpool\nbeginning to draw the ship towards itself, blessed Columba cast part\nof the earth of Saint Kiaranus into the sea. Most wondrous to relate,\nimmediately the storm of the air, the movement of the waves, and the\nswirl of the whirlpool all ceased, till the ship had long escaped from\nit. Then Saint Columba, giving thanks to God, said to his followers,\n\"Ye see, brethren, how much favour hath the earth of most blessed\nKiaranus brought us.\"\n\n\nLIII. A PANEGYRIC OF CIARAN\n\n38. Most blessed Kiaranus living among men passed a life as of an\nangel, for the grace of the Holy Spirit burned in his face before the\neyes of men. Who could expound his earthly converse? For he was young\nin age and in body, yet a most holy senior in mind and in manners,\nin humility, in gentleness, in charity, in daily labours, in nightly\nvigils, and in other divine works.\n\nFor now liveth he in rest without labour, in age without senility, in\nhealth without sorrow, in joy without grief, in peace without a foe,\nin wealth without poverty, in endless day without night, in the\neternal kingdom without end, before the throne of Christ, Who with\nthe Father and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth unto ages of ages.\nAmen.\n\n_Here endeth the life of Saint Ciaran, Abbot of Cluain meic Nois._\n\n\n[Footnote 1: The inconsistencies in the spelling of the various proper\nnames in this translation follow those in the original documents.]\n\n[Footnote 2: The MS. reads _lac iam... effudit_. For _iam_ we should\nprobably read _enim_. A similar correction is made in Sec. 38.]\n\n[Footnote 3: _Ipsa insula semper ab Hybernia habitatur._ The sense of\nthis passage is not clear: it may be corrupt.]\n\n[Footnote 4: Lit.: \"the shadow of the aid of thy dutifulness.\"]\n\n[Footnote 5: This sentence reads very awkwardly, owing to the\nincorporation of two originally interlined glosses. Reference to the\nMS. enables us to isolate these. The sentence there runs thus: \"Si\nergo in isto loco mansissem non Ysseal .i. imus esset id est non\nparuus sed altus .i. magnus et honorabilis.\" Here _id est_ occurs\nthree times, once in full, and twice represented by the common\ncontraction .i., which is universally used in MSS. of Irish origin for\nthe introduction of a gloss. If we write the sentence as below,\nwe shall see the significance of the different ways in which the\nexpression is written, and by expunging the glosses can make the\nsentence less clumsy and more intelligible\n\n                       _.i. imus_\n--\"Si ... mansissem, non Ysseal esset, id est non paruus; sed\n_.i. magnus et honorabilis_ altus.\"]\n\n[Footnote 6: Correcting the _vita_ of the MS. to _via_, in conformity\nwith VG.]\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nTHE SECOND LATIN LIFE OF SAINT CIARAN\n\n\nII. THE ORIGIN AND BIRTH OF CIARAN\n\n1. A glorious man; and an abbot in life most holy, Queranus, was born\nof a father Boecius, of a mother Darercha. This man drew his origin\nfrom the northern part of Ireland, that is, he was of the Aradenses by\nrace. Now he was so illuminated by divine grace from his boyhood, that\nit was clearly apparent of what manner he was destined to be. For he\nwas as a burning lamp in extraordinary charity, so as to show not only\nthe warmth of a pious heart and devotion in relieving the necessity\nof men, but also an unwearied sympathy for the needs of irrational\nanimals. And because such a lamp should not be hidden under a bushel,\nso from his boyhood he began to sparkle with the marvels of miracles.\n\n\nIII. HOW CIARAN RAISED THE STEED OF OENGUS FROM DEATH\n\n2. For when the horse of the son of the king of that territory\nperished with a sudden death, and the young man was much grieved at\nits fall, there appeared to him in dreams a man of venerable and\nshining countenance, who forbade him to be grieved for the death of\nthe horse, saying unto him, \"Call,\" said he, \"the holy boy Keranus,\nand let him pour water into the mouth of thy horse, and sprinkle its\nforehead, and it shall revive. And thou shalt endow him with due\nreward for its resurrection.\"\n\nWhen the king's son had wakened from sleep, he sent for the boy\nKeranus that he should come to him; who, when he made his presence\nknown, and heard the dream throughout, according to what the angel\ntaught him, sprinkled the horse with holy water and raised it from\ndeath. When this great miracle was seen, the king of that territory\nmade over to Saint Keranus a fertile and spacious field in honour of\nOmnipotent God, in Whose Name his horse was resurrected.\n\n\nIV. HOW CIARAN TURNED WATER INTO HONEY\n\n3. Moreover it fell out on a certain day that the mother of Keranus\nhimself found fault with him, for that he did not bring wild honey\nsuch as the other boys were wont to carry to their parents. When the\nbeloved of God and men heard this, he raised his thoughts to the Boy\nwho was subject to His parents, and blessed water, brought from a\nneighbouring spring, in His Name who is able to draw honey from the\nrock, and oil from the hardest stone; and presently that water is\nchanged, with the help of God, into the sweetest honey, and so it is\nbrought to his mother. This honey his parents sent to Saint Dermicius\nthe deacon, surnamed Iustus, who baptized him.\n\n\nXVII. HOW CIARAN WENT WITH HIS COW TO THE SCHOOL OF FINDIAN\n\n4. Now when the rudiments of letters had been read [with him] by the\nsaint aforesaid, he proposed to go to the blessed abbey of Cluayn\nHirard for instruction. And as he wished to fulfil in deed what he had\nbegun to conceive of in his mind, he asked a cow of his parents for\nhis sustenance. But when his mother would not grant his petition, the\nHeavenly Father, Who loveth those whom He regardeth as a mother her\nson, did not tarry to fulfil the desire of his beloved. For a milch\ncow, together with her calf, followed him as though she had been\ndriven after him by her herdsman.\n\nWhen he had come to the sacred college of Saint Fynnianus, they all\nhad no small joy at his arrival. But the cow, which had followed him,\nwas pastured along with her calf, nor did it [the calf] attempt\nto touch the udders of its mother without permission. Keranus so\nseparated and divided its pastures, that the mother would only lick\nthe calf, and would not offer to suckle it. Now the milk of that cow\nwas rich in such abundance that, divided daily, it would supply a\nsufficiency of provision for twelve men.\n\nBut the holy youth Keranus, deeply occupied with the sacred Scripture,\nshone in holiness and wisdom among his fellow-students as a brilliant\nstar among the other stars. For he was filled with the fragrance of\nperfect charity, with moral worth, with holiness of life, and with\nsweetness of humility, gracious, honourable, and admirable to present\nand to absent.\n\n\nXXVI. HOW CIARAN FREED A WOMAN FROM SERVITUDE\n\n5. One day he made his way to a king, Tuathlus by name, to intercede\nfor the liberation of a certain bond-maid. When he besought the king\nfervently for her, and _he_ rejected the prayers of the servant of God\nas though they were ravings, he thought out a new method of liberating\nher, and determined that he himself should serve the king in her\nplace. Now when he was coming to the house in which the girl was\ngrinding, the doors which were shut opened to him. Entering, he showed\nhimself a second Bishop Paulinus to her. Without delay the king\nfreed her, and further presented his vesture to the servant of God.\nReceiving this, he forthwith distributed it to the poor.\n\n\nXXIV. THE STORY OF THE MILL AND THE BAILIFF'S DAUGHTER _(abstract\nonly)_\n\n6. It fell out one night that the eminent doctor Finnianus sent him\nwith grain of wheat to the mill. Now a certain kingling who lived\nnear, learning that one of the disciples of the man of God had come\nthither, sent him flesh and ale by a servant. When they had presented\nthe gift of such a man, he answered, \"That it may be common,\" said he,\n\"to the brethren, cast it all on the surface of the mill.\" When the\nmessenger had done this, it was all turned into wheat. When he heard\nthis, the king gave him the steading in which he was dwelling, with\nall his goods, in perpetuity: but Keranus made it over to his master,\nfor a monastery was afterwards erected there. But the bread made\nof that grain tasted to the brethren like flesh and ale, and so it\nrefreshed them.\n\n\nXXX. THE ADVENTURE OF THE ROBBERS OF LOCH ERNE\n\n7. Now when a space of time had passed, the licence and benediction of\nhis master having been obtained, he made his way to Saint Nynnidus who\nwas dwelling in a wood _(sic)_ of Loch Erny. Now when he had arrived\nhe was received with great joy and unfeigned love. As he was daily\nbecoming perfect in the discipline of manners and of virtue, on a\ncertain day, as one truly obedient, he went forth to the groves hard\nby with brethren to cut timber. For it was a custom in that sacred\ncollege, that three monks, with an elder, always went out in\nprescribed order to transport timber. As the others were cutting wood,\nhe by himself, as was his wont, was intent on prayer to God. Meanwhile\ncertain wicked robbers, ferried over in a boat to that island, fell\nupon the aforesaid brethren and slew them, and bore away their heads.\nBut Keranus, not hearing the sound of his companions hacking, was\nsurprised, and in wonder he hurried to the place where he had left\nthem labouring. When he saw what had been done to the brethren he\nheaved heavy sighs and was deeply grieved; and he followed the\nmurderers by their track, and found them in the harbour, sweating to\ncarry their boat in the harbour to the water, but unable to do so. For\nGod so fastened their skiff to the land that by no means could they\nremove it. So being unable to resist the will of the All-Powerful,\nthey beseech as suppliants pardon of the man of God, then present.\nMindful of his Master as He prayed for the Jews who were crucifying\nHim, he, a holy one, poured forth prayers for them, unworthy as they\nwere, to the Fount of Piety; and strengthened by the virtue of his\nprayer, they were able to convey their boat quite easily to the water.\nIn payment for this benefit he obtained from the robbers the heads of\nhis brethren. When he had received these, he made his way back to the\nplace where their bodies had been lying, and fervently asked of God\nto show forth His omnipotence in the resuscitation of His servants in\nthis life. Wondrous is what I relate, but in the truth of fact most\nmanifest. He fitted the heads to the bodies, and recalled them to life\nby the virtue of the holy prayer--nay, rather, what is more correct,\nhe obtained their recall. These, thus marvellously resuscitated, bore\ntimber back to the monastery. But so long as they lived they bore the\nscars of the wounds on their necks.\n\n\nIX. HOW CIARAN RESTORED A CALF WHICH A WOLF HAD DEVOURED\n\n8. At another time when he was keeping the herds of his parents in\na certain place, a cow gave birth to a calf in his presence. But a\n[hound], altogether wasted with leanness, came, desiring to fill [his\nbelly] with whatso falleth from the body of the mother with the calf,\nand stood before the dutiful shepherd. To which he said, \"Eat,\npoor wretch, yonder calf, for great is thy need of it.\" The hound,\nfulfilling the commands of Queranus, devoured the calf down to the\nbones. But as Queranus returned with the kine to the house, that one,\nrecalling her calf to memory, was running hither and thither, lowing;\nand the mother of Queranus, recognising the cause of the lowing, said\nwith indignation to the boy, \"Quiranus, restore the calf, though it be\nburnt with fire or drowned with water.\" But he, obeying his mother's\ncommands, making his way to the place where the calf had been\ndevoured, collected its bones and resuscitated the calf.\n\n\nV. HOW CIARAN WAS DELIVERED FROM A HOUND\n\n9. At a certain time, when he was passing along a road, certain men\nspurred by a malignant spirit incited a most savage dog to do him a\nhurt. But Queranus, trusting in his Lord, fortified himself with the\nshield of devout prayer, and said, \"Deliver not to beasts the souls of\nthem that trust in Thee, O Lord\": and soon that dog died.\n\n\nXXXI. HOW CIARAN FLOATED A FIREBRAND ON THE LAKE\n\n10. At another time when he was left alone in that island, he heard a\npoor man in the harbour asking that fire be given to him. For it\nwas now the time of cold: but he had no boat whereby to satisfy the\npetition of the poor man, though much he desired to do so. And because\ncharity suffereth all things, he cast a burning firebrand into the\nlake, and the heat of love that sent it prevailing over the waters, it\ncame to the poor man.\n\n\nXXXII. CIARAN IN ARAN\n\n11. Now when the man of God had spent a certain time there, with the\nlicence of Nynnidus he hastened to Saint Endeus, abbot in Ara; who\nwas filled with no small joy at his coming. Now on a certain night he\ndreamed that he had seen beside the bank of the great river Synan a\ngreat leafy and fruitful tree which over-shadowed all Ireland. Which\ndream he related to blessed Endeus on the following day. But Endeus\nhimself bore witness that he had seen the same vision that night,\nwhich vision Endeus interpreted: \"The tree,\" he said, \"thou art it,\nwho shalt be great before God and men, and honourable throughout all\nIreland; because she is protected from demons and from other perils\nby the shadow of thy help and grace, as under the shadow of a\nhealth-giving tree. Many near and far shall the fruit of thy works\nadvantage. Wherefore according to the decree of God who revealeth\nsecrets, depart to the place that hath been shown thee before, and\nthere abide, according to the grace given thee of God.\" Comforted by\nthe interpretation of this vision, in true obedience he obeyed the\ncommand of Saint Endeus his spiritual father.\n\n\nXXXIV. HOW CIARAN VISITED SENAN\n\n12. And having set forth on the way he found in his journey a poor\nman, to whom, as he asked an alms of him, he made over his cloak. And\nwhen he had arrived at the island of Cathacus, blessed Senanus learnt\nof his arrival, the Spirit revealing it to him, and coming to meet him\nhe said as though smiling, \"Is it not shame for a presbyter to journey\nwithout a cloak?\" For Senanus in the spirit knew how he had given it\nto a poor man. And so he came to meet him with a cloak. And Keranus\nsaid, \"My elder,\" said he, \"beareth a cloak for me under his vesture.\"\n\n\nXXXV. CIARAN IN ISEL\n\n13. When he had received it and returned thanks to the giver, he came\nfor sacred converse to the cell of his brother Luctigernnus, where\nalso was his other brother, Odranus by name. There for some time he\nprolonged his sojourn, and was guest-master. Now one day when he was\nreading in the open air in the cemetery, guests came unexpectedly,\nwhom he led to the guest-house, having left his book open in\nforgetfulness: and he washed their feet with devotion, and did the\nother services necessary for them, for the sake of Christ. Meanwhile,\nwhen the night darkness had fallen, there was a great rain. But He Who\nbedewed the fleece of Gideon, but afterwards kept it untouched by the\ndew, so preserved the book of holy Keranus, open though it was, from\nthe rushing waters, that not a drop fell upon it.\n\n\nXXXVI. THE REMOVAL OF THE LAKE\n\n14. Near to the monastery in which the man of God was then staying,\nthere was an island, which certain worldly men inhabited, whose uproar\nused greatly to disturb the men of God. Whence it happened that\nblessed Keranus, compelled by their disquietude, made his way to the\nlake, and giving himself up wholly to prayer, succeeded in obtaining\nthe removal of those who were distressing the servants of God. For\nwhen he ceased from prayer, behold, suddenly the island with the lake\nand the inhabitants withdrew to a remote place, so that by no means\ncould its inhabitants disturb the friends of the Most High. For this\nmiracle was done in His Name Who overturned Sodom on account of the\nsin of its inhabitants, and consumed it with fire. The traces of that\nlake, where it formerly was, still exist.\n\n\nXXXVIII. CIARAN IN INIS AINGIN\n\n15. As the man of God was distributing the goods of the monastery for\nthe use of the poor, his brethren complaining of this and coming to\nhim inconsiderately, said, \"Depart,\" said they, \"from us, for we\ncannot live together.\" To whom agreeing, and bidding farewell in the\nLord, he transferred himself to an island by name Angina. A monastery\nhaving been founded in this island, many hastening from all sides,\nattracted by the fame of his holiness, submitted to the service of\nGod. Ordering them under strict rules, by face and by habit, by speech\nand by life, he showed himself as an example to them. For he was as\nan eagle inciting its young to fly, in respect to sublimity of\ncontemplation; but he lived as the least of them in brotherly\nhumility. For he was in spiritual meditations attached to the highest\nthings; yet so much did he stoop to feeble weakness that he seemed as\nthough he tended towards the lowliest things. He was also perfect\nin faith, fervent in charity, rejoicing in hope, gentle of heart,\ncourteous of speech, patient and long-suffering, kindly in\nhospitality, ever diligent in works of piety, benign, gentle,\npeaceful, sober, and quiet. To summarise many things in one short\nsentence, he was garnished with the ornament of all the virtues.\nExpending a care zealous for these and the like matters--the care of\nMary for contemplation, and of Martha for the dispensing of things\ntemporal--he fulfilled his duty in ordered succession. Nor could the\nlight of such and so great a lantern be hidden under a bushel: but\nit glittered with light, all around, wheresoever it abundantly\nilluminated the world with the outpoured glory of its grace.\n\n\nXXXIX. THE COMING OF OENNA\n\n16. He was nevertheless inspired with a spirit of prophecy, which\nappears from the preceding and the following examples. For on a\ncertain day the voice of one asking for ferrying had struck on his\nears. Then he said to the brethren, \"I hear,\" said he, \"the voice of\nhim whom God will set over you as abbot. Go, therefore, and fetch\nhim.\" So they hastened; and coming to the harbour, they found an\nunlettered youth. Not caring to lead him to the holy man, they\nreturned and declared that they had found no one, save an unlettered\nyouth who was wandering as a vagabond in the woods. But Saint Queranus\nsaid, \"Lead him hither,\" said he, \"and despise not your future\npastor.\" Who being led in, by the inspiration of God and by the\ninstruction of the holy man, took on him the habit of religion, and\nduly learned his letters. For he is Saint Oenius, a man of venerable\nlife; and, as the saint prophesied beforehand, he was duly set over\nthe brethren.\n\n\nXLI. HOW CIARAN WENT FROM INIS AINGHIN TO CLONMACNOIS\n\n17. At length, when some time had passed, a holy man by name\nDompnanus, of Mumonia by race, came to visit the man of God. When\nSaint Keranus enquired of him the cause of his coming, he replied\nthat he wished to have a place in which he could serve the Lord in\nsecurity. But Saint Keranus, seeking not his own, but the things of\nJesus Christ, said, \"Here,\" said he, \"dwell thou, and I with God's\nguidance shall seek a place of habitation elsewhere.\" Finally, the\nsacred community accompanying him, he made his way to the place\nforeshown him of God, in which, when the famous and renowned monastery\nwhich is to-day called the city of Cluayn was built, he himself\nilluminated the world, like the sun, with the light of famous\nmiracles.\n\n\nXLIV. CIARAN AND THE WINE\n\n18. Of the multitude of these miracles we add some here. One time,\nwhen the brethren, labouring in the harvest, were oppressed with\nperil of thirst, they sent to holy Father Queranus that they might be\nrefreshed by the blessing of water. To these, through the servants, he\nsaid: \"Choose ye,\" said he, \"one of two things; either that ye be now\nrevived with water, or that those who are to inhabit this place after\nyou be blessed with the things of this world.\" But they answering\nsaid: \"We choose,\" said they, \"that those who come after us may abound\nin temporal goods, and that we may have the reward of long-suffering\nin heaven.\" And so, rejoicing in the hope of the things to come, they\nabstained from drinking, though they were in great need of it.\n\nBut in the evening when they were returning home, the tender father,\nhaving compassion on the weariness of the labourers, blessed a vessel\nfilled with water: and now renewing the holy miracle in Cana of\nGalilee, he changed the water into the best wine. By this wine they,\nfainting from thirst, were revived; and revived in faith by the\nmanifestation of an unwonted miracle, they gave praises to God\nAlmighty. For the taste of this miraculous wine was more grateful than\nwas wont, and its odour scented the thumb of the wine-drawer so long\nas he survived.\n\n\nXLVI. HOW AN INSULT TO CIARAN WAS AVERTED\n\n19. One day when he was going on a way, most infamous robbers,\nseizing him, began to shave the head of the blessed man. But what the\nfrowardness of man wished to efface, the divine benevolence changed to\nthe manifestation of a mighty miracle. For in the place of the\nshaved hairs other hairs grew forthwith. The robbers, thrown into\nconsternation by this miracle, were changed to the way of truth, and\nat length, serving in the divine army under so great a leader, they\nfinished their life in holy conversation.\n\n\nXLVII. HOW CIARAN WAS SAVED FROM SHAME\n\n20. At another time when the good shepherd was feeding his flocks,\nthree poor men met him. To the first of these he made over his cape,\nto the second his cloak, to the third his tunic. But when they were\ngoing away there arrived certain men, leaders of a worldly life. As he\nwas ashamed to be seen of these without raiment, the Lord Who helpeth\nin need so surrounded him with water that except his head no part of\nhim could they see. But after these men had passed by the water soon\ndisappeared.\n\n\nXLVIII. HOW A MAN WAS SAVED FROM ROBBERS\n\n21. After this when some time had passed, certain companions of the\ndevil were trying to slay a man who dwelt near his monastery: whom,\nwhen the blessed man prayed for him, God marvellously rescued. For\nwhen they were slaughtering the man, they were striking on a stone\nstatue. The robbers, when at last they perceived this, being pricked\nin the heart, hasten to the shepherd of souls, Queranus: they humbly\nacknowledge their crime; and, amending their way of life, they served\nfaithfully under the yoke of Christ until death.\n\n\nXLIX. THE DEATH OF CIARAN\n\n22. The most glorious soldier of Christ, shining with these and many\nother [miracles], like the luminary which presides over the day, as he\nreached the setting of his natural course, approached it, seized with\ngrievous sickness. But because he who shall have endured unto the end\nshall be saved, so the champion of Christ, not only strengthening\nhimself in the battle of this conflict, but also calling on souls to\nconquer, caused the stone, on which, supporting his head, he was wont\nuntil then to concede a little sleep to his body, to be placed even\nunder his shoulders; then raising his holy hand he blessed the\nbrethren, and, fortified by reception of the viaticum of salvation,\ngave back his soul to heaven. For as that blessed soul departed from\nthe body, the choirs of angels with hymns and songs received it into\nthe glory of God.\n\n\nLI. THE EARTH OF CIARAN'S TOMB DELIVERS COLUM CILLE FROM A WHIRLPOOL\n\n23. Also, when the most blessed abbot of Christ, Columba, heard of the\ndeath of Saint Keranus, he composed a notable hymn about him: and he\nbrought it down with him to the monastery of Cluayn, where, as was\nfitting, he was received with hospitality in honour. Now as for the\nhymn, the abbot who was then presiding, and the others who had heard\nit, lauded it with many lofty praises. But when Saint Columba was\ndeparting thence, he took away with him earth from the sacred grave of\nSaint Keranus, knowing in the spirit how useful this would be against\nfuture perils of the sea. For in the part of the sea which bears\ntowards the monastery of I, there is a very great danger to those who\ncross, partly because of the vehemence of the currents, and partly\nbecause of the narrowness of the sea; so that ships are whirled round\nand driven in a circle, and thus are often sunk. For it is rightly\ncompared to Scylla and Charybdis; I mean that by its grave and\nunmitigated dangerousness, evil is there the lot of sailors. When they\nwere coming to this strait, they suddenly began to glide into it in\ntheir course: and when they looked for nothing but death, and because\nthey were as though apt to be devoured by the horrible jaws of the\nabyss, then Saint Columba taking some of the aforesaid dust that had\nbeen taken from the tomb of blessed Keranus, cast it into that sea.\nThen there befell a thing marvellous and worthy of great wonder; for\nsooner than it is told, that cruel storm ceased, and accorded them a\nquiet passage. Truly do the just live for ever; among whom blessed\nQueranus reigneth, the earth or dust of whose sepulchre stilled the\nsea, established in the Faith the hearts of those who feared, and\nstrengthened them to good works. Wherefore blessed Keranus liveth not\nonly for God, to whom he is inseparably bound, but also for men, on\nwhom in time of need he bestoweth benefits.\n\n\nA RIME ABOUT HIM\n\n1. As the mother of Quiaranus sat in a noisy carriage, a wizard heard\nthe sound and said out to his attendant lads, \"See ye who is in the\ncarriage, for it soundeth under a king.\" \"The wife,\" say they, \"of\nBeodus the wright sitteth here.\" The wizard says: \"She shall bear a\nking acceptable to all, whose works shall shine like Phoebus in the\nsky.\" The soldier of Christ, Keranus, a temple of the Holy Spirit,\nflourished in the virtue of spiritual piety.\n\n2. He bestowed the sucking calf of a cow on a hound; then his mother\nseverely upbraided Queranus. He asked the devoured calf from the hound\nitself, and presently bearing back its bones he restored it.\n\n3. The bald head of a royal woman had been made bare by the envy of an\nevil concubine; when it was signed in the name of Queranus it shone\nadorned with golden hair.\n\n4. When Queranus was occupied with sacred studies, and asked time that\nhe might engage himself therein, then the mill is moved for him by\nangels.\n\n5. The gospel text had fallen into a lake, but when time passed, by\nthe merits of Queranus, a cow brought it back sound from the abyss.\n\n6. When as a boy he was praying the Lord, and was spending his time in\nprayer, fire came from above in the citadel of the pole. The dead boy\ndescried the lights of life, and the saints glorify the mighty Lord.\nSparkling fire falling from heaven is kindled and forthwith he\ncompletes his especial duty.\n\n7. To the high and ineffable company of apostles of the heavenly\nJerusalem, the lofty watch-tower, sitting on thrones shining like the\nsun, Queranus the holy priest, the eminent messenger of Christ, is\nexalted by the heavenly hands of angels, with the happy clans of holy\nones made perfect; whom Thou, Christ, hast sent as a man, an apostle\nto the world, glorious in all the latest times.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nTHE THIRD LATIN LIFE OF SAINT CIARAN\n\n\nII. THE ORIGIN AND BIRTH OF CIARAN: THE WIZARD'S PROPHECIES\n\n1. The blessed and venerable abbot Queranus was born of a noble and\nreligious stock of the Scots, of a father Beoid, that is Boeus, by\nname, who was a cartwright, and of a mother Darerca; of these many\nsaints were born. This man of God was prophesied of by Saint Patrick,\nfifty years before his birth. Moreover when his mother, sitting in\na carriage one day, passed near the house of a certain wizard, the\nwizard, hearing the noise of the carriage said in prophecy, \"The\ncarriage soundeth under a king.\" And when his folk went in surprise to\nsee the truth of the matter, and beheld no one but the wife of Boeus\nin the carriage, they said in mockery, \"Lo, the wife of Beoit sitteth\nin the carriage.\" To whom the wizard said, \"Not of her do I speak, but\nof the son whom she hath in her womb, who shall be a mighty king; and\nas the sun blazeth in mid-day, so shall he with miracles shine and\nillumine this island.\" After this, as his father was being burdened\nunder the taxes of Anmereus, that is Anmirech, leaving his native\nregion he departed into the territory of the Conactei; and there in\nthe plain of Ay he begat his blessed son Queranus, who was baptized\nand instructed by a certain holy man, Dermicius by name. And the holy\nboy, in manners beyond his years, worked many wonders.\n\n\nIII. HOW CIARAN RAISED THE STEED OF OENGUS FROM DEATH\n\n2. So when the horse of the son of the king of that territory died by\naccident, he saw in a vision a shining man saying to him, \"The holy\nboy Quieranus who liveth among you, can quicken thy horse. Present him\nwith a reward for the health of thy horse, and he shall resuscitate\nhim.\" The royal youth, awakened from sleep, went to Queranus, and\nprayed him on behalf of the horse. The holy boy, without delay,\nblessed water, and when he poured it into the mouth of the horse it\nwas restored to its former health. And when the king saw what was\ndone, he made over an excellent field as a reward to Saint Quieranus.\n\n\nIV. HOW CIARAN TURNED WATER INTO HONEY\n\n3. At another time his mother upbraided him because, though the other\nboys collected honey for their mothers, he used to bring her no honey.\nBut hearkening humbly to his mother, he went to a neighbouring spring,\nand carrying thence a vessel full of water, he blessed it, and it was\nchanged into excellent honey.\n\n\nV. HOW CIARAN WAS DELIVERED FROM A HOUND\n\n4. On a certain other day some men, spurred by a malignant spirit,\nincited a most savage dog to devour the holy man. But Keranus trusting\nin the Lord, and fortifying himself with the buckler of prayer, said,\n\"Deliver not the soul that trusteth in Thee unto beasts\"; and soon the\ndog died.\n\n\nIX. HOW CIARAN RESTORED A CALF WHICH A WOLF HAD DEVOURED\n\n5. When at another time he was feeding the herds of his parents, as\nmen are wont to do,[1] a cow brought forth a calf in his presence. But\nthere came a hound consumed with leanness, seeking to fill his belly\nwith what fell from the body of the mother along with the calf; and\nmoved with compassion he said unto him, \"Eat, poor wretch, yonder\ncalf, for great is thy need of it.\" The hound fulfilled the commands\nof Keranus, and ate the calf to the bones. As Keranus returned home to\nthe house of his parents with the herds, the cow, recalling the\ncalf to memory, went running about lowing. The mother of Keranus,\nrecognising the cause of its lowing, said with indignation to the\nboy, \"Restore the calf, Keranus, even though it be burnt with fire or\ndrowned in the sea.\" But he, obeying his mother, returned to the place\nwhere the calf had been devoured, collected the bones, and carried\nthem with him and placed them before the mother [_father_,\nMS.], asking his God with diligence to hear his prayers for the\nresuscitation of the calf. And God hearkened to the holy one, and\nresuscitated the calf in the presence of his parents.\n\n\nX. HOW CIARAN WAS DELIVERED FROM ROBBERS\n\n6. At another time there came robbers to him when he was feeding the\nherds of his parents, wishing to slay him, so that they might the more\neasily reave what they would. But God had regard to their attempt from\non high, and so multiplied infirmities upon them that they turned in\nhaste to God. For they were smitten with blindness, nor could they\nmove hand or foot, till they wrought repentance, and were loosed by\nthe merit of Saint Keranus: recovering the light of their eyes and the\nvigour of their other members.