The Latin & Irish Lives of Ciaran by Anonymous (recommended reading txt) 📖

murdered and beheaded. But Ciaran had shriven him, and in order to deliver his soul from demons he restored him to life, replacing his head-so clumsily, however, that it was ever afterwards crooked.

A certain man called Ambacuc, having perjured himself on the hand of Ciaran, his head fell off. He was taken to Clonmacnois, and not only lived there headless for seven years, but became the father of a family![19]


XXXI. HOW CIARAN FLOATED A FIREBRAND ON THE LAKE (LB)

The Harbour of the Island. -It must be remembered, in reading this and other island stories, that as a rule "the harbour of the island" is not, as might be expected, the landing-stage on the island itself, but the port on the mainland from which ships depart to visit the island. Thus Portraine, a place on the coast north of Dublin, is properly Port Rachrann , the Port of Rachra-the port from which voyagers sailed to Rachra, the island now called by its Norse name Lambay.

Parallels. -I have not found an exact parallel, but the story belongs to the same family as that related of Coemgen, who kindled a fire with the drops of water that fell from his fingers after washing his hands (CS, 839).


XXXII. CIARAN IN ARAN (LA, LB, VG)

The Aran Islands. -The marvellous isles of Aran, still a museum of all periods of ancient Irish history, with their immense prehistoric forts and their strange little oratories, were from an early date chosen as the site of Christian communities. Enda ruled over a community at the southern end of the Great Island; the church still survives, in ruin, and bears his name. Ciaran must have remained long enough in Aran to make a permanent impression there, for one of the ancient churches-much later than his time, however-is dedicated under his invocation. The reference to saints "known to God only" reminds us of the dedications to saints "whose names the Lord knows" in Greek on the font of the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem, and in Armenian on a mosaic pavement at Jerusalem.

Prophecy by Vision. -This is not an infrequent incident in the saints' Lives. It often appears at the beginning of a Life, the saint's mother having a dream interpreted by some one, whom she consults, as indicative of the future greatness and holiness of her unborn son. I have not hit upon another case in these documents of the same dream appearing to two persons at once.

Ciaran's visit to Enda is described at length in the Vita Endei (VSH, ii, 71-2). We are there told that he was seven years in Aran, serving faithfully in the monastic threshing-barn, so that in the chaff-heaps it would have been impossible to discover a single grain; and that the walls of his threshing-barn were still standing in Aran when the hagiographer wrote. He then saw the vision of the tree, which, however, we are not told was seen by Enda also. Enda interpreted the vision as in the texts before us, and bade him go forth to fulfil the divine will. Ciaran then went to found Clonmacnois. He besought Enda before he departed that he (Enda) should accept him and his parochia under his protection: but Enda answered, "God hath not ordained it so for thee, that thou shouldst in this narrow island be under my authority. But because of thy wondrous humility and thy perfect charity, Christ thy Lord giveth thee a half of Ireland as thine inheritance." Here there is another version of the claim of Clonmacnois to legislate ecclesiastically for half of the island. They then erected a cross as a token of their fraternal bond, putting a curse upon whomsoever should make a breach in their agreement. In a Life of Saint Enda, quoted by the Bollandists (September, vol. iii, p. 376 C), it is further averred that Enda saw in a vision all the angels that haunted Aran departing in the company of Ciaran as he went on his way. Distressed at this desertion of his heavenly ministrants, he fasted and prayed; but an angel appeared to him and comforted him, saying that the angels were permitted to accompany Ciaran on account of his holiness, but that they would return again to Aran.


XXXIII. HOW A PROPHECY WAS FULFILLED (LA, VG)

The versions of this incident differ considerably both in detail and in the setting of the incident.

" Cluain Innsythe ," where LA sets the story, is unknown. There is no river in Aran, where VG places the incident; in this version, therefore, the ship is placed on the sea.

Lonan the Left-handed. -Nothing further is recorded of this person, so far as I know. The parenthesis describing how he "was ever contradictious of Ciaran" is probably a gloss; so far as the incident goes, the contradictiousness is the other way.

Note the interesting sidelights upon the practice of artificially drying grain in LA. There are some technical terms in the Latin of this incident in the LA version. Thus, the word here translated "hut" is zabulum ; this I presume is another way of spelling stabulum , for the meanings given in Du Cange to zabulum or similar words are here quite unsuitable. The word which I have rendered "platter" is
rota , and the word translated "shed" is canaba .