\n\n\nXIV. HOW CIARAN GAVE THE KING'S CAULDRON TO BEGGARS AND WAS ENSLAVED\n\n7. It happened after this that he gave a cauldron belonging to the\nking, as he had nothing else to give to poor folk asking of him an\nalms. When the king heard what had been done, he was greatly enraged,\nand commanded his people to bring Saint Keranus to him in bonds. When\nhe was led to the king, he gave sentence that he should be reduced to\nservitude, and be set apart for grinding at the quern. But God, having\nregard to the humiliation of His servant, caused the mill to be moved\nof itself without human hand, and left Ciaran free to chant his\nPsalms. After a few days coppersmiths from the land of the Mumunienses\nbrought three cooking-pots with them, and offered them to Saint\nKeranus. Giving thanks for these to God, he was delivered from the\nyoke of servitude.\n\n\nXXIII. THE BLESSING OF CIARAN'S FOOD\n\n8. When on a certain day he was journeying alone, and the time of\npartaking of food had come, seeking one to bless for him he said\n\"_Benedic._\" And as no one answered, he departed, fasting. On the\nfollowing day, seeking one to bless and finding him not, he went on\nfasting in like manner. On the third day he went forth fasting,\nand being weary with the journey he lay down; and when he asked a\nbenediction as was customary, a voice came from heaven and blessed his\nmeal, and so, eating and giving thanks, he completed his journey.\n\n\nXV. HOW CIARAN REPROVED HIS MOTHER\n\n9. One time when he was coming from the fields to the house certain\nstrangers met him; and when he had asked them whence they had come,\nthey said, \"From the house of Boetius the wright.\" And when he had\nagain asked them how they had been refreshed there, they answered,\n\"Not only got we no food, but the woman of the house heaped insults\nand abuse upon us.\" But he, fired with the flames of charity, went to\nhis father's house, and cast whatsoever of food he found there into\nthe mud, thinking that what was not offered to Christ, and that in\nwhich the pleasure of the devil was wrought, was corrupt and unclean\nand should not be eaten of any.\n\n\nXVI. THE BREAKING OF THE CARRIAGE-AXLE\n\n10. At another time when with his father he was sitting in a carriage,\nthe axle of the carriage broke in two; but yet for the whole day they\ncontinued their journey safely, without any mishap.\n\n\nXVII. HOW CIARAN WENT WITH HIS COW TO THE SCHOOL OF FINDIAN\n\n11. After these things, having heard the renown of the holiness and\nsound doctrine of Saint Finnianus of Cluayn Hyrart, he desired to\nhasten to him as to a living fountain, and asked of his mother a cow,\nto yield him the food necessary to sustain life. When his mother\nrefused his request, he went to the kine of his mother, trusting in\nhis God, and blessed one of them in the name of God; and the cow, by\nthe favour of God, mindful of the blessing of the man of God, followed\nhim with her calf till he had arrived at the church of the man of God\nFynnianus. When the man of God arrived at the place of his desire, he\ndrew a dividing-line with his rod between the cow and the calf, in\nthe name of Him who set a boundary to the waters that they should not\ntransgress their limit, and this they did not cross till they were\npermitted. The milk of that cow was sufficient for twelve men every\nday.\n\n\nXVIII. THE ANGELS GRIND FOR CIARAN\n\n12. At that time there were twelve very holy and reverend men reading\nin that school, and each of them on his day ground at the quern with\nhis own hand, as was customary. But in the day of Saint Keranus the\nangels of God used to turn the quern for him.\n\n\nXXX. THE ADVENTURE OF THE ROBBERS OF LOCH ERNE\n\n13. At another time, when blessed Keranus had been in an island\nsituated in Loch Eirne, in the school of a holy man; and it was a\ncustom with the saints that three men should go out with an elder to\nbring in timber; it was the lot of Saint Keranus to go to the forest\nwith three monks to cut timber. And when he was praying apart and the\nothers were cutting wood, robbers came and slew those three monks, and\ncut off and carried away their heads with them. Saint Keranus, not\nhearing the sound of those who were hacking and hewing timber,\nreturned from the place of prayer and found his three companions slain\nand decapitated. But the man of God, though first he grieved sorely\nover this deed, yet, recovering his power from Him Who deserteth not\nHis own in their necessity, hastened after the murderers, and found\nthem sweating to drag a little boat down to the water. But it was\nwondrously contrived that the skiff should weigh most heavily, like\na ship, and with this their bodily strength wholly failed them. Then\nthey turned themselves to the holy man, and begging pardon of him,\nthey obtained it in mercy. And when as a price for their restored\nstrength he obtained the heads of his companions from the robbers, he\nran with them to the place where the bodies of the martyrs were lying,\nplaced each of them respectively at the junction with its body, and\nrestored them to life from death in the Name of the Holy Trinity.\nAnd as a sign of this unwonted miracle, so long as they lived there\nremained a blood-marked circle round their necks, that thereby\nthe Faithful should be strengthened in the Faith and the infidels\nconfuted. It endeth; Amen.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: _More humano_: but is this an error for _in quodam\nloco_?]\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nTHE IRISH LIFE OF SAINT CIARAN\n\n\nI. THE HOMILETIC INTRODUCTION\n\n1. _Omnia quaecumque uultis ut faciant homines uobis, ita et uos\nfaciatis illis, haec est enim lex et prophetae:_ \"Every good thing\nthat ye wish to be done unto you by men, let it be likewise that ye do\nto them, for that is Law and Prophecy.\"\n\nNow He Who prohibiteth every evil, Who proclaimeth every good, Who\nreconcileth God and man, Jesus Christ Son of the Living God, the\nSaviour of the whole world, He it is Who spake these words; to teach\nHis apostles and His disciples and the whole Church concerning the\ncovenant[1] of charity; that men should do of good and of charity to\ntheir neighbour as much as they would do unto themselves. To that end\nsaith Jesus, _Omnia quaecumque uultis_. Now Matthew son of Alphaeus,\nthe eminent sage of the Hebrews, one of the four who expounded the\nGospel of the Lord, he it is who wrote these words in the heart of his\nGospel, saying after his Master Jesus, _Omnia quaecumque_.\n\n_Si ergo uos, cum sitis mali, nostis bona data dare filiis uestris,\nquanto magis Pater uester celestis dabit bona petentibus Se:_[2] That\nis, \"If ye being men _[sic]_ give good gifts to your children, much\nmore shall the Heavenly Father give good to His children who ask\nHim.\" It is after these words that Jesus spake this counsel, _Omnia\nquaecumque,_ etc. For Law and Prophecy command us to give love to God\nand to the neighbour. _Finis enim precepti caritas est, quia caritas\npropria et specialis uirtus est Christianorum. Nam caeterae uirtutes\nbonis et malis possunt esse communes; caritatem autem habere nisi\nperfecti non possunt. Vnde Iesus ait, \"In hoc cognoscent omnes quod\ndiscipuli Mei estis, si dilexeritis inuicem.\"_ \"For the roof and\nsummit of divine doctrine is charity, because charity is the especial\nvirtue of the Christians. For the other virtues may belong to good and\nto evil men alike; but none hath charity save good men only. Wherefore\nJesus saith, 'Hereby shall all men recognise that ye are of My folk,\nif each of you loveth his fellow as I have loved you.'\"[3] _Et iterum\ndixit Iesus: Hoc est preceptum meum ut diligatis inuicem sicut dilexi\nuos._ \"And thus said Jesus further: 'This is my counsel to you, that\neach of you love his fellow as I have loved you.'\"\n\nMany of the children of life, apostles and disciples of the Lord, have\nthenceforward fulfilled with zeal and with piety the counsel that\nJesus gave them as to fulfilling charity; as _he_ fulfilled and loved\ncharity especially beyond all virtues, to wit the noble glorious\napostle, the father confessor, the spark-flashing, the man through\nwhom the west of the world shone with signs and wonders, with virtues\nand with good deeds, _Sanctus Ciaranus sacerdos et apostolus Dei_, the\narchpresbyter and apostle Saint Ciaran, son of the wright. Now he was\nson of the Wright Who formed heaven and earth with all that in them\nis, according to his heavenly genealogy; and son of the wright who\nused to frame carriages and all other handiworks beside, according to\nhis earthly genealogy.\n\nThe date which the Faithful honour as the feast-day of this noble one\nis the fifth of the ides of September according to the day of the\nsolar month, and this day to-day according to the day of the week.\n\nAccordingly I shall relate a short memoir of the signs and wonders of\nthat devout one, for a delight of soul to the Faithful; and of his\nearthly generation, and of his mode of life,[4] and of the perfection\nwhich he gave to his victorious course in the earth. A man held\ngreatly in honour of the Lord was this man. A man for whom God\nreserved his monastery, fifty years before his birth; a man whom\nChrist accounteth in the order of apostles in this world, as Colum\nCille said--\n\n    _Quem Tu Christe apostolum mundo misisti hominem._\n\nA lamp was he, shining with the light of wisdom and doctrine, as Colum\nCille said--\n\n    _Lucerna huius insulae lucens luce mirabili._\n\nA man who established a cathedral from which was drawn the\neffectiveness of rule, and wisdom, and doctrine, for all the churches\nof Ireland, as the same man of learning said--\n\n    _Custodiantur regmina adcessione edita Diuulgata per omnia\n    sanctorum monasteria_[5]--\n\nthat is, \"Let the rules and doctrines and customs which have been\nreceived from the master, from Ciaran, be kept by the elders of these\nmonasteries; thus, these are the rules and customs that have been\ndistributed and received of all the monasteries of saints of Ireland.\"\nFor it is from her [Clonmacnois] that are carried rules and precepts\nthroughout Ireland.\n\nHe is a man whom the Lord accounteth of the order of chief prophets in\nthis world, as the same prophet said--\n\n    _Propheta qui nouissimus fuerit praesagminibus,_[6]\n\nfor it was by reason of his nobility and his reverence before the Lord\nthat he was foretold of prophets long before his birth, as Isaac was\nforetold, and John the Baptist, and Jesus, which is something yet\nnobler.[7] First Patrick son of Calpurn prophesied of him in Cruachan\nAigli, after the tree had closed around his relics in the place where\nthat settlement is now. Brigit prophesied of him when she saw the\nfire and the angel, fifty years before Ciaran, in the place where the\nCrosses of Brigit are to-day. Becc mac De prophesied, saying there--\n\n  Son of the wright\n        with choruses, with choirs,\n  In comely cloak,\n        with chariots, with chants.\n\nColum Cille prophesied in Ard Abla to Aed son of Brandub (or of\nBrenainn).\n\n\nII. THE ORIGIN AND BIRTH OF CIARAN: THE WIZARD'S PROPHECIES\n\n2. Now this is the genealogy of Ciaran--\n\n\n  Ciaran, son of         Lairne, son of      Bresal, son of\n  Beoit     \"            Cuiltre    \"        Dega      \"\n  Olchan    \"            Gluinech   \"        Reo-soirche, son of\n  Dichu     \"            Coirpre    \"        Reo-doirche    \"\n  Corc      \"            Lug        \"        Tigernmas      \"\n  Cuindiu   \"            Meidle     \"        Follach        \"\n  Cuinnid   \"            Dub        \"        Eithrial       \"\n  Fiac      \"            Lugna      \"        Irel the prophet, son of\n  Mael-Catrach, son of   Feidlimid  \"        Eremon               \"\n  Laire           \"      Echu       \"        Mil of Spain.\n\n\n\nBeoit son of Olchan of the Latharna of Mag Molt of the Ulaid was\nearthly father of Ciaran. Darerca daughter of Ercan son of Buachall\nwas his mother, as Ciaran said--\n\n  Mother mine, a woman good,\n    she Darerca hight;\n  Father, of Molt's Latharna\n    he was Beoit the wright.\n\nOf the Ciarraige of Irluachra was his mother, that is, more\nespecially, of the Glasraige. Glas the Poet was her grandfather. Now\nthis was the cause of the coming together of those twain. When\nBeoit went to visit his brethren who were in the territory of Cenel\nFiachrach, and when he saw the maiden Darerca before him, he asked for\nher of her [friends and her][8] parents, so that she was given him to\nwife. Thereafter she bore five sons to him, and this is the order in\nwhich they were born: Lucoll her firstborn, Donnan the second, Ciaran\nthe third, Odran the fourth, Cronan the fifth--he was a deacon, but\nthe other four sons were archpresbyters. Furthermore she bore three\ndaughters to him; two of them were virgins, to wit Lugbec and Rathbeo;\nPata was the third daughter, and she was a pious widow. These are the\ngraveyards wherein are the relics of those saints; Lucholl and Odran\nin Isel Chiarain, Donnan and Ciaran in Cluain maccu Nois, Cronan the\ndeacon and Beoit and the three daughters in _Tech meic in tSaeir_.\n\nNow there was an impious king in the land of Ui Neill at that time,\nAinmire son of Colgan his name. He impressed the tribelands and the\nsepts under a grievous tax. So Beoit went, a-fleeing from that king,\ninto the land of the Connachta, to Cremthann son of Lugaid son of\nDallan King of Ireland, to Raith Cremthainn in Mag Ai. The day on\nwhich Ciaran was conceived was the sixth of the calends of June, and\nhe was born on the sixth of the calends of March.\n\nThe birth of Ciaran was prophesied by Lugbrann the wizard of the\naforesaid king. The wizard _dixit_--\n\n  Oengus' steed he made alive,\n    while he yet in cradle rested;\n  God this marvel did contrive,\n    by Ciaran, in swathing vested.\n\nOne day when the wizard heard the sound of the carriage [he spake\nthus: \"See, lads,\" said he, \"who is in the carriage][9]--for here is\nthe sound of a carriage that bears a king.\" When the lads went out\nthey saw no one save Beoit and Darerca in the carriage. When the lads\nmocked the wizard, thus spake he: \"The child who is in the womb of\nthe woman,\" said he, \"shall be a great king: as the sun shineth among\nthe stars of heaven, so shall he shine, in signs and wonders that\ncannot be related, upon the earth.\"\n\nThereafter was Saint Ciaran born, in Mag Ai at Raith Cremthainn. He\nwas baptized by deacon Iustus, for it was fitting that the true one\nshould be baptized by a True One.\n\n\nIII. HOW CIARAN RAISED THE STEED OF OENGUS FROM DEATH\n\n3. A certain day the horse of Oengus son of Cremthann died, and he\nhad great sadness because of the death of his horse. Now when Oengus\nslumbered, an angel of God appeared to him in a dream, and thus he\nspake with him: \"Ciaran son of the wright shall come, and shall raise\nthy horse for thee.\" And this was fulfilled, for Ciaran came at the\nword of the angel, and blessed water, and it was put over the horse,\nand the horse arose from death forthwith. Then Oengus gifted a great\nland to God and to Ciaran in return for the raising of the horse;\nTir-na Gabrai is the name of the land.\n\n\nIV. HOW CIARAN TURNED WATER INTO HONEY\n\n4. A certain day his mother upbraided him. \"The little village lads,\"\nsaid she, \"bring with them honey out from the combs to their folks,\nbut thou bringest it never to us.\" When Ciaran heard that, he went to\na certain spring, and he fills his vessel from it, and blesses it: so\nthat it became choice honey, and he gives that honey to his mother; so\nshe was thankful. That is the honey which was given to deacon Uis (=\nIustus) as a fee for baptizing him.\n\n\nV. HOW CIARAN WAS DELIVERED FROM A HOUND\n\n5. A certain day evil men incited a savage hound against Ciaran, to\ntear him. When Ciaran saw the hound, he sang this verse: _Ne tradas\nbestiis animam confitentem tibi._ And when he said this the hound fell\nforthwith and did not rise again.\n\n\nVI. HOW CIARAN AND HIS INSTRUCTOR CONVERSED THOUGH DISTANT FROM ONE\nANOTHER\n\n6. This was the labour that his parents used to lay upon him, namely,\nherding, after the likeness of David son of Jesse, and of Jacob,\nand of the elders thenceforth, for God knew that he would be a wise\nshepherd of great flocks, that is, the flocks of the Faithful.\nThereafter a marvellous thing took place at Raith Cremthainn in Mag\nAi: he was keeping the flocks of [his parents at Raith Cremthainn, and\nthere was dwelling][10] his tutor, deacon Uis, at Fidharta, and there\nwas a long space between them: yet he used to hear what his tutor was\nsaying as though they were side by side.\n\n\nVII. CIARAN AND THE FOX\n\n7. Then there came a fox to Ciaran from out the wood, and behaved\ntamely with him. It would often visit him, so that he bade it do him\na service, namely, to carry his book of Psalms between him and his\nteacher, deacon Uis. For when he would say in Fidharta, \"Say this\nin the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,\"\nCiaran would hear in Raith Cremthainn, from that on to the end of the\nlesson; and the fox would be awaiting the lesson obediently till its\nwriting on wax was completed, and thereafter he would carry it with\nhim to Ciaran.[11]\n\nOnce on a time his natural treacherousness broke forth in the fox, and\nhe began to eat the book: for he was greedy for the leather that was\nbound around the book outside. While he was eating the book, there\ncame Oengus son of Cremthann with kernes and with hounds, so that they\nchased him, and he found no sanctuary till he came under the cloak of\nCiaran. The name of God and Ciaran's were magnified by the rescue of\nthe book from the fox and by the rescue of the fox from the hounds.\nThe book is what is now called the \"Tablet of Ciaran.\"\n\nMost consonant with these things is it for evil men who are near to\nthe Church, and who profit by the advantages of the Church--communion,\nand baptism, and food, and teaching--and withal stay not from\npersecuting the Church, until there come upon themselves the\npersecution of some king, or mortality, or a disease unknown: and then\nthey needs must flee under the protection of the Church, as the fox\nwent under the cloak of Ciaran![12]\n\n\nVIII. HOW CIARAN SPOILED HIS MOTHER'S DYE\n\n8. A certain day the mother of Ciaran was making blue dye, and she\nhad reached the point of putting the garments therein. Then said his\nmother to him, \"Get thee out, Ciaran.\" For they thought it unbecoming\nthat males should be in the house when garments were being dyed. \"May\nthere be a dun stripe upon them!\" said Ciaran. Of all the garments\nthat were put into the dye, there was not one that had not a dun\nstripe upon it. The dye is prepared again, and his mother said, \"Go\nout, Ciaran, this time, and now, Ciaran, let there be no dun stripe.\"\nThen he said--\n\n  Alleluia Domine!\n  White my mother's dye let be!\n    When in my hand it's gone,\n    Be it white as bone!\n    When boiling it is stirred,\n    Be it white as curd!\n\nAccordingly every garment that was placed therein was of a uniform\nwhiteness. For the third time is the dye made. \"Ciaran,\" said his\nmother, \"hurt me not the dye now, but let it receive a blessing from\nthee.\" When Ciaran blessed the dye, never was dye made so good, before\nor since; for though all the garments of Cenel Fiachrach (_sic_) were\nplaced in its _iarcain_, it would turn them blue; and at the last it\nturned blue the dogs and the cats and the trees that came in contact\nwith it.\n\n\nIX. HOW CIARAN RESTORED A CALF WHICH A WOLF HAD DEVOURED\n\n9. Once he was tending kine. A miserable wolf came to him. Now this\nwas a habitual expression with him, \"Mercy on us.\" [He said to the\nwolf in compassion][13] \"Rise and devour the calf and break or eat not\nits bones.\" The wolf went and did so. When the cow lowed a-seeking the\ncalf, his mother spake thus to him: \"Tell me, Ciaran, where is the\ncalf of this cow? Let the calf be restored by thee, whatsoever death\nit has died.\" Ciaran went to the place where the wolf had devoured the\ncalf, and collected the bones of the calf, and brought them before the\ncow, and the calf arose and stood up. _Ut dixit_--\n\n  One day when, assiduously\n    Ciaran the kine was havening,\n  He a calf for charity\n    Gave to a wolf ravening.[14]\n\n\nX. HOW CIARAN WAS DELIVERED FROM ROBBERS\n\n10. A certain day there came robbers from Ui Failge to slay people [in\nthe land][15] of Cenel Fiachach, and they found Saint Ciaran a-reading\nwith his herds; and they went forward to slay him. But they were\nsmitten with blindness, and could stir neither foot nor hand, till\nthey wrought repentance, and were loosed by the word of God and of\nCiaran.\n\n\nXIV. HOW CIARAN GAVE THE KING'S CAULDRON TO BEGGARS AND WAS ENSLAVED\n\n11. Another time his father sent him to present a cauldron to\nthe king, even to Furban. There met him poor men on the way, and\n[Ciaran][16] gifts the king's cauldron to them. So he was put in bonds\nthen, and slavery was imposed on him at the king's hands; and this was\nthe labour put upon him, to grind at the quern. Then great marvels\ncame to pass, for when he went to grind at the quern, it would turn of\nitself, and did so continually. They were the angels of the Lord who\nused to grind for his sake. Not long thereafter there came smiths from\nthe lands of Muma, with three cauldrons for Ciaran as an alms, and\nthus was Ciaran delivered from servitude to the king.\n\n\nXVII. HOW CIARAN WENT WITH HIS COW TO THE SCHOOL OF FINDIAN\n\n12. Now after those things Ciaran thought it time to go a-schooling\nto Findian of Cluain Iraird, to learn wisdom. He begged a cow of his\nmother and of his father, to take it with him to serve him.[17] His\nmother said that she would not give it him. He blessed one of the\nkine, to wit the Dun Cow of Ciaran, as she was called thenceforward,\nand she went with her calf after Ciaran thence to Cluain Iraird.\nAfterwards he drew a line with his staff between them, for between\nthem there was no fence, and the cow used to lick the calf and neither\nof them transgressed the mark. Now the milk of that cow used to be\ndivided between the twelve bishops with their folk and their guests,\nand it was sufficient for them; _ut dixit_,\n\n  Ciaran's Dun was wont to feed,\n    three times fifty men in all;\n  Guests and sick folk in their need,\n    in soller and in dining-hall.\n\nThe hide of the Dun is in Clonmacnois, and whatsoever soul parteth\nfrom its body from that hide [hath no portion in hell, and][18]\ndwelleth in eternal life.\n\n\nXVIII. THE ANGELS GRIND FOR CIARAN\n\n13. Now there were the twelve bishops[19] of Ireland in the school of\nFindian in Cluain Iraird, _ut dixit_,\n\n  Two Findians, holy Colums two,\n    Ciaran, Cainnech, Comgall fair;\n  Two Brenainns, Ruadan bright of hue,\n    Ninned, Mo-Bi, Mac Natfraeich there.\n\nThis was their rule, that every bishop[19] should grind at the quern\non his day. But angels used to grind at the quern for Ciaran's sake on\nthe day that was his.\n\n\nXIX. CIARAN AND THE KING'S DAUGHTER\n\n14. The daughter of the King of Cualu was brought once upon a time\nto Findian to read her Psalms, after offering her virginity to God.\nFindian committed the maiden to Ciaran, so that it was with him that\nshe used to read her Psalms. Now Ciaran saw naught of the body of\nthe maiden, so long as they were together, save her feet only. As is\nverified in the stanza--\n\n  A maid, rich in stateliness\n    with Ciaran there was reading;\n  Of her form or shapeliness,\n    he was all unheeding.[20]\n\n\nXX. HOW CIARAN HEALED THE LEPERS\n\n15. There came then twelve lepers to Findian for their healing.\nFindian sent them to Ciaran. Ciaran welcomed them, and went with them\nwestward from the cell, and tears a sod from the ground, so that a\nstream of pure water breaks forth from thence. He poured three waves\nof the water over each of them, so that they were healed forthwith.\n\n\nXXI. CIARAN AND THE STAG\n\n16. Further, into that school there used to come a stag to Ciaran, and\nhe would place his book on the horns of the stag. One day there Ciaran\nheard the bell. He arose suddenly at the sound of the bell, but still\nswifter was the arising of the stag, and it went off, with his book\non its horns. Though that day and the following night were wet, and\nthough the book was open, not a letter in it was moistened. The cleric\narose on the morrow, and the stag came to him with his book uninjured.\n\n\nXVII. THE STORY OF CIARAN'S GOSPEL\n\n17. Now into that school there came Ninned the Squinting, from the\nlochs of Erne, to read with Findian; and he had no book. \"Seek a\nbook,\" said Findian. Ninned went a-searching round the school, and\ndid not obtain a book from any of them. \"Hast thou gone to the gentle\nyouth on the north side of the lawn?\" said Findian. \"I shall go now,\"\nsaid Ninned. Now when Ninned reached him, Ciaran was going over the\ncentral text of the book of Matthew: _Omnia quaecumque uultis ut\nfaciant homines uobis, ita et uos faciatis illis._ \"I have come for\nthe loan of a book,\" said Ninned. \"Mercy on us,\" said Ciaran, \"for\nthat do I read this, and this is what the text saith to me, that\neverything that I would that men should do to me, I should do to all.\nTake thou the book,\" said Ciaran. On the morrow his companions asked\nof him, at the time of the lesson, where his book was. \"He gave it to\nme,\" said Ninned. \"Let 'Ciaran Half-Matthew' be his name,\" said one\nof the school. \"Nay,\" said Findian, \"but Ciaran Half-Ireland; for his\nshall be half of Ireland, and ours the other half.\"[21] As Findian\nsaid--\n\n  Holy Ciaran zealously\n  under Findian studying pored;\n  Half his book he left unread,\n  half of Ireland his reward.\n\nFrom this was the well-known saying _Non legam Marcum quousque\ncompleueram Mattheum_ carried to Rome, to Alexander.\n\n\nXXIV. THE STORY OF THE MILL AND THE BAILIFF'S DAUGHTER\n\n18. Now it came to pass that there was scarcity of corn and sustenance\nin that school, so that it was necessary for a strong man of them in\nturn to protect the sack of grain that was being carried to the mill.\n\nIt happened that Ciaran, in his turn, was carrying a sack of oats to\nthe mill. As he was opening the sack, he said, \"O Lord,\" said he, \"I\nwould that this were fine wheat, so that it were a great and a kindly\nand a pleasant satisfaction to the elders.\" And so it came to pass:\nthe angel of God took the mill in his hands, and he [Ciaran] was\nrendering his Psalms in purity of heart and mind, and the oats which\nwere being put in were choice wheat as they were coming out.\n\nNow the daughter of the bailiff of the mill came, amorous for Ciaran;\nand she gave her love to him, for fairer was he in form than any other\nof his time. \"Most hard for thee is that,\"[22] said Ciaran. \"Is it not\nthese things to which thou shouldest give heed--the passing of the\nworld, and the Day of Judgment, and the pains of Hell to shun them,\nand the rewards of Heaven to earn them?\" When the maiden went home,\nshe tells that tale to her father and her mother. They came and\noffered the maiden to Ciaran. \"If she sacrifice her virginity to God,\"\nsaid Ciaran, \"and if she serve Him, I will be in union with her.\" Then\nthe maiden offered her virginity to God and to Ciaran, and her folk\noffered their perpetual service and perpetual subjecthood to Ciaran\nfrom that onward.\n\nWhen they went to their house, a portion was sent to Ciaran by them,\nto wit, three wheaten cakes, with their meed of suet and flesh, and\na vessel full of ale. When the servants left it, and received a\nblessing, he said, \"Mercy on us,\" said he, \"it is not right for us to\neat of this, with exclusion of the other brethren.\" Thereafter he cast\nall the food, after shredding it fine, upon the mill, and he cast the\nale likewise, so that all was turned to fine flour.\n\nWhen Ciaran perceived the servant spying on him at the roof-ridge,\nhe spake a word against him, saying, \"May the crane,\" said he, \"take\nthine eye out of thy head!\"[23] And so it came to pass; for a pet\ncrane plucked his eye out of his head, so that it was on his cheek as\nhe was going home. The bailiff came straightway with the servant, and\nthey did obeisance to Ciaran, and he offered the mill with all its\nland to Ciaran for the healing of the lad. Ciaran laid his palm on the\neye and put it in its place, and he made the sign of the cross upon it\nso that it became sound.\n\nWhen he finished the grinding of the corn, four full sacks of\nconsecrated wheat were there, by the grace of God and of Ciaran. When\nhe reached his house with the wheat he made cakes for the elders. Now\nthese cakes were the best ever given to them; for from the time when\nthe mystic manna was received yonder by the sons of Israel, there was\nnot received the like of that food. For in this wise was it, with the\ntaste of every food of excellence, [both bread and flesh, and of every\nexcellent drink][24] both wine and mead; so that it filled and healed\nall of them. For every man in sickness who was in the whole city,\nwhosoever ate any of it was whole forthwith.\n\nThe elders did not observe the nocturn that night until prime on the\nmorrow.\n\nWhen Findian asked of Ciaran regarding the miracle that had taken\nplace, Ciaran related from beginning to [end][24] how the mill and the\nland with its implements, or its men, had been offered to him as a\ngift; \"and there for thee, Findian, is all that land,\" said Ciaran.\nThen did Findian give his blessing fervently to Ciaran; _ut dixit_\nFindian--\n\n  Ciaran my little heart,\n    whom for holiness I love,\n  Princely lands shall be thy part,\n   favour, dearest, from above.\n\n  Ciaran, famous all around!\n    wealth and wisdom on thee pour!\n  So may, in thy Church renowned,\n    knowledge grow yet more and more.\n\nNow this blessing was given fervently to Ciaran through his great\nlove and spiritual exaltation.[25] So that there he left half of the\ncharity, and the nobility, and the wisdom, among the men of Ireland to\nCiaran and his monastery. Moreover Ciaran left wealth to him and to\nhis monastery, so that thence is the wealth of Findian.\n\nThat corn sufficed for the congregation of Findian for forty days with\ntheir nights; and a third part of it was stored up for sick folk,\nfor it would heal every malady, and neither mouse nor worm dared to\ndestroy it. [It endured a long time][26] until it turned at last to\nclay. And every disease for which it was given would be healed.\n\n\nXXV. THE STORY OF CLUAIN\n\n19. One day when Ciaran was collecting a band of reapers, there met\nhim a youth named Cluain. \"Help us at the reaping to-morrow,\" said\nCiaran. \"I will,\" said Cluain. But when Cluain went home he said to\nhis folk, \"Should one come from Ciaran for me,\" said he, \"say that I\nam sick.\" When this was told to the lad who went to summon Cluain,\nhe reported it to Ciaran. When Ciaran heard it he laughed, and he\nunderstood that Cluain was practising deception, for he was a prophet\nof God in truth. Now when the folk of Cluain went to awake him, thus\nthey found him, without life. Sorely did his folk bewail him, and\nthere came the people of the neighbourhood to ask them the cause of\ntheir weeping. \"Cluain,\" said they, \"went to his bed in health, and\nnow he is dead; and Ciaran hath slain him with his word, for that he\nwent not to reap for him.\" All those people go to Ciaran to intercede\nwith him for the raising again of the dead: \"we shall all,\" said they,\n\"reap for thee, and we shall give our labour and our service to thee\nand to God for ever, if thou raise the dead for us.\" Then said Ciaran\nto his servant: \"Rise,\" said he, \"and take my staff with thee to the\ndead, and make the sign of the cross with the staff on his breast, and\nspeak this quatrain--\n\n    Cluain did say\n  He would reap with me today;\n    Living, by a dread disease,\n  Dead within his house he lay.\"\n\nThen Cluain arose forthwith and went with speed to Ciaran. \"A blessing\non thee, holy Ciaran,\" said he, \"good is what thou hast done for me;\nfor I am grateful to have come from the many pains of hell. Now know\nwe the profit of obedience, and the unprofit of disobedience, and we\nknow in what great honour the Lord and the folk of Heaven hold thee.\"\nThen he did obeisance to Ciaran, and gave him labour.\n\n\nXXVIII. ANECDOTES OF CLUAIN IRAIRD\n\n20. (_a_) Certain of the clerks asked of Findian which of them would\nlead the prayer when Findian should be no longer here. \"Yonder youth\n[Ciaran] is he,\" said Findian. \"Thou givest the abbacy to him above\nus all,\" said Brenainn. \"It hath been given, it is given, it shall be\ngiven,\" said Findian. All the saints except Colum Cille were envious\nbecause of this.\n\n(_b_) Then certain of them asked which of the saints should have the\ngreatest reward in heaven. \"Mercy on us,\" said Ciaran, \"that will be\nmade known in our habitations on earth.\" Then Brenainn of Birra made a\nprophecy of him: \"We shall take two habitations,\" said Brenainn, \"on\ntwo streams between chief cities, and the difference that shall be\nbetween the two streams shall be the difference between the size of\nthe cities.\"\n\n(_c_) When it was time for Ciaran to depart from Cluain Iraird, after\nlearning letters and wisdom, he left the Dun Cow with Saint Ninned;\nbut he said that her hide should come to him afterwards, and Ciaran\nsaid further, \"Though many be succoured by her milk, yet there shall\nbe more to whom her hide will give succour.\" And he said, \"Every soul\nthat parteth from its body from the hide of the Dun Cow shall not be\npained in hell.\"\n\n(_d_) Findian saw a vision of him [Ciaran] and of Colum Cille, namely,\ntwo moons in the air with the colour of gold upon them. One of them\nwent north-east over the sea, [and the other][27] over the middle of\nIreland. That was Colum Cille, with the glory of his nobility and his\ngood birth, and Ciaran with the glory of his charity and his mercy.\n\n\nXXVI. HOW CIARAN FREED A WOMAN FROM SERVITUDE\n\n21. Thereafter Ciaran went to parley with the King of Ireland, Tuathal\nMoel-garb, to ask him for a slave-girl that he had. Ciaran put his\nhand on the quern for charity, and he promised that he would serve\nin the place of the girl. Then Tuathal gifted the girl to God and to\nCiaran, and further he gave him his kingly apparel, and Ciaran gave it\nforthwith to poor folk.\n\n\nXXVII. HOW CIARAN FREED ANOTHER WOMAN FROM SERVITUDE\n\n22. One time Ciaran went to ask another slave-girl of King Furbaide.\nThen one man gifted him a cow as an alms, another gifted him a cloak,\nand another a kettle. Forthwith on the same day he gave them all to\npoor folk; and God gifted to Ciaran three gifts yet better, a cauldron\ninstead of the kettle, twelve robes instead of the one robe, twelve\nkine instead of the one cow. When the king saw that, he gave him the\nslave-girl.\n\n\nXXIX. THE PARTING OF FINDIAN AND CIARAN\n\n23. When the time came for Ciaran to bid farewell to his teacher, he\noffers to put his monastery at his service. \"Nay,\" said Ciaran,[28]\n\"sever not thy monastery for any save for God alone, Who hath given\nthee favour beyond us all.\" [\"The monastery I give thee,\" said\nFindian.][29] Ciaran weeps, for he thought it noble of his teacher to\noffer him his monastery. \"Well, then, let there be unity between us\nhenceforth,\" said Findian, \"and let him who breaketh that unity have\nno part in earth or in heaven.\" \"Be it so,\" said Ciaran. Then Ciaran\nwent his way; and Colum Cille uttered this testimony of him--\n\n  A wondrous youth from us departs,\n      Ciaran, craftsman's son;\n  Of greed, of pride, reviling, lust,\n      satire, he hath none.\n\n\nXXXII. CIARAN IN ARAN\n\n24. Thereafter Ciaran went to Aran to hold converse with Enda, and\nEnda and Ciaran saw one and the same vision--a great fruitful tree\nbeside a river in the middle of Ireland, a-sheltering the island of\nIreland, and its fruit was going over the sea that was around the\nisland outside, and the birds of the air were coming and taking of the\nfruit. Ciaran went and told the vision to Enda. Said Enda, \"That great\ntree which thou hast seen is thyself; for thou art great before God\nand man, and Ireland shall be full of thine honour. This island\nshall be protected under the shadow of thy grace, and many shall\nbe satisfied by the grace of thy fasting and of thy prayer. Rise\ntherefore at the word of God, and go to the shore of the stream, and\nfound a church there.\"[30]\n\n\nXXXIII. HOW A PROPHECY WAS FULFILLED\n\n25. Once when he was in Aran a-drying corn in the kiln, and Lonan the\nLeft-handed with him (one who ever was contradictious of Ciaran) they\nsaw a ship foundering in their sight. \"Methinks,\" said Lonan, \"yonder\nship shall be drowned to-day and this kiln shall be burned with the\ngreatness of the draught.\" \"Nay,\" said Ciaran, \"yonder ship shall be\nburned, and this kiln with its corn shall be drowned.\"[31] And this\nwas fulfilled; for the crew of the ship escaped, and the ship was cast\non shore close to the kiln. The fire seized the kiln, and the ship is\nburned. A blast of wind struck the kiln and its corn into the sea, so\nthat it was drowned, according to the word of Ciaran.\n\n\nXXXIV. HOW CIARAN VISITED SENAN\n\n26. When Ciaran left Aran a poor man met him on the way. Ciaran gives\nhim his linen cloak, and goes to Inis Cathaig to salute Senan. That he\nwas in one mantle only was revealed to Senan, and he went to meet him,\nwith a linen cloak under his armpit. And he said to Ciaran, \"Is it not\nshame,\" said he, \"for a priest to travel without a cowl?\" \"Mercy on\nus,\" said Ciaran, \"God will have pity [on my nakedness];[32] there is\na cloak for me under the covering of mine elder.\"\n\n\nXLIII. HOW CIARAN SENT A CLOAK TO SENAN\n\n27. When Ciaran arrived at Cluain maccu Nois he wished to send another\ncloak to Senan. The cloak was laid upon the stream of the Shannon, and\nit travelled without being wetted to the harbour of Inis Cathaig. Said\nSenan to his monks, \"Rise and go to the sea, and ye shall find there a\nguest, which bring with you, with honour and dignity.\" When the monks\nwent out they found the cloak on the sea, dry, and they brought it\nwith them to Senan, and offered an offering of thanks to the Lord.\nThat is now called \"Senan's cloak.\"\n\n\nXXXV. CIARAN IN ISEL\n\n28. Thereafter he went to his brethren to Isel, and Cobthach son of\nBrecan gave Isel to God and to Ciaran; and he lived there with his\nbrethren. One day when he was doing his lesson outside in the field,\nhe went to attend upon his guests, and left his book open till morning\nunder the rain; and not a damp drop fell upon the book.\n\nOnce Ciaran was sowing seed in Isel. A poor man came to him. Ciaran\ngives him a handful of the grain into his breast, and the grain was\nforthwith turned into gold. A chariot with its horses was gifted to\nCiaran by Oengus son of Cremthann. Ciaran gave it to the poor man in\nexchange for the gold, and the gold turned into grain, and the field\nwas sown with it.\n\n\nXXXVI. THE REMOVAL OF THE LAKE\n\n29. Moreover there was a lake near Isel, and country-folk and\ndespicable people used to occupy the island that was upon it. The\nnoise and uproar of those worthless people used to cause disturbance\nfor the clerics. Ciaran prayed to the Lord that the island should be\nremoved from its place, and that was done. The place where it was in\nthe lake is still to be seen as a memorial of that miracle.\n\n\nXXXVII. CIARAN DEPARTS FROM ISEL\n\n30. As the brethren could not suffer the almsgiving of Ciaran, so\ngreat was it, and as they were envious of him, they said unto him,\n\"Rise and depart from us,\" said they, \"for we cannot be in the same\nplace.\" Said Ciaran, \"Had I been here,\" said he, \"though this spot be\nlowly (_Isel_) in situation, it would have been high in glory and in\nhonour.\" Then he said--\n\n  Although lowly, it were high,\n  Had not censure come me nigh;\n  Had I not been censured so,\n  It were high though it be low.\n\nThen Ciaran put his books upon a wild stag; afterwards he accompanied\nthe wild stag wheresoever it would go. The deer went forward to Inis\nAingin. He went into the island and dwelt there.\n\n\nXXXVIII. CIARAN IN INIS AINGIN\n\n31. Then his brethren came to him from every side. There was a certain\narchpresbyter in the island, Daniel his name. Of the British was he,\nand the devil incited him to be jealous of Ciaran. A royal cup with\nthree birds of gold was given him by Ciaran as a token of forgiveness.\nThe presbyter marvelled thereat, and repented, and did obeisance to\nCiaran, and gave the island to him.\n\n\nXXXIX. THE COMING OF OENNA\n\n32. Once Ciaran was in Inis Aingin and he heard a cry in the port. He\nsaid to the brethren, \"Rise and go for your future abbot.\" When they\nreached the harbour they found no man save a weak unconsecrated youth.\nThey tell that to Ciaran. \"For all that, go again for him; it is clear\nto me from his voice that it is he who shall be abbot after me.\"\nThereafter the youth was brought into the island to Ciaran, and Ciaran\ntonsured him, and he read with him. That was Enna maccu Laigsi, a holy\nman, held in honour of the Lord; and it is he who was abbot after\nCiaran.\n\n\nXL. HOW CIARAN RECOVERED HIS GOSPEL\n\n33. It happened that the gospel of Ciaran fell into the lake from the\nhand of a heedless brother, and it was a long time in the lake. Upon\na day in the time of summer the kine went into the water, so that the\nstrap of the gospel attached itself to the hoof of one of the kine,\nand she brought it dry [from below][33] to haven. Thence is \"Port of\nthe Gospel\" in Inis Aingin. When the gospel was opened it was in this\nwise--white and clean, dry, without the loss of a letter, through the\ngrace of Ciaran.\n\n\nXLI. HOW CIARAN WENT FROM INIS AINGIN TO CLONMACNOIS\n\n34. A certain man of Corco Baiscind came to Ciaran, Donnan his name,\nbrother's son of Senan mac Gerginn; and he had the same mother as\nSenan. \"What wouldest thou, or wherefore comest thou?\" said Ciaran.\n\"Seeking a place wherein to abide and to serve God.\" Ciaran left Inis\nAingin to Donnan. Donnan said, \"Since thou hast a charity towards me,\nleave me somewhat of thy tokens and of thy treasures.\" Ciaran leaves\nhim his gospel--that which was recovered from the lake--and his bell,\nand his bearer Mael Odran. Three years and three months was Ciaran in\nInis Aingin.\n\nHe came thereafter to Ard Manntain, close to the Shannon. When he saw\nthe beauty of that place, thus he spake: \"If we dwell here,\" said he,\n\"we shall have much of the wealth of the world, and there shall be few\nsouls going to heaven from hence.\"\n\nThen he came to this town; Ard Tiprat was its name at that time. \"Here\nwill we stay, for there shall be many souls going to heaven from\nhence, and God and man shall visit this place for ever.\"\n\nOn the eighth of the calends of February Ciaran settled in Cluain, the\ntenth day of the moon, a Saturday. Eight men went with him--Ciaran,\nOengus, Mac Nisse, Cael-Cholum, Mo-Beoc,[34] Mo-Lioc, Lugna maccu Moga\nLaim, Colman mac Nuin. Wondrous was that monastery, set up by Ciaran\nin Cluain with his eight men after coming from the waves of the water,\nas Noah son of Lamech took the world with his eight after coming from\nthe waves of the Flood.\n\n\nXLII. THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH\n\n35. Then Ciaran set up the first post in Cluain, and Diarmait mac\nCerrbheil along with him. Said Ciaran to Diarmait when they were\nplanting the post, \"Warrior, suffer my hand to be over thy hand, and\nthou shalt be over the men of Ireland in high-kingship.\" \"I permit\nit,\" said Diarmait, \"only give me a token thereof.\" \"I will,\" said\nCiaran; \"though thou art solitary to-day, thou shalt be King of\nIreland this time to-morrow.\" That was verified; for Tuathal Moel-garb\nKing of Ireland was slain that night, and Diarmait took the kingship\nof Ireland on the morrow, and he bestowed a hundred churches on\nCiaran. Wherefore to prove that, it was said--\n\n  I'll speak both choice and truly,\n    although thou now art lonely,\n  Thou shalt rule Ireland duly,\n    after one's day's space only.\n\n  The chosen Tuathal's slaughter,\n    a crying without glory.\n  Thence is it said thereafter,\n    \"That deed was of Mael-Moire.\"\n\n  Without a court or slaughter,\n    great Diarmait Uisnech lifted;\n  A hundred fanes thereafter,\n    to God and Ciaran gifted.\n\nThen was the post made fast; and Ciaran said in fixing it, \"Be this,\"\nsaid he, \"in the eye of Tren.\" Tren was a youth who was in the\nfortress of Cluain Ichtar, and who had adventured arrogance against\nhim. Forthwith his one eye burst in his head, at the word of Ciaran.\n\n\nXLIV. CIARAN AND THE WINE\n\n36. One day the brethren were sore athirst, while they were reaping in\nCluain. They send a messenger to the cleric, that water be brought\nto them in the field. Then Ciaran said, \"If to-day they would endure\nthirst, it would procure great riches of the world for the brethren\nwho would come after them.\" \"Truly,\" said the brethren, \"we prefer to\nexercise patience, whereby profit will be secured for ourselves,\nand advantage to the brethren who follow us; rather than to have\nsatisfaction of our thirst to-day.\"\n\nA cask full of wine was brought from the land of the Franks to the\nsteading, to Ciaran, in reward for their patience; and a fragment of\nthat cask remained here till recently.\n\nWhen the evening was come, Ciaran blessed a vessel full of water, and\nit was changed to choice wine, and was divided among the monks; so\nthat there was no feast that excelled that feast. For the folk of\nColum Cille came from I, after a long time, to this city. A feast was\nprepared for them, and it was noised abroad through the whole city\nthat never before or since was there a feast its equal. Then an aged\nman who was in the house of the elders said, \"I know,\" said he, \"a\nfeast that was better than this feast. Better was the feast that\nCiaran made for his monks when they were sore athirst,[35] so that he\nchanged water into wine for them. That it be no story without proof\nfor you,\" said the elder, \"it was myself who divided that wine, and\nmy thumb would go over the edge of the cup into the wine. Come and\nperceive now the savour of my thumb, which then was dipped into the\nwine.\" They came and were all satisfied with the savour of that\nfinger. And they said, \"Better,\" said they, \"than any feast was that\nfeast of which the savour remains after a long time on a finger.\nA blessing,\" said they, \"on Ciaran and a blessing on the Lord Who\nallotted every good thing to him.\"\n\n\nXLV. THE STORY OF CRITHIR\n\n37. Crichid [_sic_] of Cluain, a servant of Ciaran, went to Saigir and\nstayed there a long time. The devil tempted him to quench the sacred\nfire which the monks had in the kitchen. Said Ciaran of Saigir, that\nhe would not eat food till there should come guests who would bring\nhim fire. Crichid then went from them a short distance outside the\ncity, and wolves slew him, but did not injure his body. When Ciaran\nthe wright's son heard of the death of his attendant, he went to\nCiaran of Saigir to seek for him. When he arrived, Ciaran of Saigir\nsaid, \"First of all ye need water for your feet; but we have no fire\nto heat water for you. Let you as guests give us fire, for God hath\ndecreed this for you.\" Then Ciaran the wright's son raised his hands\nto heaven, and made fervent prayer. When the prayer was finished,\nthere came fire from heaven, and rested on his breast. He protected\nhis breast from the fire, and carried it with him to the monastery. He\ncast from him the fire on to the floor, and it did not hurt so much as\nthe fur of the robe of white linen which he was wearing.\n\nThen he revived his servant who had died before that, and he ate food\nwith them. The two Ciarans then made a covenant together. \"The wealth\nof the world,\" said Ciaran son of the wright, \"be in great Saigir.\"\n\"Knowledge and dignity incorruptible be in Cluain maccu Nois,\" said\nCiaran of Saigir.\n\n\nXLIX. THE DEATH OF CIARAN\n\n38. The soul of Ciaran was not more than seven months in this town\nbefore he went to heaven, on the ninth day of September. When Ciaran\nknew that the day of his death was drawing nigh, he made a prophecy\nwith great sorrow. He said that great would be the persecution of his\ncity from evil men towards the end of the world. \"What then shall we\ndo in the time of that crime?\" said the monks; \"is it by thy relics we\nshall stay, or shall we go elsewhere?\" \"Rise,\" said Ciaran, \"and leave\nmy relics as the bones of a deer are left in the sun. For it is better\nfor you to live with me in heaven than to stay here with my relics.\"\n\nWhen the time of his death was near to Saint Ciaran in the Little\nChurch, in the thirty-third year of his age, on the fifth of the ides\nof September as regards the solar month, on Saturday as regards the\nday of the week, on the eighteenth day as regards the moon, he said,\n\"Let me be carried out to the Little Height,\" said he. And when he\nlooked at heaven, and the height of air above his head, he said,\n\"Awful is this road upward.\" \"Not for thee is it awful,\" said the\nmonks. \"Truly, I know not,\" said he, \"any of the commandments of God\nwhich I have transgressed: yet even David son of Jesse, and Paul the\napostle, dreaded this way.\"\n\nThen the stone pillow was taken from him, to ease him. \"Nay,\" said he,\n\"put it under my shoulder. _Qui enim perseuerauerit usque in finem,\nhic saluus erit._\" Then angels filled the space between heaven and\nearth to receive his soul.\n\nHe was brought afterward into the Little Church, and he raised his\nhand and blessed his folk, and said to the brethren to shut the church\nupon him till Coemgen should come from Glenn da Locha.\n\n\nL. THE VISIT OF COEMGEN\n\n39. When Coemgen came after three days, he received no full courtesy\nat first from the clerics, as they were in great sadness after their\nhead. Said Coemgen to them, \"Let a doleful countenance be upon you\ncontinually!\" said he. Then fear took hold of the elders, and they did\nthe will of Coemgen, and opened the Little Church to him. The spirit\nof Ciaran went at once to heaven,[36] and he returned again into his\nbody to converse with Coemgen, and welcomed him. From one canonical\nhour to the next they were there in converse, and making a covenant.\nThereafter Ciaran blessed Coemgen, and Coemgen blessed water and made\na communion with Ciaran. And Ciaran gave his bell to Coemgen as a sign\nof their league and as a fee for their communion. That is what is now\ncalled the _Boban_ of Coemgen.\n\n\nLII. THE ENVY OF THE SAINTS\n\n40. The saints of Ireland were envious of Ciaran for his excellence,\nand they put their trust in the King of Heaven that his life might be\nshortened. So great was their envy against him that even his comrade\nColum Cille said, \"Blessed be God,\" said he, \"Who hath taken Saint\nCiaran. For had he lived to old age, there would not have been the\nplace of two chariot-horses found in Ireland that would not have been\nhis.\"\n\n\nLIII. A PANEGYRIC ON CIARAN\n\n41. Here then is Ciaran with the eight men whom I have mentioned, and\nmany thousands of saints besides. Here are the relics of Paul and\nPeter, which Benen and Cumlach left in the hollow tree here. Here are\nthe relics of the blind boy, the disciple of Peca. Here is the shrine\nof the guest Peca, whom a certain devout man saw borne by angels to\nthe burial of Ciaran. There were three wonders here that night: the\nguest-house being without fire, without guest, without prayer, for\nPeca was sufficient of fire, and guest, and prayer.\n\nThere is not one to relate completely what God wrought of signs and\nwonders for this holy Ciaran; for they are more than can be told or\nmentioned. For after the coming of Christ in the flesh there was\nnot one born greater in almsgiving and mercy, greater in labour and\nfasting and prayer, greater in humility and fervour of good-will,\ngreater in courtesy and mildness, greater in care for the Church of\nGod, greater in daily labour and in nightly vigil.\n\nHe it is who never put tasty food or heady drink into his body, from\nthe time when he embraced the religious life. He it is who never drank\nmilk or ale, till a third of it was water. He it is who never ate\nbread, till a third part of sand was mixed with it. He it is who never\nslept save with his side on the bare ground. Beneath his head was\nnever aught save a stone for a pillow. Next his skin never came flaxen\nor woollen stuff.\n\nA man with choice voluntary full offerings to the Lord, like Abel\nson of Adam. A man with zealous entreaties to God, like Enoch son of\nJared. A steersman full-sufficient for the ark of the Church among\nthe waves of the world, like Noah son of Lamech. A true pilgrim with\nstrength of faith and belief, like Abraham son of Terah. A man loving,\ngentle, forgiving of heart, like Moses son of Amram. A man patient and\nsteadfast in enduring suffering and trouble, like suffering Job. A\npsalmist full-tuneful, full-delightful to God, like David son of\nJesse. A dwelling of true wisdom and knowledge like Solomon son of\nDavid. A rock immovable whereon is founded the Church, like Peter the\napostle. A chief universal teacher and a chosen vessel for proclaiming\ntruth, like Paul the apostle. A man full of the grace of the Holy\nSpirit and of chastity, like John the breast-fosterling.\n\nA man full of likeness in many ways to Jesus Christ the Head of all\nthings. For this man made wine of water for his folk and his guests in\nthis city, as Jesus made choice wine of water at the feast of Cana of\nGalilee. This man is called \"son of the wright,\" as Christ is called\n\"Son of the wright\" in the Gospel (_hic est Filius fabri_, that is,\nof Joseph). Thirty-three years in the age of this man, as there are\nthirty-three years in the age of Christ. This man arose after three\ndays in his bed in Cluain to converse with and to comfort Coemgen, as\nChrist arose after three days from the grave in Jerusalem, to comfort\nand strengthen His mother and His disciples.\n\nSo for these good things, and for many others, is his soul among\nthe folk of heaven. His remains and relics are here with honour and\nrenown, with daily wonders and miracles. And though great is his\nhonour just now in this manner, greater shall be his honour in the\nholy incorruptible union of his body and his soul in the great\nassembly of Judgment, when Saint Ciaran shall be judge of the fruit\nof his labour along with Christ Whom he served. So shall he be in the\ngreat assembly, in the unity of holy fathers and prophets, in the\nunity of apostles and disciples of the Saviour Jesus Christ, in the\nunity of the nine grades of angels that have transgressed not, in\nthe unity of the Godhead and Manhood of the Son of God, in the unity\nnobler than every other unity, the Unity of the Holy Trinity, Father,\nSon, and Holy Spirit.\n\nI beseech the mercy of the Lofty Omnipotent God, by the intercession\nof Saint Ciaran, that we may reach that unity. May we dwell there, _in\nsaecula saeculorum!_\n\n\n[Footnote 1: Following the reading _cordus_ in the _Leabhar Breac_\ntext of the Homily from which this section is an extract, instead of\nthe unintelligible _comhlud_ of the MSS. of the _Life_.]\n\n[Footnote 2: This Latin extract in the Brussels MS. only.]\n\n[Footnote 3: In this paragraph the less corrupt Brussels text\nis followed. In the original the Latin passages, here printed\nconsecutively, are interspersed sentence by sentence with the Irish\ntranslation here rendered into English.]\n\n[Footnote 4: This is the apparent sense of the passage: the MSS. are\nhere corrupt.]\n\n[Footnote 5: Only the first two words of this extract in the\nLismore MS. The Brussels MS. erroneously repeats _reg[i]mina_ after\n_Diuulgata_.]\n\n[Footnote 6: The last two words in the Brussels MS. only, which also\nadds \"of the Elements\" after \"Lord,\" two lines further down.]\n\n[Footnote 7: Following the Brussels MS.: the Lismore text is here\nagain corrupt.]\n\n[Footnote 8: The bracketed words in the Brussels MS. only.]\n\n[Footnote 9: The bracketed words in the Brussels MS. only.]\n\n[Footnote 10: The bracketed words represent the sense of a passage\nthat has evidently dropped out of the MSS.]\n\n[Footnote 11: _Sic_ MSS.: we should read \"Iustus.\"]\n\n[Footnote 12: The Lismore text is slightly imperfect in this\nparagraph: it is completed with the aid of the Brussels MS.]\n\n[Footnote 13: This represents the sense of a passage that must have\ndropped out.]\n\n[Footnote 14: _Ut dixit_ and the stanza following in the Brussels MS.\nonly.]\n\n[Footnote 15: Bracketed words in the Brussels MS. only.]\n\n[Footnote 16: In Brussels MS. only.]\n\n[Footnote 17: Emending the _dia fhoglaim_ of the text (\"as he was\nlearning\") to _dia fhognam_.]\n\n[Footnote 18: These words in the Brussels MS. only.]\n\n[Footnote 19: \"Apostle\" in the Brussels MS.]\n\n[Footnote 20: From \"as is verified\" to the end of the stanza in the\nBrussels MS. only.]\n\n[Footnote 21: The Lismore MS. is here illegible: the rendering follows\nthe Brussels MS.]\n\n[Footnote 22: The Lismore MS. is here illegible: the translation\nfollows the Brussels MS.]\n\n[Footnote 23: The Brussels MS. adds \"and may it be on thy cheek as\nthou goest to thy house.\"]\n\n[Footnote 24: Bracketed words represent the sense of a passage\nevidently lost from the MSS.]\n\n[Footnote 25: Literally \"intoxication.\"]\n\n[Footnote 26: In Brussels MS. only.]\n\n[Footnote 27: The bracketed words in the Brussels MS. only.]\n\n[Footnote 28: The MSS. read \"Findian.\"]\n\n[Footnote 29: These words in the Brussels MS. only.]\n\n[Footnote 30: In this incident again it is necessary to follow\nthe Brussels MS. in places, as the Lismore MS. is corrupt and\nunintelligible.]\n\n[Footnote 31: Literally \"'tis a drowning that shall drown this kiln.\"]\n\n[Footnote 32: These words in the Brussels MS. only.]\n\n[Footnote 33: In Brussels MS. only.]\n\n[Footnote 34: This name in the Brussels MS. only.]\n\n[Footnote 35: Here the Brussels MS. is corrupt.]\n\n[Footnote 36: _Sic_ MSS. We should read \"came from heaven,\"]\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nANNOTATIONS TO THE FOREGOING LIVES\n\n\nI. THE HOMILETIC INTRODUCTION (VG)\n\nThe three Latin lives plunge _in medias res_ at the beginning; but\nVG prefixes an introduction borrowed from a Homily on _Charity_. The\nIrish text of this homily, with the original Latin, will be found\nprinted from the fifteenth-century MS. called _Leabhar Breac_ (\"The\nspeckled book\") in Atkinson's _Passions and Homilies_ (Dublin 1887).\nThe text announced by the preacher is clearly suggested by incident\nXXII. It has already been shown in the Introduction, that this Life,\nwith its homiletic preface, was a sermon written to be preached or\nread on the festival of the saint (9th September) at Clonmacnois.\n\nThe keynote of the Irish homily is struck in this first section. It is\nthe work of some scholar of Clonmacnois, with a warm enthusiasm for\nthe dignity of his _alma mater_. The sermon is as much a eulogy of\nClonmacnois as of Ciaran. In the preacher's view, Clonmacnois is\nthe chief and central church of Ireland, and the source of all\necclesiastical discipline in the country. Its founder excelled his\nfellow-saints as the sun excels the stars (Sec. 2). His pre-eminence was\nrecognised by angels, who relieved him of labour when his turn came (Sec.\n13): and on several occasions Findian showed a like favouritism (Sec.Sec.\n18, 20, _a_, _d_, 23). Clonmacnois was superior to the rival house\nat Birr (Sec. 20 _b_); and possessed in the hide of the Dun Cow an\ninfallible passport to heaven (Sec. 20 _c_). The vision of the tree seen\nby Enda and by Ciaran prophesied the pre-eminence of Clonmacnois (Sec.\n24). The other saints were envious of his renown and of the glory of\nhis monastery (Sec. 40).\n\n_The Hymn of Colum Cille._--Following the usual practice of Irish\nprose literary composition, the homilist intersperses his work\nthroughout with verse extracts, appealed to as the authority for the\nvarious statements which he has occasion to make. In the present\nsection he draws upon a hymn made by Colum Cille in honour of Ciaran.\nTo this hymn, and to its surviving fragments, we shall return in\ncommenting upon incident LI, where the composition of the hymn is\nalluded to.\n\n_The Ante-natal Prophecies._--Patrick is said also to have prophesied\nthe advent of Senan (LL, 1845)[1] and of Alban (CS, 505); and Becc mac\nDe that of Brenainn (LL, 3343). But the parallels drawn between the\nLife of Ciaran and that of Christ have made such prophecies especially\nappropriate in the present case.\n\nThe prophecy of Saint Patrick took place under the following\ncircumstances (VTP, p. 84 ff.).[2] The leper whom, in accordance with\na custom frequent in early Irish monasticism, Patrick is said to have\nmaintained--partly for charity and partly for self-abasement--departed\nfrom Patrick when the latter was on the holy mountain of Cruachan\nAigli (Croagh Patrick, Co. Mayo). He made his way to the then empty\nsite of Clonmacnois, and sat in the split trunk of a hollow elm tree.\nA stranger made his appearance, and the leper, having assured himself\nthat he was a Christian, requested him to uproot a bundle of rushes\nand to give him in a clean vessel of the water that would burst forth.\nThen the leper begged of the stranger to bring tools for digging,\nand to bury him there; and he was the first dead man to be buried in\nClonmacnois. Now after this had taken place, the nephew of Patrick,\nBishop Muinis, chanced to be benighted on the same spot, when\nreturning from a mission to Rome on which the apostle had sent him.\nThere were angels hovering over the leper's grave, and thus Muinis\nrecognised it as the burial-place of a man of God. He deposited the\nrelics which he was bearing back from Rome, for the night, in the\nhollow elm; but he found in the morning that the tree had closed upon\nthem, and that they could not be recovered. In sorrow for their loss,\nhe related the event to Patrick, and for his comfort he was told that\na Son of Life--to wit Ciaran, son of the wright--was destined to come\nthither, and that he would need the relics. These relics are mentioned\nin VG 41, though \"Benen and Cumlach\" [the leper] are there said to\nhave left them, not Muinis. From this reference we learn that they\nwere attributed to Saints Peter and Paul.\n\nIt is quite clear that this curious story has reached us in a\nfragmentary and expurgated form, and that if we had the whole\nnarrative before us it would afford us an indication that Clonmacnois\nwas the site of an earlier, Pagan, sanctuary. It will most probably be\nfound to be an invariable rule that the early Christian establishments\nin Ireland occupy the sites of Pagan sanctuaries; the monastery having\nbeen founded to re-consecrate the holy place to the True Faith. The\nhollow elm was doubtless a sacred tree; the well which miraculously\nburst forth was a sacred well: the buried leper may have been a\nfoundation sacrifice, like Oran on Iona. The old pre-Christian name of\nthe site is suggestive--_Ard Tiprat_, \"the high place of the [holy]\nwell.