XXXIV. HOW CIARAN VISITED SENAN

Senan. -This is an extremely interesting personality. His island, Inis Cathaigh (now corrupted to "Scattery") is said to derive its name from Cathach , a monster (mentioned in LA) which had formerly inhabited it, and which Senan had slain or charmed away. There are obvious pagan elements in the legends of this saint, and there can be little doubt that the unknown hermit who founded the monastery, of which the remains are still to be seen, has entered into the inheritance of the legends of an ancient deity, most likely worshipped on the island. This deity was probably the god of the Shannon river: and the name of the saint is clearly reminiscent of the name of the river. In their present form the two names are not philologically compatible: the name of the saint may be explained as an arbitrary modification, designed to differentiate the Christian saint from the pagan river-god. That pagan names should survive (modified or otherwise) in ancient holy places re-consecrated to Christianity is only natural.

There may be some foundation in fact for apparently supernatural knowledge such as Senan displays in this incident of the personality of a coming guest. In reading documents such as this, we are not infrequently tempted to suspect that we have before us the record of actual manifestations of the even yet imperfectly understood phenomena of hypnotism, telepathy, "second sight," and similar psychical abnormalities.

The story of the cloak is told again in the Life of Senan (LL, 2388). From the version there contained, we learn that Ciaran gave his cloak to lepers . There is another version of the visit of Ciaran to Senan in the metrical Life of the latter saint (CS, 750). According to this story, Ciaran was not travelling alone, but with his disciples; and they had no means of transport to the island except an oarless boat woven of osiers. Trusting themselves to this doubtful craft (as Cybi voyaged in a skinless coracle, Cambro-British Saints , pp. 186, 499), they were ferried over in safety, no water finding its way into the boat. Then follows the episode of the cloak, omitting, however, Senan's jest of carrying it secretly. A glossator has added in LA the marginal note "Priests formerly wore cowls." There are slight discrepancies between the versions as to the precise garment given by Ciaran and restored by Senan.

Another episode connecting Ciaran and Senan is narrated in the metrical Life of Senan (though the passage is absent from the CS copy; it will be found in the Bollandist edition, March, vol. ii, p. 766). Briefly, this tale is to the effect that Ciaran and Brenainn went to Senan for confession. They were received with fitting honour, but the steward of Inis Cathaigh told his superior that he had no provision to set before the guests. "The Lord will provide," answered Senan; and in point of fact, a prince for whom a feast was at the time being prepared on the mainland was divinely inspired to send it as a gift to the sacred island. The saints partook of the banquet thus bestowed upon them; and while they were doing so, a small bell fell from heaven into their midst. None of the three was willing to assert a claim to this gift over the other two; and after discussion they agreed to advance in different directions, and he who should continue longest to hear the sound of the bell was to be its possessor. This test assigned the bell to Senan. The shrine of this sacred relic (the bell itself is lost) is now preserved in the museum of the Royal Irish Academy, having been acquired from the last hereditary keeper by a generous donor.[20]

The Geographical Names. -Besides "the island of Cathi" (Inis Cathaigh, Scattery) LA refers to "Luim-nich" (Limerick), Kiarraighi (properly Ciarraige , [North] Kerry), and Corco Baiscind (the southern barony of Co. Clare), now spelt "Corcovaskin."


XXXV. CIARAN IN ISEL (LA, LB, VG)

Cobthach son of Brecan .-This person, who is said in VG to have made over Isel to Ciaran, was probably a local chieftain; but he has escaped the notice of the Annalists. In any case the statement that he made over Isel to Ciaran is so obviously incongruous with the sense of the passage, that it can be safely rejected as an interpolation. Its purpose is to claim for Clonmacnois the possession of the land called Isel, the site of which is no longer known, though it cannot have been far from Clonmacnois. Conn of the Poor, the great and charitable benefactor of Clonmacnois in the early years of the eleventh century, established an almshouse at Isel; and some fifty-six years later, in the year 1087, his son Cormac, then abbot, purchased Isel in perpetuity from the king of Meath.

Parallels. -We have already (incident XXI) seen an example of the rescue of a book from rain; compare also incident XLI. The garment of Finan (CS, 316) and of Cainnech (CS, 371) were preserved from rain, and snow did not injure a book belonging to Abban (CS, 530). The forgetfulness attributed to the saint with regard to his precious volume is a regular feature of this type of incident: it is no doubt meant to honour him, as indicating that the fulfilment of his monastic duties were yet more precious in his eyes. Moling forgot his book when reading by the sea-shore, and though the tide arose and covered it, it remained uninjured (VSH, ii, 191). There are numerous illustrations of the paramount need of attending to guests scattered through the saints' Lives.

The story of the grain cast into the breast of a poor man has come down to us in confusion: it is not clear why the chariot is introduced at all. Probably we have a conflation of two incidents. In the one (which is the version followed by LA, for which see § 26 of that document) Ciaran gave to a pauper a chariot and horses which the prince Oengus son of Cremthann had given him: as that prince belongs to the boyhood stories, it is probable that this incident should be transferred to that section of the Life. In the other incident, which may belong to the Isel period, Ciaran