\" By no stretch of language can the site of Clonmacnois be called\nphysically high; as in the stanza quoted in VG 30, the word _Ard_ must\nbe used in the sense of distinguished, eminent, or sacred.\n\nOf the prophecy attributed to Brigit there appears to be no record in\nany of her numerous _Lives_: nor can I identify with certainty the\nstory of \"the fire and the angel.\" There were \"Crosses of Brigit\" at\nArmagh;[3] but as there were probably many other crosses throughout\nthe country dedicated to this popular saint we cannot infer that\nArmagh was the scene of the prophecy.\n\nBecc mac De was chief soothsayer to King Diarmait mac Cerrbeil. Very\nlittle is certainly known of him; most of the traditions relating\nto him consist of tales of his remarkable gift of foretelling the\nfuture--tales similar to those related of the Covenanter Alexander\nPeden in Scotland, or of the seventeenth-century Mayo peasant Red\nBrian Carabine.[4] He died in or about the year A.D. 555 (the\nannalists waver between 552 and 557); and the _Annals of Clonmacnois_\ntell us that he began to prophesy in 550. As Ciaran is said to have\ndied in 548, the statement that Becc mac De foretold his coming is\nanachronistic. The prophecy here attributed to him does not appear\nin the list of prognostications attributed to him (given in the MS.\nHarleian 5280, British Museum, edited in _Zeitschrift fuer Celtische\nPhilologie_, ix, 169), or in _Leabhar Breac_, p. 260, where some\nfurther particulars about him are given.\n\nI have ventured to emend the passage regarding Becc mac De slightly,\nrestoring the verse form which the prophecy seems to have had\noriginally. As it appears in the _Lismore Lives_ printed text it is\ngiven in prose; an insignificant transposition of the words, and the\ntaking of the word _andsin_ out of the inverted commas is all that\nis necessary.[5] In the rendering in the text an attempt is made to\nreproduce to some extent the elaboration of alliteration, but the\nend-rhymes and the vowel-assonances cannot be imitated without\nsacrificing the sense. The metre resembles that known as _mibhasc_\n(four-syllable and six-syllable lines alternating, but with\ntrisyllabic rhyme in the short lines).\n\nThe person to whom Colum Cille uttered his prophecy was Aed mac\nBrenainn, Prince of Tethba (Teffia), the region comprising various\nbaronies in the modern Co. Westmeath and part of Co. Longford. This\nAed gave Dermag (Durrow) to Colum Cille a few years before the\nlatter's departure for Scotland. There is, however, no record of\nthe prophecy in the lives of Colum Cille; probably his visit to\nClonmacnois from Durrow is in the writer's mind. Ard Abla, identified\nby O'Donovan with Lissardowlin, Co. Longford, was in the territory\nof Tethba. The Lismore scribe has written the name of Aed's father\nincorrectly (Brandub); the correction (\"or Brenainn\") is a marginal\nnote.\n\n\nII. THE ORIGIN AND BIRTH OF CIARAN: THE WIZARD'S PROPHECIES (LA, LB,\nLC, VG)\n\n_The Pedigree_ (VG).--The pedigree in VG traces Ciaran's descent from\nTigernmas, fabled to have reigned in Tara 3580-3657 _Anno Mundi_\n(1620-1543 B.C.).[6] Through Tigernmas the line is traced to Mil of\nSpain, the eponymous ancestor of the \"Milesians,\" or Celtic-speaking\ninhabitants of Ireland.\n\nThere is another pedigree, totally different, which connects the\nsaint, not with the Tara kings, but with those of the Ulaid or Ulster\nfolk, through the dethroned Fergus who figures so prominently in the\nepic tale _Tain Bo Cualnge_. This pedigree appears in the _Book of\nLeinster_ (facsimile, pp. 348, 349) and _Leabhar Breac_ (facsimile, p.\n16), the Bodleian MS. Rawlinson B 506, p. 154 _d_, and in the MS. in\nMarsh's Library containing LA, at the foot of the column where LA\nbegins; with an added note stating that Ciaran was \"of the true\nUltonains of Emain\": its authenticity is adopted by Keating (I.T.S.\nedition, vol. iii, p. 48). Correcting one copy with another this\ngenealogy runs as follows--\n\n\n  Ciaran  son of     Coscrach    son of     Aislithe     son of\n  Beodan     \"       Mesinsuad      \"       Modruad         \"\n  Bolcan     \"       Mesinsulad     \"       Follomain       \"\n  Linned     \"       Erce           \"       Deoda           \"\n  Corc       \"       Erc (or Oscar) \"       Eochaid         \"\n  Daig       \"       Mechon         \"       Corc            \"\n  Cunneda    \"       Nechtan        \"       Fergus          \"\n  Cass       \"       Aed Corb       \"       Ros             \"\n  Froech     \"       Aed Gnoe       \"       Rudraige\n\n\nThus both genealogies claim a royal descent for the saint. This is an\ninstance of a widespread policy, of which many traces are to be found\nin the old Irish Genealogies. The whole country was divided into\nterritories of different clans, under which were subordinate and\ntributary septs. The latter bore the chief burden of taxation;\nand they were for the greater part composed of descendants of the\naboriginal pre-Celtic tribes, who had been reduced to vassalage on\nthe coming of the Celtic-speaking invaders (about the third or fourth\ncentury B.C.). When a tributary sept became strong enough to resist\nthe pressure of these imposts, exemption was claimed by a sort of\nlegal fiction, by which they were genealogically affiliated to the\nruling sept. This practice led to the fabrication of spurious links,\nand even of whole pedigrees.\n\nIn point of fact several indications show that Ciaran belonged to a\ntributary sept, and was of pre-Celtic blood. These tributary\nsepts were distinguished from their Celtic conquerors by social\norganisation, racial character, and probably still to some extent\nby religion and language. They had much the same position as the\n_perioeci_ in ancient Sparta. The following are the evidences of his\npre-Celtic nationality--\n\n(_a_) The tribal names of his parents (Latharna, Glasraige). There are\ntwo forms of tribal names in ancient Ireland; those consisting of two\nwords, and those consisting of one. The first are in such formulae as\n\"tribe of NN,\" \"seed of NN\" or the like--NN being the name of a more\nor less legendary ancestor. The second are either simple names which\ncannot be analysed, or else are derived from an ancestral name by\nadding the suffix _-rige_ or _-raige_. As a rule the names consisting\nof one word only are fundamentally pre-Celtic, or denote pre-Celtic\nsepts, though in many cases they have been fitted with Celticising\ngenealogies.\n\n(_b_) The names of Ciaran himself and his brothers, and of one of his\nsisters. Donnan, Ciaran, Odran, Cronan are all diminutives founded\nupon colours--the little brown, black, grey, and tawny one. These\nindicate that the family was dark complexioned, which would also\naccord with a pre-Celtic origin. The Celts were fair, their\npredecessors dark. One of the sisters was called Pata, with an initial\nP. This is impossible in a Gaelic name.\n\n(_c_) The subordinate position of Ciaran's father, and his liability\nto taxation. In the _Book of Leinster_ and, in part, in _Leabhar\nBreac_, after the genealogy, we read \"He [_i.e._ Ciaran] was of one of\nthe seven clans of the Latharna of Molt. His father was originally in\nslavery in Britain; he went thereafter to Ireland to Cenel Conaill\n[north of Co. Donegal], and after that to Connacht[7] to avoid a\nheavy tax, so that Ciaran was born at Raith Cremthainn in Mag Ai.\" LA\ndescribes Ciaran's father as \"a rich man,\" and certainly the family\nseems to have been comfortably provided with cattle, the chief wealth\nof their time. In reference to his father's trade Ciaran is regularly\ncalled _mac in tsair_, \"son of the wright.\" The Rabelaisian\nextravaganza called _Imtheacht na Tromdhaimhe_ (\"The Adventures of the\nBurdensome Company\") introduces Ciaran as himself practising smith's\ncraft;[8] but no importance can be attached to so irresponsible a\nproduction. Analogous in this respect are the references to our saint\nin _The Adventures of Leithin_,[9] which also introduces Ciaran and\nhis monks; but as Dr. Hyde points out in his edition, these are merely\na kind of framework for the legend, and the story, though in itself\nextremely curious and interesting, tells us nothing about either\nCiaran or Clonmacnois.\n\n(_d_) The fact, specially mentioned in LA, that Ciaran was reared by\nhis parents, not put out to fosterage as would have been done had he\nbeen of gentle birth.\n\n(_e_) The pre-eminent position of Ciaran's mother in the home. The\npre-Celtic tribesmen of Ireland, like their Pictish kinsmen in\nScotland, were organised on the system of mother-right, in which\nproperty and descent and kinship are all traced through the maternal\nside of the ancestry. Throughout the _Lives_, Beoit is a cypher: the\nhouse and its contents and appurtenances are almost invariably treated\nas Darerca's property. Matriarchate usually implies exogamy, a man\nchoosing his wife from a sept differing from his own; and the\nchildren are related to the mother's, not the father's kin. The male\nresponsible for the education of the child is not so much the father\nas the maternal uncle. The law of exogamy was strictly followed in the\ncase before us. Beoit comes from north-east Ulster; Darerca belonged\nto a family which drew its origin from the south-east of the present\ncounty Kerry, though she seems to have settled in Cenel Fiachach at\nthe time when Beoit met her. Incidents VIII and X of Ciaran's Life are\nlaid in that territory, which falls in with a tradition, presently to\nbe noted, that the dwelling-place of the family of the saint was not\nRaith Cremthainn, but the place where the parents had first met--which\nwould be an instance of the husband dwelling with the wife's people,\nas is frequent under the matriarchate. The Celtic authors of the\n_Lives_ have transferred the kinship of the son to the father's clan,\nin accordance with their own social system; but an older tradition has\nleft an unmistakable trace in the confusion of the relationships of\n\"father\" and \"uncle\" in LA, Sec.Sec. 9, 10.\n\nIt is possible that the prominence of the mother in the household,\nand Ciaran's birth away from his ancestral home as the result of\na taxation, are specially emphasised because they offer obvious\nparallels with the Gospel story. The character of Darerca is, however,\nby no means idealised, as we might have expected it to be, had this\nbeen the chief purpose of the narrator.\n\n_The Parents of Ciaran, their Names and Origins._--The name of\nCiaran's father is variously Latinised in the Latin Lives. The Irish\nlives call him Beoit, a name analysed in the _Book of Leinster_, p.\n349, into _Beo-n-Aed_, which would mean something like \"Living Fire.\"\nThe _-n-_ is inserted, according to a law of Old Irish accidence,\nbecause _aed_, \"fire,\" is a neuter word. Thus arises the Latin form\n_Beonnadus_. By metathesis the name further becomes transformed to\n_Beodan_ or _Beoan_. The _Latharna_ were the people who dwelt around\nthe site of the modern town of _Larne_, which preserves their name;\nMag Molt (\"the plain of wethers\") is probably the plain surrounding\nthe town. The _Aradenses_, to whom LB ascribes the origin of Beoit,\nwere the people known in Irish record as _Dal n-Araide_, the\npre-Celtic people of the region now called Antrim.\n\nDar-erca, \"daughter of brightness\" or \"of the sky,\" was a common\nfemale name in ancient Ireland. The Glasraige to whom she belonged\nwas a tribe with divisions scattered in various parts of Ireland.\nIrluachra was south-east Kerry with adjoining parts of Cork and\nLimerick. Of her poet grandfather Glas nothing is known.\n\nIt would perhaps be too far-fetched to see a hint at a mythological\nelement in the traditions of Ciaran in the signification of his\nparents' names. Indeed, considering the _Tendenz_ of the Ciaran\n_Lives_, it is remarkable that there is no supernormal element in the\naccount of the birth of this particular saint; supernatural births are\nalmost a commonplace in Irish saints' lives as a rule.\n\nThe saint's own name is regularly spelt with an initial K or Q in the\nLatin texts, doubtless because Latin _c_ was pronounced as _s_ before\n_e_ and _i_ in mediaeval Ireland.\n\nThe _Annals of Clonmacnois_ preserves for us a totally different\ntradition of the origin and upbringing of the saint. Modernising the\nhaphazard spelling and punctuation of the seventeenth-century English\ntranslation (the original Irish of this valuable book is lost), we may\nnote what it tells us. \"His father's name was Beoit, a Connacht man\n(_sic_) and a carpenter. His mother Darerca, of the issue of Corc mac\nFergusa mic Roig of the Clanna Rudraige. He in his childhood lived\nwith his father and mother in 'Templevickinloyhe' [wherever that may\nhave been] in Cenel Fiachach; until a thief of the country of Ui\nFailge stole the one cow they had, which, being found, he forsook\ntogether with his father and mother the said place of the stealth [=\ntheft], fearing of further inconvenience.\" Here note: (1) that Darerca\nis given the ancestry attributed in the _Book of Leinster_ pedigree\nto Beoit, thus hinting at an originally _matrilinear_ form of the\nofficial pedigree: (2) that the settlement of the family in Cenel\nFiachach, _i.e._ the place of Darerca's dwelling, is definitely\nstated; (3) that the migration of the family does not take place till\nafter Ciaran's birth; (4) that a totally different reason is assigned\nfor the migration; (5) that incident X of the _Lives_ is directly\nreferred to; (6) that we hear nothing in this passage about the rest\nof the numerous family of Beoit; and (7) that the family is poor,\nhaving but one cow.\n\nCenel Fiachach (the clan of Fiachu) occupied a territory covering\nparts of the present counties of Westmeath and King's Co. VG\nerroneously writes this Cenel Fiachrach, which occupied a territory of\nthe modern Co. Sligo. _See_ further, p. 171.\n\n_The Princes._--Unfortunately Ainmire mac Colgain, lord of Ui Neill,\nand Cremthann, a chieftain of Connacht, are not otherwise known; we\ncannot therefore test the chronological truth of this part of the\nstory. Ainmire reappears as an oppressor in the life of Aed (VSH, ii,\n295). LA anachronistically confuses this Ainmire with Ainmire mac\nSetna, King of Tara, A.D. 564-566.\n\nIt is noteworthy that VG calls Cremthann \"King of Ireland.\" This is in\naccordance with the fact that the dynasty which united Ireland under\nthe suzerainty of the King of Tara was of Connacht origin.[10]\n\n_The Wizard's Prophecy._--The phrase \"the noise of a chariot under\na king\" is a stock formula in this connexion; compare, with Stokes,\n_Vita Sancti Aedui_ in Rees' _Lives of Cambro-British Saints_, p. 233\n(also VSH, ii, 295). With the incident compare the story of the druid\nrising to welcome the parents of Saint Senan, and when ridiculed for\nthus showing honour to peasants explaining that it was to their unborn\nchild that he was paying honour (LL, 1875). Observe that in both tales\nthe druid is _mocked_. This touch doubtless belongs to the Christian\nchronicler, taking the opportunity of putting the minister of the\nrival creed in an invidious position.\n\n_Deacon Iustus_, according to VTP (p. 104) and Tirechan's _Collections\nregarding Saint Patrick_ (edited in VTP, see pp. 305, 318) was\nconsecrated by Saint Patrick, who left with him his ritual book and\nhis office of baptism, in Fidarta (Fuerty, Co. Roscommon). It was in\nhis old age that he baptized Ciaran, out of Patrick's book--he was,\nindeed, according to the documents quoted, no less than 140 years of\nage. The glossators of the _Martyrology of Oengus_ (Henry Bradshaw\nSociety edition, p. 128) confuse him with Euthymius, the deacon,\nmartyred at Alexandria. The play on words (\"it were fitting that the\n_just one_ should be baptized by a _Just One_\") is lost in the Irish\nversion, whence Plummer (VSH, i, p. xlix) infers that this document is\na translation from a Latin original: but the fact proves nothing more\nthan that the author of VG borrowed _this particular incident_, as\nhe borrowed his preface, from a Latin writing. All these Lives are\npatchworks, and their component elements are of very different origins\nand dates.\n\n_The date of Ciaran's birth_ was 25 February, A.D. 515. The _Annals of\nUlster_ says 511, or \"according to another book,\" 516. The _Annals of\nClonmacnois_ has the correct date, 515.\n\n_The Geographical Names in this Incident._--_Temoria_ (LA) is Tara\n(Irish _Teamair_), Co. Meath, the site of the dwelling of the Kings of\nIreland. _Midhe_ (LA) means the province of Meath; LA is, however,\nin error in placing the Latronenses therein. The _Connachta_ are the\npeople who give their name to the province of Connacht. _Mag Ai_,\nvariously spelt, is the central plain of Co. Roscommon; _Raith\nCremthainn_ (\"the fort of Cremthann\") was somewhere upon it,\npresumably near the royal establishment of Rathcroghan, but the exact\nsite is unknown. _Isel Chiarain_ (VG), a place reappearing later in\nthe Life, is unknown, but doubtless it was close to Clonmacnois.\n_Cluain maccu Nois_, the \"Meadow of the Descendants of Nos,\" now\nClonmacnois, stands on the right bank of the Shannon about twelve\nmiles below Athlone. Extensive remains of the monastery founded by\nCiaran are still to be seen there. As for _Tech meic in tSaeir_, \"the\nhouse of the wright's son,\" we might have inferred that this place was\nalso somewhere near or in Clonmacnois; but a note among the glosses of\nthe _Martyrology of Oengus_ (under 9th September) says that it was \"in\nthe house of the son of the wright\" that Ciaran was _brought up_. It\nis therefore to be identified with the mysterious place corruptly\nspelt \"Templevickinloyhe\" (church of the son of the ----?) in the\nextract from the _Annals of Clonmacnois_ printed above.[11]\n\n_The Verses in this Section of VG._--The epigram on Ciaran's parents\nis found in many MSS. The rendering here given expresses the sense and\nreproduces the rhythm of the stanza, but does not attempt to copy the\nmetre in every detail. This is known as _cro cummaisc etir casbairdne\nocus lethrannaigecht_, and consists of seven-syllable lines with\ntrisyllabic rhymes, alternating with five-syllable lines having\nmonosyllabic rhymes. Literally translated the sense would run,\n\"Darerca my mother / she was not a bad woman // Beoit the wright my\nfather / of the Latharna of Molt.\"\n\nThe second stanza is misplaced, and should properly have been inserted\nin the following paragraph. Its metre is _ae freslige_--seven-syllable\nlines in a quatrain, rhyming _abab_: _a_ being trisyllabic, _b_\ndissyllabic rhymes. The stanza is obscure and probably corrupt; so far\nas it can be rendered at all, the literal translation is: \"He healed\nthe steed of Oengus / when he was in a swathe, in a cradle // there\nwas given ... / from God this miracle to Ciaran.\"\n\n\nIII. HOW CIARAN RAISED THE STEED OF OENGUS FROM DEATH (LA, LB, LC, VG)\n\n_The Four Versions._--This incident is told in all four lives, and it\nis instructive to note the differences of detail which they display.\nIn LA Oengus goes to fetch Ciaran, after consulting with his friends.\nIn LB he sends for him. In LC he goes to him, and in VG Ciaran comes\nwithout being fetched. The stanza interpolated in the preceding\nsection of VG introduces us to another variant of the tradition, in\nwhich Ciaran was a swaddled infant when the miracle was wrought. In LB\nthe incident is given a homiletic turn, by being told to illustrate\nthe saint's care for animals.\n\n_Parallels._--A similar but not identical miracle is attributed to\nSaint Patrick (VTP, 228; LL, 565). Here the saint resuscitates horses\nwith holy water; but in this case the saint's own curse had originally\ncaused the horses' deaths, because they grazed in his churchyard.\nSaint Lasrian also restored a horse to life (CS, 796).\n\n_Tir na Gabrai_ (\"the land of the horse\") is unknown, though it\npresumably was near Raith Cremthainn. The story was probably told to\naccount for the name of the field. It has been noticed that the Latin\nLives are less rich in details as to names of places and people than\nthe Irish Life. This is an indication of a later tradition, when the\nrecollection of names had become vague, or, rather, when names which\nhad been of interest to their contemporaries had ceased to rouse such\nfeelings.\n\n\nIV. HOW CIARAN TURNED WATER INTO HONEY (LA, LB, LC, VG)\n\nOne of the numerous imitations of the story of the Miracle of Cana.\nCompare incident XLIV. An identical story is told of Saint Patrick\n(LL, 108). Note the variety of reasons given for sending the honey to\nIustus.\n\n\nV. HOW CIARAN WAS DELIVERED FROM A HOUND (LA, LB, LC, VG)\n\n_Parallels._--The same story is told of Saint Patrick, in Colgan's\n_Tertia Vita_, cap. xxxi, _Septima Vita_, I, cap. xlvii. Patrick\nlikewise quoted the verse _Ne tradas bestiis animus confitentes tibi_\n(Ps. lxiv, [Vulgate lxiii] 19).\n\n_The Fate of the Hound._--This varies in the different versions. In\nthe Patrick story just quoted it was struck immovable, as a stone.\nIn LA it thrusts its head _in circo uituli_, which I have rendered\nconjecturally as the context seems to require, but I can find\nno information as to the exact nature of this adjunct to the\ncattle-stall. Du Cange gives _arcus sellae equestris_ as one of the\nmeanings of _circus_.\n\nLB and LC, which have many points of affinity, are in this incident\nalmost word for word identical. They agree in saying that the men\nsetting on the hound were spurred (_uexati_) by an evil spirit. The\nmisplacing of this incident in LB is probably due to a transposition\nof the leaves of the exemplar from which it was copied.\n\n\nVI. HOW CIARAN AND HIS INSTRUCTOR CONVERSED, THOUGH DISTANT FROM ONE\nANOTHER (LA, VG)\n\n_Topography of the Story._--Assuming that Raith Cremthainn was\nsomewhere near Rathcroghan, the distance between this and Fuerty would\nbe about fourteen miles. There is no indication on the Ordnance map of\nany rock that can be identified with the cross-bearing stone on which\nCiaran used to sit, though it clearly was a landmark well known to the\nauthor of LA. (_Pace_ LA, Rathcroghan is _north_ of Fuerty.)\n\n_Parallels._--The closest parallel is the story of Brigit, who heard\na Mass that was being celebrated in Rome, though unable to hear a\npopular tumult close by (TT, 539). Something resembling the action of\na wireless telephone is contemplated, the voices being inaudible\nto persons between the speakers. Thus the tales of saints with\npreternaturally loud voices are not quite in point. Colum Cille was\nheard to read his Psalms a mile and half away (LL, 828); Brenainn also\nwas heard at a long distance (LL, 3419). The burlesque _Vision of\nMacConglinne_ parodies such voices (ed. Meyer, pp. 12, 13).\n\n\nVII. CIARAN AND THE FOX (VG)\n\n_Parallels._--There are endless tales of how saints pressed wild\nanimals into their service; indeed the first monastic establishment of\nCiaran's elder namesake, Ciaran of Saigir, consisted of wild animals\nonly: a boar, a badger, a wolf, and a stag (VSH, i, 219; _Silua\nGadelica_, i, p. 1 ff.). Moling also kept a number of wild and tame\nanimals round his monastery--among them a fox, which, as in the tale\nbefore us, attempted to eat a book (VSH, ii, 201); otherwise, however,\nthe stories differ. Aed rescued a stag from hunters, and used its\nhorns as a book-rest (VSH, ii, 296); Coemgen similarly rescued a boar\n(VSH, i, 244). So, in Wales, Saint Brynach caused stags to draw\nhis carriage, and committed his cow to the charge of a wolf\n(_Cambro-British Saints_, pp. 10, 296). Saint Illtyd tamed a stag\nwhich he had rescued from hunters (_ibid._, pp. 164, 473).\n\n_Herding of Cattle._--There is abundant evidence from the Lives of the\nsaints that the herding of the cattle while pasturing was an important\nduty of the children of the household. There was no little risk in\nthis, owing to the prevalence of wolves.\n\n_Reading the Psalms._--The Psalms seem to have been the first subject\nof instruction given to young students; LB, 4, indicates that Ciaran's\nlessons with Iustus did not go beyond the mere rudiments of learning.\nThere is in the National Museum, Dublin, a tablet-book containing six\nleaves of wax-covered wood, on which are traced a number of the Psalms\nin the Vulgate version; this was most likely a lesson-book such as is\nhere described. The story evidently grew up around an actual specimen,\nthat bore injuries, explained as being the tooth-marks of the fox.\n\n_Versions of the Tale._--It would appear that this story was\noriginally an account of how Ciaran and his distant tutor could\ncommunicate, quite independent of incident VI. It has become awkwardly\ncombined with VI into a conflate narrative, as is shown by the silence\nabout the fox in LA. According to the one story, they used their\nsupernatural \"wireless telephone.\" According to the other, the fox\ntrotted back and forth with the book. In the conflate version, it\nwould appear that Iustus dictated Psalms to Ciaran by \"telephone,\"\nCiaran then wrote them on his tablets, and the fox waited till he\nwas finished and then carried them for correction to Iustus. (As is\nobserved in the footnote _in loc_, p. 73, we must read \"Iustus\" for\n\"Ciaran\" in the passage describing the proceedings of the fox).\n\n_The Homiletic Pendant._--The unexpected homiletic turn given to this\nstory in VG may perhaps find its explanation in facts now lost to us;\nthe passage reads like a side-thrust at some actual person or persons.\nIt may possibly refer to the act of sacrilege committed by Toirdelbach\no Briain, in 1073, who carried away from Clonmacnois the head of\nConchobar o Maeil-Shechlainn; but being attacked by a mysterious\ndisease--imparted to him, it was said, by a mouse which issued from\nthe head and ran up under his garment--he was obliged to return it,\nwith two gold rings by way of compensation. He did not recover from\nthe disease, however, but died in 1086 (_Annals of Four Masters_).\n\n\nVIII. HOW CIARAN SPOILED HIS MOTHER'S DYE (VG)\n\nI have found no parallel to this most remarkable story. It displays\nthe following noteworthy points--\n\n1. It belongs to the Ciaran-tradition which places the home of the\nfamily in Cenel Fiachach.\n\n2. It preserves what has every appearance of being an authentic\ntradition of a prohibition against the presence of males, even of\ntender years, when dyeing was being carried on.[12]\n\n3. Most likely the saint's curse--indeed, the whole association of\nthe tale with Ciaran--is a late importation into the story: it was\nprobably originally a [Pagan] tale, told as a warning of what would\nhappen if males were allowed to be present at the mystery. The\ndifferent colours which the garments assumed are perhaps not without\nsignificance; Sullivan, in his introduction to O'Curry's _Manners\nand Customs_ (i, p. 405), says \"the two failures ... are simply\nthe failures which result from imperfect fermentation and\nover-fermentation of the woad-vat.\"\n\n4. There is an intentionally droll touch given to the end of the\n_Maerchen_.\n\n5. The independence of parental control which the youthful Ciaran\ndisplays will not escape notice.\n\n_The Stanza._--This is written in a peculiar metre; two seven-syllable\nlines, with trisyllabic rhymes, followed by two rhyming couplets of\nfive-syllable lines with monosyllabic rhymes.\n\n_Iarcain_ is a word of uncertain meaning: it probably denotes the\nwaste stuff left behind in the vat.\n\n\nIX. HOW CIARAN RESTORED A CALF WHICH A WOLF HAD DEVOURED (LA, LB, LC,\nVG)\n\n_Parallels._--Practically the same story is told of Abban (VSH, i, 24;\nCS, 508) and of Colman (CS, 828). A similar story is told of Saint\nPatrick (LL, 91), but it is not quite identical, inasmuch as here the\nwolf voluntarily restored a sheep which it had carried off. Something\nlike this, however, is indicated in the Latin verse rendering of the\nstory (No. 2 of the Latin verse fragments at the end of LB). More\nnearly parallel is the tale of Brigit (LL, 1250; CS, 19) who gave\nbacon which she was cooking to a hungry dog; it was miraculously\nreplaced. A converse of this miracle is to be found in the Life\nof Ailbe, who first restored two horses killed by lions, and then\nmiraculously provided a hundred horses for the lions to devour (CS,\n239). Aed gave eight wethers to as many starving wolves, and they were\nmiraculously restored to save him from the indignation of his maternal\naunt (VSH, ii, 296). It is obvious, but hypercritical, to complain\nthat in these artless tales the kindness shown to the beasts is\nillogically one-sided!\n\n_The Process of Resuscitation._--The important point in the tale,\nthough the versions do not all recognise this, is the collection of\nthe bones of the calf. VG preserves the essential command to the wolf\nnot to break these. Colum Cille reconstituted an ox from its bones\n(LL, 1055). Coemgen gave away to wayfarers the dinner prepared for\nthe monastic harvestmen, and when the latter naturally protested, he\ncollected the bones and re-clothed them with flesh, at the same time\nturning water to wine (VSH, i, 238). Aed performed a similar miracle\nin the nunnery at Clonmacnois, replacing Ciaran's dinner which he\nhimself had eaten (VSH, i, 39). There is here no mention of the bones,\nbut very likely this has become lost in the process of transmission.\nBy all these tales we are reminded of the boar Saehrimnir, on whose\nflesh the blessed ones in Valhalla feast daily--sodden every evening\nand reconstituted from its bones every morning.[13] In a Breton\nfolk-tale, _La princesse Troiol_, the hero has been burnt by the wiles\nof his enemy, but his sorceress fiancee seeks among the ashes till\nat last she finds a tiny splinter of bone. With this she is able to\nrestore her betrothed; without it she would have been powerless.[14]\n\nVery probably the practice of \"secondary interment\" of human bones,\nwhich we find so far back as the later stages of the Palaeolithic age,\nis based upon the same belief; that if the bones are preserved, their\nowner has a chance of a fresh lease of life.\n\nThere is a curious variant of the story in the Life of Coemgen.\nHere the cow is driven home, and Coemgen, called upon to soothe its\nlamentations, fetches, not the bones of the eaten calf, but the\nculprit wolf, which comes and plays the part of the calf to the\nsatisfaction of all concerned (VSH, i, 239). It is evident that\nin this case there is another element of belief indicated: the\npersonality of the calf has passed into the wolf which has devoured\nit--in fact, the wolf _is_ the calf re-incarnate.\n\n_Resurrection of Beasts._--Calling dead animals back to life is a not\ninfrequent incident in the lives of Irish saints. We have already seen\nCiaran resuscitating a horse. Mo-Chua restored twelve stags (VSH, ii,\n188); but perhaps the most remarkable feat was that of Moling, who,\nhaving watched a wren eating a fly, and a kestrel eating the wren,\nrevived first the wren and then the fly (VSH, ii, 200). Saint\nBrynach's cow having been slain by a tyrannical king, was restored to\nlife by the saint (_Cambro-British Saints_, pp. 11, 297).\n\n_The Stanza in VG._--The metre is _ae freslige_. The rendering in the\ntext is close to the literal sense.\n\n_The Ejaculation \"Mercy on us\"_--or, more literally, \"mercy come to\nus.\" The sentence recording this habitual ejaculation, in VG, breaks\nso awkwardly into the sense of the passage in which it is found, that\nit must be regarded as a marginal gloss which has become incorporated\nwith the text. It has dislodged a sentence that must have legitimately\nbelonged to the text, restored in the foregoing translation by\nconjecture. Probably the lost sentence, like the intrusive one, ended\nwith the word _trocuire_, \"mercy,\" which, indeed, may have suggested\nthe interpolation; this might easily have caused the scribe's eye\nto wander. An habitual expletive is also attributed to St. Patrick\n(_modebroth_, apparently \"My God of Judgment!\").\n\nHere, again, the versions in LB and LC are very closely akin.\n\n\nX. HOW CIARAN WAS DELIVERED FROM ROBBERS (LA, LC, VG)\n\n_Parallels._--Robbers were smitten with blindness (cf. Genesis xix.\nII) by Darerca (CS, 179) and restored on repentance. The same fate\nbefell a man who endeavoured to drive Findian from a place where he\nhad settled (CS, 198). Robbers who attempted to attack Cainnech (CS,\n364, 389; VSH, i, 153), Colman (VSH, i, 264), and Flannan (CS, 669),\nwere struck motionless. The story before us is a conflation of the two\ntypes of incident, blindness and paralysis being accumulated on the\nrobbers. The same accumulation befell a swineherd who attempted to\nslay Saint Cadoc (_Cambro-British Saints_, pp. 31, 321).\n\nNote that this incident, like No. VIII, belongs to the Cenel Fiachach\ntradition. We have already seen that it was known to the compiler of\nthe _Annals of Clonmacnois_, though he ignores the miraculous element.\n\n\nXI.-XIII. HOW CIARAN GAVE CERTAIN GIFTS (LA): XIV. HOW CIARAN GAVE THE\nKING'S CAULDRON TO BEGGARS AND WAS ENSLAVED (LA, LC, VG)\n\nThese four incidents may be considered together: they are all variants\nof one formula.\n\n_Parallels_.--Brigit took \"of her father's wealth and property,\nwhatsoever her hands would find, ... to give to the poor and needy\"\n(LL, 1308). A story is told in the Life of Aed which is evidently a\ncombination of our incidents XII and XIII: to the effect that when\nploughing he made a gift of one of his oxen and of the coulter, and\ncontinued to plough without either (VSH, i, 36).\n\nThe angels grinding for Ciaran reappear in incident XVIII: this is a\nfrequent type of favour shown to saints. Angels ground for Colum Cille\nat Clonard (LL, 850), swept out a hearth for Patrick (LL, 121), and\nharvested for Ailbe (CS, 241).\n\n_Beoit an Uncle._--This is an important link between incidents XII and\nXIII in LA. Its bearing upon the question of the origin of Ciaran's\nfamily has already been noticed.\n\n_The Oxen ploughing._--Incident XIII would be meaningless if we did\nnot understand from it that at the time of the formation of the\nstory it was not customary to use horses in the plough. This is an\nillustration of the way in which these documents, unhistorical though\nthey may be in the main, yet throw occasional sidelights, which may be\naccepted as authentic, on ancient life.\n\n_King Furbith._--I have not succeeded in tracing this personage, who\nreappears in incident XXVII. But the story of his cauldron is found in\nthe Life of Ciaran of Saigir (CS, 815), in a rather different form--to\nthe effect that he deposited his considerable wealth for safe-keeping\nwith Ciaran, who was already abbot of Clonmacnois. Ciaran promptly\ndistributed it to the poor. Furbith was human enough to be annoyed at\nthis breach of trust, and ordered Ciaran to be summoned before him in\nbonds. This done, he addressed him \"insultingly,\" as the hagiographer\nputs it, in these words: \"Good abbot, if thou wilt be loosed from\nbonds, thou must needs bring me seven white-headed red hornless\nkine:[15] and if thou canst not find them, thou shalt pay a penalty\nfor my treasures which thou hast squandered.\" Ciaran undertook to\nprovide the required cattle, \"not to escape these thy bonds, which are\na merit unto me, but to set forth the glory of my God\"; and therefore\nhe was set free to obtain them. Another variant of these stories--a\ncommon type, in which the saint gives away the property of other\npeople in alms, but has his own face miraculously saved--is\nillustrated by the tale of Coemgen, who, when a boy was pasturing\nsheep. He gave four of them to beggars, but when the sheep were led\nhome at night the number was found complete \"so that the servant of\nChrist should not incur trouble on account of his exceeding charity\"\n(VSH, i, 235).\n\nThe site of _Cluain Cruim_ (LA) is unknown (perhaps Clooncrim, Co.\nRoscommon). The _Desi_ (VG), or Dessi, were a semi-nomadic pre-Celtic\npeople once established in the barony of Deece, Co. Meath, but\nafterwards in the baronies of Decies in Waterford: both these baronies\nstill bear their name. A branch of them settled in Wales. Evidently\nthe donors of the cauldrons which purchased the freedom of the saint\nwere of the Decies; they are said to have been Munster folk (the name\nof the province is variously spelled).\n\n\nXV. HOW CIARAN REPROVED HIS MOTHER (LA, LC)\n\nI have found no parallel to this story; it contains no miraculous\nelement, and may quite possibly be at least founded on fact. Its chief\nimportance is the prominence given to the _materfamilias_.\n\n\nXVI. THE BREAKING OF THE CARRIAGE-AXLE (LA, LC)\n\nUnlike LA, LC seems to imply that the injury to the axle was not\nrepaired. This would be parallel to the story of Aed, who, when his\ncarriage met with a similar mishap, was able to continue his journey\non one wheel only (CS, 336; VSH, i, 36).\n\n\nXVII. HOW CIARAN WENT WITH HIS COW TO THE SCHOOL OF FINDIAN (LA, LB,\nLC, VG)\n\n_The blessing of the Cow._--In this story we again note the prominence\nof the _materfamilias_: it is she who in most of the versions\nwithholds the desired boon. Note how LB endeavours to tone down the\ndisobedience of the saint by making the cow follow him of her own\naccord, or, rather, upon a direct divine command. The _Annals of\nClonmacnois_ presents the story in a similar form: \"He earnestly\nentreated his parents that they would please to give him the cow\n[which had been stolen and recovered; _ante_, p. 108], that he might\ngo to school to Clonard to Bishop Finnan, where Saint Colum Cille ...\nand divers others were at school: which his parents denied: whereupon\nhe resolved to go thither as poor as he was, without any maintenance\nin the world. The cow followed him thither with her calf; and being\nmore given to the cause of his learning than to the keeping of the\ncows, having none to keep the calf from the cow, [he] did but draw\na strick of his bat between the calf and cow. The cow could not\nthenceforth come no nearer [_sic_] the calf than to the strick, nor\nthe calf to the cow, so as there needed no servant to keep them one\nfrom another but the strick.\" A totally different version of the story\nof the cow is recorded in the glosses to the _Martyrology of Oengus_\n(9th September). Here Ciaran applied to his _father_, who, so far from\nrefusing his request, bade him go through the herd and take whatever\nbeast would follow him. \"The Dun Cow of Ciaran\" yielded to the test.\nFurther, the same cow followed him when he left Clonard, instead of\nremaining with Ninned as in the _Lives_ before us.\n\nNote how the author of LA has been unable to keep a very human touch\nout of his arid record: _matri displicebat, uolebat enim eum secum\nsemper habere_. This is our last glimpse of poor Darerca, and it does\nmuch to soften the rather lurid limelight in which our homilists place\nher.\n\n_The Division of Kine and Calves._--This miracle is one of the most\nthreadbare commonplaces of Irish hagiographical literature; it is most\nfrequently, as here, performed by drawing a line on the ground between\nthe animals with the saint's wonder-working staff. It is attributed,\n_inter alia_, to Senan (LL, 1958), Fintan (CS, 229), Ailbe (with\nswine, CS, 240), and Finan (CS, 305).\n\n_A miraculous abundance of milk_ was also given by kine belonging to\nBrigit (CS, 44) and to Samthann (VSH, ii, 255).\n\n_The Hide of the Cow._--Plummer quotes other illustrations of such\nmechanical passports to the Land of the Blessed (VSH, i, p. xciii).\nThe main purpose of this whole incident is doubtless to explain the\norigin of a precious relic, preserved at Clonmacnois. Its history\nis involved in some doubt: it is complicated by the fact that there\nexists a well-known manuscript, now preserved in the library of the\nRoyal Irish Academy, written at Clonmacnois about A.D. 1100, and\ncalled the _Book of the Dun Cow_, from the animal of whose hide the\nvellum is said to have been made. But whether this book has any\nconnexion with the Dun Cow of Ciaran may be considered doubtful. For\ndown to the comparatively late date at which our homilies were put\ntogether, the hide of Ciaran's Dun was evidently preserved _as a\nhide_, on or under which a dying man could lie: therefore it cannot\nhave been made into a book. Yet _Imtheacht na Tromdhaimhe_ (p. 124\nof the printed text) tells us, for what it may be worth, that Ciaran\nwrote the great epic tale called _Tain Bo Cualnge_ upon the hide of\nthe Dun Cow. There is actually a copy of this tale in the existing\nbook; but the book was written not long after the time when our\nhomilists were describing the relic as an unbroken hide. Either there\nwere two dun cows, or the name of the Manuscript has arisen from a\nmisunderstanding.\n\n_The stanza in VG_ is another example of _ae freslige_ metre. The\nliteral translation is \"Fifty over a hundred complete / the Dun of\nCiaran used to feed, // guests and lepers / people of the refectory\nand of the parlour.\"\n\n_The School of Findian._--Findian was born in the fifth century. He\nwent to Tours for study, and afterwards to Britain; he then felt a\ndesire to continue his studies in Rome, but an angel bade him return\nto Ireland and there continue the work begun by Patrick. After\nspending some time with Brigit at Kildare, and establishing various\nreligious houses, he settled at Cluain Iraird, in the territory of\nUi Neill: now called Clonard, in Co. Meath. His establishment there\nbecame the chief centre of instruction in Ireland in the early part of\nthe sixth century. He died in 549, at an advanced age: indeed, he is\ntraditionally said to have lived 140 years. Nothing now remains of the\nmonastery, though there were some ruins a hundred years ago.\n\n\nXVIII. THE ANGELS GRIND FOR CIARAN (LA, LC, VG)\n\nThe angels grinding have already been seen in incident XIV.\n\n_The Stanza in VG._--This is in the metre known as _rannaigecht\nmor_, seven syllables with monosyllabic rhymes, usually _abab_. The\ntranslation adequately expresses the sense and, approximately, the\nmetre.[16] The number of saints enumerated is thirteen, not twelve,\nbut the master, Findian of Clonard, is not counted in the reckoning.\nThe names, the principal monasteries, and the obits of these saints\nare as follows--\n\n  Findian of Cluain Iraird (Clonard, Co. Meath), 12 December 548.\n  Findian of Mag-bile (Moville, Co. Donegal), 12 September 579.\n  Colum Cille of I Choluim Cille (Iona), 9 June 592.\n  Colum of Inis Cealtra (Holy Island, Loch Derg), 13 December 549.\n  Ciaran of Cluain maccu Nois (Clonmacnois), 9 September 548.\n  Cainnech of Achad Bo (Aghaboe, Queen's Co.), 11 October 598.\n  Comgall of Beannchor (Bangor, Co. Down), 10 May 552.\n  Brenainn of Birra (Birr, King's Co.), 29 November 571.\n  Brenainn of Cluain Fearta (Clonfert, King's Co.), 16 May 576.\n  Ruadan of Lothra (Lorrha, Co. Tipperary), 15 April 584.\n  Ninned of Inis Muighe Saimh (Inismacsaint in Loch Erne),\n         18 January 5..(?).\n  Mo-Bi of Glas Naoidhean (Glasnevin, Co. Dublin) 12 October 544.\n  Mo-Laise mac Nad-Fraeich of Daimhinis (Devenish, Loch Erne),\n         12 September 563.\n\n\nXIX. CIARAN AND THE KING'S DAUGHTER (LA, VG)\n\n_Parallels._--Maignenn never would look on a woman, \"lest he should\nsee her guardian devil\" (_Silua Gadelica_, i, 37). The story has some\naffinity with the curious _Maerchen_ of the Mill and the Bailiff's\nDaughter (incident XXIV). Cuimmin of Connor, in his poem on the\ncharacters of the different Irish saints, spoke thus of Ciaran,\ndoubtless in reference to this incident: \"Holy Ciaran of Clonmacnois\nloved humility that he did not abandon rashly; he never spoke a word\nthat was untrue, he never looked at a woman from the time when he was\nborn.\"\n\n_The Stanza in VG._--Metre _ae freslige_. Literally thus: \"With Ciaran\nread / a girl who was stately with treasures // and he saw not / her\nform or her shape or her make.\"\n\nIn LA the father of the maiden is king in Tara: in VG he is king of\nCualu, the strip of territory between the mountains and the sea from\nDublin southward to Arklow.\n\n\nXX. HOW CIARAN HEALED THE LEPERS (VG)\n\nLeprosy, or at least a severe cutaneous disease so called, was common\nin ancient Ireland; and there are numerous stories, some of them\nextremely disagreeable, that tell how the saints associated with its\nvictims as an act of self-abasement. We have already seen how Patrick\nwas said to have kept a leper. Brigit also healed lepers by washing\n(LL, 1620), and Ruadan cleansed lepers with the water of a spring\nthat he opened miraculously (VSH, ii, 249). Contrariwise, Munnu never\nwashed except at Easter after contracting leprosy (VSH, ii, 237).\nThe miraculous opening of a spring is a common incident in Irish\nhagiography; we have already seen an example, in the annotations to\nincident I.\n\nWhitley Stokes points out (LL, note _ad loc._) that the \"three waves\"\npoured over the lepers are suggested by the triple immersion in\nbaptism.\n\n\nXXI. CIARAN AND THE STAG (VG)\n\n_Parallels._--We have already noted the use of wild animals by Irish\nsaints. Findian yoked stags to draw wood (LL, 2552). Patrick kept a\ntame stag (TT, p. 28, cap. lxxxii, etc.). In incident XXXVII, Ciaran\nis again served by a stag. Cainnech, like Ciaran, made a book-rest of\nthe horns of a stag (CS, 383), and books which Colum Cille had lost\nwere restored to him by a stag (TT, _Quinta Vita_, p. 407). In the\nlife of Saint Cadoc we read an incident which combines docile stags\ndrawing timber and a forgotten book untouched by rain (_Cambro-British\nSaints_, pp. 38, 329).\n\nFor Ciaran's prompt obedience to the summoning sound of the bell,\ncompare what is told of Cainnech, who happened to be summoned by the\nhead of the monastic school when he was writing, and left the letter\nO, which at the moment he was tracing, unfinished, to obey the call\n(VSH, i, 153).\n\nThere is a parallel in incident XXXVI for the book unwet by rain.\nBooks written by Colum Cille could not be injured by water (LL, 956).\nIt is perhaps hardly necessary to infer with Plummer (VSH, i, p.\ncxxxviii) that this was a myth of solar origin.\n\n\nXXII. THE STORY OF CIARAN'S GOSPEL (LA, VG)\n\nThis striking anecdote is unique, and probably founded on an authentic\nincident. The two versions before us differ in some respects, as a\ncomparison will show. The story is told in another form in the _Quinta\nVita Columbae_ (TT, p. 403) to the effect that \"Once Saint Kieranus,\nwhom they call the Son of the Wright, on being asked, promised Columba\nthat as he was writing a book of the Holy Gospels, he would write out\nthe middle part of the book. Columba, in gratitude to him, said, 'And\nI,' said he, 'on behalf of God, promise and foretell that the middle\nregions of Ireland shall take their name from thee, and shall bring\ntheir taxes or tribute to thy monastery.'\" The same version appears in\nO'Donnell's _Life of Colum Cille_ (printed text, p. 128). Yet another\nversion appears in the glosses to the _Martyrology of Oengus_\n(9th September), according to which Colum Cille wished to write a\ngospel-book, but no one except Ciaran had an exemplar from which to\nmake the copy. Colum Cille went to Ciaran's cell and asked for the\nloan of the book; Ciaran, who was preparing his lesson, and had just\ncome to the words _Omnia quaecumque_, etc., presented him with it.\n\"Thine be half of Ireland!\" said Colum Cille. It is worth passing\nnotice that the verse in question, here treated as the central verse\nof the gospel, is not one-fifth of the way through the book. Had the\noriginal narrator of the tale a copy with misplaced or missing leaves?\n\n_The Stanza in VG._--This is apparently slightly corrupt, but the\nmetre is evidently meant to be _ae freslige_. It probably belongs to\none poem with the previous stanzas in the same metre: its first line\nechoes the stanza in incident XIX. Literally, \"With Findian read /\nCiaran the pious, with diligence // he had half a book without reading\n/ half of Ireland his thereafter.\"\n\n_The Saying of Alexander._--I regret to have to acknowledge that\nI have been unable to get on the track of any explanation of this\nappendix to the incident, as related in VG. It is probably a marginal\ngloss taken into the text. The \"Alexander\" is presumably one of the\npopes of that name, and if so, must be Alexander II (1061-1073), as\nthe first Pope Alexander is too early, and the remaining six are too\nlate. I have, however, searched all the writings bearing his name\nwithout discovering anything like this saying, nor can I trace it with\nthe aid of the numerous indexes in Migne's _Patrologia_.\n\n\nXXIII. THE BLESSING OF CIARAN'S FOOD (LA, LC)\n\nI cannot find any authority for the ritual indicated by this curious\nstory, in which the blessing of a second person is necessary before\nfood can be consumed. There is a Jewish formula described by\nLightfoot,[17] in which, when several take their meals together, one\nsays _Let us bless_, and the rest answer _Amen_. But it is not clear\nwhy a response should have been required by a person eating alone.\n\n\nXXIV. THE STORY OF THE MILL AND THE BAILIFF'S DAUGHTER (LB, VG)\n\nThe full details of this narrative have evidently been offensive to\nthe author of LB, who has heroically bowdlerised it. It is obviously\nan independent _Maerchen_, which has become incorporated in the\ntraditions of Ciaran.\n\n_The Famine._--Famines are frequently recorded in the Irish Annals:\nand it is noteworthy that they were usually accompanied by an epidemic\nof raids on monasteries. The wealth of the country was largely\nconcentrated in these establishments, so that they presented a strong\ntemptation to a starving community. The beginning of the story is thus\nquite true to nature and to history, though I have found no record\nof a famine at the time when we may suppose Ciaran to have been at\nClonard.\n\n_Transformation of Oats to Wheat, and of other Food to Flour._--Such\ntransformations are common in the saints' Lives. We read of swine\nturned to sheep (CS, 879), snow to curds (LL, 127), sweat to gold\n(TT, 398) flesh to bread (CS, 368). The later peculiarities of the\nfood--bread or some other commonplace material having the taste of\nmore recondite dainties, and possessing curative properties--are not\ninfrequently met with in folk-lore. Saint Illtyd placed fish and water\nbefore a king, who found therein the taste of bread and salt, wine and\nmead, in addition to their proper savours (_Cambro-British Saints_,\npp. 165, 474).\n\n_The Resistance of the Saint to amorous Advances._--The reader may be\nreferred to Whitley Stokes's note _ad loc._, in LL. We may recall the\nwell-known story of Coemgen (Kevin) at Glendaloch: though it must be\nadded that the version of the tale popularised by Moore, in which the\nsaint pushed his importunate pursuer into the lake and drowned her,\nhas no ancient authority. On the rather delicate subject of the\narrangement made between Ciaran and the maiden's family, consult\nthe article _Subintroductae_ in Smith and Cheetham's _Dictionary of\nChristian Antiquities_. This feature of the story is enough to show\nits unhistorical character, at least so far as Ciaran is concerned:\nfor Ciaran did not belong to the _Primus Ordo_ of Irish saints, who\n_mulierum administrationem et consortia non respuebant, quia super\npetram Christum fundati ventum temptationis non timebant_, but to\nthe _Secundus Ordo_, who _mulierum consortia et administrationes\nfugiebant, atque a monasteriis suis eas excludebant_ (CS, 161, 162).\nThe description of Ciaran as transcending his contemporaries in beauty\nis probably suggested by Ps. xlv, 2, and is another illustration of\nthe _Tendenz_ already referred to.\n\n_The Eavesdropper and the Crane._--This incident reappears in the Life\nof Flannan (CS, 647). Wonder-workers do not like to be spied upon by\nunauthorised persons. This is especially true in the Fairy mythology\nsurviving to modern times. Compare a tale in the Life of Aed (VSH, ii,\n308). A quantity of wood had been cut for building a church, but there\nwas no available labour. Angels undertook the work of transportation\non condition that no one should spy upon them. One man, however,\nplayed the inevitable \"Peeping Tom,\" and the work ceased immediately.\nThe reader may be referred for further instances to the essay on\n\"Fairy Births and Human Midwives\" in E.S. Hartland's _Science of Fairy\nTales_.\n\nThere is a touch of intentional drollery at the end of the story where\nthe brethren are shown as having so thoroughly enjoyed the feast\nmiraculously provided for them that their observance of the canonical\nhours was disjointed. For other instances of intoxication as resulting\nfrom saints' miracles see VSH, i, p. ci.\n\n_The Stanzas in VG._--These are in _ae freslige_ metre, so that they\nare probably another fragment of the poem already met with. The\ntranslation in the text reproduces the sense with sufficient\nliteralness.\n\nOn the whole the impression which this unusually long and very\nconfused incident makes on the reader is that originally it was an\n_anti-Christian_ narrative concocted in a Pagan circle, which has\nsomehow become superficially Christianised.\n\n\nXXV. THE STORY OF CLUAIN (VG)\n\nOne of the numerous tales told of the danger of crossing the will of a\nsaint. It is possibly suggested by Matt, xxi, 28; but it may also be\na pre-Christian folk-tale adapted to the new Faith by substituting a\nsaint for a druid. On the cursing propensities of Irish saints see\nPlummer, VSH, i, pp. cxxxv, clxxiii. A curse said to have been\npronounced by Ciaran on one family remained effective down to the year\n1151, where it is recorded by the _Annals of the Four Masters_ (vol.\nii, p. 1096). Another curse of the same saint, and its fulfilment, is\nnarrated in Keating's History (Irish Texts Society's edn., iii, 52\nff.), and at greater length in the life of the victim, Cellach (_Silua\nGadelica_, no. iv).\n\nNote that Ciaran sends a messenger with his rod to revive Cluain. This\nis probably imitated from Elisha sending Gehazi similarly equipped to\nraise the Shunammite's son (2 Kings iv, 29).\n\nCluain's thanks at being delivered from the pains of hell may be\ncontrasted with the protest of the monk resurrected by Colman (VSH,\ni, 260, 265) at being recalled from the joys of heaven--an aspect of\nresurrection stories frequently overlooked by the narrators.\n\n_The Stanza in VG._--The metre is _rannaigecht gairit dialtach_ (a\nline of three syllables followed by three of seven, with monosyllabic\nrhymes _aaba_). The literal rendering is \"Cluain agreed to come / to\nme to-day for reaping // for an oppressive disease / caused him living\nin his house to be dead.\"\n\n\nXXVI, XXVII. HOW CIARAN FREED WOMEN FROM SERVITUDE (LA, LB, VG)\n\nTuathal Moel-garb (\"the bald-rough\") was king in Tara A.D. 528-538. We\nhave already met with Furbith in incident XIV.\n\nInterceding for captives, with or without miracle, was one of the most\nfrequent actions attributed to Irish saints: as for instance Brigit\n(LL, 1520) and Fintan (CS, 300). Doors opened of their own accord to\nColum Cille (CS, 850). Paulinus of Nola gave himself as a captive in\nexchange for a widow's son at the time of the invasion of Alaric in\nA.D. 410 (see Smith's _Dictionary of Christian Biography_, vol. iv, p.\n239, col. ii, and references there). This explains the allusion in LB.\nThe woman passing through her enemies is perhaps suggested by Luke iv,\n30. The prisoner Fallamain, rescued by Saint Samthann, also passed\nunscathed through a crowd of jailers (VSH, ii, 255; compare _ibid._,\np. 259); his chains opened of their own accord, like the doors in\nincident XXVI. Compare Acts xii, 7 ff.\n\n\nXXVIII. ANECDOTES OF CLUAIN IRAIRD (VG)\n\nThese four _petits conies_, found in VG only, are clearly designed\nto set forth the superiority of Clonmacnois above its rival\nestablishments.\n\n(_a_) This story tells how Findian ranked Ciaran above all the notable\nsaints and scholars of his time, and how they had to acknowledge his\npre-eminence by their very jealousy. Colum Cille is the only saint\nwhom the homilist will allow to approach his hero.\n\n(_b_) This is a thrust at the monastery of Birr. It says, in effect,\n\"Clonmacnois is situated on the great river Shannon, Birr on the\ninsignificant Brosna; and the relative importance of the two\nestablishments is to be estimated by the size of their respective\nrivers--even Brenainn, the founder of Birr, said this himself!\" There\nwas a contest between the people of Clonmacnois and those of Birr at\na place now unknown, _Moin Coise Bla_ (the bog at the foot of Bla)\nin the year 756, according to the _Annals of Clonmacnois_ and of\n_Tigernach_. The circumstances which led to this event are not on\nrecord; but it is not far-fetched to see an echo of it in the story\nbefore us. This would give us an approximate date for the construction\nof the story, though the compilation in which it is now embedded is\nconsiderably later.\n\n(_c_) This story further exalts Clonmacnois as the place containing\na valuable relic that ensures eternal happiness in the hereafter. Of\nthis relic we have already spoken.\n\n(_d_) Again exalts Clonmacnois by relating a dream in which the\nfounder is put on a level with the great Colum Cille. This vision is\nrelated also in the Lives of the latter saint (see, for instance, LL,\n852). An analogous vision, not related in the Lives of Ciaran, is that\nof the three heavenly chairs, seen by Saint Baithin. He saw a chair of\ngold, a chair of silver, and a chair of crystal before the Lord.\nAs interpreted by Colum Cille, the first was the seat destined for\nCiaran, on account of the nobility and firmness of his faith;\nthe silver chair was for Baithin, on account of the firmness and\nbrightness and rigour of his faith; and the third was for Colum Cille\nhimself, on account of the brightness and purity--and brittleness--of\nhis faith.[18]\n\n\nXXIX. THE PARTING OF CIARAN AND FINDIAN (VG)\n\nCompare with this narrative the parting of Senan and Notal (LL,\n2031). The metre of the stanza is _cummasc etir rannaigecht mor ocus\nleth-rannaigecht_ (seven-syllable and five-syllable lines alternately,\nwith monosyllabic rhymes _abab_). The translation is literal.\n\n\nXXX. THE ADVENTURES OF THE ROBBERS OF LOCH ERNE (LB, LC)\n\nLA and VG know nothing of the visit to Loch Erne of which this is the\nchief incident. Ninned here appears as an abbot, which is scarcely\nconsistent with his previous appearance as a junior fellow-student of\nCiaran. There is, however, a possible hint at this tradition in the\nstatement in VG that when Ciaran departed from Clonard he left the Dun\nCow with Ninned. Ninned's island, as we learn from an entry in the\n_Martyrology of Donegal_ (18th January) was Inis Muighe Samh, now\nspelt Inismacsaint, in Loch Erne. The reading in both MSS. of LB,\n_silua_ for _insula_, evidently rests on a false interpretation of a\nword or a contraction in the exemplar from which R1 was copied. This\nseems to have been hard to read at the incident before us. Later on\nthere is a word, which the sense shows us must have been _potentes_.\nThe scribe of R1 could not read it, and left a blank, which\nhe afterwards tentatively filled in with the meaningless word\n_fatentes_--a word which his copyist, the scribe of R2, emended by\nguesswork into _fac(i)entes_.\n\n_Parallels._--There are several cases of the restoration to life of\npersons who had been decapitated. Coemgen restored two women who had\nbeen thus treated (VSH, i, 239). The famous Welsh holy well of Saint\nWinefred in Flintshire is associated with a similar miracle (see Rees'\n_Cambro-British Saints_, pp. 17, 304). The story of the three murdered\nmonks is also told of Saint Aed (VSH, i, 38), but there the blood-mark\nround their necks is absent. Ciaran seems to have been less expert\nthan some of his brethren in replacing severed heads on decapitated\nbodies; for according to a tale preserved in the _Book of Lismore_,\nthere was a certain lord of the region of Ui Maine (the region west of\nthe Shannon), who was called Coirpre the Crooked, for the following\nreason: he was an evil man who did great mischief to every one, in\nconsequence of which he was murdered and beheaded. But Ciaran had\nshriven him, and in order to deliver his soul from demons he restored\nhim to life, replacing his head--so clumsily, however, that it was\never afterwards crooked.\n\nA certain man called Ambacuc, having perjured himself on the hand of\nCiaran, his head fell off. He was taken to Clonmacnois, and not only\nlived there headless for seven years, but became the father of a\nfamily![19]\n\n\nXXXI. HOW CIARAN FLOATED A FIREBRAND ON THE LAKE (LB)\n\n_The Harbour of the Island._--It must be remembered, in reading this\nand other island stories, that as a rule \"the harbour of the island\"\nis not, as might be expected, the landing-stage on the island itself,\nbut the port on the mainland from which ships depart to visit the\nisland. Thus Portraine, a place on the coast north of Dublin, is\nproperly _Port Rachrann_, the Port of Rachra--the port from which\nvoyagers sailed to Rachra, the island now called by its Norse name\nLambay.\n\n_Parallels._--I have not found an exact parallel, but the story\nbelongs to the same family as that related of Coemgen, who kindled a\nfire with the drops of water that fell from his fingers after washing\nhis hands (CS, 839).\n\n\nXXXII. CIARAN IN ARAN (LA, LB, VG)\n\n_The Aran Islands._--The marvellous isles of Aran, still a museum of\nall periods of ancient Irish history, with their immense prehistoric\nforts and their strange little oratories, were from an early date\nchosen as the site of Christian communities. Enda ruled over a\ncommunity at the southern end of the Great Island; the church still\nsurvives, in ruin, and bears his name. Ciaran must have remained long\nenough in Aran to make a permanent impression there, for one of the\nancient churches--much later than his time, however--is dedicated\nunder his invocation. The reference to saints \"known to God only\"\nreminds us of the dedications to saints \"whose names the Lord knows\"\nin Greek on the font of the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem, and\nin Armenian on a mosaic pavement at Jerusalem.\n\n_Prophecy by Vision._--This is not an infrequent incident in the\nsaints' Lives. It often appears at the beginning of a Life, the\nsaint's mother having a dream interpreted by some one, whom she\nconsults, as indicative of the future greatness and holiness of her\nunborn son. I have not hit upon another case in these documents of the\nsame dream appearing to two persons at once.\n\nCiaran's visit to Enda is described at length in the _Vita Endei_\n(VSH, ii, 71-2). We are there told that he was seven years in Aran,\nserving faithfully in the monastic threshing-barn, so that in the\nchaff-heaps it would have been impossible to discover a single grain;\nand that the walls of his threshing-barn were still standing in Aran\nwhen the hagiographer wrote. He then saw the vision of the tree,\nwhich, however, we are not told was seen by Enda also. Enda\ninterpreted the vision as in the texts before us, and bade him\ngo forth to fulfil the divine will. Ciaran then went to found\nClonmacnois. He besought Enda before he departed that he (Enda) should\naccept him and his _parochia_ under his protection: but Enda answered,\n\"God hath not ordained it so for thee, that thou shouldst in this\nnarrow island be under my authority. But because of thy wondrous\nhumility and thy perfect charity, Christ thy Lord giveth thee a half\nof Ireland as thine inheritance.\" Here there is another version of the\nclaim of Clonmacnois to legislate ecclesiastically for half of the\nisland. They then erected a cross as a token of their fraternal\nbond, putting a curse upon whomsoever should make a breach in their\nagreement. In a Life of Saint Enda, quoted by the Bollandists\n(September, vol. iii, p. 376 C), it is further averred that Enda saw\nin a vision all the angels that haunted Aran departing in the company\nof Ciaran as he went on his way. Distressed at this desertion of his\nheavenly ministrants, he fasted and prayed; but an angel appeared\nto him and comforted him, saying that the angels were permitted to\naccompany Ciaran on account of his holiness, but that they would\nreturn again to Aran.\n\n\nXXXIII. HOW A PROPHECY WAS FULFILLED (LA, VG)\n\nThe versions of this incident differ considerably both in detail and\nin the setting of the incident.\n\n\"_Cluain Innsythe_,\" where LA sets the story, is unknown. There is\nno river in Aran, where VG places the incident; in this version,\ntherefore, the ship is placed on the sea.\n\n_Lonan the Left-handed._--Nothing further is recorded of this person,\nso far as I know. The parenthesis describing how he \"was ever\ncontradictious of Ciaran\" is probably a gloss; so far as the incident\ngoes, the contradictiousness is the other way.\n\nNote the interesting sidelights upon the practice of artificially\ndrying grain in LA. There are some technical terms in the Latin of\nthis incident in the LA version. Thus, the word here translated \"hut\"\nis _zabulum_; this I presume is another way of spelling _stabulum_,\nfor the meanings given in Du Cange to _zabulum_ or similar words are\nhere quite unsuitable. The word which I have rendered \"platter\" is\n_rota_, and the word translated \"shed\" is _canaba_.\n\n\nXXXIV. HOW CIARAN VISITED SENAN\n\n_Senan._--This is an extremely interesting personality. His island,\nInis Cathaigh (now corrupted to \"Scattery\") is said to derive its\nname from _Cathach_, a monster (mentioned in LA) which had formerly\ninhabited it, and which Senan had slain or charmed away. There are\nobvious pagan elements in the legends of this saint, and there can be\nlittle doubt that the unknown hermit who founded the monastery,\nof which the remains are still to be seen, has entered into the\ninheritance of the legends of an ancient deity, most likely worshipped\non the island. This deity was probably the god of the Shannon river:\nand the name of the saint is clearly reminiscent of the name of the\nriver. In their present form the two names are not philologically\ncompatible: the name of the saint may be explained as an arbitrary\nmodification, designed to _differentiate_ the Christian saint from\nthe pagan river-god. That pagan names should survive (modified or\notherwise) in ancient holy places re-consecrated to Christianity is\nonly natural.\n\nThere may be some foundation in fact for apparently supernatural\nknowledge such as Senan displays in this incident of the personality\nof a coming guest. In reading documents such as this, we are not\ninfrequently tempted to suspect that we have before us the record of\nactual manifestations of the even yet imperfectly understood phenomena\nof hypnotism, telepathy, \"second sight,\" and similar psychical\nabnormalities.\n\nThe story of the cloak is told again in the Life of Senan (LL, 2388).\nFrom the version there contained, we learn that Ciaran gave his cloak\nto _lepers_. There is another version of the visit of Ciaran to Senan\nin the metrical Life of the latter saint (CS, 750). According to this\nstory, Ciaran was not travelling alone, but with his disciples; and\nthey had no means of transport to the island except an oarless boat\nwoven of osiers. Trusting themselves to this doubtful craft (as Cybi\nvoyaged in a skinless coracle, _Cambro-British Saints_, pp. 186, 499),\nthey were ferried over in safety, no water finding its way into the\nboat. Then follows the episode of the cloak, omitting, however,\nSenan's jest of carrying it secretly. A glossator has added in LA\nthe marginal note \"Priests formerly wore cowls.\" There are slight\ndiscrepancies between the versions as to the precise garment given by\nCiaran and restored by Senan.\n\nAnother episode connecting Ciaran and Senan is narrated in the\nmetrical Life of Senan (though the passage is absent from the CS copy;\nit will be found in the Bollandist edition, March, vol. ii, p. 766).\nBriefly, this tale is to the effect that Ciaran and Brenainn went to\nSenan for confession. They were received with fitting honour, but the\nsteward of Inis Cathaigh told his superior that he had no provision to\nset before the guests. \"The Lord will provide,\" answered Senan; and\nin point of fact, a prince for whom a feast was at the time being\nprepared on the mainland was divinely inspired to send it as a gift\nto the sacred island. The saints partook of the banquet thus bestowed\nupon them; and while they were doing so, a small bell fell from heaven\ninto their midst. None of the three was willing to assert a claim to\nthis gift over the other two; and after discussion they agreed to\nadvance in different directions, and he who should continue longest to\nhear the sound of the bell was to be its possessor. This test assigned\nthe bell to Senan. The shrine of this sacred relic (the bell itself\nis lost) is now preserved in the museum of the Royal Irish Academy,\nhaving been acquired from the last hereditary keeper by a generous\ndonor.[20]\n\n_The Geographical Names._--Besides \"the island of Cathi\" (Inis\nCathaigh, Scattery) LA refers to \"Luim-nich\" (Limerick), Kiarraighi\n(properly _Ciarraige_, [North] Kerry), and Corco Baiscind (the\nsouthern barony of Co. Clare), now spelt \"Corcovaskin.\"\n\n\nXXXV. CIARAN IN ISEL (LA, LB, VG)\n\n_Cobthach son of Brecan_.--This person, who is said in VG to have\nmade over Isel to Ciaran, was probably a local chieftain; but he has\nescaped the notice of the Annalists. In any case the statement that he\nmade over Isel to Ciaran is so obviously incongruous with the sense of\nthe passage, that it can be safely rejected as an interpolation. Its\npurpose is to claim for Clonmacnois the possession of the land called\nIsel, the site of which is no longer known, though it cannot have\nbeen far from Clonmacnois. Conn of the Poor, the great and charitable\nbenefactor of Clonmacnois in the early years of the eleventh century,\nestablished an almshouse at Isel; and some fifty-six years later,\nin the year 1087, his son Cormac, then abbot, purchased Isel in\nperpetuity from the king of Meath.\n\n_Parallels._--We have already (incident XXI) seen an example of the\nrescue of a book from rain; compare also incident XLI. The garment of\nFinan (CS, 316) and of Cainnech (CS, 371) were preserved from rain,\nand snow did not injure a book belonging to Abban (CS, 530). The\nforgetfulness attributed to the saint with regard to his precious\nvolume is a regular feature of this type of incident: it is no doubt\nmeant to honour him, as indicating that the fulfilment of his monastic\nduties were yet more precious in his eyes. Moling forgot his book when\nreading by the sea-shore, and though the tide arose and covered it, it\nremained uninjured (VSH, ii, 191). There are numerous illustrations\nof the paramount need of attending to guests scattered through the\nsaints' Lives.\n\nThe story of the grain cast into the breast of a poor man has come\ndown to us in confusion: it is not clear why the chariot is introduced\nat all. Probably we have a conflation of two incidents. In the one\n(which is the version followed by LA, for which see Sec. 26 of that\ndocument) Ciaran gave to a pauper a chariot and horses which the\nprince Oengus son of Cremthann had given him: as that prince belongs\nto the boyhood stories, it is probable that this incident should be\ntransferred to that section of the Life. In the other incident, which\nmay belong to the Isel period, Ciaran flings grain into the breast of\nthe poor man, where it turns into gold: and we may suppose that the\npointless re-transformation of the gold to grain did not take place. A\nsimilar tale is told of Saint Aed (VSH, ii, 308). The weird story of\nthe jester who stopped the funeral of Guaire, king of Connacht, famous\nfor his abounding liberality, and demanded a gift of the dead man, is\nof the same type; we are told that the dead king scooped up some earth\nwith his hand, and flung it into the jester's lap, where it became\npure gold.[21]\n\n\nXXXVI. THE REMOVAL OF THE LAKE (LA, LB, VG)\n\nThe island in the lake was probably a crannog, or artificial fortified\nisland, such as are common on the lakes of Ireland. Fundamentally the\nstory is an evident aetiological myth, intended to account for the\nexistence of some curious swampy hollow. In its present form it is\nobviously suggested by Matt, xvii, 20. Note that VG does not seem to\ncontemplate the wholesale removal of the lake.\n\n_Parallels_ are not wanting. Findian dried up a lake by prayer (CS,\n192); and houses were shifted from the west side to the east side of\na flood for the convenience of Colum Cille (LL, 858). Saint Cainnech,\nfinding the excessive singing of birds on a certain island to be an\ninterruption to his devotions, compelled them to keep silence (CS,\n376; VSH, i, 161).\n\n\nXXXVII. CIARAN DEPARTS FROM ISEL (LA, VG)\n\n_Parallels._--The nuns of Brigit made a similar complaint against the\nexcessive charity of their abbess (LL, 1598). For the stag compare\nincident XXI; also the tale of how Brenainn was on one occasion guided\nby a hound (CS, 116). Ruadan, having given in alms his chariot-horses\nto lepers, found two stags to take their place (CS, 328).\n\n_The Stanza in VG._--The metre is one of the numerous forms of\n_debide_, seven-syllable lines with echo-rhymes in which the\nrhyme-syllable is stressed in the first line, unstressed in the second\n(as _men_, _taken_). The stanza before us is in _debide scailte_,\nwhere the two couplets of the stanza are not linked by any form of\nsound assonance. The literal translation is: \"Although it be low it\nwould have been high / had not the murmuring come // the murmuring,\nhad it not come / it would have been high though it be low.\"\n\n_The Geographical Names in LA._--Loch Rii (properly Loch Rib) is Loch\nRee on the Shannon, above Athlone. The island called Inis Aingin has\nnow the name of Hare Island; it is at the south end of the lake near\nthe outlet of the river. There are some scanty remains of a monastic\nestablishment to be seen upon it.\n\n\nXXXVIII. CIARAN IN INIS AINGIN (LA, LB, VG)\n\n_The Presbyter Daniel._--For the presence here of a Welsh or British\npriest, see the remarks in Plummer, VSH, i, p. cxxiv. But it is\nprobable that in the original form of the story the presbyter Daniel\nwas a fictitious ecclesiastic, perhaps the Evil One disguised. We may\ncompare the two false bishops that came to expel Colum Cille from Iona\n(LL, 1007). Biblical names were sometimes used in the early Irish\nChurch, though native names were preferred. There is actually the\nmonument of a person called Daniel at Clonmacnois; it is a slab,\nbearing an engraved cross and inscription, probably of the ninth or\ntenth century.\n\n_The Gift._--This is said in VG to have been a cup adorned with birds.\nSuch forms of decoration seem to have been common, and are sometimes\nreferred to in Irish romances, though few, if any, examples that may\nbe compared with the descriptions have come down to us. In LA a word\n_antilum_ is used, which does not appear to occur anywhere else, and\nis unknown to our lexicographers. It is possibly a corruption for\n_an(n)ulum_, \"a ring.\" Naturally this tale of the gift must be a later\naccretion to the story, if it had the origin just suggested.\n\nNote, in the long eulogy of the saint which the author of LB gives us\nhere, that the writer has not hesitated to introduce reminiscences of\nPhil, ii, 7, 8, thus hinting at the general _Tendenz_ of the Lives of\nSaint Ciaran. The rest of the eulogy is a free paraphrase of Rom. xii,\n9 ff. There is extant a metrical \"Monastic Rule\" attributed to Saint\nCiaran, which was edited by the late Prof. Strachan in _Eriu_ (The\njournal of the Dublin \"School of Irish Learning\") vol. ii, p. 227.\nThe subject-matter of this composition is a series of regulations\non morality and mortification of the flesh, but the language is so\nobscure, and the text of the single MS. which alone contains it is so\ncorrupt, that even the pre-eminent Celtist who edited the poem would\nnot venture on a translation.\n\n\nXXXIX. THE COMING OF OENNA (LA, LB, VG)\n\n_Parallels._--As Ciaran recognised Oenna by his voice, so Colman\npicked out by his voice one of a number of soldiers destined for a\nreligious life (VSH, i, 261). With the incident of the consecration,\nas successor, of an unprepossessing intruder, compare the tale of\nFindian consecrating for the same purpose a raider whom he caught\nhiding in the furnace-chamber of his kiln (LL, 2628 ff.; CS, 198).\nThe version in LB conveys the impression that Oenna's learning was\nimparted to him miraculously, as Oengus the Culdee inspired an idle\nboy with a miraculous knowledge of his neglected lesson.[22]\n\nThe story of Oenna is told rather differently in the glosses to the\n_Martyrology of Oengus_ (Bradshaw edn., pp. 48 ff.). Oenna with two\ncompanions was going for military service to the King of Connacht.\nThey came to the embarking-place, not of Inis Aingin, but the larger\nInis Clothrann (now sometimes called Quaker Island), where there are\nextensive ancient monastic remains. Ciaran was at the time in Inis\nClothrann. He summoned Oenna to him, and asked him whither he was\nfaring. \"To the King of Connacht,\" answered Oenna. \"Were it not better\nrather to contract with the King of Heaven and earth?\" asked Ciaran.\n\"It were better,\" said Oenna, \"if it be right to do so.\" \"It is\nright,\" answered Ciaran. Then Oenna was tonsured and began his\nstudies. Here the miraculous insight which recognised in the warrior\nyouth the future abbot is ignored. The tract _De Arreis_[23] tells us\nof the penance which Ciaran imposed upon Oenna: briefly stated it was\nas follows. He was to remain three days and three nights in a darkened\nroom, not breaking his fast save with three sips of water each day.\nEvery day he was to sing the whole Psalter, standing, without a\nstaff to support him, making a genuflexion at the end of each Psalm,\nreciting _Beati_ after each fifty, and _Hymnum dicat_ after every\n_Beati_ in cross-vigil (_i.e._, standing upright with his arms\nstretched out sideways horizontally). He was not to lie down but only\nto sit, was to observe the canonical hours, and was to meditate on the\nPassion of Christ and upon his own sins.\n\nThe author of LA betrays his Irish personality by a phrase which he\nuses of Oenna. Ciaran bids his followers to fetch _materiam abbatis\nuestri_--\"the makings of your abbot.\" This is a regular idiom for\nan heir-apparent, and it shows that if the writer be not actually\ntranslating from an Irish document, he is at least thinking in Irish\nas he writes in Latin.\n\n\nXL. HOW CIARAN RECOVERED HIS GOSPEL (LA, VG)\n\nThere is another story of a gospel recovered from a lake, but without\nany mention of a cow as the agent for its rescue (CS, 556). The tale\nmay be founded on fact. The \"Port of the Gospel\" is now forgotten.\n\nBooks preserved as relics (_e.g._ the gospels belonging to a sainted\nfounder) were kept in metal shrines, and valuable books which were in\nuse were hung in satchels of leather on the walls of the library or\nscriptorium. Two specimens of such satchels still remain.\n\n\nXLI. HOW CIARAN WENT FROM INIS AINGHIN TO CLONMACNOIS (LA, LB, VG)\n\n_Parallels._--As Ciaran gave up his monastery to Donnan, in like\nmanner Munnu surrendered his settlement to the virgin Emer (CS, 495).\nThe list of equipments delivered by Ciaran to Donnan introduces us\nto the \"human beast of burden,\" Mael-Odran, a servile functionary\noccasionally met with in Irish literature. A well-known incident of\nSt. Adamnan introduces him travelling \"with his mother on his back\"\n(see Reeves, _Vita Columbae_, p. 179). As to the bell, it may be worth\nnoting that my friend Mr. Walter Campbell, formerly of Athlone, has\ninformed me that an ancient bronze ecclesiastical bell, found on the\nlake shore opposite Hare Island, was long preserved, and used as\na domestic bell, in the cottage of a man named Quigley. The owner\nbelieved that it was the bell of St. Ciaran, possibly that mentioned\nin VG: this is not impossible, though hardly likely, as a bell of such\nantiquity would most probably be of iron, and rendered useless\nby corrosion. Unfortunately, the bell in question is no longer\nforthcoming: it disappeared one day from Quigley's house, stolen, he\nbelieved, by a tourist who chanced to pass by.\n\nNote Donnan's relationship to Senan as set forth in VG. He was\nbrother's-son of Senan, but had the same mother as Senan. Clearly this\nindicates a _menage_ such as that indicated by Caesar as existing among\nthe wilder tribes of Britain; a polyandry in which the husbands were\nfather and sons (_De Bello Gallico_, V, xiv). These people were\nprobably pre-Celtic, and this strengthens the arguments already put\nforward for a pre-Celtic origin for the Protagonist of our narrative.\n\nOn the subject of the burial of the chieftains of Ui Neill and the\nConnachta at Clonmacnois, see Plummer, i, p. cx. Neill is the genitive\nof Niall.\n\n_Ard Manntain_ is now unknown.\n\nThe chronological indications contained in VG are sufficiently close\nto accuracy to show that they have been calculated, though the\ncomputor has made a miscount of a year. The eighth of the calends of\nFebruary (25th January) in A.D. 548 was actually a Saturday, but it\nwas two days before new moon. The same day in A.D. 549 was the tenth\nday of the moon, but it fell on a Monday.\n\nOf the companions of Ciaran, Oengus (properly Oenna) succeeded him as\nabbot, dying in A.D. 569; Mac Nisse, who was an Ultonian, followed\nhim, and died 13 June 584 (aliter 587). The others, however, do not\nappear to have found a place in the martyrologies. Mo-Beoc is a\ndifferent person from the famous Mo-Beog of Loch Derg in Co. Donegal.\n\n\nXLII. THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH (LA, VG)\n\nThe two versions are independent. But though there are no wizards or\ndruids in the VG version, they appear in another story connecting\nDiarmait with the foundation of Clonmacnois. This is to the effect\nthat Diarmait was at a place on the Shannon near Clonmacnois, called\nSnam da En, and saw the glow of the first camp-fire lighted on the\nsite of the future monastery by Ciaran and his followers. The druids\nwho were with Diarmait told him that unless that fire were forthwith\nquenched, it would never be put out. \"It shall be quenched\nimmediately,\" said Diarmait; so with hostile purpose he advanced\non Clonmacnois, but instead of doing what he proposed, he suffered\nhimself to be pressed into the service of the builders, as the story\nin VG narrates. The tale in LA is interesting, as showing (1) the\nexistence of a calendar of seasons lucky and unlucky for various\nenterprises, and (2) a spirit of kindly tolerance on the part of the\npagan wizard.\n\nThe wiles of wizards were exposed by various saints, _e.g._ by Aed and\nby Cainnech. These tales are curious; the wizard in each case\nappeared to pass through a tree, but the saint opened the eyes of the\nspectators, so that they saw him actually passing round it (CS, 353,\n368; VSH, i, 156). This reads like the exposure of hypnotically\ninduced hallucinations.[24]\n\nDiarmait mac Cerrbeil, or more properly mac Fergusa Cerrbeil, was\ngrandson of Conall Cremthainne, son of Niall Noi-giallach, the\nancestor of the royal line of Ui Neill. The reigning king, Tuathal\nMoel-Garb, of whom we have already heard, was grandson of Coirpre,\nanother son of Niall. As a possible rival for the kingship, Tuathal\nhad driven him into banishment. Mael-Moire, or Mael-Morda, who\nmurdered Tuathal, was Diarmait's foster-brother. When Diarmait was\ninstalled on the throne, he summoned the convention of Uisnech--one\nof the places where from time immemorial religious Pan-Iernean\nassemblies, resembling in character the Pan-Hellenic Olympic\ngatherings, had been held. How Diarmait afterwards offended Ciaran,\nwas cursed by him, and met his death in consequence of that curse, may\nbe read in the tale printed in _Silua Gadelica_, No. vi, from which\nwe have just quoted the version of the story of setting up of the\ncorner-post.\n\nThere are chronological discrepancies, difficult if not impossible to\nreconcile, between the annalist's dates for Diarmait and those for\nCiaran. The _Annals of Ulster_ places the death of Tuathal in 543, the\naccession of Diarmait in 544, and the death of Ciaran in 548, seven\nyears after founding Clonmacnois. Some MSS. of these Annals, however,\nomit the reference to the seven years, and place the accession of\nDiarmait in 548, evidently to reconcile the stories. According to\nthe _Annals of the Four Masters_, Tuathal was slain in 538, Diarmait\nsucceeded in 539, and Ciaran died in 548. The _Annals of Clonmacnois_\nis more consonant with the chronology of the Life of Ciaran. It tells\nthe tale so picturesquely that we transcribe it here, as before\nmodernising the spelling--\n\n\"535. Tuathal Moel-Garb began his reign, and reigned eleven years....\nHe caused Diarmait mac Cerrbeil to live in exile and in desert places,\nbecause he claimed to have right to the crown....\n\n\"547. King Tuathal having proclaimed throughout the whole kingdom the\nbanishment of Diarmait mac Cerrbeil, as before is specified, with a\ngreat reward to him that would bring him his heart, the said Diarmait\nfor fear of his life lived in the deserts of Clonmacnois, then called\nArd Tiprat: and meeting with the abbot Saint Ciaran, in the place\nwhere the church of Clonmacnois now stands, who was but newly come\nthither to live or dwell from Inis Aingin, and having no house or\nplace to reside or dwell in, the said Diarmait gave him his assistance\nto make a house there, and in thrusting down in the earth one of the\npieces of the timber or wattles of the house, the said Diarmait took\nSaint Ciaran's hand and did put it over his own head or hand in sign\nof reverence to the saint: whereupon the saint humbly besought God of\nHis great goodness that by that time to-morrow ensuing that [_sic_]\nthe hands of Diarmait might have superiority over all Ireland.\nWhich fell out as the saint requested, for Mael-Moire o hArgata,\nfoster-brother of Diarmait, seeing in what perplexity the nobleman\nwas in [_sic_], besought him that he might be pleased to lend him his\nblack horse, and that he would make his repair to Greallach da Phuill,\nwhere he heard King Tuathal to have a meeting with some of his nobles;\nand there would present him with a whelp's heart on a spear's head,\ninstead of Diarmait's heart, and so by that means get access to the\nking, whom he would kill out of hand and by the help and swiftness\nof the horse save his own life whether they would or no. Diarmait,\nlisting to the words of his foster-brother was amongst two\nextremities, loath to refuse him and far more loath to lend it him,\nfearing he should miscarry and be killed, but between both, he granted\nhim his request; whereupon he prepared himself, and went as he was\nresolved, mounted on the said black horse, a heart besprinkled with\nblood on his spear, to the place where he heard the king to be; the\nking and his people seeing him come in that manner, supposed that it\nwas Diarmait's heart that was to be presented by the man that rode in\npost-haste; the whole multitude gave him way to that king, and when he\ncame within reach to the king as though to tender him the heart, he\ngave the king such a deadly blow of his spear that the king instantly\nfell down dead in the midst of his people, whereupon the man was beset\non all sides and at last taken and killed, so as speedy news came to\nDiarmait, who incontinently went to Tara, and there was crowned king\nas Saint Ciaran prayed and prophesied before.... Diarmait was not\nabove seven months king, when Saint Ciaran died in Clonmacnois, where\nhe dwelt therein but seven months before, in the thirty-third year of\nhis age, on the 9th of September.\"\n\n_The Stanzas in VG._--The metre is _ae freslige_. Literally: \"I shall\nspeak witness truly / though single is thy numerous train // thou\nshalt be a king pleasant, dignified / of Ireland this time to-morrow\n/// The slaying of chosen Tuathal / Moel-Garb, it was a crying without\nglory // thence is the choice saying / 'it was the deed of Moel-Moire'\n/// Without rout and without slaughter / he took Uisnech, it was not\nafter an assembly // Diarmait the eminent gave / a hundred churches to\nGod and to Ciaran.\"\n\n_The Episode of Tren_ (VG).--This story illustrates a belief in\nsympathetic magic. What Tren had done to deserve this punishment is\nunknown, nor is the site of Cluain Iochtar identified. Possibly he had\nendeavoured to prevent Ciaran from founding his church; compare the\nstory of Findian and Baeth (LL, 2624). Patrick had a dispute with a\ncertain Trian, but the details of the story are different (TT, p. 45,\nch. lxxx, etc.). It is difficult for us to put ourselves into the\nposition of people who thought to honour their saint by telling a\nstory about him which we should consider not only silly but immoral.\nBut such an attempt must be tried if we are to understand anything of\nancient writings, in whatever language and from whatever countries\nthey may come down to us. Even when we read so modern and so universal\nan author as Shakspere we must for the moment imagine ourselves\nsixteenth-century Elizabethans; the more we succeed in doing so, the\nbetter do we understand what we read. So, in criticising a story like\nthis, we must rid ourselves of all our twentieth-century prejudices,\nand accept it in the simple faith of those to whom it was intended to\nbe told.\n\nOn one of the great carved crosses still to be seen in\nClonmacnois--that erected in memory of Flann King of Ireland (ob.\n914)--there is a panel representing an ecclesiastic and a layman\nholding an upright post between them. It has been plausibly\nconjectured that this represents the erection of the corner-post of\nthe church, as described in our text.\n\n\nXLIII. HOW CIARAN SENT A CLOAK TO SENAN (LA, VG)\n\nThe \"Cloak of Senan\" must have been an actual relic preserved on Inis\nCathaig; tradition said that it had been floated on the river to the\nsaint of the island, though there were various opinions as to which\nsaint had done the miracle; it is attributed to Brigit daughter of Cu\nCathrach (LL, 2399) and to Diarmait (CS, 753). For parallels to the\nautomatic transfer of objects by water, see Plummer, VSH, i, p.\nclxxxvi, note 2.\n\n\nXLIV. CIARAN AND THE WINE (LA, LB, VG)\n\nThe choice laid before the monks is curious, and hardly consonant\nwith the usual spirit of abjuring the world; it may be aetiological,\ndesigned to explain, and perhaps to excuse, the opulence and temporal\nimportance of Clonmacnois at the time when it was written. A similar\nbut not identical story appears in the life of Munnu (VSH, ii, 227).\n\nIt is quite obvious that the story as we have it is a conflation of\ntwo versions of the anecdote. In the one version the wine was brought\nby Frankish merchants and acquired by purchase; in the other it was\nprovided by miracle. The composite story appears in LA and VG; LB\nknows the miraculous version only.\n\nThat Frankish merchants should have sailed up the Shannon and\ndelivered a cargo of wine at a settlement in the heart of Ireland in\nthe middle of the sixth century, is no mere extravagance. The subject\nof ancient Irish trade has been very fully investigated by the late\nProf. Zimmer, and he has brought a large number of facts together\nwhich show that such an episode is a quite credible fragment of\nhistory.[25]\n\nThe second version, though LB calls it _miraculum insolitum_, is one\nof the commonplaces of hagiography. Water was turned to wine by a host\nof saints, such as Colum Cille (LL, 839), Fursa (CS, 111), Findian\n(CS, 205), Lugaid (CS, 283), Aed (CS, 339), and others needless to\nspecify. Fintan (CS, 404), and Munnu (CS, 503), blessed a cup in such\nwise that one of their followers, while appearing, in self-abnegation,\nto drink nothing but water for thirty years, was in reality enjoying\nthe best wine! Saint Brynach drew wine from a brook and fishes from\nits stones (_Cambro-British Saints_, pp. 12, 298), Brigit (LL, 1241)\nand Colman Elo (CS, 441) turned water into ale; the former (LL, 1368)\nas well as Lugaid (CS, 269, 280) and Fintan (CS, 404) turned water\ninto milk.\n\nI have not found any exact parallel to the incident of the scented\nthumb.\n\nThere is a cognate tale in the Life of Colman, in which monks, thirsty\nwith labour, expressed a doubt as to the reality of the heavenly\nreward, whereupon their eyes were opened to see a vision of the joys\nof the after-life (VSH, i, 265).\n\nThe _Tendenz_ of the biographies of Ciaran is clearly marked in the\nhint at a parallel between the last supper of Ciaran and the Last\nPassover of Our Lord.\n\n\nXLV. THE STORY OF CRITHIR (LA, VG)\n\nOn the consecrated Paschal fire, see Frazer, _Balder the Beautiful_,\nvol. i, p. 120 ff.\n\n_Parallels._--Coemgen carried fire in his bosom (CS, 837, VSH,\ni, 236). Cadoc also carried fire in his cloak without injury\n(_Cambro-British Saints_, pp. 30, 319). Elsewhere we hear of flames\nwhich do not consume, as in the burning bush of Moses, and probably\nin imitation of it (Exod. iii, 2). Thus the magic fire that delivered\nSamthann from a forced marriage appeared to ignite a whole town,\nwhich, however, suffered no injury (VSH, ii, 253). The fall of fire\nfrom heaven in answer to prayer is most likely imitated from 1 Kings\nxviii, 38.\n\nThe verse extracts at the end of LB (which see) contain a form of this\nstory incompatible with the prose narratives.\n\nThe boy slain but not torn by wolves is, of course, imitated from the\nProphet whose story is told in 1 Kings xiii, which is directly quoted\nin LA.\n\nThe mutual blessings of the two saints may be compared with the\nprophecy said to have been uttered by Ciaran of Saints Cronan and\nMolan who visited him at Clonmacnois (CS, 542). The one (Cronan) took\naway with him the remains of his repast for distribution to the poor,\nthe other left them behind in the monastery; whereupon Ciaran said\nthat the monastery of the one should be rich in wealth and in charity,\nthat of the other should always maintain the rule (of poverty). Such\ntales as this, of compacts between saints, are probably based on\nmutual arrangements of one kind or another between the monasteries\nwhich claimed the saints as founders; we have already seen leagues\nestablished between Clonard and Aran on one side and Clonmacnois on\nthe other, expressed as leagues made by Ciaran with Findian and Enda\nrespectively. Contrariwise, we read of the disagreement of saints when\ntheir monasteries were at feud with one another. Ciaran was not always\nso successful in making treaties with his ecclesiastical brethren.\nThus, he is said to have made overtures to Colman mac Luachain of Lann\n(now Lynn, Co. Westmeath)--a remarkable feat in itself, as Colman died\nabout a century after his time--but not only did Colman refuse, but he\nsent a swarm of demons in the shape of wasps to repel Ciaran and his\nfollowers, who were journeying towards him. Ciaran then made a more\nmoderate offer, which Colman again refused.[26] Lann was in the\nterritory of the Delbna, who, although friendly to Clonmacnois in\nthe middle of the eleventh century, plundered it towards its close\n(_Chronicon Scotorum_, 1058, 1090; _Annals of Four Masters_, 1060).\n\nThe chronology of Ciaran the Elder is entirely uncertain. He is said\nto have been one of the pre-Patrician saints, in which case he could\nhardly have been a contemporary of Ciaran the Younger, unless we\nbelieve in the portentous length of life with which the hagiographers\ncredit him (over three centuries, according to the _Martyrology of\nDonegal_, though others are content with a more moderate estimate).\n\nThe story of Crithir is told again in the Lives of Ciaran the Elder\n(see _Silua Gadelica_, vol. i, p. 14, and corresponding translation).\nThe culprit is there called Crithid, and the version adds that the\nevent took place in a time of snow.\n\n_The Geographical Names in LA._--Saigyr, properly Saigir, is now\nSeir-Kieran in King's Co. Hele, properly Eile, was a region comprising\nthe baronies of Clonlisk and Ballybrit in King's Co., and Eliogarty\nand Ikerrin in Tipperary.\n\n\nXLVI. HOW AN INSULT TO CIARAN WAS AVERTED (LB)\n\nFor parallels to this story see Plummer, VSH, i, p. clxxxvii, note.\nCompare also the third of the metrical fragments with which LB closes.\nIt is clear that the purpose of the robbers was to efface the tonsure\nof the saint; very likely ecclesiastics were on occasion subjected to\nsuch rough treatment during the period of transition between Paganism\nand Christianity.\n\n\nXLVII. HOW CIARAN WAS SAVED FROM SHAME (LB)\n\nContemporary representations (_e.g._ on the sculptured crosses) show\nthat at this time two garments were normally worn, a _lene_ or inner\ntunic, and a _bratt_ or mantle. These, with the addition of a cape,\nsomething like a university hood, which could be thrown over the head,\nmade up the complete equipment, and if all these were given to beggars\nthe owner would be left completely destitute. So, in the story of the\nBattle of Carn Conaill, as narrated in the _Book of the Dun Cow_,\nGuaire, king of Connacht, of whom we have already heard, on one\noccasion would, if permitted, have divested himself of all clothing\nto satisfy importunate beggars. The device of the water-covering is\nremarkable.\n\n\nXLVIII. HOW A MAN WAS SAVED FROM ROBBERS (LB)\n\nThis story, summarily and rather obscurely told in the text before us,\nis related more clearly in the Life of Brenainn (VSH, i, 101). The\nsaint, seeing a man hard pressed by his enemies, bade him take up his\nposition beside a standing stone; he then transformed the victim\ninto the stone, and the stone into the victim. The assailants, thus\ndeceived, cut off the head of the stone, and departed in triumph: the\nsaint then reversed the transformation, leaving the man to go his\nway in peace. An analogous story is that of Cadoc, who turned raided\ncattle into bundles of fern, and transformed them back to cattle when\nthe raiders had retired discomfited (_Cambro-British Saints_, pp. 49,\n342).\n\n\nXLIX. THE DEATH OF CIARAN (LA, LB, VG)\n\nThis impressive story, which is as remote as possible in style from\nthe ordinary stock incident, is probably authentic. The chronological\nindications in VG are quite wrong: the 9th of September A.D. 548 was a\nWednesday, and was the twentieth day of the moon. They are, however,\nso far accurate for the year 556, that 9th September in that year was\nSaturday, and was the _nineteenth_ day of the moon. As the observation\nof new moon, if not astronomically calculated, is often wrong by a\nday, owing to the faint crescent not being seen at its very first\nappearance, this is sufficiently close to allow us to enquire\nlegitimately whether 556 may not have been the true date of Ciaran's\ndeath.\n\nThe Bollandists cite from the Life of Saint Cellach a tale to the\neffect that Cellach was son of Eogan Bel King of Connacht, and was\na monk at Clonmacnois; but on the death of his father he secretly\nabsconded, in order to secure the kingdom for himself. Becoming\nconvinced of the sinfulness of this proceeding, he returned and\nsubmitted to Ciaran once more, who received him fraternally _after he\nhad spent a year in penance_. As the Bollandists point out, this\nstory (quite independently of its historical authenticity) reveals a\ntradition other than that of Ciaran spending but seven months on earth\nafter founding Clonmacnois. The _Annals of Ulster_ also gives him a\nlonger time at Clonmacnois, dating the foundation 541, and the death\nof the saint 548: a space of seven years. This would make the saint\nonly twenty-six years old when he founded Clonmacnois, which is\nperhaps improbable. We may suggest another way of reconciling the\ntraditions, taking the orthodox date for the foundation of Clonmacnois\n(548) but postponing the death of the saint to 556, in accordance with\nthe astronomical indications. Some one noticed that if his life were\nretrenched to the year of the foundation of the monastery, it would be\nbrought into conformity in length with the Life of Christ.\n\nWith Ciaran's indifference as to the fate of his relics, contrast the\ndying injunction of Cuthbert to his monks, that they should dig up his\nbones and transport them whithersoever they should go.[27]\n\nThe _Little Church_ intended by the author is presumably the small\nchapel, of which the ruins still remain at Clonmacnois, called Saint\nCiaran's chapel. It is a century or two later than Ciaran's time, but\nmay very probably stand on the site of Ciaran's wooden church. Hard by\nis the end of a raised causeway leading to the Nunnery; this may be\nthe \"Little Height\" referred to.\n\n\nL. THE VISIT OF COEMGEN (LA, VG)\n\nCoemgen's petulance at the preoccupation of the bereaved monks (VG)\nis in keeping with other traditions of that peppery saint. The\nresurrection of Ciaran after three days is another touch in imitation\nof the Gospel story: it is, however, also told of Saint Darerca, who\nappeared to her nuns three days after her death (CS, 185).\n\nThe story before us is thus related in the Life of Coemgen: \"At\nanother time most blessed Coemgenus made his way to visit most holy\nKyaranus the abbot, who founded his settlement Cluayn meic Noys, which\nis in the western border of the territory of Meath, on the bank of\nthe river Synna over against the province of the Connachta. But Saint\nCyaranus on the third day before Saint Coemgenus arrived, passed from\nthis world to Christ. His body was laid in a church on a bier, till\nSaint Coemgenus and other saints should come to bury him. And Saint\nCoemgenus coming late to the monastery of Saint Chyaranus, he entered\nthe church in which was the holy body and commanded all the brethren\nto go forth, wishing to spend that night alone beside the sacred body.\nAnd when all the brethren had gone out, Saint Coemgenus carefully\nclosed the door of the church, and remained there alone till the\nfollowing day; but some of the brethren were watching till morning\nbefore the doors of the church. And as Saint Coemgenus prayed there,\nthe most blessed soul of Saint Chiaranus returned to his body, and he\nrose and began to speak in health-giving words to Saint Coemgenus. The\nbrethren remaining outside heard the voice of each of them clearly.\nSaint Kyaranus asked blessed Coemgenus that they should interchange\ntheir vesture, as a sign of everlasting fellowship: and so they did.\nOn the following day when the door of the church was opened, the\nbrethren found Saint Coemgenus clad in the vesture of Saint Kyaranus,\nand Kyaranus wrapped in the vestments of Saint Coemgenus. The body\nof Saint Kyaranus was warm, having a ruddy tinge in the face. Saint\nCoemgenus pointed out to the monks of Saint Kyaranus the brotherhood\nand fellowship which he and Saint Kyaranus had established for ever\nbetween themselves and their places and their monks; and the brethren\nwho watched that night bore testimony thereto. When the body of Saint\nKyaranus was honourably committed to the ground, Saint Coemgenus\nreturned to his own settlement.\" (VSH, i, 248).\n\nIn this story we see as before the explanation of a treaty between\nClonmacnois and Glendaloch.\n\nThe _Annals of Clonmacnois_ narrates the story of the death of Ciaran\nand the visit of Coemgen, with an interesting additional miracle.\n\"Dying, he desired his monks that they would bury his body in the\nLittle Church of Clonmacnois, and stop the door thereof with stones,\nand let nobody have access thereunto until his companion Coemgen\nhad come; which they accordingly did. But Saint Coemgen dwelling at\nGlendaloch in Leinster then, it was revealed to him of the death of\nhis dear and loving companion Saint Ciaran, whereupon he came suddenly\nto Clonmacnois: and finding the monks and servants of Saint Ciaran in\ntheir sorrowful and sad dumps after the death of their said lord and\nmaster, he asked them of the cause of their sadness. They were so\nheartless for grief as they gave no answer; and at last, fearing he\nwould grow angry, they told him Saint Ciaran was dead and buried, and\nordered or ordained the place of his burial should be kept without\naccess until his coming. The stones being taken out of the door, Saint\nCoemgen entered, to whom Saint Ciaran appeared: and [they] remained\nconversing together for twenty-four hours, as is very confidently\nlaid down in the Life of Saint Ciaran; and afterwards Saint Coemgen\ndeparted to the place of his own abiding, [and] left Saint Ciaran\nburied in the said Little Church of Clonmacnois. But king Diarmait\nmost of all men grieved for his death, insomuch that he grew deaf, and\ncould not hear the causes of his subjects, by reason of the heaviness\nand troublesomeness of his brains. Saint Colum Cille being then\nbanished into Scotland, king Diarmait made his repair to him, to the\nend [that] he might work some means by miracles for the recovery of\nhis health and hearing: and withal told Saint Colum Cille how he\nassembled all the physicians of Ireland, and that they could not help\nhim. Then said Saint Colum: 'Mine advice unto you is to make your\nrepair to Clonmacnois, to the place where your ghostly father and\nfriend Saint Ciaran is buried: and there to put a little of the earth\nof his grave or of himself in your ears, which is the medicine which I\nthink to be most available to help you.' The king having received the\nsaid instructions of Saint Colum, took his journey immediately to\nClonmacnois; and finding Oenna maccu Laigsi, who was abbot of the\nplace after Saint Ciaran, absent, he spoke to Lugaid, then parish\npriest of Clonmacnois, and told him of Saint Colum's instructions unto\nhim. Whereupon priest Lugaid and king Diarmait fasted and watched that\nnight in the Little Church where Saint Ciaran was buried, and the next\nmorning the priest took the bell that he had, named then the White\nBell,[28] and mingled part of the clay of Saint Ciaran therein with\nholy water, and put the same in the king's ears, and immediately the\nking had as good hearing as any in the kingdom, and the whole sickness\nand troubles of his brains ceased at that instant, which made the king\nto say, _Is feartach an ni do ni an clog orainn_, which is as much as\nto say in English, 'The bell did do us a miraculous turn.' Which bell\nSaint Lugna conveyed with him to the church of Fore, where he remained\nafterwards. King Diarmait bestowed great gifts of lands on Clonmacnois\nin honour of Saint Ciaran, for the recovery of his health.\"\n\nThe bell, called the _boban_ of Coemgen, reappears much later in\nhistory as a relic on which oaths were taken (_Annals of Clonmacnois_,\nanno 1139; _Four Masters_, anno 1143). It was doubtless a relic\npreserved at Glendaloch, in which the people of Clonmacnois rightly or\nwrongly claimed a part-proprietorship. The name is obscure: it means,\naccording to O'Davoren's Glossary, a calf or little cow: and Plummer\n(VSH, i, p. clxxvii) suggests that this name may be an allusion to its\nsmall size. But why \"calf\"? Is it an allusion to the original use of\nthe type of bells used for ecclesiastical purposes in Ireland, as\ncow-bells?\n\nAngels were seen by Saint Colman to fill the space between heaven and\nearth to receive the soul of Pope Gregory (VSH, i, 264).\n\n\nLI. THE EARTH OF CIARAN'S TOMB DELIVERS COLUM CILLE FROM A WHIRLPOOL\n(LA, LB)\n\nThis is perhaps an imitation of the tale of the Empress Helena, who,\nwhen returning after her discovery of the True Cross, was delivered\nfrom a storm by casting one of the Nails into the sea. Colum Cille was\nsaved from the whirlpool of Coire Bhreacain (Corrievreckan, between\nJura and Scarba) on another (?) occasion, by reciting a hymn to Brigit\n(LL, 1706).\n\n_The Visit of Colum Cille to Clonmacnois._--This took place during the\nrule of Ailithir, the fourth abbot of Clonmacnois (A.D. 589-595). It\nis described in Adamnan's _Vita Columbae_, where we read of the honour\npaid to the distinguished visitor, and how he was greeted with hymns\nand praises, while a canopy was borne over him on his way to the\nchurch, to protect him from inconvenient crowding. A humble boy, a\nuseless servitor in the monastery, came behind Columba to touch the\nhem of his garment: the saint, miraculously apprised of this, caught\nhim by the neck and held him, despite the protests of the brethren\nthat he should dismiss this \"wretched and noxious boy.\" Then he bade\nthe boy stretch forth his tongue, and blessed it, prophesying his\nfuture increase in wisdom and knowledge, and his eminence as a\npreacher. The boy was Ernin or Ernoc, the patron saint of Kilmarnock;\nand Adamnan had the tale from Failbe, who was standing by as Ernin\nhimself related the incident to Abbot Segine of I. Colum Cille also\nprophesied the Easter controversy, and told of angelic visitations\nthat he had had within the precincts of Clonmacnois: but Adamnan says\nnothing about the hymn to Ciaran, or the wonder-working clay from his\ntomb, although elsewhere in his book the terrors of Corrievreckan\nare alluded to. According to a prophecy of Colum Cille narrated in\nO'Donnell's Life of that saint, Patrick is to judge the men of Ireland\non the Last Day at Clonmacnois.\n\n_The Hymn of Colum Cille._--This composition has not been preserved\nin its entirety. Fragments of it are introduced into the Homiletic\nIntroduction of VG, which are enough to identify it with a short hymn\nto be found in the Irish _Liber Hymnorum_, and published by Bernard\nand Atkinson in their edition of that compilation.[29] It is as\nfollows--\n\n  Alto et ineffabile              apostolorum coeti\n  celestis Hierosolimae            sublimioris speculi\n  sedente tribunalibus            solis modo micantibus\n  Quiaranus sanctus               sacerdos insignis nuntius\n\n  inaltatus est manibus           angelorum celestibus\n  consummatis felicibus           sanctitatum generibus\n  quem tu Christe apostolum       mundo misisti hominem\n  gloriosum in omnibus            nouissimis temporibus\n\n  rogamus Deum altissimum         per sanctorum memoriam\n  sancti Patrici episcopi         Ciarani prespeteri\n  Columbaeque auxilia              nos deffendat egregia\n  ut per illorum merita           possideamus premia\n\nObviously the third stanza, with its reference to Colum Cille himself,\nis a later addition, so that only the first two stanzas belong to the\noriginal hymn. The sixth line, _quem tu Christe_, is quoted in the\nsection of VG referred to; but the three other excerpts, _lucerna_...,\n_custodiantur_..., _propheta_..., do not appear in the text before us:\nnor do the surviving stanzas justify the extravagant praise said to have\nbeen heaped on the composition at Clonmacnois--though no doubt a\ncomposition by Colum Cille, had it only the artless simplicity of a\nnursery jingle, would have been sure of an appreciative audience.\nHowever, the text seems to indicate something much more elaborate, and\nprobably the original composition was an acrostic, like Colum Cille's\ngreat _Altus Prosator_.[30] The two authentic stanzas of the _Liber\nHymnorum_ are incorporated in the metrical patchwork at the end of LB.\n\nAnother version of the hymn was known to Colgan, and is given by him\nin TT, p. 472. Unfortunately he quotes only one couplet--\n\n  Quantum Christe O Apostolum   mundo misisti hominem\n  Lucerna huius insulae          lucens lucerna mirabilis\n\nwhich is evidently corrupt, and (as Colgan seems to regard it as the\nopening stanza) must show that the whole text had become disturbed by\nthe time when Colgan wrote. Indeed, it does not appear that Colgan\nknew any more of the hymn than these two lines.\n\n\nLIII. THE ENVY OF THE SAINTS (VG)\n\nNote how the Latin texts soften down the saying attributed in VG to\nColum Cille. A curious incident of disagreement between Ciaran and\nColum Cille is thus related by Colgan (TT, p. 396). \"Once there\narose a petty quarrel between Kieranus and Columba, in which perhaps\nKieranus, jealous for the divine honour, appeared either to prefer\nhimself to Columba, or not to yield him the foremost place. But a good\nSpirit, descending from heaven, easily settled the quarrel, whatever\nit may have been, in this wise. He held out an awl, a hatchet, and an\naxe, presenting them to Kieranus: 'These things,' said he, 'and other\nthings of this kind, with which thy father used to practise carpentry,\nhast thou abjured for the love of God. But Columba renounced the\nsceptre of Ireland, for which he might have hoped from his ancestral\nright and the power of his clan, before he made offering.'\" The same\ntale is told in Manus O'Donnell's Life (ed. O'Kelleher, p. 60).\n\nThe authorities differ as to the attitude which Colum Cille adopted\nwith regard to Ciaran. But as regards the other saints of Ireland\nthere is no ambiguity. The cutting-short of Ciaran's life was one of\nthe \"three crooked counsels of Ireland\" according to the glosses to\nthe _Martyrology of Oengus_ (9th September): the same authority adds\nthat the saints \"fasted for Ciaran's death,\" as otherwise all Ireland\nwould have been his. The ancient legal process of fasting was an\ninheritance from Pagan times. If A had a case against B, he might, and\nunder certain circumstances was obliged to, abstain from food till the\ncase was settled; he was then said to \"fast upon B.\" The idea probably\nwas that if a litigant permitted his adversary to starve to death, the\nangry ghost would ever afterwards disturb his rest. Parallels have\nbeen found in ancient Indian practice. Sometimes B performed a\ncounter-fast; in such a case he who first broke his fast lost his\ncause. But the process seems to have been strangely extended, even in\nChristian times, to obtain boons from the supernatural Powers. We read\nof a saint \"fasting upon God\" that a king might lose a battle; and\nin _Revue celtique_, vol. xiv, p. 28, there is printed a story of a\nchildless couple who fasted with success upon the Devil, that he might\nsend them offspring. Two of the saints--Odran of Letrecha Odrain and\nMac Cuillind of Lusk--went and told Ciaran for what they were fasting:\nCiaran simply replied, \"Bless ye the air before me\"--the air through\nwhich I must travel in passing heavenwards--\"and what ye desire shall\nbe given you.\" The _Book of Leinster_ contains a poem attributed\nto Saint Ciaran relating to the shortness of his life: as it has\napparently never been printed it is given here with a translation, so\nfar as the obscurity of the language permits--\n\n  An rim, a ri richid rain    corbom etal risin dail:\n  co cloister cech ni atber   i sanct cech sen, a De mair.\n\n(Stay for me, O King of glorious heaven, till I be pure before the\nassembly; till everything that I shall speak be heard in the sanctuary\nof every blessing, O great God.)\n\n  A Mic Maire, miad cen on   ammochomde corric nem,\n  a ruiri na nangel find,    innanfa frim corbom sen?\n\n(O Son of Mary, a dignity without blemish, O my Lord as far as Heaven,\nO King of the white angels, wilt Thou stay for me till I am old?)\n\n  Attchimse mo guide rutt   arbaig Maire diandit Macc\n  menbad tacrad latt a Ri   condernaind ni bud maith latt\n\n(I make my prayer unto Thee, for the love of Mary to whom Thou are\nSon, if it be not displeasing in Thy sight, O King, that I may do\nsomewhat pleasing to Thee.)\n\n  Maccan berair rian a re   ni fintar feib ar a mbe\n  asaoete lenta baeis       aggaes cach aes bes nithe\n\n(A young man who is taken before its time, the honour in which he may\nbe is not discovered: from his youth of following folly, to his age\nevery company ... (?).)\n\n  Ni horta laeg rianaes daim   ar cach sen as tressiu achach,\n  ni horta uan na horc maith   ni coilte cr ... [31] a blath\n\n(A calf is not slaughtered till it is of ox's age, 'tis the ploughing\n(?) of every old one which waxes stronger: a lamb or a good pigling is\nnot slaughtered, the (saffron?) is not plucked till its flower.)\n\n  Buain guirt riasiu bas abbuig   is m ... cacaid, a Ri rind?\n  is e in longud riana thrath     blath do choll in tan bas find\n\n(To reap a field before it is ripe, is it a right (thing), O King of\nstars? It is eating before the time to violate a flower while it is\nwhite.)\n\n  Fuiniud immedon laa          ni hord baa rian ...\n  matan in aidche, in dedoil   ria na medon cia mo col\n\n(Sunset in midday, no order of profit before...; morning in night,\ntwilight before its noon, though it be greatest wrong.)\n\n  Cluinti itgi notguidiu    is mo chridiu deroil duir\n  a Mic mo De cianomrodba   is bec mo thorba donduir\n\n(Hear Thou the prayer I pray Thee in the depth of my wretched hard\nheart, O Son of my God, although Thou cuttest me off, small is my\nprofitableness ... )\n\n  Duitsi a Mic motholtu     cen cope sentu dom churp,\n  cenambera cen taithlech   no co bia maith fe[in] fort\n\n(To Thee, O Son, ... (?), that without my body becoming aged, I be not\ntaken without reason till I shall myself be good in Thy sight.)\n\n  Is fort shnadud cach ambi     ria ndula m' chri, a Ri slan,\n  ic do guide dam cen dichil,   an rimm a Ri richid ran\n\n(On Thy protection is every one whereso he is; before departure of my\nbody, O Perfect King, I am praying Thee without negligence, stay for\nme, O King of glorious heaven.)\n\n\nLIV. THE PANEGYRICS (LA, VG)\n\nThere is little that need be said about these paragraphs, which are of\nconventional type. There are two references in VG which may, however,\nbe noted. The first is to the relics left in the hollow elm, of which\nwe have already heard at the beginning of these annotations: here\nsaid to have been deposited by Benen (the pupil of Patrick, and his\nsuccessor in Armagh) and by Cumlach (the leper of Saint Patrick). The\nsecond is an allusion, on which I am unable to throw any light, to\nsome evidently well-known story of a certain Peca and his blind pupil.\n\n\nTHE METRICAL PANEGYRIC IN LB\n\nThis is a patchwork of extracts from different sources.\n\n1. Fifteen-syllable lines, with caesura at eighth syllable; every\nline ending in a trisyllabic word, rhyming (not always) with a word\npreceding the caesura. A dissyllable or trisyllable precedes the\ncaesura. Rhythm of Tennyson's _Locksley Hall_, proceeding by stress\nonly, independent of vowel-quantity or hiatus. In line seven,\n'Keranus' must be pronounced in four syllables, Kiaranus. Refers to\nthe wizard's prophecy, incident II.\n\n2. Four lines, in _Locksley Hall_ rhythm, with a dissyllabic rhyme\nrunning through the quatrain. Relates incident IX.\n\n3. Four lines, twelve syllables trochaic, caesura at seventh syllable.\nEach line ends with a trisyllable or a tetrasyllable, with dissyllabic\nrhyme running through the quatrain. The rhythm is that of the\nfollowing line (which is intentionally misquoted to serve the present\npurpose)--\n\n    \"Gather roses while you may, time is still a-flying.\"\n\nThe incident is not recorded in the prose lives; but it appears in the\n_Book of the Dun Cow_, in the story of the Birth of Aed Slaine (son of\nKing Diarmait, reigned A.D. 595-600). Diarmait, it appears, had two\nwives (for, notwithstanding his friendship to Ciaran, he was but a\nhalf-converted pagan), by name Mugain and Muireann. Muireann had the\nmisfortune to be bald, and Mugain, who, as is usual in polygamous\nhouseholds, was filled with envy of her, bribed a female buffoon to\nremove her golden headgear in public at the great assembly of Tailltiu\n(Telltown, Co. Meath), so as to expose the poor queen's defect to the\neyes of the mob. The messenger accomplished her purpose, but Muireann\ncried out, \"God and Saint Ciaran help me in this need!\" and forthwith\na shower of glossy curling golden hair flowed from her head over her\nshoulders, before a single eye of the assembly had rested upon her.\nCompare Ciaran's own experience, incident XLVI.\n\n4. Three lines in the same metre, but apparently with three instead of\nfour lines in each rhyming stanza. Refers to incident XVIII.\n\n5. Three lines in the same rhythm as extract 1, but with a different\nrhyme-scheme; apparently three lines from a quatrain rhyming _abab_.\nRefers to incident XLI.\n\n6. Six lines in elegiac couplets. This probably refers to XLVI, but\nwithout their original context the lines must remain obscure. In any\ncase the versifier has the story in a rather different form from the\nprose writers, and appears to regard it as an incident of the boyhood\nperiod.\n\n7. Eight lines from the hymn of Colum Cille, already commented upon.\n\n\nADDITIONAL NOTE ON CIARAN'S BIRTHPLACE\n\nSome place-names in the barony of Moycashel (S. Co. Westmeath), which\nlies in Cenel Fiachach, support the tradition that Ciaran's birthplace\nis to be sought there, and not in Mag Ai at all. I can find nothing\nin the local nomenclature to suggest Raith Cremthainn; but\n\"Templemacateer\" (_Teampull mhic an tsaoir_, the \"Church of the\nWright's son\") may be compared with, and perhaps equated to the\nsimilarly named \"house\" (p. 111); \"Ballynagore\" (_Baile na ngabhar_,\nthe \"town of the goats,\" or \"horses\") perhaps echoes the \"Tir na\nGabrai\" of VG 3. About half a mile to the west is _Tulach na crosain_,\nthe \"Mound of the crosslet\"--possibly the missing cross of Ciaran (LA\n4). At the outflow of the Brosna from Loch Ennell is \"Clonsingle,\"\nwhich it is tempting to equate to the place-name corrupted to \"Cluain\nInnsythe,\" in LA 12.\n\nAn additional suggestion may here be made to the effect that the\neldest son and daughter of Beoit were twins. Their names, _Lug-oll_\n\"big Lug,\" and _Lug-beg_ \"little Lug,\" are in correspondence, as\ntwins' names often are.\n\n[Footnote 1: For brevity we shall refer to certain books, frequently\nquoted in these Annotations, by the following symbols--\n\n  LL. _Lives of Saints from the Book of Lismore_, ed. Stokes.\n  CS. _Codex Salmaticensis_ (Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae), ed. de\n  Smedt and de Backer.\n  VTP. _Vita Tripartita Patricii_, ed. Stokes.\n  VSH. Plummer's _Vitae Sanctorum Hiberniae_.\n  TT. _Trias Thaumaturga_ (Colgan's collection of the lives of\n  SS. Patrick, Brigid, and Colum Cille).]\n\n[Footnote 2: There is a different version, which need not be given\nhere, in the _Martyrology of Oengus_ (Henry Bradshaw Society edition,\np. 204).]\n\n[Footnote 3: Mentioned in _Annals of Ulster_, anno 1166, _Annals of\nLoch Ce_, anno 1189, _Annals of the Four Masters_, annis 1121, 1166.]\n\n[Footnote 4: A collection (in Irish) of the traditions of this person\nwill be found in _Targaireacht Bhriain ruaidh ui Chearbhain_, by\nMicheal o Tiomhanaidhe (Dublin, 1906).]\n\n[Footnote 5: The passage would then read thus--_Rothircan Bec mac De\ncondebairt andsin_--\n\n  \"_A maic in tsaeir,      cot clasaib, cot coraib,\n    It casair chaeim,      cot cairpthib, cot ceolaib._\"\n\nThe transposition has probably been caused by the error of some scribe\nwho copied first the parts of the two lines preceding the caesura.]\n\n[Footnote 6: The roll of the Kings of Tara was evolved from various\nsources by the Irish historians of the early Christian Period.\nTigernmas was properly a pagan culture-hero, to whom was traditionally\nattributed the introduction of gold-smelting and of other arts, and\nwho was said to have perished, apparently as a human sacrifice, at\nsome great religious assembly.]\n\n[Footnote 7: This is certainly the reading, curiously misread in LL p.\n356, (Irish text), and in VSH i, p. li, note 3.]\n\n[Footnote 8: Ossianic Society's _Transactions_, vol. v, p. 84 ff.]\n\n[Footnote 9: Edited by Dr. Hyde in _Celtic Review_, vol. x, p. 116\nff.]\n\n[Footnote 10: On this whole subject see Chapter IV of MacNeill's\n_Phases of Irish History_, a book which may be unreservedly\nrecommended as giving a clear and accurate view of the early history\nof the country.]\n\n[Footnote 11: It may be noted for the benefit of the reader\nunaccustomed to Irish nomenclature, that persons are named in one of\nthe following formulae: \"A mac B\" (_mac_, genitive _mic_, in syntactic\nrelation _mhic_ [pronounced _vic_] = son): \"A o B\" (_o_ or _ua_,\ngenitive _ui_ = grandson or descendant): and \"A maccu B\" (_maccu_ =\ndescendant, denoting B as the name of a remote ancestor). Of course\nthe name B will in every case be in the genitive.]\n\n[Footnote 12: For division of labour between the sexes, see Frazer,\n_Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild_, ii, 129. For prohibitions\nof the presence of males when specifically female work was being\ntransacted, Plummer quotes Grimm, _Teutonic Mythology_, Eng. Trans.,\niv, 1778 (\"Men shall not stay in the house while women are stuffing\nfeathers in the beds, otherwise the feathers will prick through\nthe bed-ticking\"). O'Curry (_Manners and Customs_, iii, p. 121),\ncommenting on this story, refers to times and seasons deemed unlucky\nfor dyeing, at the time when he wrote; but the prohibition of the\npresence of males was forgotten.]\n\n[Footnote 13: Vafthrudnismal 41; Grimnismal 18. (_Edda_, ed. Hafn,\n1787, vol. i, pp. 24, 48.)]\n\n[Footnote 14: F.M. Luzel, _Contes populaires de Basse-Bretagne_\n(Paris, 1887), vol. i, p. 219 ff. Some other parallels are quoted by\nPlummer, VSH, i, p. cxliii, note 5.]\n\n[Footnote 15: There is evidence from various literary sources that\ncattle thus peculiarly coloured were accounted sacred in ancient\nIreland.]\n\n[Footnote 16: There should be no hypermetric syllables, but I have\nbeen unable to avoid them.]\n\n[Footnote 17: _Horae Hebraicae_ in Evangel. Matt., xv, 36, following\nthe tract _Berakoth_.]\n\n[Footnote 18: O'Donnell's _Life of St. Columba_, ed. O'Kelleher, p.\n120.]\n\n[Footnote 19: For the story of Coirpre, see _Lismore Lives_, ed.\nStokes, preface p. xvi; _Revue celtique_, xxvi, 368. For the story of\nAmbacuc, see _Silua Gadelica_, no. xxxi; _Eriu_, vol. vi, p. 159.]\n\n[Footnote 20: A fully illustrated description of this relic by\nMr. E.C.R. Armstrong will be found in _Journal_, Royal Society of\nAntiquaries of Ireland, vol. xlix, p. 132.]\n\n[Footnote 21: _Book of the Dun Cow_, printed in _Zeitschrift fuer\nCeltische Philologie_, iii, 218.]\n\n[Footnote 22: _Feilire Oengusso_, Henry Bradshaw Society edition, p.\n12.]\n\n[Footnote 23: _Revue celtique_, xv, at p. 491.]\n\n[Footnote 24: I should here have quoted as a parallel the\noft-described Indian rope-trick, which is alleged to be a hypnotic\nfeat, had I not been recently assured by a relative who knows India\nwell that no one has yet been discovered who has actually seen this\ntrick performed, and that it is probably nothing more than a piece of\nfolk-lore.]\n\n[Footnote 25: See his important series of papers, _Ueber directe\nHandelsverbindungen Westgalliens mit Irland im Altertum und frueher\nMittelalter_, published in _Sitzungsberichte der koenigliche\npreussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften_, 1909, vol. i.]\n\n[Footnote 26: _Life of Colman mac Luachain_, Todd Lectures Series,\nRoyal Irish Academy, vol. xvii, p. 86.]\n\n[Footnote 27: Bede's _Life of Cuthbert_, Sec. xxxix.]\n\n[Footnote 28: This is evidently a mistranslation of _boban_, the\ntranslator having in mind the word _ban_, \"white.\"]\n\n[Footnote 29: Henry Bradshaw Society edition, vol. i, p. 157.]\n\n[Footnote 30: Although the sense appears to run continuously from one\nstanza to the next in their present collocation.]\n\n[Footnote 31: MS. illegible.]\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\n=APPENDIX=\n\n\nTHE LATIN TEXT OF LB\n\n[Sidenote  deg.1: R1 162b; R2 127d]\n[Sidenote  deg.2: R2 128a]\n[Sidenote  deg.3: R1 162c]\n\n1.[ deg.1] Vir gloriosus, et uita sanctissimus abbas, Queranus, ex patre\nBoecio, matre Darercha [Darecha R2] ortus fuit. Hic traxit originem de\naquilonali parte Hibernie, Aradensium silicet genere. Diuina quoque\ngratia a puerili etate sic ipse illustratus est, ut qualis[ deg.2] foret\nfuturus luculenter appareret.[ deg.3] Erat [Cras MSS.] enim tanquam\nlucerna ardens eximia caritate, ut non solum feruorem pii cordis\net deuocionem erga hominum inopiam releuandam [reuelandam MSS.]\nexhiberet; uerum et in creaturum irrationabilium necessitatibus\ninfatigabilem ostenderet affectum. Et quia tanta lucerna non debuit\nsub modio abscondi, ideo a puerili etate cepit miraculorum prod[ig]iis\ncoruscare.\n\n2. Quum enim equus fili regis terrae illius subita morte periret, ac\nde eius casu iuuenis ille multum doleret, apparuit ei in sompnis uir\nuultus uenerabili ac rutilentis, qui eum prohibuit tristari pro morte\nequi, dicens ei, \"Voca\" inquit \"sanctum puerum Keranum, qui aquam in\nos equi tui infundat, frontemque aspergat, et reuiuiscet. Illum quoque\npro resuscitatione eius munere debito dotabis.\" Cumque regis filius de\nsompno euigilasset, misit pro puero Kerano ut ad se ueneret; qui cum\nsui presentiam ei exhiberet, atque sompnium scriatim [seruatem _or_\nseritatem R1] audiret, secundum quod angelus illum docuit, equum aqua\nbenedicta aspergens de morte resuscitauit. Viso hoc magno miraculo,\nagrum fertilem et amplum rex terrae illius in honore Dei Omnipotentis,\nin cuius nomine equus suus est resuscitatus, sancto Kerano contulit.\n\n3. Accidit autem quadam die [q.d. _omitted_, R2] quod mater ipsius\nKerani eum reprehenderet, eo quod mel siluestre, sicut ceteri pueri\nsuis parentibus ferebant, non portaret. Quod cum dilectus Deo et\nhominibus audiret, mentem eleuans ad Puerum illum qui subditus erat\nparentibus, aquam de fonte uicino allatam benedixit, in nomine Eius\nqui mel potens est producere de petra, et oleum de saxo durissimo; et\nmox aqua illa in mel dulcissimum, Deo cooperante, conuertitur, et\nsic matri defertur. Hoc mel parentes eius sancto Dermicio diacono,\ncognomento Iusto, qui eum baptizauit, transmiserunt.\n\n[Sidenote  deg.4: R1 162d]\n[Sidenote  deg.5: R2 128b]\n\n4. Lectis autem a[ deg.4] memorato sancto literarum rudimentis, beatum\nCluayn Hir[ deg.5]ardensem abbatem, discendi causa, adire proposuit. Et\ncum opere uellet complere quod animo cepit cogitare, uaccam unam a\nparentibus ad uictum sibi postulauit. Sed cum eius peticionem mater\neius non acquiesceret, celestis Pater, qui intimios [_sic_ R1,\nintuitos R2] suos quantum mater filium diligit, desiderium dilecti\nsui adimplere non distulit. Nam uacca una lactifera, una cum uitulo,\nconsecuta est eum, acsi a suo pastore minaretur post eum. Qui cum ad\nsacrum collegium sancti Fynniani uenisset, gaudium non modicum de eius\naduentu omnes habuerunt. Vacca uero, que secuta est eum, simul\ncum uitulo pascebatur, nec ubera materna sine licencia tangere\nattemptabat. Keranus eius pascua sic discriminauit atque distinxit, ut\ntantum uitulum mater lambe[re]t, nec tamen ei ubera praeberet. Istius\nuero uacce in tanta habundancia exubrabat lac, ut xii uiris cotidie\ndistributum sufficientem copiam uictus praeberet. Sanctus uero\nadolescens Keranus, diuine scripture intentus, inter condiscipulos\nsuos sanctitate ac sapientia, uelut sidus perfulgidus inter alia\n[alique R2] sidera, emicabat. Erat uero perfecte caritatis fragrantia\nplenus, et moris probitate, et uite sanctimonia, ac humilitatis\ndulcedine, presentibus et absentibus gratiosus, honorabilis, et\nadmirabilis.\n\n[Sidenote  deg.6: R1 163a]\n\n5. Vna dierum ad regem quendam, Tuathlum nomine, pro cuiusdam ancille\nliberacione intercessurus accessit. Cumque regem deuote pro ea rogaret\n[pro ea deuote oraret R2] ac preces famuli Dei quasi deliramenta\nsperneret, nouam artem liberacionis eiusdem cogitans, semet ipsum regi\nseruiturum pro ipsa decreuit. Veniente autem eo domum in qua puella\nmolebat, clause iam fores illi patuerunt. Intransque, alterum se\nilli[ deg.6] Paulinum episcopum exhibuit. Nec mora, rex illam emancipauit,\net insuper Dei famulo suum indumentum donauit. Quod ille accipiens,\ncontinuo pauperibus distribuit.\n\n[Sidenote  deg.7: R2 128c]\n\n6. Nocte quadam[ deg.7] contigit ut eum doctor egregius Finnianus cum\nannona frumenti ad molendinum transmitteret. Regulus uero quidam prope\nhabitans, quendam de discipulis uiri Dei illuc aduenisse intelligens,\ncarnes et ceruisiam ei per ministrum destinauit. Cumque illi exenium\ntanti uiri presentaret, respondit ipse, \"Vt commune\" inquit \"sit\nfratribus, totum in os molendini proice.\" Quod cum nuncius compleret,\nin farinam totum mutatum est. Quo audito, rex uillam in qua manebat\ncum omnibus bonis suis in perpetuam dedit illi; sed Keranus suo\ncondonauit magistro, ibidem enim monasterium postea constructum est.\nPanis uero de illa farina factus, uelut caro et ceruisia fratribus\nsapiebat et eos sic recreabat.\n\n[Sidenote  deg.8: R1 163b]\n[Sidenote  deg.9: R2 128d]\n\n7. Transacto autem temporis spacio, accepta magistri sui licentia\net benedictione, ad sanctum Nynnidum in quadam silua stagni Erny\ncommorantem properauit. Et cum [cum _omitted_ R2] illuc peruenisset,\ncum magno gaudio et caritate non ficta susceptus est. Cumque idem in\nmoris ac uirtutum disciplina cotidie proficeret, quadam die ad nemora\nuicina cum fratribus ad scindenda ligna ut [ut _omitted_ R2] uerus\nobediens properauit. Erat enim consuetudo in sacro illo collegio ut\niii monachi cum seniore ad ligna deportanda secundum ordinem temporis\nsemper irent. Cedentibus uero ceteris ligna, ipse seorsum [deorsum R2]\nDeum, secundum quod moris erat sibi, attente orabat. Interea quidam\nnefandi latrones, rate ad insulam illam transuecti, in prefatos\nfratros irruerunt, atque eos occiderunt, et eorum capita secum\ndetuler[ deg.8]unt. Keranus uero, dum strepidum soc[i]orum [_sic_]\npercucientium non audiret, mirabatur; et propter admiracionem festine\nperuenit ad locum ubi eos laborantes reliquit. Viso quoque eo quod de\nfratribus actum est [est _omitted_ R2], alta trahit ipse suspiria, et\nuehementer contristatus est. Secutus est quoque homisidas [_sic_ R1]\nillos e uestigio, atque eos in portu ut suam nauiculam in portu ad\naquam [aquas R2] deducerent desudantes, sed minime hoc facere potentes\n[fatentes R1, facientes R2] inuenit; sic uero [sic eis R2] Deus\nscapham[ deg.9] eorum terre conglutinauit ut nequaquam eam amouere\npotuissent. Et cum uoluntati Cunctipotentis contraire non possent, a\nuiro Dei tunc presente [-entem R2] ueniam suppliciter postulant. Qui\nmemor sui Magistri pro Iudeis eum crucifigentibus orantis, sanctus pro\nillis licet indignis preces ad fortem pietatis effudit; et uirtute\norationis eius potiti, ratem suam facillime ad aquam ducere potuerunt.\nPro munere uero huius beneficii, optinuit a latronibus capita suorum\nfratrum. Acceptis uero hiis, ad locum ubi corpora iacuerant deueniens,\nDeum deuote rogauit ut omnipotenciam suam in seruorum suorum\nresuscitatione hac uite ostenderet. Mirum quoque est quod narro, sed\nueritate facti euidentissimum; capita corporibus coaptauit, ut illos\nuirtute sacre orationis ad uitam reuocauit, immo quod uerius est,\nreuocari meruit. Hii quoque sic mirabiliter resuscitati, ligna secum\nad monasterium transuexerunt. Quam diu tamen uixerant [_sic_],\ncicatrices uulnerium in collis suis portauerunt.\n\n[Sidenote  deg.10: R1 163c]\n\n8. Alio tempore cum peccora parentum in quodam loco custodiret, uacca\nuna peperit coram eo uitulum. Veniens uero imacie omnino confectus\n[canis][1] cupiens de hiis que cum uitulo cadunt de uentro matris\n[uentrem suum][2] implere, stetit coram pio pastore. Cui ait \"Commede,\nmiser, uitulum istum, quia multum eo indi[ deg.10]ges.\" Canis uero iussa\nQuerani complens, usque ad ossa uitulum commedit. Redeunti uero\nQuerano cum uaccis ad domum, illa ad memoriam reducens uitulum\nmugiendo huc illucque discurrebat. Causam uero mugitus cognoscens\nmater Querani, cum indignatione puero ait \"Redde uitulum, Quirane,\netsi igne sit combustus uel aqua submersus.\" At ille iussis maternis\nparens, ad locum ubi uitulus erat commestus accedens, ossa eius\ncollegit et uitulum resuscitauit.\n\n[Sidenote  deg.11: R2 129a]\n\n9. Quodam tempore, transeunte eo per uiam, quidam mali[ deg.11]gno spiritu\nuexati canem ferocissimum excitauerunt ut sibi[3] [_sic_] noceret. Sed\nconfidens in Domino suo Queranus scuto deuote orationis se muniuit,\nac dixit \"Ne tradas bestis [_sic_ R1, bestiis R2] animas confitentium\ntibi, Domine.\" Et mox canis ille mortuus est.\n\n\n10. Alio tempore solo eo in insula illa relicto, pauperem quendam\naudiuit in portu ignem sibi dari rogantem. Erat enim iam frigidum\ntempus; sed ratem non habuit ut pauperis peticioni, licet multum\ndesideraret, satisfaceret. Et quia caritas omnia sustinet, ticionem\nardentem in stagnum proiecit, et feruore [-rem MSS.] dilectionis\nmittentis in aquis preualente [preualens MSS.] ad pauperem usque\nperuenit.\n\n[Sidenote  deg.12: R1 163d]\n\n11. Aliquandiu uero ibidem moratus homo Dei, cum licencia Nynnidi ad\nsanctum Endeum Arnensem abbatem properauit; qui in aduentu eius non\nmodica perfundebatur leticia. Nocte uero quadam sompniauit se\nuidisse iuxta ripam magni fluminis Synan arborem magnam frondosam et\nfructiferam que totam obumbrauit Hyberniam. Quod sompnium beato Edeo\nindicauit crastina die [die _omitted_ R2]. Sed et ipse Endeus eandem\nuisionem ea nocte [e.n. _omitted_ R2][ deg.12] se uidisse attestatus est,\nquam uisionem sanctus Endeus interpretatus: \"Arbor\" inquit \"illa tu\nes, qui coram Deo et hominibus magnus eris, et per totam Hiberniam\nhonorabilis, propter quod et tui adiutorii et gracie umbra a demoniis\net aliis periculis protegetur uelut sub umbra arboris salutifere;\nplurimisque prope ac procul tuorum fructus operum subuenient. Igitur\nsecundum Dei imperium qui reuelat secreta, ad praeostensum accede\nlocum, et ibi habita secundum graciam a Deo tibi datam.\" Confortatus\nex huius uisionis interpretacione, paruit uerus obediens iussioni\nSancti Endei patris sui spiritualis.\n\n[Sidenote  deg.13: R2 129b]\n\n12. Et profectus in uiam inuenit quendam pauperem in itinere cui ab eo\neleemosinam petenti casulam suam tribuit. Cumque ad insulam Cathaci\nuenisset, beatus Senanus aduentum eius, Spiritu reuelante, didicit;\neique obuiam ueniens quasi subridendo ait, \"Nonne presbitero pudor est\nabsque casula incedere?\" Senanus enim in spiritu nouit quomodo ipse\npauperi eam dedit. Et ideo cum ca[ deg.13]sula ei occurreret. Et ait\nKeranus, \"Senior\" inquit \"meus sub uestimento suo casulam mihi\naufert.\"\n\n[Sidenote  deg.14: R1 164a]\n\n13. Quam cum accepisset et gracias datori egisset, pro sancta\ncolloquia ad cellam fratris sui Luctigernni [-gerimi R2] peruenit, ubi\net alius frater eius Odranus [Ordanus R2] nomine erat. Ibi aliquanto\ntempore moram traxit ac magister hospicium fuit. Die uero quadam eo\nsub diuo legente in cimitherio, hospites ex improuise uenerunt, quos,\nlibrum oblitus apertum, ad hospicium adduxit; eorumque pedes\ndeuote lauit, et cetera que eis necessaria erant propter Christum\nministrauit. Interea cum nocturne adessent tenebre, grandis facta est\npluuia. Sed Ille qui uellus Gedeonis ir[ deg.14]rorauit, at praeterea a\nrore intactum custodiuit, librum sancti Kerani sic ab ingruentibus\naquis licet apertum [aquis hoc apertum R2] reserauit quod nec una\ngutta super eum cecidit.\n\n14. Monasterio in quo tunc uir Dei morabatur, erat quaedam insula\nuicina, quam seculares quidam inhabitabant, quorum tumultus uiros\nDei multum molestabat. Vnde contigit ut beatus Keranus, eorum\ninquietacione compulsus, ad stagnum accederet, et orationi se totum\ndans, elongationem illorum uexancium seruos Dei perueniuit. Cum enim\nab oratione cessaret, ecce subito insula cum stagno et habitatoribus\nin remotum locum secessit, ut ullatenus [nullatenus R2] habitatores\neius eius [_sic_ MSS.] amicos Altissimi possent turbare. In Eius\nenim nomine hoc miraculum factum est qui Sodomam propter peccatum\ninhabitancium subuertit ac igne succendit. Adhuc extant signa illius\nstagni, ubi ante erat.\n\n[Sidenote  deg.15: R2 129c]\n[Sidenote  deg.16: R1 164b]\n\n15. Vir Dei, cum in usum [usus MSS.] pauperum bona monasterii\ndistribueret, fratres super hoc conquirentes ad ipsum temere\naccedentes, dixerunt, \"Discede,\" inquierunt \"a nobis, simul enim\ncohabitare non possumus.\" Quibus ipse acquiesce[n]s, et uale in Domino\nfaciens, ad insulam quandam se transtulit [a. i. s. t. q. R2] nomine\nAnginam; in qua insula fundato monasterio, multi undique properantes\nfama sanctitatis eius eos attrahente[ deg.15] seruicium Dei mancipauerunt.\nSub stricta instruens regula, uultu et habitu, sermone et uita, se eis\nin exemplum exhibuit. Erat enim tanquam aquila prouocans ad uolandam\npullos suos quantum ad contemplacionis sublimitatem; sed fraterna\nhumilitate sicut minus [unus R2] ex eis uiuebat. Erat enim in\nspiritualibus meditacionibus suspensus ad supera; infirma tum\nimbecillitate sic condescendebat ut quasi uideretur se inclinare\nad infima. Ipse quoque fide erat perfectus, caritate feruidus, spe\ngaude[n]s, corde mitis, ore affabilis,[ deg.16] paciens et longanimis,\nhospitalitate erat humanus, in operibus pietatis semper assiduus,\nbenignus, mansuetus, pacificus, sobrius, et quietus. Et ut multa\nbreui concludam sermone, omnium uirtutum erat ornatus decore. Hiis\net huiuscemodi sollicitum impendens studium Marie contemplacioni ac\nMarthe erga temporalium dispensacionem ordinata succasione [succisione\nR2] adimplebat officium. Nec potuit talis ac tante lucerne lumen sub\nmodio abscondi, sed circumquoque gracie sue splendore diffuso mundum\ncopiose illuminauerat irradiauit lumine.\n\n16. Erat nihilominus prophecie spiritu inspiratus, quam ex\nprecedentibus et subsequentibus patet exemplis. Quadam namque die uox\ncuiusdam nauigium postulantis aures ei[us] pulsauerat. Tunc ait\nad fratres; \"Vocem,\" inquit \"eius audio quem Deus uobis preficiet\nabbatem; euntes ergo ipsum adducite.\" Illi itaque properauerunt, atque\nad portum peruenientes quendam adolescentulum illiteratum inuenirent.\nQuem negligentes adducere ad sanctum uirum reuersi neminem nisi\nadolescentulum illiteratum qui profugus in siluis errabat se inuenisse\nasseruerunt. Sanctus autem Queranus ait; \"Adducite\" inquit \"illum,\net nolite futurum pastorem uestrum despicere.\" Qui adductus Dei\ninspiracione et sancti uiri instructione religionis habitum suscepit,\net per modum literas didicit. Ipse est enim sanctus Oenius, uir uite\nuenerabilis: et, sicut sanctus ante predixit, fratribus per modum\nprefuit.\n\n[Sidenote  deg.17: R2 129d]\n[Sidenote  deg.18: R1 164c]\n\n17. Elapso denique tempore, quidam uir sanctus nomine Dompnanus,[ deg.17]\nMumoniensis genere, ad uirum Dei uisitandum peruenit. Cumque ab eo\nsanctus Keranus causam aduentus scicitaretur, respondit se uelle locum\nhabere in quo Dominum [habere in Deo R2] secure posset seruire. Sanctus\nuero Keranus, non que sua[ deg.18] [supra R2] sed que Ihesu Christi querens\nait \"Hic\" inquit \"inhabita, et ego Deo duce locum habitandi alibi\nqueram.\" Denique sacro eum comitante [conm. MSS.] conuentu ad locum eius\na Deo premonstratum profectus est, in quo celebri ac famoso monasterio\nconstructo quod hodie Cluaynensis [Claynensis R2] appellatur ciuitas\ninsignium miraculorum luce ipse, tanquam sol mundum istum ita\nilluminauit.\n\n18. De quorum miraculorum multitudine quedam hic subnectemus. Quodam\ntempore dum fratres in messe laborantes sitis periculo grauarentur,\nmiserunt ad sanctum patrem Queranum ut aque [aqua MSS.] beneficio\nrefocillarentur. Quibus per ministros ipse ait: \"Vnum\" inquit \"de duobus\neligite; aut aqua nunc uos recreati, aut hic post uos habitaturos rebus\nmundanis beneficiari.\" At illi respondentes dixerunt \"Eligimus,\"\ninquiunt \"ut illi qui post nos ueniunt in bonis temporalibus habundent,\net nos tollerantie mercedem in celis habeamus.\" Et sic futurorum spe\ngaudentes, a potu abstinuerunt, licet multum indigentes. Vespero uero\nillis domum redeuntibus, pius pater, laborancium lassitudinem\ncompaciens, uas aqua plenum benedixit, et iam sanctum miraculum in Chana\nGalilee renoua[n]s, in optimum uinum transmutauit aquam. Quo uino siti\ndeficientes recreati sunt, et in fide insoliti miraculi ostensione\nrecreati laudes omnipotenti Dei dederunt. Huius enim uini miraculosi\nsapor solito graciosior erat, et odor in propinatoris pollice quamdiu\nsuruixit redoleuit.\n\n[Sidenote  deg.19: R1 164d]\n[Sidenote  deg.20: R2 130a]\n\n19. Die quadam cum in uia incederet, nephandissimi latrones eum\ncomprehendentes, caput beati uiri radere ceperunt. Set quod\nperuersitas hominis delere uoluit, diuina pietas ad magni mirac[u]li\nostensionem conuertit. Rassorum enim capillorum loco alii statim\ncapilli cresceba[n]t.[ deg.19] Quo miraculo latrones perculsi,[ deg.20] ad\nueritatis semitam sunt conuersi, ac deinceps diuine milicie sub tanto\nduce seruientes, in sancta conuersacione uitam finierunt.\n\n20. Alio tempore bonus pastor peccora pascens, tres pauperes ei\noccurrerunt. Quorum primo capam, secundo pallium, tercio tunicam\ncontulit [secundo tunicam, tercio pallium eius tulit, R2]. Abeuntibus\nuero illis, uiri quidam, secularis uite professores, aduenierunt. A\nquibus quoniam uestimentorum expertum se uideri erubuit, adiutor in\nopportunitatibus Dominus aqua eum circumdedit adeo, quod preter\ncaput nullum membrum illi uidere potuerunt. Sed postquam hii uiri\ntransierunt, aqua ilia mox disparuit [desperauit MSS.].\n\n21. Elapso post hoc tempore, quidam satellites diabuli uirum quendam\niuxta monasterium eius commorantem interficere conabantur. Quem beato\nuiro pro eo orante Deus mirabiliter eripuit. Illi [illium MSS.] enim\neundem uirum iugulantes statuam quandam lapideam percuciebant. Quo\ntandem percepto, latrones corde compuncti, ad pastorem animarum\nQueranum properant, culpam humiliter recognoscunt, atque uite sue\nemendato calle, sub iugo Christi usque ad mortem fideliter seruierunt.\n\n[Sidenote  deg.21: R2 165a]\n\n22. Hiis atque aliis perplurimis gloriosissimus Christi miles tamquam\nluminare quod diei presidet fulgens, ad occasum naturalis cursus\ndeueniens correptus infirmitate graui appropinquiuit. Sed quia qui\nperseuauerit usque in finem his salus erit, ideo athleta Christi, non\nsolum se in bello huius certaminis confortans, uerum et animos ad\nuincendum inuitans, lapidem quo capiti supposito soporis modicum\ncorpori hactenus indulgebat, humeris etiam fecit subponi; sanctamque\neleuans manum fratres benedixit et uiatici salutaris perceptione\nmunitus, spiritum celo reddidit. Exiens enim beata illa anima de\ncorpore, chori angelorum [angelorum _omitted_ R2] cum ympnis et\ncanticis[ deg.21] illam in Dei gloriam assumpserunt.\n\n[Sidenote  deg.22: R2 130b]\n\n23. Beatissimus quoque abbas Christi Columba, audito sancti Kerani\nobitu, egregium de ipso composuit ympnum: eumque ad [de MSS.]\nCluaynense secum detulit monasterium, ubi prout decuit hospicio\nhonorifice susceptus est. Ympnum uero abbas qui tunc preerat,\nceterique qui eum audierant, multis et ma[ deg.22]gnis laudibus\nextulerunt. Discedens autem inde Sanctus Columba, de sacro sancti\nKerani sepulchro humum secum detulit, sciens in spiritu quam utile hoc\nforet contra futura pelagi pericula. In parte enim maris que tendit\nuersus Iense monasterium, est maximum transeuntibus periculum, tum\npropter fluminum impetuositatem, tum propter maris angustiam, itaque\nnaues circumuoluuntur, atque in rota mouentur; ac frequenter sic\nsubmerguntur. Scille enim atque Caribdi merito asi[mi]latur, uelim\npericulositate perfecta tristique [-teque MSS.] nautis malum ibi\nsubministratur. Ad hoc eurippum ipsi peruenientes, repentino ceperunt\nin eum delabi cursu; quumque nil preter mortem [Quumque uelut propter\nmortem R2] sperantes, et quia iam quasi tetris essent abyssi faucibus\ndeuorandi, tunc sanctus Columba prefati pulueris de tumba beati Kerani\nassumpti aliquid assumens, mare in ipsum immisit. Res mira ac nimium\nstupenda tunc accidit; dicto [uicto MSS.] namque cicius tempestas illa\nseua cessauit ac transitum eis tranquillum administrauit. Vere iusti\nin perpetuum uiuunt; cum quibus beatus Queranus corregnat, cuius\nsepulchri terra uel puluis mare sedauit [cedauit MSS.], corda\ntrepidancium in fide solidauit, et ad bonum operandum irrigauit.\nBeatus ergo Keranus non solum uiuit Deo, cui inseperabiliter adheret,\nuerum et hominibus quibus beneficia oportuno tempore impendit.\n\n\n\n\nMETRUM DE EO SIC\n\n[Sidenote  deg.23: R1 165b]\n\n  Matre Quiarani sedente in curru uolubili\n  [ deg.23]Sonitum magus audiuit perdixitque seruulis\n  \"Videte quis sit in curru, nam sub rege resonat.\"\n  \"Coniunx\" inquiunt \"Beodi sedet his artificis.\"\n  Magus inquit \"Gratum cunctis ipsa regem pariet,\n  Cuius opera fulgebunt ut Phebus in ethere.\"\n  Miles Christi Keranus, Sancti sedes Spiritus,\n  Spiritali pietatis uirtute floruerat.\n\n  Vitulum uacce lactentem iam cani concesserat,\n  Queranum inde grauiter mater reprehenderat;\n  Vitulum cane uoratum ab ipso exegerat,\n  Cuius ossa mox apportans ipsum restaurauerat.\n\n[Sidenote  deg.24: R2 130c]\n\n  Mulieris regie caput decaluatum\n  Seue zelo pelicis fuerat nudatum.\n  In Querani nomine cum esset signatum,\n  [ deg.24]Aurea cessarie fulserat ornatum.\n\n  Cum Queranus studiis sacris teneretur,\n  Atque tempus posceret ut operaretur.\n  Pro ipso ab angelis tunc mola mouetur.\n\n  Textus euangelicus in stagnum ceciderat,\n  Sed uoluto tempore per Querani merita,\n  Integrum de gurgite uacca reportauerat.\n\n  Cum puer oraret Dominum, precibusque uacaret,\n      ignis ab excelsis uenerat arce poli.\n  Defunctusque puer conspexit lumina uite,\n      et sancti magnum glorificant Dominum [Deum MSS.].\n  De celis lapsus rutilans accenditur ignis,\n    et peragit proprium protinus officium.\n\n  Alto et ineffabili apostolorum cetui\n  Celestis Ierosolime, sublimioris specule,\n  Sedenti tribunalibus solis modo micantibus,\n  Queranus sacerdos sanctus, insignis Christi nuntius,\n  Inaltatus est manibus angelorum celestibus,\n  Consummatis felicibus sanctitatum generibus;\n  Quem Tu Christe apostolum mundo misisti hominem,\n  Gloriosum in omnibus nouissimis temporibus.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: This word omitted in MSS.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Omitted in MSS.]\n\n[Footnote 3: Corrected by a note in the margin to _illi_.]\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nINDEX\n\n(For the leading incidents in the Life, see the list, pp. 11 _ff._).\n\nAbban, St.,\nAdamnan, St.,\nAed, St.,\nAed mac Brenainn,\nAed Slaine,\nAei. _See_ Mag Ai.\nAengus maccu Luigse. _See_ Oenna.\nAengussius. _See_ Oengus.\nAilbe, St.,\nAilithir, abbot of Clonmacnois,\nAinmire mac Colgain,\nAinmire mac Setna,\nAinmireach. _See_ Ainmire mac Colgain.\nAlban, St.,\nAlexander,\nalmsgiving, _See also_ hospitality.\n_Altus Prosator_,\nAmbacuc,\nangels,\nAngina. _See_ Inis Aingin.\nanimals, _See also_ resuscitation, hound.\nAnmereus. _See_ Ainmire mac Colgain.\n_antilum_,\nAra (Aran Is.),\nAradenses. _See_ Dal nAraide.\nAran Is. _See_ Ara.\nArd Abla,\nArd Machae (Armagh),\nArd Manntain,\nArd Tiprat, _See also_ Cluain maccu Nois.\nassemblies,\nausterities,\nAy. _See_ Mag Ai.\n\n\nBaithin, St.,\nBallynagore,\nBangor. _See_ Beannchor.\nBeannchor (Bangor, Co. Down),\nbearer,\nBecc mac De,\nbells,\nbenediction of food,\nBenen, St.,\nBeoanus, Beoedus. _See_ Beoit.\nBeoit,\nBeonedus, Beonnadus. _See_ Beoit.\nBirra (Birr, King's Co.),\nbirthplace of Ciaran,\nboban, _See also_ Bells.\nBoecius, Boeus. _See_ Beoit.\nbones,\nbonfire,\nbooks and book-satchels,\nbooks preserved from wet,\nBrenainn, St.,\nBrenainn of Cluain Ferta, St.,\nBrigit, St.,\nBrigit of Cu Cathrach,\nBrynach, St.,\n\n\nCadoc, St.,\nCael Cholum,\nCainnech, St.,\nCamerarius,\nCana of Galilee,\nCarabine, Red Brian,\nCathach, a monster,\nCathacus, Cathi. _See_ Inis Cathaig.\nCattle, sacred,\nCellach mac Eogain Beil,\nCenel Conaill,\nCenel Fiachach,\nCenel Fiachrach, _See also_ Cenel Fiachach.\nChrist, parallels between lives of Ciaran and. _See_ Tendenz.\nCiaran, _passim_. Poem attributed to,\nCiaran of Saigir, St.,\nCiaran, other saints called,\nCiarraige,\nclairvoyance,\ncloak floated on water,\ncloak of Senan,\nClonard. _See_ Cluain Iraird.\nClonmacnois. _See_ Cluain maccu Nois.\nClonsingle,\nCluain Cruim,\nCluain Innsythe,\nCluain Iochtar,\nCluain Iraird (Clonard, Co. Meath),\nCluain maccu Nois (Clonmacnois, King's Co.), _passim_\nCobthach mac Brecain,\nCoemgen, St.,\nCoire Bhreacain (Corrievreckan),\nColman, St.,\nColman Elo, St.,\nColman mac Luachain, St.,\nColman mac Nuin,\nColum Cille, St. (Columba),\nColum Cille, hymn of,\nColum of Inis Cealtra, St.,\nComgall, St.,\ncompacts between saints,\ncompanions of Ciaran,\nConn of the Poor,\nConnachta (people of Connacht),\nCorco Baiscind,\nCorpre the Crooked,\nCow, Ciaran's. _See_ Dun Cow.\ncrane, pet,\nCremthann,\nCrichid. _See_ Crithir.\nCrithir,\nCroagh Patrick. _See_ Cruachan Aigli.\nCronan,\ncrosses,\nCruachan Aigli (Croagh Patrick),\nCualu,\nCuimmin, St.,\nCumlach,\ncurses,\nCuthbert, St.,\nCybi, St.,\n\n\nDal n-Araide,\nDaniel,\nDarerca, mother of Ciaran,\nDarerca, St.,\ndates of Ciaran's life,\ndates of documents,\ndeafness cured,\ndecapitation,\nDecies,\nDeece,\nDelbna,\nDerercha. _See_ Darerca.\nDermag (Durrow, King's Co.),\nDermicius. _See_ Diarmait (deacon).\nDesi, Dessi,\nDiarmait, deacon, _See also_ Iustus.\nDiarmait, St.,\nDiarmait mac Cerrbeil, king,\nDompnanus. _See_ Donnan.\ndoors open automatically,\nDonnan, brother of Ciaran,\nDonnan, St.,\ndreams,\ndrolls,\ndruids, _See also_ wizards.\ndrying corn,\nDun Cow of Ciaran,\nDurrow. _See_ Dermag.\ndye and dyeing,\n\n\nearth of Ciaran's tomb,\neavesdroppers,\nEile,\nelders, Cell of the, at Cluain maccu Nois,\nEmer, St.,\nend of world, beliefs regarding,\nEnda, Endeus, Enna, Henna,\nenvy against Ciaran,\nErne, Loch,\nErnin, St.,\nEuthymius,\nexogamy,\nexpletives, saintly,\neye plucked out and restored,\n\n\nFailbe,\nfamines,\nfasting,\nfeasts,\nFergus,\nFidarta (Fuerty, Co. Roscommon),\nFinan, St.,\nFindian, St. (Finnianus),\nFindian of Mag Bile, St.,\nfinger scented with wine,\nFintan, St.,\nfire, consecrated,\n  from heaven,\n  Paschal,\nfirebrand,\nFlannan, St.,\nflesh turned to wheat, _See also_ transformations.\nflocks, keeping of,\nfosterage,\nfoundation sacrifices,\nfox,\nFuerty. _See_ Fidarta.\nFurban, Furbith, king,\nFursa, St.,\n\n\ngarments,\ngenealogy of Ciaran,\ngifts made by Ciaran, _See also_ almsgiving.\nGlas the poet,\nGleann da Locha (Glendaloch, Co. Wicklow),\nglosses,\ngospel, reading of,\ngospels, _See also_ books.\ngrain turned to gold, _See also_ transformations.\nGregory, Pope,\nGuaire, king,\n\n\nhair restored miraculously,\nharbour of island, meaning of expression,\nHare Island. _See_ Inis Aingin.\nharvesting,\nHelena, empress,\nHenna. _See_ Enda.\nhistoricity of Lives of Ciaran,\nholy water,\nhomiletic purpose of Lives,\nhorse ploughing,\nhospitality, _See also_ almsgiving.\nhound miraculously killed,\nHyde, Dr. Douglas,\nhymn of Colum Cille,\nhymns to Ciaran,\nhypnotism,\n\n\nI (Iona),\nIlltyd, St.,\nInis Aingin (Hare Island),\nInis Cathaig (Scattery Island),\nInis Clothrann,\nInis Muige Samh (Inismacsaint), _See also_ Ninned.\nintoxication,\nIona. _See_ I.\nIrluachra,\nIsel Chiarain,\nIustus, _See also_ Diarmait, deacon.\n\n\nKeranus, Kiaranus. _See_ Ciaran.\nKiarraighe. _See_ Ciarraige.\nKing, Adam, 8\nkings of Ireland, 103\nKyaranus, Kyeranus. _See_ Ciaran.\n\n\nLaigen (Laginensea, Lagenians, Leinstermen),\nLann,\nLarne, _See also_ Latharna.\nLasrian, St.,\nLatharna,\nLatronenses. _See_ Latharna.\nlepers and leprosy,\nLissardowlin. _See_ Ard Abla.\nLittle Church of Cluain maccu Nois,\nLittle Height of Cluain maccu Nois,\nLives of Saints, their nature,\nLoch Erne. _See_ Erne, Loch.\nLoch Rii. _See_ Rib, Loch.\nLonan the Left-handed,\nlucky and unlucky signs,\nLucoll (Lucennus, Luchennus, Luctigernnus),\nLugaid, priest,\nLugaid, St.,\nLugbeg,\nLugbrann,\nLugna maccu Moga Laim,\nLuimnech (Limerick),\n\n\nMac Cuillind of Lusk,\nMac Natfraeich,\nMac Nisse,\nMael-Odran,\nMag Ai,\nMag Molt,\nMagic,\nMaignenn, St.,\nmanuscripts of Lives,\nmatriarchate,\nmerchants of wine,\nmetres,\nMide (Meath),\nMil of Spain,\nMilesians,\nmilk, miraculous supply of,\nmills,\nMo-Beoc,\nMo-Bi, St.,\nMo-Chua, St.,\nmockery of druids,\nMoin Coise Bla,\nMo-Laise, St.,\nMoling, St.,\nMo-Lioc,\nMugain,\nMuinis, bishop,\nMuireann,\nMuma (Mumenia, Munster, Mumunienses),\nMunnu, St.,\n\n\nnicknames,\nNinned, St. (Nynnidus),\nNunnery, Cluain maccu Nois,\n\n\noats turned to wheat, _See also_ transformations.\nOdran, Odranus,\nOdran of Letrecha Odrain,\nOengus mac Crimthainn,\nOengus the Culdee,\nOenna maccu Laigsi (Aengus, Oenius),\nOran, St.,\noxen ploughing,\n\n\npagan sanctuaries,\npanegyrics,\nPata,\nPatrick, St.,\nPaul and Peter, SS., relics of,\nPaulinus,\nPeca,\nPeden, Alexander,\npedigree of Ciaran. _See_ Genealogy.\nperiods of Ciaran's life,\nPieran, St.,\nploughing,\nPort of the Gospel, _See also_ Inis Angin.\nPre-Celthic tribes,\npriest, Ciaran consecrated,\nprophecies,\nPsalms, use of,\n\n\nQueranus. _See_ Ciaran.\nquern, grinding at,\nQuiaranus, Quieranus, Quiranus. _See_ Ciaran.\n\n\nraids on Cluain maccu Nois,\nRaithbeo (Raichbe),\nRaith Crimthainn,\nrelics,\nresuscitation of animals,\n  of boy,\n  of Cluain,\n  of murdered monks,\n  process of,\nRib, Loch (Loch Ree),\nrobbers,\nRuadan, St.,\nrule of St. Ciaran,\n\n\nSaehrimnir,\nSaigir (Seir-Kieran, King's Co.),\nSamthann, St.,\nScattery Island. _See_ Inis Cathaig.\nscent of wine on finger,\nsecondary interments,\nSegine, abbot of I,\nSeir-Kieran. _See_ Saigir.\nSenan, St.,\nseparation of cows and calves,\nship\nSinann (Sinna, Synna, Shannon),\nslavery,\nsprings, miraculous,\n\n\ntaboo,\nTailltiu (Telltown, Co. Meath),\nTara. _See_ Temair.\nTech meic in tSaeir,\nTeffia. _See_ Tethba.\nTemair (Tara, Co. Meath),\nTemplemacateer,\nTemplevickinloyhe,\n_Tendenz_ of biographies of Ciaran,\nTethba,\nthreshing,\nTigernmas,\nTir na Gabrai,\nToirdelbach o Briain,\ntonsure, effacement of,\ntrade, Irish,\ntransformations,\ntree, sacred,\nTren,\nTuathal Moel-Garb, king,\nTulach na Crosain,\ntwins,\n\n\nUi Failge,\nUi Maine,\nUi Neill,\nUis. _See_ Iustus.\nUisnech,\nuncle, relationship of,\n\n\nvoice, recognition by,\nvoice heard from long distance,\nvoice from heaven,\n\n\nwater turned to honey,\n  to wine, _See also_ transformations.\nwhirlpool,\nwine,\nWinefred, St.,\nwizards,\nwolves,\nwomen, relations with,\n\n\nYseal, Ysseal. _See_ Isel.\n\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nPRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY RICHARD CLAY & SONS, LIMITED, BUNGAY,\nSUFFOLK.","title":"The Latin & Irish Lives of Ciaran: Translations Of Christian Literature. Series V. Lives Of; The Celtic Saints","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":55246}